Over the last few months I have become increasingly convinced that a Sunday morning service is not the way we are going to help the majority of Aussie connect with God.

I have had reservations for a while – but its on record – I don’t believe…

I am going to a church soon to preach and talk with their leaders about new ways of being church. I have asked all the leaders to do one thing before I go – to ask 2 or 3 non christian friends to a Sunday morning service.

I believe that as they think thru and maybe even do that exercise (I’m not convinced many will!) they will experience such dissonance that they will be ripe for some healthy discussion when we sit down to talk. I can’t imagine many will feel comfortable inviting a friend to a Sunday gig – at a very traditional church – and yet this is the measure of success in the est church – bums on seats on Sunday.

I don’t believe.

Yesterday I was chatting with a friend about how great it would be if some of our dying churches just took a sleeping pill, put themselves out of their misery and called it a day.

Because they are sitting on millions and millions of dollars worth of assets…

Then!!… the assets could be sold up and put in a fund to resource church planters willing to try risky and new things. It’d be like a safety net for those who weren’t too sure if their dreams would fly.

And therein lies the problem.

As I was dreaming I realised that the last thing a pioneer / adventurer / entrepeneuer wants is a ‘safety net’! If there is no chance of failure then there is no real risk involved. If the whole deal is underwritten by ‘big brother’ then the personal cost and sacrifice that seems to be so much a part of EC planting evaporates.

And then…

Its just a gut feeling, but I reckon if we made it easy – even financially lucrative to plant churches then we’d do it with the wrong people.

It could well be that to be an apostolic leader you need to be prepared to suffer – to go without – to at very least put it all it on the line. Maybe removing the potential for pain would blow it up.

A few thoughts from a well know missionary:

2 Cor 11:23-28 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. {24} Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. {25} Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, {26} I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. {27} I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. {28} Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

Of course the question arises – can we do both?

Can we have a fund that assists but doesn’t remove the spirit required to enter missional church planting. I’d like to think there is a way!

In a response to my own post on ‘misleadership’ Justin raises a great question on the whole issue of how modern/pomos respond to authority.

I shared my thoughts over there. Read it and do the same!

Tomorrow night we have another team meeting, this time to do a bit of planning for the year ahead and to throw around some important issues (as well as eat copious amounts of food and drink large amounts of red wine!)

I hear some horror stories from time to time of people who have it really tough with obstructive or difficult leadership teams. (Shuddering as I type)

I feel really priveleged to work with a very supportive, encouraging and wise team. I didn’t hand pick these guys, but when God called me, I sensed him saying to ask each one of them to be part of this team. They obviously felt it too. If I had ‘hand picked’ I’m not sure I could have done any better!

I have spent a fair bit of time the last few weeks praying, thinking and writing about some of the ‘where to from here questions’, something I believe is a vital part of good leadership! I’m looking forward to seeing how God leads us as we toss around some ideas and dream about the future.grumpier old men movie download

Over the last year I have been meeting with a group of around 8 or 9 guys (when they are all there) who are exploring or doing missional/church planting stuff.

We met for breakfast again this morning and it was great to hear how God is moving in people’s lives – keeping them focussed on the main game and each taking different shape.

There are some new missional communities about to be birthed and some others being dreamt of.

If you feel a bit alone in this thing then grab just a few others like you and make it a priority to catch up regularly and share the journey!

Iron sharpens iron.free shoot on sight

I never did get around to answering my own question download perfect world a

and seeing as how I won’t be ‘at’ the chat tomorrow

I’ll scribble a few thoughts now.

I believe leadership is essential – vital – crucial – pivotal – very bl**dy important!

So why do some react to it? Why would some prefer not to even use the ‘l’ word?

I have a sense that some of the newer take on leadership (that isn’t actually all that new anyway – look at the 70’s) comes as a reaction towards an overemphasis on ‘strong visionary leadership’ in the late 90’s from Hybels, Warren, Maxwell and the like.

It was a fairly narrow concept of leadership that emphasised:
• the need for a ‘heroic’ front man.
• a hierarchical structure with the senior pastor as CEO/boss man. and no.1 all round superstar
• the general imbibing of a lot of corporate concepts in relation to organisational structure and practice.

If you ever went to one of those seminars then chances are you came away both inspired and depressed – inspired by the amazing achievements of these men, but depressed because there are only a handful of these kinds of leaders around” and chances are you aren’t one of them!

I believe Hybels is a sensational leader in his own context, and he has been a significant influence on my own life, but he’s a very rare breed. By suggesting that only people gifted like him are leaders is a very restrictive form of leadership.

I really gel with the APEPT model, based on Eph 4 that Mike and Al suggest in their book. It recognises that leadership can come from all of the 5 giftings – apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher and that different forms of leadership are required at different stages of a churches life-cycle.

I think it is absolutely true that Jesus is our leader, but I also feel its way too idealistic to see that as the end of the story. Even in groups that have ‘no leader’ there is clearly a most influential person, or one that others look to for a ‘lead.’ I think we con ourselves if we think we ever exist without leadership or even that we can.

I also think it is demeaning and destructive to those with the gift of leadership to try and do away with it. That is certainly what I have felt in those conversations.

I have no hesitation in saying that I am the team leader in our group. I believe the rest of the group would affirm that, but my role is not that of ‘telling what to do’ and expecting them to follow my instructions.

It is to help, empower and release the people to be who they are called to be, but it is also to do a significant amount of praying, thinking and reflecting so that I can offer a sense of direction that may actually be God.

I agree we need to reshape leadership but lets not go the way of tossing it out altogether. Jesus was one hell of a leader – would anyone dare to say different? Would anyone want to say he wasn’t a leader?…

In case you missed it, I feel strongly about this issue!

Grrr…