A Ministry Momentum Killer

by: Steven Furtick

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I have a crucial piece of advice for any ministry leader who is seeing God bless them with a current wave of momentum:

Make sure your private devotion keeps pace with your ministry momentum.

As your ministry gains speed, the demands on you are just going to become greater. You might think that once you gain the momentum you’ve been working towards, it will finally free up space in your life. But it won’t. In fact, your time will be even more constrained.

The temptation you’ll face will be to ride your own spiritual coattails.

The great prayer time you had. Last week.
The eye-opening moment you had in your private Bible study. Two months ago.
The game-changing time of fasting you engaged in. Last year.

But it doesn’t work like that. Your relationship with God is only as strong as your most recent encounter with Him.

You must never get to the point where you’re too busy ministering for God that you’re too busy to meet with God. Or you can consider yourself on the clock. For burnout. For a lack of fresh vision. For a moral failure.

And then because of those things, for losing your momentum.

No matter how great your ministry is going…
You’re never going to outgrow your need for prayer.
You’re never going to outgrow your need for study of God’s Word.
You are never going to outgrow your need for God.

He’s what gave you your momentum. He’s what’s going to maintain it. And He’s what’s going to sustain you through it as the demands on your life become greater.

Even Jesus felt the need to go off by himself and spend time in prayer as people began flocking to Him. Personally I’m not going to be the one who says I need less private time with God than Jesus.

Make the decision now. Wake up earlier. Stay up later. Clear out your schedule during the day. Whatever you do, do whatever you have to do to prioritize the presence of God in your life.

And then keep riding the momentum.

Read more from Steven here.

Tags: Authentic Leadership, Personal Clarity, Steven Furtick

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Thirteen Issues for Churches in 2013, Part One

by: Thom Rainer

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As the new year unfolds, it is always a healthy exercise to look ahead to key opportunities and key challenges. Certainly such an effort is in order for congregations in North America. I plan to look at thirteen of those issues in this blog and my blog on Wednesday.

This extrapolation is not an exercise in keen foresight or extraordinary mental acumen. I am simply looking at current issues that seem to be gaining momentum. These issues will present themselves unevenly to different churches. But I foresee that tens of thousands of American congregations will be impacted by each of them.

I am grateful to Sam Rainer for his recent post, “Looking Ahead to 2013: What Should the Church Expect.” Many of his seminal ideas are captured in these articles. Though I list the issues in numerical order, I am not attempting to assign any degree of importance of one over another.

1. The impact of the “nones.” The 2012 study by Pew Research rightfully garnered much attention. The percentage of the adult U. S. population that claims no religious affiliation increased from 15 percent in 2007 to 20 percent in 2012. That is an amazing 33 percent increase in that one category in a relatively short period. One implication for local congregation is the decrease of marginal church attendees, often called “CEO” (Christmas Easter Only) Christians. There is no longer much societal pressure to attend church. Those on the margins are thus falling off completely. There will continue to be a financial impact since these infrequent attendees typically provided some level of giving to their churches.
2. Migration back to small groups. For three decades, the key emphasis in American church life has been the corporate worship experience. Though that emphasis is not going away, there is an increasing emphasis on moving people to small groups of all kinds: Sunday schools; home groups; life groups; etc. There is an increasing awareness that those who are in groups have a higher level of commitment in almost all areas of church life. As the Sunday school movement swept the nation for a half-century through the 1970s, a similar groups movement is already underway and should gain even more momentum.
3. Accelerated closing of churches. The institutional church stubbornly resists formal closing. Even if only six or seven people attend each week, those few fight for the survival of their church. Those who were attending these very small churches are either moving to the “nones” category, or they are moving to larger churches. The primary stalwarts to keep the doors open are members of the builder generation, those born before 1946.  As that generation decreases at an increasing rate, more churches will close. Any guess to the number of closings in 2013 is speculation on my part. I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if the numbers reach the 8,000 to 10,000 level.
4. More churches moving to multiple venues. Membership in Mensa is not a requisite to have an insight on this issue. Just from an anecdotal perspective, the number of congregations moving to multiple venues is staggering. Indeed that issue may be the single greatest distinguishing factor in growing churches. The variety of the venues is increasing as well. Some churches have different venues on the same campus. Others move to multiple campus models. Some have an onsite preacher/teacher; others offer video streaming. Some churches have venues on Sunday only. Other churches have venues up to seven days a week. In the 1960s American congregations moved to multiple worship services in sweeping numbers. That same trend in multiple venues is taking place today. It should accelerate.
5. The growth of prayer emphases in local congregations. Though prayer is foundational in the life of New Testament congregations, it frankly has not garnered much attention in recent years in American churches. There was a subtle but noticeable shift in 2012. More and more church leaders and members realized that the power and strength of health in their congregations is not human-centered but God-dependent. I am reticent to predict a true prayer revival in our nation, but I am confident in saying that more local congregations will focus on prayer. It will be interesting to see how such an emphasis manifests itself in each local body.
6. Fickle commitment. In his post, Sam Rainer noted an overall decline in institutional loyalty. It is certainly pervasive in many American congregations. Indeed, the culture of the vast majority of American churches has been one of low commitment. That lower level of commitment is evident, paradoxically, in even the more committed members. Those members who once were present “every time the doors were open” may now be present, for example, 75 percent of the time. It is likely that decreased frequency of active attendees may be the single largest contributor to church decline in the past five years.

Read Part Two tomorrow.

Read more from Thom here.

Tags: Leadership Engine, Planning, Thom Rainer

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Church Unique Snapshot for NorthPoint Community Church

by: Will Mancini

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NORTH POINT COMMUNITY CHURCH VISION FRAME

Our Mission

… to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Our Strategy

… to create environments where people are encouraged and equipped to pursue intimacy with God, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders. This is also known as the foyer, living room and kitchen progression. See the visuals here.

Our Values

… the 7 core values are posted here.

The Five Faith Catalysts (We call these mission measures on the Vision Frame)

1. Practical Teaching
2. Providential Relationships
3. Private Disciplines
4. Pivotal Circumstances
5. Personal Ministry

Because Andy is so intentional I admire the way he keeps the Five Faith Catalysts in front of their people. Here are two examples that are great benchmarks to learn from. The first is how he introduces them to new believers. The second is how they create a unique website to support sermon series on the Five Faith Catalysts.

The FIRST EXAMPLE  is Starting Point: Check out how the the Five Faith Catalysts are introduced into small group material for new believers and “new to church” folks in this piece by Andy called How Do People Grow

The SECOND EXAMPLE  is the Five Things God Uses Website: Check out the media, notes and curriculum at this tool that supports the sermons series on the Five Faith Catalysts here. If you want to learn more about these, be sure to pick up Andy’s book, Deep and Wide.

I hope this inspires you to “frame up” the four sides of your church’s DNA. Also, if you have completed your Vision Frame recently, I would love to hear about it!

Read more from Will here.

Tags: Measures, Mission, Strategy, Values, Vision Fram

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New Year, New Job

by: Mike Gammill

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A friend who lives and works in another state recently asked me for vocational advice. He is in full-time ministry and is happy and loves the people with which he works. However, a new potential position has come on the radar that has all of these attributes plus greater long-term potential. Our conversation revealed five vocational principals and questions to ask if you are wondering if you should look at new position.

1.  Ministry is ultimately about kingdom impact. How is your current position leveraging and developing your capacity to impact Christ’s kingdom? Having a clear picture of your ministry fruit and how God is using your position to develop your ministry capacity is essential in more ways than one. Not only does such a picture help us to hone our ministry strategy and development, it also helps us to see with greater clarity the future for which God is preparing us. Consider the realistic ministry outcomes of your position and compare those with what else you could potentially be doing. In what ways does each further the kingdom? In what ways does each develop you as a Christ follower? Which of these is preferable from God’s perspective? 

2. Every position has a corporate AND a personal life-cycle. Where are you in thelife-cycle of your position? Position life-cycle can be difficult to discuss because it feels impersonal. This can be true for any organization and individual, but even more so in churches because of the highly relational nature of ministry. It also requires a high degree of clarity in regard to goals and expectations of a position and the skills and life-stage of a person who is going to fulfill the position. National averages can give you a good starting place, but make sure you know how long the previous three predecessors lasted in your position. Similarly, be aware of what your work history says about you. If you want to significantly extend the life-cycle of your position or personal history, be prepared reinvent yourself and/or your position when the time comes.

3. The church, ministry team, and/or position isn’t designed to meet all of our needs. Many of us have unmet emotional needs we hope ministry can fill. However, ministry isn’t about meeting every need we might throw its way. It will fail us if we expect our church to be a perfect community, our boss to be a selfless mentor, or for our position to transform us into the ideal minister. Each can happen in measure, but we must beware of our expectations and learn from them about ourselves. Our disappointments reveal as much (if not more) about our own growth areas than they do anything else. What do your disappointments suggest about the ways in which you need to grow and rely more closely upon the Holy Spirit? 

4. Trust and alignment with the church’s vision is necessary. Are you fully aligned with the church’s vision and does your ministry further it? Alignment and trust alone won’t assure success, but they are necessary to it. Our vocational vision might not be exactly the same as your the church’s vision, but make sure its either parallel or submissive to it. If not, consider if you are on the “right bus.” A deeper expression of the alignment issue is the trust factor. If trust has been broken on either side for any reason, work to repair it. Broken trust sabotages alignement even where vision is shared. Further, the coping mechanisms and work habits that develop in trust-deprived environments become liabilities down the road. Where this is the case, it’s probably time to start new.

5. The timing of your departure should have little to do with your current position. (This assumes, of course, that you are in control of your departure). I realize this goes contrary to the relational nature of ministry, but generally speaking, don’t discuss a potential opportunity with your supervisor. We all want to think we are all “mature enough” for this conversation, but its not a matter of maturity. Not only could such a conversation be interpreted as an attempt to obtain a promotion or a raise, it also places your supervisor in a difficult position of thinking separately about what is best for you and what is best for the ministry. When you have come to a decision to make a transition, the timing of a resignation (and how much notice you give) should be dictated by what is best for you and your new position. Part of accepting a new position is letting go of the responsibilities of the old; trust them to “fill the gap.” Give yourself as much transition time as you can afford. Ask yourself, “how much time do I need to “hit the ground running?”

Read more from Mike here.

Tags: Leadership Development, Staff, Staff Development

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A Brief Review of Les Miserables

by: Trevin Wax

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Ever since the trailer for the new Les Misérables movie made the rounds online, I’ve been highly anticipating this film. Last weekend, Corina and I went to see it. We were not disappointed, but we were surprised in ways different than expected.

Here are some initial thoughts.

(Caution: Spoilers ahead!)

From Book to Broadway to the Box Office

How does one judge the faithfulness of a screen adaptation of Les Misérables?

Do we judge it based on its fidelity to the book? To the musical? To the spirit of both?

If you’ve read the book, you can imagine the difficulty of translating such a sprawling piece of literature to the big screen. Directors and screenwriters have tried and, in my estimation, failed. (Even Liam Neeson.) It’s simply too hard to pack the emotional punch of Hugo’s masterpiece into a two-hour film.

Unless… you’ve got music on your side. This is where the musical excels. By telling the story musically, the composers capture the spirit of Hugo’s novel without slavishly following every detail.

I am a fan of the book. I am a fan of the musical. Now, finally, I am a fan of the movie. Hooper deserves accolades for pulling it off.

Anne Hathaway as Fantine

Anne Hathaway’s performance as Fantine has gotten a lot of buzz, deservedly so. Her gut-wrenching version of “I Dreamed a Dream” rescues the song from the sentimentality of Susan Boyle and reminds viewers of the despairing lyrics that work against the soaring melody. Also powerful is the deathbed scene where Fantine longs for her daughter.

Because Hathaway has received so much buzz, I can’t say I was surprised by the emotional depth of her performance. She lived up to the hype, but didn’t exceed expectations (perhaps because expectations were so high). Likewise, Hugh Jackman did a fantastic job capturing the progression of Valjean from sinner to saint.

Marius’ Empty Chairs

What surprised me most was Eddie Redmayne’s performance as Marius. His rendition of “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” was so authentic that, for a moment, I felt as if I were in the room with him, feeling the same wave of anger and grief he was experiencing. It was a stunning performance. Corina and I looked at each other after it was over and said, “Unbelievable.”

The Killing of Gavroche

After the tragedy in Connecticut, it was especially difficult to watch the little boy Gavroche get killed at the barricade. The film didn’t belabor the tragedy by showing blood; even so, the sight of a young child being shot and killed was disturbing. (There were audible gasps in the audience when this took place on screen.)

Christian Imagery

I was also surprised by the pervasiveness of Christian imagery in the film. The clearest use of the cross was saved for Valjean’s moment of truth, as he faces the inner conflict of choosing to reveal himself in order to save the life of another man. While Valjean sings these words, he is looking at a crucifix:

Can I condemn this man to slavery
Pretend I do not feel his agony
This innocent who bears my face
Who goes to judgment in my place

Christian Resonance

While Les Misérables was playing, we could hear people weeping. When it was finished, the movie-goers burst into applause.

The “experience” of this movie got me thinking. How many people are moved by Les Misérables without really knowing why?

Is it the portrait of law and grace? Valjean – a man who offers grace without conditions, set against the backdrop of Javert, who in his pride would rather die than be humbled before a thief.

Is it the light of grace shining in darkness? We see the ugliness of sin: theft, hypocrisy, and immorality. The darkness of evil makes the light of love shine all the brighter.

Is it the hope of heaven? As Valjean dies, Fantine sings about how he will soon enter his reward – seeing God. The end of the movie is shot through with eschatology:

Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.
They will live again in the freedom in the garden of the Lord…
Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?

I wonder how many people long for the better world behind the barricade, but don’t know how to get there. Moved to tears by grace-on-display in the character of a man who lays down his life for others,  they miss the connections between this literary classic and the greatest Story ever told.

The music written for the grand narrative of Scripture can’t be contained in a 2 1/2 hour film. It’s sung day after day, week after week, year after year, by millions who walk the fallen soil of this planet, but who have tasted the forgiveness and grace from the One who made Himself nothing that we may be free.

Read more from Trevin here.

Tags: Scripture, Trevin Wax

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Favorite New Year’s Planning Posts for Church Leaders

by: Will Mancini

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Your favorite posts on my blog have often come during the New Year window. And I always enjoy creating new content at this time year just for you.

Here are some top posts from my last five years blogging. All of these were created from a New Year planning perspective:

Clarity 101: Goals, Vision, Planning…Blah, Blah, Blah

I wrote this post because people often misunderstand the importance of 30,000 foot, bigger picture clarity before jumping into the daily stuff. AND so much content focuses on the daily stuff.

Church Vision and Strategy Trends

In 2011, I wrote a post that is just as relevant two years later. This post was subsequently picked up by most leadership magazines and online blog aggregators including ChurchLeaders.com and Pastors.com

11 High-Impact Planning Ideas for Senior Pastors

I wrote this post to give some practical ideas to lead pastors. Have you seen it? What are you planning to do new in 2013?

Taking Vision Public: Six Steps to Vision Soaked Communication

This is actually a robust series that I wrote for New Years last year. It is useful for any pastor, but especially those have any responsibility for church communications.  Be sure to read through each post in the series. And, why not send to a friend who is specifically involved in church communications!

Happy New Year my ministry friends!!!  As always, thank you for taking time to swing by the blog.

Read more from Will here.

Tags: Planning, Recasting Vision, Will Mancini

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New Research: Maturing Believers Exercise Faith, Trust

by: Ed Stetzer

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LifeWay Research has released a new research brief on maturing believers. Here are the details:

Believers who are progressing in spiritual maturity are more likely to exercise their faith by trusting God even in difficult circumstances, according to a survey by LifeWay Research.

“Exercising Faith” is one of eight attributes of discipleship that consistently show up in the lives of maturing Christians. The attributes are part of the Transformational Discipleship study conducted by LifeWay Research.

Among the eight attributes of discipleship tested, churchgoers have higher scores for Exercising Faith than any of the other attributes, said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. Yet, he pointed out, only 13 percent of attendees were able to give the best response to all of the questions in this attribute.

“It is easy to say God has a purpose for everything in life, but it requires faith to enjoy seeing His plan unfold in difficult times,” Stetzer said.

Additionally, 86 percent agree they “express praise and gratitude to God even in difficult circumstances.”

Seventy-eight percent disagree that, in the midst of difficult circumstances, they “sometimes doubt that God loves me and will provide for my life.” Fifteen percent agree they sometimes doubt the love of God and His provision.

The survey shows the longer someone has trusted Christ as their Savior, the better their responses are for exercising faith. Being involved in a Bible study group, praying for Christians and non-Christians, and witnessing to nonbelievers also make a positive impact…

The survey also reveals those stronger in their faith are less prone to doubt God’s involvement, even in unexplainable circumstances. Just 9 percent agree with the statement: “When things happen in my life I can’t explain, I typically doubt God is involved.” Eighty percent disagree with the statement.

To help pastors, churches and individuals measure spiritual development, LifeWay Research used the study’s data to develop a questionnaire for believers, called the Transformational Discipleship Assessment (TDA), an online evaluation that delivers individual and group reports on spiritual maturity using the eight attributes of biblical discipleship. The TDA also provides helpful and practical suggestions for churches and individuals on appropriate next steps for spiritual development.

To learn more about the transformational discipleship research visit LifeWayResearch.com. The TDA is available at TDA.LifeWay.com.

You can read the full release with methodology here.

Read more from Ed here.

Tags: Discipleship, Ed Stetzer, Multiplication, Transformational Discipleship, Transformational Discipleship Assesment

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A Checklist for Making Ideas Happen

by: Scott Belsky

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To help take a look back at 2012, we rounded up our most popular features, essays, 99U Conference talks, and tweets. We hope it gives you a chance to discover (and rediscover) content from throughout the year while providing the spark needed to start 2013 off right.

1. The Power of Negative Thinking

Pop psychology tells us we can’t go wrong with positive thinking. But new studies show that taking account of our obstacles is essential to success.

The gurus claimed these positive images would galvanize your determination. They said you could use the power of positive thinking to will success to happen. But then some important research came along that muddied the rosy picture.

2. Test Your Creativity: 5 Classic Creative Challenges

How creative are you? Find out by taking a few quick tests that psychologists have been using to study creativity for decades.

While creativity “testing” is far from an exact science, trying your mettle at these challenges could yield insight into when, where, and how you’re most creative. Or maybe it’ll just be fun.

3. The 5 Types of Work That Fill Your Day

What type of work are you doing right now? Reactionary work? Problem-solving work? Insecurity work? A look at how to manage your work energy smartly.

All work is not created equal. Try working with an awareness of the type of work you’re doing, and how it’s helping (or limiting) your progress.

4. Why Boredom Is Good for Your Creativity

Why does boredom always emerge just as you’re about to get in gear on a creative project?

On the other side of boredom is the most exciting experience you can have as a creator – the state of being fired up and discovering new possibilities beyond anything you could have imagined before you sat down to work. 

5. How Rejection Breeds Creativity

With a few small changes in your mindset, you can turn rejection into a dramatic boost for your motivation and focus.

While it is never a comfortable experience, the feelings of rejection can actually help us access our more creative selves. Free from the expectations of group norms, we can push the limits of novelty.

Read the rest of the list here.

Read more from Scott here.

Tags: Creativity, Innovation, Leadership Development, Scott Belsky

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Becoming a Church of Disciples Who Make Disciples

by: Steve Caton

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One of the things I love doing on my blog is highlighting next-level resources that could help churches experience exponential growth or success in reaching their communities. Today, I wanted to take time to highlight the latest eBook from Alex Absalom, Disciples Who Make Disciples: Turning Your Church Into a Multiplying Movement, which he co-authored with Greg Nettle. A few month’s ago, I shared about their first eBook One Of, in which Greg and Alex unpack the process of moving churches from an attractional model to one which is more missional in the approach to outreach and ministry. Thankfully, Alex and Greg decided to write another eBook and this one is even more incredible than the last.

In their latest book, Alex and Greg explain the importance of building a culture that combines disciple making with mission and how your church can begin the shift from merely reaching people to making disciples who in turn are equipped to go and make more disciples.

Why become a church of disciples who make disciples?

In the eBook, Greg and Alex share about the discipleship issues they faced at RiverTree. Although the church didn’t have a problem attracting people, they struggled to move people towards a deeper, more serious relationship with Christ.

While some people caught the vision and trusted God with everything,

it gradually became apparent that many others had accepted Jesus as Savior but not necessarily as Lord of their life.

Alex and Greg realized that if RiverTree wanted to truly experience the kind of transformation God desires for the Church and continue to reach it’s community with real life-change, they needed to adopt a new model of discipleship.

5 Steps to becoming disciple-multiplying church:

In the book, Alex and Greg highlight the 5 steps RiverTree took to become a church of disciples who makes disciples:

Step 1 – From Decisions to Disciples

After redefining discipleship, RiverTree focused on moving their church members from a spirit of “information” to one of “imitation.”

Step 2 – From Educating to Modeling

As important as information is, relationships and experiences are far more effective in bringing about life transformation.

Step 3 – From Programs to Discipleship

Instead of focusing on programs, RiverTree invested in developing personalized, proven discipleship strategies and practices.

Step 4 – From Activity-Based to Relationship-Based

Getting people to join a community group wasn’t the end goal. By building a culture where leaders release control and choose accountability, RiverTree was able to multiply community groups. The by-product… members experienced deeper relationships and became more invested in the mission.

Step 5 – From Accumulating to Deploying Disciples

Ultimately, outreach and evangelism will become a natural by-product of disciple making.

What should you expect after you read the eBook?

In the book, Alex and Greg highlight 4 things you expect to happen if you commit to becoming a church of disciples who make disciples:

• Expect a 3-5 year process. Overnight doesn’t work.
• If we equip people to be disciples, they will make disciples. This is where you get exponential growth.
• People will begin talking about discipleship as a journey and a process.
• More people wanting to be quick about reaching their places of mission.

If your prayer is to become a church that multiplies disciples, I would highly encourage you to download Alex and Greg’s eBook, Disciples who Make Disciples. Through the book, you will get a clear understanding of your church’s idea of discipleship and identify how you can develop a clearer plan for making disciples. You don’t have any excuse because you can download it for free on kindle or PDF here.

Alex is part of the leadership team at RiverTree Christian Church in Ohio. He has co-authored several books, “One Of” and “Launching Missional Communities”. You can connect with Alex on Twitter or subscribe to his blog.

What benefits have you seen from becoming a church of disciples that makes disciples?

Read more from Steve here.

Tags: Discipleship, Multiplication, Steve Caton

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Don’t Let “New” Become a Sideshow

by: Seth Godin

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What’s the most urgent, important, celebrated element of your organization’s work?

If it involves the status quo, the thing that got you here, it means the new stuff is going to be treated as a little bit of a sideshow or a distraction. (Another example: The team that typesets traditional books at most publishers is talented and driven. They do it with care and very high standards, and have for nearly a hundred years. The team that typesets ebooks at most publishers, though, is more junior, understaffed and has a very low bar for what is considered good enough.)

One reason that incumbents are so often defeated by newcomers is that the incumbents put their best people and their urgent focus on the stuff they used to do (like winning Pulitzer prizes, selling ads to cosmetic companies and counting dead trees) while the new guys have nothing but the new thing to focus on.

The same effect occurs when we approach our art/sideline/new venture. Some people spend their best energy on the new project, squeezing in the day job when they must. Others (the ones who rarely ship) insist on every element of the day job being finished before they practice their music, write their book or otherwise make a ruckus.

If you’re serious about building a new sort of asset, or experiencing the cutting edge of new technology, or rebuilding the way you grow, the first way to demonstrate that seriousness is to put your heavy hitters in charge of it, while refusing to pay much attention at all to the people or the metrics of the old thing. Easier to say than to do, but consider how the upstarts that are eating your future are allocating their time and their talent…

Read more from Seth here.

Tags: Leadership Engine, Seth Godin, Staff, Staff Leadership Roles

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