THE ONE YEAR CLUB: NOVEMBER 30 "IS ALL REVELATION FOR SHARING?"

THE ONE YEAR CLUB: NOVEMBER 30 "IS ALL REVELATION FOR SHARING?":        28 “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to...

A CHURCH THAT GROWS IS A CHURCH THAT CARES

AND LAST IN THIS SERIES IS THE OBVIOUSLY STATED…A church that grows would be a church that cares.

Asking a Christian if they care is as insulting as asking a Catholic if they believe in the Virgin Mary.

Asking a Christian if they would like to be “fruitful Christian” is as silly as asking a Biker if he thinks he should ride a Harley Davidson.

The average church in America runs 90 to 110 people and never really grows outside of that box.  Survey most  churches you know and you will find there has been no significant growth in 10 + years.  Sure there has been movement, lots may come in, but then people leave and there’s allot of shuffling around of people and numbers, but at the end of the day, the average numbers do not significantly change.

And to make matters worse, this is after event after event, revival after revival, and outreach after outreach. This is not a church sitting on its behind doing nothing by any means.  Not all stagnant churches are doing nothing, some are very busy, but with no lasting fruit.

If God has ordained that we “go out and bear much fruit and have fruit that would remain”  if “ the harvest is ripe and plentiful”, then why are most churches not growing?  Why after 10 – 20 years are churches stagnant in their growth, these are deep, probing questions we don’t dare to ask, lest we are struck with reality, as we face the answers.

Who is “the good Samaritan”?  Well, he’s the one that cares…and he is rare.

The Priest and the Rabbi, “men of the cloth” that you would expect to help, avoid getting involved. These are men that are involved, supposedly in the work of God; but yet, do not care for this poor man in his time of need. How can that be?

“This is a parable”, you can say.  Yes it is, but do you think Jesus just pulled random, abstract thoughts out of his head when it came to parables or was their reason to them.  Were his parables based on what he had seen and perceived in his Spirit?

Does Jesus (The Word of God) not prophecy through Ezekiel about Shepherds who don’t care for their flock?  Was this also a parable…I think not!

I know, we are now in the 21^st Century  and that self absorbed spirit does not exist in God’s people anymore.  Never would there be a Christian that would be self-absorbed today.

The problem is not that God does not bring people in to the church, it is that we don’t keep those that He brings in.

Who will have the new convert over for dinner?  Who will adopt this new person in to their family?  Who will allow this shady character in to their lives, around their children and at their dinner table?

Recently we had an event that drew quit a few visitors through with many giving their life to Jesus for the first time.  An announcement was made as to who was interested in following up on these precious souls and nobody volunteered, not one person.

This is an epidemic in the church today all across America. We are so self absorbed in our own lives and problems we don’t care to get involved in the messy and time consuming work of follow up.

Most churches have reduced their follow up to obtaining an address and simply putting the visitor or new convert on a mailing list.

The danger is that this is so subtle.  If we were to look in the mirror in the morning and see someone that looked something like a werewolf we might ask ourselves, “What has become of me?”  However, this is not the case, we still are nice, loving Christians, it’s just that it centers around our circle of friends and family and does not often, extend much further than that.

We love to socialize and enjoy each other’s company, but when it is mentioned that the new, rough around the edges, convert be invited, we get frowns or maybe “next time, it just wouldn’t go well this time with this crowd.”

The basic issue is that we don’t want our fun, light hearted, social event to turn in to something where we are now having to answer a bunch of bothersome questions and having to minister to some new Christian’s problems all night. “I want to have fun, I want to enjoy myself tonight, let’s invite him/her another time”.  However, that “other time” never comes and eventually they leave the church.

There are allot of issue in life we might say we care about, but to what degree?  I care about abortion, but if someone asked me if I wanted to picket an abortion clinic and pass out flyers for a week or even a day, I might politely decline and so would you.  It’s not that you don’t care that babies are being aborted, it’s just that…..that …..

If we could say a simple prayer and have abortion abolished we would, if we could say a simple prayer and the destitute, homeless drug addicts delivered and helped, we would, but if asked to give up Monday Night Football to go minister to a bunch of  homeless people at the Mission, we might politely decline, “I would , but I have plans already”.

The dilemma of the Church is we have become self absorbed. We are enjoying all the benefits of Christianity without embracing the costs or the “self denial” part.

We watched a young Marine visitor come out to our church 3 times in a row and I watched him leave alone each time with no invitations for lunch or anything.  I told my wife he probably would never come back, but if he did, by some miracle, we were gonna have him over for lunch.

We were so busy and we were so broke, we just were hoping somebody else would reach out to him, but nobody would.  We didn’t have the time or money to add somebody else in to our lives, but don’t’ you know,  he showed up next Sunday.

I went up to him, introduced myself and invited him over for lunch; he quickly and excitedly accepted.

Long story short, he became part of our family and locked in to the church.

The fact is, most don’t care, everyone is too busy, everyone has an excuse, but at the end of it all, God sorts through all the excuses and he sees and knows, “we simply don’t care”.

In proverbs God says, “do not say we did not know…..He knows our motives, He knows we do know”

How many of us today would cry out to God, “Give me souls or I die”.

Somewhere along the way we must realize we’re doing it for Jesus.  Jesus said to Peter, “do you love me?”  Then feed and care for my sheep.

Notice he didn’t ask Peter if he loved them (the sheep, ie: the bothersome people)  Jesus asked do you love me? Then I am asking you for this favor, would you do it for me?  Please, for me, care for them, feed them.

A church that is growing truly has to be a church that cares.

The million dollar question to ask then, is “how do you get a congregation to care?”

People say that if you have a Pastor that cares, it will trickle on downward, but yet I have seen churches with Pastors with a great burden for people, but yet a congregation that is self absorbed, spiritually apathetic and lethargic to the needs of the lost and new Christians.

This is a complex issue for one I don’t claim to have the answer too; if I did I would be famous by now, for sure.

This chapter is not to expound on how to get a church that cares to care, but rather to point out that a key element to a growing church is that it has to be a caring church.

Many Churches are trying to build from the outside in, not realizing, that for all their intensive labor, they don’t have the Spiritual Infrastructure to support what they are trying to build or bring in.  For all their hard work and efforts they will always see that there is no lasting fruit, it all just evaporates every time.

What needs to be done is that the church needs to be built from the inside out.  As people begin to care, they begin to reach out and draw people to themselves, people that they will care for and have reached out to themselves.

In the current order, big events are scheduled, in spite of the people, a bunch of convert cards are collected and then we find there is no one that cares to follow up on these people, a quick shout out for volunteers often gets you a ZERO, NADA response and the fruit falls to the waste side.

A Church has to be grown from within.  First the people have to care, the people have to get the vision, the people have to have that love for Christ that compels them to reach out; that revelation that they are reaching out for Christ.

Programs, events, evangelism, nothing will substitute this one essential characteristic that is fundamental and that is

A GROWING CHURCH IS A CHURCH THAT CARES, TRULY….CARES!

No Vision No Growth - Where's Jiffy Pop Popcorn?

Jiffy Pop "Popcorn" had a monopoly on the market. This was ingenius, this was ingenuity at it's best. Prior to Jiffy's ingenuity, we would find a pot, pour some oil in it, drop some popcorn kernals into the pot, turn up the heat and wait (don't forget the cover!).  Now with Jiffy Pop Popcorn, no pot, no oil, no mess, no having to find some popcorn kernals, no having to wash pots, no over pouring oil or not putting enough popcorn, you just put Jiffy Popcorn on the oven and "Presto" you had easy popcorn in a matter of minutes.
     The problem with Jiffy is they lost their vision. Perhaps they became content with their success and saw no reason to keep striving for something better.  I am 43 years old and one company that has impressed me since I was a kid, is McDonalds. This is a company I have watched over the years "re-invent" itself, over and over again. In 2004 there was an American documentary that came out called "SuperSize Me".  It targeted fast food retaurants and made McDonalds it's primary target. I was living in Canada at the time and Canadians were scandalized by this documentary. People were afraid to eat at McDonalds, I couldn't get nobody to go with me.  This documentary would have been a death blow to most companies. Most companies would have declared at their next board meeting, "the times, they are a changing, we enjoyed a great ride while it lasted, we all got rich, but this is a new generation that we cannot appeal too" (sound like some churches you know?).  However, instead of doing that, McDonald's re-invented themselves. They began serving salads and also allowing you to substitute your french fries (don't know why you would do that) for a salad, at no extra cost.  They began posting calories for any meal you would order.  They have come up with wraps and healthy eating all the while staying true to who they are! What many churches don't realize is that you can "re-invent" yourself while still staying true to your core values.  "Re-inventing" yourself doesn't mean throwing away your core values. Some churches to even speak of "change" is almost to speak blasphemy.  The burden is all on God. It doesn't matter if we are still singing from hymm books and using the 18th Century Organ for our song service, it's God that's going to build his church.  We know, certainly, "God will build His Church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it", but that does not excuse a church with no vision.  Even the apostles were quick to innovate with the times and switched the day of worship from the last day of the week to the 1st day of the week. To some, even to this day, that was sacreligious and 'til this day, still refuse to worship on Sundays. 
     The Church is moving on and those that will not adapt and get a vision, will be left behind and become a thing of the past,  just like Jiffy Popcorn.  Where is the Salvation Army today?  Where is the YMCA today?  They are passing thoughts, when we think of Salvation Army today, we think "used clothing" and when we think of YMCA we think "Gym, place to work out". 
     In the 1970's there was a movement that swept through the country that was called "The Jesus People Movement", hippies were being saved by the droves, however, most churches did not know what to do with them or how to reach them? One man, Wayman Mitchell, who was part of the Four Square Assemply caught a vision. He began to set up "Music Scenes," or "Coffee Houses" and use Rock & Roll, to reach these hippies, even though he himself couldn't stand Rock & Roll. While other Church's were protesting that "Rock & Roll" was of the Devil, he was seeing hippies being reached  and watching his church grow from 35 people, in to the hundreds. That is why I say, "No Vision No Growth".  Many of the other churches that were around at that same time, closed for lack of growth or could you say, lack of Vision, lack of willingness to adapt to the times.
     1970 was a long time ago, Rock & Roll is a by gone era (I hate to tell some of you that) and RAP, HIP HOP is in and here to stay! Hymnals are out and song services with modern, cotemporary songs, guitars and drums, is in.  We are now in a generation that is saturated in technology and media, what are you trying to do to adapt so you can reach this generation?  Nothing!  Well than that's why the church down the street is growing and you are shrinking.  I know the excuse is, "oh that's just a worldly church, we have values and standards here!".  Again, "re-inventing ourselves does not mean throwing away our core values.  How has McDonald's stayed relevant in each generation, by continously re-inventing itself and at the same time staying true to it's core values. I was at a McDonald's recently, it was a Hip McDonald's for sure, even had the Cafe McDonalds where you could get a Capucinno and a slice of Cheesecake, I was amazed to see the Restaurant packed with Teenagers, enjoying the free internet, little game kiosks and enjoying McNuggets, Big Macs and their classic fries....ughhh, I mean salad.  McDonald's has re-invented itself and is now earning more money today than ever before, in the midst of a slanderous documentary and a very health conscious society, it is thriving; and this is all for money, the mighty dollar, how much more so, should we, The Church, the Earth's last great hope, not be concerned about becoming insignificant. 
     Is your church insignificant"  If your church was to close it's doors for good, would the community you are in even notice you were gone?  Have you lost your significance, is it just the same group every Sunday, waiting for the Rapture? Surely God has more for you and The Church of Jesus Christ, than just a "fading glory" in these last days, but the question is, will you catch a vision for the future, will you adapt to the times, will you CHANGE!!!   Where is Jiffy PopCorn today? Why didn't they see what was coming, why didn't they embrace new technology, ie: The Microwave?  Why, because they were content with their success.
     I was golfing with a man a few weeks ago and he said something that has stuck with me since. We were talking about the recession and jobs that have gone extinct and new ones that have started and the different carreer paths we have had to adjust to and he said, "Richard, I've had to re-invent myself so many times in the past few years, I have lost count".  I would say he has and he has survived, he is successfull, in the midst of a recession. And the church must do so too, otherwise I really do fear, as it has already begun, that the church becomes completely irrelevant to this generation that we are living in. We must have a Vision, we must re-invent ourselves; otherwise we and our little church will become completely irrelevant in a time that it is more important than ever, that we be RELEVANT!

Is Stability a Virtue of Growth?

     WE know that stability in the home is a key factor in raising healthy children, ie: healthy mentally & emotionally.  Nobody would ever be quoted as saying "divorce is healthy for the family".  I would say that even Liberals and Conservatives can agree on this one point, "stay together at all costs for the sake of the children".  Why do some churches grow and others do not? Are you ready.....nothing fancy here, some churches grow and others do not, because they have "stability".  How can we excuse instability? How can we excuse church splits and numerous Pastoral changes and expect a church to thrive and grow? How do children react to divorce? How do families fair where there has been a divorce, how do children react to the "step dad" coming in to the home and being told that this is going to be their new "father"?  These dynamics do not play out well in the nuclear family and neither do these dynamics play out in the House of God.  You will find that the churches that are growing, the churches that are thriving are the churches that have not split and the churches that have had the same Pastor for 25 + years.
     A church should not fall under condemnation that has been through a church split or Pastoral change(s) or both.  It should rather pat itself on the back that it has even survived.  Stability is what a church needs. Just like a child needs to know that Dad isn't gonig anywhere, then children can thrive. The moment children begin to hear murmuring, fighting and rumors that dad might leave, problems begin to erupt at home and at school. It will not be long before the shool is calling home and reporting that little Johnnie is acting up at school lately.
     Pastors are human and they like everyone else can fall in to the temptation, that "the grass is greener on the other side".  They become frustrated and disallusioned with their congregations and begin to look for the first opportunity to run, rather than stay and work things through. Churches are left behind as Pastors chase "greener pastures" only to find out that the grass is not greener on the other side and sometimes it is worse and they wish they had stayed, stuck it through and practiced what they had preached to their congregations.  Thomas Reiner in his book "Breakout Churches" studied this thoughroughly and concluded that churches that experienced "breakout growth" were not the churches who brought in a charismatic replacement Pastor but churches where the Pastor made a decision to stay, contend and press through the dry season, contend for the latter rain and in most situations where churches were stagnant in growth, but the Pastor stayed, prayed and forged through, those churches experienced,...eventually, breakout growth.
     Churches need stability, stability = health and health equals GROWTH.  A healthy church is a growing church, growth is simply a by-product of health.  An unstable church becomes unhealthy and it doesn't matter what kind of programs you try to inject into it, it will not grow, it will implode unless something changes.  Pastors cannot simply call every opportunity that comes their way as "an open door from God".  Not every door that opens is of God and Pastor's just like regular Christians will be tempted and tested and must pass those tests.  No doubt God does called seasoned Pastors in to the Mission Fields, but this is not the reason for the instability in churches across America, it is more the sad state of affairs of Pastors commiting adultery, Pastor's abadoning their churches for a better , self serving opportunity, it is Pastors quiting on their churches, it is Pastor's trying to climb up the Corporoate Ladder (so to speak). 
     Is stability a virtue of growth?  OF COURSE IT IS!  And this virtue, cannot be looked over as insignificant, not for a moment, when we truly want to ponder, why do some churhes grow and others don't. This is one of the great VIRTUES of the family and church dynamic, there is no substitute for stability when it comes to the family, whether that be at home or at church, there is no substitute!

Freedom One generation away from....

 The famous quote by Ronald Reagon, "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction."   as profound as it was, still rings in our ears today. "One generation away from extintion....Reagon goes on to say that "it is not guaranteed".  Why do some churches grow and other's don't, because some fail to hold on to the next generation. They assume because their kids grew up in Children's Church and have memorized John 3:16 that they will automatically convert and be part of the Church as they grow older. Freedom is a fragile thing, and no more fragile is anything, than our spiritual freedom. We can have experienced a great deliverence in our own lives, only to watch are children caught up in some hideous sins.
     I saw a whole generation wiped out from our church.  Where did they go?  Some moved away, some married non-Christians, some got caught up in carreer and making money, some turned away from the faith, some joined the military, before we knew it they were all gone, literally, a whole generation.   This left a tremendous gap in our Church.  The 40 & 50 year olds were left to carry the brunt while waiting for the next generation to rise up. 
     We cannot simply dismiss that we are losing our youth and say, "let's press on". It is like taking a bullet and trying to press on as if you have not been shot. When a church fails to hold on to it's youth it suffers a severe blow.  Not only has that generation been lost, but also all the people/souls that would have been touched and brought in to the church by that generation. It is also a deterant to visitors that come and see no youth that are alive in your church, for Christ.  A church that fails to hold on to it's youth can be giving itself the "kiss of death".  A larger size church may be able to carry on the shoulders of the pillars in that church; as the next generation grows, but a small to mid-size church could implode right there.  We can also add to that that when a church fails to hold on to the next generation, it demoralizes the church, whether they want to admit it or not.  You can't help but wonder, "what's wrong with us?" "What's wrong with our church?"  "Had we been in another church would are children have stuck?"  A church that has watched the next generation go extinct will also have to deal with the ramifications of that. This will play out in the lives of the parents and grand parents as they are dragged through major trials and set backs that those children who have wandered will bring in to their lives.  Rather than concentrating on the church and the new members God is bringing in, they will be consumed with the problems of their children, ie: Divorce, spousal abuse, drug addiction, violence, 911 calls and so much more.
     Why do some churches grow and others don't, simply put, some do a much better job of retaining that next generation.  Remember, "Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction."  Is there a program we can implement that will guarantee us success, of course not. However the first step is in being aware, "we are one generation away from extinction". What ever happened to the Salvation Army, the YMCA?  Ask any young person what YMCA stands for and they will not know.  I recently ask one of the teenagers in our group if they had received a bible when they went to the YMCA.  They didn't get the joke.  I said, "you know YMCA stands for Young Men's Christian Association" and that it was started as an OUTREACH PROGRAM to save souls."   It would behoove us the invest ourselves in our Children and not make them feel like they are second fiddle as we reach the world for Christ.  If we have failed to reach those that God has put right under our nose, than we have failed. If our Christianity isn't working at home, it is not working period. While it is true that every man and woman has a "freewill" and some of the best raised kids have gone rogue for reasons unknown to us. It is also true that many children have felt unwanted and unappreciated through some of the most crucial and critical years of their lives.  One teen told his father, "dad I wish I was a sinner" His dad asked why he would say such a thing.  The son's answer was, "because you'll do anything, go anywhere and always seem to have time for them, but never for me?"  Can we be so busy "reaching the World for Jesus" that we are failing to reach those that are right in front of us crying out, craving for our attention and this love that we preach so often? 
   

Why do you want your church to grow?

How do we begin to answer this question?  "Why do you want your church to grow?"  Is this a rhetorical question?  Is the person who asks a dumb question as dumb as the question being asked?  Why do you want your church to grow? What kind of question is that!!!

We all know what the text book answer is...

 "I want my church to grow because there are people going to Hell in droves and the more people we can gather in to the church, the more people we can get to Heaven, I have a heart for people, I have God's heart for people, I care for souls". 

There is the text book answer and I would not want to be quoted any other way!  However......however.....God looks at the Heart.

Without getting to heavy into the issues of the heart, see my blog at www.oneyearclub.blogspot.com

I have seen and heard of Pastors, that if you were to ask them that question, they would give you the text book answer penned up above, but yet, how do they treat the people that are presently in their churches?  Are they used as ponds to help further grow their empire...ooppps I mean church?  Are they taken for granted, as the people are simply used to further their agenda? Are they ridiculed, ignored, put to the side?

We are so focused on those "outside" the church we forget to appreciate and minister to those inside the church.  God has not called us to Pastor those "outside" the church but those he has drawn in.  We have "Outreach Ministry" but do we have "Ministry of the Interior".

We will spend time and money for those outside, but how much time and money will we spend for those that we already know are in (the church) and are not going anywhere (or so we think).

So back to the question, "Why do you want your church to grow?"  Men are driven to want to succeed.  Could it be that a large church equals success to us.  After all, if I have been sent to start a church than a big church means I have largely succeeded therefore I am a success.  How else do we measure success?

Nobody asks us how many people we are loving, caring and nurturing, they only ask us "how many people are in your church?".

Could pride and ego be at the root of why you want your church to grow?  And the answer..."of course not, how insulting!".

I remember numerous times being embarrassed at the size of my church when family came to visit.  I remember on one occasion my Aunt saying, "Richard, your mother told me you were starting a church, this isn't a church, this is a handful of people in a little hotel lobby".  Now don't get all spiritual on me, I know "where two or more are gathered, there I am...." but my Aunt called it they way she saw it.

I often wished, and of course prayed, that I had a larger church, but WHY?

For sure, part of it was because it meant more people going to Heavan, but was that my sole motivation in wanting a larger church? And to break it down further, what was the percentage between caring vs. my pride? Who knows, except God.  I cannot even truly know because I will lie to myself.

Why do some churches grow and others don't? It would take a whole book to dig in to that, but could one of the many, many reasons be, THE HEART!

And I know, I know, you're heart is pure as the driven snow and the Pastor's heart down the street is fueled by Pride and Ego.

Examine your heart? Ask yourself, is your focus more on the people outside your church, that are not coming, or is it on the precious few that God has given you. 

How do you see them? As ponds to further build your church or as people God has given you to love, care and nurture?

And so I must asked this stupid question once again, forgive me....but "Why do you want your church to grow?"

"Do you see what I see"

We really do depend upon the supernatural to build our churches. This may seem “unorthodox” to say, but sometimes we rely to much on God!

In Tom Reiner’s Book “Surprising Insights from the Unchurched” Tom really brings it down.  While you might say, “I’m believing in God bro” (aren't we all?) and if so, then why aren't all churches experiencing growth.  If God wants the church to grow and we want the church to grow, why isn't it growing? Could it be that 99% of our success will come from us and God’s 1% will make up the rest.  “No bro, it’s 99% God, 1% me, don’t’ you know “it’s not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit….”  Yes, yes, I know.  

Jesus told the disciples to walk their butts down to the beach, fill the jugs with water and lug the heavy jugs back to the wedding and then He turned them in to wine.  So who did more?  Jesus or the disciples, well obviously the miracle is the greatest part of that whole story, but much was laid upon the disciples.

I've had the opportunity to be in many different churches and some, quite frankly, as a visitor, I would not return to.

Dirty bathroom facilities, broken faucets…..,kids running all over taking over  the church,  Pastor is running around like a mad man, yelling at his disciples, stressed out….all you feel is stress, there’s nobody to greet you except for the Psycho who just started coming who wants to tell you about his visions.

There is still food on the floor from the last Fellowship, the sermon has 20 points mixed into what he says is 3 points. You don’t know if the sermon was on marriage, evangelism, giving, faith or all of the above.

I know what you’re saying, “Easy for you to say, you’re the arm chair quarterback” why don’t you get out here and do it yourself if you’re the expert, instead of criticizing”. 

I had a couple of Evangelists give me some hints of what wasn't that pleasant or good in my church and I did appreciate it.  Other’s just collected the paycheck and went home. 

While we don’t need everyone that comes through our churches telling us what we lack or what’s wrong, there should be a few that can.

I remember my aunt coming through our church and she sized me up big time.

She criticized me for wearing pants that didn't fit, they sagged in the butt and dragged on the floor. She said I looked sloppy and I should wear clothes that fit and look more professional. She was right!  I wonder how many visitors had noticed the same thing?  She criticized me for taking opportunity to take a cheap shot at Bill Clinton when it had nothing really, to do with the sermon (she was right).  How many visitors in the past had I offended with “not the Gospel” but my personnel opinion??? Then she criticized me for being long winded, going on and on….She was also right.

It’s all the little things, but they add up to convince visitors, “not to come back”.  

What are you doing or not doing that you are not seeing?  Are you your only critic?  Are you open to criticism about your church, your preaching, and the ambiance in your church?

Is your church going to grow by just the awesome Supernatural Means, 99% God, 1% you, it’s all God, it’s all God or will you take as much responsibility upon yourself and then, and only then, leave the rest to God.