Businesses and the church are not the same. The objectives of a business and the objectives of the church are two very distinct and competing propositions. What makes a church successful is far removed from what makes a business successful. I have seen businesses that try to sound almost church-like in their mission. One business touts: “Our business is to serve people.” But the reality is it exists to make a profit just like most other businesses. Even “Non-profit” businesses make a profit, and cannot function if they lose money continually.
There are some businesses that have as a mission to resource the kingdom of God and are not about making money. They wrestle with the tension of serving the church and surviving at the same time. I know, because I am part of a team that leads such a resource business: CMAResources.
We have, more than once, made suicidal decisions for our business. I will elaborate more on this in a later chapter, but suffice to say, our purpose is not self-preservation but kingdom expansion. That sounds very church-like, doesn’t it? Some would wonder then why we would consider ourselves a business and not the church. We are a business in that we seek to resource the kingdom; we are not a church. We exchange goods and service for money and that puts us in the business category, even if we’re intentionally not very good at it.
I learned something a few years ago about all this. It is a simple two-point formula that seems to make sense and bring clarity.
1. Running a business like a church will kill it.
2. Running a church like a business will also kill it.
When this became clear to me, we decided to separate Church Multiplication Associates (CMA) from CMAResources so that we could view them both differently and not unwittingly kill both of them.
CMA is pure kingdom, no employees, no job descriptions, no organizational flow charts, and no exchange of goods and services for financial remuneration. It is like-minded servants of Jesus who are in relationship together while on mission for the King.
CMAResources, however, does have employees (two of them). We exchange resources for money, and that alone puts us into a business category as far as I am concerned. We are an intentionally lean organization that tries hard not to be exploitative. We keep our prices lower then we have to so that our resources are more accessible. We intentionally give much away. Our mission is to create resources that reproduce healthy disciples, leaders, churches and movements. But we are a business, although not a profitable one.
We may actually be a business that functions like a church, but not the other way around. Now, I did say that such a proposition would kill the business, didn’t I? Well it can, and actually, we’re okay with that idea. We do not exist to make money but to further the kingdom. Still, we want to stay in the business category so that we do not assume the sacred trust of being a church and all that goes with it. We want to resource the church and not compete with it. If we go “out of business” in fulfilling our mission without exploiting the church, we would view that an acceptable risk…even a success.
There are also a great many churches that, unfortunately, function like a business. In fact, this is a rampant problem of epidemic proportions in my opinion. Churches have become brokers of spiritual goods and services to Christian consumers. They have a board of directors and a CEO, and if they are large enough, they may even have a CFO (Chief Financial Officer).
Running a church like a business is a far more dangerous proposition then running a business like a church. A business that runs like a church will just go out of business. Running a church like a business, however, will suck the life out of the church. The church will die, but unfortunately, the business may not—it may continue to thrive and remain a business that calls itself a church. That is the danger.
It is a very scary plot when a business carries on with the authority of God’s sacred church behind it in the eyes of God’s people. Science fiction horror stories are made of such schemes. An exploitive company that acts in the “business of God” and is profited by it, all with tax-exempt benefits is a dangerous proposition if you ask me.
We all seem to understand the principle of the separation of church and state. Perhaps we should start understanding the wisdom of the separation of church and corporate business. Everyone who knows me or has read any of my previous work would know I am not saying that church should be removed from the marketplace. No, I am suggesting that the marketplace be removed from the church. Perhaps we should overturn the money tables again.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Indulgences Today?
Those who are perceived to have access to God have great power. In Luther’s day, those people were the Roman Catholic church leaders, and he made a stand against such practices. They made a fortune selling indulgences—access to heaven for those who paid enough money and built great monuments to their cause in Rome.
Indulgences are no longer sold today, but we still wrestle with the same underlying issues. Some leaders hold on to the power of God’s word and keep people in a sense of obligation to these authorities, who are perceived to be the only ones we can trust to truly understand God’s Word. Others use every means necessary to receive money from God’s people in exchange for spiritual goods and services.
Simply peruse the Christian television channels for a single evening, and you will see those who sell prayers, healings, blessings from God, and perhaps even salvation to those who will send in their money. In exchange, you may even receive a signed copy of the speaker’s latest book—a $24.99 value for a onetime gift of $100 or more. In one case a prayer cloth that was personally prayed over and anointed by the pastor was sent to anyone who would send in a “faith-gift” of $25 or more. Donors were instructed to place the cloth over any ailing part of their body, and they would be healed. One leader, wanting to demonstrate his servant leadership, would actually send out a moistened towelette packet that he prayed over to “faith-givers” so that donors could use it to wash their feet, thereby enabling the leader to do so by proxy. It is disgusting how abusive Christian leaders can still be even in this day. We may not call them indulgences today, but they are much the same.
The extreme abuses have been well documented by others, and we need not delve any further. Actually, it is the less extreme cases that I find more dangerous because we tend to simply accept them as normative or, worse, spiritually right.
It starts subtly, like serving Starbucks coffee on Sundays, but it can end up going to extremes and, like the frog in the slow boiling kettle, we don’t realize just how far we have gone.
I have written before of a church planter who took out an ad in a paper offering to pay people $100 if they attend his church. Today he has changed his philosophy and is actually quite embarrassed by his attempts at church growth no matter the cost. I want you to see how easily even good folks can get caught up in some unsound thinking regarding these things.
I read of one church that raffled off a $500 gift card for gasoline in order to get people coming to their services. A fast growing church in my own area advertised free raffle tickets to potentially win a new car to the first 100 newcomers who showed up at their Easter service. Like a business, our churches are competing with other churches for our attendance…and tithe dollars.
I’ve not heard any evangelical churches threaten the fires of hell for those who refuse to give money yet, like in the time of Luther, but we are closer than we might think. From the perspective of the non-Christian it is clear that unless one attends a religious service weekly they are not a Christian in good standing.
Just to give you an example of what I mean: We emphasize that Christians are going to heaven and non-Christians are not. We tell them they need to decide to become a Christian (like us) to escape hell. When we evangelize people it usually ends with us taking them to church to hear the gospel and close the deal. We give them the call to walk forward down the aisle to receive salvation. At the altar we escort them to a prayer chamber where we counsel them and sign them up for a newcomers class to become a church member. In the new member class these same people are taught the importance of tithing to the church if they want to be a good Christian. I am aware that most of the churches in America would not believe that church membership is a requisite for salvation, but I am describing how it may appear to someone who is not a Christian yet. We are not as far from selling indulgences than we may think.
We divide the world into two categories. Sometimes we use the distinctions of “saved” or “unsaved”, “saints” and “sinners”, “Christians” and “non-Christians” sometimes it is “believers” and “unbelievers”, but often in our language the words “churched” and “unchurched” are thrown out in the same vein as the others. The logical assumption is that they need to change their Sunday morning routine if they want to avoid an eternity of suffering in hell. We may not truly believe this, but our actions communicate something else entirely. And people do pick up on our nonverbal sermons as much (or more) than our recorded ones.
Indulgences are no longer sold today, but we still wrestle with the same underlying issues. Some leaders hold on to the power of God’s word and keep people in a sense of obligation to these authorities, who are perceived to be the only ones we can trust to truly understand God’s Word. Others use every means necessary to receive money from God’s people in exchange for spiritual goods and services.
Simply peruse the Christian television channels for a single evening, and you will see those who sell prayers, healings, blessings from God, and perhaps even salvation to those who will send in their money. In exchange, you may even receive a signed copy of the speaker’s latest book—a $24.99 value for a onetime gift of $100 or more. In one case a prayer cloth that was personally prayed over and anointed by the pastor was sent to anyone who would send in a “faith-gift” of $25 or more. Donors were instructed to place the cloth over any ailing part of their body, and they would be healed. One leader, wanting to demonstrate his servant leadership, would actually send out a moistened towelette packet that he prayed over to “faith-givers” so that donors could use it to wash their feet, thereby enabling the leader to do so by proxy. It is disgusting how abusive Christian leaders can still be even in this day. We may not call them indulgences today, but they are much the same.
The extreme abuses have been well documented by others, and we need not delve any further. Actually, it is the less extreme cases that I find more dangerous because we tend to simply accept them as normative or, worse, spiritually right.
It starts subtly, like serving Starbucks coffee on Sundays, but it can end up going to extremes and, like the frog in the slow boiling kettle, we don’t realize just how far we have gone.
I have written before of a church planter who took out an ad in a paper offering to pay people $100 if they attend his church. Today he has changed his philosophy and is actually quite embarrassed by his attempts at church growth no matter the cost. I want you to see how easily even good folks can get caught up in some unsound thinking regarding these things.
I read of one church that raffled off a $500 gift card for gasoline in order to get people coming to their services. A fast growing church in my own area advertised free raffle tickets to potentially win a new car to the first 100 newcomers who showed up at their Easter service. Like a business, our churches are competing with other churches for our attendance…and tithe dollars.
I’ve not heard any evangelical churches threaten the fires of hell for those who refuse to give money yet, like in the time of Luther, but we are closer than we might think. From the perspective of the non-Christian it is clear that unless one attends a religious service weekly they are not a Christian in good standing.
Just to give you an example of what I mean: We emphasize that Christians are going to heaven and non-Christians are not. We tell them they need to decide to become a Christian (like us) to escape hell. When we evangelize people it usually ends with us taking them to church to hear the gospel and close the deal. We give them the call to walk forward down the aisle to receive salvation. At the altar we escort them to a prayer chamber where we counsel them and sign them up for a newcomers class to become a church member. In the new member class these same people are taught the importance of tithing to the church if they want to be a good Christian. I am aware that most of the churches in America would not believe that church membership is a requisite for salvation, but I am describing how it may appear to someone who is not a Christian yet. We are not as far from selling indulgences than we may think.
We divide the world into two categories. Sometimes we use the distinctions of “saved” or “unsaved”, “saints” and “sinners”, “Christians” and “non-Christians” sometimes it is “believers” and “unbelievers”, but often in our language the words “churched” and “unchurched” are thrown out in the same vein as the others. The logical assumption is that they need to change their Sunday morning routine if they want to avoid an eternity of suffering in hell. We may not truly believe this, but our actions communicate something else entirely. And people do pick up on our nonverbal sermons as much (or more) than our recorded ones.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
From Stardom to Stoning (from Organic Leadership 2b released this February)
Acts 14 tells a story about Paul and Barnabas who are preaching in Lystra. A miracle occurs, and the people begin to think that Paul and Barnabas are gods; they start to worship them. Paul and Barnabas immediately rush out into the crowd tearing their robes saying “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you.”
Christian leaders today need to do the same thing. No longer allow people to be irresponsible with their lives as if they are not accountable to God for the bringing the kingdom of God to their vocation, neighborhood and family. Pastors need to reinforce the idea that they are not more important in God's kingdom than any other follower of Jesus. Every one of us is an agent of God's kingdom, with a holy calling to Serve the King. We must end the cycle of dysfunction where the church leaders are codependent (needing to be needed) and the parishioners are relieved of the responsibility of being kingdom agents.
It is important, however, that I be honest. When co-dependents decide they will no longer enable addicts, the response is usually harsh and immediate. Those who are dependent on some compulsive behavior do not like to have their irresponsible lifestyle cut off. They will strike swift and hard.
Just the next few verses in Acts 14 and the same people who wanted to worship Paul as a god ended up stoning him and dragging his dead-like corpse out of the city. It will cost us to break the cycle, but it is the only way for God’s people to gain the freedom necessary to carry the Kingdom of God into the world.
Christian leaders today need to do the same thing. No longer allow people to be irresponsible with their lives as if they are not accountable to God for the bringing the kingdom of God to their vocation, neighborhood and family. Pastors need to reinforce the idea that they are not more important in God's kingdom than any other follower of Jesus. Every one of us is an agent of God's kingdom, with a holy calling to Serve the King. We must end the cycle of dysfunction where the church leaders are codependent (needing to be needed) and the parishioners are relieved of the responsibility of being kingdom agents.
It is important, however, that I be honest. When co-dependents decide they will no longer enable addicts, the response is usually harsh and immediate. Those who are dependent on some compulsive behavior do not like to have their irresponsible lifestyle cut off. They will strike swift and hard.
Just the next few verses in Acts 14 and the same people who wanted to worship Paul as a god ended up stoning him and dragging his dead-like corpse out of the city. It will cost us to break the cycle, but it is the only way for God’s people to gain the freedom necessary to carry the Kingdom of God into the world.
Monday, December 1, 2008
You’d be surprised what people will do for Jesus
We ask for volunteers all the time. We offer spiritual-gift assessments to see where people fit best in our program, but we never really offer very challenging experiences for people. Handing out bulletins, directing traffic wearing a bright orange vest, chaperoning a youth function, or changing a diaper in the nursery may be helpful for the church program, but none of it is a task worth giving your life to. Many who struggle to do these things have a nagging unspoken question: “Did Jesus come so I can do this?”
We must transition from seeing church as a once-a-week worship event to an ongoing spiritual family on mission together. Then people will see church as something worth giving your life for. Honestly, people need one another more then they need another inspiring message. You would be surprised what people will do for Jesus, or for a brother or sister, that they will not do for a vision statement and a capital giving campaign.
We must transition from seeing church as a once-a-week worship event to an ongoing spiritual family on mission together. Then people will see church as something worth giving your life for. Honestly, people need one another more then they need another inspiring message. You would be surprised what people will do for Jesus, or for a brother or sister, that they will not do for a vision statement and a capital giving campaign.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
This Scares The Hell Into the Devil
One side effect of pursuing excellence in church production is that common Christians become spectators who can contribute a percentage of their income to keep things going, but little more. We have raised the bar on how church is done so high that few believe they could ever do it themselves. The dark side of this endeavor is that we have lowered the bar of what it means to be a Christian so that simply showing up to the weekly one hour event with some regularity and a check book is all it takes.
My goal in life is to reverse this. I want to lower the bar of how church is done so that anyone can do it, and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple so that they will do it.
I will never forget meeting with an organic church made up of high school students. As we were all singing praises to the Lord I felt His pleasure. I asked the students to share the biggest church they had ever been to. Southern California has many mega-churches. Several were mentioned, ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 attendees.
“I think Satan is more intimidated by this little church of 15 kids than by any of those Godzilla-sized churches,” I said. They all snickered and looked around the room at one another with smiles, thinking that the old man had finally lost his mind.
I then showed them why I thought this way. I asked, “How many of you think you could start a church like one of those mega-churches?” No one raised a hand. I then asked, “How many of you think you could start a church like this one?” All raised their hands. The snickering stopped. It was one of those holy moments in life that are hard to forget. I then asked them to look around the room at all the raised hands, and I said, “I assure you, Satan is terrified by this. And he should be!”
My goal in life is to reverse this. I want to lower the bar of how church is done so that anyone can do it, and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple so that they will do it.
I will never forget meeting with an organic church made up of high school students. As we were all singing praises to the Lord I felt His pleasure. I asked the students to share the biggest church they had ever been to. Southern California has many mega-churches. Several were mentioned, ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 attendees.
“I think Satan is more intimidated by this little church of 15 kids than by any of those Godzilla-sized churches,” I said. They all snickered and looked around the room at one another with smiles, thinking that the old man had finally lost his mind.
I then showed them why I thought this way. I asked, “How many of you think you could start a church like one of those mega-churches?” No one raised a hand. I then asked, “How many of you think you could start a church like this one?” All raised their hands. The snickering stopped. It was one of those holy moments in life that are hard to forget. I then asked them to look around the room at all the raised hands, and I said, “I assure you, Satan is terrified by this. And he should be!”
Friday, November 28, 2008
A True Seeker Service
In most churches today we expect the lost to come to us. In the Bible, God is always the Seeker going after those who are lost. He pursued Adam in a garden and Moses in a desert. He pulled Jonah off the bottom of the sea and Peter off the top. Jesus found Matthew in an office and Paul out on the road.
God became a man and entered the world through a birth canal just like the rest of us. He chose to come to us on our turf, rather then expecting us to rise to His. Jesus preached everywhere that the kingdom of God has come near. He came to seek and to save the lost, and He now invites us to join Him.
If you want to reach this world for Christ you are going to have to learn to sit in the smoking section.
Many ask: “How can we make the church more attractive to the lost?” If we start down this path we unintentionally leave our true path: Letting people see how attractive Jesus is! It’s all about Jesus…not us. In a sense, for every step we take toward impressing people with our own strengths we move further from letting them become impressed with His.
God always prefers to reveal Himself in weak things rather strong. It is the simple vessels that often reveal God’s glory more then having to find Him in the midst of laser lights and fog machines. The curiosity of a child’s question; the embrace of a loving grandmother; the accepting handshake of a good friend; the smile of a proud father; the warmth of a soft shoulder to cry on—these are the things that reveal God’s character more than any sermon.
Love for one another is a powerful ingredient in transforming the world, but sitting in an auditorium listening to a preacher talk about it is not as powerful as being able to see it and taste it first hand. A “neighbor nudge” for two minutes on Sunday morning is not enough.
“If Jesus were on earth you’d find him in a gay bar in San Francisco. He’d be with people suffering from AIDS. These are the new lepers. If you want to find out where Jesus would be hanging out it’ll always be with the lepers.”
—Bono
God became a man and entered the world through a birth canal just like the rest of us. He chose to come to us on our turf, rather then expecting us to rise to His. Jesus preached everywhere that the kingdom of God has come near. He came to seek and to save the lost, and He now invites us to join Him.
If you want to reach this world for Christ you are going to have to learn to sit in the smoking section.
Many ask: “How can we make the church more attractive to the lost?” If we start down this path we unintentionally leave our true path: Letting people see how attractive Jesus is! It’s all about Jesus…not us. In a sense, for every step we take toward impressing people with our own strengths we move further from letting them become impressed with His.
God always prefers to reveal Himself in weak things rather strong. It is the simple vessels that often reveal God’s glory more then having to find Him in the midst of laser lights and fog machines. The curiosity of a child’s question; the embrace of a loving grandmother; the accepting handshake of a good friend; the smile of a proud father; the warmth of a soft shoulder to cry on—these are the things that reveal God’s character more than any sermon.
Love for one another is a powerful ingredient in transforming the world, but sitting in an auditorium listening to a preacher talk about it is not as powerful as being able to see it and taste it first hand. A “neighbor nudge” for two minutes on Sunday morning is not enough.
“If Jesus were on earth you’d find him in a gay bar in San Francisco. He’d be with people suffering from AIDS. These are the new lepers. If you want to find out where Jesus would be hanging out it’ll always be with the lepers.”
—Bono
Blogging Again
Well, as we approach a new year I figure it is time to get serious about a few things. I started working out again. I might as well try blogging again. I remember when I started journaling 20+ years ago it took a few starts to get rolling, but I have now journaled every day for almost 20 years, perhaps blogging can be the same. Here goes...
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