12 Aug Thinking of Building? Stop!

In our travels I have heard rumors of a few of our smaller to medium sized churches discussing plans to build. That concerns me. Having led one church through two major building projects and another through major renovations, I know a little about the processes and impact such a move can have.

Several factors suggest that building more buildings is not always the wise decision to make as a steward of the Lord:

• The state of today’s economy.
• The fact that most of our churches, even those who are discussing building, are virtually stagnant or in decline.
• The availability of creative new solutions that were not available even a few years ago.

But if you are still discussing building, please STOP and ask the following questions.

Can you present a clear rationale that answers these questions:

• Why are you building?
• What are you building?

I have heard of and talked to churches that erected buildings, and when the leaders were asked what it would be used for, they answered that they thought it would be a good part of their facility to have. No strategy. No plan.

If you cannot clearly communicate what will take place in that building once it is completed and how it will help you achieve your vision, DON’T BUILD!

2. Have you exhausted ALL avenues of meeting the need for which you are building?

Many churches only look at one solution for their need.

• Could you double use your currently rooms with some flexibility in meeting times?
• Are there other facilities nearby that could be used or rented to meet the need?
• Is there a way to do a video venue to another part of your building to solve your over-crowding in worship?
• Is there any way to do something short of building another building?

3. Is there another church in the area you can partner with rather than build?

The Body of Christ (all believing churches) has literally billions of dollars of assets sitting woefully underused across this country. If turf wars could end and barriers between fellowships would cease, we could work together to accomplish something great. Church is about relationships and transformational change, not buildings. So could you use a resource another church has that they would make available to meet your goals and needs?

There are other good questions to ask but these can get you thinking. Remember, people draw people. Relationships, not buildings, are the most important thing. And the only reason to build something is if that building will provide the most effective means of accomplishing your goals.

07 Aug What is the Governance System?

We encourage churches to adopt a governance system. What does that mean? 

In a management model, the board says, “Pastor, you’re responsible to lead, but you can’t do anything without our permission.” When you’re given responsibility, but not authority to act, it’s called a bureaucracy.

One pastor needed board approval before he could buy something which was already in the budget. “That doesn’t make sense,” he told them. They said they honestly hadn’t thought of it that way. 

The governance system (which is explained in the book “Winning on Purpose”), follows this pattern: the board governs, the pastor leads, the staff manages, and the people minister. 

The pastor is given responsibility with authority–but there is accountability. Most boards control how the pastor does ministry. But in churches that have adopted the governance system, we’ve heard pastors say, “I’ve never been more free to lead, but I’ve never been held this accountable.” 

05 Aug Joined at the Hip

I heard  a complaint, though to me it was a compliment. Someone said, “We heard you talk, then we heart Pat Jones talk, and we heard the same thing.”

So? That’s the way it should be.

I wouldn’t have wanted to do this job without Pat Jones, the Director of Healthy Church Ministries. He’s a great asset. I want you to know that we’re locked at the hip. If you get one, you get the other. Pat and I don’t have secrets–what he knows, I know. This relationship has been a great thing for me. We keep each other halfway decent.

02 Aug How Times Have…Not Changed

Here are two comments people made about new music sung in church. Both are taken from Dan Kimball’s blog.

“I am no music scholar, but I feel I know appropriate church music when I hear it.  Last Sunday’s new hymn–if you can call it that–sounded like a sentimental love ballad one would expect to hear crooned in a saloon. If you insist on exposing us to rubbish like this–in God’s house!–don’t be surprised if many of the faithful look for a new place to worship. The hymns we grew up with are all we need.”

“What is wrong with the inspiring hymns with which we grew up? When I go to church, it is to worship God, not to be distracted with learning a new hymn.  Last Sunday’s was particularly unnerving.  The tune was un-singable and the new harmonies were quite distorting.”

The first comment was written in 1863 in reference to the hymn “Just As I Am.” The target of the second comment, from 1890, was “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.”

30 Jul So Many Good Books

I love books. I keep a lot of books at home, and I’ve given away a lot of books. Someone told me that a person who can read but doesn’t is no better off than a person who can’t read at all. Books can open up your mind and vista. You can do things by reading a book, be translated to somewhere else. That’s the magic of books.

Christian men are notoriously bad about not reading. At Scripture Press, when we produced a book for men, we had to use a cover with a soft design that would attract a woman, who would then buy it for a man. Women, we knew, buy more books than men, even books for men.

At Mainstreet, I was always after people to read. I gave the elders books to read, theology books. There are so many good Christian books.

28 Jul Getting People Into the Pipeline

At Mainstreet Church, I used a big PVC pipe to illustrate the disciple-making process. Outside the pipe are people who don’t even acknowledge that God exists. But once they realize there is a God, they enter the pipeline, and we try to move them along–

• realizing a need for God
• learning about Jesus
• realizing their need for Jesus
• giving their life to Christ
• and then growing.

It’s all part of the journey through the discipleship pipeline.

After a person came to Christ, I would tell him, “You need to go back to your non-religious friends and get them in the pipeline with you.”

“How do I do that?”

“Tell them what you did.”

So they’d come to church with someone on their arm, and would walk with them through the process.

Spiritual maturity is not measured by what you know, but by who is on your arm and heart on Sunday. If you don’t have someone on your arm and heart, don’t talk to me about your maturity.

23 Jul From Various UB Blogs….

• Chris Kuntz muses about the pruning of dead vines.
• Tim Hallman gives some thoughts from Revelation 1 as he begins a sermon series on this book.
• Jim Bolich writes about relationship conflicts.
• Scott Hardaway talks about what it means to be a reconciling church, including five basic functions of the church.

22 Jul Our Sometimes Slow-Moving God

Dave Datema, UB ordained minister and endorsed missionary, talks on his blog, Freakin’ Missionary, about how God works slowly, and of our attempts to speed him up. He started with a post called “God’s Slow Ways,” which was followed by “Speeding God Up.” The latter says:

20 Jul What Scott Doesn’t Believe

Scott Hardaway’s June 29 blog post, “What I Don’t Believe,” presented 26 things that he doesn’t believe. It’s an interesting list. Here are a few of them. (Scott is pastor of Pathway Community Church in Jackson, Mich.)

• I don’t believe in the avoidance of pain or discomfort as a goal of life.
• I don’t believe in the American Dream.
• I don’t believe that inauthentic relationships are worth any time or effort.
• I don’t believe that most people who claim the name of Christ actually have any kind of true relationship with him (in America, at least).
• I don’t believe in cutting short the mission of the church to please the already-convinced.
• I don’t believe in worrying about high or low self-esteem, since Jesus calls us to die to ourselves.
• I don’t believe any church will ever be perfect.
• I don’t believe any concept of joining people together will ever be greater than the church.
• I don’t believe that the pursuit of power, pleasure, possessions, popularity, or prestige will ever lead to fulfillment.
• I don’t believe an American political structure will ever work as an effective model for a church structure.

Does that peak your interest? You can read the rest of the list on Scott’s blog, and he invites you to add your own items to the list.

11 Jul Amazing Grace Right Now

Todd Fetters, Devonshire Church, Harrisburg, Pa.
At a recent funeral, I heard the classic hymn “Amazing Grace.” The familiar second line of the first stanza has since stuck in my mind: “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.”

While it is true that Christ saved me when I was a mere seven years old, it is also true that Christ is still saving me. And because of God’s amazing grace in the last 12 months, I could easily amend the second line to read, “I was stuck, but I’m progressing, was discouraged, but now am hopeful.”

Okay, so my amended lyrics don’t flow as well. My point is this: God’s grace is always amazing. We make a huge mistaken when we think God’s grace is amazing only in relation to our moment of salvation. God’s grace has got to be amazing to you right now…in the past week…in the past month…in the past year.

I’ll bet you can point to ways in which God’s continuing transformational grace has recently touched and transformed some aspect of your life. You could amend the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” just like I did. Here are a few other edits that I think would be relevant to Christians today:

• Last year I was stingy with my time, abilities and money, but now am generous.
• A week ago I was addicted (to gambling, alcohol, sleep, entertainment, pornography), but now I’m free.
• Last month I was distrusting, but now I’m trusting.
• I once was discontent, but now I’m satisfied.
• Yesterday I was scared, but now I’m at peace.
• A month ago I was angry, but now I’m loving.
• Two years ago I was overly competitive, but now am compassionate.
• Five years ago I was depressed, but now I’m filled with joy.
• Six months ago I was disobedient, but now I’m walking in obedience.
• I once was bitter, but now I’m forgiving.

What lyrics would you choose to describe your most recent encounter with God’s amazing grace?