Most Church leaders I know (and I include myself in this) have a major obsession and that is the number of bums on pews on a sunday morning. There is a very good reason for this, how else is a church leader going to know if they are being 'successful'. Things like bums on pews and also how much money is given every week are one of the few things we can measure as church leaders. We all know that numbers on a sunday are not necessarily the best way of measuring success (Jesus wasn't always very good with numbers!!), but they are one of the few things we can actually measure in Church. I use the word 'success' guardedly because it's not a word that sits easily in the context of Church life. Some people don't like it because it makes the church sound like a business. We could easily use biblical words like fruitful but for now I'll use 'success'.
There's some research come out of Willow Creek Church, and documented in the book 'Reveal', that looks at how we can measure the one thing that needs to be measured in order to gauge 'success' and that is our hearts. After all a truly successful church is one in which all its members are growing in their discipleship. Success is really defined by the christlikeness of our membership but how do you measure that. Wiilow Creek have tried to do that. Drawing on the skills of a top market researcher who specialises in assessing people's attitudes and behaviours to different products, they have tried to assess their church members on how they feel they are growing in the faith. It is a very interesting book that expresses the struggle they had in trying to develop a tool to assess whether people are growing or not. Through the research they make a number of interesting discoveries and were able to create predictive models of how people might feel as they grow in faith.
The interesting thing for me on this is that I have been thinking about how we could develop a questionnaire that helped us to consider whether people felt they were growing in their faith, what they found helped them most in growing and how the church could help them grow. Can it be done, can we really measure people's hearts. I think whatever could be done would only ever give an indication of what was happening in the hearts and lives of church members, but it is certainly better than what we have now in terms of that kind of information which is simply hearsay and intuition. So at the moment I'm slowly working on trying to develop this form. Maybe nothing will come of it but you never know in a few weeks time I might be asking you all to help me measure your heartsand let's see how 'succesful' we really are!
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Monday, 8 October 2007
Developing Strengths
Over the weekend Andrea and I were at the Willow Creek Association Global Leadership Summit. There were 8 sessions across two days and each session had something major to reflect on afterwards. However, the session that stood out for me was by a guy called Marcus Buckingham who advises companies and corporations on how to recognise, develop and use the individual strengths of their employees. He made the point that all to often we focus on building up a persons weaknesses rather than fulfilling the potential of their strengths.
This obviously has relevance to the church and to our discipleship. We recognise that we have God-given natural abilities and personalities and we also have supernatural gifts that all must be used in serving God in the world. A major part of our discipleship is recognising what they are and looking for the best way to use them. Most Christians I know would say that they haven't yet discovered what those gifts and abilities are, despite the fact that there are great tools for helping with this, Willow's network course and the S.H.A.P.E. course from Saddleback Church are great for helping people with this.
Part of the problem I think is they way we run church. Churches tend to focus on fitting people into their existing programs rather than fitting their programs around the gifts and strengths of the people in the church.
Listening to Marcus got me thinking about what would St Andrew's look like if we focussed on people's strengths and gifts. If we only developed our Church life around what people had been gifted to do rather than trying to shoehorn them into what we are already doing or think we should do. The strengths and gifts of the people in our church is our most valuable resource - maybe we are wasting that resource?
This obviously has relevance to the church and to our discipleship. We recognise that we have God-given natural abilities and personalities and we also have supernatural gifts that all must be used in serving God in the world. A major part of our discipleship is recognising what they are and looking for the best way to use them. Most Christians I know would say that they haven't yet discovered what those gifts and abilities are, despite the fact that there are great tools for helping with this, Willow's network course and the S.H.A.P.E. course from Saddleback Church are great for helping people with this.
Part of the problem I think is they way we run church. Churches tend to focus on fitting people into their existing programs rather than fitting their programs around the gifts and strengths of the people in the church.
Listening to Marcus got me thinking about what would St Andrew's look like if we focussed on people's strengths and gifts. If we only developed our Church life around what people had been gifted to do rather than trying to shoehorn them into what we are already doing or think we should do. The strengths and gifts of the people in our church is our most valuable resource - maybe we are wasting that resource?
Monday, 24 September 2007
"And All Is Stripped Away"
I've been reflecting on these words from Matt Redman's song 'When the Music Fades'. They pretty much sum up how I've been feeling over the last few weeks. After all the excitement of going away in August, September has been a much quieter and more difficult time for both Andrea and I. It's hard to put into words why it has been difficult and I suppose there are a number of things going on.
Firstly, we are both missing everyone at St Andrew's very much. While we have seen a few people about, it's not the same as seeing people regularly throughout the week.
Secondly, we are missing being involved in the work of the Church. When it has been part of our lives 24/7 for the last 10 years, it is difficult to just have that taken away.
Thirdly, we have sensed God speaking to us about what we should be doing over the rest of the sabbatical and that is different to what we have planned.
So it feels for us like a lot of what makes us who we are has been stripped away and now it is just us and God. Actually, while that sounds great, it is not an easy place to be at. The outcome of this is that we are changing the focus of the rest of the sabbatical. I had focussed a lot on learning from other churches and church leaders (in other words pandering to my need to do stuff!). However, from now on the focus of the next two months for us will be more about being with God and deepening our relationship with him.
In reality the plans we had made will not change much, except for the fact that we will now not be going to California for a conference. I will still be doing a lot of reading and thinking about discipleship and how we 'make disciples'. The main change is the focus or emphasis.
Over the last weekend Andrea went on an 'Encounter' weekend with Frontline Church and had a great time. The weekend deals with all sorts of things that can hinder a persons walk with Jesus - sin, unforgiveness, the demonic etc. - so she's come back a different woman!! I'm planning to go on an Encounter early next year, for my own benefit but also because I believe that there are things we need to learn from these Encounter weekends.
Firstly, we are both missing everyone at St Andrew's very much. While we have seen a few people about, it's not the same as seeing people regularly throughout the week.
Secondly, we are missing being involved in the work of the Church. When it has been part of our lives 24/7 for the last 10 years, it is difficult to just have that taken away.
Thirdly, we have sensed God speaking to us about what we should be doing over the rest of the sabbatical and that is different to what we have planned.
So it feels for us like a lot of what makes us who we are has been stripped away and now it is just us and God. Actually, while that sounds great, it is not an easy place to be at. The outcome of this is that we are changing the focus of the rest of the sabbatical. I had focussed a lot on learning from other churches and church leaders (in other words pandering to my need to do stuff!). However, from now on the focus of the next two months for us will be more about being with God and deepening our relationship with him.
In reality the plans we had made will not change much, except for the fact that we will now not be going to California for a conference. I will still be doing a lot of reading and thinking about discipleship and how we 'make disciples'. The main change is the focus or emphasis.
Over the last weekend Andrea went on an 'Encounter' weekend with Frontline Church and had a great time. The weekend deals with all sorts of things that can hinder a persons walk with Jesus - sin, unforgiveness, the demonic etc. - so she's come back a different woman!! I'm planning to go on an Encounter early next year, for my own benefit but also because I believe that there are things we need to learn from these Encounter weekends.
Friday, 14 September 2007
Reflections on American Visits
While all the churches we visited in America were different and had things that I liked and disliked, there are some general reflections that I have made since getting back to the UK.
Firstly, there was a huge emphasis in these churches on the creative arts. All the Churches, apart from Mars Hill, were very visual in that they used excellent images on the screens, they used dance and drama effectively and, as I have already said in my descriptions, had very good music groups. Most of them used lighting to very good effect, for instance at Willow Creek the lighting colour on the stage would change depending on the type of worship at the time.This level of emphasis on the creative and visual is something that we do not see very often in the UK. When it is done as well as these churches did then it can be a real help in worship and learning.
Secondly, All the churches emphasised organised, instructional and relevant teaching. What I found particularly helpful in some churches was each member of the congregation was given a sheet outlining the sermon and containing all the relevant Bible verses. They may also have questions for personal reflection and questions for Cells on the sheets as well as ideas for further reading.
Thirdly, all the churches had clear, well organised and multipliable leadership structures. They were particularly good at identifying and making space for new and young leaders.
Fourthly, on a negative note, there was very little emphasis on encouraging people to encounter God in worship or through prayer ministry. The worship was well performed but there was little passion or space for God to move. By the end of three weeks we were desperate for worship that seemed to connect the heart as well as the mind.
Finally, there was a great openness and forthrightness about money. Not in a TV evangelist kind of way but in a positive, 'this is part of your worship' kind of way. A number of the churches had courses on how to deal with money in a Biblical way.
Firstly, there was a huge emphasis in these churches on the creative arts. All the Churches, apart from Mars Hill, were very visual in that they used excellent images on the screens, they used dance and drama effectively and, as I have already said in my descriptions, had very good music groups. Most of them used lighting to very good effect, for instance at Willow Creek the lighting colour on the stage would change depending on the type of worship at the time.This level of emphasis on the creative and visual is something that we do not see very often in the UK. When it is done as well as these churches did then it can be a real help in worship and learning.
Secondly, All the churches emphasised organised, instructional and relevant teaching. What I found particularly helpful in some churches was each member of the congregation was given a sheet outlining the sermon and containing all the relevant Bible verses. They may also have questions for personal reflection and questions for Cells on the sheets as well as ideas for further reading.
Thirdly, all the churches had clear, well organised and multipliable leadership structures. They were particularly good at identifying and making space for new and young leaders.
Fourthly, on a negative note, there was very little emphasis on encouraging people to encounter God in worship or through prayer ministry. The worship was well performed but there was little passion or space for God to move. By the end of three weeks we were desperate for worship that seemed to connect the heart as well as the mind.
Finally, there was a great openness and forthrightness about money. Not in a TV evangelist kind of way but in a positive, 'this is part of your worship' kind of way. A number of the churches had courses on how to deal with money in a Biblical way.
Thursday, 6 September 2007
Visit to New York
At New York we only go to visit one church, The Journy. The other Church I hoped to visit, New Life Fellowship, is based in Queens which was a train journey out of Manhatten. Unfortunately there werte problems with the trains and they were stopping at the station we needed, so we never got there.
However, the visit to The Journey was well worth the visit. The Journey has a number of sites throughout New York and seems to attract a mainly young and highly networked congregation. Like the others this church is well into the creative arts and the service included a well performed dance by someone for whom dance must be their career.. Normally dance in worship leaves me pretty cold but this wasn't too bad.
The talk was very good and was helped by the fact that everyone received a leaflet with the outline of the talk, the main Bible verses used and spaces to write in - a great idea. Nearly all the Churches we visited were good at provided free material and information to new comers and new Christians, but this one was especially good. The was a free book, CD's of talks and a whole bunch of other stuff as well.
I also enjoyed the worship at this Church a bit more than the others as the worship time was longer and perhaps more passionate than at some of the other churches we visited. It felt a little more like being at St Andrew's.
However, the visit to The Journey was well worth the visit. The Journey has a number of sites throughout New York and seems to attract a mainly young and highly networked congregation. Like the others this church is well into the creative arts and the service included a well performed dance by someone for whom dance must be their career.. Normally dance in worship leaves me pretty cold but this wasn't too bad.
The talk was very good and was helped by the fact that everyone received a leaflet with the outline of the talk, the main Bible verses used and spaces to write in - a great idea. Nearly all the Churches we visited were good at provided free material and information to new comers and new Christians, but this one was especially good. The was a free book, CD's of talks and a whole bunch of other stuff as well.
I also enjoyed the worship at this Church a bit more than the others as the worship time was longer and perhaps more passionate than at some of the other churches we visited. It felt a little more like being at St Andrew's.
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Visiting Churches in Grand Rapids
The next two Churches we visited were both in Grand Rapids.
The first, Daybreak, has a big emphasis on 'Seeker' services in the same way that willow Creek does. The main difference it seemed was there is a greater emphasis on using the creative arts in the services at Daybreak. The music, visual media etc were stunning. Every year they host a conference on using the creative arts in worship. I was given a complimentary copy of the magazine they produce along side the conference and it was one of the best quality magazines I'd seen produce by any Christian organisation. The interesting thing for me was that they introduced at the service a new member of staff whose sole purpose was to work on spiritual formation and discipleship, which of course is what my sabbatical is all about. I was able to spend a good time with him just talking through how he saw his new role and how churches can disciple people.
Later that evening we went to Mars Hill. If any of you have seen one of the nooma videos or read the book Velvet Elvis then the guy in the Videos is Rob Bell and he is the teaching pastor and founder at Mars Hill. They meet in a converted shopping centre with the main meeting place right at the centre of the large building. The service actually happens in the round, the stage area is in the centre of the floor space. It felt a bit weird at first getting used to seeing peoples back on stage but we soon got used to it. The service was great, although we were dissappointed that Rob Bell and the Mars Hill worship band weren't there. Instead they had a guest preacher and worship band from another church, so we didn't really get a real feel of what the church was like on a sunday. But we got to spend some time with someone on the staff there and talk through what they get up to as a Church.
One of the things that came up in both the visits to these churches was just how highly 'churched' much of that area was. One of the comments made to me was that they were horrified to discover that only 50% of their local community go to Church! I informed this guy that for us here in the UK that would be like going to heaven, he just couldn't get his head around the fact that attendance at church here is well below 10%!!
The first, Daybreak, has a big emphasis on 'Seeker' services in the same way that willow Creek does. The main difference it seemed was there is a greater emphasis on using the creative arts in the services at Daybreak. The music, visual media etc were stunning. Every year they host a conference on using the creative arts in worship. I was given a complimentary copy of the magazine they produce along side the conference and it was one of the best quality magazines I'd seen produce by any Christian organisation. The interesting thing for me was that they introduced at the service a new member of staff whose sole purpose was to work on spiritual formation and discipleship, which of course is what my sabbatical is all about. I was able to spend a good time with him just talking through how he saw his new role and how churches can disciple people.
Later that evening we went to Mars Hill. If any of you have seen one of the nooma videos or read the book Velvet Elvis then the guy in the Videos is Rob Bell and he is the teaching pastor and founder at Mars Hill. They meet in a converted shopping centre with the main meeting place right at the centre of the large building. The service actually happens in the round, the stage area is in the centre of the floor space. It felt a bit weird at first getting used to seeing peoples back on stage but we soon got used to it. The service was great, although we were dissappointed that Rob Bell and the Mars Hill worship band weren't there. Instead they had a guest preacher and worship band from another church, so we didn't really get a real feel of what the church was like on a sunday. But we got to spend some time with someone on the staff there and talk through what they get up to as a Church.
One of the things that came up in both the visits to these churches was just how highly 'churched' much of that area was. One of the comments made to me was that they were horrified to discover that only 50% of their local community go to Church! I informed this guy that for us here in the UK that would be like going to heaven, he just couldn't get his head around the fact that attendance at church here is well below 10%!!
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Good to be Back
Well it's great to be back. We had a wonderful time in America saw some great places, visited interesting churches and met some amazing people. I thought I'd fill you you in on the Churches we visited for a few days and then some reflections on our experiences of them.
We visited two Churches in Chicago. Of course we went to Willow Creek. This was on the Saturday night at one of their 'seeker services' (a service geared to non church members). The first thing top say about the place was what an amazing building it was. It's on a huge campus with car parking for possibly 1000's of cars. We arrived late (it's an hour out of Chicago) and went into the wrong auditorium. What we thought was the main meeting place was just the venue for the youth work. The main auditorium seats over 7000 people in really comfortable chairs. The sound, lighting, comfort and just general attention to detail was fantastic. The place has its own restaurant (it seats hundreds of people and has a variety of food) and huge bookstall.
For me the service wasn't as good as the facilities, but then again the service wasn't aimed at people like me. That's not to say it wasn't well done. The talk was interesting and memorable and the music was of a really high standard, but for me seemed a bit straight and passionless.
This was a big contrast to the church we went to the next day. Community Christian Church (CCC) is a network of 8 Churches across the Chicago area that are doing some innovative things. The Church we went to is their newest. Its was planted about 14months ago and meets in a local school. I think there are about 150 people meeting in two services, one a spanish speaking service. The way they do the talks at CCC is interesting. To ensure that all the churches are getting the same high standard is projected on big screens at the other venues. I really wasn't sure how I'd like this but to be honest it really didn't make much different. The talk was on how we can be 'hooked' on all sorts of things. While the talk was going on on one screen, there was another screen showing the powerpoint presentation. During the talk a young guy came on the stage and started moving a pile of stones from one place to another and then back again. The idea was to show the pointlessness of some of the things we get stuck on. The service had the same attention to detail as Willow Creek with the lighting sound etc just done on a smaller scale.
This particular Church is situated in one of the poorer areas of Chicago and out of all the churches we visited was the one Andrea and I felt most at home in. The service dealt with real issues, the worship was nowhere near and professionally done as at Willow Creek but had more passion and the people were warm and welcoming. I had a great chat with the pastor a few days later and I will comment on that in a future post.
We visited two Churches in Chicago. Of course we went to Willow Creek. This was on the Saturday night at one of their 'seeker services' (a service geared to non church members). The first thing top say about the place was what an amazing building it was. It's on a huge campus with car parking for possibly 1000's of cars. We arrived late (it's an hour out of Chicago) and went into the wrong auditorium. What we thought was the main meeting place was just the venue for the youth work. The main auditorium seats over 7000 people in really comfortable chairs. The sound, lighting, comfort and just general attention to detail was fantastic. The place has its own restaurant (it seats hundreds of people and has a variety of food) and huge bookstall.
For me the service wasn't as good as the facilities, but then again the service wasn't aimed at people like me. That's not to say it wasn't well done. The talk was interesting and memorable and the music was of a really high standard, but for me seemed a bit straight and passionless.
This was a big contrast to the church we went to the next day. Community Christian Church (CCC) is a network of 8 Churches across the Chicago area that are doing some innovative things. The Church we went to is their newest. Its was planted about 14months ago and meets in a local school. I think there are about 150 people meeting in two services, one a spanish speaking service. The way they do the talks at CCC is interesting. To ensure that all the churches are getting the same high standard is projected on big screens at the other venues. I really wasn't sure how I'd like this but to be honest it really didn't make much different. The talk was on how we can be 'hooked' on all sorts of things. While the talk was going on on one screen, there was another screen showing the powerpoint presentation. During the talk a young guy came on the stage and started moving a pile of stones from one place to another and then back again. The idea was to show the pointlessness of some of the things we get stuck on. The service had the same attention to detail as Willow Creek with the lighting sound etc just done on a smaller scale.
This particular Church is situated in one of the poorer areas of Chicago and out of all the churches we visited was the one Andrea and I felt most at home in. The service dealt with real issues, the worship was nowhere near and professionally done as at Willow Creek but had more passion and the people were warm and welcoming. I had a great chat with the pastor a few days later and I will comment on that in a future post.
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