Nine Characteristics of Out of the Box Churches

Dave Ferguson, co-author of On the Verge, does a chapter on “Nine Characteristics of Out of the Box Churches.”

1. Beta, Not Better.  Apple runs millions of internal tests to make sure it’s 100% perfect before releasing.  Google releases a beta version, and revises according to response.  Be a google church.
2. Trusting and Trustworthy.
3. Permission is Assumed, Forgiveness is Expected.  This is an environment where people creatively go with their gut.
4. Hurry Up… Wait.  Verge churches collaborate at break neck speed to get the job done, but also follow a rhythm of solitude and reflection.
5. Fail Forward Fast.  An ethos that celebrates failure gives a back door out after risk taking.  If you punish failure, you create cautiousness and status quo.
6. Love the Edge.
7. Put your money where your mouth is.  Everybody talk values, verge churches resource them.
8. Everyone gets to Play.  Innovation isn’t a professionals-only thing.
9. No R&D Departments.  Pilot efforts are fine, but verge work has to be whole church work in time.

When Your Leadership Isn’t Working

Will Mancini put out a short and helpful article on 5 Things You Must Do if You’re a Frustrated Church Planter.  It’s a good article for leaders of any sort who aren’t hitting their self-imposed mark of success.

When God Moves Into the Neighborhood

Melissa and I did a message recently on what it means to become a part of the communities and social circles we find ourselves in, and bring an experience with Jesus along with us.

You can watch the video on Brooklife’s Vimeo Site.

Coaching Questions or Accountability Questions?

When you get together with another person for the purpose of growing each other, is it better to ask coaching questions or accountability questions?

The basic difference is this: coaching questions help you figure out what your supposed to do at this time, accountability questions make sure you did what you were supposed to do last time.

Examples of coaching questions: What is God telling you to work on?  What’s your biggest challenge right now?  What one thing could you work on that would make the biggest difference in your life?

Examples of accountability questions:  Were you sure to leave your work at the office and not let it intrude on family time last week?  How did you sin against God or people last week?  Did you make time for prayer like you wanted to?

I personally lean heavy on the coaching on the front end, and gently use accountability on the back end.  It feels a little more forward thinking than backward, with a healthy does of follow through.  Besides, people that offer straight accountability kind of feel like bullies kicking you in the shins repeatedly.

Am I off on this?  Would it be more effective to come up with your list of do’s and don’ts for life, and then invite others to hold you accountable?

Two Halves to Life

CNN did an interesting article with Richard Rohr, a Catholic Priest commenting on how churches overlook older generations.

Much of contemporary religion is geared toward teaching people how to navigate the first half of their lives, when they’re building careers and families. Rohr calls it a “goal-oriented” spirituality.

Yet there’s less help for people dealing with the challenges of aging: the loss of health, the death of friends, and coming to terms with mistakes that cannot be undone, he says.

It brings me back to a post I did a few months back – No Age is the Right Age.  There has got to be a way to speak each generation without excluding the rest, and without tripping over a cultured and overly eclectic approach.

Complaining to God

Is it alright to complain to God?

When Israel complained in their desert journey to the Promised Land, God brought his wrath in many forms.

Paul Miller, in his book Praying Life, argues that when Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are weary,” he was telling us to come with all our sourness and all our complaints.  After all, how else do we express ourselves as people when we’re weary! 

Why Triad’s for Discipleship?

Greg Ogden’s book, Transforming Discipleship, is an outstanding look at Biblical models of discipleship, followed by a contemporary “triad” model that condenses the Biblical approach.  His “triad” proscription is the perfect complement to the discipleship taking place in small group setting.  My only critique is that his specific systems and curriculum suggestions take away much of the organic nature these relationships could have.

Ogden encourages same-sex triads.  He emphasizes triads because pairs foster hierarchy/dependency, and limit interaction/varying perspectives.  He encourages these relationships to be same-sex, due to the intimate nature that is fostered.

Ogden boasts a 75% multiplication rate for triads, while pairs rarely multiply.  Page 137 is a nice diagram showing how one disciple who disciples another to disciple another every year will bypass and blow away an evangelist’s reach in 12 years even if they reach a new soul daily.

Three ingredients that need to take place in the triads to make them transforming environments include: 1) Transparent Trust (Safety and Affirmation fosters Confession and therefore Repentance), 2) God’s Truth (Corrects, Directs, Trains), and 3) Mutual Accountability (Support and Challenge).

Group Planting?

Is there such a thing as Small Group Planting?

Typically, small groups are multiplied by 1) an apprentice leader being sent out from an existing group, 2) an apprentice leader staying with the existing group while the original leader gets sent out, 3) sub-grouping (hosting smaller groups within a growing mid-sized group), or 4) an apprentice group (often called “turbo groups”) spending a short season together for the purpose of disbanding with each member founding a new group.

I am an advocate for all four, but have been brainstorming with a peer (Joe McFadden) for other possible outlets.  I have found myself Pastoring at a Church (Brooklife) that is experiencing a rapid season of growth.  I and other group leaders at my church have invested nine months of hard work toward apprenticeship and multiplication, but appear to have come up a bit short.  If of our Fall registration is as I anticipate, in a matter of weeks, our handful of new groups will be quickly overwhelmed; and most of our existing groups will be filled to the brim.

What about group planting?  The Apostle Paul parachuted into some regions with the gospel, and left as early as three weeks later with a church in place.  Theses churches needed ongoing coaching, but they were functional churches.  If you can plant a working church in three weeks, I’m pretty sure we could do the same with groups.

In my final month at a prior church, we planted a group.  There was a clear pocket of people where community and formation could occur (aka, small group).  However, no one was ready to take the lead.  After some dialog with each potential group member, I volunteered to the lead the group for three weeks, on faith that God would raise up a leadership solution by the end of that time.  God did, and now over a year later, I’ve received word several states away that this group has been thriving well and are praising God for what they share together.

I am still trusting God for new leaders and new groups to emerge this month.  If they don’t come in from other sources, I think Joe and I may be called to roll up our sleeves and plant a few groups.

Scott Risley on Coaching According to the Pastoral Epistles

Dwight Marable and Jim Egli state that coaching is key to long-term success of groups.

I & II Timothy is a good Biblical basis for coaching.  That being said, note that it’s only 10 chapters and the intent of these books was not specifically to
give us a coaching manual.

Issues to Balance:

1. Relationships and Tasks.
   1. Paul and Timothy express deep affection for each
      other.  They reference family, shared experiences, and mutual friends.
   2. However, ministry advice dominates the letter.  Relationship happens in the ministry.
   3. Application. There are no false dichotomies.  Relationships and tasks aren’t opposed to each other.  Working together creates a common bond, so put a slight emphasis on the task.  Do the work along natural/organic relational
      channels.  People already bonded relationally will work better together.
2. Instructions and Principles.
   1. Paul gets really specific and authoritative in
      instructions in I Timothy– who to confront, how to confront, qualifications of leaders, who goes on the widow list and what is to be done for them.
   2. By II Timothy, advice is broader and with more
      of an explanation on “why?”
   3. Application.  Start with instructions in early relationships but move to principles when they are up to speed.  Less experienced leaders need explicit advice.  Help them succeed first, give them the why later.  Competency is necessary – there are things to
      get done.
3. Character and Skills.
   1. Character is pounded on in the Pastoral Epistles.  He emphasizes it for Timothy and he emphasizes it as qualifications for elders and deacons.  Elder/Deacon selection is weighted 4:1 favoring character over skills.
   2. Skills are still a real asset.  You can’t just work on character with people.  You can do work without character, but you can be full of character and still a clutse.
   3. Application. Don’t overlook weak character. Monitor health habits like marriage, relationships, sin habits, rest/Sabbath, spending time with God in solitude.
4. Holy Spirit and Strategy
   1. Interestingly, there are almost no explicit references to the Spirit’s role in ministry (some implicit references).  It’s somewhat shocking when you consider how much the Holy Spirit shows up in Acts. There are many references to prayer.
   2. We’re to take a holistic consideration of all scripture, but the Pastoral Epistles greatly place the emphasis on sound strategy.
   3. Application. Super-Spiritual Mysticism is not substantiated.  We’re not intended to just pray and wait on prophetic leadings.  Pray it through thoroughly, but then move forward with sound well-counseled strategy.  We need to share knowledge and experiences, arriving at contextualized practices.

For a solid guide on how to lead during which phase of development for leaders, see Ken Blanchard’s Leadership and the One Minute Manager, 30, 68.

House Groups and People with Disabilities

One of the more emotionally compelling presentations that I experienced at the Xenos Summer Institute was on the integration of people with disabilities into the life of the church…

54 Million Americans have disabilities; that’s 1/6.  If you live long enough, we are all likely to experience a disability.

Disability is a feature of body or environment, inhibiting you from normal functioning in society. For example, people requiring wheelchairs aren’t necessarily disabled until buildings put in stairs.

Three common
experiences for people with disabilities in church.

• Overlooked – no thought registered on the topic.
• Separated – ministry with/for disabled people.
• Mainstreamed – welcomed in with the rest, as
  long as no additional accommodations are necessary.

Integration Requires
Good Theology

• I Corinthians 12:1-20 covers the concept of one
  body with many parts.  We therefore need
  an integrated approach.  Overlooking the
  value giving potential of those with disabilities is a travesty, and a
  separated approach prevents the church body from benefiting from the fully.
• “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to
  acts of love and good works.”  Hebrews
  10:24
• Just like Jesus had vision for Peter, we need a
  vision for what people can become.
• Did Moses have a speech impediment?  Was the most powerful figure of the Old
  Testament disabled?
• For Jesus to become man, he took on disability.

Integration Starts
with Leaders and Involves the Whole House Group

• Hebrews 13:7 indicates that the example of
  leaders is an inspirational lead to others.
• Find creative long-haul solutions to welcome
  disabled members.
• Start with people when they are young.  Expose your kids to disabled people.
• Encourage self-advocacy by disabled people.  They must assert what accommodations they
  need.

Integration Requires
Flexibility and Creativity

• People with wheel chairs might be hesitant about
  joining a group because of stairs or the need to rely on people to get up
  stairs.  You need to insist that they are
  welcome and should come.
• One Xenos ministry house incorporated a handicap
  ready rental a few doors down.
• Figure out how to involve their input in group
  discussion and gifts into ministry teams.
• Offer a personal “buddy” to any children with
  disabilities that need special attention.
• Offer a translator at one service.
• Wheelchair friendly ramps, isles, and seating.

Word gets around fast in
disabled communities.  Don’t wait for
them to come and then accommodate.  Make
the accommodations, use your church’s communication channels to make the accommodations
known, and you’ll find word of mouth travels quickly.