Barnabas File

Choir at Olive Branch Fellowship, MS When those who care talk about church growth and development today, two terms are tossed around—“missional” and “attractional.”   In very simple terms, a missional church is one that understands that it exists to be part of the mission of God and that a significant part of that mission is outward focused.  In fact, sometimes the term “externally focused” is used for this approach.  This is the “go and tell” emphasis. The attractional church is concerned about what goes on within its walls or within the faith community and seeks ways to bring people in or attract them to the church meetings.  This is the “come and hear” emphasis. Traditional church growth efforts have tended to be about attracting the unchurched through special events, unique ministries, and quality worship.  In recent years, the missional orientation has arisen as a corrective to this methodology by challenging Christians to look outside their f...

In the current issue of Outreach Magazine , Pastor Bobby Gruenewald of LifeChurch.tv suggests four themes in the future of the church.  One of the themes he identifies is, “The church of the future will become more unified.”  Gruenewald believes that as the church of the 21 st century realizes that there are many other belief systems and philosophies that offer various paths to God, Christians will come together around the lordship of Christ and become “more like the church Jesus started.” I might argue that Jesus really started a movement not a church, but I understand what Gruenewald is saying and agree with the sentiment.  Followers of Christ, no matter what their backgrounds, should be able to find their commonalities as they address the needs of the world.  This can only be a good thing.  Making a commitment to overlook the secondary differences that divide us and find ways to work together in mission and ministry can only bless the Kingdom of God....

 According to an Associated Press story , Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal has apologized for an e-mail he sent earlier this month where he quoted Psalm 109:8 in reference to President Obama:  “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership.” The next verse (which he did not quote) says, “May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.” O’Neal apologized last week, saying he did not intend to offend anyone. He said the Bible verse was meant to call for Obama to be defeated in the upcoming election. His response included this statement: “I understand the debate over the verse interpretation, about which I have explained and for which I have repeatedly apologized to the extent anyone misconstrued my intent or was otherwise offended.” Speaker O’Neal has adopted what has become the response when one commits an error.  Basically the speaker is saying, “If you were offended by what I said, I am sorry that you interpreted what I said in such a way...

In Great by Choice , Jim Collins and Morten Hansen make this observation: “Conventional wisdom says that change is hard.  But if change is so difficult, why do we see more evidence of radical change in the less successful comparison cases [in the research study]?  Because change is not the most difficult part.  Far more difficult than implementing change is figuring out what works, understanding why it works, grasping when to change, and knowing when not to.” This is a significant finding and one that those of us in the church should reflect on!  We realize that change is necessary at times, especially if something is no longer effective.  Too often we spend time propping up things that no one really wants to support.  But if something is basically sound, productive, and has a committed core of support, we should not rush to change it. A pastor friend once proposed that his church cease Sunday night services because only a few people showed u...

In his commentary The Early Christians Letters for Everyone , N. T. Wright provides a wonderful insight on what it means to be a servant leader.   His comment is based on these verses: “I have a special concern for you church leaders. I know what it's like to be a leader, in on Christ's sufferings as well as the coming glory. Here's my concern: that you care for God's flock with all the diligence of a shepherd. Not because you have to, but because you want to please God. Not calculating what you can get out of it, but acting spontaneously. Not bossily telling others what to do, but tenderly showing them the way .”   (1 Peter 5:1-3, The Message) Wright points out that such leadership is not based on knowledge but practice.  He says, “I would rather belong to a group or a fellowship where the ‘leader’ had no idea about ‘leadership,’ but was out-and-out committed to God and to the gospel, than one where the person in charge had done three or four courses on ‘l...

In discussing church development, we often categorize churches by size.  The most common taxonomy is Family size (1 to 50 participants); Pastoral size (51 to 150 participants); Program size (151 to 350); and Corporation size (351 plus).  Now this may seem a little artificial and there are other ways of addressing church size especially in relation to transition, but such categories are useful tools in considering how churches go about organizing themselves and functioning as they grow in number of participants. We often think about the barriers that churches encounter as they move from one size or stage to another.  One of the most difficult transitions takes place when the church moves for the pastoral to the program stage.  In the pastoral stage, everything generally flows through one person—the pastor.  This does not mean that the pastor makes all the decisions, but he or she is usually the nexus of the community with lay or part-time staff members l...

I cannot remember when I last used a Kodak product. On the occasions when I get photos printed from a memory stick at the local drug store (which seems less and less frequently), I have found that they do not use Kodak photographic paper but a Japanese product.  Even so, it came as something of a surprise when I heard the National Public Radio story stating that the Eastman Kodak Company was selling off its patents to produce revenue and was contemplating Chapter 11 bankruptcy filling. The 131- year-old company was such an American icon that it gave us a phrase that we have all used—“This is a Kodak moment.”  I can remember when my folks bought me a simple Kodak black and white camera for me when I was in elementary school so I can take pictures of family and friends.  I moved on to an 8 millimeter Kodak movie camera and created my own masterpieces.  I used Kodak film to take 35 mm slides while I was in Vietnam and still have a dozen metal cases containing h...

Over the last 50 years, a number of consulting firms have emerged with a primary focus on church development.  Organizations emphasizing capital development (fund-raising) were in the vanguard, but many others have emerged, especially as denominations have down-sized the services offered to local congregations.  These new groups offer strategic planning support, conflict management, search committee orientation, leadership training and other services to churches, judicatories and faith-based organizations. Many of these consulting firms have not only taken the place of denominational entities, but they have generally adopted the programs and processes of those denominational entities. In other words, they are simply building on and repackaging old techniques.  Although providing worthwhile services, they have remained mired in the old denominational mindset of bigger is better.  They have generally adopted an organizational, mechanistic approach to church develo...

I once worked with an associate who said that whenever I walked into his office with a certain smile on my face his first thought was,  “I am about to be stretched again.”  Flexing our physical, mental, and spiritual muscles to reach that which is just beyond easy grasp requires that we intentionally invite change into our lives.  Some coaches encourage clients to adopt “stretch goals” that are a little beyond their reach and will call for focused personal development.  How does this apply to organizations and churches? My experience is that most pastors inherently have this “stretch reflex.”  All entrepreneurs do.   By their very nature, these leaders see the potential in their church members individually and collectively.  They also see the needs of the community and the world.  Therefore, pastors instinctively want to stretch their people in new directions. This is change and often means pain! Leaders of other organizations reco...

A friend once said, “The only one who wants change is a wet baby.”  From personal experience, I know that is not true.  A pre-potty trained child would often rather run around with a full diaper than have it changed!  I think it is safe to say that few of us really desire change, not matter what our age. Sometimes change is thrust upon us, but very often we have control over whether we will change or “make a change” or not.  So how do you know then it is time for change?  Let me address first personal change and, in the next blog, organizational change.  What are some signs that we need to make changes in our lives? Perhaps the most common motivation for change is fear. Some would question that this is an effective motivator, but fear of loss or impending death can be very motivational even if negative in nature.  When a person is told by his or her physician that some life style changes are in order to avoid incapacity or death, only the fo...

When I was a Baptist campus minister, I often attended meetings where speakers said, “Missions is what holds Southern Baptists together.”  Missions was proclaimed as the primary motivator for working together and some would even proclaim that Southern Baptist missions was “ God's Last and Only Hope” (the title of a book by Bill Leonard) to “save the world.”   Historically, missions has been a great motivator for Baptists.  The Southern Baptist Convention was born out of disagreement over who could be a denominationally supported missionary; missions was more important than one’s views on owning slaves.  “Save the missionaries” was the rallying call for the creation of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.  In churches where people disagree about everything from the style of worship to the color of the carpet, missions support has been a key unifying factor.  I am not sure this is still the case.  When church members have the freedom to choose...

Our preacher this morning pointed out that in ancient Roman mythology Janus is the god of beginnings and transitions.   He is usually depicted as a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the past; therefore, the first month of the year is named January.  This is a time when we reflect on the past year by producing top ten lists of the “best of” while setting goals and making resolutions for the coming year. During 2011, I had plenty of opportunities to reflect on the past as I attended funerals of friends and colleagues who have meant a great deal in my life.  Although there is always much to celebrate in the lives of these individuals, funerals are also times of nostalgia, seeing old friends, and thinking about both blessings and opportunities missed. Looking forward is an opportunity to consider possibility and promise.  I find that I do this as I watch my grandchildren grow, learn, and encounter new experiences.  I often wonder how the...

Once upon a time a person found a job (or position, if you wish) in a particular company and stayed in that system (hopefully with some promotions) for forty plus years then retired.   I think it is pretty evident that is no longer the reality in which we live.   Most people change not only their jobs but their careers several times in their lifespan, and the frequency of this is increasing. The number of career changes one can expect is unclear and some of this is based on definitions but the figures generally range from three andseven times in one’s lifespan .  By my personal estimate, I have had five careers—U.S. Army officer, campus minister (in three locations), denominational administrator (in two different settings), educator, and life coach.  Granted that I would consider most of these under the overall theme of Christian ministry, the responsibilities, preparation, knowledge, and skills for each is different enough to classify each of these as diffe...