Have You Considered a Ministry Connections Concierge at Your Church?

by: Geoff Surratt

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How do you help people make meaningful connections when they attend your church? One of the most frustrating things in finding a church has been figuring how to connect with other attenders. My wife had a great idea the other day and I wanted to pass it on before it slips into the abyss forgetfulness that is my brain. What if you had a Connection Concierge?

Most people are familiar with the Concierge at an upscale hotel. Their job is to help hotel guests buy tickets, make dinner reservations or suggest day trip destinations; basically to ensure the guest has a positive experience while they are in town. Here is a typical conversation with a Concierge:

“Can you help us find a nice place to eat tonight?”

“Absolutely. What kind of food are you in the mood for?”

“Italian sounds good”

“Excellent, here are three nice Italian restaurants in the area. I highly recommend Guido’s, their lasagna is amazing. Would you  like me to make a reservation?”

“That would be great, thanks!”

“My pleasure”

Wouldn’t it be cool to have a Concierge available at your church? A conversation might go like this:

“We’re new to the church and we’re wondering how we could connect?”

“I’d love to help you with that! Can you tell me a little about your family?”

“We are empty nesters and we just moved to town. We’d love to meet other people around our age”

“Excellent. Let me suggest two or three ways we can help. First, we have a Newcomers Gathering next weekend, here’s a flyer about that. We also several couples groups that meet in homes. Let me show you a list on our website. I highly recommend the Smith’s group which meets on Friday nights in the Oaks Subdivision, they are a lot of fun and love welcoming new attenders. Could I assist with an introduction?”

“We probably need to think about it?”

“Absolutely. Please stop back by any weekend and we’d be glad to help you make a connection. Thanks for stopping by!”

Ideally there are be several trained volunteers who man a Concierge desk each weekend as well as be available at the end of events like Newcomers, Membership Class, Meet the Pastor to help people take next steps. The goal is to provide easy onramps for people with a desire to serve and/or connect at the church beyond sign up sheets or simply answering questions at a Welcome Center.

I think there is huge potential, I just wish I had thought of it.

Read more from Geoff here.

Tags: Connect, Connections, Geoff Surratt

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Are You a Smart or Healthy Church Leader?

by: Will Mancini

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Tags: Clarity, Patrick Lencioni, The Advantage, Will Mancini

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Changing Culture in Your Church, Part 1: 5 Principles for Interdependent Leadership

by: Center for Creative Leadership

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Tags: Center for Creative Leadership, Change, Staff, Staff Development

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Practicing Ministry Alignment in Your Church

by: Eric Geiger

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Alignment is the arrangement of all ministries and staff around the same simple process. Alignment to the process means that all ministry departments submit and attach themselves to the same overarching process.

Alignment ensures the entire church body is moving in the same direction, and in the same manner.

When a church is fully aligned, all ministries are operating from the same ministry blueprint. The ministries not only embrace the simple process, but they are engaged in it. Each ministry department mirrors the process in that particular area.

Without alignment, the church can be a multitude of subministries. In this case each ministry has its own leaders who are only passionate about their specific ministry. They rarely identify with the entire church but are deeply committed to their own philosophy of ministry.

In a church that lacks alignment, everyone is competing for the same space, resources, volunteers, and time on the calendar.

In a church that lacks alignment, it does not feel like one body. It feels more like a building that houses a wide variety of ministries.

All churches naturally drift away from alignment.

Most of the times it is not addressed. The reasons vary. For one, it is painful to do so because committed people who have been around for a long time are passionate about their particular way of doing ministry. Sadly, they are more passionate for their area than for the church as a whole. Addressing misalignment also takes time and energy. It costs something to address it.

Unfortunately, it costs more not to address misalignment.

When misalignment on a car is not addressed, the results are damaging. Tires can blow out while driving. Damage to the wheels can occur. The same is true for a church. When misalignment is not addressed, there is damage.

Without alignment, complexity is certain.

Simple churches practice alignment. They intentionally fight the drift into misalignment. They insist that each staff member and each ministry embrace and execute their simple ministry process.

Read more from Eric here.

Tags: Alignment, Eric Geiger, Recasting Vision

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Understanding the Biblical Symmetry in Your Discipleship Process

by: Timmy Brister

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I believe there is biblical symmetry in how we enter missionally and how we make disciples by joining them to invite us into this life on mission. That symmetry is best explained by looking at a language device known as a chiasm.

A chiasm is simply a learning device to draw connections and parallels in concentric fashion, usually working from the outside in. Examples would be ABC-CBA (the two A’s parallel, the two B’s parallel, and the two C’s parallel). This is also a way of drawing emphasis, usually the center being the most important pairs of parallels.

Reflecting with my disciple-making team, I believe there is a chiastic structure to missional discipleship.  In order to make the parallels memorable, all of the parts of the structure begin with the letter “P” (and all Southern Baptists say a hearty “amen”). Here’s the chiastic structure:

MISSIONAL

Last week, I wrote about “owning my own square mile” based on coming to terms with God’s purposes and providence/plan for my life. I genuinely believe that a high view of God’s sovereignty does not marginalize mission but actually mobilizes mission. God’s purpose is that His people who represent Him on earth–His character, His Ways, and His gospel. God has a plan to bring about His eternal purposes culminating in the glorification of His Son from every nation, tongue, and tribe. That plan is through the local church to proclaim the gospel of God which brings about the obedience of faith to those becoming like Christ in all things. God is the great Evangelist who plans salvation (Father), purchases salvation (Son), and personalizes salvation (Holy Spirit).

As a disciple of Jesus, I’m called to follow Him on mission to love God and love others, to become a fisher of men, laborer in His harvest field, ambassador of His gospel, and soldier in His army. My life should be characterized by the pursuit of man–of sinners far from God–who become the object of my affection, the subject of my prayers, and the prospect of kingdom advance. In order for this pursuit of man to become meaningful, I must pattern my life after the priority of the kingdom of God and making the gospel of first importance. Because I have been sent into the world by Jesus (John 20:21), my life should reflect a pattern indicating a pursuit for sinners because of God’s purposeful and providential placement.

At the heart of the missional discipleship chiasm is incarnational mission. Jesus entered into our world by taking on flesh and living among us. There was a nearness to God in the incarnation that made his immanence accommodating to our neediness. The same is true for Jesus’ disciples. We pattern our lives as sent disciples of Jesus on mission to have a presence in the midst of the people we are called to reach. We enter into the world, not becoming worldly in the sinful sense but in the practical sense (what John Stott called “holy worldliness“), interweaving our lives in the fabric of the community. There’s a going aspect of mission as well as a dwelling aspect of mission. When a there is a patterned life of being present in the community, disciples of Jesus display a posture of humble, sacrificial living. We are not postured as better or privileged but as forgiven and filled with gratitude. Like Jesus, we want to serve, not be served, to go to them, not expect them to come to us, to have a towel and basin as our calling card, not our protagonist positions against all the sinful things sinners do.  This is the “incarnational” component (presence and posture).

The mission component at the center has to do with participation (a visible presentation of the gospel) and proclamation (a verbal presentation of the gospel). As disciples of Jesus, we called to show (participate) and share (proclaim) the Gospel of the kingdom, calling sinners to repent and believe while living a lifestyle of repentance and faith. The earthly ministry of Jesus, as well as the early church, demonstrated a healthy balance of word and deed. Having a presence and posture isn’t enough, but it does position a disciple to have perpetual opportunities for meaningful participation in, and sincere proclamation of, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

At the very center of the chiastic structure is prayer. That is because there prayer is the genesis of missional discipleship. Jesus saw the expansive need of the multitudes of people and called His disciples to pray to the Lord of the harvest. Before the calling of disciples in Matthew 10 was the call to pray in Matthew 9. Before Pentecost in Acts 2 was prayer in the upper room in Acts 1. Before there is any real demonstration of life on mission making disciples of Jesus, there will be a life deeply marked by prayer. This kind of life is simply impossible left to our own resources. I don’t care how gifted you are. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Prayer turns us away from a life of unbelief, arguing about our incompetencies and justifying our disobedience to a life of faith, embracing God’s provision and promise of the Holy Spirit to empower us supernaturally.

DISCIPLESHIP

Here’s where the chiasm finds its parallel and symmetrical balance. Through the gospel, sinners are saved and called to a life of following Jesus. What does that look like? Where do these new believers begin? The nearest and clearest thing to them will be the person who shared and showed the gospel to them. The new disciple of Jesus learns what it is like to know and follow God by knowing and following the pattern of Christians investing in their life. This is the second layer of living a patterned life. As I mentioned above, the first layer is missional–we pattern our lives because we have been sent on mission for the global and glorious purposes of God. The second layer is discipleship–we pattern our lives because we serve as a template and guide of what it means to live “in Christ” and have all areas brought under His Lordship.

When new Christians follow the faithful pattern of gospel-driven disciples, they will grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus, cultivating a passion and pursuit of God. Their spiritual pacesetters are encouraging and challenging them to go hard after God and make it their life’s ambition to know and enjoy Him. At one level, disciples of Jesus are characterized by a passionate pursuit of man (missionally); at another level, disciples of Jesus are characterized by a passionate pursuit of God (discipleship). It is not either-or but both-and. You cannot have one without the other.

When disciples of Jesus are utterly satisfied with all that God is for them in Christ, their lives will demonstrate a “sacrifice of praise“. They will exhibit the truth that we are a royal priesthood and holy nation to “declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvellous light.” Indeed, everything in discipleship conforms to the plan to make us into the image of Jesus Christ, all owed to “the praise of His glorious grace.” Missional discipleship redounds to the praise and celebration of Jesus Christ–Redeemer, Savior, King.

We begin with God’s purpose to mobilize us on mission. We end with God’s purpose to unite all things in Christ. What God began, He will certainly complete. He does all things well. Our purpose is to make, mature, mobilize, and multiply disciples on mission because our missionary God will not cease working through His church until His eternal purposes are complete. If you don’t have a high view of God’s purpose, you will not be mobilized on mission. You will also not be a devoted disciple-maker. Missional discipleship has at its bookends God’s glory, and at its heart the prayerful cry, “Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven!”

So there you go. That’s the chiastic structure of missional discipleship. It’s one thing to lay hold of it conceptually; it’s another thing to lay hold of it experientially. Which reminds me, I need to take some time to pray.

Read more from Timmy here.

Tags: Discipleship, Multiplication, Timmy Brister

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Five Primary Sources of Distraction in Ministry

by: Will Mancini

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Yesterday’s post on “opportunity creep” introduced a common problem for pastors. It’s easy for opportunity after opportunity to press in and vie for the precious little time God has given you.

The first step to dealing with opportunity creep is to identify the sources of opportunities in way that repositions them as distractions. If we don’t understand that most opportunities are distractions in disguise, it will be hard to say “no” to the next seemingly “good” thing. See if these sources clarify the point:

Opportunity Becomes Distraction #1: The New is Askew

Who doesn’t love something new? Especially for us creative types its easy to feel the rush of the next. But the lure of the new can drive us to do too much at the same time, or too much to fast. The opportunistic personalities among us will look for the next ministry “find” before going deeper with what we already have. This week I was with a church that lamented, “Our people aren’t clear about who we are because we re-package ourselves every six months.” In short, make sure the next new thing is a deeply “you thing.”

Opportunity Becomes Distraction #2 Off-Mission Permission

In the desire for more ministry its easy to say “yes” to the ideas of well-meaning members. The problem is that most of their ministry aspirations are misdirected because they want to create more church structure and programming rather than living out their gifts and calling in life. The church very quickly becomes over-programmed and under-discipled.  The “more is more” default mode of program-permission clutters a simple discipleship experience in and through the church. Helping people dream big for Jesus is beautiful, overcomplicating church is not.

Opportunity Becomes Distraction #3: Funny Money

There is nothing more freeing than an abundance of resources, unless it comes with the proverbial attached string. Beware of that check-cutting, money-slinging individual—whether its a new member of an influential elder—that’s ready to fund the next thing (that they brought to the table.) If a new idea is connected to designated giving, always ask, “Would our vision really have taken us in this direction?” If people are not willing to subordinate their giving to the existing vision of the church, than it’s probably as distraction in disguise. (Sorry to break the bad news.)

Opportunity Becomes Distraction #4: Knowledge Trafficking

I enjoy learning as do most called into vocational ministry. But when our pursuit of knowledge outpaces our put-in-use of knowledge we’ll get used to living with distraction. To make matters worse, now you can get a direct feed of whatever-you-want-to-learn, whenever-you-want-to-learn through the fifty devises in your life. Don’t let your smart phone turn you into a not-so-smart leader. One of the greatest benefits of organizational and personal clarity, by the way, is the ability to ruthlessly filter out non-relevant new data.

Opportunity Becomes Distraction #5: Platform Jacking

The last source of distraction meddles a bit more than the others. Platform jacking is when we divert too time and energy to gaining influence through opportunities outside of direct day-to-day ministry responsibilities. There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting to “bless the capital ‘C’ church”— a noble aspiration for sure! Yet I am amazed at how quickly the favor of God on a pastor can back-fire on the mission of the ministry.  The success of the local church can become a “success distraction” for the pastor who spends increasing amounts of time growing his or her platform. Most of us have seen this in someone else, so just be discerning for yourself.

Read more from Will here.

Tags: Recasting Vision, Will Mancini

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A Disciple is Someone Who Knows What Time It Is

by: Trevin Wax

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You can’t obey Jesus’ command to go and make disciples if you don’t know what Jesus means by “disciple.” And you won’t know what Jesus means by disciple unless you watch the the way He portrayed discipleship in His teaching, particularly in His parables.

What do we find when we examine the portrait of a disciple in Jesus’ parables? A consistent emphasis on the disciple’s need to do two things:

1. Understand the current eschatological moment.
2. Live accordingly.

In other words, discipleship is portrayed in terms of “wisdom,” and wisdom is defined by living in light of “what time it is.”

Take a look at some examples…

The Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7:24-27)

The parable that closes Jesus’ most famous sermon ends with a vision of discipleship that places final judgment front and center.

The contrast between the wise and foolish builders is the climactic finale to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, because it demonstrates the seriousness of what is at stake. The storm that threatens the two buildings is divine judgment.

Rarely do we begin our explanation of “making disciples” with the idea of final judgment. This element of Jesus’ teaching is often shuffled to the side as an unpopular component of our theological confession. But the parables of Matthew challenge viewing discipleship in these terms: knowing what time it is and bringing one’s life in line with eschatological reality.

Human lives matter. Human choices matter. Eternity hangs in the balance.

The Foolish Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1-13)

Just as the two builders are contrasted in terms of wisdom and foolishness, the bridesmaids are also contrasted in the same manner.

The disciple of Christ is not the one who self-identifies as a Christian, but the one who is prepared for Christ’s coming. One of the lessons here is that discipleship cannot be summed up in appearances, but in the exercise of wisdom that leads one to live in light of the kingdom of God.

In both stories, judgment exposes foolishness, both the faulty foundation of the foolish builder and the lack of preparation from the foolish bridesmaids. Discipleship is formed and described within the context of eschatological preparation.

The Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30)

A disciple must be a good steward of the gifts of God in the present while waiting for the Master’s return. The disciples commended as “good and faithful servants” are those who live with eschatological anticipation, choosing to invest in ways that maximize the king’s resources. Even though the primary point is stewardship, discipleship is seen through the lens of eschatological anticipation.

The Unmerciful Servant (Matt 18:21-35)

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant is prompted by Peter’s question to Jesus about how many times he is obligated to forgive someone who wrongs him. Jesus’ reply of “seventy times seven” is not a rhetorical trick, but rather a reference to the end of exile, the “seventy-times-seven” years prophesied in Daniel (9:24-27) before God’s deliverance will take effect.

So, a disciple forgives not only because he has been forgiven, but also because of what time it is. In the eschatological day of jubilee, debts are released and debtors are freed from their burdens. The kingdom changes everything.

New Wine in Old Wineskins (Matt 9:17)

Jesus’ analogy of putting new wine into old wineskins is a reference to the overlap of eras, referring to the coming kingdom which will no longer be contained by the exclusivistic tendencies of God’s chosen people who have lost their saltiness and who have failed to be a light to the nations.

The Faithful Servant (Matt 24:42-51)

Jesus speaks of a faithful servant whose anticipation for his master’s return leads him to alter his priorities. In this analogy, discipleship is not a generic faithfulness to God’s commands, but a specific faithfulness formed by the disciple’s understanding of what time it is and what the future holds. The vision of the future affects the disciple’s actions in the present.

Two Implications for Church Leaders

1. Eschatology gives eternal significance to our ethical choices.

Too often, disciple-making is reduced to information regarding the ethics of the kingdom. Moral formation is reduced to making proper ethical choices as laid out in Christ’s straightforward teaching.

However, the parables of Jesus focus on ethical choices made in light of the eschatological reality of God’s in-breaking kingdom. Wisdom is defined in large part by the proper understanding of “what time it is.”

Unfortunately, church leaders often relegate the study of eschatology to timetables and charts that lead to endless debates on the details of Christ’s second coming. Though end-times speculation should be avoided, the vision of final judgment, Christ’s return, and the promised new heavens and new earth must be ever before the eyes of believers. When we divorce ethics from eschatology, we fail to communicate the eternal significance of the disciple’s choices.

2. Eschatology gives eternal significance to our missional activity.

Fundamental to one’s view of any number of contemporary debates over holistic mission, social work and evangelism is one’s view of eschatology. To neglect the unpopular teaching about the wrath of God, Christ’s many warnings against hell, or the role of works in final justification is to settle for a shrunken view of ethical choices and a moralistic understanding of religious identity.

The reality of final judgment keeps a holistic view of disciple-making truly holistic in that it protects social work from degenerating into nothing more than seeking to make the world a better place, and it keeps evangelistic efforts from neglecting the social responsibility to live in ways that demonstrate submission to King Jesus.

Read more from Trevin here.

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