Successful Ministry...sharing a resource

Here is a great tidbit from a blog that I follow from Lifechurch.tv…they have some great, brief blog entries that are very practical.

Jason Cooper

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December 9th, 2008

by Craig Groeschel

Successful Ministry - 2

Do the Small Things Daily

When working with pastors, many are often looking for a “big win.” They want to have a big community event, a big servants’ banquet, or a big series that runs attendance higher.

While all these can be effective, I encourage consistency in the small things daily.

I’ll compare it to football. Most championship teams win games on many four-yard, six-yard, and eleven-yard gains. They might win one game a season on a last second hail-Mary pass, but most games consistently succeeding at the basics.

The same is true in ministry. Successful ministries are built on Christ by leaders who do the small things daily:

-They return calls and emails promptly.

-They show up on time.

-They pray for God’s guidance.

-They love and serve people.

-They study hard and preach passionately.

-They have a consistent and strong work ethic.

-They follow through on commitments.

You could hope for the perfect mailer, plan the killer youth event, or pray for a news story to build your church…or you could move the ball forward one play at a time doing the small things with integrity daily.

Canada Prepares...

Enjoy!

Jason

Redistribution of candy...

I don’t intend this to become a political blog, but I really enjoyed this cartoon…credit goes to cartoonist Gary McCoy (www.garymccoy.org or www.caglecartoons.com).

Jason Cooper

REVEAL interview notes

Here are some more notes from the interviews at the conference…again, more commonalities of the top churches…

 

Three Practices of these churches (top 15)

1.      Make the destination clear.

2.      Make the spiritual ‘on ramp’ non-negotiable.

a.      The greater the expectation, the higher the commitment

3.      The senior pastor is involved, and the champion of the process.

 

How to embed the Bible in everything you do.

1.      Don’t shy away from expository preaching/teaching. (exegesis)

2.      Take away the excuses.

a.      10/10 covenant:

                                                              i.      read the bible for 10 minutes,

                                                            ii.      pray 10 minutes a day,

                                                          iii.      connect with 10 people in a small group,

                                                           iv.      pray for 10 people to accept Christ.

b.      Include a bible lesson in every ministry activity.

c.       Do things with email, web for getting people into the word.

d.      Don’t make scripture something only “pastors” can “do”

3.      Model scripture as the church’s foundation.

 

 

Jason Cooper

 

REVEAL notes...

Notes from Greg Hawkins concerning the commonalities between the highest scoring churches…

 

4 Things We found about these top churches:

1.      They get their people moving.  They are focused on making disciples of Jesus.  They get them moving early, create a clear path of next steps.  They offer a plated meal instead of a buffet.  New people are given one clear next step.

 

2.      They embed the bible in everything and in everyone.  They make it pervasive.  Clearly teach the bible, usually expository.  Start with scripture in order to help people make the application on their own.  They make it accessible through classes, email, online, etc.

 

3.      They create ownership.  They emphasize that everyone has a role in the body.  Not just belonging, but identifying with the church.  They train them to lead and disciple.  They hold them accountable.

 

4.      They pastor the local community, not just the church.  Aggressively understanding the needs of the community and working to meet those needs.  Create high expectations for their people in serving the community.  They form partnerships with other churches/organizations.  They are intentional in making serving a platform for sharing the gospel.

 

5.      (bonus) the following churches, they all have leaders consumed with making disciples and modeling it…

 

 

 

Jason Cooper

 

Notes from REVEAL...

Greg Hawkins - notes

 

Top 5 discoveries as the survey expanded to other congregations (much of this is highlighted in the book Follow Me).

1.      Reading and reflecting on scripture is the most powerful catalyst for personal spiritual growth.

2.      Developing core Christian beliefs is crucial for those in the early stages.

3.      Personal spiritual practices are the building blocks for spiritual growth.

4.      Serving is the most catalytic experience offered by churches.  Especially serving those in need, outside the church, on your own.  There is a continuum from church offered experiences to serving on one’s own.

5.      Spiritual community is vital, but it migrates from organized to organic.

 

What did people want from the church?  Top 5

1.      Help me understand the bible in greater depth.

2.      Help me develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

3.      Provide strong programs for children.

4.      Challenge me to grow and take next steps.

5.      Provide compelling worship services.

 

 

Jason Cooper

 

Notes from REVEAL...

A couple notes from this morning's session...
Key factors for spiritual growth through the four stages...
1. Personal engagement with the bible
2. Biblical community

The toughest chasm in growing from segment to segment is the last jump...from close to Christ to Christ centered.
More later...

Jason Cooper

at the REVEAL conference...

Well…it’s October 13^th and I just flew into Chicago, got my rental, drove to my hotel, grabbed dinner at Chipotle (yum!) and am getting ready to head to Willow Creek tomorrow for the REVEAL conference.  I look forward to gaining some good insights and ideas on helping the church do a better job of discipleship.

I will hopefully be able to post a few comments over the next two days.

 

Jason Cooper

 

REVEAL conference...

This is just a quick FYI type of post, but I am getting excited about the upcoming REVEAL conference at Willow Creek. It is October 14-15 and as my previous posts [1,2] on this topic suggest, it looks like there will be some good insights into how to “catalyze” spiritual growth in the church.

My hope is that the conference will help churches focus on principles and practices that contribute to discipleship and not just “sell” programs and curriculum.

On a side note, the REVEAL follow up book is now out…FOLLOW ME. I have it and have started digesting it and will comment on it in the future.

Jason Cooper

REVEAL in the Christian Standard

A recent issue of the Christian Standard contained an article that talked about the REVEAL study that Willow Creek Community Church has been talking about a lot recently. (Also the subject of my previous post)

I thought the article was a good summary. So here is a link: Changing the Way We Do Church, by Darrel Rowland.

Let me just say that there is a tendency to “bash” Willow, and I personally am not sold on their seeker model, but this study is not about abandoning the seeker model as some have proposed. If you have questions about that last statement, leave a comment and I will clarify.

Jason Cooper

REVEAL-ing Insights from Willow Creek

One of my frustrations in ministry is how to sort through all the different programs, groups, campaigns, curriculums, conferences, bookd, etc., that are available out there. There seems to be a self-imposed pressure within churches to do the latest, greatest, trendy thing that churches are doing. We get so focused on creating programs that will draw bodies that we forget about purpose and philosophy of ministry and strategies for creating real growth in individuals.

Several years back I was able to participate, along with my church at the time, in some ongoing discipleship training that attempted to force churches to look at everything they are doing in order to come to a discipleship focus as a church. This meant defining discipleship, clarifying discipleship as THE purpose of the church, and developing a unified philosophy of ministry and therefore a strategy for facilitating real spiritual growth in individuals. Ever since then, this has become a lens through which I filter everything I encounter regarding ministry.

In this process, we took a survey that evaluated how our people were doing in terms of a four phase discipleship plan. We found that true growth had nothing to do with how long someone had been a Christian, or how long they had been going to church. True growth had to do with how much the individual “owned” their own personal, spiritual growth.

Over the last year or so, Willow Creek has begun putting out some of the best material I have seen in regards to ministry…they call it REVEAL. It is not a program to mimic, or curriculum to use, or small group material, or any of the traditional stuff. It is the results of asking the question “Are we accomplishing our purpose of making disciples?” The answer to that question was…no, not really. They found that spiritual growth was happening at their church, but that it had no correlation to a person’s involvement in church activities. The people that grew were the ones that “owned” their own personal growth.

Notice that this is not a condemnation of their seeker-driven philosophy as some have wrongly asserted. Their results paralleled the results my church had discovered. The difference is that we discovered it with the help of a much lesser known parachurch group utilizing a much more basic survey than the REVEAL survey. The great thing about REVEAL is that it is getting noticed on the national scene.

In both the survey I participated in and the REVEAL survey, the results hold true in churches across the board. So, if you are a church leader of any sort, please take time to check out what they are finding. If you have comments or questions, please leave them and join in this discussion.

I hope to write more about REVEAL in the future.

Jason Cooper

Spotted, speckled, and dark colored...Gen 30

In my reading, I have been working through Genesis. And Genesis in many ways is a difficult book. Not because I struggle to believe it, but because we see things in the lives of some of the patriarchs that are so different from our own culture that we are not sure how to handle them.

For example, I my previous entry (Fetching Rebekah…) we have the swearing of an oath by the putting of a hand on the inner thigh….how strange. And in Genesis 30, we have Jacob increasing his flock by what appears to be, at the very least, deceptive.

Jacob comes to an agreement with Laban that he will get all the spotted and speckled goats and sheep. But in the making of the deal he says “my honesty will testify for me in the future” (30:33). However, the story suggests that he takes intentional measures to insure that he comes out ahead in the deal by manipulating the breeding process in his favor. This seems less than “honest.” Yet, Jacob receives God’s blessing. So, were Jacob’s actions questionable? Or are they simply recorded as fact and not evaluated in the text? Good questions to ask in heaven.

Jason Cooper

Fetching Rebekah...Gen 24

Today I read in Genesis 24 which is the story of Abraham sending off one of his servants to his homeland in order to find a wife for Isaac. Abraham did not want his son marrying one of the “local” women, the Canaanites.

The servant, who is not named, takes the job very seriously and prays that God will answer Abraham’s prayer for a wife for his son.

There is one thing in this passage that is interesting to me.

In verse 2 Abraham has the servant swear an oath by having him place his (the servant’s) hand under his (Abraham’s) thigh. This, of course, seems very odd today. A quick look at a commentary tells us that it was common to include some kind of gesture or object when swearing an oath (like swearing on the Bible). And in this case, the thigh likely refers to the inner thigh, thus symbolically swearing to find a wife for Isaac in order to carry on the family line…still pretty strange by today’s standards, but common in that culture.

Jason Cooper

"Your only son" - Gen 22:2 & 12

Genesis 22 records the testing of Abraham. You know the story…God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. And this after God miraculously opened Sarah’s womb when she was very old. Also after God had repeatedly promised Abraham a son and descendents. Also after Abraham’s son through Hagar had been sent away. Abraham had to have had some doubts…but the text does not suggest that he did. In fact, verse 8 suggests that he knew God would be faithful if he was faithful, and provide an alternative sacrifice.

What interested me as I read this passage this time through was the repeating of the phrase “your son, your only son” (v. 2, 12). A Christian can not help but think of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…”

Now, I don’t know that this is much more than a coincidence that these phrases are similar in these passages, but it is amazing how God’s story of redemption contains, at the very least, so many parallels. To think that Abraham’s promised son, the one who would bring blessing to all nations, would have to die…that would have been difficult to understand. Yet, the “blessed” one that came from this very family line would have to do just that to bring the blessing anticipated…anticipated even clear back in Genesis.

Jason Cooper

THINK STEPS, NOT PROGRAMS...

Last year I read through a book called 7 Practices of Effective Ministry (by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, & Lane Jones; 186 pp. © 2004 Multnomah Publishers) and much of what it has to say has helped me focus my own approach to ministry.

Last time I shared with you the idea of “clarifying the win”. This time I want to go on and tell you about the second “practice” – thinking steps, not programs.

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? This is the key question facing church leaders. Does it mean I just need to come to church Sunday morning? Does it mean I come to church every time the doors are open? Does it mean I tithe? Does it mean I serve? Does it mean I join the choir? Does it mean I read my bible and pray daily? Does it mean I …???

If our purpose is “to make disciples” (i.e., clarifying the win), then how we answer this question is especially important. How would you answer this question? What would you tell someone if they asked what they needed to do in order to grow as a disciple of Jesus? How did Jesus disciple people?

Let’s go back to another sports analogy. The “win” in football is to have more points than your opponent at the end of the game. That is the overall goal. But the game breaks down much farther than that. The next goal below winning the game is crossing the goal line (scoring). But the game breaks down even farther. The goal below that is to simply get a first down. But there are even more specific steps that a coach considers when putting together a game plan, many of which vary depending on the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. The overall strategy for winning the game affects every decision…from practice routine, to warm ups, to motivating the team, even the coin toss. And all of these steps are taken before the clock even begins to tic.

The point is that a coach is going to make every effort to accomplish the overall goal…winning the game. We as the body of Christ need to make every effort to accomplish our overall goal…making disciples.

So what does this have to do with the church and programming? Typically, a church grows because it develops strong programming…usually children’s ministries, youth ministries, or strong worship and preaching. Other ministries begin to pop up as more people enter the church and are looking for ways to become involved and get to know others. Eventually you end up with a smorgasbord of ministries that people can pick and choose from. No longer can one person be involved with everything the church has to offer, and they have to choose which programs to be a part of.

This causes two problems. First, many people, especially those who have grown up in the church, have equated discipleship with participation in everything the church has to offer…going to church every time the doors are open. They begin to struggle trying to do it all, and they feel a sense of loss as they can no longer keep track of everything and everyone. Secondly, others find themselves in ministries that are not necessarily what they need in order to grow. Sometimes this is an intentional effort to avoid being challenged or to avoid commitment. Sometimes it is merely a result of being emotionally tied to programs or people in them, and not wanting to lose or strain those relationships.

The point? The church should have a step by step strategy for discipling. These steps should be determined apart from existing ministries and programs. The steps should be clear, reachable, and contribute to the purpose of the church. Once the steps have been determined, then the church should design programs and ministries that accomplish these steps.

What does this mean for our church? I wish I could say that we have it all figured out, that we have a clear step by step process for bringing people along in discipleship. What I can say is that we are moving in that direction. Our purpose is “to make disciples of Jesus Christ.” When we reworded this statement last year, we thought there needed to be more to help explain what it means to make disciples. We wanted something that was memorable yet broke down the process of discipleship into steps. We chose four key words: CONNECT, GROW, SERVE, and SHARE. These four words break down Jesus’ discipleship process into four basic steps that speak to how we should disciple people today. We should help people CONNECT to Christ and his church; GROW in their relationship with God; identify their gifts and SERVE in ministry; and SHARE their faith and ministry with others.

What is the next ‘step’? We are working to break down these four basic steps into clear, reachable, and strategic steps that will truly help us “make disciples of Jesus Christ.” It is not that “programs” are bad, it is simply that programs should be designed to take people through these steps (rather than starting a program because “it will draw people” or “people will like it”). Please pray for this process.

In Him,

Jason Cooper

Who is Responsible...Gen 16:1-5

Genesis 16:1-5

I have been reading in Genesis and as I read I often notice things I wasn’t aware of before, or that I had forgotten.

I find it interesting that in this passage of Genesis Sarai says what appears to be an odd thing.

This is the story of about how God had promised Abram offspring, but Sarai had been barren her whole life and now she was old, as was Abram. So, she told Abram to take her maidservant and sleep with her and provide a family through her.

Abram did exactly what his wife asked of him, and Hagar became pregnant.

Then in verse 5 Sarai, sensing Hagar’s attitude, becomes upset with the whole arrangement (an arrangement she made) and says to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering…” (v. 5, NIV).

Now I realize there are cultural practices involved here that are so far from our experience that it makes this passage a little hard to understand. But what I was pretty sure I understood was that this was Sarai’s idea. How is it that she now blames Abram???

That is one thing about historical narratives like this…it isn’t always clear if a behavior was right or wrong. We don’t always know what “should” have happened. We don’t always know if what we are reading would have been “normal”. What we do know from these kind of passages is that God works despite our efforts (intentionally or unintentionally) to get in the way.

So, was Sarai being unfair in blaming Abram??? I don’t know. Was what Abram agreed to a moral failure on his part? Possibly. But one thing is clear…God’s plan proceeds.

Jason Cooper

CLARIFY THE WIN

Last year I read through a book called 7 Practices of Effective Ministry (by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, & Lane Jones; 186 pp. © 2004 Multnomah Publishers) and much of what it has to say has helped me focus my own approach to ministry. I have special interest in the philosophy of ministry this book teaches as it can greatly increase a church’s effectiveness in actually making discipleship THE purpose of the church.

Let me tell you about the first “practice” – clarifying the ‘win’.

What does it mean to succeed as a church? Is it numbers? Is it programs? Is it budget? Is it facilities? Is it meaningful worship services? What is it?

In football, as with most sports, the “win” is pretty easy to understand…end up with more ppoints on the board at the end of the game. Everything that happens on the field should contribute to that goal. Yet coaches don’t rely on that single measure alone to determine if their team is playing to its full potential. They know that they have to have a solid rushing game, passing game, offensive line, good pass protection, pass coverage, defensive line, special teams, etc., in order to win game after game. They have to clarify not only the overall “win”, but the “win” at every level of the organization.

Again…what does it mean to “win” as a church? What do you use to measure the effectiveness of the church? In my experience, church-goers tend to look to their own impressions and feelings as the primary measure of success. Did I ‘enjoy’ the music or sermon? Did I ‘feel’ the Spirit in worship? On the other hand, church-leaders have a tendency to look at attendance, or offerings, or key programs. Unfortunately, neither of these methods of evaluation tell us if we are truly succeeding. Wouldn’t it be nice if God had given us some direction…

…Oh, but He did! There is a little passage of scripture that actually gives us a goal to achieve…a “win”. Matthew 28:18-20 is known as the Great Commission. Jesus had a task for his followers (the church) to accomplish. The scripture reads as follows:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20; NIV, emphasis added)

The command in this passage…the goal to accomplish…the “win” to be achieved…is to make disciples. Every other phrase in these few sentences are in support of this “win”.

So, I ask again: What does it mean to succeed as a church? The answer…to make disciples of Jesus Christ! How do we tell if an individual ministry or program is succeeding? The answer…determine if it is effectively contributing to the goal of making disciples.

In Him,
Jason Cooper

Red Neck Tank Top...just for fun!

Check out this picture. Look closely... Yup! It is what you think it is.

It is interesting what people will do. Does this person think no one will notice? Do they just not care? Was this a new pair, or slightly used?

Would you do something like this? Supposedly this was sighted at a NASCAR race...that may help explain some things about it.

Jason

...a place to express my thoughts

Have you ever wondered if anyone cares what you say? Have you ever felt like you had something to contribute, not in an arrogant way, but not sure if you had an avenue to do so?

I don’t know that this blog really qualifies for that, but I like the idea of being able to express some thoughts from time to time on subjects that I have an interest in…they could be religion, theology, politics, world news, current events, or just about anything. I thought I would give this a try and see where it takes me.

I will try to post something weekly and see where that takes me…PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE COMMENTS…I will do my best to read them.

Jason