Life Here and There

Here’s a gigantic thought from Seth Godin in just nine words…

I wonder how true that is of churches. A large (or growing) church was just a little church nobody killed.

I also wonder how true this is for churches to hear. The big, winning ideas about reaching your community were just the little ideas nobody squashed with such words as “we’ve never done it that way before,” or “I’m not sure we should waste money on outreach – doesn’t grow on trees, you know…” and other such nonsense.

I shared this message in revival last night and wanted to pass it along here…

Acts chapter 2 is a controversial chapter. Christians like to go there to argue about when the Holy Spirit arrived, whether we can duplicate the miracle of speaking in tongues, and whether this was the “baptism” Jesus talked about. But I think God’s focus is on the end of the chapter, in verses 41 and 47, where thousands of souls were being saved and lives changed.

In verse 41, the Day of Pentecost concludes with 3,000 souls being saved and added to the church. Verse 47 tells us that God kept doing this daily, but verse 42 is the bridge that connects the two. It simply says, “and they continued…” That phrase never really hit me before but it did this week. What’s the difference between having one big day (that soon passes) and having a series of big days? Continuing! Going on like the Energizer bunny!

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Let me jump in with this quote, heard from my friend John, who heard it from his friend Tony, who heard it at this year’s Willow Creek Leadership Summit…

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
~ David Gergen

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I find that I often think about Christianity, church leadership, and church growth in terms that are a bit different than my own traditions and background. So does Ed Stetzer and so does Dave Putman. It’s rare that I’m able to really articulate well my own feelings about what it means to live a redemptive lifestyle in a fallen culture.

One great example of this is that I often feel just a bit guilty when people ask why we don’t have an organized visitation program or an evangelism training program along the lines of Evangelism Explosion or FAITH. I had to dog-ear Ed’s thoughts about this:

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I’m very careful not to try to come across as a know-it-all. After all, I’m a 31-year-old Pastor with only about a dozen years of experience. So I’m really glad when someone like Ed Stetzer writes what just happens to be on my heart as well. Ed is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention, so his comments address the SBC. But I see the same issues at work in the BMA of America, my own denomination, and a host of other conservative groups.

I would encourage you to read his article about stemming SBC membership decline.

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I just read an article in Church Solutions about how church attendance seems to be rising during the current recession. This doesn’t surprise me. At Bethel, we’ve experienced a growing attendance, a greater number of prayer requests, and also a greater number of opportunities to minister to suffering families. Anytime God’s people endure difficulty, it provides an opportunity for revival. The question is, how long will revival remain?

It brings back memories of the six months we experienced at Scottsville Road Baptist in Bowling Green just after September 11, 2001. Our attendance rose about 15-20% and then settled back down. And shortly after Hurricane Katrina, nationwide church attendance spiked again, only to settle back down. I’m positive and I see the current recession as an opportunity for more conversations to open about what God is up to, but I wonder if it will last – if we’ll really “get it” this time. What do you think?

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ONE GREAT TRUTH: Christians have plenty of reasons to be positive about the state of the church in today’s culture, and all of those reasons revolve around Jesus’ affirmations.

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Today was the first time that we’ve had two worship services. I couldn’t sleep very well over the weekend. I was nervous that things wouldn’t go well, that I would preach all the way through Sunday School, or that people would be uncomfortable with the situation. I was pleasantly surprised.

Things went smoothly. The music was excellent in both. We ended up with 80 people in the early service (more than I expected) and 170 in the second service. With about 8 or 10 who stayed for both, that made close to a record attendance. The senior adult class even had a record attendance of 35!

As far as preaching two services is concerned, I noticed that I changed the message just a bit between the services – moving an illustration and re-ordering a couple of points. I also didn’t eat any breakfast so by the time the second service was over, I felt spent! Pleasantly spent.

We have an opportunity to reach more people and we need to focus on growing both services together. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

The second day of Engage is over and I’m perusing the notes I scribbled during the day. Here are some extremely valuable insights I gained…

From Jonathan Falwell…

• America (and especially Christianity) needs bold leaders right now.
• Drawing from Ezekiel 2:5 and Judges 6, people need to know that “a prophet has been among them,” rather than our watering down of the truth.
• 57% of Christians in America believe there could be another way to heaven other than Jesus.
• We spend too much time arguing over which bait is better and not enough time fishing. (And Jonathan Falwell doesn’t know how to fish… at all, but you’d have to hear the story yourself – my side was hurting!)

Let me say, I may not have written as much down from Jonathan, but I was extremely inspired by him. He is dominated by a spirit of sincerity and I appreciated his down-to-earth approach to ministry. His challenge will stick with me!

From Kerry Shook…

• What would you do if you had one month to live? (other than ride a bull named Fu Man Chu)
• What would your church do if it was destined to die in 30 days?
• We often have good intentions, but aren’t very intentional.
• Don’t fall into the “someday syndrome.” Someday, we’ll… whatever.
• Life change is worth celebrating.

From David Jeremiah…

I didn’t take notes on David’s message – it wasn’t really a note-taking kind of message. But I can tell you that I feel more than ever that Jesus is coming soon! Israel has re-gathered, oil is crucial, a European Union is real, conditions are ideal for the return of Christ! So? So tell the gospel like never before!

Tomorrow I’m attending a workshop on the open media revolution, which is one of my greatest areas of passion. Probably 1% of American Christians understand it, yet most interact with it every day – it’s the cloud that connects us, but it’s a cloud that didn’t exist a decade and a half ago. More on that tomorrow…

Ha, thought that headline might grab attention – I’m joyfully married, but I’m also being blessed this week at engage08. It’s being hosted by Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. We’re hearing from some amazing speakers, including:

• Kerry Shook, Pastor of Fellowship of the Woodlands outside Houston, Texas.
• David Jeremiah, Pastor of Shadow Mountain Church in San Diego.
• Jack Graham, Pastor of Prestonwood.
• Jonathan Falwell, Pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.
• Greg Laurie, Pastor of Harvest Fellowship.

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