I hear it all the time. “We went from starting this church with 8 people a few years ago to having over 5,000 people attend our services each week!” There are always comments being made by how many new people came to church, announcements about new campuses, announcements of building expansions or new building construction. Church leaders love to tell people about their churches growth.

Now, before I get hit over the head by people who attend large churches or churches that are growing extremely fast, allow me to put my comments in some context. Church growth is of course, critical to the success of any church. A church that does not grow, withers and dies eventually. In addition, in this post, I am not singling out any one particular church. So, when it comes to church growth?

Motivation is key.

As Christians, we often wonder if what we’re doing is right or wrong. Often, our motivation is going to tell us. For instance, owning a nice large home is not an example of ‘greed’ as some will tell you. If you have worked hard and you have beeen faithful in your giving to God, then using the money you’ve been blessed with to purchase or build a new home is perfectly fine. If your motivation for buying a new home is simply because other people have similar homes and you want to be like them or use it to impress others, then there’s a problem. As a photographer, I am often motivated to purchase cool photography items. But I often have to weigh my motivations. Is that new lens something I really need for my photography business, or is it merely something I want because it’s such a cool item?

So what is the motivation of the church? I would say it boils down to the question being asked. Many churches and their leaders ask:

“What can we do in order to get more people to come to our church?”

Shouldn’t the question really be:

“What can we do in order to bring our church to the people?”

To visualize this second question, let’s take a look at John 1:43-46

Verse 1 says, “The next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  Here was, going out to Galilee where he found his disciple, Philip. Philip follows in the footsteps of Jesus by going to Nathaniel in verse 43 and telling him they found the man the prophets wrote about, Jesus of Nazareth. Nathaniel, in verse 46 asks, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” to which Philip replies, “Come and see.”

Charles Spurgeon wrote:

Huber, the great naturalist, tells us that if a single wasp discovers a deposit of honey or other food, he will return to his nest and impart the good news to his companions, who will sally forth in great numbers to partake of the fare which has been discovered for them.

Shall we who have found honey in the rock Christ Jesus be less considerate of our fellow-men than wasps are of their fellow-insects? Ought we not rather, like the Samaritan woman, hasten to tell the good news? Common humanity should prevent one of us from concealing the great discovery which grace has enabled us to make.

If the goal of a church is merely to get people to go, what does that do for their future? Is it possible for a church to hold 1000 people and yet be spiritually empty? I believe so. It’s easy to put together a campaign designed to bring people in. There is cool music, church staff wearing cool clothes, a cool Pastor, etc. They have wonderful events at their church filled with fun things to do with great food. But at the same time, their people are not being fed spiritually. Again, I am not knocking “cool music” or any of those other items I listed. I play the drums for our worship team and this weekend we’re going to be playing a Lincoln Brewster song that is fast and has an amazing guitar solo.

What churches need to remember is there are so many people out there who are not going to come to church regardless of what is being advertised or based upon what is on a website. Why? Because church is where Christians feel safe. Others feel threatened no matter how nice a church building is. Jesus went out to where the people were. He went to the beaches, to the markets, and to the city streets. He didn’t set up some tent and hand out flyers. He just shared with people and listened to them. He also asked them questions. In addition, his invitation was so simple. “Follow me.” Philip said to Nathaniel, “Come and see.” That’s it.

I believe if we get back to the basics, take our church outside the walls and to the people, churches would experience growth like they have never seen before both in numbers and in spirit. I truly believe our evangelism needs to take place outside the walls of our church. Discipleship is what we strive for, once people are inside the walls. The more we evangelize outside, the more that will come inside. The more that come inside, the more we’ll have to send outside. The cycle will just repeat itself.

Thoughts?

So Christmas has come and gone. I always dislike the first few days after Christmas. It’s kind of a downer. There’s so much fun and excitement leading up to that day and then — POOF! — it’s over. It’s my favorite time of the year so it’s tough to see it go away.

Friday was indeed a full day. I was at the church at 2:00pm and after 4 services and getting my stuff together, it was just past 9:00pm when I left. It was a great night. Due to the construction going on, a stage was assembled in the middle of the sanctuary and the services were done “in the round.” I put together a video of the evening’s events. Watch below (please forgive my amateurish editing skills):

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For the first time…ever….we opened presents Christmas Eve instead of on Christmas Day. To be honest, I was really tired and we just wanted to sleep in the next day! Word of warning to parents with young children: As your kids get older, the quantity of gifts starts to go down, but the price of what they ask for starts to go up!

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So the Giants have officially moved into the “We suck” category. For a team with this much talent, they should have been rivaling the Atlanta Falcons for the best record in the NFC, not having to beat the Redskins (combined with a Packers loss) in order to make the playoffs. Prediction: No playoffs and Coughlin is out of a job. He’s got on year left on his contract and either they extend it or let him go. Bill Cowher is out there, wants to coach again and has a good relationship with the Mara family. In fact, I suspect almost anything less than a Super Bowl berth spells the end for Coughlin. It’s just time.

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The Netflix Pick of The Week feature is something I am really going to have fun with. I’ve already got the next few weeks already lined up.

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Greatest movie review I have seen in a long time came from Ed Stetzer:

Movie review: if your home heat is out, and Yogi Bear is playing at a heated theater, set your house on fire & stay home.

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Can DNA show that John Wilkes Booth was not captured 12 days after he killed Lincoln, but in fact, lived 38 years beyond that before killing himself? It will be interesting to see how this story unfolds.

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So how was your Christmas?

Bashing Mark Driscoll has become a rising hobby it seems, particularly by other Christ followers. As I said in a previous post I find it ironic some of the vitriol and anger that is directed at Driscoll comes from the same “grace grace grace” people I mentioned in this post here.

This time it’s a clip on the issue of stay at home Dad’s. I saw it first over at Nicole Wick’s site where she was very critical of what Pastor Driscoll had to say. In fairness to Nicole, let me point out that her criticism focused on what Driscoll had to say and not Driscoll himself. She didn’t get personal. Those in her comments section however and on other blogs weren’t so kind.

Here’s the clip:

I can see how this would elicit a strong reaction. At first glance it appears as though Mark is basically dissing all stay at home Dad’s. That’s not the case. Listen closely to what he is saying. In addition, remember who he is talking to. While this Q&A is online and people all over the world can watch it, Pastor Driscoll is still really addressing his church. His congregation. This doesn’t mean his viewpoint would be different in front of another audience, but it is possible to believe his delivery would be different and might be willing to consider certain situations. It’s wrong to assume what he would believe about every given situation.

Take for example the following video where Pastor Driscoll goes off. You don’t have to watch the whole thing. Just check out the first two minutes:

Mark Driscoll’s church is located in one of the most unchurched cities in America. The bulk of Driscoll’s congregation are young men and women under the age of 30. I know of and personally know some of the men he’s talking about in both of those clips, but I’ll stick to the first one. Don’t you believe there are men in his congregation that do not work and allow their wives to earn the income because of their own folly? I know of a situation like that personally. The woman works and the husband stays at home. Why? Because he wants to make it as a musician and holding down a full time job would get in the way. I guess it would also take time from him playing video games.

Everybody knows of my passion for photography. But what kind of husband would I be if I told my wife to get a full time job so I could quit my job and focus on photography full time? I’d be exactly the kind of man Mark Driscoll was talking about.

I said earlier that it was important to listen closely to what Driscoll is saying. It’s obvious that some people who watched this video allowed their emotions to get the better of them because their responses accused Driscoll of saying things he did not say. For example:

In this comment the guy says Driscoll characterizes stay at home Dad’s as “overgrown boys with Peter Pan complexes” and says such words are “mean, simplistic and–more often than not–inaccurate.” That would be true, except Pastor Mark wasn’t talking about stay at home Dad’s. He was merely talking about the culture we live in. Just prior to the Peter Pan comment he said we live in a culture of “hook-up, shack-up and break-up.” Was he referring to stay at home father’s when he said that? Of course not.

In this blog entry, the author writes:

First, I think it is clear that Driscoll thinks all stay-at-home dads are deadbeats.

Using language like “I think it is clear” is merely justification for making assumptions that will strengthen ones own point of view.

This blog entry is titled, “Mark Driscoll Thinks Stay At Home Dads Are Weak.” It goes on to say the following:

I could understand them if we were talking about lazy or deadbeat dads (which is what he seems to think a stay at home dad is)

Again, note the language. “Which is what he seems to think.” Again. Such language makes it easier to justify your own point of view. We don’t actually know what Pastor Mark thinks, so we’ll just assume he thinks a particular way. Also, Pastor Mark did not say at any time that stay at home dad’s are weak.

These were two relatively calm reactions to Pastor Mark’s comments. I won’t link to others because they were nothing but personal attacks and not worthy of being linked to, but if you go to where I’ve linked already, you can find it.

So why the strong visceral reactions?

A. I think some reactions made good points (Like Nicole and some in her comments section) while again, not getting personal. Driscoll definitely does come off harsh at times and this is one of them and it’s a touchy subject so some of the response do not surprise me.

B. Some of it is projection. It’s a defense mechanism. Some are convicted by what Driscoll has said and it manifests itself in an angry response.

C. For some it is merely an opportunity to get in on some Mark Driscoll bashing.

For me, the issue of a men being stay at home dad’s comes down to motivations. Just like it is with buying a bigger home or a nicer car. There’s nothing wrong with doing it, but there could be an issue with motives. If your reason for being a stay at home dad is because your wife can make more money than you, then I don’t agree with it. Throwing out “we can give more” as a reason for your wife being the provider and not you is extremely lame. Jesus is not impressed by how much you give, but where your heart is with regard to giving. Read Mark 12:41-44 to understand that.

What do you think?

This past Thursday was the first part of the Christmas photo projects I have going on this month. Several families and friends had their portraits taken. In addition, the youth pastor’s son also had his first official Christmas portrait done. It was more of a spur of the moment kind of thing and the above image is the result. Yes, is eyes are that blue.

More images below the fold. Next Saturday is the Help-Portrait project. I’m really looking forward to that. (more…)

The Christmas season is easily my favorite time of the year. From Thanksgiving Day through New Year’s, it’s a special time. The lights, the sounds, the music, the food, the attitudes, etc. Even with ‘Black Friday’, the yearly “I won’t shop there because they say ‘Happy Holidays’ and not ‘Merry Christmas’!” nonsense, and other commercial aspects of the holiday (Ahhh!!) season, it’s still a favorite. I love the way our house looks with the decorations. St. Augustine lights up a large part of the ‘Old Town’ area and they put a big Christmas tree in the town square.

This Christmas season, I am going to be involved in a few photography projects. (more…)

Philippians 2:4 says (NIV):

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Being a servant is one of the many things Jesus spoke about. In Mark 10:45, Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

James is much more blunt when he says in James 2:14 (ESV):

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

There are churches all over that struggle to find volunteers. There’s a statistic that people often cite that says in a church, 10% of the people do 90% of the work. I don’t know how accurate that is, but it does seem like many smaller to mid-size churches do rely on the same people to do most of the tasks. I see ministry leaders at my own church sometimes struggle with this. (more…)

I’ve put in my Facebook profile and on my Twitter profile that, “I don’t do religion. I’m a Christ follower.” I can’t claim that as my own. I saw it somewhere else and thought it was cool.

Some people have asked me, “What’s the difference?” As many articles have been written on the subject, people still conflate religion with being a Christ follower. People often have different takes on what they see as “religion.” In my own experience it boils down to this list: (more…)

I had planned to go to Catalyst 09 this year. I had done some photo shoots to raise money and my wife’s ticket was also covered by somebody’s generosity. But the situation with my mother forced me to cancel as I didn’t know what would be going on.

Having not gone, I was able to sit back and reflect upon the whole thing as well as these conferences in general as there are a lot of them throughout the year.

1. When are we going to start seeing some new faces at these conferences? Don’t get me wrong. I love Perry Noble and Steve Furtick and Francis Chan and many of the others, but it seems to me like those names pop up all over the place. There are so many dynamic pastors and preachers across the country that would bring some fresh thoughts and ideas to these conferences. Why don’t they start doing that? The concern I have as I’ve seen this over the last year or so is that people will attend these conferences based solely on who is speaking and not what is being spoken. “Oh man. Perry Noble isn’t going to be there? I’m not going.”

I saw a comment the other day that said about the only thing missing at Catalyst 09 was the red carpet entrance.

2. Why aren’t these conferences available via live stream or at least archived? Even if they charged a nominal fee, people would pay for it. I know I would. They obviously have the capability as Francis Chan’s session was available via a live feed and even the Catalyst Backstage events were available live. So why isn’t that made available? This is not a “What the heck are you doing?” kind of question. There has to be a reason. I’d just like to know what it is.

3. Where are all the conferences on serving? Leadership is a wonderful thing. I take part in a group at our church that is helping to build up the next generation of leaders within the church. But Rick Warren tweeted something the other day that really caught my eye. He wrote, “For every book on serving,there’s a 100 written on leading. Which have you read more of and what does that tell you?” He punctuated his tweet with a reference to Matthew 20:26 – “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant”

My goal here isn’t to stir the pot. I have tremendous respect for the people that put together the Catalyst Conference. I know they worked very hard and their heart is in the right place. My concern is with the culture. Just as I said I was disturbed by what I see as absurd pricing for ‘coaching’, I am concerned with these conferences becoming more like rock concerts than events that help to further the mission of Christ followers to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

Do you agree? Disagree?

image via Stephen Poff

Over the last few months I have been following people on Twitter who have been part of Lifechurch.tv and their online church experience.

When I first had heard about it I thought, “Church online? Not sure how that would work.” I didn’t think too much about it and didn’t have anything negative to say about it as I never experienced it for myself. I didn’t have much interest to be honest because I didn’t think it would be all that good. “So I get to watch a preacher on video while chatting with some people. What’s the point really?”

I kept seeing people discussing it on Twitter and finally one day I decided to take a look. I did so in part because Lifechurch was teaching about Elijah and our own church was in the middle of a series about Elijah. Brandon Donaldson was doing the preaching and it was for the first time that I finally saw why people have such a passion for this ministry.

This wasn’t a simple video and a chat room. It was a truly interactive experience. They had a time of worship (a good fast Internet connection is necessity to enjoy the experience because music with lag time is no fun) and then announcements like any other church. The chat room was not just a free for all place. There are committed volunteers there ready to interact, answer questions and provide guidance. If a person needs more intimate prayer time, there is a place people can click and interact with a person one on one.

The messages are great with printable sermon notes. If the chat room and other things get distracting at all, one can easily go full screen to pay attention just to the message. Like any other church, Lifechurch.tv does ask for donations and makes it easy to give. At any time you can see how many countries around the world are tuned in at any given moment. They’ve even developed a tool for the chat room that allows people from different countries to chat in their own language and have it translated to the language another person is using. It is obvious the people behind this project worked very hard at being able to allow a person to experience as much of a true church experience as they can.

It isn’t only the church experience as well. If you click over to this page you can read their blog, and also find out about small groups (lifegroups), missions, volunteer opportunities and more.

One thing I don’t believe is that the online church experience is the only experience people should encounter (and I’ve seen nothing from the good people at Lifechurch.tv expressing the notion that church online can replace the traditional church). Nothing can replace the true brick and mortar church and the personal experience one gains from it in all facets of the church experience. But online church has a place in our world. Here are some benefits I think it brings:

1. It allows those interested in Jesus to experience it anonymously. People are nervous sometimes about walking into a church for the first time. It can be intimidating especially if they’re alone.

2. There are those who have physical disabilities and it makes it hard for them to leave the home. Rather than just watching somebody preaching on television, this gives them a chance to interact with others.

3. People can always learn more. Because church online at Lifechurch.tv has such a broad schedule, the opportunity to go to church and get some study time in — even if you’ve already been to church — is there and with plenty of times available.

4. It provides people with the opportunity to connect with people from all over the world. How cool is it to know that you can discuss a sermon you just watched with somebody 6000 miles away who saw the same thing?

There are people who have strong reservations about the online church. I think those reservations are misguided in that people think it is an attempt to replace the traditional church. It’s not. It’s merely a new way, using the technology we have to introduce the experience of church to people in a different way and to provide the church experience for those who may not be able to attend the traditional church.

It’s a great thing and I’m glad I clicked over to experience it.

If you have a Twitter account, here are a few people you want to follow who can help and answer questions if you have them:

Tony Steward – He’s the Online Community Pastor for Lifechurch.tv
Amanda Sims & Kim Thompson – Both volunteer for the church online experience.

Our small group is still in the midst of James MacDonald’s study, “Lord, Change My Attitude.” This past Friday he covered the pitfalls of having a rebellious attitude. The entire study about changing attitudes is drawn from the story of Moses leading God’s people out of Egypt and into Israel and how their poor attitudes so upset God that after a time he told them they would never get into the land of “milk and honey.”

During this session (based on Numbers 16), James got to a point where he talked about people being ungrateful for their ministry positions and how that ungratefulness leads to rebellion. Rather than describe what he said, I grabbed that part of the video for you to watch:

Strong words. But so true. It’s a reminder to all of us who serve in ministry. It’s a privilege we have. It’s not a right and we should be so ever grateful of serving God’s Kingdom in that capacity.