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.
I’m Made Alive Forever
Made Alive by Citizens (buy on Itunes)
I once was dead in sin
Alone and hopeless,
A child of wrath I walked
Condemned in darkness,
But your mercy brought new life
And in your love and kindness,
Raised me up with Christ
And made me righteous.
You have bought me back
With the riches of,
Your amazing grace
And relentless love.
I’m made alive forever,
With you, life forever
By your grace I’m saved,
By your grace I’m saved.
Lord, you are the light,
That broke the darkness.
You satisfy my soul,
When I am heartless.
If ever I forget
My true identity,
Show me who I am,
And help me to believe.
You have bought me back,
With the riches of,
Your amazing grace
And relentless love.
I’m made alive forever,
With yoy, life forever,
By your grace I’m saved,
By your grace I’m saved.
My sin has been erased,
I’ll never be the same.
My sin has been erased,
I’ll never be the same.
You have bought me back,
With the riches of.
Your amazing grace,
And relentless love.
I’m made alive forever,
With you life forever,
By your grace I’m saved.
You have bought me back,
With the riches of.
Your amazing grace,
And relentless love.
I’m made alive forever,
With you, life forever,
By your grace I’m saved,
By your grace I’m saved.
Sending the Whole Church
“He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding and in knowledge and in all craftsmanship” Exodus 35:31 NASB.
We know God gives power to preachers, worship leaders, teachers, and missionaries. BUT do the people in the church know that their skill, whatever it may be, can be used to fulfill God’s purpose. Bezelel was a carpenter/craftsman and filled with the spirit to craft instruments for God’s glory.
“I never knew my skills could help the church” said one craftsman we utilize to build wheelchair ramps for the handicapped in our community.
How does you church make a way for those God has filled with his spirit for craftsmanship, carpentry, sewing, scrapbooking, flooring, arts, trimming trees 
(like in the picture of tree surgeon Mark Johnson taking trees off the house of an elderly widow during a recent Faith in Action weekend with our church), landscaping, etc. etc.? Sending and equipping the whole church means realizing the Spirit empowers for all kinds of ministry.
Creating More SENDING Capacity
“The greatness of a church is not in her seating capacity, but in her sending capacity” ~Rick Warren.
Seating & sending capacity are necessary for growth and Acts 1:8 kingdom expansion. And in a day of declining attendance and loss of Christian influence we desperately need both. More seems to be made by example and information of “The How” related to seating capacity than sending capacity. In a previous post about sending capacity, I talked about why? And here’s a bit of my personal exploration of the How behind SENDING.
The HOW is really found in the practices of Jesus & the early church & the truths of the Gospel:
1. Share the Gospel – Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5-7
Going/Sending/Serving/Obeying is an affect of people being transformed & regenerated by the gospel. The Bible says that Christians who are transformed are created “for good works” (Ephesians 2:10) and that one of the purposes of the Gospel was that God would have a people who were “eager to do good works” (Titus 2:14). The Holy Spirit gives power to serve and share the message to those transformed by the Gospel.
So if we’re sharing the Gospel & people are being saved then we will always have capacity to send these people who are being shaped by God and the Gospel to obediently Go in His power.
2. Listen to God – Acts 13:1-5
In Acts 13, the church was fasting, praying, and listening to God and guess what He said? “Go/Send.” Actually, he said, “set apart for me Barnabas & Saul for the work that I have called them” (Acts 13:2). This made since to the believers because the Lord had already told them to “Go into all the world…” Mt 28:19 and that they were to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). His instructions for the church haven’t changed. If we listen to God the call to obey, go, send will still be heard within every church. This call will make sense to believers who are listening.
3. EQUIP the Saints – Ephesians 4:11-12
In Ephesians 4, Paul the Apostle, teaches us that God gives to the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, teachers and their job is “to EQUIP God’s people to do His work” (NLT). So two separate roles develop: Equippers and Ministers. Several attitudes in today’s church hinder these roles:
- A “hire it done” mentality. Sending for us, means hiring a new staff member, so I can send him/her to the hospital or to the lost, etc.
- A Mere Volunteer. Some leaders hinder sending by downplaying the power of God’s people doing his work. They are mere volunteers, that can’t really be depended on or trusted. To that I say, maybe that’s all you’ve equipped them to be.
- Fear of Releasing. Sending is not desired by some leaders, because their end goal is to have more people this Sunday than last Sunday at any costs and to give opportunities for people to be sent may require people being elsewhere some or most Sunday’s.
Dennis Watson of Celebration Church says for a church to grow, the people have to give the leadership to the Pastor(s) and the Pastor(s) have to give the ministry to the people. For multiplication to happen, we must not fear equipping, releasing, sending people to fulfill their God given roles.
4. Lead like Jesus – Sending was part of his strategy – Matthew 9:35-10:5
“They’re just not ready yet.” This is a common refrain that I’ve heard and said about people in churches. But if you observe Jesus’ ministry, you’ll see him sending the “not yet ready” at a steady clip. Sending was part of his strategy to grow people and grow the kingdom. They weren’t ready, they made mistakes, but they learned, they developed faith, they were ready at the right time to multiply the church exponentially. If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be stuck in a holding pattern while the world’s population passes us by. Is that where we are today?
What is your ministries sending capacity? How are you intentionally releasing people to ministry? Does your attitude about ministry or people hinder sending capacity for your church?
A Weird Sunday
When normal isn’t working, doing something weird may be necessary. Today, our church is defying normal in several ways.
Hurricane Isaac damage to an elderly widows home.
Instead of doing the normal Sunday morning routine – dressing up, singing, telling everybody we’re fine, etc. – we’ll be out serving neighbors who have normal’s that are not working for them. We call it Faith in Action Sunday.
Like a 97 year old Madisonville resident. Normal for her has meant since Hurricane Isaac she’s lived with a gutted house, no doors, no insulation, and no help or resources to get these things fixed.
Like a family of four with disabilities in Madisonville, who’s normal has become holes in the floor and a lot of unsafe conditions in their home.
Like several elderly widows on fixed incomes around Madisonville. Normal means having no man around to take care of little things, so they become big things. And now they’re facing fines from local government until they are repaired.
Madisonville residents.
Like inmates and their families at our local jail. Normal is wondering about what happens when they get out, will family forgive them, does God care, does anyone care.
So, let’s be weird. Let’s create some new normals. For these individuals and for how our community thinks about Christians. That’s what the Gospel is all about isn’t it? I think when Jesus (who people identified as weird) announced, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” Matthew 4:17, He was saying, “There’s a new normal coming to earth.” When He prayed, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” Matthew 6:10, He had a new normal in mind. When he taught, healed, had compassion on the crowds (Matthew 9:35-36) He was displaying what the new normal should look like for every Christian. And He ask us to pray for more weird people, “Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field” Matthew 9:38.
And let’s face it, normal Christianity is not working for many in our world. And many times, Biblical Christianity seems weird to us, because we’ve created a normal that depends upon our disobedience. Because to obey would be weird.
A local inmate says the tears represent the pain his kids feel.
- Normal Christianity sets out to serve instead of be served (Matthew 20:28).
- Normal Christianity sets out to take care of widows and orphans in distress (James 1:27).
- Normal Christianity puts others ahead of self, to a fault and no matter what (Philippians 2:3-8).
- Normal Christianity means sharing the Gospel, not just hearing it on Sunday (Matthew 28:18-20).
- Normal Christianity means churches SEND, not just sit (Romans 10:14-15).
How does your community need you to be weird? Who in your community has a normal that’s unacceptable? Have you allowed normal to be about what other people think instead of what God says and people need? What would people in the community say if you asked them what the normal member of your church looked like?
“Don’t just invite people to a meeting, invite them into your life” – Small Group Training Notes from @RickHowerton
Great day of learning yesterday with Rick Howerton. Rick was gracious to give a day to leaders in the Greater New Orleans area. On the Northshore, we found
that only about 4% of the population attends an evangelical Bible Study of any kind. Small Group leaders are needed to shepherd people to maturity in Christ.
Here’s a few big takeaways from his talks.
- A small group is four to twelve people doing the Christian life deeply together, REALLY. It’s more than just a class. They are more than just friends. They are fellow disciples.
- Churches can choose to run programs or grow people. Small groups is the best way to grow people.
- The goal of church is not to get people to stick, but to make disciples that make disciples.
- The goal of small groups is to make disciples that makes disciples. Not just to help people become good friends, but to move them to maturity in Christ.
- Don’t just invite people to a meeting, invite them into your life.
- On expectations and commitment: If you continually lower the bar, it will accomplish nothing in someones life.
- On Multiplying Groups: Start each group with the vision and expectation that it will multiply. Have an apprentice leader from the beginning that is there to multiply the group. The group that doesn’t multiply in 24 months, never will.
- When groups don’t want to multiply: Teach them that the mission of God is more important than the desires of individuals. Ask, “What if the first group of 12 would have chosen to just stay together?”
- On reproducing leaders: People don’t do what they’ve been told to do, they do what they see someone they trust doing.
- On keys to small group leadership: Stay connected with God, Confess all known sin, Be filled with the Holy Spirit on a Daily Basis, Prioritize your daily devotional life, Depend on God more than techniques.
- The best person to cast vision for small groups is the Sr. Pastor. The Sr. Pastor should be leading or attending a group.
Looking forward to learning more from Rick in the future. He blogs daily HERE. Great daily dose of solid Small Group thinking. Also, his latest book is A Different Kind of Tribe, published through NavPress.
Free Training, Free Book from Small Group Guru @RickHowerton
Looking forward to having Rick Howerton from NavPress with us on the Northshore this coming Monday, April 15th. Two opportunities for free training from
Rick on Monday:
- 9am-12noon @ New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Leavell Center.
- 6:30-8:30pm @ FBC Mandeville. Register Here. Childcare available for kids under four.
Invite your small group leaders.
AND his book New Kind of Tribe: Embracing the New Small Group Dynamic is FREE today and tomorrow at the Kindle Store.
Get more info about Rick’s ministry at his blog.
Mind the Gaps
Living the Christian life everyday means LISTENING TO GOD and DOING WHAT HE SAYS. God speaks to us through His word, prayer, circumstances, other people, the church. How do you respond?
I know what God says, BUT…
- “my situation is different.”
- “that will never happen to me.”
- “everyone else does it.”
- “that was a long time ago.”
- “they deserve it.”
- “god understands my needs.”
- “who really does that anyway?”
- “that’s just not possible for me.”
- “I’ll get around to that one day.”
When you disobey God it means there is a gap between where you are and where you know God wants you to be. “I know what God says, BUT…” or “I know what I should be doing, BUT…” reveals that gap for all that it is. When you excuse your disobedience, you are saying more about what you believe about God than anything else. What you should just go ahead and say is, “I know what God says, BUT…”
- “He really doesn’t matter that much to me.”
- “I know better than He does about this issue/situation. I’m so much wiser about these kind of things.”
- “God has changed since the Bible was written and all that stuff doesn’t really matter anymore.”
- “I’d rather do what my friends say than God. They are so much smarter than him.”
- “I don’t really think He can provide for this need. I’ll just do it myself.”
- “I don’t really believe in God at all. Since he’s not real, I can do whatever I want.”
If you can easily excuse a pattern of disobedience, blowing off the word and will of God, the book of 1 John says you are a liar, deceived, and in darkness.
The true Christian responds to God’s word with obedience. He’s revealed Himself in Christ who is willing to transform our lives. The transformed one responds to God with obedience. You can mind the gaps by repenting and being obedient to what God is calling you to do.
What gaps can you close right now?
Are you having an affair with your Smartphone and other links I liked and learned from this week:
from my Delicious.com account:
1. 11 ways to fight well, from 1 Corinthians 13 benreed.net marriage, 1 Corinthians
Every couple fights. It’s a reality of living in a fallen world. But not every couple fights well.
2. Warning: Don’t Let This Person Join Your Church! pastors.com
“Because of this person, needs are going unmet in our community today. He will also keep other people in church from serving God, using their spiritual gifts, from worshiping through giving, and growing in their walk with Christ.”
3. The 5 Characteristics of Weak Leaders michaelhyatt.com leadership, weakleaders
- Flaw #1: Weak leaders hesitate to take definitive action.
- Flaw #2: Weak leaders complain about a lack of resources.
- Flaw #3: Weak leaders refuse to take responsibility.
- Flaw #4: Weak leaders abuse the privileges of leadership.
- Flaw #5: Weak leaders engage in acts of insubordination.
4. Three Kinds of People in the World Givers, matchers, and takers. Which are you? toddrhoades.com giving
5. Stop Having an Affair with Your Smartphone! (Or iPad!) timemanagementninja.com TimeManagement
5 Signs You May Be Having a an Affair With Your Smartphone:
- Taking Your Phone/iPad to Bed – When you get into bed, does your smartphone join you? Is it the last “person” that you talk to before going to bed?
- Checking Email Before Bed – Do you check email or Facebook before going to bed? And then again in the morning before getting up?
- Ignoring Your Family or Spouse – Does your family have to constantly compete for attention with your devices? Do they have to “snap you back to reality” when you are in another world with your phone?
- Answering Your Phone When You Are With Others – Do you answer your phone no matter where you are or what you are doing? (Hint: If you are answering your phone in the bathroom, you have lost control…)
- Letting Your Phone Interrupt Your Life – Do you prioritize phone beeps, dings, and chimes above people who you are meeting with in person?
Lane Corley 