Confessions of an Ecclesiologist

GROWTH POINTS MEMO

2011-09-08T20:27:00.004-05:00

GROWTH POINTS MEMO, Volume 1 Number 2 September 8, 2011

How to know if your people understand that ‘vision thing’

Too many times churches spend time and money trying to find God’s vision for their church. Leadership retreats. Bring in a consultant or two. Sermon series. Assessments. Focus groups. These tools and more are used to discover, communicate and implement the vision to members and communities. After all that work, is there a way to know if it’s all worth the effort? Let me suggest five ways to evaluate whether or not your people understand God’s vision for your church:

First, do your members remember and share the vision? Your church’s vision should include only 3-4 important elements. Why? It’s easier to communicate and it should be repeatable. In my life I’ve paid for a couple of hundred golf lessons. Unfortunately, none were for me----my oldest son played junior golf at a pretty high level in North Texas. A good God-given vision is like a great golf swing: it should be repeatable! Are your members sharing the vision with others?

Second, your members can point to specific actions and behaviors that show the vision. Embracing vision happens incrementally. Obviously, you want members to remember, embrace and share it with others. But the next step is implementation. Are your members doing the vision? They must be doers of the vision, not just hearers only. A classic example involves evangelism. Most evangelical churches would say it’s important. They may even believe that they share the good news. But what they really mean is: ‘Go ahead pastor, reach all the people you want as long as it doesn’t change our church, make us uncomfortable and nobody sits in my pew! Are your people beginning to be involved in making the vision happen?

Third, your vision is publicly integrated in how your church does its ministry. Lots of churches spend time, energy and resources embedding the vision inside their congregations. That’s good. You want your people to “get it.” But they don’t take it to the next level. You should be sharing it with your community. The community grapevine is a powerful tool. You can do one of two things with it: ignore it and let someone else frame it for your community or take a proactive step to share it with your community. Several years ago I served on a large regional church with a passion for ministry and missions. We invited a local community leader (who was not a church member, but a well-known and respected believer) to participate in our mission and ministry emphasis. Several years later he was the two-term governor of our state. His involvement reinforced to our community we were actually implementing our vision.

Fourth, your church public perception matches your vision. The issue here is credibility. If you market your church as a place for young couples and families but the median age of your church is seventy years old, you’ve got a credibility problem. Keep it real! Be truthful. Don’t over promise. Certainly don’t under deliver. Several years ago my wife and I travelled to another region of the country about the possibility of a move in our ministry. We had a good weekend with the search committee and staff. As we were leaving to return home we stopped at a gas station on our way out of town. My wife had a conversation with the lady running the cash register. Somehow my wife mentioned the name of the church, we had just visited. The lady behind the counter got very excited and said, “That is a great church-----full of wonderful people.” She’s wasn’t a member but her public perception matched the church’s vision. That was one factor in God leading us to relocate and serve there.

Finally, your members own experiences are aligned with your vision. The most powerful organizational principle and process I know is alignment. When church members begin making life-changing decisions due to the vision of your church, you’ve reached the final step. I’ve known Christians who’ve turned down opportunities in their careers because they didn’t want to leave their church. That’s powerful. It’s transformational. If your vision isn’t ultimately transforming lives is it really a God-honoring vision at all?

Ten Essential Books for Every Leader’s Library

1. Good to Great by Jim Collins. Great book even though one of the great organizations in his model is Fannie Mae (oops!). Still worth it though.
2. Seven Principles of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. This book changed my life years ago. It helped me transition my leadership from being driven to understanding I’m called.
3. What Leaders Really Do by John P. Kotter, helps leaders understand the process of change and the challenge of relationships. If we don’t get that right, nothing about our leadership will be right.
4. The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins, provides leadership strategies for new leaders at all levels. Start right and you’ll finish strong. Watkins helps you do that.
5. Spiritual Leadership by Henry & Richard Blackaby. This book is a great resource to multiply leaders in your church and ministry.
6. The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make by Hans Finzel. We need both positive and negative examples to refine our leadership. Finzel helps us by showing us what to avoid and not do.
7. Go Put Your Strengths to Work by Marcus Buckingham. Buckingham is leading a movement that says don’t focus on changing your weaknesses, instead build your life and career around what you do best. Well written and researched.
8. The Five Pillars of TQM (Total Quality Management) by Bill Creech. Ok, yeah I’m a process guy and this is one of my handbooks.
9. The Leadership Challenge by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. Classic primer on leadership.
10. Landry on Leadership: Noble Leadership in the Age of Celebrity by yours truly. It’s shameless plug and it’s not out yet. Hopefully this will motivate me to finish it!

GROWTH POINTS MEMO

2011-08-30T20:58:00.003-05:00

Growth Points
• Years ago Lyle Schaller published a small but very important book, The Seven-Day-a-Week Church. One of the key things he anticipated in that classic volume was the fact that many churches would be offering several worship services every weekend. On this point Schaller nailed it. In many places we now see churches offering seven or eight worship services every weekend. For Schaller, the key was the stamina of the senior pastor. He did not foresee multi-site churches or the multiplication of the use of teaching pastors and the technology so many churches now use each weekend.

• But the theme of Schaller’s book is right on. Is your church a seven day a week church? The larger your church is, the more days it should be impacting your community. If your church is small you need to add impact with excellent, making it a part of your church culture before adding something else. Smaller churches historically try to do too much. They over commit resources, especially leaders. So what should you do to begin?

Small churches (fewer than 125), make sure you are a one-day-a-week church. Be tenacious, but kind, at looking at your Sunday services and programming. Find out what is working and what isn’t. Fix it before you move on.

Medium size churches (125-300 in attendance), look at your ministries and programming on Sunday evenings and mid-week services. What groups are growing? Which ones are struggling? Which need to be fed or starved? Are they outdated and/or outmoded? Are there needs that aren’t being met? Could this be an opportunity for your church?

Larger churches (300 +) should ask a couple of questions about everything they do: does this ministry align with our values and vision? Is this who we are? Is there enough support for us to do this? What kind of staff and resources do we need to do this or make it better?

• Your goal should be to create as many quality entry points as possible. How many do you have? If you don’t know how many you have, then that’s your first assignment. Get started. Now.

Leader Lifts
Winston Churchill is one of my heroes, for so many reasons: leader, writer, speaker, and his famous wit. He once said that “courage is the greatest of all virtues because it guarantees all others.’ So true. Pastor Ron Edmondson describes the seven traits that separate a courageous leader: http:www.ronedmondson.com/2011/7-traits-that-separate-a-leader-of-courage.html.@via RonEdmondson. Become a leader with courage! Enjoy.
Conversations from the field
Recently, I spent a couple of hours with a pastor. He’s been at his current ministry less than a year. His last church he served for nearly 40 years. So he’s not your typical new pastor. But he has fresh eyes for a church that needs it. He pastors a county seat ‘first church’ in a fast growing county of nearly 120,000 people. He’s in his mid-sixties. I asked him why he wasn’t bass fishing somewhere and he laughed, “I’ve still got too much preach in me I guess.” The fire still burns. The passion remains.
We talked about some of his leadership challenges. The next five years are critically important for his church. It will determine if they have a healthy future or see a decline in community impact and influence. I’ve had this conversation before. I have it on a regular basis. I believe that is the challenge of the vast majority of evangelical churches in North America. Yes, there are great islands of health. Yet, most of our churches continue to operate and make decisions like it’s the 1950s. This will not do. It cannot continue. Too many churches are past the tipping point.
My pastor friend has five years. So many of our churches have less. How many years does your church have? Be a difference maker. Be a leader. The fire must burn. The passion must remain.

Quotes for Preaching, Teaching & Leading
Be a good listener. Your ears will never get you in trouble.
Laura Maxwell, John Maxwell’s mother
If God only used perfect people nothing would get done. God will use anybody who’s available.
Rick Warren
Light houses blow no horns; they only shine.
D. L. Moody
Pride is the mother of all sin.
Martin Luther

Summer tIME rEADING!

2011-08-07T19:25:00.000-05:00

Summertime Reading
Summertime is a time for reading. Each summer I put together a list of certain subjects I want to cover before the summer ends. Among these subjects include Texas history, biography, World War II, biblical studies, and at least one work of fiction. Here’s what I’m reading or read this summer to stay out of this withering Texas heat:
This I read a couple of volumes of fiction. Usually don’t read a lot of fiction but Tom Clancy had a new book out this year so I read his Against All Enemies. It’s not part of his Jack Ryan series but a good work nonetheless. Just think about our worst nightmare: Al Qaeda partners with the largest drug cartel in Mexico. Enough said. But an ex-Seal is on the hunt. This past week I got a small paperback book Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia. It’s the basis of a new movie starring Robert Duvall and Lucas Black. To say it’s a story about golf would miss the point. It’s full of life lessons. Its gospel centered. I am looking forward to seeing the movie when it opens September 3.
My friends no I love World War II history so no summer would be complete if I didn’t read from that genre. This summer I read three books on the Second World War: 11 Days in September: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944 is the story of the Allied response to the last German counteroffensive on the western front during the war. I may have read it trying to get some relief from the Texas heat! The author is Stanley Weintraub a noted historian on World War II. He retells the story of Patton’s Third Army that stopped fighting the Germans head on and pivoted ninety degrees to cut off the German bulge. He even includes a chapter on Patton’s famous prayer for good weather telling the Lord: “Sir, you have to make up your mind whose side you’re on.” But mostly he uses new documents and interviews to tell the story of the ordinary citizen soldiers who made the difference. We should be grateful for all they have done. In Jonathan Jordan’s book, Brothers, Rivals, Victors he describes the partnership between Eisenhower, Patton and Bradley that led the American forces to victory in Europe. The three men began the war as longtime friends. But by the time V-E Day came they were barely talking to each other. Jordan describes how they argued and fought each other while at the same time vanquishing the Wehrmacht. It was both triumphant and tragic. When Patton died in December 1945 from injuries received in an automobile accident, Patton’s widow Bea refused to let Ike visit. It’s a reminder that even our heroes are human. Sir Martin Gilbert is one of my favorite historians; he is official biographer of Winston Churchill. In the spring I found a copy of Gilbert’s, Winston Churchill, Road to Victory, 1941-1945. Meticulously researched it reads almost like a daily diary of Churchill’s actions during the war. He is bluntly honest on the differences between Churchill and FDR. A must for anyone who loves Churchill or World War II.
I also try to read something related to Texas history each summer. This year I read David Stokes book, The Shooting Salvationist, the story of Dr. J. Frank Norris, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Fort Worth, Texas for most of the first half of the 20th century. He was the first American mega church pastor. It was controversial. He was indicted three times. This is the story of his murder trial. He shot an unarmed man in his study at church. He was indicted and tried for murder in the late 1920s. This is the story of that trial. I had heard bits and pieces of this story my entire life. This is the complete history of that story. All I can say is that it is fascinating.
Summer is baseball time. I always try to include a book about baseball in my summer reading. This year I read two baseball bios: Jane Leavey’s The Last Boy: Mickey Mantle and the End of America’s Childhood and George Vecsey’s, Stan Musial: An American Life. Mantle is a hero of mine from when I was a kid. He lived in Dallas in the off season. Leavy is sensitive to his struggle with alcoholism with shirking from telling his tragic story. She also details how Mickey got his life under control in the last 18 months before he died, going through Betty Ford, getting things right with his family and trusting Jesus. Vecsey’s book tells the story of a humble superstar, Stan Musial one of the greatest players in major league history. Musial is often overlooked by fans today. This bio will remind them of a man with humility and talent.
Finally I always try to read something in biblical studies and theology each summer. Because I am teaching from Genesis 1-11 this fall I read Kenneth A. Matthews, Genesis 1-11 New American Commentary. It’s been a longtime since I read a commentary cover to cover, but I did this year. It is a treasure of biblical exegesis, theological reflection and personal application. The last book I read this summer was actually a reread. Every year I try to read or reread from one of three: J.I. Packer, C.S. Lewis and Carl F. H. Henry. This was a Packer summer for me. So I reread his Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. It is a great essay from the reformed view on the Christian duty of evangelism.
What are you reading this summer? What should I read this fall? Love to hear your thoughts.

39 Simple Ways to Jump Start Your Spiritual Fitness

2011-07-13T20:29:00.003-05:00

This is the second part of our series on jump starting your spiritual fitness.

21. Find an accountability partner or group and meet regularly.

22. Discover your spiritual gifts and put them to use!

23. Develop a list of people you know who need to know Jesus and begin to pray for opportuniities to share Jesus with them.

24. Mentor and encourage a new Christian and/or church member.

25. Write a letter of thanks to someone who has impacted you spiritually.

26. Turn your passion into a ministry.

27. Take notes on your pastor's sermons.

28. Conduct a Bible word study.

29. Go to your pastor or a church staff member and offer to help them with their greatest ministry need.

30. Give an anonymous gift to help meet someone's need.

31. Do a personal study of a Bible doctrine or theme for an extended period of time.

32. Practice the Sabbath----at least one day a week for rest, reflection & worship.

33. You can't outgive God but have fun trying.

34. Whenever you meet a person make them the focus.

35. Determine to show people love no matter what they say or do to you.

36. See every problem as an opportunity for God to be God.

37. Be positive and proactive by living a life that motivates people to go beyond where they are.

38. Pray for your critics. Better yet do something nice for them. It'll keep them up at night.

39. Remember to be Jesus to your family and friends by serving them.

Love to hear your comments! Find a few, suggest a few, but just do it!

Confessions of an Ecclesiologist: 39 Simple Ways to Jump Start Your Spiritual Fitness, Part 1

2011-07-11T09:19:00.000-05:00

Confessions of an Ecclesiologist: 39 Simple Ways to Jump Start Your Spiritual Fitness, Part 1

39 Simple Ways to Jump Start Your Spiritual Fitness, Part 1

2011-07-10T08:59:00.008-05:00

Why are so many churches not growing? Whay are so many unhealthy? Why are so many local churches more like clubs and clans than the Church Jesus died for? A complete answer is rather complex. But in thirty years of ministry one thing I have learned: Our churches are unhealthy because many of our members are spiritually unhealthy. It has always been so-----Paul's letters in the New Testament show us that.

Here are 39 simple ways to get in spiritual shape. Get started today. It's time to own your faith. Accept responsibility for your own spiritual fitness. Don't outsource it to your spouse, or pastor or anyone else. Do it now!

1. Use a one year reading Bible to develop the discipline of daily time in God's Word.

2. Learn to meditate on a verse or passage of Scripture. Chew on it like a dog on a bone. You won't exhaust it but you will learn so much by trying.

3. As you go through your day ask the Philippians 4:8 questions. I'm not going to give them to you. Look it up.

4. Pray Scripture. Simple enuff!

5. Take a prayer walk through your neighborhood. Pray for that neighbor who's barking dog keeps you up at night. It'll do wonders for your attitude.

6. Adopt those areas in your daily life as your own mission field (work, school, gym, etc.). Ministry is where ever you find it or it finds you.

7.Pray over your daily to-do-list.

8. Use prayer prompts as reminders to pray for people. Prayer prompts can be anything from pictures of family and friends to your local school. The only limit is your own imagination.

9.Keep a spiritual journal. It's a great way to measure your spiritual growth, keep a proper perspective and count your blessings!

10. Fast from television, the internet or social media for a week. After six days, the last one is easy!

11. Participate in an in-depth Bible study.

12.use a hymnal in your quiet time. You should be able to find one cheap!

13. Go on a short term mission trip. You will recieve so much more in blessings than you will give. Trust me on that!

14. Develop your testimony to share with someone in 60 seconds or less.

15. Ask people how you can pray for them----and then do it!

16.Adopt a city, nation or people group to pray for.

17. Adopt a missionary (family) and pray for them each day.

18. Conduct a monthly or quarterly mission or ministry project.

19. Sharpen your saw----attend ministry training events a couple of times a year.

20. Memorize a verse or passage of Scripture every week.

A Blessed Journey

2011-07-07T10:36:00.006-05:00

Last fall, life was good. In early November our youngest son and I spent several days at our family ranch in the Hill Country of Texas. Part working vacation and part spiritual retreat, we had a great time. When we returned to the Metroplex, I spoke to a politics class a friend of mine teaches (on the mid-terms). Later that week our son and I met former President George W. Bush and bought several signed copies of his memoir, Decision Points. The next weekend, our oldest son came home from Baylor to celebrate his 20th birthday. Life was indeed good. Our new ministry helping churches and Christians live more missional lives was growing. Our preaching, speaking and equipping opportunities were growing. Life was indeed very good.

Then I got sick. Really, really sick. Early one Sunday morning my wife rushed me to a local emergency room. I had double pneumonia, I couldn't breathe. Baylor University Medical Center (BUMC) Dallas, where all my doctors are was full. No beds were available. So I was rushed to Lewisville (Texas) Memeorial Medical Center and placed in the ICU. There the wonderful doctors and nurses went to work on me immediately. They fought to keep me alive. I got sicker (not their fault). My kidney failed. And my liver, lungs and pancreas. That's right four major organs were failing. I also began to bleed internally. My wife Cheryl stayed at my bedside. Our boys, family, friends and church family were at the hospital everyday. Our pastor, Dr. Stephen Hatfield often beat my Mom and Dad to the hospital each day. I was put on Continous Renal Therapy to help my (one) kidney.

Cheryl began to mobilize our friends to pray. Eventually friends and others all over the world began to pray for me. The Catholic archdiocese of Dallas prayed for this ordained Baptist preacher every day by name during the Daily Mass. At a very critical juncture, Central Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Georgia dedicated an entire midweek service to intercession on my behalf. Within hours that particularly stubborn internal bleed stopped. On at least four different occassions my doctors prepared my family, telling them I might not live through the night. I was finally strong enough to be transferrred by ambulance to Baylor-Dallas. My admitting physician prayed over me with Cheryl when I got to BUMC. He told her, "I can't fix your husband. Only God can."The good news is, I don't remember a thing! I was in a drug induced coma for 26 days. I missed Thanksgiving and Christmas in our new home.

As God's people prayed, I held on. I woke up finally during the second weekend in December. I can remember that because it was the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's assassination. I couldn't talk much, couldn't walk, couldn't feed myself. But I was alive. Our youngest son had read portions of George W. Bush's book to me in the hospital when I was in a coma. My brain was not fully functioning when he asked if I wanted him to read to me after I had come out of the coma. One thing I do reget is saying, no. But my brain was not yet fully processing information!

After spendinga few weeks in 4 Truett ICU at Baylor, I was moved to Baylor Speciality Hospital to begin therapy to help me talk, walk, think, dress and fully function again. But my stubborn esophogeal bleed roared back with avengance. Cheryl, who teaches at Baylor University's Louise Harrington School of Nursing (across the street from Baylor Hospital) was set to attend a pinning ceremony at the school when I was rushed to the emergency room. I was out of my head. My blood count was dangerously low (4/13) for any of you with medical training. I couldn't keep still. I couldn't keep my robe on. I was nutty. I was holding the hand of a very attractive woman doctor (so my Dad tells me. He was there). Many members of the nursing school faculty who work with Cheryl rushed over after the ceremony. A couple of them took charge. Others offered prayers and support. My pastor set a NASCAR record, getting to BUMC from Lewisville. It was the 17th of December. I ended up back in 4 Truett ICU for several more days.

By Christmas I was back at Baylor Specialty Hospital starting rehab all over again. In 30 years of ministry I must admit not knowing much about this part of medicine. As difficult a time I was having I saw so many people suffering from strokes, or accidents, missing limbs and digits. I was blessed and I still am. Shortly after New Years I was moved to Baylor Institute of Rehabilitation. There my therapy intensified. One of my therapists there told me she loved what she does because in her words, "We see miracles happen." Indeed, they do. On January 15th I reached my goal: With the help of a walker, I walked out of the hospital, headed home. 63 days in the hospital. A medical bill of nearly 2 million dollars and 65 lbs. lighter, I was home.

I still had a couple of months of outpatient rehab, three times a week. But it was great to be home. I am thankful for all those who prayed for me, comforted my family. Many friends gave my family money to help with expenses, get my father-in-law here from Virginia and prepared us meals. Several friends and family drove where I needed to be until I was able to drive again. My doctors and nurses and BUMC and Lewiville Memorial were great. I am blessed to know so many people love and care for me and my family. Thank you to all who ministered to us. We love you all.

I am blessed.

Mike

What I Learned from Cancer

2010-07-09T09:17:00.000-05:00

Three years ago today I had my left kidney removed. I had been diagnosed a couple of months earlier. Before I could deal with the cancer I ended up having two open heart surgeries. The three major surgeries I had in 2007 have become a defining moment in my life. In no particular order here are some of the things I’ve learned:
I am loved. Don’t get me wrong, I knew that before I got sick. The late Tony Snow once said the great thing about getting sick is “you find out how many people love you.” I experienced the same thing in spades. I heard from people in every church I served, colleagues and friends from all across the country. My family was (and is) amazing. Friends, ministry partners and our incredible church family performed countless acts of love to me and our family.
Prayer is important. My prayer time became precious to me. When you spend 35 days and nights in a five month period in the hospital you have plenty of time to talk to God. At times it was tough. I was frustrated, mad, lonely and had a “why me” moments. At other times, my time with the Lord was tender, comforting and assuring. The depth of my prayer life was never better.
The breath of prayer astounded me. My family and I heard from friends and churches from California to Florida. Friends sent us notes and cards from all over the world. We heard from a friend studying at Oxford and a colleague of my wife had my name added to a Vatican Prayer Service. Friends called and prayed with us over the phone. It was precious to us and is something I’ll never forget.
Make everyday count. No more wasted days doing nothing. I’m not talking about never resting, in fact since those trying days three years ago I’ve learned the importance of the daily power nap. What I mean is the importance of investing my life in the right things. The things that really matter: Family. Friends. Relationships. Churches. Leaders. I’m going to invest every day God gives me to those things that truly matter.
My friend David and I met when we got sick. We both went to Baylor and even to the same church but didn’t meet until we were both in the same hospital. By God’s grace I made it through. David didn’t. Last year we celebrated his homecoming. I don’t know why God brought me and not David. But I do know this: Every day is a gift. And I am determined to make it count.
I’ll see David soon enough.

We Remember Anne

2010-06-17T11:34:00.002-05:00

Today, my mother-in-law Katherine Anne Mayhigh Pittman (1930-2003) would have been eighty years young. It's appropriate to remember her on her birthday the same week the Southern Baptist Convention met in Orlando. For seventeen years she served as church hostess for the First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia. Once she "retired" she served as a volunteer at the International Mission Board offices. For many years she served more hours per year than any other volunteer. One of her many duties was hosting the hospitality room at the SBC annual meeting every year. She fed missionaries, denominational leaders, and trustees. As a seminarian and pastor of a small church, my buddies and I always knew where we could get a quick bit at the convention on our small budgets. She was a gracious hostess.

She was also one of the most courageous persons I have ever known. She fought a 25-year battle with cancer with courage and grace. She left us with a legacy of ministry and service. She lived out her faith every day faithfully. thanks Anne for your love, faith, service and example......We'll see you soon.

SBC Convention: some positive news!

2010-06-16T10:57:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Orlando, Flordia passed by a wide margin a new strategy for the denomination. The recommendations of the Great Commission Task Force were approved with language inserted to strengthen support for the Cooperative Program. I believe it is a great NEXT step to great missional effectiveness. Going forward the most critical aspect of the recommendations is the redesign of the North American Mission Board (NAMB)and its relationship with state conventions. I pray that the NAMB trustees find the right leader and then allow him to be part of the redesign for that mission organization.

In other positive news at the SBC was the election of Bryant Wright, pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in metro Atlanta as the new SBC president. Bryant represents a new wave of leadership for the SBC and I believe this to be a very positive development. He deserves our support and prayer.

Now we must continue to keep our focus on making disciples.

High Expectations for Adult Class members Part II

2010-06-11T12:05:00.000-05:00

What expectations should your church have for members of an adult Sunday School or Bible study class? Let’s continue our top ten expectations:
6. Follow up with guests and ministry opportunities. You’re not exempt from the Great Commission! Work with your church and class leaders and help them follow up with Sunday morning guests. Invite them to sit with you in the worship service or invite them to eat with you afterwards. Drop a note or an email latter in the week and thank them for coming.
Follow up on ministry opportunities. Take the initiative to prepare a meal for a grieving family; send flowers to someone in the hospital or make quick call to someone in need of encouragement.
7. Be vulnerable share your life. As you faithfully and consistently study God’s word together every week share with fellow members what God has done in your life. This doesn’t mean you should share a (dirty) laundry list of personal sins with other class members. In fact the Bible says, “confess your sins one to another.” Share what God and has taught and is teaching you.
8. Build community in your class: 24/7/365. It’s not just a Sunday morning thang! Hang out together. Do stuff….or nothing at all….together! Connect with others in your class who share interests, activities and hobbies. Love and Laugh….together!
9. Find someone to serve in your church and community. Find someone to minister to in your church or community. Be intentional about it. The class I’m a member in plans at least one mission project every quarter. We also have a monthly rotation of members who visit a senior adult in our community. Recently, nearly two dozen class members spent an entire morning cleaning her home, garage, yard and automobile. The need is great. People are out there. Discover and do!
10. Invite and bring others. A personal invitation is the best and more effective tool you have. Put it to good use. Think about the people you know who need to be in a Bible study. Make a list. Begin to pray for them. Begin to invite them. See what God does. He won’t disappoint.
How are you measuring up? God has expectations for all of us. Let’s begin to meet them and see what he does.

High Expectations for Adult Bible Study class members, part 1

2010-06-07T17:58:00.001-05:00

The theme for fall 2010 Southern Baptist Sunday School/Bible study launch is “High Expectations.” Those of us who lead, teach and serve understand the need for “high expectations.” But what are the expectations for the class members and attendees who are also in the classroom or small group? I am convinced there are expectations for those as well. Here are ten expectations for adult bible study class members:
1. Be prayed up and ready to hear God speak to you. Pray for your teacher, class and yourself. This shouldn’t happen in the car on Sunday morning. It should be a part of your every day spiritual discipline.
2. Greet class members and guests. Of course this assumes that you are on time so you won’t interrupt your teacher. All of us have had the “bad restaurant” experience where we’ve been stuck in a corner and ignored. Nobody will help us or talk to us! Unfortunately, that happened across the country every Sunday morning!
3. Be willing to step up and serve. Serve your class, as a greeter, outreach leader, or another position on your class leadership team. Serve by helping start another class. God’s math is multiplication not division! New classes reach people faster. Finally, set up and serve in another age group during Bible study. Right now across the country church staff’s and nominating committees are gearing up for the fall by enlisting people to serve. The only place to find those new workers is in adult Bible study classes.
4. Come with comments and questions. Don’t be afraid to interrupt or ask questions. This means being prepared. Read beforehand the lesson passage and church provided curriculum aid.
5. Support your church leadership on issues related to Bible study ministry. These issues may be related to scheduling, facilities or church approved curriculum.

One disturbing trend I’ve observed over the past few years is a movement by many adult Bible study classes to “do their own thing” in the area of Bible study curriculum. There are a couple of problems with that approach. First, it makes it extremely difficult for church leaders to get everyone on board, going in the right direction. Alignment is a powerful tool. Second, I believe this occurs when teachers forget that teaching is a right not a privilege. Teaching also comes with responsibility and accountability. Using a church approved curriculum or Bible study plan achieves both accountability and responsibility where it should be: on church leaders trained and called to provide leadership and oversight. Finally, this particular approach works nowhere else in adult education. My wife teaches at the Louise Herrington School of Nursing at Baylor University. Every semester her Dean tells her what she’ll teach and when she’ll teach it. Your pastor or minister of education is the dean for Christian education for your church.

Later this week we finish this topic.

Lost Cities

2010-05-28T14:55:00.004-05:00

A couple things came to my attention this week regarding the health of churches in our cities. First, on Monday the New York Times published an article on the struggling churches of Harlem. As older residents die or move to Florida in retirement many of the historic black churches in Harlem are struggling to stay open. The newer residents who are moving in are younger and different.The same thing is happening in cities all over the USA and indeed, the world. The dual challenge of globalization and urbanization are two of the great challenges and opportunities the 21st century church faces. The challenge is not just in North America. This leads me to the second thing that brought this challenge to my mind this week. Ed Stetzer a former colleague, sent out a tweet this week stating that only 1% of the population of Paris (France) are evangelicals. It reminded me that people in great urban centers around the world need to know Jesus. The North American Mission Board Strategic Focus Cities is a good start. We must do more to plant and re-plant churches in these great urban areas. We can give. We can go. We must pray. What else can we do to reach these cities? What are your ideas? Let the conversation begin.

RIP: Art Linkletter, CBS radio & TV personality died this week at age 97. I met Mr. Linkletter, 8-9 years ago at a community wide prayer breakfast. He was a complete Christian gentleman and gave a great speech on the power of prayer. I know I'll show my age with this but Mr. Linkletter you were right: Kid's Say the Darndest Things.

They Said It: Quotes for Preaching, Teaching & Leading

2010-05-17T20:51:00.002-05:00

In our mission to encourage, equip and empower church leaders we offer these words of wisdom:

You can’t do today’s job with yesterday’s tools---Ron Lewis

Four things never come back----the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the neglected opportunity---Arabian proverb

An empty vessel makes the greatest sound----William Shakespeare

If we could have half our wishes, we would double our troubles---Benjamin Franklin

The Law tells me how crooked I am; Grace comes along and straightens me out---D.L. Moody

Stewardship is a person does after he says, “I believe.” ---W. H. Greever

First we practice sin, then defend it, then boast of it. ---Thomas Manton

The church exists by mission, as fore exists by burning.----Emil Brunner

The future comes one day at a time. ---Dean Acheson

We learn from experience that people never learn from experience. ---George Bernard Shaw

The key to flexibility is indecision. ---Anonymous

You do not need references to borrow trouble. - Unknown

The Church and the Stockdale Paradox

2010-05-10T18:52:00.002-05:00

In his classic book, Good to Great, Jim Collins recalls a conversation he had with Admiral Jim Stockdale, the highest ranking US military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner-of-war camp during the Vietnam War. During his eight years in captivity, Stockdale was repeated tortured and beaten. He once even beat himself with a stool, so his captors could not display him as a “well-treated prisoner.” After his release he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

During the conversation, Collins asked him, “How did you make it out?” Stockdale replied, “I never lost faith in the end of the story….I never doubted not only that I would get out, but that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which in retrospect, I would not trade….”

Stockdale had articulated what Collins called “The Stockdale Paradox.” In wrestling with life’s challenges the “Stockdale Paradox” states you must retain faith that you will prevail in the end and you must also confront the brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

Collins recalls walking silently with the admiral around the beautiful Stanford campus for a few minutes. Then Collins asked him, “Who didn’t make it out?” And Stockdale replied, “Oh, that’s the optimists.” According to Stockdale the optimist said, “We’ll be home by Christmas!” Then Christmas would come and the optimist said “we’ll be home by Easter.” Easter would come and go. And finally they would say Thanksgiving….and eventually they would die of a broken heart.

Leaders embrace and live out the “Stockdale Paradox.” They combine the unconquerable faith of prevailing no matter how difficult things seem while also being relentlessly disciplined at confronting the brutal facts of their current reality. They reject triumphalism, optimism and sentimentality.

The North American church has much to learn from the "Stockdale Paradox.” The first aspect of the church's “Stockdale Paradox” is a theological affirmation: God’s church will triumph with Him. I believe that to be true. I’ll go to my grave believing it to be so. But the second half is what we need help dealing with: facing the brutal facts. And within the SBC there are just a few brutal facts we must face honestly:

• 80-85% of our churches have either plateaued or declined in growth & members.
• We have millions on our church rolls, some of whom FedEx couldn’t even track down.
• Only 3-4% of our churches are truly effective evangelistically.
• Mission giving and sending has not kept up with previous generations.
• Many of our churches have turned inward and are perceived as ‘cranky’ to their own communities.

A couple of years ago I heard one of my denominational leaders publicly yearn for a return to the 1950’s except without racism or sexism. How tragic I thought. The 1950’s are gone for good. Families aren’t like the Cleavers anymore. Yet in too many churches our programs and ministries would make you think otherwise. We curse the darkness and yearn for the good old days. Want to know what our culture will look like in 15-20 years? Look at Europe, then pray, take a deep breath and assess your own reality. Pastor, church leader, what is it that’s holding your church back? Assess. Get real. And go to God for help.

A Thank You to the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force

2010-05-04T22:18:00.005-05:00

The Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) Task Force has issued its final report before it is to be presented at the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando next month. While I am still digesting the report, praying and listening to all sides of the debate, here is what I know:

• Our denomination must do something to revitalize our existing churches and a vision for planting many, many more.
• The recommendations are a good start.
• The committee members and its chairman Ronnie Floyd deserve our thanks and our support wherever we can give it.
• The structure, methodology and mission of NAMB must be reengineered to meet the needs of the 21st century.
• The Cooperative Program is still the best vehicle for denominational missional support I know of anywhere.
• Everyone should be heard. As far as I can tell everyone has.
• The challenge for every single Southern Baptist, every church, association, state convention, agency, and institution is simply this: BE MISSIONAL OR BE GONE!
• My prayer for myself and Southern Baptists is simply this:

Lord, send a revival, renewal and resurgence… and let it begin in me!

Classic Books Series: #1

2010-04-30T20:47:00.006-05:00

The Seven-Day-a-Week Church by Lyle Schaller.

Lyle Schaller has been a mentor of mine for many years. Through his many books I’ve learned a great deal about church healthy and local church leadership. I had the privilege years ago to talk to him one-on-one for twenty minutes. In my mind his two most influential books are The Interventionist, about church consulting, and The Seven-Day-a-Week Church his book on mega-churches. First published in 1992 it holds up well and is still timely in its wisdom. Schaller foresaw the explosion of what he labeled 7 day-a-week churches offering multiple services and ministries designed to meet needs and reach people seven days a week. According to Schaller these churches would offer several services each week. He believed their key would be the strength and vitality of the senior teaching pastor.

Although Schaller did not predict the use of technology in churches or the growing multi-site movement. He did predict the rise of these mega churches and the two keys to their growth: worship & programming. He decries the lack of passion and emphasis on the transformational gospel in American mainline churches that drove its conservative members into evangelical churches. In a striking phrase he calls effective worship “good theater.”

Programming however was the other key ingredient in the growth of the seven-day-a-week church. Schaller was one of the first observers in the North American church to talk about the role of executive pastors. He identified the qualities of an effective Executive Pastor:

• An unreserved Christian commitment
• Character
• Loyalty
• Confidentiality
• Administrative skills
• Ability to oversee staff
• Competence in church finances
• Compatibility with church & community context
• Productivity
• Accountability
• Ability to implement goals
• Credibility (earned)
• Strong but not necessarily big, ego.

Not only is this classic worth a second look, it should be on your bookshelf.

My Dream Home and Churches

2010-04-26T22:03:00.003-05:00

Recently my wife and I purchased our dream home. We had been looking for a couple of years but the timing hadn’t been right. Suddenly things moved quickly----like God often does when things are right: tax incentives for new homes made the market a once in a lifetime opportunity, my father-in-law at nearly 82 expressed a readiness to live with us and then we found the right house at the right price. So we made an offer, negotiated and closed on the loan. We’ve been in the house for a month now. And there are at least two things I have learned through this that can aid churches and their leaders:

The first is when we moved from our old house (we’d lived there nearly eight years) we de-cluttered. As we packed for the move of just four miles, we threw away, gave away and made numerous trips to the city dump. We gave away clothes, toys, sports equipment and a couch. We lightened our load. We got rid of stuff we didn’t need any more. During the moving process I thought churches need to do the same. How many programs and ministries don’t work effectively now? How many are just hanging on? It’s time to bury some things in our churches that don’t work any longer. They consume resources and energy that could be channeled into ministries that reach and disciple people. I am reminded of what Jesus said, “be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16). Where does your church need to de-clutter?

The second lesson learned is that we upgraded. Formica countertops were standard in kitchens fifteen years ago: now granite and custom cabinets are the norm. My wife told me the border in the bathroom needed to go. We also needed an electrician to do some work to make our new home more computer friendly. So we hired a contractor and upgraded our new home. We’re not done yet. In fact we may never be. But we’re off to a good start. Churches need to upgrade facilities, ministries and programs. For several years I visited a couple of hundred churches in west Texas for a Christian publisher and I can say that nearly every church I visited need to upgrade something. Whether it was property related, a struggling ministry or an upgraded ministry approach. At Noble Leadership Ministries we’re taking a fresh look at our ministry, services and products. I’m making my list. What’s on your list? What does your church or ministry need to upgrade? Let me know. Email me at mike@nobleleadershipministries.com. Let the conversation begin!

What I Learned from the Church Lady

2010-04-20T17:28:00.002-05:00

Well, no she wasn’t really the church lady from the ‘80s Saturday Night Live skit but she did remind me of the Dana Carvey character. We recently bought a new home and one morning, while working from home an older lady knocked on our door. When I opened the door, she walked right in, saying, “Hi, I’m ____ and I’ve been visiting new residents for 25 years!” Before I could explain to her that we’d lived here eight years she was into her well-honed and well rehearsed speech. She gave me information about the best doctors and dentist in our area. Before I could get a word in edgewise, I was learning all about our local symphony and museums. She had her speech down and nothing, including me was going to slow her down.

After she was done, the longest fifteen minutes of my life, I finally got her out the door. Later I learned that she worked for a group of doctors, dentists and local businesses to promote them to newcomers. And nothing is wrong with that practice. It’s called direct marketing.

At dinner that night I retold the incident to my wife. We had a good laugh about my encounter with the woman and how she reminded me of the church lady. Funny thing about the church lady is that she was clueless. She had her views. She wouldn’t listen. She had her speech down and nobody was going to stop her.

Reflecting on those lost fifteen minutes I was reminded of how my denomination has done evangelism training. Starting out in ministry in the 1980’s I’ve been through “The Four Spiritual Laws,” Evangelism Explosion and Continuous Witness Training (CWT). Each time I learned a new gospel presentation it was awkward. It felt canned. It felt like a speech. It was not until I had personalized and internalized the material, without compromising it, that I could share my faith naturally. Unfortunately some don’t get it. They continue to peddle their message whether it’s about local doctors or heaven forbid the Gospel. Please don’t misunderstand me, I am thankful for the training in evangelism I have received. But don’t just learn it----internalize and personalize it-----and most important----share it NOW!

Is the Age of 'Possibility Thinking' Over ?

2010-04-14T21:07:00.002-05:00

According to several press reports the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California is tens of millions of dollars in debt and maybe on the verge of bankruptcy. The founding pastor, Robert H. Schuller Sr. is 83 years old and well-known for his books on possibility thinking and the television program, “The Hour of Power.” And these bankruptcy reports are only the latest in a series of negative events impacting the church over the last few years.

A couple of years ago Schuller, in essence, fired his son, Robert Schuller Jr. as pastor and his self-appointed successor. The Southern California megachurch’s current leader is Shiela Schuller Coleman, daughter of Robert H. Schuller Sr., the founding pastor. Earlier this year the church closed a church campus in Rancho Capistrano. And in recent weeks it has put various properties up for sale, laid off employees, and cancelled its Easter pageant. The church has also scaled back its “Hour of Power” broadcasts, which are viewed by millions worldwide.

According to the Orange County Register the church is behind on payments to nearly 200 vendors. A lawsuit by three businesses including an equipment financing company and two television stations claim the church owes them more than $2 million for services rendered. In a meeting with its creditors the church asked for 90 days to resolve the financial issues. The meeting by all reports was civil and a committee was formed by vendors and creditors to “insure each creditor is treated equally when funds become available.”

The church is at a tipping point. Can it solve its current problems? Can it continue? And if so on what scale? These are the questions that many church leaders around the country are asking. But they are the wrong questions.

The right question, one that every church in America should ask, is “How did it get to this?” The answers are legion: changing demographics, entrenched ministries, etc. etc. The answer is obvious: a failed transition at the top. We don’t know what truly transpired between father and son. But whatever it was didn’t work. And that is why every church should go to school on how things play out at the Crystal Cathedral.

Pastor, is your church ready to effectively continue on after you’re no longer their leader? Are the people and processes in place to carry on? It’s an important question. Several well known churches in my denomination (Southern Baptist) have struggled over the issue (First Baptist Dallas and Bellvue in Memphis just to name two). The struggle for survival and solvency at the Crystal Cathedral is worth watching and worth learning from.

Last year as part of a national research project I met a west Texas pastor twenty years into a church ministry he started. Although he was on the north side of fifty five he was still active, fit and still had the fire in the belly. Yet a part of our conversation was about his planned transition from senior pastor to another less visible role. He knew they needed to do it, for himself and the church. He and his elder board were beginning the process. God Bless them for it. And may God bless the Crystal Cathedral as they struggle through it.

Learning from Sandra Bullock

2010-03-08T20:49:00.001-06:00

As I watched the Oscars last night I was struck by the acceptance speeches not of the superstars, but the film editors, sound technicians and the other essential personnel who are also honored by the Hollywood community on that special night once a year. For many it is a once in a lifetime event. A lifetime of work by those who work behind the scenes, receiving ‘uber appreciation’ in one night. There were emotional moments, tears often intermingled with laughter. For some it is a race to thank as many people as possible before the orchestra music signals it is time to move on. Others took a moment to thank a select few.

And when Sandra Bullock accepted the Oscar for best actress she spoke directly to the four other women nominated. She didn’t have to do that but she did it just the same. She thanked LeAnn Tuoy (who was present in the hall) whom she played in the movie, The Blind Side. But when she thanked her mother it was a special moment.

Most of us will never have a moment like Sandra Bullock and the other Oscar winners had last night. But suppose for just a moment you did have just an opportunity. What would you say? To whom would you say it? Who would you thank?

Although we might never have an Oscar opportunity, why not say it now? Why wait? Tell them today.

What’s keeping ya?

Until next time.

Living in the Zone: A book review

2010-03-05T21:20:00.000-06:00

Living in the Zone: a 40 Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men is a new resource from Thomas Nelson Publishers. The authors are Kyle Rote Jr. and Dr. Joe Pettigrew. Rote is a former professional soccer player, a three time champion of ABC-TV Super Stars and a retired CEO of a sports management firm. Pettigrew is founder of Leaderpoint, an author, speaker and busy consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies.

The format of the book is simple: it is 40-days of devotional for men emphasizing our relationship with God, wife, children, friends, work, and the future. Each daily devotional is an easy read of 5-7 pages with a section of questions for individual or group discussion, a brief daily assignment and a place for prayer requests and praise. Each daily section uses scripture and inspirational stories from the likes of Kurt Warner, Tony Dungy, Allan Houston and John Wooden.

Former head football coach Tom Osborne of the Nebraska Cornhuskers describes Living in the Zone: applying spiritual truths to the dilemma of balancing career and family in today’s culture….it draws on athletic metaphors to illustrate the importance of doing things God’s way rather than our way.

I highly recommend Living in the Zone to church leaders wanting to take the men in their congregation to a deeper level of discipleship.

The Life that Pleases God Matthew 5:3-6

2010-03-01T17:29:00.000-06:00

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus describes the criteria for fitness in His Kingdom. The Neatitudes are Jesus' own specifications for what every believer ought to be. Providentially, the Beatitudes follow the same pattern as the Ten Commandments: just like the Commandments the first four beatitudes describe a life that pleases God, the last four describes a life lived for others.

What kind of life pleases God?

Jesus said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (v. 3 ESV).

What does it mean to be "poor in spirit?" It does not mean to be economically destitute, cowardly or without the Holy Spirit. The life that pleases God begins with admitting our own spiritual bankruptcy. "We are all beggars" declared Martin Luther. The gospel does not work for the proud and self-sufficient, but for those who own up to their own sinfulness and who cast themselves on the grace and mercy of God. As Charles Spurgeon noted: "The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my riches bit my need."

The life that pleases God? The first step is to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy.

Jesus continues: " Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (v. 4 ESV).

What does it mean to mourn? In a word: grief. Its the kind of grief we experience when we see a person who has wasted their life, or a frined who is whithering away from cancer and is too young to be this sick. The Bible applies this to our own sinfulness: "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death!" (Romans 7:24 ESV).

Jesus promise to those who please God in this way " shall be comforted." The life that pleases God grieves over the way the world truly is and will ultimately see God set things right!

In Matthew 5:5 Jesus declares: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." In our culture "meekness" suggests we become someone's doormat....sort of a cross between wimp and a wallflower. This is a tragic distortion of what Jesus taught. In Jesus day meekness was described in several ways:

a wild horse that had been broken and brought under control was to be "meek or gentle."

ointment that drew fever and pain out of a wound was "meek medicine"

people who were polite, treating others with dignity, courtesy and tact were called "meek"

Jesus calls us to live another way of life. Eric Liddell, the missionary and Olympic gold medalist, whose life is told in the film Chariots of Fire was described as "ridiculously humble in victory and utterly generous in defeat." That's the life that pleases God. The reward for the "meek: is that they shall "inherit the earth." This means that every need we have will be met. The greedy grab and lose, while the meek inherit and gain.

Finally Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied." (Matt. 5:6 ESV). People who live a life that pleases God have spiritual passion, an insatiable hunger to know God intimately and model His ways. This more than just acquiring biblical and theological information. It is much more. jesus is describing about a life aligned with God's character: His holiness, truth, goodness and righteousness.

Our reward is to be "satisfied." Instead of being perpetual victims of spiritual starvation, never getting sufficient nourishment to grow grow strong we shall be satisfied. here is the hope of this promise: we will become spiritually satisfied, able to handle harsh conditions and endure uncomfortable circumstances. God's pantry never runs low. His well never runs dry!

That's the life God blesses----the life that pleases Him.

Cell Groups plus Sunday School? Why the answer is No

2010-02-01T12:43:00.000-06:00

Just last week I had a conversation with a church leader who wanted to add home based cell groups alongside their Sunday School strategy. I began to ask him questions: they had room to start new units, the church was open to multiple Sunday school hours and they were growing at a healthy rate.

The bottom line is he thought adding home=based cell groups would be a growth accelerator. Can't fault him for that, in fact its commendable. The problem is that off-site cell groups and sunday school can't coexist. For several years I was part of a group of consultants who related to some the largest and fastest growing churches in the country. As a group we could not find a single church that did both cell groups and sunday school well. They are two entirely different DNA's.

If you know of a church that is doing well let me know. It'll be a first

Is Your Church a Good Neighbor?

2010-01-12T18:16:00.000-06:00

Someone once said, "Good fences make good neighbors." The meaning is obvious. Fences help us maintain proper boundaries. The is true for churches. Most pastors I know want to be good neighbors. Sometimes that can be a challenge. Years ago Prestonwood Baptist Church was growing so fast they filled their onsite parking every week. As their growth continued many people began parking in a strip mall parking lot across the street. Obvious the business owners in the mall were upset, believing the church members were taking spots that should have been used by customers. The issue finally resolved itself when a group of businessmen who attended Prestonwood bought the strip mall! Not many churches can do that!

I thought about that a few weeks ago as I drove by the Village Church near my home one Sunday. The Village Church is one of the fastest growing churches in the country. Their pastor is Matt Chandler a dynamic preacher and visionary pastor. Many of you know he is battling cancer. The first Sunday of December Village Church held their first service in their new worship center, located in a shopping center in a former grocery superstore.

As I drove past one Sunday morning recently on tyhe way to my church, I noticed the Village Church parking crew helping worshippers park that morning. What stood out to me was their obvious effort to protect the parking spaces of a local Mexican restaraunt. They were doing there best to be good neighbors. I should confess: it was important to me because it's my family's favorite place and we eat their almost every Sunday. Never get between a sixth generation Texan and their favorite Tex-Mex place, but I digress. Way to go Village Church!

Is your church a good neighbor? Your church may not be located in a shopping center, but that's OK, you can still be a good neighbor. Here's three areas to consider:

1. The public school nearest your church. How do they feel about your church? How often are your members and staff on campus. It's important you know and follow their rules for access. Increase your visibility. before you can be an agent of change they must know you care. Ninety percent of life is just showing up. Quit bellyaching about the state of our public schools, roll up your sleeves and get to work. Imagine what would happen if every church in America adopted and commiitted to serve the school nearest to them!

2. Restaraunts. Do you and your staff patronize eating establishments near your church? How well do you know the managers and staff? Build good relationships with them. Get to know them. Look for opportunities to minister to them.

3. Open your facility for community events. Let your buildings and property work for you. The best marketing tool your church has is the community grapevine. When you allow your community access to your property to get goodwill and that's something no marketing plan can pay for.

Good fences make good neighbors. But for churches it's not fences to build but bridges to your community that's criticical.

The Gift of Christmas

2009-12-19T10:16:00.000-06:00

My earliest Christmas memory occured when I was five years old. I remember my brothers (age 4, & 2) and I decorating the tree in our small home in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. We were so excited! Christmas was nearly here. We went to bed that night in anticipation of a wonderful Christmas morning opening presents. We awoke early the next morning before Mom and Dad were up and ran into the living room to discover Santa had come that night! Perfectly gift wrapped gifts were under the tree! That's when my brothers (age 4 & 2) and I had a familiy conference. Our descion: to plunge right in and see what Santa had brought. We jumped right in and began opening boxes. Our first surprise was that the presents were dish towels, tools, shirts and socks--much to big for us. Our second surprise occurred when our parents came into the room with the fury of a Texas tornado.

My brothers and I had jumped the gun. Those gifts we opened were for our extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins! My mother had stayed up late the night before to wrap them. The recriminations began immediately. Being the oldest I was blamed. In my defense I said I was out voted by my brothers (ages 4 & 2). After a stern talking to we now understood that Christmas morning was still a couple of days away.

I think about that first Christmas memory this time of year. All the hustle, bustle and anticipation. As I shop the crowded stores and malls I wonder how many people will miss the true joy of Christmas. As Christians we know the true gift of Christmas: Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God with us.

In 2 John 3 we find this verse: "Grace, mercy and peace be with us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." (HCSB) Five great words describe the results of the gift of Christmas: grace, mercy, peace, truth and love.

May these be yours through Jesus Christ this Christmas season!

[This is my last post until after Christmas.}

Do you serve in a Christendom or Missional Church?

2009-12-10T17:25:00.000-06:00

For the past few months I have had the privilege to serve with a group of people charged with the responsibility for strategic planning for a regional group of churches. It is challenging task but one wrought with God-sized opportunities. Their ministry area is projected to grow from 625k to over 1.1 million by the year 2030. One of the key issues our group wrestled with was the current state of our churches. We recognized that many churches are still mired in practices of yesteryear and are unable to seize opportunities for ministry in today's world. They are Christendom churches. We also recognized that many churches today ar Missional churches. Some were planted that way in recent years, some transitioned from a Christendom culture to missional mode. What are the differences between Christendom and Missional churches? What kind of church do you serve? Here are a few differences that can help you discover what kind of church you serve:

Christendom Churches: focus on maintaining the institution; Missional: focus on transforming lives.

Christendom churches: make a long-term commitment to the church; Missional: have a new found commitment to Jesus Christ.

Christendom churches: manage through committees and position holders; Missional churches deploy members into missions and ministries.

Christendom churches make decisions (usually for someone else to implement!); Missional churches make disciples of Jesus.

Christendom churches emphasize members training; Missional churches emphasize lifetime learning & growing in grace.

Christendom churches focus on raising money; Missional churches focus on raising people.

Christendom churches discuss internal needs; Missional churches address the unchurched in the community.

Christendom churches have an information-oriented faith; Missional churches have an experience-oriented faith.

Christendom churches are concerned with perpetuating a heritage; Missional churches are concerned with looking toward the future.

Christendom churches talk about church work; Missional churches talk about fulfillment, mission & ministry.

Where did you come out? Do you serve in a Christendom or Missional context.

What kind of team player are you?

2009-12-08T09:22:00.000-06:00

Re-reading some material last night I came across Glenn Parker's book, Team Players and Teamwork (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1996). Great stuff that is still helpful to many church leadership teams. Parker sites research describing four types of team players that contribute to successful and effective teams:

1. The Contributor is the task-oriented member who enjoys providing the team with good information and data. Typically they push the team to higher performance standards and the wise use of resources. They are often described as dependable, responsible, organized, systematic and proficient.

2. The Collaborator is a goal-directed member who gets the vision, mission or purpose of the team. They are flexible and open to new ideas and are willing to pitch in and work outside their role and are willing to share the limelight with others in order to see the team accomplish its goals. The Collaborator is often describes as cooperative, flexible, forward-looking, generous, open and visionary.

3. The Communicator is the process-orinted team member who is an effective listener who facilitates involvement, handles conflict resolution, a consensus builder and helps creates an informal and relaxed climate. These people are supportive, encouraging, tactful, helpful, patient, informal and considerate.

4. The Challenger is the one member who will question the goals, methods, and even the ethics of the team. They are willing to disagree with the leader or someone in higher authority. They also encourage the team to take well-calculated risks. They are often acribed as candid, honest, truthful, outspoken, principled and brave.

As the leader resist the temptation to stack the deck with people who think, work and react just like you. Look hard for people described with these four characteristics and qualities. Your church or ministry will be better for it and the end result with be a better decision, ministry or project. The best result may just be that each of these people, having bought in because they contributed can gain the support of others who are like them. The result is quicker ownership of the new idea, ministry or product by your whole organization.

Books I re-read every year

2009-12-04T11:40:00.000-06:00

Some books deserve to be read only once. Some are used for reference, and skimmed. Yet there are books that deserve to be read and re-read regularly. This year I plan to re-read six books, five I have re-read every year for the last several and a new one I plan on re-reading. Here are the six book I will read again in 2010:

Toward an Exegetical Theology by Walter Kaiser.

I first read this book in seminary have used it for years in my preparation to preach and teach God's Word. When I re-read this book it's like when I take my car in for a 30,000 mile check-up. Every time I read it I feel as if I am being re-tooled for rightly dividing the Word.

Good to Great by Jim Collins.

I believe this is the greatest business book of all time and has much to say to the church of Jesus Christ. If you want your church to go to the next level I can't recommend this book highly enough.

The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren

The farther we go into the 21st century and away from a program driven church this book is foundational for ministry in the future. It was simple before simple was cool. It can help you transition to a process focused ministry and away from a program based ministry.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Ok I confess to being an Anglophile and a lover of C S Lewis in particular. I've read and re-read this since my college days. It's like visiting an old friend you haven't seen for a while and then picking up just where we left off. A classic devotional and apologetic for good reason. The last page is worth the price of the book. It begins, "Nothing that has not died can ever be resurrected...' Great advice for these and every day.

Modern Times by Paul Johnson

An incisive analysis of the 20th century by a prominent historian. It's theme: the struggle for freedom against the forces of totalitarianism and the state. A ready reminder for our world today.

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

A great book by a leading pastor that helps Christians reclaim the intellectual high ground for a Christ-centered conversation with our culture. His book, The Prodigal God is also bless and challenge you.

Well, here's my list. Now I'm ready to get started sharpening my saw!

Is there a lesson in the Tiger Trauma?

2009-12-03T10:48:00.000-06:00

Is there a leadership lesson we can learn from the sorry and sorid tale of Tiger Woods? Let me begin by saying that we should pray for him, his wife Elin and their family. Throughout his career Tiger has used his celebrity to make lots of money but also to raise millions in charities that make a difference in the lives of countless prople. Every public event recieves smothering coverage.

It shouldn't shock us that celebrities have personal failure. And in this day of 24/7/365 media coverage that we find out about it. What is shocking in Tiger's case is his pedantic response to the events that have dominated the news since Saturday night. Years ago I heard Bill Gates tell business leaders: 'The good news is that bad news travels fast.' In other words if there is bad news about your business, ministry or in your personal life get it out, deal with it, tell the truth, don't sugar coat it and don't try to spin it. Delay. Delay. Delay, only leads to making a bad situation worse and in Tiger's case becomes a fodder for cable news, TV talk shows and the internet gone wild.

The leadership lesson: get out in front of bad news or it may run over you.

'They ran to the sound of the guns'

2009-11-09T12:04:00.000-06:00

So said General Casey, US Army Chief of Staff describing the response of many of our men and women in uniform during the tragic event at Ft. Hood, Texas last Thursday. What an amazing statement. When I heard him say that on Fox News last Friday my reaction was immediate: my throat coked with emotion, my chest swelled with pride and my heart broke for the victims all over again.

Then I had a thought......"They ran to the sound of the guns." Our service men and women do it every single day in Iraq, Afghanistan and on Thursday last, Ft. Hood. Police officers, fire fighters, and nurses so it every day. Those who "run to the sounds of the guns" deserve our thanks, prayers and support.

Christians in the early church "ran to the sound of the guns." They took into their homes those who were homeless.....sick.....dying.....deserted and disaffected. The words hospital and hospitality derived from what these early Christians did.

They understood life and ministry is messy. Too many times today it is too easy to turn away or let another do it.

The next time you have an opportunity to help someone hurting, someone in trouble or whose life is a mess, what will you do?

It's your choice.

"Run to the sounds of the guns."

Can you Change your Church DNA?

2009-10-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

In the last 48 hours I heard another report of a pastor forced to resign his church. As far as I know it was not a moral, ethical or doctrinal issue. Why then was this Bible-believing, Bible preaching pastor forced to resign after just four years?

He tried to change the DNA of a 100 year old, county seat First Baptist Church. Now anybody that knows me knows I am not against change. I believe in the maxim: 'Innovate, reinvigorate or stagnate.' But I also believe you can't change the DNA of your church. We all have DNA that is unique to us....it's how God made us. I love to golf but as hard as I try I'll never be Tiger. He has his DNA and I have mine. Some of the best advice I ever recieved was as a pastor in a rural middle Tennessee church and went to an early 'Purpose-Driven Church' conference. At the end of the conference Rick Warren said, "If you pastor an established church: Don't try this at home!"

It was and still is great advice. Most of us aren't innovators anyway. Be a reinvigorator. Reinvigorate your Sunday School (especially if your church is over 100) instead of focusing on small groups. You need to focus on one or the other but your church DNA ultimately makes the decision.

Some choices we make. Some are made for us. If we break it, we own it.

MGT

Death of a Prayer Warrior

2009-10-23T17:40:00.000-05:00

On Friday, October 9, 2009 Winnie Norwood walked through the 'Gates of Splendor.' I first met Winnie Norwood in the summer of 1987 when I became her pastor. She was a school teacher who went back to work when she became a widow. She was a strong supporter and encourager to her young and inexperienced pastor. She was gracious and forgiving.

But the best thing Winnie ever did for me was pray for me everyday for over twenty years. That was spiritual heavy lifting! During the five years I was her pastor she prayed for me every morning at 5:00 a.m. as she started her day with the Lord.

Winnie soon joined my wife and I every Sunday for lunch. It was just Cheryl, Winnie and myself. I cherish those time of fun and fellowship. When God led my family and I to a new ministry challenge she supported our decision and continued to pray for us daily.

Through the years and several other moves to other parts ofthe country she continued to be my Prayer Warrior. We would see her every few years and talked to her on the phone regularly. I want to close this tribute to her the same way I would end our phone conversations:

'Love you Winnie. I thank God for you. Talk to you again soon.'

And so I will.

MGT

Conflict in the Church

2009-10-06T19:14:00.000-05:00

I was reminded last week that celebrity worship in the church is not a new thing. Paul had to deal with it in the church at Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 1:12-13 Paul writes:

'What I am saying is this: each of you says: 'I'm with Paul,' or I'm with Apollos, or I'm with Cephas, or I'm with Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul's name?'

What do we know about the conflict in Corinth?

It wasn't about doctrine. It rarely is.

Paul, Apollos and Peter didn't encourage them.

The Corinthian Christians did place too much stock in high profile leaders.

Human prestige and power was at the heart of the issue.

Social friction contributed to the conflict (rich/poor; Greek/Jew).

How does Paul handle it" Three simple questions:

Is Christ divided? Of course not! But what Paul reminds them is that Jesus is not one among many. Paul shows the lunacy of elevating one leader (or methodology, or strategy) over another when we have been called into the fellowship of Jesus Christ.

Was Paul crucified for you? No human leader is the source of our salvation. Jesus alone is our source because He alone was crucified for us. Paul affirms that only Christ can atone for sin.

Were you baptized into the name of Paul? Paul knows how absurd this question is. Once again he reminds them and us, that our allegiance can only be to Christ.

In his message at THE NINES conference by Leadership Network Rick Warren challenged us to address the spiritual immaturity of the church. Maturity is essential for unity, mission and purpose. Let's get on with it.

How the Mighty Fall & the SBC part 2

2009-08-28T14:13:00.000-05:00

This is the second part of our review of Jim Collins book, How the Mighty Fall and we will examine the second stage he discovered in his research: 'The Undisciplined Pursuit of More.' Does his analysis match reality with the Southern Baptist Convention. I believe it does. One of Collins's markers for this stage is "unsustainable quest for growth, confusing big with great.'

The Second World War was the impetus for a great population migration. People moved to find jobs to support the war effort. They moved from the farm to the city, they moved from the south to the north, from the east to the west wherever the war took them. This led to an enormous increase in the number of Southern Baptist churches. New churches sprang up where Southern Baptist had never be before: California, Ohio, and other states in the mideast and midwest. This was a good thing. However many of those churches were the mirror image of their home churches in south. Most of the members were displaced southerners. It meant these churches would and some still do struggle. I remember when I graduated from seminary I got a letter from a church in Toledo, Ohio that began this way, "We noticed your wife is a nurse...." In other words come to our church and serve for free. I know there are people in Toledo who need Jesus but starting dozens of churches that will constantly struggle and always do so is not the answer. The sheer quest for more led to bad strategic decisions.

To support the postwar expansion the SBC created three new seminaries in the 1950s: Golden Gate in northern California; Midwestern Seminary in Kansas City and Southeastern in North Carolina. That was an expensive decision that committed millions of bucks to buildings and infrastructure. It was also an attempt to replicate a church culture that worked fine in the south but not elsewhere. Perhaps a better strategy would have been to negotiate and establish a 'House of Southern Baptist Studies at Gordon-Conwell (Boston); Conservative Bapt Seminary (Denver) and Western Seminary (Portland). This would have speeded up the process of raising up indigenous leadership. NAMB's Strategic Focus Cities is a step in the right direction. Wish it had happened fifty years ago.

Finally, our unquenchable thirst for more led to some faulty evangelism training. In the last 30 years we used EE, then CWT which we ripped off from James Kennedy, and lately FAITH. If there's a letter in the alphabet related to evangelsim training I've had it. That's good but it's only good when it becomes our story. The main problem with our evangelism in the last thirty years is that its focus has been on the decision side rather than the disciple-making side. Conversion is not the end, it just the beginning. It should be reflected in how we share the good news.

Johnny Hunt is right: a Great Commission Resurgence must be personal; it must begin with us. Then we can make smart, strategic decisions as a denomination and fulfill the Great Commission.

How the Mighty Fall & the SBC part 1

2009-08-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

It's been nearly two weeks since I've posted a new blog. Sorry about that but my life has been going at warp speed. In the last ten days I taught leaders at The Church at the Cross in Grapevine, Texas and Oakland Heights Baptist Church in Longview, Texas. The subject was adult Bible study. Great time with leaders & learning. Yesterday, our family helped our oldest son David move into Brooks Residential College on the campus of Baylor University in Waco. We're proud of him and excited to see God at work in his life. Finally, I just completed a new resource for the churches we serve: a Children Ministry Assessment for First Baptist Church, Lewisville, Texas.

As I wrote in a previous post I'm beginning today with a five part discussion of Jim Collins book, How the Mighty Fall and if there is application between his findings and the health of the Southern Baptist Convention and its churches, agencies and institutions. To briefly review, Collins has identified five stages of decline in businesses and organizations:

Stage 1: Hubris Born of Success

Stage 2: Undisciplined Pursuit of More

Stage 3: Denial of Risk and Peril

Stage 4:Grasping for Salvation

Stage 5: Capitulation to Irrelevance and Death

Today, we begin our discussion of stage 1: Hubris Born of Success. Nobody questions our success. In the years following the Second World War Southern Baptist became the biggest denomination in America, expanded our reach outside the south and southwest, saw record enrollments in our seminaries and supported a growing numbers of missionaries in the world. I am grateful to God for His blessings and for those who have gone before us and provided leadership during those times. Godly men and women like Baker James and Eloise Cauthen, Gaines S. Dobbins, Harry Piland and pastors like R. G. Lee and W. A. Criswell. This is not a criticism of that generation. But we must ask the question, "What happened?" Is our stagnant state the result of external or internal factors, spiritual or institutional?"

Collins and his research team discovered four markers that characterized each of the first four stages:

Success entitlement, arrogance. This happens when people begin to believe that success or growth will continue no matter what the organization does. If it is true that nothing succeeds like success it is equally true that success can and often gives birth to pride. Many Baptist at all levels thought and acted like our growth was "automatic, and would continue on and on unabated into the future." I once heard a denominational leader brag that in one new work state in the midwest we had a church in every county. It wasn't true and he should have known it. It was a terrible strategy! That kind of church planting was blind to the millions of people in that state were living in the urban areas within that state. Pride blinds us and will lead us down the wrong road.
Neglect of a primary flywheel. When this happens leaders neglect the "growth engine" in our case church planting and evangelism. A church planting strategy that refuses to focus limited resources to critical areas dissapated time, energy and resources. Evangelism training became programs. In so many ways our lay people were miles ahead of us. In the past 30 years I have had evangelism training through Evangelism Explosion (E.E.), Continuous Witness Training (C.W.T.); an EE Baptist rip-off, Romans Road and FAITH----if it's a part of the alphabet I've had evangelism training using it. It was great. It was helpful but unless it is personalized and becomes our story it can sound like an Amway presentation. To rebuild our growth engine we should do two things: start less churches with more committed resources in strategic places and our evangelism should be conversational and personalized.
"What" replaces "why." Collins says what happens is that the rhetoric of success replaces understanding and insight. Denominational leaders for the most part missed the mega-church phenomena. Many believed Sunday School could grow on autopilot refusing to acknowledge the societal changes impacting our churches, i.e. a growing number of women in the workforce and increasing mobility, just to name two. Ed Stetzer is right:"facts are our friends.
Decline in learning orientation. In too many areas we kept our heads in the sand, refusing to listen to our own people. Some were concerned about a lurch to the left in some of our seminaries and were simply laughed off. Insolation in our churches, agencies and seminaries led to institutions with short memories. That always leads to trouble.
Discounting the role of luck, (since I don't believe in luck, I'll call it discounting God's sovereignty and blessing). We (I'm including myself) not only took our eyes off the ball, we took our eyes off God, thinking that we had built the denomination's success not not God Himself.

Pride eventually marginalizes businesses, ministries, churches and denominations. Repentance for our pride and institutional arrogance must occur before the renewal begins. I pray it so.

Let the conversation begin!

Back in a few days with more. See ya then.

How the Mighty Fall....Does it Apply to the SBC?

2009-08-07T22:14:00.000-05:00

In recent months there has been alot of discussion about the state of the Southern Baptist Convention. The recent action to approve the Great Commission Resurgence demonstrates the concern many of us have for the health of our denomination. Concerned Southern Baptists at all levels are sharing their views and opinions on the subject. Last week on his blog Sam Rainer tipped me off to a new book by business writer and researcher Jim Collins that could shed some light on this topic. Collins the author of the best-selling book, Good to Great has just published How the Mighty Have Fallen looking at some of the same companies that were going great guns just a few years ago. Collins believes his research has identified five stages of decline that businesses, institutions, organizations, churches and denominations can experience. According to Collins the five stages of decline are:

Stage 1: Hubris Born of Success

Stage 2: Undisciplines Pursuit of More

Stage 3: Denial of Risk and Peril

Stage 4: Grasping for Salvation

Stage 5: Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death

Over the next ten days I'll examine each stage with a post. I encourage you to give me your feedback. Let the discussion begin!

Until next time......

Our Iceberg is Melting

2009-08-04T16:53:00.000-05:00

John Kotter and Holger Rathberg have written a great book for leaders: Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Suceeding Under Any Conditions. Nothing may be more important for leaders today than the ability to lead change. The book is a parable in the genre like Who Moved My Cheese? The authors illustrate eight steps to lead the change. The principles apply to those who lead in the church today:

1. Reduce complacency and increase urgency. Leaders who lead change cannot be content with the status quo and spread a contagious case of holy restlessness.

2. Pull together a team to lead the change. To bring the change necessary is to understand you can't do it alone. Who should be on your team? When working with churches I use the "mission to Mars model." Who would best represent your church on a mission to Mars? That's your team.

3. Create a vision of a new future. Begin with the end in mind and preach it, teach, share it and model it everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.

4. Communicate the vision all the time. No I didn't jump the gun with #3! My point is you can't overcommunicate the vision.

5. Make everyone feel empowered. That's the best way to win allies for change and get people on board. Want change? Let people be the change.

6. Create short-term wins and celebrate. One of my mentors Ron Lewis use to remind us, "process always preceeds product." Celebrate those small victories along the process. It creates momentum.

7. Don't let up. Keep going. I served once with a minister of music from Mississippi who often said, "I ain't never been licked! just set back a time or to!" Be unconquerable. Never! never! never give up!

8. Ensure the change will not be overcome by hard-to-die traditions. Protect the change by making it part of the new culture in your church. This will take time and diligence but it's worth it!

Be the change. Lead the change!

Until next time....

What do you need to unlearn?

2009-08-02T17:04:00.000-05:00

John Balboni, a columnist for HarvardBusiness.org recently wrote a column entitled "Never Let Your Ego Stop You from Learning." In the article he tells a story about Jim Collins the author of Good to Great understood that as he entered his forties he needed to relearn his climbing technique. Collins came to realize that "the most important lesson was not what I needed to learn but in what I first needed to unlearn." Collins had been climbing since his teen years but had to learn new ways. After much difficulty Collins relearned how to climb better. In honor of his 50th birthday he climbed Yosemite's famed El Capitain 3000 foot vertical face in 19 hours, an event that most experienced climbers required 24 hours! Only by unlearning was he able to climb higher!

So that story got me to thinking, "what does the church need to unlearn in order to climb higher? What do I need to learn in order to climb higher?" The state of the church in North America requires we unlearn in order to climb higher. Here are some of things we should unlearn:

Pastor, we tried that years ago and it didn't work.
Those folks aren't our kind of people.
We could never do that!
Dual Sunday Schools? It'll split the church.
We need to get our act together before we can reach out.

What do I need to unlearn to climb higher?

Why would I twitter at all?
What will people this if I tried to do that?
Done too much ministry by myself, need to delegate and share the victories.
Learn form life's disappointment and defeat.

What do you need to unlearn? What does your church or ministry need to unlearn? Only by unlearning can we climb higher!

Until next time......I'm climbing higher!

A Different kind of church planter?

2009-07-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

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

2009-07-28T19:50:00.000-05:00

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

2009-07-24T22:31:00.000-05:00

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.