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NEW this month!

Take a look at the blogs page; I have some comments on the new book Simple Church

Also, take a look at the new sermon on contentment for 2007, "Contentment: Deal or No Deal", based on 1 Timothy 6:6-10.

Factoids

THREE NEW FACTOIDS & THEIR TIE-IN TO “THE SIMPLE CHURCH” by Rainer & Geiger

FACTOID #1: Reasons for Choosing a Church

“How do Christians choose a new church?
Christians today choose new churches based on the following priorities:
First: FUNCTION - the style of worship
Second: FORM - the quality or philosophy of ministry
Third: DOCTRINE - the beliefs that influence lifestyle.”

(From Elmer Towns, Putting an End to Worship Wars, Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1997, pp. 11-12, quoted in  Towns, Elmer & Warren Bird, Into the Future, Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 2000.)  

Pastors need to realize that most people today do NOT choose a church based on Doctrine.  Elmer Towns reports that the issue of Doctrine scores 3rd place out of the top 3 reasons for choosing a church.   As much as we would like to believe that the doctrinal stand of our denomination means a great deal to our members, it, frankly, does not.  People are just not drawn these days based upon the doctrine, or by extrapolation, to the denominational distinctives which have determined that doctrine.

This is in part due to a general biblical and theological ignorance among much of the Christian population, and of course, this would be especially true for the unchurched, who are completely choosing a church based on function and form.
Does this mean we abandon doctrine?  Certainly not, but it does mean that if we want to reach people we will be more effective in doing so if we speak their language and help them understand what we have to offer them in a way that relates to where they are at. 

Now, this ties in to the next Factoid:

FACTOID #2:  Spirituality

“...63 percent of breakout churches are rated by their pastors as “excellent” or “good” in the spiritual growth of their members as compared to only 34 percent of churches which continue on the plateau.”
(“Church Growth Principles”, C. Kirk Hadaway, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991, p. 163. ) 

Churches which are effectively growing strong and healthy are doing so because they are paying attention to what is the best way to provide spiritual growth to their people.  And this does not mean that they are just doing some Sunday school classes or small groups.  They are constantly focusing and refining their efforts to bring about spiritual growth. 

And this is getting at the heart of why I will be reviewing the new book Simple Church, by Rainer & Geiger this month.  Because it gets right to the heart of this issue of providing clear and effective spiritual growth for your members.

Just note that this Factoid emphasizes the need for “excellent” spiritual growth.

Now, note how this ties in to the third Factoid for this month:

Factoid #3:  Mission Evaluation & Planning

“Survey results show that 85 percent of churches which have grown off the plateau have re-evaluated their programs and priorities during the past five years, as compared to 59 percent of churches which have remained on the plateau.”
(“Church Growth Principles”, C. Kirk Hadaway, Nashville: Broadman Press, 1991, p. 120.  )

OK, this is key.  These 85% of churches which are growing, are not growing just because they happen to be in the right place at the right time, or because they have the right doctrine.  They are working at it; specifically, they are constantly re-evaluating “their programs and priorities during the past five years”.  That is, they are not standing still.  They are constantly trying to improve and get better.  They are not content to just let church happen, they are taking control of the church experience which their people receive.

SUMMARY
Again, all of this is tied in intimately with the teachings in the new book Simple Church, by Rainer & Geiger.  Here’s why:  the thrust of the book is that churches which are highly effective at reaching, and discipling people for spiritual growth have been very aggressive about evaluating their discipleship program and creating a clean, simple process for developing disciples at their church.  (Read more about Simple Church next month.)

This relates to our 3 Factoids in this way:
FACTOID #1 – Reasons for Choosing a Church:
People are choosing a church based on Form & Function, not Doctrine.  That is, Christians are looking at a church, not based on the doctrine they are teaching, but the manner and means they are using to teach that doctrine (form & function).  Yes, this includes the style of worship, but it is not limited to this.  It includes the entire experience of being a member of that church.  The question is, ‘Does this church know how to help me develop in my spiritual life?’  (This is a functional question ‘how can they help me grow spiritually?’, not doctrinal, ‘what is their doctrine?’). 

Simple Church makes it clear that it is NOT doctrine which helps a church grow, but a clear discipleship process.

FACTOID #2 – Spirituality:
Nearly twice as many growing churches do an “excellent” job at the spiritual growth of  their members, as other churches.  They know what they are doing spiritually, and keep working at it.  They have a plan, and good teaching to help people grow.

Simple Church helps you to understand that you must have a path for spiritual growth.  Rick Warren’s 101 – 401 classes are just one small example of this. 

FACTOID #3 -- Mission Evaluation & Planning:
This is a huge stat: 85% of growing churches have evaluated their program & priorities in the last 5 years.

Simple Church is all about evaluating your program so that you do not become a giant, bloated, complex church with so many activities happening that your average attender has no idea what is truly important to your congregation.

For more interesting Church Growth Factoids, go to our link on the HighPower Resources website.

These and other Factoids can be found at ChurchGrowth Factoids

Coaching

As we move into 2007, it is important for both you and the people you supervise to be very clear about the direction of their ministry.  This includes goals, but it goes beyond this. 

Two new tools have been added this month to the “Coaching Resources”  section  “Ministry Action Plan” is a tool to help each ministry director or staff person determine, not just their goals for the new year, but how those goals are tied in to their overall ministry purpose.  A companion tool “MidCourse Evaluation” is a tool to re-adjust and correct ministry direction half-way through the year.  It raises the questions of what went wrong with some goals, why they didn’t work, and if some should be abandoned or re-tuned.  Setting goals is great, but evaluating progress toward those goals is just as important.  The “Mid-course” tool helps to do that.

But what it really comes down to is EACH AND EVERY DAY.  You see, life is just so daily,  that one often forgets the forest for the trees.  Here are 4 great questions to ask yourself at the start of each day:

STRATEGIC QUESTIONS each day of the new year

1) What are my "Vital Few" TODAY?
2) What's the Main Event today?  Why did God put me in the game today?
3) What's something I can choose NOT to do today?
4) What needs to change in my daily/weekly routine, to achieve my goals?

These questions are so great, and patently excellent, that I’m not even going to unpack them or explain them.  Just put them to use, and you will be glad you did!

Software

If you didn’t catch it, lasts months HighPower eNews showed you how to schedule an entire year of Messages using SermonBase.  Check it out here: http://www.highpowerresources.com/News/eNews/200612_eNEWS.htm

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Software FAQ:  “I extracted SermonBase, but it doesn’t seem to work when I click on it.  What’s going on?”

Answer:  You probably have not really unzipped the .zip file.  Sometimes by clicking on a .zip file, you can see all the individual files within it, but it is not yet unzipped.  To unzip it, you need to click on the “SermonBase.exe” file, and you will then be greeted with the question:  “Extract all or run?”  Choose “extract all” and then when given the choice of where to extract it, place it on your desktop.  Once the extraction is done, then you can go to your desktop, go into the "SermonBase" folder, click on the “SermonBase.exe” file (or just "Sermonbase") and it will run for you.

Click on www.SermonBase.com to download your new Demo today.

SERMONS

*** NEW SERMON this month ***

“Deal or No Deal:  Contentment”

January is stewardship month for many churches, and this message deals with the heart of this matter.  Contentment is key, because until your people find their joy and satisfaction in Jesus Christ, they will continue to look for it in other places.  That usually means buying many things or experiences, and spending a lot of money to do so; sometimes money they don’t have. 

Click on www.HighPowerResources.com/Sermons to learn more