When one of my daughters was in high school, she invited me to go to a high school baseball game. The main reason she invited me was that she needed me to drive her there so she could watch her boyfriend play. Needless to say, I wasn't all that excited about attending the game. I could see much better baseball in other venues. The game was being played at an inconvenient time after a long day at work. And I didn't want to cozy up to the boyfriend too much. But I went. I went because I wanted to spend time with my daughter and show my support for her.
During those same high school years, I was invited to attend a meeting of the Principal's Council. This was a group of parents who got together with the principal to hear the latest news and to help shape the direction of the school. This was a worthy cause. My children were in high school. I wanted to help make a difference. I went willingly and with a sense of purpose.
Which scenario is most like an invitation to church?
It may be scenario number one, the ball game. You invite your friend Bob to church. He isn't that enthused about going. He's one of the more than 80% of the people in our culture who doesn't think faith or church attendance is all that important. He can hear better speakers and better music in other venues. The time of the service is in the middle of his restful weekend. And he doesn't want to be pestered by a bunch of religious people. He may go because he cares about you, but he doesn't wake up in the morning with a deep desire to attend a church.
But what if you aimed for scenario number two? What if you didn't invite Bob TO church, but to BE the church? What if your church was so committed to transforming your community that you could invite your friend Bob to help mentor and tutor kids twice each month in a program that meets in the local public school? Bob, like the vast majority of all human beings, wants to make a difference in the world. He wakes up in the morning and wonders why he is here. He wants to leave a legacy and help make people's lives better. So Bob enthusiastically agrees. He's in! As he volunteers, he gets to know you. He asks why you and others are giving their time away like this. He finds out that it's rooted in the self-sacrificial Spirit of Jesus. After a couple months, he is intrigued. He wants to meet more people like you--people who give themselves away to help others. He asks if he could go with you to church.
Do you see the difference? There will be people who are receptive to an invitation to church. But percentages show that most people who don't know Jesus won't want to start there. That means you have to figure out a way to infiltrate the world with Christ's love. You have to show the world how good, right, helpful, and life-changing the Savior is. Once they see the Spirit of Jesus, they won't be able to stay away.
What kind of invitations are you offering? Keep inviting people to church. Keep asking people who are interested in God to hear His life-changing Word. Keep bringing people with you so they can experience the miraculous reach of the Gospel.
But will you also invite people to BE the church with you? Will you help develop your outreach to the lost, lonely, disenfranchised, forgotten, and weak? Will you be a church that cares about your community and makes an effort to lift it up in the name of Jesus? Then, will you invite people who crave purpose to be part of the greatest purpose there could ever be?
It will make church much more than a high school baseball game.
(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-eight)
Monday, June 28, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Mercury and Missions
The Ford Motor Company recently announced it was shutting down the Mercury line. For over 70 years, Mercury provided a mildly upscale automobile between the Ford and Lincoln brands. Was anyone surprised Mercury was phased out? I don’t think so.
Everybody could see that Mercury had become meaningless. It duplicated Ford models. It offered nothing unique to the public. Buyers of Mercury came from an insider pool—people who would have bought Fords. No vigorous product identity existed. When the announcement of the shutdown was made public, no one expressed shock. I don’t even know if anyone objected.
Can the church learn anything from Mercury? Let's try.
First, a vigorous and unique product identity offered in a vibrant way is essential. Who has a better "product" than the church? The true God, the living Word, the forgiveness of sins, eternal salvation, the presence of the Almighty, deep purpose and meaning for life--is there anything better? Can we not help speak of what we've seen and heard (Acts 4:20) or are we bored, listless, and distracted?
Second, appealing only to insiders will destroy you. A dear older lady said to me recently, "I know what I prefer to experience in church, but the church doesn't have to worry about me. I believe in Jesus already. They need to appeal to the people who don't believe!" A focus on preserving the organization, the institution, or the already convinced will slowly destroy the church. In business, that inside focus may be a chosen strategy. In the church, it's a sin. Jesus said to the church leaders of the day, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former" (Matthew 23:23). Maintaining an inside emphasis while neglecting the mission is wrong, hypocritical, and deadly.
Third, a meaningless organization is never mourned. There may be some sentimental farewells to Mercury. We'll probably see photos of the last Mercury as it rolls off the assembly line in the fall. There will be a few people who buy one of the final autos for their car collections. But because losing Mercury is not a loss to many people, not many people will care. Is the church like Mercury? Eighty percent of the population in Texas does not consider faith important and does not attend church with any regularity. More churches are shrinking and closing than are opening and growing. More and more, the culture considers the church irrelevant, hypocritical, snooty, weird, and meaningless. Its decline is not being mourned.
Can we learn from Mercury? Will we become moved and compelled by the miraculous Gospel to lift it up as the light of life in a dying, darkened world? Will you, without shame and with great boldness, bring Jesus to the lost? Will we break the bonds of insider comfortableness and get outside the walls of the church to form relationships and take risks? Will you sacrifice your comfort levels so people of this generation can meet their Savior? Will we serve Christ in such a way that people crave the impact and influence of the church? Will you represent Jesus so clearly that people urge you to stick around--not to go because they need you?
It's happened before. The Samaritans from Sychar urged Jesus to stay with them after they heard what happened to the sinful woman at the well. Jesus hung around for two days. John 4:41 says that "because of his words many more become believers." God's mission plan is much better than Mercury's marketing plan. Which will you follow?
(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-seven)
Everybody could see that Mercury had become meaningless. It duplicated Ford models. It offered nothing unique to the public. Buyers of Mercury came from an insider pool—people who would have bought Fords. No vigorous product identity existed. When the announcement of the shutdown was made public, no one expressed shock. I don’t even know if anyone objected.
Can the church learn anything from Mercury? Let's try.
First, a vigorous and unique product identity offered in a vibrant way is essential. Who has a better "product" than the church? The true God, the living Word, the forgiveness of sins, eternal salvation, the presence of the Almighty, deep purpose and meaning for life--is there anything better? Can we not help speak of what we've seen and heard (Acts 4:20) or are we bored, listless, and distracted?
Second, appealing only to insiders will destroy you. A dear older lady said to me recently, "I know what I prefer to experience in church, but the church doesn't have to worry about me. I believe in Jesus already. They need to appeal to the people who don't believe!" A focus on preserving the organization, the institution, or the already convinced will slowly destroy the church. In business, that inside focus may be a chosen strategy. In the church, it's a sin. Jesus said to the church leaders of the day, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill, and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former" (Matthew 23:23). Maintaining an inside emphasis while neglecting the mission is wrong, hypocritical, and deadly.
Third, a meaningless organization is never mourned. There may be some sentimental farewells to Mercury. We'll probably see photos of the last Mercury as it rolls off the assembly line in the fall. There will be a few people who buy one of the final autos for their car collections. But because losing Mercury is not a loss to many people, not many people will care. Is the church like Mercury? Eighty percent of the population in Texas does not consider faith important and does not attend church with any regularity. More churches are shrinking and closing than are opening and growing. More and more, the culture considers the church irrelevant, hypocritical, snooty, weird, and meaningless. Its decline is not being mourned.
Can we learn from Mercury? Will we become moved and compelled by the miraculous Gospel to lift it up as the light of life in a dying, darkened world? Will you, without shame and with great boldness, bring Jesus to the lost? Will we break the bonds of insider comfortableness and get outside the walls of the church to form relationships and take risks? Will you sacrifice your comfort levels so people of this generation can meet their Savior? Will we serve Christ in such a way that people crave the impact and influence of the church? Will you represent Jesus so clearly that people urge you to stick around--not to go because they need you?
It's happened before. The Samaritans from Sychar urged Jesus to stay with them after they heard what happened to the sinful woman at the well. Jesus hung around for two days. John 4:41 says that "because of his words many more become believers." God's mission plan is much better than Mercury's marketing plan. Which will you follow?
(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-seven)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
What Are You Giving Away?
I was watching television the other day and saw one of those commercials that gave you not one, not two, but three magic vegetable slicers for the price of one. Wow, that company is losing money! They’re giving away their stock. They’re going to close down if they keep that up. Giving things away free will drain them! Or will it?
Clearly, free is not free. The scales still tip to the profit side. The company is a profit-making business. They’re getting something out of all this.
We know this and become skeptical patrons. “What’s the catch?” is the question we’ve learned to ask. Usually, we read the fine print or wait a few minutes to find out that free really isn’t free.
This is the mindset people bring to the Gospel. “What’s the catch?” they wonder. Unfortunately, we can fall into the trap of adding catches to the Gospel. We can scribble fine print below the message of grace. Unintentional “profit-making” attempts can interfere with Christ’s free gift.
We may proclaim salvation by grace alone, but do we express that a person really belongs only when they conform to certain outward habits and appearances?
We may preach the unconditional love and acceptance of God, but do our lives communicate that acceptance has its limits? Certain people are not welcome.
We may talk about the beautiful fellowship in the body of Christ, but do our social and organizational structures show that there is no additional room for anyone else in the club? There are no openings for new friendships.
We may claim flexibility in that which is not commanded—and even use the term “adiaphora,” but, in reality, are we idolizing and giving priority to the “indifferent things”? Is our rigidity based in tradition rather than on enduring truth?
We may wave the banner of grace, the free gift of God, but do we put a collection basket by every coffee pot, at every doorway, and by every resource rack? Are we teaching selling rather than stewardship?
What are you giving away? Is free really free? Are people finding “catches” to your presentation of the Gospel? Could there be better ways for you to reflect the lavish generosity of God so more of His goodness can be given away?
(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-six)
Clearly, free is not free. The scales still tip to the profit side. The company is a profit-making business. They’re getting something out of all this.
We know this and become skeptical patrons. “What’s the catch?” is the question we’ve learned to ask. Usually, we read the fine print or wait a few minutes to find out that free really isn’t free.
This is the mindset people bring to the Gospel. “What’s the catch?” they wonder. Unfortunately, we can fall into the trap of adding catches to the Gospel. We can scribble fine print below the message of grace. Unintentional “profit-making” attempts can interfere with Christ’s free gift.
We may proclaim salvation by grace alone, but do we express that a person really belongs only when they conform to certain outward habits and appearances?
We may preach the unconditional love and acceptance of God, but do our lives communicate that acceptance has its limits? Certain people are not welcome.
We may talk about the beautiful fellowship in the body of Christ, but do our social and organizational structures show that there is no additional room for anyone else in the club? There are no openings for new friendships.
We may claim flexibility in that which is not commanded—and even use the term “adiaphora,” but, in reality, are we idolizing and giving priority to the “indifferent things”? Is our rigidity based in tradition rather than on enduring truth?
We may wave the banner of grace, the free gift of God, but do we put a collection basket by every coffee pot, at every doorway, and by every resource rack? Are we teaching selling rather than stewardship?
What are you giving away? Is free really free? Are people finding “catches” to your presentation of the Gospel? Could there be better ways for you to reflect the lavish generosity of God so more of His goodness can be given away?
(Church Planting Series, Part thirty-six)
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