Learning Experiences, Part 3

Change.

It is inevitable. Over the course of a lifetime, we see more of it than we could possibly imagine. Some we readily accept, while some we reject, or are at least suspicious of it.

When it happens in the church, it gets closely examined, sifted, turned, examined again, questioned and frequently resisted and rejected because we often equate changes in methods with doctrine and theology, and it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to pull the two things apart. Personal preference also makes it difficult. Change happens all around us, usually outside of our control but in the church, especially a congregational church where every member has a voice, one person can make a difference.

It is certainly not a bad thing to question change as it applies to the ministry of the local church. What we believe comes from the scripture, and we do not have the authority to change it to make it suit our own lives, though many, many people in the church do exactly that. But the way we do our work, the methods we employ related to evangelism, discipleship and missions, most definitely do change, in order to be relevant so that the message we preach and teach can be understood and accepted by people who come under the Spirit's conviction. Churches which do not change their methods in order to reach people with the gospel are churches which do not survive, or have a future. And I've heard some Christians express the thought that they would prefer to see their church die, rather than see it change, not a thought that I believe can be supported by scripture.

So, a couple of weeks ago, while in Chicago, I attended a Blue Sky conference at Willow Creek Church related to change; why it needs to happen, how it happens, and how the church can deal with it. It was the second time I've attended a conference utilizing Christian principles combining an audience of both church and business leaders, and that makes for an interesting presentation. It also helps make the presentation crystal clear with very pertinent examples.

In the church, when it comes to methods, there is a unique dynamic at work. Doctrine and theology do not change, and the text that provides the basis for these beliefs is anywhere from two thousand to thirty-five hundred years old. In addition to that, most Christians believe the church is headed by Jesus, who works through the Holy Spirit to provide leadership. So a church, seeking to do God's will and carry out its assigned purpose, must seek the face of God first before doing anything. The whole process changes from "what I'd like to see happen," or "what I would like to do," to a question, "Is this what God wants us to do?" And who decides that?

The bottom line is that churches which have a sense of the leadership and movement of the Holy Spirit are the ones which transition necessary change with success. Principles of human origin, and thinking which travel along the lines of pop culture and the "latest ideas" generally meet with limited success in the church, and fade quickly, in terms of providing spiritual growth and progress in discipleship. They may draw a crowd for a while, as many fads do, but without substance they cannot be measured as success in Biblical terms. It's a fine line, but a critical one, in determining the difference between a church which "attracts" people through its own effort, or one to which people are attracted because the Holy Spirit is at work.

I hope we are the latter.

Learning Experiences, Part 2

Diversity.

Walk down any street in an inner city neighborhood, and you will experience a quick definition of this word by simply observing the people you encounter. It is especially true in a place like Chicago, where you can cross through three or four different ethnic neighborhoods in the space of a dozen blocks. But it is also true of Houston, where the boundaries of traditionally ethnic neighborhoods have blurred with the city's growth, and where, as a result of the lengthening of commuter time coming in on the freeways from the suburbs, people are redeveloping and moving back into the inner city, in neighborhoods like ours.

The inner city has become, in American Christian culture, a place where the majority of the population is unchurched. There are several theories as to why this is the case, including lifestyle differences created by either extreme poverty, extreme prosperity or by a lower percentage of "traditional" families who live in such areas. In older suburbs, where the population has aged and the children have grown up, graduated from school and moved away, churches have declined and aged. The challenge for churches in outreach is surviving, re-adjusting and re-tooling in order to orient their outreach and ministry to address changes in ethnic, economic and social demographics of community population. Many churches aren't able to do this, and do not survive, which further complicates the problem by making fewer churches available to the existing population.

There are some churches which have been able to successfully transition the demographic changes of the inner city, and not only survive, but become thriving Biblical communities of people committed to Christ and seeing disciples made. They have a few things in common:

1. They have enthusiastically embraced the challenge of mission and ministry in the environment in which they exist, and see themselves as being called to that particular place and time by God, so they are inclined to depend on the Holy Spirit for everything.

2. They realize that, while the methods they will employ in evangelism, outreach and ministry will look different than they did when the focus was different, the message of the gospel remains unchanging.

3. They have discovered that by being generous and sharing their resources, God pours out blessings on them. They have discovered that sharing their resources results in multiplication of their ministry.

4. They understand that change is necessary, and are willing to sacrifice their own preferences for the sake of the ministry of the church.

5. They utilize the power of prayer.

Is it really that simple? Yes.

Learning Experiences, Part 1

Last Thursday morning, I had the privilege of attending chapel services at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. A group from Atlanta, representing a ministry called Broken Voices, made a presentation that included a couple of speakers and some video. Their ministry is described on their website, http://brokenvoices.org/, and their video material is included there.

God is at work all over the place, and it was very inspiring to hear about, and see, some of the things that Broken Voices has discovered. Currently, they are touring college campuses with their ministry. Their mission is to help young adults and college students discover their purpose in God's Kingdom, and to inspire and motivate them to do what God has called them to do. They do this mainly through finding people who have awakened to God's calling in their life, using their unique gifts and talents for ministry, and then filming their stories and testimonies to show to others. Traveling across the country in a motor home, with cameras and video equipment, they make faith movies centered on the inspiring stories of God moving in the lives of young people.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

One of the keys to the church's ability to reach, and retain, young adults, according to research done by Ed Stetzer at Lifeway Christian Publishers is the opportunity for them to become involved in meaningful service opportunities that allow them to express their faith in Christ by serving others. The ministry of Broken Voices is spreading the word and inspiring young people to fulfill their calling. Most of those who have a story to tell have discovered that meaningful service comes when you find a way to serve the Lord using your talents and skills. By taking something from their own life, and finding a way to use it to serve others in Jesus' name, people experience the feeling of what it means to be used by God.

Take a few minutes and watch and listen to what you find on the Broken Voices website. You will be blessed.

Sharing Some Learning Experiences

This week, I'll be in Chicago. This trip was originally scheduled for attending the Group Life Conference at Willow Creek Community Church, but changes in the conference schedule due to economic realities opened up some time for me to attend a few other events. A conference for church and business leaders, called "Blue Sky," will take place at Willow Creek, a one-day leadership seminar of sorts, and I've registered for that as well. On Thursday, a ministry called "Broken Voices" will be making an appearance at Moody Bible Institute. So it will be a busy week with a lot of different things happening.

During the week, I'll journal here just a little bit, about some of the things that I've encountered which may be of benefit to the ministry of Garden Oaks Baptist Church. Part of the purpose for going to events like this is for continuing education and ongoing learning, and part of it is for the batteries to get recharged. I'll share a little bit of both this week.

Sunday Night Excitement

Sunday evening, October 11, was an exciting time at Garden Oaks Baptist Church. It was exciting for several reasons. One, the smell of fajitas was drifting in the hallway. Two, those who were gathering for dinner were members of the church who, for the most part, were under forty years of age. Three, following dinner, some exciting conversation and dialogue took place as the young adults who gathered discussed the future of their church and its ministry to people who generally fall in their age group.

In their recent book Essential Church, the father-son team of Tom and Sam Rainer (Tom is the President of Lifeway Christian Resources, Sam is a discipleship minister at a church in Florida) tell us that in recent years, the church is losing young adults between 18 and 40 years of age. They report on research which shows that about 70% of those who are involved in church during their high school years drop out between age 18 and 22 due to some kind of life change, and only about half of them will return. Along with that, few people in that age category make decisions to follow Christ and become a part of a church during that span of time. Yet, a fairly high percentage of those who responded to research indicated a willingness to give consideration to spiritual matters related to the Christian faith.

The potential for effective ministry, including outreach, evangelism and discipleship, among people in this age bracket, exists. The fact that 26 people, most of them in this same age group, who are connected with Garden Oaks showed up for the purpose of discussing the church's young adult ministry potential was very exciting. The discussion itself, which involved virtually every young adult in the room at some point, was a hopeful sign that we are moving in the right direction. So is the fact that any one of those in this group could have gone somewhere else during this pastorless period, to make things easier on themselves, yet they have chosen to remain here and express optimism and confidence in the future of GOBC.

The Development Team now has a whole list of ideas and suggestions for building an active, effective ministry which will reach into the surrounding community to baptize new believers, develop them into disciples of Jesus, and build community for them in the church. The suggestions made reflected some prayerful consideration and deep thinking, along with personal experience. The experts who write the books tell us that it takes young adults to reach young adults because of shared issues and concerns, and similar patterns of thinking. If that's the case, then GOBC is well equipped to reach the young adults who live in our community.

In the coming weeks, the ideas and suggestions for specific strategies involved will be shared in the forums where they can be implemented. Several issues need to be given top billing. One is that the church, as a body, needs to be careful not to cause its members, including its young adult members, to become burned out through overwork. The need to simplify the structure of the congregation, and to give people opportunities to exercise their specific spiritual gifts, was a top concern. Creating an environment that is comfortable and friendly for those who do not understand the "church insider culture" was also a concern. Relevant Bible study that includes practical application (how it works) and an atmosphere that includes meaningful worship were also part of the discussion. To be frank, the church needs to work to avoid being perceived as irrelevant and boring. That shouldn't be difficult, considering the material we have to work with, as well as its writer.

There's the discussion. Now comes the more difficult part. Implementing anything like this involves cooperation, participation, and support. The bottom line will depend on how sincere our church is when it expresses a strong desire to reach the young adults who make up such a significant part of the population of the surrounding community. As always, it will involve setting aside our own preferences in favor of those whose needs require us to apply the Bible teaching and ministry we have received in abundance. That's how God wants to use us. That's the job we've prepared for from the moment we received God's grace and Christ's salvation. There are plenty of examples out there to show us that it can be done, and there are churches who are doing it in a setting very similar to ours. We can do it too, by following the Spirit's leadership and depending on his power.

It's showtime.

Weathering the Storm

Last year at this time, we were counting days passing without power, picking up debris, talking to insurance adjusters, and getting used to living with some inconveniences, all because of the passing of a hurricane named Ike. If you look closely, you can still see evidence of the storm, though that long, dark, frightening night is now not much more than a memory and most of the damage has been repaired.

It's been about fifteen months since our church weathered another kind of storm. Being pastorless, and all of the other issues that were part of that whole period of time, was very much like a storm in many ways. There's a shift in the leadership of the church, some things become magnified and distorted, there are reactions to issues that are unexpected, of course there are people whose feelings are hurt, there is choosing of sides, and the potential for damage to the church's ministry is high.

From this distance, it appears we have weathered the storm well. And it was a pretty strong storm for a while.

In addition to some of the "issues" that came up, we faced the loss of several staff members, including our preschool/children's ministry director, youth pastor, contemporary worship service leader, and a senior secretary. The departure of the children/preschool minister also left us with a vacancy in the leadership of our Early Learning Center. But our personnel team moved quickly, search teams were formed, and all that ministry work is moving forward. We're still short a secretary, but we have some volunteers that have helped take up the slack. We had some help with the contemporary worship service leadership, and then volunteers stepped up to fill in the gap there as well.

In fact, one of the most positive points about these past fifteen months has been the willingness of church members to step up and serve. That's a clear indication that members of this church have a strong belief in its future. Sure, we've lost a few members because we are in transition between pastors. But most of the people who've left the church since June of 2008 have relocated because of job moves. But we're still welcoming visitors, some of whom have returned, and on the last Sunday in August we had 200 in Bible study and 250 in worship. Finances are holding up, as expenses have been lower than anticipated, and giving has been good. The ELC is, once again, near capacity enrollment, and 200 parents and preschoolers were on our campus just this past Wednesday enjoying a meal and an open house.

If you're reading this, and you are one of our church members, you know that a lot has been asked of you in these months. You could go to a church that already has a pastor, or to one where you wouldn't be asked to do double duty. The fact that you are here is a testimony to your commitment to this body, and that you believe you've been called by God to be here. That's encouraging. You think there is a future here, too. You're excited about it, too.

The storm may not yet be over. In fact, the scripture tells us that the enemy prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. In this business, we must always be on guard. We must continue to be the church God calls us to be, and continue to rely on his Spirit and his Word for leadership, and for protection. We must always have a vision that lines up with God's will. We must continue to love each other, and lift each other up in prayer and encouragement. We must continue to minister with compassion and grace, understanding that we are all sinners saved by grace through faith in Christ, still passing through this fallen world. Above all, we need to live the gospel so that others want to know the reason for the hope that we have. There are people everywhere around us who need to see that.

We are blessed.

The Purpose of the Church and the Traditions of Men

"You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men." Mark 7:8, NIV

"Thus you nullify the the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that." Mark 7:13

In their context, these words come from Jesus addressing the Pharisees who had just criticized some of Jesus' followers for not following a particular tradition of the law by ceremonial washing of their hands before eating. The disciples didn't have dirty hands, from a sanitary perspective. They simply hadn't gone through the ceremonial hand washing that was part of the Jewish ritual to signify that they weren't "tainted" because they had come into physical contact with something that wasn't, for lack of a better word, kosher to touch.

The general message here is that the Christian faith is not one in which you can be spiritually cleaned or purified simply by doing something symbolic to erase what makes you "unclean." In fact, thinking that you have been spiritually cleansed by some outward act, such as handwashing in the case of the Pharisees, or perhaps even baptism in the case of Christians, may be an obstacle to true purification and cleansing. Jesus was pretty clear when he said that it is not what goes into a person which makes them unclean, but what comes out.

When I first became a student at Grand Canyon University many years ago, there were some things on that Baptist college campus that I had to get used to, coming from a public school environment. One was the novelty of having the professor lead the class in prayer before each meeting. Another was the ritual of praying before meals in the cafeteria. Generally, it was an accepted practice for students to sit down with their tray, bow their heads, close their eyes for a few seconds, and then commence eating. Essentially, long before I had arrived there, this behavior had become a way for some people to make a determination about the spirituality of others. One day, I determined that I wouldn't bow or close my eyes, but that I would simply pray in my mind prior to being seated, and avoid the tradition, just to see what happened. Sure enough, after a couple of days of doing this, a fellow student asked me if there was anything wrong in my spiritual life, since he had noticed I no longer prayed before I ate. My response was something like "How do you know I am not praying?" The lecture I got following that question, a long, self-justifying speech complete with prooftexts for why, as a "good" Christian I should set an example for others by bowing my head and closing my eyes(neither of which are mentioned as postures for prayer in the New Testament) while I was praying in the cafeteria convinced me to do one thing. From that moment on, I resolved not to bow my head or close my eyes at the table in the cafeteria. For me, prayer is to happen "in my closet," in whatever context that implies related to the situation I am in at the time.

The church, the local body of believers in Christ, has many traditions which have become part of its ritual and practice, but which are not really part of its purpose. Though it should be led by the Spirit, it is still a human institution, subject to the same influences to which all flesh is subject. Frank Viola and George Barna have a great book out on the subject called Pagan Christianity, which explores the roots of many of the practices that the church, as a whole, universal body, considers essential to the practice of faith, but which are not found in scripture. I've learned, from many years of experience in vocational ministry, that people tend to do what they want to do with regard to the practice of their faith, and they are more than willing to impose their perspectives and traditions on the church, in spite of whether or not they are scriptural, if they have the influence or the power to do so. When that happens in a church, and it happens in all of them at some point, then it ceases to follow the leadership of the Spirit, and it is following the traditions of humanity.

At Garden Oaks, people are involved in a conscious, genuine effort to move forward. There has been a genuine, heartfelt movement to do so, and it is happening as we speak. But we must be careful to make certain that everything we do is at the prompting and leadership of the Holy Spirit, and not as a result of our own preferences or traditions. This will include changing the way we do some things, even things that may have worked at some point in the past, not as a result of someone's initiative, but under the leading of the Spirit, by consensus.

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than youselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4 NIV

"Do everything without complaining or arguing," Philippians 2:14

Garden Oaks Baptist Church must look forward and follow the Spirit into the future. We cannot be bound by tradition or hobbled by our own preferences.