How to Lead the Best Money Meeting Ever

by: Todd McMichen

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Recently I had the privilege of launching a Generosity Culture session with a pastor who is leading one of the most successful churches in his state. Over the years they have grown from a few hundred to thousands of people generating millions of annual income. You would think that this kind of numeric success would be sufficient to just stay the course. However, 10% of their people are giving over 50% of the revenue and they are praying for an even more significant impact in their city, which requires a flood of resources.

After several hours of meeting, sharing, and dreaming with the team, it was simply one of the most inspiring money meetings I have ever witnessed. Here are some insider tips:

1. We talked about generosity and not money. Money is paper, metal, and plastic which is not very inspiring. Generosity is a heart joy straight from the Creator of our souls. Language creates culture; words create worlds. Learn the language of generosity.

2. We invited everyone to the conversation, not only the finance office.Everyone handles money. However, sometimes the dollars and cents are left to a small few. How different is a generosity conversation when the Children and Worship Pastors are in the room? Their passion and perspective was invaluable.

3. We talked about life impact not expenses or receipts. When budgets are the topic, numbers and line items can rule the game. It was so enlightening to hear stories of how money was being used to transform a life. Money looked much different when seen through the eyes of addiction recovery and cancer treatment care.

4. We talked about the future first, not the present or the past. When you see the future clearly as a team, it produces such freedom when it comes to budget planning and expenses. The future frames the present.

5. We talked about what could be, not what would never be. I have watched God provide far beyond the calculators of men. I have watched gifts come in and doors opened when leaders lead with bold faith and a clear calling. This church had these experiences. Past success spurred future faith.

6. We talked about their city, their people, and the Bible, not a spreadsheet.Every city, life, and family possesses a money story. Once you know the story you can learn your role in growing a generous disciple that enjoys fruit far beyond their means. People want to live big lives and money is a significant story line.

7. We talked about vision, not a capital campaign. Campaigns are necessary when you need a large infusion of resources in a short period of time. However, you can lead your church to live in the land of surplus each and every day. More and more churches are prioritizing a generous culture long before they have a critical need.

8. We talked about discipleship, not debt reduction. Debt reduction programs are only sometimes good ideas. If your church feels as if it is struggling with debt, you are probably struggling more with cash flow. Cash flow can be increased many different ways. Don’t settle for old ideas.

9. We talked about fun and freedom, not bondage and limitation. Most church money conversations are some version of getting more money from people and not getting more blessings for people. When our motive is money and not the freedom that comes from obedient discipleship, we are way off as leaders.

10. We talked together, not being told how it would be. This is big! Try kicking off your annual budgeting process with vision and celebration. Let every ministry leader share their dreams based off the direction provided. Spending and investment choices now become a unifying experience toward a greater goal.

These are only a few of the things that I learned from our conversation. I hope they inspire you to raise the bar on the money conversation at your church.

> Read more from Todd.

 Would you like to learn more about developing a Generosity Culture for your church? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Generosity, Generosity Culture, Money Meeting, Todd McMichen, stewardship

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Rapidly Growing Churches Place a Premium on Intentional and Strategic Leadership

by: Ed Stetzer

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I’m pretty sure that I’ve never met anyone who became a pastor so that they could spend their time worrying about strategy.

Those of us who are pastors and church leaders generally invest in ministry because we love people, not because we love spreadsheets and flowcharts. We love ministry because we want to see people move from where they are to where God wants them to be. There are very few things in life more powerful.

Seeing broken people become whole in and through Jesus really is amazing. However, church leaders do themselves and the churches they lead a huge disservice when they neglect strategy because they are not naturally inclined to it. Many pastors and church leaders are not necessarily strategically inclined, and because of that they ignore it, or intentionally neglect it.

In our research on the largest and fastest growing churches in America, however, we have found that strategy really matters. Churches who are rapidly growing, and who maintain that growth, place a premium on intentional and strategic leadership.

A Strategic Approach

Every year, at LifeWay Research, we pull together data from churches across the country. We collate the data in two ways; the fastest growing churches in the country and the largest churches in the country. This research is usually among the more talked about research we do each year.

Some think we publish this research because we are trying to exalt the large church as the “best” model for doing church. This simply isn’t true. Remember, God used the megachurch to reach Korea and the house church to reach China. Models should be held loosely, and Jesus should be held tightly. We are not convinced the bigger the church is, the better that church is.

We believe that any church that God uses is a great church. With that said, we also believe that facts are our friends. We want to regularly evaluate what God is doing in churches across the country, and one of the ways we do that is through this research.

As we comb through the research each year, we look to see if there are trends that stand out, or similar experiences that are shared by many of the churches who are seeing exciting growth.

Each year we find one or two areas that are unique and, we think, potentially helpful to other pastors and church leaders. This year is no exception. As we looked through the surveys, and interviewed a number of the churches, we saw a common theme of intentional strategy begin to emerge. This is more than just strategy, however, this is strategy in a couple of very specific areas – areas which might have received a bit less emphasis in the past.

We noticed that churches were intentionally investing strategic energies in groups ministry and sermon prep this year in a way that seems to be growing in popularity over the past few years. This matters because strategy is sorely lacking from many American churches. In a recent LifeWay Research study, among the pastors we surveyed, only 42% believed that their groups have a well-defined approach. Even worse than that, over half of all pastors we surveyed have no intentional plan for discipling all ages in their church.

This lack of consistent strategy in our churches is killing our disciple-making.

Group Strategy

Christ Church of the Valley – Phoenix, AZ

One church that is seeing God move in powerful ways is Christ Church of the Valley in the greater Phoenix area. They come in at #8 in the Largest Churches list and #91 in the Fastest Growing list. Started in 1982, they have grown to over 21,000 each weekend and meet across the Phoenix metro on 5 different campuses.

As a church, they would appear to be the definition of success, at least according to many. In spite of that, however, they recently underwent a pretty significant change in their group strategy. Formerly they used a fairly typical groups strategy with people grouped together by affinity. Additionally they would have a variety of ministries meeting throughout the week on their campus. While these ministry avenues generated a lot of people and activity, they were not sure they were helping the church actually accomplish its mission of, “win, train and send.”

Ashley Wooldridge, who is the Executive Pastor at Christ Church described their group gatherings as one “holy huddle” after another. He went on to say, “We would find groups of people that we liked and we would drive out of our neighborhoods, past all the neighbors that we knew did not know Jesus, and did not go to church” on their way to meet with their affinity-based small group. This lack of missional intentionality led the church leadership to reconsider their strategy. They arrived at a place where they were frustrated by their lack of missional effectiveness. “We are tired of saying that we want to reach our neighborhoods and change our culture yet really not strategically doing something about it.”

They completely shut down their affinity-based small group strategy. Instead, they launched a new groups ministry that is based on neighborhood. Every person in the church is encouraged to engage in a group that meets in their basic geographic area.

They are so committed to this strategy that Wooldridge tells us they don’t have any groups that exist today that would not be meeting in the neighborhood that the people live in. What is more, they eliminated all other larger groups that used to meet on their campus. Groups like women’s ministry, men’s ministry, single’s ministry no longer happen in lieu of everyone meeting in their neighborhood.

This combination of simplification and strategic discipleship strategy has served to promote relational discipleship as people now live in proximity with those they are growing in Christ with. It helps promote mission, as they can easily invite non-believers in their community to meet with their group, which is also in their community.

Wooldridge goes on to highlight that this has changed their approach to mission. “We found that it is a lot easier for a Christian to go overseas for Africa for a week, beat their chest, come back, feeling really good that they did something great, and then drive into their neighborhoods, while all the people around us that we know are not going to heaven with us.”

This change in strategy has unleashed the people in their church to grow as disciples, and to serve their community on mission. Wooldridge noted that they still send people around the world on mission, but this strategic change has exponentially increased their influence in their immediate area.

Though Wooldridge did not mention this, but my observation would be that they also enabled their large church to become smaller, and approachable, by multiplying through this neighborhood approach. Their intentional strategy has freed them up to serve people more effectively, allowing the Great Commission to go out and disciples to be made.

Real Life Church – Valencia, CA

Another church that is strategically positioning themselves to better disciple the people entrusted to them is the Real Life Church of Valencia, CA. Real Life Church is #93 on the Largest Churches list and #41 on the fastest growing list.

Real Life Church is working to strategically position themselves to see people’s lives transformed. While Christ Church of the Valley uses a streamlined, neighborhood strategy, Real Life Church is using a different strategy, focused on a variety of discipleship options, to help their people grow to be like Jesus.

Brennan Conklin, their Executive Director of Ministry explains their discipleship group strategy is divided into four segments. They offer Life Groups, Celebrate Recovery, Care Communities and affinity groups as a means for people to be discipled. Life Groups are companions to their weekend worship experiences, and meet in homes, with most people attending one in their basic geographic area.

Celebrate Recovery has become a major part of their groups strategy. Inviting people in who have any number of “hurts, habits and hang-ups,” they are seeing large numbers of people gather, on their campus, each week.

Care Communities are based off various topics and provide discipleship opportunities for people who have had their life turned upside down and are struggling with issues such as cancer, divorce, financial struggle, etc.

Finally, affinity groups gather around specific affinities such as men’s ministry or women’s ministry. This multi-faceted ministry allows them to offer opportunities to people wherever they are, and whatever stage they are in. Conlkin says that, while they offer many opportunities on their campus, they have a strategic push to offer many of these discipleship opportunities off campus for missional reasons. “We don’t want to see these kinds of discipleship paths be taken away from the neighborhood because of all of the people [there].”

While their four discipleship pathways are intentional, they are also highly relational and exist to serve people. In fact, Conklin describes their pathways as a means to help people assume more responsibility for their own discipleship. “Through these options, you are helping people take ownership of their following of Jesus.”

This effort to strategically enable their congregation to own their discipleship progress is an encouraging sign.

>>Read more from Ed.

Would you like to learn more about developing an intentional strategy for your organization? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Ed Stetzer, Intentional Strategy

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Is Your Worship Bulletin a Primary Tool to Reach Guests?

by: Thom Rainer

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In many circles, the church worship bulletin or worship folder is perceived to be old school, the tool of staid and traditional churches. Leaders with such a perspective are missing an incredible opportunity to put something in the hands of guests that, at least anecdotally, increases the chances they will return.

It is for that reason that I see the church bulletin to be first for guests. While church members can benefit from it, the most effective use comes from those who are new to your church. I thus note nine essentials for church bulletin with the guest in mind.

1. Worship times. Many bulletins are retained for future use. It is thus imperative for the worship times to be prominent in them.
2. Physical address of church. You want to encourage the guest to return, so include the physical address of the church for their GPS.
3. Website and social media links. This is a primary means of communication for our culture. Your church must be speaking that language, and guests need to know where to find you online.
4. Email, and telephone contact. Make certain there is an email and telephone contact so the guest can get more information on the church. Also, make certain someone responds quickly to any inquiries.
5. Prayer request contact. I encourage all churches to have some type of prayer line, either email or telephone. Many guests to your church will communicate with you through a prayer line before any other means. Make certain those contacts are in the bulletin, and make certain you have someone responding promptly to them.
6. Sermon notes. I have been surprised at the number of guests who are eager to take notes during the sermon. They expect to have a place to take notes.
7. Major events. Never clutter a bulletin with a multitude of events and regularly scheduled activities. Most of the time, the event should be an event for everyone, and should be considered of major value to the congregation.
8. Vision or mission statement. This (hopefully) succinct statement will communicate to the guests what really matters at your church.
9. Order of service. Some churches have gotten away from putting the order of service in the bulletin. I think that’s a mistake from a guest-friendly perspective. Guests may not have a clue what’s taking place in the worship services. Make certain they have a clue.

One item that may seem like an obvious omission is a guest registration card. We have found that these cards are more effective if they are placed as loose cards in the bulletin, rather than perforated cards the guest must tear off.

Again, let me emphasize that the bulletin is a primary tool to connect with guests. If you have abandoned this practice because it does not have a cool factor, please reconsider. It’s making a huge difference in churches that are using it intentionally to reach out to guests.

> Read more by Thom.

 Would you like to know more about the importance of your worship bulletin as well as other communication techniques are helpful in connecting with Guests? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Communication, Thom Rainer, Worship Bulletin

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Two of the Best Questions to Ask to Determine if Your Small Groups are Working

by: Dan Reiland

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A couple days ago a church leader asked me if I thought small groups were kind of “old school and over with?” He continued to suggest that small groups were now passé and wanted to know the new cutting edge innovative thing.

I pressed in further in order to better understand his question and discovered that small groups were not working at his church. Although it sounded like his church is healthy and growing, the small group attendance is declining. His interpretation and conclusion of their reality, is that small groups are over. My thoughts are different.

Small groups have been a part of culture from the beginning because people are created to flourish and grow in community. But what has always been on the table is how we do small groups. The structure, format and method will always change and evolve.  For example, I love hearing stories about some of the cool digital/online small group innovations that help people in larger churches connect. There will always be new and innovative ways to do small groups, but small groups are here to stay.

Perhaps a better question to ask is, “Are your small groups working?”

Two of the best questions to ask to help figure out if your group life is working are:

• What is the purpose of your small groups?
• How do you measure success of your small groups?

Let’s start with purpose.

If you don’t know the true purpose of your small group ministry, the leaders won’t know and you’ll never be as effective as you’d like to be. When I interview small group leaders in any local church, and ask that question, it’s amazing how many different answers I get. It’s important to train your small group leaders to know the purpose. It is essential that the leaders stay focused on the purpose or all that effort and energy will slide sideways to good fellowship at best, or general busyness at worst. Don’t get me wrong, good Christian fellowship is great, but that’s a lot of work for something that often happens naturally on its own.

So, what is your purpose? (Why do you meet?) Here are the 7 most common answers.

• Bible Study. We meet to study God’s word in depth to learn more about biblical principles.
• Connection.  We meet to help make the church become more “sticky” and help our large church feel smaller by enhancing healthy relationships.
• Serve.  We meet not so much in a group discussion format, but the group comprises a serving team and provides a ministry that serves people and supports the church overall.
• Prayer. We meet to pursue God in deeper ways, intercede for others and the church as a whole.
• Spiritual Maturity. We meet with a purpose of spiritual formation overall, seeking to grow in our faith and walk with God.
• Care. We meet with a focus on pastoral care and shepherding. Our church is large and the staff can’t keep up with caring for all the people personally.
• Evangelism. We meet with a desire to engage people who are not yet Christians with the ultimate desire to see them say yes to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Nothing new right? Right. But here’s my challenge to you. More often than not church leaders say something like: “All those components are part of our small group system.” I understand that answer, but I want to challenge you with this thought, if you don’t intentionally choose your primary focus, you will lose your effectiveness. Look at the list again. Do you think that your small groups can achieve all those elements?  I’m going to press back and say they can’t. So, again, what is your focus? If you get that settled, you are on your way toward much greater effectiveness.

I believe we would all agree that the big picture is life change. In some ways that seems highly subjective and possibly illusive. But on the other hand, it’s really easy to see when someone in your group has truly experienced change in their life.

Life change is the best measure of success regardless of your choice of focus or purpose. You may be tempted to form a list of attributes or scripture passages by which to measure the spiritual maturity of people in your small groups. I have done that multiple times over the years. Each time I’ve been part of an effort like that to “measure success” (measure life change) it turns into a mechanical nightmare and eventually fades into non-existence. In small church environments, it works okay for a while, but the larger you get the more unmanageable it becomes and you’ll likely find yourself looking for something much more intuitive and organic.

Let me offer a simple, powerful way to measure success (assess life change).

Gather stories! That’s it! Gather stories of life change. Don’t make it more complicated. Train your leaders to look for, gather and send you clear and concise stories of how real change is taking place in the lives of small group attenders. They can be:

• God Stories – Where God shows up and does what only God can do!
• Growth Stories – How a person takes steps toward being more like Jesus.
• Gift Stories – How a person understands that God has gifted them for Kingdom purpose and serving in ministry. (Story about serving in a ministry.)

Tell these stories on Sunday morning! Your church will love 3-4 minute videos of the stories. They don’t need to be highly produced. Just make sure the point of the story is clear and that you capture heart. It’s also a great idea to include these stories, videos and even live testimonies within your sermon.

This practice creates momentum and begins to infuse group life into the culture of your church and each time you open groups and invite new people to join, you’ll see greater participation. Of course you need good systems (the method for getting people connected to groups) and good group leaders and apprentice leaders, (effective and consistent training), but you also need the ministry of group life to be clearly part of the (ministry) culture of your church.

Your small group ministry is one of the most important things you can do in your church. It’s also a lot of work. I can promise you that if you are not fully committed to small group ministry the results will be average at best. If you’re going to do it, go for it 100%.  If your church feels too busy, it may be wise to lean out or simplify your ministry menu in order to do a better job with the most important ministries. Small groups don’t work well as “one of the things you do.” It needs to be at the top of the list if you want great results.

The method or structure you select isn’t nearly as important as knowing your purpose and how you measure success. My prayer for you is that you truly experience life change through group life in your church!

> Read more from Dan.

 Would you like to know more about the importance of small groups in the life and health of your church? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Dan Reiland, Discipleship, Small Groups

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Leveraging Social Media to Help Extend the Discipleship Experience Beyond Sundays

by: Rich Birch

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According to a recent Pew Study, 69% of internet users utilize social media on a regular basis. The same reported showed that 92% of internet users aged 18-29 used social media regularly. [Pew Internet // Social Media Usage Report]

The age of living our private lives in the public sphere is upon us.

How are you leveraging social media in your church to help extend the learning and discipleship experience beyond Sunday and into the rest of the week? Here are some quick ideas that you could try:

• Hashtag // Ask your people to use a specific #hashtag during the Sunday morning service to gather up quotes and reflections on the experience.
• Post a Picture // During the week ask your community to use Instagram to take a picture of where they read their Bible regularly … or a picture of something that reminds them of the message from Sunday.
• Share a Song List // Ask your worship team to start sharing the set lists from the weekend on Spotify and then encourage your people to follow those playlists.
• Share Your Slides // Post your slides from the weekend service to Slide Share and encourage your people to share comments about the message and post the slides to their social profiles.
• Video Reaction // Ask your church to post video responses to the message through YouTube and then share a few of the most interesting the following week.
• Message Notes // Open up a publicly editable Google Doc at the beginning of the message and broadcast the link to it while asking your people to help make collaborative notes on the message from that service.

What about you? How could you see using social media to extend the discipleship experience beyond the weekend?

> Read more from Rich.

Would you like to learn more about the effective use of social media? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Discipleship, Rich Birch, Social Media

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Does Your Church Have an Intentional Plan of Discipleship for Each Generation of Disciples?

by: Eric Geiger

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I recently had a chance to talk to Rick Howerton, our Small Group Specialist at LifeWay, about a serious struggle he is seeing in discipleship ministries all around the country and how LifeWay is trying to help. Here’s a look at our conversation:

Eric: You talk to hundreds of pastors and group leaders all over the country. What are some of the major trends you are seeing in discipleship right now? 

Rick: One of the most consistent things I’m noticing with church leaders right now is confusion about discipleship effectiveness. When I’m with a group of pastors and the conversation turns to disciple-making, there always seems to be some debate over how to make disciples who make disciples. The primary disagreement flows from the number of people that an individual or group leader can disciple as well as the best setting in which discipleship takes place. Some say that only one on one discipleship is effective. Others are vehement that no one person can disciple more than a two or three. Still other people say that their small groups, when truly doing life together, are making disciples. And a lot of folks just aren’t sure. Understanding why these disagreements are occurring may be the best way to hone in on that trend. 

Eric: Speak to that a little more, then. Do you have sense of what is driving this confusion?

Rick: In the minds of most experts there are two basic types of disciple-making environments. One is centered around a primary disciple-maker. The other centers around a community of disciples. The first approach is similar to what Jesus did. It is one person allowing a few people to walk alongside him or her. It means modeling what a disciple of Jesus should be, do, and teach. One person disciples a few.

Community centered disciple-making is disciple-making through interaction with a group of people, like what we see in the early church. This happens when a small groups grows together through exercising their spiritual gifts, living out the one another principles found in the New Testament, studying God’s Word, and committing to be a part of that community. The small group as well as the church whole is important in community centered disciple-making.

Perhaps the confusion comes in feeling forced to choose one approach. In my opinion, both are important in the disciple-making process. Everyone who becomes a mature disciple and then makes disciples needs both a spiritual guide and a biblical Christian community in order to progress toward full spiritual maturity.

Eric: Where do you think these two different philosophies come from?

Rick: In short, both philosophies come from Scripture. Jesus definitely gave His time and life to a few.

Of course we also see in Acts 2:42-47 that new believers were simply getting together devoting themselves to the teaching of God’s Word, fellowship, celebration of the Lord’s supper, and prayer, “and the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” 

Eric: As someone who loves the Church, this all leads me to a pretty serious question, which is, are churches really making disciples in light of this confusion?

Rick: I do believe that many churches are confusing helping people make friends and connections to church life with guiding people and groups to make mature disciples. If church leaders are honest with themselves, many of their group ministries have the primary goal of connecting high percentages of weekend worshipers to a group. But, when this is the primary goal, churches can lower the bar of expectation so low that it’s difficult for people to become mature disciples of Jesus Christ.

Even though studies have shown that in order for someone to progress toward spiritual maturity they must be involved in the ongoing study of God’s Word, self denial, serving God and other people, sharing a verbal witness with unbelievers, and other important disciplines, many churches that claim to be making disciples are hesitant to even expect group members to read or do anything outside of the actual group gathering.

Eric: If that’s true, what is missing? What can a pastor, or church leader do to ensure that discipleship is really happening? 

Rick: Those who want to lead disciple-making churches need to do a few essential things. First off, they need to be discipled. Many pastors have seminary degrees but they’ve never been mentored/lead/shaped in a personal, challenging way. Also, it is imperative that they talk about disciple-making from the pulpit and practice disciple-making with their staff, elders, deacons, small group leaders, etc…

The other essential is that each church utilize an intentional plan of discipleship with each generation of disciples. That is, once someone has been discipled using a particular method and set of studies, they then use that same intentional plan to disciple someone or a group of people themselves. When someone has been through the process of being discipled, they are much more apt to disciple someone else if they use the same path they were discipled with. They know how it works and they have stories to tell of their own journey.

That’s why I’m proud to say I got to be a part of putting together LifeWay’s new intentional plan for discipleship called, The Disciples Path.

We created the Disciples Path series with the help of disciple-makers for disciple-makers and it should give church and group leaders a practical, workable, intentional way to combat the confusion in their ministries.

Go to lifeway.com/disciplespath to learn more about this new intentional plan for discipleship. Whether you lean towards a community centered or a disciple-maker centered approach, the Disciples Path can help you in your mission of making disciples who make disciples.

> Read more from Eric.

Tags: Disciplemaking, Disciples, Discipleship, Disciplespath, Eric Geiger, Rick Howerton

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Rookie Pastors: Know What You Don’t Know, and Grow From There

by: Bryan Rose

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In the first few years of leading in a new Senior Pastor role, it’s not the answers you don’t have that will set you back.

What promises to halt progress, and likely even cause you to second-guess your calling, are the questions that stem from the signals you missed during the courtship and hiring process.

Here are 11 warning signs of church dysfunction that new pastors might miss when interviewing…

…Sunday School leadership that spends more time decorating their classrooms than preparing their lessons

…the “Hall of Former Pastor Portraits” is carefully arranged so as to have plenty of room for many more

…the church’s website has a copy of the bylaws readily accessible in less than 3 clicks

…teal sanctuary carpet from the late 1980s that, in the name of stewardship, just keeps getting “steam cleaned” with a grocery store rental instead of replaced

…the youth minister prides his or herself in running off all but 10-12 kids because the others just weren’t serious enough about “going deep in their faith”

…spouses are encouraged to attend conferences with the Pastor because you will be using vacation days

…everyone who has been, currently is, or might one day like to be serve in a volunteer role has a copy of the master key

…each “visitor parking” place is full starting with the 8:00 am service, every week, rain or shine

…there are more puppets in the children’s ministry office than there are books

…the pastor is invited to deacon, elder or governing board meetings, “as needed”

…during the interview process, you are always snuck into the church through a back door

While these are extreme examples, each of these signs maintain a firm footing in a reality from which every leader can relate.

Many new pastors let their natural optimism and confidence overshadow theorganizationally obvious during a season of transition. Hope for what could and should be shades the reality of what actually is. Then, during the subsequent honeymoon season, these rookie leaders, well intentioned and operating from search team assurances, tend to run headlong into a large cultural roadblock that overwhelms their abilities and undermines their leadership.

A new pastor does not need to just learn where the cultural sacred cows of the past are grazing.

They need to also be a positive part of making the necessary adjustments for a healthy and productive future. Active participation in a season of uncovering identity and direction for the church, as in the Auxano Vision Framing Process could be a new pastor’s best practice.

Ultimately, success for rookie pastors does not come from knowing everything about your new assignment… it does begin with knowing what you don’t know, and growing from there.

Tags: Beginning Ministry, Bryan Rose, Rookie Pastors, Vision, grow

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How to Point the Way and Clear the Path to Effective Discipleship

by: Steven Furtick

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I get asked all the time how we do discipleship at Elevation. Related to this question, I also get asked how we follow up with new believers.

Do we relentlessly call people until they’re in a small group?
Do we offer 57 Bible studies for people to grow in their faith?
Do we provide a yearlong systematic theology course for new believers?

We do have specific and practical things that we do. But when it comes down to it, our philosophy is pretty straightforward and simple:

1. We point the way 
2. We clear the path.

1) We point the way.
Ultimately, there’s nothing we can do to force people to grow in Christ. Nothing. So whether we offer a 26-option discipleship program or a 4-option one really doesn’t matter. If someone really doesn’t want to grow, they’re either going to say no 4 times or 26.

For that reason, we keep it pretty simple.

We give new believers material to help them grow in the initial stages of their faith and we call and encourage them to get plugged in. We constantly stress the importance of small groups. We faithfully proclaim the Word and encourage people to read it for themselves. In short, we point the way to what it looks like to have a relationship with Jesus for themselves.

If they decide not to walk that way, that’s their decision. And we’ve made the decision that we’re not going to chase all of them down if they don’t.

Some people might say to this: Is that what Jesus would do?

I don’t have to wrestle with that question because it’s exactly what Jesus did. Jesus didn’t hook his finger in people’s noses to make sure they were following him. When you read through the gospels, Jesus always cast His net extremely wide. Everyone was invited to follow. But He didn’t chase people down if they weren’t committed (as in the case of the rich young ruler).

The call was to follow Him. Not be dragged kicking and screaming behind Him.

All He did was point the way. To Himself.

2) We clear the path.
This is where our greatest responsibility comes into play. If we’ve pointed the way clearly and people are responding, it’s our job to make sure the path is clear for them when they decide to walk on it. There’s no room to drop the ball when it comes to people’s spiritual development. If they’re taking a step towards Christ, we’ve got to make sure that step lands unobstructed.

In other words, we’ve got to make sure our systems and processes are running at full speed. And running efficiently. If someone wants to get in a small group, we’ve got to follow up with them quickly. If someone needs counseling, we need to get them into it right away, and into the best counseling available.

Whatever approach your church uses to pull the maximum God-given potential out of people, it really doesn’t matter. Whether you take people through a five-year development plan. Or you just put them into small groups and let the growth happen more organically. Your responsibility is ultimately the same either way:

1) Point the way to Jesus clearly.
2) Clear the path to Him effectively.

Let’s commit to doing both with excellence so we can see our people become all that God has designed for them.

Read more from Steven here.

Would you like to learn more about effective discipleshp? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Connect, Discipleship, Steven Furtick

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Doing Life Together with Others Follows Christ’s Example

by: Ed Stetzer

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In a world that is pushing against community, the church must pursue authentic community.

Community matters.

There are few things in which the church can be more counter-cultural than in the way it practices community. There are few things in which the church can manifest its missional nature more than in the way it pursues community.

Community matters.

It’s a biblical non-negotiable. Transformation is not an individual task. No Christian is an island. The model Jesus gave us for disciple making is one of shared experience and learning in community. Christ did life together with his disciples, and he expects us to undergo life transformation as a community.

Community matters.

Churches that are serious about developing and cultivating authentic community are going to have congregations that are involved in transformational small groups. There’s no getting around the fact that any church that wants to make an impact on its people and a difference in its neighborhood will pursue and cultivate small groups.

Transformational Groups Matter

Transformational groups matter. Small-group ministry is essential to the health of any church. These small groups take a variety of forms: cell groups, Bible studies, life groups, Bible fellowships, discipleship classes, home groups, Sunday school classes, and other gatherings that promote relationships within the community.

The question is: what’s the primary reason for having small groups? It’s important to note that all groups have three purposes:

• All groups have a connecting function.
• All groups have a formation function.
• All groups have a mission function.

Depending on the makeup of your congregation, your overall discipleship plan, and/or your small group strategy, you’ll find that one function will become predominant over the others. And that’s okay. You can actually structure accordingly to accomplish all three functions.

Decide on a Purpose

The first question we have to ask: what is going to be the primary function or purpose? Connecting? Formation? Mission? The answer depends on several different factors. The discipleship strategy of your church is a pre-condition that is the most important question to decide which function will be the focus.

If the preaching and teaching in your church is predominantly characterized by biblical exposition, it would be wise to consider the connecting or mission functions for your small groups. This doesn’t mean your small groups won’t study the Bible. It’s just that their intended purpose will be along the connecting or mission trajectories.

Conversely, if the preaching and teaching on Sunday is more topical and intended as a front-door experience for those who wouldn’t be considered the core of your community, you probably want to consider small groups centered on Bible study and spiritual formation.

Decide on a Structure

The next question to consider is how will you structure your small groups to carry out the primary function?

For example, let’s say that you’re focusing on missional communities. Missional communities are communities that are intentionally mission focused. These communities are engaging and serving those around them as an outgrowth of the gospel.

This doesn’t mean that missional small groups are not a place for congregational members to be building meaningful relationships with one another. They are connection points. And it also doesn’t mean that missional small groups do not seriously engage in spiritual formation in the lives of its members. It’s just the opposite. Missional small groups are strongest when all three functions of a group are present, with mission being the primary focus.

Cautions

There are a couple of cautions I need to point out.

The first, I’ve alluded to above. Focusing on one function of a group alone is not healthy. Transformational small groups thrive when they are practicing all three functions with one as primary. A solitary focus on missions tends to be unsustainable to groups that are not primarily college students. Groups that are solely focused on formation tend to lead to a spiritual deadness in the lives of the people and in the life of the church.

This is why the Sunday School movement has seen a lot of decline over the past few years. Many Sunday School classes are focused on knowledge formation. There’s really not enough else happening within the dynamic of the small group that would rise to the level of spiritual formation. The recitation of knowledge without any connection or mission leads to a sense of dryness.

On the flip side, if we’re developing a small group as a connecting point for friendship and social interaction only, the result is pretty shallow spirituality. In fact, people will hang for a while and enjoy the relationship building. But since there’s nothing more to the group, after a few weeks or months, they simply won’t stick around.

Our research shows people believe there must be a purpose for their gathering. That’s why they’ve come to church. Not simply for connecting, but for something bigger than themselves. And I’ll suggest that something bigger is found in the Word. Small groups that are serious about transformation will have some kind of Bible study or spiritual formation component to them, even if it is secondary to the connecting or mission functions.

Holistic Approach

Every small group should have all three elements of the purpose and function of groups, but one element will be predominant based on the overall discipleship strategy of the church. And that’s the sweet spot.

Transformational small groups that are going to serve the church well are going to flow out of the church’s strategy for discipleship and mission. And they are going to be most effective when they augment, rather than duplicate the weekend services.

If you’d like to explore more in depth about the role of small groups in the life of the church, my colleague Eric Geiger and I have published a helpful book, Transformational Groups: Creating a New Scorecard for Congregations.

How is your church doing with small groups?

> Read more by Ed.

 Would you like to learn more about the power of small groups? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Discipleship, Ed Stetzer, Life Together, Small Groups, discipleship groups

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Reaching Today’s Culture Requires Your Church to BE VISUAL

by: James Emery White

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The Lindisfarne Gospels, a 1,300-year-old manuscript, is revered to this day as the oldest surviving English version of the Gospels. Lindisfarne is a small island just off the Northumberland coast of England. It is often referred to as Holy Island. Tidal waters cut it off from the rest of the world for several hours every day, adding to its mystique as a spiritual pilgrimage.

Produced around AD 715 in honor of St. Cuthbert, largely by a man named Eadfrith, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, the Lindisfarne Gospels presents a copy of the four Gospels of the New Testament. But it isn’t revered simply for its age. Its pages reveal curvy, embellished letters, strange creatures, and spiraling symbols of exquisite precision and beauty. During the eighth century, pilgrims flocked to St. Cuthbert’s shrine where it was housed, making the Lindisfarne manuscript one of the most visited and seen books of its day. Its artwork and symbols helped convey its message to those who could not read.

Professor Richard Gameson from Durham University sees it as a precursor to modern multimedia because it was designed to be a visual, sensual and artistic experience for its audience. Michelle Brown from the University of London notes that the book’s impact was similar to those of films and electronic media today. As Gameson adds, “The emphasis was to reach as many people as possible.”

There are many strategies needed for the church to have an open “front door” – to help those who were previously unchurched to come, and feel not only welcomed but to feel connected. In reaching the culture today it is clear that the church needs to be focused on a key element of this: be visual.

I have written in other places that there are striking parallels between our day and that of the Middle Ages. But if we are entering a new era that is similar to the earlier medieval era, what does that mean? If we are following the medieval pattern – and I believe that in many ways we are – there will be at least five dynamics:

1. widespread spiritual illiteracy
2. indiscriminate spiritual openness
3. deep need for visual communication
4. attraction to spiritual experience
5. widespread ethos of amorality

That is why the term neomedieval, first offered by Umberto Eco in regard to Western society, seems appropriate.

But it is the visual element that churches neglect to their peril. Over the last twenty years, we have decisively moved to a visually based world. The most formative influences are not books, theater, or even music.

They are films.

Throw in videos and the rise of YouTube, and you have the essence of a cultural revolution – not to mention something of a return to the medieval. For example, during the Middle Ages, there was widespread spiritual illiteracy, as well as actual illiteracy. People couldn’t read. This is why pilgrimages mattered so much to the pilgrims. Beyond the relics and holy places they thought might bestow grace, usually the cathedrals they visited held relics that told the story of faith through a medium they could understand: stained glass, pictures.

So while people couldn’t, or didn’t, read, they couldn’t help but see, and from seeing, understand.

It’s no different today.

We are spiritually illiterate and are visually oriented and visually informed. Only now, instead of stained glass, we have film. At Mecklenburg Community Church, the church where I serve as senior pastor, there is very little we don’t try to convey visually, whether it’s a song during worship or a point during a message.

It’s simply how people best receive information and meaning, content and context.

And because it part of the arts, it has a way of sneaking past the defenses of the heart.

Read more from James.

 Would you like to learn more about the importance of being visual in your church? Connect with an Auxano Navigator and start a conversation with our team.

Tags: Communication, James Emery White, Vision visually, Visual Communication

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