Change, or Die!!!

When I came across this quote, it hit me like a ton of bricks, especially as it relates to the church.

"When the rate of change inside an organization is slower than the rate of change outside an organization, the end [of that organization] is in sight." ~ Jack Welch, former CEO of GE

Most sociologists tell us that we are in the midst of a rapid cultural shift. I agree, I can no longer find cassette tapes for my aging 1992 Previa! I gave away 300 vinyl albums when I moved to N. Idaho (wish I had them back now). I couldn't get them to play in my svelte CD player. Seriously, we're at a key inflection point not unlike what has occurred at other pivotal points in world history.

One example is what happened when the printing press was invented in 1439. Gutenberg's printing technology spread rapidly throughout Europe and is considered a key factor for ushering in the European Renaissance. The Gutenberg Bible was first printed in 1455. Soon the masses had access to Scripture. And, eventually comic books in 1935. (Every positive move in technology has a concomitant negative move, I believe.) This tectonic shift has been labeled the Gutenberg Revolution. The impact on the church was massive. The Catholic Church, corrupt at every level, yet powerful, could not contain the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation. That movement radically reshaped the church. In addition to prophetic leaders such as Luther, Calvin, Zwingli and Melancthon, the Reformation was greatly advanced through the dissemination of printed materials.

Likewise, the computer, the Internet, cable optics, cell phones and a host of new advances in communication are playing a huge role in the changes that are swirling around us. Add in the effects of post-modernity, multiculturalism, international free trade, and the fall of communism, and there is no doubt that we are moving through a "worm hole", as some have called it. What awaits us on the other side of all of this remains to be seen. One thing is certain, the world we experienced in 1950 and 1960 is not returning anytime soon. Sorry, Elvis fans. We are in the midst of a giant change, and the pace is quickening.

In the face of all this change, many churches are hunkered down, perpetuating ministry patterns designed in the 1950s and 1960s. The question I would ask is, "How is that working for you?" Actually, there is a better question, "Are you still as effective at reaching the lost and making disciples as you were three or four decades ago?" Most likely not.

Throughout the ages and in various cultures when the church has experienced renewal and growth, one major factor has been the adoption of new methods. The church adapted in order to effectively reach its target group with the Good News. Here again examples abound. Consider the various innovations of John Wesley, D. L. Moody, William and Catherine Booth, Hudson Taylor, Billy Graham, and Bill Hybels. Each had a passion for reaching the lost. Each created new methods, relevent to the culture, to convey the Gospel in more effective ways. The result? Millions of people have been saved from a hellish eternity by coming to know the Savior of the world.

The ramifications for the church are huge. If an individual church intends to do its part in helping to depopulate hell, it must be willing to adapt, continuously. The search for fresh wine skins is never called off. Change in the church's methods and ministry forms must be continuous. In certain periods the pace of change must quicken as the changes in culture accelerate. This is such a time.

I know that resistance to change is endemic to our species, especially as we age. (I still prefer Tom Brokaw to Brian Williams on the evening news....sorry, Brian.) And this is exacerbated by the penchant to transform the church into the last refuge of constancy in the middle of the surrounding cultural storm. Longing for a safe haven we can turn the church into a religious museum. How? Insure that everything about the church stays the same, from the furniture to the carpet, to the music and the programs, and, vigorously resist anyone who tries to change it. The result will be slow death. I guarantee it. It may not come this year, or the next, depending on the size of the endowment fund, but it will come.

But, is this the way of Jesus? I think not. He ushered in radical change. In everything! He turned the Jewish religious establishment upside down. Worship would no longer be confined to a physical temple. The priesthood would no longer be for a privileged few, but for every man, woman, boy or girl who became a Christ follower. He broke down the dividing wall between the religious insiders and the secular outsiders (see Ephesians 2:11-19). He is a wild man for change, especially when it results in transformed people--old creations into new creations--that sort of thing.

Jesus taught with a warning in his voice, "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins...No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved" (Matt 9: 17). In this new age of the Holy Spirit, whatever structures and methods the church employs to pursue its God given mission, one ingredient must be constant, pliability, or the new wine will burst through. The old wineskin will be ripped apart, destroyed.

I know this is a great challenge for real churches in real places. But, God is able to calm our fears, take us by the hand, and lead us into exciting new days of ministry, while helping us make the changes that are needed to make it happen. So, I encourage you, embrace change. Or, prepare to die. To vigorously resist change, I believe, is to abandon our God-given mission. Rather, we must embrace the mission, and discover creative ways to carry it forward. Let us emulate Paul who wrote that he was willing, "to become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Cor 9:22)

For more great reading about change I recommend the following:
Who Stole My Church? by Gordon MacDonald
The Present-Future by Reggie McNeall
Leadership Next and ChurchNext by Eddie Gibbs
Deep Change by Robert Quinn
The Shaping of Things to Come by Michael Frost & Alan Hirsch
Change or Die by Alan Deuschman

Jesus @ the Center

This morning I continued reading in the LLC book for March, The Relational Way by Scott Boren. Often I read chapters out of order. I will read the last chapters to get to the bottom line, and then later go back and read the rest. Today I was doing just that, reading Chapter 2, "Gathering Around the Presence."

Boren makes the point that we often subcumb to the temptation to organize small groups around a particular good thing, and then we expect them to thrive. In doing so we miss the true dynamo that creates Christian community. Jesus Christ is that power. Groups need to be centered first in Jesus Christ. The things that eclipse Christ's centrality can be "excellent curriculum", "dynamic group leaders", "the perfect small group organization system", and "the right group model." (He explains each of these in the chapter.)

As I thought about it, we can get tripped up by this temptation at any level within the church. We can "organize" our hopes for church transformation around great worship, attractive programs, charismatic personalities, tasty lattes, and the latest church growth techniques. We can become disillusioned and even embittered when none of these produce the results we were expecting, e.g., stopping decline, inreasing attendance, attracting young families, improving the finances, etc.

Consider the corrective to this expectation in the following quote from Boren. I've replaced the word "group" with "church." See if this doesn't have great implications for us:

"The job of the church leader is to take people to Jesus and to take Jesus to people. Jesus is the authority and only his keys matter. At the same time, Jesus provides practical ways to improve the church. He uses books and seminars to highlight activities and tools that work. However, these things are not the starting point. Jesus is. The books or seminars on church leadership describe the keys, but they do not provide them. A leader can only get these keys directly from Jesus. The keys are based upon the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus is the one who brings life to a congregation. He is the one who causes people to share honestly. He is the one who touches lives and changes people. He is the one who moves through the body to reach out to the unchurched. He is the one who raises up leaders who begin new ministries and new churches. Jesus is the key." (pp, 60-61)

Increasingly I am convinced that church vitality and effective disciple-making, will never happen until we experience a deep renewal in our love and devotion to Jesus Christ. He is the Center. Of creation. Of life. Of salvation. Of discipleship. And, of the Church. Apart from His life-giving vitality and presence, all of our efforts, even the good ones, are only so much hollow strivings. In His presence there is life, hope, joy, energy, direction, creative ministry initiatives, and dare I say it, FUN! (Read Boren's chapter and you will see why I put that last one in....)

One last quote to close this out: "If Jesus is the head of the church (Col 1:18), then the church is only the church of Jesus Christ when it is living in vitality with the head." (p, 47) Amen, and amen!

(If you would like to know what the Leadership Learning Communities are reading check out the book list at http://abcnw.org/pastors/llc-reading-lists/.)

One Church, Multiple Congregations

Last Sunday I visited Spokane Valley Baptist Church where Dr. Norm Haupt is the pastor. I was pleased that they showed a video clip from the America for Christ promotional DVD (I've embedded it at the end of this post.) This clip showed Stan Crews and the revitalization taking place at Monte Vista Baptist Church in Phoenix, AZ. Over the years the congregation has experienced dramatic aging and decline. However, it has recently been renewing its vision for outreach. They jump started their outward focus by opening their facility to other churches that needed meeting space. (One is Hispanic and the other is Karen.) And more than providing space, they partner with these congregations in ministry so that together they are reaching their community for Christ. The presence of these two congregations holds the potential to help the "mother church" start a new life cycle of renewed vision, outreach and growth.

There are several churches in the ABCNW that are hosting a congregation within their facilities. Some are congregations that have their own identity, a church within a church, if you will. Some of these are "fellowships" comprised of a particular ethnic group.

For example, under the first category there is the new Communidad de Esperanza meeting at FBC Bremerton; the new Everett Community Church meeting at FBC Everett; El Camino meeting at Southside UP Church; Tabernaculo Biblico Bautista de Utah at FBC Ogden; Primera Iglesia Bautista Hispana at FBC Buehl; and Beautiful Baptist Church, a Korean congregation, meeting at The Bridge in Snohomish, WA. Blessed Life Church in Bellevue, WA was planted by Seattle Chinese Baptist Church, and originally met in the facilities of the Newport Hills Community Church.

Under the second category there is a new Mongolian fellowship meeting at Newport Hills Community Church. At this point their intention is to be a fellowship group within the congregation, not a separate church. Also, there is the Karen fellowship which is a part of FBC Boise (more about both of these exciting developments in another blog).

There is a third category that is emerging, which I believe to be the wave of the future. And that is the intentionally, multi-ethnic congregation. This is one church composed of multiple ethnic fellowships or sub-congregations. But there is one board, one budget, one staff team, and one church. This is the direction that FBC Yakima and La Verdad are taking. It's been a long and challenging journey, but as of last Sunday the two previous congregations officially affirmed the transition into one, multi-ethnic church. Congratulations to pastors Dave Roberts and Manuel Luquin and the people of both congregations in this historic transition!

In fact I am so excited about this last model that we selected our 2010 ABCNW Biennial speaker in part for his commitment to multi-ethnicity. Efrem Smith, pastor of the Sanctuary Covenant Church in Minneapolis, MN, will be our speaker. What a dynamic guy! His church was planted in 2003 with the intention of being multi-ethnic from the ground level. This is now a thriving congregation of a 1,000 people in worship attendance. We have much to learn from churches like his. (For more info and sermons go to http://www.sanctuarycovenant.org/)

I believe that sponsoring a new church plant, or embracing an emerging ethnic Christian fellowship, within an existing church's facility is one way to be a church that is truly mission-focused. Indeed, the world has moved to our front door steps, and the possibilities for engaging in mission in our own communities are endless.