Looking for help
By klyphmac On June 3rd, 2009 in Church Life, Culture /
We are doing a message series in the Fall called Remember the 80’s and we need your help. Post a comment and tell us your favorite or what you consider an iconic 80’s song. We really want your feedback so please don’t be shy! We can’t wait to see what you post!
Continuing with yesterday’s theme, here are five more ways ways to reduce the possibility of a successful small group ministry:
6. Make sure the church doesn’t have a small group vision or philosophy. Let people do whatever they want without any direction or oversight.
7. Make sure your groups become inward-focused and never multiply. Don’t ever encourage your groups to give life to new groups. Allow them to grow inward-looking. Better yet, hope they become filled with negative and critical church members.
8. Make sure to require your church attenders to do so many other things they’ll never want to be in small groups. Ask people to go to Sunday night church, Wednesday night church, committee meetings, Sunday school, etc. If you keep them so busy, you can ensure they won’t participate in small groups.
9. Make sure not to require staff members to be involved. If your staff (or key leaders) isn’t in groups, that will help keep others from being in groups.
10. Make sure you never make small groups a membership or partnership requirement. Be a low-expectation church. While you’re at it, don’t ask people to serve, pray, witness, or give sacrificially either.
Based on your experience, what would you add to this list? Where do you agree? Disgaree?
I updated the logo I put out there a few weeks back. So let’s have the feedback on the updated attempt.
Craig from Lifechurch.tv posted this today, it echos something I say “People want to belong before they believe.” I’d love to hear your thoughts:
Missional Ministry
If you plan to reach the next generation for Christ, don’t ask them to believe what you believe, instead invite them to do what you do.
Beliefs are a dime a dozen. This generation has seen every variety of spiritual beliefs you could imagine (and many you couldn’t imagine).
They’re extremely turned off by people who don’t live what they claim to believe.
This generation doesn’t want to hear about what you believe. They want to see your beliefs in actions. And if you’re daring enough to live like Jesus, you’ll have a shot at reaching the next generation.
* If your version of Christianity is limited to what you’re against, you’ll not likely reach many.
* If, on the other hand, your faith is so alive you must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick, and love the outcasts—all in the name of Christ, the King, you will attract interest.
As strange as it might sound, if you truly live a missional and Spirit filled life, the young generation might join you and do what you do, then one day believe what you believe.
Bobby Gruenewald from life church posted this video on Swerve this morning. I watched it and all I could say was WOW, I was struck with the enormity of it and it end with a question and I am left excited, scared, overwhelmed, and saying WOW. So I figured I would share and you can add your 2 Cents. How should we be capitalizing on technology to build God’s Kingdom?
I didn’t get to go to Catalyst last week, maybe next year, fingers crossed, but Andy Stanley closed the last session of Catalyst talking about stuff that is on his mind, Thank you to Tim Stevens for posting this…
1) To reach people no one else is reaching, we have to do things no one else is doing (Craig Groeschel) – we have 175,000 people within 10 miles of Northpoint, and we aren’t reaching them. We aren’t going to reach them by building another church building. We have to do something no one else is doing.
- Become preoccupied with those you want to reach rather than those you are trying to keep.
2) The best idea for reaching the next generation isn’t going to come from the existing generation, it’s going to come from the next generation.
- If you are over 45 years old, you aren’t going to have any good ideas. It’s your job to recognize the good ideas.
- Don’t do to the next generation what the previous generation did to you.
- Be a student, not a critic.
3) I’m looking for what can’t be done in church, but if it could be done would fundamentally change the church.
- It always used to drive me nuts that the communicator and the leader had to be the same thing.
- Multi-site solved this. Now the great leader doesn’t have to be the teacher.
- Like that, you may be the one to crack the code on something no one else has figured out that will fundamentally change our “business.”
- Pay attention to people who are breaking the rules. It’s the rule-breakers who are oftentimes the problem solvers.
4) If we got kicked out by our board, and they hired a new guy, what would the new guy change or do different? Let’s walk out the door and walk back in, and make those changes.
- The problem with ministry is that we’ve fallen in love with the way we’ve done ministry.
- It’s not “no pain, no gain” — it’s “no pain, no change.” Without pain, there typically isn’t any change.
- Ask: “Where are we manufacturing energy?” The things we aren’t very excited about, it takes energy to get it done, but the results aren’t stellar.
- Acknowledge what’s not working. Own up to it. And own up to why you aren’t willing to do anything about it. What is it you fear? You need to deal with that. It is a leadership lid for you.
5) When your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near. You look back with smiles and lots to celebrate, but you don’t have a lot to work forward to.
- Are you willing to be involved in the future more than the present?
- Don’t let success overshadow your vision.
- Success breeds complacency and complacency breeds failure.
This was a very interesting post that Tony Morgan form Newspring Church posted on his blog.
Differences Between Big and Small Churches?
Sep212008 Filed under: Other Stuff Author: tony
Baylor University released a survey last week that summarized research on spiritual issues in the U.S. The results may surprise you. Among other things, they researched big churches and found some interesting results.
“Their members are also younger, they share their faith more with strangers, and they perform more volunteer work than do members of small churches”
“There are many critics who think the megachurches thrive on people who enjoy dramatic Sunday services with fine music but don’t wish to become very ‘religious’ on a day-to-day basis – that the megachurch appeal is a mile wide and an inch deep,” said “What Americans Really Believe,” a companion book to the survey.
“But it is not true. Those who belong to megachurches display as high a level of personal commitment as do those who attend small congregations.”
Rodney Stark, the co-director of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, added, “Apparently they are preaching Jesus and that’s why they get so big.”
Check out the rest of the Washington Times article. There are other spiritual topics that the survey addressed that certainly deserve attention.
Very Interesting Numbers
By klyphmac On August 2nd, 2008 in Church Growth, Church Life, Culture, Evangelism, Favorite Blogs, Ministry /
One of my favorite blogs (Church Relevance) posted these Interesting Stats:
Thom S. Ranier’s book Surprising Insights from the Unchurched. It discusses the following three surveys.
Top 13 Reasons that Unchurched People Choose a Church
(research conducted by Ranier)
- 90% – Pastor/Preaching
- 88% – Doctrines
- 49% – Friendliness of Members
- 42% – Other Issues
- 41% – Someone Church Witnessed to Me
- 38% – Family Member
- 37% – Sensed God’s Presence/Atmosphere of Church
- 25% – Relationship Other than Family Member
- 25% – Sunday School Class
- 25% – Children’s/Youth Ministry
- 12% – Other Groups/Ministries
- 11% – Worship Style/Music
- 7% – Location
Top 9 Reasons that Church-Attenders Choose a Church
(research conducted by the Barna Group in 1999)
- 58% – Doctrine/Theology
- 53% – People Caring for Each Other
- 52% – Preaching
- 45% – Friendliness
- 45% – Children’s Programs
- 43% – Helping the Poor
- 36% – Denomination
- 35% – Like the Pastor
- 26% – Sunday School
Top 6 Things that Keep the Formerly Unchurched Active in the Church
(research conducted by Ranier)
- 62% – Ministry Involvement
- 55% – Sunday School
- 54% – Obedience to God
- 49% – Fellowship of Members
- 38% – Pastor/Preaching
- 14% – Worship Services
What was most intersting about these numbers in your opinion? What is most surprising?
Maybe it is just me, I admit it, it could just be me, but it seems like Christian Music is experiencing a major drought. Aside from the likes of Switchfoot & Relient K providing the much needed showers of relief, everything else seems weak. Now I am not talking about the Modern Worship segment of CCM, that is alive and kickin! David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Charle Hall, Hillsong’s United, etc are churing out great music. But on the rock side of things, it is still very dry.
Just a few years back the industry was banging. Audio A, Jars, Silage, Supertones, DC Talk, Third Day, Plankeye, Plumb, The Waiting, Big Tent Revival, Newsboys, PFR, and the like work cranking out amazing music and touring like crazy. Now it seems like there isn’t a whole lot going on. Or is it just me?
Maybe more bands are trying to make it in the secular market place, maybe the A&R guys have bad taste, maybe I am just jaded. Or maybe there hasn’t been a really great break out band in a long, long, long time.
Even bands like POD that had breakout albums like Fundamental Elements of South Town & great follow ups like Satellite, just dropped the ball and faded to the background.
Maybe there is just too much amazing music in the secular market place so nothing seems to measure up in sound or quality. Where is a Christian band that rocks like Nickelback or Staind? A band that thrashes like old school Metallica or Anthrax? A band that has hook laden anthems like Blink 182 or Greenday?
Granted there is some pretty amazing Christian Hardcore bands, but that just isn’t satisfy my longing. So I spend my time listen to my old CD hoping for something amazing to come along. But I don’t see anything on the horizon.
I find myself looking forward to upcoming releases from Metallica, Disturbed, Staind, and the like. Will the Great Chinese Democracy see the light of day before the next great Christian Rock act? I hope not, but there are days that I think that is the case. Lord please send the rain.
So ends the rank of this disgruntled CCM fan. 
Leveraging Pop Culture
By klyphmac On June 10th, 2008 in Culture /
I don’t think anyone can disagree that “Pop Culture” is the language of the masses in America, and more importantly it is the language of the next generation!
No responsible missions sending organization would ever send a missionary to a country unless they understood the culture, could speak the language, & could clearly communicate the Gospel.
Statistic tell us that America is fast becoming one of the largest missions fields in the world. That even the churches are readily available that are not connecting or making an impact. Other countries such as Nigeria are currently sending missionaries to America. Ironic I know, but a fact none the less.
When a missionary enters the field they seek to build relational bridges with the natives. They enter into a dialog hoping to find some common ground on which they can build their Gospel presentation.
Whether we realize it or not there is a dialog about Spiritual matter going on around us all the time. But do we have eyes to see it?
Last Summer one of the biggest movies releases was “Spiderman 3″ and the whole theme of the movies was forgiveness & redemption. Millions upon millions of people saw that filmed and dialogged about it at home & at work. How many of us took the opportunity to point the conversation to Jesus?
With all the trauma & drama of young Hollywood, family values became a huge discussion. When Brittney was dealing with drugs, alcohol, a divorce, & trying to be a parent everyone was talking about family values and what went wrong with this girl. Again a great opportunity to point the conversation that is already going on toward Christ.
The supernatural is all over TV & Movies. Most people believe that there is an unseen world, that their are angles and demons, that there must be something more. People are searching for answers for what they cannot explain, and in the absence of truth any answer will do.
Consider how Paul handled this in Acts 17
22″So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about. 24 “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone. 30 “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”
Paul took the “Pop Culture” of the day, and the dialog that already existed and pointed it, leveraged it to lead them to the Truth that they needed.
Here is the challenge, look around you, instead of judging the culture, look for the opportunity to leverage culture toward Christ.
I know I will get blasted for this one, so let me have it.
