Posts Tagged ‘discipleship’
Sick of Soundbite Theology
Just in case you’ve missed the last 20 years, a soundbite is a short nugget of sound or text that is supposed to explain and define a larger piece of work.
Facebook applied the art of the Soundbite to human relationship, creating a whole new subsystem called “Social Media.” Twitter took this to the next level — you only have 140 characters to get your point across, define who you are, or make a statement. You’ve got a blink, one moment, one chance to make your mark. Miss it – it’s gone. Doubtful you’ll get another chance.
There is much to love about this ‘new’ (not really, new) reality but applying it to theology is suicide for the soul.
Here’s the problem in a nutshell. People are still asking and dealing with the deeper issues of God and life that they did centuries ago. Is there a God? Who is this God? Where does Jesus fit in all of this? What about the problem of evil and suffering? How can I hear God’s voice? How does the Bible apply to everyday life? They just are expecting to get their answers in 140 characters of less.
Not only are the answers longer than 140 characters, the journey to those answers is just as important (in some cases, more important) as the answer itself. By trying to hyperlink to the end answer, they are cheating themselves of the character development that God often takes us through when seeking His face and insight to an issue. And that is what God is ultimately more concerned about in us over our knowledge – our character development.
Taking the long way is better. And messier. And…yeah, longer.
I Can See Clearly Now…
This is part of the Beyond The Starting 5 project. A writing safari where I explore the idea of what people-development looks like in the local church. I have no idea what I’m doing, mileage may vary.
The rain is gone. (You can thank me later for getting that song stuck in your head. And it is stuck. Don’t lie to me.)
Here’s the million dollar question this morning. How do you create a culture where people development is priority, not so much the ‘running of the beast?’ How do you become a people-developing kind of church?
Empower and celebrate leaders who are people-developing kind of people. These are people who invest in other people for their betterment. Their homes and lives are accessible to those on the journey with them. These may OR may not be people who are great at running a program.
We’ve got a bunch of ladies that invade our church every Thursday morning. I’ve watched this group morph from being a Ladie’s Bible Study to a nap-mat sewing group for kindergartners at McCarter to Prayer Walkers for our missionaries in China. Almost every month there is some sort of outward, serve other activity they are doing. And just show up one morning and act like you don’t know how to sew or whatever it is they are doing. They will have you in there learning before you know what hit you. The leaders of this group are people-developing kinds of people.
Model people-development from the “top” down.
In our particular structure, the pastoral staff and council are the ‘top’ level of leadership. And we are starting to ask each other this question – who are you discipling? Who is discipling you? We can’t lead where we’re not willing to go. We can’t do what we’re not doing or at least willing to do. And no organization is immune to this – the organization will only rise to the level of leadership that is modeled at the top.
This is how leaders are made – in the messiness of life on life discipleship. And there is only two ways churches get leaders like this – they either make them OR they steal them from other churches. Want to have a scary, sleepless night? Look at your church’s roster of leaders and then ask where were they discipled.
Measure success in life-change stories, not offering and attendance.
When evaluating systems and programs, start asking about what potential leaders are we developing, what life-change stories are happening.
Don’t start a life group or program without 3 layers of leadership – a Coach, a “leader”, and an apprentice.
A Coach is someone who has been there, done that. Think Yoda. A first line reference guide and source of encouragement for both the leader and the intern. A leader is that catalytic person who makes things happen. The apprentice/intern is the sponge, getting ready to lead, a learner.
Embrace the messiness.
Life is messy. People are messy. Spiritual growth is one messy, sporadic roller coaster ride. Embrace it. If a life group is going through stress or crisis — embrace it. When the wheels fall off the wagon, keep looking for what God is going to do next. Don’t fall in love with easy, neat, organized, and planned.
But this isn’t fiction we are talking about. There are going to be some obstacles. Talk about that later.
Your thoughts? Comments?
Beyond the Starting 5
This post is the start of a writing safari, an experiment. I want to explore the idea of what people-development looks like in the local church. Why is it important? What will it do? What does it mean? Please be warned, I have little to no idea what I’m doing, your mileage may vary.
Anyone who has ever played basketball knows the starting 5 will only get you so far. The long term success of a season and a program depends on those beyond the starting five. Attrition happens. “That is the sound of inevitability, Mr. Anderson.” (Yes — I had to get a Matrix quote in somewhere.) There will be injuries, ineligibility, sickness, lack of performance, and who knows what else that will knock people out of the starting positions.
Every coach knows this. What separates the great ones from the not-so-great ones is how they prepare for this reality. The great ones develop and invest in more than just those starters. They are relentless in the development of every one of their players. Systems, offenses, defenses, training programs may change from year to year but what doesn’t change is their non-compromising focus on developing players. They know that a culture like that takes years to develop. They also know that if they didn’t develop other players, their program could fade into mediocrity or worse – oblivion – in just one season.
Think about it…the teams that are historically good -Duke, Kansas, North Carolina – have coaches that have established a system that is totally focused on developing players. The wins come as a result of developing players. They are intentional about it. They eat, drink, and sleep player development.
It’s easy to see this same principle play out in the local church. Churches that ‘get it’ and are making a long-term impact on their community are churches that are relentless on developing people. They turn their whole organization upside down to help develop people. The programs are just tools, the focus is on developing people.
Every single aspect of a church’s vision depends on developing people. Every single goal and idea is dependent upon this concept.
Think I’m wrong? Think that’s an overstatement? Have you read the Great Commission lately? This concept should not be a huge shock to most of us. The collision of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment is exactly what I’m talking about – making disciples because we love them. Developing people because we love them. Because God loves them. I mean, seriously, this should NOT be this much of a stretch to understand.
Yet, it obviously is. How many churches wishes they had more leaders? More spiritually deep people? How many churches are running their programs with a great starting 5 but no bench whatsoever?
I’m in the same boat, so don’t read this like I’m the expert. Far from it. So for the next 30 days, I’m going to try to flesh out this idea, try to find some handles on this concept and maybe in the process figure out what are some practical steps that we can take to create a culture where we focus on developing people more than anything else.
This isn’t just a mental exercise for me either. I’m a pastor of a church that is in this boat. We have some of the most incredible volunteer leaders on the planet. The problem is there is no one really beyond the starters.
And it’s true that means we are in deep weeds if anything should happen to them. Or they get tired. Or God calls them to do something else. But that’s not really a good reason to develop people. That’s a self-focused kind of reason that ultimately fails. It ends up being guilt.
It’s important to start thinking about this and start doing something about it because to NOT to is to reject the Great Commission. To not start developing people is an utter failure in making disciples. And making disciples is different than running a great program.
It’s possible to run a great program and never make a disciple. It’s real easy to confuse the two…and I think that is where I’ll start tomorrow.
The Ongoing Safari of Beyond The Starting 5
Running the Program or Developing People
I Can See Clearly Now…
Obstacles and Developing People In The Church
The Starting Blocks of Beyond The Starting 5
I’m Looking For A Raft
RAFT, Part 2
I’ll Admit It – I Watch Dancing With The Stars
This post comes with a confession. I watch Dancing With The Stars (referred to as DWTS by those in the know.)
Why do I watch this show? I have a secret desire that one day I will be a dancer. Not just any dancer…but a great dancer – elegant, smooth, charming. Think Gene Kelly. Think of the guy that shows up in a tux and somehow knows exactly how to tango and waltz at the ball in front of everyone just before he defuses the bomb and saves the world.
Which brings up an interesting question, why do all spy movies have a ballroom/dance scene in them? Is that part of spy school? Can you not work for the MI6 without being a good dancer?
But I digress. I think the biggest reason I would have this dream is because everyone looks happy when they dance. (Except for Kate Gosselin but that is a whole other issue and I’m not sure if she is ever happy.) And I like to be happy. And I think stars get on this show because they think it will fun and they’ll be happy and very quickly they realize – this is the hardest I have ever worked in my life and I’m not happy and I’m not real fond of my professional dancer either.
And some quit. Not totally, but sneakily. They don’t practice as long or as hard as they should. They don’t listen or give the effort they should. They want the fun and end result of being a good dancer but they don’t invest the time, discipline, sweat, study, or trust that it takes to get to that level. Instead, they wallow in self-pity and eventually they get voted off the show and they blame the public for not voting for them.
See where this is going, don’t I’m going with this?
“God wants me to be happy.”
I’ve been hearing this a lot lately. The thinking goes something like this – I like being happy. God must want me to be happy. And it makes me realize that these people have never watched DWTS.
The professionals don’t want their ‘stars’ to be happy. They want them to be good. They know that ultimate happiness will come as a result of them being good dancers. And to be a good dancer, you are going to have to work. It is astonishing that after so many seasons and so many behind the scenes clip more stars don’t get this when they sign up for the show.
God doesn’t you or me to be happy either. He wants us to be holy, like Jesus. And He knows that true happiness (joy may be a better word at this point) will come as a result of being closer to Jesus, becoming transformed by Jesus to be like Jesus. AND that will only happen when we invest the time, discipline, sweat, study, and trust.
And all of us will need a coach, teacher, trainer along the way. All of us.
So my new advise for folks who say that they think God wants them to be happy? Catch an episode of DWTS…then we’ll talk.
Discipleship In An Instant World
I was at Oasis today in Emporia. Oasis is a one-day refreshment for area youth pastors and Danny Payne has hosted it the last two years. He asked me to come lead a round table discussion.
Instead of having an outline of points to make, I had questions. Here was the list I brought…
Who can be discipled by you?
How much time do you really have per month to do face to face, 1 on 1 to 3 discipleship?
What skills do you want a person to have after spending 6 months with you?
What key questions should you be asking every time you sit down with a leader?
What’s the focus of the questions you ask the people you are discipling? Are they program/ministry questions or are they soul care questions?
What’s the end game look like? What does maturity look like?
I challenge you to answer those questions before you read much further. At least think on them for 10 seconds.
Okay, I know you didn’t answer them but I’m going to keep writing anyway.
Who can be discipled by you?
How much time do you really have per month to do face to face, 1 on 1 to 3 discipleship?
I only really get 2 to 3 hours a month 1 on 1 with whomever I’m discipling. Serving together is important, doing ministry together is huge but face to face, 1 on 1 conversation time is alarmingly low. That fact alone stresses the importance of being selective in who we disciple. They have to want it as much as you want to give it. They have to be exercising/serving somewhere. For me, they also need to be in a life group – preferably the same one I’m in.
Why do I have all those strings attached? Because if I’m only going to have 2 to 3 hours of 1 on 1 time, we’re going to need more time together. And serving with each other, in the same Life Group, same Bible study just multiplies the effectiveness of that 2 hours of face time. It makes it more like 14 hours a month.
What skills do you want a person to have after spending 6 months with you?
Heard lots of good answers to this question – vision of ministry (love God, live connected, serve in Jesus’ name), an increase hunger for the word of God. The big thing for me is this – movement. I just want to see some movement. Doesn’t necessarily have to be what I wanted it to be but it needs to be something. A change in habit, a change of opinion, an openness to discussion – something. I want to see something in 6 months that clues me in this is a valuable investment of time.
What key questions should you be asking every time you sit down with a leader?
What’s the focus of the questions you ask the people you are discipling? Are they program/ministry questions or are they soul care questions?
This series of questions had the most ‘oohh, ouch’ moments for us. I constantly have to remind myself that my primary aim in discipleship is SOUL CARE, not ministry care. It’s not a sidebar team meeting to figure out how to better run the ministry. Asking questions about ministry allows us to remove the focus from our heart to external things. I need to ask questions that focus on the heart, the soul.
Some of the good questions that came out:
How’s your soul? Mountaintop? Valley? Rut? Stuck? Climbing? Falling?
How’s your relationship with your spouse?
What’s the biggest victory/celebration point in your life?
What’s the biggest frustration right now?
What is God showing you in the scriptures right now?
What challenged you about the last sermon/bible study/life group?
What do you see in my life that you want?
What do you see in my life that I need to change or at the least think about?
What does the journey look like for you? What does maturity in Christ look like?
This was actually tougher to answer than you think. The list at first was pretty task oriented – read more scripture, memorize scripture, able to feed themselves spiritually, know their gift, use their gift. Good stuff but honestly, we can get those things from a large group Bible study or life group. I’ve touted many of those things on the list. But it’s possible to do the list and be no closer to looking like Jesus.
This hit me during our Ephesians study at church – Paul’s answer to what maturity looked like is found in Ephesians 4:1-6. Here’s the short list:
Completely humble
Completely gentle
Completely patient
Bear with one another in love
Keep the Unity thru peace
So that’s the goal for both of us. That means when we sit down and we talk, we’re looking at how to improve in these areas – humility and gentleness being the sledge hammer for me. Actually…patience is another one.