I just did an interview with Frank Viola on his and Sweet’s new book, The Jesus Manifesto. You can view it free at http://bit.ly/fviola .
The Problem with Emphasizing Character
In case you haven’t noticed lately there have been a host of books focusing on the pastors character and spiritual development. Not only that but many conferences are now featuring the importance of spiritual development of the pastor. One of the most notable books on the subject of the devotional life of the pastor is Sweet and Viola’s book, The Jesus Manifesto (you can see my very positive review of this book in an earlier blog).
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m all for the spiritual development of the pastor. Lord knows with all of the recent moral failures we could all do with getting closer to God. In fact I’ve said many times that a pastor should spend a lot of time on his own spiritual development. BUT not at the expense of our Lord’s last command which was to “go make disciples…”
My fear is that with all of this emphasis on the spiritual life of the pastor many pastors will take that as their number on priority as a pastor. And if that happens the church will decline even faster than it is.
We need a healthy balance between the spiritual and the practical. I must emphasize Jesus used the word “go” when giving us his last command. He didn’t say “stay with me.” He said, “now that you have been with me, GO” (a loose translation).
I guess it all depends on how you define “spiritual.” In my book, Unfreezing Moves, I define it as the point at which most of what a person does is directed toward those who have never given their life to Christ. If that is what is being meant by all of the emphasis on spirituality, then I’m all for it. If we are becoming more like Christ then we are becoming more willing to die for those who have not yet accepted the Good News.
I just don’t want anyone to think that spending most of our time becoming like Jesus means that we should hold up in our office, reading the Word and praying for ourselves and others, when outside the world is going to Hell. We must keep a balance. That’s all I’m saying.
The Value of a Coach
Church planters spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on starting a new church; work 70-80 hours a week putting butts in the seats. And when it comes to spending a couple of thousand a year for a coach, they balk.
I can’t tell you how many stories I could tell about church planters trying to go it alone without a coach to save a buck. The stories are legion.
One tried to plant without anyone to lead worship. Another tried to rent without someone responsible for the set up and take down. Another tried to do a capital campaign without outside help. The list goes on and on and on.
The same is true for pastor trying to transform or grow a church. You hear stories of these great mega pastors who do it without help. The problem is not everyone is a super hero. Most of us need the wisdom of people who have gone before. And if the truth be known, most mega church pastors had a coach somewhere in their history.
What a shame it is to try to save a buck when a coach is an investment in your future. A good coach can save you many times over what you invest in them.
I remember brining Lyle Schaller into my church in 1982. It changed the whole direction of my ministry. Then there was the time I brought in Kennon Callahan. Both of them had a part in the growth of the church I served for 24 years.
Folks, get a coach!
Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
easum@aol.com
A Quick Word for United Methodists and Others
I just started reading “The Long View” by Roger Parrott and the title of the first chapter caught my attention and says so much about why United Methodism (and many other groups) is in deep trouble. The chapter title is “Lead as if you’ll be there forever.” In such a fast changing world one of the worse practices on earth is the way United Methodist pastors are moved around every few years. It didn’t matter on the fronteir when the itinerant system was created, but today, short term pastors are one of the primary reasons the UMC has declined to the point that it is producing short term, short-sighted, leaders.
Consider what happens when the congregation knows the pastor won’t be with them long:
- Why should we listen to him or her when we know they will be gone in a few years?
- This is my church and I’ll do what I please.
- How do we know we can trust this person?
- Well, it’s just another program de jure.
Consider what goes on in the mind of the short term pastor.
- There’s no use fighting that battle; I’ll just wait it out and move on.
- Why should I try to turn this ship around; the next person will just grow it back to where it was.
- I can’t wait to get out of here and get a real church.
- As soon as I move I can start preaching the same sermons over again.
- I wonder where I’ll be sent next year (its only 10 months till moving time).
Pastors, if you don’t do anything else – LEAD AS IF YOU’LL BE THERE FOREVER!
Jesus Manifesto
For a long time I’ve taught there are only two critical questions facing humankind:
- What is it about my relationship to Christ that my neighbor needs to experience;
- How can I rabidly share that relationship without coming off like a bigot?
Len Sweet and Frank Viola have made a major contribution to these two questions in their book, Jesus Manifesto. It’s a brilliant work of art.
The best way to know to showcase this art is by sharing a few of the quotes that captured my heart.
“The best way to combat conflict is to preach the unspeakable riches of Christ.”
“Jesus is seldom the main course (Speaking of most Christians).”
“Our goal is not to imitate Christ but to acknowledge that he dwells in us.”
“It’s not what Jesus would do but what is Christ doing through me.”
“Christlikeness is too small and cheap a dream.”
“The gospel is not the imitation of Christ; it is the impartation and implantation of Christ.”
“”Follow me’ is what separated Jesus from the other world religions.”
“Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live.”
“Jesus Christ has never been a social activist or a moral philosopher. To pitch Him that way is to drain His glory and dilute His excellence.”
“We must never avoid social issues. But the distinctive mark of a Christian is that you don’t begin with a social or moral issue.”
“Jesus is never a cause.”
“But the social and political reform of the world through the powers that be has never been the agenda of the body of Christ.”
“We have too many people loving justice when they should be loving mercy – and doing justice.”
“Jesus was not known for His love of justice but for His love of mercy.”
“We would be wise to remember that the best we can do is change the world; only Jesus can save the world.”
“Our ‘hunger for justice’ is best turned into a hunger for the Just One, and going deeper in Him and in relationship with others.”
I could go on but you get the picture- the gospel is not about causes or imitating Christ or even being like Christ. The gospel is about falling in love with the crucified beauty and glory of Christ in such a way that he lives in us. It’s not a matter of imitation- Christ actually lives in us- that is the hope of glory. It’s one thing to be on a crusade or to beat the drum of a cause or even to be in ministry because of some ill-founded belief that a cause is worth giving one’s life for; it’s a far different thing to give ones life to a love that is profound that it consumes the self with the presence of Christ.
This is a excellent book that could change the hearts of even the most calcified church member.
Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
easum@aol.com
A Hail Mary Strategy for Turnaround
By Bill Easum
The average church in the U.S. is under a hundred in worship. Churches with less than 50 people in worship make up 40% of all churches in the U.S. The average age in these churches with less than 50 people in worship is over 65. Add to that less than 2% of these churches are growing and you have a formula for major disaster over the next fifteen years for 40% of all the churches in the U.S.
If there is to be any hope for the vast majority of these churches radical action must be undertaken within the next few years or most of them will go out of existence. So, I am suggesting a “Hail Mary Strategy” for these churches. You get the image. It’s the last five seconds of the football game; your team is down by six points; and you are on your own 45 yard line. Only a touchdown will allow you to win the game. So you call the play and launch the ball as high and as far as you can hoping beyond hope the ball will come to rest in the arms of your receiver somewhere over the goal line.
So the question is this – “Will the leaders of your church wake up to the fact that the church is in serious trouble and the only way to move it from survival to thriving is by starting over?”
Starting over means the following based on the “Hail Mary Strategy.”
- Find a way to have a full time pastor/planter who will commit for three years . I know you can’t afford this at the moment but you must find a way or you will continue to decline. A part time pastor does not have the time to do all that is necessary to restart a church.
- Suspend all of the present ways/policies/hidden agendas/system stories regarding decision making and day to day running the church and allow the pastor and a launch team to give direction to the church during the three years. This also means disbanding all of the existing committees and the Administrative Council.
- Do away with the present mission statement and come up with one that a six year old can remember as well as short enough to be written on a t-shirt.
- Allow the pastor to bring together and disciple/equip a re-launch team of a seven people and give them full authority to make all of the decisions for the next three years. These people need to have four faith characteristics: one, a renewed belief in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church; two, a servant’s heart; three a deep compassion for the lost; and four, a more focused prayer effort.
- The pastor should be personally responsible for spending 80% of his or her time in the community, dreaming up ways to reach the unchurched, and responding to the visitors to worship. I’ve never seen a church this size grow without the pastor being the direct cause of the growth. Just think how it would change the church if the pastor personally brought in fifty new members over the next eighteen months?
- Begin an indigenous worship service designed specifically for people 25-50 which means rock music and tons of visuals.
- The pastor must find a musician who believes in the mission and is willing to give his or her time to developing the music and musicians for this service. I know you don’t have a clue how to do this but you get what you look for and if part of the 80% of the time the pastor is spending on the unchurched is devoted to finding this person the pastor will find them. These people are out there waiting to be asked to play in worship rather in the bar scene.
- Send out six off-the-wall direct mail pieces to all the households with five miles of the church announcing the start of the new worship service. These mail out pieces will focus on two things- a new service and a new sermon series designed to catch the imagination of the people under 50 years of age. It must not look churchy.
- Develop one or two signature ministries. Churches with less than 300 in worship can only do one or two key ministries. I suggest one of these be a children’s ministry fashioned after Promise Land from Willow Creek. You will not be able to afford to purchase it, but you can easily put your own program together once you understand the basics.
- Keep the present worship service intack for the present members. These folks have kept the church open all these years and need to be honored for their commitment. What I am suggesting in no way diminishes their past or future contributions to the God’s Kingdom.
- Have a capital fund drive to raise enough money to accomplish the above. One of the roles of the present members will be to “pray and pay” for what needs to be done to reach young adults for Christ and cause your church to thrive once again. With a solid plan in place you can probably borrow more from your bank. This should be more than enough money to do what is necessary. Now you see why I call this a “Hail Mary” strategy. But it works if you have the right planter/restart/pastor.
The one thing you know for sure; if you keep doing what you’ve been doing you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting. Surely you’re not satisfied with that. So roll the dice; spend everything you have; and see what happens. If it doesn’t work, it just means you’ll close the doors a few years sooner and with a lot less grief.
Sticky Teams is a Great, Practical Book
Ever so often I read a book and say to myself “I wish I had written that.” So it is with Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne. It’s Larry’s best book to date and one of the best books I’ve read on how to build strong, trusting Boards and Staffs. Sticky Teams is a down to earth, no fluff, nuts and bolts book. It’s a quick read and practical to the bone. Osborne shares many of his own mistakes and passes on the learning that came from them. I’ll say it again, “This is one book I wish I had written.”
Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
easum@aol.com
Like “Church,” the Word “Disciple” has too Much Baggage to Be Effective
I’m constantly asked “What’s the best curriculum for leadership development or Discipleship?” as if either one is something that can be taught and learned in a course. My response is always the same – “You are the curriculum.” And I often get a blank stare because in the West we think of everything as if it were a program that is taught rather than a way of life that is caught. Discipleship is not a program to be taught; it is a trade to be learned by doing it.
When Jesus spoke the word “Disciple” he was referring to a person who was learning a trade from someone he considered a master at the trade. Disciples were apprentices. There was no curriculum or course to take. Jesus just hung out with them. They learned from him by being with him and watching how he did things. They were learning a trade- the trade of following Jesus and being like Jesus.
Jesus + Apprentice = a new trade- following Jesus.
So a better word for disciple today is apprentice- no baggage here. We all know what an apprentice is. It also helps if leadership development is understood as a relationship of respect and trust between a seasoned leader and an apprentice.
This means that discipleship takes place in the midst of ministry, not a classroom. It takes place as an apprentice watches how the seasoned leader goes about the trade the apprentices wished to do. The leader does; the apprentice watches; and they talk about it. Then the leader does; the apprentice helps; and they talk about it. Then the apprentice does; the leader helps; and they talk about it; Then the apprentice does; the leader watches; and they talk about it. Then the apprentice becomes a leader and begins the process all over again with a new apprentice.
Coach, Scout, and Player
In order to think through the process one has to think in terms of “Coach,” “Scout,” and “Player.” The mistake that most pastors make is they enjoy playing the game so much they never coach and pass the ministry off to another person. They don’t see their role to be a coach and scout. They’re a player who does ministry which makes them too busy to either coach or scout. So twenty years later they are still doing the same ministry and not making any advances in the Kingdom. However, if they lived as a coach and scout, they would always have an apprentice learning the trade of following Jesus from them and someday scouting and coaching for their own apprentices.
Reproduction and Exponential Growth of People and Church Are the Goal
So, if you want exponential growth, leadership development, and spiritual growth work toward every leader having four to five apprentices. These means the leader can’t be burdened going to lots of meetings and overseeing multiply ministries. They key role of a leader is to coach and scout.
Leadership Path
Leadership development has two aspects. On the one hand it is learning how to follow Jesus – that is to be and live more like him. This is the spiritual side of discipleship. On the other hand it is learning how to lead others. This is the practical side of discipleship.
On the practical side a farm system is necessary for apprentices to grow in ministry and reach their potential. The following chart shows one example of a “Leadership Path.”
- Visitors- do not overlook the fact that fewer people will be joining organizations in the future and that one of the best ways to disciple a person is to involve them in a ministry. New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu is one of the best at this.
- Apprentices in training – this includes potentially everyone in the congregation.
- Leaders of Committees . Almost anyone can lead a committee. All you have to do is call it to order, keep your mouth shut, and close it.
- Leaders of short term ministries like S.S. or VBS. At this point people need to become scouts, looking for potential new leaders, but they are seldom coaches.
- Leaders of major, on-going ministries like a small group system. It is not uncommon from here on for leaders to become scouts and coaches.
- Leaders of Systems such as Lay Mobilization
- Leaders of leaders – usually staff
- Leader of leaders – lead pastor.
One of the most effective apprentice model is Wayne Cordeiro’s Fractal model in which every leader has four apprentices and their spouses and is responsible for their growth as well as their total spiritual well being. You can search our website for “Fractal” to see it in more detail or you can find it described in my book Unfreezing Moves or in Cordeiro’s book Doing Ministry as a Team.
A Relationship of Mutual Respect and Trust
In mainline churches the practice of nominating people on an annual basis to some committee or task actually gets in the way of leadership development, apprenticeship and discipleship. The primary reason is that nominations are not based on trust between individuals as much as who the church can talk into taking the job. Often the person agreeing to do the job can’t wait until the job is over.
Instead, the apprentice model rests on two people forming a bond of mutual respect and trust and together working out the details of that relationship. Instead of “dialing for people” and twisting arms, which happens so often in the nomination process, the apprentice of discipleship model revolves around a Jesus like approach of inviting people into a relationship of trust. In that relationship people learn by watching, doing, and debriefing. Because of the respect and trust between the apprentice and the coach the apprentice is willing to open up and be vulnerable to the mentor.
If you are stuck with a nomination process, then avoid nominating your best people except for a couple of critical positions-finance and personnel. Keep the best for coaching, scouting, mentoring, and apprenticeship.
Committees are Deadly
Committees hamper apprenticeship. No one is ever mentored or grown in a committee. In fact just the opposite occurs- people are bored to tears and mostly do it out of duty. So do the following:
- Drop as many committees as you possibly can. You’d be surprised at how little most of the people in your church care whether or not you have committees.
- Don’t prop up any failing committees or those from whom no one wants to lead
Teams are Better than Committees
Committees are always put together by a leader and are never nominated. The leader may be nominated, but not the team. The individuals on the team join the team because they like the leader and the project. They know before committing what they are getting into.
Take a look at the difference in teams and committees.
Committees Teams
Committee Elected Individually Called
Committee Nominated Leader Invites
Standing Group Has An Ending
Maybe a Mission Clear Mission
Someone Controls Autonomous
Need Permission Act On Their Own
Not Responsible For Action Responsible for Action
Not Connected Connected
It doesn’t take rocket science to see the difference.
A Pipeline is Constantly Being Filled
Because every leader is scouting for potential leaders there is a constant stream of apprentices in the pipeline to leadership. The coach of a major ball team doesn’t wait until the star player breaks his leg. Instead the coach always has scouts out looking for potential players. No matter how good the players are on his team there are always people in wings just in case.
Another way to look at leadership development and discipleship is to think about the different farm systems in sports. Every major pro sport team has a “not so pro” league from which they can select new talent for their team. In the same way a reproducing church always has more people than it needs in the pipeline learning how to follow Jesus and to serve in some capacity. (Those who follow Jesus always serve in some capacity if they are physically and mentally able).
How do you insure you have a “not so pro” league from which to find apprentices and your future leaders?
Lost
A friend of mine, Rick Melheim, sent me the following and suggested I put it on my blog. It’s worth the time to read.
“I watched six hours of the “LOST” preshow, the final episode, and Jimmie Kimmel’s post-show interviews last night and woke to write a piece called “Lost… Without Jesus” at www.richmelheim.com just now. It starts with:
It was brilliant.
It was intricate.
It was clear.
It was confusing.
It always kept you guessing.
It usually kept you coming back.
It was the longest-running sermon in television history.
It was all about redemption.
It was all about choices and consequences.
It was all about chance and second chances, and the myriad of alternate possibilities based on those chances.
It was, in the end, all about laying down one’s life for one’s friends.
It was Lost.
And also in the end, all of the Lost who laid down their lives for their friends were found.
Without Jesus.”
Does Every Group Need a Leader?
I received an email today from a client asking me if every group, even a micro group, needed an identified leader. Here is my response.
“It’s been my experience that no group functions at its peak without an identified leader. Even in a group of three or four someone will emerge as first among equals or something like that. its just the law of the jungle.
However you have to define the word “leader”. That is where most people get confused. They equate the term with a dictator or task master or big ego or whatever. Usually their definition means getting people to do what the leader wants them to do. That’s not the way I use the term “leader”. I like to think of leaders of leaders.
The new understanding of leadership is that of a guide who takes people where God wants them to go. Still, there arent leaders and followers- all of us are followers of something- hopefully it is Jesus. So a leader is someone who helps others achieve what God has in store for them,not what the leader wants.
Of course if someone doesn’t respect the leader or feels God is calling them to go in a totally different direction than the guide, they are free to find another guide.