"May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and the exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, and starvation, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done."
Franciscan Benediction, taken from "IT," by Craig Groeschel
In huddle meeting yesterday, I read Ephesians 4:1-3 and asked what those verses would look like- if they described us. A band member spoke up, and admitted there were occasionally songs we played that weren't his preference- but that he wanted to be humble, all for whatever is best for the church- not himself- and that if he listened to that song over and over, he'd find something that he liked about the song, and connect to it.
I respect that. I appreciate that.
Now I know what that guy is about.
Last week, Pastor Jason and I were talking out our musical style- in the conversation, he was actually giving me more freedom, since he said he's seen my love for our people grow. "Now I know you love my people," he said. More trust followed. More freedom followed.
I have conversations with people some times, where they will critique things- what I hear behind their words is them trying to establish themselves as worth a seat at the table, so to speak- if their input has value, then they would, too.
That's human nature.
There are times, of course, to be assertive.
However, don't miss this-
I've had to learn the hard way so many times...
God resists the proud, and exalts the humble.
Serve.
Love.
Trust.
You're given a stronger voice when your humility and willingness to serve leads the way.
Wednesday, I re-posted a blog from James MacDonald about soteriology vs. doxology as the driver of church mission and structure. Here are my thoughts as it pertains to profiles:
* I respect and root on each of these churches. Nothing critical in my heart meant here.
The first thing I think, rather than just theory, are church examples.
It's easy to look at what you read and where you have visited- and suddenly it's Stanley's model vs. MacDonald. Warren's vs. ......, Noble's vs. ......
Observation #1: I've evidently really studied and visited soterios churches moreso than doxa churches.
Observation #2: Are our stereotypes correct?
Sometimes. Not all the time. And- I don't think I know well enough at this point of study to draw definitive conclusions- just suppositions.
Here's what I mean in some profiles:
I've visited Hillsong NYC. I have a mancrush on Hillsong, and have watched their worship leaders in what I see genuinely pursue God for years- I would consider them a doxa church, actually.
Now, when I was there, an associate who I won't name was there teaching. I'm very hesitant to write anything negative here- so suffice it to say it was not as Biblically rich as I'd have hoped. I root them on, and consider that to be an exception there, not the rule.
I've visited the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Fresh Wind Fresh Fire changed my life when I was 17, and even though their church style is about as different from me as you can get- I loved that church and would attend there. It was like a foretaste of heaven- unity in diversity, joy, great Biblical teaching- simple, yet let the Word speak for itself. Doxa.
I've visited Northpoint Church. One of the primary models of the soterios church. I loved it. I was inspired. Deep worship? That's not what they are trying to do- it was two songs and done- because the thinking is all through the grid of what people who haven't yet trusted Christ would be touched by. Which I respect... but is that where the church is supposed to stay?
I think Northpoint is worth studying. I respect what they are trying to do. Are they growing? For sure. Are people becoming deep followers of Christ? I don't know. Either way. We sure have a lot to learn from them- my wife and one of our staff members are headed there next week to learn.
I've visited Newspring Church. The ones famous for covering ACDC and Van Halen during service. Perry Noble has this way of saying about anything and getting away with it. I visited Newspring expecting it to be way aggressive only, and I was wrong. I loved Newspring. I actually saw them minister with a broad brush- trying to reach all kinds. I saw lots of "blue hairs" in the audience as well as college age. My wife and one of our staff members are headed there as well, in part because I insisted on it- I could attend Newspring.
However, almost every teaching series is "Pump it Up" or "House Party" or "Unleashed." Now, that's intentional- they are soterios, trying to see people trust Christ. I respect that. I loved Perry's teaching. Would I stay in that teaching mode exclusively? No.
I've visited Elevation Church several times and have contacts there. They've been so helpful for us, giving us tours, answering questions, training production guys- even to the point of giving us their phone numbers so I can ask questions. Terrific guys.
I think Elevation, although I would consider them a soterios church, to be most middle-of-the-road. They are much more doxa than meets the eye. They seem to me to engage intentionally and aggressively people who need Christ- yet truly worship and set the stage for deep things. I would absolutely attend Elevation- them, Newspring, and Brooklyn Tabernacle were my favorites.
I've never been to Harvest Bible Chapel, although I've read James MacDonald's writings. They are inspiring and I see such a pure heart. I wasn't as receptive to him watching Elephant Room- but there is such a purity of heart in Vertical Church you can't help but love the guy.
Even in the beginning of the book, he wrote: "getting people back to church is pointless unless God comes back first... many iterations are all horizontal substitutes for God come down, we all get rocked and radically altered, Vertical Church."
Amen.
My detailed thoughts will come later- but for now- even as a worship leader, comparing the two-
This post is from James MacDonald's blog and may be found here. This actually explains an internal wrestling I've had over the last year. I'll withhold my opinion for now- I'd like to have discussion- what are your thoughts?
Soteriology is a word that comes from the Greek word soterios, which means “to save.”Doxology comes from the Greek word for glory and names the single stanza hymn. While many have heard the Westminster Confession that “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever,” fewer have understood that doxology is the highest purpose for church. Doxological is a good descriptor for the mission of God’s glory. Placing evangelistic mission above the mission of God’s glory is the single most destructive error in the church today and the one from which many other errors fall out. God’s own glory as the priority for your church and every church needs no reflection on our part, only obedience. Glory is not a threat to reaching lost people but is actually the most biblical and God-honoring way to get there:
Yes, God is passionate to see the elect brought into the church.
Yes, God honors the efforts of those committed to scattering the seed.
Yes, God calls us to let down the net for a catch as fishers of men.
Yes, God is “not wishing that any should perish.” (2 Peter 3:9)
Yes, God “desires all people to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:3–4)
The statements above are biblical fuel on the fire of evangelism, but the Scripture also puts parameters on how far that zeal can go. “For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word” (2 Corinthians 2:17). When soteriology becomes a higher priority than doxology, much is done “to reach people” that grieves the Holy Spirit and forfeits manifest presence. Like a man paddling across the Atlantic with a hole in his boat, God’s glory can be briefly neglected, but if not soon corrected, we will find ourselves in a place where the only choice is to sink. Neglect of glory is not a small oversight but the hinge on which God’s glorious favor swings in or out in any church. The error of failing to make the glory of God your highest priority is very difficult to address in a horizontal church because they believe their mission is “winning the lost, end of story!” If that horizontal mission results in numerically successful outcomes, the methods will be considered “above reproach” ipso facto, and that is the great disaster. Even where churches have doxology in their mission statements, it is too often assumed. Those resistant to what I write might reply, “Of course God is glorified in our efforts to reach people for Him, why would He not be?” Possible answers:
Because preachers are not carnival barkers, and Jesus is not a midway prize. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
Because some methods use content that offends God’s holiness—ask King Saul if sincerity is an adequate reason to disregard God’s holy reputation. (1 Samuel 15:22)
Because some methods reveal the wisdom of humans and not the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:4–5)
Because some methods provoke people to praise the strategy, not the God who saves. (Jonah 2:9; Acts 13:48)
Because Ichabod can become a reality just when everything looks to be going great!
How did the church get this way? I don’t know the whole history, but I do remember the impact of a book that came out in 1980 titled The Complete Book of Church Growth by Elmer Towns, John Vaughan, and David Seifert. It lists the top 200 churches in North America by attendance. Interestingly, in 1980, the largest two churches had about 5,000 attendees. By the time they got down to the 200th church, they had gone under 2,000 in attendance. As of 2011, there were 1,200+ churches in America with attendance over 2,000; more than 100 churches that have attendance over 5,000; and more than 2533 with attendance over 10,000. But wait! It’s a trick, because during that same time the population has grown by more than 40 percent and the total number of people actually attending church has fallen by greater than 15 percent. Bottom line: in real numbers, millions of people who were worshipping Christ in a Protestant church in 1980 are not doing so today. So who are we kidding? Horizontal, soteriologically driven church is not growing the body of Christ as a whole. Even if you are seeing a “win” on your side of town, we are a “loss” collectively. Do you care? Regardless of size, every Bible-believing, gospel-saturated church, and those that want to get there, matter to God. Just because a few churches in big cities are flooding with people does not mean that those methods are helpful to the church as a whole. What if Satan allowed a few churches to burst at the seams, knowing that selfish shepherds everywhere would mimic those horizontal methods and plunge churches from coast to coast into a vortex of decline?
Sadly, many who read this believe that pursuit of the glory of God is an abandonment of evangelistic impact, when in fact the opposite is true. Check back Friday for some evidence. :)
If you get two people in the same room, eventually they'll disagree about something. We're all different- it can be a beautiful thing.
I wanted to share two examples of "disagreements" in the last week, and how they were handled differently- along with their outcomes. (I am NOT taking shots in this, I wouldn't do that. Just trying to help people see healthy ways of dealing with conflict).
Tale 1:
Tuesday, I read the connection cards from the weekend- (Cheryl processes them on Mondays) and see prayer requests, communication- 99% good things.
Then, there are occasionally critical ones- almost always unsigned.
Nothing like an anonymous "you stink" to brighten my Tuesday morning. It's ok, though. :)
Outcome? Nothing. Tough to process with someone when you don't know who they are.
Tale 2:
One of our most faithful, consistent volunteers approached me Sunday after 10:30 service about the same issue as that connection card (he wasn't the one who wrote it). He said; "dude, I just thought, it's ok. Maybe it's not what I like but I trust you guys and I want you to know I love you and support you." Then we discussed it together- great conversation.
Outcome? Peace. Relationship. Maybe even better decisions.
I know, some folks tend to complain and be negative. It can be human nature. Sometimes, disagreements are out of that- however, sometimes they are valid and we (I) make mistakes. Goes both ways.
I actually think our church is pretty healthy with this issue- but thought this could be helpful.
Unsigned critical notes do not motivate to change. They truly don't do anything good.
Sometimes they hurt- sometimes it can make you feel defensive, like you are being attacked.
Moral of the story is NOT: "start signing your name to your critical note," although I'd prefer that over unsigned. At least I could deal with issues then.
Guy in Tale #2? Did pretty well. He came to me respectfully and let me know I wouldn't need to be defensive, and then asked questions. I'll have those talks all day long.
Here's how to deal with things when you have an issue:
1) Contact the person without spreading negative talk to other people 2) Be humble, kind, and respectful- assume the best. Pray before your talk. 3) Ask them to process with you, help you understand ("this makes me feel ____," can you help me understand?" rather than "you did ___, now we are ____") 4) As much as depends on you, make forgiveness, redemption possible 5) Trust God to judge.
Guy in Tale #2 told me: "people complain to me, they just keep coming to me, what do I do?"
Stop listening to it. They'll stop coming to you.
You don't need to blow people up, just beat them to the punch with something positive.
Person A: "hey, this stinks." Person B: "I'm sorry you feel that way- but wow, how about (insert statement of honor here)?" Person A: "hey, I said that this stinks." Person B: "I don't want to dishonor anyone- why don't you go talk to that person? They've been great with me."
Like I wrote, I think we're actually a fairly healthy church in this regard- but, we need to "keep the culture" and fight for health.
- Don't spread criticism. "I heard's" don't help. - Speak honor and encouragement about other people- in front of their face and behind their back. - Read these: Matthew 18:15-20, then 18:21-35, James 3, and Galatians 5:16-26 - Trust God. He sees. It's in His hands, not yours.
We were talking in staff meeting today about Easter, and what we do well vs. what we need to improve on.
I said, "I'm so excited about the person that gave their life to Christ, but I would have loved to see 50 people trust in Christ this weekend."
Another staff person said, "I have the opposite burden- if they trust in Christ, but don't go any further in discipleship, what good is it?"
Who's right?
I think "who's right" is the wrong question.
All too often folks pray a prayer, and then don't go any deeper. That's a burden of ours we are working on at WR right now- desiring to produce true disciples.
That is absolutely correct.
I wasn't wrong either. Heaven or hell matters a bit.
Now of course, that staff member isn't against people trusting in Christ and I'm not against discipleship. But do you see the correlations that were made?
One way of thinking could be that "getting people to pray a prayer" is the end-all be-all, and "mission accomplished" and nothing goes any further.
Is that necessarily true? Of course not. Does it often flush out that way? Unfortunately, yes.
Another way of thinking could be "if you're not going to get them in the Bible and in classes, then why even lead them to that prayer?"
Who says if they accept Christ they won't truly begin to follow Him? That's not a necessary correlation. However, does it often flush out that way? Unfortunatley, yes.
Are people that are driven to deep discipleship turned in upon themselves?
That's an unnecessary correlation, but often true.
Are people that are driven to see people saved shallow?
That's an unnecessary correlation, but often true.
A doesn't equal B, but it often gets there anyway.
Is it not possible for both?
Why not?
Why can't we truly seek God in worship in a vertical, deep way while we directly speak to those seeking Christ?
Why can't we desire to see lots and lots of people trust in Christ while we have the priority of God's glory?
Why can't we see lots of people trust Christ and then become a sincere, sacrificial, all-encompassing follower of Christ?
For some reason, it's difficult.
But it has to be possible.
A doesn't equal B, but it often gets there anyway.
My prayer is that somehow, by God's grace, we'd be different- where we are truly a vertical church, not praying for "numbers" - but nevertheless seeing a greater harvest than ever of people trusting in Christ. Those folks that would trust in Christ would become Jesus-centered, Bible-loving, worshipful missional followers of Jesus Christ who would change the world.
We're not there yet, totally, although I think we're on the right track.
It pains me we are not better than we are with discipleship and deep worship, among other things. We're working on that.
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
1 Peter 2: 2-3
I shared this passage with our volunteer teams this weekend in our "huddle" meetings before service.
This passage is a prayer of mine for our church- that it would describe us. That it would be a characteristic of ours- that we would crave this nourishment from God's Spirit and His Word, and grow into a full experience of salvation. That our taste of the Lord's kindness would compel us to discipleship and worship... a love of God's Word... a love of Jesus in worship...
However- most people don't come into service like this off-the-bat. Our volunteer teams spend time praying before service, anticipating a move of God- but regular folks usually enter late and rushed, a success just to get there- not prayed up and ready. Many folks are so consumed in chaos and burden that it's difficult to become consumed by the glory of God.
It's our job to lead folks past that- where, even when life is rough, walking with God and intrinsically being in awe of His glory... let's help folks get there-
That's why serving in first impressions, kids, safe and secure, the band, etc. - it's a mission, a ministry. You are there to serve others, to engage them- you go first, pray and put your mind on Jesus, and then you go and help someone else do the same.
If you're with us, I encourage you to see that vision- it's not ok to be late, not show, or to not take it seriously- you're helping 1 Peter 2:2-3 become a reality for other folks- it has to start with us.
"...this story speaks to a fascinating phenomenon that prevents people who don't know one another well from building trust. It's called the fundamental attribution error. As sophisticated and complex as it may sound, it's really quite simple.
At the heart of the fundamental attribution error is the tendency of human beings to attribute the negative or frustrating behaviors of their colleagues to their intentions and personalities, while attributing their own negative or frustrating behaviors to environmental factors. For instance, if I see a dad at the grocery store scowling at his five-year-old daughter and wagging his finger in her face, I'm likely to conclude that the guy has an anger problem and needs some counseling. If I find myself scowling and wagging my finger at my own five-year-old, I'm likely to conclude that my behavior is caused by my unruly child or that I'm just having a rough day.
Of course, this kind of misattribution where we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt but assume the worst about others, breaks down trust on a team. The best way to combat it is to help team members understand one another on a fundamental level and to give them as much information as possible about who a person is and why this person might act the way he or she does. By doing this, we greatly increase the likelihood that people will replace their unfair judgments with insight and empathy, qualities that allow a team to build trust and goodwill with one another. Or as the prayer of St. Francis goes, we must seek to understand more than to be understood."
I'm a fanatical Browns fan. Yes, I know I used the same word twice there- but it's true.
Being a life-long Browns spirit gives you a tough spirit- you can love under bad circumstances. At least the draft is fun because you always have a high draft choice.
It's been a "factory of sadness," as it's been said.
You know the quote that says: "insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results (Einstein)?"
Well, what are we expecting from the Browns?
They do have new ownership. Maybe this time it'll be different. If not, there's always next year.
Here's the point: rooting for the Browns or not doesn't matter. How you live your life does.
Being a Browns fan may be considered a permissible dysfunction.
However, if we don't fight for health for the things that really matter in life, nothing will ever change.
You need to "own what is yours." Look in the mirror first.
Am I willing to make tough choices to "get better?"
