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7 Things That Will Drive Future Church Growth

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You got into church leadership because you wanted to introduce people to Jesus. That’s pretty much how all of us begin, isn’t it? And yet every year, it seems to get harder to reach people, and that means every year we struggle with church growth.

It’s not for lack of effort. Most church leaders try hard, pray hard and do their very best to advance the mission of their church.

But the facts speak for themselves. The majority of churches are in decline, and 94 percent of all churches are losing ground against their community (that is, their community is growing faster than the church is).

And yet, even in the midst of that, some churches are growing.

In those churches are the early clues to what future church growth looks like.

Here are seven factors that will drive almost all future church growth.

1. Personal Invitation

One of the things that fly under the radar of most growing churches is how much personal invitation fuels church growth (and discipleship).

A great social media presence is important, as are services unchurched people can access.

But at the heart of it all, in almost every growing church is this: people inviting their friends.

Personal invitation fuels much of future church growth. Conversely, if your church members don’t invite their friends, don’t expect to grow.

This assumes Christians actually have non-Christian friends they can invite. Shockingly, too many Christians don’t.

Many Christians cocoon in their little bubble, distraught over the direction the world is heading and angry at or indifferent toward people who don’t hold their values and beliefs.

Don’t miss this, Christians: It’s hard to reach a world you don’t love…or know.

Practical Holy Week: Tell Your Kids the Story

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Starting soon, the church across the world will begin a celebration of Holy Week, beginning with Palm Sunday and ending with the celebration of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. This week is arguably the most important on the Christian calendar, representing for believers that pivotal moment with death was swallowed up in victory! It is the very foundation of our faith, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

However your church or your family celebrates Easter, this time of year is the perfect time to tell your kids THE STORY of all stories. The great story of Scripture, God’s Great Rescue Plan! 

A couple of years ago, I shared the following message with our families in church but there is no reason you can’t do the same in your home. Invite your kids into the greatest story of all times and let them be drawn into the wonder and mystery that is our faith.

“The Story”

Props: Two red hearts, one black lightening bolt, one brown cross. (I cut mine out of construction paper)

Gather your family together and pick one parent to be the story teller. Everyone else will help with the props.

OK you guys, I need your help today to tell a story. And this isn’t just any story; this is THE STORY. The story of all time! And you get to be a part of it!! So, who wants to be my first helper?

(Choose child to hold Red Heart)

All great stories have a great first line. Usually we say “Once upon a time” but… How about we start it this way… In the beginning, God created… EVERYTHING! He created the earth and the sky, the bugs and the fish, the trees and the flowers, and then he created us. And when he did, he looked at us and said, “Man (because there was only a man at first) I love you!” And Man looked at God and said, “God, I love you too!” And everything was perfect.

(Choose child to hold Black Lightening Bolt)

Then one day, something terrible happened. Everything was perfect. God loved Man and Man loved God and all was well until… Well, as you know, every story has to have an evil villain so we are going to call our evil villain.. SIN. (refer to black lighting bolt). Sin snuck right into that perfect world, being the sneaky villain that it is, and it BAM! Came right between God and Man!! God still loved man very much but man choose Sin over God. Things were not perfect any more. It was a very sad time. Man was sad and started doing sad things, more and more sad things, and SIN kept pushing Man further and further away from God.

But God… he’s the good guy in our story… God still loved Man very much. He knew that Sin was out there trying to steal Man’s love and even before Man had chosen Sin, God had a plan in place to bring Man back to Him. God did something absolutely amazing, like a total SUPERHERO move!

(Choose child to hold Brown Cross)

God did an amazing thing. He decided to leave His place in heaven where he was safe and come to earth as a Man, and Man called Jesus, and fight the evil villain. It was an epic battle. Jesus told the villain he couldn’t’ win, that he would defeat him, and Sin fought by telling Man to do evil things until one day, one very sad day, Man put Jesus on the cross because of Sin. Man killed Jesus. It seemed like all hope was lost.

Now, we’ve watched some great Superhero shows right? Those shows, they are basically getting their story line from THE STORY, so you probably know what’s going to happen. Because in those movies, when the superhero looks totally defeated by the villain, what happens? (Kids might say things like the superhero comes back to life, or gets stronger, or beats the bad guy)

That’s right!! Sin isn’t strong enough to beat Jesus. Just when we think all hope is lost TA-DA, the grave opens and JESUS ISN’T THERE because He is Risen!! Sin is defeated!!!! God Wins!!! Oh, wait, but what about Man?

(Choose child to hold Red Heart)

Because Jesus beat Sin on the Cross, Man has an amazing opportunity. If we want to, we can have that perfect love relationship with God again. Sin cannot stop us from loving God and it could never stop God from loving us. We can go to God anytime we want because of Jesus’ victory on the cross and say, “God, I choose to love you and hate Sin. Jesus, you’re my superhero!”

(Have the kids lay all the signs out on the floor in a row)

Now, you may ask, why I told this story today. Because right now, on Palm Sunday, we are right in the middle of the story. We are right here.

(Point between lightening bolt and cross)

This week we will remember the moments that led up to Jesus being put on the cross by Man because of Sin. We will remember some sad things. On Maundy Thursday, we will remember the Last Supper Jesus had with his disciples. On Good Friday, we will remember Jesus dying on the cross. I don’t know about you guys but I always cry at that part in superheroes, you know, when the superhero gets hurt and you wonder if He’s going to be OK. And I will probably cry this week too as we get to that part of our story.

BUT… and this is so important

Next Sunday we will celebrate the BIGGEST SUPERHERO VICTOR OF ALL TIME!! Next Sunday we will remember that SIN was defeated! That our HERO came back to life and SAVED the DAY! And that we can be in the perfect love relationship with God again.

So this week, as you go about your days and you think about the Story, take time to remember. You might even cry. But know this, The Story doesn’t end in sadness. It ends with a LOVE SO BIG it wins every time! And you get to be a part of that story!!

This story may spark some great conversation in your home. You might want to prepare ahead of time to answer questions about how they can choose that perfect love relationship with God, what is Sin, and other questions about salvation and God’s love. The Story provides the perfect way to get into some amazing conversations with your kids and Holy Week is a great place to springboard those Faith Talks!

Many blessings to all of you as you prepare to celebrate with one another and the entire Body of Christ!

This article originally appeared here.

Why Pastors Should Use More Historical Illustrations in Sermons

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I once attempted to use an example from accounting in my sermon. No one understood me, and the accountants in the church said I mixed up my terms. Apparently, debits and credits are not as straightforward as I thought, which is why—I guess—that accountants have jobs.

Sermon illustrations are tricky. You try to be funny, but you’re corny. You try to be inspirational, but you’re cheesy. You try to be serious, and you have a booger in your nose. Sermon illustrations are the flavoring to the meat of the text. Without them, you’re bland. But too much, and you’re overbearing. A few weeks ago, I posted about the different types of sermon illustrations. In this post, I’ll focus on historical illustrations.

Likely, you need more historical illustrations in your sermons, not less. Most of us preachers tend to use real-life examples, current news, pop culture, or biblical examples more than historical illustrations.

People are not as familiar with the past. Frankly, we don’t know our history like we once did—biblical history, family history, and our nation’s history. Preaching always has elements of teaching. Good teaching should include regular doses of history.

History connects generations. When Millennials understand the attack on Pearl Harbor, they can better relate to the remaining members of the Builder generation. When Builders get to know Millennials, they can help put the 9/11 attack into perspective. When used properly, history is a bridge, not a wall.

History repeats. The adage is true. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. The entire Old Testament is a case in point. Over and over again, the people in the Old Testament repeated the same offenses because they would not learn from historical sins. By the end of the Old Testament, you’re exhausted from reading it and ready for a solution. Thankfully, He’s introduced in Matthew’s gospel.

The Bible is historical. Why care about history? The Bible is history!

History has roots. Personal examples in sermons are great ways to connect with people. However, they can be fleeting—if not shallow. Everyone laughed at the story of my son and the half-eaten cupcake, but—like the cupcake—it wasn’t sustaining. With historical examples, you tell an enduring story, one that has stood the test of generations and validated by time.

People need to know historical theology. Historical illustrations shine light on the reasons why we believe certain doctrines.

People need to know church history. What’s with the white cloth at the Lord’s Supper? Why does the preacher stand down front at the end of every service? Why do people wear crucifixes? How come we always need motions and seconds at business meetings? Why do the ushers pass a plate for the offering? History gives meaning to traditions. History gives purpose to church practices. Otherwise, you’re just going through the motions mindlessly.

If you’re a preacher, then you’re a teacher. One lesson the church needs often is history.

This article originally appeared here.

Why Every Christian Must be a Theologian

Lightstock #1976

Every Christian must be a theologian. In a variety of ways, I used to tell this to my church often. And the looks I got from some surprised souls are the evidence that I had not yet adequately communicated that the purposeful theological study of God by lay people is important.

Many times the confused responses come from a misunderstanding of what is meant in this context by theology. So I tell my church what I don’t mean. When I say every Christian must be a theologian, I don’t mean that every Christian must be an academic or that every Christian must be a scholar or that every Christian must work hard at giving the impression of being a know-it-all. We all basically understand what is meant in the biblical warning that “knowledge puffs up” (1 Cor. 8:1). Nobody likes an egghead.

But the answer to formal scholasticism or dry intellectualism is not a neglect of theological study. Laypeople have no biblical warrant to leave the duty of doctrine up to pastors and professors alone. Therefore, I remind my church that theology—coming from the Greek words theos (God) and logos (word)—simply means “the knowledge (or study) of God.” If you’re a Christian, you must by definition know God. Christians are disciples of Jesus; they are student-followers of Jesus. The longer we follow Him, the more we learn about Him and, consequently, the more deeply we come to know Him.

Why Be a Theologian?

There are at least three primary reasons why every Christian ought to be a theologian.

First, theological study of God is commanded.

Having a mind lovingly dedicated to God is required most notably in the great commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). Loving God with all of our minds certainly means more than theological study, but it certainly does not mean less than that.

Second, the theological study of God is vital to salvation.

Now, of course, I do not mean that intellectual pursuit merits salvation. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone (Eph. 2:8) totally apart from any works of our own (Rom. 3:28), which includes any intellectual exertion. But at the same time, the faith by which we are justified, the faith that receives the completeness of Christ’s finished work and thus His perfect righteousness, is a reasonable faith. Faith may not be the same as rationality, but this does not mean that faith in God is irrational.

Saving faith is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8; Rom. 12:3), but it is not some amorphous, information-free spiritual vacuum. The exercise of faith is predicated on information—initially, the historical announcement of the good news of what Jesus has done—and the strengthening of faith is built on information, as well.

Our continued growth in the grace of God, our perseverance as saints, is vitally connected to our pursuit of the knowledge of God’s character and God’s works as revealed in God’s Word. Contrary to the way some idolaters of doubt would have you believe, the Christian faith is founded on facts. Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that for the Christian, faith is not some leap into the dark. Instead, it is inextricably connected to assurance and conviction. It stands to reason that the more theological facts we feast on in the Word, the more assurance and conviction—and thus the more faith—we will cultivate.

Paul tells his young protégé Timothy, “Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim. 4:16). He is reminding Timothy that the sanctification resulting in continual discipleship to Christ necessarily includes intense study of God’s Word.

Third, the study of God authenticates and fuels worship.

True Christians are not those who believe in some vague God or trust in vague spiritual platitudes. True Christians are those who believe in the triune God of the holy Scriptures and have placed their trust by the real Spirit in the real Savior—Jesus—as proclaimed in the specific words of the historical gospel.

Knowing the right information about God is just one way we authenticate our Christianity. Intentionally or consistently err in the vital facts about God, and you jeopardize the veracity of your claim truly to know God. This is why we must pursue theological robustness not just in our pastor’s preaching but in our church’s music and in our church’s prayers, both corporate and private.

Does God NEED Your Worship?

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Can we talk about worship?

Here are a few quotes to get us started. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of any of them, having found them in that motherlode of fascinating quotes, real and imagined, solid and made-up-on-the spot, the Internet. Smiley-face goes here …

1. From actor Brad Pitt:

“I didn’t understand this idea of a God who says, ‘You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I’m the best, and then I’ll give you eternal happiness. If you won’t, then you don’t get it!’ It seemed to be about ego. I can’t see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.”

There is a reason this makes no sense to you, Mr. Pitt.

The Apostle Paul put it this way: “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. Nor can he understand them, for they are spiritually appraised” (I Corinthians 2:14).

Don’t mean to be harsh in that assessment, but it explains why so many on the outside look at Christian worship and shake their heads. They just don’t get it.

Let me repeat that: They. Do. Not. Get. It.

2. From a blog in which this guy talks about religion:

Someone asked him why God wants us to worship Him. He answered, “Everyone likes being praised. It’s a huge ego bump, after all. But why does God need it? I mean, what kind of egomaniac needs millions of people all over the world praising his name? Isn’t that a little arrogant? Short answer: Yes.”

He went on to make a case for God being egotistical. Oh, and he thought he was being pro-God.

He should spare God the compliment.

Without knowing this fellow, just from this I’d say he’s another one who just doesn’t get the business of Christian worship.

3. From a Catholic website:

“While worshiping God changes us for the better, the primary aim of our worship is not self-improvement. In the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the liturgy used by many of the Eastern Rite Catholic churches, the priest at one point chants, “For to You is due all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

“While God doesn’t need our worship in order to be complete, our worship is still a duty—something that we owe to God. But it is a duty that we can perform cheerfully, knowing that, in doing so, we are participating briefly in the life of heaven.”

OK, this is thought provoking. But it still seems to imply that we might be “adding value” to Heaven in some way, and that God is somehow diminished a tad when we fail to worship.

10 Things Pastors Never Want to Hear

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There are some things pastors never want to hear.

After an especially emotionally taxing message one Sunday, my husband was shaking hands and greeting people at the door. On the way out, one gentleman said to him, “I just heard the same message this week on the radio, same stories and everything! Do you buy your sermons somewhere?” He was stunned, having never purchased a sermon in his life, and he’d found all his own original illustrations that week to fit the message. All he could do was stammer a “no” as the man left for the parking lot, the wind knocked out of his sails. And then tried to put on a smiling face for the next person in line, who had just heard the entire conversation.

Statements Pastors Never Want to Hear

Here are 10 things pastors never want to hear:

1. “You only work one day a week.” Every pastor has heard this, either with a joking elbow to the ribs, or from a sincere patron who really believes it. But this comment stings, especially since most pastors struggle to take even one day off a week.

2. “You weren’t preaching that sermon to me, were you?” There are two ways this comment can be made. The first one is an encouraging, “I really needed to hear that and it was like you were preaching right to me!” The second comes from someone who felt convicted and therefore angry that his pastor would dare bring up any of his shortcomings. This is one of the reasons you come to church, right? If you are closed to God’s working in your heart, then you are probably coming to church for the wrong reasons.

3. “We are all here volunteering, at least you are getting paid.” This is a true statement, but one that hurts for several reasons. First of all, yes, this is the pastor’s job, and the way he supports his family. Secondly, you are a volunteer, which means you can step out of your position at any time, for any reason, with relative ease. Finally, consider the fact that the small church pastor especially has to be present at almost every church function, meeting, baptism and service, whereas volunteers have the leisure to pick and choose what they’d like to attend. Even if, as a volunteer, you attend all church activities, remember that it’s your choice to be there. For your pastor, is a requirement of his job.

4. “Boy, you sure are on vacation a lot.” Just because a pastor is not in the pulpit doesn’t mean he’s taking a vacation day. There are many reasons a pastor may not preach: He’s researching a new series, he’s participating or teaching at an educational conference or retreat, or he’s performing an out of town wedding or funeral. Other times he may be present at church while another pastor or missionary gives the message. On these weeks, your pastor doesn’t take a few days to go golfing; instead, these weeks are usually a much needed opportunity to catch up on vision casting, read relevant ministry books that he’s been putting off, or plan for a retreat.

5. “You can afford that, we all know what you make.” There are a lot of reasons pastors never want to hear something like this, and you should never say it. First of all, it’s awkward enough for a pastor’s family to have their salary not only posted in an annual report, but voted on by the congregation. Beyond that, the number in the budget can be misleading. Many churches will include the entire salary package, which could include health insurance, a retirement contribution, or a book or travel allowance. These things should not be included under a general “salary” section as they are misleading as to how much the pastor actually earns. Next, most people don’t know, but pastors are considered self-employed for IRS tax purposes. That means that he has to pay the “employer part” of Social Security and Medicare taxes (he must include his housing allowance in this). So, whatever number is on the budget, chop off 15.3 percent right off the top. Finally, records show that pastors are among the most faithful tithers in the church, and most pastors use a portion of their personal salary beyond their tithe to personally give to needy members of the church or open their home and their refrigerators to serve people.

6. “Your kids need to be setting an example.” PKs have enough to overcome without added stress from the congregation. You didn’t hire your pastor’s children, you hired him. Believe me, he already feels the stress of his children’s behavior without you saying anything. If you want to discourage your pastor, pick on his kids.

7. “I don’t trust you.” Is it any wonder this is something pastors never want to hear? This can be said in about 100 different ways. It may be in the way the elder board checks up on his calendar, or your response to where he feels the Lord is leading the church. I knew a pastor once whose board required that he submit receipts for pizza he bought every week for the youth group and go through the reimbursement procedure instead of trusting him with a church debit or credit card. It was a small thing, but it said loudly, “I don’t trust you.” If you can trust that God is speaking through your pastor, you also need to be able to trust him in the small stuff.

5 Risks Every Leader Should Take

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I’m considered a very “safe” person. I tend to be very risk averse and only take a chance on something when I’ve analyzed and calculated it to the extent that it is no longer a risk. It’s a magical place to be—full of worry, anxiousness and procrastination  You should really consider vacationing there sometime.

As a leader, we are always one decision away from total failure. Or at least that’s the way I feel most of the time. This mindset causes me to enjoy the status quo more than I should and rebel against those that try anything new or risky. But if any leader is to be successful, he/she must be willing to take some risks.

Risks lead to innovation.

Risks lead to higher plateaus of success.

Risks lead to longevity as a leader.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating reckless risk-taking. But I am saying that leaders must be willing to take risks … and that can be difficult for many of us, because risks often go against our own conscious and comfort zone and can open us up to critique and failure. Here are five risks that I believe every leader should take:

1.  Stand for what you believe in.

This can be very easy for some people, but not for everyone. I am especially thinking about times when it seems that all the naysayers are shouting “NAY” as loud as they can. It is easier to go with the flow or to just continue doing what we’ve always done. But I believe that this risk leads you and the team you lead into new heights of envisioning what could be … versus what is or what has always been.

2.  Stand up for someone who can’t do it on their own.

There are people all around you who “don’t have a voice.” The people who aren’t decision makers. The people who only speak up when they have to. The people who don’t have the necessary information to even know that something is about to impact what they do. I have worked on teams where there was no minority representation, yet decisions that were being made had a direct impact on them. So, to speak up and give a voice to a person or a group of people is something that every leader should take a risk on. It’s risky because you may be a lone voice. It’s risky because you may not fully know what needs to be said and why. It’s risky because it can be easily misunderstood.

3.  Give someone a second chance.

When someone on the team doesn’t follow through, it’s easy to give up on them instantly. When someone fails, it’s easy to find someone else to do it. When someone doesn’t interview well, it’s easy to not give them a second interview. I think that giving people a second chance, as difficult as it can be, has the potential for the greatest upside. Learning from mistakes can be the greatest teacher, but if we don’t give those that we lead the opportunity to learn and do differently, we’re robbing them of the chance to get better and grow.

Pro-Life Millennials? Mike Pence Has Reason to Hope

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Vice President Mike Pence predicted earlier this week that legal abortion would end in the U.S. “in our time.”

“I know in my heart of hearts this will be the generation that restores life in America,” Pence said at a luncheon in Nashville, Tennessee, hosted by the Susan B. Anthony List & Life Institute, a pro-life organization.

Were the Vice President’s comments simply wishful thinking from a politician that has fought for restrictions on abortion for many years, or are there signs of change in American culture?

It appears something is indeed happening. In the past month there have been several references in the mainstream media to a growing opposition to abortion among millennials.

Buried at the end of a Chicago Tribune story the day after the March for Life in Washington, D. C. in January were these two paragraphs:

“But much attention should be paid to next generation of voters….a growing number of young Americans have become more vocal about their opposition to abortion.

“We are there every day on the campuses. Right where the culture is formed. Right where those future voters are being created and we’re changing their minds about abortion,” Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life, told the Christian Broadcasting Network.

On its website, Students for Life points out that “79 percent of Planned Parenthoods are 5 miles from a college. 52 percent of abortion seeking women are under 25. College and high school is a time when worldviews are challenged and formed. Culture is shaped by the young. If we want to end abortion, we have to start with the youth.”

On February 21, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough was on the cable network to discuss the school shooting in Parkland, Florida when he took the conversation in an unexpected direction.

American youth support limiting abortion, he said, because of advancements in technology. “You are seeing poll numbers move on abortion for banning abortions after 20 weeks,” Scarborough said. “Because for the past decade, younger Americans have been going in and they have been seeing 3D imagery where they can look into the womb.”

The poll numbers Scarborough referenced came from a January 2017 Quinnipiac poll that asked Americans whether they would support a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy if it were enacted in their state. Nearly half—49 percent—of 18- to 34-year-olds said they would support it. The poll found that 35- to 49-year-olds were the only age group that supported the ban more.

A January op-ed piece by Eugene Scott in the Washington Post that highlighted the Quinnipiac poll appears to be what triggered the recent media interest in the documented and growing opposition to abortion among millennials.

The article’s title, Millennials Have a Surprising View on Later-Term Abortion, suggests a bias of its own but it impartially points out that after the US Senate voted in January to block a proposed federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks, “one of the constituent groups they may have offended is one that both parties are highly interested in winning: millennial voters…..After the ban was shot down…some of the loudest criticism among antiabortion advocates came from younger Americans.”

In the Senate debate over the proposed ban on late-term abortions, advocates pointed out that the US is one of only seven nations that allows abortions after 20 weeks putting the US in a group that includes North Korea and China. It could be argued, in addition to 3D imagery, that fact could be weighing on the minds of millennials.

Following the ban’s defeat in the Senate, Lila Rose, the 29-year-old founder and president of Live Action, tweeted “Today, 46 senators voted AGAINST protecting preborn children from abortion after 20 weeks. This is extreme and beyond heartless.”

In his address this week, Pence said “Life is winning….Americans — especially younger Americans — are choosing and embracing the sanctity of life more and more every day.”

Jeff Vanderstelt: When Discipling, Admit You Don’t Know Everything

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Jeff Vanderstelt is the visionary leader of the Soma Family of Churches and the lead teaching pastor at Doxa Church in Bellevue, WA. Jeff is the author of “Saturate,” “Saturate Field Guide,” and “Gospel Fluency” (2017). He and Jayne, his wife of twenty-three years, have three children; Haylee, Caleb, and Maggie.

Key Questions for Jeff Vanderstelt:

– How do you define the gospel?
– Where is the church missing the message of the gospel?
– How can a pastor in a smaller church get more community involvement in my ministry?

[SUBSCRIBE] For more ChurchLeaders podcasts click here!

Key Quotes from Jeff Vanderstelt:

“We’ve missed how much the gospel impacts all of life.”

“In our preaching programs, are we just affirming an idolatrous view of man instead of a Christ-centered view of God’s people?”

“If the majority of conversion stories are primarily, somebody came and heard the preacher preach and came to faith that way, then you’re telling them that you can enter as an individual and leave as an individual and your conversion was largely individualistic.”

“Look at your week and see how much time you are putting into doing ministry and how much time are you putting into equipping ministers?”

“Ask yourself, if I were to put some time into a few for a season, what kinds of things would I train them to do to allow me to share leadership with more people in my church and redistribute a lot of my energies away from doing all the ministry for the people to equipping more people for the ministry.”

“The sin in our life or lack of fruit of the spirit is always connected to our beliefs, who God is and what has he done in my life.”

“Paying attention to our unbelief or wrong beliefs is key to understanding why we do what we do.”

“At the heart of your sin is a complete unbelief in the truths of who Jesus is and what he’s done for you.”

“Most of our thinking about discipleship and teaching has taken on this idea of, I’m the master teacher and you have to listen to what I have to say. There is potential for arrogance.”

“We have to do better about listening to people, better at asking questions. We have to assume that we don’t know everything.”

“When you give someone the opportunity to open up and share and you are genuinely interested in them, people will spill out all kinds of stuff that they’ve probably never told anybody. If those moments don’t happen you’re not really making disciples….it’s just information dump.”

“We believe the best place to disciple people, the Jesus commanded way to disciple people, is we have to disciple people in everyday places.”

Links Mentioned by Jeff Vanderstelt in the Show:

Gospel Fluency

The Gospel Fluency Handbook

SOMA

Saturate

Saturate the World

Jeff Vanderstelt on ChurchLeaders:

More Than Mercy Ministry: Defining Missional

What It Means to “Be” the Church

5 Ways Pastors Can Prepare Their Churches for Suffering

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Pastors, it’s inevitable that members of your congregation will suffer. D.A. Carson has famously said, “All you have to do is live long enough, and you will suffer.” As you seek to shepherd your congregation, don’t wait until suffering comes. Don’t start preparing people for death in the ICU.

There are several things we can do as pastors to prepare our churches for suffering right now. Below I’ve listed five.

  1. Pastors, keep preaching expositionally.

Expositional preaching makes sure the point of the passage is the point of the sermon. It also normally includes walking different books of the Bible passage by passage. By doing this, the pastor ensures a biblical diet for their members—a buffet of teaching from the historical books, poetic books, prophetic books, the Gospels, the epistles and apocalyptic material.

By regularly rotating your preaching calendar, you will by necessity hit on all areas of the Christian life, including suffering. Furthermore, by preaching expositionally you’re more likely to share with the congregation what God has to say about suffering rather than tips from your own limited experience.

  1. Pastors, don’t forget to preach the Old Testament.

Don’t forget about how much Old Testament books have to teach us about trials. As you preach through Genesis, 1 and 2 Kings, Jeremiah, and Job you will highlight for your people believers who trusted God amid suffering.

The heroes from Scripture aren’t the heroes of comic-book movies we watch today. David once said he would regularly flood his bed with tears. Job curses his own birth and thinks he and the world would have been better off if he had died. Elijah wanted to die when Ahab and Jezebel were coming after him. Under the back-breaking burden of leadership, Moses asked God to take his life. Jeremiah has been called the weeping prophet for his lack of fruit.

These men are the heroes of the Bible—and each one suffered. So pastors, hold these Scriptures out for your congregation regularly.

  1. Pastors, make the church a safe place to open up about pain. 

As it’s often been said, the church is not a museum of saints but a hospital for the hurting. Our members need to know this. They need to know they won’t be ostracized for their weakness, but that suffering is a sadly “normal” part of this fallen world. They need to know they won’t be immediately asked of being in unrepentant sin when they admit they’re feeling mental or emotional pain.

One of the best ways to make the church a safe place for the hurting is for pastors to be open about their own suffering. Clearly, the spotlight in the sermon and the worship service needs to be on Jesus. But when appropriate, pastors should feel free to share their own struggles. It might be sharing in an evening service or asking for prayer from the congregation at appropriate times. The goal is to not make it abnormal or awkward for church members to bring up their own struggles before the body.

  1. Pastors, talk about heaven a lot.

Our congregations need to know that their best life is not now. They need to know that Jesus is going to return and make all wrongs right. So pastors, point your people regularly to Revelation 21 and 22 where Jesus will wipe every tear from our eyes and death will be no more—neither will mourning or crying. On this day, eternal joy will visit us and never leave.

Teaching on heaven may not automatically console a suffering person. But it’s much easier to have this rich doctrine in your heart before trials come, rather than to try to inject it in the midst of intense suffering.

  1. Pastors, build a culture of care—starting now.

Ephesians 4:7 tells us that Christ gives each believer the gifts and abilities to serve and care for others. In other words, caring for the hurting is not the sole job of the elders, but of the whole congregation.

With this in mind, it might be wise to encourage certain members who are gifted at this to inspire and lead other members in helping the hurting. Perhaps this will encourage a culture of care to emerge. Perhaps it will begin to be normal for one member to help another member. At our church we have a deaconess of member care who has built a team of church members who together look out for needs in the congregation. If you can get a culture of care started today, you’ll be ready when suffering and tragedy come.

* * * * * 

Editor’s note: This article has been adapted from Dave’s new book Kiss the Wave: Embracing God in Your Trials.

This article originally appeared here.

Getting Small Churches on Mission

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I recently wrote a chapter for a book edited by my friend Jeff Farmer called Small Church, Excellent Ministry: A Guidebook for Pastors. My chapter specifically looked at “Getting Small Churches on Mission.” The below is used with permission from Wipf & Stock Publishers. In Part 1, I offered three big-picture ways for smaller churches to begin moving toward mission. Today, I talk about how smaller churches can reach their communities and beyond for Christ.

Numerically, smaller churches dominate U.S. life. They should also be key parts of the mission.

There is much benefit, therefore, in identifying various ways that smaller churches can reach their communities and beyond for Christ. This chapter will identify and briefly expound a few ways small churches can be mission-minded, both locally and globally. They are in no particular order of preference or importance, and there is certainly no expectation that a church on mission would only select one of these opportunities. Many coalesce together and can be seamlessly integrated to form a more fully orbed missional church.

Small churches can serve the hurting and the poor.

Today, churches are known for many things, but meeting the needs of the hurting and poor is rarely (if ever) one of them. If we join Jesus on his mission, I think we too will serve those who are hurting. In fact, I think the world is often confused when they see a church that claims to follow Jesus but is not actually doing much of what Jesus did.

They know he healed the sick and ministered to the hurting, and they wonder why a church would be unengaged in these areas. To paraphrase Ghandi, “Why do your Christians look so little like your Jesus?”

Think back to the early church. One of the primary activities they were known for was serving the poor. As one Roman emperor, Julian the Apostate, wrote:

These [Christians] not only feed their own, but ours also; welcoming them with their [love], they attract them, as children are attracted with cakes . . . Whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated [Christians] devote themselves to works of charity, and by a display of false compassion have established and given effect to their pernicious errors. Such practice is common among them, and causes contempt for our gods.

He knew that acts of charity towards the least of society in the name of Jesus were having a profound effect. The marginalized, those who had little to give to society, still had value and worth in the eyes of God and Christians, and as their needs were met their hearts were opened to abandoning false gods and learning about Jesus.

Small churches can recapture this passion for ministering to the hurting in their communities. You don’t need state-of-the-art worship facilities or a seven-digit church budget to care for those in need. You only need to be willing to engage and empathize with the downcast and weary, and in doing so you might see their hearts opened to Jesus.

Small churches can partner together, either through association via a denominational structure or as part of a city partnership, to pool resources towards this end. A food pantry that is stocked once per month by a different church is an affordable way that small churches can contribute. Giving to a ministerial alliance fund specifically created to assist with an overdue utility bill or missed rent payment means the world to someone on the brink of having their electricity cut off or being evicted from their home.

How to Love People Who are Different Than You

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God intentionally created everyone to be unique. And when we appreciate the uniqueness that we see in others, we truly honor the creative work of God around us. The world is a work of art, full of color and full of diversity.

Nobody looks quite like you look. You’re not one in a million; you’re one in 7 billion! And if you have a problem with people who are different from you, you really have a problem with God. Racism is essentially believing that God should have made everyone else to be just like you.

First Corinthians 15:38-40 says, “God gives everything the kind of body he wants it to have. People, animals, birds and fish are each made of flesh, but none of them are alike. Everything in the heavens has a body, and so does everything on earth. But each one is very different from all the others” (CEV). That’s intentionality.

Then the Bible says, in Acts 17:26“From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be” (CEV).

We all ultimately descended from two mutual parents, Adam and Eve. Our unity was fractured by sin and its effects, but God created us for oneness. And the church is ultimately the steward of that oneness. Every church should, as much as possible, reflect the diversity of its surrounding community and set the example for the rest of the world in terms of cultivating oneness in diversity.

We talk so much about the brokenness of sin in our lives leaving us all with hurts, habits and hang-ups. And those hurts affect every relationship in our lives. The obvious ones are with our spouses, our kids, our parents and our siblings. But that same brokenness is evident when there is prejudice buried deep in our hearts toward people of other races and ethnicities.

Part of the journey toward wholeness and healing is making amends with the people we’ve offended and hurt, and that includes people we’ve pushed away because of racial and ethnic differences.

In other words, recovery isn’t just an issue of overcoming addictions. It’s also an issue of showing love to everyone around us.

And here are four ways to show love to people with whom you have differences.

  • Listen to them. When you listen to people, you’re giving them the ability to speak to you while affirming their dignity.
  • Look at them. When you give people your attention, you’re giving them the most important thing you possess your—time.
  • Learn from them. You can learn from anyone when you ask the right questions and when you are teachable.
  • Laugh with them. Humor is a great equalizer and lowers tension. The words humor and humility come from the same root. The mark of humility is your ability to laugh at yourself.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:18“Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself, and God gave us the work of telling everyone about the peace we can have with him” (NCV).

When you’ve experienced redemption through Christ, and reconciliation with God and with other people, you can’t help but turn outward and be an agent of reconciliation in all of your relationships. And that includes your relationships with people who are simply different from you by God’s creative design.

This article originally appeared here.

How to Make Meetings More Than Meetings

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If you need to meet with me, make it worth my time. I’m a meeting snob, because I have little margin and do not want it compromised. I want to leave a meeting feeling inspired, and ready to take on what was discussed.

I know I’m a little demanding when it comes to meeting integrity; however, they can be the death of your organization if not done correctly. You are asking people to sacrifice an important commodity (Time) that can not be returned.

Meetings do not always have to be memorable; however, they should be engaging. It’s where situations are discussed, dreams are revealed and teams grow together. To make meetings something your team embraces, make sure you keep to:

BASIC ETIQUETTE. That means:

• Starting on Time

• Preparing Ahead of Time

• Providing an Agenda Early

• Ending on Time

It’s not rocket science. If you follow some of the basic etiquette of a meeting, you can at least prevent people from leaving angry. HOWEVER, if you want to make your meetings engaging and motivating:

• Always Include Prayer: You need to bring God into the conversation. It might sound simple, but it’s easily forgotten. Make sure you take time to invite God in to lead, guide and bless the conversation. At the end, thank Him and ask for His continued guidance. If anything, it serves as a reminder as to why you do what you do.

• Create an Engaging Environment: There are a million things that can serve as distractions to your meeting. Before you begin, make sure you have a designated meeting space. Arrange furniture and adjust lighting to promote healthy conversation. Create guidelines (i.e., silence your cell phones) if you think certain things might distract. Be intentional about your meeting environments.

• Cast Vision: Your meetings should have a purpose. Talk about what you hope to accomplish in the meeting as you begin, so that people know where it is you want to go. When people have expectations, they’ll be more focused on how to get there.

• Engage Conflict: Not everyone has to agree on every matter. In fact, when there is conflict there can be healthy conversation. When you fear conflict, you enable bad ideas to grow, people are unheard and tension arises. Allow all sides to be heard by engaging in conflict so that progress can be made.

• Leave With Clarity: Again, not everyone has to agree; however, everyone should be clear on what is discussed. Before ending a meeting (or an issue), review some of the key points and make sure everyone is on the same page. Make sure that people understand what has been decided and what needs to be done. This way, no one is surprised when a decision is made.

Make meetings more than just a painful exercise by giving them and the people who attend them value. When meetings are effective, people will be engaged. When done right, they will move your ministry in an entirely new direction.

How do you make your meetings more than a meeting?

Under Pressure: When Your Minister Husband is Forced Out

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This wasn’t supposed to happen. The thought repeated in my mind as I wrestled to understand how everything had gone so wrong. My husband had taken his first full-time ministry position after seminary, but somehow, within a short time period, we were leaving under hurtful, unanticipated circumstances. The place we had excitedly moved to, where we purchased our first home, among whom we felt called to love, serve, and pour our lives into seemed to be rejecting us. It felt like our only option was to trust God and move on.

Time and distance have now broadened my perspective of this life-altering event, and though I hope pastors and their wives will never have to experience a similar situation, I’d like to share some tools to help them navigate the situation with wisdom should it arise.

1. Expect to feel a range of emotions.

Pain will always follow any time we’re met with resistance or outright rejection after we’ve attempted to love and serve. The hurt is felt even more deeply when the church rejects us, a people and place we expect to find love and acceptance. The effects can be devastating, and the emotions are wide-ranging.

In our situation, I was truly shocked at the turn of events that took place. Then confusion set in as I analyzed every detail of the events that had unfolded. I was angry at the people I thought caused it all. My husband and I also felt alone. None of our friends had been through this. I worried about the future, but in my best moments, God graced me with peace to trust Him even though we had no idea what was next. Expect to feel a broad range of emotions.

2. Try not to cast blame.

As we mentally dissect the situation, specific faces will come to mind as well as the harm they caused. But my warning is to try not to cast blame on these people.

For starters, blaming others will only lodge seeds of bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts that can become our undoing. Forgiving those who harm us is really the only path forward, though it’s tough. The Apostle Paul provides us a great example in 2 Timothy 4:14-18.

Secondly, time will show there were many factors involved that we were blind to in the moment. Sin and its entanglements are more complex than we suppose. Spiritual warfare is usually unseen but plays an enormous role. The spiritual immaturity of the congregation or our own mistakes can also be factors. The situation may appear black and white on the surface, but time will usually reveal that finding fault is more of a complicated matter.

3. Don’t turn your back on God.

The psalmist who penned Psalm 73 saw the prosperity of the wicked and wondered what the point was in following God when it led to suffering. We may be tempted to feel this way, too, when it seems like schemers win at our expense.

We may also be tempted to question God. We believed He had a good plan for our lives in sending us to that particular church, but now it looks like He was wrong. Can He really be trusted?

With thoughts like these, we must turn our eyes to Jesus, who knew rejection well. He loved, served and forgave those who would murder Him. The cross did not look like a good plan, but the Father’s good for Jesus came 3 days later and for the rest of eternity (See Phil 2:8-11). We must lift eyes of faith beyond our temporal good and trust He is working an eternal good for us as well.

4. Guard your heart from bitterness, apathy and cynicism.

Witnessing and being the recipient of professing Christians’ sin can tempt us toward this deadly trio, but there is hardly anything more destructive to the heart of ministers and their families.

The insidious nature of bitterness, apathy, and cynicism allow pastors and their wives to say the right words, teach the right doctrines and smile at all the right times, while underneath the façade lies a deadening of the soul and faith that can leave their ministry spiritually lifeless.

I’ve written about how God led me out of cynicism, but the best warning I could give pastors and their wives would be to guard their heart from the beginning.

5. Be humble enough to learn from it.

My husband and I can now look back at the situation we were involved in and view it with new eyes. Our hurt has faded, and we’re mainly thankful for the invaluable lessons we were only able to learn by walking through that hard season.

These lessons fall into categories such as the nature of man and depravity, our own weaknesses and blind spots, what it means to love and serve others patiently and also the reality of church world/politics. We thank God for opening our eyes to these things and truly wish the very best for the church we served for that short time.

Dear pastors and wives whose church wants you to leave, God will take care of you. He sees you and loves you, and He is working even right now behind the scenes for your good. Keep trusting Him!

This article originally appeared here.

When Revival Happens Elsewhere

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Iain Murray describes biblical revival as consisting of “…a larger giving of God’s Spirit for the making known of Christ’s glory… a sense of God… not only in conviction of sin but equally in the bewildered amazement of Christians at the consciousness of the Lord who is in their midst.”1 Revival is not a constant reality in church history or in the life of any specific congregation, rather it is descriptive of those extraordinary times when the Lord is pleased to pour out a greater abundance of saving grace, there is a greater zeal for Kingdom priorities, and a vital spirituality characterizes the people of God.  It is a time of unique energy and vigor regarding gospel labors, and of unique blessing from the Lord in those pursuits.

All churches would love to see such things become a reality in their own midst.  Who would dare to say that they would not want the Lord to pour out such grace, to act in mighty ways to save sinners, to animate and revitalize His people in such ways described?  To be desirous of such blessing need not signal any depreciation of the normal plodding rhythms of ministry and the ordinary means of grace.  Indeed, Biblical revival is not a circumventing of normal ministry activities, it is a fresh and dynamic outpouring of grace through those very ordained means.

It is true that some people take revival and do unbiblical things with the concept.  In fact, much of Murray’s book is given over to distinguishing the difference between true God given revival and man’s foolish attempts to manufacture an outpouring of the Spirit- a pursuit he labels as revivalism.  To the historically minded, terms like revival sometimes evoke negative associations like Charles Finney’s anxious bench (a forerunner of the more modern altar call), and to the broader culture it often takes on a garish tent-huckster ethos, but we should never let other people’s errors define our practice.  None of these abuses are the fault of authentic revival.  And so quite aware of the dangers of a false and manufactured show of dramatic piety, even solidly Reformed men do say, “Lord, if it pleases you, send revival in our midst!”

But what about when you pray for revival and it comes…but to someone else? What are we to think of extraordinary measures of grace that God seems to pour out on others, while He seems pleased to withhold it from us? What am I to think of my neighbor’s revival?

To that question I offer three responses.

1. Avoid the temptation to adopt an elitist “narrow way” cynicism.

The present reality is that the Kingdom of God on earth is fractured into a multitude of church denominations, sects, movements, and coalitions.  At this stage in church history, no matter what segment of evangelical Christianity you call home, there are always more people outside your circle than inside of it.  No one group has the majority. What that means is that God is always doing more outside your narrow context than inside of it.  This conclusion is unavoidable, unless you want to say that only your own theological and ecclesiastic tradition is truly the place that God is pleased to work.

We’d rarely say that out loud, but I fear that sometimes we do think that way.  It comes out when we adopt a “narrow way” cynicism regarding revival in other denominations or movements.2 When we assign to apparent revival in other quarters a “broad way” condemnation because of the various ways they aren’t like us and therefore aren’t faithful to God’s Word and therefore couldn’t possibly be enjoying his blessing while we aren’t, don’t we betray the cynical elitism in our hearts?

Let’s not do that.  When our Christian brothers and sisters in other denominational contexts see real blessing from God on their labors, let’s not let our various disagreements with them over doctrine and practice prevent us from recognizing the true work of God in their midst.  Let’s not betray a belief that if God isn’t blessing us (or those most incredibly like us) whatever we are seeing must be a mere mirage of revival.  Being different from us doesn’t put another group beyond the reach of God’s blessing anymore than it puts them beyond the reach of His grace.  This of course doesn’t apply to those who hold to outright heretical views–I’m not talking about that.  But not all doctrinal disagreements are heretical.  There are a multitude of second tier issues which Christians will always disagree on.  Are we really ready to say that those who we disagree with over Baptism, or the exact role of the Law, or the precise nature of the Spiritual gifts or many other issues we rightly make distinctions over are so far gone that we can’t grant to them the genuine blessing and favor of the Lord?  Do we really want to say with our dismissive attitudes that we are the only ones who are deserving of His favor?

2. Avoid the temptation to adopt a shallow imitation of the latest new thing.

It is one thing to humble acknowledge the work of God in other contexts, it is a different thing to try and imitate whatever latest fads seem to be associated with that revival.  I use the word “fad” not necessarily to denigrate, but rather because it is an accurate description of evangelical patterns.  There is always some latest new thing.  Sometimes it has value, sometimes it doesn’t.  The test is God’s unchanging Word.

Sometimes two churches adopt identical strategies and have leadership that is practically interchangeable, but God grants revival to one while the other simply plods on without seeing extraordinary things in their midst.  Maybe they even see trial and struggle.  God is pleased to work when and where He chooses.  It’s not necessarily a stamp of divine approval or disapproval on either one.

It would be a mistake to assume that because God is pleased to work in diverse segments of the Kingdom, that the distinctions between those segments are irrelevant.  It would be a mistake to depreciate doctrinal precision on that count.  We can humbly recognize God at work in a context which our own Biblical convictions do not allow us to participate in.  Doing so does not make us compromisers; it merely keeps us chaste in our appraisals of our own achievements and humbly aware that we are never indispensable to the God who is actually the one building His Church.  Almost as bad as letting our doctrinal disagreements prevent us from thanking God for His work among other sorts of Christians would be to on that count dismiss or diminish the importance of taking those open and firm doctrinal stands.

3. Seek first the Kingdom of God.

Maybe the issue is that we spend too much time looking around horizontally, period.  Maybe we need to reevaluate the value of our horizontal evaluations. Maybe rather than correcting those outside our circles so often, we should be more concerned with working out actual gospel ministry in the doctrinal and traditional context to which we are committed.  Maybe we need to think about what we are truly seeking first, our own glory or that of the Lord?

This might sound preachy… but I am a preacher, so go figure.  To be clear, I’m preaching to myself as much as anyone else.  I want to be the sort of Christian who can rejoice whenever and wherever the gospel is proclaimed and people are being reached.  I don’t think I have to give up an inch of theological or doctrinal conviction to do that.  But I do think I have to give up some pride.

May God send us true revival, and if He sends it to others instead, may He send it all the more!

1. Ian Murray, Revival & Revivalism, p. 30.

2. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:13-14, ESV)

This article originally appeared here.

Watch Matt Redman Worship God Over the City of Los Angeles

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In September 2017, Matt Redman released Glory Songs, a collection of 13 new songs that are will likely make it to many churches’ worship sets in the coming years.

The video above shows Redman with accompanying musicians performing the song on top of the Capitol Records Tower in Los Angeles, California.

This isn’t the first time Redman has taken to a public space to worship God. In 2016, Redman partnered with a Luis Palau event and transformed Times Square in New York City into a worship room.

And while worshipping God with a big crowd in a public place is something Redman is familiar with, he says it’s not as easy as leading worship as a pastor, week in and week out. In an interview with ChurchLeaders, Redman shared about his experience leading worship in a local church context for several years. In many ways, Redman feels that job was a lot harder than being a recording artist and performing at evangelism events (or on the top of Capitol Record in Los Angeles). “When you’re leading week in, week out…you’ve got to bring something new and shepherd people over a long period of time. That’s the hardest thing,” Redman said.

Although he hasn’t been a worship pastor for a long time now, Redman is still contributing to the church through his songwriting. Glory Songs is Redman’s 10th album, and it contains a handful of songs your church will surely want to integrate into its worship rotation. As sing-able as the album is, the intention behind it is equally as inviting and necessary right now, given America’s current tensions.

Redman’s heart for the album was to provide some bridges between different streams of the church (specifically the American church) by way of music. Toward this end, Redman collaborated with a number of artists, including Tasha Cobbs Leonard, a contemporary gospel singer and songwriter. Leonard worked with Redman on the song “Gracefully Broken.” She also recorded her own version of the song on her latest album, Heart. Passion. Pursuit., which was released in August 2017.

In an interview with New Song Cafe, Redman shares the origins of the song, which started in a hotel business room when he, Jonas Myrin, Bryan and Katie Torwalt, formed the verses. After this meeting, Leonard contacted Redman asking if he wanted to collaborate. “She’s got a real heart for bridging together some of the streams of the church,” Redman says.

Redman also discusses some of the themes present in the song. The song highlights God’s grace. Redman explains that even as God allows us to break, “it’s done kindly and gracefully and there’s no cruelty in it. And there’s no harshness in it.”

Starting at 6:30 of the video, Redman explains how to play the song on the guitar. If you’d like to perform this song at your church, head over to Worship Together for a free chord chart download with transposing options.

To hear more of Redman’s insights on leading worship in a local church, check out our conversation with him on the ChurchLeaders Podcast.

This Is the Future of Church Growth

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Church growth research is showing that the future of church growth may look like its past.

The very first Christians met in homes. The church grew through social networks and intimate interpersonal attachments. It multiplied as believers moved from one area to another starting churches wherever they went. A sea change appears to be underway in the American church returning it to its roots. The megachurch model that began in the 1970s is giving way to church planting and multiplication.

Church Growth Research

A study from Warren Bird and Dale Travis for the Leadership Network found 83 percent of pastors under age 40 “have a future vision to plant/launch.” The researchers call the findings “astounding” and “a dramatic change.”

Travis is the CEO of Leadership Network.

“When I joined Leadership Network in 1995, senior pastors of larger churches of that era desired to grow a single site and hoped for 3,000 seats in one venue where they could do two Sunday services to meet the demand. Many eventually did. Now when I meet with our Next Generation Pastors LeaderGroups, the dream has changed. Now their question is: How do we add our second and third sites to reach more people? These younger leaders now aspire not for a larger congregation on a single campus, but for a church that reaches more people across a wider geographical stance.”

The researchers consider their findings “big news” because it implies a value shift among younger pastors. It forecasts more reproduction through multisites and church planting, often with a multiplication bias that those new locations will in turn birth still others.

The research also discovered that church planters and campus pastors in their first five years at a church are 2.3 times more likely to have a vision to plant/launch than pastors who have been at the same church more than 10 years.

Bird and Travis have some theories on this finding including:

  • This statistic speaks to the fresh thinking that a pastor brings to a newly launched church or campus.
  • Newer pastors tend to be younger and younger generations think multiplication before “mega” size.

They also admit that their research sample is focused on growing, thriving churches as opposed to a random-sample group. The growth bias likely influenced the results. Even so, they say the differences are dramatic between aspirations of church planters or campus pastors at a new site versus longer-term pastors.

This wave of young pastors focused on church planting and multiplication will have to deal with a challenge that faces all new startups: sustainability.

Estimates vary widely on the survivability of church plants. A study from the North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention of over 1,000 churches (from 11 evangelical networks and denominations) to discover the factors leading to church plant survivability and health revealed that around 68 percent of church plants still exist four years after having been started.

Church planter Frank Viola believes the average lifespan of a house church is only six months to two years.

And some may wonder if new church plants are simply keeping up with established church closures. Southern Baptist researcher Thom Rainer believes between 8,000 and 10,000 churches close every year.

5 Things I Have to Do, but Don’t Like Doing, as a Leader

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A friend asked me once to name the things I do as a leader because I have to, but don’t necessarily like to. He even had a term for it. He called it the “underbelly of leadership.”

It was a great question. It caused me to think. There are actually lots of things I do that I don’t enjoy doing. That’s likely what most of us call work. But, what do I “have” to do?

Here’s a stab at an answer to the question.

Here are five things I have to do as a leader, but don’t always like to do:

Managing

I much prefer leading a vision to managing the process of accomplishing the vision. I love big pictures, but I stress over details. Part of my role, however, as a leader is to make sure the vision is actually accomplished and not simply painted. Many people start with great ideas, but the reality is few finish. Leading often starts very well. Managing effectively gets it done.

Correcting

I would rather receive the “Best Boss” award by being “Mr. Nice Guy.” Part of the leader’s responsibility, however, is to offer constructive criticism—and sometimes correction—so the team gets better and the organization continues to improve.

Patience

I know patience is a fruit of the Spirit, but it is the fruit I struggle with the most. I want accomplishment and I want it sooner rather than later. I have to recognize, however, fast is not always best and others on my team are wired differently from me for a reason. They balance me well.

Submitting

I would rather have it my way. (Did I just admit that?) The fact is, however, there are smarter people than me on our team about some issues, and if things are only done my way we will be limited to my strength and not the strength of the team.

Failing

I like to win. I want success and progress. It is how I am wired, and the desire for a win keeps me focused on accomplishing the vision through strategy and diligence. The fact remains, however, some of my greatest growth times in life and leadership have come through times of personal failure. I have to allow failure in my life and in the life of our team in order to help us to learn ways to improve—through failing.

This article originally appeared here.

Dear Church Shopper

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Over the years, there have been many children who have served as evangelists to their parents. A kid plugs into one of our #kidmin programs, and in no time, the parent who was once a mere wave in a car now joins his child as an essential part of the tribe.

There are usually four types of persons to which these little evangelists introduce me, and their responses sound something like this;

Before (now) Branded Beatriz: “I don’t mean to cut you off, but we are already strongly committed to another church. My son is just coming here to be with his friends. Also, please don’t expect me to play any other role but simply dropping him at your church door, and promptly picking him up at 5:30. One last thing, keep the small talk to a minimum, please.”

Radically Rigid Rick: “Before my family commits, I need to see an exact list of all doctrinal statements that have been explored within your denomination over the past 200 years. I want to assure that we will be on the same page 100 percent of the time on all theological matters. Oh, and the second that someone implies a spiritual thought that differs from my convictions, we are outta here!”

Hesitantly Hanging Back Hal: “OK, Lady. You’re puttin’ off a real ‘Mandy-Moore-from-Saved’ vibe right now and since I didn’t understand most of the words in that service, I’m just gonna smile ‘til you’re done talkin’ and then politely leave. Side-note: I didn’t know cults had such good donuts.”

Transparently Toying-With-the-Idea Tia: “Hey, can we do coffee sometime? I really would like to chat about church. I am not really sure what questions to ask, but I just believe in my heart that my family needs this. We need to focus on the spiritual side of life, and I want to explore the ways that the church can support us in this.”

As always, I leave each well-intended conversation regretting that I did not say more; hence this letter.

Dear Church Shopper, 

Thank you for all that you withstood to get to church this morning. I am sure you endured wardrobe battles with your kids and there is a (big) chance that walking by our greeter led to an awkward conversation; so for all that you sacrificed to check us out—thank you.

I know you sense the Divine in your life, and you desire to put words to this experience. You’ve come to the right place. The church can be extremely helpful in this endeavor.

Now before we go any further, there is something I must first address. I offer advanced apologies for the behaviors of some that you might meet here. Although Christ is transforming lives in this church, some of us still do or say things that are far from Christ-like. To type frankly, there are a few whack-a-doos and jerks in those pews. Nothing seems to scare shoppers like yourself away quicker, so they have earned this third paragraph.

All of us come with areas of growth, and some in our church community (like in any community) lack a level of self-awareness that would enable them to improve upon these areas. While we do not condone their actions, Christ calls us to see them through a lens of grace and accountability.

Knowing this does not make them easier to love. And honestly, some might never be easy to love. However, you did not just enter the “United Church of [that whack-a-doo/jerk you just met in the pew]”; nor is it the “United Church of [that very hypocritical Christian from nine years ago that ruined organized religion for you]”.

This is the church that follows, worships and seeks to become like Jesus (the) Christ. It’s not about their hypocritical acts (albeit these are distracting to our faith). It’s about who we become when God lovingly molds us. And we cannot become who we were meant to be alone. We were made for community.

While these souls will be part of your church experience, you will also meet others whose hearts beat for justice and mercy. Those who are seeking to be more and more Christ-like every day. Those who, like you, are seeking to do life with an authentic faith community. Those who will join you through life’s deepest joys and darkest days. Those whose love will remove all doubt that God made you, knows you and lovingly creates an abundant life with and for you. Yes—those people are here too (they’re just two pews back).

Christ-led commitment like this in no way guarantees that we will agree on all theological matters all of the time. However, it is our role as your church staff to equip you to grapple through these moments with grace. While this equipping can happen in other places, the church carries this out through studying the Bible, prayer, worship, fellowship and encouraging your talents through acts of service.

Compared to the rest of your week, some pieces of the church-life might bore you. Realistically, I would like to think that this won’t always be the case. I believe that it will become more soul-nourishing as we grow as a community. I would like to think that as we passionately use our talents to serve others, worshipping together would naturally become more electric. However, this might not always hold true.

Three months might pass, and while you are giving it your all, you might still find certain pieces as stagnant, or eve—life-sucking. In these moments of discontent, God could be using you to catalyze our church forward. Please share these thoughts and feelings with our church staff.

While we are not aiming for boring, we will occasionally aim for different. Some pieces of our service might feel a little (OK very) foreign to you. For any discomfort—we apologize. It is meant to occasionally feel different because it is meant to be sacred. Unlike the rest of your week where you check it off your list or are entertained by it, worship calls for a vulnerable participation.

Worship calls for us to be open to the voice of the Holy One as we remember, anticipate and celebrate the restorative acts of God in our lives. The more we partake in worship the easier it is for us to hear this voice throughout our week. Consider Sunday morning as a volume knob. The more you partake, the louder the voice of God resounds in and through your life.

So wear whatever you want, be in whatever mood you want and try turning that knob with us this Sunday. God has already been speaking to you and we would be delighted to join you in that conversation.

Hopefully & Happily,
Your Church Staff

This article originally appeared here.

6 Questions I’m Hearing From Young People Raised in Evangelical Churches

communicating with the unchurched

I heard these questions from young people in the 1980s, but they tended to die down (at least among young people in my denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, who were then in the midst of our conservative resurgence). With no desire to use this post to enter into theological debates, I want to review some of the same questions I’m beginning to hear again—often among college students raised in Christian homes.

  1. “How do I know the Bible is true?” Few young people I know are willing to accept their parents’ faith at face value. They respect the Bible, but that doesn’t mean they always accept it as truth.
  2. “If God is love, won’t He accept love in any relationship?” Some young folks accept the Bible’s description of God as love, but they turn to other sources to define that love. They thus broaden their definition beyond biblical parameters.
  3. “Does it really matter whether I go to church?” “If my faith is between me and God,” some say, “I don’t really need to be part of a church.” A spirit of individualism overshadows any sense of needing other believers as witnesses and encouragers.
  4. “Might there be more than one way to God?” Often raised among followers of other world faiths, many young people struggle understanding why God would judge their friends and classmates.
  5. “Who cares what denomination the church is?” The question is an honest one for a generation raised in local churches that often themselves exhibited little denominational connection or loyalty.
  6. “How do I know if this whole ‘religion thing’ isn’t just manmade?” They hear that thinking from others at times, and few believers have taken the time to try to answer that question.

Maybe these questions aren’t so new after all. Perhaps they’re simply a reminder of an important truth for church leaders: Just because we tried to answer the questions in one generation doesn’t mean they won’t come around again. And, if we aren’t willing to hear and tackle the questions, we’ll lose another generation.

What other questions are you hearing from young people?

This article originally appeared here.

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