Monday, November 17, 2008

Joe's Blog for Week 6

“Be Prepared” and “Always Ready” are not only good mottos for Scouts and Marines, but are also necessary for those congregations that are letting the Spirit have full reign in their churches. All of this prayer and all of this conversation are going to have results. The question is: will we be ready for them?

In this last chapter, Martha Reese guides us through and tries to prepare us for change—change that will be necessary for our survival; change that will be difficult; change that may bring conflict and distractions. She talks about changes from without and changes from within.

For example, our leadership team has set December 7 as a day when we are expected to ramp up our courage, practice our sharing skills, and invite someone to visit Heights Christian Church. It’s the second Sunday of Advent, Peace Sunday. There will be activities for children starting at 8:30 in the morning (“Breakfast with the Angels” and “Happy Birthday Jesus”). From without, this will take preparation, people, greeters, providers of food, set up and clean up and above all, FOLLOW UP. Change. Hopefully, these will be growing pains.

From within, there may be conflict as we move forward. Not everyone will agree on what is planned or even on the direction we are heading. Some people may feel burned out. Some may feel left out. In chapter six, therefore, there is some very practical advice. We will need to listen to trusted, sensitive people who see early what change is doing; we should heed the people who tell us we are going too fast and biting off more than we can chew. We will need to be tactful and sensitive with the people who are resisting necessary, Spirit-motivated changes. We will need to keep God and prayer at the center of what we do. Some churches may need an outside advisor to help them through this period.

The other issue is distractions: Which changes are absolutely necessary for our future and which are detours? Again, putting our feet firmly on the wisdom of the Spirit, prayer, Scripture and continuing to talk with each other are most important. Martha Reese keeps repeating: “Stay on target!”

She encourages us to “do what we love” when it comes to outreach and evangelism. She wants us to base our actions on a rich spiritual life, and to continue to learn to talk about our faith. Tell our stories. Have new people tell THEIR stories. Pray for people who have no one to pray for them. To every serious question people have about life, there is a way of looking at Scripture and learning through our prayer that Jesus is the answer.

It all adds up to a new beginning.

And we have begun! I’ve already mentioned the celebration on December 7th. Everyone come, whether someone comes with you or not! Put it on your calendar. Think now who you might invite, but don’t worry about it. Make it natural (“We are having this special Sunday at our church to which we’re supposed to invite someone. Would you mind being my guest and coming with me on December 7th?”). I tried it with our next door neighbor. She said “Sure. I was thinking about going to Church anyway!” You could have knocked me over with a feather. –A new beginning, indeed.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Joe's Blog for Week 5

Okay, so you’re a new visitor to Heights Christian Church. How did you find out about our church? [How DO people find out about us?]. Let’s say you’ve moved to Shaker. How do you find out what church to visit? Okay, so you’ve somehow found Heights Christian. What do you experience when you call the office? What do you experience when you walk in the door? What are your concerns? What are your fears?

In this chapter, Martha Reese assumes we are doing SOME evangelism. Hitting ourselves over the head about what we’re NOT doing won’t get us anywhere. We should acknowledge what we are doing, build on it, do it better, and pray about a new level we’d be willing to move into.

Chapter 5 lists nine groups of people that church people like us could evangelize:
(1) our own children—Yes! We’re doing this through our home and religious ed programs!
(2) Our children’s friends—not too big a stretch; we can invite them to vacation Bible School and Easter Egg hunts, for only two examples;
(3) People who attend but haven’t yet joined—well, I guess it wouldn’t be hard to invite them, if we know who they are!
(4) Christians from similar church backgrounds—may they find in us a compatible theology, music, biblical orientation, outreach focus and a lively worship structure!
(5) Christians from different Church backgrounds—uh-oh, this is more swampy ground, but I’m proof that it can happen—the theology fit, AND the people were welcoming, warm, the worship enriching, and ah, the music!
(6) People who drifted away—but maybe some life passage or crisis will lead them back and maybe we can have open arms;
(7) People who were hurt by the church—okay, this is a tough one, but people in our church HAVE reached out to people who were hurt and have kept reaching out until they returned;
(8) Unchurched people who are like us—a real challenge, even though they have jobs, careers, schooling and even ethnicity like us;
(9) Unchurched people who are unlike us—this is the hardest. How do we reach out to those who move in different circles and have had very different experiences?

Martha Reese asks us to take the focus off of ourselves for a moment and to look outward: at the needs of people in our neighborhood, for example, at the opportunities we all have to meet new people, and at our own gifts for evangelism!

There are barriers, both within us and in our church. Most people say they CAN’T do evangelism because they don’t have a cogent reason to, or they’re afraid a friend will be turned off, or because they’ve never talked about such an intimate thing as faith out loud before! [And there’s a fourth reason I’ve often heard: because they respect people’s privacy and their individual beliefs and wouldn’t think of intruding on them]. Can we talk about and ‘dismantle’ these barriers?

And in our church: do we have a good idea of what it’s like to be a visitor? Do people really feel comfortable? Ask a new visitor, a new member! Take one to lunch. Ask: Is it easy to make friends here? To join groups? To use your leadership skills? Do you feel welcome?

What can we as a church do to improve our chances for new members? Whether you are a participant in a small group or not, WRITE DOWN YOUR IDEAS for all of us to consider! We will! We need and value your ideas. Respond to this blog or email the church at heightschristian@sbcglobal.net.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Joe's Blog for Week 4

We’re half way there in this study. We’ve read half the chapters, done half of the daily prayer exercises. Do we feel any different? Have we learned anything?

This chapter begins part 2 of the book and it zeroes in on our church. Ouch! Some of this is difficult to face, such as the attitude we’ve sometimes had towards new members: Yay! New members, more hands to help us, more pledges to support us! It’s easy, as Reese points out, to miss the big picture: we exist to carry the Good News forward in the world. Our focus can’t be totally on our ecclesiastical navels (my words—sorry—not hers). She cites a pastor who looks forward to leading a church, and relishes what he will do for the parishioners, but never refers to what the church will do for the wider world.

And so Martha Reese confronts us with some data from her study and her interviews with successful churches and their new members.

Why do people first visit? Answer: the biggest reason is because they were ASKED to visit or because they know someone who is a member of the church.

Why do they come back a second time? Ah! --because of the warmth and ‘realness’ of the congregation and because of the teaching and preaching skills of the pastor!

But why do they JOIN? Because something was missing in their lives and they see a chance to be filled and transformed.

When is the ripe time for people to join? When they are going through some joyful or painful passages in their lives.

What are the most significant aspects of their new faith or membership? --Meaning, purpose for living, forgiveness, relationship with God, eternal life. Now there’s a list!

What does conversion look like? --Seems like it’s more about God or Jesus than about church. We can really learn a lot from new Christians. There’s a big difference between those who have been raised in the faith and those who are coming to believe for the first time.

So there’s homework, this fourth week. Find somebody to talk to who is NOT part of this E-vent. Ask him or her some questions, very specific questions, like: “What pops into your mind when you hear the word ‘church’? Has anyone every invited you to their church? What did you think? Did you go?

And then the more scary and personal: “Have you ever had a sense of God or Jesus communicating with you? What was it like?” And my favorite, because I can’t answer it yet: “If you had one question you could ask God and knew you’d get an answer, what would it be?” Yi! Finally: “Would you like prayer for something?”

Now, who has the courage to do such an interview? If you don’t, it makes you think ‘why,’ doesn’t it? In for a dime, in for a dollar, as they say. Shall we give it a shot? Might learn something important.