Would you like to help write a book about the church?
Jeremy at “Till He Comes” is putting together a book about the church. He tells us more about his plans in a post called “You Can Help Write a Book on Church.”
I took part in a similar project last year, contributing a chapter to the book The Practice of Love. I enjoyed the process, so I thought I would let my readers know about this opportunity.
So, what kind of contributions is Jeremy looking for? Well, you can find out more detail by jumping to his post “You Can Help Write A Book on Church,” but here is part of what he says:
We encourage you to shape your submission to fit within one of these categories.
Leaving Church
Stories about personal life adjustments, theological changes, or church moral failures which led people to leave church for good.Returning to Church
Stories about people who used to attend church years ago, but stopped for a while, and have now decided to start attending again. These stories explain why they left, and what caused them to return.Reforming Church
Though many people are leaving the church and criticizing how church is done, some people want to stay within their church and be part of the solution. These stories relate what problems exist in the church, and how the person is seeking to reform and renew the church from within.Changing Church
Many people leave one church to attend another. Sometimes they attend a similar church across town; other times the new church is a completely different denomination, or form of church, such as going from a mega-church to a house-church. These stories reveal what moves the person made, and why they changed churches.
Am I going to take part? Perhaps. I have a few things going on, but I’m hoping to contribute to the topic “Reforming Church.”
If you were to write for this project, which category (or categories) do you think you would contribute to?
Just sign on the line, and you too can be a Christian
Miguel at “God-Directed Deviations” has started a very interesting series that he calls “Why I’m No Longer the Sort that ‘Closes the Deal,’ in Evangelism.” (You can read “Part I” and “Part II” of his series now.)
He is stepping through how his thinking about evangelism and, especially, “closing the deal” has changed. In the first post, Miguel explains, “I used to be the sort that asked others to raise their hands in the pews (with all heads bowed and all eyes closed of course) after a sermon to ‘accept Christ.'”
In the second post, he writes:
I can recall, during a major evangelistic campaign when 1000′s came forward to “Accept Christ,” how I felt. Having witnessed these miraculous events before, and having wept and worshiped God for doing such a wondrous things in the lives of others, I couldn’t help but think how grateful I was to be a part of it. But, on this particular occasion I asked one of the ministry leaders, “How many of these that came forward do you think have truly received Christ?” Without hesitation, and matter-of-factly, he said, “about 3%.” When I asked, “What about the other 97%?” He replied with a certain incredulity, “Look, we can only get them to a point of decision, the rest is up to God.” Sadly, at the time, and because I didn’t know any better, I accepted it a a reasonable response. It did, however, and for the years to follow, remain like a splinter in my soul irritating but still ignored. I learned many more methods, manners, and modes of “evangelism,” in the years that followed, and felt pretty good that I could make them better. I could take what I saw missing in these techniques and improve on them, and make them more “biblical.”
Now, please do not misunderstand the reason for this post. I am not condemning people who follow the types of evangelistic methods that Miguel talks about in these posts. (And, from Miguel’s comment to me, it is clear that he is not condemning the people or the methods either.)
Instead, I have a much different purpose in pointing you to Miguel’s posts. Looking back over the years that I attended evangelism training sessions, led evangelism groups, taught evangelism methodologies, and made evangelistic visits to people, I recognize that all of this effort and all of those resources resulted in very, very few new followers of Jesus Christ. Oh, there were many, many decisions, and, yes, there was “follow-up.” But, like in Miguel’s story, the decisions rarely resulted in the people actually beginning to be a disciple of Jesus (as far as anyone could tell).
So, I want to ask you 2 things: 1) Do your experiences match mine and Miguel’s, or have you seen better “results”? 2) Have you found a different way to help people begin to follow Jesus Christ that seems to be more “effective”?
(I put “results” and “effective” in quotes because I realize that the results and effects are truly up to God. That said, I’m not sure God is interested in us spinning our wheels doing things that are not actually helping people follow Jesus.)
Unity and Fellowship: Where do you draw the line?
Thanks to Arthur at “The Voice of One Crying Out in Suburbia,” I’ve been involved in a few conversations on Google+ concerning fellowship, unity, interpretations, etc. (Yes, there are occasionally good discussions on Google+.) Arthur wrote about this in his post “Leaving our preferences at the cross.”
I have enjoyed this conversations very much, primarily because they have forced me to consider what I believe about various teachings as their relate to being a follower of Jesus Christ.
For example, when he was thinking about these discussions, Arthur wrote:
Taking our preferences to the cross and letting them die there. That sounds great but man is that hard! One of the hardest things about seeking a deeper sense of community is the inherent danger that when you let people in to your little world they are likely to make a mess and you might find that you don’t like them or agree with them very much. On the other hand in our natural state we were enemies of God, sinners in open rebellion against Him and yet He still sent His Son to die for the sins of His elect and adopted us into His family. If He did that for us I guess we can learn to get along in spite of our differences and quirks and annoying habits!
I agree completely with Arthur. We should be willing to give up our preferences and opinions for the sake of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This does raise some tough questions though, and these are the questions that kept circling around our discussion on Google+.
Where do we decide to draw the line between our preferences and beliefs that are necessary for someone who is following Jesus? I’m not asking WHAT those beliefs are. Instead, I’m asking a slightly different question: How do you know that a certain teaching is necessary but another teaching is a preference?
Brant asks, “Is Jesus Enough?”
I’ve followed Brant Hansen through a couple of blogs and a couple of radio jobs. He currently blogs at “Air 1 Radio,” and in his latest post he asks, “Is Jesus Enough?”
Now, before you read his post, you should know two things: 1) The post is very long, but still worth reading, and 2) the post is about Brant’s struggle with emotional issues and the fact that he takes “mind-altering drugs.”
That last part is what I would like to highlight. Primarily, how does the church respond to people with emotional issues (anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD, etc.) and with people who choose to take medication for those conditions.
To be honest, I’ve observed a huge range of responses, and many of them are not pretty.
So, I’ll simply ask the question that Brant asks: Is Jesus enough? Should people not take medicines for emotional issues? What about medicine or aids for physical ailments? Finally, how should we respond to people who disagree with our decisions?
(By the way, don’t miss Brant’s video for “I Am Second.” It is one of my favorites… probably because I’ve interacted with him online.)
More skinny on new Asian churches
Last week, I linked to a post by the Andrew Jones (the “Tall Skinny Kiwi“) called “9 reasons NOT to plant a church in 2012.” It turns out that he had problems with his post after I wrote my link. So, some of you may not have actually seen his “9 reasons,” but only saw his introduction. If you did not see the 9 reasons, I would definitely encourage you to follow the link above.
Now, he has published a follow-up called “Practices of a new Jesus movement.” In this post, Jones describes some of the common practices that he found among new churches in Asia during his 2011 travels.
His main point from the previous post – and a point that is continued here – is that these churches were not started or maintained by a solo church planter with a worship service. He asks:
So if they didn’t start worship services, how did they start a replicating movement of Christian communities and how do they maintain such a high level of spiritual growth?
In the rest of the post, Jones recounts 9 different practices that these groups of Christians had in common (in no particular order):
- Bible study
- Open houses
- Fringe focus
- Simple habits
- Good business products
- System for rehabilitation
- Native flavor
- Daily rhythms
- Not outreach TO but outreach WITH others
- Something for the whole family
- Prayer
Jones describes what he means by each of those “practices.” I found several of them to be familiar, while others were challenging and thought-provoking.
Which practices listed above do you see most often among the Christians in your area? Which ones do you think would be the most challenging or difficult for the Christians that you know? Why?
I can’t deal with your problems right now…
Joe (JR) at “More Than Cake” has done us all a great service by sharing a personal story in his post “Some Things Are More Important.” His story is short and challenging. Read it.
In the story, Joe writes about a time when he was a door-to-door salesman. He had not made a single sale all day long, and he needed money desperately.
But, he was faced with a situation in which a person needed his presence more than Joe needed money. What did Joe do? He gave of himself and his time… because that was more important.
Here is Joe’s conclusion:
I walked to his chair and took his cold hand in mine. I uttered what few words would come to mind… words of healing… words of hope… words of Jesus’ love for Gene and his departed wife Helen.
My conversation with Gene reminded me that there are many things more important than setting one more lead and earning a few more dollars.
Earning money is important. But, there are things that are more important than earning money… people, especially.
I realize that there are times when I put myself, my needs (wants), and my problems ahead of other people who should be more important.
Thanks for the reminder and the challenge, Joe!
The skinny on NOT planting churches
A few days ago, I linked to a post about starting churches among prisoners… yes, while they are still in prison.
Today, I am linking to a post that (from the title) seems to present the opposite point of view. In reality, I think the two perspectives are much closer than it may appear.
Andrew Jones, the “Tall Skinny Kiwi,” wrote the post called “9 reasons NOT to plant a church in 2012.” Now, I know what you’re thinking: how can a post about NOT planting churches be remotely related to a post about planting churches in a prison.
Well, you have to read Andrew’s post. But, for the moment, consider this snippet:
But now it’s 2012 and while some young, enthusiastic people are out there planting churches like its 1997, others are focusing on launching more sustainable, more holistic, more measurably transformational Kingdom solutions.
One of the biggest trends in church planting that I observed in my recent 30+ country trek is the SHIFT AWAY FROM planting churches towards NOT planting a church at all but focusing on a wider range of transforming Kingdom activities. Some church planters are delaying the worship service piece of the pioneer missional ministry for as long as possible and sometimes indefinitely.
You see, Andrew and Jim (the other author) are talking about very similar things. In other words, don’t “plant churches” in terms of creating some time of organizational structure attached to a denominational system. Instead, plant yourself and the gospel and a kingdom-mindset among a group of people.
Yeah, the “church” might look amazingly different from what you expect. But, so what?
Trickle down effect doesn’t work among the church?
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, then you know that I link to several older posts each day. I’m encouraged when someone responds to these old posts or thanks me for them. I sometimes struggle with when to continue discussion on those old posts and when to let new comments stand.
Anyway, Arthur at “The Voice of One Crying Out in Suburbia” recently picked up on one of my older posts and used it as a jumping off point for his own new post “Ephesians 4:11. It is not all about you.”
As you might guess, Arthur’s post is about Ephesians 4:11, and the gifted individuals listed there: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers.
This is part of what he says:
Focusing on just the “specially gifted” in the church with faith in a theological “trickle down effect” has proven catastrophic for centuries… Every person in the church has something to contribute and teach to others in the church, not just a few at “the top”…
[W]hen Ephesians 4:11 is read in context it is not about pastors or “leaders” at all. It is about the entire church, working together and edifying one another, becoming mature together.
Ah, yes, it does make a difference when we read Ephesians 4:11 in context, especially with Ephesians 4:16 – part of the same sentence.
Nope, the “trickle down” effect is not the way the God works through the church.
But, in one sense, Ephesians 4:11 IS about you. It is about how God has given YOU to the church so that he can work through YOU to build up his church and to help others carry out works of service.
What a difference it makes among the church and in the world when “each part is working properly”…
Starting a Church… in a Prison?
I love this story by Jim at “Crossroad Junction” called “Planting Churches.” It’s all about how God used him (and is using him) to start a church in a prison.
He begins his post by telling about his plans to continue discipling some prisoners. But, then, God changed his plans, and he ended up challenging the prisoners to live as the church in their context, which is the prison, of course.
Jim concludes with these challenging words about new churches:
I’m not so sure why we make this so complicated.
Maybe it’s because we don’t trust that Jesus knew what He was doing when He instructed His disciples in Luke 10 on how to usher the Kingdom of God into new communities.
Maybe it’s because we don’t trust that God will bless those individuals of peace in that community, and then use them to attract others into His Kingdom.
Maybe it’s because we think it’s all up to us.
But nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, my role is very limited: I am to bless those whom God has pre-positioned as catalysts of peace and hospitality, gently encourage the emerging believers, and then get out of the way so they can come forth, minister one to another, and participate together in the joy of knowing Jesus.
Once that foundation is laid, the rest just sort of naturally follows.
Wow… if it’s really that simple, then that’s something that God could do through any of his children…
What do you think about Jim’s story? Is starting churches really as difficult (and does it really require as many resources) as we generally see today?
Some thought-provoking posts on the church to kick off the new year
Eric at “A Pilgrim’s Progress” has written some very interesting posts over the last few days. I think these are all good posts to help us kick off the new year. These three posts focus on the gospel, on the church, and on salvation.
For example, just before New Year’s Day, Eric wrote a post called “What Matters Most.” This is the post that focuses on the gospel.
He writes:
We all, myself certainly included, must remember that the gospel is a divider. It separates those who are Christ’s from those who are not. However, the wonderful thing is that this gospel is powerful enough to save any and all who repent and believe. And stunningly, our Savior has decided to use sinful us to be the heralds of this wonderful news.
In another post called “The Church Imprisoned,” Eric compares some Christian organizations to prisons. I think this is an important and useful discussion, because these types of organizational structures often bind believers from living as God desires (even if it happens inadvertently).
Like Eric says in the quote below, I also believe that many aspects of the church in the West needs to be reformed:
The church in the West is imprisoned by the above forms and structures. They stifle what the church is trying to accomplish. Let us pray that God will bring about a new reformation in his church in the West. Let’s hope that more and more of our brothers and sisters in Christ will throw off these fetters to live as the church we see in scripture.
Finally, in his post called “I’m Not Saved Because…,” which he published on New Year’s Eve, Eric reminds us that we are not saved because of what we do. Even having the “right” kind of ecclesiology does not save you.
Eric concludes:
I’m not saved because of anything I’ve done.
I’m not saved because of me.
I am saved because of the grace of God alone through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross alone.
Thank you for these reminders, Eric! I look forward to many more thought-provoking posts in 2012!
What do you think about Eric’s posts?