Why so many new churches?

 A question I was often asked by some churches I served as their Region Minister was why there were so many new churches being built. The question was usually asked by a member of a congregation that was in decline. They couldn't understand why denominations were starting new churches rather than putting that start-up money in their existing churches. What bothered them even more was that these newer churches often seemed to be growing while their church was barely holding on.

My immediate response was that new church planting was important because new churches reach new people. The fact that many of them were growing was evidence of their ability to reach new people. Some might believe that the growth that comes in new churches is that they are taking people away from other churches, but this is often not the case. One new church pastor saw his congregation grow to about 200 people and told me that 80 percent of them were new converts to Christianity.

New churches operate without the history and traditions of existing churches. Certainly, this can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Serious errors can occur without traditions to reply upon, but many of the traditions in our churches can also be roadblocks to growth and ministry. As one of my doctoral professors pointed out to the class, every church has walls. Some are not too large, and people can still enter the church. Other churches have walls so high that new people are kept out. Many of those walls exist because of certain traditions that exist in that particular church.

New churches typically have a much simpler operating structure. Few have monthly business meetings where things may be discussed for months before a decision is made. Many have temporary committees or focus groups that address specific issues in a church and then disband when the issue is resolved. They find this is better than having several standing committees that must be filled each year and which may not add much to the church. Remember...your system is perfectly designed for the results you are seeing. Too much structure can stifle creative ministries. No structure can lead to chaos.

While this is not always true, new churches often offer worship experiences that appeal to many people. Existing churches can fall into habitual ways of worship that might appeal to their current members but is not as attractive to others. Rick Warren correctly observed several years ago that when a church selects its style of worship music it has also selected those it will attract to its services. New churches often provide a more contemporary style of worship that many find meaningful in the 21st century.

Personally, I believe God is behind the many new churches we see coming into our communities. As much as I hate to say it, many of our current churches have not done a good job of sharing the Gospel with the unchurched. When churches can go years without an adult baptism, that church has lost its God-given vision for ministry. If our current churches will not reach the present generation for Christ, God will raise up new churches to do so.

The power of prayer

 As part of my devotional reading I am reading the classic Why Revival Tarries by Leonard Ravenhill. I first read this book many years ago and have re-read it several times. The revival at Asbury University caused me to bring it out of my library and read it again. Ravenhill is definitely a preacher from the old school, and the challenges and criticisms he brings to the church is valid even though the book was first published in 1982.

One chapter in the book focuses on the prayer life of Christians and the church. Ravenhill tells us that "Satan would have us increase even in Bible knowledge...as long as we keep from prayer, which is the exercise of the instruction we have received through the Word. What use is deeper knowledge if we have shallower hearts? What use is greater standing with men if we have less standing with God?"

If you are not familiar with Leonard Ravenhill this small passage from one book will show you his ability for straight talk and his penetrating insights into the problems facing the modern church. Reading Ravenhill can be challenging and make many preachers today uncomfortable. But, at the same time,  it can also transform our ministries if we take his words seriously.

Think about what he is saying here. Satan doesn't care how much you know about the Bible as long as you are not a praying person. So much of our modern church is built around its teaching ministry. The least attended service in many churches, if they even still have them, is the prayer meeting. Churches offer various teaching opportunities; many offer few opportunities to pray and even then few people take advantage of that. The prayer meeting is normally the least attended service in the life of the church, so it's not surprising that many churches have eliminated it from its schedule.

Yet, Ravenhill insists that the devil is not concerned with how much we know about God as long as we are not a praying people. The revival that began at Asbury and has spread to other campuses and churches has much of its focus on prayer and repentance. Perhaps instead of preaching so much about the great need of revival we pastors might better focus on leading our people to pray. This will only be possible if we are first praying people ourselves.

I have often felt frustrated with my own prayer life. Reading books and blogs from other pastors tell me they have the same problem. But, how will we experience revival in our own lives if we are not praying as we are leading our churches? Are the things we do as ministers so important that we have no time for God? God forbid! How can we lead our people into a deeper prayer life if we ourselves are not praying?

Ministry without prayer is like trying to turn on a light without it being connected to a power source. Our power source is God, and we connect to Him through prayer. It is prayer that has the power to revive our churches, our nation and ourselves. Perhaps it is time for our churches to revisit the old-fashioned prayer altar that has long been neglected in many of them.

The pastor's presence

One of the things I have enjoyed in my 40+ years of serving in smaller churches is the ability to be with people. I enjoy spending 15 minutes or so before the worship service walking around the sanctuary speaking with the folks who are gathered there. It gives an opportunity to learn how things are going in their lives. This informal time allows me to joke with and laugh with individuals. One gentleman in the church I now serve apologized one morning saying that a new medicine he was taking made it difficult for him to stay awake any time he sat down,, and he might doze off during the sermon. I told him that was fine as long as he didn't share any of that medicine with the rest of the congregation. This kind of conversation enables the pastor to build relationships and connect with people on a less formal pastor-congregant level, and I believe this is important for a pastor to enjoy a successful ministry.

Any time I see guests in the service I always make a point of introducing myself and learning as much about them as time permits. Once when I was a Resource Minister in our region I visited one of my churches for their worship service. When the pastor saw me sitting there he came over to speak to me. After he walked away a gentleman sitting in front of me turned around and asked if that was the pastor. That was his first time in that church, but even though the pastor walked past him he never acknowledged him or spoke to him. 

Having never pastored a large church I suppose it might be more difficult to greet people prior to the service. Frankly, it would be hard for me to not be able to spend that time with the congregation prior to the worship service. I just believe that there are ministry opportunities available in those spontaneous conversations. If nothing else, there is the ministry of presence where you are present with that individual even for just a few minutes. Occasionally, something is said that makes me think a follow-up conversation is needed. I can call them that week and see if we need to continue our conversation.

I know how busy pastors are. I also know that many pastors do not like to have idle conversations just before the service begins as they feel it distracts them from their message. I would suggest if they are not more comfortable with their sermon than that they need more preparation time during the week. Our ministry is with people.

John Maxwell tells a story of when he was a pastor he was talking with some staff in the lobby of the church he served. One staff member walked in and went straight to his office without speaking. Maxwell followed him to his office and asked why he didn't stop to speak to everyone. The staff member replied he had a lot of work to do and didn't want to take the time to stop. Maxwell explained that people was his work. He said the staff member recognized the truth of that statement and became one of the best ministers on staff.

Pastors, please don't forget that people are your ministry. Just being present in their lives is a major aspect of your ministry. Some respond to that by saying they just are not a people person. My response to that is that if you cannot build relationships with people you should not be in pastoral ministry. Ministry is all about relationships, especially in the smaller church. You are not a CEO of a corporation. You are the under-shepherd of a group of people the Lord has entrusted to your care. Be present in their lives.

Choose this day who you will serve

 Those who watched the Grammys (I didn't) have been very vocal about someone named Sam Smith's performance that has been deemed Satanic worship. Smith and another singer sang their Grammy-winning song "Unholy." That a song about adultery would win an award says something about the entertainment industry and this nation in general. That a performance that celebrates Satan would be considered by some as entertaining says even more about how far this nation has fallen. This is the reason I quit watching awards programs years ago. Those who are often celebrated the most are the ones who depend upon vulgarity, sex and perversion for their so-called achievements.

It seems ironic that just days after the Grammys aired a revival broke out on the campus of Asbury University which has now spread to numerous colleges and universities. Many Christian leaders are now seeking revival within their churches. This revival has resulted in transformed lives and has captured the attention of both the Christian and non-Christian world. I doubt that the Grammys resulted in many changed lives. at least changed for the good.

I wonder if God is drawing a line in the sand like the prophets did in the Old Testament. Moses, Joshua and Elijah all challenged the people of Israel to choose whether they would serve Jehovah or the false gods of the land. The people were told they were free to choose who they would follow, but they were not free to avoid the consequences of their choice. Moses said that God had set before them life and death, blessing and cursing, and he challenged them to choose the life and blessing that comes from following Jehovah.

Many of the students at Asbury and elsewhere have chosen the blessings of following Jesus Christ. They are finding forgiveness for their sins and freedom from the guilt and shame those sins brought. Chains are being broken. Broken relationships are being healed. Miracles are being done as God is working in the lives of those who are choosing Him.

The choice these prophets presented to the Israelites is the same choice that confronts each of us. Who are you going to serve? Many follow the gods of this age only to find that in the end they have nothing to offer. Others of us have chosen to follow the God of the Bible, and we have found that making that choice has enriched our lives far more than we ever imagined. Not only do we enjoy great blessings here on earth, but we have the promise of spending eternity in heaven with God when our life here on earth ends.

Unfortunately, some try to not make that choice. They want God in their lives, but they also want to experience everything this world has to offer. They keep one foot in heaven and one foot in hell. They might tell you that they are not ready to make a choice just yet so they will just stay on the fence a while longer. They need to know the Devil owns the fence. Refusing to choose God they have, in fact, made their choice.

New wine into old wineskins

Billy Graham's crusades saw hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people walk the aisle making professions of faith in Jesus Christ. I wonder what happened to those people. How many of them became disciples of Jesus Christ and active in their local churches? I seem to remember Graham himself asking that question in an article or interview. While his team did a lot of work preparing for the meetings, the follow-up was left to the churches. I just wonder how effective that follow-up was, and did these converts from Graham's crusades find a home in their local churches.

I think about that again as the Asbury revival continues and similar revivals are breaking out on other college campuses. Eventually, the revival will wind down. They always do. How many of the people so impacted by this revival will find their way into a local church, and how will the churches be impacted by what these individuals have experienced?

Jesus made it clear that new wine cannot be poured into old wineskins. The reason was that as the new wine fermented and expanded it would rip apart the dried leather of the old wineskin. The things I have read about and heard from family and friends who have been to Asbury during this revival are not things that necessarily happen in our churches. The worship, the testimonies, the confessions, the prayers do not fit in our 60-minute worship services. The services at Asbury are not three songs, a couple of prayers, an offering, a sermon and everyone sent home inspired to eat lunch. These students are doing business with God. What's going to happen when these students try to take their new experience back into their churches? In many cases, I fear the old wineskin will burst.

For a number of years I have told pastor conferences I led that God is doing a new thing in His church. 
For the past several years I have felt that God was in the process of bringing change to His church, but I did not know what this would look like. Many others have felt like I did, but they could not define the changes that were coming either. Perhaps this is it. There will be churches that will welcome this revival and experience it themselves. For many of these churches, it will not be easy, but enough people in the congregation will desire revival so much they will welcome it. Other churches will resist it, remain old wineskins, and prevent revival from happening. 

I believe something else may happen as well. I believe we will see new churches spring up led by these students who have experienced this fresh move of God in their lives. They will approach worship differently than they have known in their previous churches. These churches will be built around community much like we read in the first chapters of Acts. Many of them may well be house churches. None will be mega-churches. Just as this revival has been organic; these new churches will be organic as well. Few, if any, will join existing denominations. Many may have loose connections with other like-minded churches such as we saw in Charismatic churches in the late 70s and early 80s.

There is one caveat for these new churches. It is important that you not neglect the preaching of the Word of God. Acts 2 makes it clear that the early church continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. In other words, they were regularly taught the Word of God. Such teaching must be included if these new churches are to successfully develop disciples and see this revival continue.

 

When a church closes

 I find it interesting that we are seeing a tremendous revival taking place at Asbury University, and at the same time I see where a very nice church building is being sold at auction. According to some reports, 100 churches close their doors every week in the US. Two things strike me as interesting. One, as seen in the revival at Asbury, God is still moving in the lives of his people, and (2) there is still much work to be done for the Kingdom of God. According to research, a minimum of 80 percent of the population in every county of the US is unchurched. No church closes its doors because it has no work that it can do.

Let me quickly say that I am not being critical of this church that is selling its building at auction. Perhaps it has moved to a larger facility and was unable to sell its previous building to a private buyer. I know nothing about this church so I am not being judgmental. My prayer is that another congregation will be able to purchase this building. What I am addressing is the number of churches that closes its door each year despite the great spiritual needs that exist in this country. Why are they unable to continue to minister to their communities?

For me, the answer to that question is always that they have no vision for ministry. Where there is no vision the people perish a very wise person once wrote. Despite being in the midst of a dying, pagan world many churches have no vision for reaching out into that world. They have lived with a maintenance-mindset for so long they have no vision for ministry. Their focus as been internal for decades, and they are unable to see the needs that exist outside the four walls of their building.

As a regional leader in our denomination for 14 years I saw this all too often. Even if someone points out the ministry needs that exists around the church the congregation is unable, or unwilling, to do anything about them. They complain loudly that they are dying, nobody is coming to their services, and the denomination should do something about it, but they have no idea who lives within the shadow of their buildings or what their spiritual needs might be.

Many people are reporting that this movement of God we see at Asbury and other locations is a sign that God is about to do something mighty. Read the following words carefully...if your church isn't ready to move when God does it will be left behind. If you have no vision for ministry, and you are unable or unwilling to follow God where He is about to lead you, He will raise up other churches and abandon you. Ichabod, the glory of God has departed, will be written over your door.

Your church may not close for decades. Many churches have endowments that can carry them financially well beyond their shelf life, but if they are not in line with what God is doing, they will be little more than spiritual clubs meeting weekly to talk about the good old days. God will be elsewhere doing things your congregation said couldn't be done.

It doesn't have to happen. Experience this outpouring of God's Spirit for yourself. Capture a fresh vision from God for the future ministry of your church, and pursue it with a passion that perhaps has not characterized your church for a long time. You will be surprised what God will do.

Asbury Revival

Unless you've been living in a cave the past week you are aware that an amazing revival is taking place on the campus of Asbury University in Kentucky. The school had their regular chapel service on February 8, and the service still has not ended a week later. 24 hours a day every day people have filled the chapel, and overflow spaces, worshiping God and seeking a renewed relationship with Him. The last word I had the school was now using four buildings on campus and asking local churches to open their doors for the overflow crowds. Students from at least 22 schools have descended on the campus to share in this outpouring of the Spirit of God. A number of other schools are reporting similar revivals are breaking out on their campuses as well.

Interestingly enough, the school has not suspended its regular schedule of classes. While many professors are being lenient on class attendance, the classes are still meeting. I'm sure students will be expected to make up any work they have missed. I appreciated what the school president, Timothy Tennent, wrote about this in his blog. He writes

"This is the reason why both the University and the Seminary have not cancelled classes.  It is not because we are in a “business as usual” mode.  Far from it.   There is talk of little else in every chapel, in every classroom, in every hallway conversation, and, I suspect, in every home and apartment in the community.  The desire is to “mainstream” renewal into the very fabric of our lives so that we are transformed right where we live, and work and study.  We all love mountaintop experiences, but we also know that it must be lived out in all the normal rhythms of life.   We have to live into this desperation for God to do what we cannot do   We have to live into transformed relationships.  We have to live into new patterns of life and worship.  In short, we must embrace what it means to really live as Christians in the midst of a church culture which has largely domesticated the gospel beyond recognition.  We will know that revival has truly come to us when we are truly changed to live more like him at work, at study, at worship, and at witness."

I could not agree more. Who doesn't want to live on the mountaintop all the time, but that is not where much of life is lived. Life is lived in the relationships we have, the responsibilities that is ours, the communities in which we live. Genuine revival will cause us to live transformed lives in each of these areas of life, and more besides those listed. 

My daughter attended one evening earlier this week and told me that this revival is strictly organic. God is moving among the students at Asbury. While staff are helping lead, this is primarily a student-led movement. The church today sometimes complains about the spirituality of today's youth, but perhaps we should temper our criticisms. As I told our Bible study group tonight, these young people are doing something that our preachers, including me, haven't been able to do in decades, and that is to humble themselves and seek God in such a way that He is bringing revival to that campus and many other campuses and communities as well.

My prayer is that me and the church I presently serve might experience this outpouring of God's Spirit as well. I want to see the power of the Holy Spirit move throughout our congregation in such a way that we will never be the same again. I want to see us so energized by His power that our community will be amazed and drawn to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said if He is lifted up He will draw all people to Him. Oh God, let us be a church that draws people to you! Send revival, Lord! Pour out your Spirit upon all flesh!

Pastors...We're not really a big deal

I began my pastoral ministry in 1981 in a small rural church where I served for 20 years. I left that church when I accepted a ministry position in our judicatory where I served another 14 years. Since retiring I'm been privileged to serve as the Transitional Pastor for two wonderful churches. During all those years of ministry I have taken my responsibilities very seriously. However, I have not taken myself very seriously. Despite what some pastors believe about themselves, we are not really that big of a deal.

One of the things I have stressed in pastor conferences I've led is that from the moment we begin our ministries we are departing pastors. Whether we leave the church vertically or horizontally, if the Lord tarries, we will leave. Another will take our place. Unless we are the founding pastor of the church, there were pastors there before us, and there will be pastors there after us. If we begin to think that the church is dependent upon us we need to remember that cemeteries are full of indispensable people.

We have seen in recent years numerous accounts of well-known pastors who have fallen into various types of sins and had to leave the ministry. I don't pretend to know the reasons for their moral failures, but one common reason is that they began to believe their press. They felt entitled to the affair. They felt they were entitled to more money. They felt they were entitled to mistreat people. People had placed them upon a pedestal because of their accomplishments. They surrounded themselves by people who covered for their indiscretions "for the good of the church." When pastors begin to believe they can do no wrong they are walking on very slippery ground.

An advantage that bivocational pastors might have is that on Monday we return to our regular jobs. No matter how great (or badly) our service was on Sunday, on Monday I returned to a 40-hour work week in the factory. It's hard to get too prideful as a pastor when on Monday morning you are on the assembly line mounting fuel pumps on diesel engines coming down the conveyor belt.

It's critical that we take our responsibilities to our congregations seriously. Our churches deserve our best efforts whether it is in our preaching, our pastoral care, our leadership or any other aspect of pastoral ministry. But, at the end of the day it's important to recognize that it is God who is the head of the church. We are His undershepherds; He is the Great Shepherd. Hopefully, we are seeking His guidance as we prepare our sermons. It is His vision for the church that we should seek. The people who make up the congregation we serve are His people, not ours. We are called there for a season, and when our work is done another will take our place.

I love pastoral ministry and will always do my best no matter where I am called to serve. At the same time, I refuse to take myself too seriously. I have a role to fulfill during my time here on earth, but one day I'll be gone and a new generation will take my place. I'm really not that big of a deal.

Pastors as entrepreneurs

 Perhaps one of the greatest needs the church has is for pastors who think like entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs in business are visionary people who are not afraid to take risks to see those visions come to fruition. Managing a business is relatively easy; growing a business requires leaders who are not afraid to take risks. Managing a church is relatively easy. All that is required is to keep the machinery running and most people relatively content. However, that is a sure way to disaster. Bill Easum wrote in Dancing with the Dinosaurs, "If churches only improve what they have been doing, they will die." We see that happening every year in the United States. What is required is a more entrepreneurial strategy for churches. We need Pastorpreneurs leading our churches.

John Jackson wrote Pastorpreneur: Pastors and Entrepreneurs Answer the Call. In the book he defined a pastorpreneur as "an innovative Christian leader, a creative dreamer who is willing to take great risks in church ministry with the hope of great gain for Christ and his kingdom." In the book he addresses five strategies that he believes will lead to a healthier and growing church.

Like most things worthwhile, being a pastorpreneur is not easy. For many pastors, it isn't what they were taught in seminary what pastoral ministry should look like. It requires a completely different approach to ministry, and some cannot make that transition. Pastors are no different than anyone else. We like the security of doing what we were taught to do and the congregational approval when we do it in a manner that they expect. Many of us are just as risk-averse as those sitting in our pews.

Approaching ministry from an entrepreneurial perspective is not likely to sit well with some in our congregations. "We've never done it that way before," is often the first thing a pastorpreneur will hear when he or she proposes a new way of thinking about ministry. Church controllers especially will feel threatened. A fresh vision for ministry cast by a pastorpreneur will probably be initially embraced by very few people.

Unless the pastorpreneur is starting a new church, it may be difficult to overcome decades of tradition in the church. Church members prefer harmony over mission in many cases. Who cares if the church is dying as long as they can hold onto to their traditions during their lifetimes? Even more sadly, who cares if people around us are dying apart from Christ as long as nothing changes in our church? The pastorpreneur will not be welcomed in a church with this mindset.

Despite the challenges, churches need pastorpreneurs if they are to effectively minister to our current culture. We need strategic thinkers who can receive fresh visions from God for the ministry of the church and can conceive of a plan that will allow that vision to be fulfilled. 

Adjustments

 My wife and I were talking yesterday about all the changes we've seen in our 70+ years of living on planet earth. Three of the homes in which I was raised no longer exist. The house she grew up in was torn down years ago. In our community we've seen businesses move in and out of buildings over and over again. The majority of the stores on Main street that existed when I was a child no longer exist. Downtown Madison used to have numerous small grocery stores. My Dad delivered milk and ice cream to those stores, and I often went with him during the summer months. There is not a single grocery store in the downtown area now.

Some of these changes occurred because owners died and no one was interested in taking their place. Others could not survive when big box stores moved into the community. Some went broke because of poor management or economic downturns. In most cases, adjustments needed to be made that people were unable or unwilling to make.

The countryside is dotted with former church buildings about which the same thing could be said. Congregations grew older and smaller and remained resistant to change. Too often, seminaries produced pastors taught ministry practices that had long ago grown obsolete. Some churches, in an attempt to appeal to as many people as possible, forsook the clear teachings of Scripture. Once a church or denomination starts down that path it is very difficult to turn back around. Eventually, they find that it leads to a dead end.

I received a letter this week from our regional office stating that nearly 40 churches in our region are currently seeking pastoral leadership. Some have been looking for a long time. For at least some of these churches they may have to make some changes in what they are seeking. Smaller churches seeking a full-time, seminary-trained pastor are unlikely to be successful. Rural churches and those in smaller communities are also likely to struggle to find pastoral leadership. 

Many churches continue to believe that people are soon to return to church now that the Covid pandemic has lessened also need to adjust their thinking. People started leaving churches well before Covid became a problem, and they are not going to come back. Growing numbers of people no longer believe that regular church attendance is necessary. In fact, many report that attending church has actually been harmful to their spiritual growth. As a young church leader once reported, his friends not only do not plan to attend a church, they see no reason why they should. This is the reality facing today's church, and it requires a major adjustment in the church's thinking and approach to ministry.

For many years, the come-and-see method of outreach was effective for many churches. This was during a time when most people saw attending church as beneficial. That time has passed. Besides, the come-and-see method was never biblical. The Great Commission instructs us to go into the world sharing the gospel. If the 21st century church is to engage its generation it must do so from the inside. We cannot wait for people to come to us; we have to go to them. We have to enter into their world. As Neil Cole wrote in Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens, "If you want to win this world to Christ, you are going to have to sit in the smoking section. That is where lost people are found."

Adjustments. Few people enjoy them, but if we are not willing to examine everything we believe about church and its mission and change the way we think about how to go about fulfilling that mission, we will join the empty churches and storefronts that are so prevalent across the country. Even worse, people will face eternity without God because we were not willing to make the adjustments necessary to share the good news about Jesus Christ.