12 Jul So Who Is Driving Your Church?

Years ago, Denny Miller, Bob Bruce and I traveled together to attend seminary at Evangelical School of Theology in Myerstown, Pa. Denny and Bob would pick me up along the way and from my home we would alternate driving so we shared the gas expense. It became apparent after a while that there was a clear difference in how quickly we arrived at the school depending on who was driving. I won’t elaborate the difference, but it was clear. Keep that thought in mind.

Now picture your church as a car. There are four people, or entities, in the car. One is vision. One is relationships. One is management. And the final one is programs. There are two main drivers in the car: vision and management. The progression of the journey will be dependent upon who is driving.

When vision is driving the church, relationships are up front riding shotgun and they work closely together. Management and programs are along for the ride but the focus is on how vision is setting the pace and relationships assist the vision. It is exciting, focused, fun, and enjoyable. The journey “feels” exciting and breeds anticipation. You always wonder what the Lord is going to bring around the corner.

But when ministry in a church gets sidetracked, and vision is not clearly communicated or existent, suddenly management moves into the driver’s seat and programs hop up front with it. The high priority becomes preserving what is as opposed to seeking and driving toward what God desires. Policies, procedures, processes and programs become the focal point now. Vision sinks into the background and relationships along with it. The atmosphere becomes strained, deliberate, slow, and discouraging. The machine may even seem to be running well, but the vehicle is slowly moving nowhere.

This can be further defined using two other words: fruitfulness and faithfulness. We can be faithful to having the same few people attend, giving money, and showing some level of care to each other and never be fruitful at all. We are simply “managing” those who are already there. Our focus is inward. And there is no fruit.

But Jesus in John 15 said that we would (and should) produce lasting fruit. Fruitfulness is reproduction. Reproduction is seeing new people come to know Christ and eventually assisting in multiplying new congregations. Faithfulness is important and necessary. But faithfulness without fruitfulness is death.

So who is driving your church? Is a clear, outward-focused vision driving, enhancing and encouraging growing relationships? Or is the major focus managing and programming your church, with vision and relationship taking a back seat?

Whoever is driving will determine where, how and when you will arrive at a destination. They will also determine what your destination is. There is a way that seems right to a man, but it leads to death.

28 Jun How Big is Your County?

I performed an informal assessment with a church. I asked them what (if any) threats there were that would keep the church from moving forward. One man responded that he thought the larger churches in their area were a “threat.”

First, I acknowledged that it is true that larger churches can provide some services and ministries that a smaller church is not at the point of doing. For example, in my first church, we had families come that had teenagers. We were a small church plant whose oldest children were in fourth grade at the time. We concluded that we were not going to be able to reach or retain families with teens until our children grew to be teens. I helped those families that visited us who had teens to get into a good church down the street. In this way, that church was a partner, not a threat. We kept those folks for the Kingdom, just not in our building.

But I also asked the group the question, “How many people are there in your county?”

The answer for that group was over 350,000. Studies suggest that over 50% of them probably do not have a meaningful relationship to Jesus Christ. That means that there are perhaps 180,000 people near this church who are pre-Christian and need the Gospel. It is also true that there are likely a significant number of people out of that 180,000 who are similar to the people currently in the church (stage of life, age, background, etc) and would be drawn to become part of their church, if it was clear they could meet the Lord in that place. Therefore, you could fill all the large or mega-churches in that area numerous times and still have tens of thousands of people yet to be reached. Other churches are our teammates, not our competition.

How many people are in YOUR county? Perhaps not as many as in that one, but enough that you have an ample group to reach. The greater question is whether or not your church is a place where the presence of the Lord is evident. A second question: What is your church intentionally doing to reach those who are already connected to you through relationships at work, home, etc.?

27 Jun Blessing Not Condemnation

I am currently in San Francisco at a conference. We attended church at First Baptist Church of San Francisco, which is located directly across the street from the Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Community Center. It also strategically sits on the confluence of five different San Francisco neighborhoods or districts.

I thought of the Revelation where the Lord says to the church at Pergamum:

I know where you live–where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city–where Satan lives (Rev. 2:13, 14).

Ministry in this city is tough.

My heart was deeply stirred by the pastor, Phil Busbee. His has been a difficult road since being in the city. But he has chosen before God to be committed to the vision of speaking blessing to the people in the city and not cursing.

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22 Jun Are you Tired? Consider This

1 Kings 19:3–Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.

I’m sure many of you have preached this before. Threat, high-energy encounter, physical exhaustion–together, they add up to depression or even worse, despair. Perhaps a better summary is this: Ministry today is hard. And the further we travel toward the end of time it will increase in its challenges.

I hear this sometimes in the voices of our pastors. Cluster meetings turn into gripe sessions–no joy, no victory, no God-sightings. Gossip, critical spirits, and defensiveness seem to reign. Where is God in this? Where is a sovereign view that says that even if everything is falling down around me, yet I will praise Him (Habakkuk 3:16-19)? Where is the rejoicing when the way is rough because of the spiritual character that is produced at such times (James 1)? Where is the focus on the “audience of one” concept that says even if everyone in my church is against me, I will take my stand because I know the Lord will cause me to stand (Ephesians 6:10ff; Ezekiel)?

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