Whenever discussions steer toward the ministries of mega churches (approx. 2000 or more attenders weekly) I find myself waiting for the inevitable slams against “the machine” or the lack of individual attention found in these large congregations or how seeker-friendly focused they are or something to do with consumeristic approaches to programming.

Over time, I started to think about whether or not these are really the right measures for judging these large operations in the name of Christ.

Lo and behold, I came across some research that revealed religious beliefs of church goers based on what size church they attend.

So do smaller church settings produce better discipleship environments?  And by smaller churches, let’s say with the average Presbyterian church worship attendance of 100 or so.

Do these church members come out as Christians that are more involved in serving and using their gifts?  Where do they fall regarding works righteousness?  What do they think about Jesus…like, was he supernatural and sinless or just a teacher’s pet type-better than average Joe?  How important is the Great Commission regarding their own responsibility as a Christian?

I was surprised to see the results so consistent across all factors measured between the small congregations with under 100 attenders, all the way up to churches with 1000+ attenders.    Perhaps it’s time to let the numbers speak and stop making arguments without real tangible back-up on these issues?

Here’s the data so that you can decide for yourself: (more…)

Are you a pastor in a church that seems to ignore the fact that there’s only 168 hours in a week?

Does it seem like your original intentions to be centered on prayer, go out and build rock-solid deep relationships with your entire congregation and spend enough time studying the Scriptures were all bad typos in the job description?

Perhaps you need to reassess your game plan.

Here’s a quick pop quiz to help figure out your approach to ministry:

If you, as the pastor, have only limited time available during the week, would you prefer to choose (A) OR (B) in each scenario below:

A. Do more visiting to shut-ins?
B. Put more time into sermon preparation?

A. Attend a wedding reception?
B. Go on a retreat with parish staff?

A. Call on prospective members?
B. Conduct a training session for church officers?

A. Visit a bereaved family?
B. Help two church officers resolve a conflict?

A. Make a hospital call on a fringe member?
B. Attend a continuing education event?

A. Engage in pastoral counseling with members?
B. Attend a planning event with officers?

A. Do more parish calling?
B. Recruit leaders for parish events?

A. Attend an activity with parish youth?
B. Critique a meeting with a church officer?

Apparently the correct answers differ largely NOT ON YOU, but where your called to ministry.  The Alban Institute published an interesting article which gives practical insights for how to approach various types of ministry environments.

Surprise! It turns out that a pastor is not a pastor is not a pastor anywhere and everywhere.  One size does not fit all!

Being self-aware of the context first will dramatically increase the odds of success in your role as pastor.  Requirements for leadership style, relationships, and responsibilities all change based on whether you are in a family, pastoral, program, and corporate sized church.

Are you sitting in the right seat?  Is there more than one seat at the table?  It all matters tremendously.

If you read the informative article from the Congregational Resource Guide site, you’ll also learn the landmines of moving down in church size.

What’s the good news in all this? You’ll notice that pastor burnout is largely avoidable by being able to answer the pop quiz questions correctly.

The Gospel message is about relationships, right?

And I think you’ll agree that our world is undergoing a fundamental shift in how we relate to each other due to the undeniable impact of technology (Internet) and the social media that has evolved out of it.

The Google generation doesn’t email, they Facebook.  It is just a fact now that people check Facebook first and more often each day than their email.  People are learning the ins and out of syndicating their lives through FB status updates, Twitter and other social media platforms.

But note that I recently sat in a mandatory seminary workshop for the graduate program at Princeton Theological Seminary where the facilitator actually proposed that pastors NOT get involved with Facebook, Twitter, etc in their methods of communicating with their congregation 24/7 – specifically with youth.

But if the ways in which we (meaning humans in the 21st century and beyond) now meet, connect and relate to each other is changing in seismic ways, why isn’t the Church following suit?

If you’re not convinced that social networking / social media is changing our lives, check this video out:

This is not about pushing Twittering during worship services.

What I’m talking about is for the Church to be visible and available in the places where the people are already.  Today’s that’s online and on social networking platforms.

It’s also about creating volumes of first class content that is able to be shared and given exposure where millions and millions of people are already tuning in.

What is your church doing with social media / social networking?

John Piper does it. Tim Keller does it.

The question is, can every other preacher do it?

Great preaching is just one of those things where you know you’re looking at it when you see it.

But the question is can great preaching include illustrations that are more than literary depictions put forth with the vocal chords?

John Piper doesn’t think so!

It may not get you into hell, ‘in the short run’ says Piper as noted by some that follow his teaching on preaching. He says it is a crutch for the lazy in the pulpit. Just listen to his argument against using movie or other video clips as supporting sermon illustrations . . . (more…)

Here’s the reason why most churches aren’t growing fast enough or even at all:

Churches are disillusioned about their “first-time guests“

Ask most visitors to a church which is the most apprehensive part about stepping foot in a new church?  You can give them some options — Is it. . .

• making you wear a name tag that screams out “I’ve never been here!”
• shaking hands and saying hi to strangers during the “Passing of the Peace”
• made to stand during service in front of an entire group of strangers
• being chased down to fill out intrusive “first-time guest visitor cards”
• OR pressured into staying for the after-service coffee hour where no one is probably going to talk to them

The answer will be YES.

Similar questions were in fact asked about first time visits to church.  Some of the answers give you a clue as to how they want to be treated. . . (more…)

How do you measure success at your church or ministry?

Is it how many programs you are running or people that have signed-up for bible study groups?

Is it how many worship services you provide or how many multi-sites you have planted?

Is it how many baptisms you perform each year?

Is it related giving and tithing stats per person or family or percentage of income?

The church *is* a machine that needs to care about the classic ABC’s of running a church (how many people are we Attracting?, How big is our Building?, How many people are giving over their Cash as offering?) amongst other metrics.

But there’s one critical factor that is not only more indicative of a healthy church, it’s a non-negotiable as best put by God’s Word itself. . . (more…)

Part of my daily routine brings me past this sign.

It is a simple and straight-forward “KEEP OFF GRASS” sign.

It is easy to read, not too small, yet not too big to be obnoxious.

It is in good condition, not dilapidated.

It is installed firmly and doesn’t look like it will need maintenance for awhile.

Normally, signs and other parts of the scenery where you frequent tend to “disappear” from your field of vision.  They just blend in.

But as I strut across this sign, it catches my eye every time, even to this day.

Why you ask?  It is because of one important thing, and it’s not just about the sign’s direct-to-the-point message or the physical sign itself.   The reason is a bit larger than that. . . (more…)

Newsweek’s Jon Mecham writes about The End of Christian America.

More than a 10% drop was recently reported in a poll for people that self-identify themselves as religious. The Northeast, the traditional basecamp for religion’s start in this country is no longer a reliable place to go to seek comfort for the religious. It is now home for the religiously unidentified, a title once reserved for the Pacific Northwest. And this is not just a case of overachieving Northeasterners doing their thing. It is something that is being experienced coast to coast.

The assumptions for how our American society, politics and people deal with Judeo-Christian values that started this country is changing. In this MSNBC TV interview with Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and Jon Mecham of Newsweek Magazine, you’ll first see how the President of our country now represents America’s religious identity in these post-Christian times. You almost expect a reporter to follow-up with questions about timetables for removing “In God We Trust” and the like from our currency, government buildings, etc.

But take notice from all this ballyhoo about the Christian religion’s exit from center stage:  God is NOT dead. 

What’s actually happening is that spirituality, faith and religion are taking on new faces and modus operandi in this country. Do you see the New Christian American?

(more…)

We find a lot of metaphors in secular business to learn from regarding how we can reinvent the churc.

There are so many things that great companies are doing in terms of marketing and attracting visitors that we can apply to our worship community.

BUT…what if we turned that around?

How would Starbucks operate if it acted like the local church today?  This is an eye-opening video to watch. . .

What parts of this parable stood out for you?

What parts of our church experience needs to be re-thought?

In ministry, I am always on guard to present myself (hopefully) in a manner that draws respect while honoring to the God that I am working for.

Today, an interesting question came up amongst some of the staff at Liquid Church – what do you do when porn stars follow you?

It is no surprise that the adult entertainment industry is up on Twitter since the industry has long been an early adopter and driver of new technology.

Both on the church’s public Twitter account, as well with some of the church staff’s individual accounts, it has recently been noted that porn stars have been popping up as followers.

And today, the question that arises more specifically is: What do you do with porn stars that are following your twitter account?

Although most probably, the specific daily twitter interaction would be non-explicit, it does present some issues that can’t be ignored.

This brings up some immediate questions: (more…)