Tony Morgan and Leadership

Just back from Tony Morgan's coaching network session. I'm not sure why I am there, but the rest of the people involved are bright, intense, committed ministry leaders from all over who come to meet with Tony once a month for six months to develop ministry leadership skills.

We spoke about several things, but one that really struck a chord with me was spiritual stagnation.

The basic goal of most churches is to move people from being non-believers to being fully committed and mature Christ-followers. For this purpose, we create processes that use the power of the Holy Spirit working through people to facilitate this movement.

Many churches are doing a decent job of initially engaging people, but then they get stuck somewhere along the line that leads to spiritual maturity. It's not because the Holy Spirit lacks the power to create the change- it's because God chooses to use the church (that's us, folks) to effect this process, and the church (that's us, folks) has dropped the ball.

Argyle is typical of this. We do a great job of Sunday morning- I doubt there is a church in America any better (bigger is not better- just bigger) at making Sunday morning a terrific experience. Our problem is that we have trouble moving people from the Worship Center on Sunday morning to the point of mature Christ followers.

I will be writing about details over the next couple weeks. Comment with you thoughts.

This is a great read...

and you should spend a few minutes to enjoy it- a short interview with Robert Schuller.

Robert Schuller and The Crystal Cathedral have been around so long they have become cliche. Many of us (me included) never realized the impact he and his ministry have had on the direction of the church in America today.

I would love to hear some feedback and opinions.

Withdrawal...

Two weeks in a place so remote that there is no cell phone service, and with a dead laptop to boot- talk about going into withdrawal.

Several years ago we decided to see as many of the National Parks as we could. This year, we were in Yosemite, King's Canyon, Sequoia, and Channel Islands National Parks. Yes, we saw both bears and whales.

I am always struck by the great beauty of our country's wild places. As a Florida boy, it is hard to awe me with the wide expanse of the ocean shore, but mountains and canyons really amaze me. Everyone should plan to visit these places at least once in their lives. Pictures are great, but nothing can prepare you for the live experience of being in some of these places and seeing the work of the mighty hand of our Creator.

Check back for pictures- the laptop died on me and until it's fixed the pictures are stuck on the cameras.

A downright scary thought...

just occurred to me. Jesus said He would build His church and that it would be successful and effective. That means if an organization is calling itself a church and is not successful and effective, it must not be a church- it must be something other than a church.

People hearing the Gospel, being transformed by it, and their lives being changed are a church. People excited by what God is doing in them and through them is a church. People telling their friends about the transforming power of the Gospel is a church. People seeing the power of the Holy Spirit in action is a church.

Anything else is... well, it's not a church.

Just wondering...

I am privileged to be part of a group of men from churches all over America who are in a coaching network with Tony Morgan. It's a great group, with only one small caveat; to paraphrase the famous philosopher Groucho Marx, "Any club that would have me as a member is suspect."

The main thing I observe about the guys in this group is that they are very, very bright and very, very dedicated. There are a wide range of roles represented, and a wide range of church types, sizes and denominations. The common factor is that we are all evangelicals and all passionately want our churches to bring the Gospel to people who are perishing without it, and deny hell a larger market share.

Pray for me as I participate, and pray for these other men.

An interview with Ed Stetzer...

Ed Stetzer is President of Lifeway Research and a well-respected author and observer of the church scene in North America. This is an interview with him reviewing some of his research findings in a new book, Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches That Reach Them.

This research supports something we see intuitively at The Church at Argyle about 20-somethings

• They are turned off by people or things things that are not genuine
• They highly value close personal ties
• They are spiritually open but skeptical
• They seek cross-generational relationships but resist being dominated or talked down to
• They seek truth but won't take things for granted- they want to explore their beliefs in depth

What does this mean? It means that we can't assume that the disconnection from the church of large numbers of our young people is a "phase" they will grow out of in their 30's and 40's. It means that we need to spend time and energy nurturing relationships with them, to model Christ for them, to earn their attention to the message of the Gospel. It means seeing them as equals, if not as peers, in our lives and communities.

Sometimes the truth hurts...

Listening to a podcast involving Dr. Ed Stetzer about 20-somethings in today's church, I heard something that is both true and disturbing. (Very close paraphrase- may not be an exact quote)

"Most churches, given the choice, will choose their traditions over their children."

I am so glad that my church isn't doing that- or at least not in an overt way. God help us to continue to make decisions based on reaching as many people as possible, most particularly our children, with the Gospel of Jesus. Please God, don't ever let us choose our tradition or our comfort zone over loving the people you put in our sphere of influence.