The American Church Magazine® January 2015 2

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Contributing EditorsThom Schultz

Tim KurtzDavid Murrow

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Cover StorySetting Goals for Your Church in 2015! By Steve Hewitt

January 2015 Vol. 4 No. 1

Dedicated to helping the church in America find their purpose, define their mission and reach their community.

ArticleChurch’s Obsessionwith Sunday MorningBy Thom Schultz

6

Staying PowerWaiting for ClosureBy George Cannon10Church HoppersDemographic Studies:Fact or FictionBy Church Hoppers

13

Reviving the Small ChurchCan the Small Church Capitalizeon the “Nones” and “Dones?”By Michael Henderson

7

No Longer Church As UsualAbandon Ship or Follow a CallingBy Tim Kurtz16

January 2015 3The American Church Magazine®

January 2015 Vol. 4 No. 1

Cover Story

Setting Goals forYour Church in 2015! By Steve Hewitt

I received an email, soon after the 1st of January from a company wanting to help churches in 2015. Here is how they started their email,

“As churches and ministries are embarking on the New Year, most are evaluating how they can be more effective in carrying out their mission in 2015. Many are hoping to better leverage tech-nology to reach more people, improve fundraising efforts, protect donor data, and more.”

I thought it might be interesting to see what goals or resolutions our readers here at The American Church Magazine might be think-ing about. I obviously phrased the question wrong!

When we didn’t get but a few responses to the question, “Does your church have a New Year’s resolution?” We sent out the question a second time and I did receive a few more emails report-ing in. However, I also received several emails from readers who were upset with the question.

Some felt that “New Year’s resolutions” equated to individuals promising one more time to try to lose weight, and therefore thought my question trivial-ized the work of real ministry. That certainly wasn’t my intention, and if that is how you saw my ques-tion, I apologize.

The American Church Magazine® January 2015 4

One pastor stated: “From my perspective as a pastor, the reason

that The American Church Magazine received so few responses to the question - “Does your church have a New Year’s resolution?” is that the majority of churches do not set resolutions! Churches typically set goals, establish objectives or cast vision. Resolutions seldom work in the secular arena ...much less in the church!

I agree completely! Another pastor put it this way (very nicely I might add):

Steve, enjoy the magazine; keep up the good work!

If we truly have vision from God and are follow-ing God in our churches, then why do we need a new year’s resolution? Most people view a new year’s resolution as a fad and unreliable any way. Just my 1 cent worth. :)

I responded back to this pastor, explaining that I probably phrased the question wrong, and didn’t mean to imply that setting goals for the church year was equal to such fads. He wrote back a very long email explaining another aspect of why the ques-tion rubbed him the wrong way. It seems that when we, as church leaders and pastors, are encouraged to set goals, they seem to center around “numeri-cal growth”. This pastor had learned to seek change from “growing” a church to centering ministry on “simply bringing healing and Holy Spirit into people’s lives”. I love it! That is a great goal for any church, any year!

Whenever we send out a question to The Ameri-can Church Magazine readership, I am always re-minded that we have readers in countries all across the world, not just here in America.

Jack Bibo wrote:“As a small Baptist Church in the southern part

of the Netherlands our vision/resolution for 2015 is reaching out both with the Gospel and with our hands (practical help) to a specific low quarter/ popular neighborhood in the town of Maastricht. To accomplish that we will move to a Catholic church building in that area. – Elder Baptist Church Maas-tricht, The Netherlands.”

Here are a few other responses. Pastor Dennis Fite, Pebble Creek Assembly of God shared:

“We start each new year with challenges towards:

Planned Bible Reading (We are using a Chron-ological 1 year Plan this year)

Daily Devotionals - which we provide (The Word for You Today by Bob Gass)

Prayer Emphasis - A 7 day prayer guide Fasting - encouraging choosing one or more

of several Biblical approaches.We also challenge everyone to find a specific

“Word” that will be their word for the year and support it with at least one scripture which will be memorized and meditated upon throughout the year. (Inspired by My One Word - Mike Ashcraft)”

Dr. Antonio M Alfred, Pastor of St John Mission-ary Baptist Church shared:

“Our church’s New Year’s resolution is “Arise and Rebuild” Nehemiah 2:17-18. We are starting this off with a Challenge to the Men in Our Church to Arise and Rebuild as Kingdom Men by utilizing the Kingdom Man series by Dr. Tony Evans. Next, we are planning to launch a Stewardship Capital Fund Raising Campaign to encourage our church family to Sacrificing for the Vision as we Arise and Rebuild to carry out the vision that God gave to us. “

At Faith Lutheran Church in Lincoln Nebraska, they have set some new goals for the next five years, starting this year, 2015. Brad Beckman shared:

To be active in Faith Sharing and Financial Giv-ing.

Congregation members will share Faith stories in worship to encourage others.

Philemon 6 “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full under-standing of every good thing we have in Christ.”

5% Challenge in 2015 - God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. 9:7) God doesn’t just like - He loves a cheerful giver. For every dollar God brings into your home you keep 95 cents and bring a nickel to the Lord. For every $100 God brings to your home you keep $95 and bring $5 to the Lord. For every $1000 God brings into your household in 2015 you keep $950 and bring $50 to the Lord.

In 2016 - 6%In 2017 - 7%In 2018 - 8%In 2019 - 9%In 2020 - Tithe

January 2015 5The American Church Magazine®

In essence, a five year financial giving chal-lenge/strategy to bring about “sustainable minis-try” for years to come. The goal of Faith Sharing and Financial Giving is to advance the Kingdom of Christ.”

And Sherri O’Neil shared:“At South View Church, we are going to work

harder to BE the church. We are launching a Friday night service. The idea is to bring in those that Sunday mornings just don’t work for. We are going to be relational in our communities, and actively pursue reaching the unsaved and unchurched in our region. The church is not the building. We are the church.”

And Raymond Wicks, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Plattsmouth Nebraska shared:

“Our theme for 2015 is “So Loved”Emphasizing: God’s Love to UsOur Love to GodOur Love to ChristiansOur Love to the Lost”

We received more responses than I can share in this one article. However, I do want to share this one from an anonymous responder who shared they had no goals for the church they were pres-ently, but their personal resolution was to find a new church in 2015!

I hope that many churches have set goals not necessarily related to numerical growth, but direct-ly related to ministry. Maybe your goal in 2015 is to improve your Children’s Ministry, or to be more missional and find ways to reach out and minister within your community. I hope some churches have set a goal of starting a new church across town where there is a need for ministry, or some have set a goal to simply bring their membership closer in their daily walk and communion with Christ.

Thanks to everyone who responded, even those who responded to tell me why they didn’t like this question. MY goal for 2015 will be to do a bet-ter job in asking questions that will provoke some thought and information that will benefit all of us!

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The American Church Magazine® January 2015 6

A friend of mine visited a large, famous church on a typical Sun-day. The worship band performed with precision. The lighting and fog effects were state of the art. The pastor presented a polished sermon amidst specially built staging.

Later in the week the pastor shared this church’s ministry secrets in a seminar. He described the staff’s single-minded emphasis on excellence—for the Sunday worship services. He shared their internal mantra: “It’s about Sunday, stupid.”

I get the point. For many churches, the Sunday service is the initial introduction for the uninitiated. It’s the main conduit for new members. It’s the only time most churches ever see the majority of their people. It’s the culmination of a week (or more) of staff planning and rehearsing. It’s the main conduit for tithes and offerings.

I get it. But I fear this laser focus on the Sun-day service is slowly anesthetizing the church and clouding its real mission. It’s no wonder that many people come to worship for an hour on Sunday and then fail to live their faith once they leave the church building.

I’m afraid it’s too easy for an It’s-About-Sunday-Stupid (IASS for short) church staff to begin to shade its mission toward merely filling seats on Sunday morning. That’s not the same as a clear mission to bring individuals closer to Jesus, to transform their lives, to provide relational support for the Body of Christ.

Instead, the IASS mentality can send the unfor-

tunate, subtle message that the ministry is really all about the show—and its showmen.

The church is not about the show. It’s not about Sunday. It’s about God—working in and through people—Sunday through Saturday. Everywhere.

We numb our people’s sense of mission and ministry when we imply it’s all about what the staff performs on Sunday morning. The weekly worship service is not the main event. It may be a reflection and a celebration of the main event, which is God at work every day in and through his people. On the job. At home. At school. In the car. On the bus. At the store. On the field.

Rather than cheerleading an IASS myopia, it’s time to widen our idea of church, of ministry. It’s time to shift more energy and emphasis into other, broader ways to be faithful to our calling–as the church.

Church is not an hour on Sunday. Faith is not a staged show. Evangelism isn’t the act of park-ing butts in pews. Discipleship isn’t the process of dispensing oratory to passive spectators.

We don’t “go to church.” We are called to be the church. Every day. Everywhere.

Church’s Obsession with Sunday Morning

Article

By Thom Schultz

January 2015 7The American Church Magazine®

Can the Small Church Capitalize on the “Nones” and “Dones?”

Reviving the Small Church

By Michael Henderson

If the Church is Not Dying, What’s Happening? Oh sure, some think I’m overstating the case.

And, admittedly, my own feeling is, the Church will still be around for a few, and maybe several, more decades. But one has only to look at how long it took to empty the churches in Europe to know that, here in America, it will take many years yet before the Church completely disappears.1

In the article he uses a Pew Research poll that statistically shows 1 in 3 Millennials (those under age 30) leaving the church and not returning.2 He then predicts that this “spells virtual doom for the Church. The Church as we have known it anyway.”3 To be fair he also refers to others outside of the Millennial age range are leaving as well. These all add up to a dying church that is not making up any ground.

Mr. McSwain has a point. If the church today does not address the issues it will continue to dwin-dle. Will it be snuffed out? No, that will never hap-pen; but we do have a lot of damage control on our hands. Many more church buildings may close as we have seen, but the church is not the building. How

does this affect the small church? It depends on if we look at the problem or look at the possibilities?

DefinitionsThe “Nones” are those pew research catego-

rizes as 1/5th of the U.S. population that have no church affiliation which contains 1/3 of adults under age 30.4 The “Dones” are those who say they are in effect, “Done with the organized Church.” Thom Schulz has a piece on www.churchleaders.com that expresses who the “Dones” are. He states, “They’re sometimes called the de-churched. They have not abandoned their faith. They have not joined the also-growing legion of those with no religious affili-ation—often called the Nones.”5 He goes on to say, “these de-churched were among the most dedicated and active people in their congregations.”6 He then warns, “The very people on whom a church relies for lay leadership, service and financial support are going away. And the problem is compounded by the fact that younger people in the next generation, the Millennials, are not lining up to refill the emptying pews.”7

In November 2014 the Huffington Post released a Blog post titled “NONES!” are Now “DONES” Is the Church Dying? In the article the author, Steve McSwain, succinctly makes the following bold prediction:

The American Church Magazine® January 2015 8

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January 2015 9The American Church Magazine®

In the past few years I have had an opportunity to speak with many of the “Dones” and I have also seen many of them come back into the church fel-lowship. There are various reasons why these are leaving the church, here is my top ten:

Many feel they have been neglected1. Many feel the Bible is no longer relevant as a 2. number one priorityMany feel resentment against a pastor or a 3. teacher or other memberMany feel they are tired of supporting huge 4. building fundsMany feel their talents and gifts go unnoticed5. Many feel they are not in the “In crowd” so 6. they are overlookedMany feel the preaching has become a 7. weekly “self-help” seminarMany feel the organized church is not a good 8. New Testament modelMany just lost their joy in serving9. Many got tired of the ritual and with no 10. relevance

In each of the cases above there is a person who is either correct in what they have witnessed or simply misguided. For instance, if resentment and hurt is the case it is easy to see why they have left. The Christians number one character trait is to be a person of love (Eph. 5:23 NKJV). We are told in Scripture, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37 ESV), and,”You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (vs. 39). John also assures us “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death (1 John 3:14 NKJV). That said…if we are not fulfilling our number one respon-sibility as a Christian are we really being the church? Others have been pushed too hard in the wallet or have sat so long under weak teaching that they feel all purpose and vision are gone. Why go to a church building when they can get just as much from the television set! Now as a pastor I have to say that a lot of these departures are warranted (for a time) because of these things but some are simply unwar-ranted. There are some you can love to death, even offer positions, and it will never be enough. That is when we step into the area of being misguided.

The misguided are those who have a predeter-mined expectation and it may not be biblical. They

are the ones who complain about the teaching or the sermon because it does not fit their interpreta-tion. They are the ones who wait for a church leader to recognize their talent when they have never told them they have a talent. They are the ones who know more about social issues and appearances than they do God’s word. They often allow those interactions and philosophies to govern their moral positions overruling the word of God. When they be-come angry because they do not get their way, they leave. Others have just never been taught the truth of God’s word so they become disinterested. Some of these things we can do something about.

A few years back I met a defecting couple at a hotel lounge. We started to speak and during the course of the first few minutes, the conversation turned to Jesus and the church. They commented that they were just tired and too worn out to con-tinue going to church on a weekly basis. They said, “It’s the same old thing week in and week out. It has become a meaningless ritual. We have been going for decades and we are just about to give up. There just isn’t any meaning in it for us anymore.” I asked them two things: “What they believed about Jesus?” and “What ritual were they referring to?” I then began to explain the gospel and tied it in to the so-called ritual they were tired of. This couple had never heard that Christ was the substitutionary sac-rifice for our sins? It’s true. They knew He died on the cross. They knew He rose from the dead. They knew many things—but they really did not know the truth. To make a long story short, this couple started to beam! At that moment they decided to recon-sider their decision to leave the church. For the first time in years worship had meaning to them.

I wish I could say it is always that easy, but I can’t. But if the small church keeps preaching and living the gospel, just as Jesus intended, it’s going to go a long way in not only seeing God move among us, but retrieving some of those drifting souls back into the fellowship.

God Bless

1 - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-mcswain/nones-and-now-the-dones-t_b_6164112.html2 – ibid3 – ibid 4 – http://www.pewforum.org/2012/10/09/nones-on-the-rise/5 – http://www.churchleaders.com/outreach-missions/outreach-missions-articles/177144-thom-schultz-rise-of-the-done-with-church-population.html6 – ibid7 – ibid

The American Church Magazine® January 2015 10

Waiting for Closure

Staying Power

By George Cannon

When a pastoral ministry at a church ends negatively, not only is the congregation traumatized, but also the pastor. Recent studies show that between 23 and 41 percent of pastors experience a forced termination from their church at least once in their ministry.1 This type of negative event devastatingly impacts a pastor and his family when they face a sudden loss of employment and, in many cases, even having to leave the community. Often, the pastor and his family are suddenly uprooted from relationships within their church and community. Because of the speed at which many of these forced terminations take place, the pastor often leaves the church with no opportunity for personal closure.

Waiting for Acknowledgement Whether a pastor chooses to continue or

leave the ministry after his dismissal, the sudden-ness of the termination leaves a major void in his life. Even as time goes on, the pastor’s thoughts linger on the abrupt end of his ministry at the church. There is a sense in which the pastor, per-haps even unconsciously, waits for a phone call that will never come.

There are several reasons why a pastor will ex-perience these feelings. First, the pastor looks for some admission from the church that he and his

family were wronged. He wants to be affirmed, so he will not feel alone in his feelings about the situation. The pastor also struggles with the real-ity of what he and his family experienced while ministering at the church. He had expected better behavior from Christians. Therefore, he contin-ues to wait for anyone to call to apologize for the trauma that he went through. Finally, the pastor hopes that a call from his previous church will bring him some closure. He expects the call will help him close the door on that unhappy chapter of his life.

January 2015 11The American Church Magazine®

A Sad Reality While the expectation of a phone call seems

noble, it ignores a sad reality that exists in churches today, which is manifested in three ways.

The offending party does not believe they 1. are wrong. Typically, a pastor is terminated by a small, vocal minority in a congregation. In many instances, this minority influences the leadership structure within the church. Phoning the terminated pastor to apologize is a completely foreign concept to them. In their minds, the actions to remove the pastor, how-ever sinful they may have been, were justi-fied. They do not believe that they have done anything wrong. In their thinking, the pastor was the enemy and a threat to the well-being of the church. They would say that what took place was necessary, so why would they even consider apologizing? Waiting for a call from this group would be an exercise in futility.Supporters of the pastor are conditioned 2. to fully support the newer pastor. In most cases, the terminated pastor had supporters within the church. They typically express their

sadness and despair at the situation to the pastor before he leaves. However, after the pastor leaves the community, these folks tend to move on because their church experience has conditioned them to wait for the next pastor. While they appreciated the ministry of the terminated pastor, they must move on and support the next pastor.Any contact would not bring complete clo-3. sure; it will only refresh the hurt. The most devastating aspect of this sad reality is that if a call were to happen, it would not bring the closure that the pastor desires for his life. Typically, any contact with the terminating church brings a renewal of the pain and emo-tions from the trauma that was experienced. The healing that is sought does not emerge, but rather, the wounds are again painfully exposed.

Continuing Impact Just as churches are forever affected by the

trauma that they have endured, the pastor also undergoes change. His ministry is modified by the experience of his former church. This change reveals itself in two major ways.

A Lack of Trust1. As the pastor moves on to his next church, it becomes hard for the pastor to trust anyone. He mistrusts the leadership of his new church. He does not trust his support-ers because he knows that in the end they will no longer support him. So, he ministers to his congregation while speculating who be the ones to turn on him in the end. Because his trust was broken in his previous church, he now protects himself by not depending on anyone.A Jaded View. 2. With a lack of trust toward others, comes a jaded view of ministry. Before the pastor was terminated, he viewed min-istry optimistically. He assumed Christians would act Christ-like towards others and his family. His pain was only amplified by the reality that people who attend churches are sinners who do terrible things, even in the name of Jesus. Because of this trauma, he is no longer an optimist and quickly identifies himself as a “realist.” His hopeful expectations in ministry have resulted in a jaded view of ministry.

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The American Church Magazine® January 2015 12

Forgiveness, not Closure Sadly, no matter how much the pastor desires

resolution, the long-sought closure will not bring healing to the traumatized pastor. But if closure will not bring the healing that pastors so desperately seek, what will? The pastor must seek healing by forgiving the church that forced his termination. The following four steps are helpful to pastor’s who need to work through this ordeal.

Work through the Pain1. . The abruptness of a termination forces a pastor to bury his pain. If a pastor is going to find healing, he must allow the long buried emotions to surface in order to fully grieve his loss.Release the Anger.2. The pastor must release any bitterness that has developed in his life toward the individuals who forced the ter-mination. His anger has no impact on the offending parties and instead only affects himself, his family and his current church. Begin to Forgive.3. In order to begin the long term process toward health, the pastor must begin to forgive those who were involved in

the situation. He must forgive the church who terminated him as well as those who forced the termination. In addition, he should forgive those who were supportive, but did nothing to defend him. Through forgiveness, he will be able to release himself from the prison of unforgiveness.Be Patient.4. The reality of the pastor’s pain will not subside after any one event. He must take it one day at a time. Some days the pain will be very evident, while on other days the pain will not even be noticed. He has to move beyond the bitterness of the loss to forgive-ness, which will require much time.

1David Roach, “Pastoral termination common but often avoid-able, experts say,” Baptist Press September 4, 2014 http://www.bpnews.net/issue-09/04/2014

George Cannon has served as the pastor of the Curwensville Christian Church in rural Pennsylvania since 2001. george@curwensvillechristian.org

January 2015 13The American Church Magazine®

Demographic Studies: Fact or Fiction

Church Hoppers

Demographic studies can be vital to a church’s growth, but to confirm the data, church leadership must get to know the community on an intimate level. The benefit of any study can help the church become informed statistically and it is simple to assess and draw conclusions. But failing to spend time in the community will lead a church toward continual failing efforts. Many churches do it all the time by feeding and clothing the community, yet they never understand the true need in a person’s life because they fail to look deeper into the community hardships so true solutions can be offered.

By Church Hoppers

Demographic studies are a great tool to find the initial information. It benefits the church to meet the community on common ground however the entry way can be distorted with perspective with-out researching into the life of the community. An example will be to never subjectively assume that a family living in a six figure home is not without or losing everything. Based on the last six year history of the American economy there are probably as many families in this situation as homeless. Church-es must take a look objectively to find the safest ground and the most truth. Furthermore, corpo-rately communities come in all shapes and sizes with different personalities, economical status,

social relationships, and educational diversity. As-sess those who attend your church for they reveal a wealth of information of your attraction.

Demographic studies are data that gives ev-ery church a foundation to find answers. Church leaders must begin to take steps by going into the community as an observer and participator to vali-date any study so that money and efforts are not wasted.

First, leaders must get involved with different families in the church. The families that come to your church, (they are a part of the community) have far more to do with whom your DNA attracts than whom you try to target.

The American Church Magazine® January 2015 14

When leaders become involved with families they need to observe what families are doing. It has more to do with the limitations that ministers have due to the season of life they are in personally. If the leaders are older or younger plus with children or no children this can taint perspective unless they see it in action. As a participator with church fami-lies the information becomes a concrete learning lesson. Participating in areas where a leader does not feel comfortable creates greater insight to what is happening in the people. The congregational life then becomes beta testing for a more practical ap-proach from the ministries perspective.

Secondly, leaders must get involved with dif-ferent community events. In a busy ministry it is difficult to commit to non-church events; but, the result will assist leaders with the busyness and pro-ductiveness of their own ministry.

When leaders begin involving themselves in outside events they need to begin as an observer. Observing the way community events succeed, fail, and how they grow from year to year. An observer will be able to generate and create ideas of how the ministry actually can meet the community in a

safe environment. As a participator with commu-nity events this allows the people to get to know the leaders of any ministry. People in the commu-nity must have a personality to engage with to find attraction. The events create a safe environment to develop relationships in a non-threatening location. The majority of people who go to your “Church Building” are there because they have some depth of connection with someone.

Lastly, leaders must get involved with commu-nity development. Community development helps church leaders to understand what the projection is for the future. As an observer it creates oppor-tunity to parallel the ministry with the people the community plans to attract. Observations in com-munity development give leaders time to prepare the ministry to meet the future needs of the com-munity. As a participator it creates an understand-ing that the local church is concerned about com-munity development. Remember that non-church people believe that religious organizations are a liaison to God so “Marketing God” is not necessary as much as the relational aspect of it. Taking time and getting to know key people in the community

January 2015 15The American Church Magazine®

development earns you a right to share your faith. Church leaders who go out and accumulate

data from their own demographic studies will determine if demographic studies are fact or fic-tion. The data should be used to make the ministry purpose and mission of the church relevant to the community. Church leaders get nervous when they have to leave the safety of their domain and venture out into the unknown. It can create and add more stress already on a stressful ministry but the result has more to do with knowing what the community is about and doing. There is nothing worse than a church trying to reach young families and finding out that most of the young families are moving out of the community. Knowing as much as possible about the people assures the churches direction plus it allows the ministry to change and adapt in its presentation. Facts are facts and fiction is the result of assumption. Church leaders take the time to know your community and determine what is true so your church can find prosperity.

7 Applicable Truths about Jesus

Jesus began as an OBSERVER of his creation. 1. (Spent quiet a few years just watching)Jesus then became a PARTICIPATOR. (Spent 2. a little over 33 years)Jesus went where he may have NOT been 3. COMFORTABLE. (Never been around sin before)Jesus met people on their GROUNDS. (Did 4. not invite everyone to his house to meet him)Jesus did very little marketing that he was 5. GOD. (He spent far more time living his hu-manity than promoting his divinity)Jesus ENGAGED the people who needed 6. saving more than the religious. (Conversion of the non-religious seemed to be the focus)Jesus took a Jewish philosophy and ADAPT-7. ED it to meet the Gentiles. (Called the “Church: the Bride of Christ.”)

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The American Church Magazine® January 2015 16

No Longer Church As Usual

Abandon Ship or Follow a Calling…

If you are a church leader, and have been led by the Holy Spirit to pursue a course of action that is radically different from where you currently are, what is your responsibility to those you have been leading up to that point? If you are convinced by scripture that what you have done in the past must radically change; and you know you have to change to obey God; do you leave those you have led in the old system to do it? Or, do you offer them an opportunity to experience the truth that you have learned?

By Tim Kurtz

I recently read an article where over 1,500 pas-tors leave the pastorate every year. I am sure there are hundreds of reasons why so many call it quits. My focus in this edition of No Longer Church As Usual is on those who have left their pastoral posi-tions to pursue the organic, simple, house church life. They have seen a different church, and were willing to give up the security of salaries and the perks of the pastorate to pursue it. But my question goes back to the issue of what is their responsibility to those they leave behind?

When you write, you have to be very careful be-cause it is often impossible for people to understand a writer’s true feelings by just reading words on the page. So I want to be very clear that this installment of No Longer Church As Usual is not to bring an indictment on pastors who have left their churches. This article is simply to raise a question that I think needs to be addressed. That is, when the pastor makes a decision to leave to pursue a course that he believes is scriptural; what happens to those whom

he or she have led? Here is my personal conviction and testimony in

this matter. When the Lord began to speak to me about His

Church, I could have ignored it and maintained the status quo. After all, there was no one in my imme-diate church circles that was talking about ‘house church’ at the time. Another option was to resign my pastorate and to pursue this course. Believe me, I thought long and hard about both of these options. I came to the conclusion that I had a responsibility to those I had led for over 20 years. They had to have the opportunity to at least consider this matter. I couldn’t just walk away and leave them in a system that I believe is changing. To do so would have been like the captain of the Costa Concordia. He reported-ly knew that his ship was sinking, but he abandoned it, leaving the passengers to fight for their own lives.

In 2006, I began to teach what I have learned about the house, organic, and simple church to those who I was pastoring. I knew that what I saw

January 2015 17The American Church Magazine®

in my spirit had to be articulated in scriptural termi-nology. I was not so naïve to believe that everyone would see what I believe the Holy Spirit was do-ing. Nor do I believe it is my duty to force this upon anyone. But I pressed forward. The result was that some embraced it, and others rejected it and left our fellowship. Nevertheless, I was, and still am com-mitted to teaching those who would like to learn everything I know about the Lord and His Church. I am convinced that when the Holy Spirit does some-thing in the earth, that affects the Lord’s church, that it should be available to everyone. I don’t want to leave anyone behind.

My work has been to transition the church that I have led for so many years into a network of in-terdependent house churches. I have been told by organic, simple, and house church proponents that I am pursuing an impossible task. They say you can-not change people who are deeply engrained with the ‘institutional church system’. I clearly disagree. After all, many of them were former members of institutional churches. The Lord convinced me while I served in the institutional church system. So it is possible for Him to do the same with anyone.

Yes, it is proving to be a long slow process. It has at times been discouraging. But the fruit of my labor over the past eight plus years is beginning to show. I don’t approach this as though I have all the answers. I do not, nor do I feel compelled to try and be some sort of ‘house, simple, and organic church expert. I am learning from the Holy Spirit as I move forward and pursue this mandate on my life.

The real challenge has been to teach WHY we are doing this. It is easy to gather people into a living room to sing and worship. However, I have found that many are so accustomed to our current system of church that often they simply carry the same pattern into a living room. They make decisions, and do things based on patterns that have been handed down over 1,700 years.

There is hardly a week that goes by that I don’t come in contact with unsolicited comments and inquiries from individuals who have left, or who are planning to leave their current church. They are looking for something. Many really don’t know what they’re looking for, but they know they are unsatis-fied with where they are, or where they have been. They are looking for something more than just “go-ing to church”.

Recently, I have been contacted by two such individuals. They were members of very prominent

churches. Both belonged to churches where their pastors are known on a national level. Both were active in leadership in their perspective churches, but resigned to follow a burning desire to change in their spirit. Neither of them left in conflict. They were very prayerful about their decision to leave. What stood out to me is that neither of them knew what they would do when they left. They reminded me of Abraham who obeyed God, and went out not knowing where they were going; but they have been looking for that city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:8-10). They both spoke of many others in their former fellowships who felt like they did, but were afraid, or unsure of what to do.

I am impressed by the recent study (Group Publishing) that reveals a growing number of believ-ers who are falling into the category of the ‘dones’. These are people who have been loyal to their churches, but have simply walked away from the system – not the Lord – but the system of church they knew. I am not an expert in polls, but I would suspect, that within the many churches, there are many who feel stuck but who are afraid and unsure of what to do. They sense in their spirit there is something they are missing, but have no clue of a solution. They are on the verge of becoming ‘dones’, too.

I believe, Jesus is still building His Church – His way – in the 21st-century. I believe that the church, as we know it, is in transition. I believe that many are seeking a more organic, simpler way of worship. I believe God is raising up many people, like me, who are ‘crying in the wilderness’ that God is building His Church to His standards. Many of these voices are in traditional churches. That is why, I believe, it is important that current leaders who are seeing this transition, should remain in place, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak into the hearts of those they lead. Yes, I am fully aware that some may be rejected and forced to leave, but I suspect that many others will find, as I did, that there are those who are hearing this in their spirits, too. They are looking for leadership who will help them navigate through this time of transition. Therefore, I would encourage them not to abandon ship, but to follow the call and watch what the Holy Spirit will do!

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