by Tom Johnston
I don’t know about you, but I don’t go to Starbucks for the paper cup. I go for the coffee. For me, it’s all about the contents of that cup, not the 10% recycled cup or the 30% recycled sleeve. I will not buy more Starbucks if they make the cup more cool looking. In fact, by taking a minimalistic approach to the packaging of their product, Starbucks actually is making a bold marking statement: our product is so good you will pay way too much for our really good coffee in this simple paper cup. And they are right. In a society that focuses on the externals of life, the appearance of things, they have masterfully highlighted the quality of the content by the use of a simple package.
So, what’s with the Church in the West? Why are we so focused on the form-factor of our churches – how cool and relevant our services are, how hot the worship is, how high the production values are? Are we trying to “sell” people something based on package? And what is it that we are trying to sell anyway? Jesus? An experience with Him? Salvation? The Kingdom of God? Membership in our local church? Our spiritual goods and services? And why are we trying to “sell” or market anyway? Christianity is not a vendible commodity – it’s a relationship with the Living God. So, what’s with that?
In Matthew 9 Jesus uses the metaphor of the wine and the wineskin to discuss the form and content of the Kingdom. The focus is on the wine – the content – not the wineskin. What Jesus was doing was new, and he needed a new form-factor, the Church, to hold what He was going to do through the New Covenant. He didn’t want it lost.
Isn’t it ironic that the main focus on the wineskin today quite possibly emerges from the fact that we have lost the strong, potent, high quality, life-transforming content (read: vibrant life of Christ) originally given to us? We are trying to “market” heavily, focusing on the externals because the substance of Christ in our lives, our families and our churches is so watered down.
At Praxis, we feel it is time for the Church in the West to move beyond the “wineskin” and focus on the “wine” – seeing Christ formed in people (Galatians 4:19). We don’t think the New Testament validates any particular way of “doing church,” simply because the focus is on the wine – the Spirit-empowered abundant life of Christ flowing in every disciple. If we have such content in our people, families and churches, I doubt people would care about the cup we held it all in. How we do our services is totally secondary to who we are in Him. Big churches aren’t better. Small churches aren't better. Mega or Micro doesn’t matter. Postmodern or ancient tradition doesn’t matter. What matters is that better is better, and by better we mean churches which are aflame with the Holy Spirit, filled with the life of Jesus Christ. We think that this kind of content will draw people regardless of the packaging. Starbucks has this figured out; we hope the Church can get it too.
All this writing has made me thirsty. Time for a venti skinny White Chocolate Mocha with whip.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Organic Relational Assessment
by Mike Chong Perkinson
There are so many assessment tools for us to consider as leaders. The majority of these tools are good and helpful and we applaud any leader that desires to purify and enhance their ministry effectiveness.
Like any tool that is created for our use there are underlying presuppositions that frame the creation of the tool. The tool measures what it believes is important or vital for growth. For example, if you are interested in simple numerical growth, then seeing growth in one’s attendance and tithe quantifies the success of our ministry.
Another way of saying this is the value of our ministry objectives is most clearly observed by what we measure. What we measure reveals what we value. And what we measure determines whether we view our ministry as a product that we package for consumers or a process where we develop people into fully functioning disciples of Christ.
Now having said that let me also clarify that I do believe where an organism is alive and healthy, growth and multiplication is a natural by-product. Living organisms grow and multiply. However, living organisms do not necessarily continue to grow in size. Life always brings life.
Oddly enough one of the areas we do not assess is the spiritual development of our people – seeing Christ formed in them (Galatians 4:19) “that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). Legalism assesses behaviors and verifies spirituality by completing a checklist of behaviors. Organic spirituality assesses the heart and motivation behind the behavior by looking at the fruit of one’s life as expressed in Galatians 5:22-23. North American Christianity has many believers that have mastered the behaviors of religion without the heart (Fruit of the Spirit) of our Father.
With that in mind, let me offer a simple criterion I use to determine if my ministry is growing.
Are people’s relationships with God growing? Before we can change the world, we need to see God change the world of individuals. More simply, are people loving God with their whole heart, basing their lives around the values of the Kingdom and seeking to honor God with every facet of their lives (Matthew 6:33).
Are people’s relationships with each other growing? Of course this means at home first. Our churches are only as strong as our families. Jesus tells us that we are most like God when we are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). The children of God make peace and where there is peace, relationships flourish. We serve a reconciling God and have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) and so, the greatest evidence of His transforming love in us is that we love one another (John 13:34-35; I John 4:7-8). “We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive” (Anonymous). Scripture says “God is love.” Love is active and can best be described as giving and forgiving.
Is concern for the lost and broken increasing in our spiritual community? Are they beginning to reach out? Is their heart breaking over pain, sin, death, disease, etc.? Love is active and cannot refrain itself from acting out. For example, when a person falls in love their heart is quickly moved to find ways to be with the one they love. When a person is full of God’s heart they find themselves loving what and who He loves. His heart in us moves us to care for the broken, the lost, the blind, the sick, the hungry, etc. One of the phrases we use at our church is that we are called to “love the hell out of people.”
Are we beginning to reproduce ourselves? This will involve discipleship of Christians and non-Christians. Where the presence of the Lord is, life will happen. What this means is that if people are captured by God’s love they will find themselves wanting to pass on that love. Our role as pastors and leaders is then to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12), helping our people pass on what has been given to them (2 Timothy 2:2).
May God help us return to the values of His Kingdom as we press on to see His Kingdom extended in our land as we simplify our lives around the “Irreducible Core” of loving God, loving others and making disciples. May you find a tremendous harvest as you make disciples.
There are so many assessment tools for us to consider as leaders. The majority of these tools are good and helpful and we applaud any leader that desires to purify and enhance their ministry effectiveness.
Like any tool that is created for our use there are underlying presuppositions that frame the creation of the tool. The tool measures what it believes is important or vital for growth. For example, if you are interested in simple numerical growth, then seeing growth in one’s attendance and tithe quantifies the success of our ministry.
Another way of saying this is the value of our ministry objectives is most clearly observed by what we measure. What we measure reveals what we value. And what we measure determines whether we view our ministry as a product that we package for consumers or a process where we develop people into fully functioning disciples of Christ.
Now having said that let me also clarify that I do believe where an organism is alive and healthy, growth and multiplication is a natural by-product. Living organisms grow and multiply. However, living organisms do not necessarily continue to grow in size. Life always brings life.
Oddly enough one of the areas we do not assess is the spiritual development of our people – seeing Christ formed in them (Galatians 4:19) “that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). Legalism assesses behaviors and verifies spirituality by completing a checklist of behaviors. Organic spirituality assesses the heart and motivation behind the behavior by looking at the fruit of one’s life as expressed in Galatians 5:22-23. North American Christianity has many believers that have mastered the behaviors of religion without the heart (Fruit of the Spirit) of our Father.
With that in mind, let me offer a simple criterion I use to determine if my ministry is growing.
Are people’s relationships with God growing? Before we can change the world, we need to see God change the world of individuals. More simply, are people loving God with their whole heart, basing their lives around the values of the Kingdom and seeking to honor God with every facet of their lives (Matthew 6:33).
Are people’s relationships with each other growing? Of course this means at home first. Our churches are only as strong as our families. Jesus tells us that we are most like God when we are peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). The children of God make peace and where there is peace, relationships flourish. We serve a reconciling God and have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-20) and so, the greatest evidence of His transforming love in us is that we love one another (John 13:34-35; I John 4:7-8). “We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive” (Anonymous). Scripture says “God is love.” Love is active and can best be described as giving and forgiving.
Is concern for the lost and broken increasing in our spiritual community? Are they beginning to reach out? Is their heart breaking over pain, sin, death, disease, etc.? Love is active and cannot refrain itself from acting out. For example, when a person falls in love their heart is quickly moved to find ways to be with the one they love. When a person is full of God’s heart they find themselves loving what and who He loves. His heart in us moves us to care for the broken, the lost, the blind, the sick, the hungry, etc. One of the phrases we use at our church is that we are called to “love the hell out of people.”
Are we beginning to reproduce ourselves? This will involve discipleship of Christians and non-Christians. Where the presence of the Lord is, life will happen. What this means is that if people are captured by God’s love they will find themselves wanting to pass on that love. Our role as pastors and leaders is then to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:12), helping our people pass on what has been given to them (2 Timothy 2:2).
May God help us return to the values of His Kingdom as we press on to see His Kingdom extended in our land as we simplify our lives around the “Irreducible Core” of loving God, loving others and making disciples. May you find a tremendous harvest as you make disciples.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Every Home a Church
by Mike Chong Perkinson
There is massive shift in our ecclesiological world today. New ideas, models and implementation strategies are being birthed in the hope of reaching the world for our King. I applaud such efforts. Also motivating our ecclesiological landscape is the apparent frustration of pastors and leaders and often fruitless ministry (at least when it comes to making disciples that follow Christ) as well as, the ever changing cultural climate.
All of this is leading many followers of Christ back to some basic and powerful practices like searching the Scriptures, praying, talking and confessing with other believers and partnering (koinonia) with other believers to see the Kingdom of God extended in our land. Good things always happen when the saints seek God, search the Scriptures, and pray.
One of the major and more unnoticed thrusts in our ecclesiological world is the quiet exodus of many followers of Christ from the traditional Sunday gathering to the house church format. One might call this our modern day monastic movement.
I whole heartedly agree with the house church movement. We all need to become a house church movement. Before you write me off here, read the rest of the article.
The church I pastor is in the midst of a capital stewardship campaign. That’s right - helping our people become better stewards of God’s Kingdom resources and asking them to pray for God’s mind on what they should give to our campaign to help us complete Phase 2 of our building project. But wait, you said you were a house church guy?
During our corporate worship service last November, I stated some bold and shocking words to our congregation in the midst of a passionate vision cast. I emphatically declared, “I am not asking you to commit to the church. Rather, I am asking you to be the church. As a matter of fact, I am hoping that we start a house church movement. That’s right, a movement where every home is a church. And for us to have every home become a church, our leadership is committed to equip you to become the priest and priestess of your home (I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6).”
My long time friend and mentor, Don Smith, married my wife and I a long time ago in a land far away. One of the things Don said at the conclusion of our ceremony was, “Mike is now the pastor of worlds smallest church of 2.” Those words burned into my soul as I realized that I am a priest of my home and my wife as well. Our home needed to become a sanctuary, a church, where we lived out Jesus day to day.
Every home needs to become a church, where moms and dads first live out the irreducible core (loving God, loving others and make disciples), being examples and models of Christ as we raise up our children in the ways of our God.
This means that every pastor and leader needs to equip the saints to become the priests of their homes and live Christ in the everyday world. I am suspicious that maybe more of our ecclesiological energy should be spent on equipping the saints to do this.
And so, I challenge you to not simply join a church or ask your people to join your church. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with this. Relationship involves a covenant as is most wonderfully modeled in the New Covenant written in blood. What I am strongly asserting is that we become the church and start with our homes.
May every home become a church, every child discipled first by mom and dad, every pastor and leader a disciple maker and every church a disciple making church.
Father God, release your Kingdom and your power for your glory and for your purpose as every home becomes a church!
There is massive shift in our ecclesiological world today. New ideas, models and implementation strategies are being birthed in the hope of reaching the world for our King. I applaud such efforts. Also motivating our ecclesiological landscape is the apparent frustration of pastors and leaders and often fruitless ministry (at least when it comes to making disciples that follow Christ) as well as, the ever changing cultural climate.
All of this is leading many followers of Christ back to some basic and powerful practices like searching the Scriptures, praying, talking and confessing with other believers and partnering (koinonia) with other believers to see the Kingdom of God extended in our land. Good things always happen when the saints seek God, search the Scriptures, and pray.
One of the major and more unnoticed thrusts in our ecclesiological world is the quiet exodus of many followers of Christ from the traditional Sunday gathering to the house church format. One might call this our modern day monastic movement.
I whole heartedly agree with the house church movement. We all need to become a house church movement. Before you write me off here, read the rest of the article.
The church I pastor is in the midst of a capital stewardship campaign. That’s right - helping our people become better stewards of God’s Kingdom resources and asking them to pray for God’s mind on what they should give to our campaign to help us complete Phase 2 of our building project. But wait, you said you were a house church guy?
During our corporate worship service last November, I stated some bold and shocking words to our congregation in the midst of a passionate vision cast. I emphatically declared, “I am not asking you to commit to the church. Rather, I am asking you to be the church. As a matter of fact, I am hoping that we start a house church movement. That’s right, a movement where every home is a church. And for us to have every home become a church, our leadership is committed to equip you to become the priest and priestess of your home (I Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:5-6).”
My long time friend and mentor, Don Smith, married my wife and I a long time ago in a land far away. One of the things Don said at the conclusion of our ceremony was, “Mike is now the pastor of worlds smallest church of 2.” Those words burned into my soul as I realized that I am a priest of my home and my wife as well. Our home needed to become a sanctuary, a church, where we lived out Jesus day to day.
Every home needs to become a church, where moms and dads first live out the irreducible core (loving God, loving others and make disciples), being examples and models of Christ as we raise up our children in the ways of our God.
This means that every pastor and leader needs to equip the saints to become the priests of their homes and live Christ in the everyday world. I am suspicious that maybe more of our ecclesiological energy should be spent on equipping the saints to do this.
And so, I challenge you to not simply join a church or ask your people to join your church. Mind you, there is nothing wrong with this. Relationship involves a covenant as is most wonderfully modeled in the New Covenant written in blood. What I am strongly asserting is that we become the church and start with our homes.
May every home become a church, every child discipled first by mom and dad, every pastor and leader a disciple maker and every church a disciple making church.
Father God, release your Kingdom and your power for your glory and for your purpose as every home becomes a church!
More Than Skin Deep
by Tom Johnston
The debate in church development circles often centers around what models of ministry, what programs and/or what church structures have the most pragmatic effect – in other words, what brings the most people into the general worship services of the church. These issues of “wineskin” drive much of the debate, and consequently our focus becomes the constant redevelopment and upgrading of our wineskin.
The pragmatic drive for results, informed by a consumer-driven worldview of marketing cause-and-effect, makes us focus on the externals of church life and ministry, rather than the internal life of Christ in the Spirit. It is the “new wine” of the Spirit’s work – rebirth/conversion, transformation/sanctification, empowerment for mission – on which we should be focusing. It is the reality of Christ being formed in us which must take preeminence, with finding culturally appropriate ways of “doing church” flowing from that. We place the cart before the horse, and in the case of the church, the wineskin before the wine. Our efforts to make the New Wine of Christ Jesus attractive to the American spiritual consumer has degenerated to attempts at upgraded packaging. Yet all we really need is a good vintage of the Spirit flowing within our local church community - the life of Christ richly abundant, displayed in our lives. Such a vintage is irresistible.
In a recent development session with a number of pastors, a friend of mine shared an observation about the Apostles in Acts 4. When challenged by the elders and the scribes to no longer speak of Jesus, they replied:
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:19b-20, ESV
They were so captivated by Christ, so inebriated in His Spirit that they could not help themselves – they had to talk about Jesus. So in love with Him, they could not keep their mouths shut. Their inhibitions gone, lost in Christ’s love, they didn’t care what would happen to them – rather they were compelled to speak of Him. We see, as an example of the outcome of this intoxication in the Spirit, what was already taking place in their community in the end of Acts 2, in verse 47:
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
The outcome of their lives, overflowing with Jesus, was praise, the favor of others, and a rich and continuous harvest of souls. From there they made it work – they wrapped the structure around what they needed, they improvised a wineskin to contain the wine.
May the Lord shift our focus from manufacturing and upgrading our wineskins to a renewed focus on working with Him in producing the New Wine, in ourselves and our congregations. Such a life-giving vintage of the Spirit displayed in our church communities is irresistible to people, regardless of the packaging.
The debate in church development circles often centers around what models of ministry, what programs and/or what church structures have the most pragmatic effect – in other words, what brings the most people into the general worship services of the church. These issues of “wineskin” drive much of the debate, and consequently our focus becomes the constant redevelopment and upgrading of our wineskin.
The pragmatic drive for results, informed by a consumer-driven worldview of marketing cause-and-effect, makes us focus on the externals of church life and ministry, rather than the internal life of Christ in the Spirit. It is the “new wine” of the Spirit’s work – rebirth/conversion, transformation/sanctification, empowerment for mission – on which we should be focusing. It is the reality of Christ being formed in us which must take preeminence, with finding culturally appropriate ways of “doing church” flowing from that. We place the cart before the horse, and in the case of the church, the wineskin before the wine. Our efforts to make the New Wine of Christ Jesus attractive to the American spiritual consumer has degenerated to attempts at upgraded packaging. Yet all we really need is a good vintage of the Spirit flowing within our local church community - the life of Christ richly abundant, displayed in our lives. Such a vintage is irresistible.
In a recent development session with a number of pastors, a friend of mine shared an observation about the Apostles in Acts 4. When challenged by the elders and the scribes to no longer speak of Jesus, they replied:
Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Acts 4:19b-20, ESV
They were so captivated by Christ, so inebriated in His Spirit that they could not help themselves – they had to talk about Jesus. So in love with Him, they could not keep their mouths shut. Their inhibitions gone, lost in Christ’s love, they didn’t care what would happen to them – rather they were compelled to speak of Him. We see, as an example of the outcome of this intoxication in the Spirit, what was already taking place in their community in the end of Acts 2, in verse 47:
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
The outcome of their lives, overflowing with Jesus, was praise, the favor of others, and a rich and continuous harvest of souls. From there they made it work – they wrapped the structure around what they needed, they improvised a wineskin to contain the wine.
May the Lord shift our focus from manufacturing and upgrading our wineskins to a renewed focus on working with Him in producing the New Wine, in ourselves and our congregations. Such a life-giving vintage of the Spirit displayed in our church communities is irresistible to people, regardless of the packaging.
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