Yearly Archives: 2013
How Does a Pastor Create Sending Capacity?
“The greatness of a church is not in her seating capacity, but in her sending capacity” ~Rick Warren.
I’ve heard this saying over & over again for the past 15 years or so from Pastors and church leaders from all different perspectives of ministry. But I haven’t seen much about how to expand the SENDING capacity of a local church or a real change in strategy to developing SENDING capacity. Many pastors are frustrated because of the inability of the church to penetrate the lost culture. Cycles of transfer growth are disheartening to many, both OUT (people leaving one church to join another church that has more or different) and IN (the only growth being people coming from other churches).
Let me suggest we must add a SENDING mindset to our idea about church life. Recently I got calls from two churches that are large & “successful” asking what church I knew that could do ______ ministry, because they didn’t have anybody that could do it. I thought, you’ve got more people than 99% of the churches in the area and you don’t have anybody that can be sent into the community to meet a need? The answer: Yes they do! Now, I know every church can’t meet every need. That’s why we network & affiliate. And I know that some pastors are trying to send, but the season the church is in may make it difficult. But the challenge is, do we see the church as a body to be sent? Do we see mission as a necessary component to spiritual & church growth? Do we see sending capacity as a measure of success? Do we see the people of the church as ambassadors of Christ to bless the community? Do we see our role as an equipper of the saints to do the work of the ministry? It’s a mindset.
Here’s a simple mindset exercise that I was taught by mentor & friend Jim Gerlach that helps me remember my role as a sender/equipper. In preparation, am I thinking:
They’re coming, how do I get ready? or They’re not coming, how do I get ready?
In the first question, we’re thinking inwardly, how do I communicate the message to these people I know, how to meet their needs best, my presentation, what people will think of ______, making sure everything’s perfect, how do I shield criticism, etc. Necessary & not bad stuff. But the second statement pushes me to recognize the reality: there’s a world out there that is unreached, so how do I get the message to them? This helps me shift my thinking from meeting these people’s needs, to sending these people on mission / equipping these people for mission in our world. How can I get the message out creatively to different population segments? etc. Balancing these two questions is the work of the leader that desires to create sending capacity as seating capacity grows.
And in most of our communities unfortunately the second statement is coming true. They’re not coming. In my community, less than 10% attend an evangelical church. Most pastors are shocked at that stat. I was too, because I was so focused on getting ready for those that are coming. We must change our mindset if we will continue to push back darkness in our world.
How do you create sending capacity? What other questions should we be asking?
“caring for orphans AND widows in their distress”
Much attention is being given to the orphan crisis in the world and rightfully so, with 147 million orphans worldwide. I’m excited that our family is participating in several fundraising projects for orphan causes currently. But let’s not neglect the second part of the admonition in James 1:27, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans AND WIDOWS in their distress” (NLT).
In my community we recently found out about a widow that has been without refrigeration or hot water for 7 months. There are widows whose yards are overgrown because they can’t afford lawn care and have no nearby family. Our church is helping a widow who’s still displaced from her home due to hurricane damage with no flood insurance or government help to make repairs. And it’s a global crisis, just like with orphans. A church in Zimbabwe that we’ve partnered with hosts a regular widows meetings with over 400 in attendance that lack the ability to care for themselves. The stories of grief, loss, and suffering from these meetings are shocking and heartbreaking.
Before & after a ramp was installed for an elderly widow in my community.
Over 400 widow gather for prayer in Mbare, Zimbabwe.
God’s heart in James 1:27 is that we take care of those who can’t take care of themselves. In every community there are opportunities. Here’s some ways to get started:
- Open your eyes to those around you that may be home bound, unable to care for themselves, or whose properties are showing signs of neglect. Don’t do like some in my community, who recently called the Parish reporting code violations at area shut ins homes, leading them to extra unneeded stress as they faced fines until getting it cleaned up.
- Ask your church secretary for a list of homebound, shut-ins, widows & challenge your small group or Sunday School class to get involved in some way.
- Contact the local Council on Aging and ask about needs of widows and disadvantaged elderly. Partnership with our local COA has opened doors for different kinds of light construction projects for the men in our churches, connecting the elderly with community resources they did not know existed, and they have assisted with purchases of needed appliances for widows like the one mentioned above.
- Go by the local nursing home and ask if there are any residents with no family locally. Their walls will be bare and simple things to help them maintain physical and emotional health are not available. Love them.
- I heard of one church that does a widow’s banquet around Valentine’s Day, serving a meal for widows in the community and making a list of how the church can help around their properties.
- Cook a hot meal. If you’re cooking a big pot of something. Make sure you have enough for the elderly widow or couple in your neighborhood.
- Partner with those in your small group or church to spend a few days per year helping the elderly with yard work, food needs, etc.
A Small Group with Bridge Church recently took a Sunday afternoon to pressure wash & spruce up the homes of two elderly neighbors.
There’s no earthly glamor in widow ministry. Their needs persist. They don’t have much to contribute to you or your church. But if we want to be God-like and we want our churches to fight God’s battles in our community, we will be about this important work.
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation” Psalm 68:5 ESV.
What are other ways to minister to widows? What other groups “in distress” can we serve as ambassadors for Christ?
If you’re in West St. Tammany Parish and looking for opportunities or have one to suggest. Please let me know.
You Might Be Wise If…
Started a summer study through the book of Proverbs at Bridge Church yesterday. I love Proverbs because it covers every issue we face in life through the lens of God’s inspiration. And because I love hard candy that takes a while to digest. Many of the Proverbs are like that. But spend time on them and you will grow wiser and follow them and your life will be different. What does the wise life look like? Here’s a little checklist:
According to Proverbs, you might be wise if…
- You choose your friends wisely.
- You listen to others.
- You can receive correction from others.
- You fear the Lord.
- You discipline your children effectively.
- You are generous with your wealth.
- You treat the poor with care & concern.
- You are careful with your words.
- You refuse gossip & slander.
- Your words mean a lot to others.
- You save sex for marriage.
- You love your spouse enthusiastically.
- You can control your temper.
- You understand the dangers of abusing alcohol.
- You are not afraid of hard work.
- You are honest in your business dealings.
- You can be trusted as a friend.
- You can be kind to your foes.
- You rely on God’s word.
- You trust God for salvation & provision.
- You are not easily led into evil by others.
- You do not lie.
- You are humble instead of prideful.
- You stay away from flirtation & the flirtatious.
- You hate evil.
- You are more concerned about who you are that what you have.
- You can define riches without talking about money.
- You have a truly meaningful life.
- You have a good reputation with others.
- You trust God instead of yourself & others.
Wise up with us Sunday’s, 10:30am at the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum in Madisonville.
Scenarios for Church Revitalization: Restructure or Re-Start
With over 70-80% of churches plateaued and declining, church revitalization must be a major topic of conversation for church leaders and strategists. In the last two posts (Diagnosis and Refocuse & Re-Energize), I’ve shared our developing strategy with the Northshore Baptist Association. 
So how do we Restructure or Re-Start?
If a church is diagnosed with needing restructuring or restarting, there are really only two next steps:
Step #1: Decision. The congregation must decide if large internal changes are possible or is it time to close the doors & allow something new to be born. All living things are born, they live, & they die. No New Testament Church still exists today. But even if a church continues it must die to its current way of thinking, so that a new vision can develop. Living things experience death as they age & mature & adapt to changing environments. Every growing church has had to die to various ideas, paradigms, and programs in order to grow. A final death that doesn’t lead to growth as the church exists may happen when we are unable to continue to adapt & grow through challenges faced.
Questions:
- Can we afford the large internal changes that are needed?
- Do we have the resources, energy, & determination to dream a new dream for our community?
- From where we are, can we adapt to the changes of our current environment?
Step #2: Death. Once the decision to die has been made there are two options:
1) Adaption by Re-Structuring. Deciding to adapt/re-structure & grow means dying to the current model of ministry & mission. Scenarios for adaptation:
- Reverting to Mission Status & submitting to the authority of another congregation that can assist in dreaming a new dream.
- If resources are available, working with the local association to develop a plan to Assess, Align, & Advance the mission of the church.
2) Closure to Re-Start. Deciding to close/re-start means laying to rest the current church so that a brand new ministry can be started in its place. Scenarios for closure:
- Formally decide to close the church, giving the assets & liabilities to the local association so that a new church can be planted or ministry developed.
- Formally decide to close the church, giving the assets & liabilities to another local church with ties to the local community.
Next week I’ll share some of our local success stories and lessons learned.
Scenarios for Church Revitalization: Refocus and Re-Energize
When a church is stagnant or declining in size, diagnosis is that refocusing and re-energizing is needed. How do we refocus & re-energize? Three steps to revitalization: Assessment, Alignment, Advancement.
Step #1: ASSESSMENT.
- Discover needs of community and potential new ministries.
- Assess Leadership capability and needs.
- Identify Church Systems in need of restoration. Nelson Searcy of Church Leader Insights identifies Eight Systems of a Healthy Church:
- The Weekend Service System,
- The Outreach/Evangelism System,
- The Assimilation System,
- The Small Groups System,
- The Ministry Mobilization System,
- The Stewardship System,
- The Leadership Development System,
- The Strategy Planning System
- Research legal documents and history. History and legal documents need to be researched in order to identify potential threats to growth.
Step #2: ALIGNMENT.
- Recover Faith Factors. In Chapter Three of the book Comeback Churches, Ed Stetzer identifies three faith factors that are essential to church revitalization: 1) A renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the Mission of the Church, 2) A renewed attitude for servanthood, 3) Strategic Prayer Efforts.
- Discover/Recover the unique, God given Mission, Vision, Values. The revi team should participate in Church Planter Basic Training & take advantage of coaching networks & suggested reading lists to help discover a vision for the community.
- Make necessary identity changes. Name? Signs? Location? What identity changes may be necessary to birth new vision & energy in the church?
- Restore needed Church Systems for life and health. See above comment about Church Systems. What systems will need new energy & attention going forward?
Step #3: ADVANCEMENT.
- Vision Renewal Launch Service. Plan for a Vision Renewal Celebration as the church moves into a period of advancement and growth.
- Plant, water, and bring in the harvest. The church should experience some growth as systems are slowly restored and outreach, assimilation, small groups move people to Christ and spiritual maturity.
- Multiply disciples, leaders, and ministries. A new generation of leaders will begin to emerge that will carry the Church into the future.
- Partner in Acts 1:8 Missions. The Church will be capable of taking on missions endeavors beyond its Jerusalem and potentially assist other churches with revitalization/renewal.
Download the paper, Steps to Revitalization.
Scenarios for Church Revitalization: Diagnosis
With over 70-80% of churches plateaued and declining, church revitalization must be a major topic of conversation for church leaders and strategists. In the next few posts, I’ll share the strategy we are working on with the Northshore Baptist Association. Everyone working on revitalization should be indebted to Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson for their great book Comeback Churches. One of my top gleanings from the book is the diagnostic tool for assessing a congregations needs:
This image gets even those most entrenched in the attitude “we’re fine the way we are” thinking about the need to change. Great tool to help churches diagnose their need for revitalization.
The next question is – How? How do we refocus? re-energize? Restructure? Restart?
Got Our Redneck Wedding On this Weekend
Got to officiate my first real Redneck Wedding this Weekend. Barn, Hay, Rubber Boots, Bride riding in on a Landmaster. It was awesome! Congrats to Louis & Amy Bankston! And yes the groom got a brand new pair of rubber boots for the occasion.
What if Jesus Were Normal?
Yesterday, I took a look at a few halmarks of “NORMAL CHRISTIANITY” or what normal has become for many of us western Christians. Some 
questions I’m asking of my faith journey is would a first century believer that moved to my neighborhood from Ephesus or Antioch or Jerusalem recognize anything of the way (Acts 9:2) in my normal Christianity? and…
What if Jesus were our standard for Normal? What might Christianity look like? A few thoughts:
- Taking Risk for the Good of Others. Philippians 2:3-8, outlines how Christ’s death was a series of sacrifices for the good of others. From coming to this world in the form of man to dying on a cross, he put others ahead of himself. And we are commanded to do the same, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had…” Philippians 2:5 NLT. Following Christ means putting others first even at great risk to yourself.
- I adjust my life to WHATEVER God says. Prior to being crucified for a non-crime, Jesus ask the Father if there was any other way, but qualified his prayer with “Not my will but thine be done.” Normal Christianity seems to believe the chief qualifier is our happiness and pleasure, not God’s will and the good of others. What’s the qualifier for your obedience? Your desire or His?
- Responsiveness to the Needs of Others. One of the key words in the book of Mark is IMMEDIATELY. It’s used many times to describe how Jesus responded to the needs of others. Matthew 9:35, says that he saw the crowds and felt compassion, then responded by sending out disciples to meet their needs. What happens in your heart when you see the needs of others? or hear about a need?
- Upside Down Relationships. You want your faith to stand out? Try following Jesus’ instructions on relationships. Love your enemies. Don’t Judge. When you lend, don’t expect it returned. If someone has something against you, take the initiative to get it right. If someone ask you for a favor, do it times two. I’m convinced that if Christians would make Christ’s relational principles the norm, the world would be shaken.
- Going / Sending. Two of my favorite words in the story of Jesus are “Jesus went.” Speaks of his responsiveness and his desire to take the good news. I’ve said, I’d love for that to be on my grave stone, should I have one. “He went.” Along with those two words we see “Jesus sent.” He didn’t hold on to his followers and see the reasons they weren’t ready. He sent them out, allowing them the opportunity to experience the power of God and be used to expand the kingdom. Am I going? and as a leader, am I releasing and sending? The popular statement among leaders, “the church shouldn’t be known for its seating capacity, but its sending capacity” fits the Christ life and should be the norm. See my post on Creating Sending Capacity.
What else would you add to a list of Jesus norms?
Normal Christianity is Weird
If you talk to new comers to Christianity, you have to admit with them that Christians do some weird things. Jon Acuff has made us all laugh as he has chronicled these with his Stuff Christians Like blog and book. But it seems that normal and weird change over time and what is normal to us would probably look weird to a New Testament Christian church.
Thinking of conversations I’ve had with “normal” Christians over the last ten years along with assessing my own views, here’s what it appears NORMAL has come to look like for Christianity in America:
- It’s about me and my comfort. How can we read the New Testament and come away with statements like, “My Church doesn’t meet my needs” or “I’m just not getting fed.” The New Testament compels us to a faith filled with personal sacrifice, going deep with God, and others centered living (Philippians 2:3-4, Colossians 3:1-2). Jesus said what comes out of our mouth is in our hearts. Are your words saying, “It’s all about me” in relation to your Christian faith?
- Jesus informs my decisions. The bumper sticker is true for Western Christians, “Jesus is my Co-Pilot.” And we’ll refer to him if needed, but otherwise, I’ve got it under control for now. Instead of knowing Jesus as Lord, who directs and guides, commands and leads, we know him as one option on our reference shelf for life’s directions.
- Intention = Actions. Intentions matter a lot to us. And the right intentions are important, but intentions deceive us into thinking we’re something we’re not. The New Testament test of faith is action (Matthew 12:15, Ephesians 2:10, James 2:14-17). Not in order to get God’s favor, but that shows we have God’s favor. What’s inside will come out if it’s real. Just like the plants in my garden. They will tell me the label on the pack of seeds was correct when they bear their fruit.
- Karma – I must be ok with God if everything is going so well. I’ve got a nice job with a raise coming this year, great house, my kids are doing well in sports, so God must be pleased with me. This is believing that we’re saved by the American dream instead of by Christ. And the god of nice job, nice house, upwardly mobile kids will eventually betray us. Our need for God is not based upon how well things are going, it’s based upon the universal need for an answer to our sin problem. This attitude is essentially animism. In the jungles of south Mexico when things go wrong, they make sacrifices to appease the gods. In America, when things go wrong, we get the family to church for a few weeks in a row.
- Fellowship = friendship with people like me. As a church planter I know the reality of the leadership law, “You attract who you are, not who you want.” But I also know the great need for us to take the gospel to people, cultures, parts of town, not like us. One of the miracles of early Christianity that we miss in our homogeneous culture is that racial, social, economic, cultural, religious boundaries were destroyed by the power of the Gospel. Even among Jesus’ disciples was a tax collector who was seen as an enemy of Israel and a Jewish zealot who would have been committed to oppose him with terrorist like tactics. Roman soldiers and Jewish rabbis would have been together around the communion table. The gospel leads us into a dismissal of us vs. them. We see that in Christ, it’s just us.
- You can change. Jesus might can help with that. Pop psychology says, “You can change, let’s talk tactics and possible options.” Unfortunately, sounds like some sermons I’ve preached and heard. The power of the gospel for salvation (Romans 1:16-17) has become one of many tactics or plans to get to the good life as the American dream defines it.
- I’m ok if I keep most of the rules. “I’m a good person” or “My plus column is higher than my minus column” or “I go to church as often as I can.” Many are just grinning and bearing it as they check off a list of religious deeds on our way to a good time. Problem is, rules don’t have power to give life and rules don’t have power to give eternal life. Only a relationship with Christ does that. Jesus gave us a new rule: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The rule is now, connect in relationship to Christ. And let Christ define normal for you.
What would you add to my list?
Tomorrow we’ll explore what NORMAL should look like, if we follow Christ.
Northshore PROBE Two Years Later
In April of 2011, our Association did an exhaustive study of our region which covers from Holden to Slidell, along Interstate 12 in Southeast Louisiana.
You can see the full reports here, and my comments here and here. This month, I compared our 2010 church health numbers with the 2012 stats for churches. Here’s a few big takeaways:
- Stats taken from each zip code where there is a Northshore Baptist church showed only a slight uptick of .4% in population growth (from 343,794 to 345,225).
- Baptisms continued to slide in Northshore churches, down 11% to 812. Down 25% from 1990’s all time high of 1,077. Ten Northshore Baptist churches reported zero baptisms. Seventeen more reported five or less.
- Sunday School/Bible Study attendance increased 2%. 6,786 attended a Bible Study on any given weekend which is equal to 2% of the population.
- Worship attendance increased 1% to 11,312 individuals attending a worship service in a Northshore Baptist Church on any given weekend. That still equals to only 3.3% of the population.
- Receipts increased by 10% while missions giving decreased 15%. Possibly caused by belt tightening going on due to the poor economy over the last few years. Also, the “Institutional Internalization” noted as a national trend by Dr. Randy Stone in 2011, as churches “preserve their institution rather than pursue the mission.”
Download the Statistical Summaries of the Northshore PROBE Two Years Later for yourself:
- Entire Northshore – NSBA Probe – 2012
- Tangi-Livingston Area – NSBA Probe:Tangi-Livingston – 2012
- West St. Tammany – NSBA Probe:WST – 2012
- East St. Tammany – NSBA Probe:EST – 2012
How do we move forward? In 2011, we outlined four keys and they are still true and still our focus.
Breakout Churches
A breakout church is defined by Thom Rainer in his book by that title as a church that reaches at least one person for Christ every two weeks or 26 persons per year, has a conversion ratio of 20:1 or 1 conversion for every 20 members per year, has tenured and consistent leadership, and the church makes a clear and positive impact on its community.[1] The momentum of growing churches breaking out will help us catch up with population growth and move past a season of decline.
Healthier and Riskier Church Planting
Healthier church planting means church planting that is led by churches with a heart to multiply and reproduce themselves for the sake of kingdom expansion. So, what’s needed for healthier church planting is healthy mother churches with a heart to reproduce. As Bob Roberts says in his great book The Multiplying Church, “The future of faith in America (and anywhere in the world, for that matter) is not tied to planting more churches, but in raising up of mother congregations of every tribe, tongue, denomination, and network that are reproducing… The hope is in pregnant mother churches.”[2]
Riskier church planting would be multiplication that targets hard to reach areas and unchurched pockets of our population. Missiologist Alan Hirsch suggests that current church models are reaching out to smaller and smaller segment of the population, with possibly as much as 60% of America untargeted by our evangelistic and outreach efforts.[3] Our probe identified multi-housing residents as one potential segment that is underserved. Others may be those in their early 20’s with very little understanding of religion in any form. We need some church plants that go beyond planting a worship service that looks similar to others in the community, but will ask the question “Where is the church not?” and go there with the gospel. We need some church plants that have different scorecards and different expectations, but will faithfully deliver the message of Christ to unchurched people.
Partners in Revitalization
Church revitalization is needed to turn momentum around for congregations that are not effectively reaching their communities. Churches are needed who are willing to adopt or sponsor or merge with existing congregations for the glory of God. And churches are needed who are willing to admit there in need of coming under the wing of a benevolent parent church or work with a church wanting to help then in a revitalization effort.
A Discipleship Revolution
Call it revival, lay renewal, or awakening, what we need is a revolution of discipleship that will lead Northshore Christians to multiply themselves spreading the Gospel like a sneeze to their neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and beyond. In his book Church 3.0, Neil Cole observes, “we have lowered the bar of what it means to be a Christian, such that simply showing up to the weekly one-hour event with some regularity and a checkbook is all it takes.”[4] We must refocus on making disciples who will reproduce themselves by telling others, inviting others, and discipling others.
Lane Corley 