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.

From what I can tell, the majority of missionaries and those who actively support them are women. Historically, women are always listed in the hall of great missionaries. Ruth Tucker has written a book on the very subject: Guardians of the Great Commission about women in missions. (By the way, Dr. Tucker has also written From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions, which is well worth your time.)

Every mission board I know says most of its missionaries are women, yet I see less writing and teaching on the unique role and situation that women have faced in the mission endeavor.

Elizabeth Elliot Leitch wrote:

What is the place of women in world mission? Jesus said, "You [and the word means all of you, male and female] are my witnesses. You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world." And there have been countless thousands who, without reference to where they came from or what they knew or who they were, have believed that Jesus meant exactly what he said and have set themselves to follow.

Today strident female voices are raised, shrilly and ad nauseam, to remind us that women are equal with men. But such a question has never even arisen in connection with the history of Christian missions. In fact, for many years, far from being excluded, women constituted the majority of foreign missionaries.

She explains her own story later in the article:

When my husband was killed by Indians, I found myself in some indefinable positions. There wasn't one missionary man left in Ecuador who spoke the jungle Quichua language. There was no one to teach the young Quichua believers, no one to lead the church, no one but women to carry on where five missionary men had left off.

The door to the Auca tribe had slammed shut for those men and was, to our astonishment, opened to two women. It didn't look to me like a woman's job. But God's categories are not always ours. I had to shuffle my categories many times during my last eight years of missionary work. Since coming back to the States I've done it again. I've had a career of sorts, I've been a wife and housewife once more, and again I'm a widow.

But it is the same faithful Lord who calls me by name and never loses track of my goings and reminds me in a still, small voice, "Ye are my witnesses, that ye might know and believe me, and understand that I am he." (Is. 43:10). There is our primary responsibility: to know him. I can't be a witness unless I've seen something, unless I know what it is I am to testify to. And it is the Lord of the Universe who calls you - you women, you men - and offers you today a place in his program. Your education or lack of it, your tastes and prejudices and fears and status or ambitions, your age or sex or color or height or marital status or income bracket are all things which may be offered to God, after you have presented your bodies as a living sacrifice. And God knows exactly what to do with them. They are not obstacles if you hand them over.

She wrote and taught in areas of missions, challenging many others.

There are so many stories of great women missionaries. So, here is my question. Why are there so few evangelical, women missiologists? I am not saying there are none, but their are disproportionally few. (A missiologist is generally considered someone who has academic (Ph.D.?) training in missiology.)

For the term evangelical, I am using Larry Eskridge's definition:
* The need for personal conversion (or being "born again")
* Actively expressing and sharing the gospel
* A high regard for biblical authority, especially biblical inerrancy
* An emphasis on teachings that proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Part of the reason may be that many of us mission-minded evangelicals tend to be complementarian in regards to gender, but that view should not preclude women serving as missiologists.

I think we need to hear more from women missiologists and mission thinkers. I am making a point of trying to highlight women thinkers (among others) in my Thursday is for Thinkers. And, I personally have encouraged one of my team, Lizette Beard (a gifted thinker, former missionary, and researcher), to do her Ph.D. in missions. She was noticeably absent from work last week while she started the missiology program at SEBTS this week, building on her missions experience in Alaska and Africa and her Masters in Missions. You'll be hearing from Lizette on the blog soon.

So, here is my question again: why are there so few evangelical women missiologists (while most missionaries are women) and what is the best way to address that? I recognize my readership is broad and not all agree on gender issues, but I think we can still have a good discussion. If you are an egalitarian, you can blame complementarianism one time -- but then you have to suggest some other ideas. In other words, this is a discussion of missiology, not an argument about complementarian / egalitarian views-- that won't be solved here.

But, I do think there are some important voices and lessons that need to be shared and I'd like to think about how we can share them more clearly from hearing from men and women in missiology. Tell us some of the best women thinkers and missiologists you would recommend -- particularly evangelicals, even conservative evangelicals!

The floor is yours.

Last month I had the privilege of speaking at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. During my message, I mentioned a book by Jamie Munson Money: God or Gift as it fit into the theme of the text (stewardship). Money is always a timely subject for Americans to contemplate, but especially during the season of holiday consumption, credit card debt, storefront bell-ringers, year-end giving requests, and a recession thrown in to complicate things all the more. Just this week I pointed to some research that shows how churches are just now feeling the impact of the recession-- now that it's "over."

I asked Pastor Jamie a few questions about his book, which is available for just $5 on Amazon (print, Kindle, and discount ten-packs), and am glad to share the conversation with you.

Ed: You've described Money as Doctrine-meets-Dave Ramsey. Explain what this combination looks like.


Jamie Munson: There are many helpful books out there with some very practical advice about money. And there are many helpful books that explain money from a biblical worldview. But there aren't a lot of books that unite the practical with the theological, applying the gospel to personal finance.

This is a tremendous oversight. Discipleship tools rarely address stewardship, yet Jesus is clear: where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Luke 12:34). Jesus describes our money as a primary worship tool, but all too often we treat giving as optional, or at least less important than "spiritual" things like prayer, Bible reading, and service.

The church's neglect in this area has led to dismal giving across all traditions. Twenty percent of Christians give literally nothing at all, and the vast majority give very little (see Christian Smith's Passing the Plate). Makes you wonder what we're actually worshiping. Money is a god. Jesus even gave it a name (Matthew 6:24).

Let's talk about the other option that you reference in your subtitle: money as gift.

Sure. When it comes to something like money (or sex, or music, or technology), Christians have a tendency to reject it altogether, as if the thing itself were inherently evil. Money is not the problem. We are the problem. Sin is the problem, and we need Jesus. By his grace we are saved, and by his grace we've been given lives to live, people to love, and work to do. As a tool, money is a great gift to use for advancing the gospel, caring for those in need, and enjoying the life God has given.

The story behind the publication of this book is rather unique. Tell us how it came about.


We're going through the book of Luke right now as a church, and in chapter 12 Jesus teaches a lot about money and stewardship. I set out to write some basic curriculum for our small groups to dig into this particular passage, but the project grew quite quickly and we had a full-length book in a matter of weeks. We printed it ourselves in order to push it out as quickly as possible and keep costs low. While we were at it, we decided to put it up on Amazon in hopes that the content could help other churches. I'm not taking any royalties on this, so we're able to sell it for extremely cheap at $5 per copy.



Is the content specific to Mars Hill Church, or could other churches benefit from this book?

Most of what we create for Mars Hill we also try and push out for the benefit of the greater church, so this book was written with that broader audience in mind. The format is very simple, with concise chapters, straightforward discussion questions, and a few practical tools and charts. Our small groups went through the whole thing in three weeks, but it could easily be used for counseling, couples, or individual study. Even though we're past Luke 12 in our sermon series, we'll continue to hand the book out for free to our congregation because the content remains timely.


Can you tell whether or not the book has had an effect on the congregation so far?

I've talked with a number of people who were pretty honest about their resistance to the idea of a three-week mini-series about money. We're seeing God change hearts. This is the first year in memory that we're on target to make budget by the end of the year, and the number of givers was up 30 percent last month--which is especially encouraging because that means more people care about the mission and what God is doing through their church.

Today is payday for a lot of people around the country. Where should their money go?  

The important thing to remember before divvying up your paycheck is that it is a gift from God, and he will hold you accountable for how you use it. That doesn't mean you have to give all your money away, although I would encourage you to give to your church before you do anything else with it. Pray. Ask the Holy Spirit for the wisdom to steward God's resources well. And then give, save, spend, invest, and enjoy in a way that honors God. If you're not sure what that looks like, I would hope that my book could be of some help, but read Proverbs. Read Luke 12. Bring it up in your community group. Talk with your spouse. Let's not be afraid to discuss money. The heart of the church is at stake.

Find Jamie Munson on Twitter and Facebook. You can download a free chapter and read excerpts from Money: God or Gift at theResurgence.com.

Darrin Patrick is the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey in Saint Louis, Missouri which runs eight services across four campuses and continues to aggressively plant new campuses and churches in the Saint Louis region and beyond. Darrin also serves as Vice President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and is a regular contributor at the Resurgence. His new book, Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission, is now available. I was grateful that Darrin was able to answer a few questions for the blog.

What kind of man should plant a church?

A man who is a Christian, who has forsaken being his own Savior and King and has trusted Christ with his life. He is a man who has a calling from God to a specific place with a elder-qualified life to back it up. He should be determined to prevail and dependent on God as he plants. He should be a man who loves his family more than his church and is secure and smart enough to share leadership with a team who leads the mission.

Why do most churches stay small?

Largely because most pastors don't know how to build systems, structures, and processes that are not contingent upon them. Most pastors can care for people, but don't build systems of care. Most pastors can develop leaders individually, but lack the skill to implement a process of leadership development. When a pastor can't build systems and structures that support ministry, the only people who are cared for or empowered to lead are those who are "near" the pastor or those very close to the pastor. This limits the size of the church to the size of the pastor.

Has the gospel message been lost in the church?

I don't think it has been lost as much as it has been truncated. The gospel is referred in most messages in most evangelical churches, but it is not central. The gospel - news about the person and work of Christ for the sinner and saint - is not the central theme for most sermons nor is it the primary motivation for obeying most sermons. The gospel has been relegated to good news for the sinner only. The gospel for the saint, in many pulpits, has tragically become moral advice rather than God's good news.

How is contextualization not compromise?

Good contextualization is not bringing the gospel to people on their terms. That would be compromise. Biblical contextualization is bringing the gospel to people with their terms. That is why we take our language about the gospel and forms of church that declare the gospel and we adapt them to be understandable to the cultures in which we find ourselves.

What are the biggest challenges a church planter faces?

Himself. Period. Can you die to yourself so that God can do something through and in spite of you? Can you trust Jesus to build the church and not overwork so you won't destroy your health, marriage and family? Can you surround yourself with friends who challenge you and not just fans who like your vision? Are you able to train and empower godly elders who will serve as your equals and will more than once save you and the church from certain implosion?

Darrin will be checking in today and interacting some, so feel free to post questions and comments.

My friend Tullian Tchividjian is the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He blogs at The Gospel Coalition site here.

Tullian is named after Tertullian, who, oddly enough, was the topic of Sunday lunch conversation this week. Tullian is becoming more widely known, and for good reason. He is a solid thinker, strong communicator, and passionate for the gospel.

If you are coming by to discuss yesterday's blog on contextualization, you might appreciated Tullian's article on the subject or his message at Advance 10.

Also, this Sunday was a big day at their church as they merged their two services. Tullians writes about that here (it's worth your time to go and read it before reading our interview). I listened to his message on the subject last week, where he exhorted believers to be missional and not tribal.

His newest book, Surprised by Grace, is all about the story of Jonah, which means it's all about the grace of God and his gospel triumphing over idols. Some of you didn't see that coming, which is part of the reason why Tullian wrote the book. Our brother was kind enough to answer a few questions about the book and his ministry, and he will be on the blog today answering questions in the comments.

If you looked at the typical lineup at most Christian conferences, or read many Christian blogs, you'll notice one thing. The line-up is dominated by pastors. In one sense, that seems normal -- pastors' conferences tend to attract pastors and they hear from pastors.

I've written before about my concern over the issue of clergification (my comments here from my blog and an article in Your Church Magazine from Christianity Today), that increasingly the ministry is being owned by and solely done through credentialed pastors or ministers credentialed in some way. Yet, in the New Testament, we see pastors being valued, and the calling even described as noble (1 Timothy 3:1), but we also see faithful non-pastors mentioned in the text.

In some tantalizing ways, names of lay people are sprinkled throughout the Scripture and often are seen as having substantial influence in the New Testament church (e.g., Priscilla and Aquila, Lydia, Epahroditus, Lois and Eunice, and many others).

Take Priscilla and Aquila. We have no evidence of a pastoral role, yet they appear in multiple cities helping to plant churches and do ministry -- without any reference to preaching or pastoring. They even have a Wikipedia article. ;-)

A question that I am asking as an extension of my concern about clergification is: How can we find and affirm non-pastors who are engaged in Christian ministry? Can we affirm people who don't go to seminary and who are not on church payroll as valuable agents of Kingdom work?

I recently went to speak at the denominational meeting of The Foursquare Church. A friend of mine, Glenn Burris, was elected president of the denomination this year. One thing that Foursquare did in preparation for this election was to publish questionnaires that were completed by the two candidates (the other candidate was another friend Dennis Easter). One interesting portion of the questionnaire was, "Tell us action steps you believe Foursquare needs to take in the near future." Their answers were fresh and inspiring, and I think they could be said about most denominations right now. As I get ready to participate in the annual meeting for my own denomination, I am particularly sensitive to their wisdom. They offer fresh insight to the church in America.

In my last post, I quoted from the forthcoming book, Transformational Church, co-authored with Thom Rainer. Yesterday, Thom and I were discussing more writing and he told me he will be blogging regularly. I think it is about time. He is a good writer and an excellent thinker on leadership and ministry.

You can find his blog article here. But here are some helpful excerpts on leaders that lose touch and focus on themselves, based on the experience of the auto industry.

1. Leaders with hubris see others as inferior. The rest of the world does not get it. Others are just not as smart...
2. Leaders with hubris are slow to see deteriorating conditions in the organizations they lead...
3. Leaders with hubris are quick tempered...
4. Leaders with hubris expect to be served.

Read and heed, church and denominational leaders.

Over the weeks to come, I will be introducing you to the people who will be serving as framers for the Missional Manifesto that we will discuss as a part of the missionSHIFT conference on July 12-15 in Ridgecrest, NC.

First up is Eric Mason... better known as "Mase" to his friends.

He lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with his wife Yvette and two sons Immanuel and Nehemiah. He is also an adjunct professor at Biblical Theological Seminary. Dr. Mason received his Master of Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM 2000) and a Doctorate degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (DMin, May 2007).

Eric is the lead pastor and co-founder of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the church website, the mission of Epiphany Fellowship is simple: "We want to develop disciples."

The web site goes on to explain:

I'll be hosting a regular web show starting today. You can find it here.

Here is what I wrote last week:

My main agenda is simple: to help pastors and church leaders in a setting that includes questions and dialogue. If I had my way, I would personally coach and encourage every pastor or leader. But, since they actaully want me to lead a research team here at LifeWay, I am somewhat limited in my capacity. With this new show, I can talk through some common themes and interact with Christian leaders as we "provoke one another to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24).

The episodes will be archived and cataloged by themes and topics. Today I will focus on three things:
1. my article on research in Christianity Today
2. thoughts on the clergification and its dangers
3. my blog post from yesterday

Here is the news release with more information (and the link at the bottom).

Today, I have been praying for my friend Matt Chandler. We traded humorous texts last night and I was glad he was in good spirits. Today, I am praying for him and his family.

Matt wrote this on his blog:

My Heart is full...I am Thankful

The last seven days have been some of the most interesting of my life. I have felt anxiety, fear, sadness and a deep and unmovable joy simultaneously and in deeper ways than I have felt before. I am grateful for this heightened sense of things. Today at 10:45 a.m. CST I will have a good portion of my right frontal lobe removed. I head into that surgery with a heart that is filled with gratitude and hope.

Here are some of the things I am thankful for in no particular order:

1. I am thankful for the thousands of you who have prayed and fasted for my health. It has brought far more tears to Lauren's and my eyes to receive this kind of attention from the Church universal than this tumor has.

2. I'm thankful for health insurance because I'm guessing they aren't doing my five-hour surgery for free!

3. I am thankful that I have deep, real friendships at The Village with Michael Bleecker, Josh Patterson, Brian Miller, Chris Chavez and Beau Hughes. They have been such a comfort to me and my family this past week. Pastors should have good friends on their staff. It's risky but worth the risk.

4. I am grateful for the men of God in my life, namely John Piper who taught me to hold my life cheap and to join with Paul in saying "I don't count my life of any value or as precious to myself if only I might finish my course and complete the work that He gave me to do to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God. I'm nothing, I just have a job. God keep me faithful on the job and then let me drop and go to the reward." Without this strong view of God's sovereign will, I'm not sure how you don't despair in circumstances like mine.

5. I am thankful for my wife Lauren. "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 'Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.'" "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised."

6. I am thankful for my children. Audrey the Beautiful, Reid the Valiant and Norah the Joyous. Being a daddy to these three is one of the greatest joys of my life.

7. The privilege of seeing and appreciating all of life through the grid of a heightened sense of my own mortality.

8. I am thankful for brilliant doctors and surgeons who have been given a real gift by our great God and King to repair things as complex as the brain.

9. I am thankful for The Village Church. If there is a place that loves Jesus more, takes sanctification as seriously and wants to see the lost love the great King deeply I am unaware of it. These last seven years have been a spectacular joy!

10. More than anything else I am grateful to my King Eternal, my Lord Immortal, for my God invisible. He alone is God. All Glory and Honor, Forever to You O God. I am overwhelmed in these moments by God Himself and the assurance of a future inheritance of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken and where all things are made new (Hebrews 12).

Christ is All,
Matt Chandler

Please pray for Matt and his family.

I've shared a bit about my journey toward health here on the blog (here and here), mostly because many of you asked me to. Even since then I am frequently asked to post more on the subject. I've been slow to do this, but as I came across a recent study that showed a link between obesity and brain shrinkage, I thought I would jump in again.

Many of you already know that obesity (excess body fat that creates a significant health hazzard) is on the increase in our country. The Center for Disease Control explains,

As I mentioned and shared details on Saturday, I'm doing a conference tomorrow in Chicago. Whenever I come to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, I do a one-day seminar for pastors as part of my class.

In this case, I will be focusing on "missional leadership." I recently taught on the subject in Oklahoma. Here is the video:

Missional Leadership from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.

You can get more information about this training at the One Day web page.

Here is the outline that I used in the video and I will be using tomorrow:

Missional Leadership

1) Reconsideration of Leadership

a) From superman to everyone
b) From church to kingdom
c) From me to we
d) From personal power to people empowerment

2) Rejection of Clergification

a) From three tiers to one mission
b) From "called to the ministry" to "called to ministry"
c) From "called to missions" to "sent on mission"
d) From exceptional to ordinary
e) From "priests" to a "priesthood of believers"

3) Renewed focus on mission

a) From "full service" to "simple mission"
b) From "pay, pray, and get out of the way" to "join God on His mission"
c) From decisionism to disciple making
d) From "mission statement" to "Jesus mission"
Luke 4
Luke 19:10

4) Realignment of priorities

a) God is a missionary God
b) I personally join Him on mission - modeling
c) I lead others to join Him on mission - leadership
d) I equip others - multiplication

I hope that is helpful. Be sure to watch the video to get the context.

I am in Taiwan right now and will be blogging the trip all week. Other bloggers will also be weighing in over the next few days. See my last post for a list. (The guys at the Upstream Collective made a nifty little graphic that our "official commentators" will use a bit later, but you can see it at the top of this post.)

During the week, we will talk to local leaders, workers living here permanently helping local churches, and also some of those who came with me. You will meet leaders from different cultures, denomination, and ages.

For our first video, I talk with Pastor Chen. He pastors a traditional Baptist church and tells a bit about the context and ministry here.

Take a moment to listen and begin to hear about ancestor worship, the growth of the church on the mainland compared to the slower growth in Taiwan, and a bluegrass concert.

I will be posting more in the days to come, but enjoy:

Please feel free to comment below, but if you have friends working over here, be sure they would want their name mentioned before you do so.

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to visit Java Joe's / Matthew's Table in Lebanon, TN. (The church gathers for worship in a coffee shop they own and operate.)

Part of the design is that they are trying to create a "third place" community. From Wikipedia:

The third place is a term used in the concept of community building to refer to social surroundings separate from the two usual social environments of home and the workplace. In his influential book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg (1989, 1991) argues that third places are important for civil society, democracy, civic engagement, and establishing feelings of a sense of place.

Oldenburg calls one's "first place" the home and those that one lives with. The "second place" is the workplace -- where people may actually spend most of their time. Third places, then, are "anchors" of community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction. All societies already have informal meeting places; what is new in modern times is the intentionality of seeking them out as vital to current societal needs. Oldenburg suggests these hallmarks of a true "third place": free or inexpensive; food and drink, while not essential, are important; highly accessible: proximate for many (walking distance); involve regulars - those who habitually congregate there; welcoming and comfortable; both new friends and old should be found there.

They describe their church on their website.

Matthew's Table is a church stripped of its formality. At every Sunday gathering we prepare food and all eat freely. During the meal we engage in a simple liturgy that we call a Weekly Rhythm:

BLESSING - The word "blessing" means "to empower to strength." We seek God's blessing and pass that blessing on to others. As we gather we intentionally speak words of blessing and affirmation over each other.

EATING - Sharing food has always been central to a shared life of community. We want to place worship and communion back where it began: as a delight in the middle of the shared table. We eat and drink in remembrance of Christ - looking back to the cross and forward to his return.

LISTENING - We believe that God is capable of speaking to us. We do not confine him to any particular medium, but we try to be attentive to his voice, wherever and whenever it speaks. We provide a period for reflection, meditation and listening to the voice of God.

LEARNING - We desire to take on the image of God and to participate in his plan. We seek out knowledge about God to help us to do this. We gather around the Scriptures and learn together, discussing issues that confront our world.

SENDING - We are ambassadors who bear God's image in the world. We remind ourselves regularly that we are sent to participate in God's activity in both our local and global cultures.

I thought is might be helpful to share some of the setting with you. Instead of a church starting a coffee shop, this is a coffee shop with a church.

It looks like a regular coffee shop from the outside:

My friend Michal Carperter looks like your average emerging church pastor (grin):

But, when you look up close you can see the church info:

The signs around the church speak to what happens on the weekend:

The place has an open feel that invites fellowship and community:

During church, the kids go in the back:

There are few places where you will find Rolling Stone and Christianity Today on the same table:

Michael is planning to open more coffee shops and, with them, more churches. As they grow, they plan to multiply, and not enlarge-- creating more spaces for coffee, community, and churches.

Since church planters are often entrepreneurs, this is a way to create business-as-mission opportunities.

This seems to me to be a reproducible model that creates new way to plan churches and do mission in many different settings.

What do you think?

This past weekend, I spoke at Freedom Church in Gallatin, TN. As I like to do, I thought I would give a rundown of the service and share some of my observations.

First, a little about the church. The church was planted by Terrell Sommerville about seven years ago. Although it has a "non-denominational feel," the church is pretty upfront about their affiliation. They are part of a group called "The General Baptist Association of General Baptist Churches." In other words, they like the "general" nature of the atonement so much it is in their name twice! So, they are Arminian Baptists, a sister fellowship to groups like Free Will Baptists. (If you are interested, I have written about them on the blog last year.)

I met Terrell when I was preaching for their denominational annual meeting-- which I will do again this summer. Terrell is president for the GBAGBC.

Anyway, on to my observations.

One of the things I immediately noticed about the church was its focus on the unchurched. Though no one used the term, I think it would be fair to say that this was a seeker-focused church. And, the congregation was passionate about reaching people far from God.

Over 500 people attend the church each week in three services-- one Saturday night and two on Sunday morning. (Their goal is to have over 800 people attend this weekend-- with the majority of guests being unchurched people.)

I first attended the volunteer meeting before the Sunday night service. Lance Johnson led the meeting and exhorted everyone to serve with excellence and welcome newcomers. And, my favorite line was at the end when he said, "Alright, let's man our 'battle stations.'" And, they did.

There were volunteers everywhere and they were focused on connecting people to Christ and his church.

When you drive in, they are there. And, there is a "volunteer parking" section away from the main building so that the close-up parking is for new guests.

People are serving coffee and greeting one another in a small foyer-- 5 people shake your hands before you get very far:

And you can't go far without seeing their core values:

Volunteers are registering and serving children:

And, one of my personal favorite "little things" is that they use "movie theater" style ropes to block off the back rows. The back 5 rows were blocked off and then "first impressions director" (the guy in the picture) moves back the ropes on row at a time so that people fill in the front first. If you ask him why, he explains, "because guests come in late" and they don't want to embarrass them by having them walk to the front.

They are in a series right now called "Groovy," about "getting into the groove." Since I am about as cool as a 42-year-old with braces, I did not groove much, but instead preached my "Compelled by Love" message to help support their "Bring a Friend" weekend.

You can spot the "groovy" on the top of the stage:

I left reminded that there are some churches that really care about the unchurched. This is one of them.

Some of these churches are raw and gritty. Several people at Freedom told me how they just came to Christ. And, one man gave his testimony-- live. He had just become a Christ-follower and he got up and explained that this church was just edgy enough that he wanted to see more. He came to Sunday morning and then trusted Christ.

Here is a video from Terrell inviting folks to church.

One final (and long) thought. Freedom Church reminded me of a poem by Sam Shoemaker called, "I Stand by the Door." Freedom Church, and other churches like it, are passionate to reach the unchurched and "stand by the door."

You (and I) might not do everything like Freedom Church, but I think every church can learn much from their passion to reach those far from God and to plan so much of what they do to reach people in need of the gospel.

As Sam Shoemaker said, they stand by the door:

I stand by the door.

I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world-
It is the door through which people walk when they find God.
There's no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind people,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it ...
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for people to find that door--the door to God.
The most important thing any person can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands,
And put it on the latch--the latch that only clicks
And opens to the person's own touch.
People die outside that door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter--
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live, on the other side of it--live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him ...
So I stand by the door.

Go in, great saints, go all the way in--
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics--
It is a vast roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms.
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther;
But my place seems closer to the opening ...
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them
For God is so very great, and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia,
And want to get out. "Let me out!" they cry,
And the people way inside only terrify, them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled
For the old life, they have seen too much:
Once taste God, and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving--preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door,
But would like to run away. So for them, too,
I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not, yet even found the door,
Or the people who want to run away again from God,
You can go in too deeply, and stay in too long,
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him, and know He is there,
But not so far from people as not to hear them,
And remember they are there, too.
Where? Outside the door--
Thousands of them, millions of them.
But--more important for me--
One of them, two of them, ten of them,
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
"I had rather be a door-keeper ..."
So I stand by the door.

Steve Addison is the Director of Church Resource Ministries (CRM) Australia, and the author of a new book, Movements That Change The World. Steve is called to encourage church planting movements around the world and is therefore a student of the history of movements that spread the gospel. His new book is a look at that history.

I asked Steve a few questions for the blog. It's short and packed with content - sort of like the Gospel of Mark, just without the divine inspiration. :) Steve is in Australia, so with the time difference he wont be able to check out your comments and questions until around 6pm. But he will make it to the blog to interact. So hit him up now and he'll respond later this evening.

Why did you write Movements that Change the World?

A number of reasons. As a church planter I remember hearing Peter Wagner say, "Starting new churches is the most effective form of evangelism under the sun." I thought if that's true, then starting church planting movements could be even more effective.

I dived in to some church history and discovered that God was continually raising up movements for the renewal and expansion of the Christian faith. I learned that those movements are always on the fringes.

I began looking at Jesus as the founder of a missionary/missional movement that now spans the globe. I read Acts and Paul that way, and the lights came on.

You've identified the characteristics of dynamic movements. Tell us about them.

The five characteristics are: white-hot faith, commitment to a cause, contagious relationships, rapid mobilization and adaptive methods.

White-hot faith is the engine room of a dynamic movement. The apostle Paul was not converted by clever arguments but through a powerful encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road. We would not have had the Reformation without Martin Luther's struggle with the question of, "How can a holy God forgive a sinner like me?"

The secret of Jesus' life and ministry was his relationship of loving obedience to the Father and dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit. He drew his disciples into the same relationship and sent them out with no other resources.

A white-hot faith provides the motivation, energy and legitimacy to go change the world.

Next is commitment to a cause. For good or for evil, history is made by people committed to a common purpose. Nothing changes unless people care deeply and are willing take action. Jesus had high expectations of his followers. So high, that some of them walked away.

John Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement. On one occasion he visited Bristol. When he arrived there were 900 people in the local Society. When he left 143 of them had been removed for various reasons: among them wife-beating, smuggling, and drunkenness. Wesley led a disciplined movement that changed the world.

The third characteristic of movements is contagious relationships. We are all just six handshakes away from everyone on the planet. Ideas, like viruses, spread from person to person and from group to group. In the age of the internet, contagious relationships are still the most important form of communication.

The most responsive people to the gospel are those who have recently seen someone in their world come to faith.

Whenever we see the Christian faith expanding exponentially, it's traveling across networks of preexisting relationships. We tend to focus on building quality relationships with a few. Jesus focused on connecting broadly and then through one responsive person, reaching households and villages. That's how we see the gospel spreading in Acts.

The fourth characteristic is rapid mobilization. Movements don't abolish the clergy, they just ordain everyone for ministry. What did Jesus do? He went after ordinary people and trained them on-the-job. His lecture on the nature of faith was conducted on a sinking boat in the midst of a storm. There was theological content integrated with life and ministry. Jesus grew leaders and released them to go and change the world.

You don't get dramatic expansion of a movement if everyone is a paid professional. If anyone is paid, they are paid to pioneer new fields and mobilize others. Whether they are in New York or New Delhi, that's what missionaries do.

The last characteristic is adaptive methods. The best illustration of an adaptive method I can think of is the game of soccer. Soccer is the world's game played by hundreds of millions and watched by billions. Why? I think it's because you can drop a ball at the feet of a three year old and she can start playing. It may take a lifetime of practice to master the game, but only an instant to begin enjoying it. Try doing that with American or Australian football.

Adaptive methods are simple, flexible and transferable. That's one reason why Jesus taught by telling stories. A good story, like the prodigal son, can be told by anyone to anyone, even across the boundaries of culture and time.

Movements are unchanging when it comes to their core message and beliefs. At the same time they are willing to change everything else to get that message out and get the job done. Unfortunately we have churches that are unwilling to change their methods, but quite happy to change the heart of the gospel. They have the worst of both worlds and the fruit is clear to see.

Where are the current examples of dynamic movements today?

The exciting news is they are mostly in the developing world--Africa, Asia, Latin America. These are also the regions of greatest population growth. Today, over 90% of new Christians will come from these regions. Expect that trend to continue.

In the US I've been encouraged by leaders such as Neil Cole, Bob Roberts, Ralph Moore, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Jimmy Seibert who emphasize multiplication of disciples, workers and churches rather than just growth. A growing band of leaders are seeing the church as a movement.

The whole missional/emerging discussion has helped unfreeze us all in our understanding of church. If that is combined with a commitment to the Gospel and a passion to multiply disciples it could be quite fruitful.

What are some contemporary examples of adaptive methods?

I think the Alpha program is a good example. The strategies that David Garrison and others have developed to fuel church planting movements around the world is another clear example.

Who do you want to reach with the message of this book?

As I wrote I thought of a number of actual people. A couple leading a home group who have led eighteen people to Christ in the last year, and are wondering if this is the beginning of a new church. I thought of the leader of a large church in Kenya that is growing leaders who plant churches in the suburbs and the slums. I thought of a young woman in China who has come to faith, and is now reaching her friends with the gospel. I thought of a church leader in New York with a vision to reach the cities of the world.

What difference do you hope the book will make?

I want people to discover Jesus as the leader of a movement that changes the world.

Ralph Moore newest book, How to Multiply Your Church, comes out tomorrow. But, amazingly, as if it were in a time warp, it is on Amazon today. So, go buy it.

Ralph and I became friends during my consulting relationship with the Foursquare Church. As I have had the privilege to train Fourquare pastors and leadership, we had several opportunities to sit and talk about the remarkable church planting work they have facilitated in Hawaii and globally.

I had read (and used in as a textbook), his earlier book, Starting a New Church, so I was happy to write the foreword to the new book and have reproduced it here. (I am hoping that this will put me in good favor for that preaching invitation in Hawaii-- a place that I have, sadly, never been!)

Multiplication changes things.

In the cultural phenomenon called Star Trek, David Gerrold wrote one of the classic episodes: "The Trouble with Tribbles." On that voyage of the starship Enterprise, the crew encountered some lovable little fuzzballs called Tribbles. At first, the crew fell in love with these cute little creatures. That is, until overwhelmed the vessel through rapid multiplication. Tribbles multiplied faster than rabbits. Multiplication changes things.

Ralph Moore points out clearly and poignantly that the North American church needs some church planting "trouble with tribbles." We need to "fall in love" with multiplication and abandon our addiction to addition. He brings us out of the darkness of church-as-usual, addition thinking, into the light of a new reproductive paradigm. Churches in North America desperately need Moore's message and practical experience.. Hopefully, this work will help spark the kind of movement we so desperately need.

Ralph's book is rich in historical insight, filled with biblical acumen, and applicable to the current realities of church planting. His discussion of fourth generation disciple making, saturation church planting, benefits of multiplying, and New Testament models are
invaluable. His book is practical, challenging, and insightful. Leaders who hunger for reaching another level of ministry impact will want to read and apply the principles found in How to Multiply Your Church.

He observes that because we count individual converts we have a hard advancing from an addition mentality. Think about it this way. When children learn their ABC's and how to count, it's exciting for parents. Then children learn how to combine letters to make words and learn how to add and subtract numbers--that can be a frustrating time for children and parents. Both can wonder if all the sounding out words and counting is really going to lead anywhere. Maybe that's why so many churches and pastors never move on to multiplication--it's difficult. Multiplication is even more difficult to do once it is
embraced. And it's hard to figure out how to do it. Simple addition is easier.

But, most people don't stop with learning their ABC's and learning to add and subtract. Somewhere in the middle of sounding out words and counting, something happens. Words explode into phrases, sentences, paragraphs, books, and writing. Numbers explode into the world of multiplication and division. When that happens, a new world begins to take shape for children and parents.

For too long, the Church in North America has been stuck in the comfortable ABC and simple counting phase of church. We do not have to stay there. Don't get me wrong; I am not against practicing the ABC and counting things (basic spiritual disciplines and measuring who we reach). But, God wants us to build on that foundation and let Him take
things to a new world--a world where disciples and churches are multiplying. That new world, as Ralph Moore points out, will require changing the way we think about and do church. An attitude of increase will be required.

So, what will this new world of multiplication look like? What will it take to change worlds from addition to multiplication, then from multiplication to rapid multiplication or movement? First, we must get ourselves, our egos, and our puny ideas out of the way. Second, we must ask God to increase in our lives and our churches. We need to ask
God for . . .

1. Bigger Faith--When is the last time you asked God to do something in your life or the life of your church that makes His name and fame great. That's what the disciples asked of Jesus, "Increase our faith!" (Luke 17:5). For some, just thinking about reproduction and
multiplication is like asking them to think about giving extreme skiing or bungee jumping a try. Much less actually doing anything about it. We need to ask for bigger faith. The new question is, "What does God want?"

2. Greater Focus on Jesus--John the Baptizer said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30). Think about it, John had a pretty good thing going. I mean, aside from a weird diet and slightly unfashionable dress. He had all these people coming to him, he had his own followers, and he got to put the smack down on the religious leaders. What a gig! But, once Jesus arrived on the scene, John pointed people solely in Jesus' direction. John even encouraged those following him to follow Jesus. John and John's kingdom was no longer the issue.. Jesus and Jesus' Kingdom was the issue. The new question is, "Who is this all about?"

3. Fresh Boldness in Sharing His Word-- throughout the book of Acts it happened. In fact, at one point, Luke reported, "But the word of God continued to increase and spread" (Acts 12:24). When Paul was in prison, he asked the church at Ephesus to pray that he would share the God's message with boldness. The word of God is increasing and spreading in other parts of the world right now. The new question is, "Why not in North America, again?"

4. Overflowing and Expanding Love--Multiplying disciples and churches requires a special kind of love for Jesus, His Church, and the lost peoples around the world. Paul prayed that the church at Thessalonica would direct God's love to those in their world. I like the way The Message words it, "And may the Master pour on the love so it fills your lives and splashes over on everyone around you, just as it does from us to you. May you be infused with strength and purity, filled with confidence in the presence of God our Father when our Master Jesus arrives with all his followers" (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13). The new question is, "How are you praying?"

In its recent history, the CGM (Church Growth Movement) in North America has been more about a GMCM (Grow My Church Movement). What Ralph describes so well is that we need a DMCM (Disciples Multiplying Churches Movement). If God would graciously give us a fresh outpouring of those four things described above, we might see that kind of
multiplicative movement. Ralph Moore has challenged us to think about it and seek it. He has called those who are willing to "step out in faith" and do it.

If you believe that God is nudging you to respond to that call, this is my prayer for you, "May the LORD make you increase, both you and your children" (Psalm 115:14).

May WE change so multiplication can change even more things for God's glory in the world.

Get the book-- it is worth the read.

John Avant is not just a friend of mine (which is almost enough of an introduction), but he is also the Senior Pastor at First West, and author of Authentic Power and The Passion Promise. His new book, If God Were Real: A Journey Into A Faith That Matters, asks what it might look like if we lived as if our God was actually, you know - real! In pointing out some of the ways we disconnect for the God who is truly there he encourages believers to live life on mission with God. I had the chance to ask John a few questions relating to the book. He's hanging around on the blog today to interact with all of us here. So be sure to jump into the comments and hit John up with your questions.

What does the title "If God Were Real" mean and what inspired the title?

I have become increasingly concerned over the last several years that most Christians and most churches have actually stopped believing in God! Think about the audacious things we say we believe: God becoming a baby, the Creator's rebellious creation creates an instrument of death on which the Creator dies and yet won't stay dead. The gospel is revolutionary! So why do we live such timid, unchanged lives? Seems to me we may be practical atheists. I wanted to explore with the readers what it might be like if we actually lived like we believe what we say we do.

I also wrote this in the hopes that atheists and seekers, some of whom are friends, would take a look at God from a different perspective and without the "battle mode" Christians and atheists are normally in. After all if atheists don't believe in God and we live like we don't, we may have more in common than we thought!

You say that you have given up on Christianity and so should everyone else. What do you mean by that?

The word "Christian" is a good word - a biblical word. When you add "ity" to it you get something I don't see in the New Testament. I think this has become our problem. In the first century there was a Jesus Movement that changed the world. In the western world today there are lots of Jesus monuments that don't change much of anything.

I am not giving up on the church. I don't think we have actually tried being the church very often yet! I am sure not giving up on the Scriptures. I believe them to be the very Word of God. So some have asked what does it practically mean then to give up on Christianity. 3 things for me: I have given up on the Christianity that has become defined by institutions, opposition, and isolation. I have given up on any institution that is not visibly a part of a Jesus movement. I have given up on the thought that if we just oppose enough evil people, we will usher in the kingdom. I have given up on the isolation that has resulted in most churches becoming religious clubs for its members, divorcing us from the very mission in the world to which Jesus called us.

You talk a lot about "transformation." What should that look like in the Church and what does it look like in yours?

As evangelicals when we read the Bible we get very excited about the Philippian jailer getting saved. But we forget that Philippi itself was transformed! Think of how much of the New Testament is about what God was doing in the cities of their day. I am as committed as ever to the salvation of every soul. But it bothers me that even in the case of many of our largest churches, there is not a lot of evidence that the community around them is being transformed.

I have only been at my church, First West in West Monroe, La for a few years but I believe we are going to be a lab for what it would look like if the churches of a community lived together like God is real. We already have over 100 churches committed to the same vision: "to see the spiritual, cultural and physical transformation of our community so visible it can't be missed." We are working together with city leaders, business leaders, education leaders, and churches to bring the transformative power of the Gospel into the real issues of our community. I could write forever about this. We are committed together to break down barriers that have divided us and see with our eyes what a city can become. We are changing the metrics of the way we measure success as a church to reflect this vision. If we have more butts in the seats but more drugs on the streets we have failed.

You are known for being a part of a collegiate revival movement in the 90s. What would revival look like today?

I don't know. I think one of the mistakes of many of those who love and pray for revival has been to expect God to do what He has done before. He is a Creator, thus unlikely to repeat Himself. The Great Awakenings brought so much change that many traditional Christians rejected them. If we want revival we better begin to pray for God to change everything. Normally we just want Him to change things back to the way we were most comfortable with. I do believe that revival always requires a movement of prayer. At our church we have determined to meet and pray like we believe in God. We call our prayer service "Destiny." I told our people that we were going to ask God to do more than we could imagine and if he didn't we could all become atheists and play a lot more golf! That may sound presumptuous but since God told us in Ephesians 3:20 that He would do that, we have decided to believe Him! And we are seeing Him do things we have never dreamed of! I long to see the next Great Awakening. What happened in Brownwood, Texas in 1995and 1996 changed me forever - and continues to bear fruit all over the world.

My guess would be that if God moves powerfully in our day it will be in the marketplace and schools, likely among young people and young adults, and very possibly apart from most of our established churches.

You address both believers and unbelievers in this book. So what impact do you hope the book has on believers and unbelievers?

I hope unbelievers would hear me as a friend, or at least a potential friend, and consider if they have rejected the wrong God - the God of hatred, anger, isolation and institutionalism that they think we want them to believe in. I am an atheist too when it comes to that God!

I hope believers will revolt against what we have made of Christianity and move together into the awesome, passionate, scary-but-worth-it journey of living like God is real. That's my hope!

Hit John with your questions in the comments. And don't bother with those softball questions. :)

Many of my readers already know who Geoff Surratt is. He's the Pastor of Ministries at Seacoast Church (a growing multi-site church), an author, a blogger, he's on Facebook and yep - he's on Twitter too. This guy is everywhere! His new book, Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing: How Leaders Can Overcome Costly Mistakes, came out last May and is a helpful word to those seeking to lead the church to be effective in reaching the unchurched.

I had a chance to ask Geoff a few questions about the book. He'll be around on the blog today to answer any follow up questions you may have.