Archive for the ‘missional’ Category
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One of the blogs I read (Fierce Grace) decided to do something entirely different on a Sunday morning.
Cancel the service.
Serve the neighborhood.
Read about it at The Church Has Left the Building.
I have often mentioned that some churches can do this. I can’t imagine Mars Hill or Seacoast doing something like this. However smaller churches can easily take this idea and run with it.
Leading Preparation
Leading up to this Sunday off was a sermon series. The whole series is mapped out at “Beginning this Sunday” and the follow up posts in that series continues to map out the theology and the practice that led up to that Sunday.
One Sunday, Pastor pointed out:
The Samaritan took a risk, got personally involved, spent some time and some money to help the man in need - He put himself out to help someone else get through. That’s what we are called to do if we’re going to love our neighbor like we love ourselves.
The second Sunday focused on:
Jesus’ mission is our mandate (Luke 4:14-21) - and it’s people-centered, outwardly focused, and compassion driven. If we can see people as He saw them, sees them, we will overflow with ideas and discover dozens of practical ways to show them the love of Christ.
And on the third Sunday:
The third installment of our “Taking It to the Streets” message series focused on “Little Acts with Big Impact.” We looked at Jesus’ description of the Kingdom in Luke 13:18-21. There, Jesus said the Kingdom was like a small mustard seed that grows in to a bushy tree large enough for birds to build nests in. Then He said the Kingdom was like a lump of yeast that was worked into 50 pounds of dough to make bread for as many as 100 people!
It wasn’t a surprise to the congregation but rather a vision that had been cast and people rallied to it.
What do you think?
Have you tried this idea?
What did you find?
Comments (2) Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
Today, I bring you another guest article, by Christian Dominic Boyd of www.celtichound.org.
Christian is also pastor of New Creation, a Presbyterian new church development in O’Fallon, Illinois, which is part of the St Louis metro area.
He and I were co-presenters at the Presbyterian Transformational Conference in Tampa last month. I’m glad to have him as a friend in ministry.
Article below:
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When we read through the Gospels, how many times do we find Jesus asking his disciples,
“How can we get more people to attended synagogue on Saturday morning?”
Or, “What kind of programs is First Synagogue of Galilee doing that we need to do to get more twenty and thirty year olds with kids to become members of our synagogue?”
When we dig into the Gospels we find Jesus and his disciples not in synagogue nor even worried about that institution. We find them out among the people, Jewish and Gentile, in their homeland and in the non-kosher lands of foreigners and enemies.
This unconventional way of teaching and being Jesus was modeling for his disciples of course rubbed the Pharisees and Sadducees the wrong way.
I hear them cry in Chapter 15 of the Gospel of Matthew, We have never done it this way!!!
When many of us in the mainline denominations think about evangelism, we cringe (See: Fears of Evangelism). We cringe many times because of what it may mean and the unconventional changes we will have to make in our life, and in our congregational life, both within which we have become very comfortable.
Like the Pharisees and Sadducees we hear from in Matthew 15 we have set up some self-defined walls which have become more life taking than life giving, and fly in the face of God’s desire of gathering all of creation into communion with God’s self.
Many of us have become more concerned about the marketability of our congregations to an overwhelmingly consumerist society than actually being and doing what Jesus teaches his disciples.
Consulting with a number of churches and church leaders these past five years as part of our work at www.celtichound.org, I have found across the board that many of us see evangelism and marketing as the same thing.
Heck, there are even books published with that inference (example: Church Marketing 101: Preparing Your Church for Greater Growth or Spend Less, Reach More: A Pastor’s Guide to Reaching the Most People for the Least Amount of Money).
Furthermore, with this quasi-business concept we have also redefined what success is for the Church. We will know we are successful by
- how many people we have in worship on Sunday morning,
- the size of our buildings, and
- the amount of money we collect to fund programs and good works,
all in Jesus’ name.
Yet, is this really evangelism and are we truly living out our God given nature as the Church?
What I understand from what Jesus teaches us, evangelism is not a program, it is not outreach, and it is not ticks of the trade that get people to fill the pews.
Evangelism is a way of being.
Furthermore, evangelism, mission, and apostolic all are key terms linked to the nature of Jesus’ mission and purpose, and thus our nature and purpose as his Church, his body.
This shared nature is rooted in God sending the Son, and then the Son sending the disciples to the edges of the world to participate in God’s mission within those diverse contexts.
The edge of the world
On the edges of the world disciples are participating in God’s work of creating, redeeming, and reconciling all things to God’s self. As disciples on the edge of the world, in the places where one traditionally wouldn’t think of finding good and proper Christians, God is doing awesome things. The Holy Spirit is at work transforming not only lives, but also civil society.
Theology on Tap
One of the ways I have discovered this is through New Creation’s Theology on Tap monthly gatherings.
New Creation is a Presbyterian new church development in O’Fallon, Illinois, which is part of the St Louis metro area.
Theology on Tap (ToT) is not a program, it is just an event scheduled to occur once a month at a local Irish pub.
Its purpose for being is to create and sustain relationships, which is one of New Creation’s mission directives, as well as provide an opportunity to reclaim the art of conversation.
At a ToT gathering, anything is fair game for conversation, including all of those things good Victorians don’t discuss in proper company (sex, politics, religion, money . . . and we added sports).
Conversation Rules:
However, to ensure we are practicing the art of conversation, there are Rules of Engagement; if broken, the trespasser has to buy the next round for everyone. The Rules simply are:
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Courtesy and respect will be shown at all times.
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Commitment will be made to listen and hear the perspectives of others.
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All statements that are not explicit facts must include the attitude of “it seems to me” or “I feel…”.
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All participants will work hard to increase their understanding of the issues between meetings.
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Bottom line, “love your neighbor as your self.”
Break the rule and you buy the next round.
After the past six months of gathering at the pub and just conversing, we have had serious relevant questions and discussions.
A Theology on Tap Discussion
My most remarkable memory was a discussion around the lost of a child in child birth, where God was within that whole experience, and where is God right now amidst the pain.
As a pastor I sat back and let the community that was gathered answer.
That night the Holy Spirit was present as healing and conversions occurred within the holiness of sincere relationships…just being without agendas or striving to be successful Christians.
Theology on Tap, I believe, is one contextual way of what the Church incarnated, evangelizing, being apostolic, and participating in God’s mission in the world looks like.
It has left me wondering,
Where else out in the community God has planted us is God sending us to just BE?
Where else are we being called to be in an unconventional way, and thus allowing God to work through us to make real the Kingdom that is at hand?
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Christian Dominic Boyd is the Executive Director of www.celtichound.org.
Celtic Hound Ministries (CHM) specializes in spiritual life coaching and congregational mission and leadership consultation.
The primary areas of expertise are in organizational development, structure evaluation, and strategic planning processes.
Comments (1) Posted on Tuesday, October 21st, 2008
I write this sitting at the airport (Thanks for free wireless!), way too early in the morning.
I’m headed to Tampa for the Transformation Pastor’s Conference, where I will be speaking a couple of sessions on on the role of personal evangelism and evangelism training in transforming a church.
What exactly is Church Transformation?
I’ve spent the last month talking with pastors around the US about church transformation. A few are in really difficult situations (Leaving Egypt and Not Liking it).
From those discussions, it seems that a common idea is to help move a church that is stuck or in serious decline, and lead them into a new vision of what God has for them, thus launching a new life cycle of growth.
Stetzer calls them Comeback Churches. I’ve seen other various titles, like Boomerang church, Redevelopment, Revitalization. Seems the common word now is Transformational.
Moving from Attractional to Missional
Simply based on my conversations and reading, a common thread these pastors were sharing was working with congregations to shift from exclusive focus on attractional tweaks to becoming more missional and engaging their community.
Attractional ministry focused on quality programs, excellent hospitality, and marketing to get people in the door. This was sometimes called a “magnetic” church.
As I’ve looked at Evangelism Committee reports, church information forms, and mission studies, a lot of churches still think that making small process adjustments to their parking lot, greeting process, or welcoming will help them reach out to the neighborhood.
Attractional ministry is based on the idea that visitors are coming to your church already, and that if you do enough marketing, you can get more foot traffic in your door. Your hospitality will help the newcomers “stick” (see www.stickychurch.com), and your church will grow. It’s a variant of “if you build it they will come.”
Missional however moves to help the church re-engage its neighborhood.
Some pastors are in island churches, meaning their church is mostly commuters who used to live in that neighborhood. The culture around the church has changed (demographically, socio-economically), but the church has not adjusted accordingly, thus being a cultural island.
Missional helps the church get out of hoping people will visit them to actively engaging the needs and people of the community, and in the process both demonstrating and sharing the faith in Jesus as Lord.
Many of the pastors I spoke with this past month are trying to move congregations in this direction. They still seek to improve their attractional ministries, but now realize that churches have to be connected to the neighhborhood.
It’s a journey process, and some have moved further along than others.
Block Party to Pre-School
Ten years ago, an island church invited me to do some Evangelism Consulting with them about launching a new worship service. The average age was 60, and no young families in the neighborhood. They were in survival mode and needed something to get new people.
The pastor wanted a new worship service, but the congregational elders didn’t.
Instead, I lead them into a brainstorming process, and out of that process they decided to do a block party.
The congregation organized the block party. Food, games, inflatables, and so on. Members hung door hangers around the neighborhood and invited the local community to come.
As a result of that block party 10 years ago (and its continued annual repeats) this church has discerned the neighborhood needs and launched several new ministries to reconnect with the neighbors:
- Preschool (now with an annual budget larger than the churches).
- Meals on Wheels.
- Neighborhood Watch
- And other ministries.
This church has become much more missional in it’s mindset and has lots of new vitality and energy to serve.
Now they are being more intentional about actively sharing their faith along with serving the area and that is where more intentional evangelism training will come into play.
Comments (1) Posted on Friday, September 26th, 2008
Looking for practical evangelism tips? Here are a few. Links will take you to further explanations and articles on these items.
Evangelistic Prayer
1. Seek the Father’s Heart — (see Getting Emotionally Worked Up)
2. Offering yourself for God’s use in sharing your faith.
3. Regular Prayer for those who don’t know Christ.
See Also:
Position Yourself
4. Find a way to be a blessing to others
5. Live Authentically in public and in private.
6. Build genuine relationships
See:
Proclamation:
7. Choose a gospel script.
8. Practice the gospel script until you are comfortable with it.
9. Discover your story
10. Learn how to use questions in a conversation
See also:
For help with any of these through 1-1 coaching, see also Personal Evangelism Mentoring
Comments (3) Posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008
In the course of my consulting and speaking at evangelism training workshops, I’ve encountered many churches that have very active outreach and community service programs:
- After school tutoring
- Shut in or Prisoner Visitation
- Habitat for Humanity work projects
- Medical outreaches for the community
- Participating in Crop Walks for Hunger Relief
- Food pantries, clinics, shelters for the homeless
These are just examples, and I am sure you can add hundreds more from your local community.
The questions I ask and we kick around in friendly discussion:
- Is that outreach?
- Is that evangelism?
- Is that home missions?
- Is that simply good deeds?
- Is that missional outreach?
- Is that marketing in disguise?
- Is that a demonstration of God’s love?
A cup of cold water
What is clear is that we have blurred the line between evangelism and outreach. Discussions I’ve had bounce all over the map.
In some corners of the church, this is evangelism because it demonstrates the gospel. No explanation needed.
Other corners argue this not evangelism because the gospel is not verbally shared. It’s simply social action.
Depends on how you define your terms.
Acts of Christian service and charity, social outreach to your community are good and noble efforts. Many are propelled theologically by the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46), giving a cup of cold water to the least of these.
Yet what is it that separates your Christian service from that of the local Rotary club?
What makes your acts of compassion different from my atheist friend who does community service through the Peace Corps?
How does the recipient know the difference?
How do the recipients of your outreach interpret or give meaning to your outreach?
Meaning is not always clear
My friends in Panama tell me this story.
Panama Olympian Irving Saladino won the first ever gold medal for this country during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Bejing.
The last medal won was 60 years ago and it was bronze. Irving Saladino won the gold in the Long Jump competition.
During his jumps, nationally televised in Panama around 6.30 am, the nation was at a virtual standstill. People were watching it in groups at friend’s houses. Taxi drivers had pulled over to side of the road to listen to the radio. Everyone it seemed, went to work late.
On his two or three jumps, he wore one red shoe and one blue shoe, reflecting the national team colors. However, on his next to last jump, he changed his shoes to a gold color.
The commentators and “man on the street” interviews all got excited:
- “He’s going for the gold”
- “He’s put on his lucky shoes”
- “He’s telling us this will be the gold medal jump.”
They were applying meaning to the color change of shoes.
That jump turned out to be the gold medal winning jump.
The country erupted in celebration. Facebook photos from my friends show lots of celebrations, cheering, and national happiness. People on the street celebrated by blowing their car horns in celebration. Crowds formed spontaneously on the street. National productivity of the workforce shut down for the day as Panama won its first ever gold medal.
The meaning of the shoes?
When asked by a reporter about what he was trying to communicate with his shoes, Saladino mentioned
that the laces in his red and blue pair got tangled up and he didn’t have the time to fix it.
He put on his gold colored backup shoes so he wouldn’t be disqualified for being late to the starting line.
Very different meaning than what the nation watching on live television thought.
People gave it meaning based on their hopes, dreams, and worldview.
Meaning is given if not provided
Bring that back to your church’s outreach.
What might your recipients think about your outreach?
How can they tell that it is a “Cup of Cold Water given in My Name?”
In a post Wrestling with the Definition of Evangelism I mention:
Just this week, the dental assistant told me that it feels good to help people.
I asked her “Why?” No immediate answer, but enough to have her reflect.
She’s unchurched. She didn’t know why people had black spots on their heads last Wednesday [for Ash Wednesday].
She could serve the poor, work for the Peace Corp, or any of the national volunteer mobilization organizations. She simply feels good. that altruistic motive propels many people.
But to the recipient, what separates her good service from that of the church? How does the recipient know it is “In My Name?”
In my experience, meaning is naturally given if not supplied by the giver.
Outreach in partnership with Evangelism
John Stott asks the question in Christian Mission in the Modern World.
Is social action (thanks to Timmy Brister for summary)
- A Means to evangelism
- A Manifestation of evangelism
- A Partner of Evangelism
Mark Dever has an interesting piece in Christianity Today, also points out what “What Evangelism Isn’t.” (adapted from his book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism). Evangelism is not social action or public involvement (”They commend the gospel, but they share it with no one.”)
In What is Evangelism? – Part 3, which focuses on the “sharing” part of our Evangelism Definition, I mention:
During a health outreach our church did for its neighborhood, one unchurched person commented, “I don’t like to listen to sermons, today I saw one.”
Our service to the community was interpreted as we wanted – a tangible demonstration of the love of Christ that we have for our neighborhood.
It’s a witness to the world thru actions.
Yet that interpretation came about because we gathered all the volunteers at the beginning and I explained to them why we as a church are doing this outreach.
We are serving because God first loved us and we want to demonstrate that to the community.
Good works demonstrate our faith.
Yet without any overt or clear explanation that our actions are propelled by God’s grace, what makes our good deed any different than what the local Lions club does or what good corporate citizens provide through their charitable foundations?
It’s not an either/or proposition for me. Both social action and explanation via words are necessary forms of sharing.
Deeds are love demonstrated, but a further explanation of the gospel is necessary to give meaning to our actions. Otherwise, our actions are ripe for misinterpretation.
Practically what does this mean?
Many churches are actively engaged in good works in their community.
Yet can their members explain their personal faith along the way?
Can churches train their members to grow comfortable talking about their faith with the people they are serving?
What if, as part of the planning for outreach events, the church provided a training opportunity about talking about your faith?
What if, as part of praying for the outreaches, the church also prayed that conversations about Jesus would happen?
What if, as part of serving the community, the people were able to provide meaning of their service by talking about their personal relationship with Christ?
These questions are on my mind as I prepare for the upcoming Transformation Pastor’s Conference.
I will be presenting on what does Evangelism look like in a church that is undergoing revitalization or redevelopment. One of my co presenters will be speaking of the missional direction of the church and the need for evangelism.
Let me ask you this?
Think about your church’s outreach.
In what ways can your church provide meaning to the recipients through the verbal sharing of your faith?
I invite your comments and reflections below.
Comments (0) Posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008
Adrian Warnock asks: Should You be a Church Plant Leader? In it he gives video and a list of 20 questions that every church planter should ask. I was a church planter one, and I work with church planters now. This is a great inventory to add to the list.
Joshua Cody at Church Marketing Sucks has two great articles that speak to marketing and church.
Mark Driscoll has been writing about Charles Spurgeon:
Evangelism
The hyper-Calvinists in his day disdained Spurgeon for his passion for lost people to meet Jesus and his continual offering of the gospel of grace to the masses, which led to the baptism of 14,692 converts during his ministry. Despite much mean-spirited opposition, Spurgeon never shied away from calling all people to repentance and used unconventional means, such as meeting in a public theater (not a church) and preaching from a stage (not a raised pulpit), in an effort to be more culturally relevant with his ministry style. Curiously, however, he forbade the use of choirs, organs, and other musical instruments in his church services.
Spurgeon has deeply impressed upon me the importance of always inviting people to repent of sin and trust in Jesus. He rightly shared God’s heart for lost people and his example reveals that one can believe in both election and evangelism, as the Apostle Paul did also. Too often those of us who are theologically reformed spend more time criticizing evangelistic methods than doing evangelism ourselves. I too consider myself something of a reformed evangelist and appreciate that Spurgeon shared a deep love for lost people that God used to save many lives.
Source: Spurgeon Prayed, Laughed, Cared, and Evangelized - Part 3
David Fitch writes 10 Ways to Engage the Poor in the Suburbs. He took the time to prayer-walk his neighborhood and it didn’t take him long to find ideas. The poor are not just in the inner city slums, or the rural outskirts of the countryside. They are indeed right around you. . . .
As we have been looking at houses, praying over the neighborhoods, seeking where we might buy a house, I have walked the neighborhoods trying to open my eyes to where mission could be engaged. I find the suburbs difficult for mission. The poor are so hard to find. Yet as I walked and prayed, I found my imagination stoked by the Spirit. Mission was all around the rhythms of this place. The poor could be found. Here are ten missional places I noticed . .. . . .
Gary Rohyrmayer finds Seven Surprising Facts of the American Church. Here is one.
The increase in churches is only ¼ of what’s needed to keep up with population growth.
- 3,000 churches close every year
- 3,800 new church starts survived
- Net annual gain: 800 new churches
- Net annual gain needed to keep up with population growth:10,000 new churches
California church reached out via Garbage:
First Christian Reformed Church in Bellflower CA reached out to its community in an unusual way in July (2007), arranging for six huge dumpsters along the road beside its building. Church members manned the dumpsters to help community members dispose of unwanted items. They also handed out information about the church. This marked the third time the church has partnered with the city to help clean up the community
Source: The Banner Magazine (www.thebanner.org), October 2007
On Friday’s, I usually share some of what I’ve been reading on other blogs that is of interest to me. Some of the material is integrated into our workshops, or into my mind, as this collection is like a journal for Evangelismcoach.org
There is no real theme other than evangelism, church growth, and things related to them. You’ll not find links to Obama and McCain insights, or gossip about Paris Hilton, or even a summary of Twitter and Facebook and their value of wasting time or connecting.
Doesn’t happen every Friday, but as there is enough to share.
Comments (0) Posted on Friday, August 8th, 2008
Do you know your Neighbor?
Something I experienced when I lived in the suburbs of Richmond VA was the lack of a sense of community in our neighborhood.
Sure we all bought nice houses, but with the exception of one family, we didn’t know any of the neighbors.
What a contrast to our former subdivision where we knew everyone on the cul-de-sac, and had regular time with them all. Over the course of 5 years there, we prayed with many of them, and several eventually came to faith in Christ and got connected with a church.
Jesus says that we are the light of the world, yet how many of us commute more than 10 miles to go to church, bypassing 40 homes in our same subdivision?
How can we live out the notion of “every house a lighthouse” or “every house a church?”
How can we break through the bubble of not knowing our neighbors?
If God has appointed the time and season of where you live, how can you be a tool in God’s use to impact your neighborhood with the Gospel?
TEN ideas for building neighborhood relationships.
- Host a neighborhood block party on your street.
- Host marriage enrichment seminars in your home for neighbors.
- Start a playgroup with other stay at home parents. Don’t forget the stay at home dads. I was a stay at home dad so I know how important this is.
- Distribute homemade gifts to your neighbors at Christmastime. Include a tactful card that points to Christ.
- Invite those without nearby family over for a holiday meal (for example: singles, internationals, divorced or widowed).
- Conduct a Backyard Bible Club during the summer for neighborhood kids.
- Host a baby shower for a neighbor who is expecting. Make sure you include their friends not just yours(!)
- Offer to host a weekly discussion group or Bible Study. Invite Christian and non-Christian friends to participate.
- Coordinate a Bring your Own Main Course night. You supply the grill, and everyone brings their own meat or veggie dish. Have some families bring side dishes while others bring drinks or dessert.
- Invite the neighbors over to watch a ball game or the mother of all sporting events-the Super Bowl.
For that last one, no matter where in the world we personally live, we are American that Super Bowl Sunday and will invite the neighbors over. Other times, we’ll join them for the World Cup soccer games, even though I still don’t know the rules.
Build genuine relationship that allows room for spiritual conversation. Once a good relationship is built, look for opportunity to share your faith in Christ in a manner that is appropriate and real.
Let me ask you this:
What do you do to build relationship with your neighbors? When was the last time you actually spent time with your neighbor?
Comments (1) Posted on Monday, May 26th, 2008
