A few weeks ago, I spoke to a church in New York City that is now vulnerable to eviction from the school building where they meet because they spoke of the wrong things - religious things. As such, their speech is soon likely to be banned from NYC public school buildings that sit empty and unused on the weekend.

According to city officials, worship in a public facility -- when the schools are not even in session -- is too much mixing of church and state so they've ordered dozens of churches evicted by February 12.

I agree with most Americans who believe this is wrong-headed.

In a recent study by LifeWay Research, two-thirds of Americans believe public schools should rent to churches and other community groups (click on the image to enlarge). For that matter, school districts across the country have shown their agreement by renting to thousands of congregations every weekend.

Until recently, religious groups have been legally permitted equal access to public buildings. But recently the U.S. Supreme Court let stand the ruling of a lower court, which approved the New York City Department of Education's ban, opening up NYC churches to lawful eviction. So, legally the city government can enforce a ban, but just because it's legal doesn't mean it's best for our communities and our country.

Churches benefit communities

Schools and churches make their communities better and the public knows it. According to a 2011 Barna Research study:

Three-quarters of U.S. adults believe the presence of a church is "very" (53%) or "somewhat" positive (25%) for their community. In contrast, only one out of every 20 Americans believes the influence of a church is negative.

It seems odd for a municipality to ban something from public buildings that their constituents strongly view as positive.

The New York Law Department, however, disagrees, stating:

We view this as a victory for the City's school children and their families. The Department was quite properly concerned about having any school in this diverse City identified with one particular religious belief or practice.

Most Americans see churches as partners in the community, but the NYC school system sees churches as a threat rather than a benefit. They are mistaken.

Discriminating on the basis of the speech content is against our values

The NYC municipal government contends religious speech should be banned from public school buildings to avoid confusing our children. (Remember churches use the schools when school is not in session.) Yet, the Long Island public school I attended as a child had plenty of religions present--and NYC today has nearly every faith represented. Allowing individuals to worship in empty public buildings does not confuse children about religion. To the contrary, it affirms our commitment to religious freedom.

Father Richard John Neuhaus wrote against stripping religion from our institutions. Neuhaus believed religion is a public endeavor, not an enterprise best kept underground. I'm not one who believes in the war on religion by the secular elites, but it is hard not to see a problem with what Yale University scholar Stephen L. Carter called 'the culture of disbelief' in his book by the same name. The book, introduced to many by President Clinton, reminds us that banning public religion threatens the individual liberties of millions of Americans.

Religion-neutral is better than religion-hostile

Any constitutional concerns about church use of public school buildings can be answered by a religion-neutral approach. A government that is religion-neutral we will not discriminate based on the content of speech--even unpopular religious speech. Thus, I stand with my Muslim friends who wish to rent on Friday, my Jewish friends on Saturday, and my Christian friends on Sunday--all paying money to use space that belongs to us all.

The rationale that leads to a ban like the one enacted by New York City follows the principle that in order to avoid poisoning young minds, we must strip religion out of our lives, and essentially relegate it like pornography to the back of the store. Yet metro NYC includes a robust mixture of the cultural and religious milieu. Renting empty public buildings, with the income going to under-resourced schools, benefits many and imposes nothing.

We need to decide if religion is a danger to our culture that should be banned from the public square, or something to be valued and protected. I desperately pray it is the latter.

• OpEd: Tim Keller on "NYC School's Decision to Ban Churches"

• Massive march for fairness to NYC churches

• Hunger strike ends, fasting begins. Worship in public school controversy enters new stage on Sunday.

• Protest movement grows, Bronx Pastor willing to die to oppose city policy against churches meeting in public schools

• Temperature check: how the crowd outside see the Bloomberg administration

• Waves of pastors, professors, politicians, lay people arrested at Bloomberg's annual State of City gathering

• New York City, Church and Civility. OpEd by Mac Pier, NYC Leadership Center

• NYC public housing authority pulls Christmas Pearl Harbor on religious groups

Download Growth Barriers Booklet

Growth Barriers Conference Webcast

February 7, 2012 • 7:00 pm--9:00 pm

Speaker
Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research

Topics
• Information for church leaders to assist in understanding the inherent barriers to growing the church to her God given size.
• Focus on assisting leaders to develop a strategic plan for their barrier.

I've known Jason Dukes for a few years now. A pastor in the Orlando area, Jason and his local congregation focus on being the church, doing life together, and giving themselves away. They emphasize "living sent" - being a letter from God communicating His love and hope in the message of their daily lives among all whom they encounter. As someone who frequently talks and writes on our "sentness," you can easily see the connection Jason and I share.

In Jason's new book Beyond My Church, he explores the essentials of church unity and explains how it can become part of the DNA of your local church expression.

Feel free to jump in with questions and comments. Jason will be coming by the blog today to dialogue.

Beyond My Church - lots of places you can go with that title. What's the premise of the book?

We all have fervently prayed for personal awakening and community revival before, but how fervently have we taken Jesus' prayer in the Garden for us, His church? He prayed that He had given the same mission to us that had been given to Him, and furthermore for the maturity of our oneness so that the world might believe in Him, the One who was sent. But do we ever prioritize unity as followers of Jesus together in a city, cultivating for the maturity of our oneness (unity) in practical ways? We must. Through our unity around mission, what are normally self-absorbed local churches will put on display the transforming, near love of God so that the people of our communities will see and know the presence and evidence of the sent One, Jesus.

Is this a book that only pastors and paid church leaders can appreciate, or can every follower of Jesus begin to think and live beyond their church, and if so, how?

It is absolutely a book for every follower of Jesus. Two reasons why. First, unfortunately, many pastors live either under the pressure to "grow their church," which is an extremely anti-biblical thought, or they live stifled by their own insecurities, which creates a sense of competition and distrust between local leaders. Often times, our distinctive understandings of secondary theological ideals hinder pastors' connection, as well. Thus, it is imperative that every follower of Jesus lead out in cultivating for unity around mission among followers of Jesus in a city, therefore encouraging their pastors to emphasize and prioritize for it. 

This can be done in the very ways that they cultivate for "beyond me" living in their families, among their neighbors, in the marketplace, among leaders in the city where they live, and even in the ways that they think of the church in the city. There is actually one chapter per each of those topics in the book, offering suggestions for how "beyond MY church" thinking and living can be cultivated. We need a vision for "on earth as it is in heaven" in the communities where we live, not a vision for succeeding as individual local churches. And followers of Jesus who make up those local church families can be key catalysts in enabling and allowing their leaders to feel secure to think and live "beyond MY church." 

You mention in the book that this thinking and living is a must for the local churches of a city in order for the "work of God" to happen in the city where they live. Why do you think that is such an imperative?

Very simply, because the Bible tells me so. In John 17:18-23, Jesus prayed specifically for the maturity of our oneness as His followers SO THAT the world might believe in the One who was sent. Well, in John 6:29, Jesus taught that the work of God is "that you believe in the One that He has sent." Jesus is praying, then, for the maturity of our oneness so that the work of God might happen. Maybe all of our prayers for personal awakening are being hindered by our lack of praying and prioritizing and cultivating for the maturity of our oneness. Maybe we could live as an answer to Jesus' prayer and then see the very thing for which we are praying! The work of God might then come alive in our cities in ways we never imagined. This is not easy to surrender to, however, for the consequences could very well threaten the very systems we currently have in American church culture. But those would be worth giving up if the work of God happened in our communities, wouldn't they?

Specific to pastors and church leaders, give three practical suggestions as to how they can think and live beyond their church in the next month?

• take devoted time in Sunday worship gathering to solely pray for another local church expression and their leaders and their ministries and their fruitfulness.

• allow that "put the interests of others above your own" stuff to also apply to local church expressions, and commit some time every week to working toward the encouragement and success of another local church leader and ministry. 

• put aside petty differences and serve the community together in ongoing, relational ways with no one local church's name tagged on the project, but rather for the sake of "on earth as it is in heaven" in your community. 

I write a column in each issue of Facts and Trends magazine. In the most recent issue, I shared some observations of big issues in churches today. I thought I'd share it here at the blog.

I am often asked about the future of the church and, as much as I wish I knew the future, I don't. What I do have, however, is an accumulation of research, access to some of the best ministry thinkers and leaders across a spectrum of denominations and movements, and a critical eye on the ebb and flow of church culture. So, in looking at the trends in our churches, here are three I believe are worth taking note of today.

Each Sunday (as of late) I have been sharing churches where I've had the opportunity to preach in the last year. I tend to take pictures of where I preach and then forget to post them-- but now I am catching up!

Last week we looked at Skyline Wesleyan and the week before that at a new church plant in Bolivar, MO called Freshwater Church.

When I write on a church, I try to share a litte about their journey (hence the title, "Church Journeys"). First Baptist Atlanta is unique in that it is pastored by Charles Stanley, but that is not the only reason. Since Dr. Stanley is internationally known, they draw people from a wide area. As such, they are asking questions about how to help people be on mission in their context. In other words, how does a commuter church engage its community. My message was built around that theme.

There are lots of things worth observing, but one is easy to "picture." For example, the church is intentionally traditional and is done very well.

A traditional church may not seem unusual to you, but I do not preach at many traditional churches. You have to be impressed with an orchestra and choir like First Baptist.

I was preaching during missions week and the missions focus was clear through the other speakers, which include missionary testimonies (pictured here) and booths to sign up in the hallway.

One of the things that stands out about the church is how multicultural First Baptist is. I was pleasantly surprised to preach to anglos, African Americans, Asians, and many others.

First Baptist is unique in that it is led by the internationally well-known preacher Charles Stanley. They record there so the church is designed so that everyone feels close but it is also televised.

Thanks, Dr. Stanley, for entrusting me with your pulpit. Thanks, Brian Hatcher, for the invitation and the hospitality.

Catching up on my "church journeys," a new feature here at the blog, I thought I would share about my time in San Diego. Earlier last year, I had the privilege of speaking at Skyline Wesleyan Church in La Mesa, California. Yes, you probably know that John Maxwell used to pastor there, but Jim Garlow has been the pastor there for a long time now. I'm glad I got some time with Jim (but also gave him some time off) that week.

They wanted me to encourage them to be missional and I did. Since they were in a building program (building up the mountain a bit), and they know the dangers of being building focused, my message was simply, "As you go up this mountain, don't move out of this town."

I firmly believe that the local church is to be God's missionary agent in the world. So when I come across a local church that is joining God on His mission and engaging in Kingdom work, it excites me. So, I thought I'd start sharing some examples here at the blog in a new (occasional) feature: "Church Spotlight." I will share examples of small, medium, and large churches doing good things-- "calling them out" for their work.

As I shared recently, I hosted the "Vineyard Large Church Roundtable" here in Nashville this fall, talking about how megachurches can be missional. (That's a matter of debate for some: click here.) Rich Nathan organized that event and, during out down time, he shared some of the ministry and mission of his church.

I was glad to see Christianity Today and the Columbus Dispatch both write on the church Rich pastors, Vineyard Church of Columbus, Ohio. VC is the largest church in the Vineyard Movement, and Rich and his team have done an great job teaching, motivating, equipping, and leading their members to be on mission. The Vineyard is a distinctively continualist movement, with a particular passion for the Kingdom of God and social justice, so you will see that reflected in the article.

From the Christianity Today article:

...for over a decade now the church has prioritized reaching international communities and modeling racial diversity. [Associate] Pastor [Bill] Christensen says outreach to African Americans began in 2000, and to immigrants and refugees in 2006. Now people from 104 of the world's 196 nations attend weekend services, whose total attendance tops 9,000.

Nathan roots such multiculturalism not in the politically correct "diversity campaigns" of mainline churches but in the Vineyard's kingdom theology. "Along with signs and wonders and healings and reconciled marriages, one of the great signs of God's kingdom is visible diversity in the local church," he says. "We ought to see Revelation 7:9 right now. There's no way apart from Jesus that this group of people would gather for anything, because naturally, birds of a feather flock together."

But diverse flocks don't always fly in the same direction. "Is there tension? Absolutely," says Christensen. "What do you do when a subcommittee has a highly organized American, a very organized Kenyan woman, and a Hispanic woman from Colombia who says, 'I want to make sure we just feel really loose and let this thing happen'?"

That Colombian, Maria Clayborn, "fell in love with the church" after moving to the United States in 2000 to get married. At VC, she received English lessons and legal advice. She's taught a "Spanish for Gringos" course at its community center for three years. Now a U.S. citizen, Clayborn feels the church often overlooks Latinos, whose numbers in Columbus have grown 158 percent since she arrived. "The church has a heart for the Muslim people," she says, "but they don't realize there are all these Hispanic people. Hispanics are filling this country with children who are going to be the future."

This emphasis on the nations has naturally spilled over into the community. The Columbus Dispatch recently ran an article attesting to the impact the church is having both locally and globally.

Vineyard has many ministries, one of which serves a leper colony in Zambia, in Africa. Recently, one of the church's ministers posted a notice at the food pantry at 181 E. Fifth Ave. saying there would be a collection for the lepers. These lepers live in extreme poverty and are stigmatized and isolated from society.

The men and women who attend the food pantry and its church services do not have much, but they had a little, and they gave it, Nathan said. In about two weeks, they raised nearly $550. About 35 "regulars" come to a Monday night service. Some are homeless, and others are simply poor.

Be sure to read the The Columbus Dispatch and Christianity Today stories at their respective links (particularly the much longer CT story). Also, follow Rich on Twitter. He tells me he is finally doing his own tweets!

This Sunday at Grace Church we moved off of our study of the Gospel of Matthew for a few weeks. We are starting a 4 week message series called "The Road to Financial Freedom." We will study the subject for the next several weeks and our small groups will follow the curriculum. Why tell you? Well, you are welcome to get all the materials and resources we are using for use in your own church.

You can learn more here. The web site explains:

"It's A New Day is about stewardship! It's about the lordship of Christ over everything in our lives! It's about getting out of debt! It's about being ready to fulfill God's call upon our lives!

And there is a good reason for helping your church to encourage people toward financial freedom:

Imagine what churches could do for the kingdom if their members were not burdened with debt. Imagine what could be accomplished if church members were free to fulfill God's call of ministry. There has never been a better time than NOW to experience true joy and liberty that comes through financial freedom!

I have a symbolic metaphor that I use related to an earlier argument with my middle daughter. The photo is years old now, but I showed this photo in church to introduce the issue of fear and greed.

You can get the backstory here from a contribution I made recently to a book being published by the Methodists.

There are four messages in the series:

1. God's Ownership
2. Debt's Dangers
3. Greed's Antidote
4. Money and Work's Purpose

Thanks go to Ashley Clayton (whose twitter feed is always interesting on issues of stewardship).

Here is the info:

Sermon and Curriculum Kit

Getting Started:

Clearly, there has never been a better time for churches, than now, to have a conversation about money and give leadership in financial matters. The Bible is our greatest resource, containing over 2350 verses about money. In discovering what God has to say about money, we find instruction and practical guidelines on how to make money, save money, spend money, invest money and give money.

It's a New Day for Financial Freedom, Sermon and Curriculum Kit, contains the following resources:

Sermon Video
Four week sermon series by Dr. Ed Stetzer.

Sermon Notes (complete sermon notes and preaching outline, by Dr Ed Stetzer)

• Week One: God's Ownership
• Week Two: Debt's Dangers
• Week Three: Greed's Antidote
• Week Four: God's Purpose - Money & Work

Sermon Listening Notes (handouts for congregation - fill in the blanks)

Power Point slides (Scripture references for use in preaching)

Bible Study Lessons (Teacher Guide for Adult, Youth, & Children)

• Week One: God's Ownership
• Week Two: Debt's Dangers
• Week Three: Greed's Antidote
• Week Four: God's Purpose - Money & Work

The Bible Study lessons for each age group all have a Purpose Statement or Objective, Key Scriptures, Lesson Plan and Discussion Questions. The Youth and Children lessons have handouts as well. You are permitted to print these lessons and handouts for Teachers and participants for use in your church.

Please feel free to use as much or as little of this material as needed in your lesson preparation. You might use these lessons as a guideline and offer your class some original content of your own.

Pastor Guideline:
Pastor, these sermons are perhaps a little different from traditional sermons on money. You will notice this series is not about getting more money from your people, rather, it is about giving something of value to your people. The average American spends $1.26 for every $1.00 they earn, and consequently most Americans, inside the church as well as outside the church, are struggling! This sermon and curriculum kit will help you present a healthy and focused approach to money. The Bible Study lessons are designed to promote healthy discussion in your Sunday School, and small groups.

They are free to any church (one per church). I hope they are a help. You can order them here.

Now that I'm pastoring at Grace Church, I don't speak at other churches quite as often as I once did. However, I do usually make about one trip each month to preach at another church. I have been meaning to blog on these trips to generate ideas and talk about approaches, but I am far behind. So, effective right now, I am catching up with a new feature called "Church Journeys." I'll publish these Sunday nights if you are interested. But, keep in mind that these are all from 2011 so I need to catch up a bit.

One church I had the opportunity to speak at this past year was Freshwater Church in Bolivar, MO.

Planted by Josh Hedger in August 2009, Freshwater set out to become a church to serve the community, to be active in planting other churches in the United States and around the world, and to focus on reaching the nearly 30,000 unchurched people in Polk County.

I was recently asked to pen an article on the historical dynamics of Sunday school in America for the latest issue of the 9Marks eJournal. This issue takes a look at some new approaches and provides some new ideas for Sunday school within the context of the local church. For more highlights from the latest edition of the 9Marks eJournal, click here.

My focus was the history of the Sunday school movement, unlike most of the other articles. You might be surprised to see that Sunday school was a combination of social reform and religious education-- very different than what most churches do today.

Yesterday was the release of the latest issue of the 9Marks eJournal. Focused this time on the topic of Sunday School, I was glad to pen an article for my friends at 9Marks. I'll discuss that article in more depth tomorrow on the blog.

As a pastor, I am encouraged to see resources like the 9Marks eJournal committed to promoting small group Bible study through intentional and traditional discipleship methods such as Sunday School. Why? Simply put: that's what most churches use and will continue to use for the foreseeable future. The time and place tends to work well for most churches, but it is not a secret that in many cases it is not as effective as it could be.

In 2010, LifeWay Research released a study about how Americans celebrate Christmas. While the secularization of the holiday season was evident in our findings (you can read about that here), there was another key takeaway, which was-- to some extent-- overlooked: Christmas is the true intersection of faith and family.
 
When asked about their typical household activities during the Christmas season, respondents indicated overwhelmingly that they participated in traditional family and religious activities.
 
Nearly 90% of respondents give Christmas gifts to family members, and 86% gather for a Christmas meal with family and friends. Eighty percent put up a Christmas tree in their homes, a task typically involving the entire family, and 81 percent agreed that "Family traditions are the most important part of Christmas to me."
 
When asked about the religious background of the season, 79% agreed with the statement "I believe Jesus is the reason for the season." Also, when asked if they encouraged belief in Santa Claus or Jesus Christ as savior during the Christmas season, 20% more respondents focused on belief in Jesus Christ as savior.
 
This intersection of faith and family should be encouraging for us as Christians. This data shows there is still a desire for family togetherness in our culture. So how do we as local churches respond to this? I see three main ways we can cultivate a healthy engagement with the Christmas season.
 
Churches Need to Preach Christ
While it is heartening that Christmas still has a place of priority in the wider culture, it almost goes without saying that the buying of gifts has a greatest emphasis-- having long ago passed the point of pure materialsim. If Jesus is to remain "the reason for the season," then churches must be the place continually pointing to Him, especially in our preaching. We must take caution that our Christmas programs, which many times are designed to draw unbelievers, are not so secularized that we obscure the message we are trying to convey.

Churches Need to Prioritize the Family
It may be that the reason churches struggle with what to do when Christmas falls on Sunday is because many of them wear families out the other 364 days of the year, particularily in December. Some people may be hesitant to attend a Christmas Sunday service when they already know time with family is limited- if you have a service, tell them why you are doing so on Christmas Day. 

Churches Need to Emphasize Community Within the Fellowship
There is a deep-rooted desire for family and community in our culture, which is evident in the research. The local church should long to be a place of community for its members throughout the year. For believers and unbelievers alike who are looking for a sense of belonging and a community of support, they should be able to find it within a local church all year long, not just from their family around the holidays. And, for many who are hurting, Christmas is a time of loneliness when people are in great need of community.

I've touched on three ways that we can cultivate a desire for family and faith into Kingdom growth through the local church. What other ways might you have to accomplish this?

In mid-September, the annual Outreach Magazine/LifeWay Research Special Report of the 100 Largest and Fastest Growing Churches was released. While the report focuses on church growth of congregations with an average of 1,000 or more in attendance, this year churches of all sizes were asked to participate in the research so we could learn from all different size churches.

An encouraging aspect of research like this is that it shows churches—both big and small—are growing. Even in the midst of the current state of church health and our struggling economy, churches are growing, and God is glorifying Himself through the ministry of the local church. 

Below are a few of the churches with average attendance under 1,000 that are experiencing noticeable growth. We've also invited their leaders to check out today's blog and interact with any questions readers might have. Feel free to jump into the comments and dialogue with the pastors of these churches today.

Stories behind the numbers

Researchers always want to know more, and our team is no exception. Prior to posting this blog, the LifeWay Research team contacted some of the churches on this list to ask them some specific questions concerning their church’s story. Again, if you would like to ask follow up questions, please do so in the comments below.

Restore Community Church (Kansas City, Mo.) - Troy McMahon, Lead Pastor

Q: How do you equip your members to engage in their community? 

A: We focus on what we call the “three places in life.” Those places are your home, where we go to work or school, and the “third places.” This third place could be a health club, sporting team or social club.  We often attend these third places for our personal benefit rather than for the benefit of others. We encourage our people to be intentional about using their third places as ministry opportunities. 

Q: How are you building relationships within your congregation and among new attendees?

A: We don’t do anything without food. Food is a social elixir – it gets people to stop and talk.  For example, one thing we do on Sunday mornings is set up multiple tables in our lobby with homemade pastries on them so that people can gather and build relationships.

Journey Community Church (Fairview Park, Ohio) - Jim Wilkes, Senior Pastor

Q: How has your church had to change its mindset or way of thinking? 

A: “Instead of gathering people - let’s scatter people” has been one of our main sayings from the beginning. We are constantly asking: how can we get our people outside the four walls of the church?  From day one we have stated that we exist to serve other people. 

Q: How has your church been able to reach the unchurched or those with little church background?

A: Shindigs! Multiple times a year we have shindigs - with catered food and activities for kids. Our culture is that you bring your friends to these events. Our focus is to just be normal and build relationships. The trick for us has been the food! We have had tremendous success with our shindigs.

FreeWorship (Cheraw, S.C.) - Chad Vick, Senior Pastor

Q: Your church is a multiethnic congregation. How has the church been able to accomplish this?

A: We are very intentional about it. You cannot just expect to be multiethnic; you must be intentional. We felt it was important to have a multiethnic presence in all that we do. 

Q: What are you doing that is connecting with the unchurched? 

A: In a word: comfortableness. We make them comfortable. First time guests are a huge priority for us. All first time guests are greeted in the parking lot and they receive a gift. We even have a first-impression team whose responsibility is to welcome guests and make them feel comfortable.

First United Methodist Church (Sikeston, Mo.) - Brad Aycock, Worship Coordinator 

Q: What have you changed to intentionally reach out to your community?

A: Five years ago we intentionally tried to re-identify ourselves as a church. Our goal was to point the arrow outward. Everything we do now is intentionally outward focused. In doing so, we have created an entirely new culture where change is normal and our people are confident in inviting their friends. 

Other observations worth noting: 

• Only three of the churches listed above are multisite congregations. (Denoted by *)  In the Top 100 List, 59 of the 100 Fastest Growing churches were multisite. 
• The churches on this list are not all recent church plants. Several churches are nearing or are more than 100 years old. 

If you would like your church to be contacted for the 2012 Special Report project, please download the information form, fill it out, and fax it to our LifeWay Research team (615) 468-4681. 

Feel free to dialogue with these pastors and ask questions about their churches, ministries, and approaches. On-topic questions and dialouge will be posted and discussed. You can find the comment policy here.

Yesterday, we released some data on whether churches will have services on Christmas Day.

I recently did an informal poll on the subject and found the discussion interesting.  You can read it here. The Christian Post has the story with some original reporting here.

Turns out, the vast majority are planning Christmas Day services-- and most are also including Christmas Eve (that's what our church is doing).

Here is an excerpt of the story we released yesterday:

While 9 in 10 pastors plan for their churches to host Christmas Day services this year, there may be plenty of space in the pews for those who actually attend.

A recent LifeWay Research study of 1,000 Protestant pastors shows that 91 percent of Protestant pastors plan to have services on Christmas Day while 69 percent said they plan to host Christmas Eve services.

"Having church on Christmas Day when it falls on a Sunday seems as if it would be as much of a given as having Thanksgiving on a Thursday, but this has been an issue of discussion and contention in recent years," said Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research. "Also, just because an overwhelming majority of pastors think that way doesn't mean those in their congregations necessarily share their perspective."

According to a December 2010 LifeWay Research report, 74 percent of Americans agree (strongly or somewhat) that "Christmas is primarily a day for religious celebration and observance," yet 67 percent of all Americans also agree that, "Many of the things I enjoy during the Christmas season have nothing to do with the birth of Jesus Christ."

"Churches see these conflicting values and we wanted to know how many churches plan to conduct services on each day - since that is also such a family day, particularly the morning," said Stetzer. Pastors were asked, "Christmas and New Year's Day both fall on Sunday this year. As a result, does your church plan to have services on the following days: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day?"

Six percent of Protestant churches plan to have a Christmas Eve service but no service on Christmas Day. Twenty-eight percent plan to have a Christmas Day service but no service on Christmas Eve. Almost two-thirds (63 percent) plan to host both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

I was a bit surprised at the overwhelming number of churches that are planning Christmas Day services.  My comments at The Christian Post get at that a bit. For many churches, the thought of cancelling Sunday services (or Christmas Day services) is simply inconceivable-- outside of their tradition and values.  Yet, I know of many that are cancelling.

Were you surprised?  Any thoughts on your Christmas Day plans?

Choosing a new leader for a denomination is always a fascinating thing-- and each denomination seems to do it differently.  Yet most of them (at some point) vote in some form of election.

One of the more fascinating leadership elections has been that of the Bishop of Central Florida in the Episcopal Church.  The difficulties of the Episcopal Church are well known and I have written on them on more than one occasion. Yet, many people do not know that most of the influence in the Episcopal Church is found at the "Bishop level"-- and a diocese elects its own Bishop (pending approval from their House of Bishops).  Now, to Episcopalians, I get that this is more than "electing a denominational leader" (due to their view of the role of Bishops), but I think there are similarities to consider and some lessons to learn.

When I consulted with the Foursquare Church as they walked through their presidential search, we developed a profile with the national cabinet and then they elected a president in their annual meeting. I blogged on how each candidate laid our their vision for the future. I think it was a helpful process that other denominations should consider-- laying out where the leaders believe the movement should go. Too many denominations elect their leader on the basis of popularity or a good nomination speech.  A better way is to hear the theology, vision, and values of the prospective leader. 

What I found interesting about the Diocese of Central Florida was the interactive nature of their search (full disclosure, an old friend won the election and Greg Brewer is now Bishop-elect).  Take a look here at how the candidates answered questions and then interacted in the Q&A. 

First, you "meet the candidates": http://bishopsearch.cfdiocese.org/candidates.  In this section, they are asked to address some of the big issues facing the Episcopal Church.

Then, the candidates dialogued over 50 topics with over 400 posts with questions on marriage, "open" communion, how to relate to the Episcopal Church, etc: http://bishopsearch.cfdiocese.org/forum

Long story short, knowing MORE about your future denominational leader (not less) is a good thing. Forums like this can be a help in the electoral process. In this election, the forthright answers in the dialogue were known and considered in the election.  

Other denomintions need to ask how they can know their potential leaders before they are elected.

Steve Murrell is the senior pastor of Victory Metro in Manila, Philippines; a director of the Real Life Foundation; and the cofounder and president of Every Nation, a worldwide family of churches and ministries. Victory Metro Manila meets in thirteen different locations and has planted churches in forty other Philippine cities and a dozen nations. The Real Life Foundation is a social and educational advocacy organization that exists to serve the poor and improve their lives through educational assistance, character development, and community service. Steve is the author of The Reluctant Leader, and is a regular contributor to Evangelicals Today, a monthly Philippine publication.

His new book, WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering, and Viral is out, and I wanted to chat with him about it and what he wants the church to learn from it.

Steve, let's start at the beginning. What is a 'WikiChurch'?

The "wiki" part of Wikipedia is from a Hawaiian word meaning "quick," as Wikipedia's format allows for the quick and widespread dissemination of information online. While it may be an imperfect source, Wikipedia has made information widely available by simply empowering volunteers. However, it did not begin this way. In 2000 Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger started an online encyclopedia called Nupedia whose contributions were written solely by experts. Before an article could be posted, it had to go through an extensive scholarly review process. When Nupedia unplugged its servers in 2003, only twenty-four articles had been posted, with seventy-four still in the review process. In 2001, one year after Nupedia launched, Wales and Sanger started Wikipedia as a feeder system for Nupedia. The idea was to allow non-experts to write articles that the Nupedia scholars would review. By the end of the year, volunteers had submitted more than twenty thousand "wiki" articles. At the time of this writing, contributors from around the world have submitted more than nineteen million Wikipedia articles, and according to an independent survey, most are as accurate as traditional encyclopedia entries. Unfortunately, many churches today function more like Nupedia than Wikipedia. They allow only credentialed professionals to lead evangelism and discipleship efforts while volunteers are expected to show up and pay up but not engage in serious ministry. Imagine if the church functioned more like Wikipedia. Imagine if every believer, not just paid leaders, were empowered to minister. That's a Wiki Church.

In your book, you talk about Victory-Manila, a church you and your wife planted in 1984 which began with 165 university students and has grown to over 52,000 members. Tell us about that journey and what it looked like as you became a "Wikichurch."

Since 1984, all our efforts, all our mistakes, and all our successes have been in pursuit of figuring out how to make disciples. We became a WikiChurch not by bouncing from revival to revival or from strategy to strategy but by making Jesus' last command our first priority. We have found that if we simply focus on making disciples who are equipped and empowered to make other disciples, then health, strength, and growth happen naturally. Though we are still evaluating, refining, and constantly rewriting our discipleship materials, the underlying principles of the disciple-making process at Victory are firmly fixed. For twenty-seven years, we've sought to compassionately engage our communities, intentionally establish biblical foundations, strategically equip believers, and continually empower disciples. Just the same ole boring strokes year after year: engage, establish, equip, and empower.

The church talks a lot about discipleship, but you identify several 'discipleship myths' which hinder the church's call to make disciples. Talk to us about a few and why are they so problematic.

There are a few popular discipleship myths that have been propagated by thousands of well-meaning pastors and professional religious leaders. One is the Myth of Mentoring--that my pastor's job is to minister to me. This myth causes church people to demand that pastors spoon-feed them, care for them, and meet all their spiritual needs. It turns pastors into spiritual superheroes and regular Christians into passive spectators at religious shows. Another myth is the Myth of Maturity--that no one should minister until they are mature. This myth convinces people they don't pray enough, don't know enough Bible verses, and are too young to engage in ministry--leading Christians to believe that only after another discipleship course or leadership seminar or seminary degree would they possibly be mature enough to be used by God. The sum effect of these myths is an ineffective church with overworked ministers, overfed members, and unengaged communities.

You argue that a WikiChurch is a multigenerational church." What has been your greatest challenge in trying to build multigenerational churches?

Every church, denomination, and missionary organization faces the challenge of what to do with the next generation. Many embrace the traditional "pass the baton" analogy where one generation has the baton and runs the race, while the next generation watches and waits for their turn. However, the challenge is learning how to empower and lead together with the next generation--to run the race together. We need to involve emerging leaders now because if we do not empower the next generation, we will lose them. Leading together is difficult because they are not like us--they think differently, problem solve differently, and apply their faith to social needs in new ways. However, I've found that they usually understand and engage their culture much better than I do. Therefore, it is crucial for established leaders to make room at the table for emerging leaders, learning how to make constant adjustments and improvements while maintaining a deep commitment to a common vision.

What should pastors and leaders NOT take away from reading your book?

Do not copy our church. On numerous occasions I have had people from the United States approach me to deliver their happy news--that they are doing small group discipleship in their church exactly the way we do it in the Philippines. Instead of the expected congratulations and a pat on the back, my typical response is, "Why in the world would you do that?" I live in a city of twelve million people. Most of them live in poverty, very few have cars, and the religious and family structures are totally different from that in the West. The world you live in is totally different from Manila. Why would you copy us? Developing your own strategy for making disciples takes time, prayer, and some trial and error--just as it did with us. We can learn from one another, just as the Victory team is continuing to learn from other churches around the world, but only after we contextualize to make sure the strategies make sense in our culture and community.

In your conclusion, you argue that not only should churches make disciples but that they should disciple nations. How do we "disciple nations?"

While it may sound over-simplified, I believe that the inevitable fruit of making disciples is that eventually those disciples will impact their communities and their culture. In the 2004 national election in the Philippines, sixteen Victory members ran for office. Fourteen won. As a result, we have church members who are senators, congressmen, mayors, governors, and city councilors. Their membership at Victory is not the result of an outreach to politicians but rather the result of a discipleship culture which equips and empowers believers to engage culture and make disciples in every sphere of society.

Feel free to interact with Steve in the comments today.

If you follow me on Twitter (@edstetzer) then you know I enjoy crowdsourcing ideas. Today I threw out the following question:

Although Christian churches tend to worship on Sundays, in the United States there is only one day a year that seems more "holy" than the Lord's Day. Christmas morning, is for many families, a sacred time, though not often for religious reasons. Family traditions (often with traveling family members) tend to trump church expectations, especially as it relates to when and where individuals will choose to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Yesterday, I had an "encounter" in the line where I shake hands after the Grace Church worship service. A well-dressed man came up to me after church, shook my hand, and immediately started a conversation about prophecy.

I listened initially, but within a couple of minutes he had quoted one passage he feels is related to the founding of Israel in 1948 and another about Israel occupying Jerusalem in 1967. "Why don't churches talk more about prophecy?" he asked.

At that point, I could have redirected our conversation and tried to persuade him that we believe in biblical prophecy and will teach on it another time (both of which are true). Or, since he approvingly referenced both Jack Van Impe and John Hagee, I could have found some ways of positively connecting with each of these men.

In most cases, I've decided that "this is not the church for you" is actually the right response for "issue Christians" who are visiting the church.

Here are more thoughts from Darrell Guder from our recent conversation. In this case, it deals with the missional vocation of the church:

In terms of missional ecclesiology, I continue to find it very important to stress that the gathering of the church is not the ultimate purpose of mission, but rather it is the primary means by which God is carrying out his healing mission in the world. The gathered life of the Christian community is, then, not an end in itself but the way in which God's people are equipped for their vocation as witnesses in the world. I would insist that we consider every action and activity of the gathered church in terms of its missional vocation: how does what we are doing together "equip the saints for the work of ministry, the building up of the body of Christ," which happens as the church is scattered in the world like salt, leaven, and light? I am especially concerned that the gathered, public, worship of the community be both practiced and experienced as missional formation for apostolic living in the world. I think that our classic emphasis upon "Word and sacrament" must be re-thought in terms of missional formation.

Closely linked to that would be the concern for the interpretation of Scripture as missional formation. It is not enough to define Scripture as the norm which guides our understanding and practice of our Christian vocation. We need to understand that it is the particular work of God's Spirit to use the Biblical witness as the primary agent for the ongoing missional formation of the gathered church. This necessitates reading, studying, and interpreting Scripture on the basis of that missional center. That in turn means that we must develop a missional hermeneutic that will equip us to be confronted by Scripture as God's missional formation for our witness. This seems to me to be a much higher view of the authority of Scripture: It is the Spirit-given authority to form us for missional living. Scripture's authority is not an abstract proposition but the actual power God's Spirit gives this Word to effect our missional obedience.

What do you think?

BTW, I planned to link to Guder's Wikipedia page but he does not have one-- seems like one of you Wiki angels could help him out.

I've noticed a pattern lately and I'm not the only one who has seen it. Christianity Today featured a story in the spring of 2010 about pastors leaving their churches to pursue writing and speaking opportunities. Francis Chan, Jim Belcher, N. T. Wright and, now Rob Bell, have left local church pastorates, some of which were churches they themselves had planted. This led CT to ask:

What's going on? Is the local church becoming the "farm team" for full-time conference and book ministry?

(I am very aware that there are other issues regarding Rob Bell, but this is not a post about him. You can read my review of his book, Love Wins, in 3-parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. His departure from Mars Hill, however, sparked these further thoughts I now address.)

I try not to wag my finger at others, and every person involved needs to hear from the Lord and be obedient to his call, but I must say this move away from the local church confuses (and concerns) me a bit. Perhaps that is because I'm heading in the other direction.

Allow me to explain.

There are many broader issues I am passionate about pursuing. My day includes research, writing, consulting, and leading at LifeWay Research. I have responsibilities to oversee staff and lead other teams here. Like others who have been given a visible platform, I am regularly asked to speak at conferences and meetings. Yet, with all of this, I can't get enough of the church.

So, yesterday, I turned to Rick Warren (perhaps you've heard of him) and asked why he has stayed at a local church. Rick's "broader interests" are pretty big-- poverty, adoption, politics, nation-building, writing and speaking. (Once he had to "run" from our phone call because Tony Blair was dropping by for a visit. Yes, that Tony Blair.) Yet, he is still connected to a local church. A while back when he invited me to hang out with him at Saddleback, I was fascinated by just how much that local church connection mattered to Rick.

Rick tweeted this which reinforces the point:

I asked him specifically to comment for this article, and he explained, "The local church has been, and always will be, the PRIMARY tool for God's will in the world. Other ministries are important but secondary."

I realize that the aforementioned men have not left THE church. On the contrary most of them would argue that their new efforts would ultimately encourage and strengthen many churches. But they have left pastoral ministry to pursue other interests whether writing, speaking or yet-to-be-determined avenues of ministry. Ultimately, Christian leaders-- as all Christians should-- must follow God's call. I am entirely convinced, for example, that Francis Chan prayed and sought the Lord on this decision. Yet, I know many pastors who yearn for the conference circuit and to get out of the local church-- so read my thoughts here more as concern than me "calling out" anyone.

For me, I am heading a different direction and planting a church in my free time.

Why, then, am I planting a church? It sure isn't to grow a megachurch as I really don't see that happening in the way we are planting. It isn't to make more money since I'm unpaid by the church (and I'm not speaking at other churches that, well, did pay me).

Here are three reasons I've chosen to remain close to my local church and to serve the church as a pastor.

1. I love the church. I want to be in one, leading it, loving it--not leaving it. In a past time I wore myself out talking about how important the church was while not being closely connected to one. I plan to not let that happen again. Paul wrote that Jesus loved the church and gave Himself for her, and I need to love what Jesus loved. And not from a distance.

2. I need the church. Actually, my family and I both need the church. We need co-laborers on mission. I need a place to live out what I write and talk about. I need encourage and be encouraged. In short, I need to be in a community of people who are also on mission with God experiencing victories and defeats, trials and tribulations together. Christianity is, and always has been, a team sport. It isn't tennis; it's football (or soccer, take your pick).

3. I'm committed to serve. What is your calling? Are you called to be a pastor? Deacon? Evangelist? If that's your calling, you should be using that gift. It really goes without saying that it would be easier to travel around, preach at a church or auditorium and then go home. But that is not reality.

Reality means accountability to some kind of leadership structure in the church and to body as a whole. Rick Warren alluded to this problem in a tweet that followed the Rob Bell announcement: "Speaking tours feed the ego = All applause & no responsibility. It's an unreal world. A church gives accountability & validity" The last thing anyone needs is more to feed out selfish egos, but that is precisely part of the challenge associated with the speaking circuit.

Remaining a pastor in my local church is a lot more work, but it's part of what God has called me to do...and saved me to be.