Category Archives: The Church

All things concerning the infrastructure, nature, culture, government, history or future of the Church of Jesus Christ at large.

The Problem of Growing a Church

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…is that it involves loving people. And love is something in scarce supply within my own heart.

Tabernacle of Praise has embraced a vision of preaching the Gospel and discipling believers through a strategy called 24toDouble. This strategy involves several elements:

  1. Identify people’s God-given gifts and place them in ministry roles accordingly.
  2. Using those gifted saints (which is all of them!), assemble 7 major teams, each with a subset of teams. I’ll have to write about this strategy in a later post.
  3. Hold 4 “Big Events” at least in one year. This “big events” don’t have to be big in the sense of numbers or complexity. They just have to be something special in which the people of the church are involved.
  4. Each person in the “big event” lists seven contacts to invite to the event.
  5. Someone else calls that person’s contacts and invites them to church. Oh, and the person in the production also invites them.
  6. After the visitor comes to the “big event,” the follow up team reaches out to them with love and a helping hand.

If you do all of these steps well, your church will grow in 24 months or less. We believe in this vision and are doing all we can to implement it. Sounds like we’ve got everything figured out, right? But there is this problem…

We have to love people! Love is the magic that unlocks people’s heart to truly consider the Gospel’s invitation. Unfortunately, I think my life represents a good portion of believers in Crawford County. I just. Don’t. Care.

Oh sure, I care about the world, in the world kind of sense. But I don’t care enough to push past all of the inconveniences of loving someone personally, specifically. And just what does a life of love that will bring people to Christ look like?

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[a] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”    –Matthew 9:10-13

That’s what it looks like! Loving people into the Kingdom of God doesn’t start with large healing crusades, church growth strategies and awesome sermons. It starts with a conversation across the fence, an invitation to a barbecue, or a meal with our neighbors. Yes, I said neighbors. Not people on the other side of world. Our neighbors.

The vision of Tabernacle of Praise will never be realized until each member is daily praying for their neighbors, co-workers and acquaintances; pursuing friendships with these people, and actively sharing their faith while doing so. I understand that “each member of TOP” begins with me. Here’s what I have to do.

I have to clean up my fire pit so I can invite my neighbors to a campfire. I will invite the ones next to my house, then I’ll invite the ones across the street. It’s time to eliminate the problem of growing our church within my heart.

Will you join me?

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus

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Did you get that? Sound like Greek? Close. It’s Latin for “Outside the Church, there is no salvation.” The Roman Catholic Church has been saying this for centuries, and although I can’t speak for the Roman Catholic Church, I do think it’s appropriate and necessary for us to think through that statement.

We are in the middle of what’s called Holy Week. It’s the time when we as Christians remember with profound gratitude and sober reflection the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. It ends with the celebration of Resurrection Sunday–also known as Easter–when we joyfully relive the morning on which Mary found Jesus’ tomb empty. All the affliction Christ endured was not meant to end in a sealed tomb forever. It was designed to blow open the doors of all our tombs! Jesus said He came to “seek and save the lost.” He also said that He is the “way, truth and the life. No man comes to the Father, but by me.” Our Messiah’s agony, death and resurrection provide the path for us to follow into eternal life.

And so, how could it be that extra ecclesiam nulla salus could possibly be true? Did our Lord truly have in mind that after all He undertook in His mission to save lost souls there would be a stipulation to our salvation like going to church? Yes, if going to church actually made you a part of the Church. 

It is clear that Jesus’ intent was not only to save us from something, but to save us to something. What was the great effect of sin? Isolation. Eternal separation from God and therefore separation from any kind of loving relationship. The only way one can be saved from isolation is to be saved into community. If our Lord had removed from us the punishment of isolation and had not made us a community, we would be suffering the same fate as if still under the weight of our sins!

God didn’t send Jesus to die for us so that we would go to church. He died for us so that we would be the Church. Being the Church means active participation in community life. It’s true. This means that going to church is a part of being the Church. But let’s not make the mistake of associating going to church with being the Church. I like what Eastern Orthodox Bishop Kallistos Ware had to say.

Outside the Church there is no salvation, because salvation is the Church. Does it therefore follow that anyone who is not visibly within the Church is necessarily damned? Of course not; still less does it follow that everyone who is visibly within the Church is necessarily saved. As Augustine wisely remarked: “How many sheep there are without, how many wolves within!”

This Resurrection Sunday, I am not only celebrating that my Lord Jesus saved me from isolation, but that He saved me into this beautiful family called the Church. For my part, I believe that there is no salvation outside the Church. My question is, “Why would anyone want to be saved outside of her?”

How are you going to celebrate this Easter with your church family? How do you celebrate with your own family?

Innovation at Tabernacle of Praise

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At Tabernacle of Praise (TOP), one of our core values is excellence. We strive to become better at what we do because the reason that we do what we do is so urgent. We must constantly reassess if our methods are working, even if that means change or some work. It’s that important. This pursuit of excellence naturally causes us to become innovators in life transformation here in Crawford County. Here is one such innovation.

Our Focus Groups (the small group ministry of TOP) are merging with the intent to reinvent themselves and multiply out into the community.

That’s right. For a limited time, there will be only one (relatively large) Focus Group active at TOP. There are several reasons for this:

God is giving us a heart to reach the lost and dying in Crawford County like never before. I thought this change was only started in my heart last year until I began to speak with the elders about it. They told me that had already felt the Holy Spirit pushing us to change the way we interact with the community. This was confirmation for me. We immediately began drafting plans of a new way of doing small groups.

This change has to be widespread. This change in focus and ministry cannot be limited to one Focus Group to make it last. We need all the Focus Groups to have this perspective deeply embedded in their DNA and culture.

This change of heart has to be caught rather than taught. We are merging the Focus Groups so that all the Focus Group members will be able to see and experience this change of heart first hand as we reach out to the community of Leesville. All of us together will be a part of innovating a new way of doing small groups.

We need help! We need as many people as possible to be involved in this transformation at the church. We are learning as we go, and so we need everyone’s input and support to make it happen.

I will blog later about the specifics of the changes we’re making in Focus Groups. If you want to be involved right away, come join us in this awesome, innovative work every Wednesday night, 6:30 pm, at the church. Can’t wait to see you there!

Body of Christ Unified? Part 2

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With all of the challenges of ministers and leaders working together in the community (check my last post to see some of these challenges), the challenges that these leaders face getting their own organizations unified and running smoothly and the uncertain times that we are living in, why should churches get together in community projects? What’s the benefit of organized effort when each church already has their own community service strategies? Here are some of my thoughts on why it’s critical that local churches collaborate in community projects.

  1. Community Impact — The Church united gives a better image to the community at large. To many people in society, churches are equal in status and purpose as other local non-profits. When they see non-profits that are willing to collaborate on projects for the common good, they wonder why the local churches can’t get together for the common good. The disunity of the churches projects the image that each church has agendas other than the common good. Vice versa, when the churches collaborate in community projects without any direct gain for their organizations, the community trusts their motives. Consequently, they are more receptive to the message of the Gospel. Every church benefits from this feeling of trust when society sees the unity of the churches in community projects.
  2. Shared Resources — The Church united has more resources to meet the needs of society. We live in a Wal-Mart generation: One location services all needs. Although I shop at Wal-Mart, I don’t believe that this is the idea that God had in mind for the churches in His body. Each church has a local vision to answer a specific need in society, much like a cell within the body has a specific function. The needs that the churches meet in order to serve their communities should be very different. Not every church is going to run a food pantry, hold support groups for addictive behaviors, offer counseling services, or administrate complex visual and performing art programs for youth. But together, all of the local churches have these services at their disposal for community projects. Through collaboration on community projects, society has access to all that the Church has to offer.
  3. Cross-Pollenation — The Church united gives its members the opportunity to experience other people of different cultures, ideas and talents; whereas the Church divided sequesters its members within the confines of their local congregation. When churches and ministries collaborate on community projects, the members of the local churches represented in the project are exposed to one another’s unique worship, fellowship and leadership styles. Once exposed to one another through community projects, the members and leaders of local churches can pick and choose which new ideas or styles could be implemented in order to improve the life of their church.

These are my top reasons for championing Church unity in community projects. Bear in mind that collaboration is not the same as integration. I am not proposing that churches should merge in order to be unified. This would be neither healthy nor effective. Yet, when the local churches have put aside their differences and fears, we shall see whole communities changed for the better.

What benefits do you see in churches working together in community projects?

Christ’s Body Unified? Part 1

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So you’re sitting there in the vast auditorium leafing through your seminar program as the keynote speaker thunders, “The Church of God is divided. What a shame that His bride is fighting among herself! I tell you that Jesus is coming back for ONE bride.” With this buzzing in your ears, you return to your church and begin to notice that your church is not getting together with other churches, how your pastor is hesitant to bring in other ministers, how there is a feeling of detachment from the community at large. It’s easy to be disappointed with the Church and give up on the idea of unity. Before you do, though, I would like to offer some legitimate reasons why this unity has not been realized in the Body of Christ and my opinion on how these challenges can be worked through.

  • Inward Focus — Every church has it’s own programs and event schedules that constantly cycle through the year. Pastors and leaders are often victim to their own calendars. Who cares what others are doing in the community when we have so much to attend to here? It takes a huge amount of effort and planning to keep the programs and events running smoothly. After such concentrated work, most leaders do not have anything left to give to the rest of the community. Without willing and vigorous laborers in the community at large, unity in the Church will not be realized.
    • Remedy: Fully delegating responsibilities for the programs and events to others would free up pastors and leaders to turn their attention to collaborative projects with other ministries and community organizations. The leaders have to give up control of some of the inward functions in order to be involved in outside happenings.
  • Bad History — Everyone has a past and a reputation, and every community has a rumor mill churning out the good, the bad and the ugly to any willing ear. Pastors and ministry leaders hear these stories of other leaders in the community–whether true or untrue–and who wants to waste their time and their organization’s resources in projects with people of questionable pasts? This is not just an issue of mere gossip; it is a matter of good stewardship. Without trust in one another’s integrity and experience as leaders, we will not see unity in the Body of Christ.
    • Remedy: Holding corporate activities that have small risk of doctrinal or leadership conflict would allow ministers and leaders to know one another in a low pressure environment. For instance, I would rather meet a minister in an inter-denominational prayer meeting than in on a committee deciding how to hold a city-wide evangelism crusade. The prayer meeting is low risk and pressure because no one has to make decisions or give opinions concerning the implementation of plans. This allows the leaders to relax and be themselves–fun-loving individuals who want to see revival in their communities.
  • Personal Insecurity — Every leader has their own set of insecurities and fears concerning their performance, experience and personality. Who wants to be in a room full of leaders who have bigger churches, bigger budgets, bigger leadership teams, larger resumes and greater charisma? When we doubt ourselves and our contribution to the group, we refuse to participate fully. Without whole-hearted investment from each member, unity in the Body of Christ is not possible.
    • Remedy: When together, it is healthier for leaders to focus on what they are doing now as a corporate group, rather than what they have done individually. Here is a good example: If ministers are collaborating on a community project and they need a large auditorium, most of the churches represented would not be able to meet the need, but there would be at least one that could. It does no one any good to speak at length why or how that church came to have such a large auditorium, it is only important that the resource is available TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT THE GROUP IS DOING NOW.
  • Hidden Agendas — Everyone has heard the horror story of the super-charasmatic leader who stole good people from the unsuspecting, small-time pastor. In fact, this almost happened to me. I was involved in helping another church with the blessing of my church’s pastor while living in Dallas. It was long until the leader of the church I was helping invited me to his home where he asked me to take an official leadership role in his church. No one wants to get involved with other leaders who have a hidden agenda to steal the ones who help them the most. Without transparency about each participant’s intentions, unity in the Body of Christ is a pipe dream.
    • Remedy: Uriah served David with devotion, yet David stole his wife, Bathsheeba. This poignant story of betrayal is a classic example of hidden agendas. The part of the story we seem to miss is that Bethsheeba had a choice in the matter. She chose to commit adultery and keep it hidden from her husband. In the same way, each one of our followers has a choice of whom to follow. As leaders, we must continue to serve one another without fear of losing followers. They will follow whom they will, regardless of the amount of control we believe that we have.

As you can see, the issue of churches and ministries working together in brotherly love and trust is both woefully complicated and joyfully possible. While we should never give up on the vision of unity in the Body of Christ, we must remember that the Body belongs to Christ alone. You or I cannot force his Church to unify; we can only be an example of love and acceptance towards others.

Have you ever felt frustrated with the lack of collaboration in the Church? How do you feel it can be fixed?