From Lausanne 2010:
It takes a movement to reach a city Reaching an entire city takes more than having some effective
churches in it or even having a burst of revival energy and new converts. To change a city with the
gospel takes a self-sustaining, naturally growing movement of ministries and networks around a core
of new church multiplication.
What does that look like? Christians live in the city in a posture of service. New businesses and
nonprofits renew their slices of culture in large and small ways. Believers integrate their faith with
their work so that every vocation becomes a kingdom activity. Campus ministries and other
evangelistic agencies organically produce new Christian leaders who stay in the city and move into
the churches and networks. People use their power, wealth, and influence for the good of others on
the margins of society, to advance ministry, and to plant new churches. Churches and individual
Christians support and commission the arts. Let’s break this down.New churches form the heart of
these gospel ecosystems. They provide spiritual oxygen to the communities and networks of
Christians who do the heavy lifting, over decades, to renew and redeem cities. They are the primary
venue for discipleship and the multiplication of believers, as well as being the financial engine for all
the ministry initiatives. This ecosystem is, therefore, a critical mass of new churches. They must be
gospel-centered, urban, missional /evangelistic, balanced, growing, and self-replicating in diverse
forms, across traditions, integrating races/classes. This is the most basic core of the ecosystem.The
ecosystem also fosters networks and systems of evangelism that reach specific populations. In
addition to campus ministries, which are especially important as a new leader development engine,
other very effective, specialized evangelistic agencies are usually necessary to reach the elites,
reach the poor, and reach Muslim, Hindu, and other particular cultural/religious groupings.Networks
and organizations of cultural leaders within professional fields, such as business, government,
academia, and the arts and media, are part of this ecosystem, as well. It is crucial that these
individuals be active in churches that thoughtfully disciple and support them for public life. These
Printed on 10/25/2010 08:02:37 am 5
What Is God's Global Urban Mission? - http://conversation.lausanne.org/en/conversations/details/10282
The Lausanne Global Conversation - http://conversation.lausanne.org/
leaders must also network and support each other within their own fields, spawning new cultural
institutions and schools of thought.The ecosystem is also marked by agencies and initiatives
produced by Christians to serve the peace of the city, and especially the poor. Hundreds and
thousands of new non-profit and for-profit companies must be spawned to serve every neighborhood
and every population in need. United and coordinated church alliances and institutions also serve
Christian families and individuals and support their long-term life in the city (e.g., schools, theological
colleges, and other institutions that make city living sustainable for Christians over the
generations). Additionally, this ecosystem has overlapping networks of city leaders. Church
movement leaders, theologians/teachers, heads of institutions, and cultural leaders and patrons with
influence and resources know one another and provide vision and direction for the whole city.
Tipping points Isolated events or individual entities crystallize into a growing, self-sustaining
movement when they reach a “tipping point.”
The gospel movement tipping point. A church planting project becomes a movement when the
ecosystem elements are all in place and most of the churches have the vitality, leaders, and mindset
to plant another church within five to six years of their own beginnings. When the tipping point is
reached, a self-sustaining movement begins. Enough new believers, leaders, congregations, and
ministries are being naturally produced for the movement to grow without any single command-andcontrol
center. The body of Christ in the city funds itself, produces its own leaders, and conducts its
own training. A sufficient number of dynamic leaders is always rising up. The number of Christians
and churches doubles every seven to ten years.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Welch on Counsel
Ed Welch encourages us to use 'six words' in counselling:
My interest is not that six-word summaries become a law. But, as a trainer of counselors, I want students to be able to summarize themselves in an image or in six-words, and I want them to be able to do the same thing with a person they are helping in such a way that the person says, “That’s me!” If counselors can’t do that, they don’t really know the person.
People who need help often feel overwhelmed with their emotions, and part of being overwhelmed is that life feels like thousands of fragments. They have lost any coherence and don’t even know where to begin. A succinct summary can provide clarity and set a clear course. It can identify those things that are most important. As such, six-words, when they both fit the person and link clearly to Scripture, are filled with hope.
Jesus said, “Do you love me?” No doubt it echoed in Peter’s mind, and our own, for years.
The apostle Paul offered four words, “Christ and him crucified.”
The apostle John? “Love, as you have first been loved.” (Yes, I know that’s seven words but you get the point –it’s succinct and full of meaning.)
A friend was grieved that her pastor was leaving for another position. As she spoke about how the pastor had blessed her, she recounted stories of her going to his office, pouring her heart out for a half-hour, and him offering a handful or two of words that demonstrated he heard well, that he loved her in Christ, and that there was clear hope in the good news that Jesus had given.
Consider your own story. When has the Spirit used the words of other people? Granted, the Spirit can use all kinds of words in ways we don’t perceive, but there are times when we can identify those words, and there usually aren’t many of them.
Here are some that I have received.
“What do you think it means that God is in this?”
“I am so sorry.”
“What you said hurt me.”
“I love you.”
Here are some that have impacted others.
“I remember that your spouse died two years ago today. You are on my heart.”
“Did you know that you hate _____?”
“Join us for lunch.”
“I know this: Jesus loves you, right now.”
“I love you.”
Help in six words. By the way, this doesn’t include the words we use praying with the other person. If you can’t offer this kind of help to someone, make it a joint project. Let him or her come up with the six words. Then hear six-words from Jesus that go right to the heart.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Smith on Preaching
The death to self that is demanded of the preacher works life in his people. In this way, the preacher becomes like Christ, who died so that we might live. If we do not die, they do not live. (18).
An obsession with style will actually be counterproductive to the Gospel message (52).
For a preacher to die, he must die to his right to be thought of as a great preacher (53).
Paul is suggesting a horrific, criminal irony: the means of preaching displaces the message of preaching (74).
Preaching ourselves, even in small inconsequential ways, can be the few small lumens that keep people from the true satisfying glorious light of Christ (74).
Death is in the pew because few are willing to die in the pulpit (88).
We are redeemed rebels who are calling other rebels to be redeemed. We are no longer managing our image. No. We have thrown off our robes and are taking the long walk outside the city. We are looking up at the thrashed corpse and taking a stand-this is who we are! We are cross bearers because we are cross lovers (98).
An obsession with style will actually be counterproductive to the Gospel message (52).
For a preacher to die, he must die to his right to be thought of as a great preacher (53).
Paul is suggesting a horrific, criminal irony: the means of preaching displaces the message of preaching (74).
Preaching ourselves, even in small inconsequential ways, can be the few small lumens that keep people from the true satisfying glorious light of Christ (74).
Death is in the pew because few are willing to die in the pulpit (88).
We are redeemed rebels who are calling other rebels to be redeemed. We are no longer managing our image. No. We have thrown off our robes and are taking the long walk outside the city. We are looking up at the thrashed corpse and taking a stand-this is who we are! We are cross bearers because we are cross lovers (98).
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Tripp on Forgiveness
Healthy marriages are healthy because the people in those marriages find joy in cancelling debts. I cannot think of a more essential ingredient in marriage than forgiveness [86].
What Tripp teaches in this chapter though would be of huge help in all human relationships. The section on "What is forgiveness?" (92-94) would help anyone who has been wronged or offended, whether it be by parents, siblings, employers, pastors (or the sheep), friends, or even politicians.
Forgiveness is a vertical commitment that is followed by a horizontal transaction….Forgiveness begins by your giving the offense to the Lord. This does not mean that you act as if something wrong is right. It means that you do not carry the wrong with you (bitterness), and that you do not treat the other in light of the wrong (judgment). You entrust yourself to God’s mercy and justice, and you give yourself to overcoming evil with good…The reason you must start with giving the offense to God is so that when you come to your spouse, you come with the right attitude (grace) and the right goal (reconciliation)… [92-93].
What Tripp teaches in this chapter though would be of huge help in all human relationships. The section on "What is forgiveness?" (92-94) would help anyone who has been wronged or offended, whether it be by parents, siblings, employers, pastors (or the sheep), friends, or even politicians.
Forgiveness is a vertical commitment that is followed by a horizontal transaction….Forgiveness begins by your giving the offense to the Lord. This does not mean that you act as if something wrong is right. It means that you do not carry the wrong with you (bitterness), and that you do not treat the other in light of the wrong (judgment). You entrust yourself to God’s mercy and justice, and you give yourself to overcoming evil with good…The reason you must start with giving the offense to God is so that when you come to your spouse, you come with the right attitude (grace) and the right goal (reconciliation)… [92-93].
Hibbert on Why People Leave Church
These are taken from a study by Dr Richard Hibbert - Head of Cross Cultural Mission School, SMBC. They are an overseas perspective (Bulgaria), but I expect these stats would bear out in the local situation as well.
During late 2007 and early 2008, I visited several Millet neighbourhoods and spent a few weeks interviewing people who had left Turkish-speaking Millet churches ('leavers') as well as people who had stayed in churches ('stayers').
The leavers I interviewed gave four main reasons for leaving:
Being hurt by or disillusioned with their pastor or group of pastors;
Lack of time due to work or other commitments, which in each case seemed to be a cover for actions they or others considered sinful and shameful;
Opposition from husbands;
Conflict with another believer.
By far the most frequently cited reason for leaving was being hurt by or disillusioned with church leaders. Leaders making unilateral decisions, misusing money, fighting among themselves, failing to visit when the leaver had a problem, or insulting, shaming, or offending the leaver or their family: all of these leadership behaviours were highlighted as being hurtful or disillusioning for defectors. Indeed, the prominence of leader-related reasons for defection corresponds with the findings of many church growth studies. Problems of church leadership are often associated with decline.5
Having said that, my interviews with stayers revealed that support from other believers was absolutely central to keeping Millet at church. Half of the stayers I interviewed described times when they nearly or actually gave up believing in Jesus or going to church temporarily. Support from other believers - whether in the form of verbal encouragement, prayer, or home visits - was the factor most frequently mentioned as helping these Millet to stay at or return to church.
This accords with the findings of Allen Swanson's 1986 study of Taiwanese believers and those of Arthur Duck's 2001 study of Brazilian churches. Each study revealed that support from other believers was a key factor associated with church members staying in their churches.
A surprising finding
One of the most striking findings of this study was that all the leavers, except for one, still expressed belief in Jesus and continued to pray regularly. The majority of church leavers were still very positive about Jesus and described him as a powerful helper, healer, and protector from evil and harm. In fact, all except two of the leavers indicated that their primary allegiance at the time of the interview was to Christ, and that they had an ongoing relationship with God which included experiences of God speaking to them and acting in their lives.
I was surprised to find that the leavers were also overwhelmingly positive about the benefits of church meetings and of being part of the group of believers. Several of the leavers I interviewed expressed how they missed the relational togetherness they felt the group of believers used to have.
Key lessons for God's people on the mission field and at home
How does this study help us to know why people leave churches, and what we can do about it? There are several key implications here for missionaries and local Christians.
1. Don't assume that those who have left the church have also left the faith
Almost all of the twenty Millet interviewees who had left the church still believed in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They missed the church, and they wanted to be back in fellowship with the community of believers. Given their continuing love for the Lord and for his people, it is likely that they could be gathered again into existing or new churches. Studies suggest that in Western contexts, including Australia, many who have left churches have also not left their faith in Christ.6 Many of them may also be 'gatherable'.
2. Visit and support recent church leavers
While most Millet defectors were positive about the thought of returning to church, they were prevented from doing so by a sense of sin or shame. Overcoming this barrier, in the Millet context, requires church members and/or leaders to intentionally reach out to the defectors. Visiting defectors in their homes will be the most effective way of doing this. Home visits should be one of the most important activities for Millet churches, since such visits, along with prayer and encouragement, led many Millet who had temporarily stopped coming to church to return.
In other contexts, too, current church members or leaders would do well to visit people who have recently left the church - in the West, many who have left churches are discouraged by the church's failure to pursue them.7
3. Ask leavers why they left the church - and be willing to change
People leave churches for many reasons, but many continue to believe in Jesus and live for him. For the Millet, the primary issue is poor leadership. In other contexts, other reasons are likely to predominate. Finding out why church leavers have left is crucial if we are to develop context-specific strategies for preventing defection and for helping defectors to return to church. The best way to do this is to sensitively ask the leavers themselves. As Stuart Murray points out, some church leavers "have abandoned their Christian faith; but many have abandoned only church", and therefore, "Leavers have insights and perspectives that can sensitise churches to issues that hinder witness and community life - and that may prompt others to consider leaving".8
Having learnt church leavers' reasons for leaving, it is critical that churches evaluate their own practices and change to address the problems. If your church wants to begin this evaluation process, you could begin with the list of reasons for leaving given above alongside the specific reasons for leaving given by leavers in your context.
4. Evaluate current church leadership practices
Many church growth studies implicate poor leadership as a cause for church decline.9 Church leadership must be transparent, accountable, and culturally relevant.
A major problem in mission contexts is that the expatriate missionaries impose their own inherited forms of church leadership and administration on local churches without realising that these may be counterproductive according to the values of the local culture. Sometimes the inherited forms are very difficult to let go of as they are thought to be inherently 'Christian' rather than simply one cultural expression of worship and church practice among many possible options. The missional principle here is work with the culture, not against it. The only way to do this is to seriously research both the culture and the Bible, being willing to let go of 'the way we've always done things' for the sake of finding culturally relevant expressions of biblical principles. This kind of research needs to involve local people in an empowering dialogue.
5. Build a strong, nurturing community of believers
Christian community is not primarily a meeting: it is a sharing of life together as an expression of our shared identity in Christ. It includes a sense of belonging to one another because we belong to God.
The processes of entering and leaving the community of a local church hold great potential for nurturing a sense of belonging and shared identity, so it is important that churches mark the incorporation of new members into their group with special events or celebrations, including baptism. By the same token, when people leave the community of the local church, they should not be abandoned - pathways should be constructed which help them to come back into fellowship with the church they have left or with another local church.
During late 2007 and early 2008, I visited several Millet neighbourhoods and spent a few weeks interviewing people who had left Turkish-speaking Millet churches ('leavers') as well as people who had stayed in churches ('stayers').
The leavers I interviewed gave four main reasons for leaving:
Being hurt by or disillusioned with their pastor or group of pastors;
Lack of time due to work or other commitments, which in each case seemed to be a cover for actions they or others considered sinful and shameful;
Opposition from husbands;
Conflict with another believer.
By far the most frequently cited reason for leaving was being hurt by or disillusioned with church leaders. Leaders making unilateral decisions, misusing money, fighting among themselves, failing to visit when the leaver had a problem, or insulting, shaming, or offending the leaver or their family: all of these leadership behaviours were highlighted as being hurtful or disillusioning for defectors. Indeed, the prominence of leader-related reasons for defection corresponds with the findings of many church growth studies. Problems of church leadership are often associated with decline.5
Having said that, my interviews with stayers revealed that support from other believers was absolutely central to keeping Millet at church. Half of the stayers I interviewed described times when they nearly or actually gave up believing in Jesus or going to church temporarily. Support from other believers - whether in the form of verbal encouragement, prayer, or home visits - was the factor most frequently mentioned as helping these Millet to stay at or return to church.
This accords with the findings of Allen Swanson's 1986 study of Taiwanese believers and those of Arthur Duck's 2001 study of Brazilian churches. Each study revealed that support from other believers was a key factor associated with church members staying in their churches.
A surprising finding
One of the most striking findings of this study was that all the leavers, except for one, still expressed belief in Jesus and continued to pray regularly. The majority of church leavers were still very positive about Jesus and described him as a powerful helper, healer, and protector from evil and harm. In fact, all except two of the leavers indicated that their primary allegiance at the time of the interview was to Christ, and that they had an ongoing relationship with God which included experiences of God speaking to them and acting in their lives.
I was surprised to find that the leavers were also overwhelmingly positive about the benefits of church meetings and of being part of the group of believers. Several of the leavers I interviewed expressed how they missed the relational togetherness they felt the group of believers used to have.
Key lessons for God's people on the mission field and at home
How does this study help us to know why people leave churches, and what we can do about it? There are several key implications here for missionaries and local Christians.
1. Don't assume that those who have left the church have also left the faith
Almost all of the twenty Millet interviewees who had left the church still believed in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They missed the church, and they wanted to be back in fellowship with the community of believers. Given their continuing love for the Lord and for his people, it is likely that they could be gathered again into existing or new churches. Studies suggest that in Western contexts, including Australia, many who have left churches have also not left their faith in Christ.6 Many of them may also be 'gatherable'.
2. Visit and support recent church leavers
While most Millet defectors were positive about the thought of returning to church, they were prevented from doing so by a sense of sin or shame. Overcoming this barrier, in the Millet context, requires church members and/or leaders to intentionally reach out to the defectors. Visiting defectors in their homes will be the most effective way of doing this. Home visits should be one of the most important activities for Millet churches, since such visits, along with prayer and encouragement, led many Millet who had temporarily stopped coming to church to return.
In other contexts, too, current church members or leaders would do well to visit people who have recently left the church - in the West, many who have left churches are discouraged by the church's failure to pursue them.7
3. Ask leavers why they left the church - and be willing to change
People leave churches for many reasons, but many continue to believe in Jesus and live for him. For the Millet, the primary issue is poor leadership. In other contexts, other reasons are likely to predominate. Finding out why church leavers have left is crucial if we are to develop context-specific strategies for preventing defection and for helping defectors to return to church. The best way to do this is to sensitively ask the leavers themselves. As Stuart Murray points out, some church leavers "have abandoned their Christian faith; but many have abandoned only church", and therefore, "Leavers have insights and perspectives that can sensitise churches to issues that hinder witness and community life - and that may prompt others to consider leaving".8
Having learnt church leavers' reasons for leaving, it is critical that churches evaluate their own practices and change to address the problems. If your church wants to begin this evaluation process, you could begin with the list of reasons for leaving given above alongside the specific reasons for leaving given by leavers in your context.
4. Evaluate current church leadership practices
Many church growth studies implicate poor leadership as a cause for church decline.9 Church leadership must be transparent, accountable, and culturally relevant.
A major problem in mission contexts is that the expatriate missionaries impose their own inherited forms of church leadership and administration on local churches without realising that these may be counterproductive according to the values of the local culture. Sometimes the inherited forms are very difficult to let go of as they are thought to be inherently 'Christian' rather than simply one cultural expression of worship and church practice among many possible options. The missional principle here is work with the culture, not against it. The only way to do this is to seriously research both the culture and the Bible, being willing to let go of 'the way we've always done things' for the sake of finding culturally relevant expressions of biblical principles. This kind of research needs to involve local people in an empowering dialogue.
5. Build a strong, nurturing community of believers
Christian community is not primarily a meeting: it is a sharing of life together as an expression of our shared identity in Christ. It includes a sense of belonging to one another because we belong to God.
The processes of entering and leaving the community of a local church hold great potential for nurturing a sense of belonging and shared identity, so it is important that churches mark the incorporation of new members into their group with special events or celebrations, including baptism. By the same token, when people leave the community of the local church, they should not be abandoned - pathways should be constructed which help them to come back into fellowship with the church they have left or with another local church.
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