There is a temptation in my mind to be very pious, and repeat the oft-sung lines from an old hymn, "the Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord!" I'm going to refrain from this, however, it being entirely self-evident that this will not come as any surprise to Rick Warren. He has absolutely no pretensions otherwise, and it's easy to see that his view of a church is entirely based on a relationship with Christ, and if I were to make that kind of a comment I'd be doing nothing more valuable than being smart. So let's get on with the chapter!
In a personal anecdote Warren discusses the importance of a foundation in a building. In this he doesn't have to convince me at all, because I grew up in a home in which the foundations had not been correctly laid. I can remember vividly one rainy night in which my father had to divert the streams of runoff water away from a couple of piers, and several months of mucking around with rolled steel joists were necessary to rectify the problem. So I understand (as few do) how important it is to have a good foundation on a building.
The size and strength of a building are entirely dependent on the foundation. And Warren holds that the way to build a church's foundation is to spend some time "clarifying in the minds of everyone involved exactly why the church exists and what it is supposed to do."
I can remember a few times in the history of Sanctuary (and BHCF before that) when we all knew its purpose statement off by heart, and I can attest to at least some of the benefit this offers. Warren quantifies this by pointing to five specific benefits of a clear purpose:
1) It builds morale.
1 Cor 1:10 shows a link between purpose and harmony. Warren suggests that a clear purpose is really good for ensuring people work in harmony. This actually links really nicely with a story told by Max Lucado, when he and his family were on a fishing trip. The weather was unsuitable for fishing, and after a while the family began to squabble. From this experience Lucado gleans the neat little gem: "When those who are called to fish don't fish, they fight. But when those who are called to fish fish, they flourish!" And if people are to "fish", they need to be certain about what they are doing. "A church without a purpose and a mission eventually becomes a museum piece of yesterday's traditions."
2) It reduces frustration.
A clear purpose both helps you to know what you do and what you don't do. "The secret of effectiveness is to know what really counts, then to do what really counts, then forget the rest." Wow! What a great call! It fits with an americanism I like - "Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's all small stuff!" In yesterday's chapter, we began with a nightmare church meeting, in which everyone has their own idea about what the church should do. A clear purpose would really sort that meeting out - every idea is simply compared against the purpose. If it fits, we do it, and if it doesn't we don't! Decision making is easier.
3) It allows concentration.
A science example here - laser light is actually no different to regular light. It's the same photons, the same wave/particle duality. Same everything. But whereas a 10-Watt light bulb is barely enough to read a book, a 10-Watt laser could burn clean through a book! The difference is concentration - in the light bulb, we have light of all wavelengths travelling in all directions; but in the laser, it's light of a single frequency, all travelling the same way! Similarly, a small church can have an impact beyond its size when it's concentrated. Sanctuary has experienced this many times - when we've run Carols, for example. What if we were to clarify our purpose to the point where everything we did was done with concentration and focus? Warren says most churches do too much, and it's certainly true of Sanctuary. A good phrase which we all say is "Do a few things well". Programs are not intended to last forever, and churches should periodically clean house.
4) It attracts cooperation.
People WANT to join a church that knows where it's going. If a church has a clear understanding of what it's about, this allows people who also believe this purpose to be important to join, knowing exactly what will happen. Equally, it allows you to ensure that negative people don't impact what you're doing; whiners cannot set the agenda. It is important to ensure people know what the purpose of the church is BEFORE they join.
5) It assists evaluation.
If your purpose is clear it becomes much easier (or perhaps even simply becomes POSSIBLE!) to determine how the church is going. One encouraging remark for Sanctuary: A bigger church is not a better church. A church can be big and strong, or it can be big and flabby. A church can be small and strong, or it can be small and wimpy. Bigger is not better. BETTER is better.
Okay, so if we want to be a purpose-driven church, there are four steps to the transition:
* Define your purpose.
* Communicate your purpose.
* Organise your church around your purpose.
* Apply your purpose to everything the church does.
One thing - we're talking about a process that may take months or even years. Don't be discouraged!
04 January 2012
Purpose Driven Church Ch3 - What Drives your Church?
The church that Warren describes at the beginning of this chapter is all too believable. Whilst I don't think it's necessarily descriptive of our church all the time, it's certainly how we have been at times. Conflicting interests, with different ideas of how things should go - and only limited resources, so you simply can't follow through with every idea that gets presented, no matter how worthy it may be.
This is a fairly short chapter, so what we'll do is go through the different drives that Warren sees in various churches.
* Tradition: "We've always done it this way." Change is a negative, and the church seeks stability.
* Personality: "What does the leader want?" The church tends to follow the agenda of a particular person rather than necessarily what God wants, and if that person leaves or dies it may come to a screeching halt.
* Finances: "How much will it cost?" Most heated debate is over the budget. Needs to be reminded that the church doesn't exist to turn a profit.
* Programs: All the church's energy is put into sustaining programs, and there is a temptation to shift from developing people to just filling positions.
* Buildings (This one isn't us, anyway!): A congregation is so anxious to have a nice building that they spend more than they can afford, and resources have to go into paying for/maintaining the building. Tail wagging the dog.
* Events: As soon as one big event is completed, work begins on the next one. Lots of activity, but not necessarily productivity. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE BEHIND OUR EVENTS?
* Seekers: "What do the unchurched want?" Needs of unbelievers are paramount. This is tricky because God's purposes include evangelism - but not to the exclusion of all else! A church should be seeker sensitive rather than seeker driven.
(If pushed to describe where Sanctuary would fall here, I'd say somewhere between program driven and event driven. However, there is some awareness of a need for an overarching purpose).
Warren then goes on to describe what he sees as the Biblical paradigm - Purpose-driven churches (not surprisingly, given that that's the title of his book!).
He says that strong churches are built on purpose. This requires two things:
1) A new perspective. Everything the church does should be looked at through the lens of the five New Testament purposes for churches, which should be in balance with each other.
2) A new process. A process is needed for fulfilling each of these purposes.
The starting point for every church should be the question "Why do we exist?" This is the foundation for your ministry.
Warren adds a paragraph that is relevant to us, and I shall reproduce it verbatim: "If you serve in an existing church that has plateaued, is declining or is simply discouraged, your most important task is to redefine your purpose. Forget everything else until you have established it in the minds of your members. Recapture a clear vision of what God wants you to do in and through your church family. Absolutely nothing will revitalize a discouraged church faster than rediscovering its purpose."
I have a good idea of the purpose for our church. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's a vague idea, and one which I am not sure represents what we're doing. So maybe we need to spend some time on that very issue - deciding does the old statement of purpose still represent us? If not, then what should change; should we realign to that old purpose, or should we construct a new one?
This is a fairly short chapter, so what we'll do is go through the different drives that Warren sees in various churches.
* Tradition: "We've always done it this way." Change is a negative, and the church seeks stability.
* Personality: "What does the leader want?" The church tends to follow the agenda of a particular person rather than necessarily what God wants, and if that person leaves or dies it may come to a screeching halt.
* Finances: "How much will it cost?" Most heated debate is over the budget. Needs to be reminded that the church doesn't exist to turn a profit.
* Programs: All the church's energy is put into sustaining programs, and there is a temptation to shift from developing people to just filling positions.
* Buildings (This one isn't us, anyway!): A congregation is so anxious to have a nice building that they spend more than they can afford, and resources have to go into paying for/maintaining the building. Tail wagging the dog.
* Events: As soon as one big event is completed, work begins on the next one. Lots of activity, but not necessarily productivity. WHAT IS THE PURPOSE BEHIND OUR EVENTS?
* Seekers: "What do the unchurched want?" Needs of unbelievers are paramount. This is tricky because God's purposes include evangelism - but not to the exclusion of all else! A church should be seeker sensitive rather than seeker driven.
(If pushed to describe where Sanctuary would fall here, I'd say somewhere between program driven and event driven. However, there is some awareness of a need for an overarching purpose).
Warren then goes on to describe what he sees as the Biblical paradigm - Purpose-driven churches (not surprisingly, given that that's the title of his book!).
He says that strong churches are built on purpose. This requires two things:
1) A new perspective. Everything the church does should be looked at through the lens of the five New Testament purposes for churches, which should be in balance with each other.
2) A new process. A process is needed for fulfilling each of these purposes.
The starting point for every church should be the question "Why do we exist?" This is the foundation for your ministry.
Warren adds a paragraph that is relevant to us, and I shall reproduce it verbatim: "If you serve in an existing church that has plateaued, is declining or is simply discouraged, your most important task is to redefine your purpose. Forget everything else until you have established it in the minds of your members. Recapture a clear vision of what God wants you to do in and through your church family. Absolutely nothing will revitalize a discouraged church faster than rediscovering its purpose."
I have a good idea of the purpose for our church. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's a vague idea, and one which I am not sure represents what we're doing. So maybe we need to spend some time on that very issue - deciding does the old statement of purpose still represent us? If not, then what should change; should we realign to that old purpose, or should we construct a new one?
03 January 2012
Purpose Driven Church Ch2 - Myths about growing churches
As I read this chapter, I have a feeling it's going to hurt. I have been a leader in a church that has struggled to grow for years[1], and although I haven't read it yet, I'll bet some of these myths are things I have thought myself. Oh well, let's get into it.
I think what I'll do here is to list and briefly describe the myths. I'll comment on them and see if they describe something I believe. After that, I'll put in a few notes incidental to the chapter as with yesterday.
Before we start, though: a harsh reality that Warren describes is that the myths about "megachurches" (a term he dislikes) are circulated "Sometimes out of envy, sometimes out of fear and sometimes out of ignorance". Guilty as charged, your honour, on all three counts. I'm afraid that my feelings towards "megachurches" (including one down the road whose name you may know if you live in Sydney!) are often motivated by all three of these. I tend to be the sort of person who is an instant expert on just about anything, despite not necessarily knowing anything definite (ignorance); I am often afraid that one day God will say "Why didn't you do X, Y or Z? The church down the road did it, and it worked wonders!" (fear), and I so wish my church would grow (envy - note the positioning of the word "my" in a sentence about a church that in fact belongs not to me but to God!).
Myth 1: The only thing that large churches care about is Attendance.
Ouch. Right off the bat, something I have believed. Warren explodes this immediately - a church WON'T grow large if that's all they care about. Growth is multidimensional, and if you preach the Good News, if your people are excited about what God is doing in their lives, if you are providing a service where people can bring unsaved friends without embarassment and if you have a plan to build, train and send out those won to Christ[2], then "attendance will be the least of your problems". Warren further quotes Acts 2:42-47 to back up his concept that a church must grow "Warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry and larger through evangelism."
Myth 2: Large churches grow at the expense of smaller churches.
This is one I have believed in the past, but it's pretty much by the wayside now. Some misguided members may THINK this is how it works, but no large church mainly seeks to "sheep steal" (it's a limited possibility anyway!). Warren says 80% of his congregation found Christ at Saddleback!
Myth 3: You must choose between quality and quantity at your church.
I have always believed this one, though I dressed it up in different words - anyone remember my "special forces vs regular divisions" analogy? But quality and quantity are not in opposition to each other. The trick is to define what we mean. When fishing, we want both quantity (number of fish) AND quality (size of fish!). In the same way every church should desire both to reach people for Christ AND to bring them to maturity in Him. When God finds a church that is doing a quality job of winning, nurturing, equipping and sending out believers, he sends that church plenty of raw material! Scary question: If most of our members never invite people to come to church, what are they saying about what we offer? Bottom line: as long as there are lost people in the world we MUST care about quantity.
Myth 4: You must compromise the message and the mission of the church in order to grow.
This one hasn't been a big idea of mine. In fact, I tend to think rather the reverse - it's the churches that have compromised their message (especially in liberal directions) that have had the biggest difficulty growing, at least in the Australian context. At any rate, we DO often assume big churches have compromised. But this often comes from jealousy. Now, what is expected of believers is (and should be!) different from what is expected of those who just come along; at Saddleback they distinguish the two by the terms "the crowd" and "the congregation". However, people are (and should be!) challenged deeply when they want to JOIN the church. Challenging people attracts rather than repels people. We should, however, be genuine and contemporary.
Myth 5: If you are dedicated enough, your church will grow.
I WANT to believe this. Oh, how I want it to be true. But my experience blows this one out the window. Dedication DOESN'T make a church grow. It takes more than dedication - it takes SKILL. This is an area of major weakness in our church - we frequently fail to provide opportunities for people to "sharpen the axe". Prayer is essential, but it doesn't do the job alone. Two extreme positions: Practical humanism (We're entirely responsible for the growth of the church) and Pious irresponsibility (God will grow the church no matter what we do). Both are fatal. The first idea is that organisation, management and marketing will grow the church (they won't). The second is that prayer will grow the church (it won't). We cannot do it without God, but God has chosen not to do it without us.
Myth 6: There is one secret key to church growth.
I have never believed this, but it sells a lot of books! In any case, Warren identifies "Ricks rules for growth":
1) There is more than one way to grow a church.
2) It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
3) Never criticize what God is blessing[3].
All these bust that myth wide open.
Myth 7: All God expects of us is faithfulness.
This one is something built deep into me; it's almost a credo of the Brethren. But now that I think about it, Warren is right - it's not true. God expects faithfulness AND fruitfulness. Warren says that in the light of the great commission, any definition of fruitfulness MUST include numerical growth. In the parable of the Talents, the servant who failed to produce a return on the money isn't described as faithful, but "Wicked and lazy". Often people who describe themselves as faithful are only being orthodox!
Myth 8: You can't learn from the big churches.
I have never really considered this one; I guess that means I implicitly believed it. However, whilst slavishly copying a big church won't help (every church's story is unique), there are ideas that are transferrable; and we should be learning those lessons!
You CAN'T transfer context, staff and individual people.
You CAN transfer principles, processes and methods.
Primary issues of church growth: "Who is our master, what is our message, and what is our motive?"
Secondary issues of church growth: "Who is our market, what are our models, what are our methods?"
Whew, that was a big chapter. And fairly chastening. The good news is that now we're done dealing with myths, we're onto BECOMING A PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH.
Notes:
* The church described in Acts 2:42-47 was described as having conversions DAILY. That's a minimum of 365 new Christians a year. Imagine if that was the standard a church had to meet to call itself a New Testament Church!
* Church growth is the natural result of church health.
* Transfer growth is not healthy.
* Quality produces quantity; quantity helps to produce quality!
* Prayer alone does not grow a church. Many great prayer warriors are pastors and members of dying churches.
* Christ doesn't expect us to produce more than we can, but He does expect us to produce ALL that we can.
[1] I heard a term a couple of years back that describes our situation perfectly - "Lateral growth". A church or organisation that is in a period of lateral growth is one that is getting new members just fast enough to offset those who leave. So the group doesn't get smaller, but it gets no bigger either.
[2] This should be familiar to any Student Life/Campus Crusade trained Christians reading!
[3] I'm really not sure if I agree with this idea. God works by grace, and just because He is doing something in a particular group doesn't put their work beyond reproach or analysis.
I think what I'll do here is to list and briefly describe the myths. I'll comment on them and see if they describe something I believe. After that, I'll put in a few notes incidental to the chapter as with yesterday.
Before we start, though: a harsh reality that Warren describes is that the myths about "megachurches" (a term he dislikes) are circulated "Sometimes out of envy, sometimes out of fear and sometimes out of ignorance". Guilty as charged, your honour, on all three counts. I'm afraid that my feelings towards "megachurches" (including one down the road whose name you may know if you live in Sydney!) are often motivated by all three of these. I tend to be the sort of person who is an instant expert on just about anything, despite not necessarily knowing anything definite (ignorance); I am often afraid that one day God will say "Why didn't you do X, Y or Z? The church down the road did it, and it worked wonders!" (fear), and I so wish my church would grow (envy - note the positioning of the word "my" in a sentence about a church that in fact belongs not to me but to God!).
Myth 1: The only thing that large churches care about is Attendance.
Ouch. Right off the bat, something I have believed. Warren explodes this immediately - a church WON'T grow large if that's all they care about. Growth is multidimensional, and if you preach the Good News, if your people are excited about what God is doing in their lives, if you are providing a service where people can bring unsaved friends without embarassment and if you have a plan to build, train and send out those won to Christ[2], then "attendance will be the least of your problems". Warren further quotes Acts 2:42-47 to back up his concept that a church must grow "Warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry and larger through evangelism."
Myth 2: Large churches grow at the expense of smaller churches.
This is one I have believed in the past, but it's pretty much by the wayside now. Some misguided members may THINK this is how it works, but no large church mainly seeks to "sheep steal" (it's a limited possibility anyway!). Warren says 80% of his congregation found Christ at Saddleback!
Myth 3: You must choose between quality and quantity at your church.
I have always believed this one, though I dressed it up in different words - anyone remember my "special forces vs regular divisions" analogy? But quality and quantity are not in opposition to each other. The trick is to define what we mean. When fishing, we want both quantity (number of fish) AND quality (size of fish!). In the same way every church should desire both to reach people for Christ AND to bring them to maturity in Him. When God finds a church that is doing a quality job of winning, nurturing, equipping and sending out believers, he sends that church plenty of raw material! Scary question: If most of our members never invite people to come to church, what are they saying about what we offer? Bottom line: as long as there are lost people in the world we MUST care about quantity.
Myth 4: You must compromise the message and the mission of the church in order to grow.
This one hasn't been a big idea of mine. In fact, I tend to think rather the reverse - it's the churches that have compromised their message (especially in liberal directions) that have had the biggest difficulty growing, at least in the Australian context. At any rate, we DO often assume big churches have compromised. But this often comes from jealousy. Now, what is expected of believers is (and should be!) different from what is expected of those who just come along; at Saddleback they distinguish the two by the terms "the crowd" and "the congregation". However, people are (and should be!) challenged deeply when they want to JOIN the church. Challenging people attracts rather than repels people. We should, however, be genuine and contemporary.
Myth 5: If you are dedicated enough, your church will grow.
I WANT to believe this. Oh, how I want it to be true. But my experience blows this one out the window. Dedication DOESN'T make a church grow. It takes more than dedication - it takes SKILL. This is an area of major weakness in our church - we frequently fail to provide opportunities for people to "sharpen the axe". Prayer is essential, but it doesn't do the job alone. Two extreme positions: Practical humanism (We're entirely responsible for the growth of the church) and Pious irresponsibility (God will grow the church no matter what we do). Both are fatal. The first idea is that organisation, management and marketing will grow the church (they won't). The second is that prayer will grow the church (it won't). We cannot do it without God, but God has chosen not to do it without us.
Myth 6: There is one secret key to church growth.
I have never believed this, but it sells a lot of books! In any case, Warren identifies "Ricks rules for growth":
1) There is more than one way to grow a church.
2) It takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
3) Never criticize what God is blessing[3].
All these bust that myth wide open.
Myth 7: All God expects of us is faithfulness.
This one is something built deep into me; it's almost a credo of the Brethren. But now that I think about it, Warren is right - it's not true. God expects faithfulness AND fruitfulness. Warren says that in the light of the great commission, any definition of fruitfulness MUST include numerical growth. In the parable of the Talents, the servant who failed to produce a return on the money isn't described as faithful, but "Wicked and lazy". Often people who describe themselves as faithful are only being orthodox!
Myth 8: You can't learn from the big churches.
I have never really considered this one; I guess that means I implicitly believed it. However, whilst slavishly copying a big church won't help (every church's story is unique), there are ideas that are transferrable; and we should be learning those lessons!
You CAN'T transfer context, staff and individual people.
You CAN transfer principles, processes and methods.
Primary issues of church growth: "Who is our master, what is our message, and what is our motive?"
Secondary issues of church growth: "Who is our market, what are our models, what are our methods?"
Whew, that was a big chapter. And fairly chastening. The good news is that now we're done dealing with myths, we're onto BECOMING A PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH.
Notes:
* The church described in Acts 2:42-47 was described as having conversions DAILY. That's a minimum of 365 new Christians a year. Imagine if that was the standard a church had to meet to call itself a New Testament Church!
* Church growth is the natural result of church health.
* Transfer growth is not healthy.
* Quality produces quantity; quantity helps to produce quality!
* Prayer alone does not grow a church. Many great prayer warriors are pastors and members of dying churches.
* Christ doesn't expect us to produce more than we can, but He does expect us to produce ALL that we can.
[1] I heard a term a couple of years back that describes our situation perfectly - "Lateral growth". A church or organisation that is in a period of lateral growth is one that is getting new members just fast enough to offset those who leave. So the group doesn't get smaller, but it gets no bigger either.
[2] This should be familiar to any Student Life/Campus Crusade trained Christians reading!
[3] I'm really not sure if I agree with this idea. God works by grace, and just because He is doing something in a particular group doesn't put their work beyond reproach or analysis.
02 January 2012
Purpose Driven Church Ch 1 - The Saddleback Story
The story of Saddleback is remarkable. So remarkable, in fact, that at several points along the way I have had to perform a quick reality check - "No way, did that really happen?"
But the reality is that Saddleback really exists, and as of the most recent figures it's a church of about 20,000 people (which makes it the eighth largest church in the USA!). And let's face it, churches have to start somewhere. Perhaps a remarkable story is what you would expect of such a group.
Here's a potted summary of what happened.
But the reality is that Saddleback really exists, and as of the most recent figures it's a church of about 20,000 people (which makes it the eighth largest church in the USA!). And let's face it, churches have to start somewhere. Perhaps a remarkable story is what you would expect of such a group.
Here's a potted summary of what happened.
- Rick was prayed for by Dr Criswell in a way that seems to indicate forknowledge of the significant force that he was to become - yet the thing that Rick was challenged to do was to become the pastor of a local church!
- He became a reader of Don McGavran, who asked a very cogent series of questions which are worth considering in any church[1].
- He researched - he wrote to a number of large, growing churches and asked them what they were doing (to try to spot the common features).
- He did more research, looking for the place where he should found the church.
- He wrote to the relevant Baptist Churches Director of Missions, asking if he should consider Saddleback. At the same time that very person wrote to him asking if he'd consider founding a church in Saddleback!
- All kinds of "God-incidences" happened to ensure that the Warrens' bills were paid and that the church could start.
- He set up a Bible Study group, and told them of his plan to start a church. They were going to advertise the big start for Easter Sunday, but the leaflets went out a week early, so over 200 people came to their "dress rehearsal"!
It's worth mentioning that Rick describes much of what happened in the lead up to the building of the church at saddleback by comparing it with Indiana Jones' infamous "I'm making it up as we go along!" It's natural to think of it in terms of a big master plan, but that doesn't seem to fit what actually happened.
That's bad in one respect - if it wasn't the plan, the program, the technique, we can't copy it. But it's also good. It's fantastic to know that the big church at Saddleback was trying things and figuring out by trial and error what worked and what didn't - just like we do!
A few important notes, in no particular order:
* God wants His church to grow and His sheep to be found!
* Healthy, large churches are led by pastors who have been there a long time.
* Ecclesiastes 11:4 - "If you wait for the perfect conditions you will never get anything done."
* Rick was excited and audacious. When riding in a taxi, he told the driver he was going to start a church. When told the taxi driver didn't go to church, he said "Great! You can be my first member!"
* Saddleback did not want transfer growth.
* The fastest way to build a bridge with the unchurched is to express interest in them and show that you understand the problems they are facing.
* Saddleback met for fifteen years and grew to 10,000 people without a building of their own!!!!!!!!
[1] The eight questions are:
- How much of what churches do is really biblical?
- How much of what we do is just cultural?
- Why do some churches grow and some die on the vine?
- What causes a growing church to stop growing, plateau and decline?
- Are there common features found in every growing church?
- Are there principles that will work in every culture?
- What are the barriers to growth?
- What are the conventional myths about growing churches that aren't true any more (or never were)?
01 January 2012
Purpose Driven Church - Intro
One thing that gets me interested in this book right from the start is the concept of "Spiritual Waves". Author Rick Warren compares church builders to swimmers - a swimmer does not make the wave, he simply rides it! And similarly, the Church builder won't be able to PRODUCE a wave of God's Spirit, no matter how hard he or she may try. Catchy programs and great techniques are all very well, but in order to be truly effective, church growth has to come from God. A church leader isn't trying to build waves; rather, he or she is an experienced surfer, surfing God's waves and teaching others to do the same.
Before we go any further into the book, let's tease this wave metaphor out a little more deeply.
Before we go any further into the book, let's tease this wave metaphor out a little more deeply.
- Waves happen all the time. There's never a time when waves aren't happening. So too, God never stops working. This is important, because whilst we may miss an individual opportunity - just like a surfer sometimes fails to catch a particularly big wave - we can never get to a point where there ARE no waves, unless we get out of the water!
- Some waves are larger than others. Similarly, there are moments when a church has an opportunity to do something which will make a particularly large impact for God if they are ready in the right time, in the right place, with the right attitude.
- A wave can be ridden in many ways. A person can ride a wave with nothing more than their body (body surfing), or they can use a purpose-designed board. So too, we can approach waves of God's Spirit in many ways. We can work simply or we can use more complicated programs. Either can be appropriate; either way, if we catch God's wave, it will be effective. So whilst a church can (and should!) use whatever programs and resources it has at its disposal, it matters little whether the church has a membership of thousands or a few individuals, and it doesn't matter whether the church meets in the local community hall or has its own building.
- Some methods of surfing are good for a particular kind of wave. In the same way, certain methods will fit a particular wave of God's spirit better than others.
It's rather good as metaphors go - there's a lot of depth there (hur hur)!
Anyway, let's move along.
The problem is not that God isn't moving. In fact, Warren says, "Due to a plethora of problems in our world, more people seem to be open to the Good News of Christ than at any time this century[1]." I believe my own experience confirms Warren's statement here - there is no shortage of people who want to hear the Good News, who NEED to hear it.
The problem is that for whatever reason, we're not CATCHING the waves. I like what Warren says here - "Church leaders need to stop praying 'Lord, please bless what I'm doing,' and instead pray 'Lord, help me to do what you're blessing!'"
Something concerning follows - that a church, being an organism (rather than an organisation!), should naturally grow; and if it's not growing, there is a disease within it. And therefore, the role of the church leader is to discover and treat the diseases that are preventing the "spontaneous expansion of the Church".
One thing Rick Warren writes which I find very encouraging is this: he takes time to recognise the work done by "Bivocational pastors" - people who don't get paid to work in their church, but support themselves by working in some other ways. People who are (say) teachers, salesmen, uni students or lecturers, Aircon fitters, doctors, practise managers, psychologists, full-time parents (Sanctuarians, have I left anyone out? :) ). I love hearing that. It reminds me that somewhere in this world God still has a role for me, for my small but caring church. And most importantly, he comments that there will be wipeouts along the way; but a church leader needs to be PERSISTENT.
That's good, then. We've had our share of wipeouts, but we're still surfing. So we're where we should be.
[1] Noting, of course, that this book was written last century; but the relevance of this statement has changed little.
Announcement
Hello all!
It's been a while since Johno's Commentary has been operational. But it's a new year, so it seemed a good time.
Let's review last year - there were 214 entries to the Blog. Given that there were 365 days in 2011, that means we have an approximate percentage of 58% of days when I wrote something.
Well, that's better than nothing. But this year's resolution is to do better than that.
There will be a change for 2012. For this year, I will be writing blogs Monday to Friday, and resting Saturday and Sunday. Therefore we will have a possible 261 blogs. We'll see how we go!
However, before we get right into the year, I'm planning to do something a little different. For the first 20 days, I'll be reviewing a chapter each day of Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Church". This is something I'm doing as a member of my Church's leadership. My hope is that other church members will also contribute their insights in the comments (and, of course, if you're not a member of Sanctuary Church, you're still welcome to do the same - just read the book, and contribute!). After that, we'll continue in Luke where we left off.
Okay, let's get going!
First up: Chapter 1 of the Purpose Driven Church.
It's been a while since Johno's Commentary has been operational. But it's a new year, so it seemed a good time.
Let's review last year - there were 214 entries to the Blog. Given that there were 365 days in 2011, that means we have an approximate percentage of 58% of days when I wrote something.
Well, that's better than nothing. But this year's resolution is to do better than that.
There will be a change for 2012. For this year, I will be writing blogs Monday to Friday, and resting Saturday and Sunday. Therefore we will have a possible 261 blogs. We'll see how we go!
However, before we get right into the year, I'm planning to do something a little different. For the first 20 days, I'll be reviewing a chapter each day of Rick Warren's book "The Purpose Driven Church". This is something I'm doing as a member of my Church's leadership. My hope is that other church members will also contribute their insights in the comments (and, of course, if you're not a member of Sanctuary Church, you're still welcome to do the same - just read the book, and contribute!). After that, we'll continue in Luke where we left off.
Okay, let's get going!
First up: Chapter 1 of the Purpose Driven Church.
02 November 2011
Chapter 14c
vs 15 – 24
A familiar passage to most Christians is the story of the banquet. We all know of Jesus’ story of a great wedding feast, to whom many were invited, yet refused; by contrast, the master sends his servants out to bring in people from all around to enjoy the feast.
It’s familiar and nice. But sometimes I wonder if it’s too familiar.
I certainly hadn’t thought too deeply about it until now.
The thing is, we often think of how stupid those people were who gave up the opportunity to be at the wedding feast. And for what?
Well, let’s have a look.
v18: Bought a piece of land.
v19: Bought a team of oxen.
These two were hung up on the things they own. Now, in reality that would seem ridiculous. But isn’t that what we do to Jesus? Repeatedly? On a daily basis? We all know that we tend to see the acquisition of goods and currency as important; it’s the reason we work, mainly. So this is certainly believable!
v20: Just got married.
Get that. This person is being dragged away from the experience of a lifetime by his marriage. Perhaps, by extension, by sex and the pleasures of the flesh. And would you dare to try and tell me that real people don’t get caught by this one? Getting sexually involved with someone who isn’t a Christian is one of the classic ways someone loses their faith (note that it’s not so much losing faith as recognizing that one has to choose either the things they believe or the way that they live!).
By contrast, though, there are all sorts of people who don’t look to be ready. They’re not religious. They’re not trained. But they have one important feature – they’re ready!
Lesson over. Message received!
A familiar passage to most Christians is the story of the banquet. We all know of Jesus’ story of a great wedding feast, to whom many were invited, yet refused; by contrast, the master sends his servants out to bring in people from all around to enjoy the feast.
It’s familiar and nice. But sometimes I wonder if it’s too familiar.
I certainly hadn’t thought too deeply about it until now.
The thing is, we often think of how stupid those people were who gave up the opportunity to be at the wedding feast. And for what?
Well, let’s have a look.
v18: Bought a piece of land.
v19: Bought a team of oxen.
These two were hung up on the things they own. Now, in reality that would seem ridiculous. But isn’t that what we do to Jesus? Repeatedly? On a daily basis? We all know that we tend to see the acquisition of goods and currency as important; it’s the reason we work, mainly. So this is certainly believable!
v20: Just got married.
Get that. This person is being dragged away from the experience of a lifetime by his marriage. Perhaps, by extension, by sex and the pleasures of the flesh. And would you dare to try and tell me that real people don’t get caught by this one? Getting sexually involved with someone who isn’t a Christian is one of the classic ways someone loses their faith (note that it’s not so much losing faith as recognizing that one has to choose either the things they believe or the way that they live!).
By contrast, though, there are all sorts of people who don’t look to be ready. They’re not religious. They’re not trained. But they have one important feature – they’re ready!
Lesson over. Message received!
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