Okay. This Leadership Forum is going nowhere. I know when to kill the cat. Let this be a lesson to me and the Forum folks with a small audience. The End!
POST: January 26, 2011
Chapter 5, “It Worked Yesterday, Why Won’t It Work Today?”
Wow, if changing the traditional methods is important to reaching a larger portion of our society for Christ it just won’t work. There are to many barriers to change for the average member, minister or elder to hurdle. A few stubborn traditionalists can cause enough problems that the rest will bow to their obstinance so innocent folks won’t become victims of friendly fire.
First, what is tradition? If tradition is the constant of the revealed Gospel message then I’m a traditionalist. The message can’t be changed to protect the guilty or innocent. What methods were Biblically traditional? 1) ah, 2) dah, 3) double dah.
What Doctrines were taught and were to be believed and applied to individuals and to the corporate body? 1) God is Creator, 2) Jesus is Redeemer, 3) Man is in need of God’s Grace, 4) Once man stands in God’s grace man is to live a holy life, 4) The Christian is to carry out the “Great Commission” in total, 5) The church is to follow the pattern found in Acts 2:42. Okay, that was really simplifying things, but the point of Loving God, Loving our Brethren, and Loving our Neighbor is seen in each of the five points.
1) Has the church become stale and unappealing to even our younger converts?
2) Do younger families, who are searching for spiritual guidance, step into the “Traditional Church” to find direction only discover social mothballs?
3) Is it worth the chance to aggravate those who believe their traditional method shouldn’t be tampered with to change the musty norm?
4) What are your ideas about change for the sake of gain?
5) How far from your decaying traditions are you willing to suggest your congregation move for such gain?
6) Do you think many of the congregation would think it radical or would they be eager to change?
7) Are there changes that would cause freedom, fellowship, and nurturing if we were willing to remove our illegitimate barriers?
This is a Leadership Forum. We are reading and discussing “Herding Cats: Teaching and Leading in a Postmodern World” by Rusty George & Jeff Krajewski. College Press web site: http://www.collegepress.com/storefront/node/110
An appropriate and inspiring video as we embark on this discussion…
Hey, good video and it begs the question…those of us reading this book, are we “Kitty Cat Cowboys!”
The old Gospel song states ” If it was good for Paul and Silas then its good enough for me” comes into play here. If one can keep to the core of the mandates Jesus and the apostles laid out in the New Testament, I feel that more modern communication can and would help the Church to increase the younger Church visitors to make a connection. We must use the tools and gifts God gave us to reach out to our local community, we do that now with our music in praise and we never stray from the messages in the Bible. I actually believe that by being active in our community striving to get people to listen to God’s word and being servants to the community will provide the opening we need. Jesus while teaching to the multitudes did it outside the box, without Changing the word, he kept the leaders of Israel in a state of confusion and anger with his new style of spreading God’s word and he did it with love and compassion. Jesus never altered the scripture but put it in a means that all who wanted to listen to understand. Now is our time to” preach from a boat”and serving the community, If it means music or a town cook out. then thats what we need to do. I’m in if you need me.
Serving Him,
Bruce
Problem is; we haven’t accually woken up to this different world. Leadership is stuck in a constant quandry, worried about upsetting/losing one group of folk while amidst a half hearted effort to cautiously reach into this new world. It seems so odd that the church’s biggest hinderance much of the time is itself. I fear our faith is no longer big enough to allow for “many parts and one body.” Rather, the foot has to ask the hand if it is ok with this method, music, carpet, etc. All the while the church is impacting (that word was for you craig) the world less. Is anyone else afraid that we have become so critical of things that we only feel comfortable doing nothing…then at least we haven’t done anything wrong?
Good analysis o’brian. Yes, I believe we have become so sensitive and/or critical that we are not comfortable doing anything.
I to tend to agree with alot of what Brian stated, the Church as we (I) know it Hasn’t changed in years with one exception music, this causes a stagnant view from the congregation as well as from the leaders. The old saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” comes to mind. there is almost zero possibilities of growing internally without the influx of new people, new thoughts, and new perspective. There was a President who barely won the election when every one thought it wouldn’t be close, the first thing he did was appoint most of his opponents key people to position in his important post’s when asked why? he said it was simple he needed new eyes to help him see new ears to help him listen and new brains to help him totally understand the problems the citizens of America were facing. The same is true in some churches the seats become very soft for people in the “leadership” their opinions are usually 100% in similarity and so the same old same old continues on. I am not saying that there ideas are wrong just stale, new ideas create new channels these channels can reach new people, when we do this to the Glory of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ we haven’t broken tradition we have glorified Jesus’s message and his Kingdom,
A message from the cheap seats,
bruce
OLE HILLBILLY,
I WOULD THINK THAT ALL GENERATIONS GOING BACK TO THE APOSTLES WERE FACED WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS, BUT EVEN IN MY LAST FEW WORDS I STATED THE PROBLEM. WAY TO MANY TIMES WE SPEAK IN THE NEGATIVE,QUITE SIMPLY BY STATING THE “PROBLEM” WE HAVE PUT OUR MIND THOUGHT IN A NEGATIVE THOUGHT PROCESS. WHY DON’T WE REACH OUT TO THEM IN THE STYLE THEY OR LIFE IN GENERAL IS. WE CAN USE INTERNET, CREATE SAFE BUT YET FUN PLACES OF EVENTS FOR THE YOUNG WHILE CONSTANTLY EMPHASIZING JESUS AND HIS LOVE !!! LAST WEDNESDAY IN OUR CORE GROUPS YOU POSED A SIMILAR QUESTION TO US, I DO THINK YOU WOULD HAVE A LOT MORE OF OUR CHURCH INVOLVED. WHEN THEY ARE HAPPY, FIRED UP AND HANDS ON, PEOPLE WILL GO HARDER ,PRAY HARDER AND GIVE MORE. WHEN A CHURCH STARTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN “POSITIVE” THE COMMUNITY NOTICES, PEOPLE COME TO SEE WHAT IS GOING ON AND THEY TOO WILL SOON WANT TO GET INVOLVED. THIS HAS BEEN A FEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS.
Bruce, Good thought. Using the contemporary to teach the old truths is a must. Yet, I’m needing more information about the way to fire up people and to motivate them to make a difference. Please offer more. ~Hillbilly
I think motivating people and implementing change is the thorn in most church leaderships’ flesh. We examine cultural models and shifts and act accordingly. All the while people inside and outside our congregations become more and more distant. We create environments for the post modern, new agers with models out of books just hoping it works, but it doesn’t. The real problem for leaders is that we begin to question if this is all really real or not. Is Jesus really working through the church? If hell can’t prevail then why are we failing in the Western world? Of course we don’t say that out loud, but that’s really what we are thinking deep down. I think y’all are dealing with an issue much greater than motivating people and getting the post modern world to darken the doors of our church buildings. I think y’all are dealing with the question that many churches and leaders are haunted by: “is this really real?”
I say all that because that is where I was. I didn’t tell anyone about it when I was in st. James because I feared condemnation and I wanted to act like I had it together. Afterall, how can a church leader question if the church is impactful or even real?
Ive learned something the last six months: we church leaders and pastors bring it on ourselves. We have created this monster. The first thing we have done is taken ministry out of the hands of the Body. Instead of equipping saints for ministry, we end up doing it all because we are “paid to do it.”
This church we are serving at now has changed my views on church and her effectiveness. Last Sunday, our administrative pastor was asked by a visitor: “where’s the pastor? I have to talk to him now.”. He responded, there’s 400 of them in the sanctuary right now. This body we are serving right now has been equipped for ministry. I currently have 15 people who work with me doing what most churches pay one person to do. Along with teaching, I get to equip others in the body to teach. It’s amazing!!
We are made up of several home churches where everyone ministeres to one another through the gifts that the Spirit gives each one of us. Yes, we have paid staff (I’m one of them). But our role is not trying to be relevant to the fad culture of the decade, our role is to make sure that the body is equipped and walking in ministry.
As leaders we dont have to be more relavant, we have to be doing what we were called to do. And that’s equipping the saints for the work of ministry (Ephesians 4). And frankly, the western church is not relevant or effective because most of the Western church isn’t really doing church.
Excellent thoughts about reaching people. Train them to serve. Teach the brethren to reach out in love. Leave the Pre-Mod-Post stuff and act in the Present. Keep the posts coming. We re getting somewhere.
What I struggle with is that, when speaking of the “unchurched” I don’t know what “style they or life in general is.” My desire is to show the love of Christ always, but I know that on many levels, I am seperated from my cultural milieu. I try to consistently serve those around me with love, but I can’t say that I have much of a CLUE about how their minds work. So when we talk about changing things, nothing DIFFERENT comes to mind that doesn’t eventually start resembling something we’re doing already.
So, I need listen very closely to those who are in Christ whose DNA is not “traditionally-church-hard-wired” like mine is. Their ideas should carry a lot of weight simply because they are closer to the culture than those of us who have been “in but not of the world” for so long that we barely have a passing acquaintance with it [Yes, Brian. YOU are one of our Secret Weapons
]. I should desire to be “light on my feet” and ready to throw my support and enthusiasm behind new things. It takes courage to communicate the gospel. I am not innately courageous.
This chapter talks about how chronological age does not translate into spiritual maturity. If we think about trying new things in terms of who is going to be upset versus who is going to be positively affected, we are catering to the “lowest common denominator” of spiritual maturity in the congregation. We need to be careful about coming up with the “100 Reasons Why This Is A Bad Idea” and take risks. There will always be an element that will pick everything to pieces and it is wise to anticipate some of that. But if waiting for “The Perfect Plan” is keeping us from trusting God to help us implement some “half-baked” ones, we will be very slow to trust God with His own work, indeed. Are WE spiritually mature enough to trust God and take risks, not knowing where a certain course of action might lead but trusting that He loves His church and will provide wisdom and guidance along the way. Can we kindly reply to criticisms with, “We have to start somewhere. We can improve as time goes on. How do you think we can make this better?”
Got four (maybe five) fingers pointed back at me,
Constantly and Absolutely Mevrouw H
This video kinda relates to the McDonald’s illustration of the first chapter, but also to the way we don’t realize how we’re NOT communicating… We mean well, but is our message getting lost because some of our methods are “odd?” We’re not talking about “seeker-sensitivity” but also “cultural relevance” for those who ARE believers. How much do they have to change in order to feel “at home” in church? And in what ways are we compelling them to do so?
I think SRCC has come a long way with issues like dress code and understanding that visitors will probably take communion regardless of what’s in the bulletin. But our “Greeting Time” appears to me to be rather “in-bred.” I watch while regulars are running around enthusiastically shaking hands and hugging people and visitors stand in their place “watching the action” and wondering what they are supposed to be doing. One, maybe two, people might give them a cursory hand shake, but they seldom introduce themselves. It appears to be a rather “exclusive” time instead of an “inclusive” time. That changes as people keep coming back and getting involved, but it seems like we’re expecting THEM to make the effort to work their way into US instead of the other way around.
Wow, “In-bred?” Could you elaborate?
What I’m trying to get at with “In-bred Greeting Time” is the fact that the congregation by and large uses the time to go around saying “hi” to a whole bunch of “each others.” I know they want to greet that person on the other side of the room, but many times the visitor or relatively new person directly in front of them is just standing there looking around at the pandemonium wondering what they’re supposed to be doing. People who aren’t regular attenders definitely look like they’re on the “outside” until they come often enough to “know the drill.” It seems like an isolating time for newcomers when it could be an ideal time for a few folks around them to be intentional about shaking their hand and introducing themselves and welcoming them. We can give each other quick greetings, but it seems like having one person take enough time (and it could possibly take the whole time) to shake visitors’ hands, make genuine eye contact, introduce themselves, and give them a warm welcome to services would perhaps be a good thing to have happen about then. Shy people wouldn’t feel “mobbed” — like they’re the center of unwanted attention, but everyone is looking for some kind of meaningful connection.
Currently, it’s more like they dropped in at the wrong family reunion…
Well “H” I like your thinking. A team of well meaning folks who are happy to have the visitors should be the ones seeking out and introducing themselves to them.
OLE’ HILLBILLY,
THERE ARE PRIVATE LEADERSHIP MEETINGS THAT I OR (WE) ARE NOT ALLOWED TO HEAR OR PARTICIPATE IN. THAT BEING SAID THERE ISN’T A WAY FOR ANY NEW IDEAS TO VOICE THEM, SOMEONE MIGHT READ MY IDEAS BUT YET COULD THEY ANSWER ANY SERIOUS QUESTIONS ? NO WAY ,SO RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS ARE A RUNG DOWN, AND A FEW MORE QUESTIONS WITHOUT THE PLANS ORIGINAL AUTHOR AND NOW A GOOD IDEA IS TABLED, I’VE SEEN IT HAPPEN AND AND ALSO HAD IT HAPPEN TO ME.
OUR MEN IN OUR LEADERSHIP ARE GOOD HONORABLE MEN, BUT AFTER 16 YEARS YOU ALL TEND TO TALK AND ACT AND VOTE ALIKE, THIS IS A TERRIBLE THING FOR OUR CHURCH TO YOU “THE BOARD” YOU WALK AROUND IT WHILE OTHERS WANT TO TAKE ACTION, I PROMISE YOU ITS HAPPENING AND WITH IN THE LAST 2 YEARS WS HAVE LOST 3 BUT OTHERS HAVE TOLD ME THERE WERE OTHERS. IF WE WOULD ADD UP THEIR TITHES AND OFFERINGS THIS MONEY PROBLEM WE HAVE WITH THEIR RETURN WOULD END THAT PROBLEM, SIMPLE FIXABLE PROBLEM AND OTHERS HAVE THE SAME COMPLAINT,SUNDAY NIGHTS, THE FEELING OF TWO FACED PEOPLE ANOTHER PROBLEM, AND THE BOARDS DECISION THAT ONE OF OUR MEMBERS WASN’T QUALIFIED TO LEAD. THIS MAN LOVES GOD AS MUCH AS ANY MAN IN OUR CHURCH BUT THE LEADER BOARD SAID NO AND THEY LEFT. OUR SINS OR MISTAKES ONCE FORGIVEN BY GOD THEY ARE FORGOTTEN AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST. A SIN IS OVER FORGIVEN BY GOD !!! WHY DO OUR LEADERSHIP USE THIS FORGIVEN SIN AS A REASON TO HINDER THIS PERSON BY A STUPID MISTAKE, IT SEEMS SRCC IS JUDGING AND USING A VERBAL ROD TILL THEY LEAVE, MY GUT TELLS ME THIS IS AND WAS WRONG. WE ALL KNOW HOW SMALL ST. JAMES IS AND THAT IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG FOR THIS EVENT TO TRAVEL ALL THROUGH THE COMMUNITY AND TRUST ME IT HAS AND THAT INCIDENT WAS TO FREE UP THE CHURCH FOR CHRISTMAS PLAYS, MY CHURCH IN FL. HAD A PLAY EVERY CHRISTMAS, NOT ONCE IN 13 YEARS I WENT THERE WAS A SUNDAY EVENING SERMON CANCELED AND WE WERE A SMALLER CHURCH. I HEARD THAT YOU OFFERED A SUN STUDY FOR THE FRIENDS OF THE LEADERSHIP BOARD, IN MY OPINION YOU HAVE THE SAME PEOPLE SAYING AND DOING THE SAME THING THE SAME WAY AND THE RESULTS HAVE BEEN STALE AT BEST. I HAVE A FRIEND ,FRED WONG IS HIS NAME AND OVER HIS DESK HUNG A PICTURE OF A GOLFER IN A SAND TRAP HE STOOD SO FAR BELOW THE LIP OF THE TRAP THAT HE WAS OBSCURED HIM FROM THE PEOPLE AFTER 9 TRIES HE ASKS FOR AN UNPLAYABLE LIE AND RECEIVED IT COSTING HIM 9 STROKES PLUS 2 AND ALONG TRIP DOWN THE LEADER BOARD.WHEN ASKED HE SAID HE THOUGHT HE WAS DOING THE RIGHT THING BUT AS WE KNOW HE DIDN’T LISTEN TO HIS CADDIE. THE MORAL OF THE STORY IS THIS IF ONE CONTINUES TO DO SOMETHING THE SAME WAY TAKING THE SAME ADVISE THIS WILL ONLY IMPROVE THE GOLFERS TAN. AS SHANE SAID SOMETIMES WHEN WE LOOK AT PROBLEMS THE REAL ANSWER WILL NOT BE FOUND BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING THROUGH THE SAME OLD LEN’S. I PERSONALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE SHOULD TERM LIMITS ON LEADERSHIP POSITIONS, PERIOD, THESE NEW(not by age) WILL I HOPE HAVE FRESH EYES TO SEE. NEW EARS TO LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE OF THE THE CHURCH AND NEW IDEAS TO GET PEOPLE INVOLVED,THE STATUS QUO’ NOW IS WE HAVE NOTHING!!! WE AREN’T FOLLOWING PAUL’S PRINCIPALS AT ALL BUT THAT IS A WHOLE NEW BALL OF WAX. ……………..A VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS
GOD WANTS HIS SONS BRIDE TO GROW AND CONVERT OTHERS
Well Bruce, I can tell you are uninformed about the internal workings of SRCC. Your own involvement reveals this truth. You teach a Sunday School class, provide Communion Devotions, Pray for the Lord’s Supper, Serve the Lord’s Supper, you have Greeted, you have served during Vacation Bible School, you have taught at “F-Troop,” you are active in special meal preparation (which is greatly appreciated), you are an invitation counselor, you pray with those in need, and you are a loved part of the SRCC family. At present, there are not many servants at SRCC who serve as much, and in so many areas, and as visible as you. Thank God for your service as a part of God’s Church.
Of course, ministry isn’t only in the building and for the Saints of God, but also to those who need to know the love and forgiveness of God outside the Sheep Fold. As to that I’m hoping that you and the rest of the SRCC servants are active.
The Leadership isn’t a conclave of conspirators. Yes, there are some issues we must hold in confidence, but as a whole there is a lot of mundane business, which must get done. The Leadership is open and always willing to discuss issues and be of benefit to any member. Two of the present leaders have only been active in leadership for just over a year. That’s new blood, new ideas, and new ways of viewing things. I’ve heard some of the thoughts you write here and that from those no longer at SRCC. It was fiction then and is still fiction.
Also, look at the attendance. Three weeks ago – 160; last week with the Special Speaker that should have gathered larger numbers – 118; and this past week – 162. The numbers are good, better than two years ago. I hope this indicates that the congregation as a whole is holding out Christ’s love and message well.
You speak of forgiveness. I believe you have indicated you need no forgiveness for the issue you write of (which I keep confidential for your benefit). But, there are areas that disqualify certain service, but not importance to the body of Christ. Whether by sin or by collateral damage, God has reasons for placing stipulations for certain work. For 16 years the Leadership of SRCC has agreed on this point . It is not that you have to agree, but to agree to disagree without pursuing the issue, to humbly serve, be recognized by God and observant saints, be joyful in your service, and learn satisfaction without hegemony.
You are appreciated by me, and many others at SRCC. Please continue the good work for Jesus.
It seems that this post is going places that stray from the discussion of Chapter 2 of the book. But to interact briefly with a relevant point of the prior post, I agree to an extent with the initial statement about the difficulty of implementing new ideas. Having the ministries broken down the way they have been for the past 2-3 years is a significant step in addressing this problem, though. I sense that the leadership and the ministry heads are still “feeling their way through” how to really leverage the “federalizing” of ministry. The ministry heads seem to be grappling with their different areas of responsibility and implementing the new ideas that come from within their teams. And the leadership seems to be trying to find the balance between empowering people to encourage innovation and creativity and making sure that new ideas and programs fit within the greater scope of SRCC ministry. So I disagree with the idea that things are “status quo.” Because some significant changes have been made in the past few years and some really good things have been resulting from them. Examples: The prayer ministry arranging for people to be available to pray with those who have need at the end of services has blessed many. We have a people involved in mentoring that have not been before and they’ve been quite encouraged by the opportunity. (And let’s not forget Debbie’s healing) We have new people taking on significant ministry responsibilities with a joy and enthusiasm that is contagious. Really good things seem to be happening where people are starting to find that THEY can make a difference for Christ! We can keep things that are working and, without a lot of “angst,” modify or discard those that do not after they’ve been allowed to run a reasonable course. Also, just the KNOWING that no program is “forever” and that, overall, SRCC is “lighter on its feet” is freeing. So, Yay, God!
I look forward to what the future holds and pray that everyone involved in ministry is truly seeking what the Lord would have them do as we submit to one another in love. I pray that those of us who have been serving in various ways for a long time continue to keep our eyes, ears and hearts open as we encourage others to explore where God might be calling/gifting them to pour His love out on those around them. And we’ll let some of the thoughts of Chapter 2 and its helpful summary of different generational worldviews help us be aware of our lenses so that we can accept that some of the changes — that “doing church,” — might look very different from what our paradigm has always been.
May we continue to lift up Christ to the glory of God!
I’ve been visiting Shane J Wood’s website, and came across this amazing sermon that speaks to the issues that have been raised recently. It’s well worth the listen. Be aware that it starts with the audio for a video clip…
http://www.shanejwood.com/images/stories/sacts6.mp3
After many years of church leadership and ministry, I am of the opinion that most churches suffer more from a lack of vision than they do from inadequate leadership. If you are going to set out to herd cats you had best start with a clearly defined goal, which is supported by realistic objectives. Even mediocre leadership can achieve good herding results if they have a well-defined vision.
I have spent many years in business management and in business consulting, with the last 15 years dedicated to turning businesses around. In all of this time, I can honestly say that I have never observed an organization make lasting improvement without first establishing a vision. I am not talking about a few buzzwords, supported by a to-do list. I am talking about a clear vision of where you want to be tomorrow, supported by an honest gap analysis and full blown operations planning.
To be honest, the vision statement is already written: you will find it in the New Testament. Almost all of the objectives needed to support our goal can also be found in scripture. What we need to do is clearly define our strategy and develop the operations plan. But, that ain’t easy.
I applaud your desire to improve and pray for your willingness to change. Remember, improvement cannot happen without change. I encourage your taking the time to plan, to fully document your plan and then record every phase of your transition. In this way you will be more able to effectively evaluate your implementation of change.
May God Bless
Let us first agree that the gospel message, as presented in scripture, is one hundred percent accurate. Thus, there is no need for us to change the message. Of course, we are making the assumption that we correctly convey the message.
The second point we need to establish is to define our current method of communication. In all probably, we have a “boomer” method of delivering the gospel message to the people. We gather everyone into the lecture hall (sanctuary) and lecture to them. Elders and Boomers are comfortable with this sort of thing but the Busters and Mosaics are pretty much disconnected from this communication medium.
Why is there a disconnect? Communication technology generates communication disconnects. In the modern era, the written word brought the gospel message into our homes and the spoken word dominant communication in gatherings. In the postmodern era, we saw radio and television bring the spoken word into our homes and use of the written word declined. In the post-postmodern era, technology has dramatically changed the medium of communication. The boomers, and especially the mosaics, do not view lengthy lectures or stuffy classrooms as an optimum form of communication … especially when they have a world of information at their fingertips.
If we are still relying on modern era methods, as our primary means of communication, we have got a problem. The 21st century fellowship must communicate with Elders, Boomer, Busters and Mosaics via a communication technology that each group understands and is willing to receive. Designing a discipleship-building communication medium in the 21st century church requires a great deal of careful study and preparation.
The Good Old Religion is good but it must be communicated so that people hear it. For the most part, preaching on a stump, holding tent meeting and having ‘fill the pew revivals’ are a thing of the past. Even the Catholic Church, with all its ancient momentum, recognizes the need for proper communication methods. A communication from the pope reads: “The spread of multimedia communications and its rich ‘menu of options’ might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled. Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel, exercising their proper role as leaders of communities which increasingly express themselves with the different ‘voices’ provided by the digital marketplace. Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.”
On Nov. 17, 2010, the words of Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles to the USCCB were quite striking: “We digital immigrants need lessons on the digital culture, just as we expect missionaries to learn the cultures of the people they are evangelizing. We have to be enculturated. It’s more than just learning how to create a Facebook account. It’s learning how to think, live and embrace life on the digital continent.” Think about this. He is not talking about just building web sites or having a presence on Facebook. We need to immerse ourselves in the communications mindset and culture of today.
We have been given the mission of reconciliation as ambassadors for Christ. It is essential we represent Christ in the vernacular and in the medium, which is held in common with those we seek to disciple. Remember, Paul said that he was all things to all people so that he might win them to the Lord. I cannot help but believe that Jesus expects us to have an intelligent and effective presence in the communications medium of today.
Not being privy to the book, or Chapter 2, I read with interest the various comments.
There is a lot of valuable information here, but we all need to remember that God, in Jesus, through the Holy Spirit (- ONE GOD) makes the plant grow. We need to sow, we may need to weed, we must water, but the Master Gardener makes it grow; sometimes “in spite” of our best efforts. All “pastors” (read “committed Christians”) need to be responsive to the needs of all others, inside or outside the established congregation.
First, I agree that it is God who grows Christians. In the book ‘Herding Cats’, however, the theme, as I understand it, is more focused on managing a Christian fellowship. To the best of my understanding, the government of the church is left open to the exercising of man’s free will. Yes, we should seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is kind of this way: We can influence the growth of a Christian but the Holy Spirit is in control; the Holy Spirit can influence the growth of a congregation but we are in control.
Second, scripture uses the term ‘traditions’ in reference to the religious practices of the church, which had been developed in the past. In most cases, the term tradition is used in reference to religious practices, which originated in the mind of man and not in the word of God. I believe that is how we should view the term traditions: the non-scriptural religious practices of our father’s, which we observe and inculcate in our church doctrine.
Third, there is a serious disconnect between the ‘traditional’ church and people. Based on generational factors I see the disconnect as:
Elders (Builders) – minor
Boomers – significant
Busters – major
Generation X (Bridgers) – tragic
There is absolutely no way we can look at the growing disconnect without our heart breaking. Perhaps we have entered the great falling away but I am not ready to give up yet.
Fourth, the gospel message has not changed but our medium of communication has changed. Remember, Paul did not rely on classical communication methods to reach people; Paul did what worked best: he was all things, to all men, that he might win them to Christ. You will never reach very many in generation X with tent revivals and sermons!
Fifth, you do not have to lose the Elders and Boomers in order to change your communication methods, but you do have to know how to get them involved.
Sixth, the first thing you have to do is defeat apathy.