The Solo Church Pastor and Technology

A few weeks ago I watched a Webinar (an online based seminar) on "The Transformational Small Church" by the good folks at LifeWay research.

It really was GREAT!

My friends, we are in some of the GREATEST days to be in ministry in the smaller church. Today, there is really NO reason for the solo pastor to be feel unconnected, lonely and uniformed on what God is saying to His church. With programs like Skype and instant messaging, staying connected it easier and cheaper than ever!

You know what I would like? I would like to see a monthly (bi-monthly?) web based video connection time together for instruction so we can get together, without leaving our areas of ministry so we can encourage, pray together, help each other in vision and mission, equip each other with ideas and news of what is working and what does not work in your solo, smaller church context.

My problem, I do not know how to do this. There are some web sites I have looked at like http://www.gotomeeting.com/fec/webinar and http://www.ustream.tv/

Do you have any thoughts? maybe between us all, we can learn how to do this and have a "solo pastor connection hour" once and a while.

HELP?

-K

Sex Sunday

I had a talk with a pastor friend last week (he is also in a smaller church) and he told me that a few months ago he had what he called a "Sex Sunday". They podcast their services and they have a few dozen hits each week... but on that subject.. they have had over 175 hit thus far. wow...

I know I have asked before why is it that for something that God created and said was GOOD, we as people of God most never talk about the subject of sex??

I know that those who are not Christians do so... a lot.... and often crudely. Yet for us who are in Christ... we most never talk publicly about it.

I believe that it is even tougher in smaller churches in solo pastor settings to talk about sex. Jonathan Acuff, creator and blogger of the website called Stuff Christians Like (http://stuffchristianslike.net/), wrote a great post on how Christians have wrecked sex.

He writes;
"I’d love to say Christianity has knocked it out of the park and ransomed the beauty of this gift from the world, but I’m not sure we have. In fact, I think we’ve caused our own damage in four ways:

1. Sometimes, we teach guilt, not abstinence.

I touched on this a little in the Stuff Christians Like book. Lots of our churches and youth groups teach kids for years that “Sex before marriage is bad.” And I agree with that message. I’ve seen the damages of pre-marital sex hundreds of times. The challenge though is that’s only half of the message. I wish when we taught abstinence we would say, “Sex before marriage is bad, but sex when you’re married is awesome.” Because what happens is that during your formative teenage years you hear over and over again about how bad sex before marriage is. And your head and heart shorthand that idea and just tell you that, “Sex is bad.” Then you get married, on your wedding night, you’re supposed to magically, instantly shed all your guilt and fear about sex. We’re taught guilt for years and then left on the doorsteps of our marriages to figure it all out by ourselves.

2. We have very few ways to discuss it.

Because of this site, people often send me links to Christian stuff they think is funny. Every now and then, I’ll get links to “Christian sex sites.” The sites are typically forums where Christians talk in an honest and holy way about their sex lives. Now for the majority of us, that last sentence was weird. Let’s be real, our sex lives are not something we collectively talk about a lot in Christian circles. Our finances, our parenting, our jobs, our in-laws, deep regrets from the past, we’ll touch on anything in a small group. But broach some sexual topic at your next small group and people will look at you like your F to the E to the R to the G to the I to the E. That’s off limits. It’s supposed to be beautiful and holy and loving. And yes the world is attacking it everyday in thousands of ways, but you’re supposed to discuss that on your own as a couple. Maybe you’ve had a different experience in small group but we were in one that didn’t touch on that subject for the first three years or so.

3. We write 10 books about lust for every one book about the gift of sex.

God Bless the stuff folks like xxxchurch.com are doing. Buy Breaking Free or the Samson Pirate book. I love both of those. I’m happy for all the work that’s being done to free people from the bondage of sexual addiction. But I wish that for every time I heard about the poison of lust, I heard about the perfection of love. I wish every time someone preached on the problem of sex, someone preached about the untamed awesomeness of sex. The conversation has become very one sided when it comes to Christians and sex.

4. We’ve made the crayon box pretty small.

Have you ever prayed before sex? Have you ever applied every ounce of God given creativity you have to it? Have you ever made a Christian songs sex tape? OK, that last one is impossible, Michael W. Smith just doesn’t make music like Sisqo. But seriously, I think to some degree we’ve bought the lie that the world gets to have wild, crazy sex and Christians, holy folks like us get to have black and white, two dimension sex. But what if that’s wrong? What if the God who overflows us with love and hope and mercy, wants that part of our lives to be as big and as colorful as two married people could possibly imagine?

Those are the problems, or rather some of them, but what’s the solution? What’s the answer? What’s the fix? Those are fair questions, but there’s no way I could possibly solve the sex situation in a blog post. Here though is what I hope.

I hope that every time we say sex before marriage is harmful, we’ll say “sex after marriage is neon awesome.” I hope that some well-designed, honest Christian sex site will launch. (Feel free to use the variation, “Sexy Stuff Christians Like.”)

I hope that Thomas Nelson and Zondervan and Baker and some other folks will release some wild books about the goodness of Christian sex.

Until then though, until all of those things happen, you should at least go download Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” the Sundays, “Wild Horses,” and Mazzy Star’s “Fade into You.” Those are all some pretty fantastic make out songs."

Great stuff!! I have even used his comments in a pre-marriage class. So smaller church pastor, do you every talk about the "S word" from the pulpit? If so how did it go? Any advice to the rest of us?
Write away!

-K

Web Page Discovery

I happened upon this web page today and thought I was full of good material. I will link it to in the links section of the blog, but I thought I would highlight today for you.

It is called 9marks. org. Find it HERE

Anything you found that would be helpful to the rest of us as solo pastors?

Comment and let us know.

-K

Look what God is doing...

I am constantly amazed at how our God works... how His Spirit moves. I believe that God is stirring the hearts of men and women, across North America, to take notice of the smaller, solo church pastor and congregation. By "taking notice" I mean that people, compelled by God's spirit, are celebrating smaller churches, encouraging, training, challenging and calling out to God for them to be vibrant and "transformational".

I have spent a lot a time this week reading, listening and learning to what many people are saying about the smaller, solo pastor church. I am so moved by how God is bring people together with the same passion and desire to see churches like mine and yours back "on mission" for the kingdom of God and for our KING....

How can all these people, who have never met, all have the same singular passion and focus?? We both know the answer to that... it is a real move of God...
Here are three examples of some ministries that are smaller, solo church targeted, that I have found as of late.

www.combnetwork.com

www.thesticks.tv

smallchurch.com

I so want our PAOC to join God on what I see what He is doing. Not to neglect the larger churches that have multi-staffed and many people often in larger centers, but to bring together like minded brothers and sisters in our PAOC family to help the smaller, solo pastor lead church (which is the vast majority of churches) to ALL be mission focused again.

I watched Ed Stetzer's webinar this past Tuesday... amazing!!! I ache with the potential that technology gives us to help, encourage, and resource each other as solo pastors in Canada. We could connect each month(s) via video and pray together, learn from each other and walk together to see each of our churches vibrant and growing again... for the glory of GOD alone.

So you know I am trying to do my part. This blog is the beginning for me.... a place to call out to you and ask for you to raise your voice that this happen. Maybe, with God's help, we can become networked like never before... sharing ideas, resources, burdens and victories with each other.... and yes I think God is in this...

Praying for you...

-K

2010.09.07 | Transformational Relationship Webinar | Ed Stetzer & LifeWay Research: SESSION NOTES....

Notes taken by Stevan Sheets | http://www.stevansheets.com | Twitter - @navets

SESSION #1 - Thomas Rainer

5 Principals –

1. The principal of L+1

L=Leader

Leader plus 1

Ask God to use ME!

2. Principal of reward

Reward the type of behavior you will begin to see

3. Principal of eating the elephant

Begin to understand the context in which transformation can take place

4. Principal of strategic relationships

Who are those in the church that when they speak, others listen.

5. Principal of a leadership team

Expanding beyond the strategic relationships

Most-often going to be a laity team.

Characteristics of the leadership team:

1. Has a compelling purpose

2. The right leader (moving them forward)

3. The right team

4. Conducive culture (adapt from ME to MISSIONAL)

---

Q&A...

+ How do we discern where to BEGIN to make changes?

Rainer: start where there is the most low-hanging fruit. Where there is the most available early victories.

+ appropriate rewards?

Rainer: new scorecard. whole idea of what we count becomes the reward system. Lift up other things other than the “nickels & noses”. Missional involvement.

+ for many, the church is the “safe” place that has not changed (refuge)...how do you bring about change without sweeping the rug from under their feet?

Rainer: worst way: FORCE it. best way: bring them together and ask them the questions - maybe slow and awkward

---

What to do: (Thomas Rainer is still presenting)

Relational intentionality -

1. Principal of strategic relationships:

PRAY: “Lord, give me a love for these people.” (prayerful dependence)

2. Principal of early victories -

3. Principal of matching passions -

Every person is gifted at something - leadership job is to point them towards their passions

4. Principal of leadership modeling -

somebody is watching you (a lot more than you think)

5. Principal of intentional ownership -

you are going to do certain things within the church even if you don’t enjoy doing them

---

Q&A...

+ What would you say to introverted pastors to lead as introverts?

Rainer: most introverts are introverts in casual acquaintances. The more we get to know someone, the less introverted we can be with them. Learn to be more extroverted. Sometimes, do that which is against the grain..

+ What’s the relationship between relational intentionality and spiritual formation?

Rainer: the more we develop relationships, the more they can see who we are and grow in spiritual formation

+ Is relational intentionality the same as mentoring?

Rainer: mentoring falls more in the “formality” category. RI is more ‘informal’. Mentors who don’t know they’re our mentors...

+ How would you advise a N00B to start out in Relational Intentionality?

Rainer: spend time building relationships. FOCUS on getting to know people - who they are, where they are in their situation..

---

Wrap-up with Ed Stetzer:

Transformational Individuals - new life.

Transformational Churches -

Transformational Communities -

Prayerful Dependence

Prayer happens naturally out of the community of believers.

“People who go to Jesus, go to Jesus together!”

Jesus is angry when prayer is replaced by earthly activities...

Principals on prayerful dependence:

1. The proper use of his house

- As we embrace Jesus, we embrace his priorities

2. Accessibility

- prayer gives all people access to God

- TCs are places where prayer is taught as the way for everyone to connect with the one true God.

3. The response to His praying people

- Jesus invites people to invite Him into their lives through praying

- The lord wants to involve us in His divine work

Praying churches -

1. experience breakthroughs

2. have praying leaders

3. commonly experience answers to prayer

4. pray because they believe it matters if they pray

---

::LUNCH BREAK::

---

Second-half of The Transformational Small Church Conference (“The Exchange Live”) #smallchurch (1:30PM EST)

Small Church Panel

Pastor Castro | El Shaddai Christian Church, Brentwood, TN

http://www.elshaddaicc.org/ |

Building completely destroyed one weekend during Nashville floods

Helped church realize that the church is NOT a building, but the body of Christ.

David Gould | First Wesleyan, Nashville, TN

http://www.nashvillefirst.com/ |

Lynn Harper | Promised Land Missionary Baptist Church, Dallas, TX

feeding programs, summer camp

Brian Bullard, Community Fellowship Baptist Church, Covington, GA

http://www.baptistsites.net/cfbc/index.cfm? |

“Just this ONE”

John Racioppa | Westmoreland FBC, Westmoreland, TN

http://www.westmorelandfbc.org/ | http://mylifeasjohn.blogspot.com/

Deut 23 - God wants to be a part of the camp...

Jason Whitehurst | Music City Assembly of God, Nashville, TN

http://twitter.com/pastorjasonmcag | http://musiccityag.com/ac/

---

Panel Questions:

Advantages of being in a small church?

If the pastor does it, and has at least one with him, people will follow!

“We are not a church IN the community - we are a church OF the community” (Harper)

“Partner with what is already going on!” (Gould)

“It’s not about receiving, it’s about giving.” (Castro)

What have you had to give up in order to do the important ‘work’ in your small church?

- Sunday School - put emphasis in lifegroups instead (Whitehurst)

- It’s important to see why we do what we do. Reference to “Simple Church” book. (Gould)

How do you handle the “fixers”?

- don’t discount them initially - some have righteous criticism (Whitehurst)

- keep the main thing the main thing (Gould)

How do we measure success? (Changing the scorecard)

- celebrate individuals who make minor steps! (Harper)

- when people who don’t go to our church are talking about our church (Racioppa)

---

Ed Stetzer & Mike Harland (Director, LifeWay Worship)

20 free downloads - LifeWayWorship.com CODE: smallchurch2010

Relevance vs. Reverance

Transformation Churches:

70% agree that “A sesnse of anticipation and expectation surrounds our worship services.”

75% agree that “We see evidence of God changing lives as a result of our worship services.”

67% agree that “People regularly make a decision to obey God as a result of our worship services.”

---

MIKE HARLAND’s presentation:

Worship wars? Change from discussing “style” to “purpose”...

Worship: Actively Embrace Jesus

Engaging in the First Action

- The human heart is designed to find someone or something to hold in high esteem

- God’s intention from the beginning was to hold that esteemed position in our lives

- Worship is our response to the revelation of who Jesus is.

Transformational churches...

- Place worship at the center point of their efforts

- Have such a love for God that they know worship is a manner of living not a mode of church programming. (Romans 12 - “living sacrifice = service/worship”)

“Praise is fruit of our lips. Worship is fruit of our lives.”

Worship produces obedience. Greater the revelation, the greater the obedience.

Churches that Qualify as Transformational Churches

- Are those where merely scheduling and holding a worship service is not enough

- Have a high confidence that lives will be impacted through worship

- Expecting God’s presence to be real and transformative in their worship experience

Corporate Gatherings Matter

- Taking issue with the corporate gathering of God’s people is in vogue

- Many report that worship numbers are sliding at an alarming rate

Reasons for Corporate Gatherings

- God is glorified when Christians gather together to worship Him.

- People will witness our worship and ask, “Who?”

- People will witness our worship and ask, “Where?”

What happens when we Gather?

We don’t want to gather trying to impress crowds with our tech, innovation and creativity but to passionatly worship the God who saves.

When we Gather...

- We should want more people attending worship because it is a signal of priority

- Worship serves to connect

Relevance vs Reverence

- Reducing worship to a focus on style removes God as the reason for gathering

- Transformational Churches find a way for people to avoid the debates about place, style and method

- New venues will reflect the passion and problems of existing venues.

Purpose of worship

- Transformational Churches actively engage people in worship and are led by worship leaders who value participation over performance.

The Goal of Worship

- GOAL - to move from style to purpose

Principals for focusing on purpose

- We are not called to lead worship, but to lead people into the presence of God

- Worship is a spiritual discipline that

Worship produces transformation

- Active engagement transforms people

“Transformational churches show people who Jesus is - without fog machine, rock band, projection system.” - Mike Harland

---

Q&A with Mike Harland and Ed Stetzer

+ How do we do this?

Answer: look and see what we have to work with... what resources are available for us to do what we can do. (LifeWayWorship.com plug) The #1 issue small churches face is lack of musicians. DON’T sacrifice the spiritual nature of what worship leading is. Sprituality wins out over just a guy who can play guitar.

+ What does a “worship leader”/”musician” look like?

Answer: worship leader needs to be in step with pastor..

+ How do we emphasize this in the planning of our worship services?

Answer: put the revelation of the character of Jesus in the mix. Ask, “what does this say about Jesus?” (Revelation -> Response)

---

MISSION - about how we show the Love of Christ in word and action... (Ed Stetzer)

“Showing and sharing the love of Christ”

Engaging the Mission

73% agree “Our church’s members understand the importance of sharing their faith story with friends.”

Transformational churches engage people in ministry within the church and mission outside the church.

- Evangelism is the natural part of life for its members

- The church has made a conscious decision that their existence is directly related to God’s mission of seeing people of seeing people reconciled to God through Christ.

- Transformational Churches were active - even aggressive - about service in the community

- TCs have a significantly higher percentage of believers who see their church engaged in deeper mission

Church Membership

- TCs have a different perspective on church membership - more than signing a card

- membership is equated with a commitment to both the church and to serve the gospel to the community.

Engaging fully in mission - the activity we should crave is advancing the gospel in the lives of unbelievers

Advancing the Gospel

- Not something you easily get over - it is something you live in.

- A cross-centered and resurrection powered life no longer lives for itself. It shouldn’t. Instead it dies daily for the new priority of the kingdom mission.

Steps to engaging God’s Mission:

1. Define Success.

- The TC Scorecard should have the heading: “Lives being transformed by the power of Christ.”

2. Prepare.

- Transformational Churches receive training to be on mission

- Too many churches rely on surface-level orientation

“What you train for, you remain focused on.”

LEADERS and the LOST (two groups we need to focus our time and energy on)

3. Providing personal leadership to believers

- the most valuable resource for the missional journey is real-life examples and real-time conversations

4. Moving into the community

- Transformational Churches build a good reputation with the city.

“If your church were suddenly to disappear from the community, would anyone notice?” OUCH.

“Church exists for God’s glory and to be a people that join Jesus on His mission.”

80/20 rule versus the 80/20 SIN issue

Get your church OUT OF THE BUILDING

BE the church, don’t GO to church.

---

Q&A...

+ What about serving at a church where most are past their “physical serve” prime?

Answer: Everybody (believers) can do something.

+ What advice - practical hints - for finding needs in community?

Answer: ask people who love the community - YOU need to know more about your community than anyone else! How? Talk to those on school boards, government officials.., talk to other churches

---

::BREAK::

---

Ed Stetzer & Rick Howerton (small groups specialist)

Proximity does NOT equal “community”. Sitting near someone is not enough. Move from sitting in rows to sitting in circles! LIVING LIFE TOGETHER.

LIFE TOGETHER

- Small Groups

- Sunday School

Transformational Practice

- believers join their lives for the purpose of maturing their faith and engaging in God’s mission

Too many churches are using small groups for assimilation instead of transformation.

Using them to get people to come to church instead of BE the church.

Community in a Transformational Church

- life change happens best among friends both old and new -

- community is an activity that delivers transformation

- moves us away from a fortress mentality

- creates a safe-zone

Transformational Churches...

- put a premium on involving people in small-group communities

- place emphasis on getting new members immediately involved in small group

Vital for small group leader to invite personally - not just via a sign-up list.

“Invitation follows the conversation”

Supporting Factors to small groups success

- Smaller # of people provide a greater opportunity for personal discovery

- smaller communities are just that - communities

- best way to geniune life change through the local church

“We are going to be involved in life change - not just a weekly meeting”

5 Deliverables of smaller communities

1. Smaller communities deliver deeper relationships

2. Smaller communities deliver accountability relationships

3. Smaller communities deliver environments for spiritual growth

4. Smaller communities deliver maximum participation

5. Smaller communities deliver missional opportunities

Five Elements of a Transformational Small Group

1. Mission oriented - focus must go to joining God on his mission

2. Word-driven mentality - Word of God DRIVES us.

3. Multiplication mindset - groups must understand from day one that their purpose is to reproduce

4. Stranger Welcoming - groups must always be concerned about the empty chair

5. Kingdom focused -

---

Q&A

+ Doctrinally pure?

Answer: Lots of thoughts and ideas can circle the runway, but the leader must make sure the TRUTH lands. Small group leadership is key.

+ Church of 100, suggested for # of groups?

Answer: How many adults? Divide by 10. 5-8 small groups of adults in a church of 100. Study: about 50% of the church is usually involved in small groups... “HEALTHY” is MORE THAN 50%..

+ How do you produce an effective small group ministry

Answer: teach people the REASON behind them.

“As the church gets larger, it MUST get smaller.” - emphasize small groups

+ What size is small enough to NOT have small groups?

Answer: 15 people = need two small groups

http://twitter.com/rickhowerton | http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/small-group-training

+ How do you move to this model when def of success is that “everyone knows everyone”?

Answer: ask “do you really know each other or do you know about each other?” Pastor: start teaching a series on relationship and how they look in Scripture..

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Church Assessment Instrument

Transformationalchurch.com

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Missionary Mentality (Ed Stetzer)

Asking “what do we need to know about these people”?

64% agree that what our church does as activities relate to the type of people in our community.

Many people want to go back to a “golden era”.. change way of thinking to where we are going in the future!

“Don’t turn TOOLS into RULES!” (radio, bus ministry, etc.)

Discovering a missionary mentality

- understanding context or a missionary mentality is a key concept in Transformational Churches

- Transformational Churches know, understand, and are deeply in love with their cities, communities, and people.

Where are you?

- A critical mindset shift toward a missionary mentality is from the idea that people have stories to the idea that people are stories

- We must know the stories in our places of ministry

Missionary Call to People

- TC empower and release people to live on mission, with a missionary mentality, where they are right now, at the right time, following God’s activity and obeying His assignment.

Changing the world, not MY world

- Transformational Churches demonstrate a passion for the world

- Churches who want to be transformational and missional need to keep their global focus

---

Q&A...

+ Community has been burned by our church. What now?

Answer: build a new reputation. show community we’re about the business of showing Jesus’ love.

+ Church has huge emphasis on international mission instead of local.

Answer: easier for small churches to be involved globally; and don’t devalue global missions. Simultaneously about global and local! GLOCAL! Can’t outsource the mission of God!

---

WHERE TO START?

Pray!!

FREE WEB CONFRENCE on smaller churche NOTES!

Hello everyone... I hope you are watching...

One of the guys watching is making his notes available to all of us... you can find it here...

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1w3uP8LKBWHde9hTcdBCA431Ns9QSLUwIlZTb_KrUyMM&pli=1

Thom was great....
Ed is now speaking on prayer...

great...

-K

FREE WEB CONFRENCE on smaller churches!

Are you watching the seminar ???? It is been really GREAT so far!!! Ed Stetzer's focus all week is on smaller churches...
Solo pastors..... there is GREAT materials that are being offered for FREE all this week to help us be better leaders...

Watch it live.. Thom Rainer is currently speaking... http://media.lifeway.com/theexchange.asp

Thank the Lord for this resource...

-K

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

_____________________________

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
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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