Category Archives: Healthy Church

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Mission vs. “The Way we Do Things”

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In his great book Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory, Tod Bolsinger quotes James Osterhaus on the principle of Red Zone-Blue Zone decision making. 

The principle of Red Zone-Blue Zone decision making.

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The red zone is making decisions that are “all about me.” The blue zone is making decisions that are “all about the mission.”

One thing I see creep into churches when it comes to decisions, though, is that the mission slowly becomes the same as “the way we do things.” The line between the mission and the model slowly becomes the same line. When that happens, a church easily moves into the red zone because they make decisions to keep themselves comfortable, not make changes, or to keep power. 

The question leaders and churches need to ask themselves, according to Bolsinger, are, “Does this further our mission? Because a healthy system makes decisions that further the mission.”

A healthy system makes decisions that further the mission. -@todbol

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Asking what furthers the mission and what furthers the way we do things are not the same question. Or, asking what furthers the mission versus what furthers the ______ (insert church name) way, are not the same question. 

Asking what furthers the mission and what furthers the way we do things, are not the same question.

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Too often, churches and pastors confuse the mission and the way they do things. 

How does this happen?

Asking what furthers the mission versus what furthers the ______ (insert church name) way, are not the same question.

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Here are a few ways this creeps in:

Not having a clear mission. The first way this shows up is in not having a clear mission. If you don’t have a clear mission, this is why our church exists and what we are put on this earth to do, then it is easy to drift from that because there isn’t a right answer. 

Many churches are in this spot.

They lack clarity of mission, where they are headed, or even clarity of their strategy. And for many leaders and churches, it is easier to articulate “how” you do something instead of “why” you do something. As a result, pastors can often talk all day about how they do ministry, how they do a program but struggle to articulate why they started it, why it must keep going, why it must be this way instead of that way.  

When that happens, the way you do church becomes the mission, and you make decisions to keep your job, to stay comfortable, and to not go through the pain of change. 

Not having a clear model. Many pastors and leaders have not done the hard work of saying, “This is how we make disciples; this is how we do worship services; this is how we follow up with people.” It is far easier, they think, to bounce from one idea to another without actually asking, “How has God uniquely wired us and called us as a church for this time and place?”

How has God uniquely wired us and called us as a church for this time and place?

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God did not place you in your church or in your city to be exactly like North Point, Elevation, Saddleback, or _____. He placed you there, to be you. So, yes, learn from others, steal great ideas and implement them, but do the hard work and ask about contextualization and what makes sense for your church and your area. 

Falling in love with your model more than your mission. Leaders who do the hard work will find that their mission and model come out of their passion and story. This is one of the reasons it becomes blurry. And this is often why we fall in love with our model so easily. We created it, and it is who we are; it is what we like, what would reach us or does reach us. 

But you must stay flexible on your model (the how) and stay clear on the mission (the why). 

As Andy Stanley says, “Date the model, but marry the mission.”

Date the model, but marry the mission. -Andy Stanley

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Continue to ask yourself questions like:

  • What is working?
  • What is not working?
  • What isn’t clear?
  • What did we start 5, 10, 20 years ago that doesn’t make sense anymore?

Jesus continued to come back to the kingdom of God. That was what he talked about. That was his mission. Yet, he disappointed people, met people in different ways and through different means throughout his ministry. Paul did the same thing throughout the book of Acts. 

The mission was the same. However, the model and values shifted. 

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The Most Important Minutes to a Guest at Church

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Guests at a church are a big deal; they matter a lot. They are gifts from God that need to be cared for and stewarded well. Notice, I didn’t call them a visitor. Visitors are people who come and go. We don’t really like visitors to come to our house, but we love guests. So we pull out the red carpet for a guest.

To this end, are there moments that matter to a guest more than other moments in a worship service or event at a church? I think there are. There are two moments you need to pay attention to:

  • The first seven minutes they are on the church campus.
  • In the last 10 minutes they are on the church campus.

I’m not saying these are the most important moments of a church, a service, or what we think matters most. But, they are the minutes that matter the most to an unchurched guest.

In the first 7 minutes, a guest is deciding if they will come back. How easy was parking to find? How hard was it to find their child’s classroom and get them checked in? How secure was the kid’s ministry? Were the bathrooms easy to find? What about coffee and refreshments? Did someone wave and smile at them? If they are online, did someone say hi to them and tell them they were “seen?”

All of these things happen before a guest sits down or the service starts. 

In the last 10 minutes, they are asking about their fit in a church. Is anyone talking to them? How did the preaching and music speak to them? Did they find the pastor understandable? Relatable? Did he talk over their heads? Did he make them want to come back and find out more about Jesus? Did the spirit move them during the preaching and the music? Did anyone say, “I’ll see you next week?” 

Taken together, these minutes decide a guest’s opinion of the day and if they will be back.

The most important minutes to a guest at church.

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11 Ways to Engage Guests at Your Church

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two man and woman standing on doorway

Recently, I attended a virtual conference with some of the team from my new church, Community Covenant Church, on church systems. They spent a great deal of time discussing how to engage people, engage guests, and help them take their first steps at a church.

And I was reminded of something important: Words matter. What you say, and when you say it, matters a great deal. What you say as a person, leader or church reveals your values.

When you stand on a stage and address those new to your church, what you say matters, it has always rubbed me the wrong way when I hear the word visitor at a church instead of guest. Now, you might wonder, is the difference really a big deal? I think it is. 

Here’s why: A visitor is someone you expect not to come back. A guest is someone you prepare for. So by calling them guests, we are seeking to communicate we are thinking about them, expecting them to come, and have thought through their experience from start to finish.

Here are some practical things to do for guests:

11 tips to make a great first impression with guests at your church.

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  • Have friendly faces outside who say, “hi.” This goes a long way. Telling someone, “We’re glad to see you,” communicates so much. 
  • Create a culture of “showing” not “pointing.” If a guest looks lost or wants to know where a bathroom is or the auditorium, don’t point and say, “It’s down there on the left.” Walk with them to where they need to go, show them.
  • Have signs. This is crucial. People don’t know where things are. I think a church should always have more signs than they have. This helps guests move through your church unnoticed if they choose to do so, allowing them to move at their own pace. You should have signs that tell people where to park, where the front door is (this isn’t always obvious at a church), where bathrooms are, where kids go, and where the auditorium is.
  • Make guest sign-in for kids fast and secure. When parents drop their kids off, they are dropping off their most precious possession. This is more nerve-wracking than most churches realize. It should be secure. Parents (or the adult responsible for the child) should have to fill something out and get a badge that enables only them to get their child (no tag, no pick-up.) Leaders in the kid’s area should have shirts, vests, badges, something that identifies them as workers. 
  • Call them guests. This is self-explanatory, but this communicates who you think they are and your preparedness for them.
  • Tell them why you do what you do. Where else do you stand and sing with a group of people songs you don’t know? Where else do you listen to a 30-60 minute message without moving? Communion? Prayer? Announcements? All these things can be foreign to people, so please explain what you are doing and why you are doing them. Tell them how long the service will be and stick to that. If you preach through books of the Bible, tell them why you do that. A simple line, “We’re going to sing songs to God that we believe to be true about him.” Or, “we love to preach through books of the Bible as we believe the Bible is true and authoritative for our lives.” Things like this also remind regulars why you do what you do.
  • Have clear next steps. If your service is step 1, what is step 2? What should they do? How do they get more involved? Make this obvious.
  • Let them identify themselves in their time. Let guests tell you who they are when they want. Please don’t give them a visitor badge or a nametag, and don’t make them stand up. Then, when they are ready, they’ll tell you they are there.
  • Speak to them, let them know you know they are there, and expected. For example, say things like, “You may be new” or, “You might be here today, and you don’t know why you are, or you may have been dragged here by a friend” or, “You might be here and aren’t sure you believe in Jesus.” This says, “I’ve thought about you; this message is for you. I’m going to speak to where you are.” This also tells your regulars it is safe to bring their friends here.
  • Give them something. People think churches want something from them, money, time, etc. At the end of the service, tell guests where they can get a gift for being with you as a thank you. My preference is not to make them give you a connection card for a gift that doesn’t feel like a gift. Just be generous to them. 
  • Invite them back. Tell everyone, “We’d love to see you next Sunday.” Invite them back. You do this with guests when they come over; you talk about getting together again.

11 ideas to welcome guests to your church.

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How Pastors Miss What’s Happening in Their Church

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Recently I was sitting with a group of pastors who all had the same reaction to what was going on in their churches.

Surprise.

Each pastor thought things were going relatively well before covid. They thought their church was healthy because they saw a number of people getting baptized, they met first-time guests each week and they had a full room.

Yet, the surprise came because as we have walked through covid it has revealed what is actually happening beneath the surface of our churches. It has revealed who we really are and how we are really doing.

Do you really know where your church is and what’s happening in your church?

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What if you didn’t need a crisis to know what is happening in your church?

The other thing that makes this a challenge is that the longer you are at a church, the longer you are in leadership, the further you get from what is happening. And, people don’t like to give you bad news, so all you hear are good things.

As a leader you must make sure you have ways to find out how things are actually going in your church.

Here’s how:

3 things to watch if you are a pastor.

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1. Staff & volunteer turnover. The longer you lead, the more change you will see in your staff and volunteer base. This happens for all kinds of reasons: people move for a job, they transition to be closer to family, the role they were in is no longer their passion or they have outgrown it, or they haven’t kept up with the growth of the church. Not all turnover is bad.

But, all turnover is data you need to be aware of. If, in the last few years, you have had a high turnover rate in your staff, do you know why? If you do exit interviews (and you should), don’t dismiss the information you receive from them, even if you don’t like what you hear.

High turnover tells a story that you need to know about as a leader.

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On the flip side of this, it can also be unhealthy if you have no new voices or leaders at the top levels of your organization. This doesn’t mean you need to promote people past their ability or fire anyone. But, the longer you are a leader the more comfortable you get with the leaders you have around you, and the less you want new voices in that circle.

Be aware of that temptation and make sure you have ways for new voices to speak into what is happening at a church.

2. Why do people stay and leave your church. This is connected to the first one. But do you know why people come to your church? Do you know what keeps them? Do you know why people are leaving your church? It isn’t always good or bad, but you need to know.

Do you know why people come to your church? Do you know why people are leaving your church?

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As much as possible when people leave your church, talk to them. Take them to coffee and see what you can learn from them. They may or may not want to talk with you, but it is worth trying to find out.

When someone new comes to your church and gets connected, find out what kept them. Ask them how they found you, why they came back a second time or a third time. Ask them what made them get engaged. This helps you to know what is working and not working in your church.

How to know what is working and not working in your church.

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3. New life, groups, and baptisms. This is all about new life, about the next steps being taken.

If you haven’t seen any new groups getting started or new leaders being raised up, there is a problem with your groups, assimilation, or leadership development system. If you aren’t seeing people cross the line of faith or people getting baptized, then you need to step back and ask why.

It is easy to see a crowd in a room and think you are doing well. But you need to dig into the steps people are taking or not taking. 

Are people stepping up to volunteer and join teams? Or is it the same people who have always done it?

I know, as a leader, it is easier to pretend things are working just fine and it is hard to know after covid where people are. But your job as a leader is to know reality and define it for your church so that you can lead through it. 

3 things to keep an eye on in your church.

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How to Interview a Church

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Over the last several months, I have been interviewing with churches as we sought our next step. I learned a lot about interviewing and the questions to ask in the process. It can be hard to ask questions. First of all, by the time you ask questions in the interview you are tired. You have answered theological and leadership questions, shared your story and what God is doing in your life and that can be emotionally draining.

So, you need to make sure you plan your questions. Don’t show up and throw out a random question or two. And don’t ask 0 questions, that is a sign you aren’t interested in the job. If you feel like you didn’t get to ask all your questions, set up a separate time for you to interview them. I spent hours asking questions of the team at Community Covenant Church in the process before making a decision.

Remember, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.

Remember, you are interviewing a church as much as they are interviewing you.

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Below are my favorite questions that I asked each church. This was separate from my theological and philosophical questions and separate from finding the heart of a church.

Some of my favorite interview questions.

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1. If money wasn’t an issue and the Holy Spirit answered every prayer you have for your church, what does this church look like in 5 years? I love this question because it causes the team to sit back and dream. I heard so many great answers to this question over my months of interviewing. But what you are listening for, especially if you are interviewing for a lead pastor role, is where this group of people would like their church to go. Because as the leader, they are hoping you will take them there.

Each time I listened to this answer I asked myself, do I want to go there? Do I want to be a part of that church in the future? I didn’t hear anything heretical from any church I talked to, but I did hear answers that made me think, “that sounds nice, but I don’t want to go there.” This is an incredibly clarifying question.

2. What is one thing you hope I do or change? What is one thing you hope I don’t do or change? These two go together. As a leader you will bring about change. You are supposed to. But you need to be careful about what changes you bring. As a new leader, you have a great opportunity to bring fresh eyes to a ministry, to see things in a different way. You also have a period of time (a honeymoon it’s often called) to bring about new ideas.

But you need to do them carefully.

Hearing what people hoped I would change or do was really helpful. The second question helped me to see what is off-limits, what matters to a church.

A new pastor must figure out what people do and do not want to be changed in their church.

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3. What makes an employee successful at this church? I think you need to ask this question of a lot of different people during the interview process. Here’s why: I took a job once and in the interview process I got one answer from the leadership team of the church and I got a different answer from the admins in the church. Here’s why that matters: You need to know how people will evaluate you, but you also need to know how things actually get done. Sometimes they line up and sometimes they don’t.

4. Describe someone that would not fit the culture of your church. Again, you are trying to ask open-ended questions that paint a picture. If you ask, “Tell me about your culture” you will often hear what you want to hear or what they think they should say as a church. This question will cause the team to think back to employees who didn’t make it, people who upset the DNA and “the way things are done here.”

5. Describe how a difficult leadership situation was handled. You want to find out how conflict is handled in the church. Every church has conflicts. You will have conflicts at some point with a coworker, another elder, or a family in the church. How is that handled? How is sin handled? The way past situations were handled will give you a clue as to how future situations will be handled until you are able to influence the culture. It will also tell you how they handle sin and extend grace, and what compassion in a church looks like.

6. What is your ideal pastoral family? The reason I like to phrase it this way is it causes them to tell a story. If you ask, “What are your expectations for my wife and kids?” they might try to answer it in the way you want. Yes, they still might do that. But this way, you allow them to think about what is their ideal pastoral family?

7. Why do new people come back to your church? This question helps you to see a few things: do they have new people that come to their church? Do they get information from those guests? Do they track it and utilize it? This question also helps you to see what the community around the church might think of the church.

Three final tips:

Three tips for interviewing a church.

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  • Define the words they use. Churches are very good at throwing out buzzwords like relevant, collaborative, humble, generous, etc. So when they do, ask them to define those words. For example, when a church says it is generous, ask who experiences that generosity. Is it the staff? The community around them? The church itself?
  • Find the influencer. This is not really a question you can ask but something you must discover at any church you are interviewing: Who is the biggest influencer in the church? I made the mistake once in an interview process of assuming I knew the answer to this and it bit me once I took the job. The biggest influencer is not always the person who sits at the top, has been there the longest, or has the most visible power. But every organization, church, and team resembles someone. Figuring out who that person is will be crucial to your success in a new role.
  • Get financial and attendance data. I realize that coming out of covid this can be hard and not 100% accurate, but it is important. It tells a story, that’s what data does. I interviewed with one church that described themselves as growing and healthy but then they hit covid. However, as I dug into their data it showed they grew a lot in 2016 – 2018, plateaued and started to decline in 2019 and then hit covid. When I asked what happened in 2019, they pushed back and said that was an aberration. Maybe. But it is important to hear what the church thinks its data says, what story they think it tells.

7 questions and 3 tips for your next interview with a church.

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Final thought: Know what answers you are looking for when you interview a church. They know what answers they want to hear from you. What will be a deal-breaker for you? What will cause a red flag to wave? My favorite answer, and one thing that stood out when I interviewed the team at Community Covenant, came when I asked them what would make me successful in 3 years. One of their elders said, “That your family would be glad you moved here.” When I asked that question of every other church, no one mentioned my family. That isn’t a deal breaker, but it was a big thing for me in this move. You need to know what those things are for you. 

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Finding the Heart of a Church

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When you interview at a church, you are putting your best foot forward. You look your best, sound your best, tell all your best stories and talk about your strengths as a person and a leader. The church is doing the same thing. They are talking about their potential, what God has done, what they hope God will do, and how amazing and friendly their church is.

And this is normal.

But the reality isn’t always that way. You and the church aren’t as amazing as you sound or appear. The stories you and they tell aren’t lies; you are all just glossing over some things.

One of the things I learned over the last season as I interviewed for Pastor roles in churches around the country is how to find the heart of a church. Before you take a job and move your family (possibly across the country) it is important that you make sure your desires and the desires of the church line up. Do you have the same passions? This is different from the theology and philosophy of ministry. This is getting at that sneaky thing called fit.

So, how do you determine fit? How do you make sure that you see through the feeling you get on a call to really make sure that your heart and the heart of the church line up?

Finding the right ministry fit for you.

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Here are a few things that helped me:

1. Pay attention to the questions they ask. The questions a church asks will tell you so much. It will tell you what they think is important, what kind of pastor they are looking for and what kind of church they are. If a church asks a lot of questions about your family or marriage, they tell you about some of their expectations for you and your family. Or maybe they are talking about a wound they have because their last pastor had an issue in that area (more on that later). If they ask many theology questions that are big issues to them but aren’t to you, that is communicating something important. Pay attention to it.

The questions a search team asks you, tells you about the church.

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2. Ask about their dreams and desires as a church. One of the most important questions I think you can ask a prospective church is, “If money wasn’t a barrier and the Holy Spirit answers every one of your prayers for your church, what does it look like in 5 years?” Here’s why this question is so important: This question tells you where they are hoping their church goes, what the promised land is for their church, and as the possible next lead pastor they are hoping you will take them there. I remember talking to several churches and asking this question and thinking, “That’s a great answer, but I don’t want to go there.”

How to interview a church that is interviewing you.

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3. Determine which values are real and which ones are aspirational (and try to determine if the aspirational ones are real or just ones they think they should have.) Every church has values. Some values are real and some are ones they hope are real (aspirational), and some are ones they think they should have because they are a church. Every church values discipleship and evangelism. But not every church practices those things. Ask questions around definitions. Ask for examples. When they use buzzwords like authenticity, community, family, relevant, ask what those words mean to them and how they get played out. Every church would say generosity is important but is that generosity directed at the staff, the church, the world around the church? Who feels that generosity? This doesn’t mean you take a church off your list because of values (although it might), but values will help you see the church’s culture and how they operate.

How to determine real and aspirational values in a church.

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4. Pay attention to how they communicate. In an interview, how you communicate to a church tells the church something about you. Are you punctual? Do you get back to them in a good amount of time? The same is true for a church. I talked with one church and then didn’t hear from them for 4 weeks. When they finally got back to me about another interview, I pulled back. The lack of communication told me something about the church and how it operated. Remember, in an interview churches are putting their best foot forward, so if something feels off in an interview, there’s a good chance there is something off.

5. Listen to how they talk about their previous pastor. The way a church talks about their previous pastor is also how they might one day talk about you because you will be a previous pastor one day. But in how they talk about their previous pastor, they tell you what happened, what they are looking for, and if they have grieved the loss of that pastor and are ready to move forward. Many churches are not yet ready for a new pastor, which often leads to being an unintentional interim pastor.

5 ways to determine if a church job is a fit for you.

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Too often, potential pastors simply look at theology and philosophy of ministry. While those are very, very important, the heart of a church is how those play out, and lining up with a potential church in that way is just as important for a pastor and their family. 

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Learning to Celebrate the Unexpected

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God is Faithful signage with leaved background

There will be a staff meeting or a production meeting in many churches where we will go around the table and talked about what worked and didn’t work in a service or an event. We’ll learn from what we missed, the miscues, or things that we forgot. We’ll celebrate what worked, how God moved, the guests that came, and the taken steps.

This is all well and good and important.

But over this past year, I have been reminded of something we often miss: Celebrating the unexpected or the things that didn’t go as we planned.

In most churches, we do a good job of celebrating wins and learning from things that don’t work. But what about celebrating what God did in the things that don’t work or go as we planned. I think in covid, many of us had our plans turned upside down. Ideas we had didn’t play out the way we expected. But instead of just turning the page, what if we celebrated what God did in the unexpected? What if we looked back to see God’s hand? To see what he was up to when our plans were upended? I think it can help grow our faith and help us have some closure in some areas.

Here’s an example from my life and church.

In January of 2020, the church I planted merged with another church. In March of 2020, the world shut down because of covid, and our church went fully online. All the plans we had, all the things we had worked on and hoped to do, went out the window. Fast forward to today, that campus won’t reopen. On the one hand, we can look at that and say that it is a failure. It isn’t what we set out to do. The campuses we hoped to launch out of that campus aren’t happening on the timetable we set.

Yet, as I look back over this past year, I see God’s hand all over the place.

Pull out a journal and write down how you saw God move in the past year in unexpected ways.

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I’ve talked to countless pastors leading small to medium-sized portable churches like Revolution, and they are exhausted. Some of them have even left the ministry to take others jobs, which is heartbreaking. Some of those churches no longer exist. In many ways, that merge saved the staff and me at Revolution and kept us in ministry.

What God did was not only in me or at Revolution. The roles the staff of Revolution played at Pantano were perfect fits for us and needed, even though we didn’t know it at the time. We stepped into things that existed and didn’t exist at the time of the merge, and we went fully online as a church. We were able to experiment, learn and help move a church forward into a new hybrid church world.

If we look at a normal way of celebrating things, we can miss this.

So, pull your team together and pull out a journal and write down how you saw God move in the past year in unexpected ways.

Pull your team together and talk about how you saw God move in the past year in unexpected ways.

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The Post-Pandemic Church

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We are now more than a year into the covid pandemic. All of life and ministry is different and, in some ways, the same.

Almost every pastor I talk to is tired and deflated. They have walked through incredible difficulties at home, church, and school. They have shouldered the weight of not only their own health but also the health of those in their churches. They’ve tried to navigate a contentious political season. Combined with all of this they have tried to continue leading their church.

For many, we aren’t even thinking about the post-covid church. We are simply trying to get through the covid church.

But I want to encourage you: we will come out the other side of this. Whenever that is, there will be a church. But that church will look very different from 2019 and even today.

I believe the churches and the leaders who can prepare for that future will be better suited to step into it.

And while I don’t have a crystal ball, I think there are some things pastors and leaders need to dig into to prepare for what is next.

Four questions to ask about the post-pandemic church.

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1. What did we learn about ourselves and our church in the crisis? This crisis is a lot of things, but it is an opportunity to evaluate how you are doing as a church. Hopefully, you have taken some time to take a step back and ask, “What has this pandemic shown me as a leader? As a church?” I think every church learned at least one thing they weren’t doing well that they thought they were doing well.

Maybe you thought your church was great at evangelism but found out they were good at inviting. Maybe you thought you were doing well in the community but found out during 2020 that people aren’t as connected as they thought. It could be that you thought you had a strong volunteer culture, but once covid hit you learned it wasn’t as healthy as you thought. Maybe you learned something about your preaching or staff culture.

This isn’t to pile on to already tired pastors and churches, but this is an opportunity to face what Jim Collins calls “the brutal facts.”

This is a chance to have a reset in many ways as a church and leader. Maybe you learned something about your rhythms or practices as a leader and you want to make some changes.

At some point, as a couple, as a leadership team, sit down and ask, “What did we learn about ourselves in this past year?” Don’t rate them, excuse them or get defensive. List them out.

And not just the negatives, but also list the positives.

Maybe you learned you have a strong discipleship culture, your church is resilient, or that it cares deeply for your city. We learned some great things at our church, and we learned some things we need to work on. They both matter in this season as we prepare for what is next.

2. What do we need to change in our church because of what we learned? Once you have listed out what you have learned about your church, what do you need to change because of it?

Maybe you need to stop doing some things or finally end that program that really isn’t moving the mission forward. This is a great opportunity to stop things, especially if you stopped them during covid and realize, “We don’t actually need that.”

Maybe you need to start some things or add to the things that are a strength of your church.

If you go back to what you were doing in February of 2020, I think that is a real loss as a church. This pandemic has shown us things about our churches, things we like and things we don’t like. And that’s okay. That is helpful and provides opportunities for us to move forward with greater intentionality.

3. What did we try that we want to continue? Every church has experimented in the past year. We have experimented with online groups, digital connect cards, podcasts, daily Instagram lives, prayer times online and a whole host of other things.

I have loved watching churches innovate. 

What have you tried or seen someone else try that you want to continue?

Our church has experimented with several things. Some will continue, some will adapt so we can continue, and others will end. And that’s okay. 

But sit down and lay out: what have we tried that we want to continue? This last year is an opportunity that God has given to us and it would be a shame if we missed it.

4. Moving forward, what will we focus on? When taken all together, this past year has shown the church what we should be about, what we are called to specifically as a church in our specific location.

And while what you learned and what you will focus on may be just for your church, I think there are some universal things I’ve seen and heard from other pastors. 

If I could narrow it down, I think the church’s future will center on connecting and equipping. 

The future of the church will center on connecting and equipping.

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Connecting people to each other, themselves and to God. Equipping them to live out their faith and be on mission in their daily lives so that they can help people connect with each other, themselves and God. 

Some will say, hasn’t that what the church has always been about? Yes and no. 

For me, this past year has shown how important that is and how easy it is to forget and focus on other things. 

It doesn’t matter what your answers to these questions are or if they are different than mine. What does matter is that we move into the future of the church with vision and purpose. God has great things planned for each of our churches and ministries. People need the gospel and are longing for hope and connection. 

Four questions to ask about the post-pandemic church.

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Keeping Your Team on the Same Page

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Have you ever had this experience: You look at things your team or staff is doing, you look at programs at your church and wonder, why are they doing that? Why are we doing that?

Most leaders will shrug and let it go because they trust their team, and they assume there is a good reason they are doing that. There is a good reason we are doing that. And, let’s be honest, as leaders, we have so many other things to do.

But at this moment, the leader actually pushes one of their main tasks to the side.

The task that very few leaders like and keep your team, keeping your church or organization aligned.

Leaders like creativity, strategizing, and brainstorming to develop ideas, but the actual alignment management isn’t enjoyable. In fact, it can be exhausting. And, as leaders, we often think, “If it’s clear to me, it’s clear to everyone.”

Leaders too often think, “If it’s clear to me, it’s clear to everyone.”

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No matter how long a team is together, one of the most difficult and important tasks of the leader is to keep everyone on the same page.

It is easy as a leader to think, “We all know what the mission is, so we’re good.” Or, many leaders think, if it’s clear to me, it’s clear to everyone.

Many leaders think, if it’s clear to me, it’s clear to everyone.

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Like a car, one of the most important things for a church or team is alignment. 

On any team, alignment is crucial.

If your vision, word for the year, or goal involves more than you, alignment is crucial. 

But like a car, you must pay attention to it because alignment isn’t natural. 

It takes attention and care. 

Andy Stanley said, “Visions thrive in an environment of unity. They die in an environment of disunity.”

Visions thrive in an environment of unity. They die in an environment of disunity. -Andy Stanley

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I remember talking to a couple once whose marriage hit hard times, and they were talking about getting divorced, and I asked them why. They looked at me and said, “We no longer have the same goals, the same dream.” They started with it, but slowly, they stopped working together, and their lives went in different directions. 

Alignment takes care and attention. 

And like a car, we often overlook the warning signs of alignment at work, home, and in life. 

But, for a vision, goal, word for the year to come to fruition, staying aligned is crucial.

How do you know if the alignment is off course? Here are a few ways:

  1. People start having competing wins.
  2. People start fighting for stage time or platform time for “their thing.”
  3. Leaders can’t articulate the overall “why” for the church or the “why” is different.

So, what do you do as a leader or team to keep alignment?

  1. Ensure everyone can articulate why you are doing something, who you are trying to reach with it, or the goal for a ministry or event.
  2. Once that is clear, continually communicate it and keep it in front of people.
  3. Listen for anything that sounds like something different than #1, and gently move your team back to the focus.

Yes, this is hard. Yes, this never ends.

But that is the job of a leader. Otherwise, you won’t get to the place you set out to get to.

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7 Things a Church Does

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If you were to ask 10 people at your church what the church is supposed to do or why it exists, you would probably get 10 different answers. This confusion leads to frustration for leaders, it causes people to wonder if the church is worth the time and effort, and ultimately, it keeps the church from being all she could be.

Yet, in places like Matthew 28:18 – 20 and Acts 1:8, we have been given a picture of how the church functions and what it should do.

There is an incredible passage in Acts 2 that I preached on recently that lays out what the church did after Jesus returned to heaven, and the Holy Spirit came upon them.

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. -Acts 2:41 – 47

Imagine, in one day, the church exploded. God’s kingdom broke into the city of Jerusalem powerfully.

But what does this tell us about our churches for today?

7 things every church should do and be known for.

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1. Expect something to happen. On the first day the church launched, 3,000 people were saved and baptized. There was an expectation that when Jesus gave his mission to the disciples (Acts 1:8) and said the Holy Spirit would come to help them accomplish it, they expected that to be true and to happen.

They expected that when they showed up, that God would show up. That when they prayed, God would answer. That when they followed after God, they would partner with God in what He is doing.

When you show up at church, you should expect God to be active.

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Too often, when we open our bible, go to our small group, or show up at church, we have no expectation of God meeting us, speaking to us, or saving anyone.

What if that changed? What if we expected and looked for God to move?

2. They were devoted to teaching. The word devoted means constant, given over to or a large part of what someone does. The church in Acts devoted themselves to what the apostles taught them; the apostles were those who saw the risen Jesus, many who had walked with him, and heard his teachings on the kingdom of God. 

For us today, this means that we need to devote ourselves to what the Bible says. Not what we’d like it to say, but what it says. We need to allow it to shape who we are and who we are becoming.

3. Eat together. Our culture does not slow, sit down, and enjoy a long meal with friends and family. We don’t often open up our homes to each other to be hospitable and welcoming, yet this is one of the early church’s defining characteristics. Jesus spent so much time in the gospels eating and partying with people that it is astounding more Christians don’t associate that with the mission of Jesus. Yet this is one of the simple ways community is built, and a church is seen.

This church was devoted to each other, spent time together in the temple and homes, worshiping and eating together and praying together.

Followers of Jesus regularly eat meals with other followers of Jesus.

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4. They prayed together, and awe came over them. There was a sense of wonder in this church. This idea of “I can’t believe I get to be a part of this and see what God is doing.” What if that was the sense we had when we were part of a church? Being blown away by the move of God.

There were miracles, which can be anything from a changed life, marriages being saved, people not believing lies and battling the idols of their heart, or moving deeper into the community instead of living in isolation.

5. They had all things in common. A common belief in the mission is pulling the rope in the same direction, not being divisive. Making sure everyone in your community has what they need. While some have more than others, those who have more are generous, so those with fewer needs are met.

6. They met regularly. They did life together. This is not a one time a week event; this is a daily exercise of being in each other’s lives. Eating together, playing, working at the same place, having play dates, going on vacation, watching football, sitting around campfires. Sharing life. This is the longing of all people, to stop being in isolation and be known, and this church did this, day by day, the text says.

If the church is a one time a week event to you, you’re missing out.

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7. They had favor with all people. Reading this last verse is kind of astounding in our culture. What’s interesting is that the first century was just as hostile to the message of Jesus as our culture (just read Romans and 1 Corinthians). In their love for each other, their city, their welcoming of strangers (yet still submitting to the teaching of the Scripture and the apostles teaching), they had favor with people. This is how we know the church has gotten off track in our world. People outside the church should look at the church and think, “I may disagree with them, but I like them. They are kind, generous, loving. They are good neighbors, co-workers, and bosses. They are hospitable, opening their homes to people, not bashing people on social media.” Instead, Christians are seen as hateful, mean, arrogant, and spiteful.

The church should have favor with all the people.

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They were part of the gathered church, hearing the word of God preached, worshiping through song and prayer, and then scattering to live out that preached message in daily life.

The result? God added to their number daily.

This is the goal and prayer of the church.

Imagine, every day, a new person began a relationship with Jesus! I’d love to see 365 people a year begin a relationship because of coming into contact with every church, including mine.

I believe this can and will happen when we are the church each day.