Continuing on with Chapter 5 of Gary Gilley's This Little Church Went to Market.
The church growth movement owes much to Robert Schuller. He claims to be its founder, at least in this country, by being the first to launch the marketing approach in Christianity. 'The secret of winning unchurched people into the church', Schuller said, 'is really quite simple. Find out what would impress the nonchurched in your community [then give it to them]. Schuller laid out his philosophy of ministry in his 1982 book Self Esteem: The New Reformation, in which he called for a radical shift in the church's focus from God to human needs.
He decided that mankind's most fundamental need was self-esteem; a 'need' nowhere mentioned, alluded to or even hinted at in the Bible.
Working from Schuller's premise that, as [Lee] Strobel would later communicate, 'The most effective messages for seekers are those that address their felt need', it remained for Hybels and company to determine which felt-needs required most attention. Leading the pack, Hybels decided, was not self-esteem, as Schuller taught, although he did not reject it, but rather personal fulfilment (or the pursuit of happiness). This view was derived from secular psychology, not the Bible, as we demonstrated in our last chapter. Fulfilment was followed by identity, companionship, marriage, family, relief of stress, meaning and morality. To Hybels, fulfilment was the felt need that emcompassed and and defined all others.
When Harry is attractred through a felt-need philosophy, he will not be retained when that approach is no longer used. In other words, If Harry is drawn to the church in order to get, in order to satisfy his flesh, he is not likely to stay around when and if he discovers that Christ calls for him to lose his life for Christ's sake (Matt. 16:25). The result is that churches which have been built on the quagmire of the superficial must remain superficial if they hope to retain their Harrys and Marys.
David Wells asks the right question of these seeker-sensitive churches. 'Does the church have the courage to become relevant by becoming biblical?'
That's the end of what struck me in Chapter 5. My question is, can a church help fulfill needs and be strongly biblical at the same time? Didn't Jesus meet physical and spiritual needs in the people He ministered to? Or are we just talking emotional needs here? I think we are. I think the point the author is trying to make is that all emotional needs can be addressed by a person's deep and abiding relationship with Christ and if a church focuses everything on fun to draw them in, and ministries that try to heal through psychology instead of addressing sin for what it is and allowing Christ to do the healing, then the church is barking up the wrong tree. That's my summary. We'll see what he says tomorrow. Blessings on this gorgeous Wednesday!
Showing posts with label Church Growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church Growth. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Market Driven Philosophy
Continuing on with This Little Church Went to Market by Gary Gilley, he talks about Saddleback Church.
Warren ably demonstrates that many church growth principles are simply common sense on the one hand and purposeful, aggressive leadership on the other. Many of Warren's suggestions are excellent. churches should pay attention to cleanliness and attractiveness, where people are going to park and how new people are going to feel walking through the doors. We should strive for excellence and do our best to communicate God's truth. And we should want to grow - in the right ways. Warren states, 'Every church needs to grow warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry, and larger through evangelism.'
The leaders of the market-driven church believe that 'the most effective messages for seekers are those that address their felt needs.' However, this approach is not drawn from the Bible; it is draw from market research and the latest in pop-psychology. No one denies that there are many benefits to the Christian life, but these benefits must not be confused with the gospel. The gospel is not about helping [unchurched] Harry feel better about himself and his circumstances; it is about his rebelliousness against a holy God who will ultimately condemn him to hell if he does not repent and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. The distinction between the market-driven approach and the biblical approach lies largely in understanding this fundamental difference.
In America for example, fifty percent of churches average fewer than 75 attendees on any given Sunday, and only 5 percent attract more than 350, according to Barna's surveys. Church growth gurus use these figures to prove that the church has lost its edge - it is not making a significant impact on society. But is this the case? David Wells shares his thoughts,
A century ago, in 1890...the average Protestant church had only 91.5 members, not all of whom would have been in attendance on any given Sunday; a century before that, in 1776, the average Methodist congregation had 75.7 members. It seems to be the case that our churches today are about the same size as they have always been, on average, and the supposition that we are not experiencing drastic shrinkage needs to be clearly justified before it can be allowed to become the premise for new and radical strategies.
As a matter of fact, church attendance in 1937 averaged 41% of the population, whereas it was 42% in 1988, leading Wells to comment, 'Barna's efforts to make mega churches the benchmark of normality and then to argue that churches of conventional size are failures is simply unwarranted and wrongheaded.
It doesn't take a mathematician to realize that if the percentage of Americans going to church has remained constant, yet mega churches are popping up almost weekly, then the giant churches are largely being populated by folks funnelling in from small churches. Just as the major retailers are killing mom-and-pop department stores, chain restaurants and groceries are doing the same in their respected venues, and the Mall has demolished 'downtown', so the mega-churches are doing a number on the small church. But large does not necessarily mean better, and when all the numbers are tallied, overall church attendance (on a percentage basis) is not increasing despite the methods championed by these mega-churches.
That's enough for today. Lots to disseminate. I have to go move concrete and then paint. Fun! Blessings to the start of a wonderful weekend!
Warren ably demonstrates that many church growth principles are simply common sense on the one hand and purposeful, aggressive leadership on the other. Many of Warren's suggestions are excellent. churches should pay attention to cleanliness and attractiveness, where people are going to park and how new people are going to feel walking through the doors. We should strive for excellence and do our best to communicate God's truth. And we should want to grow - in the right ways. Warren states, 'Every church needs to grow warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry, and larger through evangelism.'
The leaders of the market-driven church believe that 'the most effective messages for seekers are those that address their felt needs.' However, this approach is not drawn from the Bible; it is draw from market research and the latest in pop-psychology. No one denies that there are many benefits to the Christian life, but these benefits must not be confused with the gospel. The gospel is not about helping [unchurched] Harry feel better about himself and his circumstances; it is about his rebelliousness against a holy God who will ultimately condemn him to hell if he does not repent and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of his sins. The distinction between the market-driven approach and the biblical approach lies largely in understanding this fundamental difference.
In America for example, fifty percent of churches average fewer than 75 attendees on any given Sunday, and only 5 percent attract more than 350, according to Barna's surveys. Church growth gurus use these figures to prove that the church has lost its edge - it is not making a significant impact on society. But is this the case? David Wells shares his thoughts,
A century ago, in 1890...the average Protestant church had only 91.5 members, not all of whom would have been in attendance on any given Sunday; a century before that, in 1776, the average Methodist congregation had 75.7 members. It seems to be the case that our churches today are about the same size as they have always been, on average, and the supposition that we are not experiencing drastic shrinkage needs to be clearly justified before it can be allowed to become the premise for new and radical strategies.
As a matter of fact, church attendance in 1937 averaged 41% of the population, whereas it was 42% in 1988, leading Wells to comment, 'Barna's efforts to make mega churches the benchmark of normality and then to argue that churches of conventional size are failures is simply unwarranted and wrongheaded.
It doesn't take a mathematician to realize that if the percentage of Americans going to church has remained constant, yet mega churches are popping up almost weekly, then the giant churches are largely being populated by folks funnelling in from small churches. Just as the major retailers are killing mom-and-pop department stores, chain restaurants and groceries are doing the same in their respected venues, and the Mall has demolished 'downtown', so the mega-churches are doing a number on the small church. But large does not necessarily mean better, and when all the numbers are tallied, overall church attendance (on a percentage basis) is not increasing despite the methods championed by these mega-churches.
That's enough for today. Lots to disseminate. I have to go move concrete and then paint. Fun! Blessings to the start of a wonderful weekend!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
The New Paradigm Church
Jumping into chapter one of This Little Church Went to Market by Gary Gilley, he explains what a new paradigm church is and talks about church growth.
Mega-churches are defined as those with average worship attendance of 2000 or more, but these behemoth churches come in all shapes, stripes and forms. Some are centres of great preaching and teaching, some are charismatic, others are little more than social clubs. New-paradigm churches, on the other hand, are identified by a philosophy of ministry intentionally designed to effect numerical growth. In their church growth methodologies more attention is paid to market strategy, business techniques and demographics than to New Testament instruction.
From a mountain of research [more than 1000 churches on all five continents] [Christian A.] Swartz has observed eight characteristics of growing churches. These are empowering leadership, gift-oriented ministry, passionate spirituality, functional structures, inspiring worship, holistic small groups, need-oriented evangelism and loving relationships.
Growing churches are creating an atmosphere, an environment of fun. So fun has replaced holiness as the church's goal. If we can get the world to like us, they will embrace our Savior. That is the philosophy behind the user-friendly church movement.
Let's play 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. For $500,000: which of these churches was a growing church in the book of Revelation: the church at Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22), which saw itself as rich and wealthy and in need of nothing or the church at Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11), which was described as poor, in tribulation and facing great persecution? Need a 'lifeline' you say? Here you go: God said of the Laodicean church that he would spit them out of his mouth, but of the Smyrna church that they would receive the crown of life. Confusing, isn't it? The growing church did not please God, while the struggling one did. Apparently, the Sunday morning worship attendance is not the criteria God uses to judge the true effectiveness of a local church.
So, Gary says, a growing church isn't necessarily one that pleases God. Reminds me of the scripture of how man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. God is more concerned with the heart of people and churches, what's behind what is seen, than what is happening on the outside. So we need to look at why a church s growing, is it the entertainment factor, or because it is doing the Acts 2 stuff, like listed above from the survey? Good stuff. Blessings on this beautiful Thursday.
Mega-churches are defined as those with average worship attendance of 2000 or more, but these behemoth churches come in all shapes, stripes and forms. Some are centres of great preaching and teaching, some are charismatic, others are little more than social clubs. New-paradigm churches, on the other hand, are identified by a philosophy of ministry intentionally designed to effect numerical growth. In their church growth methodologies more attention is paid to market strategy, business techniques and demographics than to New Testament instruction.
From a mountain of research [more than 1000 churches on all five continents] [Christian A.] Swartz has observed eight characteristics of growing churches. These are empowering leadership, gift-oriented ministry, passionate spirituality, functional structures, inspiring worship, holistic small groups, need-oriented evangelism and loving relationships.
Growing churches are creating an atmosphere, an environment of fun. So fun has replaced holiness as the church's goal. If we can get the world to like us, they will embrace our Savior. That is the philosophy behind the user-friendly church movement.
Let's play 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'. For $500,000: which of these churches was a growing church in the book of Revelation: the church at Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-22), which saw itself as rich and wealthy and in need of nothing or the church at Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11), which was described as poor, in tribulation and facing great persecution? Need a 'lifeline' you say? Here you go: God said of the Laodicean church that he would spit them out of his mouth, but of the Smyrna church that they would receive the crown of life. Confusing, isn't it? The growing church did not please God, while the struggling one did. Apparently, the Sunday morning worship attendance is not the criteria God uses to judge the true effectiveness of a local church.
So, Gary says, a growing church isn't necessarily one that pleases God. Reminds me of the scripture of how man looks at the outside, but God looks at the heart. God is more concerned with the heart of people and churches, what's behind what is seen, than what is happening on the outside. So we need to look at why a church s growing, is it the entertainment factor, or because it is doing the Acts 2 stuff, like listed above from the survey? Good stuff. Blessings on this beautiful Thursday.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Nuggets #5
Now we're on Chapter Two of An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus: Momentum
In Isaiah He (God) clearly declares that, while we are to remember the past, we are not to remain in the past. Our memories of God's activity in our lives are to move us into the future. Our experiences from the past are to give us the confidence to face the challenges of tomorrow.
A Refuge FOR the World, Not FROM It
But the church was never intended to be a monastery. In fact, God intends that there be no place that we can hide, except in his presence. When the church becomes our shelter from a radically changing world, we fail to turn to God and make him our hiding place and our shelter.
Mass Can Be a Mess
Conferences and siminars are jampacked with church leaders who come with one simple questions, "How can my church grow?" Only after we begin to deal with the complexities and challenges of growth do we tune in to issues such as assimilation and discipleship. Anyone who has experineced significant growth in a congregation knows that assimilation and discipleship are integral to growth and, in many ways, impossible to separate from that dynamic. But when you're standing at the front end of the challenge of leading a congregation to grow, you're just asking the simple question, "How do I get more people here?" It doesn't take that much intuition to figure out that if you don't have any people, you're not pastoring a congregation.
Mass equals people. Without people there is no momentum. When people move together with common purpose, momentum happens. And while most Christians would quickly acknowledge that it is important to reach people for Christ, an underlying comfort level is often threatened when growth actually happens.
The same people who make the church messy also make the church meaningful. We must be willing to make a mess to save a life.
That's probably enough for today. Chapter two is fascinating. It's all about growth and momentum and how pastors often think the way to make their church grow (which unfortunately seems to be the goal of many) is to read blogs, listen to podcasts, and read books on how other pastors in other parts of the country have done it. I think what some pastors don't realize is that growth happens in two ways. The first is that the pastor wholeheartedly seeks God and His direction for that particular church. He listens for God and doesn't just shoot in the dark by trying different things, or copying someone else. It's also about connecting individuals to other individuals and having a discipleship strategy in place. That means Bible studies, small groups and one on one discipleship relationships. When all people get is teaching on Sunday morning, it's a buckshot approach. You're hoping that what is said to the crowd actually lands in people's hearts. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't because everyone is in a different place with different issues and questions, but there is no one to ask questions of during a Sunday morning teaching.
Jesus addressed the crowds. Many were added to their number. These people accepted the Gospel. But that's not how you make leaders. Jesus then walked alongside his disciples. That was his small group. Then He took a few off to the side and taught them individually. That's one on one discipleship. It was His disciples who became leaders and started the church when Jesus rose, not the crowd.
So, the question for today is . . . Where are you? Are you part of the crowd, sitting and listening once a week? Are you growing by serving and practicing God's commands? Are you being discipled in a small group? Are you leading a small group or growing someone individually? Are you turning out leaders who will turn out leaders? Are you reaching even furuther than that? God has a purpose for your life. How willing are you? He's watching your heart and your actions. Surrender all and be in for the ride of your life!
In Isaiah He (God) clearly declares that, while we are to remember the past, we are not to remain in the past. Our memories of God's activity in our lives are to move us into the future. Our experiences from the past are to give us the confidence to face the challenges of tomorrow.
A Refuge FOR the World, Not FROM It
But the church was never intended to be a monastery. In fact, God intends that there be no place that we can hide, except in his presence. When the church becomes our shelter from a radically changing world, we fail to turn to God and make him our hiding place and our shelter.
Mass Can Be a Mess
Conferences and siminars are jampacked with church leaders who come with one simple questions, "How can my church grow?" Only after we begin to deal with the complexities and challenges of growth do we tune in to issues such as assimilation and discipleship. Anyone who has experineced significant growth in a congregation knows that assimilation and discipleship are integral to growth and, in many ways, impossible to separate from that dynamic. But when you're standing at the front end of the challenge of leading a congregation to grow, you're just asking the simple question, "How do I get more people here?" It doesn't take that much intuition to figure out that if you don't have any people, you're not pastoring a congregation.
Mass equals people. Without people there is no momentum. When people move together with common purpose, momentum happens. And while most Christians would quickly acknowledge that it is important to reach people for Christ, an underlying comfort level is often threatened when growth actually happens.
The same people who make the church messy also make the church meaningful. We must be willing to make a mess to save a life.
That's probably enough for today. Chapter two is fascinating. It's all about growth and momentum and how pastors often think the way to make their church grow (which unfortunately seems to be the goal of many) is to read blogs, listen to podcasts, and read books on how other pastors in other parts of the country have done it. I think what some pastors don't realize is that growth happens in two ways. The first is that the pastor wholeheartedly seeks God and His direction for that particular church. He listens for God and doesn't just shoot in the dark by trying different things, or copying someone else. It's also about connecting individuals to other individuals and having a discipleship strategy in place. That means Bible studies, small groups and one on one discipleship relationships. When all people get is teaching on Sunday morning, it's a buckshot approach. You're hoping that what is said to the crowd actually lands in people's hearts. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't because everyone is in a different place with different issues and questions, but there is no one to ask questions of during a Sunday morning teaching.
Jesus addressed the crowds. Many were added to their number. These people accepted the Gospel. But that's not how you make leaders. Jesus then walked alongside his disciples. That was his small group. Then He took a few off to the side and taught them individually. That's one on one discipleship. It was His disciples who became leaders and started the church when Jesus rose, not the crowd.
So, the question for today is . . . Where are you? Are you part of the crowd, sitting and listening once a week? Are you growing by serving and practicing God's commands? Are you being discipled in a small group? Are you leading a small group or growing someone individually? Are you turning out leaders who will turn out leaders? Are you reaching even furuther than that? God has a purpose for your life. How willing are you? He's watching your heart and your actions. Surrender all and be in for the ride of your life!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
