Aug
19
2009
Leadership By Greg Miller | 1 comment

Evaluating Your Sunday Service, part 1

As church planters, we have things we want to accomplish. These are our goals, even if we don’t identify them as such. And when we have goals, we need to know when we’ve reached them.

This is where evaluation is essential. Evaluation is simply determining how well we’ve progressed toward our goal.

One of the key elements of almost every church is the Sunday service. This is where most new churches place a lot of emphasis, resources, and planning. In a real sense the Sunday service can “make or break” any church, but especially the new church that strives to lead people to love God and love others.

There are several key elements that are important in the Sunday service. One of the primary elements is leadership. And leadership evaluation is critical for the Sunday service.

We spend a lot of time thinking about the elements we have (or want) in our services: music, message, visuals, and so forth. But without the right people in the right places with the right equipment doing the right things, we won’t accomplish what we desire.

Evaluating leadership for Sunday services starts with people

Who is doing what?

In this area you need to evaluate to make sure people are not overloaded. They may be doing a great job even though they are overloaded, but it won’t last forever–something will give sooner or later. And if they are overloaded in their church roles, other areas of their life (such as family or job) are likely suffering from neglect. As a leader you need to be regularly recruiting new leaders to share the load. It’s part of your role in keeping “watch over” the flock (Heb. 13:17) It’s also part of your role in “equipping the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12).

Evaluating leadership for Sunday services also includes functions

What do you expect people to do?

Having written responsibilities is important–it helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page. And rather than being restricting (like handcuffs), a written description keeps the leader from wondering if he or she is doing the right thing.

A written description also gives the person’s “supervisor” something specific to work from when evaluating that person’s leadership. (Even if the person is a volunteer, someone oversees that leader’s work.)

  • Is the person doing the right things? If not, where are corrections needed and how can I help them know what is right? How can I help them get the training they need to do the right things?
  • Is the person doing the right things at the right time? If not, how can I help them understand the importance of timing and how that affects others beyond themselves? What do I need to do to help them grow in this area?
  • Does the person have the things he/she needs to do the work? If not, what is needed? Or, if things are needed that we can’t provide (such as quality video equipment), perhaps it’s an indication that it’s not the right time to utilize that element for your Sunday services.

The answer to these questions can help you determine if you have the right leadership in place. This evaluation can help you know what you need to do, including training the current leader or finding a new leader, to make sure the right leadership is in place.

You can neglect leadership evaluation because you don’t want to confront people or because you’re afraid of losing warm bodies who are serving in critical areas. But you’ll make it harder on yourself in the long run. And without leadership evaluation, the very church you’ve struggled to nurture will suffer (and perhaps die) because you chose not to do so.

Aug
12
2009
Focus, Leadership By Philip Thurman | No comments yet

A Must If You Are A Church Planter

I am really struggling writing this, not because I don’t know what to say. Words are not the issue, but I am afraid it may be taken the wrong way. Let me explain. Before planting a church I served on a number of solid Bible believing churches that were making a huge kingdom impact. They loved God and His people, but one of the things I began to notice in my own life was my circle of influence. I was running with like-minded men and women and had very little knowledge of how the outside world lived. Neighbors or parents on ball fields always knew what I did and would stay away.

Having grown up on the international mission field, I had a plethora of non Christian friends. One day while sitting in my comfortable office with all the stuff it dawned on me that all I was doing was impacting Christians and not anyone else. Thus began the journey of planting a church.

In starting a church our desire was to reach men and women who are far from God. Here is the key to reaching unchurched men. It is deep and profound and you won’t find any books about it because it does NOT sell. Are you ready? Long term relationships! Most people in the church world hate this because we prefer the microwave approach. But in the past six years I have watched the relationships I have built move closer and closer to spiritual conversations. I never have to push, but simply be around people and the conversations will naturally arise.

You may be thinking, “How do I get to that point?” Prayer, first and foremost. It’s a church answer, but it really works. God has to give you that desire. It takes being patient and waiting for the right moments. Next, find things you enjoy doing and then find those environments in the world where you can involve yourself. I am a soccer coach. Once I immersed myself in that world, I have found tons of friends who are far from God. I coach their kids but I’m not like a lot of the other coaches. Thus questions arise and doors open.

We have a team of motorcycle riders that hang out in places as a group to get rides going. Through their rides relationships unfold. An amazing endeavor we have recently experienced is missional opportunities. Many people far from God love to help others less fortunate. We had a collection for clothes and toys for Haiti and we saw people giving, packing, and carrying the goods. Through this some amazing relationships unfolded.

Long-term relationships with NO strings attached really works. Non church people can feel the strings and see the strings. But when you are consistent and patient the doors will open for you to share the hope that is within you.

Aug
6
2009
Faith By Jeff Simmons | 1 comment

Making Financial Decisions

On first glance to a planter, it wouldn’t appear that financial decisions are spiritual decisions.  Matters of money can seem so bland.  However, if you are planting on a shoestring budget, then every financial decision is a matter of much prayer.  And that is not a bad thing.  The Bible has much to say about money, finances, and good stewardship, so you should make your church’s finances a spiritual matter.

Early in the life of your church and probably later in the life of your church, financial decisions will be difficult.  On one hand, you may want to be conservative with the resources of your church, saving up for a rainy day.  On the other, there are many great opportunities to share some of your church’s resources with those less fortunate, on additional staff, property, and the list goes on and on.  The right answer is probably a matter of balance and will require prayerful consideration and wise counsel to get right.  Move in faith.  God will provide exactly what you need when you need it.  I often wish He’d provide more and more in advance, but His ways are not my ways.

Speaking of wise counsel, most planters I know aren’t great natural money managers.  Perhaps you are, but even if you are, you should have a team of wise stewards making financial decisions for your church.  There is wisdom in a multitude of life experiences and perspective.  You should help them see the vision and help them prioritize, but if the lead pastor is making financial decisions, then it is likely the organization is broken or soon will be.

It sounds crazy, but I believe that your church should establish the priority of giving.  Your church will have to decide how much and what organizations are in line with your mission and vision and are therefore worthy to support, but it is important to give some away.  You may push back and say that you can’t afford it, but I don’t think you can afford not to.  Our plant has given away 10% since our inception.  It was and is still hard… but giving helps the world see the answer to the question “How Big is Your God?”

Don’t be discouraged by what your church does or does not have, and don’t make unreal comparison with churches who are a little older than yours.  I’ve seen God do some absolutely amazing things with few financial resources and I’ve also seen some pretty “rich” churches that aren’t reaching a soul.   Budgets sound boring, but your church’s budget is tangible evidence of your church’s priorities.  And your priorities must always be spiritual.

Jul
30
2009
Faith By Matt Ervin | No comments yet

How to know what to talk about: Introduction

How does a church planter or any pastor know what to talk about? This series of articles will deal with what a church planter should be talking about and why. To setup the rest of the series, this first article will deal with the role of preaching and of the preacher.

In functions other than purchasing and human resources, a church is not a business and should not operate like one. However, using an analogy between a church and a business, the Sunday Morning service is the church’s primary product. While bad music can definitely push people away, the primary part of the service is the preaching of God’s Word, not the music or video or other pieces. Consider a favorite quote from a beloved church planter-friend, “People don’t come to my church because they don’t have any good CDs.” In most cases people come to your church for a reason other than music, but regardless of why they have come the one thing they need to hear is God’s Word. If you are not applying as much study and discipline to the message as the music team is applying to their portion of the service, then something needs to change.

The short answer regarding what to talk about: God’s Word.

God speaking to His people and revealing Himself to his people is an act of mercy, it is an outpouring of grace. He does this for the purposes of His glory. God revealing Himself to His people is the very life of The Church.

The Word of God is His method of revealing Himself to His people. God reveals Himself through the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit via His Word. The preacher is used of God as His mouthpiece to affect the salvation of His people, followers and those He is drawing to Himself alike, by revealing His Word. By the light of the Scriptures God’s people see things we would not have seen before.

Because God revealing Himself to His people is the life of The Church and because God reveals Himself to his people through His Word, the preaching of God’s Word is the most essential function the church must fulfill. Al Mohler said, “It is a privilege that God consecrates to himself the tongues of men that His voice may resound in them.”**

Quoting Mohler:

“The preacher is to preach all that the Bible contains rather than selectively deciding what the people need to hear. For the people need what God has said and what God has said is in His word.

The preacher is to preach nothing that the Bible does not contain. The preacher is neither to add nor subtract. The preacher is not to be clever. The preacher is not to try to be original. The preacher is not to seek to convey his own ideas to the people. The preacher is to refrain from preaching his own ideas no matter from what brain they have sprung. Leave your ideas, preach the Word of God.” **

God does not speak to us through thunderous voices from Heaven, but rather employs men as His voice on earth. Through the preaching of God’s Word, the preacher is part of God’s outpouring of grace to His people. What a blessing. What a responsibility.

** Al Mohler, July 6, 2009 sermon (http://bit.ly/7e4I9)

Jul
29
2009
Collaboration By Jeff Simmons | No comments yet

Where do you get great ideas for Sunday?

Sundays just seem to keep rolling around and each week requires something new and fresh – 52 times a year.  At our church plant, we’ve never hesitated to look outside the normal places for great ideas.

Most of our topics for sermon series are thought out and brainstormed months in advance at our annual staff retreat.  This gives us a lot of time to consider options prior to actually doing each series and it provides a fun atmosphere to brainstorm.  We prayerfully approach planning, but we really strive to create a fun experience on Sunday mornings… I didn’t say an experience that wasn’t life changing or challenging, but in a fun sort of way.  Our sermon series almost always originate with a discussion about a topic that we feel is important and timely for our audience.  At this point, the topic may or may not be spiritual.  From here, we see what God has to say about the topic and then try to think of creative ways to say communicate it.  We lean hard on pop culture for insight about how to speak to our audience.  Our worship leader plays a secular song almost every week (sometimes he tweaks the words – sometimes not) in an attempt to help unchurched people connect and even see spiritual things in the world around them.  Some of the more fun series have utilized sermon titles straight from the lyrics of a pop song.  Perhaps you’ve never thought about a sermon series called “Ants Marching”, but “lights down you up and die” was a powerful discussion on legacy and what God says about the afterlife.  And it’s not every day you get to play a little Dave Matthews in church.

Another thing we’ve learned – don’t try to make each Sunday bigger and better than the last.  We prefer to “blow out” some series with key topics at key times of the year (January, after Easter, back to school) with more drama, more props, more surprises and then do the rest of the series with excellence, but no motorcycles on stage.  This keeps people excited without building unrealistic expectations that every week it is just going to keep getting bigger and better.

Like it or not, your church plant is judged every Sunday.  Put some thought and creativity in your experience each week.

Jul
23
2009
Faith By Matt Ervin | 1 comment

What needs to go now?

Over the years, my thoughts and ideas about church have changed greatly. I like to attribute the change to maturity rather than cynicism, but we’ll see. My early beliefs and practices were rooted in the premise “more people = more better.” This dictated that one of the primary purposes of (my) church functions was to attract as large a crowd as possible. So, I worked to attract as many people (students in this case) as possible to whatever events I could afford and execute. This lead to lots and lots of different types of events, lots of time spent and lots of burn out.
Following the same line of thinking, a primary purpose of the event, be it a worship service, concert or ski trip, was to be sure the content of the event was good (or cool) enough to entice people to come to the next event. Bonus points if they brought people with them next time. With the goal being to bring in as many people as possible I was then confronted with the reality that people don’t like to be offended or challenged. Thus the content of any event was always shaped to be mild enough to make people return despite the “Christian stuff” required to qualify as a church event.
This is a slight exaggeration for the purpose of illustration, but it is not too far from reality. My original premise restated into thinking-language: We do this event to attract people to our church with food/music/fun/rockin’ concert-style worship service with lights and fog and indoor fireworks, etc. If we put on a good production, people will listen to our message and maybe give the Gospel a chance–if we put on a good enough show.
Life experience, further learning and study have shown that premise to be grossly underdeveloped, inadequate and basically wrong. Follow this syllogism.
Major Premise: John 6:44 and many other places in the New Testament make it clear that people ONLY come to God because He calls them.
Minor Premise: Today, God communicates to people through His word by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion: It is not our productions but our God who brings people to the Gospel through His word.
If this argument is true, then the answer to the question is apparent.
The truth is that God calls people on His own and in His time. His timing is not changed due to my action nor is His calling thwarted due to my inaction. My original premise was flawed because I believed my events brought people to church so that God could then draw them to Himself. To do that I stopped at no end to attract people. I spared no expense because I believed I should do whatever I could to attract just one more person so they could hear God’s call. If I produced my events well enough, more people would attend and could then come to know Christ. I do believe that excellence in production is highly important. In fact, excellence in anything we do is important, but how arrogant of me to think that God’s call is dependent upon my ability to attract people rather than being the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to attract people through God’s Word.
What needs to go now is anything that inhibits the church from affecting the salvation of people (believers and unbelievers) through the preaching of God’s Word. Where should you start? What that takes up the most time but uses the least amount of Scripture. Put a bulls-eye on that one.

Over the years, my thoughts and ideas about church have changed greatly. I like to attribute the change to maturity rather than cynicism, but we’ll see. My early beliefs and practices were rooted in the premise “more people = more better.” This dictated that one of the primary purposes of (my) church functions was to attract as large a crowd as possible. So, I worked to attract as many people (students in this case) as possible to whatever events I could afford and execute. This lead to lots and lots of different types of events, lots of time spent and lots of burn out.

Following the same line of thinking, a primary purpose of the event, be it a worship service, concert or ski trip, was to be sure the content of the event was good (or cool) enough to entice people to come to the next event. Bonus points if they brought people with them next time. With the goal being to bring in as many people as possible I was then confronted with the reality that people don’t like to be offended or challenged. Thus the content of any event was always shaped to be mild enough to make people return despite the “Christian stuff” required to qualify as a church event.

This is a slight exaggeration for the purpose of illustration, but it is not too far from reality. My original premise restated into thinking-language: We do this event to attract people to our church with food/music/fun/rockin’ concert-style worship service with lights and fog and indoor fireworks, etc. If we put on a good production, people will listen to our message and maybe give the Gospel a chance–if we put on a good enough show.

Life experience, further learning and study have shown that premise to be grossly underdeveloped, inadequate and basically wrong. Follow this syllogism.

- Major Premise: John 6:44 and many other places in the New Testament make it clear that people ONLY come to God because He calls them.

- Minor Premise: Today, God communicates to people through His word by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

- Conclusion: It is not our productions but our God who brings people to the Gospel through His word.

If this argument is true, then the answer to the question is apparent.

The truth is that God calls people on His own and in His time. His timing is not changed due to my action nor is His calling thwarted due to my inaction. My original premise was flawed because I believed my events brought people to church so that God could then draw them to Himself. To do that I stopped at no end to attract people. I spared no expense because I believed I should do whatever I could to attract just one more person so they could hear God’s call. If I produced my events well enough, more people would attend and could then come to know Christ. I do believe that excellence in production is highly important. In fact, excellence in anything we do is important, but how arrogant of me to think that God’s call is dependent upon my ability to attract people rather than being the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to attract people through God’s Word.

What needs to go now is anything that inhibits the church from affecting the salvation of people (believers and unbelievers) through the preaching of God’s Word. Where should you start? With whatever takes up the most time but uses the least amount of Scripture. Put a bulls-eye on that one.

Jul
10
2009
Faith, Leadership By leanchurchguy | No comments yet

When will the great leaders show up?

This is one question that most church planters have asked at least once. Of course, I will not risk failing the test of a prophet by answering this question with a specific date. I will provide a few thoughts that might help you find some answers.

The simple spiritual answer is “When God provides them.” The follow up question this prompts me to ask is “Can I do anything to encourage God to provide them sooner?” Now I’ve screwed up. Less than 100 words into this blog and we are into a theology debate that I don’t want to be in. Who said church planting was easy?

A better way to present this question might be to ask “What would God want me to do to acknowledge that He will provide for His church and that I should be a good steward of His provisions?” We should clearly live expecting God to be with us in the things He has called us to do. We should be regularly asking Him to provide for our needs and we should be looking for His provision, His work in the things that are happening or not happening in our church, and in the people He leads to us.

So awareness seems like our first stewardship response after prayer. My observation is that being aware is not enough. We should be searching for those provisions. This means examining the possibilities and looking beyond what is on the surface. God may provide the leaders but He may want us to train them. He may even want us to develop them. We know He wants us to disciple them.

So how do we examine our acquaintances for possible leaders? How do we look for diamonds in the rough that are our responsibility to develop? My best suggestion is to first look for people that understand your church’s vision. The vision you should be casting every chance you get. Buying into the vision is the most important role of a leader.

From there, it’s simply a matter of spending time with them. As you do that you will figure out who is ready for an initial leadership assignment that will both develop them and tell you more about their capacity for additional leadership roles. Hopefully you have other leaders helping you identify and develop your leaders. Being able to dialog with another trusted leader about the people God is providing is extremely helpful to this process.

Finally, don’t shortchange this process by not setting aside time to work on it and by not writing down your plans for the potential leaders you are working with. The plans don’t need to be complicated. Simply talking with them about what they believe God is leading them to do and then writing down how they need to prepare for His service will go a long way. If you add to that periodic follow up with some pointed feedback, you will be amazed how quickly you will find yourself surrounded by one of God’s most important provisions for a church plant–great leaders.

Jul
6
2009
Collaboration, Leadership By Mark Ervin | No comments yet

What kind of leaders do Millennials respect?

No generation in 50 years has confounded the rest of society quite like Gen Y has.  We all expect them to know their place, but they simply refuse to believe that everybody begins at the bottom of the pecking order. They thrive on collaboration, love to be included in the decision-making process, and think that everything is customizable. Even church. To better understand what kind of leaders they respect, you need to get a better understanding of what Gen Y as a generation respects.

It’s no mystery that Gen Y, or Millennials, are self-consumed. Iconoculture, in their 2009 consumer outlook, goes so far as to say, “It all comes down to the Millennial Entitlement Formula: What’s good for me  +  what’s good for mine + what’s good for ours = good for all. (So what’s the problem?)”  But this really shouldn’t come as a shock. They are the first full generation of kids who had activities after school 3-5 nights a week. Since grade school, they have been taught that collaboration in groups is better than individual projects. And even though all Millennial kids didn’t grow up in abundance, nearly all of them had a cell phone before graduating high school.

Run this through your filter of the election of 2008, and you can begin to fully understand the leadership style that Millennials believe in. Consider the candidacy of Barack Obama. He presented himself as an inspirational, open, and collaborative leader whose presidency would make life better for each of us and all of us. Politics aside, his message rang true to the newest voting generation, capturing a staggering 66% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29.

So what does this mean to church planters? Based on their stats and who they voted on for president, there is a lot we can glean about who Gen Y respects as leaders. If you have a congregation that is full of Gen Yers, then there are a few generational traits you can cater to that neither water down the gospel nor do they sacrifice the message for the culture.

First of all, remember that collaboration is one of the biggest defining values of the Millennial generation. This doesn’t mean you collaborate on the defining doctrines of the church or even on what brand of communion wafers you choose. But, it does mean that in learning environments, basic decisions and subjective issues like worship style, collaborative approaches will be more successful with Gen Y. To them, it’s about inclusiveness and being given the option to get as involved in the process as they want. Remember, they believe that people in authority may or may not have the best ideas and abilities for every assignment. So when pastors reach out to members to find expertise in areas outside of their own, it will help build trust with Millennial members.

Second, Millennials as a generation are waiting for messages as powerful as the gospel to believe in. The world is successfully convincing them that the environment, world poverty, and other things like Tibetan freedom are causes worthy of them investing their lives into. They long to make a difference. So leaders that can effectively connect the ideas of how spreading the gospel will change the world will gain respect of Gen Yers in their congregation.

And while you don’t have to be an early adopter of all things technological, you do need to be friendly to the more advanced ways people are communicating. You don’t have to be a TweetDeck savant or an iPhone junkie, but you do need to show a willingness to embrace evolved methods of communication. When you meet people, give them multiple ways to communicate with you. When you’re setting up study groups, use web 2.0 to get it done. But at the same time, be open to new ideas and to go with whatever flow your particular congregation is going with.

These aren’t hard and fast suggestions, but rather ideas to entertain. Every group of people responds differently to situations, and Millennials are particularly adaptive. Overall, the one thing to remember is to be inclusive and be ready to change. They will appreciate that more than anything.

Jul
1
2009
Leadership By leanchurchguy | No comments yet

Should Church Planters Have A Personal Development Plan?

My best guess is that most church planters don’t think they have time for one and they will plan to have one once they know they are going to make it and will really need it. If I am wrong, I will gladly admit it. Just someone please tell me that this is not the predominant thought process for church planters. Yes, I am challenging us all.

So, who knows the correct response? You may never make it without a personal development plan. And if you do make it, you know you would have done it better with a personal development plan. So what are you waiting for? You don’t know how to do it? Oh yes, you don’t have time to do it? Ever think the plan might be your best way to get the time? Does some form of time management need to be one of your plans key items?

Time out! Truce! Let’s stop the guilt trip. Everyone falls into this trap. Church planters are maybe more susceptible because they are trying to do great things for God and they believe they may not be constrained by normal human tendencies. This is a problem in business, government, well anywhere leaders are needed to achieve success.

So, what are you going to do about it? You are going to purpose in your heart to get a plan that is right for you. Here are a few thoughts to get things going.

1.    Don’t try to develop your plan alone. You will need a trusted person, preferably with personal development plan experience to help you through this. The best option is a professional coach. Some business guys in your community may also help because larger businesses know they need to do this and generally give it a good shot.

2.    Build in accountability. Again, it is very difficult to hold yourself accountable for making behavior changes. Twice a month sessions to talk about progress are very powerful for driving improvements. Yes, I did say twice a month.

3.    Work on the entire you. Don’t try to address your ministry life without considering the rest of your life. Only a comprehensive approach will work. This means you are really working on a plan for your entire life. Ministry Coaching International is one organization that offers an excellent process through it’s coaches.

So, where are you? Do you realize that you need to get better in some areas of your ministry and your life? Are you willing to look at where you are and make some difficult choices? How can you accept the responsibility of leading the spiritual development of others if you are not actively working at developing yourself?

Jun
26
2009
Leadership By Matt Ervin | No comments yet

How should you evaluate the faith of your advisors/elders?

The Bible gives pretty clear qualifications for leaders/elders/deacons. First Timothy 3 and Acts 6 provide consistent descriptions of their qualifications. In general they are to be men who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom, a husband of one godly wife, an able teacher, above reproach, hospitable, not a drunk, not greedy and they must be a mature believer.

To be qualified to be a church leader the first, most obvious condition is faith in Christ. Being confident that someone has faith in Christ and being confident that they are qualified to be an advisor are not necessarily the same. So how would you evaluate the faith of your elders or advisors?

Extrapolating from the lists above the first suggestion is to look at the objective issues. Are they a greedy, drunk polygamist? Seriously, in matters other than polygamy, the best way to make these determinations is to get to know them intimately. Greed, drunkenness and lack of respect from their family will become apparent.

Ask them doctrinal questions. Talk to them about situations you have encountered and walked through in light of scripture. Do their comments and conclusions demonstrate an understanding of scripture? If so, ask them to teach something and then attend. Paul says that a leader in the church must be an able teacher. The question is not whether they are a supremely gifted teacher, but rather do they have a working knowledge of the Bible they can accurately communicate to others.

Another idea is to pray with them. Are their prayers healthy and wealth based or christianese cliches? Or are they the prayers of a contemplative saint who is truly seeking God?

Finally, an excellent evaluation point for your leaders is to examine the fruit in their lives. With additional evidence of maturity and sanctification, the qualifications in Acts and 1 Timothy are quite similar to the fruit of the spirit. Likewise, the admonishments are quite similar to those found in Galatians 5.

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires (Gal 5:24) .” Is it obvious that your advisors have crucified their sinful nature or is the evidence scant at best? Get to know advisors and potential advisors. Seek God’s wisdom and don’t be afraid to ask hard questions.

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