Getting Back To Normal...

It has been difficult these past weeks. Losing Pastor Ken was one of the most difficult things I have ever faced. There have been two men in my life that have made an indelible spiritual mark on me, and both of them died unexpectedly and way too young. Some of the shock of this most recent loss is wearing off, but the disbelief and grief are still raw. The numbness is better, but the pain is fresh.

In the middle of all that, my mom suffered a stroke and died. For a few days, things seemed almost overwhelming. It seemed that the whole world was saturated with tears and adrenaline.

As many of us have said in the past few weeks – without God, how could anyone face this? And I am quick to add – and a church family. I cannot count the times someone from our church has comforted me, encouraged me, shed tears with me, prayed for and with me, and fed me.

Of course, they are one and the same. God chooses to work in the world through His people.

Hmmm... bet there is a sermon in there somewhere.

A Conversation About Ten Things...

Tim Schrader  wrote a blog piece that was carried on Catalyst - "Ten Things That Drive Me Crazy About Working For A Church." Tim Stevens, Executive Pastor at Grainger Community Church wrote a great response you can read here.

For some reason, this happened to trip my trigger. So, in further response...

<rant>

1. Churches can be toxic workplaces, just as secular employers. They can also be the most exciting and fulfilling place to be in the entire world. Just as in the secular workspace, the difference boils down to the leadership. Tim Schraeder has apparently been in places with weak or ineffectual or disengaged leaders; Tim Stevens is in a place with strong, visionary and effective leaders. (Of course, he is in that number at GCG)
2. If people are being burned out, it is because they are not seen as valuable by their leaders. If people are allowing themselves to be burned out, it is because they don't see themselves or their families as being valuable or important.
3. If resources are considered before vision and commitment, there will never be enough resources. Resources flow toward clear vision and burning commitment.
4. If people fear and resist change it is because change has never resulted in improvement and progress. This is a leadership failure at some level.
5. We always want to pray about things, and we never want to act without thought and preparation, but in the end, sooner rather than later- we MUST act.
6. Meetings can be enriching and effective, but they can also drain the life and joy out of everyone. The difference is distinct purpose, clear and reasonable agendas, and concern for everyone's time.
7. If we are trying to do too many things, leaders have not shown the courage to choose the best over the good and say "NO" to someone- or several someones. (Thank you Andy Stanley for saying this so well and so often).
8. Hypocrisy is a grave fault in anyone or any institution. It often results from unclear vision. Trying out several styles, methods or approaches is not hypocrisy, but at some point you have to figure out what is working and is in agreement with your vision.
9. We ought to be looking at other churches; also businesses, other non-profits, and just about everything in culture. There are going to be some good ideas that we can use to expand the Kingdom. However, if we are blindly looking for a magic bullet instead of prayerfully seeking good ideas, we need to refer back to "hypocrisy"- see #8 just above.
10. People leave churches for many reasons. Some we ought to be concerned about, if they are leaving because our church is ineffective, or not being true to the Scripture, or we are allowing gossip,divisiveness, or sinful attitudes to exist in the Body. But, there are some people who leave because the Spirit is calling them to a different place of service; some who are leaving the area. Those we happily wave to and wish them well. There are also occasions when we see people go who find we have no place for unrepentant sinfulness, prejudice, or stubborn refusal to join our vision or take part in the Kingdom work we have staked out. We also happily wave to these folks, but with a prayer for their hearts.

</rant>

Let me make sure everyone understand - I work in the greatest church I have ever experienced. I am blessed to work with people, both paid staff and volunteers, who love God and each other, and who are making a real impact for God in our community. But, I have seen enough of the other kind of both church and secular workplace to make my experience at Argyle even more special.

Anyone with additional thoughts?

Healing Place...Part 2

When a person is losing blood, it is pretty obvious- it is messy, and to the untrained eye, horrifying and distracting. Even obviously contrived Hollywood blood is distressing. In many injuries the thing that kills is not the injury itself but the resulting blood loss. One of the first things done in the ER is to start to restore blood volume with saline, plasma or even whole blood.

What are we losing in emotional trauma? Joy, contentment, self-confidence, sleep,concentration, and more. How do we restore these things? Check out Galatians 5:22-23. These "fruits of the spirit" are just exactly what are needed.

When in pain we are internally focused. Our healing goal is to redirect focus from "me" and "my pain" to "Him" and "His presence in my life." Of course, as naturally selfish and self-centered, our tendency is inward and not outward- but outward and toward Christ is the only place we will ever find true joy and true contentment. After all, the pain and loss we are dealing with is usually caused by the loss or betrayal of something human or worldly.

Healing Place...

Even though it's not in my primary job description, I have found myself doing a lot of counseling lately. People might be amazed at the depths in which some people find themselves. Sometimes the situation is the consequence of their own poor choices; sometimes they are the result of someone else's poor choices; regardless, they are desperately hurting.

I started thinking about what we sometimes do in our church office to what goes on in an emergency room. Let's think about it. The patient has been stabbed — deeply. The knife is there, buried in the wound. He is in terrible pain, blood is everywhere, and a life is in danger. Sometimes he is screaming and writhing in agony; sometimes he is motionless, paralyzed with the injury. What do you do?

I am going to spend a few posts exploring this metaphor a little and comparing how much alike a knife into the body and a blow into the soul are alike.

In traumatic injury, the very first thing to do is to control the bleeding and shock. There will be a lot of things that have to be done in the future, but the absolute first thing is to stop the loss of blood, restore blood volume, and deal with shock.

What is the analog of physical blood loss and shock is the emotional trauma? Stay tuned — you didn't think I was going to waste a multi-entry idea on a single post, did you?

Required Reading...

One of my favorite bloggers is Perry Noble. This little speculation of his ought to be required reading in every church, parachurch, denominational office and seminary in the whole of Christiandom.

What if?

Tony Morgan and Leadership

Just back from Tony Morgan's coaching network session. I'm not sure why I am there, but the rest of the people involved are bright, intense, committed ministry leaders from all over who come to meet with Tony once a month for six months to develop ministry leadership skills.

We spoke about several things, but one that really struck a chord with me was spiritual stagnation.

The basic goal of most churches is to move people from being non-believers to being fully committed and mature Christ-followers. For this purpose, we create processes that use the power of the Holy Spirit working through people to facilitate this movement.

Many churches are doing a decent job of initially engaging people, but then they get stuck somewhere along the line that leads to spiritual maturity. It's not because the Holy Spirit lacks the power to create the change- it's because God chooses to use the church (that's us, folks) to effect this process, and the church (that's us, folks) has dropped the ball.

Argyle is typical of this. We do a great job of Sunday morning- I doubt there is a church in America any better (bigger is not better- just bigger) at making Sunday morning a terrific experience. Our problem is that we have trouble moving people from the Worship Center on Sunday morning to the point of mature Christ followers.

I will be writing about details over the next couple weeks. Comment with you thoughts.

This is a great read...

and you should spend a few minutes to enjoy it- a short interview with Robert Schuller.

Robert Schuller and The Crystal Cathedral have been around so long they have become cliche. Many of us (me included) never realized the impact he and his ministry have had on the direction of the church in America today.

I would love to hear some feedback and opinions.

A downright scary thought...

just occurred to me. Jesus said He would build His church and that it would be successful and effective (Matthew 16:18). That means if an organization is calling itself a church and is not successful and effective, it must not be a church- it must be something other than a church.

People hearing the Gospel, being transformed by it, and their lives being changed are a church. People excited by what God is doing in them and through them is a church. People telling their friends about the transforming power of the Gospel is a church. People seeing the power of the Holy Spirit in action is a church.

Anything else is... well, it's not a church.

Just wondering...

I am privileged to be part of a group of men from churches all over America who are in a coaching network with Tony Morgan. It's a great group, with only one small caveat; to paraphrase the famous philosopher Groucho Marx, "Any club that would have me as a member is suspect."

The main thing I observe about the guys in this group is that they are very, very bright and very, very dedicated. There are a wide range of roles represented, and a wide range of church types, sizes and denominations. The common factor is that we are all evangelicals and all passionately want our churches to bring the Gospel to people who are perishing without it, and deny hell a larger market share.

Pray for me as I participate, and pray for these other men.

Sometimes the truth hurts...

Listening to a podcast involving Dr. Ed Stetzer about 20-somethings in today's church, I heard something that is both true and disturbing. (Very close paraphrase- may not be an exact quote)

"Most churches, given the choice, will choose their traditions over their children."

I am so glad that my church isn't doing that- or at least not in an overt way. God help us to continue to make decisions based on reaching as many people as possible, most particularly our children, with the Gospel of Jesus. Please God, don't ever let us choose our tradition or our comfort zone over loving the people you put in our sphere of influence.