Kingdom First Aid

Exponential 09

2009-04-25T18:25:00.003-04:00

Spent last week is sunny Orlando, Florida at the National New Church Conference. First time I've ever attended a conference specifically for church planters.

LOVED It!
While I'm not a church planter myself, I felt SO at home there. I loved the energy. The room was filled with excited Christians, on fire for God, passionate about the church and ready to join God in His mission. Talk about refreshing!

While at some church conferences I have felt self conscious about my gender, sensing resistance from some to interact with me or include me in their conversations. At this conference, I had no such feelings. I didn't even mind that I had to go by myself. I felt like everyone was on the same team, with the same desire, excited about anyone who would want to join them. No discrimination. No fear. All inclusive.

But MOST of all, as a futurist and innovator who loves to dream, brainstorm and create I finally found a people group that have similar desires. Church planters are dreamers filled with hope. They are BOLD, not yet afraid to do something never tried before. They seek to hear and follow God's desires. Their calling to plant a new church requires them to be innovative, flexible, and receptive to new ideas. Being around church planters is like eating dessert all day long. No bitterness, grumbling, or resistance to slow you down.

As someone who has a ministry call and is struggling to learn how to start a new ministry from scratch, the conference was just as helpful to me as it was to the church planters. In a way, I see myself as a "ministry planter" and therefore I needed to hear and benefited from the same things they were hearing.

Finally, by going to a new church start conference you gain great insight into the future of the Kingdom of God. You get a glimpse of what is to come. You get to hear what future church leaders are thinking, dreaming and being told by current "experts" in the field. It's a great place to identify and clarify changes occurring within the Kingdom.

Like any GREAT conference, it's given me a lot to process and reflect on but I have found it's already transformed my thinking and helped to clarify things. In the days ahead I hope to post several entries about topics addressed and how I've been changed. Until then I just wanted to say I highly recommend people attend this conference. And you don't have to necessarily be a church planter to greatly benefit from what it offers!

A Vision Miscarriage

2009-03-11T15:39:00.001-04:00

I am in the process of reading Reggie McNeal's new book Missional Renaissance. Reggie McNeal is probably one of my most favorite authors. He has an uncanny ability to articulate things about the Kingdom of God many of us are thinking but just can't quite put into words. But more than that, he has the ability to see where things are going before most are able to and will write a book that is always quite timely and relevant to current circumstances.

In the introduction of the book, McNeal states, "In the early stages of movements, proponents have to distinguish the new from the status quo. What it is not is as important as what it is. However, as the movement matures, what it is becomes more fully defined and capable of supporting its own existence without having to live off siphoned energy or allergic reactions to the prior thing-it-is-not. Actually, movements that cannot get to this stage don't survive; they last only as long as the reactionary core can generate enthusiasm among the initial adherents and the disgruntled they recruit. In early stages of movements, the new thing and thing-it-is-not often alternately seek mutual ground and work to make the other go away."

There are HUGE leadership lessons in these words. Pastors attempting to cast a vision that will require major paradigm shifts and will change the culture of the church have to not only understand this "movement process," they have to be experts in navigating it. When I read McNeal's words I just kept thinking, "I wish I had completely understood this seven years ago."

Seven Years Ago
Seven years ago, I had been selected to be a part of a new group our church was forming called the vision council. Our task was to study, reflect, pray and discuss in hopes of discovering, defining and articulating God's vision for our church. It was a daunting task that none of us took lightly. We spent hundreds of hours between the six of us, humbly seeking direction. Even after we felt we had clear direction it took quite some time to be able to articulate it to each other, much less the congregation. We were struggling to find the vocabulary and common ground to describe what was in our heads. What we heard God tell us wasn't anything we could find others doing and would require major paradigm shifts. We were on the bleeding edge of a movement, a movement many now describe as "missional." But seven years ago this term hadn't even reached mainstream and very few churches were even talking about making the paradigm shifts we were considering. While there were aspects of the vision being vocalized by some, nothing was organized or coherent. The movement was still in the birthing stages.

Just as McNeal describes, we found ourselves explaining what it was not. It was the only common ground we had to work from and making contrasts helped to define the new ideas. The problem was, as we described what it was not, we upset those who liked the "nots" and had no desire to change them. In addition, a movement as powerful as the missional movement draws a very clear dividing line, one that completely changes your understanding of "church" and how we express and live out our spiritual self. As the dividing line became more defined it also grew deeper in the sand, until it was more like a canyon than a line.

Those that found themselves on the "what-it-is-not" side responded in different ways. Some became extremely vocal and combative. They manifested their anger in different ways, from attacking the pastor and lobbying for his removal to passive-aggressive approaches of rumors and gossip. Others became painfully wounded. They took it personally and felt we were devaluing them. Many of the wounded left the church, unable to reconcile differences and too pained by the experience to be functioning congregation members any longer. Still others, were non-responsive all together. They appeared to be supportive but in the face of extreme conflict stayed silent and only observed. And so, things very quickly degraded to a very few that were outwardly supportive of the new changes.

With no momentum or tipping point pushing us towards being missional, the movement never matured. Just as McNeal described, the movement did not survive and in the end either did the vision council. Three years into the process, three of the original members had left the church and by five years another three, including the senior pastor. Right now, there is just one member of the vision council that is still a part of the congregation. And if you're wondering, it's not me.

Haunted with my Thoughts
I am often left wondering, could we have avoided the vision miscarriage? If we had just known a little more about the "movement process" or done things differently, would that have made the difference and insured a successful birth? What makes the difference for those who are able to birth a new vision? What do they have that we didn't? Could the vision have been saved? Finally, if I had a second opportunity and found myself at a church that was just beginning the visioning process, what would I advise them to do differently?

Vision miscarriages are painful for everyone involved. As a vision council member, closely attached to the vision, in many ways I personally feel like a mother who miscarried a baby. I've gone through many, if not all of the same stages. There is a pain that goes along with a vision miscarriage that you carry with you everywhere you go. You're always thinking about what could have been and mourning what was lost. At some point in every day, I find my thoughts wandering to that beautiful vision; longing to see it become a reality, dreaming of a time when I could be a part of it, desiring to try again, fearful of another vision miscarriage but with longings that seem to outweigh those fears.

In retrospect and reflection, I don't think it would have mattered what we did. The vision would have miscarried. The church wasn't ready to make the hard paradigm shifts needed. They had strong desires to stay who they were and resisted any attempts, however small, to make changes toward being missional. Their desire to stay attached to their building and be church centric (making sure the majority of the ministry took place on their property and benefited them, having a staff that serviced only their needs, the need to have big, nice buildings, filling their time with lots of committee meetings and church based programs, etc.) was just too much to overcome. Every attempt to do things off campus, with no benefit to the church itself, struggled to survive and often failed.

The reality is, there was no fertile ground. They were all about come and see vs. go and live, programs vs. people and church-based vs. kingdom-based leadership. And even though they were dissatisfied and unhappy, the change they embraced and dreamed of was to become another mega-church, with everything that comes along with that. Going missional was as far away from their aspirations as you could get.

And so, longing to be a part of the "missional" birth occurring in the Kingdom of God, I continue to search for fertile ground...

With tax monies declining and county services being cut, where are the churches?

2009-03-02T17:57:00.004-05:00

I had the opportunity last weekend to attend our local county budget hearing. Over several days the board conducted a handful of open hearings for community members to give their input on what NOT to cut. Over a period of several hours I heard plea after plea from people with real needs and concerns. From the single parent who was depending on the county subsidized childcare to ensure her child wasn't left home alone while she worked to the senior citizens who depend on the services, programs and meals offered at the frequented senior center to increase their mental and physical well being, EVERYONE HAD A NEED! Even the school district is looking at reduced staffing, canceled programs and services and higher classroom sizes, decreasing the quality of education offered. I do not envy the board. They have a difficult task ahead of them as they sort all this out and reconcile the monstrous deficit ahead of them.

As I sat there listening to everyone, I just kept asking myself WHERE ARE THE CHURCHES? We say we care about the community but what are we specifically doing to help meet their needs? We say we desire to live like Jesus and yet the county is the one striving to meet the needs of its community, creating programs and struggling to pay for services.

And that is when, as a fellow Christ-follower and member of the Kingdom of God, I became extremely embarrassed. Embarrassed that within our county we have over ONE HUNDRED churches. One hundred churches that for the most part are not focused on meeting the needs of the community. One hundred churches that didn't sit in attendance at these budget meetings, making lists of ways they could help. One hundred churches that have lost sight of their true Jesus mission, while all around them their community screams for help. But MOST of all, I sat there embarrassed that the county government is living more like Jesus than we are!

The economic crisis our country is struggling through is painful and disconcerting, but the ethos crisis our churches are living is deafening and destructive. We have lost focus of why we exist. We have become inwardly focused, isolated from the very people we were called to reach. We live a life that strives to build bigger buildings and create more programs for our members, while all around us basic needs for the community we live in such as childcare, education, safety and health are being threatened.

This economic crisis is an opportunity for churches to redeem themselves. If every church stepped up to the plate and committed to the county to help replace the deficit with people and resources can you imagine the Christ-centered revival it would ignite? I have heard people describe the church as the hope of the world. During this economic crisis why don't we step up to the plate and actually BECOME it!

We the church, in order to form a more perfect world, establish Christ, insure Kingdom focus, provide for community needs, promote Christ-centered lives, and secure the blessings of scripture to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this pledge to our Father, who art in heaven.

The Evangelism Catalyst

2009-01-28T19:48:00.020-05:00

I just got done reading When There's No Burning Bush: Following Your Passions to Discover God's Call by Eddy Hall and Gary Morsch. This book is an excellent read and I highly recommend it! With the premise that "every member is a minister," the book helps churches make a major paradigm shift from being program driven to being call driven. While assisting followers with call discovery and the identification of six myths that hinder people from living out their calling, the authors challenge churches to closely examine their contribution to ministry degradation. This book is not only illuminating for the follower, it's convicting for the church. What is so exciting about this book is that the authors have included a 7-8 week small group leaders guide in the back to assist churches in taking the first steps of change, empowering people for ministry.

All of this got me thinking...
Most churches when assessing their weaknesses will say that they are weak in evangelism. When trying to improve this area, many will implement programs designed to teach people how to share the gospel and be prepared to answer questions that may come up in spiritual conversations. They may try to create special activities or worship series to attract non-believers and encourage followers to invite a friend to church. At the same time, most believers will admit they feel fearful of witnessing while feeling guilty that they don't do it enough.

And it dawned on me...
Maybe the approach is all wrong! Maybe the way to help churches and people be better at evangelizing is not to focus on evangelism but instead to focus on ministry and allow evangelism to be a natural outflow of that ministry. When you identify your ministry calling and are able to live out that calling, you're not only more successful at it because God has specially gifted you for the task, your joy level is exponential, motivating greater participation. If we are surrendering our lives for God's purposes, can't we be assured that any ministry He may call us to will somehow be a witness to Him and strengthen the Kingdom?

By directing people to focus on identifying their ministry call and living it out, we redirect their attention from something they naturally resist and are fearful of (evangelism) to something that God has prepared them to flourish in, while at the same time accomplishing God's ultimate purpose; to connect with those who don't know Him yet.

The key to this is making sure that all the church's ministry opportunities aren't inwardly focused. I would hypothesize that if we (the church) allowed "God callings" to determine our ministries and spiritual gifts and skills to determine the way our people were involved in ministry, that most likely the majority of these ministries would not be inwardly focused (taking place on church premise, mostly benefiting church members), but would instead be outwardly focused (touching the lives of people who may not know Him and/or have a need only God can meet).

Which makes me wonder...
Is the solution to church decline and minimal Kingdom growth the freeing of our people? Freedom to follow the Spirit wherever it leads. Encouragement to discover our "God calling". Release from responsibilities and commitments not in alignment with that calling. And the celebration of God's people being used by Him to touch the life of another.

The "Real" Hard Questions

2008-03-31T11:30:00.002-04:00

I'm currently in the process of reading two books concurrently; "Rethinking the Wineskins" and "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola. These books are part of a 4 volume series Viola has written to examine closer the evolution of the church and how to get back to being what God originally designed the church to be. Wineskins examines what the first church was like. Pagan Christianity looks historically at the evolution of the church and where we get our traditions. In both, Viola is arguing that we have moved away from the "new church" Jesus came to establish and that many of the changes that have occurred have been more harmful than helpful to our DNA.

On a Side Note: Frank Viola has just re-released "Pagan Christianity" co-authored by George Barna. I'm reading the original version first and plan to then scan the second version for additions or changes.

I'll write more about these books later but I got to thinking...
I've visited many church websites in the past that were doing worship series on "hard questions," questions people don't know the answer to or how to respond to those who ask them. Questions such as, "Is the Bible Infallible?" "Does prayer really work?" and "Why do bad things happen and does God really care?"

While these may be questions people have and good questions to tackle and think through, I'm not sure they are actually the "hard" or "difficult" questions. To me, they are the "safe" questions churches are willing and comfortable answering. The REALLY hard questions churches need to be asking and answering are the ones that examine what they do, why they do it and should they be doing it. They are the questions that evoke change, both on an individual level and churchwide.

Questions such as:
1. Would Jesus spend as much time and resources on church as we do?
2. If the Holy Spirit speaks to and through all believers why don't we regularly ask everyone what the Spirit is saying when we gather and let that guide us?
3. Why are most of the ministry opportunities only at church?
4. Where do we get most of our church traditions and do they support or hinder Jesus' ministry?
5. Based on Jesus' ministry and teachings what changes would He recommend we make to our personal lives and church?

Churches don't ever ask such questions because if they did it would threaten their security and stability, rooted in tradition and comfort. Sadly, this misguided and "me-centric" attitude threatens to subvert God's purposes for His people. It is at this point that the church becomes less of a spiritual entity and more of an organization or club run by people.

Why the middle man?

2008-03-13T16:30:00.004-04:00

Easter and Christmas are always such big pushes for churches. Create some special series, develop flashy brochures, challenge church members to hand out "invite a friend postcards" and bring their friends to church so that they can hear the saving message of Christ...

And this got me thinking....

Why do churches get caught up in this "outreach trap?" So often, outreach is defined as finding new ways or opportunities for congregation members to invite their friends to church when instead it should be helping church members to directly share Christ with others. In recent years it has been creating something so interesting and exciting, (such as a special, culturally relevant worship series) that our church members will feel compelled and desire to invite their friends to church.

Which made me ask...
When did we turn the congregation member into the middle man? We challenge our church members to invite a friend to church so that the "church" can then share the message of Christ... or should I say the pastor, worship team and/or small group leader shares Christ. We (the church) try and fool ourselves into thinking we're helping the church member share but the outcome is always less sharing by the church member and more sharing by the "church."

I don't think it was in God's design for there to be this middle man.The church equips, encourages, celebrates.... the people share, share, share!

No middle man... each with its own, unique purpose that is meant to compliment each other without replacing.

And I wondered...
If we truly adopted this principle how would it change what we do and say on Sunday's when we gather? Less evangelistic messages for the few unsaved in attendance... No need for an altar call... that's done with your friend, one on one. How would our conversations during Small Group Bible Study change? We'd spend the time talking about the people we're trying to share Christ with, the frustrations of not knowing better how to do it, and the burden we have for our unaccomplished task instead of an intellectual study of scripture.

And the end result would be we would become uncomfortable with how much time we spend at church. We'd be equally uncomfortable with how little time we invest in making friends with people who don't know Christ.

The reality is the church has taken on a role that was never theirs in the first place and the congregation member has lazily relinquished it. It's time for Christ followers to reclaim our God given role of being responsible for sharing Christ. And it's time for churches to throw away traditions, programs and activities that take away that role from the Christ follower.

If we want church members to see themselves as evangelizers then we have got to stop encouraging them to invite their unsaved friends to church. The time to invite a friend is after they are saved when they need to develop a support group of fellow Christ followers who will walk with them through the journey. Such an approach will free the church to be what it was meant to be... equipping and encouraging Christ followers, instead of being all things to all people, saved or unsaved!

On A Personal Note:I realize that what I am saying is somewhat radical. Please don't misunderstand me. I am not saying I would kick out unsaved people from attending church. What I am saying is that the church should only be seen as a "back door" to reaching the lost. The "front door" which has the greatest impact are through individual Christ followers. Personally, I have become increasingly concerned with the unintentional damage the church seems to be inflicting on its members. I am only using my blog as a way to clarify my thoughts and record them so that they are not lost. As the reader, take it or leave it. It's up to you!

How do our lives overlap?

2008-03-01T22:27:00.006-05:00

The reality is we're lucky if we can balance two circles. Throw in a third and it's rare that we're able to live in the center.

But more importantly, who are the people we hang out with? Where do our friends come from?

Churches often struggle to maximize their evangelism efforts. Until the majority of our friends, the people we "hang out" with, are outside of our Christian circle we'll never be successful.

Is eternity not enough? Do we have to spend all of our earthly time with our Christian friends too?

How sad will it be to reach eternity
only to discover our community is not with us...

"Convicted by my lifestyle"

Where Have You Been?

2008-02-27T14:03:00.015-05:00

It's been six months since I last posted something on my blog. How TERRIBLE is that! While in those six months there have been several life changes that have consumed my time and focus, it still is no excuse. It comes down to not making blogging a priority and I take full responsibility for that.

Six Month Catch-Up
In September, we found out from our builder that they were continuing to have difficulty installing a retaining wall and they said it wouldn't be until spring before the house would be done. Having waited 9 months already, seeing no progress, and watching the builder's starting price drop 80K we decided it would be best for us to cancel our contract and shop elsewhere. (A wise choice looking back now. Prices have dropped 100K and when I recently went by the construction site everything looked the same and there was still no retaining wall.) Luckily for us the builder was understanding and refunded us our entire deposit. What a God blessing!

In October, after searching for several weeks we found a beautiful townhouse to purchase. It was empty, in move-in condition having only been built in 2004 and in a community that was originally out of our price range when we sold our home. It had a ton of upgrades including hardwood floors, granite counter tops, professional wall and window treatments, etc. But MOST of all, my husband loved the small yard and community landscapers which meant no more mowing or leaf raking! We closed on the 16th and spent the last few weeks of October packing and moving our apartment, getting the rest of our things in storage moved and beginning the process of unpacking.

November began a little rocky. I started the month by visiting the local emergency room for the first time. It was a bit depressing to have only lived there for two weeks before I was already back in the hospital but that's the way it goes. The nice part is we specifically chose a townhouse that is only about three minutes away from the hospital so the midnight run was quite "pleasant" if you had to be going. It turned out I had a quite painful kidney stone (my first) that took some time to pass. But with a little morphine to deaden the pain the world always looks better. I spent the next three weeks feverishly trying to unpack as much as I could before the holiday craze would begin.

On a positive, November ended with a trip to Philadelphia to see my sister who had just moved there and a fantastic Thanksgiving day trip to New York City to see the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in person. If you haven't done this I would HIGHLY recommend it. It has been a childhood dream for me and I'd do it again without hesitation. We were lucky to have beautiful weather and everything went quite smoothly. We were on the parade route staking out our front row seating by 6:30am, enjoyed the gorgeous balloons and parade entertainment then spent the day touring the city. We ended our trip at Rockefeller Center and had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant overlooking the ice skating rink. What more could you ask for?!?

December was consumed with decorating the house and making preparation for Christmas. Christmas is probably my favorite time of year. I made a point to pull out all of our Christmas things from the garage so that I could repack them in clear storage containers and put them in the new storage area we had a handyman create for us under our stairwell. For the holidays my sister came down from Phili and spent close to two weeks with us. It was great to spend some concentrated time with her.

My favorite part about Christmas was surprising my husband with an iPhone. I totally tricked him into thinking it wasn't under the tree by wrapping it in multiple layers of boxes and weights. About a week before Christmas he even admitted to me that he had hoped there was one under the tree but that when he saw his present he knew it couldn't be one and he was OK with that. It was all I could do to keep a straight face and play up the "there is no way you're ever getting one of those" attitudes. I think the iPhone gift is probably the BEST surprise with the highest impact that I've ever been able to accomplish with him. It was great watching him sit speechless for quite some time just staring at it.

Christmas also marked the arrival of a new family member. Our dog, Rudy passed away around the same time we sold our home and moved. My husband loves dogs and it was quite a difficult loss for us. At the time, we decided to wait to get a new dog until we had settled in our new home. So when Christmas rolled around it seemed like the perfect time to find a new dog to rescue. We found Miss Daisy, a foxhound mix, at a local rescue organization FOHA and fell in love with her immediately. She is a loving, 3 year old that is still quite energetic and playful. While she doesn't seem to have any of the rude habits Rudy had, she is still working on basic obedience skills. The TV show "The Dog Whisperer" has become our new favorite show! Overall, we are quite pleased with her and she has become a loved member of our family.

January and February have been extremely busy also but I'll have to get you updated on that later.

Phew! While I know this is a long post, at least now you're caught up on things. We've had many major changes with a few still to come. Even though changes are taking place I plan to try and be more committed to blogging. If I can discipline myself to making my posts short it shouldn't take much time. No snide remarks! I AM capable of posting a SHORT entry. ;)

Until next time...

Raising Christ-Centered Children, One Parent at a Time: Part Two

2007-08-30T19:23:00.000-04:00

If you lead a children's ministry or pastor a church I would encourage you to consider this approach to the children's ministry. The following is a sample document, outlining focus areas for such a ministry.

Our Mission
The children’s ministry exists to cultivate Christ-centered parenting.

Our Process: The Three R’s
We reach out to families, raise up parents and reinforce teachings so that our children will believe, grow and lead.

The Parents’ Role
In Deuteronomy 11:18-21 Moses instructs God’s people on what to do with the godly teachings he taught them. He clearly assigns parents with the godly instruction of their children, not the religious leaders of the day.

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.” Deuteronomy 11:18-21

It is for this reason we believe the time parents spend with their children is the primary place for discipleship. As an integral part of the discipleship formula, parents are a cornerstone of the children’s ministry.

The Church’s Role
Reach Out! (Reaching Out to Families)
We seek to connect with families in our community by reaching out a hand of friendship. We desire to remove any hindrances from accomplishing this goal and are committed to making as many community connections as possible.

Raise Up! (Raising Up Christ-Centered Parents)
We desire to equip parents as they seek to accomplish instruction and incorporate God in their family’s daily life. We are committed to providing various parent enrichment opportunities, focused on godly parenting skills and resources parents may use from home with their children. Finally, we desire to develop support networks for parents as they navigate the challenges of raising Christ-centered children.

Reinforce! (Reinforcing Godly Teachings)
When the children meet for church gatherings we seek to reinforce parental instruction in hopes of accomplishing our shared goal of developing children who will Believe, Grow, and Lead. In addition, we desire to make a positive contribution to the children’s spiritual development by providing opportunities that their parents cannot provide at home. These opportunities include corporate worship, peer group interaction and ministry service through the local church.

Raising Christ-Centered Children, One Parent at a Time

2007-08-30T18:58:00.000-04:00

Background
Before I experienced a call to ministry I was an elementary teacher for many years. My first ministry position was as Children's Minister, which is where I experienced my ministry call. Recently, I have been giving a lot of thought to what type of DNA I would want to instill in a new type of church start. This train of thinking has led me to think about what new DNA I would seek to develop in the Children's Ministry. This blog entry is an attempt to record where my thoughts have led me.

A "Radical" Idea
The following may be a “radical” view for a children’s ministry but after studying scripture and reviewing how most churches structure their children’s ministry I became increasingly concerned by what I observed. Scripture clearly assigns parents with the primary responsibility of biblical instruction for their children (Deut. 11:18-21) and yet if you were to look at what most churches focus their children’s ministry energies doing very little is done for the parent. Instead, the majority of the effort focuses on providing the children with a comprehensive program that they want to attend. Sadly, the result has been that many parents rely on the church to fill the parental role of Biblical instruction and little instruction occurs from home. By receiving this parental handoff the church is subverting scripture.

The New DNA
If I had the opportunity to start a children’s ministry from scratch the DNA I would seek to infuse from day one would be one that placed ownership on the parents as the primary Biblical instructor. Everything we did would seek to undergird the parents’ efforts. We would be careful to consistently and frequently communicate to parents that we exist to support their efforts. Therefore, we would provide curriculum and instruction for parents to use from home on a weekly basis and then review and reinforce that instruction when the children came together for church gatherings. We would also offer various parent enrichment activities in hopes of strengthening them as Biblical instructors, during formal instruction and informal, everyday moments. We would want parents to view the time they spend with their children to be the primary place for discipleship. The parents would see their efforts to be an integral part of the discipleship formula, a cornerstone of the children’s ministry.

In addition, the church would assist the parents by offering opportunities for the child that the parent is unable to provide such as corporate worship, peer group interaction, and ministry service through the local church. While Biblical instruction would be part of “church time,” we would be careful to not make it our primary focus. Instead, we would take advantage of the unique opportunity that comes from gathering with other children and create activities that exclusively take advantage of this.

Three questions would guide us:
1. What are we doing to increase Biblical parenting among our parents?
2. What can we do that does not replicate what is occurring at home, but instead reinforces it?
3. What can we offer children during church gatherings that the parents are unable to provide from home?

GodTube Website is Awesome!

2007-08-16T14:36:00.000-04:00

There is a new version of YouTube on the Internet. It's called GodTube. It is quite interesting and something to explore. My favorites so far are four Christian/Christ Follower Parodies based on the PC/Mac commercials. Check them out!

Here's the first one to whet your appetite!

Way to go John Ortberg!

2007-08-13T17:42:00.000-04:00

As a woman in ministry, struggling to live beyond the nay-sayers that discourage women from becoming advanced leaders, I was encouraged and excited to hear John Ortberg's words at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit last week. During his address, John used Esther for his main scripture text and made a point to recognize what an awesome leader Esther was. But he didn't stop there! He went on to passionately encourage women who feel called into leadership to go out and boldly lead.

Hearing someone I respect and consider an influential Christian leader uplift women, called to ministry beyond children's or women's ministry (the accepted norm), was extremely encouraging to me. If you were not at the summit, I encourage you to watch the Ortberg video clip which includes his passionate support of women as leaders in the church.

John Ortberg Video Clip

Leadership Summit: Day Two

2007-08-11T22:40:00.000-04:00

Day two was an exhausting day for me. When I got home I had the rare experience of longing for and desiring complete silence. Even the sound of the TV in the background was bothersome. This is extremely rare for me. I always have sound in the background while I work and think, whether it's the TV or music. When I was in college I found that I could obtain a higher level of concentration when I had some noise in the background and have kept with this pattern throughout life.

But last night I couldn't. Last night it had to be silent.

My poor husband was completely confused by my behavior and found it hard to understand. He wanted to talk to me about the conference and hear about the various speakers. He wanted to tell me about his day and have me ask clarifying questions. He wanted to comment to me about what he was watching on TV. And I could have nothing to do with any of it. It got to the point where I just had to apologize for my attitude, excuse myself from the room, and go to bed.

Finally, with sleep came the silence I was so desperately longing for.

Today I have been reflecting on why I needed complete silence. I've always been able to process multiple things at the same time. In fact, often I thrive on such multi-tasking. So, what was different about yesterday? Sure there was a lot of content to absorb, but how is that different from a day of class during my intensives at seminary?

And then it hit me. What made yesterday different was it wasn't only the amount of content that was shared, it was the degree to which God was pruning me. And it was that combination that pushed me over the edge, to a place where only silence could repair.

Yesterday was not only about head knowledge, it was about heart repair and formation.

I'm sure some of you who attended the Summit are asking yourself right now, "What conference was she at? Not the Leadership Summit I attended." And to be quite honest I can't explain it by content alone. When I look back on my notes for the day I find nothing out of the ordinary. And yet, something happened. Something that I can't even clearly articulate at this moment. Something that I continue to wrestle with in my mind and heart. Something that still feels foreign to me and yet is now a part of me.

Even as I try and describe it now I get a lump in my throat and a nervous tummy feeling, deep in my gut.

Honestly, I have no idea what the outcome of all of this will be. The only thing I can say without a doubt is that I have stumbled into a defining moment in my life, one that even now I don't fully understand nor do I have the ability to fully comprehend. I sense I have been brought to a fork in the road.

Which road I choose to go down, God has left to me.

There is an easy road that my human self, my mind is telling me to take. But there is also a hard road, that my heart is urging and begging me to go down. For the easy road, I have the skills and feel equipped to handle what will come my way. For the hard road, I feel completely unskilled and inadequate for the task. The easy road is assured to be filled with others who will walk with me. But for the hard road it is unknown at this point if anyone would be willing to or feel called to partner with me. The easy road is filled with knowns. The hard road is filled with unknowns.

My gut says that both roads would be OK to go down but that one lacks the same level of potential as the other one possesses. My heart says that God longs for me to choose the hard road but would understand if I chose the easy one. My instinct says the correct choice is the hard road. It is the road that God can grow me the most, change me the most, reveal himself more fully on and yet something continues to stop me.

And so, my soul cries out... "Why can't my mind let go... why can't I take the first step... why can't I let it all go and fully surrender to it?"

Leadership Summit: Day One

2007-08-09T22:46:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day of the Leadership Summit sponsored by the Willow Creek Association (WCA).

What a great day! Every time I see Bill Hybels speak I am more and more humbled by his genuine authenticity and his intense passion for leaders. Bill truly loves pastors and desires to help strengthen them any way possible. The quality of the faculty the WCA brings to address the participants and the care in which they plan out every detail of the conference truly communicates the level of their passion for building up leaders. For me, it is always an experience that challenges and grows me. This year is no exception.

The following are some comments made by the speakers today that have stuck with me and I continue to reflect on...

“People don't have to always have their way, just their way to be considered." Bill Hybels

"Would you be willing to die for the vision God has placed in your heart?" Bill Hybels

"What you ARE is God's gift to YOU, what you DO is YOUR gift to God." Quoted by Carly Fiorina

"It needs to be a vision more compelling then what they are afraid of." Carly Fiorina

"As a result of my firing, I have been given the gift of freedom. Freedom to do things I would not have done otherwise." Carly Fiorina

"For a student failing in one class and excelling in another, you solve the 'F' through the 'A's'." Markus Buckingham

As an example of putting your strengths to work, Markus went on to explain that you identify the strengths in the child that is helping to produce the A and help her harness those strengths to leverage a better grade in the other class.

"And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in the bud became greater than the risk to blossom." Quoted by Markus Buckingham, missed the reference

Concluding Thoughts
Today was a day of conviction... conviction that I must completely own the vision God has placed on my heart. Only when I completely surrender myself to it and am willing to sacrifice everything, no matter what the cost, will I be made into the vessel God desires to use.

My numerous hindrances, such as personal fears of failure or the prejudices others may have of me as a woman in ministry, have become heavy burdens preventing me from moving forward. When I hold onto these things I remove God from the equation and it is no longer about Him, but instead about me. I must lay my hindrances before the Lord and let go of them in order to free myself to move forward and restore God's desires as my central focus.

Finally, instead of focusing on my weaknesses and what I am lacking to be able to accomplish this vision, I need to clearly identify my strengths and work through them as I seek to accomplish this vision. My strengths are gifts God has given me in order to accomplish what it is He desires me to do.

Today was a day of asking for forgiveness for allowing myself to get in the way of God's vision. It was also a day of surrendering to His will, for my life and this vision. None of this ever was about me... it has always been about Him, as it should be.

How do you define church success?

2007-06-26T20:26:00.000-04:00

When I talk to pastors and people from other churches I will often ask them how things are going at church. I'll ask them what they feel is going well and what seems not to be going very well. I'm always interested by their comments. It tells me a lot about how they define success. It also tells me a lot about their priorities.

If you're in ministry and part of the Southern Baptist denomination you are familiar with the yearly church surveys the association sends out. They ask questions such as; what is your weekly average attendance for worship, how many people are in Sunday School, how many baptisms did you have last year, how much money did you contribute to cooperative giving, etc. These surveys haven't changed for decades! And worse yet they communicate to churches that these are the things that are most important if you want to have a healthy church.

We desperately need to change what we define as being success at church. One way to do this is to change the assessments administered by the associations to better reflect what we are hoping to create. If churches were asked things such as, "how many church members actively involve God in their daily life?" it would definitely challenge the leadership to focus on this topic. The problem is most churches can't answer that question because they don't know their congregations well enough to know how to answer it!

In addition, there is confusion as to what is success. Many people believe church success is how big your building is or how many programs you have running. For others it's how many people attend your church or the offering levels. None of this says anything about the spiritual wellness of the church. It only addresses the "wellness" of the organization. Our poor assessments and areas of focus have finally caught up to us and we are currently feeling the affects of them. We have big empty churches with spiritually dead people confused at why even though they attend church every Sunday or are involved in several programs at the church, they don't feel like their lives are meaningful or full. Something is still missing.

What would I encourage churches to do?
1. Redefine success to be how many times you had a real conversation with someone and shared a little bit of yourself with them.

2. Measure success on the number of times you consulted God on something before making a decision, no matter how small the decision and followed His direction.

3. Define success based on the amount of time spent each week devoted to one on one time with God.

4. Define success to be the personal efforts parents make to instruct their children in God's word, such as family devotionals or worship time.

5. Define success as being each time we choose to not engage in sinful acts.

6. And finally, define success as investing in another to develop the same godly characteristics.

I'm sure there are others... this is a list in progress! Any one want to add something to the list?

Is there something we haven't tried?

2007-06-26T13:41:00.000-04:00

So, I've been continuing to reflect on my thoughts about if dying churches can be saved. While I believe in death and rebirth and that it is a very realistic reality on the horizon for many churches, the never-give-up rescuer in me says, "Isn't there something else that could be tried? Maybe we just haven't thought of the right thing yet because it's not in God's timing. Be patient and keep looking and trying."

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to worship at a new church start. They are small in number but seem to have a huge heart for the Lord. There is a level of authenticity and godly character exhibited in their words and seen in their eyes as you speak with people one on one that is hard to miss and quite refreshing. There was such a sweet spirit of humility and focus on God's desires and praises by the worship leader and pastor that it over shadowed any glitches in the projection of words, the rising temperature in the room due to lack of air conditioning or the toddler that was wandering around the room, uninterested in sitting with his mother. I sat there thinking to myself, "This is a glimpse at the pure and healthy DNA God desires churches to have. Why can't more churches have this DNA? Why can't existing churches have their DNA re-written to look like this?"

Then it suddenly dawned on me. How do most pastors go about trying to revive a dying church? Some churches focus on developing new programs and ministries. Almost all of these churches will in some way try and have a special emphasis on evangelism, trying new methods, encouraging people to be more active in their efforts to share Christ. I think of all the sales pitch emails I have received for programs that will increase your attendance, raise your offerings and "save" your church from death. Implement this new program or have your church go through this new study and you will surely succeed.

And that is when it hit me. These churches are treating the symptom and not the illness! They may for a brief time be successful at decreasing symptoms but the illness is still present which means that eventually they will get sick again. They have not been cured. The illness has just been momentarily masked.

Then I thought about that good DNA I had the opportunity to see up close and I realized that maybe the way to save a dying church is to focus all efforts on creating intimacy, authenticity and godly character in the congregation. The natural outgrowth of this change will be a vibrancy that is hard for a visitor to resist and an internal change that will naturally express itself through evangelistic outreach. They will want to share their faith with others because of the vibrancy of their relationship with the Lord. They won't be able to help themselves. It will just overflow from their being. In addition, they will have something to share with others. Right now, most church member's spiritual wellness is so non-existent that it is not surprising that they would not be sharing with their friends their faith. It is not impacting their life in a way that they want or desire others to gain what they have.

Basically we have dying churches because we have spiritually dead people sitting in them. Revive the people spiritually and you can revive the dying church. But revival isn't about emotion or spurring the people into action to do more. It is about strengthening their connection with the Lord, developing intimacy that is the incubator for authenticity and the development of godly character. It is about growing and nurturing an internal motivation to include God in your daily life.

If you are a pastor of a dying church, I would encourage you to stop trying new programs and encouraging your congregation to become more evangelistic. Instead focus all of your efforts on creating spiritually healthy members through the development of intimacy. Embrace your small numbers and look at them as blessings. It's always easier to create intimacy when your numbers are small. But being small in number won't be enough to create that intimacy you are looking for. (That has been evident for quite some time as you have dwindled in numbers.) It takes the brave encouragement to be transparent with others, highly valuing authenticity and making a focused effort to allow God to change you.

Can dying churches be saved?

2007-06-24T21:05:00.000-04:00

Thinking about dying churches further, I have been contemplating if a dying church can be saved. Is it possible? Can a church near death and on life support be revived? Is it even possible to rewrite unhealthy DNA? And even more importantly, is this something God desires or does he intend to let these churches completely die off the vine? Does God know that bad DNA can't be re-written and therefore He is in the process of birthing a new type of church with a healthy DNA?

I wish I knew the answers to these questions but unfortunately I do not. Because of the high numbers of dying churches in the Kingdom I am inclined to think God desires to birth something new and completely different. My instinct says that we are on the brink of a new type of revival within the Kingdom. One that will form a new type of church, not seen since the beginning of Christianity. The way in which we gather as Christ followers and live out our faith will be redefined for us in such a way that it will be hard to see any resemblance to our current church culture. We will be re-birthed and made new, in the fullest sense.

Some say that this won't happen until Jesus returns to claim His Kingdom. Maybe so. Maybe Jesus is coming back sooner than we think! I don't know. What I do know is that there is a huge amount of evidence mounting that Kingdom-wide, a large percentage of churches are dying and that there are more churches close to death now than at any other time in history. I also know that with death comes rebirth and a new life. Therefore I must acknowledge the church deaths and keep my eyes on the horizon for the rebirth.

This is an exhausting and challenging time to be in ministry, but it also is an exhilarating time. While the hardships are great, the joys are just as intense and wonderful. I liken these times to be similar to the birth of our nation or the beginning of civilization. We are cavemen on the brink of discovering fire! The changes and discoveries on the horizon for the Kingdom of God are so great that the impact won't be fully realized for generations to come. People will say to us, "Were you there? Did you see it happen? Were you a part of the rebirth? What was it like?" and they will marvel at our experiences, wishing they had been there too.

Do you see dying churches where you live?

2007-06-24T20:32:00.001-04:00

My husband and I have been in search of a new church home for about a year now. We have relocated to a new area, necessitating the search. As we have visited various churches it has been startling what's out there. I knew that many churches were declining in numbers and that there was a high percentage of dying churches but I had no idea how wide spread the problem was or how bad it really is out there. It's easy to neglect the Kingdom and be solely focused on the ministries of the church you belong to. Ministerial staff should explore the Kingdom and visit other churches more regularly to get a better pulse for Kingdom health. This is something I believe all churches should be more concerned about.

I would define a "dying" church to be one in which the weekly worship attendance has been on a steady decline for several years. In addition, the retention percentage of first time visitors is extremely low. Most likely, these dying churches have very few, if any baptisms each year and if you were to poll the ministerial staff they would say the church is weakest in evangelism.

But going deeper than that, there seems to be a dysfunction or illness in these dying churches. The DNA of the church has either been corrupted or was malformed during birth. Often the church members tend to be closed minded, protective of traditions and focused on living in the past and the memories of better times. These members also tend to live isolated lives from the rest of the world, unaware of the personal needs or spiritual well being of their neighbors.

I have found the pastors of these dying churches tend to preach heavily on the need for more evangelism, reminding church members of the great commandment and the need to share the gospel with those who have not heard it. These pastors are in a balancing act between not offending or angering current members while at the same time attempting to change unhealthy methods and behaviors slowing church growth and contributing to the lack of vitality. Pastors of dying churches find their time consumed with attending meetings in order to maintain the organization and see an increase in their weekly number of personal hours spent on church ministry.

The churches that are close to death have additional characteristics. Unfortunately, they tend to consist of mostly gray haired members and their Children's Ministry is either non-existent or quite low in attendance. Looking from the outside, it appears these churches lack any type of urgency or concern for others. This is something that is especially needed if they are to pull themselves out of the spiral of death they find themselves in and yet it is not present. Churches on the brink of death have pastors that are exhausted from trying to help breath life into their flock. They often work 60+ hours a week and carry the majority, if not all of the ministerial responsibilities and needs. And worst of all churches close to death are usually completely unaware of their imminent demise. The people are so out of touch with reality that it never enters their minds that they are on the brink of closing their doors for good.

Sadly, many dying churches don't see the writing on the wall even if the pastor has been sounding the alarm for quite some time. And the further they proceed in their dive, the harder it seems to be for them to pull out of their spiraling death, avoiding catastrophic injury.

I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed an increase in dying churches or has stories of similar experiences. If you are willing to share, I'd like to hear your story.

Why "Kingdom First Aid"?

2007-05-16T20:00:00.000-04:00

Every day I hear of new ways God's Kingdom is "wounded"...
Churches unable to work through conflict. Church members leaving a church fellowship in anger, never to return again. I've heard stories from people who for one reason or another have had such a bad experience at a church, they have said they will never go back. It's too painful for them or they couldn't find what they were really looking for which was a fellowship of believers fully surrendered to the Lord and focused solely on Him.

There have been other wounds to the Kingdom, wounds to the ministers. Pastors attacked for one reason or another and forced out of their pastorates. Ministers making decisions based not on what they hear God asking them to do but instead on what a group of congregation members are wanting them to do, succumbing to their fear of loosing their jobs. I have personally experienced the stress of personal attacks by church members disgruntled by my choices, attempting to undermine my leadership. I have also seen first hand the pressures placed on pastors and the negative impact it has on ministers and their families. Some of these wounds are so deep these wounded ministers will leave vocational ministry all together.

Finally, each of us as Christians experience times of hardship, painful moments rendering us "wounded" and unable to serve in ministry the way God desires us to. It may be an actual physical affliction such as an illness or hardship within our family. Or it could be a sin that is in our life that we can't seem to get control over or become free of. Wounds to individuals can be inflicted by others or unfortunately, we can wound ourselves.

What is the result?
In each case the result is the same. The Kingdom is wounded and God's people are distracted from our purpose; to commune with God and share the good news of Christ with those who have not heard it yet. What better way to prevent those in the Kingdom from accomplishing this purpose then to fracture the fellowship and create disunity among our ranks. Each time we allow another wounding or we succumb to it, the Kingdom is weakened a little more and we are farther away from our goal.

The Purpose of "Kingdom First Aid "
My purpose in writing this blog is to attempt to assist in the healing process for Christians, the churches they attend and the ministers selflessly serving who have experienced the pains of such wounding, to help give "first aid" where needed. Sometimes this "first aid" may be in the form of encouragement, but other times it will be through the discussions of various topics applicable to the "battles" taking place within God's Kingdom. Each entry will be topical and I encourage feedback and dialogue. I am far from an expert in this area and would love to hear your thoughts and more about your own experiences.

My goal is to help strengthen God's Kingdom so that we may get back to accomplishing what God placed us here on earth to do. At the very least it is to network those who have been wounded and remind the wounded that they are not alone in their struggles. There are others out there, just like you. All of us have been wounded at one time or another. Finally, it is to not only triage current wounds, but to be preventive in nature in order to lessen future wounding.

This is a grand purpose and massive goal, but one I feel called to by God. My prayer is that God would show me how best to accomplish this and for the Kingdom to be strengthened through this ministry.

Finding A Kingdom View

2007-05-09T18:35:00.000-04:00

I remember when I was in high school and living under my parents guidance... I would ask permission to do something and the response would always be, "when you're eighteen." Each time I would think to myself, "What? Is something magical going to happen when I turn eighteen? Will a magic wand be waved over my head and suddenly I will be wiser and more mature, able to take on the responsibility I was requesting?" As my eighteenth birthday approached I can remember anticipating this moment with anxious excitement, looking forward to being different. The day came and went and sadly I felt no difference. I was the same person my parents had said no to. I thought the same way, made the same choices, inside I felt no change. The only thing that was different was that now my parents saw me as an adult and therefore I was given the freedom that comes with such a title. The responsible daughter had always been responsible. The only thing that changed was my title from "child" to "adult".

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord I think the same thing tends to happen. We expect to feel something different. We expect to be someone else. But the reality is while our core essence may be made new by the choice we have made, our habits, how we think, what we do with our time... are harder to change. It's a life long process of refinement and growth. We may have gained the title of "Christ Follower/Christian" but the Lord still has a lot to accomplish in our lives in order for us to experience the fullness of this title.

One of the attributes that God has been refining in me as a Christ Follower is the ability to see things through God's eyes. When I'm standing in line at the store, driving to a doctor's appointment or listening to the conversations of those around me I find myself asking, "How does God see things? What are His thoughts, His desires, His Kingdom needs right now?" Each time the first thing that tends to happen is an overwhelming feeling of love toward others comes over me. Almost as soon as that feeling surfaces a wave of sadness will follow quickly behind it. Sadness for those who won't spend eternity with Him. Sadness for the hurt and pain brought into the world through sin.

Having a Kingdom View is one in which we strive to see things from God's perspective. We are concerned about the things He is concerned about. We spend time doing the things He would do. We respond to others with the same response He would have. We are more concerned about the needs of His Kingdom then we are about our own needs.

A Kingdom View is an attribute every Christ Follower must obtain but it is an attribute that doesn't come from our title. It is something that has to be developed and sought after. It is an attribute that keeps us grounded and centered in His will. And I believe it is the one attribute that all others flow from. Without a Kingdom View, Christ Followers will never fully experience everything God desires for us. We will never attain the ability to become more closely matched to our Creator.

"Lord, make my eyes new. Let me see what You see. Let me respond in the same way You respond. Let Your priorities be mine. My life is not my own. It is yours."