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The Village Church Transition: Ushering in the End of the Megachurch Era?

By
Megan Briggs
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Megachurch
Screenshot YouTube @TheVillageChurch

Matt Chandler is the lead pastor of The Village Church in Texas. Currently, the church has five campuses located throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but a recent announcement indicates this multi-site model will soon be changing.

“My heart was always multiplication, that we wouldn’t want to just horde people and resources in one location, but really we wanted to be actively involved in seeing gospel works planted all around us,” Chandler says.

The plan is to help the five campuses transition to “autonomous churches” by 2022. The purpose in transitioning is to free up these congregations so they can plant more churches themselves and engage in their communities as well as be more involved with the global work of the church.

In a video posted to a website devoted to announce the transition, Chandler explains the multi-site model was born out of a season of the church where they were experiencing rapid growth and needed more space. “It’s been a really rich, beautiful season,” Chandler says. A season he and the leadership of the church, which sees a weekly attendance of around 10,000 across their campuses, feel is coming to a close. Chandler sees the transition as an opportunity to follow the Holy Spirit’s direction.

The leadership has identified a handful of positive implications transitioning could have. Namely: improved focus and contextualization, multiplication, and a chance to embrace succession and allow it to succeed instead of resisting it.

Beau Hughes, pastor of the Denton campus, says the transition has caused increased unity in his congregation. “In the last 10 years of being a pastor here, I’ve never seen anything that has more beautifully united us and formed us together as a congregation than the transition because it thrust upon us the responsibilities that come with being a church.”

Plano Campus pastor Hunter Hall acknowledges the transition is new and different, and could potentially have speed bumps. But he asks, “Are we willing to risk what is for the sake of what could be?”

This sentiment echoes what Chandler feels of the transition as well. “It doesn’t go well for the people of God” when they stay in comfortable situations, he says.

The move is similar to the transitions Tim Keller’s Redeemer Church in New York City has undergone in an effort to fulfill “a vision for not being a megachurch.”

One has to wonder, in light of churches like The Village and Redeemer, if the age of the megachurch or multi-site church is coming to a close. Is it time now when we will see the resurgence of the local church?

5 Simple Changes to Make Your Church More Unchurched Friendly

By
Rich Birch
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

You got into the ministry to reach people with the timeless message of Jesus. At some time in your journey, you’ve probably shed tears over the fact that there are people in your community who don’t follow him. You didn’t get in this to keep the people who are already “saved” but you feel called to seek people who need him deeply. You want to echo the story of the scripture that shows a loving God pursuing humanity. You want to reach unchurched people.

But where do you begin? What are the simple things that each of us could do to make our churches more open to unchurched people? There are literally thousands of changes you could undertake, but here are five that I believe your church could implement in the coming months to make a huge difference:

Double Down on Big Days

There are a handful of days during the year that unchurched people are more likely to attend. Although they vary slightly from context to context, they include Christmas Eve, Easter, Mother’s Day, “First Sunday Back in the Fall” and somewhere around the start of the calendar year. You and your leadership team needs to be placing an extra effort on these days to ensure that three things happen with extra intensity during these special days:

  • Invite More People – Too many churches spend too much time worrying about what is happening during the service on these “big days” that they forget to focus their efforts on ensuring that their people invite their friends! You need to pull out all the stops to ensure that your people are going out of their way to bring their friends to this service. Unchurched people are more willing to attend on these days and so we need our people to take some efforts and invite their friends!
  • Welcome Them Warmly – Again, so much time and effort is put into the special music or maybe the message on these days that leaders forget that most unchurched people have formed their opinions of your church long before they sit in their seat. Ensure your guest services team is on point and ready to greet people warmly (not creepily!) on these days. Take time to think through every step, from the moment they arrive at your location all the way through until they leave at the end of the day.
  • Follow Up & Invite Back – Finally, you’ve worked so hard to get them to come to your church, you’ve provided an incredibly engaging experience, and you had an amazing message mixed in there somewhere…but what next!? The momentum and weight of the service now needs to be pushed toward your guests coming back. Big days are all about earning a compliment in the minds of the guests to say, “Hmm, I’d try that again some time.” Don’t bombard them with a 1,000 messages and don’t talk about everything your church does. All you need to do is, three or four times during the big day invite them to come back next week…that’s it!

Make Your Teaching More Visual

Compelling teaching is at the core of every church that is reaching unchurched people. There is a lot of coaching that could be done to help your teaching connect more with unchurched people, but if there was one thing that we all should do, it would be making our services more visual in that aspect of services. A lot of communicators are still just standing behind a podium of some sort and delivering a “talk,” which has become an outmoded form of communication in the broader culture. Check out these facts about the importance of visual communication:

  • The brain processes visual information 60,000 faster than text. – 3M Corporation, 2001
  • 90 percent of the information that comes to the brain is visual. – Hyerle, 2000
  • Visual aids in the classroom improve learning by up to 400 percent. – 3M Corporation, 2001
  • Approximately 65 percent of the population are visual learners. – Mind Tools, 1998

Here are some easy ways to add a visual element to your messages going forward:

  • Props – So many of the passages we teach from have a visual hook at the center of them; why not bring one of those objects with you to show during your message. In fact, when you read the teachings of Jesus, it seems like he was constantly finding objects around him and using those to tell a bigger story. (For example: lost coin, lost sheep, budding or barren fig tree, lamps under bushels or baskets, wine skins, and sheep & goats, etc.)
  • Engage a Graphic Designer – In most churches, there will be a volunteer or two who would love to help the church in improving its visuals. What if you reached out to them and asked them to partner with you for an upcoming series to develop something in such a way that the graphics are core to the message and not just window-dressings? What if your slides were more than just black background and white text?
  • What Does Your “Stage” Look Like? – Have you taken a step back and seen what your stage looks like? Does it communicate that something that is of importance to your listeners is happening here? Has the “look” been updated since the 1980s? If you’re looking for ideas on what to do with your stage watch a few of the leading TED Talks and notice the environments those speakers are in. Most churches stages are cluttered and unfocused, but you want yours to look contemporary and clean!

Slow Down to Explain Everything.

We are guilty of “too much jargon” in our churches. We have a lot of “insidery” language that we need to eliminate at all costs. Consider this representative list of “Christian jargon” from Tim Keller’s book Preaching:

  • “Lukewarm”
  • “Backsliding”
  • “Seeing fruit”
  • “Spiritual warfare”
  • “…in my walk with the Lord”
  • “I’m praying for an open door”
  • “I’ve been released from that”
  • “That was such a blessing”
  • “That preacher really brought the word”
  • “It was a total God thing”

More than just removing useless language that mostly just confuses people who are new to the church, we need to slow down and take nothing for granted when we communicate as a church. This includes giving definitions of words that are not used in everyday conversations. It means slowing down to give the context of what our various sub-brands are as a church and who they are for. (It’s not self-evident that WonderLand is the ministry for preschoolers!) As well, it means taking time to walk through the Bible in a way that seeks to be clear over being clever, through helping people understand the passages we’re talking about in a way that drives toward life change rather than just trivial knowledge acquisition.

Robust “New Here” Process

What are unchurched people suppose to “do” when they arrive at your church? You can’t make the “next steps” you want each guest to take when they arrive too obvious. In fact, your team should regularly audit this process to ensure that it’s as clear as it possibly can be. You want to reduce every piece of potential friction toward helping people get connected to your community when they arrive.

Here are five questions to ask about what happens when people arrive at your church:

  • How are people supposed to “self-identify” that they are new to our church?
  • Why would I want to let the church know that I’m new to the church?
  • What happens within 24 hours of a guest visiting our church? (72 hours? one week? one month?)
  • If someone asked the question “I want to get connected to your church…what do I do?” what percentage of our team would give the same answer? (Plus, would it be the right answer?)
  • What do we need to stop doing to make our new process clearer to our guests?

Be Remarkable.

“Be genuine. Be remarkable. Be worth connecting with.” – Seth Godin (Marketer and Author, Purple Cow & Liar)

Ninety-four perce nt of churches are losing ground against the population growth of the communities they serve. [ref] At its core, you need to do something that no one else is doing to reach people. As we look around, the vast majority of churches aren’t doing anything that is worth their people talking to their friends about. Change that! Try something that sounds just a little nutty and see what happens. At this point, I would normally give you some examples but I’m going to resist doing that. What I want to do is give you permission to try it! We need to stop playing it safe and do something that gets people talking to each other. You know that thing you’ve been wondering about if it’s worth the risk to do it…do it! Double points if you sense it would appeal to people who don’t attend church on a regular basis.

I love that quote from Seth Godin because it’s the heart of how viral movements grow. They are led by leaders who are themselves…leading from their area of gifting! (Sounds familiar?) They try stuff that people talk to their friends about…they are literally remarkable. At their core, they are communities and people worth building a connection with…and we all want that in our churches!

This article originally appeared here.

5 Thoughts on Charlottesville and Racism

By
Michael Guyer
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Have you felt unsure about how to engage on the issues of race in conversations with others or online?

You definitely condemn racism and white supremacy. But you’re not sure what else to say and how else to respond. Following the recent events in Charlottesville, I’ve found this true for many people, but especially white Christians.

If we are honest, white Christians have all too often been slow to speak on issues of race and are dismissive once we do. However, I know I don’t want this to be true of me. Yet, if you are like me, you may find yourself feeling hesitant to respond and, at times, exasperated over how others are responding.

Perhaps you feel paralyzed from engaging in discussion. You want to say something but don’t quite know what or how to say it. You see the lack of racial reconciliation in your own life and your church. You may be frustrated by what seems to be the politicization of the issue and the bias (real or perceived) of mainstream media. The combination of all these may leave you fearful of how speaking up will be interpreted and if it will be helpful.

In The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation, Andrew Walker put it this way: “It seems, at times, there are too many landmines, and too many unforgivable sins in the discourse. But in order for us to grow together, we must not let the headwinds of complexity discourage a steady course towards reconciliation.” (3)

As we face these headwinds of complexity, my fear is that we will either dismiss these issues as too difficult to address or become indifferent to their importance in our lives, our communities and our churches. Trillia Newbell warns us: “So often what hinders racial reconciliation is apathy to the topic of race.” (48)

Rather than dismissing the conversation out of apathy, we must lament and weep over the pain of racism and white supremacy. Rather than shut down out of exasperation, we must make room for conversation—to both listen well and speak wisely. Rather than ignoring the voices of others, we must seek to learn and live out racial reconciliation.

To do this will require overcoming some of the reflexive thoughts we often have in response to this topic. Instead, a better response would be to grow in understanding, press into conversations with others, and work for change and reconciliation in our personal lives, local churches and communities.

What are some of those reflexive thoughts? You might be thinking…

I’m not a racist!

I’m grateful that the vast majority of people would refuse this label today. However, in recent days we have also seen many who do not. We must realize that our aversion to the title does not dismiss the possibility of prejudice in our hearts or the presence of racism within our society.

Thabiti Anyabwile captures the importance of this type of honest reflection:

The potential for racism lurks in every human heart, even if we have experienced a large measure of victory over it. We must be vigilant. We must set a guard over our hearts, minds and mouths. If we don’t, we are going to continue to be ill-equipped for this work of reconciliation. We are going to continue to find ourselves surprised and even upset and divided when we least expect. We must take seriously the reality and the deceitfulness of sin and protect God’s image in one another if we want to see progress and racial reconciliation. (30)

One way we can take seriously the reality and deceitfulness of racism is entering the discussion with a posture of humility. Sin runs deep in our hearts. We ought to always leave room to evaluate our own hearts, confess our sins and lament the sins of our society. This is not to say you are racist even though you say you are not. But don’t let this response dismiss your part in the larger discussion or avoid pressing deeper into the issue.

Two particular areas many white Christians often avoid are white privilege and systemic racism. There tends to either be a reflexive dismissal or merely a passive acceptance of these two realities. If I am honest, I am guilty of this as well. It is at these points that white Christians need to learn from and engage in conversation with people of color. In this area, I have benefited greatly from the work and leadership of Jemar Tisby, Thabiti Anyabwile, Jarvis Williams, Trillia Newbell, Walter Strickland and D.A. Horton. These conversations so desperately need to happen in the context of the local church because only in Christ can we see the depth of sin in our society and respond to our position in it (whether privileged or not) for God’s glory and the good of others. We need the eyes of God and the people of God to see and rightly respond to white privilege and systemic racism.

Racial justice and reconciliation is ultimately a matter of discipleship. Anyabwile asks a provoking question, “Do you have a place under the banner of Christian discipleship for renewing your mind on racial issues? Is that mind renewal central to what it means to be a Christian and a follower of Christ?…We are immobilized because we are not discipled.” (33-34)

Continue

3 Choices Every Couple in Ministry Needs to Make

By
Paul Chappell
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Terrie will never let me forget our first couples retreat at Lancaster Baptist Church. Trying to save on cost, I rented a large house by a lake, rather than reserving hotel rooms. And I was such a rookie pastor that I literally had the men sleep on the first floor and the ladies on the second floor.

Actually, it was a great retreat—no couples fought in their rooms that night! Thankfully, however, I’ve advanced as a pastor beyond conducting separated couples retreats, and we now host our retreats in a hotel.

Yet, a pastor never advances beyond needing to invest in his own marriage. For as much labor and energy as you invest into teaching others God’s principles for marriage, you need to be sure you are applying those principles in your own life.

Satan fights marriage, specifically because God designed marriage as a picture of the gospel. And I believe he gives added attention to Christian marriages because these can showcase Christ’s love. Furthermore, spiritual leaders stand in special jeopardy of Satan’s attack because of their influence on others.

This should not evoke fear, because we know from 1 John 4, “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world,” and that “there is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:4, 18).

But it should challenge us to not take our marriages for granted, but to invest in our marriages and to give to our spouses at least as much as we teach others to do.

How do we pastors and spiritual leaders encourage others to invest in their marriages? Here are three basics with specific applications for couples, and particularly for husbands, in ministry:

1. Love one another.

I know that sounds basic—of course married couples should love each other.

But where we sometimes fail is expressing that love.

We know, for instance, that God is love and that He loved us when we were yet His enemies (Romans 5:8–10). But God was not just a Being of love—He expressed His love on Calvary.

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.—Romans 5:8

When it comes to marriage, God specifically commands husbands to the highest standard of love: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (Ephesians 5:25).

I know, on my part, that I fall way short of that sacrificial love model Jesus gave. But I truly desire to grow every day into the likeness of Christ, and that growth includes learning to express love to Terrie.

Think of this in practical terms.

It might be a consistent date every week. Everyone is busy, but the unpredictability of needs that arise when you are a pastor can make a regular date night a challenge. Yet, working to have one shows your wife she is important to you.

It might be thoughtful deeds around the house. Even doing something relatively small that isn’t part of your normal routine to help with can be a blessing to your wife.

Perhaps you’ve heard the analogy of an emotional love bank. Ideally, you’re filling your spouse’s love bank every day. For us pastors, however, we have a tendency to become constantly hurried. Through a continually shifting schedule or little relational connection, we can actually be taking withdrawals from our spouse’s love bank. We need to take care to make deposits into each other day after day.

2. Labor together.

Although you can’t share the exact same schedule and have the same areas in which you personally serve, you and your spouse are a team in ministry. Work to stay engaged as a team.

The most obvious way to do this is to look for the areas where you can physically serve together. Make visits together. Host people in your home together. Disciple couples together. And pray together for needs within your church family. You can’t share every aspect of ministry, but look for and enjoy the areas you can serve together.

Even beyond this, however, you labor together as your labor complements each other’s. For instance, Terrie teaches the fourth-grade girls class at Lancaster Baptist Church. She loves teaching this class for the sake of the students and for how it connects her with our church family. Additionally, she teaches the ladies Bible study. I’ll probably never teach the ladies Bible study or her fourth-grade girls class, but her teaching in these venues gives us a way to be connected to the same goals and the same people in ministry.

Consider Priscilla and Aquila, who the apostle Paul called “my helpers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3). Undoubtedly, as this couple opened their home as a location for a local church (1 Corinthians 16:19), they each served in different capacities. One may have baked for the Sunday services, and another may have organized the logistics. But, however they each helped, they were a team serving the Lord and this congregation together.

3. Laugh together.

There are valleys in ministry—there’s no question about that. There will be times you cry together and pray with one another.

Yet, there are fun aspects to the ministry as well. It’s exciting to see souls saved. Enjoy ministry activities together. Attend a sharpening conference that renews your spirit. Proverbs 17:22 tells us, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” So learn to have a merry heart together.

Don’t always rehash every problem of the ministry when you’re together. Make sure that you’re not always focusing on which family left the church or which financial burden is most pressing.

I’m thankful for how Terrie has encouraged me to enjoy ministry and find fun in it. Learn to keep it light and to spend time praising God together.

With God’s Calling…

You’ve heard the saying: “With God’s calling comes God’s enabling.” This thought is rooted in 1 Thessalonians 5:24: “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.” It’s a wonderful promise from God that He will perform through us that which He has called us to do.

When it comes to your marriage and the ministry, here is what you have to remember: They are both God’s calling.

Your marriage is a gift from God (Proverbs 18:22). And the ministry is a “trust” from God (1 Thessalonians 2:4, 1 Timothy 1:11). So we are responsible to invest in both.

We sabotage our success, however, when we start out with the faulty assumption that we are facing an either/or proposition. Don’t pit these two institutions of God—the home and the church—against each other by believing that you can only succeed in one.

These are not to be competing but completing responsibilities. And God promises to give us the grace we need for both.

This is part two of a three-part series on ministry families. In part one we looked at parenting and ministry. In part three, we’ll look at what it is like having grown children in the ministry.

This article originally appeared here.

How Much Do You Charge to Speak to Our Church?

By
Joe McKeever
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

“Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyared and does not eat the fruit of it?” (I Corinthians 9:7)

“We’d like to invite you to speak to our church (or our seniors group or whatever). But we’re small and I’m not sure we could afford you. How much do you charge?”

I get this a lot.

In the first place, I’m excited (and more than a little relieved!) that any church would invite me to do anything—preach a sermon, teach a class, speak at a banquet or sit in a room and sketch the children. So, I’m always honored. Always, no matter the size of the church.

God knows my heart.

But I’m always a little flummoxed when people ask about the fee. I reply, “I don’t charge anything.” But that is not the entire story.

Two aspects to this: First, my situation.

I’m a minister of the Gospel. And those who preach the gospel have a right to live off the gospel. Scripture says so, right there in I Corinthians 9:14.

Here’s what I have heard in recent days from people inviting me…

—“Well, we don’t normally pay a speaker for our senior adult meetings.” 

No doubt, most of their monthly speakers are local. When I drive five miles to speak to seniors at a neighborhood church, I don’t expect anything other than a handshake. And that’s usually what they give. But I pointed out to this friend, “You’re asking me to drive a hundred miles and speak to your group and sketch everyone there. It’s going to take the better part of the day. I think you should run this by your pastor.”

Pastors understand this. Laypeople often do not.

They invited me.

—“You mean you would charge us to come speak to our seniors?”

I answered, “No. I don’t charge anything.” And I kept talking…

“If your church is needy, I’ll be happy to do this for nothing. Believe me, I will. But if it’s not struggling, then you should pay the expenses of getting the guest preacher there. In my case, that means the mileage. And then, you add whatever honorarium you wish to give.”

I suggested the one inviting me should run this by the preacher. Preachers know.

They invited me.

I was relieved in both instances that I was able to tell them plainly how this is done without their being offended. That’s not always the case.

Many years ago, I was serving as a staff member of a church and we were struggling financially. A friend from a church in my past asked me to drive a hundred miles on a Saturday and address a group of leaders in their association on forming and maintaining a youth rally, a subject I had a good deal of experience with. Then, after the meeting, we traveled to a church where teenagers from local churches had been invited and I addressed them. The entire event—the drive, the meetings, the meal—took five or six hours.

At the conclusion, my friend said, “We don’t owe you anything, do we?”

Now, my friend was famous for being a skinflint—smile please—but that surprised me. They’d even taken an offering in the youth rally that night.

Of course, being inexperienced and caught off guard, I said, “Of course not,” and returned home.

Did they “owe” me? I’d answer it this way: The man they had invited to help them that afternoon and evening was God’s man, called into the full-time ministry and dependent on the Lord for his livelihood. They owed it to the Lord to take care of the one He sent to assist them.

You do it for Jesus’ sake.

Whatever you do to the preacher in providing hospitality—or even a cup of cold water, see Matthew 10:42—Jesus takes personally.

And the other situation: Ministers who are not 77 years old and retired! 

Think of this. Being retired, I have social security and receive a monthly amount from my retirement account for housing expenses. I could almost live on that. But most ministers are still “in the traces,” as we say on the farm, and are totally dependent on the income they receive from churches they serve.

That’s true of ministers in a church, whether the pastor or a staff minister.

It’s true of ministers who are retired from the military and receive a pension of some kind. To their shame, I’ve known of hard-hearted members unwilling to give a pastor a decent salary if he has that military pension.

And how much more this is true if the minister is a full-time vocational itinerant evangelist (or with some similar ministry). If you know of such a minister, and if you find him in a relaxed moment, ask for his horror stories on this. Some churches make great demands on their visiting minister, then hand him a check that fails to pay even his mileage. And once again, if a church is hurting and struggling financially and that’s all they can do, that’s one thing. An evangelist would still be glad to help them out.

But if a church is willfully stingy and take advantage of their guest preachers, they bring shame upon the name of Jesus Christ. And their leaders will be held accountable.

Sometimes churches are stingy because of a dominating layperson who absolutely will not allow the church to be generous. In such a case, the pastor and a half-dozen leaders should serve notice to him that he will not be making that decision. They can make it stick if they’ll be firm. (In most cases, the hard-hearted layperson has been a member there for a hundred years and a key decision-maker for most of that. But this is not his church and he should not be allowed to rule as an autocrat.)

Generous churches honor their Lord. Any church that blesses the servant of Christ is honoring the Lord of that servant.

Church leaders should inquire as to what guest preachers are being paid. They have a right to this information. And if it seems to be lacking, they should speak up.

Lastly, I say to all ministers in the Lord’s work, whether part-time or full-time, whether traveling or tied to one location, the Lord is your Source. Jesus Christ is your Portion. Look to Him for your needs.

He will never fail you. See 2 Corinthians 3:5 and Philippians 4.

Thank you very much!

This article originally appeared here.

Church of England Resurrects Tradition to Attract Millennials

By
Meredee Berg
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Tradition
Wikipedia - Church of England

In the past we’ve touched on the delicate balance that churches must maintain while appealing to millennials without pandering or changing theology. But what if we’re focusing our efforts in the wrong places?

What if the loud music and fog machines are actually clouding the Holy Spirit and preventing people from connecting with God? What if, instead of adapting to a modernized culture with our church services, we kicked it old school? Like, really old.

Well, that’s exactly what the Church of England is doing. Despite growing secularism in the country, the church has seen attendance grow over the past several years with the help of a centuries-old liturgical tradition: Evensong. Choral Evensong is an evening prayer service that is delivered mostly through song, offering a restful, reflective time to worship God and pause from the busy-ness of life. The choir performs live and is often highly skilled and well-trained.

According to The Economist, many cathedrals and churches like Westminster Abbey recorded a 30 percent or more increase in Evensong attendance between 2008 and 2012. The website ChoralEvensong.org was even launched in order to facilitate the growing desire to learn about evensong and find church services that offer the weekly prayers.

Guy Hayward, editor of the Choral Evensong website, told Religion News Service, “A lot of people don’t want to directly engage with the church, they don’t want to go in through the front door, as it were. They are looking for a side entrance and choral evensong provides that. They are attracted by artistic expression and then by osmosis they find it spiritually appealing.”

The widespread appeal could also be due to a much-needed slowing down that many millennials and others crave in a fast-paced, instant-gratification culture. Its origins, being rooted in the Scripture, doctrine and poetry, give worshippers a sense of history and reverence for tradition—something that can be lacking in many worship services we find today.

Neil McCleery, assistant chaplain at one of Oxford’s oldest chapels, recently said it is rare to see attendance below 150 at a weekend evensong, contradicting the idea that church is facing inevitable decline. Many clergy like McCleery see this as an opportunity to draw more people into a relationship with the church.

“We get a lot of people who perhaps come to faith or return to faith by being drawn into that worship experience,” he said. “I do wonder if it might be related to the trend for mindfulness in this era where we are constantly bombarded from the Internet, from media, from mobile, which are hard to get away from.”

The varied musical forms and passages of spoken liturgy mixed with moments of contemplative silence lends balance and completeness to the form of the service, according to ChoralEvensong.org. The high percentage of music is what distinguishes it from other church services for most people and appeals to locals and tourists alike.

So what can we learn from this unforeseen surge in attendance in the otherwise post-Christian culture of the U.K.? With millennials leaving the church and a severe decline in denominational membership in America, perhaps returning to a disciplined, reverent worship service would have newcomers lining up to get inside the doors of our churches rather than exiting through them en masse.

Kaepernick, Speech, and a Job: The Cleat May Soon be on the Other Foot

By
Ed Stetzer
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NFL Kneel
Baltimore Ravens strong safety Tony Jefferson (23) and Baltimore Ravens outside linebacker Matt Judon, left, kneel down with teammates during the playing of the U.S. national anthem before an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday Sept. 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Free speech can be quite controversial.

But this shouldn’t be surprising. If we all agreed on everything, we wouldn’t need the First Amendment. Unpopular speech is why we have the First Amendment. And, let me be clear, Colin Kaepernick was exercising his First Amendment right when he kneeled during the national anthem.

Yesterday, President Trump exercised his right to speak out when he called on NFL owners to release players who took a knee during the anthem. And when the president called on fans to boycott NFL football, that was still about citizens exercising a right.

So, none of these things are illegal. But the question is, Are they helpful?

To be honest, I don’t know much about football. Google only recently told me that Kaepernick is a quarterback. He has been protesting what he sees as racial injustice in America by kneeling during the national anthem.

Protests and Patriotism

Now, let me say, I’m not a big fan of “totalizing” protests—the national anthem is a symbol of many things and so much of that is good. Furthermore, the flag and the anthem represent the sacrifice of many who have fought and died for freedoms, including the freedom of speech we are discussing today. As such, I do find such protests disrespectful.

However, I do not have to be a fan of the protest to reflect on the president’s comments and how Christians might react. So here are a few ways we might respond to what is now a national conversation surrounding Kaepernick and President Trump.

How Might We Respond?

First, the response of many African Americans (including fellow Christians) should give us pause to reflect on their response.

Sure, I get it. Like me, many of you are offended by people who dishonor the flag and the anthem. Patriotism is important to me, and we even read the Declaration of Independence at our house on July 4. And we stand for the anthem because we are thankful for this country.

Yet, if you saw the news earlier today, you saw many African American players kneeling, joining Kaepernick in what many see as an un-patriotic moment. This protest was initially only a few players, but in the wake of President Trump’s comments, we have seen a growing number of African Americans speaking out on social media and on the football field in defense of those who took to their knees.

Leading athletes who typically avoid controversy have spoken passionately in support of peaceful protest. Benjamin Watson, a well-known evangelical player with his own author page at the Gospel Coalition, tweeted:

At this time engagement is paramount. Divisions are restored by listening and acting. Divisions are widened by name calling and dismissing.

I’ve published literally tens of thousands of words about the concerns Kaepernick raises, so I encourage you to take a moment to get beyond the protest and consider the issues.

For many white evangelicals, our first reaction to these protests might be confusion or, worse, anger. But when a community speaks as quickly and in unison about their pain, frustration, and fear, we are obligated—by our love for the Body of Christ and by our mission to bring the love of Christ to all—to stop first and tweet later.

In light of this calling, our first action before reaching for Twitter or switching the channel is to reflect in prayer on the causes behind these reactions. Then, we should ask how we can act.

Second, we should ask if the responses here are helpful.

Yes, everyone here has the right to speak. This includes Kaepernick and the president. But we need to ask, Are their words and actions helping?

Fundamental to patriotism is the belief in free speech—it’s part of why soldiers have fought and died in defense of this American experiment. And before the leader of the free world became involved, it was just that—a protest of racial injustice. For what it’s worth, I thought it an unhelpful protest, but it is one that has happened before and the republic has survived.

Regrettably and unnecessarily, President Trump’s comments have further divided the country, since this is not simply a protest about football, but about race. Kaepernick was an unsigned quarterback yesterday. This simply did not need a response from the president.

Yesterday, Marc Short indicated that the “The president believes it is his role to improve race relations.” Whether you agree or disagree with the president’s comments, this did not help that cause.

Third, yes, this is unpopular speech, but it is worth remembering that Christians have some unpopular speech as well.

This might be a time to “do unto others as we want done unto us.”

Perhaps an evangelical-focused hypohetical might help. Consider if Hillary Clinton were president and she called out professors for having a discriminatory (what evangelicals call “biblical”) view of marriage, encouraging universities to fire people who hold such beliefs, and to boycott schools that hold such doctrines.

I am not saying this would have happened. However, looking at current cultural trajectory, and how dissenters are being treated (see examples below), it would not be hard for some to imagine such a scenario—which may help illustrate the point to my fellow evangelicals.

And, might I add, if she were to do this, President Hillary Clinton would have been exercising her free speech.

So, everyone here has a right to do what they are doing. But again, let’s ask, Is it helpful?

Simply put, do we really want to force people to lose their jobs because we disagree with them?

If current trends continue, Christians will be penalized for their speech soon enough. Actually, some already have been. This is one of the great issues of religious liberty right now. Most of these realities, however, have to do with employment or businesses—so don’t miss this.

The president of Mozilla lost his job, British politicians have been forced to resign, and bakers and florists have lost their livelihood.

Why? Well, they didn’t kneel to the prevailing views of the day.

So, ultimately, the question is, Can we hold an unpopular opinion and keep our jobs?

If you don’t think that’s an issue, you have not been paying attention to the recent religious test debates.

A Better Way

I think we all want to live in a country where presidents and politicians are not going after certain groups of people and targeting their employment due to the unpopularity of their beliefs.

I understand (and actually agree) that Kaepernick’s approach was not helpful. There is a time and a place for peaceful protest in civil society. However, his selection of time and space during the singing of the national anthem—moments set aside to honor the sacrifice of countless patriots—was an unwise choice. (And, thankfully, you can have a different opinion.) However, it appears that almost all other players agreed—until the president started calling for people to be fired.

As a patriot, I defend the right of people to peacefully protest by simply taking a knee.

So, before you disagree, NFL fans can do what they want. And the president can say what he wants.

But before you cheer on his words while tearing down the words of others, keep in mind that speech is free even when it’s unpopular. And that, depending on the circumstances, unpopular speech is sometimes your speech and related to your job.

In other words, the cleat may soon be on the other foot.

This article originally appeared here.

Have We Become Too Dependent on Songs?

By
David Santistevan
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

The problem with worship songs is that we become dependent on them.

But I love songs. I really do. But they are a blessing and a curse. While worship is a song, it’s not only a song. And we can become so accustomed to songs that our hearts have forgotten how to worship.

When was the last time you were alone in a room without an incredible song, and just poured your heart out to God?

Have songs become more than they should be?

Preparation for Sunday morning becomes scouring CCLI for the top songs and picking our favorites. There’s no need to pray. There’s no need to consider our people. There’s no need for pastoral, theological consideration.

Instead of only picking songs, we should be asking these questions:

  • What is on God’s heart?
  • What is God saying?
  • What truths do we need to declare?
  • Where are we lacking?
  • What do we need to repent of?
  • What is God calling us to?
  • Who is Jesus?
  • What facet of God’s glory do we need to behold?

This shifts your worship planning from “picking out songs” to leading the church in healthy, systematic declarations. It becomes not just the singing time but the time to encounter truth and declare greater realities.

It’s not just a meeting with songs but an encounter with Heaven. I know you may be ready to lead songs, but are you ready to run into His presence?

Worship and Time Constraints

Sometimes when I lead worship, I don’t get through many songs. Because I’ve learned to go where the worship is happening. If worship is happening, there just isn’t a need to rush through a set. Sit for a while. Sing spontaneous songs. Lead people in declarations. Read Scripture. Let the moment breathe.

Obviously, Sunday morning isn’t always the place for that kind of patience and spontaneity. There are time constraints and multiple services and parking lots to clear. And the Holy Spirit knows that. Deep, Spirit-led worship doesn’t need to be long to be effective. It just needs to be planned well and lead well.

The issue isn’t how much time we have, though extended times of worship are wonderful and refreshing. The issue is the state of our hearts and our ability to worship Jesus over and above worshiping worship leaders and worship songs.

Singing through a worship set isn’t enough. The worship leaders who will lead in the future won’t be skilled song leaders. They will be skilled in leading rooms in secret place encounters with God. They will help people engage with God on a new level. They will help people see Scripture a little clearer. They will help people place their hope and trust in something greater.

Simply put, they help others find their voice rather than trumpeting their own. Let me say that again. The worship leaders of tomorrow will help others find their voice rather than trumpeting their own.

It won’t be about big stages and grand opportunities. It will simply be about faithfulness to make the Bride’s song as strong and unified and beautiful as it can be for her Bridgegroom.

So let’s not just become better song leaders. Stop spending all your time picking better songs, executing songs well and worshiping worship songs. Use songs as a tool for the real thing—true, real, genuine encounters with Jesus. Heaven touching earth.

A worship leader dependent on songs will breed a congregation dependent on songs.

So what do you think? Have we become too dependent on songs?

I’d love to hear your input on this.

This article originally appeared here.

10 Ways to Grow a Church Prayer Meeting

By
Chuck Lawless
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Many of the great movements of God throughout church history have begun with people praying for God to move in a mighty way. We desperately need this kind of movement, but our North American churches often have few real prayer meetings. I encourage you to establish a prayer meeting time, and then challenge your members to get involved.

  1. Don’t give up before you ever get started. It’s not easy to grow a prayer meeting. It’s hard work, and it’s usually slow. Other churches have given up on it. I understand all of these reasons, but I also understand that we’ll not see much happen if we’re not praying. It’s the enemy who wants us to give up on corporate prayer.
  2. Ask God to do what it takes to make you a genuinely praying leader. That’s a scary prayer (for only God knows what He must do to get us there), but we leaders who don’t pray privately have little room to complain about members who don’t show up to pray.
  3. Rejoice over the few. I’ve not seen many prayer meetings that begin with large numbers. If you’re easily disappointed by small numbers, you’ll miss an opportunity to grow a prayer meeting. Thank God for the few who come, and start the growth there.
  4. Enlist someone to oversee the church’s prayer ministry. When no one is taking the lead in prayer, prayer seldom gets done well. Prayerfully find someone to help you grow the prayer ministry.
  5. Expect—even require—staff to be a part of the prayer meeting. I realize they may have other responsibilities during the prayer time, but some are likely available. If so, they send the wrong message if they skip a prayer meeting.
  6. Enlist a prayer liaison for every small group. You need that kind of liaison anyway to keep informed about prayer needs, but having that position will also provide folks who know why prayer meetings matter. They’re more likely to attend, and they can bring others.
  7. Teach about prayer in the meeting, and then pray. Many believers don’t pray well because no one has taught them to pray. Use this time both to teach and to model how to pray, and be sure to let folks know that they’ll learn how to pray as they pray.
  8. Actually pray during the meeting. For many churches, a “prayer meeting” is actually something else + a little prayer. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but you might increase your participation by actually making it a prayer meeting.
  9. Set aside times to pray specifically for the church’s students and children. They deserve our prayer, especially as we challenge them to follow God in a messed-up world. Intentionally pray for them, and encourage parents and grandparents to join you.
  10. Tell stories of answered prayers. Write them in the church newsletter. Celebrate them on the website. With permission, use them as illustrations in sermons and lessons. If your folks hear about the power of prayer more, they’ll want to be a part.

What other ideas would you add? What have you seen work?

This article originally appeared here.

7 Misperceptions About Children’s Ministry Leaders

By
Greg Baird
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Being a Children’s Pastor/Director is so much fun! It’s also one of the more misunderstood roles in the church. People often have no clue what we really do.

Or that it’s hard!

I’m sure you’ve experienced this, if  you’ve been leading in Children’s Ministry longer than a month or two. Please share your stories in the comments below.

7 Misperceptions About Children’s Ministry Leaders

1. That we only work on Sundays.

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked what I did during the week, I’d be a lot better off financially than I am today!

2. That it’s really OK with us if you drop off kids with dirty diapers & snotty noses in the nursery.

Because cleaning up poop is a joy to us, and we’re immune to colds, right?

3. That we really are offering free childcare—program is great but the most important thing is keeping kids occupied while real ministry happens with adults.

Do you know how much babysitters make these days? Maybe we should start charging by the hour!

4. That we’re doing KidMin just until a “real” job opens up in the church.

Just waiting for that youth ministry guy to move in to a senior pastor position, then we’re gonna pounce on the opportunity.

5. That it must be a great job because we spend all our time with kids.

And it is, but adult conversation is also welcome. And, in reality, our job isn’t really about the kids.

6. That we must love it when Pastor goes long in the service because it gives us even more time with the kids.

Um…no.

7. That Children’s Ministry is pretty easy—after all, it’s just kids, right?

How hard can it really be, right? Well, that’s kind of true. Children’s Ministry isn’t that hard at all!

What misperceptions have you experienced in your ministry?

4 Reasons I Believe in Pastors

By
Ronnie Floyd
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

I believe in pastors of local churches. I’d like to share four reasons why I believe in pastors.

1. Pastors are called of God.

Pastors of local churches are not any more perfect than anyone else. Yet, they are called of God to lead the church, equip the people to do ministry, and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. Pastors are accountable.

Pastors have enormous accountability. Pastors are often accused of limited accountability, but pastors are accountable in the highest way. Pastors are accountable to God and they are also accountable to the local church they serve. Regardless of the size of the community or the city they serve, pastors are even accountable to the public.

3. Pastors are difference-makers.

As the pastor goes, so goes the local church. Pastors have a unique opportunity to set the thermostat of the entire church. When a pastor leads effectively, he can be a true difference-maker. God can use pastors to be an impact player that can positively shift the entire direction of the church.

4. Pastors are overcomers.

Pastors face the attacks of Satan continually. Additionally, pastors encounter the attacks of some of their own church members. Sadly, pastors face attacks from other pastors. Yet, if pastors are going to do anything with their lives and through their ministries, they have to be overcomers. Most pastors I know are overcomers.

If you are a pastor, walk humbly before God. We are all just one step away from disaster. Therefore, as you walk humbly before God, walk in His power and seek the prayers of God’s people.

Now Is the Time to Lead,

Dr. Ronnie W. Floyd

This article originally appeared here.

Absorbing Correction: A Mark of a Mature Man

By
Brandon Cox
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Being able to receive correction is key to being a mature man.

I don’t like being corrected or criticized in any way, shape or form. Do you?

I’ve actually never met anyone who welcomed it naturally. It strikes at our pride and evokes a defense mechanism inside of us. However…

If you want to grow up on the inside—and I do like that thought—then you have to get more comfortable with correction.

In the middle of all of Job’s suffering, he managed to come upon a moment of clarity and declared,

Consider the joy of those corrected by God! Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin. For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal. – Job 5:17-18 NLT

What Makes a Mature Man?

When I was a kid, I didn’t get it.

This is going to hurt you more than it’s going to hurt me? 

And now, I’m a parent. And I soooo get it. But I still struggle daily with correction and constructive criticism when it comes. Let me make one caveat—there are people who criticize you, not out of love, but out of a subconscious desire to mark you as beneath themselves. Their criticism flows from an unhealthy, broken place that lashes out in hidden pain.

Let that stuff go. Ignore it. Walk away. Let it roll off your back.

And then there are people who truly love us and want to help us grow. They offer correction, not for our harm but for our growth.

The 10 Commandments of an Effective Sermon Introduction

By
Brandon Kelley
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

What happens if you bomb the sermon introduction? Lean in. Are you ready for this? Nothing, absolutely nothing, good happens if you bomb the sermon introduction. Nothing communicates I don’t care much for what I’m about to say so you can just take a nap like bombing on the first couple minutes of your sermon. And yes, I do mean to be dramatic about this.

If you haven’t grasped this yet, your sermon introduction is vitally important. But what does it look like to knock the introduction out of the park? What are some things to avoid? What are some things to ensure are a part of it? Let’s dive into the 10 commandments of an effective sermon introduction!

The 10 Commandments of an Effective Sermon Introduction

  1. You shall always know where your message is headed before you prepare the sermon introduction. There are few things worse than an introduction that isn’t related to the rest of the sermon.
  2. You shall intentionally attempt to connect with everyone in the room. Visitors shouldn’t feel lost or confused. Avoid Christianeze.
  3. You shall not introduce your introduction. Telling the congregation what you’re going to tell them is redundant and uninteresting. Let it flow like a story.
  4. You shall make it long enough that people lean in. Don’t cut the introduction too short. You may not get everyone on the bus for the journey.
  5. You shall make it short enough that people see the text as the main event. The introduction shouldn’t be the focal point of the sermon. The truth of the text and how it speaks to the introduction and informs and impacts life going forward must be the focal point.
  6. You shall start with a story. Personal ones are best, true ones are great, funny ones are good, made up ones are meh.
  7. You shall start with a question. Questions cause us to not be able to think about anything other than the question. It’s called instinctive elaboration and it’s a real thing.
  8. You shall not start with an announcement. Let some other communication channel do this or make it an action step if it’s a major one.
  9. You shall bring in the problem (our sin, world’s brokenness, etc). Combining a story with a further elaboration on a problem causes people to lean into the solution: God’s word and His gospel.
  10. You shall not be monotone and lack energy. By all means, be yourself. But be the energetic version of yourself. Don’t be afraid to be a bit animated. Be passionate about the fact that you get to share the gospel with the congregation and its visitors.

Want to see an effective sermon introduction? Watch the first five minutes of this message. Did you find yourself wanting to know the question he refers to?

What do you believe is important to include and avoid in a sermon introduction?

This article originally appeared here.

Don’t Forget About the Boy

By
Paul David Tripp
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

Anyone who has been exposed to the Christian tradition will know the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. But just to refresh your memory, I would like you to re-read John 6:1-15 before starting this piece.

SETTING THE SCENE

The fame of Jesus was spreading like wildfire, and understandably so. No one had performed wondrous miracles like this man (v. 2), and no one had spoken with authority like this teacher (Mark 1:22). People everywhere wanted to be in the presence of Jesus, either to reap the physical benefits (like healing), the spiritual benefits (like preaching) or the social benefits (it was the most popular thing to do).

Jesus was tired, physically and emotionally. Remember, he was still only a man—having large and demanding crowds follow you must have been exhausting. To find respite and to spend time with his closest friends, he went to the other side of the Galilee and up a mountain.

That didn’t work—the crowd followed him up the mountain! But Jesus, being the compassionate Savior that he is, didn’t try to escape. He began to make arrangements for the organized chaos that was about to ensue.

THE EYES OF CHRIST

Jesus first saw that the crowd was hungry. Back in this day, there were no shopping mall food courts, service plazas or fast food drive-thrus. These men, women and children had been following Christ for a long time, and they had physical needs.

Jesus also recognized that these people had larger spiritual needs than a one-off meal. Even though they didn’t know it, they were following Jesus because their hearts were empty. Yes, they were physically hungry, but they were spiritually starving to death.

Finally, Jesus knew that the occasion of the crowd’s hunger and the timing of his provision would offer an opportunity to declare who he was. He also knew that this would give him an opportunity to shape his disciples’ faith.

This story is a great reminder for us to have eyes like Christ, always on the lookout for opportunities to care physically and spiritually for those in our path.

A SILLY QUESTION

With the approaching crowd, Jesus turned to Philip and asked, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” (v. 5)

Philip responds, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little” (v. 7). This is what I think Philip meant, because this is how I would have responded: “You have got to be kidding me, Jesus! Do you see the size of the crowd? We don’t have that kind of money. There’s just no way this is going to happen!”

But Jesus knew exactly what he was doing when he asked Philip the question, and right on cue, Andrew located a boy carrying around a basket with five barley loaves and two fish. Just like Philip before him, Andrew analyzed the scenario with great doubt and asked, “But what are they for so many?” (v. 9)

REMEMBER THE BOY

One of the reasons I started this “Stories of Faith” series was to focus on the minor and seemingly insignificant characters in Scripture. Whenever we learn about the feeding of the five thousand, we typically hear about Jesus, the crowd or the disciples, but we neglect this central character. His story teaches us so much.

No one in the crowd would have thought that this boy mattered. No one would have imagined that what he was carrying in his little basket would not only be the provision of the moment, but the basis of one of the most significant sermons Jesus ever preached.

This was one little boy in the crowd, with a little bit of seafood and bread, but he had been chosen by God to be a significant piece of the Messiah’s redemptive plan not only for that day, but for the rest of human history.

Continue

Kurt Warner: Football Hall of Fame Inductee and Lover of Jesus

By
Meredee Berg
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thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

As former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl champion Kurt Warner was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, he concluded his speech with a final thank-you to the one who “has left the deepest mark and has become the cornerstone of my life.”

He went on to describe a moment early in his career after his Super Bowl XXXIV win when he had the opportunity to stand at a podium in front of millions of people and thank Jesus for everything he had done. “Now many felt I was thanking him for orchestrating a Super Bowl win, or making my passes fly straighter, or causing my opponents to make more mistakes,” he explained.

But Warner made clear that those people were wrong. What he was really thanking God for were the trials that had prepared him for that moment and that platform—for showing him that with God, the impossible becomes possible. He truly believed that God had chosen him for a once-in-a-lifetime role.

Warner accepted Christ at 25 years old and realized that he was meant for more than touchdown passes and winning football games. Since that time, he has been known for his faith in God and good deeds off the field, making him simultaneously beloved and shunned throughout his NFL career. Nevertheless, the athlete made sure to use what might be his final major platform to once again point people to Christ and bring glory to his Savior.

“Now, love it or hate it, that opening scene captured the imagination of the sports world, and the words became the heart of my story. The rest, as they say, is history. Bringing us to this: the famous last words. And the only place this extraordinary journey can end. His final moment was for me, mine is for him. Thank you, Jesus,” Warner concluded.

Warner played 12 seasons in the NFL and was a two-time MVP. Since retiring, he and his wife, Brenda, have continued serving others with the First Things First Foundation, a non-profit public charity dedicated to impacting lives by promoting Christian values.

Watch the full acceptance speech here.

Warner isn’t the only NFL player who loves Jesus. Derek Carr has been vocal about his faith and his desire to follow God. Tony Romo has spoken at his church’s youth group, while rookie Seth DeValve’s faith compels him to take a knee.

10 Characteristics of Generation Z

By
Shane Pruitt
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There is old saying, “The human race is always one generation away from extinction.” Meaning, if we don’t reproduce, then we die. Of course, we know that God is sovereign and that He has a will, a plan and a purpose that He will see through. However, on a practical level, the same can be said for the local church. We are always one generation away from extinction. If we don’t reproduce, we die. If we don’t reach the next generation, we cease to exist.

With this in mind, it brings us to the generation that churches must turn some attention to—Generation Z.

Who is considered Generation Z? Most researchers say anyone born from the year 2001 on is now currently a part of Generation Z. However, others believe that September 11, 2001, was so profound on the psyche of all who were alive at the time that they believe a new generation should be marked after that date. I personally tend to agree with this view. So, according to this definition, Generation Z would include anyone born from September 12, 2001, to today—roughly those who are currently in high school and younger.

Of course, like any generational assessment, this extremely broad group will be vastly different in a lot of areas. However, after being in front of tens of thousands of these students every year, I want to offer a list of 10 defining characteristics I’ve seen in them. Keep in mind, the jury is still out: while these attributes are on the radar screen now, the students are still young, and change is always a reality.

  1. REALIST – Most students I’ve met are “down-to-earth” and very “self-aware.” They are not as overly idealistic as their older Millennial brothers and sisters. They are aware to the reality of ever-changing threat levels caused by terrorism, the ups and downs of the economy, and they don’t want to carry the same generalized labels of the previous Millennial generation.
  2. VISUAL – For most students, the most preferred communication method has become more and more image-based: emojis, logos, GIFs and memes. The most popular social media platforms for this generation are Snapchat and Instagram—completely image-based. Images break down language barriers. Visuals are also the way in which the brain processes information best.
  3. TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN – Most students are completely reliant on technology. If you thought Millennials were bad, you haven’t seen anything yet! Most students would rather have a digital conversation than a real-life discussion. They’ll respond to text-messages before they return a phone call. Handwritten notes are torture! Because they’re always online, they can find answers to questions in warp speed. These students can multitask across a few different screens or monitors at once. It’s a challenge to put down our phones, even for 10 minutes to eat lunch. Their smart-phone is equivalent to food, water and shelter. They cannot imagine living without being connected all the time. When you pull their phone away, you have just pulled away their complete source of knowledge and connectedness. They have never known a world without a smart-phone or tablet. It is their pacifier.
  4. CREATORS – According to Business Insider, 76 percent of Gen Z members are aiming to create jobs out of their hobbies. For this reason, we may see a lot of entrepreneurs come out of this generation. This generation will be open to established careers, if they have the freedom to invent, customize and feel like their career will help change the world around them. In an EY.com interview, Walsh spoke of the gig economy: “One of the most profound changes for organizations is that most people will not be working for any particular company full time. In the United States last year, some 15.5 million people declared themselves freelance. By 2020, some 40 percentof the U.S. workforce is expected to be freelancers.” This changes the way organizations communicate with their hires, as well as the reliance on external resources.
  5. STRESSED – These students seemed to be more stressed at an earlier age than previous generations. They worry about their online persona, the environment, their education, obligations and hobbies because ultimately that’s how realists operate. However, Generation Z is willing to do something about it. They’d choose stand and do, rather than sit and listen.
  6. SEEK QUALITY – Quality over quantity is the name of Generation Z’s game. Less is more. They’re incredibly selective in the products of choice, making it painstakingly tedious for advertising marketers to get through to them. They’re likely to know ratings of products, restaurants and movies before adults do. They’ve already seen an Amazon add or YouTube video about it, before they ever head to the store.
  7. TRANSPARENT – In the minds of these students, there is no room for a lack of authenticity. They have no patience for slick presentations and false personas. They can usually spot exaggerations, inaccuracies and “holier-than-thou” attitudes. In preaching, the more raw, transparent and vulnerable the communicator is, the more Gen Z will connect. There was a time when preachers were told not to use themselves in personal illustrations; however, this generation wants to hear those personal stories as long as you don’t always make yourself the hero in your stories.
  8. CHALLENGERS – This generation is pushing the boundaries in nearly every area of life. At the same time, they seem to be more respectful than their older Millennial siblings. They want to work hard and see results, but they also want to make a difference. These students are breaking the stereotypes and reacting against the negative generalizations given to Millennials. They care more about the mission of the organization, business or church than they do anything else.
  9. ACCEPTING – Most of these students are growing up in an era where social norms have shifted dramatically. Gay is no longer secret and taboo. Transgender is no longer an urban legend or myth. They’ve seen it, are surrounded by it, and it has become personal. In the eyes of this generation, you’re not talking about issues and agendas, you’re talking about Sarah and John. The playground bully is “uncool” and not tolerated, while the “nerds and geeks” are the “cool kids.” It’s more about how culturally aware you are, how many followers on social media you have, what online celebrities you know, and what social causes you support.
  10. GOSPEL-HUNGRY – This generation is globally minded and want their lives to matter. They are fully aware of their imperfections, evil, hate and injustices. They are an addicted generation, and are looking for solutions, answers and impact. They’re not scared to die young; however, they are terrified to die at a ripe-old-age and have done nothing significant with their lives in their own eyes. As with every generation, the gospel is the answer, and nothing is more impactful than kingdom living!

Generation Z is a hopeful generation. They’re realists, influencers, transparent and hungry for something more than what they have. These have the best of the best at their hands, and they’ve had it their whole life. However, they’re also seeking something more. At the end of the day, Generation Z represents people made in the image of God that desperately need the gospel of Jesus Christ and to be discipled by older brothers and sisters in the faith. Titus 2 can be our guide.

This article originally appeared here.

5 Essential Practices of a 21st Century Small Group Ministry

By
Mark Howell
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

“Hey Mark…you do know it’s 2017, right? It’s been the 21st century for like…17 years.”

Yes, I do know that. I also know that one of the most common reasons small group ministries struggle is that they are using a design that would have been awesome in the 20th century.

That’s right. The single most common reason small group ministries struggle has to do with a 20th-century design.

Want to build a small group ministry for the 21st century? I think there are at least 5 essential practices that must be installed.

5 ESSENTIAL PRACTICES OF A 21ST CENTURY SMALL GROUP MINISTRY

First, prioritize the needs and interests of unconnected people.

Too often we’re spending our energy trying to satisfy the interests of the already connected at the expense of the unconnected. If you want what you’re doing in the 21st century to matter, you must develop an others-first mentality.

How might that be different than what you’re doing now? Several changes come to mind:

  • When you’re choosing topics for church-wide campaigns (or other first steps into community), pay close attention to who it really is designed to interest.
  • Don’t overlook the attendance patterns of unconnected people. Remember, unconnected people are almost always infrequent attenders. This must affect your promotion strategy (its frequency, its placement and its wording).
  • Expand connecting opportunities to strategies that meet needs beyond simply joining a group. Topics like marriage and dating, parenting, and finances are just a few that can be excellent first steps for the crowd and community.

See also Preoccupied With the Needs and Interests of the Right People.

Second, look for leaders who are closer to the edge of your congregation.

If you want to connect beyond the usual suspects, you’ve got to find ways to identify, recruit and develop potential leaders from the outer edges of the congregation and inner edges of the crowd. Why? Two reasons quickly come to mind:

  • The most connected people in your church have the fewest connections outside the core and committed. The least connected people in your church have the most connections in the crowd and community.
  • Standard operating procedure in the 20th century was to look for leaders with small group experience (i.e., people who were already apprentice leaders, current or former members of a group). The truth today is that the largest number of the most qualified potential leaders are not currently in a group.

The small group connection strategy is one example of this kind of strategy. The host strategy coupled with a church-wide campaign is another example. Both strategies implemented correctly are designed to produce unexpected leaders. See also The X Factor Is Near the Edge

Third, characterize connected in community as normal.

If you want to connect way beyond the average adult weekend attendance, you’ll need to leave behind the idea that small group involvement is somehow extracurricular, a menu choice, heroic or sacrificial. Instead, grouplife must be seen as an ordinary part of the Christ-follower pattern.

Clearly, it must be seen as normal for everyone (senior pastors, staff and leadership can’t be exceptions). Telling stories about the benefits of being connected in community must be leveraged.

See also Top 10 Reasons Saddleback Has Connected Over 130% in Small Groups.

Fourth, integrate discipleship into the ordinary grouplife experience.

Not a class or an elective, discipleship must become factory installed. Not an add on. Not an upgrade. Built into the ordinary function of every small group.

Connected in community must lead directly and without exception to growing in Christ. The idea that small groups are about fellowship (connecting) and another experience (a program) would be about discipleship (growing) is a relic of the 20th century (and maybe the 19th century).

See also Diagnosing Your Discipleship Strategy

Finally, design grouplife to function as both next step and first step.

It becomes more likely every day that first steps will happen outside of the weekend service. Come over for dinner is easier than come with me to church. At the same time, since the optimal environment for life-change is a small group (not listening to the pastor’s sermon or Bible teaching in an ABF), next steps must be built into the life of the group I’m already in.

See also Next Steps for Everyone and First Steps for Their Friends.

What do you think? Have a question? Want to argue? You can click here to jump into the conversation.

This article originally appeared here.

This Thing No One Talks About Is Having a Huge Effect on Worship

By
Worship Cohort
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

A couple of years ago, I attended a large, super savvy ministry conference with musical worship led by some of the most influential worship leaders of our day. The quality of production for the conference was top notch. But when it came time to participate in corporate worship, the room in which we gathered was so dark that one could scarcely see anything. I remember one moment at which I was particularly moved by the heartfelt singing that reverberated through the sea of people all around me, but as I looked around me to see others lifting up their sung-praise to the Lord, all I saw was pitch darkness. Were it not for the sound of voices, I would have felt totally alone in the room.

This practice is common among churches today. Corporate worship often takes place in a dark room. When the music gets going, the stage lights come up and the house lights go on black-out mode. But, please permit me to ask, What does this communicate to the congregation? What exactly are we saying about the nature of corporate worship when create environments in which we can’t even see other worshipers? Do blacked out house lights imply that Christian worship is a privatized encounter—just me and Jesus? And if so, could it be that this practice could perpetuate a consumeristic attitude about attending church?

A Horizontal Ministry

Scripture teaches that corporate worship is a ministry with an extremely important, yet commonly under-emphasized, horizontal component; meaning that going to church isn’t just an encounter between me and God, but also an encounter with the assembled people of his covenant. Without diminishing the highly important “me-and-God” dimension of the worship experience, I’d like to accentuate the others-oriented nature of the gathering in order that we might faithfully apply it to the stewardship of lighting among our congregations today.

When considering the concept of worship from a biblical standpoint, we must understand that it can never be divorced from the concept of edification. Edification (or the “building up” of others) is a vital component in any worship gathering. Just consider what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14:12: “Strive to excel in building up the church.” And again in verse 26: “Let all things be done for building up.” The apostle is speaking here to the difficulties among the Corinthian church pertaining to their practices of corporate worship. He was admonishing them to adopt an others-oriented approach to their gatherings rather than the self-indulgent practices they had so carelessly and carnally assumed. In Paul’s mind, corporate worship should always serve the greater good of the congregation.

Let’s consider some other New Testament teachings about corporate worship from Paul and the other apostles. Here are just a few more passages that deal with the gathering of the church:

“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” (Romans 15:5-7)

“… speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:15-16)

“… be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-21)

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Hopefully you’re seeing the common theme woven throughout the New Testament’s theology of corporate worship; that it is an extremely others-oriented enterprise. As our attention is being captivated by the glory of the triune God, we are also being given a Gospel-generated incentive to consider what the highest good of those around us might be. Therefore, when we gather for worship on the Lord’s Day, we must simultaneously gather to edify the church in the Gospel of Christ by the power of the Spirit. Apart from a robustly biblical view of edification, the true nature of corporate worship as taught by the apostles is in danger of being obstructed and obscured.

Re-Thinking Our Practices

When we grasp this vital component of Christian worship, the Gospel begins to motivate us to adopt practices that facilitate greater edification among the Body of Christ, which includes our utilization of both stage and house lighting. My purpose in writing this isn’t to tell you what I think you should do with your lighting, but rather to consider what God would have you do with it based on what he has revealed about the nature of corporate worship in his inspired Word.

So, far from harping about some list of guidelines to follow for more careful use of lighting, this is a clarion call to think biblically about the stewardship of your lighting resources. As you go to the Word, allow it to re-frame your line of questioning about ministry practices to be less about having a “cool factor” and more about deeper faithfulness to the things of God. Ask yourself, Does a pitch black room communicate the others-oriented nature of corporate worship? Does worshiping God in the dark isolate people from those whom they have a biblical mandate to edify? Does the stewardship of our lighting resources reflect God’s purposes for corporate worship?

These are difficult questions to wrestle with and, from context to context, the answers aren’t always as obvious as we’d like. But as you consider such questions and their ramifications, appeal to the Scriptures and immerse yourself in the wisdom of God. Drink deeply of his Word and think biblically about your practices of corporate worship. Ask leaders from other churches for their input. Have ongoing dialogue with your lead pastor. If you will do the hard work of humbling yourself before the Lord and submitting your ministry to his wisdom, he will form you to be a leader who honors King Jesus and edifies the church he purchased by his blood.

 This article originally appeared here.

Worshiping a Golden Calf on Sunday Morning Is Deceptively Easy

By
Jared C. Wilson
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

“Now set your mind and heart to seek the LORD your God.”
-1 Chron. 22:19

All sin is idolatry because every sin is an exercise in trust of something or someone other than the one true God to satisfy, fulfill or bless. It is not difficult to see how violations of commandments two through 10 are automatic violations of commandment one. This truth reveals that the hottest “worship war” going is the one taking place daily in the sanctuary of our own hearts. But we must wage this war because none of us is a bystander to idol worship.

In Isaiah 44:12–17, we find a powerful and revelatory description of just how easy it is to slip into idolatry. We see in the passage that ironsmiths are simply working their tools over the coals, fashioning them with their hammers. Carpenters measure out cuts and notches. Artists capture the physical form in sketches and sculpture. Men chop down trees to build houses, then they plant more trees to replace them. They build fire, bake bread. Ah, look at what we’ve created.

The transition is seamless from everyday, workaday living to “he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it” (v. 15). Of the same fire he has used for warmth and cooking, the workman says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” (v. 17).

The move is subtle. The switch from ordinary human achievement to blasphemy requires no explanation. It just flat out happens. Isaiah 44:12–17 demonstrates that there is only one step to becoming an idolater, and it is simply to mind your own business.

The implication for our churches is huge. On Sundays, our sanctuaries fill with people seeking worship, and not one person comes in set to neutral. We must take great care, then, not to assume that even in our religious environments, where we put the Scriptures under so many noses, that it is Jesus the exalted Christ who is being worshiped.

Every weekend in churches everywhere, music is performed to the glory of human skill and artistry. Once upon a time, I sat through a little ditty in a church service in which the congregation was led to sing, “I can change the world with these two hands,” and the question struck me like a lightning bolt: “Who exactly am I worshiping right now?”

Likewise, every weekend men and women file into church buildings in order to exult in the rhetorical skill of their preacher, to admire him and think of their church as his church, not Christ’s church. Many of us file in each week to enjoy the conspicuous spiritual exercises of our brethren. We worship the worship experience; we tithe with expectation of return from heaven’s slot machine; we dress to impress; and we serve and lead to compensate for the inadequacies in our hearts that only Christ can fill. Every weekend, hundreds of preachers extol a therapeutic gospel from the pages of the same Bible where the real gospel lies. We Reformed are not exempt, as too often our affections are poured totally into doctrine with only vague admiration reserved for doctrine’s Author.

A church will become idolatrous in a heartbeat because it’s already there. So, we cannot set our worship on autopilot. We cannot mistake the appearance of busy religiosity for worship in spirit and truth. We see in Exodus 32:5 that even the worshipers of the golden calf ascribed their worship to the covenant Lord Yahweh.

The gospel imperative, then, is to return again and again to the gospel indicative. Our first duty is “gospel obedience” (Rom. 10:16; 2 Thess. 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17), which is to stand at attention to Christ upon the gospel’s “tenhut.” Our hearts and minds flow through the rut of idolatry, but the deliberate proclamation of Jesus at every possible turn will force us off our idolatrous course. Martin Luther advises us:

I must take counsel of the gospel. I must hearken to the gospel, which teacheth me, not what I ought to do (for that is the proper office of the law), but what Jesus Christ the Son of God hath done for me: to wit, that He suffered and died to deliver me from sin and death. The gospel willeth me to receive this, and to believe it. And this is the truth of the gospel. It is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consisteth. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually.

Tim Keller elaborates: “So Luther says that even after you are converted by the gospel your heart will go back to operating on other principles unless you deliberately, repeatedly set it to gospel-mode.”

The proclamation of the good news of Jesus and the extolling of His eternal excellencies is always an interruption, always a disruption. It alone will bring the sword of division between where even our religious hearts are set and where they ought to be. For this reason, we cannot go about minding our own business any more. We must mind God’s (Col. 3:1–4).

This article originally appeared here.

Why You Should Pray for Your Local Community College

By
Michael Guyer
-
thank you notes for children’s ministry volunteers

School is back in session. Students are gearing up for a busy Fall schedule complete with class, football games and campus-wide events. They are learning the customs and traditions of their schools. Their parents have raided the campus bookstore for the most recent school apparel and gear. Freshman are getting the hang of dorm life and learning to navigate the campus.

And then there’s the local community college.

Community college is different. The school vibe is not the same. The excitement is not brimming over and clothing options are not as expansive in the campus bookstore. There may be a campus-wide welcome event but it’s an hour after a student’s last class is over, so they have already headed home for the day or are off to work. Many students are just as eager to jump into their classes and pursue their degree as any other college student. However, there are many who are eager to be done because they did not plan on being at community college or at least hope their time there goes by as quickly as possible. Mixed in with these students are non-traditional college students who are coming back to finish an associate’s degree, to get further training for the workforce, or to start a second career.

Community college may be different, but it is no less a place of mission. It has no less potential for seeing a move of God that transforms the lives of students and sees them sent on mission into all of life.

Today I walked around our local community college with this on my mind. This is my prayer for my local community college and for every community college.

Heavenly Father,

You know the needs of every student on this campus. You know those who wish they weren’t here and those who couldn’t be happier to be here. You know those who are getting training to start a job and those who need credits before they transfer. You know the paths they will take and the plans you have for them. Some of them are looking to you and waiting. Others are looking beyond you or have turned away from you. Would you be gracious enough to meet them where they are?

Deepen and define the desires of their hearts and the skills of their hands. Direct their paths and give wisdom for the decisions they face, whether it be what job to take and where to transfer. Keep them from discouragement when they wish they weren’t here. Guard them from despair when their plans don’t work out. Let this season of preparation or waiting be a season in which you show up in their lives. Draw those who don’t know you to saving faith in Jesus Christ and transform their perspective on their education and work. Draw those who do know you closer to yourself, sustaining them by your grace and showing them your purposes for their life—both now and in the future.

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