Bill Easums Observations

My heart fell through the Sunday tonight as I listened to 60 Minutes tell me that one out of every four children in our country now lives in poverty. This is the highest number since the Great Depression and there is nothing on the horizon to make me believe this number won’t get higher.  And we still are talking about Nation Building in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Give me a break. Please. It’s time to focus our attention and our money rebuilding our own country before it’s too late.  We’ve spent $1,250,000,000,000 on these two wars and we are closing schools, cutting back on education, and have more people now on food stamps than ever in our history other than the Great Depression. Where is the sanity in all of this?

And please don’t make this a political statement because it”s not. Both parties are equally guilty. This situation is not a political issue; it is a moral issue.

So I want to make two challenges.

Challenge One: I want to challenge every church in the U.S.  to adopt at least one homeless family of four living below the poverty level of $22,000 a year.  What would happen if the 450,000 plus churches in the U.S. adopted at least one family? Some mega churches could adopt ten or twenty or thirty families.

Challenge Two: I also want to make a challenge to our politicians – either focus on rebuilding our nation or get out of the way. Quit the double talk and the campaign rehtoric and man up, opps I should have also said woman up too.

The world I grew up in taught there is one way to do everything and one size fits all. That’s the heart of the industrial world of Modernity.

However, just the opposite is true today. You know that if you own most any kind of software or cell phone. Almost everything today is undergoing decentralizing. That’s the nature of the beast.

 However, with decentralizing there has to be an overarching mind at work that holds all the pieces together otherwise there is chaos.

Visa is one of the best examples. No office or headquarters or even paid personnel just the software (the mind) that makes sure whenever a purchase is made with a Visa card it goes through the same channels to the right place. Visa cards are good all over the world; a vender is empowered to accept the card as long as the DNA of the mind are followed.

The same is true in the church. No matter how decentralized a church becomes, there is still one mind that guides or controls the outcome depending on the style of the one with the mind. I personally like leaders who guide better than control. When the leader guides rather than controls growth happens much more quickly. It’s called empowered. But not matter how decentralized the church becomes the team has to have the same DNA as the leader. When that is the case empowerment occurs throughout the organization.

One of the best examples in the church world is the multi-site approach to ministry. No matter how many sites there are they all have the same DNA if they are to avoid chaos. Even when the DNA is the same in all the leaders there is still a form of controlled chaos. Dee Hock, founder of Visa, describes it as Chaordic.

One of my favorite examples is Community Christian in Naperville. They are decentralizing all over the place with multiple locations even out of town but the same mind guides all the decisions because they all have the same DNA. They call it The Big Idea. Every campus uses the same message and graphics no matter what city the campus is in. The more decentralized a church becomes the larger it can become as long as there is one mindset underlying it all.

So how does this square what how you are leading your church? Do you have a tight grip one what happens or do you allow diversity as long as it contains the DNA?

BillEasum
www.effectivechurch.com
easum@aol.com

I’ve noticed a comparison between what is going on in Afghanistan and what happens in most dying churches.  Dying churches usually have some money saved up.  In fact I have helped close some churches with money in the bank.  The problem is the leaders will slowly dole out just enough money to keep the church on life support as long as possible instead of spending it all on something that might reverse their decline. When I suggest to them that they “role the dice” on X that might give them a future, the balk because if it doesn’t work they will be out of money, knowing all the while that if they continue doing what they are doing they will die soon.

Well the same is happening in Afghanistan.  Our country is running out of money and will face bankruptcy within the next ten years unless we do something.  Everyone knows this.  Yet we continue to spend money in multiple wars (and considering another one in Syria) and still keep military bases all over the world.  Yet no one will do anything. And my guess is, like church leaders, we will continue our present path, trying to save the world, while our home front deteriorates until we’re a shell of what we used to be.

Now don’t misunderstand me.  This is not a tirade against our military nor is it a political statement about one party or the other (both parties are part of the mess).  This is an observation about human nature- most humans would rather hang on the illusion that if we do nothing things will all work out.  In the case of church leaders it goes like this- “as long as we can keep the church alive until I die, I’m happy.” In the case of our political leaders it goes like this – “as long as I can keep my office I’m happy.”

Church leader, if your church is declining and you have money in the bank, spend it NOW.  All of it on something that could insure a future beyond slow, gradual decline. What that would be, I don’t have a clue.  In most churches it is starting an indigenous worship service designed to reach the major age block surrounding the church. In some cases it might be relocating the church. In others situations it might be hiring the second most important staff person the church ever hires – a full time worship leader.

Who or what does your church need to spend ALL of its money on NOW in order to have a half way chance of thriving instead of just surviving?

I’ve long been an advocate for children and youth having their own worship service apart from the adults.  It’s been one of the many things I’ve been chided for.  But I just ran on to the best explanation of why one major church doesn’t allow children in the worship service and thought I would share it with you. The article was posted in this weeks ChurchLeaders.com    Click here to read the article.

What is your opinion on the subject and why?

This weeks email from ChurchLeaders.com has an article from Brady Boyd sharing four predictions about the future.  All four of them are worth our time pondering for a moment.  Although I agree with all four, there are a few nuances to make in order to avoid leading the impression that these four will dominate the future.  I think they will be a significant part of the future but not nearly all of it.  Since we are entering a world of either/or it is important to unpack these a bit. Here they are

1. “The Places we gather will become smaller. “ I would prefer he said “many of the places we gather will become smaller.”  I remember back in the 70′s ( I know, some of you were not even born then) Schumaker’s book “Small is Beautiful.” Many people were saying then that small, in any situation, was better than large.  It didn’t come true.  I can also remember my saying in 2000 that the day of the mega church was coming to an end. Well I had to eat crow in an article. I’m convinced that the future will need both the mega and the micro church to transform the world. So far, I don’t see the mega phenomena subsiding one bit; in fact it seems to be escalating at the moment-albeit many mega churches are forming multiple venues which are smaller in nature but still much larger than the average church of today or the last 100 years.  What we fail to realize is that a 500 in worship satellite church is not anywhere near a small church. Even the smallest effective churches today are larger than a large church in the past.
2. “The Church will be launched into real mission.” Again, some will and most effective ones will, but not all. However, we are seeing more and more books on the “heart of the matter” and the daily “intentional practices” that will change the way Christian live.  This emphasis is rivaling the normal church growth logistics of the past. Still, no matter what is in the heart, without the institutional church I don’t think Christianity can thrive in the Western world. On the other hand if we all lived like Christ the world would change.
3. “The Church will return to its ancient roots.” Man I hope this becomes true because it is the only way the church is going to become effective again.  I just wish Brady hadn’t said,  “We will gather often, read the Scriptures, worship intently, pray fervently, be led by servants, live authentically, and honor the Sacraments,”  because there weren’t any defined sacrament then.  I point this up to say that much of what we think today is important probably hadn’t even been thought of in the first century.  To use the word “sacrament” leaves out a lot of Christians who don’t think of certain practices as “sacraments” but as remembrances that have no sacramental efficacy.
4. “The Church will return to wonder and awe.” I so hope this will happen, but so far in the West, I haven’t seen this at all. If you have I would love to hear the stories.  For this to happen will have to regain an appreciation for the Holy Spirit as Len Sweet has been telling us for years.  But still, wonder and awe has to have order as  the Apostle Paul reminded us over and over.  I’m not sure the world is looking for miracles as much as authentic love and relationships.  But again, both would be wonderful

All in all, Brady gives us four excellent glimpses of what might happen in the future.  I just felt the need to round out the predictions with the either/or facet of the world we are entering.

Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
easum@aol.com

Well, I finally found time to finish “On the Verge” by Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson.  So I thought I would update my earlier post

It’s a jewel.  Obviously by the title one can assume they sense Western Christianity is on the verge of something big- an apostolic movement of gigantic potential for the Church in the West.

What I like about this book is the blending of a systematic dreamer (Alan Hirsch who has a brilliant mind) and an effective practioner (Dave Ferguson who has an impeccable track record). I’ve known both of these guys for more than a decade and I’ve never been disappointed by either. In fact it’s their coming together that excites me. The collaboration has produced a book you must read at least once and then implement.

I first met Dave in 2000 when one of the stops on our tour was held at his church.  I was impressed with his passion for transformation and the development of the Big Idea which has become the backbone of their multisite and church planting efforts.

I first met Alan in 2002 when he attended an event I pulled together on our island with twenty or so people who were probing the edges of what has become a push for an apostolic movement.  Among the group were such notables as Len Sweet, Ed Stetzer, Mark DeYmaz, Carl George, George Hunter, Bob Roberts, Dave Travis, Reggie McNeal and a host of other folks you would recognize.  I remember talking with Alan during the event and it was clear he had little use for any forms of institutional Christianity.

Since then Alan has moved more to the middle and now accepts the role the institutional church could play in this apostolic movement. At the same time Dave has become one of the leading voices in this movement which appears to be taking shape at this moment. Notice I said “appears.” It’s still too soon to say anything with certainty.

The book is divided into four parts- Imagine, Shift, Innovate, and Move.  Imagine a new form of church that is truly Apostolic. Make the Shift to this new form of church by embodying “movement practices.” Let your imagination run wild dreaming about this innovating paradigm. And then move to make the movement happen.  The first two sections are written by Alan with a response from Dave; the second two sections are written by Dave with a response by Alan.

The heart of the book is what the authors call the “Apostolic Genius” which every church has within its DNA.  The Apostolic Genius is more than just a way of thinking; it is also the intelligence that is found throughout the system the New Testament calls the “ecclesia.” The Apostolic Genius consists of six parts:

• Jesus is Lord is the capstone of the movement and is the only element of this intelligence that isn’t found in every other religious movement.
• Disciple making is essential because movements grow only in proportion to the number of new disciples. Apprenticing people into the way of Jesus is what defines the Christian movement and what is lacking in so many institutional churches.
• The missional-incarnational impulse means that mission is the catalyzing principle of the church and permeates everything the church does and is not just one department among many.
• An Apostolic environment is essential for any missional church and movement which means the primary ministry of a church is mission not maintenance.
• Organic systems point up our need to return to a people-centered understanding of ecclesia which has been lost in most institutional forms of Christianity.
• Communitas doesn’t refer to mere community as we are prone to think of it but more to a profound bond that moves participants from acquaintances to partners and from associates to comrades who are will to risk exploring the edges together.

The last chapter of the book is a thriller that you simply don’t want to miss. Dave shares the nitty-gritty of moving from the status quo to an apostolic movement.  Just to give you a taste here are four questions he asks:

• “Is your church more interested in quality programs or quality people?”
• “Is your church as passionate about sending people out as they are about bringing people in?”
• “Is your church content with addition, or does it long to see exponential reproduction?”
• “Is your church holding on to control, or are they leading with a harmonious blend of order and chaos?”

While Alan thinks the institutional local church can reach only 35-40% of a population, I’m convinced that missional communities will never reach more than 5 to 10% of the population unless, because of persecution, the Church has to go underground. However, when you couple outward focused churches with small groups that function like missional communities, you have the seeds of an Apostolic, missional movement that has the possibility of reaching more than 60% of the population.  This is my hope for the truly New Testament missional movement that may be underway today.

Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
www.Billeasum.com

Before I share the list let me explain the difference between Missional Small Groups and Small Groups.  Small groups get together to share life around the Scriptures, apprentice new leaders,  and form new groups, and may or may not have a mission beyond the small group.   Mission and ministry are the heart of missional small group along with sharing life around the Scriptures, apprenticing new leaders, and forming new groups.

So here are my top ten reasons for being a church of Missional Small Groups.

Missional Small Groups ……

1. Bless the community by sharing Christ’s love and compassion.
2. Are the primary delivery system for all forms of mission and ministry in the community.
3. Simplify church structure by rolling everything, except worship, into one ministry.
4. Provide the “sticky” when it comes to retaining new guests.
5. Provide the farm system for apprenticing future leaders.
6. Continue Jesus’ practice of on-the-job training as opposed to classroom training.
7. Give the small group an outward purpose for being together rather than the spot light being on the group.
8. Are based on the premise that it is better to give than to receive.

In case you are not yet up to speed on missional small groups, a couple of excellent books will quickly get you there – Missional Small Groups are Missional Small Groups and MissioRelate, both by Scott Boren.

Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
easum@aol.com