WELCOME BC PASTORS

A big hello to the great people from BC, Canada who are checking in on the blog. At Pastor's camp in BC this year, I got to know better David Solmes who is the Assistant Superintendent of the BC & Yukon District.

One late evening after coffee we got talking about missional living in context of smaller, solo church pastor setting. I was so impressed with his passion for people like you and me. He even set up a time so I could hang out with some of their people and we had an 1.5 hour visit during a long lunch break. It was great time of sharing vision, ideas as well as encouraging each other. Men and Women who are all in similar pastoral situations, be called to stand together and be proud that God has called us to make MAJOR kingdom impact wherever we are. We are in the vast majority of churches in the PAOC... most people over look us because we are smaller and smaller, even in our christian denominations, is seen as less important in the kingdom of God.

I have a vision to change that to all of our solo led churches are once again on the front edge of what God is doing. DO NOT FORGET... God chose David, the guy that no one even bothered to invite to come to the job interview, as His next KING... God greatly uses people that no one knows, in places that no one has heard of.... to revel His Glory...

David Solmes gets that and you, BC, are blessed to have a guy like him on your great BC leadership team. Check out his blog at http://leadforward.ca/.

Let us all come together, solo pastors across Canada and unite for the kingdom of God! ya...

-K

Transformational Small Church - FREE WEBCAST

Here is upcoming "online" seminar that you may like to participate in. If you are not familiar with these webinars... they are VERY good for us in smaller, solo church settings. Unless you want to be apart of the studio in Nashville, there is no need to register or pay anything.... yes a FREE seminar. So book off the day (Sept 7th)... bring your notebook and watch... better yet, get a few other solo pastor people together to watch... cool!
You get to learn and be challenged and again it does not cost your church a dime... nice....
I hope you join me online...
-K

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NASHVILLE, Tenn., 8/23/10 - Join Ed Stetzer, LifeWay Research director and "The Exchange" host, and LifeWay President Thom Rainer for a free live webcast devoted to "Transformational Small Churches."

The special, extended edition of "The Exchange" will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (CDT) Sept. 7. Pastors and church staff are invited to participate via computer or to be part of the studio audience as Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer discuss how small churches can apply elements revealed through LifeWay's "Transformational Church" initiative. Topics include vibrant leadership, relational intentionality, worship, and mission.

In addition to Stetzer and Rainer, an interdenominational panel of experts will discuss how small churches are making a biblical impact in the lives of their members and in their communities. The panelists will include David Gould, pastor of First Wesleyan Church, Nashville, Tenn.; Jason Whitehurst, pastor of Music City Assembly of God, Nashville, Tenn.; German Castro, pastor of El Shaddai Christian Church, Brentwood, Tenn.; John Racioppa, pastor of Westmoreland First Baptist Church, Westmoreland, Tenn.; Brian Bullard, pastor of Community Fellowship Baptist Church, Covington, Ga.; and Lynn Harper, pastor of Promised Land Missionary Baptist Church, Dallas.

A limited number of studio audience seats are available for $10 each, which includes lunch. Presenters and panelists will be answering questions submitted by participants throughout the day. Onsite participants interested in asking questions should bring a laptop as all question submissions will occur through a chat feature or Twitter.

The event will be available live at LifeWay.com/TheExchange at 10 a.m. on Sept. 7.

Event details:

Date: Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010

Time: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. (Onsite check-in begins at 9 a.m., and the online discussion group will open at 9:40 a.m.)

Cost: webcast viewer - Free

Location: LifeWay Christian Resources offices in downtown Nashville

Follow the Leader

A Francis Chan clip... GREAT preaching!!

Dave Wells on the church...

Today.... I was listening to Dave Wells on 100 Huntley Street on July 13, 2010... he was talking about the Chaplaincy program that he was apart of this past winter at the 2010 Olympics. At the end of the video the host asks Dave about Christian denominations today as the leader of a large evangelical denomination (the PAOC). Listen to what Dave says... what do you think?
-K

And We're Back

Hello!! Just wanted to do a quick update now that I am back in the "chair". We had a restful summer with lots of great discussions and meeting some great people...

Lots to talk about... lots to learn... thanks for joining us here online...

-K

A SUMMER BLOG TO READ

For many, summer is a time that people look for a good book(s) to read. Over the past while I have been putting a list together of Websites and blogs that I have found to be very good and helpful. These days the smaller church pastor has resources available to them like never before. Many big events are shown LIVE on the internet or post the material on line after for free. So the amount of listening and reading from some of the best godly minds are available to you wherever you live. Here is a short list of several blogs (etc) that I take some time to look at from time to time. If you have some also, please leave a comment and post them for all of us to look at.

ALSO... this will be my last post for the summer months as I will be away for a few weeks of down time. Have a great summer and HAPPY READING!

-Kevin


In addition to the the "Check out these Web pages" (VERY GOOD MATERIAL) part of this blog (lower right side)
Check out ...

Godly Sheep
the church of no people
wonders never cease
Kingdom people
A holy experience
donmiller
jamie the very worst missionary
Stuff Christians like
Ragamuffinsoul
Collide Magazine
Catalystspace

ENJOY YOUR SUMMER, rest, grow in Jesus AND READ LOTS!

I am for you!

-K

Matriarchy in the Smaller Church

"Matriarchy or gynecocracy refers to a gynecocentric form of society, in which the leading role is taken by the women"

I was reading an article this week by R. Albert Mohler, Jr. who was talking about the cover story written by Hanna Rosen in the Atlantic Magazine "The End of Men" (find it here). In Albert's post (here), of the same name, he said a few things that got me thinking about the role of women in our smaller churches. His main point is the concern about the disappearance of manhood. That was not the direction I was thinking. I was thinking of how important women are in so many of our churches. I know that if it was not for our ladies, we would have a VERY hard time keeping going as a church family. In our church our ladies are a HUGE help in our worship team (we have two female worship leaders) and all of our piano players are women. Most of our LifeGroup teachers are women, as well as our kids LifeGroup leaders (Sunday school). Most of the people who come to pray at our weekly prayer meeting are women. Women, who do their very best to honor the men that they live with, are intentionally missional. They often are the ones leading the way to passionate followership of Christ. Now I am not saying that there are no men that are doing this, but just that there are much fewer men doing this in our church. Even in our local ministerial, the last 3 out of 4 new leaders are now women. Also from what I hear from other people's churches (not all churches), they are also matriarchal in their make up. There are many comments that could be made from these observations. I, unlike Albert, do not think it is a negative thing that this is happening. I am SO thankful that women are responding to the gospel so willingly. I am glad that they are willing to bear the burden of the Cross of Christ and serve as unto the Lord.

It does bring up several questions though. How do we, as smaller churches, not communicate to the communities in which we live that the gospel is a women thing? How do we bring the gospel to men who do not know Christ? As our churches are more gynecocentric, how do be keep from feeling and looking feminine in our esthetics and in our services? It concerns me that in many of our church's ministry to men is reduced to a breakfast once or twice a month. It concerns me that most men from our community see me as not a "real" man because of my associate with Christ that they see as a women thing. Yet how do we change this perception?

SO tell me.. what ideas, ministries and plans that you have to see the gospel connect with more guys? The gospel was carried by mostly men in the book of Acts... the adventure, the risk, the suffering and the battles that are written on their pages is SO drawing to me as a guy and I believe to most guys. yet somehow we have presented a gospel that is safe... easy... boring and not worth the risk to many men... and that is the reason men are so disengaged. As smaller church we need our ladies, yet how do we appeal to the masculine heart that longs for adventure and risk with the message of Christ? I would love to read your thoughts! Please comment...

Video from Sunday

Here is a video from GOD TUBE that I showed on Sunday... I am glad it was a blessing to so many people... it is very well done...

-PK

Five Strategic Advantages of Small Churches

Pastor Doug Braun from Melville suggested this article by Brandon O'Brien author of the book "The Strategically Small Church" is worth reading. For more information about Brandon and this upcoming book click here.
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For the past thirty years or so, the focus of most literature on local church ministry has been church growth. Whether they offer advice on how to develop a winning vision statement, attract and retain visitors, multiply your small groups, or manage a building campaign, the dominant voices in the most popular ministry literature promise to help you increase attendance in your services and programs. These materials suggest that the small church is somehow deficient, ill-equipped by definition to be stewards of God’s great Gospel of grace and redemption. If a small church wants to be better, it has to be bigger.
Frankly, I disagree. I believe that small churches—which, by the way, make up the majority of churches—are uniquely equipped for ministry success in the twenty-first century. In the following paragraphs, I offer five strengths that I believe are inherent in small congregations. These qualities are not limited to small churches only; they can be found in larger churches, too. But smaller churches can better leverage these characteristics for ministry success.

Authenticity
“Authenticity” has become an important American value. Authors James Gilmore and Joseph Pine claim in their best-selling book, Authenticity, that instead of searching for high-quality goods and services, “people increasingly make purchase decisions based on how real or fake they perceive various offerings.” This consumer value has influenced what people look for in a church. Almost intuitively, church leaders recognize that their church needs to be perceived as authentic if they want people to visit and come back. Spend a few minutes looking at church websites online, and you’ll find “About” pages describing churches as having “authentic worship,” “authentic community,” and “authentic service.”
These instincts seem to be accurate. A poll at the Web site ChurchMarketingSucks.com reveals that the number one reason people return to churches after an initial visit is because they deem the church “authentic.” The next most popular reason is the pastor’s preaching. The church’s programs only pulled five percent of the vote.
What this means for churches is that authenticity is a consistent factor in a person’s choice to join a worshiping community. In his book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them, Ed Stetzer writes, “One hundred percent of churches [we] interviewed, deemed effective at reaching young people by our criteria, hold authenticity as one of their highest values or have a commitment to being authentic.”
At this risk of oversimplifying this complex issue, I offer two statements to get us thinking about what authenticity means for the local church, and why smaller churches are at an advantage for putting it to work.
First, be yourself. My first pastorate was in a tiny country church many miles from the nearest street light. Our music was off-key; my preaching was fair to middling at best. But college students showed up in droves, because they appreciated the unpretentious, “authentic” community we fostered. If we had tried to “glam up” the worship service, we would have turned these students away. As Mike Sares, pastor of Scum of the Earth church, says, “The more glitzy something is, the less people trust it.” The more glitzy, “professional” worship services at larger churches can turn off some worshipers who are looking for a more authentic worship experience.
Second, make sure your behavior lines up with your stated convictions. Large churches can struggle with this not because they are less faithful, but simply because their size can be a liability. Churches of all sizes will claim to be a family, but the larger the church, the more likely it is to be run like a business—the worship and programming becomes professionalized, and congregants become less directly involved in the church’s ministry. Small churches, on the other hand, more often truly function as a family—with all the blessings and challenges that includes.
Lean and Focused
One reason larger churches can attract attendees from across a region is because they have the resources to offer a little something for everyone. According to the Hartford Institute for Religious Research, megachurches provide “many ways by which people [can] craft their unique, customized spiritual experience to meet their needs.” Smaller churches often don’t have the financial resources or the volunteer pool to run a broad schedule of church programs. Not to worry.
Instead of running a multitude of generic programs, a better use of resources and energy in the small church is to zero in on one or two programs that focus on the unique needs of your local context. A smaller congregation can benefit from learning to value depth over volume. They can channel their limited resources into a smaller number of programs and potentially do these fewer things with greater depth and effectiveness.
Eleven years ago, Edgewater Baptist Church in Chicago felt called to reach out to its community by meeting a neighborhood need. There were plenty of needs. The neighborhood houses a large gay community, is the American home of a large population of Bosnian refugees, and faces the challenges of homelessness. Given the church’s size—around 130 members—its leadership realized it needed to focus on only one of these issues. There were already a couple of gay outreach programs in the area and a Bosnian church plant in the neighborhood, but one important need that wasn’t being addressed was a lack of childcare for less affluent neighbors. The children of working parents had nowhere to go after school until the end of the work day.
So Edgewater Baptist started Safeplace, an afterschool program and summer day camp that provides space and time for kids to work on homework, play games, and learn about abstinence, nutrition, and other practical health and safety issues. The church’s decision to subsidize tuition demanded that it streamline its programming, but Safeplace is now Edgewater Baptist’s single major ministry.
And their commitment has paid off: over 120 kids regularly attend Safeplace during the school year, and even more attend the summer day camp.
If several of your church members work at a nearby school and feel compelled to ensure the quality of education for the children in your neighborhood, perhaps your church’s unique ministry could focus on adopting the local school and providing mentors, tutors, and scholarships for extracurricular activities. If a majority of your congregation works at the local mill, perhaps your church should consider providing whatever support is necessary and unique to the people in that profession. The possibilities are as unique and endless as the neighborhoods we live in, our church’s gifts, and the families we want to reach for Christ.

People-powered
If a small church limits the number of programs it runs, then the lion’s share of the church’s ministry will have to come from its members. One creative way small churches are addressing this challenge is by finding ways to equip their congregants to minister where they are already active during the week. Chances are you have parents in your congregation who are active in the PTA. Perhaps someone is active in prison ministry or in some form of compassion ministry to the homeless or dispossessed. Rather than pressuring church members to turn all their gifts and service churchward, some small-church pastors are learning that their ministry has a greater impact in its community when they equip and encourage their people to keep serving where they are already active.
Empowering and releasing members to minister in the community requires that you know your congregants well enough to know what they are passionate about, gifted for, and already involved in. In other words, this strategy for ministry plays to one inherent strength of the smaller congregation—the pastor often knows his or her flock intimately and can more directly help congregants discover how to turn their regular responsibilities and unique giftedness into ministry opportunities.

Intergenerational relationships
The statistics are sobering: Some commentators project that nearly 80 percent of young people who grow up in church and youth programming end up leaving the church by the time they reach college. Sociologist Christian Smith says that the reasons teens give for leaving aren’t dramatic. “Many cannot explain their disengagement from religion,” he explains. “Many seem simply to have drifted.” Thom and Sam Rainer state the matter more succinctly: “Churchgoing students drop out of the church because it is not essential to their lives.”
Fortunately, there is hope. In her research through the Fuller Youth Institute, Kara Powell has discovered a common denominator among young adults who continue to make the local church a vital part of their lives. Students who actively seek a church home after high school are those who have had meaningful relationships with other adults in the church besides their parents. Those who had been given opportunities to serve younger children in the church were also more likely to view the church as important to their lives. In other words, intergenerational relationships within the church are an important factor in making sure young people keep the faith.
Small churches may feel the weight of this topic even more heavily than larger ones. Even as I write this, there are families in our church that are considering leaving because our children’s and youth programs don’t appeal to their kids. But some small churches have discovered that the solution to the generation problem may be counter-intuitive; instead of providing more exciting age-specific ministries, they find hope by bringing the generations together. Whether in the worship service, Sunday school, or through service projects, these churches look for ways to develop relationships across generational lines. And for this effort, the smaller the church the better! In large congregations, the generations have few opportunities to intermingle; in smaller churches, opportunities abound.

Ministry on the Margins
According to the Hartford research referenced above, the largest churches attract a fairly well-defined demographic. The average age of a megachurch attendee is 40. Nearly a third of them are single and, on the whole, the megachurch crowd is more educated and wealthier than the average members of smaller churches. In terms of distribution, there tend to be more megachurches in suburban rather than in urban or rural areas.
But which churches are reaching the people who fall outside this demographic and location? Small churches. Some pastors, including megachurch pastor Dave Gibbons, are finding that smaller churches can become an integral part of the local fabric of their communities and reach the people on the margins who often are not attracted to larger congregations. Dave was leading an ever-growing mega-ministry in the Los Angeles area when he felt a clear call from God to minister to the down-and-out and overlooked. At the core of his change of heart was a radical realization: For his calling to reach people on the margins, size was a liability. So instead of continuing to grow his church into an ever-larger megachurch, the congregation now expands its ministry reach by planting small churches worldwide. Dave calls these congregations of between 30 and 300 people “verges,” because they are “a convergence of the best features of a small and a large church.” They provide the critical mass necessary to remain energetic about mission, but they are intimate enough to be conducive to authentic community.
For Dave, smaller, nimbler congregations are the only way to reach the margins. In fact, he believes that congregations of 300 and smaller are “going to be the most effective in many places around the world.” He doesn’t think “bigness is going to fit most people or most cultural contexts where the church needs to grow.”
Recognizing these qualities of small churches as strategic advantages may require rethinking ministry success. None of them is guaranteed to grow a church numerically (nothing is, in fact), but fostering the authenticity that comes more naturally to your smaller church will make your church a safe place for the disillusioned. Streamlining programming and fostering people-powered ministry can make your smaller church a more integral, visible part of the local community. Intergenerational relationships can increase the percentage of youth who persevere in the faith, and ministry to people on the margins extends the gospel to populations that other bigger churches fail to reach. These efforts may not be as glamorous as church growth strategies. But they will equip us to participate in Kingdom growth—to watch how God can take our mustard seed and turn it into great harvest for his glory.
Brandon O’Brien is editor at large for Leadership journal and a writer for their popular blog, Out of Ur. Brandon served as pastor of two small congregations right out of college and is now a doctoral student in Christian History at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Learn more from Brandon at his blog and in his upcoming book, The Strategically Small Church.

Hey everyone... here is a video sermon from Dr. Ed Stetzer that refocuses our pastoral roles.
If we are going to move our people into seeing themselves as missional (missionaries in their community) people... we need to look in the mirror to see how well we are encouraging this...

Tell me.... what do you think of this video?
-K





NOTES:

1) Reconsideration of Leadership

a) From superman to everyone
b) From church to kingdom
c) From me to we
d) From personal power to people empowerment

2) Rejection of Clergification

a) From three tiers to one mission
b) From "called to the ministry" to "called to ministry"
c) From "called to missions" to "sent on mission"
d) From exceptional to ordinary
e) From "priests" to a "priesthood of believers"

3) Renewed focus on mission

a) From "full service" to "simple mission"
b) From "pay, pray, and get out of the way" to "join God on His mission"
c) From decisionism to disciple making
d) From "mission statement" to "Jesus mission"
Luke 4
Luke 19:10

4) Realignment of priorities

a) God is a missionary God
b) I personally join Him on mission - modeling
c) I lead others to join Him on mission - leadership
d) I equip others - multiplication

Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox

You most likely know about this already, but on the small possibility you have not... I would recommend to you Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox.

It is a free email resource and is FULL of great articles, information and ideas.

Click here to sign up for it today.

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Smaller Churches UNITE!!

I am not sure all of what I was hoping this blog would accomplish, but I was hoping that those of us who serve, in the name of Jesus, smaller churches could come together and encourage, inspire, motivate and connect together a little here. So far it has not had the response that I had hoped. I know it has not been a long time since we began and I am also not so sure just how many people know about this blog.

So here is the deal...I really think this is a great idea and I am committed to try to connect us all. It is time consuming and we all have so little of that it seems, so not wanting to be writing with no one reading or without you all participating in the discussion...so how about I will keep blogging till the end of October 2010 and re-evaluate then... that take us through summer and after the fall kickoff. What do you think???

I really believe that if we all joined together and UNITE in mission as smaller churches and as pastoral leaders... I think we could have a great effect on our country...

I am for you...

-K

Living SENT... not living "STAID" : PART 4

Here is the last of the articles from Ed Stetzer...

In the first three parts of this series, we examined how we need a better hierarchy, better language and better understanding. In this concluding post, I'll demonstrate why I think we need better structures as well, if we want to fully involve all of God's people in all of God's mission.

When I speak of structures, please do not let your mind run to bureaucracy, for that can be discussed at another time. Instead, think about how the people and activities of a congregation are interconnected to one great value--the mission of God. It seems obvious that most churches speak often of God's mission but are inactive. It is time for less talking and more walking.

One structural glitch that needs to be changed is the compartmentalizing of mission as a separate ministry in churches. It is true that someone has to champion that cause, but it is not Bob or Sue's job to do missions on behalf of others. The "mission champion" needs to move everyone toward mission in all that the church does.

Moving toward mission means that all ministry efforts have as their primary goal the same goal God has, which is His glory being displayed among the panta ta ethne, the peoples of the world. So, whether it is the nursery, elementary classes, middle-school or intergenerational small groups, the goal can never be Seven Steps to Happier Living, but the role those gathered people play in God's mission.

Avoid allowing mission to be a silo of ministry--just one thing among the many things we do. We should lead our mission leaders to cross-pollinate each ministry with the mission of God. "How does what we do demonstrate a partnership in God's mission in the world?" should be the defining question from the children's worship planning team to the ushers to the personnel team to the homeless ministry.

By moving beyond compartmentalization, leaders can promote the entirety of the mission. It has been said, "You cannot expect what you do not inspect." When it comes to our mission, "What you promote is what gets participation." The mission of God must be celebrated and taught by the lead pastor. It must be in all printed material. The social media of the church should carry the theme of God's mission so it does not degenerate into the mundane of fellowship meal menu. It must be the focus of the music and singing. Songs like This Is My Father's World, God of This City, and Jesus, Hope of the Nations create directed thinking toward the plans and purposes of God including His glorious triumph.

Additionally, turning an old American Express commercial on its ear, membership should have its responsibilities. Consider having regular participation in some expression of international engagement as a membership requirement. Find a way for the accountants to be involved, the brick masons, the plumbers, the teachers, the day-care workers, as well as the pastoral team! If part of the dilemma is seeing missions as "preaching," then provide opportunities for the people with regular jobs to put their expertise to work in a cross-cultural setting. If not among Peruvians, then perhaps among the Pima in Arizona.

Structure should lead toward the fulfillment of mission, even when it celebrates the past workings of God's grace. Do not wait to celebrate what you hope to become; celebrate what you want to become. In an era that has touted "permission-giving" structures, we need to simply press ahead and insist on commission-giving environments. As our churches hold to better hierarchy, language and understandings of mission, then the members will naturally gravitate to the mission. We should commission believers to participate in cross-cultural mission at every level. Though we must not devalue the work that vocational cross-cultural missionaries do, our flat world affords everyone the opportunity to cross previously insurmountable boundaries.

For the missionaries who have traveled from your church or denomination to live in a foreign place, keep them in touch with those still on the home field. Encourage them to update their Facebook page or blog. "Beam them up" via SKYPE during the main worship gathering and get a live report. Host an authentic ethnic dinner night with reports about the home country. Distribute prayer guides about global mission efforts to influential leaders. Do a regular "Nations Focus" in Sunday worship.

Not only are the possibilities truly endless, they truly are necessary in order to give us better structures through which we can involve all of God's people in all of God's mission.

The work of mission is given to the church. If you are a leader, then it is your great privilege to lead believers into God's continuing mission of reconciliation. Doing so, we must not allow anyone to sit aside believing its work is for others. As Emil Brunner has said, "The church exists by mission, just as fire exists by burning." Every believer should be consumed and concerned to stand amongst the burning embers of God's great mission.

Be sure to read parts one, two, and three of this series.

Researching Canada

At the national PAOC convention in May 2010, Dr. Ed Stetzer made a presentation using research that was done in Canada by LifeWay Research.

You can find the aritcile, with all the VERY helpful links and Slide shows HERE. I encourage you to read it... look at the stats, download the powerpoint then show it to your people....

God is speaking to His church... let us listen and with His help join him on His mission to reach Canada.

I am for you!
-K

Why has the CHURCH forgotten???

What has happened that so many people who have said that they are His followers yet have stepped back from following the LORD with all their heart and lives? What has happened that those "called out ones", HIS church, have lost their understanding of what the church designed purpose is?

Jesus still desires for us to be empowered by His Spirit for the purpose that he has created them for, but it seems like so many of God's called out ones do NOT know that that is or (if they do know) do not want to do that anymore.

Some may be sad at this BUT I think that GOD is stirring His people again and this is a GREAT opportunity we have been given. It also encouraged me GREATLY as I am hearing spiritual leader after spiritual leader saying the same things alone the same lines.

I don't know if you heard about this, but on Pentecost Sunday, Rick Warren told his church that "If you want to remain a passive Christian, find another church."The Christian Post writes:

“Pastor Rick Warren has a message for the some 20,000 people who attend Saddleback Church: If you want to remain a passive Christian, find another church. During last week’s sermon (Pentecost Sunday), Warren laid out a plan for Saddleback's next "Decade of Destiny" in which he's anticipating exponential growth. And the plan has no room for fake Christians, he indicated. "Let me just be honest with you as somebody who loves you. If you passively just want to sit around in the next 10 years and just waste your life on things that won't last, you probably want to find another church because you're not going to really feel comfortable here. Because if you're in this church, I'm coming after you to be mobilized," said the renowned southern California pastor. Saddleback celebrated its 30th anniversary last month and in preparation for the megachurch's next decade, Warren took the congregation back to the first church in the New Testament for a look at what "real Christianity" is all about.

"There are a lot of things done in the name of Christianity in the church that Jesus Christ would disavow," he lamented. "There's fake Christianity, there's phony Christianity, there's pseudo-Christianity."I want us to look at the real deal. What does it mean to really be a follower of Jesus Christ?" Unfortunately, the churches and Christians he sees today in the 21st century are a far cry from how they were in the first century, he noted. Aligning Saddleback with the DNA of the original church – which grew from 120 believers to dominating the Roman Empire within 300 years – Warren directed the congregation to adopt and strengthen eight characteristics of real Christianity as found in the book of Acts. One of those is “mobilizing everybody from kids to seniors” "Everybody's a minister," he stressed. "In the original church, there were no audiences. Rather, everyone was a contributor and participator which led to the tremendous growth of Christianity"

As I edited the article a bit, you can find the whole version of it here.

I think it is safe to say to 20,000 people "find another church" if you are not willing to join us on mission. Do we, do I, have the courage to say that our church of 100 people or less? What if they take us up on it? What if they leave... then we would not have a job...

....but what if they don't..... but hear your passion for joining the LORD in his purpose for which the church has been created. What if they say YES LORD YES.... I think they might...

Maybe we need to be more concerned of communicating prophetically to our Church that if we do not join the LORD on His mission... we all are at risk of loosing something VERY dear to us...

In May 2010, Zondervan publishing is releasing a book by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay called “The Gathered AND Scattered Church” .

Read these quotes from the book;

“God’s church is a missional church, a community that is sent and given away for God’s purposes. While I believe the unsent church is still God’s church, she is a bride that has lost much of her intrigue and beauty. For God’s church to reemerge in your local church, you must be willing to let the bride become beautifully sent. You must allow God to send you, to send your ­people, and you must begin to see yourself as part of a larger story of God’s mission, which began with Abram and continues today through leaders who desire to see God’s marvelous ways change the course of history.”

They go on to write...

“I believe that God’s ­people want to go BIG! They’re tired of being the unsent church— weary of church ser­vices, sermons, in-house programs, and Bible studies that never push them out and challenge them to really be the missional ­people God has called them to be. “

I BELIEVE that this is THE time for you as a solo pastor in a smaller church to call your people to go out and be the people God has created them to be as part of HIS church...

I am for you...

-K

Living SENT not living "STAID" : PART 2

Here is part two of the article I posted last. You can find the PART THREE (of three) HERE...

"Words have meaning. It is because words have meaning that we should take care in how we use them when speaking on the mission of God, and it is because words have meaning that we should use intentional language to involve all of God's people in all of God's mission. Words build and words destroy. Words cast vision and words halt progress. And words have the ability to lead toward a preferred future.
In church life, some words have become so codified that they may as well form a second Decalogue. Come forward, Bow your heads and close your eyes and the like are pregnant with both intended and unintended meaning. If we are to involve all of God's people in all of God's mission, we need to ensure that our articulations match our intentions.

Two decades ago, Lesslie Newbigin wisely reminded us of the need to consider context in language: "In some cultures a dog is seen as a member of the household and an object of affection; in others it is primarily a scavenger and an object of contempt. The word 'dog' has distinctly different meanings in the two cultures, and the full meaning of the word can never be exhaustively specified" (The Gospel in a Pluralist Society). In the same way that the context of dog has to be explored, the context of words like mission, missional, and global engagement must be explored and explained.
The second thing, therefore, that we need to involve all of God's people in all of God's mission is better language.
The government makes a distinction between military and civilian so that we will all recognize who is tasked with defending the country and fighting wars--the military. Leaders in the church have made an unhelpful distinction by the use of the words clergy and laity. The unintended consequence is that we are left with the impression that one group is tasked with engaging in ministry--the clergy. We know that is not so, so why not stop speaking as if it is?
It will help all of God's people to be involved in all of God's mission if we will do the work of both defining the mission and choosing an appropriate cultural articulation of the mission. As Stephen Neil has said, "When everything is mission, nothing is mission." The mission of God cannot be the catch-all that includes everything from folding bulletins, to picking up trash on the highway, to coaching a ball team, to the gospel infiltrating a previously unreached people.
Admittedly, this is made no easier by the fact that some terms cannot be agreed upon across Christendom. Try coming to unity on the meaning of kingdom or a solid definition for missional. You'll find a difficult task awaits. What can take place, however, is a local church can choose words that convey meaning in the context of that body. In turn, those words can define the mission of God, the work of the church and the role of the members. When that happens, all the members of your church can be involved in all of God's mission.
As we do this, I believe a church seeking to involve each member in God's mission--a component of any missional church--will intentionally include the motive of God's glory to be expressed among the nations. It is impossible to separate the mission of God from the glory of God since His glory is the goal of His mission. God's glory among every tongue tribe and nation can and should be a theme for every church. Habakkuk reminds us, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD's glory, as the waters cover the sea" (2:14, HCSB).
So emphatic is God about His glory being displayed throughout the earth, that I don't think a church should call itself missional unless it is seeking to serve locally, plant nationally, and engage an unreached people group globally. Without a global vision, there will always be a missing focus resulting in a church out of balance. Rather than saying "all Christians are missionaries," I prefer to say, "All Christians ought to be on God's global mission." Remember, words have meaning. As we are careful to take context into account in our local churches, using words that clearly communicate what the mission is and what it requires, we can see a move toward all of God's people being involved in all of God's mission.

Living SENT not living "STAID" : PART 1

Here is a great article from Ed Stezer... it was posted today on the Christian Post.  I am continually amazed at How the Lord is speaking so clearly to His church. 

Read it and tell me what you think?

"Most church leaders struggle with the ongoing issue of the people in the pews being passive spectators rather than active participants.

• 

Before we can consider how to help the patient we need a proper diagnosis, and a proper diagnosis begins with the question: How much of the problem is my/our fault - the very church leaders who are trying to solve it? Or, if not our fault, then the unintended side effect of our actions?

Consider, for instance, the architecture of most churches. People enter and sit in rows (like shelves at Wal-Mart) all facing the same direction (the stage) where performers alternately bless us, if things are going well, or entertain us, if they are not. By default, our gathering areas tend to passivity rather than activity. As a result, what members are asked to do when they leave the gathering is the opposite of what they were asked to do an hour ago when we were together.When we leave it's "Go and change the world," but when we are gathered it's more of "Hey, sit still and listen. Welcome to Coma Land. We'll wake you when it's over."

We need to engage all of the church in the activity God has for them. Our goal should be to move them from sitting in parallel rows to living in interconnected circles so that they might be engaged in the work of God wherever they go. It seems there are at least four ways that we can more effectively engage all of God's people in all of God's mission. These will be proposed and explored in this and three following posts.

First, we need a better hierarchy. I realize that many people may actually have a violently negative physical reaction to my use of the world hierarchy, but the fact remains that organisms require organization in order to remain healthy as they grow. A body without a skeleton may brag about its flexibility, but others will quickly point out its uselessness. There will always be a need for organization. Even if it is an organization of house churches, those single cells need structure. Our challenge is the right kind of structure.  Hierarchy sounds very "high church" coming from a "low church" evangelical like myself. But simply put, it is merely the system that a church utilizes to link the church together in its ministry and lead people to engage in God's missionary endeavor.

But, in church life we typically divide Christians into three tiers, beginning with "the lay people." These are generally viewed, and often complained about, as passive spectators. They show up on Sunday, have positions and help the ministry to function, but they are not the "professional ministers." They have other jobs like plumber, politician, homemaker and candy striper. You know - real jobs.  Next on the perceived ladder of church life (or calling) are those who have been "called to the ministry." These are the people paid to do the work of the ministry, i.e., Senior Pastors, Associate Pastors, Worship Leaders, and the rest of the "leadership team." They have answered the "call to the ministry," been trained, and now are the ones who do the ministry. Why not? They are the called and the trained.  On the top rung are those who are "called to international missions." These are those blessed souls who have left friends and family to go into the Congolese bush and engage government rebels with the gospel of Jesus. These are the "heroes of the faith" worthy of all our respect and honor - the cream of the ministry crop, so to speak. In the minds of many, they are in another ministry world altogether.

Unfortunately, for its common acceptance, this is not a biblical structure.

The Apostle Peter understood the calling on the life of every believer, which is why he wrote in his first epistle, "Based on the gift they received, everyone should use it to serve others, as good managers of the varied grace of God" (4:10, HCSB). People are called to ministry at conversion, not at some subsequent event. It is the ordinary who are called to ministry, not the extraordinary. All God's people are called to the ministry, all God's people are sent on mission. The only question is "Where?" and "Among whom?" As Charles Spurgeon, speaking of such a call, said, "Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter."

Lay people tend to think of themselves as being there to support ministers in ministry, and ministers tend to think of themselves as being there to support missionaries in the field. The biblical picture is that all believers are ministers with different roles and assignments. Because of the false dichotomies, we have "lay people" who miss great opportunities to serve God in greater ways than they might otherwise imagine. Every believer should be alert to the call of God and ever vigilant to respond as Isaiah did, "Here I am, send me."

In other words, God wants us to put our "yes" on the table and let Him place it on the map. Ours is not to first determine where, ours is first to lean into obedience and let God work out the ministry and logistical details. Where we serve is secondary to how we serve. Our members should be living sent, not living staid. Until we remove the unbiblical hierarchy that imposes and reinforces a false view of ministry, we will continue to struggle to involve all of God's people in all of God's mission."

Taking Notice: Corey Randell

Our first  person on our "Taking Notice" entries (if you are not sure what this is... read this) is Pastor Corey.  He pastors a smaller church in Chauvin,  Alberta.  I had a visit with Corey on the phone yesterday and we will interview him at a later date but I want to tell you about a youth conference he started a few years ago.

Not many people have heard of "the Village of Chauvin" as there is only about 350 people living there.  In this "middle of nowhere" place, Pastor Corey Randell began a summer youth conference called, "The Middle Of Nowhere Conference".  Since there is NO hotels....people are asked to bring tents to stay in and they sleep under the stars... great!!!    Here is the link to the conference and his web page... maybe you want to take your youth on a road trip to the "Middle of NoWhere" and party with Jesus for a few days this summer...

Great vision Corey...  love it!
 
   

Taking Notice

I believe that the church and many denominations have been infiltrated and captivated by an dangerous enemy. It's name is celebrity and it has long had a hold on our society and culture and has now shown up in our denominations and our churches. For the most part, I believe we are OK with this. I feel that we even long to be close to those who are "it" as it make us feel important. I also feel that down deep we all want to BE the celebrity and want people to want us.

As solo pastors in smaller churches we are often NOT seen by our peers as successful, relevant or even having much to bring to the "table". Often we are bypassed and ignored by those in that are deemed to be in more "successful" works. This is not the way it is in the Kingdom and certainly not with our King. Pastor Don Schneider, one of those very successful guys that not many noticed, used to sing a song in the office where he and I worked together. It went like this; "If you want to be great in God's Kingdom, learn to be a servant of all...". Good song... we should be all be singing it no matter where we serve because it is TRUE. Folks there is much evidence of this in the body of Christ and I think it is wrong and even evil and it should be called for what it is. I have much to say on this as it concerns me greatly and will post more on it at a later date...

One thing I want to do with this blog is highlight, from time to time, people like you who are on the front lines of ministry in what the MAJORITY of our churches (in the PAOC) are.. smaller... led by solo pastors.

On this blog we want to TAKE NOTICE of what God is doing in your church and through you. We want to celebrate with you how His Spirit is moving... All to His glory alone. So look for the "Taking Notice" posting from time to time. I pray that it will be a blessing and a encouragement to you.

Leadership and Church Size Dynamics

Pastor Tim Keller makes several interesting points as he compares large and smaller churches. You can find the original post here . What do you think of his comments?
-K
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I. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONCEPT

One of the most common reasons for pastoral leadership mistakes and missteps is blindness to the significance of church size. Size has an enormous impact on how a church functions; that being said, the “size-culture” profoundly affects how decisions are made, how relationships flow, how effectiveness is evaluated, and how its staff operates. We tend to think of the primary differences between churches in strictly denominational or theological terms, but that underestimates the impact of size on how a church operates. The difference between how two Presbyterian churches, one of 100 people and one of 2,000 members, function may be greater than the difference between a Presbyterian and a Pentecostal church of the same size. The staff person who goes from a church of 400 to a church of 2,000 is making a far greater change than if he or she moved from one denomination to another.

When Lyle Schaller gives names to the different church-size categories, he deliberately chooses completely different “orders of being.” He calls a church of less than 35 members a “cat,” a church of 100-175 a “garden,” and a church of 225-450 a “mansion.” Why? Because a larger church is not simply a larger version of a smaller church. The differences in communication, community formation, and decision-making processes are so great that the leadership skills required in each are almost of a completely different order.

II. A BALANCED VIEW OF A CHURCH’S SIZE

Every church size presents the pastor with particular obstacles and opportunities for biblical functioning peculiar to the category. For example, smaller church sizes make discipline and accountability far easier than it is in larger churches. However, it is easier to practice lay ministry and the priesthood of all believers in larger churches, where pastoral care must be done on a large scale by lay leaders. Smaller churches tend to acquiesce to clericalism. To use another example, larger churches in general have something of an advantage in evangelism; they can provide more “doors” into the church through their numerous programs. Also, many (not all!) non-Christians feel too visible to visit smaller churches.

A. Every church has a “size-culture,” which must be accepted. Most people probably have a size-culture they prefer. However, many people moralize their favorite size-culture and treat other size categories as spiritually or morally inferior. They may insist that the only biblical way to do church is to practice a different size-culture, despite the fact that the church itself is much bigger or smaller than they desire it to be.

• For example, if some members of a church of 800 feel they should be able to get the senior pastor personally on the phone without much difficulty, they are insisting on getting the kind of pastoral care that an under 200 size-culture provides. Of course, the pastor will soon be overwhelmed. The members may insist, however, that if he can’t be reached, he is failing in his biblical duty to be their shepherd, though there is a lack of biblical warrant for this claim.


• Another example is that of a new senior pastor of a 1,000-member church insisting that virtually all decisions be made by consensus of the whole Session and staff. Soon the elders are meeting every week for six hours each time! But the pastor may insist that for staff members to be making their own decisions means they are acting without accountability or that the staff lacks community. But to impose a size-culture practice on a church that does not have that size will wreak havoc on it and eventually force the church back into the size with which the practices are compatible.


• Another example is that of new members who have just joined a smaller church after years of attending a much larger church. They may begin complaining about the lack of professional quality in the church ministries and insisting that this shows a lack of spiritual excellence. The real problem is that in the smaller church things are done by volunteers that in the larger church are done by full-time staff. Also, the members might complain that the pastor’s sermons are not as polished and well-researched as they have come to expect from that of a larger church. But while a large-church pastor with multiple staff can afford to put 20 hours a week into sermon preparation, the solo pastor of a smaller church can devote less than half of that time each week.

B. Every church has aspects of its natural size culture, which must be resisted. Just a few brief examples:

• Larger churches have a great deal of difficulty keeping track of members who begin to drop out or fall away from the faith. This should never be accepted as inevitable. Rather, the large church must continually struggle to improve pastoral care and discipleship.


• Out of necessity, the large church must use organizational techniques from the business world, but the danger is that ministry may become too results-oriented and focused on quantifiable outcomes (attendance, membership, giving) because of the natural tendency of management-by-objective. The goals of holiness and character growth can be overlooked. Again, this tendency should not be accepted as inevitable; rather, new strategies for focusing on love and virtue must always be generated.


• The smaller church by its nature gives immature, outspoken, opinionated, and broken members far more power over the whole body. Since everyone knows everyone else, when a family or small group of members expresses strong opposition to the direction set by the pastor and leaders, that small group’s misery can hold the whole congregation hostage. If they threaten to leave, the majority of people will urge the leaders to desist in their project. It is extremely difficult to get complete consensus from a group of 50-150 people about program and direction, especially in today’s diverse, fragmented society. Yet in smaller churches there is an unwritten rule that almost everyone must be happy with any new initiative in order for it to be implemented. Leaders of small churches must be brave enough to lead and to confront immature members in spite of its unpleasantness.

C. There is no “best size” for a church. Each size presents great difficulties and also many opportunities for ministry that churches of other sizes cannot realize (or, at least, not as well). If you truly think there is an ideal size, it is most likely because you tend to emotionally value some biblical aspects of the church more than others or because you are unbalanced in your own concept of what Christ desires from the church. Only together can churches of all sizes be all Christ wants the church to be.

III. CHURCH SIZES: GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Reading books on church sizes can be confusing because everyone breaks down the size categories somewhat differently. This is because there are many variables in a church’s culture and history that determine exactly when a congregation gets to a new size “barrier.” For example, it’s easy to recognize that at some point a church becomes too large for one pastor to handle. People begin to complain that they are not getting adequate pastoral care, and the time has come to add staff. But when does that happen? In some communities that may happen when attendance rises to 120, while in others it does not happen until the church has nearly 300 regular attendees. It depends a great deal on expectations, the mobility of the city, how fast the church has grown, and various other factors. Despite the variables, the point at which a new pastoral staff member must be added is usually called “the 200 barrier.” While this represents a good average figure, keep in mind that your own church might come up against that threshold at some different attendance figure.

Following are some general trends that occur as a church grows in size:

A. Increasing complexity. The larger the church, the less members have in common. The congregation experiences greater diversity in age, family status, ethnicity, etc., and thus a church of 400 needs four to five times more programs than a church of 200 (not two times more, as one would naturally project). Therefore:

1. Larger churches are disproportionately more complex than their smaller counterparts. They have multiple services, multiple classes, multiple groups, multiple tracks, and eventually they really are multiple congregations.


2. Larger churches require more staff per capita. Often the first ministry staff persons are added for every increase of 150 to 200 in attendance. For example, a church of 500 may have two to three full-time ministry staff. But eventually ministry staff could be justified (even if you don’t have the money for it!) for every 75 to 100 new persons. Thus, a church of 2,000 may have 25 staff. This creates a great burden on large churches, because unless you have a wealthy congregation, you can’t add staff as fast as you need to. And, therefore, a very competent volunteer recruitment, support, and deployment program becomes critical.

B. Shifting lay-staff responsibilities.

1. On the one hand, the larger the church, the more decision-making falls to the staff rather than to the membership or even to the lay leaders. The bigger the church, the more items have to be given to the staff to determine or execute on their own. The elders or board must increasingly deal with only top level, big-picture issues. So the larger the church, the more decision-making is pushed up toward the staff and away from the congregation and lay leaders. Needless to say, many lay people feel extremely uncomfortable about this.


2. On the other hand, the larger the church, the more the basic pastoral ministry (hospital visits, discipleship, oversight of Christian growth, counseling) is done by lay leaders rather than by professional ministers. So the larger the church, the more shepherding, teaching, and discipling are pushed down toward the lay leaders and people and away from staff. Pastors must teach lay shepherds and teachers how to fulfill this role.


3. In summary, in small churches, policy is decided by many, and ministry is done by a few. In large churches ministry is done by many, and policy is decided by a few.

C. Increasing intentionality.

1. The larger the church, the more it needs systematic and redundant communication. Without multiple forms and repeated messages, people will feel left out and uninformed. Informal word-of-mouth communication loses efficacy the larger the church grows.


2. The larger the church, the more it requires systematic and deliberate assimilation of newcomers. Newcomers are less visible in larger churches, and new people are not spontaneously welcomed or invited in. Assimilation must become systemic, and pathways must be identified by asking, “How will newcomers get here?,” “How will they be identified by the church?,” and “Where will unbelievers learn Christianity’s relevance, content, and credibility?”


3. The larger the church, the more it needs well-organized volunteer recruitment. Generally, the larger the church the harder it is to recruit volunteers. The difficulty lies in that it is much easier to say no to someone you don’t know than to someone you know well, and the likelihood of an unknown person approaching you to volunteer is much more likely in the big-church setting. Secondly, it is easier to feel less personally responsible for the ministries of a larger church and to think the church has lots of people and “they don’t need me.” Therefore, the larger the church, the more well-organized and formal the recruitment of volunteers must be.

D. Increasing quality of production.

1. The larger the church, the more it requires formal and redundant communication. You know when you’ve crossed into a higher size category when you get constant complaints that people feel left out and uninformed. Informal communication networks (pulpit announcements, newsletter notices, and word-of-mouth) are insufficient to reach everyone. It also means that decisions have to be made in a more deliberate and formal way to ensure that timely and important information is reaching its proper recipients.


2. The larger the church, the more planning and organization goes into its events. In general, a higher quality of production is expected in a larger church, and therefore events cannot be thrown together willy-nilly.


3. The larger the church, the more it requires high-quality aesthetics. In smaller churches worship is based mainly on horizontal relationships with the other people present. For example, musical offerings of singers who are novices are nonetheless appreciated because “we all know them and they are members of our fellowship.” But in the larger church context, worship is based on the vertical relationship, on a sense of transcendence. If an outsider comes in who doesn’t know the musicians, mediocre quality of production will distract from their worship. (They don’t have a relationship with the musicians which, for those who know and love the ones presenting the music, off-sets the lack of giftedness.) So, the larger the church, the more the music becomes an attractor on its own, an assimilation measure on its own.

E. Increasing openness to change. The larger the church, the more it is subject to constant and sudden change. There are a couple reasons for this:

1. Smaller churches do not change rapidly and experience less turnover because individual members feel powerful and necessary.


2. One of the reasons that decision-making moves away from the congregation to the staff in large churches is because too much is going on for lay people to stay on top of. Only the full-time staff are informed enough (about who is out in the congregation to be recruited, etc.) to make good decisions. And when decision-making power moves toward staff members (away from individual members), change happens more quickly.

F. Losing members because of changes. The larger the church, the more it loses members because of changes.

1. Smaller churches seek to avoid losing members at all costs, thereby allowing individuals and small groups to exercise power far greater than their numbers. Someone always experiences change as loss, and since the smaller church has a great fear of conflict, it usually will not institute a change that may result in lost members. Thus smaller churches do not lose members very often.


2. But in larger churches, individual members or smaller groups have far less ability to exert power or resist changes they dislike. And (as noted above) since larger churches experience constant change, they regularly lose members who feel overcome by church growth or upset with the changes. Leaders of churches that grow large are more willing to lose members who disagree with procedures or philosophy of ministry.

G. Shifting role of the ministers.

1. The larger the church, the less available the main preacher is to do pastoral work. In smaller churches the pastor is available at all times, for almost all occasions and needs, to any member or unchurched person. In the large church, there are sometimes more lay ministers, staff, and leaders than the small church has people! So the pastors must recognize their limits and spend more time with staff and lay shepherds, and in prayer and time with God.


2. The larger the church, the more important are the minister’s leadership abilities. Preaching and pastoring are sufficient skills for pastors in smaller churches, but as a church grows, the minister’s leadership skills become critical, especially those of vision casting and strategic planning.


3. The larger the church, the more then ministry staff moves from being generalists to being specialists. Everyone from the senior pastor on down must focus on certain ministry areas and concentrate on two or three main tasks. The larger the church, the more the senior pastor must specialize on preaching, vision casting, and identifying problems ahead of time before they become disasters.


4. The larger the church, the more important it is for ministers, especially the senior pastor, to stay put for a long time. As noted above, smaller churches do not change rapidly and have less turnover. The innate stability of smaller churches can thus absorb the change of minister every few years if necessary. But in the large church context, the staff in general and the senior pastor in particular are the main source of continuity and stability. Rapid turnover of staff is therefore much more detrimental to a large church.

H. Structuring smaller. The larger the church, the smaller the basic pastoral span of care.

1. In smaller churches, the classes and groups can be larger, because virtually everyone in the church is cared for directly by full-time trained ministry staff, each of whom can care for 50-200 people.


2. In larger churches, however, the internal groupings need to be smaller, because people are cared for by lay shepherds, who can care for only ten to 20 people if given proper supervision and support. Thus, in a larger church, the more groups you have per 100 people in attendance, the better cared for people are and the faster the church grows.

I. Emphasis on vision and strengths.

1. The larger the church, the more it tends to concentrate on doing a few things well. Smaller churches are generalists and feel the need to do everything, a result of the power of the individual in a small church. If any member wants the church to address some issue, the church makes an effort to please them. The larger church, however, identifies and concentrates on approximately three to four major things and works to do them extremely well, despite calls for new emphases.


2. The larger the church, the more its vision becomes important to members. The reason for being in a smaller church is relationships. The reason for putting up with all the changes and difficulties of a larger church is to get mission done. Therefore people join the church because of the vision, so the particular mission needs to be clear.


3. The larger the church, the more it develops its own mission outreach rather than support existing programs. Smaller churches tend to support denominational mission causes or contribute to other existing parachurch ministries. Larger churches feel more personally accountable to God for the kingdom mandate and seek to start their own mission-ministries or form partnerships in which there is more direct accountability and responsibility.


4. The larger the church, the more its lay leaders need to be screened for agreement on philosophy of ministry, not simply for doctrinal and moral standards. In smaller churches, people are eligible for leadership on the basis of membership, tenure, and faithfulness. In larger churches (as we just noted), the distinctive mission and vision of the church becomes increasingly important. Therefore, it is important to enlist (without apology) leaders who share the philosophy of ministry with the staff and other leaders.

Dr. Timothy Keller is founder and senior pastor of New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. He is The New York Times bestselling author of The Reason for God,The Prodigal God, and Counterfeit Gods.