What I Learned from the Church Lady

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 ?

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

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

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

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

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?

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.