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One of the blogs I read (Fierce Grace) decided to do something entirely different on a Sunday morning.
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.
If you would like more personalized evangelism training for your congregation or region, simply give me a call at 804/335-1445 and let’s see what you can do.
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.
This coming week, I’ll have the opportunity and privilege to work with pastors on the subject of church transformation (see Transformation Pastor’s Conference).
Listening to other pastors
During this past month, I’ve talked with several pastors who are in such contexts.
Dying churches in survival mode.
Churches on life support that don’t want to revitalize.
Churches that put all their faith and burden in the pastor to save the day and make it grow, as if the pastor is a savior in the flesh.
I’ve listened to stories of burned out pastors, conflicted congregations, and even potential lawsuits among the leadership.
50% of pastors are so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
85% of pastors said their greatest problem is they are sick and tired of dealing with problem people.
90% of pastors said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people
Moses was the target of complaint.
This week, I’ve been meditating on the people of Israel leaving Egypt.
After leading the people into change that they desperately wanted (getting out of Egypt), now Moses and Aaron are the target of the grumbling and complaint:
“All the people grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” Number 14.1.
I think many pastors, hired (or called) as change agents, have stepped into this kind of circumstance. They feel the pain of Moses and Aaron.
The group of people who once looked to you to get them out of their survival and into a new land, have now turned against them.
To have what feels like the entire group of people that invited you to come, to serve, and enjoy, turn on you. At first, you were their hero, and now the source of their grumbling. Rumor, gossip, slander, and perhaps even false teachers undercut the leader.
I don’t remember conflict training as part of Moses’s training. In my own seminary experience, that wasn’t part of the deal either. Perhaps seminaries should offer more in this area, and likewise, perhaps church governing bodies should intentionally help pastors get this kind of training.
I can’t tell how many stories I’ve listened to in the last 30 days that seem to paralel this context. Perhaps that speaks to you. Perhaps that
“We want the old ways” or “We don’t want this change”
“Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt” (Numbers 14.3)
And they said to each other “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt” (Numbers 14.4)
Oh my.
How many pastors have observed that the congregation doesn’t really want to change? After all the study, the praying, and the innovation. After all the money spent to send teams to leadership conferences. After all the effort to survey the congregation, cast the vision, and then lead the people out.
The grumbling kicks in — “we didn’t want this change.” “We never did it this way.” “This is too much, too fast.” “I don’t like this, I like it as it was.”
One pastor I spoke with has a church that said we need to transform or die. He spent a few years casting vision, helping the congregation see what changes were coming. He followed the playbook, so to speak.
But when push came to shove, the people rebelled. They complained. They griped, and they began to whisper among themselves that they needed a new pastor. . . just like the Israelites wanting a new leader.
Moses led the people into huge change.
They wanted to make it.
Imagine all their effort into organizing their departure, all the effort to obey the instructions to participate in the Passover. All the work to make sure that fled with only what was necessary.
Now that they have gotten out of one situation, and stepped into change, they long for the “good old days. . . . . ”
What about you?
Where do you see yourself in this story?
A little interpretation
Check out this old video of the late Keith Green singing about the group leaving Egypt. Song starts about 3:15 into the video if you don’t want to hear the opening commentary. As I listened to it again, I found so many parallels to the church transformation process. . . .
Tim Schraeder writes “June 22 was a sad day at Park Community Church, we lost a dearly beloved friend … our weekly program.” (Thanks to Church Marketing Sucks writing Death to the Church Bulletin)
Areas to think about when Planning a Marketing Campaign
Audience: When you buy media you are not buying media per se, you are buying eyes and ears of particular people. Audience comes first in media. When you have done your homework, you know who your audience is and you find the media channels that reach them best. When you don’t have a particular audience in mind, media sales people have a way of convincing you their media is the best way to reach people. Know the people you want to reach!
Use of Media: Think about media as the tools you use to travel to the audience you want to reach. It’s like traveling in a train. Say you wanted to get to New York City by train. You can’t get on just any train to get to New York. Imagine someone saying after failing to get to New York by train, “I tried train travel, but trains can’t get you to New York. The Devil wants to keep me outta NYC!” The fact is trains can get you to New York, if you take the right trains. You have to take a train that is going to New York. In the same way, you need the right media “vehicle” to get to your audience.
Mark Buchanan wrote “Wreck the Roof,” a reflection off of Mark 2 when the religious folk were upset that the friends made a whole in the roof to lower the paralytic.
Roof-tile Syndrome is when we are so caught up in the preaching of Jesus, we turn our backs to the needs of those still outside the building. We become barriers and not gateways. It’s when we care more about keeping things intact than about restoring lives that are shattered. It’s when we’re more upset when stuff gets broken than excited when the broken are mended. It’s when church gets reduced to the preaching of Jesus so that we fail to notice that we’re seeing very little of the forgiveness and healing of Jesus. It is when we are so fearful about upsetting the religious folk (or homeowners) in our midst that we stop taking risks to get people to Jesus.
It’s when my program, my office, my title, my privilege, my influence, my comfort takes precedence over others’ needs.
It’s when the church exists for itself; to hell with the rest of you.
Actually the answer is never. Congregations must be continually transforming to be in full, active response to the pull of God in the direction of their full kingdom potential.
A better question is, when is a congregation successfully transforming? To that question there are several great answers.
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?”
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.
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.”)
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?
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?
What is the key, the Holy Grail, in transforming a church?
Is there one?
In the work of evangelism training, I’ve been asked on many occasions about the role of evangelism in helping a church get out of the rut, get unstuck, or get excited about inviting others to following Jesus.
Note: I’ll be in Tampa at the end of September for the Presbyterian Church USA’s Transformational Pastor’s Conference where we will be discussing this Evangelism in Transformational Churches. That event is open to the public and registration can be found at the link: Transformational Pastor’s Conference.
From pastors, this question is likely to be worded as:
How do you lead a church from
being apathetic to excited
being concerned about survival to concerned about souls
being inward focused to outward focused?
Today we have a guest article by George Bullard of The Columbia Partnership that ponders this question.
He and I spoke last week about the Spiritual Strategic Journey and the 100 days of discernment portion that can help congregations transform.
See Dr. Bullard’s bio at the end of this article for contact information. It is reprinted here with his gracious permission.
The part that speaks to me the most is this line:
It is difficult to underestimate the value of evangelism actions that exhort preChristians to consider a life-changing spiritual encounter with the Triune God. A theology of evangelism, acceptable methods of evangelism, and the ability to execute actions of evangelism divide congregations who transform from those who do not.
Enjoy this article. It has made me think a lot over the last few days.
Chris.
_______________________________________
Searching for the Holy Grail of Church Transformation
Dr. George Bullard
The Columbia Partnership
Since the mid-1950s, when demographic shifts in North America caused by the population boom that followed World War II began to wane or change direction, congregations and denominations have been looking for the Holy Grail of congregational transformation.
What is the key to congregational transformation? What empowers some congregations to transform in the midst transitions and changes, and others to age and perhaps die? Should there not be one right answer? Should we not have found the best answer during the past 50 years?
Perhaps we have and have not recognized it.
In any case, the search for the best solution to the challenge of congregational transformation is an illusive search similar to the search for the Holy Grail—the cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper. There is mythology even about the search; much less never-ending debate over whether or not the solution has been found.
A List of Approaches Attempted
As I began to think about the various approaches attempted over the past six decades, I began to make a list. At first I tried to list them by the decade of their apparent greatest popularity. That did not work. Then I tried to list them by the type of approach or intervention they represented. The categories were way too blurry and open to much interpretation.
Finally I just decided to list them as they came to me, and then to pick out the ones I find most promising. Are you ready? Here is the list.
Standards of achievement organized around the various program emphases of congregations.
Rallying the congregation by raising money and constructing a new building.
Developing a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and/or multi-cultural ministry.
Adopting an assertive church growth strategy.
Engaging in church growth or strategic planning consultation processes.
Changing pastors to get the right pastor who brings visionary leadership to the congregation.
Engaging in social action and economic development that results in community transformation that leads to new openings for congregational transformation.
Focusing on church health, fueled by the use of a church health survey or diagnostic.
Escape the current context by relocating, merging with another congregation, or ignoring the context by primarily reaching people who live somewhere else.
Or, more deeply invest in ministry with families/households in your current transitional setting.
Use of process of spiritual discernment to determine God’s leading for the transformation of your congregation.
Address conflict issues through mediation or management to free the congregation to move forward after dealing with the bad parts or people from the congregation.
Address the family emotional systems in the congregation to develop non-anxious people in a healthy congregational system.
Vision casting processes that involve the pastor, staff, and people of passion and position in the congregation forming an enduring visionary leadership community.
For the congregation to engage in a process that modifies their behaviors through making them accountable to an outside third-party.
To engage continually in evangelism activities intended to draw preChristians into the congregation.
Intentionally move from a traditional mindset, methods, and manner of governance to one of innovation.
Making the move from traditional worship to innovative or contemporary worship.
Involvement of senior pastor, and perhaps other staff and key lay leaders, in peer learning communities that search and share for solutions to congregational transformation challenges.
Use of personal ministry coaches for the senior pastor, staff, and key lay leadership teams with the congregation focusing on the strategic framework of moving the congregation forward.
Planting one or more new congregations of a different people group, and perhaps nesting them in the church facilities. Ultimately these new congregations could own the facilities.
Planting new congregations within the context of the church community, or in other locations or among different people groups so that the congregation lives through other congregations.
Engage in church and/or lay renewal processes.
Utilize small groups as a means to revitalize the programs, ministries, and activities of the congregation.
To use action/reflection among congregational participants following engaging them in missions trips to a radically different culture somewhere in the world. Such action/reflection could long-term result in a whole new mobilization and motivation for mission within the congregation.
Where is the Holy Grail?
Twenty-five approaches are probably enough to list. It is certainly not all that have been attempted in the past six decades.
Which one is the Holy Grail of congregational transformation? Are any of them the Holy Grail? Is there actually a Holy Grail of congregational transformation?
Which of these approaches has your congregation attempted? Which of these approaches have you attempted during your ministry? Have any of them worked? If it worked in one place, would it work in another? Or, are congregational transformation solutions congregationally specific? What works in one place and time may not necessarily work in another.
Which Approaches are Most Promising?
From my perspective the most promising are the cluster of seven approaches represented by ideas 14-20 on this list.
Review these for a minute.
Here are some of my understandings of these principles.
Vision is the fuel that drives the transformation of a congregation. Such vision must be owned by at least 20 percent of active participants in a congregation. This ad hoc group of people is known as the Enduring Visionary Leadership Community. The initiating leader and key voice of vision is the senior pastor.
For a congregation to remain focused on the necessary transitions and changes, they must voluntarily make themselves accountable to an outside authority knowledgeable about their opportunities and challenges. Few congregations will continue to make less than the most popular choices and actions without a third-party holding them accountable.
It is difficult to underestimate the value of evangelism actions that exhort preChristians to consider a life-changing spiritual encounter with the Triune God. A theology of evangelism, acceptable methods of evangelism, and the ability to execute actions of evangelism divide congregations who transform from those who do not.
Congregations who transform are able to innovate on their historically traditional mindset, methods, and their manner of governance without losing their core values as a congregation. They never allow their long-term traditions to keep them from doing new things that both honor their base and empower their future.
Further, they are willing and able to move from their longstanding traditional worship in the direction of innovative or contemporary worship. Often they stop at blended or convergent worship, and that typically is enough.
The pastors, staff members, and key lay leaders of these congregations are continual learners. They gladly participate in peer learning communities that are discovering and implementing various strategies and tactics of congregational transformation. Further, they use personal ministry coaches to help them individually stay focused on effective actions.
So, are these seven the Holy Grail? I would not lay claim to such. Based on thirty years of working in the area of congregational transformation, they are the ones the make the most sense to me at the current time.
What works best for you?
Copyright 2007, Rev. George Bullard, D. Min. Reprinted with author’s Permission.
George Bullard is a Ministry Partner with The Columbia Partnership
George’s vision is to use his spiritual and strategic giftedness to empower congregations and congregational champions to fulfill their vision for Kingdom growth.
George is Senior Editor for The Columbia Partnership Leadership Series, a book series with Chalice Press. [George’s first book in this imprint is Pursuing the Full Kingdom Potential of Your Congregation]
George is widely recognized as an advisor to denominational leaders, a futurist, a strategic planning expert, a group process facilitator, a church growth strategist, an authority in conflict management, and a writer. He has extensively developed a life cycle model for congregations, which helps congregational leaders know what types of assistance they may need to best facilitate growth.
I write this sitting at the airport (Thanks for free wireless!), way too early in the morning. 
My friends in Panama tell me this story. 
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.
Bring that back to your church’s outreach. 
Today we have a guest article by George Bullard of 
Perhaps we have and have not recognized it.
