Why Grow?

A large majority of search traffic that comes here finds my How to Grow Your Church post.  I love that there’s so much interest in looking outside the church instead of in.  If you came here by such a search I’d really like to know: why do you want your church to grow?

The question may sound stupid on the face, so I’ll explain.  I believe there’s two broad “camps” to possible answers – wanting your church to grow for your church’s sake, or wanting it to grow for the strangers’ sakes.  Inside each of those are countless other answers.

For your church’s sake: What will your church gain?  What will it miss out on without growth?  How does this reflect the mission of Jesus Christ in the gospels?  What are the reasons a stranger might share your vision of your church?

For the strangers’ sakes: What will strangers gain?  What will they miss out on without your church?  How does this reflect the mission of Jesus Christ in the gospels?  What are the reasons a stranger might come, and reasons they might stay?

It’s my humble belief that those in the first camp – for the church’s sake – will find all those questions hard to answer.  The reason is, Christ regularly tore down institutionalism in favor of horizontal organization – groups of equals with direct access to God.  His heart constantly went to the stranger, the “lost sheep.”  Parables often highlight the greater compassion for those on the fringe.

It’s easy to get caught up in growing a church for the sake of Christianity instead of the sake of Christ.  Attendance is down, volunteers are slim, committees are populated by the same handful of overworked people and the median age is rising.  That doesn’t mean you shift the burden of your church’s welfare onto newcomers.  Change your outreach mission to sharing your experience of Jesus Christ, help people find their Spirit-given callings, and don’t ask for anything in return.  I’d bet you anything you’ll grow as a side-effect.

But I Don’t Want to Grow! Part 3: Pray

Prayer is perhaps the single most important factor in a Christian’s relationship with God.  When else do you have direct, two-way access to the Holy of Holies?  Unfortunately, in most churches prayer is left up to the professionals!

In worship my church uses the common practice of prayer requests – members write down something they’d like prayed for and hand them in for the pastor to do the praying.  Prayer by congregants is by reading something the pastor wrote, or done silently amidst a larger pastoral prayer.  At congregational meals the pastor always says the blessing (even when the pastor can’t stay to eat!).  At all meetings (staff, committee, board…) the pastor opens and closes with prayer.

You see the pattern.  We give up our God-given, Christ-given privilage of prayer to a de facto priesthood of clergypeople.  New Testament churches knew nothing of singular spiritual leadership; everyone in the church was a priest!  Everyone had the privilege and duty to pray, preach, prophecy, edify, admonish and teach.

So should our churches overturn clergy, and instead worship as a group led by the Spirit?  Well, yes actually!  But that’s a big step, and there are smaller places to start.

All members should be taught and encouraged to pray out loud for their fellow brothers and sisters, and for strangers.  Laypeople should be invited to pray in place of the pastor during worship, and especially at functions like meals or meetings.  Everyone should have a chance to pray in small group gatherings.  In my own group, we close each meeting by going around the circle in prayer, so everyone prays at least once.

Harder to train for is praying with strangers.  If someone shares a burden with you, it is your duty as a Christian to ask to pray with them on the spot.  Hold their hand or touch their shoulder (unless they shy away), pray no more than three or four sentences’ worth (less than a minute), and always pray in Jesus’ name.  Teach others in your small group to do so, as well.  It’s extremely intimidating, but easily the most rewarding.  I’ve tried to make a habit of it, and I can testify it is the most powerful gift you can give a hurting person.

At any rate, pray!  Pray all the time.  Pray your thanks, pray your fears, pray your hopes, pray your needs.  And listen!  Prayer is two-way.  Share your prayer experience with others, and encourage them in their own prayers.  Staying close to God makes spiritual stagnation impossible, and where there’s spiritual growth powerful change will happen.

What Is it about Your Experience of Jesus Christ?

Tom Bandy asks what he calls the key question: What is it about your experience of Jesus Christ other people cannot live without?  He’s also phrased it as the experience that will keep me from killing myself tonight.  No other question could be more critical to personal through congregation-wide ministry.

It must be an experience, not a doctrine, theology or argument.  It must also be personal.  Personal experiences are the single worthwhile currency for a generation embittered by fraudulent marketing at every turn in every sector of life, from consumer products to politics to religion.

It must be of Jesus Christ, not God, the Father or the Spirit.  Most everyone my age knows God to some degree, and regularly explores their spirituality.  These are familiar and ubiquitous among world religions.  Jesus Christ is the only unique, distinctive marker of Christianity (hence the name).

This experience must be able to be shared with others.  If it is so intimate and personal as to make no sense to anyone else it isn’t a useful avenue to ministry.  Ministering to disenfranchised postmoderns means tapping a collective narrative through a personal story, so others can vicariously share your experience.

Re: Pray

I’ve been meaning to touch base again about holiness. To recap, I said I was shooting for an hour a day of prayer. I failed, and I’d like to tell you why I think that’s awesome.

At first it was fantastic. I genuinely felt close to God, like we were having a conversation. He showed me things that shifted my perspective in subtle but radical ways. I started thinking of that hour like Jesus (among others throughout the Bible) going to the mountain to pray.

Then one day I did it because I had to. I had created this obligation, set up the hour as an idol in place of an actual connection with God. I spent the entire hour distracted, trying to will myself to focus. I did that for two or three days, then decided it was time to quit.

This is awesome for one basic lesson I have a hard time learning: I can’t do anything worthwhile on my own power. God knows I try. Those early conversations are a treasure, and I think it’s repeatable, but not with the kind of regimented schedule I was trying to keep. I made it about my own discipline and not spending time in the presence of the Holy.

Discipline is a great thing, and one I think makes God very happy. The good we’re capable of, though, is born completely out of God’s grace through a personal experience of Jesus Christ. I don’t really understand the power of grace yet, and so I keep fumbling with my own efforts. I think I’m going to try to relax a little and just listen. I pray God will give me ears to hear!