Sabbath: A Timely Reminder

As I have found myself swirling in the change vortex that is starting to take place in our church life, I have concurrently been reminded of the need to rest, pull over, and park on a regular basis...just to BE with God in the middle of all this DOING.  Here's part of an entry from one of my daily devotional guides that I found particularly profound and life-giving.  It's about the Sabbath.  In the midst of all the things that I feel need to be done to align with God's will for my life and the life of the church, I cannot neglect the practice of a personal Sabbath.  As we raise the level of ministry activity in our church, we also need to be cultivating a deep intimacy with God that will allow us to sustain such activity over the long haul.  That's the challenge.  That's the command of John 15:5- "I am the vine, you are the branches.  If a man/woman remains in me and I in him/her, he/she will bear much fruit.  Apart from me you can do nothing."

Let the following be part of your devotional life going into Holy Week:

"Sabbath is not dependent on our readiness to stop.  We do not stop when we are finished.  We do not stop when we complete our phone calls, finish our project, get through this stack of messages, or get out this report that is due tomorrow.  We stop because it is time to stop.  

Sabbath requires surrender.  If we only stop when we are finished with all our work, we will never stop--because our work is never completely done.  With every accomplishment there arises a new responsibility.  If we refuse rest until we are finished, we will never rest until we die. Sabbath dissolves the artificial urgency of our days, because it liberates us from the need to be finished.  

We stop because there are forces larger than we that take care of the universe, and while our efforts are important, necessary, and useful, they are not (nor are we) indispensable.  The galaxy will somehow manage without us for this hour, this day, and so we are invited--nay, commanded--to relax, and enjoy our relative unimportance, our humble place at the table in a very large world.  

Do not be anxious about tomorrow, Jesus said again and again.  Let the work of this day be sufficient.  Sabbath says, be still. Stop.  There is no rush to get to the end, because we are never finished.

                            - Wayne Mueller

Question to Consider:  What is your greatest fear in stopping for a 24-hour period each week?

Prayer:  Lord, this idea will require a lot of change in the way I am living life.  Teach me, Lord how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation.  Help me trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

A Fusion System

"Fusion" is the title of one of the books I pulled off my shelf a couple weeks ago.  I had it in my library...I mean, I remember ordering it months back, but for some reason, it rose to the top of the stack when I was scanning my library the other day.  I love fusion.  Jazz fusion that is.  The blending of rock, funk, R&B elements with the freedom and wild, barely dissonant harmonics of jazz chord phrasings and improvisation.  Put it all together in a creative blend, and you have music that has a familiar, even catchy hook, but that takes the listener on a musical journey that pushes the boundary outward without fully breaking out of the box.  That's what I think I like about jazz fusion.  It creates a "box" all of its own, which sounds familiar enough to keep you interested, but when you decide to listen further, you find yourself on a musical adventure that pushes you to the fringes.  It all depends, of course, on the skill of the lead musician.  

I used to listen to the legendary tenor sax player, Michael Brecker.  I still do from time to time, whenever I'm in the mood for simply being "wow-ed" by a saxophone virtuoso.  Michael Brecker passed away a few years back, but everyone remembers his musical legacy.  He had a way of improvising that left you dumbfounded.  I'm not even talking about his straight-ahead jazz projects.  I'm talking about the soul, funk, blues stuff that he used to do.  His solos, woven together through some pretty basic blues/rock chord progressions, would push the envelope just enough to make you want more.  In other words, while the musical chord progressions were something quite familiar to the listener, Brecker's solos would start out within what made sense musically, and then he would develop them in a way that moved you just beyond the fringes.  And just when you thought he was getting a little too "chaotic" or beyond what was tolerable, he would take you right back into the flow of things.  Just that little trip to the outer realm or border of that song was what kept me rewinding the CD, listening again and again to his phenomenal artistry.  

OK, back to the book.  While the main title of the book made me think about the kind of music I have loved for years, the book was actually about "hospitality and stewardship".  The full title is, "Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests Into Fully Engaged Members of Your Church".

Not exactly related to jazz-fusion in the very least.  The book highlights the importance of a well-functioning assimilation system for the local church.  Or, the system for how a church moves its guests week in and week out from being first-time attenders, to second time attenders, to regular attenders, to fully participating "partners" or members of the church.  

Of the many ideas the book presents regarding the "first impressions" of any given local church, one that caught my attention was the "7 Minute Rule".  In essence, this rule says that, on average, the people that come to your church for the first time make their decision as to whether they will come back again OR NOT within the first 7 minutes of stepping foot onto the church property.  That's because to a first time attender, who presumably has not been to church before, or has not been to church for a long time, everything communicates.  Everything from how well the grounds are kept, to whether there is adequate signage to help them orient to the facility, to whether there are friendly people showing respect and making them feel at home.  And all of this happens before they even hear the praise team sing or the preacher preach.  By the time they are seated in the pew, they've already subconsciously made a decision about whether they would come back or not. 

Fascinating.  So, from a numbers perspective, let's say over the course of one year, we grew as a church from 150 to 170 members.  So, we added 20 new members to the congregation in one year.  But the church records show that we had over 150 first-time visitors to the church during the course of that same year.  That's about a 14% retention rate.  What happened to the other 130?  While there are probably a whole lot of good reasons the 130 didn't return for a second visit or become a member of the church, the bottom line is that most of them probably fell through the cracks.  Or more particularly, the church did not have an adequate follow-up system to invite them, connect with them, and encourage them to further participate in the life of the congregation.  So, they moved on.  No harm, no foul, no blood, no ambulance, and no growth.

But what if...What if these 150 people were actually results of God bringing people in through the front doors of our church?  No matter how they came, what if they were God's gifts to us?  What if God expected us to be more hospitable, and better stewards of these new attenders?  And what if, by being better stewards of these new people, we boosted the retention rate from 14% to 50%?  I know, it's a numbers game of sorts.  But the numbers can actually mean something if we put it in the right perspective.  The numbers could actually reflect that we are becoming better stewards of the people God is sending our way.  

Actually, the first thought that came to me when I started seeing it like this was, "Lord, I repent".  I repent for neglecting the "gifts" of people that you've been bringing to us.  The neglect, of course, was not a personal or intentional one.  It was the neglect that creeps up on you when you start becoming "inward-focused".  Only then did it occur to me that one of the ways in which our church can start becoming more outward-focused is by changing the way it treats new attenders.  Sure, there's a community "out there" to reach.   But maybe God is telling us to start in our "Jerusalem" with the people that, without any real evangelistic effort on our part, He is bringing to our church week in and week out.  

So, in the end, I think there is some similarity between a Michael Brecker solo and the assimilation system of a local congregation.  In the same way that jazz-fusion artists like Brecker play their solos within a set "system" of basic chord progressions, so too, the local church needs a basic system in place in which to "assimilate" or "blend" if you will, new attenders with the local culture of that congregation.  Ultimately, this blending or fusing is about making disciples and fulfilling Christ's commission.  So this basic system of assimilation needs to point to that end.  But regardless, without such a system, new attenders will continue to fend for themselves and fall through the gaps.  And we will continue to steward poorly the people God sends to us.   

Furthermore, in the unique way in which a Michael Brecker solo pushes the envelope and points the listener outward toward the fringe of the musical limits, any of the already committed members of a local church can embrace an attitude, intentionalize and action, and take a step of faith toward the fringes within the very congregation they are a part of.  

The way they do this is simply by taking on a mentality that they will be intentionally hospitable, respectful, helpful and appropriately friendly to any new attender on any given Sunday.   Easier said than done, I know.  

But a system is just that...a functional process by which some purpose can be accomplished.  It cannot and will not work without people.  It will not work without leaders who initiate it, administrators who maintain it, and implementers that try it, evaluate it, improve it, and apply it consistently till it becomes part of the DNA of that church.  So here's another take on the question of what we're all about at New Life Center.

It's all about Jesus, right?  Right.  It's also all about people.  Stewarding the gifts of people that God gives us as a church.  It's about fusion.  It's about the "jazz" of assimilation in the local church...the fusing of new people into the life of a community of Christ-followers called the church.   Fusion...I like it.  Sounds like it could become another core value for our church.  I think I'm in the mood to listen to some now...

Tipping Point for Congregational Life

Reflecting on a conversation I had with a friend yesterday and a book I'm reading (Tipping Point), and I was reminded of how the smallest, sometimes most insignificant things can create the context and build the momentum for radical change.  In Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell talks about two concepts that contribute to radical change (for better or worse) in society: the Power of Context and the Law of the Few (there are actually three, but these are the two that struck me).  

He cites the 1964 stabbing of a young woman in Queens New York, where she was attacked three times on the same street by her assailant while 38 of her neighbors watched from their apartment windows.  None of the 38 witnesses called the police.  After the incident many tried to explain the behavior of the 38 by highlighting the cold, unfeeling, uncaring nature of urban life in which people become rather indifferent and numb to the realities around them.  But a couple of psychologists in New York conducted a social experiement to try and explore this behavior more deeply.  They named it "the bystander problem".  And they basically staged emergencies of different types in order to see who would respond with help.  Of all the different kinds of emergency situations they simulated, they found one key factor that influenced the response of bystanders.  The factor was how many actual witnesses to the event there were.  

So, for example, when there was one person in the room next door, listening to someone having an epileptic seizure, that person rushed to help the victim 85% of the time.  But when that one person was told that there were four other people listening, and overhearing the seizure, they rushed to help the victim only 31% of the time.   Basically, they concluded that when people are in a group, their responsibility for acting is diffused because they all assume someone else will take the initiative to help.  Or... they assume that because no one else is acting, the immediate problem must not really be a problem.  So the argument being made here is that the real reason the 38 people didn't call the cops while witnessing a violent crime was not because they didn't hear the lady scream for help, but it was precisely because they heard her cry for help.

Ironically, if this lady was attacked in an alley way where there was only one witness, she just might have lived!

I'm reminded of what my NT Greek professor in seminar always told us when interpreting Scripture:  "Context is everything".  My thoughts gravitate to New Life Center, and I wonder if God will use the small, seemingly insignificant things within the context of our congregational life to prepare us for transformational growth (radical change).  These things are not the large, immediately visible elements of our church life.  They are things like personal testimonies of what God is doing in the lives of individuals and families, or the placement of singers on the platform, or the "on-the-shelf" leader who begins to step out of the woodwork and begins influencing others positively, or the morning prayer meetings held once a month and attended by the few but faithful, or the significant connection initiated by a leader with a concerned parent, or the relative unity of the leadership teams that get 80% of the work done...things like that make up the hidden landscape of our congregational life.  

Most of the congregation may not immediately notice such things that are done by the few, but perhaps Gladwell has a point.  We tend to think that if we just had more or this or more of that, then we could really grow and do something for the kingdom of God.  But it is the power of the few acting in ways that influence the context in small, indirect perhaps, but significant ways that can lead the way toward radical transformation of the church as a whole and bring about a tipping point for growth and health in the life of the church.

Where do you see the power of these dynamics at work in other places in our church, or even in your life?  

  

Values to Define Who We Are

At the Idea Camp, Erwin McManus said something interesting.  "Once you win the conversation about why, the how, and when, and where, and who become secondary...so i've never had a conversation about creativity when transitioning our congregation, it was always about values...what matters to the heart of God."

What matters to the heart of God is another way of getting at the values and convictions that are core to us.   Core values shape our identity and they are reflected in the way we behave. They can be actual or preferred, or a mixture of both because we're still working on them.  Here are the ones we've stated thus far as a church:

INTIMACY WITH GOD.  Worshipping God is our chief aim and greatest delight.

GOD'S TRUTH.  Information is good.  Revelation is better.

GROWING DEEP.  Christ-like character is the foundation for all personal and ministry development

MISSIONAL EXISTENCE.  We exist for others. 

RELATIONAL GRACE.  Loving relationships are at the heart of our ministry efforts.

TEAM.  No one should do church alone.

GOD'S DESIGN.  Every Christ follower is called to serve in the way that is true to how God has gifted them.

BUILDING LEADERS.  Without godly leaders, church and community life loses it's meaning and direction.

As I reflect on these, I think about the ones that we currently live out, and the ones that we struggled with.  But I also wonder if there are any that we have not stated, yet are obvious in the way we "behave" as a church.  

Any thoughts? 

Church Transitions: Idea Camp (part2)

Meeting Scott Hodge at Idea Camp was a tremendous blessing.  Finally!  Someone my age who had actually walked through a painful season of transitioning a plateaued (more like declining) church...and lived to tell about it.  

So, before I even get into this, you've got to read this article entitled, Sharp Curve Ahead from a 2005 edition of Leadership Journal.  Leadership Journal asked Scott Hodge to write an article telling the incredible story of how he and his dad led their declining church through a season of transition that proved absolutely transformational for the church, and for the community they were called to reach.  I was moved by the way he wrote this article, especially the excerpts that he included from his dad's journal.  Check it out.  

 

Idea Camp

I thought I'd take a moment and collect my thoughts on the recent "unconference" I attended last week called Idea Camp.  First of all, I didn't attend the whole thing, but felt like I was a part of it even though I wasn't physically there.  They created a very strong online presence before, during, and after the event, so you didn't really feel like the focus was the event itself, but rather the people you were able to connect with online and off.  I think it's a foreshadowing of the future of leadership conferences.

anyway, as far as the workshops I did get to participate in, I went to Dave Gibbons session on "Leadership and Discipleship in an Offline and Online Setting", and Scott Hodge's session on "Transitioning Churches from Traditional to Missional".  Both were great sessions because the first one helped me to embrace the realities of online culture, and how the church should be engaging people through such media.  There was a guy from Google who sat in on that session, and one startling fact he stated from the research that Google has done on the young generation was that the younger generation no longer makes a distinction between their offline and online identity.  They live in both worlds quite comfortably, weaving in and out of those worlds quite seamlessly.  That thought caused me to rethink the importance of online social networking tools as a way to engage the culture outside the four walls of the "church".  

The other starling fact he stated was that Facebook is just about to tip the scale and outpace MySpace as the conventional online communication tool for the masses.  That's not exactly what he said, it's my interpretation.  What it means for the missional church is basically that there really is no reason why we shouldn't be using these tools as basic way for us to connect people in our congregation with each other and with those on the fringes of the church.  In other words, what was once an unconventional way of communicating has now become the new convention.  No one questions this anymore, and if they do, they probably still have a dial-up connection.

Another interesting trend: the younger generation no longer use Google so search the web.  They are going first to YouTube. They prefer more of a LIVE experience.  And apparently, "LIVE" video streaming scratches that itch.  What it means for the church in terms of engaging culture?  Aside from the obvious (putting your services on live webcast or video streaming), the church needs to consider how to integrate the LIVE online format into its mission to equip believers, develop leaders and disciples, and converse with seekers (i.e. classes, instructional videos, small group teaching segments, ministry skills training, focus groups, etc.).

As a pastor with a missiologist heart, these things intrigue me and get my creative juices flowing as to how our church needs to cultivate its online presence.  And if indeed online and offline realities are more seamless than we think, perhaps creating a strong online presence can help reshape the culture of the church in general, moving it toward the fringes with the unchurched and over-churched live.  

    

That's all for now...i'll talk about my experience in the Church Transitions workshop in another entry.  

    

Critical Questions: Barriers to Growth

As I've been thinking about the "barriers" to growth in the life of congregations our size, I was helped by a book called "Raising the Roof" by Alice Mann.

Mann's focus is on congregations that are doing conventional ministry and that have hit a growth plateau. She found six general barriers to growth facing these congregations.

Barrier #1: The congregation is unclear about its calling to reach beyond our current circle of members. If we don't get this one right, work on the other "barriers" will prove futile.

Barrier #2: The congregation is unclear about whether we are really at a size plateau or not. This, in my book, is called “denial” or being way to comfortable to want to change.

Barrier #3: The physical space for meeting is effectively filled up. The idea here is that when 80% of the desirable seats in the sanctuary are full on a regular basis, then you need to make more room.

Barrier #4: The church is not staffed for growth. To quote Alice Mann, “As attendance approaches 200, growth often cannot be sustained without the equivalent of at least two full-time program staff (clergy or lay), full-time office support, and a half-to-full time custodian.” This, of course, is not all there is to say about the staffing issue, and there are various options that churches have tried in order to develop the quality of their programs.

Barrier #5: The congregation’s concept of an “adequate” budget does not permit growth. There is power in aligning the church’s stewardship of finances with its vision to grow, but until thinking in this area can be shifted, the purpose and function of any kind of budget could actually become an obstacle to growth.

Barrier #6: The church’s ministry infrastructure is inadequate for movement to the next size. Again I quote, “in the transition (past the 200-300 level plateau), a paradox arises. Everyone wants to retain the congregation’s personal touch, but without excellent organizational machinery, that personal touch will be impossible to achieve. Developing infrastructure in the following areas enables the church to provide reliable and personal ministry to new and existing members: new member incorporation, member ministry development (serving through their gifts), adult faith formation, pastoral care, small group ministry, leadership development (including council and staff).

So there you have it, six barriers that the experts have recognized in transitional-sized churches like ours. I think all of these apply to our church in some way. But I was drawn to barrier #1 and #6. I think we’re still unclear as to our missional vocation as a church, our commitment to reach beyond the present crowd to people on the fringes (more on this later). And furthermore, I don’t think we have worked hard enough at building the infrastructure necessary to help new members incorporate/assimilate, get connected in community, and serve according to their gifts.

How about for you…which “barriers” caught your attention?