church planting

Christianity / church / church planting / church relevance / Dave (personal) / God — No Comments
3
Oct 11

On doing good and the church

I read a new study released by The Barna Group on Six Reasons Young Christians Leave The Church. Again, it’s another statistic that saddens me. I am beyond being classified as young right now, but I totally relate to what this study found:

  1. Churches seem overprotective.
  2. Teens’ and twentysomethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow.
  3. Churches come across as antagonistic to science.
  4. Young Christians’ church experiences related to sexuality are often simplistic, judgmental.
  5. They wrestle with the exclusive nature of Christianity.
  6. The church feels unfriendly to those who doubt.

I can already hear a lot of so called “mature Christians” looking at the study and condemning younger Christians as being shallow. Heck, it even states that in reason #2! However, it’s not just young Christians that feel this way. How many times have we spoken to someone about attending a church service only to hear the response, “Church just isn’t relevant to me. I have a personal relationship with God and I don’t need to go to a place where all they want to do is take my money and ask me for my time.” I hear stories like this about the church far too often. It’s particularly saddening to me though when it applies to the younger generation. Mainly because the younger generation may find the church irrelevant because they aren’t hearing answers to their questions as shown in Scripture or they just find it boring. I think the two go hand-in-hand.

The contemporary church moves towards seeking to connect with people through modern, guitar-driven music and dynamic preaching. In the end, I feel it’s better-suited to drawing in Boomers rather than Millenials. If the church fails to connect with the younger generation, how does that play out for our future?

The reason this is on my mind and weighing heavy in my heart is that I have been sensing a call to action lately. A lot of passions lie outside of what typically is viewed as taking place within the church and after being engaged in so many conversations about how many people feel they are close to God, yet distance themselves completely from the church makes me wonder if doing good outside the church may be my future.

As I look at my life, I had an experience with God that had nothing to with sitting in a church service and feeling convicted or being at a low point in my life where I was seeking strength and hope. However, I truly believe that God still wants to move through his people and is using the local church to affect transformation in our cities. It’s time that the church woke up to the change in the next generations and take what is good and shed what is not so good. Catering to the whims of Gen Y Christians isn’t the answer though. If you look deeply at what the Barna study states and what I hear from people on the street every day is that they would find church relevant if they truly experienced an encounter with God as they gather together. If they could serve in ways that made a difference, without judgement and chose to answer questions rather than force what is deemed as truth on a disconnected audience, the local church could experience revival. The awesome thing about this would be that it isn’t just going to be relevant to young people. It could be a multi-generational movement of amazing proportions with God in the midst and evidenced through the church’s story.

Obviously, there is a place for ministries of all shapes and sizes and there is definitely a need for people/orgs that will focus on specific areas of need to do good. In the end, the most glaring question to me is this: If the church really did what it seems like it was called to do, would the need for so many organizations exist? If we weren’t bombarded with so many calls for compassion on tv/radio/print media/social media to commit our time and resources to a cause every few seconds each and every day, would we respond differently? Would the world be a different place? Could it be a better place?

My call to action is not a calling or a vision that mandates me to something… yet. I am feeling something is about to change, and this time I don’t think I’ll have the energy to fight against it. This time, I don’t think I’ll feel like I’m in it alone.

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church planting / leadership / ministry — 1 Comment
4
Aug 10

The Jasonisms of church planting

[This is a repost from August 29, 2008 with updated links]

Found what seems to be a huge blessing via twitter today. I’m now following Jason Salamun (@jsalamun) on twitter  [actually, as this is a repost, I've been following him for over two years now] and linked through to his blog about an awesome church plant in Rapid City, SD: projectchurch.net. Just as Tony Morgan posts about Perryisms, I’m totally digging on some Jasonisms. Jason Salamun posted a list titled “101 Nuggets for Church Planters” and it’s very awesome! All 101 are necessary, but here are some that really made me say “Ah ha! Someone else gets church planting!” or “Wow! I definitely need to work on this!” I’ll let you decide which is which for me :)

    2. If you are called, you have permission.

    4. Don’t just plant a church; start a movement.

    6. Don’t make the church your idol. It’s easier than you think.

    14. There’s a lot of wisdom in the words of dead guys.

    22. Don’t talk about church all the time to your wife. Pace yourself.

    26. You should be able to explain the vision on the back of a napkin.

    29. You’ll get criticized for things you never even said or implied. Get used to it.

    40. Start a church where it’s okay to be a dude.

    66. Typical is boring.

    74. Be intentional.

    77. Prepare- but understand that you’ll never been prepared enough.

    79. Stand up for the ones who can’t stand up at all.

    80. Time alone with a notebook, a pen, and a Bible often lead to something special.

    81. Authentic people are led by authentic leaders.

    87. It will be messy.

    88. When was the last time you went to a bar or sat in the smoking section of a restaurant?

    92. Repeat after me, “I heart simplicity.”

    100. Church all boils down to relationships.

Rock on Jason! Praise God for putting the desire to be passionate for the Lord and minister to people and open enough to help other ministers stay on-track and to share in your victories!

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church planting / missional / multi-cultural church — No Comments
28
Jul 10

We replicate what we celebrate

I’ve been staying away from a lot of reading material regarding the church and leadership this year. It all began sounding the same and it was rehashing things I’ve already learned in previous books. However, an excerpt from Ed Stetzer‘s newest book Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers has gotten me excited.

In regards to multiplication of the missional church, here are some snippets from the post over at Foursquare News:

  • “People will need to consider church planting as one of their ministry’s core values. Church planting cannot be an afterthought, someone else’s ministry or a department. Churches will live, eat and breathe it. The widespread expectation that people will be sent out must become normal rather than exceptional.”
  • “Churches will always have a scorecard…With our emphasis on a multiplication movement, a new scorecard will lend itself toward opening relationships and dialogue between church leaders. Let’s cross the proverbial aisles to help those in varying denominations, networks and methodologies celebrate how God is multiplying churches. Then our members will do the same.”
  • “We replicate what we celebrate”
  • “Multiplying churches are going to do a better job of disciple making. This is due to their determination to emphasize the transformation occurring in small communities and to simpler church structures that give more time to personal formation.”
  • “Future churches will be less tied to the construction of buildings…Multiplication movements are built on the principle of easily reproducible models, and facilities must follow suit.”
  • “…it is time to for us to assume a position of learning from the global Christian community. We can learn much, for example, from the worldwide church planting movements.”
  • “Here in the United States, the majority of church growth continues to come from immigrant and non-Anglo congregations. They may take a leadership role in this country’s church multiplication movement, because their congregations may be willing to multiply sooner and faster than others.”
  • “Saints persevere, but their institutions and facilities are temporary. As new congregations are formed in the multiplying movements, we will view church facilities as kingdom assets. Church buildings are like an inheritance to pass along rather than a living trust to keep.”

    • Finally, I’ll end with a quote from Stetzer’s book credited to Bill Easum: “Historically all movements have begun because of the charismatic efforts of one lone individual who touched a nerve among a host of people. Who will step up to be that person?”

    See all the quotes in context from Foursquare news here: http://www.foursquare.org/articles/1382,1.html

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    29
    Mar 10

    Church Planting: Do you have what it takes?

    As I reflect on the question “Church planting: Do you have what it takes?” I feel a conflict brewing within me. It’s a duality I struggle with in that I feel like I want to say yes, but then again in reality I’ve already experienced failure once.

    I asked my friends on twitter and facebook to suggest what they wanted me to blog about. I got 4 responses, used randomizer.org to pick 1. Thanks to Deborah for suggesting the topic “Church planters, stay the course!” as hers was the random winner.

    As you can imagine, it’s a bit awkward writing about staying the course as a church planter when we just ended our first church planting experience incomplete. However, I truly believe that there are times to persevere and times to change direction. In light of my experiences--which I have no second thoughts about--I think it’s important to be reminded as a church planter to hang in there! If you’re a church planter already, you know that almost every day there is something that can cause you to give up or question your calling. If you’re just at the point of dreaming about church planting or wondering whether it’s in your future, embrace this as your mantra: If there is anything you can do other than church planting, go do it! I don’t mean this to discourage you, but it’s an experience that is not for one who wants to explore planting a church. It takes hard work, a clear calling and vision to a city and a people group, thick skin, heartache, and extreme willingness to push forward no matter what others say.

    For those of you that have already endured the church planting hurdles and are questioning whether this is for you or not, know that it probably is. For you to have gone through everything so far, you’ll probably find your sense of purpose soon. Many successful church planters have not endured similar pressures, mis-steps, failures, false starts just once, but several times. There are countless stories of church leaders that were involved in several failed church plants before finally getting to the place where they are seeing their dreams fulfilled. The question you have to ask yourself now is whether or not you have what it takes to keep going with this church plant, or whether it’s time to move on. Do you have the heart to endure this a second, third, fourth time? If not, then seriously consider whether God is really calling you to step away. Through our human efforts, we endure a lot of hardships. It’s necessary to come to a place of dependence upon God and not ones self. Church planter, you have been gifted with the ability to move people and tell the story of the gospel of Christ that shine light on him--however, it is that ability that makes it easy to operate in your gift rather than in him. It can sneak up on you. Burn out, weakness, depression, pity…it all arises once you have done all you can do. It’s usually not a sign that you need to give up, but a sign that you need to look up! Turn to the one who gives you strength:

    “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” --Philippians 4:3

    “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” --Philippians 3:14

    Don’t be another dejected pastor that kicks himself for quitting too soon. If you believe in the vision God gave you and want to see lives transformed through the Good News of Christ Jesus, press on toward the goal! Don’t let the enemy take you out when victory can be just one step away. Call upon others to pray with you and stand in agreement with the work God wants to see completed through you. Seek God and let go of what is yours, asking him to fill and renew you only with what is from him. I believe there is room in that heart of yours for one more big push. Remember Philippians 4:3 & Philippians 3:14 and believe it for yourself today!

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    18
    Mar 10

    My Thoughts Today On Church Planting

    After having finished going through a series on failed church plant endeavors last week (post 1, post 2, post 3, post 4) I was forced to remember my personal church planting struggles and failures. As time goes by, it gets easier and easier to work through that experience and look to the positives and assess where I stand in all of it. For me, I still have a passion for church planting and feel like my role is emerging into something more like a mentor and advocate for other planters. I’m starting to transition into an active role at Church! at Bethany, a 3 year old church plant here in Beaverton, OR and the prospects of seeing things take shape as we continue trying to leave a lasting impact on the community in the name of Christ.

    I accompanied the leadership team of Church! at Bethany to the monthly gathering of the Northwest Church Planters Conference yesterday. I was wondering to myself, if I have been removed from being a lead pastor and visionary of a church plant, what would be my purpose for attending a church planter’s conference? I figured it would be a great chance to connect with other church planters and see what God is up to in the metropolitan Portland area. To my surprise, Randy Shaw who leads the conference basically spoke to our whole leadership team about some of the things I foresaw as some missing systems, strategies, and vision casting elements that could help propel the church to the next level. The discussion was in the context of what a planter should do in preparation to plant a new church. However, it really did meet us where we were at as a leadership team and helped springboard us into some deeper, relevant dialog as we plan for the future.

    I’m no longer a lead pastor nor am I directing a God-given vision to reach a group of people in a unique way, but I must admit that for the first time since I arrived here in Beaverton I am starting to sense some clarity and purposeful collaboration in all of the changes thrown at us during this transition. A lot of conversations I have previously had with friends/mentors about: multi-cultural (not necessarily multi-racial, but reaching people of different cultures), multi-site (multiplying campuses as a way of growth rather), attractional vs missional (or better stated, being an attractional, yet missional church at the same time), third culture (feeling displaced in an environment of people unlike myself), and mentoring are all coming to the forefront here in Beaverton. Here are some random thoughts regarding church planting bouncing around in my head today:

    • “Some church planters stop planting churches while their best plant is still inside of them.” --Randy Shaw
    • “Once a church planter, always a church planter.” --Marc Payan
    • Jesus was a multiplying trainer of leaders…He wasn’t just out to congregate a bunch of followers. --Randy Shaw (paraphrased)
    • Some people are called to the excitement and excruciatingly hard work of starting new churches, so once a new ministry gains momentum and starts operating on its own they may feel led to move on to the next adventure in their journey.
    • “The first 50 [people in the church] will determine the next 150.” --Bill Easum
    • Sometimes it takes big, across-the-board changes in order to see the necessary change in just one area.
    • “Spend extra time taking care of my soul.” --Randy Shaw
    • Sometimes others on the outside can see (and know) what is ultimately best for ourselves…we often live in denial or base things on our previous experience rather than common sense.
    • The burden for the community and the love of its people must take precedence over building the church.
    • People are not a commodity and we shouldn’t take advantage of their generosity and willingness to serve…if we care for our leaders, it enables and equips them to care for others.
    • Having a big dream and moving forward in that at all cost may get you there, but without celebrating the small victories along the way, you may find yourself alone at the finish line.

    As you can see, a lot of stuff is rolling around in my head. I’m not exactly sure why these are thoughts I am thinking about at the moment, but as with everything else, I am sure it will be clarified soon enough.

    If you’re a church planter or potential church planter, please let me know. I’d be honored to be able to lend an ear to your thoughts or help pray for you in your amazing journey.

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