How I Learned Being a Christian Wasn’t Meant for Me

How I Learned Being a Christian Wasn’t Meant for Me

By Neal Samudre I struggled being a Christian for the longest time—particularly because I couldn’t see the relevance behind it.
While growing up, I knew there was some significance to faith because we went every Sunday. Yet that curiosity slowly receded as the week went on. The farther we got away from Sunday, the more I questioned why Christianity was even relevant at all. Why did we need it if it didn’t apply to our daily life?

This question bounced around my mind until it came time for me to make faith my own.

I’ve heard it been said that my generation is full of smart consumers. We don’t allow things into our lives so easily. We’re first skeptics before we’re adopters. We analyze the value of things before they enter into our lives.
I felt like this was true of me when I first investigated the church. I was skeptical of everything, questioning whether I truly needed this.
I ended up keeping faith, primarily because I didn’t know anything else. But then, I ran into the problem again. Sunday became the only day I expressed my faith. Monday through Saturday became my priority.
And once again the questioning and doubt began: How relevant was Christianity? How useful was it to my life?

Many of us have struggled with this question. But now I understand: Asking these questions is feeding into the problem.

Wonder why faith seems like a Sunday thing only, not an everyday thing? Wonder why it feels rote and superficial at times? Wonder why it seems impractical and irrelevant to our daily lives?
While struggling with these questions in college, it finally hit me: The reason Christianity felt irrelevant to my daily life was because it wasn’t for me.
Like any smart consumer, I assumed myself as being the main priority. If the product didn’t serve me, I would cut it out of my life. But the mistake I made was that I couldn’t approach Christianity with a consumer mindset. I couldn’t assess whether it was serving me or not because faith is inherently meant for others.

Consumerism—Or Why Faith Becomes Irrelevant

Yet, I can’t help but notice how many of us approach Christianity like consumers. We look to how it serves us first, and if it doesn’t—if it’s not relevant to our daily life—then we don’t care for it.
But the funny thing is, the more we look to faith as primarily for personal benefit, the smaller we make it. This is when we actually make faith irrelevant.
At the very core of our faith is a holistic understanding that we are to serve God in everything we do—meaning, faith really does apply to our daily life. But when we place ourselves at the center, making faith serve us, then we only turn to faith when we need it.
This is why faith was irrelevant to my daily life.

The more I made faith about me, the more I fractured its significance, watered it down till it drifted from its holistic vision.

What “Living It Out” Really Means

By now, you might be wondering: How did I make faith about me?
First off, like many Christians today, I was obsessed with discovering how to “live it out.”
In our churches, we’re all about learning how to be the perfect Christian. This is good, except when it ends with us.

We’re obsessed with “living it out,” but I’m surprised by how rarely that means making a difference in people’s lives.

The sad truth is, many people only want to learn how to be a better Christian, not how to impact people with their faith. They want to learn how to achieve better morals, how to act and how to live a more pure life; but that knowledge sometimes doesn’t compel us to impact other people. Sometimes, all it does is impress people.
I was like this. I went to church because I wanted to know how I could better live it out—like Christianity was the latest craze for happier, healthier living.
Fortunately for us, Christianity is not a fad. It’s much more lasting than that because it’s not only about improving how we live, but improving how we impact.

Faith as a Band-Aid

Secondly, I turned faith into a band-aid.
Like the people posting cheesy, motivational Christian memes of, “You can get through this because Jesus loves you,” I made faith about getting me through hard times. To me, it was like finding the right amount of spirituality to quell my discomfort with life.
Tragically, many people only turn to faith when they need it, when the going gets rough. They treat it like a motivational resource meant to heighten one’s life.

We’ve drifted from a holistic faith because we’ve said faith is only about getting us through hard times.

We’ve bought into this idea so much that I believe sometimes we forget that faith, when it is truly lived out, is what brings us into hard times. Surely, it’s not a worldview that promises easy times. Instead it promises the challenge of growing spiritually in a backwards world.
Also, while faith does offer solace in hard times, we can’t limit this to being the primary purpose of faith.

Faith doesn’t begin and end with our wounds. We don’t use it like band-aids when life cuts us. Faith informs everything, not just our pain.

I used to treat faith like it was mine—a product serving my consumer needs. But I’m not that immature anymore. I know life isn’t about me. I know Christianity is something that extends past my sphere of influence.
Christianity is not trying to sell me on how it’ll improve my life. Rather, it’s trying to compel me to live selflessly with my life.

It’s trying to teach me that living like Jesus is much better than living for myself.

I still haven’t perfectly arrived at this truth. I sometimes treat faith like it’s solely for me. But at least I know now: Christianity wasn’t meant for me, and the more I keep it as something for my personal benefit, the more I distance myself from what it’s truly meant for—impacting others for His purposes.
If you ask me, that’s a much better story to live for.

Place Based Community and The Necessity of Listening

“This community has changed a lot since I was a girl,” Beatrice explained as we sat on her front porch. “The library used to be just up the block. We used to have a grocery store and lots of things within walking distance.”
“Where do you get your groceries now?” I asked.
“Wherever I can get a ride,” she said. I discovered Beatrice didn’t have a car. As the conversation went on, I learned that it costs $24 to get a taxi to and from Walmart, that most people in the neighborhood don’t have cars, and that my town has no public transportation.
I was shocked! I had lived in this South Carolina city of 23,000 people for nine years and never knew there was no public transportation. As I talked with Beatrice, the pieces started to come together about why so many people in her neighborhood didn’t work—they had no way to get to work. I never knew.
That day, nearly two years ago, was the beginning of a new relationship between my family and my city. I was ashamed of how much I didn’t know just because I hadn’t taken the time to listen. I should have known better. I was an elder in my church, and I served in a stateside leadership role with International Teams, an organization committed to integrated community transformation around the world. In fact, it was an ITeams Tailwind leadership-training course that gave me the assignment to get out and listen to my community.

The Challenge of a Simple Task

Since that day on Beatrice’s front porch, I’ve learned a lot about my community, and I’ve learned a lot about the necessity of listening. I’ve often thought about why church leaders don’t tend to spend as much time dreaming about the restoration of their communities as they do about enlarging their congregations. Undoubtedly, there are many reasons, but one is certainly the scope of the task. Growing a congregation is not easy, but it seems like rudimentary stuff compared to transforming a community riddled with domestic violence, drugs, and poverty.

“Growing a congregation…seems like rudimentary stuff compared to transforming a community” ~White

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A quick survey of the needs—whether by browsing statistics or by a slow drive through some neighborhoods—can be overwhelming. What do we do about gangs? How can we help the overburdened foster care system? What can be done to help people get jobs when they have few qualifications and no transportation? How do we improve health outcomes for the community? Although Jesus may have plans “to reconcile to himself all things” (Colossians 1:20), it seems our plans must be more realistic. I’ve come to believe, however, that if we fully face the enormity of the transformational task and add a few ounces of faith, we will actually be pushed toward right actions.
And near the top of that list of actions is listening. In light of the overwhelming odds against such a vision of change, we must admit we don’t have many answers—we have lots of questions.

• Why are things the way they are?
• What are the problems I’m not even seeing?
• What are some of the root causes?
• What has been tried? What has worked and what hasn’t?
• How do those who are hurting the most perceive the problems and the possible solutions?

The Reward of an Others-Based Agenda

Being overwhelmed can be a good place to start because it helps us avoid the common mistake of imposing our solutions based on overly simplistic assumptions. The scriptures remind us, “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame” (Proverbs 18:13).

“Being overwhelmed can be a good place to start” ~Scott White

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One of my colleagues serving among the impoverished Roma people in western Ukraine told me of an instance where they were about to address a desperate need for better housing by starting a home-building program. Before they began, however, discussions with community members clued them into the fact that this would never work. They would have to start with a few families, but this would stir jealousy and turn the community against them. By listening to the community, they found that housing wasn’t actually perceived as a priority need.
The community was instead very concerned about the roads. Their main roads were so dilapidated that emergency vehicles couldn’t reach most of the community. In multiple instances, residents died because ambulances couldn’t reach them. So they began a road-building project that involved the community. Their progress caught the attention of local officials who then provided street lights. This project became a significant contributor to a growing sense within the community that things can actually change. And it started with listening.
When it comes to knowing how to engage our communities redemptively, listening is the first antidote for treating our ignorance. However, implicit in the story above is another reason for the necessity of listening: Listening empowers others. When we listen, the very act tells others they matter and that their thoughts and experiences are valued. When people are involved in identifying problems and crafting solutions, they are much more likely to become engaged in implementing new initiatives. They themselves are more likely to become agents of change.

“listening is the first antidote for treating our ignorance” ~Scott White

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Questions to Get Us Started

So let’s say we took more time listening to our community. What would we listen for? Here are a few ideas.

1. Felt needs/Perceived problems – What are the greatest concerns of those in the community? Don’t expect people to become part of the solution if you’re addressing an issue of small importance to them.
2. Root causes – What are the logistical obstacles that make it difficult or impossible for people to get what they need physically, socially, and spiritually? What worldview mindsets will need to change before you can expect widespread, behavioral change? In what ways do people have a diminished self-perception that is paralyzing them?
3. Relational dynamics – What factions of the community are in conflict? How will that impact your strategies for change? Know ahead of time how you will be perceived or whom you will be alienating when you choose to work with particular groups.
4. Unforeseen obstacles – Allowing members of the community to help shape a plan of action can provide input that will expose your false assumptions and give you insight into unseen challenges.
5. Strengths & resources – What skills and abilities can you discover in your community that God might utilize to bless the community? What dreams and ideas are already stirring in people’s hearts that can be encouraged?
6. The story God is telling – No matter how broken you perceive your community to be, God is already there, and He is working. Where do you see His redemptive activity already at work, and where is He setting the stage for a fresh work of His Spirit?

Listening to your community could start with something as simple as taking an hour to walk the streets and make careful observations. Or you could ask around to find out whom folks consider a “local historian” and meet with that person to learn how the neighborhood has changed over the years, what challenges it’s facing, and what its strengths are. Remember that you are building a relationship. Whether you are moving “full speed ahead” with community service projects or paralyzed by overwhelming needs, listening can be a powerful next step.
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Leading A Reproducing Network (LARN)

 

Leading A Reproducing Network (LARN)

by Patrick O'Connell

We want to help YOUR CHURCH start a church planting network!

One of the greatest tools that God has given NewThing that's helping catalyze movements of reproducing churches all over the world, is an action-focused learning cohort we call LARN (Leading A Reproducing Network).

LARN is a one-year program that helps churches move from addition to multiplication. This is a practical and 'hands-on' intensive experience for leaders and their teams.

We created LARN for one reason: to start more reproducing networks. LARN will help you facilitate a conversation in your team about reproduction. It will provide you accountability to help you achieve your goals. Along the way you will learn from other leaders who've started networks The end result: that your church will launch a new reproducing network...that can become a movement of reproducing churches!

The  training begins in Chicago with Dave & Jon Ferguson and the NewThing Team. Over the course of 12 months, Dave and Jon and other leaders will teach you practical tools to help you start and lead a new network.

If you're ready to start a new network of reproducing churches, then LARN might be for you. 

 Contact us today and let's talk.

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20 Hurtful Misperceptions About Missionaries

By Chuck Lawless

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“Missionaries are godly people who serve faithfully around the world, let’s pray for them and walk beside them.”

On behalf of my missionary brothers and sisters, I plead with you to read today’s and tomorrow’s posts.
In the last two weeks, I’ve posted “Misperceptions Laity Have About Pastors” and “Misperceptions Pastors Have About Laity.” A missionary friend encouraged me to write a post about misperceptions about missionaries, so I did some research among missionaries. Today and tomorrow, I will post their thoughts about the misperceptions others hold about them.
1. “We are saints.” They’re not, they told me. They’re regular people answering God’s call to do work across cultures. They struggle with sin. Their families have arguments. Their kids drive them crazy some days. Missionaries don’t want to be heroes (though they often appreciate the affirmation they get).
2. “We all live in a hut in Africa.” Missionaries live all over the world, many in megacities where millions of people live.
3. “When we come to America, we’re coming home.” Home for missionaries is where they live. The place they reside, and the people they’re seeking to reach, become part of them. Coming to the United States can, in fact, be stressful. I’ll always remember one missionary who called me from Walmart, completely stressed because the vast numbers of cereal options overwhelmed him.
4. “We understand U.S. culture.” This misperception relates to #3 above. Missionaries come back to churches that are often more elaborate, supermarkets that are much more “super” and missionary homes that are much bigger than what they have where they live. Often, they don’t know the newest praise choruses or recognize the latest sermon illustrations. Reverse culture shock is real for them.
5. “Your short-term mission trip is a great blessing to us.” It can be, but not always. If your team doesn’t work with the missionary from the beginning—or if you ignore the missionary on the ground to form your own plans—you can make the missionary’s task much harder. Ask how you can help the missionaries rather than telling them what you plan to do.
6. “Our life is just a longer short-term mission trip.” One missionary put it this way: “On a short-term mission trip, you basically do ministry from sun up to sun down. You don’t negotiate with a landlord, struggle with buying groceries and cooking food, homeschool your kids, or stand in long lines to pay a $2.00 bill. Living overseas requires a lot of effort just to live.”

7. “We’re all natural language learners.” That’s not the case. Language learning is difficult, and even those who know the language well might still struggle. Some long-term missionaries never fully master their language—but they press on because they want to share the gospel with their people group. Language learners need our prayers.
8. “Evangelism is easy for us.” Not only is it hard to move a conversation to the gospel, but missionaries must also do that in a second language. Even those believers who go to the ends of the earth still wrestle with engaging somebody with the gospel.
9. “All of us took a vow of poverty.” Not so. They’re serving God, but we need to treat them as worthy of their hire. In fact, some missionaries live in places where the cost of living is quite high.
10. “We’re all living in a revival.” Many are still waiting for someone among their people group to follow Jesus. Some are themselves struggling to find daily joy. Missionary living is not always on the mountaintop.
Return tomorrow for the next 10 misperceptions about missionaries. In the meantime, pray for missionaries today.
Yesterday, I posted 10 misperceptions about missionaries. If you didn’t read that post, I encourage you to go there now.  Here are 10 more misperceptions:
1. “We’re never afraid.” Missionaries are faithful people, but fear can be a reality. Depending on where they serve, they may face public opposition, violence, threats, natural disasters and strange illnesses. Some live continually ready to flee their area if necessary.
2. “We don’t need support from our home churches.” Many missionaries look forward to encouragement, support, relationships and visits from the churches that sent them. They recognize it when churches seem to have forgotten them.
3. “Saying ‘good-bye’ gets easier over the years.” The good-byes for missionaries are numerous and seemingly continual: to family and friends the first time they leave home, and then each time they return to the field after a furlough; to friends on the field each time they return to the United States; to graduating children who go to college; to colleagues who leave the field; to aging parents, likely for the final time. It never gets easier.
4. “When we come back to the United States, we’re the same people who left.” Returning missionaries may look the same, but they’re different. Their experiences on the field change them. Temporary stuff that used to matter doesn’t matter so much any more. Big church buildings no longer impress them. Church conflicts seem foolish now. People matter.
5. “We stay on the field because we love our people group.” They do love their people group, but that’s not the primary reason they stay. They stay because God loves their people group, and they’re just the vessels through whom God gets His message to them.
6. “We can’t wait to speak energetically to your church when we return to the U.S.”  They really do want to tell you what God is doing through their work, but they’re usually returning after several years of hard work with few breaks. They’re tired. They’re facing their own culture shock. Some are also not naturally gifted to speak to large crowds.
7. “We don’t have time to hear your prayer concerns.” Sure, missionaries want us praying for them … but they equally want to pray for us. Some of my missionary friends are the best intercessors I know.
8. “We trust God, so we’re never lonely.” They’re never alone because the Spirit lives within them, but missionaries can still be lonely. Some serve in isolated places with no other believers within days of them. They long for their families, especially when they miss weddings and funerals; in fact, they’re often as close to their own families as others who’ve said to them, “I could never do what you do because I’m so close to my family.”
9. “We don’t know it if you don’t read our newsletters.” Many missionaries work hard to send well-crafted, concise accounts of God’s workings and their prayer concerns. Because of technological resources available today, they can know how many people actually open their newsletters and read them. Don’t discourage them by ignoring their news.
10. “Our greatest conflicts come with nationals.” Actually, the greatest struggles often come with teammates. Interpersonal conflicts are typically magnified in a cross-cultural setting.
I’m sure I have my own misperceptions about missionaries, but I don’t think I’m wrong about this conclusion: They are godly people who serve faithfully around the world. Let’s learn about them, listen to them, pray for them and walk beside them.
And maybe even become one of them.

How to Spot an Immature Apostle and What To Do About It

This is the first in a series of articles on recognizing immaturity in fivefold ministry and what to do about it. If you have no idea what fivefold ministry is, check out Alan Hirsch’s brief descriptions here, or JR Woodward’s video introduction here.
“Gather your top eight to ten leaders,” he said, “and start investing in them. Then they can begin investing in others… and off you go!”
It was great advice… for a church with hundreds or thousands of people. But I was planting a church. A slow-grow, make-disciples-and-multiply-from-the-ground-up church. I barely had a dozen adults. My “top leaders” were, like, two people. Maybe one and a half on a bad day.
Church planters are almost constantly bumping up against limitations. The pressure of Not Enough. It’s common to feel a constant, desperate desire for people to just come along and get stuff done.
So when a gifted person comes along who is willing and competent and starts getting stuff done, it’s really easy to be enamored and just let them go for it!
But unless we also have a way of evaluating how mature these gifted people are, we are asking for trouble. Why? Because putting people into positions of leadership before their character can bear it is a recipe for disaster.

Putting people in positions of leadership b4 their character can bear it is a recipe for disaster.

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One of the most devastating mistakes we can make as church planters is to assume that giftedness is the same thing as maturity.
So how can we avoid this scenario? How can we be more discerning about the people we release into leadership?
This is the first article in a series on recognizing immaturity through the lens of fivefold gifting (sometimes called APEST – Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Shepherds, Teachers).
We’ll talk about apostles first.
How can we recognize an unhealthy apostle? And what should we do about it if we spot one in our church?

You Might Be an Apostle If…

Before we talk about immature apostles, let’s just talk about apostles. How are they Christ’s gift to the church?
Apostles are “sent ones.” You need some of these people in your church! Here are some signs of apostles in general:

• They have big ideas–a lot of them.
• They don’t give up easily.
• They see the frontier and want to take new ground.
• They have a history of starting things, especially churches, ministries, or businesses that advance the kingdom of God.
• They see opportunity everywhere.
• They tend to attract a lot of people to their vision.
• They can easily envision how to build organizations and people.

I have a friend who is gifted as an apostle. She has seventeen new ideas before breakfast each day. She is always thinking about what to build next, how to extend the kingdom of God into new places. She networks with leaders all over the country. She’s awesome!

Signs of an Immature Apostle

But apostles don’t come from the factory mature and ready to lead. Like the rest of us, they start out immature, and their greatest strength is also their greatest weakness.

Apostles don’t come from the factory mature and ready to lead.

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My apostle friend also struggles to focus on one idea instead of chasing new ones just because they’re new. She often makes hasty decisions in an effort to “keep moving.” She has a hard time relaxing and being with people when there’s no agenda. Here are some signs of an immature apostle:

• They can’t discern between good ideas and “God ideas,” between the constant flood of innovative thoughts and the ones that God is giving them to do.
• They jump around from one idea to the next, unable to stay focused on one thing.
• Eventually, people stop following them because they don’t want to give their time and energy to something that will probably change in a few weeks on the apostle’s whim.
• They can’t “turn it off” (i.e., take a day off).
• They have trouble being part of a group they’re not leading.
• They tend to have very little patience with needy people or those who won’t “get on board.”
• Their projects tend to produce relational carnage; people often feel hurt and used by an immature apostle.

Maybe one or two people are coming to mind? Chances are high that you’ve met an immature apostle. It’s likely you have one in your church right now! It might even be that you’re an immature apostle. If so, keep reading—today is the day of salvation!

Two Things NOT To Do with an Immature Apostle

Before I talk about what to do with an immature apostle, I want to outline two temptations every church planter will feel when they encounter an immature apostle: the temptation to use them, and the temptation to reject them.

1. Use Them

One of the strengths of apostles is that they have a lot of energy and ideas and get stuff done. It is so tempting to conveniently ignore the evidence of immaturity in order to keep the productivity flowing! Especially if we’ve found a good way to “motivate” them to keep up the good work. This is the temptation to use immature apostles.
Yes, they’re immature, but look at how fast we’re going now! We haven’t crashed so far, and it’s so fun to have some momentum finally. Eventually we’ll get around to maturity and health, but for the sake of the vision, maybe we should just ride this out a little longer.
Bad idea. In using an immature apostle to advance your agenda you’re behaving like an immature apostle. If you submit to the temptation to use people, you’ll never be able to bring anyone to maturity.

If you submit to the temptation to use people, you’ll never be able to bring anyone to maturity.

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2. Reject Them

When you begin to see the harm that immature apostles can do to the body of Christ, the second temptation appears: to reject the immature apostle.
It can feel like an easy, clean solution to simply marginalize immature apostles. Keep them out of leadership, keep them out of the loop, stop responding to emails, give them less and less time until they finally get discouraged enough to leave the church.
Ironically, this temptation is also a way of using the immature apostle to advance your agenda, to keep the vision “pure” and unsullied by immaturity.

What To Do with an Immature Apostle

But our job as equippers in the church is not to “get things done” or avoid conflict and messiness. Our job is to bring the church to unity and maturity, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13).
So if we don’t use them or reject them, what do we do if we find we have an immature apostle in our church?
We disciple them.
We bring them to maturity so they can become the gift to the church they’re called to be.
After all, this is what Jesus did with the ragtag bunch of immature apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers that were his disciples.

How To Disciple an Immature Apostle

So how do we disciple an immature apostle? In some ways, we disciple them like we disciple everyone else: we love them by offering them an abundance of grace and truth.
But discipleship looks different for an apostle than it does for a shepherd or prophet. The grace and truth they need takes on a certain shape.
So what does grace and truth look like for apostles?

Grace for an Apostle

Here are a few notes on bringing grace to an apostle:

• Apostles need an environment where failure is OK and expected.
• Apostles need to know they aren’t just being pacified, but truly welcomed and released.
• Apostles need an environment where new ideas aren’t a threat.
• Apostles need a low-control environment. Do not micro-manage them.
• Apostles need a “big vision” atmosphere. They need to know that what they’re involved in is significant.
• Apostles need real, honest, tough critique of their ideas (yes, this feels like grace to them).

Truth for an Apostle

Here are a few notes on bringing truth to an immature apostle:

• Apostles need to learn compassion. Challenge them to care for others as they lead.
• Apostles need a high-accountability environment, especially when it comes to following through on their ideas.
• Apostles need to learn to wait for the “God idea” in the midst of the sea of good ideas.
• Apostles need to learn to be patient and trust that God is working, even when they’re not.
• Most apostles will need accountability to take a weekly Sabbath.
• Apostles need to learn to disciple and develop people while they are working on projects (their tendency will be to use people to accomplish the project, rather than use the project to develop people).

A Discernment Tool for Apostles

I can’t remember where I first saw this, but the following is a simple tool for helping apostles hone in on vision and keep people at the center of their project.
Write down all the apostolic dreams and ideas you have and rank them in order of priority. For the top one to three ideas ask these Who questions:

1. To whom am I called?
2. Who is going with me?
3. Who is the Person of Peace?
4. Whom am I discipling?
5. Whom am I holding accountable?

Questions for Discussion

How about you? Have you had experiences with immature apostles? What have you learned about discipling apostles? If you are an apostle, what has been most helpful in your growth?

4 Quick Must-Ask Questions for Every Planter

4 Quick Must-Ask Questions for Every Planter

By Brian Orme

1. Cool or Called?

In other words: Are you going to plant a church “there” because it is the cool place … or because you honestly feel a genuine call from God to go there?

2. Problems or Potential?

Are you going to begin your church plant by declaring the problems other churches have … or the potential you believe your church has?

3. Vacation or Vision?

Do you think your church plant is going to be easy … that people are automatically going to buy into your vision … that you will receive zero resistance? If so, you’re in for a huge wake-up call. Planting a church is not a vacation but rather something that initiated from God through a white-hot vision that allows a leader to roll up his sleeves and do whatever it takes to make something happen! (If you aren’t willing to work, church planting isn’t for you!)

4. Imitation or Revelation?

Do you want to do what you are about to do because you saw it done somewhere else and thought it would be really cool to do … or because you know without a doubt you have heard the voice of God and feel like you might explode if you don’t do what He’s calling you to?

Three Common Idols in Churches

By Eric Geiger

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“God’s people still struggle with taking tools for transformation and making them objects of worship.”

Hezekiah is affirmed in Scripture as doing “what was right in the Lord’s sight” (2 Kings 18:3). The next verse details what Hezekiah did: “He removed the high places, shattered the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses made, for the Israelites burned incense to it up to that time” (2 Kings 18:4).
Surely people understood a strong, spiritual leader removing the idols (the high places and the Asherah poles) that grabbed the hearts of the people and stole worship from the Lord. They would expect their spiritual leader to insist they stop worshiping other gods. But what Hezekiah did next must have been really unexpected and really controversial. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses made—intentionally. Not by accident. Not “I was carrying it and it fell.” To break bronze takes some effort.
Eliminating pagan idols is one thing, but “that was the snake Moses made!” It was the bronze snake God told Moses to make, the one people looked at to be delivered from their snakebites (Numbers 21).
Hezekiah broke the snake because the people were burning incense to it. They were worshiping a bronze snake. Tools for transformation can become objects of worship. In our sinfulness, we can make an idol of just about anything. In our sinfulness, we tend to make idols of things that are important to us. Thus, a bronze snake that God used to bring healing, held by the leader of God’s people during their liberation from slavery, became an object of worship.
Today is not altogether different. God’s people still struggle with taking tools for transformation and making them objects of worship. Here are three common idols in churches:

1. The Place

Because the Lord does a great work in the hearts of His people when they gather, the places of gathering can move from a tool for transformation to an object of worship. Thus, if a leader mentions “relocation,” the leader is essentially threatening to cut a bronze snake into pieces. We must remind people that the building is not the church, that His people are the church. God does not live in the place where we gather; He lives in the hearts of His people.

2. The Past

Because the Lord worked in amazing ways in the past, the past can become an idol where people long for the past more than they long for the Lord. Being grateful for the past is one thing, and worshiping it is quite another. If “former days” were great, they were only great because of the Lord.

3. The Programs

Because God changed lives through a program or event, people can elevate a program to an unhealthy place. Programs can become ends in themselves and not tools used in a church’s discipleship process. When this happens, they exist as modern-day bronze snakes.
How can leaders be like Hezekiah? How can modern-day bronze snakes be removed?
Leaders must constantly point people to the person of Jesus. Only He is worthy of our worship and only He can transform hearts. When we help people see the greatness of Jesus, idols look less attractive. As we turn our eyes on Jesus and look full in His wonderful face, the things of this world (place, past and programs included) grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Leaders must also continually remind people of the purpose of the church. (Yes, I know it is another “p,” but it fits.) A church exists to make disciples. When a church embraces the mission of making disciples, programs are viewed as tools and not as ends in themselves. When making disciples is what a church is all about, the place is rightly seen as merely a place to help make disciples.
Though the Lord instructed the snake to be made, the Lord affirmed its destruction. And of Hezekiah, the Scripture says:
Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him (2 Kings 18:5).

You Can Change

By Tim Chester

• Print Version

“God is in the business of change. He’s interested in making us like Jesus.”

What Would You Like to Change?

Maybe you’d choose to change your appearance, or find a partner, or have better-behaved children. Perhaps you’re seeking one more step up the career ladder, or maybe just to get onto a career ladder. Maybe you’d like to be more confident and witty, or maybe less angry or depressed, or less controlled by your emotions.
We all want to change in some way. Some of these changes are good, others not so good. But the problem with all of them is that they’re not ambitious enough. God offers us something more—much, much more!

Broken Image Bearers

In the opening chapter of the Bible we read, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” (Genesis 1:27). We were made to be God’s image on earth: to know him, to share his rule over the world, to reflect his glory.
The problem is that this is now a broken image because humanity has rejected God. So we try to live our lives our way, and we make a mess of things. We struggle to be God’s image on earth. We no longer reflect his glory as we should. God’s verdict on humanity is: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
We’ve failed to be the image of God we were made to be. We can’t be the people we want to be, let alone the people we ought to be.

God’s Agenda for Change

Enter Jesus, “the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4):
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (Colossians 1:15) He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. (Hebrews 1:3) And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
Jesus shows us God’s agenda for change. God isn’t interested in making us religious.
Think of Jesus, who was hated by religious people. God isn’t interested in making us spiritual if by spiritual we mean detached. Jesus was God getting involved with us. God isn’t interested in making us self-absorbed: Jesus was self-giving personified. God isn’t interested in serenity: Jesus was passionate for God, angry at sin, weeping for the city. The word holy means “set apart” or “consecrated.” For Jesus, holiness meant being set apart from, or different from, our sinful ways. It didn’t mean being set apart from the world, but being consecrated to God in the world. He was God’s glory in and for the world.
Jesus is the perfect person, the true image of God, the glory of the Father. And God’s agenda for change is for us to become like Jesus.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28–30)
Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1–2; see also 1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 2:5; 1 Peter 2:21)
Whoever claims to live in [God] must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6, NIV; see also 3:16–17; 4:10–11)
Making us like Jesus was God’s plan from the beginning.

Too Much for Us

I’d like to play soccer like David Beckham. I could watch videos of him in action. I could study what he does. I might even persuade him to tutor me. All this might lead to a small improvement in my abilities, but it’s not going to turn me into a great soccer player.
I want to be like Jesus. I can observe him in action as I read the Gospels. I can study the life he lived and the love he showed. I could try very hard to imitate him. But at best that would lead only to a small, short-lived improvement, and indeed even that small improvement would probably only make me proud. I need more than an example. I need help. I need someone to change me. Trying to imitate Jesus on its own only leaves me feeling like a failure. I can’t be like him. I can’t match up. I need sorting out. I need rescuing. I need forgiveness.
The great news is that Jesus is not only my example but also my Redeemer. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). When you become a Christian, something amazing happens: You are a new creation. The power of God that made the sun and stars is focused down like a laser into your heart. God steps into the world, as it were, and creates all over again. We’re transformed, reborn, made new.
At creation God spoke a word into the darkness, and there was light. He spoke a word into the chaos, and there was beauty. And now again God speaks a word through the gospel. He speaks into the darkness of our hearts, and there is light. He speaks into the chaos of our lives, and there is beauty

Re-Created in God’s Image

What does it mean for us to be a new creation? It means we’re re-created in the image of God. It means we’re given new life so we can grow like Christ. And being like Christ means being like God, reflecting God’s glory as God’s image.
Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:24)
Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven [Jesus]. (1 Corinthians 15:49)
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:9–10)
Jesus came to remake us in God’s image. Jesus took our brokenness, our hatred and our curse on himself on the cross. He took the penalty of our sin and in its place gave us a new life and new love.
God is in the business of change. He’s interested in making us like Jesus.

10 Scary Misconceptions People Have About Their Pastors

By Chuck Lawless

• Print Version

“Laypersons sometimes have misperceptions of pastors that I think hurt their leaders. Here are some of them.”

I started this blog last year to help pastors and church leaders because I love the local church. Leaders and laypeople alike are some of God’s greatest gifts to us, and I love being in the dozens of churches where I speak each year. At the same time, though, laypersons sometimes have misperceptions of pastors that I think hurt their leaders. Here are some of them:
1. We never struggle with spiritual disciplines. Even those of us called to lead God’s church wrestle with finding the time and discipline to spend private time with God. We live in the tension of studying for a sermon and studying for personal growth.
2. We’re all certain about our calling. The stress of leading a church sometimes causes some of us to wonder if this is what God has called us to do. We want to be 100 percent confident, but that’s not always the situation.
3. We don’t have to pay taxes. I’ve heard this wrong idea for decades. Some churches, I’m afraid, use this misperception to pay their pastor less than they should.
4. We never get nervous preaching the Word. I’ve preached for almost 40 years, and my heart still pounds a bit when walking to the pulpit. Frankly, I hope that reaction never goes away—proclaiming the Word ought to weigh heavy on us.
5. Our faith keeps us from getting wounded. In fact, it’s often just the opposite. Because of our faith in God and His church, we assume that God’s people will treat each other with love and grace. Sometimes that doesn’t happen.
6. All full-time pastors get benefits like any other employee. Many do, but some of us receive a salary “package” out of which we must pay our own health insurance, life insurance, auto reimbursement, retirement, etc. In that case, our “salary” is seriously reduced.
7. We learned all we need to know in Bible school or seminary. That’s simply not so, as no classroom experience can prepare us for all the tasks of ministry. We’re learning every day how to lead staff meetings, conduct a funeral, deal with marital conflict and address so many other issues—often by learning the hard way.
8. We have a lot of real friends. We have many acquaintances, but often few friends. Ministry can be really lonely, actually.
9. Our home is a slice of heaven. It may look that way on Sunday, but we experience real life the rest of the week just like everybody else does. Our family has its own struggles.
10. We’re always on the lookout for the next best church. To be honest, some pastors do live that way—and they don’t make it easy for the rest of us who are genuinely committed where God has placed us. Most of us really love our church, even with all their imperfections.
What would you add to this list?

When the Detour Becomes Your New Road

By Vaneetha Rendall

Provided by

• Print Version

“God bids us to meet him in the darkness and see him as more important than our circumstances.”

This isn’t the ticket I bought.
That’s what I thought when my health took a detour and I found myself on a road I hadn’t anticipated. A road I wasn’t prepared for. A road I didn’t want to travel.
Laura Story understands how that feels. Everything radically changed after her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Watching him struggle to breathe and withstand significant memory loss, Laura begged God to heal her husband and restore their lives to the way they were.
Life hadn’t been perfect, but it had been good.
Laura told her sister of her desire to return to the normal trial-free life she had before. And her sister insightfully responded, “You know, Laura, I think the detour you are on is actually the road.”
The detour you are on is actually the road.
What a horrifying thought.
When my plans go awry, I always want to believe that I have taken a temporary detour. Maybe it’s a long one, but I hope that the real road, the road where I can return to being happy and fulfilled, is just ahead. Maybe it’s only around the corner, if I can simply hang on.

Aching for Normalcy

I was talking to a friend recently about that desire to return to normalcy. She doesn’t know how to handle her newly developed health problems. Should she pray for healing and expect God to answer? Or should she come to terms with chronic pain and disability?
I understand her questions. I have asked them myself.
Should I earnestly ask God to change my circumstances? Should I draw near to him in prayer, write down my requests and regularly seek him for the things in my life that I want to see changed? Godly things. Restoration. Healing. Return to active ministry.
Or do I recognize that I am on a different road? One that may not bring the healing and restoration that I would like, but rather a closeness to Jesus that I could not get any other way. Do I hold loosely to the expectation of changed circumstances and cling tighter to the hope that will never disappoint—the hope that is rooted in Jesus?
Yes.
God invites me to ask him to change the things that I long to be different. To persevere. To trust that my prayers make a difference.
But at the same time, God bids me to accept where I am. To let him meet me in the darkness. To find comfort in his presence. To see him as more important than any change in my circumstances.
God calls me to do both. Every day. On every road.

Adjusting to the New Normal

The old road often seems like it was more relaxing and easy to drive. The new road can be bumpy and twisty, narrow with sharp curves. And I find myself longing for the ease of what I used to have.
But the new road has benefits too, perhaps not in ease but in seeing life differently. More reflectively. Really noticing reality rather than rushing forward, oblivious to my surroundings.
But regardless of what I gain, it’s a challenge to accept that the detour is now the new road.
I struggle with that reality daily as I experience new weakness and pain with post-polio. Sometimes it’s temporary, but often it’s permanent. The loss becomes the new normal. And I must adjust.
Last month, I was going into a familiar building when I realized I couldn’t climb the curb without assistance. Without other options, I reluctantly asked a passerby for help. She was warm and gracious as she helped me and we had an encouraging conversation walking in together.
Since then I have been unable to get up sidewalks without assistance. This limitation will change where I can go by myself and will require me to plan ahead.
To be honest, I don’t want to plan ahead. I don’t like limitations. And yet, like my sweet conversation with a stranger, I’m sure the Lord has unexpected blessings along this path.
I realize that I cannot cling to the past. I cannot get back on the old road and put everything back the way it was. Some things will get better over time. Some prayers will be miraculously answered. Some dreams will come true.
But the old road is gone.
And in my mind, it will often be remembered as better than it actually was. The Israelites did that when they complained after they were delivered from slavery saying, “We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions and garlic. But now our strength is dried up and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at” (Numbers 11:4–6).

Not Looking Back

The Israelites neglected to mention that even though they had food, they were slaves. Their lives in Egypt were not perfect. They had continually cried out to God to deliver them from slavery.
So don’t look back on the past and assume it was perfect. It wasn’t. Mine wasn’t perfect either.
This new road that I am on, bumpy and twisty as it may be, is the path that God has chosen for me. It is the best road. The only one worth taking.
If I keep looking back on the old way longingly, focusing on what I’ve lost rather than on what I have, I will miss the rewards of the new path.
I need to open my eyes. Notice what’s around me. Remember that God goes before me. I need not fear for he knows what is up ahead.
As he has promised, “I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them” (Isaiah 42:16).
God is guiding me on this new path.
I am on the right road.
And so are you. 

POST JESUS - THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES - PART 4

POST JESUS - THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES - PART 4

Friday 2/19/16 @ 10:00PM central time

We continue our study of the 28 chapters of the modern Bible we call ACTS many things have been buried beneath man's desire for "structure," "law" and "protocol."

How did the early fellowships operate after the initial growth of 3,000 & 5,000 converts?

And grow they did, but not without its "growing pains."

Help me discover the lost motivation of this much ignored history of the early church.

Join us as we immerse ourselves in the depth of understanding the Word of God. The phone lines will be open for your questions and/or comments live on air at

(347) 996-5426. See you there!!!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thepath/2016/02/20/post-jesus--the-acts-of-the-apostles--part-4

4 Big Questions to Ask Before Easter Sunday Arrives

By Pastor Rick Warren

For three and a half decades, Easter Sunday has been one of the biggest evangelistic opportunities of the year for Saddleback Church, and for thousands of other churches too. When the celebration of Easter Sunday is such a golden opportunity to tell people about the hope we have in the risen Christ, it’s definitely prudent to start planning for it early.
As your staff and leadership team starts to develop a strategy for reaching as many unchurched people as possible, here are some vital questions for pastors to answer…

What message will I be preaching?

Obviously, you’ll be preaching about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. The world is starving for hope, and the resurrection story is the greatest source of hope we have. But the greatest story ever told can be told many different ways and from many different angles. Here are just a few of the messages I’ve preached on Easter Sunday:

• 2015: Daring to Believe
• 2014: The Answer Is Easter
• 2013: How the Resurrection Changed Everything
• 2012: Easter In 3D
• 2011: The Greatest Rescue
• 2009: The Mystery of God’s Plan – What On Earth Is God Doing?
• 2008: What It Means to Believe In Jesus
• 2006: How to Be Certain You’re Going to Heaven
• 2003: Time For a Fresh Start
• 2002: Come Alive This Easter

Your message on Easter Sunday should usually be the start of a short series, or the prelude to a series starting the Sunday after Easter. This is to give people an incentive to come back the next Sunday. And knowing now what you’ll be preaching on Easter Sunday will enable you and your team to craft your promotional messaging to invite people to church on this big day.

What outreach events will we be hosting?

Some churches do egg drops and others do egg hunts. We’ve done big kids’ Easter events each year and tons of families come and enjoy the day together. It’s a prime opportunity to get unchurched people to set foot on your campus and experience the hospitality of your volunteers.

What do we need to improve before the big day?

Easter Sunday creates a sense of anticipation among the leaders of a church, and this sense of anticipation can generate the kind of positive energy that unites a leadership team to accomplish some upgrades and improvements.
Could it be that in preparation for Easter Sunday, you need to upgrade your sound and video technology? Remodel a part of your building? Add or change a worship service?

What is our plan for promoting Easter Sunday in the community?

News and radio ads are good. Yard signs, bumper stickers, and window decals are better. And social media is indispensable. Have your creative team or hire a designer to craft your Easter branding and basic messaging. Create graphics, videos, and write content your members can share on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Make a list now with deadlines so the holiday doesn’t sneak up on you.
And remember, above and beyond every other promotional method, nothing is more effective for spreading the message than the personal relationships represented by the people whose lives have already been changed by the ministry of your church.
Every Sunday, and every day of the week for that matter, is another opportunity to empower people for the mission for which God made them – bringing others into a right relationship with his Son, Jesus.
Pray now. Plan and prepare early. Sow the seed and water the soil, and trust God to bring the growth!

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Graphic designed by Emily Okada.

A Q&A with NewThing’s Patrick O’Connell

Learning From Becoming a Level Five Multiplying Church

 

We realize we cannot achieve multiplication alone. This will be a movement of God.

As the director of NewThing, Patrick O’Connell works with hundreds of church planters nationwide and is passionate about helping people start more churches that help even more people find their way back to God. In the interview below, he talks about multiplication as movement and what he and NewThing leaders are learning from the new book Becoming a Level 5 Multiplying Church by Todd Wilson and Dave Ferguson.

Becoming a Level 5 Multiplying Church describes five distinct levels of churches and offers a profile for each one. How do those levels and their respective profiles fit with what you’re seeing with NewThing leaders?
NewThing is a catalyst for movements of reproducing churches. We have earnest conversations about seeing all of our churches become movement-making churches. In fact, multiplication is such a core value that you cannot be a part of NewThing without a commitment to multiplying.  We ask every NewThing church to annually complete an MRP (My Reproducing Plan). Todd and Dave’s book both affirms our direction and challenges us to keep the focus on movements.
What would you say are three of the greatest affirmations, epiphanies or “aha’s” you had while reading the book?
1. Aspirations are one thing; practices are another. We must be committed to living out the value of multiplication as a movement-making church and not just dream about it.
2. As leaders, we must continue to adapt our scorecard to reflect multiplication. Our scorecard will include churches that commit to reproducing and who also reproduce.
3. We must acknowledge the natural tensions that all leaders will face in their journey towards multiplication. NewThing’s small intentional spans of care can help leaders do this together.
Todd and Dave offer several direct and indirect challenges to church planters and church planting leaders. What are some of the tensions of multiplication that NewThing is dealing with as you consider these challenges to multiply?
We definitely experience the tension of motives. We want to be a movement that is serious about multiplication. Our leaders feel the tension of the “here versus there.” Our churches want to start movements, but they face the very real challenge of also leading their current ministries. We believe mission gives life and thus, a sending church is also a growing church. We’ve been discussing these challenges and endeavoring together to overcome them together.
What specific action steps has NewThing taken as a result of reading the book?
First, that we can do our part to “move the needle” on multiplication. One of the key values of NewThing is reproduction. Becoming 5 has reaffirmed this value for us and provided specific handles for us to embrace. Specifically, we’ll continue to exhort our churches to complete an MRP each year. This simple tool provides a degree of accountability at every level of NewThing. In our team discussions, we come back to this tool as the simplest and best way to ensure our behaviors line up with our value of reproducing.
Moreover, we’re working with our network leaders to ensure that multiplication remains the core conversation of our network meetings. In doing these things, we hope to up the ante on accountability towards even greater multiplication. For NewThing, it comes back to reaffirming our scorecard.
How have your prayers changed as you think through what it means to be a Level 5 multiplying church and lead a network of multiplying churches?
We realize we cannot achieve multiplication alone. This will be a movement of God. And setting big goals for ourselves (10,000 reproducing churches by 2020) has challenged us to pray differently. One of these ways is to pray together and for each other. Starting in 2015, we hosted our first ever Global Day of Prayer and Fasting. We asked all NewThing churches to participate. We have another one planned for 2016. Additionally, we have a prayer team that regularly prays for our movement.
Give us an example of a multiplying church in your network. Is there a NewThing church, pastor or planter that’s doing a particularly good job of multiplication?
Eric Metcalf. He leads a reproducing church in Chicago that is part of the larger multisite church Community Christian Church. Eric chose to take on the “plant pregnant” strategy by launching with multiple leadership residents (apprentice church planters) and interns. Shortly after launch, Eric and his team were able to send these leaders: one became a campus pastor at Community Christian Church, another became a creative arts director at another church, and the others went on to pursue their God-given dreams. Today, Community Christian Church, Lincoln Park | Old Town averages 150 people, 15 small groups, two Celebration Services, and over 24 baptisms since their launch in October 2013.
Connect with Patrick at his blog Missionglue.com.

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To learn more about Becoming a Level Five Multiplying Church, take the FREE assessment at becomingfive.org. The assessment takes approximately 30 minutes and helps determine your level of multiplication.

Free Live Webcast Offers Access to Evangelism Conversation at Exponential East 2014

Free Live Webcast Offers Access to Evangelism Conversation at Exponential East 2014

By ChurchPlants (March 16, 2014) To help as many as possible church leaders “rethink” evangelism, Exponential has announced plans for a high-quality live webcast from the upcoming Exponential East 2014 conference in Orlando. The webcast is free to anyone who registers for it.
Featuring 25 leading voices in the Church today, the live webcast will include 10 sessions streamed live over three days from Tuesday, April 29, to Thursday, May 1.
Exponential is continuing last year’s discipleship conversation, this year focusing on what Jesus said was His core mission on earth: “…to seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10)—and how we as Jesus’ disciples can look to His example to join Him in that mission. The webcast’s sessions will focus on five key areas: ReThinking Evangelism; ReThinking Outreach; ReThinking Witness; ReThinking Preaching; and ReThinking the Commission.
“This webcast offers leaders who can’t make it to Orlando, or are leaving a spouse or team members at home, a solid solution for encouraging and equipping them through what we believe are critical conversations for the church as we focus on helping awaken an evangelistic impulse,” says Exponential Director Todd Wilson. “It’s the second best thing to being onsite.”
Collectively, webcast viewers will hear from 25 key leaders: Andy Stanley, Bill Hybels, Nicky Gumbel, Dave Gibbons, James Meeks, Greg Nettle, Matt Chandler Jeanne Stevens, Oscar Muriu, Choco De Jesus, Michael Frost, Larry Osborne, Alan Hirsch, Danielle Strickland, Damien Boyd, Dave Travis, Dave Ferguson, Vince Antonucci, John Teter, Jim Burgen, Hugh Halter and via video Tim Keller, Craig Groeschel, Louie Giglio and Ed Stetzer.
For the last two years, Exponential has partnered with LifeWay Christian Resources to present the high-quality webcast. In 2013, the Exponential Orlando webcast drew an estimated 40,000 viewers in 93 countries while the Exponential West 2013 webcast featuring programming similar to Orlando’s drew 15,000-plus viewers worldwide. Exponential believes this year’s webcast from Orlando has greater potential to reach many more.
“The cross-section of speakers we’ve enlisted to lead these main sessions is possibly the strongest in the conference’s seven-year history,” Wilson says. “We’re thrilled to offer this caliber of teaching on evangelism to a global audience.”
The webcast will again feature DVR functionality, allowing for flexible viewing times. The DVR functionality and free access offer church and ministry leaders prime opportunities to host the webcast for their launch teams, small group leaders, staff, network and even their church.
“The Seek + Save theme and rediscovering these five biblical truths are of critical importance to every church planter,” says Exponential President Dave Ferguson.
“Recent research tells us that only 18 percent of Americans will set foot in a church this weekend, but Gallup reports that 92 percent of the U.S. population says they believe in God. We have to come to grips with the reality that many churches have lost their ability to connect with people who actually believe in God. We have to rethink evangelism because we have to rethink how we reach this group of people who believe in God but have not found a safe place in our churches.
“I believe the webcast will be an important equipping tool to challenge and inspire everyone in the church to help people find their way back to God.”
Exponential East speaker Hugh Halter adds, “If God could change the world through men and women who traveled by land and sea just to share the story of Christ, imagine what can happen when countless thousands of people around the world share the story of Christ through a webcast!”
“New technology is going to help take powerful ideas that are changing the game in the United States and make them accessible across the globe,” says author Alan Hirsch, a thought leader and key mission strategist for churches across the Western world. “It’s all about movement. Very exciting.”
 For a detailed schedule of the webcast and a full list and description of the five key areas that Exponential 2014 will explore, go to exponential.org/webcast.
Anyone wanting to participate in the webcast experience can register for free at exponential.org/webcast. During the live webcast, participants will receive periodic emails alerting them to upcoming sessions and speakers.
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Founded in 2008, Exponential is a growing movement of leaders committed to accelerating the multiplication of healthy, reproducing churches. Providing a national platform and distribution channels for championing church planting, Exponential spotlights and spreads actionable thought leadership (principles, ideas and solutions) through conferences, magazines, books, digital media and learning communities. Exponential is one of the premiere distribution channels of church planting resources for hundreds of national influence leaders, including Francis Chan, Alan Hirsch, Rick Warren, Matt Chandler and Mike Breen. For more information, visit exponential.org.

Is Your Church Millennial Friendly?

Is Your Church Millennial Friendly?

By Vanderbloemen Search Group
We’ve all heard something about millennials, some good, some bad. I am one of them, and believe me, I’ve heard it all. We are obsessed with technology and social media, selfies, and individualism. Education rates in America are increasing but for some reason church attendance is falling. Young people are leaving, and it’s a sad trend. A recent study by Barna Group found that only two out of every ten people under the age of thirty believe church attendance is important. When asked, millennials often say the reasons they don’t attend church have to do with hypocrisy, not feeling they can bring their doubts in, and the overall sense that God is missing in the church.
So what is it that millennials are looking for? Why are some churches successful in attracting this generation and others are not? Here’s a list of five things that young people find important and engaging in church.

1. Genuineness

We’re tired of hearing “feel-good” messages without real, lasting substance. Having a pastor and team of leaders speaking about the gospel with wisdom and discernment brings God and his Word to life.
Francis Chan summed it up in Crazy Love like this, “Have you ever wondered if we’re missing it? It’s crazy if you think about it. The God of the universe – the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and e-minor – loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you’ve verbalized it yet or not…we all know something’s wrong.”
This is the attitude and rut so many churches get stuck in that is not attractive to millennials. It’s conviction and honesty that young people are looking for in a church; genuineness about God’s word and genuineness toward other people. They want to find a place that not only emphasizes the love and sacrifice of God, but the real relationship with Him and how it applies to their lives. Church shouldn’t just be a place to go on Sunday that will give us a boost and make us feel good about ourselves. It should be a place that people can be real, open, and honest while studying the Bible and trying to look more like Jesus.

2. A sense of home

When reading through Acts, the church looks a lot like a family. God has adopted us as his sons and daughters. So why do we not always welcome everyone into our churches with open arms? Millennials are looking for a place that they feel comfortable, welcomed, and not judged, a place that they can be themselves and not hide behind the mask we all so easily can put on.
Our parents influence us far more than we often realize. Whether they were there for you through thick and thin, or your dad walked out on your family, these things shape us. So many millennials have been greatly affected by divorce or strife in their family. The great thing about God is that he can help overcome these seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We are looking for a place with relationships and restoration that maybe have been missing in our actual family. God can rectify this, but young people want and need churches that have open doors and smiling faces, filled with love and compassion.

3. Opportunities to get involved and serve outside of the church

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20).
In a society and generation where it seems that people are more focused on themselves than ever, Christian millennials are embracing the concept of missions and serving. With more and more opportunities to engage in short-term mission trips, either overseas or within the United States, young people are stepping up and accepting this call. Getting more involved in their communities helps form connections with church members and brings a sense of fulfillment of God’s will. Churches that offer outlets of serving and ministry are not only living Biblically, but are enticing millennial involvement as well.

4. Diversity

Even though sometimes our generation thinks we know it all, in reality we need and want spiritual guidance and wisdom from others. Having a community of believers that is diverse both in age and background not only makes everyone feel welcome, it is Biblical. A passage of scripture that we hear all the time talks about the different members of our body and how they work together to create us. The church is the same way, with each person bringing their unique, individual self to the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-30). Young and old, rich and poor, black and white all are a part of God’s Kingdom. This is appealing to millennials because of the increasingly globalized, diverse world and society we live in. We want to get outside of our little bubble of people just like us and get to hear about the experiences of others.

5. Worship and music

This may sound trivial, but the musical aspect of worship services is a huge “make it or break it” for millennials. When you walk in to a worship service for the first time, after you make it past the greeters and coffee stand, the first thing you hear (hopefully besides welcoming voices) is music. As a generalization, young people prefer contemporary services with a band and music that is fresh and well-done. The music is often the thing that stands out the most when remembering what a service was like. Songs are powerful when they speak directly to the heart and for this generation, that’s one of the most important aspects of church. Millennials want high-quality worship music that offers more than just a good foot-tapping beat, but delves into the gritty nature of the human heart.
This generation is looking for a real experience of coming face-to-face with God and His purpose. Learning and loving the true nature of God will look different for everyone, but it’s our job as Christians to share and show what He is like to all generations.
What are other ways to attract and involve the millennials in your community?