Sound Words: A Mess May Mean Success! « My Two Cents

Chris Anderson has some great words to share in this post about messy churches:  Sound Words: A Mess May Mean Success! « My Two Cents.

Excerpts:

First, our churches must aim to reach the lost where they are.
I’ve been prone in the past to judge the effectiveness of a church by the condition of its attendees. If the people seemed to “have it all together” (e.g. they dressed up, had high standards, knew the Scriptures, etc.), I assumed the church was strong and effective. On the other hand, if the people had “issues” (e.g. they dressed immodestly or informally, were biblically illiterate, smelled of smoke, etc.), I assumed that the church was weak and ineffective.

The truth is, my means of measuring a church’s effectiveness was simplistic, and perhaps downright backwards! If, for example, a church is filled only with people who “fit in” and have no problems (wink, wink), it may mean that they haven’t seen any conversions for many years! And if a church has down-and-outers, it may mean that they’re reaching their community for Christ—and they’re reaching lost people, not just families looking for strong churches! So a “mess” may mean “success”!

Think of it this way: a house that is perfectly clean is probably a house in which no babies reside. And a house strewn with toys and smelling of soiled diapers—as uncomfortable as it may be—is probably a house where there is new life! And that’s great! To put it the way Proverbs 14:4 does, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.” Cleanliness and productivity are often incompatible. Ministry is messy!

And…

We mustn’t be more “righteous” than Christ (I speak as a fool). Jesus came not to call the (apparently) righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). So He ate with publicans. So He ministered to prostitutes and adulteresses. So He—to His eternal praise and our eternal salvation!—“received sinners” (Luke 15:2). Mere improvement of morals is worse than useless; it’s harmful!

Bottom line: Don’t help damn people through your efforts to improve them! They don’t need to be more respectable in their sinful condition—though such respectability may keep Christians from feeling squeamish. They need the gospel. They need to be born again. They need heart change that results in habit change, as do those of us who have been saved for decades.

Unhelpful Assumptions « Glory & Grace

Unhelpful Assumptions « Glory & Grace.

This is right on.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What are you looking forward to next year?  A chance to lose some weight?  A new start?  More snow?  Some special event?  Or just more school?

Here’s what I’m looking forward to next year.  First, with my family I’m looking forward to seeing my children continue to grow and develop.  Watching their excitement as they learn new things and experience the wonder of God’s creation is so fun.  Tad is looking forward to a dog for his birthday.  I’m not sure I am.  But we’re all looking forward to an new baby boy in April (well, I’m pretty sure Zeke doesn’t know what will hit him).

At church I’m looking forward to more opportunities to share the gospel.  Our AWANA Soccer Camp in the summer is going to be a great opportunity to do this.  We’ll have other special events like Easter, the International Dinner, and AWANA Games.  It’s going to be great to once again be able to tell the story of Christ.  But not just those special events but times with neighbors, opportunities through the deacon’s fund,  and sharing with different guests we have are all great opportunities to share the love of Christ.

I’m also looking forward to opportunities to help encourage each of you through preaching and teaching God’s Word.  What a great gift we have in God’s Word that allows us to know God and know His ways.  I’m planning to be in it for myself on a regular basis, are you?

I’m looking forward to growth in our small groups.  We’re going to have a special emphasis on them in February and March.  It’s going to be a great time to get to know one another and practically apply God’s Word in our lives to one another and our community.

I’m looking forward to helping more in our community.  I’ve enjoyed some time in a Community Conversation group about how to help our community be more welcoming.  I’m excited about further helping in that!

I’m so thankful to God for these abundant opportunities to experience His grace.  Isn’t it great that we have such an experience of being forgiven by Him, of being loved by Him, and of seeing Him work through us in others?  What greater privilege is there!  Are you counting on His grace this year?  It comes to you because of Christ, not because of your New Years’ resolutions or just your continued efforts to obey Him.   Even though it cost Christ so much, it comes to us free.  Let’s praise Him with our lives and lips because of His greatness.  What a great year to anticipate!

Church Leader Insights Blog with Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy takes a page from his friend John Donahue in discussing why people stay in church.  Good stuff!

Nelson Searcy over at Church Leader Insights focuses on 2 factors that influence people staying at a church. He says that it’s based on people’s RELATIONSHIP and their RESPONSIBILITY. If a person has those 2 needs met, they will stay in a church. Not trying to completely disagree with Nelson, I think that there is one other factor – RIGHTEOUSNESS. There MUST be a GOD factor as well.

For the sake of our discussion, let me break all this down…

Relationship- Relationship is a simple concept. People must be connected with other people for them to feel that they are TRULY “in” the church. If people are not connected RELATIONALLY, the feelings of disconnectedness will eventually lead then away from the church that they desperately want/need to be a part of.

Responsibility - Responsibility would be the functions we perform at church. You might say, “I am a Greeter,” or “I am in charge of Parking at the 9:30 service.” Responsibility is what compels us to attend each week. It’s a conviction for us. When people have a “job” or “duty” that is required of them, they have ownership of their area of service. It’s also MUCH harder to walk away from a church if you are plugged in to an area that is in line with your gifts, talents, and passions. If you are at a church, and you have no responsibility, you are much more likely leave than if you had it.

And for many churches, they focus on those 2 factors alone in trying to discern church attendance. I believe that churches must also focus on a person’s Righteousness as well as their responsibilities and their relationships.

A person gets a mailer in the mail, and decides to try your church on a Sunday. That person (visitor) is greeted by a friendly person who shows them around the church, introduces them to some other friendly people, and after the service, that same greeter seeks [the visitor] out and encourages them to come back.

The following Sunday, that SAME greeter welcomes the visitor back and asks about their previous week’s experience. Then that SAME greeter invites them to come WITH THEM to attend an upcoming event.

So this person comes to the event, and has a great time. Another person, who the greeter had introduced earlier, sees the visitor at this event and asks them to help out with the set-up team on the following Sunday Morning. And after serving a couple of times, is asked to get into a rotation. That visitor LOVES the experience and serves every other week.

And after several weeks in a small group that meets on Thursday nights, they give their life to Christ. They then go on witness to their spouse and kids, and soon, the whole family is serving, deeply connected to friends, and experiencing God in amazing ways.

Righteousness + Relationship + Responsibility = STAYS IN CHURCH

We, as church leaders, MUST focus on the people who God brings us. We MUST find out how to connect with them on 3 deep levels, relationship, responsibility, and righteousness. If any of those three factors get out of balance, that person has the potential to get hurt or leave the church.

See the whole article:

Church Leader Insights Blog with Nelson Searcy

Schooling choice and the gospel

Josh Harris has some good pastoral words about schooling choices and the church! Listen in.