The STaRS challenges.

Michael Watkins talks about the CHALLENGES of the four types of organizations:

START-UP

• Building structures and systems from scratch without a clear framework or boundaries.
• Welding together a cohesive high-performing team.
• Making do with limited resources

SUSTAINING SUCCESS

• Playing good defense by avoiding decisions that cause problems.
• Living in the shadow of a revered leader and dealing with the team he or she created.
• Finding ways to take business to the next level.

REALIGNMENT

• Dealing with deeply ingrained cultural norms that no longer contribute to high performance.
• Convincing employees that change is necessary.
• Restructuring the top team and refocusing the organization.

TURNAROUND

• Reenergizing demoralized employees and other stakeholders.
• Handling time pressure and having a quick and decisive impact.
• Going deep enough with painful cuts and difficult personnel choices.

Here’s the question for church leaders: How will you handle these challenges in your ministry?

The STaRS organization types.

In The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins writes about the “STaRS” model of organizational evolution. He notes there are four situations you may find yourself walking into when starting a new job: a Start-Up, Turnaround, Realignment, or Sustaining Success.

This is your job in each one:

• START-UP - Assembling the capabilities {people, funding, technology} to get a new business, product, or project off the ground
• SUSTAINING SUCCESS - Shouldering responsibility for preserving the vitality of a successful organization and and taking it to the next level
• REALIGNMENT - Revitalize a unit, product, process, or project that is drifting into trouble
• TURNAROUND - Taking on a unit or group that is recognized to be in trouble to get it back on track

This is how the evolution works:

1. A START-UP that succeeds enters a growth cycle which leads to a SUSTAINING SUCCESS.
2. If a SUSTAINING SUCCESS fails it becomes a REALIGNMENT. If it enters a recovery cycle it can return to a SUSTAINING SUCCESS.
3. If a REALIGNMENT fails it enters a crisis cycle and becomes a TURNAROUND. If it succeeds it can return to a SUSTAINING SUCCESS.
4. If a TURNAROUND fails it dies as a SHUTDOWN.

Here’s the question for church leaders: What type of church are you serving in?

• START-UP
• SUSTAINING SUCCESS
• REALIGNMENT
• TURNAROUND

What cycle are you presently in?

• growth
• recovery
• crisis

Assess each team, project, and program in your ministry and ask the same two questions for each one.

The first 90 days.

Today I passed a mile marker in my new adventure. As I walked in the door at the Wards Road Starbucks in Lynchburg, the barista already had my drink ready - iced tall soy chai [hey, I need protein in the morning.]. It struck me - I’m not just visiting here anymore, this is my home! When a Starbucks employee knows me well enough to make my drink without asking, I’ve settled in.

I’m coming up on the 60-day mark on my new job. Lots of great lessons and challenges already. One tool that has been a big help to me in this transition is the book The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins. It was suggested to me by my friend and a leadership coach in my life, Mark Cundiff.

It starts with the revelation that companies report most new hires take about 6.2 months to reach the “breakeven point” in their organization. Before that point the new employee is a “consumer” of the organization’s resources - after that point they become a “contributor” to the company’s value. The goal of the book is to help in the transition acceleration, to get new hires to be contributors in the first 90 days.

Several great topics in the book, including:

• making the mental break from your last job to the new one
• accelerating your learning of the new organization
• identifying what type of organization you are now working in
• securing early wins
• negotiating success with your new leader
• building your team
• creating coalitions
• keeping your life and family balanced in the transition

The book helped me think through what my goals should be for the first day on the job, first week, first month, second month, and 90 day point.

I listened to this book on the drive to Lynchburg, then bought the hardcopy to make notes. Great resource if you are heading into a new job.

The tie that binds.

For my West Ridge friends, this is what I look like in a tie. And yes, that is New King James I am using!

My Spiritual Independence Day

 

 

iChatting with God.

I have been separated from my family since May 4th.  My son has been with me in Lynchburg for the past week. My oldest daughter is spending the summer in ATL. My wife and younger daughter arrive in town in just a few hours. The life lessons I’ve been reminded of during their absence:

• Although I am an introvert, I don’t do well by myself. “It is not good for the man to be alone…”
• Without my family around, I don’t eat right and my schedule is haphazard.
• Video iChat is the greatest invention of the 21st century. I feel like I have been able to stay connected by seeing and talking with my family.
• We miss our friends and family who have gone on to the next life with Jesus. We can’t communicate with them right now, but look forward to the day we’ll be reunited [1 corinthians 15]
• We feel the same longing to be in the presence of God. Like iChat, we can communicate with Him through prayer, fellowship, study, worship, nature… But something is missing. We can’t yet reach through that screen and touch God. That longing is the love that connects the pilgrim with the Creator King.

Peter and Paul expressed the yearning like this:

8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. [1 peter 1]

12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. [1 corinthians 13]

Soon, hopefully, we will log off our virtual online communication with God, and talk face to face in eternal reality.

Love one another deeply.

Last week I had the chance to to do some serious partying. My family and I met our journey group at Chick-Fil-A in Acworth [hey, that's the limit of serious partying for families with little kids!]. We ate, watched our kids tear up the play place, and talked. We shut the place down and they kicked us out at 10:00pm. I loved catching up with everyone, hearing what’s going on in their lives in the past month.

I’ve written about it in the last couple of posts, but one of the main lessons God taught Chris and I over these past eight years is to do life together with His family. Yes, I’ll miss our house, neighborhood, and living in a metro area. But I will mostly miss the time spent with our West Ridge friends.

The last book study our group did this year was 1 Peter. It’s interesting that this burly, bull-headed ex-fisherman talked a lot about love - he commands us to love in each of the five chapters:

1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.

2:17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers

3:8 Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.

4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.

I think our group has embraced Peter’s instruction to love one another deeply.

So, one last time, thanks to these families who traveled with us this year…

Averys, Boatners, Dahlems, Epps, Haygoods, Jensens, Laws, Loudermilks, Niehiesals, Rays

 

My american idol.

I have a confession to make. I am an idolater. And this is a picture of my idol.

I really thought I had matured beyond this paganism, that by studying and practicing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount I had moved to a higher plane of spirituality. Maybe I thought I had achieved a sort of “Christian gnosticism”, where material things are bad and have no hold on me.

Nope.

As I am making the move to Virginia, I am leaving behind this beautiful dream house. It sits in a pleasant neighborhood, nestled between a kid-infested cul-de-sac and a wooded stream. Five years ago my wife prayed her Proverbs 31 woman prayers for the perfect house – and God dropped it in our laps. We have used it for His kingdom – reaching out to neighbors, opening it up to countless meetings of our journey group, and filled it with our children’s friends.

It has been a good house, and we were very, very thankful to God for it.

But now that it has come time to move, I am holding on to it. God, in His humorous, gut-wrenching way, led us to move at the literal bottom of the housing market. We have not yet sold it, and when we do, we may lose money. So not only do we have to let go of it, we may get slapped on the way out.

I think God is ok to let us grieve a little bit, like a dad taking away an old toy from a child. But it has disappointed me that I have been so clingy to a building filled with so much stuff. I’m not feeling guilty because God has blessed us with gifts, but I do want to mature to the point where I can cheerfully put it back in His hands.

He is good, He loaned us His house to enjoy for five years, and now He wants it back. We are praying first that He brings the right family to live in it, that He can bless with the wonderful neighbors that surround us.

So as I take a break from loading boxes, here are some verses that are helping me tear down my idol…

1. I don’t need to worry about what house I live in…

Matthew 6:19″Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 25″Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

 28″And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

2. All the material stuff I cling to is gonna burn someday!

2 Peter 3:11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

3. Christ is setting up a much better living arrangement for me…

John 14:1″Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Today, John is reminding me, “little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

 

Second mile friendship.

Upon returning to Lynchburg and starting my new job, I found out I was scheduled to speak for the Sunday night service at my church [yes, we have Sunday night services…]. I was excited but a little anxious as its been eight years since I have ministered with these people. I thought, prayed, and asked the staff what I should talk about. The answer was clear – share what God has done for me, what He has taught me while I was in Georgia.

I reworked a teaching I gave at West Ridge awhile ago about “Coming to the Table” of Christian fellowship. God uses the picture of eating meals together in scripture to talk about our relationships in His family. We are to do life together. This is one of the most significant lessons I have learned these past eight years.

So, I prepared and prayed. I let my group in Georgia know about my teaching opportunity so they could pray with me. A few days before the scheduled Sunday night, I received this email from one of the group, David Jensen:

Hey man! Just sitting here thinking of you… Tara and I have been talking about coming to see you this next weekend.  We talked about coming up on Saturday and staying until Sunday to hear you “bring it” on your first Sunday preaching.  We’re mostly looking forward to seeing you in a tie again!  

And that’s exactly what they did. I must say I was deeply blessed. Gas prices are high, and Lynchburg is 490 miles from Paulding County GA. That’s a quick, costly weekend trip to make [with two smaller children], just to support me.

They came, and we had a great time looking around my new town. Sunday night came, and they were sitting right down front, praying me on. It was easy to teach about biblical community, about “loving one another”, with my friends sitting on the front row.

Chick-Fil-A offers “second mile service” for their customers. But the Jensens offered me “second mile friendship”. They could’ve prayed for me from the comfort of their own home that Sunday night, but they went the extra mile. Jesus taught us to “go the extra mile” to serve even our enemies [Matthew 5:41]. If we show that kindness to our enemies, how much more love should we show our spiritual family.

Thanks, David, Tara, Sam, and Faith, for going that second mile with me.

 

 

Riding life together.

This is a picture of true friendship.

Before leaving Georgia last month, I was able to catch some Friday rides with my brother Mitch Moyer. We have been ministry, cycling, and life buddies for years. He is a monster rider, and the only way we can ride together is on his “cool down” day.

We headed out from my house for the last time, riding my favorite route. It winds down picturesque country roads, past horse farms, then climbs through the hills, and rolls into Cartersville past the Etowah Mounds. 

As we began to climb half-way up Lead Mountain Road, I experienced something that has only happened 3 times in my 4,700 miles of riding - I had a flat tire. I did have an emergency pack, but had no practice changing tires. 

So this is a picture of true friendship. Mitch pulled up, and set to work. We tried my spare inner tube, but it was bad, and we wasted one C02 cartridge. Mitch had to give up his spare, and we took turns handpumping the tire to a mildly-inflated 90PSI. We continued into downtown Cartersville, drank a coffee at Jittery Joes, and completed the 30 mile ride back to my house. A beautiful day.

And that’s the picture for what God has done in my life in Georgia. He has taught me to “ride life together” with friends. I have learned how to practice the “one anothers” of the New Testament. People like Mitch have been there to support me, and I have tried to do the same for them.

Last night I taught for the first time at my new church. I taught on doing life together. Before I walked out on stage, Mitch was texting me, letting me know he was praying for me. And he texted other things I can’t repeat.

I am thankful for the “Mitchs” in my life.

Do you have someone who is “riding life together” with you?

A letter to the church at West Ridge.

I’m no apostle Paul, but I do have some thoughts for my church in Paulding County, Georgia.

To the pastor:

You are my brother and friend. I have always believed the reason God has blessed WRC is that you have a pure heart for His glory. You are a strong visionary leader who isn’t afraid to dream and tackle difficult paths. You continue to grow and change with the demands of the flock. You are a good shepherd to your staff and people. You’ve got what it takes. I love you, my friend.

To the elders:

At 7am on the first Saturday morning of each month I would make my way to the church office to meet with you. Each meeting we prayed, laughed, debated, and studied together. We tackled the challenging biblical and shepherding issues of our church together. And in eight years, we always ended up coming together, because it was not a meeting of the minds - it was a group of men seeking the mind of Christ. I love you, my friends. I will always consider myself an elder-at-large of WRC. And I promise – next meeting I’LL bring the coffee!

To the staff:

For eight years we have done life and ministry together. We have been through the fire and flood together, through spontaneous baptisms, ‘chupah’ services, staff retreats to Chattanooga, and weekly times of laughter and prayer. You people are pure hearted, talented, dedicated, and a joy to serve with. We challenged each other to grow and reach for the next level. Above all, we knew “its not about us, not about WRC – its about Jesus and His kingdom.” Keep shepherding the sheep among you, and remember – “its about the sheep, stupid!” I love you.

To the people:

You had the courage to come to a different church, one that is not strapped by tradition. You have seen, studied, and practiced a biblical Christianity, one that is marked by loving, growing, serving and sharing. A religion that is pure, freed by grace and freely offered to our neighbors in Paulding and Cobb counties. Continue to live different, keep crossing the line and taking the inward journey. I believe that Jesus is pleased with your heart and work.

Finally, let me borrow some words from the apostle Paul to express my thoughts to you:

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day  of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. [philippians 1]

Spiritual leap year.

The year 2000 was a leap year, so I did.

I leapt from a 28-year life in Lynchburg, Virginia to a 30 month old church plant in Paulding County, Georgia. For the last eight years I served as a small groups pastor and an executive pastor. I have served with a great pastor, on a powerful team, and in an amazing work of God. I have learned a lifetime of lessons about grace, God’s love for the outcasts, the power of God, and much more.

Paulding County has remained in the Top Ten Fastest Growing Counties in America for the past 15 years. When I arrived, Paulding County was 92% unchurched. Today, it is 88% unchurched. I would like to selfishly think that God has used West Ridge and her church plants to bring people into the fold.

I cannot explain to you how deeply I have learned to love the West Ridge team, my journey group, the flock of this church, and the people of this community.

But the year is 2008, another leap year, and so I will leap again.

I am going to join the team at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.

When the leaders at the church called me a few months ago, my first response was “God, please don’t upset my apple cart! I love it here, I don’t want to move.” But immediately I felt another response well up in my soul – “God, whatever You ask me to do, the answer is YES.”

I prayed specifically that God would show me the leader He wanted me to serve with and the team He wanted me to serve on. I prayed that God would use me to make an impact for His kingdom. Mostly, I prayed that God would lead me to take a step that would provide the greatest spiritual benefit for my family.

After weeks of wrestling and praying, God made it clear we are to move to Virginia. I am going to a 52 year old church that is in the middle of a rebirth. I am being given the privilege of working with another great leader, team, and church. I will be serving as Pastor of Leadership Development, working with the staff and volunteers of the church.

I’m learning many lessons in the midst of this transition. But the first and most important is about obedience. My whole family has grieved over the letting go of friends, church, and lifestyle of the past eight years. What God is telling me, I am trying to communicate to them. He was the one who uprooted us from our enjoyable life in Lynchburg eight years ago and brought us to a new place. If we had not been obedient to step out of the boat then, we would not be clinging to a life that has become so dear here. And when God is leading again, we cannot say, “no thanks, I’m switching off my obedience so I can enjoy the ride here!”

You cannot be selective with your obedience. Either you obey or you don’t. Part-time obedience doesn’t pay anything.

We love God, He’s our master, and so we will obey.

The last palm branch.

The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” [john 12:12-13]

On the Sunday morning before the crucifixion, Jesus rode in to Jerusalem on a donkey, fulfilling prophecy [genesis 49:10, isaiah 62:11, zechariah 9:9] and inspiring the crowd to celebration. There were two significant parts of their cheering for Jesus.

First, they cry out the Old Testament scripture Psalm 118:25-26…

O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. 

The Hebrew word in Psalm 118 is “yasha-anna” = “rescue, implore”. It was a prayer for salvation ["please save us"] in Psalms and Jeremiah 31:7. Interestingly, this was a hallel psalm often sung at the Passover time. But in John 12 it is a cheer of praise - “HOSANNA!” And then the crowd quotes the rest of the verse… “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Second, we see them with palm branches in their hands.

According to the Archeological Study Bible there were many symbolisms associated with palm branches. They were:

• a symbol of victory in the Roman and Greek worlds
• used at the Feast of Tabernacles [leviticus 23:40]
• shaken along with other branches by the rabbis when reciting Psalm 118:25!
• used in the Maccabean rededication ceremony of the temple
• used as a symbol by the Jewish Bar Kokhba rebellion against the Romans

So we see the picture of “victory” tied to these branches. But the picture comes full circle later in redemptive history.

• Psalms 118 the cry begins, “Save us!”, and the palm branches wave.
• John 12 the cheer continues, expectantly, “Hosanna! Save us, Jesus!” And the palm branches wave.
• Revelation 7 shows a future, toward the end of time, where a multicultural army of martyrs in heaven don’t have to request salvation, or cheer it on. They simply celebrate its completion:

9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.” 

Hosanna.

The passion week: detours to death

On this passion week observance, I am reminded of two truths. First, Jesus fixed His eyes on obedience to His Father and walked to the cross to be my substitute. Second, He asks me to do the same - to fix my eyes on the Father, take up my cross and follow Him in obedience.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the {life} which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

As I think of His last week and of my life, I realize how many detours arise on my way to obedience. What were the detours that could have distracted Christ from the cross road? A review of His passion week gives the list…

Saturday, March 28, 30AD (possible dates)

•    Jesus’ feet anointed by Mary

1.    COMFORT - why go to the cross when I can be loved and pampered by others?

Mark 14:3 While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the leper, and reclining {at the table,} there came a woman with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; {and} she broke the vial and poured it over His head.

Sunday, March 29

•    Jesus’ Triumphal Entry of Jerusalem

2.    SUCCESS - why take the hard road when I can stay on this road of popularity?

Mark 11:7 They brought the colt to Jesus and put their coats on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others {spread} leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;

Monday, March 30

•    Jesus’ curses the fig tree, a symbol of Israel
•    Jesus’ drives merchants from temple (2nd time)

3.    FAILURE - why keep going when it seems I am failing? I’ve tried but these people still don’t get it…

Mark 11:13 Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went {to see} if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening. 15 Then they came to Jerusalem. And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves;

Tuesday, March 31

•    Jesus’ authority questioned by the chief priests, scribes and elders

4.    CONFRONTATION - why keep fighting this fight when there is so much opposition?

Mark 11:27 They came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to Him, 28 and {began} saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?”

Thursday, April 2

•    Jesus ‘counseled’ by Peter at the last supper
•    Jesus experiences physical and emotional torment in Gethsemane garden
•    Jesus is betrayed, arrested and abandoned in the garden

5.    FRIENDSHIP - my friends think I am going down the wrong road

Mark 14:27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, because it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP SHALL BE SCATTERED.’ 28 “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “{Even} though all may fall away, yet I will not.” 30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you, that this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” 31 But {Peter} kept saying insistently, “{Even} if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.

6.    SUFFERING - this road is too painful

Mark 14:33 And He took with Him Peter and James and John, and began to be very distressed and troubled. 34 And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.”

7.    REJECTION - this obedience is resulting in my friends abandoning me

Mark 14:43 Immediately while He was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, {who were} from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders.

I know the outcome of Jesus’ week: He was not detoured from obedience.

I don’t know the outcome of my life: but I would hope it will be one of obedience, of dying to self and living for Christ. And the key to that is fixing my eyes on Jesus:

Hebrews 12 1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Small groups are unbiblical.

Over the past eight years my wife and I have done group life with 54 adults in our church. We meet every week for study and fellowship, ten months out of the year. We have had as few as 8 people in the group and as many as 28. When the group has been larger we sub-grouped further for care and prayer. But some would say I have “violated” the rules that govern small group ministry…

I served as a “minister of education” for three years at a church, overseeing a 200 year-old church program – Sunday School. It has been derided as being archaic, institutional, rigid in its structure and frigid in its fellowship. The classroom assembly line that produces biblically obese Christians.

I served as small groups pastor for six years. Small groups, the biblical plan for following Christ - fresh, organic, fostering true intimacy and community. At least that’s what all the conferences and websites told me.

But early on as I studied and observed, I had questions…

• What scriptures dictate that optimum groups are no more than 12 people?
• What scriptures dictate that optimum groups have a life cycle of one to two years, then they must multiply or birth new groups?
• What scriptures dictate that people must sub-group within a church for spiritual growth?

I understand that there are true group dynamic principles, that the larger a group grows the more the participation can diminish – the loss of “being heard”, of “being known”. But why “12”? That’s the number of Jewish tribes? Jesus’ disciples? Gates of the New Jerusalem?

I see that the longer a group is together the greater the chance they may become socially incestuous, recycling the same opinions/discussions, never reaching out, cocooning in their spiritual La-Z-Boys. But can’t a group continue to grow, to reach out? And if its healthier to switch groups every year or two, doesn’t it make sense to change churches every couple of years also? And how intimate will I become with people in 12 months? How can I “do life” with people for 50 weeks or so, then restart the fellowship with other people, “just because its time.” I’m in decent company – this last thought was expressed to me in a conversation with Andy Stanley [shameless name drop #1] and a couple other small group pastors.

And what of groups at all? The average church in America still averages about 90 people. Many churches are much smaller – their whole congregation qualifies as a small group! For every one Jerusalem mega church in the New Testament there were probably several smaller Philippi congregations. Obviously, the larger the church the greater the need for more accessible community connections. But is there a MANDATE for groups? Acts 2 describes Christ followers meeting house to house – does that prescribe small group ministry?

Is Sunday School better for spiritual growing than groups, or are groups better? That’s not my point.

Small groups are not unbiblical – the structure of groups is unbiblical, or, non-biblical.

The principles of life and growth in the local Body of Christ are biblical and critical. But the structure is man-made for each generation, for each church, and needs to be held lightly. The natural lifecycle that took many Sunday Schools from innovative ministry to empty machine can and will affect small group ministry in my church – if I hold too tightly to the controls. LifeTogether’s Brett Eastman [shameless name drop #2] got a kick out of my name for small group “experts” that dictate the rules about this ministry:  “group-nazis”.

I think every ministry leader needs to get a feel from scripture, the Holy Spirit, and a scan of their church, to determine what group life will look like in their church.

Am i called to ministry?

A couple of days ago I had lunch with a guy in his 40s that was asking me if I thought he was called to ministry.

Again.

I say again because if I had a free lunch for every guy in his 40s who comes to me wrestling with this question, well, I’d have a lot of free lunches. Maybe its the midlife crisis thing, I don’t know. But it seems men in this age group struggle with their calling. Some of them have fought against God on the issue for years. Others are wrestling with insecurity, or with the haunting of the “calling” their sweet, godly mother shackled them with - “sonny, you’re gonna be a preacher someday!”

So what do I tell them? I ask some questions to check where they are coming from:

• “What do you mean by ‘ministry’?” Obviously we are all called as ministers if we are children of God. Of course, these men are always asking about the vocational calling. They want to quit their boring jobs and step in to the exciting, lucrative world of paid ministry! So, the next question is…
• “Is doing ministry just a matter of paycheck and position? Do you have to be paid and have a title to minister? Or does God just want you to keep doing it as a volunteer?”
• “What specific role are you interested in playing?” Typically “ministry” means they want to be a pastor or church leader. In its purest, simplest form, we might say that the Bible pictures a minister, elder, pastor as a shepherd leader, one who leads and feeds the flock of God.

There are a few other questions we tackle, but then I lay out six diagnostic words that can help them in determining God’s calling. These are biblically based ideas, though they aren’t a biblically mandated criteria list. These come from years of watching and talking to people who have wrestled with this calling.

1. LEADING - Does God seem to be impressing on your heart that He wants you to go into full-time, vocational ministry? Is it truly God calling you, or someone/something else? God literally knocked Saul/Paul off his horse with his calling. It was clear God was leading him into ministry.
2. DESIRE - Is there a tugging, pulling, or yearning in your heart to do this? You may have quenched the fire, suppressed the feelings through the years - because of sin, fear, insecurity, rebellion, etc. But is that desire still pulsing in your soul?
3. GIFTING - Do you have the skills, spiritual gifts, personality traits needed to do this ministry? I can say God’s “calling me” to be a great singer or athlete - but reality shows me He didn’t bother to equip me with the necessary equipment! God called Moses to lead His people, but He had already given him shepherding skills and experience.
4. SUCCESS - When you use your abilities and do ministry, do you see fruit from the effort? Does your leadership attract people? Does your teaching impact people? In other words, are you “good” at ministry leadership?
5. RECOGNITION - Does the Body of Christ agree with your opinion of your calling? The old saying goes, “you aren’t a leader if no one is following you - you’re just going for a walk by yourself.” In the Jerusalem church in Acts 6 the apostles told the people to look among themselves and recognize who should be the ministry leaders. Do people you minister with affirm your calling? Do they say “I can see you doing this as a career?”
6. OPPORTUNITY - Do the doors to ministry jobs open? Where God guides, He provides, and He usually won’t tell you to walk through a door if He never opens the door. If you have been trying to get a ministry job for a long time but nothing happens, I would ask God if your “calling” is from Him. Yes, He often makes us wait on Him, He leads us to be persistent. But eventually, what He asks us to do He makes a way for us to do.

People can oftentimes answer the first four words in the affirmative - and be self-deceived. But the last two words are the gut check. I may live in the illusion I have skill, God is leading me, etc. But reality sets in if no one else sees a calling on me, and if God doesn’t give me the open door.

Just checking off these six do not mean you are called to ministry, but they are a good starting point in gaining your answer.

Lost in america.

My friend Ellis Prince is planting a church in Baltimore. As he is exegeting the lostness of his community he has this question:

Are we (in the context of America) seeking who is lost or our we striving to change the perceptions of those who have already heard and are not convinced?

How small is the percentage of people who are really lost without a clue and those who fall into our category of lost, but really have a clue?

My thoughts on his question:

What’s the definition of “lost”?

• Jesus came to “seek and save the lost”, but the lost were “his own who received him not”. He spent his earthly ministry seeking the lost among the Jews and Samaritans, people who had already heard and were not convinced, or were convinced of a false view of God. Yes, there were the occasional demoniacs, but most of his target were people who had been infected with religion.
• Paul spent much of his ministry in synagogues, pleading with his brothers to step in to the light of the true Messiah.
• On the other hand, Paul and Peter also spent much ministry time seeking lost among the Gentiles, people who were blind without a clue.

Lost is lost. Blind is blind. Question is, what is blinding them? Is it religion or the lust of the flesh? In 21st century America I think we have moved from a “Jesus” ministry to a “Paul” ministry. We still spend time correcting the vision of religious people who claim they can see, but are blurred by their prideful view of God. But increasingly we are helping people who have never seen God, who have no idea what the Light is.

So, how much effort do we give to the unconvinced versus how much we give to the unreached? Certainly this must be God’s specific assignment to each church, and will vary based on the community. The sharp picture of this is found in Paul’s Corinthian ministry. He pours his heart out every Sabbath in the synagogue for a time. But as the resistance of the hearts thickens, he shakes them off and moves next door to teach for the next eighteen months solely to the Gentiles.

From the synagogue to the marketplace.

How do you tackle this as you reach your community?

The barnes & noble bible.

My favorite store is Barnes & Noble. That may be an overstatement, but when you have a place that combines books, music, and coffee, I’m pretty much addicted. Let’s say you and I walked in to B&N and I handed you one book, and asked you to shelf it in the proper section.

Pretty easy, right? Big store, lots of sections, but you can figure it out.

Ok. The book I want you to restock is… the Bible. In which section does the Bible belong?

The obvious answer might be to take it to the Religion section. Maybe that’s how you think about the Bible – a book on religion, the list of rules for a system of pleasing God.

Maybe you would take it to the Ancient Classics section, seeing the Bible as a time-honored book, containing important, beautiful literature.

In a moment of honesty, perhaps you’d walk over to the Foreign Language shelves. The Bible is written in terms and language that is as distant from your understanding as trying to read a book written in Klingon.

The Self-Help section might attract you. After all, what better book to give you guidance on improving your life? Plus, its devotional quality provides “Chicken Soup For The Soul” type inspiration to motivate you.

Or, you could walk to the How-To section. All you need to do is look at the B.I.B.L.E. acrostic to see the book’s value – Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Its sort of a “Life for Dummies” book, lots of great principles for fixing and maintaining parts of your life.

A current popular view could draw you to the History/Biography shelves. Isn’t the Bible the story of God? “His-story”? All we have to do is find our role in His play.

Well, each of these has some merit, some truth – but they are incomplete pictures of the Bible. If we only see it as a collection of rules, it will be our harsh dictator. If we view it as simply a classic book, then it has no rule over us at all. A foreign book will be totally ignored because we can’t read it. A self-help or how-to book certainly is valuable, but doesn’t connect us to God. And a storybook is wonderfully inspiring – but it lacks the life-changing power we need.

So, on which shelf does the Bible belong?

That’s the point – the Bible was not made for the shelf, it was made for the self.

It was not written to be a source of knowledge to which we refer; it’s a source of life and relationship with its Author. Very simply, the Bible is God’s Message. It is the Word breathed from His heart to our hearts. It is useless sitting on the shelf – it can only unleash its power in us when we pour it into our lives and let it fill us with God.

How do you view God’s Message? This year, make it your goal to take the Bible off the shelf and to get it into your self.

Psalms 119

131 cross the line in the pool.

The most meaningful baptisms in my life have been those of my own family. I’ve had the privilege of baptizing my entire family – two children at our church in Virginia, one child here on Easter morning, and my wife as she rededicated her life at the Jordan River in Israel. But beyond those, I have never been part of a more powerful baptism as the one we did yesterday.

Sunday we had a spontaneous baptism. We had heard of it at some of our friends’ churches, and talked about doing it last fall, but never did. Our teaching team came back to the idea this week as we were talking about our new series, “Cross The Line“. Two of our teachers, Paul and Tim, led our baptism team as they gathered commitment cards, shorts and t-shirts, towels, hair dryers, etc. Brian gave a clear gospel explanation and invitation for people to cross the line, to start 2008 by following Christ in a meaningful way. He and I jumped in the tub and waited for people to come.

And they came. 131 people.

Eight people in the first service, 62 in the second, and 61 in the third. The stories were amazing. Husbands and wives together, dads and sons, five guys from the same small group, old and young, moms and daughters, people saved for years but never had been baptized, 42 people who asked Christ for salvation in the service.

I spent the morning drenched and focused on getting everyone back up out of the water [hey, there were some big guys – I only missed one – he was big and wouldn’t bend his legs – I never got his head under]. But mainly I spent the time drawn in to the stories. Because that’s what baptism is – a public ceremony where we tell our story of following Christ.

Many of the stories were personal to me, people who I have had or am having the privilege of walking with through the valley. The man whose wife has walked out on him. The young girl I had met when I performed her father’s funeral. The young couple I recently met in the midst of a family tragedy, surrounded by police and EMTs. The young man who wandered into church for the first time at Christmas and prayed with me to receive Christ. The young girl I first met in an emergency room and days later gave her heart to Christ at the funeral of her younger brother. These were the stories that brought it full circle for me, watching God bring life out of death and tragedy.

I also realized some lessons in the pool.

• The power of God trumps programming every time. We hurriedly planned this event in a matter of days. Our incredible worship arts/media team flexed the program. We still had excellence, but it was raw, real, not slickly packaged. People want to see real.

• People are waiting to be asked to cross the line. It was amazing to stand up high in the tub and watch people’s faces as they came down to be baptized. It was like, “yeah, that’s what I want. No more excuses, I’ve been waiting to be asked. Today is the day.” Too often we soft-peddle the message. We’re afraid of coming on too strong. But people are ready for the challenge to life that is higher than their present state.

• Ceremony is powerful. God gives humans ceremony because they engage all our senses – communion, sacrificing, holy kisses, foot washing, baptism. We could intellectually discuss obedience, but there’s something about stepping in the water, feeling it swallow us as we’re buried with Him in death and feel the air as we raise to walk in His new life.

• Following Jesus should be done with family. Almost always [except for that lone Ethiopian] scripture shows groups baptized together – families [acts 16], households [acts 10], towns [acts 8]. We did the same. Then, to use our time wisely, we began dunking two individuals at a time, people who didn’t even know each other. But I thought, “how appropriate, no better place to start new fellowships than in the baptismal pool!”

• People will linger to watch life-change. We watch the clock, we try to respect people’s time. So after about 75 minutes in each of the last two services, and with many more to be baptized, Brian released the crowd. But most of them stayed to watch. We had to start the last service 10 minutes late, and it didn’t finish to almost 1:30. And hundreds stayed. We see it in Jesus’ ministry – when people are being taught and watching healings, they ain’t goin’ nowhere. They are hungry for more.

The state of the church address.

Every January the president fulfills Article II Section 3 of our constitution by giving a report to congress on the “state of the union”. It’s an evaluation, a pulse check on our condition, a S.W.O.T. analysis: our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The report has become an address that makes for great television theater. I enjoy keeping score on standing ovations, polite applause, scowls from the other party, etc. Of course, in the end, this evaluation is the perspective of one person – the office where the buck stops. The president should have a good perspective from where he sits, but he is only one opinion – which is why it is followed by a televised speech from the other party, and by hours of analysis from the TV news experts.

What if God called for a “state of the church” report from you in January? An evaluation, a pulse check, a S.W.O.T. analysis. We know that as church leaders we will one day give a report on the state of the flock [hebrews 13:17]. We should be in the continual practice of evaluation, of asking, “how are we doing?” Evaluation makes us see what is, not what we hope will be someday. Honest assessment is hard for visionaries who live over the next hill, in the picture God has given them of where the sheep are going. But if the sheep are wandering, diseased, starving, or being eaten by wolves ‘here’, they’ll never get ‘there’.

How do we evaluate? Better question, what do we evaluate? Offerings? Budget? Buildings? Staff? Attendance? Yes. But those only serve the mission. The church is a body, a family, an organism and organization. It must be measured by intangibles and tangibles, by numbers and Spirit. In the book Simple Church the authors encourge us to not only measure the success of programs, but to zero in on how successfully we are being at accomplishing our mission, of reaching and growing people.

Scripture gives us many evaluation points. Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude were church leaders who had to take the honest look at the flocks they led, and give feedback. Their writings were often their “state of the church” addresses. Search their letters for evaluation points they used with their churches, and then apply to yours. But the ultimate ministry assessment comes from the Head of the Church.

In Revelation 1-3 the church evaluator has a robe, golden sash, snowy hair, blazing eyes, sharp tongue, brilliant face, glowing feet, and a voice like rushing waters. He is the First and Last, the Living One who holds churches in His hand, as if to weigh them. He alone can evaluate. These were points He graded, His assessment report to the churches on their progress:

• Deeds – Are you doing good works? Are you working hard? Have you increased your serving over time?
• Endurance – Are you persevering in the ministry? Are you successfully enduring suffering or persecution?
• Holiness – What sins are you tolerating inside the church? To what degree do you hate evil?
• Teaching – Are you testing or tolerating teachings that come in to the church? Do you evaluate leaders and teachers within to be sure of their soundness?
• Love – Do you love each other? Are you loving Jesus as much as when you first started?
• Loyalty – Are you remaining true to the name of Jesus? Are you renouncing Him in any way, due to cultural trends in your community, political correctness, theological innovations, or new ministry philosophies?
• Scripture – Are you faithfully practicing and adhering to God’s Word?
• Intensity – What is the strength level of your church? Have you grown weak or mediocre?

Christ is always aware of the state of our church. It would do us well as church leaders to partner with Him and honestly weigh our ministries. Not for the purpose of naval-gazing assessment-just-to-assess, nor for glory and boasting, nor for self-condemnation. We evaluate so the church will be healthy, pure, mission-effective, and pleasing to her Master.

So, what’s your State of the Church report for January 2008?

Reading in 2008.

What will you read in 2008?

You’ll read some blogs. Maybe some newspapers. You’ll start a few books - but will you finish them? Maybe you suffer from “reading A.D.D.”. What about the quality, the importance of what you will read? Blogs are great pulse checks on what’s happening currently in culture, sort of a stream of consciousness from your favorite thinkers, writers, or leaders. But they aren’t consistent, and they don’t usually offer fully developed thinking on any subject. And what about your trips to Barnes & Noble, Borders, and other bookstores? Do you buy the book with the shiniest cover? The hot new book everyone is reading - and no one will finish?

I suffer from some of these reading disabilities. I, too, have a stack of partially read books on the nightstand. The discipline of reading often alludes me.

So, a book that has helped me is “How To Read A Christian Book” by David McKenna [former president of Asbury College]. He talks about the fact that Christians must be readers, and how to tackle that discipline. Much of it has to do with the selecting process. Just don’t buy books out of guilt, or out of addiction when you’re attending a conference. He includes a three year reading plan of how you can read important books that will actually shape you. His simple advice…

1. Balance the growth areas - We tend to eat the same foods and also read the same type of books. We need to “graze” the book buffet, read something from a variety of catagories, such as Bible study, devotional discipleship, family, ministry, etc.

2. Balance contemporary and classic books - He reminds us that popular books today may not end up being the important books of tomorrow. Which books on today’s top 10 list will actually still be shaping Christians 100 years from now? C.S.Lewis talked about drinking from old wells, not just new wells. He would balance his reading of old books and new ones. Finished Erwin or Rob’s new book? Read something from Augustine or Tozer next.

3. Develop a challenging yet realistic schedule

4. Pray about the book selection - an interesting thought, actually ask the Holy Spirit, who is our Teacher, to assign the books you read. Standing in the LifeWay bookstore, ask Him, “What do YOU want me to buy and read?”

5. Internalize each book - Read and highlight, make notes or summarize points at the end of each chapter, share insights with a friend, maybe blog your thoughts on the book, and then re-read the book as needed.

To help with your selection process, here are a couple of lists put together by the editors of Christianity Today:

TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE 20th CENTURY

1. Mere Christianity - Lewis, C.S.
2. The Cost Of Discipleship - Bonhoeffer, Dietrich
3. Church Dogmatics - Barth, Karl
4. The Lord Of The Rings (Trilogy) - Tolkien, J.R.R.
5. The Politics Of Jesus - Yoder, John Howard
6. Orthodoxy - Chesterton, G.K.
7. The Seven Storey Mountain - Merton, Thomas
8. Celebration Of Discipline - Foster, Richard
9. My Utmost For His Highest - Chambers, Oswald
10. Moral Man And Immoral Society - Niebuhr, Reinhold

The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals [since WWII]

50. Revivalism and Social Reform - Timothy L. Smith
49. Knowledge of the Holy - A. W. Tozer
48. The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
47. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? - F. F. Bruce
46. Out of the Saltshaker and into the World - Rebecca Manley Pippert
45. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Mark A. Noll
44. The Gospel of the Kingdom - George Eldon Ladd
43. Operation World - Patrick Johnstone
42. The Purpose-Driven Life - Rick Warren
41. Born Again - Charles W. Colson
40. Darwin on Trial - Phillip E. Johnson
39. Desiring God - John Piper
38. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society - Lesslie Newbigin
37. God’s Smuggler - Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
36. Left Behind - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
35. The Stork Is Dead - Charlie W. Shedd
34. This Present Darkness - Frank E. Peretti
33. The Late Great Planet Earth - Hal Lindsey with C. C. Carlson
32. The Cross and the Switchblade - David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill
31. The Next Christendom - Philip Jenkins
30. Roaring Lambs - Robert Briner
29. Dare to Discipline - James Dobson
28. The Act of Marriage - Tim and Beverly LaHaye
27. Christy - Catherine Marshall
26. Know Why You Believe - Paul E. Little
25. Boundaries - Henry Cloud and John Townsend
24. The Meaning of Persons - Paul Tournier
23. All We’re Meant to Be - Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Nancy A. Hardesty
22. The Genesis Flood - Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb
21. The Master Plan of Evangelism - Robert Emerson Coleman
20. A Wrinkle In Time - Madeleine L’Engle
19. The Cost of Discipleship - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
18. The Divine Conspiracy - Dallas Willard
17. What’s So Amazing About Grace? - Philip Yancey
16. Basic Christianity - John Stott
15. The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism - F. H. Henry
14. Let Justice Roll Down - John M. Perkins
13. Evidence That Demands a Verdict - Josh McDowell
12. Power Evangelism - John Wimber with Kevin Springer
11. Celebration of Discipline - Richard J. Foster
10. Evangelism Explosion - D. James Kennedy
9. Through Gates of Splendor - Elisabeth Elliot
8. Managing Your Time - Ted W. Engstrom
7. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger - Ronald J. Sider
6. The Living Bible - Kenneth N. Taylor
5. Knowing God - J. I. Packer
4. The God Who Is There - Francis A. Schaeffer
3. Mere Christianity - C. S. Lewis
2. Understanding Church Growth - Donald Anderson McGavran
1. Prayer: Conversing With God - Rosalind Rinker

What books are on your reading “hit list” for 2008?