Killing Cockroaches to Embrace Change

I just got my copy of the book, Killing Cockroaches, by Tony Morgan. Although I haven’t thought of change as the need to kill cockroaches, I can see the connection as I read this book. In the section on Embracing Change, Morgan quotes Sir Francis Bacon,

“If we are to achieve results never before accomplished, we must expect to employ methods never before attempted.”

Thus, we have to kill those cockroaches before we can embrace change. Morgan goes on to state that God loves the fresh and the new. God shows us this love every spring as life begins to sprout anew to glorify God. God even tells us of his love in Isaiah 43:18-19:

Forget the former things;
Do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new Thing!
Now it springs up;
Do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
And streams in the wasteland.

Are we willing to embrace change?
Are we willing to let God show us something new and wonderful?

Notes for Young Clergy

Many young clergy in the United Methodist Church are taking action to renew the denomination. Part of that action is their 40 days of prayer campaign to coincide with the annual conferences. Another aspect of that action has been to host booths at annual conferences asking attendees to dream about the future of the denomination.

Although I haven’t visited one of their booths, I would like to add my thoughts to the discussion.

1. Keep faith centered on Jesus
2. Keep church centered on Jesus
3. Don’t compromise on 1 or 2
4. Teach us
   • Who God is
   • What God’s word says
   • What God expects of me
   • How to apply God’s word to my life
   • Importance of tithing
   • Importance of small group participation
   • Ways to pray — providing examples
   • Importance of daily scripture reading and reflection
5. Touch our hearts
   • show us the need for mission
   • show us the results of our missions
6. Do it all again – every year – because we tend to forget
7. Lose environment of competition
   • size of church doesn’t matter — all have strong / weak points and jealousy hinders sharing of ideas
8. Continue developing your network of clergy – it’s open, sharing and supportive of each other
9. Find joy wherever you are
   • realize that God has placed you in a position to do his work in that geographical area
   • be willing to do your best for as long as God wants you there
   • remember the grass is not greener elsewhere
10. Find a faith partner to encourage each other in faith and share challenges
11. Be open to teaching of others – both inside and outside of the denomination — look for ways to apply to own situation

UMC and Consolidation

I just read Adam Hamilton’s post on “General Motors and UMC” along with most of the comments. This post along with the tweet, “In the state of Kansas, 47% of UM churches had 0 professions of faith” quoting Bishop Jones from the Kansas West Conference reinforces my feelings that the church needs to prayerfully consider both the issue of discipleship and small churches.

Unlike most of the people who commented on Hamilton’s GM post, I am not a pastor. Nor do I attend a large UM church. I am a member of a small rural church in Kansas that is part of a 4 point charge. Even though we average between 40 and 50 in church each Sunday, we are the largest church in the charge.

Unfortunately, I don’t believe closing the churches will be successful if evaluated on the basis of advancing the kingdom of God. Most of these communities still remember school consolidation and see their church as an essential part of the community. They are linking the loss of the church to the loss of the community. I sincerely doubt that they would drive to my community for worship. Nor, would the members of my church be willing to drive to a neighboring community with a larger church for worship.

Thus, I think the denomination needs to find a compromise. I totally agree with most of the comments about the need for excellence in worship leadership. I also agree with Sam Fisher’s comment about the need for a personal connection with the pastor. With technology, it is possible to deliver the excellent worship experience. Would it be possible to utilize the ‘tent maker’ concept and technology to deliver worship in small settings while having the regional pastor to provide the human link? This would require a willingness of that regional pastor to “give up” some of the preaching in order to become more of a shepherd for the flock.

Perhaps the young clergy movement has the answer – PRAYING for the church!

Exploring Web Ministry

Yesterday’s Communique contained information about an online learning opportunity thru the United Methodist church that intruqued me. I decided to investigate and am now enrolled in ‘What is Web Ministry.’ This course is one of several on the church’s Moodle site. So far, all I’ve done is to update my profile and participate in a forum by introducing myself and responding to others in the class. Now I’m ready for the next assignment which is to define web ministry.

For me, the hard part of this assignment is describing ministry since that isn’t my vocation while working with the web is .  A simple description might be working to advance the kingdom of Christ. This would involve a variety of tasks including preaching, teaching, prayer, Bible study, sharing, communicating and connecting. Many of these tasks can occur via the web.

However, if one limits their perception of web ministry to a web site and email, then they are not utilizing the full potential of the web. Collaborative sites, blogs, wikis, twitter, podcasts, vodcasts. Moodle, social networks and even sites such as Second Life all have potential uses for ministry.

The challenge comes in matching the web tool to the task and to the capabilities of those involved. For my church, not only is ease of use an issue, but also the amount of time required to utilize the tool. Another challenge in a small church with limited staff is getting the content – the raw material to work with.

I’m looking forward to expanding my knowledge in these areas as I progress thru this class.

Answering the Call

Christ commanded us to love and called us to tell his story. That call is reflected in the purpose of Church of the Resurrection (Leawood, KS).

To build a religious community where non-religious
and nominally religious people
become deeply committed Christians.

The recent success of their current sermon series, “When Christians Get It Wrong,” shows that COR is able to be sensitive to those with little religious background while providing strong Biblically based teaching. Not oly are they reaching those who see things wrong with Christians, they are also challenging people like me to change my behavior and to strengthen my faith.

COR is experiencing success with the Internet broadcasting of their worship services. In about three months, these two services have grown to over 900 ‘computers’ in attendance.

By making these services available on the Internet, there is potential to take a computer and a projector and see thousands brought to Christ. As I see it, the only stumbling block will be whether churches with the capability of projecting the service are willing to try utilizing the evening Internet broadcast to reach people in their communities not being reached by their local services.

Facing the Future

During his Jan. 4, 2009 sermon, Perry Noble spoke about God’s work during the nine year history of NewSpring Church. For me, this inspirational story of NewSpring’s success could be used by any church, large or small, including my small church, to evaluate what God is doing in the church and to see where God could lead us if we would be willing to follow. Below are my notes from this sermon — but I encourage you to watch it for yourself.

• When driving, if I take my eyes off of where I’m supposed to be going, I can cause a lot of damage. — Taking eyes off of Jesus causes serious damage!
• Perry prayed for a church were it is OK to be OK – No Perfect People Allowed
• Want to see crowds of people following Jesus. If I go to a crowded restaurant, I know that the food is good and the service is good. I won’t go to a restaurant with an empty parking lot. Why would I go to a church with one?
• God’s house should be the most crowded place on earth every Sunday.
• If you don’t like a big church, you won’t like Heaven. Heaven will be crowded and it won’t be all white.
• Jesus didn’t call perfect people to follow him. He called imperfect people.
• Disciples are to help people take one more step closer to Jesus.
• When you run from God, your life can get so bad it isn’t even funny.
• God created the church so his people could come together for a time of worship and praise and passion that we can’t experience by ourselves during the week.
• Why start a new church? It’s easier to birth a baby than to resurrect the dead.
• God can use other people to push us into unsafe places (new situations to grow his church).
• What would you be willing to do for God if you know it couldn’t fail? You’re a coward if you don’t do it.
• Denominations are dead. They are too focused on politics and not focused on Jesus. I believe God has removed his hand from them.
• Dream pray and think about what the church could be if focused on Jesus.
• If wondering why people aren’t getting saved in church, it’s because we’ve made the church about everything but Jesus.
• Create a place just about Jesus and the cross.
• What matters to God should matter to us — the church
• Want an environment where people come and know Christ
• Vision is not for sale. As a pastor, I’m answerable to God and not members of the church.
• It’s always about people meeting Jesus. We’re all messed up people. The goal is to get closer to Christ.
• When God has a plan, God will make the way. All you have to do is follow.
• Preaching his word – people get saved, lives are being changed
• Because we have a church about Jesus, God does something amazing.
• Always about people meeting Jesus. If he’s got them, he can keep them.

Changed Traditions

John 1: 43-46

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.”

Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked.
“Come and see,” said Philip.

• Nathaniel was caught up in a traditional mind set that almost caused him to miss Jesus.
• Am I caught in this mindset? Is my church?
• So caught up in traditions, they’re completely missing the Son of God for whom the church was created
• Church has never been about knowing the pastor — it’s about knowing Jesus.
• God called US to do it all (not just the pastor) and as we partner together more people are reached, more lives are changed and that’s what the church is supposed to be about.

Changed Lives

John 1: 47-49

When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”

“How do you know me?” Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.”

Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

• Nathaniel’s life changed rapidly
• When people get in the presence of Jesus, he changes lives
• Change a community one life at a time

Changed Perspective

John 1:50
Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.”

• Jesus said, “Wait to see what I’ve got for you.” Nathaniel’s mind was blown because he got in contact with Jesus. He saw water changed to wine, lepers healed, Jesus walk on water, multitudes fed. Lazurus raised, Jesus crucified, Jesus as the Risen Christ, 3000 saved
• Want a church whose mind is blown because it continually lifts up the name of Jesus

Brian Houston, Pastor of Hillsong United in Sydney, Australia wrote these words about his dream for his church. Perry quoted them as a dream for NewSpring Church.

“The church that I see is a church of influence.  A church so large in size that the city and nation cannot ignore it. A church growing so quickly that buildings struggle to contain the increase.

I see a church whose heartfelt praise and worship touches heaven and changes earth.  Worship which influences the praises of people throughout the earth exalting Christ with powerful songs of faith and hope.

I see a church whose alters are constantly filled with repentant sinners responding to Christ’s call to salvation.

Yes, the church that I see is so dependent on the Holy Spirit that nothing will stop it not stand against it.

A church whose people are unified, praying and full of God’s Spirit.

The church that I see has a message so clear that lives are being changed forever and potential is fulfilled though the power of His Word.  A message beamed to the peoples of the earth through their television screens.

I see a church so compassionate that people are drawn from impossible situations into a loving and friendly circle of hope, where answers are found and acceptance is given.

I see a people so kingdom-minded that they will count whatever the cost and pay whatever the price to see revival sweep this land.

The church that I see is a church committed to raising, training and empowering a leadership generation to reap the end-time harvest that all its ministries are consumed with this goal.

I see a church whose head is Jesus, whose help is the Holy Spirit and whose focus is the Great Commission.

Yes, the church that I see could well be our church.”

Becoming a House of Prayer

The book, The Prayer Saturated Church by Cheryl Sacks, provides guidance for starting a prayer ministry that can lead a church to becoming a house of prayer. The author recommends starting with a small prayer group that focuses upon God’s strategic goals for the church by asking God

• to bring vision to the pastor
• to appoint leaders to expand the church’s prayer ministry
• to increase the spiritual apetite of the congregation
• for a spirit of prayer to saturate the entire congregation
• to bring others into this small group praying for the church’s prayer ministry

Lord, please grant us the vision to become the church you want us to be.

Help each of us individually and as a congregation to have an increased spiritual appetite.

Allow a spirit of prayer to permeate our church reaching out to the entire congregation.

Amen

Asking Needed Questions

Notes from presentation by Perry Noble at Unleash 2008

If you are not going to use your church God would like it back so He can give it to someone who is going to use it for His glory.

Praying alarm goes off — so we realize

• God created church to reach the world
• Church attendance decreasing while population increasing — and we want to form study groups to study this issue
• We need the alarm so we can wake up and reach the world for Christ

1. What is it that God wants to do in my church?
   1. Too busy working to know what Father’s heart is
      • Get caught up in doing own thing own way
      • Not spending enough time with Father to know his vision
   2. If older son (parable of prodigal son) knew Father’s vision, he would have stopped “working” and gone to find the lost
   3. Time
      • Must spend passionate uninterrupted time with Father
      • Need revelation not just inspiration
      • If God didn’t tell you to do this, don’t do it — you’ll screw the whole thing up
      • Be who God called us to be, Do what God called us to do
        • World needs our church to be what God wants us to be — not what some other church is
        • Every church is individual to God
        • Quit telling God what he can’t do
   4. Effort
      • We need to go all out for God
      • Put on “best performance” for God
        • We offer half-hearted presentations and then blame it on the Holy Spirit
        • Holy Spirit won’t take the blame
      • Once you take something ordinary and overlay it with the best you have, God will move in and anoint it and use it for His glory like you’ve never seen
      • If going to reach the world for Christ — have to spend some money
        • Vegas is willing to spend billions on nothing and churches are arguing over nickels and dimes
        • Fund children’s programs — spend money on them
   5. God is calling us to do something unique
      • Listen to God
      • Have passion
      • Believe God can do what God is calling us to do
2. What are the barriers that stand in our way?
   • Refusal to change
     • Don’t allow personal preferences to get in way of what God wants to do in our church
       • Personal preferences can hamstring creative processes
     • Great ideas become old and will need to change
       • Hanging onto personal preferences keeps this needed change from happening
       • Need to kill old and bury it to get new (God buried Moses and told Joshua to move)
       • Honor, respect old but move on to new
   • Jealousy
     • Rejoice over success of others
     • Be careful what you speak against — because if God is in it you’ve spoken against the Holy Spirit
     • Learn that when God is moving somewhere to celebrate that
     • God will do great work in a church around you to see if your character can handle it
     • If you can’t celebrate others, God may say I can’t trust you with a blessing
   • Lack of understanding
     • Have no idea of what we’ve got ourselves into — don’t know what God has given us to know God’s heart
     • We have power of Holy Spirit, have the Word of God, have the blessing of God, have the anointing of God, have the calling of God, quit telling God we can’t do it
       • Should be able to go anywhere and grow a church for Jesus
3. What do we want to celebrate?
   • Our job is to tell world who Jesus is
   • Fear — made movements in churches about everything other than Jesus Christ
   • Church should lift up name of Jesus and Jesus Christ alone
   • Celebrate people meeting Jesus
     • Anytime something was lost and then found they celebrated
   • Pray to be set on fire
     • Don’t be comfortable with churches that don’t reach people

Church belongs to Christ

God has a plan

What is God’s plan for our church?

We need to beg for revelation

Lord, give us a detailed vision.
Lord, help us overcome our barriers.
Lord, help us to celebrate your success.
Lord, help us to embrace the new things we are called to do.

Thank you, Jesus

Feeling the Need

Notes from Perry Noble’s presentation during Unleash 2007

“Christianity is the most exciting thing
that happened to the planet
and it took 2000 years to make it boring.”

• We serve a Great God
• Desire to make Jesus famous

Why churches struggle

• Church is a confusing place if you don’t know the rules
• Most churches have attitude — if you don’t know our rules, then you don’t belong here
• America is seeking God like crazy and they’re not coming to church because we’re out of Jesus
• Our job — make Jesus famous

Improving the Church

1. Need creative environments
   • Need to work in every area to make church creative
   • Most visitors make their mind up about whether to come back within first 15 minutes
   • Every week is somebodies first time to hear about Jesus
   • Put people in environment where they can hear about Jesus
   • Should offer Jesus our best
   • Be good enough to steal something (ideas) and make it better
2. Look beyond ourself
   • Basically we’re selfish people
   • It’s not the great suggestion — it’s the Great Commission
   • What type of people do you want in your church
   • The time when they need grace the most — we say “hell to you” when we should be welcoming them
   • Just be glad they’re in church
   • What kind of people do we want?
   • Misconception about being “deep” — Deep is when you confuse the heck out of me so I can feel smarter but lacks applications so when I leave I don’t have to do anything for Jesus
   • Those wanting to be fed — show up ready — open your Bible
   • You can’t get your church too big — You can know everybody or you can know Jesus — you can’t know both
3. Need to pay attention (or we mess it up)
   • Get up — show world who Christ is
   • Don’t be afraid
   • Creative people become frustrated by lack of lead time to develop creative concepts for worship
   • Take steps to honor God
   • Don’t fear criticism
4. Focus on what matters
   • Ignore stupid, trivial matters that don’t matter
   • Jesus is the focus
   • People’s behavior won’t change until perspective changes — their perspective won’t change until they know Jesus

“What the church is called to do will matter for eternity.” Perry Noble

Random Reflections

Several years ago, our pastors announced that they were attending a conference on evangelism. At that time, I had a stereotypical view of evangelistic churches — and my view did not include the Methodist denomination. Even though I wasn’t sold on evangelism, I did participate in the book study that spring on evangelism. Since then, God has been working to enlighten me and I now recognize that my views were not in line with God’s mission.  

Last week, I attended a presentation by Nanette Roberts on Passionate Worship. During her presentation, she said that we need to remember the stories and to pass them on to the church.

Today, I watched the New Spring service from March 9th based on John 1:38-42 where Andrew goes and tells Simon about Jesus. This service emphasized that each of us is responsible for spreading God’s word. As a worship leader said toward the beginning of the message, I’ve always doubted my role, thinking “How can I have influence? Why would anyone listen to me?”

“Pierce our hearts with the message you want us to hear,” Newspring worship leader on March 9, 2008.

 Tony Morgan’s blog summary of Perry Noble’s presentation to Unleash 2008 provides great insight for leaders.

Perry Noble (March 9, 2008) 

“We can’t change anyone, it is Jesus that changes them,” Perry Noble (March 9, 2008)

Song: Come and Listen

Everyone of us can ask others to meet Jesus by inviting them to church — exactly what Andrew did 2000 years ago. (John 2:40-41)  We can’t change anyone — but Jesus can — if they meet him.