A Lesson from a Conspiracy Theorist

Rhonda is not a Christ-follower. After hearing her story I now know a bit more about her aversion to the church—and what we need to do to engage the millions like her.

Last night Rhonda joined everyone else—believers and not-yet-believers—at our Loveland Lifetree Café location. The topic was “Conspiracies,” which attracted a very interesting assortment of people from the community.

After watching a short film of a conspiracy theorist, the group explored several intriguing conspiracies. Then the facilitator asked the guests to scrutinize the conspiracy that Jesus’ followers stole his body from the grave (as reported in Matthew 28:12-15). It was an animated conversation, to say the least.

After the hour, Rhonda told one of the Christian hosts, “It’s so good to be in a discussion about Jesus where everyone’s not all defensive.” The host asked about her past experience. She said at the age of 10 she was thrown out of Sunday school for asking questions.

And she never went back.

But she’s a regular at Lifetree Café. Why? She’s welcomed and accepted. Her thoughts and questions are welcomed. The Lifetree people—believers and not-yet-believers—listen and treat her with respect. She gets to engage in a give-and-take conversation. She gets to grapple with intriguing life issues—with a spiritual twist. She meets friendly people, including those who share their God experiences with her.

She’s not ready to return to church. But she’s ready to talk about Jesus in a non-judgmental environment that’s respectful, conversational, friendly and fun.

www.lifetreecafe.com

The Trouble with Trendy Ministry Lingo

A lot of church leaders like to toss around the latest churchy language. I suspect they’re trying to sound “with it.” Unfortunately, some of this trendy lingo may reveal more about being “out of it” than “with it.”

The lingo fads come and go, fertilized by high-profile ministry people on the speaking and writing circuit. Their fans re-use the language in order to sound as cool as their heroes.

But some of the current terms are confusing. And others contribute to church leaders seeming out of touch with regular people. Let’s sample a bit of the lexicon.

“Campus.” Regular people understand this to be the sprawling grounds of a university. But church leaders use this term to describe their church property. I’ve even heard church staff refer to their little building on a tiny lot as “our campus.” Makes me laugh.

“Marketplace.” Church leaders like to use this term to describe everybody who doesn’t work in a church. Hint: Regular people in the “marketplace” don’t use that term to describe themselves—including those who work in government, education, health, non-profits, etc., etc.

“Student ministry.” They used to call it youth ministry. But that’s no longer cool. The use of “student” in this context is confusing. Regular people understand “student” to mean anyone who attends school—from kindergarten through graduate school.

“Communicator.” I’ve gathered that this is reserved for preachers who know how to entertain a crowd and tell jokes really well. The other, more average preachers are, I guess, “non-communicators.”

“Message.” They don’t want to admit they preach sermons anymore. So they’ve come up with a kinder, gentler word for those 20- or 30- or 40-minute lectures. But everybody knows they just sat through a sermon. Nobody is fooled by the cosmetic label.

The pervasive use of these terms, and many more, suggests to me that some church leaders need to spend a lot more time with regular people.

The Inbreeding of Church Insiders

Where do you go for ministry inspiration? Many people attend ministry events featuring seasoned ministry professionals. That’s fine, I guess. But I think it’s also one reason why the church in America is stuck.

These keynote speakers—famous pastors, authors, theologians—are insiders. They’ve been marinated in the church as we know it. They know church routines—from the inside, from the staff side, from the pulpit side, from the “professional Christian” side.

Those who listen to the gurus go back home and attempt to duplicate what their heroes promoted. So the insider thinking continues to circle around in a closed circuit of “church as we know it.”

This rather incestuous way of thinking is not limited to those in church ministry. Many people in all professions do the same. But they tend to be the ones who also become stale and ineffective.

I work in the Christian publishing world. But I no longer spend much time listening to supposed gurus in my field. Instead, I’ve found far more interesting and challenging thoughts from those outside my field. Their ideas have caused me to think in entirely different ways, to find new solutions, to be more effective, to stay fresh.

Want to consume a healthy diet of inspiration and education? In addition to listening to those inside your peer group, look outside. See what leaders in the “real world” are discovering about trends, wants, needs, leadership, persuasion, and so on.

There’s a lot to gained by being “in it” without being “of it.”

What If We Started Over?

What if we started over? What if we erased everything we know about the organized church and its activities?

What if we started simply with the scriptures—the Old and New Testaments—and our understanding of people and our present times? What might ministry look like?

A few years ago, several of us did just that. After swimming in the scriptures we came away with a renewed picture of God’s desire for us. He wants to be in relationship with us. So, if that’s the simple desire, how can we help make that happen right here where we live?

We listed a bunch of characteristics that we believed to be conducive for building relationships—with fellow humans and with God. The list I’m about to share eventually became the architecture for Lifetree Café, a very different approach to ministry.

FRIENDLINESS. People crave other people who exhibit authentic warmth, kindness, care, openness, and fun. Friendliness cannot be mass-produced. It’s one on one.

HOSPITALITY. Relationships grow in a welcoming atmosphere. Good hosts and hostesses make people feel comfortable with an offer of food and drink, introductions to other people, and help finding a comfortable seat.

FAMILIARITY. Especially when trying someplace new, people appreciate a degree of familiarity. From the get-go, they feel like they belong. They don’t have to puzzle over when to stand, sit, gesture, or sing unfamiliar songs in public.

SMALL. Relationships naturally flourish in an intimate setting rather than a crowd setting. (That’s one reason you won’t find a 1000-seat Starbucks.)

CONVENIENCE. People are more likely to spend time with us if it fits within their schedule—on a day and time that’s convenient in their busy schedules. And it helps to offer a location within their established traffic patterns.

REAL-LIFE FOCUSED. People want to talk about the everyday life issues swirling around them—from pets to politics to purpose to peace.

CONVERSATIONAL. They want to participate in the conversation. They want to share their thoughts, ask questions, interact, laugh and cry together.

STORY-BASED. People are captivated by the real stories of those around them. And they love to tell their own stories.

GOD-FOCUSED. Even though many have been turned off by church people, they openly desire to grow closer to God. They’re fascinated to see how God works today among their contemporaries. They deeply hunger for companionship with the real God who loves them. They crave relationship.

So, what if we started over? We’re in the process of rolling out this fresh approach with Lifetree Cafes across the country. You’re welcome, just as you are. Stop by. Make yourself at home. www.lifetreecafe.com

Beware Ministry Big Shots

During my lifetime, something strange and unsettling has infected the American church. It’s killing us.

In some ways this thing is the flip side of the human weakness I addressed in the last blogpost–fear. But this other one is more unseemly. It is pride.

For some, church ministry has turned from servanthood and tending the flock, to a chase for personal fame. The thought seems to be, “God is leading me to make a name for myself.”

Pride beckons some to center their ministry around a perceived personal gift. So, growing the ministry means finding a way to attract more fans to the personality. Ministries become known by the name and gifts of the personality–rather than the name and gifts of the Lord. “Multi- site” churches sprout, but the spotlight shines on the singular personality who is beamed to multiple locations via high definition media.

Some feel overqualified for “just my church.” They long for a wider audience, jostling for invitations to speak at conferences, write books, make records, or simply become known.

Pride infects not only those who crave the spotlight, but also the fans who adore the famous. Some of these fans won’t take ministry initiative unless it comes from their admired Super Church personality first.

Growth in the pride enterprise has not led to growth in the church.
There’s no happy ending for pride. It eventually destroys everyone it seduces. And ministries marinated in pride, no matter how popular they may appear today, are not sustainable. They are, after all, built on falable, temptable, temporary human beings.

Jesus, the sustainable and rightful centerpoint of any ministry, spoke directly about pride in ministry. When his disciples pridefully argued about who was the greatest among them, Jesus set the standard. Using a little child as a visual, he said, “Whoever is least among you is really the greatest.”

So, do you want to be great–in biblical proportions? Resist prideful ambition. Take your name off the marquee. Beware of big shots. Serve humbly where God planted you. Put Him in the spotlight.

Afraid to Grow

What could be stifling growth in the American church—and in individual spiritual growth? A couple of deadly emotions are killing us.

The first is widespread, sneaky, crippling, and the very antithesis of faith. It is fear.

For the past 35 years I’ve had one foot in the church ministry world and one foot in the business world. I’ve seen many examples of success and failure, growth and stagnation. How leaders—in church and business—handle the emotion of fear usually predicts their success and growth—or lack thereof.

Those who’ve learned to manage fear ask, “What could we gain?” These are the successful ministry leaders and entrepreneurs who overcome obstacles, accomplish big things, and make a difference. They’re not reckless. They count the costs and plan for contingencies. But they’re juiced more by the prospect of success than the fear of failure.

Meanwhile, those who fearfully obsess over questions such as, “What could go wrong?” repeatedly turn down promising opportunities. And they, and their organizations, shrink.

In my work at Group Publishing and Lifetree Café I hear all kinds of fear-based questions and comments from timid church leaders. “What if it doesn’t work?” “What if nobody comes?” “What if somebody doesn’t like it?” “What if one of my elders objects?” “What will people think of me if I support something that doesn’t work?” The church today suffers from fear-induced paralysis. It’s slowly killing us.

Throughout history we see sad examples of fear-based thinking. The scriptures tell story after story of the disappointing results of fearful thinking. What caused Peter to deny Christ? Fear. What caused Judas to betray Jesus? Fear. What caused Thomas to doubt? Fear.

God knows our weaknesses—especially our tendency to fear. That’s why we see hundreds of commands throughout scripture to “fear not.”

When circumstances call for change (and current circumstances in the church are crying for change), it’s time to ask God’s guidance, to trust in him, to have faith—and to fear not.

When we stop angsting over what we may lose, and starting dreaming about what we may gain, then we’ll starting growing.

Fear not.

Now, what’s the other emotion that’s killing us? See you next time on Holy Soup for that one.

The Game Show Church

It was a Game Show Easter at one Texas church this year. In the name of outreach, the Corpus Christi church gave away guitars, bedroom sets, televisions and cars during Easter services.

This “big bang” approach to outreach illustrates a specific style that many other churches have used, albeit on a smaller scale. Actually, it’s just one of many styles being employed with varying degrees of fanfare—and effectiveness.

Here’s a snapshot of a half-dozen contemporary approaches to outreach and evangelism.

EVENT-BASED. Like the Game Show Giveaway, some churches attract attention with special events. These may be movie screenings, comedy shows or spaghetti suppers. Churches hope to lure in the curious with an attraction, then convince them to come back for regular sing-and-preach worship services. Some might call this bait-and-switch. But proponents believe a good first impression may lead to a relationship with Christ.

PRESENTATIONAL. These churches spend a lot of time and money on the stage production of the worship service. Highly professional musicians, well-rehearsed oratory, dazzling visuals, theater-class lighting and seating. The high entertainment values may draw a crowd—especially those who seek the “best show in town on a Sunday morning.” Proponents hope the quality of the presentation will translate into a quality relationship with Christ.

EDUCATIONAL. These churches talk a lot about their “teaching.” They rely largely on the speech-writing and oratorical abilities of their pastors. The information-packed teachings may be very exegetical, highly intellectual, or folksy and self-help oriented. The proponents here believe the transmission of facts and information will lead to a relationship with Christ.

TRANSACTIONAL. This approach resembles a sales technique. Adherents focus on closing the deal—as quickly as possible. Every gathering is designed to funnel the prospects toward a faith decision. Proponents believe their persuasive abilities and the urgency of the moment will sell the non-believers into a decision to follow Christ.

SERVICE-ORIENTED. These churches focus on performing acts of kindness in the community. They may support a soup kitchen, build a Habitat house, offer free car tune-ups, or hand out water at bike rallies. Proponents believe that the community will “know we are Christians by our love.” They believe their kind acts may cause people to follow Christ.

RELATIONAL. This approach encourages building authentic relationships—friendships—that incorporate and demonstrate the love of Christ. Using a “priesthood of all believers” philosophy, this approach relies on everyone—not just the paid ministers—to befriend others and spread salt and light. Proponents believe the process of building authentic and trusting relationships empowers and emulates the process of building a relationship with Christ.

Some of these approaches may garner lots of initial attention, while others may show more long-term results. Many churches incorporate more than one of these approaches. But most emphasize one over all the others.

So, two questions for you:
1. Which approach does your church most embrace?
2. Which approach did Jesus’ ministry most reflect?

We Need to Get Out

While our world aches to know God, many of our church leaders nitpick minutia.

Only a small percentage of Americans claim a deep and transforming faith—a genuine relationship with God. The rest are missing out on the transformative friendship that Jesus offers.

That relationship, that friendship, is not complicated. Jesus came to this earth with a simple message of love and faith. So simple, in fact, that he pointed to the faith of a child as an example for us to emulate. And he recruited simple people, such as fishermen, to spread his message.

Those who resisted his simple relational approach were the religious leaders, the Pharisees—the learned ones who loved to nitpick theological minutia. But Jesus knew then—and now—that it’s not doctrinal hair-splitting that keeps people from a close relationship with God. In fact, these zealots of doctrinal purity may be having a detrimental effect on welcoming more wanderers into the kingdom of God.

We see a recent example of the purity patrol playing out in the blogs today. Many are fuming over Minnesota pastor John Piper’s decision to invite California pastor Rick Warren to speak at Piper’s conference. The religious leaders and bloggers are sniping over disagreements on such things as “penal substitution,” “total depravity,” “limited atonement,” “separatism,” and “secondary separatism.”

The Pharisees would love this stuff.

Meantime, the world aches just to know Jesus and his simple love for them.

I’m afraid that many pastors, church leaders, and Christian laypeople spend way too much time posturing and preening with one another. It’s time to give the theological contortions a rest. It’s time to get out—get out and spend time with real people. Zacchaeus-like people. Regular people who angst for a God who loves them, simply loves them, and invites them to follow the simple example of living and loving that Jesus demonstrated.

The 2 Spiritual Americas

We have two distinct spiritual camps in America. Their distinctives predict where they’ll be this Sunday.

Both camps consider themselves quite spiritually oriented. George Barna’s research shows that 88% of the nation’s adults say their faith is important in their life. And 74% say faith is becoming more important to them.

But how they express and develop their faith reveals a big divide between the two camps.

Let’s call the first group the Church-Inclined camp. Their expression of faith is closely tied to church attendance. They feel a compunction and duty to gather with other believers for a regular worship service. And that worship experience follows the same formula they’ve known all their lives. It’s always consisted of about half sing-along music and half lecture. For them, it works.

We’ll call the other group the Church-Declined. The old church formula just doesn’t work for them. And it likely never will. Barna reports that these people are part of the majority (64%) of the population who say they are “completely open to carrying out and pursuing their faith in an environment or structure that differs from that of a typical church.” And, 75% believe that “God is motivating them to connect with Him through different means and experiences than were common in the past.”

So, for church leaders, we see two messages:
1. Keep serving your flock (the Church-Inclined) with the tried-and-true legacy forms of ministry that connect these people with God.
2. If you care about the Church-Declined, look for very different ways to engage them. Barna says they “revel in participation, personal expression, satisfying relationships, and authentic experiences.”

For the sake of Christ, it’s not either/or. It’s both/and.

http://lifetreecafe.com/PlantALifeTree.aspx

Evangelism's Bad Name

Most people go into paralysis mode at the mere mention of evangelism. People are petrified at the prospect of sharing their faith.

A recent study showed that pastors believe that 90% of their lay people are “evangelism cautious.” And 80% of the pastors say that they themselves are “evangelism cautious”!

Even with all the trendy church talk of being “missional” and “externally focused,” the truth is most people are scared to share their faith. Why is that? Several factors seem to be at work:
• People often imagine evangelism as knocking on strangers’ doors, pointing fingers, and scaring people with threats of an eternity spent in hell.
• Many believe today’s people don’t want to talk about God, so they’re afraid to bring up the subject.
• Many people don’t know what to say.
• Most people are never given the opportunity to practice sharing their faith before they talk with non-believers.

With these obstacles in place, it’s not effective to rail on people to “get out and share your faith.” We need a different approach. One that actually works. I’ve been intrigued to see the response to the faith-sharing training that Lifetree Café provides its volunteers. They’re relieved to discover the natural ways to engage people in spiritual conversations. They feel equipped to ask good “wondering” questions that help people think about spiritual things. They learn the difference between assaulting people with doctrine vs. telling their own stories of living with Jesus. And, they appreciate the chance to practice sharing their God stories—every week.

Evangelism has gotten a bad name. In many cases, rightly so. But we’re living in a time when people desperately need to know God’s love for them. And they’re actually open to hear about it—especially if we talk with them as friends rather than hucksters.

See the above-mentioned evangelism report here: http://bit.ly/aJaLNE
See more on the Lifetree Café system here: http://bit.ly/i3B64