What do we really say?

No one will argue that an effective ministry must be a relevant ministry. Although meeting felt needs is an essential element of relevant ministry, the importance of communicating the gospel in ways that are culturally relevant cannot be overstated.

The Apostle Paul spoke of the importance of cultural relevance when he said, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.” Paul was willing to adapt from one cultural context to the next. “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law. . . so as to win those under the law. . . To the weak I became weak, to win the weak (1 Cor 9:20-23).” Paul was willing to sacrifice his own personal preference and traditional expressions of worship all for the sake of the Gospel. Are we willing to do the same?

In his book “Radical Outreach,” George Hunter points out that “culture communicates” and language is only one of the “primary message systems” in a culture that communicates meaning (or blocks its communication). He mentions that there are at least nine other “primary message systems” that, rather than learning consciously like language, we “acquired” unconsciously. He mentions “space” ( i.e. standing too close to someone on an elevator) as a message system and how it relates to the cultural context of a community. Time & play (i.e. having fun) are also message systems that communicate.

He mentions another message system that I’ve always been aware of but never knew how to define - it’s called “materials.” Materials are “extensions” – such as clothes, furniture, buildings, weapons – for almost everything we do with our bodies; and that material, and how we use it, communicates.

So here’s the question: What does our uniform communicate? Is the uniform an effective tool for communicating the gospel? Is it relevant? Is it effective? Should officers be permitted to wear something other than the present uniform? What are your thoughts?

GO FASTER!

In Judges chapter 2, the Bible records this:

“After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the LORD to anger 13 because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths (Judg 2:10-14)."

Here’s a question: How does a whole generation grow up and not know the Lord? After all, God instructed Israel to “Impress [my commands] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deut 6:7).”

Thom Rainer says “Our recent research on the younger generation, the bridgers (born 1977 – 1994), indicates that only 4% of the teenagers understand the gospel and have accepted Christ, even if they attend church. Of the entire Bridger generation, less than 30% attend church. America is clearly becoming less Christian, less evangelized, and less churched (Surprising Insights From the Unchurched).”

Is our nation becoming less Christian? If a whole generation grows up and does not know the Lord, whose fault is it? Do we care more about our own personal comfort, religious tradition, and “branded” methods of ministry than we do about reaching the present generation? If the mission is the mission then mission accomplished is all that should matter. Add any string, hindrance, or barrier and you divert the mission.

Our founding General said this:

Does salvation keep pace with the increase in population? Make the calculation in your most favored Christian cities, and you will find we are terribly behind in the race. Do we keep pace with the devils in energetic and untiring labor? Do we go as fast as death? Is he not always stealing a march on us? Oh, say no more! We’ll close our ears, my comrades, to this cold, unfeeling, stony-hearted utterance of unbelief! LET US GO FASTER!
– William Booth–

So. . .what do you think? Do we attach strings to our mission? Are we effective? What else can be done to be more effective in ministry?

Mission, Fundraising and the Army

Do you struggle trying to find balance between the Army’s evangelistic and social mission? Do you feel that government money and/or fundraising divert the mission of the Army?

In his book, Origins Of The Salvation Army, Norman H. Murdoch discusses the historical context in which the army’s social services evolved. It seems that the issue of accepting government money and fundraising has been an issue for the army since the 1880s. Here’s what he says:

“Growth was the preeminent future of the Army in the early 1880s. By 1885, however, Booth was adopting new goals and tactics which drastically altered the army. He had founded an urban mission to preach salvation from sin in East London slums in 1865. By 1874, he had given up the normal mission program of mixing salvation with soup as being beyond his financial resources and counterproductive in that social service programs attracted a following of ‘soupers.’ In fact, by 1876, he was aware of his inability to deal with the slum clientele and turned to the ‘respectable’ working class. Among this population, the Army experienced significant growth in the early 1880s. But as the decade progressed, the soul-saving methods of Booth’s formative years no longer were working as they once had, even with the working class.

By 1885 – 87, the army stagnated, just as the Christian Mission had done in East London by 1877. It was in this climate that Booth would turn toward social salvation. Thus it was the Army’s failure to grow as a revivalist sect, that turned it in the direction of social services. The Army soon became a religious sect with a social service ministry (p. 116-117).”

“As the army lost personnel and money a new approach was in order.” “In late 1888, Booth was for the first time asking government aid for his rescue, slum, and shelter work ( p.155).” “By the 1920s, most of the army’s income in the U.S. came from federated community funds. As the army sought ways to increase its income, it tempered its aggressive Christianity in both verbiage and action. Spiritual programs became irrelevant to its survival (p.171).”

Here’s my point. The army wouldn’t have survived if it weren’t for government money. The army tempered its “aggressive” Christianity and bowed to the almighty dollar (according to Murdoch). Are we still doing that today? Do we temper our message for community dollars?

What if we quit fundraising? What do you think about officers working second jobs?

It appears, from Murdoch’s book, that the Army has always struggled to be affective and bear fruit with the “social services” method of outreach. What do you think? Should we stop fundraising? Stop accepting government money? Can the army bridge the mission of evangelism and social services and be effective?

Relevant or Relic?

Which of the following definitions best describe the values, practices, and objectives of your church or denomination?

Relevant: Related to the matter hand, to the point; pertinent. Applicable to current social issues; distinctive.

Relic: Something that has survived the passage of time, an object or custom whose original cultural environment has disappeared; something cherished for its age or associations with a person, place or event; an object of religious veneration; anything old, leftover, or remaining; the remains of a dead person; a corpse.

Any thoughts?

What Do Leaders Do?

James B. Richards has written a book called “The Lost Art Of Leadership.” His idea of leadership is that “the key to success is not using other people to fulfill our dreams but helping them fulfill theirs.” He says that “leaders inspire commitment by demonstrating commitment to their people and to the philosophy and goals of the organization. . . people who know they are genuinely cared for are much more likely to give themselves freely and wholeheartedly to the organization and its mission.”

As church leaders, God calls us “to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Eph 4:12).” Part of helping people fulfill their dreams is helping them understand who God created them to be and what He wants them to do. Helping people discover, develop and use their spiritual gifts is one way to help people find fulfillment and purpose in life.

Committing ourselves the development and growth of our people will not only change them, but it will change us and it will change others. Someone once said, “If I could win and disciple five people, I would do well. However, if I could help five people win and disciple five other people, I would do better.”

Blessings,

Bret

How Do You Define Success?

I define success in terms of Kingdom impact. For example, if I help 1,000 people with rent, utilities, and food but lead no one to Christ and add no one to my church then, as far as I’m concerned, I’ve failed.

Jesus said to “Go and make disciples. . .” Our mission statement (for the Southern Territory) is to “make radical followers of Jesus. . .”. This is my gage for success. The challenge comes when I begin to evaluate my ministry and look for tangible results. When I don’t see the results I’m looking for I naturally begin asking tough questions, identifying barriers and looking for practical solutions that will yield results.

Here’s an exercise for you. Divide your yearly worship attendance by the total number of meetings and get an average worship attendance for the year. Get yearly averages for the last 10 to 12 years. This will create a visual image of how your church is doing in terms of attendance and can serve as an evaluation tool in measuring the effectiveness of your church. Here is an example of a Corps here in the Southern Territory.

The dark blue represents the morning worship and the pink represents Sunday school. The highest average attendance in morning worship was about 50 back in 1993. In 2005 this church averaged 48. Sunday School attendance has dropped from 58 to 34 over the course of 13 years.

Is this church effective? What’s your church look like? Does your average worship attendance reflect the number of seekers recorded each year?

Probe, prod, explore, investigate and ask hard questions. Are we effect? If so, how? If not, why not?