Is There Room In Our Church?

From Tony Morgan:

People with spiritual gifts like mine aren’t welcomed in your church.

My spiritual gifts include leadership and administration and discernment. That’s how God has wired me. As a result of that mix of gifts, I think in terms of systems and strategies. I have the ability to walk into a chaotic situation and offer clarity and encourage simplicity. I can’t explain it, but God allows me to see the future in some situations and develop plans and next steps that help bring a vision to fruition.

Here’s the rub, though. Since my spiritual gifts don’t include teaching or prayer or shepherding, I don’t look or smell like the typical “Spirit-filled” pastor. When I start talking strategy and planning, people automatically assume that my counsel is being driven by my own strength and not God’s power.

I admit there are days when, like every Christ-follower, I try to take control of my life rather than embracing God’s control. I’m far from perfect. But I also know that the strengths that make me unique are God’s design for my life. I assume God wants me to use those gifts in the church. You’d be amazed, though, at how much my gifts are disdained within “Spirit-filled” churches.

Engaging the counsel of others won’t limit the Holy Spirit. Planning for the future shouldn’t constrict the power of the Holy Spirit. Learning from the experiences of other leaders and ministries doesn’t constrain the Holy Spirit. Bringing order and systems and strategic approaches certainly don’t stop the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers people like me to do all those things.

It’s crazy. In the business world, people like me are rewarded handsomely for helping to expand the business. When people use those same gifts to help expand the impact of the church, though, they’re doing something wrong.

Are people who have these gifts supposed to get jobs in the marketplace where their strengths are welcomed? Is there room for them in your church?

PC's Thoughts

Why re-name Osceola Assembly?

First, we need to remove the geographical limitation posed by the name of our city in the title. Yes, we exist here in Osceola, but our vision is to be able to establish satellite churches in other communities. A geographical reference in the title of the church makes that extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Second, we need a name that reflects the vision and purpose of the church, rather than a denominational affiliation.

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so blessed that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Are we giving people information or inspiration?

Third, denominational names are barriers. This applies to all denominational barriers. People tend toward distrust of large organizations. So if we can remove that barrier, why not do it?

We seem to be concerned about “losing” a few families who would be upset with removing the denominational name. That could happen, but that would beg some questions:

1) If someone is willing to leave the church over the denominational name, then what is their priority; the denominational name or people’s souls?

2) When did the denominational name become more important than the souls of lost people?

3) If it was their family member who refused to attend a church with a denominational name in the title, would that sway their opinion? If not, then what would?

4) For some it’s an issue of “heritage”. If removing a denominational name would bring in more people, then isn’t that like taking a solid foundation and building a skyscraper? That would actually create a greater heritage!

5) We often tell people that God is far more concerned about their future than their past - and He is. So then, why does “heritage” trump vision? Paul said that he “forgot the past and pressed on toward the mark......”

6) When they stand before God, what will He say?

I doubt that He will be proud of their accomplishment of maintaining a denominational loyalty over being willing for people to spend eternity in hell.

Are there other churches someone could go to? Sure. Will they? Maybe. Maybe not. But why should they have to? In front of the west building we put in a cement ramp to make it easier for those with disabilities to get into the building. In turn, that made it easier for everyone to get into the building. No one argued that making it easier and more accessible was a bad thing.

Did everyone use the ramp? Nope. Many still used the step. Will people still come here if we keep the denominational name in the title. Sure........but what about the ones who need “the ramp”? They won’t. And if we believe it’s important to make an entrance door accessible by removing the step barrier, doesn’t it also make sense to make the church more accessible to everyone by removing the denominational affiliation barrier?

Another argument is that missionaries aren’t “ashamed” to be affiliated with the A/G. First, we’re not “ashamed” either. But like so many of our missionaries, we don’t make our affiliation the central focus. We have numerous missionaries throughout the A/G - some of whom we support as a church - who are in sensitive countries and aren’t even listed as missionaries. They are there as teachers, or engineers or architects. They don't use A/G in their name at all. That’s not because they’re “ashamed”, but because it’s wise. It opens far more doors. That’s all we’re trying to accomplish here as well.

Just like some of those missionaries would never be able to set foot in the country God has called them to if they were A/G missionaries, there are people who will never set foot in a church with a denominational affiliation as it’s central focus.

We need to base everything on Scripture - Why? The Great Commission and the Great Commandment can be boiled down to two essential statements:

1: Love God

2: Love other people

These are really the only two things Jesus saw worthy of contending for. Everything else is secondary. I love the Assemblies of God, but a denominational affiliation wasn’t a priority to Jesus.

More questions about those who “might leave” if the denominational affiliation is taken out of the church name:

1) When did keeping people happy become a priority over reaching the lost?

2) Some of those people are faithful givers. When did money (tithes) become a priority over reaching the lost?

This is a contentious subject, to be sure. People have strong feelings on both sides of the issue. That’s why we must approach it with great care and loads of prayer.

I like the idea of putting it before the church family and letting them make the choice. However, I pray that we use wisdom and don’t go “campaigning” for our particular viewpoint. That’s what the informational meeting will be about. That’s what the discussion prior to the vote is for. When it comes to choosing a deacon you wouldn’t “campaign”. You would say, “We need to let the Holy Spirit direct the vote.”

The same applies here. Sure, there will be discussion about it. That’s to be expected.......and welcomed. But any kind of concerted effort to persuade people to vote a particular direction will only become divisive. Please, please, please..........we are experiencing great momentum and we must do all we can to avoid division. Gaining momentum is difficult enough........regaining it after it’s lost is even more challenging.

Once the church family makes the decision, we move forward TOGETHER. We take the essential legal steps and begin the “re-branding” process. Then we go about the business of taking the Gospel to Osceola, southern Iowa and the world!

All in Favor?

All in Favor of a New Church Name?

Our game plan for changing the name of our church.

One Monday morning at staff meeting, Jerry, our pastor of student ministries, told us that it had happened again. A high school student had invited a friend to the church youth group, and the friend was planning to come, until he found out it was at a "Baptist" church. Then he backed out because he felt his parents would disapprove.

This had become an ongoing problem. Nassau County, just outside of New York City, is about 55 percent Catholic, 25 percent Jewish, and the remaining 30 percent covers everything from any world religion to atheism. In our neighborhood the word "Baptist" is met with complete ignorance or is considered a form of extremism.

The high school student was open about it, but we knew that for countless others, even if they didn't say so, our name was an obstacle.

When I was called to be senior pastor of Manhasset Baptist Church in the fall of 2002, I realized that changing the name of the church would need to be one of my early priorities, if we were to reach beyond the boundaries of Manhasset and beyond the boundaries of those already positively inclined toward Baptists.

But in a congregationally governed church, it wasn't my decision alone. I needed to proceed wisely and carefully. I waited until the third elders meeting to broach the subject. While none of the elders felt our current name was an asset to accomplishing our church's mission, some were concerned about the timing of any change.

We agreed to wait one year before going public with any recommended name change. That way the congregation could get to know and trust my leadership.

In hindsight this proved wise because building relationships is crucial to any bold leadership decision. Many people, because they know you, will give you the benefit of the doubt even when they may disagree with you over something.

That first year the elders and I laid out a plan of action:

Present the idea of a name change at the October 2003 congregational meeting and ask them to pray about it.

Teach the theological underpinnings of a name change. We focused on 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, which culminates with the phrase "I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some."

Hold an all-church prayer meeting, inviting people to an informal meeting for them to ask questions, and then calling them to come before God concerning the issue.

Vote on the concept of a name change at the January congregational meeting. This would be done without a particular name proposed. Any specific name could become a distraction. Voting only on the concept would keep the main issue on the table.

Upon a favorable vote, we would then give the whole church, members and regular attenders, an opportunity to suggest possible names via postcard.

The elders would then select the three top names and send out another letter, announcing the possible names, and asking the congregation to return the enclosed postcard as a straw poll, identifying which name they considered the best.

Propose the name that had the greatest support for a congregational vote at our April congregational meeting.

Hold a "Celebration Sunday" to get the word out and reemphasize our desire to see people come to Christ.

The plan proceeded mostly the way we anticipated. The whole process, from the first October meeting to our Celebration Sunday in June 2004 took about nine months. We had 120 names suggested, and going through them all was one of the most enjoyable parts of the process. We all had our favorites that made us chuckle like "The Love Church" or "Streams of Living Water of Jesus Christ."

What's In a (Church) Name?

Gordon MacDonald told us a while back that the church he serves was considering changing its name. It has finally happened. His account of a 180-year-old congregation's year-long wrestling with its identity is amusing and instructive. Read on.

About a year ago I filled some of this space with comments about changing a church's name. At the time our New England congregation (Baptist in background) was thinking about exchanging its 180-year-old name for something more adaptable to the times. I invited comment from all my readers. And all four of you wrote to me. (Just fooling). Actually, there were a significant number of responses.

Many e-mails were thoughtful and gave evidence that people had done their homework and accumulated useful insight about how and why a church's public moniker ought to be reappraised occasionally and sometimes changed. One or two respondents trumped me by writing that if I prayed more, Jesus would provide the name since it is his church.

A name is important. It can say something about who you are or who you want to be.

There are name-changes throughout the Scriptures. Jesus renamed Simon Peter in order to map out his journey to maturity. The early church called Joseph of Cyprus Barnabas because he was a fountainhead of encouragement. And Saul of Tarsus became Paul in order to contextualize himself in the Greek-speaking world.

I'm one who believes a church name ought to arouse curiosity, reflect congregational character, or provide some sense of meaning as to why a church or organization exists. My opinion? First Baptist Church doesn't cut it any longer. And most of our people agreed - some enthusiastically; others with a compliant shrug of the shoulders.

Our people studied church names and the stories of name changes all across the country. Some stories they collected ended well; others reflected the anguish a congregation can go through when a few become determined to fight change of any kind. Here in this church we're New Englanders, the people who didn't go west many decades ago when Horace Greeley suggested it. Those who did embrace change left us and moved to California. We who stayed behind continued to love our stained-glass windows, our pipe organs, and our hard wooden pews. Why should it surprise you, then, that name changes come hard?

It was a big day when our leaders unanimously affirmed their desire to go for a change. It was an even bigger day when we identified a name that every one liked. It just popped up in conversation. I'm not sure that any of us remember who had the idea. Jesus, perhaps! When we first heard it, we raised holy hands and said in concert, "That's it!" And we stopped looking. The name we picked was CenterPoint Church. It grabbed us, and it offered a meaning that we quickly embraced.

We could become CenterPoint Church with joy and confidence. Forty-eight hours later a new sign was on the front of the church. CenterPoint Church. And in small letters below: established 1818. We had our new name and a reminder that we've been around for a long time.

CenterPoint: what does it mean to us? It says that Jesus is at the center point of our lives together. And it says that we like being a church at the center point of our city where we want to make a difference in community life in the name of Jesus. And, finally, center point reminds us that each of us are "center points" of loving and serving influence wherever we work, live and pursue community involvement.

You can build an entire church mission around that name and those three meanings. And that is exactly what we're trying to do.

Better this wonderful name - CenterPoint - than the one an Old Testament mother gave her son: Ichabod, meaning, "The glory has departed from Israel."

So now you know the rest of the story. And you know that even in New England, an old church can find a new name, a fresh vision, and a confidence that there is a wonderful future.

Selecting a Name

Many churches are named to signify a place, like Main Street Church. Others are named to designate a denominational affiliation, like Faith Baptist Church. Other names, such as Community Bible Church, open broad doors while some names hold out spiritual ideals, like Church of the Open Door.

Many church names present biblical pictures, like The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Some contain nearly an entire system of theology, like Pillar of Fire Mount Zion Holiness Church of the Straight Gate.

Whatever name a church has, a good name is better than a bad one. And a great name can be one less barrier that a church must overcome to reach out to its unreached community.

Today many churches are changing their names. To some this is a new concept. But changing a church name is not as new as many people might think.

For instance . . .

The vast majority of early Americans were Anglicans. In fact, two-thirds of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Anglicans, as were George Washington, John Madison, Patrick Henry, Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall.

After the American Revolution, the Anglicans lost their dominate position. Since the Anglican Church was identified with England, thousands of Americans left to become part of the free churches with reflected America's zeal for freedom. Not until the Anglicans renamed themselves the Protestant Episcopal Church were they able to enjoy growth again.

Why Change Your Name?

Why would anyone want to change their church's name? Here are four reasons some are choosing to do so.

1. A New Location

When Park Street Church moves to Fifth Avenue it will need to change its name or suffer a loss of identity. If the name is not changed, there will be increased confusion as new people move into the community and are unaware that Park Street Church is now located on Fifth Avenue.

2. A New Target.

The First German Baptist Church initially ministered to a primarily German audience. However, over the years the community has changed and a new target audience must be reached. Without a name change, it is unlikely that people of other ethnic descents will even attempt a visit.

3. A New Identity.

Twenty years ago Broadway Presbyterian Church struggled through difficult times. Many people left and joined other churches in the local area. Broadway is now experiencing love and peace within her membership. Yet, her previous reputation lives on. A name change is one way she may clear away the old memories and create a new

identity.

4. A New Direction.

Faith Community Church organized a VISION 2000 team to redefine its mission and has decided to set a new direction for the 90s. Noting that their community has many hurting people, they elected to communicate their new desire to help with a new name - New Hope Community Church.

Seven Guidelines

If you have given some thought to a new church name, here a seven guidelines to think about as you work through the choice.

1. Choose a name that attracts the unchurched.

One key to reaching the unchurched is to use a church name that is understandable and attractive to them.

•Consider what unchurched people think about names like "Faith," "Grace," and other names with religious sounding connotations.

•Narrow your choice down to five names and then survey people in movie lines, ball parks, shopping malls and by phone to see what they think of your choices.

2. Choose a name that sets you apart.

Churches tend to choose similar names. One church realized that it's name was like nine others in the same area.

•Ask yourself what causes your name to stand out.

•What makes your church unique?

•How is your church different from other churches with similar names?

3. Choose a name that is simple to remember.

An unwieldy name must be classified along with a poor location or a run-down facility -- each can be eclipsed but it often takes extraordinary effort to do so.

•Keep your name short.

•Don't try to say too much in your name.

•One word is best but two or three words is okay.

4. Chose a name that will helps people find your church.

One pastor jokingly said, "It takes Daniel Boone to find our church." His church, like many, was established in a small, quiet neighborhood which today are off the beaten path.

•Help people locate your church by naming it after a street, a local attraction, a physical landmark or other unique feature.

5. Choose a name that removes barriers.

Some people remember churches as places with long lists of "don'ts." People shouldn't trip over your theology because of what your name suggests.

•Look at a potential name through unchurched eyes.

•Ask unchurched people to give you their first response upon hearing your new name.

•Hire a consulting firm to investigate possible new names for you and make a recommendation on which one to select.

6. Choose a name that expands your potential.

Don't limit your drawing power to one city or geographical area unless there is tremendous potential for growth in that area.

•Select a name broad enough to include an entire city rather than simply a neighborhood.

•A name with regional identity rather than a city.

•A name with wide appeal rather than a limited appeal.

•A name that communicates to a larger audience rather than a smaller one.

7. Choose a name that communicates vibrancy.

Church names that communicate excitement and celebration are attractive to people who are hurting and in need of support.

•Use a name that includes words like"hope" or "life."

•Try using the word "new" since people like to be part of a pioneering venture.

•Ask if your name communicates excitement.

Some Considerations

You may be very happy with your church's name and have no desire to change it. However, if you do decide to change your name, consider the following.

•List your church in the Yellow Pages or the local newspaper under your denomination. Research has found that most new residents who are church attenders look for a church either through one of these means.

•Check with your denominational leaders to see what, if any, regulations they have concerning your name.

•Take the proper legal steps to file a name change with your state government. In some cases you will simply need to file a DBA

•Change all the items containing your old name, such as church stationery, bulletins, programs, business cards, brochures and church signs. Don't wait until you use up all the old stationery, etc. If a name change is important to make, it is important to change it throughout.

Names, Names and More Names

In the process of trying to think through a name for our new church in Chicago I brainstormed an initial list of 156 names. Some were so ridiculous that I had to remove them from this list, which now contains some less ridiculous names.

I will not reveal here what the new churches name is. I'll be sharing that with the core group in a few weeks. In choosing a name I wanted to keep these things in mind:

Something simple. One or two words with the word "church" after it. People need to know we are a church, so having "church" is important to me. Some exclude this, but I personally think that is a mistake. I wanted one or two words because some church names are so long it's hard to say them. I want things to be simple in this regard.

Would the unchurched be more or less likely to visit purely based on the name?

Would the name connect with Christians?

Be certain no other churches in close proximity had this name.

Something that would work in different locations around the city.

I felt that it was important to find something non-traditional, because we are targeting a younger urban crowd, yet something not too wacky that would turn away Christians who are looking for a church.

I went through the process of having a number of Christians present 4 possible names to their unchurched friends in Chicago and pose this question: Purely based on the name, which church would you be most likely to visit if a friend invited you or if you saw an advertisement? This process was VERY eye opening and SHOCKING to some degree. Christians and unchurched people had widely different reactions to the names. I could not have predicted how our unchurched friends would have responded to the options.

119 Cool Church Names (some aren't so cool!)

ONELOVE church

Recreate church

Eklesia church

Connect church

CHURCH CAST

The Race Church

NewGlobe Church

NewChurch

Restorer Church

Defender Church

Rescuer Church

Giver Church

Act Church

The Overture Church

The Endeavor Church

First Act Church

Venture Church

Great Endeavor Church

The Exchange Church

Truth Church

The Source Church

All Things New Church

Pitch Church

The Launch Church

OutSetChurch

Link Church

Encounter Church

24 CHURCH

First Love Church

Replenish Church

Global Church

The Center Church

CONNECTION CHURCH

Epic Venture Church

The Root Church

DANGERMOUSE Church (added for tobiwan)

Renewal Church

Renew Church

OneWay Church

Landmark Church

Century Church

Central Church

CleanSlate Church

TombStone Church

Kinetic Church

Movement Church

Motion Church

Activate Church

Dynamic Church

Rhythm Church

Pulse Church

Beat Church

Sound Church

New Music Church

Portal Church

Music of Life Church

Rhythm of Life Church

Reactivate Church

TheCause

LIFECAUSE Church

BeTheCause Church

Motif Church

Designers Church

ThePattern

LifePattern

Pattern Of Life Church

The Design

Redesign Church

The Sketch

Objective Church

City Beat

Fresh Church

Start Church

The Figure

The Crux

The Core

Guardian Church

Keeper Church

Director Of Life Church

One Church

The Messenger

Messenger Church

Message Church

Stream Church

Streaming Church

LIGHT CHURCH

VIBE Church

Verve Church

Manifold Church

Home Church

Open House Church

Propulsion Church

View Church

Vision Church

Honor Church

Celebration Church

Churchopolis

Churchopia

Star Church

Jesus Church

New Tribe

Kin Church

Commit Church

Change Church

Resolution Church

Enthuse Church

Overflow Church

Drive Church

Enter Church

Embark Church

Purpose Church

Multiply Church

Reproduce Church

Celebrate Church

Access Church

New Deal Church

Joy Church

Crimson Church

Red Church

What Do You Expect?

What Do You Expect? by Rick Warren “Then he touched their eyes and said, ‘According to your faith will it be done to you’; and their sight was restored” (Matthew 9:29–30 NIV).

A friend of mine, Bruce, taught college in Oregon for awhile. When he began his first semester teaching there, he was told that the college placed students in English classes by their level of ability. Bruce was assigned to teach two “average ability” classes and one “advanced ability.” He really enjoyed teaching the advanced class: they seemed more alert, more fun, asked better questions, and, as expected, had a higher grade average than the other classes. On the final day of the semester, Bruce commented on these differences to the other professors in the faculty lounge. He said he hoped to get more of the advanced classes next semester. But to his surprise, his department director said, “Bruce, I don’t know where you got your information but we phased out the average/advanced distinction a year ago. You’ve been teaching mixed classes all semester like the rest of us!” Bruce couldn’t believe it! He checked his records, and sure enough, there were far more A’s and B’s in the class that he thought was full of smart kids. And he really had enjoyed teaching that class more. But the only real difference between the classes had been Bruce’s expectations of them. You can set people up for success or failure by your expectations. People tend to become what they think we expect them to be. If you communicate to the people around you that you expect them to be lazy, uncreative, and negative, that’s probably how they will respond to you. On the other hand, if you treat people like winners, they’re likely to become winners. Psychologists call it “The Pygmalion Effect.” • The best salesmen expect customers to buy their product. • The best executives expect employees to have creative ideas. • The best speakers expect audiences to be interested. • The best leaders expect people to want to follow. • The best teachers expect students to learn. Would you like to bring out the best in those around you? Here's the key: Treat them the way they could be! Don’t just “tell it like it is.” Tell it like it could be. Jesus said, “According to your faith it will be done to you” (Matthew 9:29 NIV). What are you expecting this week from yourself . . . from others . . . from God?

Forgive Me For Preaching.....

Forgive me for Preaching...

By Ben Arment

But I have no church platform any longer.

And I need an outlet.

"This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord." ~ 2 Kings 3:16-18

I have never seen God move mightily without first requiring me to act in faith.

Nor has he ever given me proof that he would deliver me.

But I have dug the valley full of ditches.

My back is sore. My tongue is parched. The end of my well-being is in view.

But I praise God his deliverance. For the rain-fall of mercy and provision that is coming.

For it is an easy thing for God to do.

All I Do is Work Here

"All I do is work here" By Seth Godin Over the past few months, I've had quite a few interactions with several people who work at a (previously great) brand. One person will email to ask me for a favor or a connection, and I'll point out that just yesterday, I got three emails, all spam, from three different people at the organization either selling me something irrelevant or sending me a press release I didn't ask for. And the unsubscribe button doesn't work. And I've unsubscribed ten times before. When I pointed this out, he said, "Oh, that's those guys. I'm not related to them, all I do is work here. If you don't like getting that stuff, you should take it up with them." Then, a few days ago, I heard from someone in a different group at the same company, asking for help with a project she was working on. I explained that the last time I helped someone in her group with a project, I was misquoted, my time was wasted and they violated whatever trust we had. Susan said, and I'm quoting precisely the same line, "All I do is work here. They pay my salary, but I'm me, not them." No, Susan, you are them. The reason your brand is falling apart is because so many of your colleagues are saying the same thing, denying the same responsibility. Consumers don't believe (or care) that there are warrens and fiefdoms and monarchies within your company. All they know is that you leverage that brand name every day, as you have for decades, but now, instead of using that brand to polish your reputation as an individual, you're being forced to accept responsibility for the actions of others. Do you really think someone who worked for Bernie Madoff will go far with this line? "I'm not Bernie, I just worked with him every day and took a great salary when times were good..." Not sure what the difference is. It's even worse in your case, because you know what's happening. You know, but you don't want to do anything about it. If you're n! ot proud of where you work, go work somewhere else. You don't ! get the benefit of the brand when it's hot without accepting the blame of the brand when it's wrong.

10 Stupid Things

Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing

Many of my readers already know who Geoff Surratt is. He's the Pastor of Ministries at Seacoast Church (a growing multi-site church), an author, a blogger, he's on Facebook and yep - he's on Twitter too. This guy is everywhere! His new book, Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing: How Leaders Can Overcome Costly ! Mistakes, came out last May and is a helpful word to those seeking to lead the church to be effective in reaching the unchurched.

I had a chance to ask Geoff a few questions about the book. He'll be around on the blog today to answer any follow up questions you may have.

You talk a lot in the book about mistakes that will keep an existing church from growing, but what advice would you give to a pastor planting a new church?

1. Don't plant a church unless there is nothing else you can do. If you could be happy pastoring an existing church or working on staff at a church or researching other churches, then that is what you should do. Church planting is incredibly hard and should only be attempted by people so passionate that they can't imagine doing anything else.

2. Partner with a church planting group. Church planting is a lonely business and you need people cheering you on from the sidelines. Seacoast helps plant churches through the Association of Related Churches, Mars Hill founded the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and Community Christian Church in Chicago leads the NewThing Network. Each of these organizations is always on the lookout for sharp new church planters. They each provide training, funding and support. Only a crazy person would plant alone.

3. Make sure your spouse and kids are 110% on board before you plant. One of the mistakes I talk about in the book is the wron! g role for the pastor's family. Church planting will take a huge toll on your spouse and your children; if they are not behind you heart and soul you may destroy what is most precious to you in life. When you get to Heaven God is not going to say, "Hey, too bad about your family. But awesome job growing a great big church. Fist bump, Dude!"

How do you strike a good balance with the pursuit of excellence and the willingness to get your hands dirty in order to help someone who's in need?

I think this question goes to the very heart of what it means to grow a church. As pastors we can focus all of our time and energy on excellence and grow a great big church that isn't serving the real needs of the commu! nity. That might be a lot of fun, but it flies in the face of ! everythi ng Jesus taught about servanthood and love. On the other hand we can focus exclusively on serving the last and the least without paying attention to excellence and wind up ministering to only a handful of people. While we are being servants, we aren't fulfilling the charge to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. There has to be a balance.

I think the balance is in the word effectiveness. Two key questions flow from that question:

1. In pursuing excellence are we effectively serving the people in our community? Will the new sound system, video projector or moving lights help us serve the least and the lost more effectively? Will we reach more people for Jesus with a four color brochure than with a black and white photocopy? There is a delicate balance of excellence below which we become ineffective and above which we are just showing off. That is a balance every church should check on a frequent basis.

2. In focusing on serving are we effectively le! veraging the gifts God has given us? We can become so head down trying to meet needs that we lose perspective on the effectiveness of our outreach. The most compassionate, helpful act of kindness wrapped in an unappealing package will often go unopened. Service should be done from the heart with a level of excellence that honors God and compels people toward the Gospel, anything short of that is just laziness.

Your ministry background includes 27 years of ministry in churches ranging in size from 11 members to now over 10,000 attendees at Seacoast. Based on your experience, if you were to go back to that small church in Texas to how would your approach to ministry than it was the first time?

Ten Stupid Things that Keep Churches from Growing is based on the mistakes I have made through 27 years of ministry and how to recover from those errors. If I went back to pastor the little church in Texas that I left 15 years ago my hope would be that I hav! e learned to avoid at least some of these mistakes. With that ! in mind I would approach pastoring with the following ten priorities:

1. Preparing others to do the work of the ministry rather than trying to do most of the ministry myself.
2. Finding the right balance between family and ministry
3. Focusing on having an outstanding weekend worship experience
4. Creating compelling environments for children's ministry
5. Emphasizing integrity rather than just talent in developing new leaders
6. Being willing to move the church if it wasn't in the right location for the mission of that local congregation
7. Finding God's unique expression of ministry rather than closely copying what another successful church is doing
8. Always working for reconciliation in conflict rather than defaulting to discipline
9. Avoiding any conflict of interest when pursuing any business opportunities outside of the church
10. Building healthy teams rather than getting bogged down with endless committees

You mention in your book that "in spite of the megachurch movement of the last twenty years, more and more Americans are walking away from church and away from a relationship with Jesus." Besides your idea of strategic partnerships between churches, what are some other ideas you have for increasing the fruit of the local church and not just the growth?

First, I think that every pastor, whether they are leading a church of 50, 500 or 5000, should constantly re-evaluate how they can better lead through others. A church built around the personality or skills of just one leader may attract large crowds, but the fruit of that ministry will be short-lived. Every pastor should be giving away ministry on a daily basis. From decision making, to weekend preaching, to oversight of major ministries I believe pastors need to be looking at how they can develop new leaders to carry on the vision of the church. one of Jesus' main focuses while he was on earth was giving ! away ministry to his 12 disciples. If he had not trained those! leaders and entrusted them with ministry Christianity might never have taken off. Nothing will increase the fruit of the local church like investing in the lives of leaders to do the work of the ministry.

The second thing I believe that churches need to do is to get people focused on mission. For too long the church has been about people learning and growing and experiencing. Without mission there is no point in growing disciples. My question when I hear about people being equipped is "What are they being equipped to do?" If there is no mission there is no reason to be equipped. I believe we need to cancel Bible studies, discipleship courses and training events that aren't directly tied to people on being mission in the world to bring the Good News to a dying generation.

Finally, fruit will be increased when churches lower their force shields and begin to work together. At one of our Seacoast locations we go out into the very tough neighborhood once a month to be a bles! sing to people who have very little in life. We take them clothes, food, work in their yards, pick up their trash, anything that will show the love of Jesus in a tangible way. The cool part of the deal is that we have several churches who join together every month to minister to this neighborhood. We aren't worried about where the people go to church or if we can win them for our scorecard; we're all just trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus. There is powerful fruit in dropping our defenses and joining hands to make Jesus famous.