MINISTERS MATTER

10 REASONS YOUNG ADULTS LEAVE CHURCH

This was presented by Ed Stetzer at the International Christian Retail Show. When you think of the young adults in your church, do some of these same stats apply?

PRAY FOR THE CHURCH IN HONDURAS

Christians Remain Tense Amid Honduras Coup Crisis

Christians in Honduras are living under great stress as their country’s post-coup strife shows no sign of resolution in the near future.

Since the removal of President Manuel Zelaya from power two weeks ago, the government has imposed a 9 p.m. curfew on the entire country as well as a ban on public meetings, including religious services.

Media reports indicate that the nationwide curfew was lifted Sunday, but it is still unclear on whether or not the prohibition on public gatherings was also lifted.

“This impacts the evangelical church community dramatically, since believers have not been able to meet or fellowship together,” said a Bible League official and local clergyman in Honduras, whose name was not disclosed for security reasons. “But we continue to monitor the situation and have faith that through this crisis the Christian community will unite together in prayer and continue its mission to share God’s Word, which transcends politics.”

The international community has denounced the ousting of Zelaya from office and has tried, but so far failed, to broker successful peace talks between the two parties involved.

Zelaya was expelled from Honduras by the country’s military late last month and was replaced by Roberto Micheletti, who the military installed as the interim head of state.

Since then, pro-Zelaya as well as anti-Zelaya demonstrations have taken place in Honduras, some of them erupting into violence.

Those opposed to Zelaya accuse him of poor management of the country and of trying to change Honduras’ constitution to remain in power. Honduras’ constitution says a president can only serve one term and anyone who is found to “incite, promote, or aid in the continuation or re-election of the President” would face lost of citizenship.

Last week, Zelaya tried to fly back to Honduras but the interim government refused to allow his plane to land.

The deposed Honduran leader spent this past weekend in Washington trying to garner support from the U.S. government and officials of the Organization of American States (OAS). Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, a 1987 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, meanwhile, is trying to organize a follow-up face-to-face talk between Zelaya and Micheletti.

Honduras is one of the poorest and least developed countries in Central America. Nearly half of its citizens live below the poverty line. It also has a long history of military rule.

The country is also overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. The CIA World Factbook reports 97 percent of its population is Catholic. Evangelicals make up only about three percent of the population.

Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter

MATT CARTER ON MISSION

How does a church get so missional and global?  The answer is by doing it - it isn’t found in a class - it’s found in the field.  Matt ties this to his small group ministry and it’s really good. 

THE SHOW - for May 19, 2009 - Guest Matt Carter from Todd Rhoades on Vimeo.

THE DNA OF GLOCALNET ( Global and local combined)

The ministry of Bob Roberts Jr., of Keller, Texas is one of global connecting together missionally.

The Birth of a Dream…Glocalnet  http://www.glocal.net/

Glocalnet was born out of a dream — a dream that followers of Jesus Christ and their churches would be so radically changed from the inside out that those disciples, their families, their churches, their neighborhoods and their work places would never be the same.

As a result of a transformational experience, these disciples and their churches would form partnerships that would transform their communities and touch the world.

Groups of regionally-located churches or churches within the same city (clusters of churches) would link arms to provide cities and nations good news in all arenas — fresh water, nutritional food, 21st century healthcare, competitive education and spiritual truth.

If this worldwide, strategic, interdenominational alliance of churches went full-force after its calling from Christ to be salt and light to serve the least of these glocally (locally and globally), the world would literally be transformed. Every pocket of the globe would be changed.

The Dream is Becoming Reality

Glocalnet is a network of churches worldwide, clustered together regionally or in cities. These clusters pool their resources to produce T-Life disciples, multiply churches, transform local communities and impact the world.

HOW WILL THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH SURVIVE - By Bob Roberts Jr.

Bob leads Northwood Church in Keller, Texas and has an interesting church planting group called  glocal.net (global and local combined).

1.  Connect with the rest of the world:

Our “methods” aren’t working.

Our “pride” demands that we connect so that we can be humble learners.

The church really is global now.  Really, it is . . . no joke . . .  we are not alone in the U.S.  Really!

2.  Love people more than the church:

Yes, the church is the people.  The problem is we focus more on the institution than the constituents. 
The church is a reflection of the disciples being made - make disciples and serve people.

3.  Rediscover God:

No revival came out of a church growth movement - but revival has produced church growth.

No revival came out of church planting - but church planting came out of revival.

Get on your face before God and pray - ask him to reveal himself to you.

Spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditation, Scripture reading aren’t niceties but necessities.

4.  Let new believers and young people shape the form of the church more than yesteryear - or yester-century.

WHAT IS GOD DOING IN HIS GLOBAL CHURCH?

A great blog from Bob Roberts Jr., on happenings around the globe in the Church and amongs it's leaders.

I just returned from a very small gathering of pastors from around the world.  All of us have started our church, we start churches out of our church, and we engage with other nations in the domains of society.  These churches are generally huge - but not all.  There are things we are teaching one another and ways of mentoring each other and it is one of the most incredible things “ministry-wise” I’ve ever been a part of.

We met in the middle-east and the pace was very fast - as well as some other things I was involved in there so I didn’t have a chance to blog.  I’ll do some catch up with it the next couple of weeks.  Here are some observations and statements made that were unexpected that were intriguing for me:

“Asia will not be won by the house church and/or simple movement alone.”  This wasn’t from one man, but all of them - each of them also having more simple churches than any other model.  All of these men have huge churches, and simple, cell, and small church planting networks that also have larger churches in them.  That they use all the models and expressions of the church has always been clear.  They were really reacting against those that would define all models of church as being one form.  In the past I’ve heard push back on U.S. mega-church “only” type guys.  I was hearing a strong push back on “simple” church only.  They start simple churches by the thousands, but many of those grow into large churches - each has a different function and purpose.  Their contention is we are all organic if Christ is the head and the whole body needs the whole body.

“Cells, churches, and ministries must flow from the domains of society.”  It’s what I wrote about in my last blog and Matt Carter talked about on the video that was there.  I think we are finally starting to move away from doing “religious” work to doing “kingdom” work.  All of them were talking domains at this meeting and what they were doing and how church planting was coming out of it.

“We are on the front end of something we can’t describe yet.”  I heard this from every pastor.  Most of these men have faced persecution or are in difficult places.  Each has a sense that God is really up to something unique globally.  It was thick in the air as we met.  As we were sharing our models and teaching one another, there was a strong sense of “holy awe” and God’s work which can’t be systematized - but his call that must be obeyed.

SMALL CHURCHES CAN THRIVE

More research by Ed Stetzer and the LifeWay Team on Small Churches.

As a speaker at a number of conferences each year, I continue to see pastors and leaders going from one workshop to another searching for "THE" answer. They show up and hear amazing stories about implausibly happy people who willingly follow a new vision for their lives and their church.

They have heard all the strategies and promises, but for many small-church leaders, the conferences, led by rock star celebrity pastors, are like "ministry pornography"-- an unrealistic depiction of an experience they'll never have that distracts them from the real and wonderful thing. In other words, the lust of the megachurch distracts them from the mission of their church. (I'm not anti-big church--I preach at a megachurch every week-- but I am also pro-small church.)

The reality is that smaller churches can thrive, too. More than 65 percent of the churches that participated in the research survey for Comeback Churches (B&H)--the book I co-wrote with Mike Dodson-- had under 200 regular attendees. Smaller churches are not always unhealthy churches; it depends largely on their mindset. In our research, we found that the small churches which experienced revitalization often did so around prayer and outreach.

Passionate, Persistent Prayer

Small churches need to stop looking at megachurches and their pastors as role models. They can learn from them, but they must not copy them. In a world that devalues the small, listening to God in prayer and stepping out in obedience are much more important than the latest magic bullet that often misfires in smaller churches.

That attitudinal change can and does happen through intentional prayer for renewal. As we looked a little deeper at survey results, it was interesting to note that the comeback leaders of smaller churches highlighted the need for prayer even more than those at larger churches. When asked, "To what degree did the following [areas] change during your church's comeback?" leaders of the churches under 200 rated prayer as the area most changed.

Smaller comeback churches are often praying churches. Comeback leaders of smaller churches believed even more strongly that real, intentional, strategic prayer made a significant difference in their revitalization process. God can change attitudes in your church through passionate, persistent prayer for renewal.

An Outward Focus

Small churches are not exempt from the call to reach people because they are small. Too many churches of all sizes spend too much time moaning about what they don't have that other churches do have or about what they can't do that other churches are doing. No, you may not be able to do everything that other churches are doing. But that doesn't mean your church can't do something of purpose.

If smaller churches are going to thrive, they must focus their attention on reaching the lost in their communities. Again, delving deeper into our survey results reveals another important point. When asked the same question above, the leaders of churches under 200 rated evangelism as the second area that changed the most during the comeback.

Where From Here?

Prayer and outreach are not exactly revolutionary ideas, but they do change our focus. When small-church leaders have set their hearts on being like the large church, often the results are not positive. However, when they set their attention on God through prayer and on their community through outreach, the right focus produces small churches on God's mission in their context. And that's worth celebrating.

ANOTHER BARNA SURVEY - Always interesting.

A recent nationwide Barna survey points out that while Americans are tiring of traditional church forms and experiences, they continue to see themselves as deeply spiritual, open to religious experience.

The study showed that,

-88% of American adults say that "my religious faith is very important in my life."
-75% say they sense that "God is motivating people to stay connected with Him, but in different ways and through different types of experiences than in the past."
-50% say "a growing number of people I know are tired of the usual type of church experience."
-64% say they are "completely open to carrying out and pursuing [their] faith in an environment or structure that differs from that of a typical church."
-45% say they are "willing to try a new church."

Don't miss that one. The Barna Group notes,

A staggering number of Americans - almost half of the nation's 230 million adults - are open to changing their church home, demonstrating their lack of connection with their present community of faith and their desire to have a more significant connection. It may also be a reflection of people's increasing lack of loyalty to both organizations and personal relationships, and the growing sense that there is always something better available if you can simply find it.

71% say they are "more likely to develop my religious beliefs on my own, rather than to accept an entire set of beliefs that a particular church teaches."

People often call this approach to religious belief "buffet theology," where individuals simply pick and choose what they believe based on personal preference. "I'll take a little of this, none of that, some of this over here, I can't tell what that is so I'll leave that alone..." While that criticism is valid, we should also be asking why Americans are so distrustful of organized religion, systems, and meta narratives.

This recent survey offers a lot of interesting data, so check it out, but I'll point out one more thing.

Across the board, the research showed that women are driving these changes. This is particularly significant given prior research from Barna showing that women are more spiritually inclined, are the primary shapers of family faith experiences, and are the backbone of activity in the typical conventional church. Specifically, Barna discovered that women were more likely than men to pursue their faith in a different type of structure or environment (68% of women, 59% of men); to sense that God is motivating people to experience faith in different ways (79% vs. 60%, respectively); and to be willing try a new church (50% vs. 40%).

You can read the whole article at: http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/12-faithspirituality/270-americans-are-exploring-new-ways-of-experiencing-god

MULTI-SITE vs CHURCH PLANTING by Dr. Malpurs

Malphurs: Multi-Site vs. Church Planting?
Monday June 30, 2008  

Dr. Malphurs is the Senior Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary and a visionary with a deep desire to influence a new generation of leaders through his classroom, pulpit, consulting, and writing ministries. He is involved in a number of ministries ranging from church planting and growth to leadership development. He has pastored three churches and is the author of numerous books and articles on leadership and church ministry. Currently he is the president of the Malphurs Group and is a trainer and consultant to churches, denominations, and ministry organizations throughout North America and Europe. His research and teaching interests include church planting, church growth, and leadership development.

Aubry recently entered the dialog on multi-site churches and church planting with a helpful article worth digesting and discussing...

MULTI-SITE VERSUS CHURCH PLANTING?

(June 6, 2008) There's a new person on the block. A new kid has moved into the ministry neighborhood. It's the church multi-site movement. However, I must use the term new carefully as there likely was a multi-site movement in the first century church. An example would be the church at Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 1:2 Paul writes to the church at Corinth. Then he mentions a house church that likely was located in or near Corinth (1 Cor. 16:19-20). It would seem that in the first century there was a city church (1 Cor. 1:2) that was made up of a number of house churches as in chapter 16.

What is a Multi-site Church?

The simple definition is that a multi-site church is the same church that meets in more than one location. It could meet in several places on the same campus, another location in the same town or state, or even in another country. For example, Ed Young who pastors Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, also has established two other downtown campuses in Dallas and a third in Miami, Florida. While Ed usually preaches at the Grapevine campus, the service is sent by video to the other locations as well. And what takes place at Grapevine-the programming in particular-also takes place at the other campuses. In a real sense this is church franchising, and I don't mean this in a negative way. Initially these were begun to relieve some of the mega-churches of land and facilities problems. They needed more room to expand their ministries. And what began as a solution to a land problem has become a major movement.

What is a Church Plant?

A church plant is similar to and different from a multi-site church. Like a multi-site church, they may be started by a sponsoring church. However, a difference is that unlike the multi-site church they may not be at all like the sponsoring church. Thus you are not franchising a particular style of church ministry. Another observation with exceptions is that multi-site churches consist of more of the same kinds of people. For example, a predominantly boomer church will attract boomers at its other locations. What appeals to them at one site appeals at the other.Whereas, a church plant will often attract those who are different from the people that attend the sponsoring church. They are usually a younger crowd. Perhaps the difference might be summed up this way. Starbucks would represent a multi-site approach. Whereas, Aubrey's coffee shop would be indicative of a church planting approach. If you like Starbucks coffee, then go to Starbucks. But if you want something different - that's unique - then visit Aubrey's Exotic Coffee Shop.

My Concern

While I'm all for multi-site churches as I attend one (Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, Texas), I'm concerned that they not replace church planting. While I have no research to support my view, it would appear that a number of pastors are opting for a multi-site approach over church planting. The problem with this is that most churches best reach a younger population not through a multi-site location but by planting churches. Many of today's youth react negatively to the predominantly boomer, multi-site churches. They want to meet in smaller more intimate groups as seen in a growing number of house church plants. They want to belong before they believe. They want to check things out to see if church people are authentic: "If what you think you see (Jesus) is really what you get."

My Appeal

Instead of supporting one approach to ministry, lets do both. Let's embrace both the multi-site approach and church planting. That way we can continue to reach those who've been blessed by what many of today's churches are doing and reach out to tomorrow's generations as well. It shouldn't be as in the title to this article - "Multi-site Versus Church Planting." One must not exclude the other. Both are necessary to reach our lost and dying world.

A TALK ON THE MISSIONAL CHURCH - Ed Stetzer

Biola Magazine Interview
Wednesday April 15, 2009

The newest issue of Biola Magazine is about "The Church in the Missional Age." I was interviewed for this issue and thought I'd share some of that conversation here. Be sure to read the whole thing at the Biola Magazine website, then come back here to discuss.

BM: Ed, would you say that the average Christian has an understanding of the term "missional"? Or is it still an "insider term" among church leaders and theologians?

ES: I would say the term has started to gain wide acceptance since the turn of the millennium among Christian leaders, however I don't think it has gotten down to the rank-and-file level. I've written a book, Compelled by Love, which is trying to be a lay-level explanation of missional, and other authors are trying to do the same. But yeah, primarily it's still a pastor's or theologian's word.

BM: My sense is that there is widespread confusion about the word, even among the pastors and theologians. Is the word useful? Is it too confusing for its own good?

ES: Well, it certainly has become the descriptor du jour. I think the problem is that people tend to see in missional what they want to see. If they want to see the church do more social justice, that's "missional." If they want to be more evangelistic, that's "missional." But I still think there's a power in a new or modified word that enables us to say, "We do need something different." I think missional has become a descriptor -- an imperfect one -- of the shift we might need in evangelicalism.

BM: Why is the missional movement happening now? What brought it on?

ES: Recently the New York Times quoted me referring to the "modern evangelical machine." And I think there's some discomfort with the modern evangelical machine that has produced a catered, franchise, packaged Christianity that is pretty neat and freeze-dried. I think people are looking for something that is more transformational, more organic, and missional has become that which people rally to. There are other people using other words -- like "externally focused" -- which are describing similar ideas. So the question is: Does the word "missional" have enough redefining influence to help us think more biblically about the church, or will the word become a distraction? As of yet, I don't think it has become more problematic than it is helpful. I think it's still helpful.

BM: So the core purpose and idea of mission is good, but there have been some unintended consequences?

ES: I think every movement has unintended consequences. The unintended consequence of the church-growth movement was that we taught churches how to meet consumers' needs, and perhaps an unintended consequence of the missional movement will be that we will deemphasize some things we need to emphasize, like sharing Christ and biblical orthodoxy and things like that. And I want to learn from both.

BM: What would you say are the good, positive contributions that you've already seen coming out of this missional movement?

ES: I think a move away from preference, from church being defined by the preferences of its attendees to church being more focused on how we can be a sign and instrument of the kingdom of God in this community. So I think it's a little less self-focused, which is positive. I think its forced people to think about what is the source of our mission, and that mission is an attribute of God himself. It's helped people to see their lives as part of redemptive history, on the move, as sent ones and sent churches. I think the rediscovery that the Jesus of Luke 19:10 -- who said "I come to seek and save the lost" -- is the same Jesus as in Luke 4 -- who came to pronounce freedom for the captives, sight for the blind, and caring for the poor -- is also a positive contribution.

BM: Is "missional" necessarily anti-megachurch? Can you be a megachurch and also be missional?

ES: Depends on who you ask! I think it's harder to be missional if you're a megachurch, because the machine has to be serviced. I preach every week to a church with 9,000 members, so obviously I'm not anti-megachurch. But I like to think that the church functions like a yo-yo. There are two functions at work: sending itself out, like the centrifugal force, but also the force pulling us in, which is the organization that needs to be maintained. When you spin a yo-yo, the centripetal force pulling it in and the centrifugal force pushing it out are in equal balance. But I think the more your church has, the more you have to service it, the thicker the tether. I think many megachurches spend all their time servicing the tether and not sending it out on mission. If you have 10 people in your living room, all you have to worry about is the centrifugal, but if you have a megachurch you have to worry about the centripetal as well. So I think its harder as a megachurch.

BM: One of the criticisms about missional that Dan Kimball, among others, has pointed out recently is that there have not been new converts in the missional church. Do you think this is a concern?

ES: I do think that a church should not defend their lack of converts, but rather repent of it and resolve to change. I think that some missional churches want to defend it. I do think that conversion takes longer these days. People don't really know what "getting saved" means anymore. In a secular society, missional engagement and conversion are going to take longer, but at the end of the day, if all we have is reform but no one getting born again, then I don't think that's a better situation than what we have right now.

BM: I think another criticism that has been raised is just this balance that missional tries to strike between social justice and "living out" the gospel on one hand and the proclaiming or preaching of the gospel on the other. And you even talked about this at your talk at the American Society for Church Growth conference here at Biola. How do we balance these things?

ES: I think, ultimately, if I push on two fronts -- A and B -- and I only get resistance on B, then I've got to push harder on B. Now, from my perspective I might think they are equally important, but we have to remember this: When you speak of justice, people will praise you, but when you speak of Jesus, they'll condemn you. But we can't speak of Jesus without speaking of justice and we can't biblically speak of justice without understanding Jesus, so ultimately we will have to overcompensate in the area of evangelism because that's where there is resistance.

BM: Do you think the missional movement might bridge the gap and divisions between, for example, the "emerging" people and the neo-Reformed crowd?

ES: Well, I don't know if it will be the great unifier, but I think we can all agree on missional -- that we need to be focused on the mission of God, not on us. I speak to a lot of pastors about missional, from Assemblies of God to Reformed, and I think that all of them more or less get it, and get why it is important.

Go and check out the whole interview (there's quite a bit more), and come back to talk about these issues. What are your thoughts?

I have included the whole article in tomorrow's blog. If you want to see it before then, go to the following site: http://www.biola.edu/news/biolamag/articles/09spring/stetzer.cfm