Andy Rowell | Church Leadership Conversations: Evangelism

Guder, Hays and Barth on the missionary nature of the local church

"The reason Christians are formed into communities is because of God's work to make a people to serve him as Christ's witnesses. The congregation is either a missional community--as Newbigin defines it, 'the hermeneutic of the gospel' (The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, 222ff.)--or it is ultimately a caricature of the people of God that it is called to be."
Darrell L. Guder, The Continuing Conversion of the Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 136.

"If we ask, 'What is God doing in the world in the interval between resurrection and parousia?' the answer must be given, for Paul, primarily in ecclesial terms: God is at work through the Spirit to create communities that prefigure and embody the reconciliation and healing of the world."
Richard B. Hays, "Ecclesiology and Ethics in 1 Corinthians," Ex Auditu 10 (1994): 32. Cf. 31-43.

"As an apostolic Church the Church can never in any respect be an end in itself, but, following the existence of the apostles, it exists only as it exercises the ministry of a herald."
Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 4/1 (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1956), 724.

Working bibliography of recent church and missiology books:

Working bibliography of classic church and missiology books:

I have closed comments because this post is getting lots of spam for some reason. Feel free to leave your comment on a nearby post and I will add it to this one.

Posted at 09:00 AM in Books, Ecclesiology, Evangelism, Missional | Permalink | Comments (670) | TrackBack (0)

The Ecclesiology of John Howard Yoder paper

I am placing online the major paper I wrote this summer: The Ecclesiology of John Howard Yoder: Scripture, Five Practices of the Christian Community, and Mission.

It is 96 pages and I don't expect many to read it but it might be helpful for someone.

Here are my casual blogpost-informal introductory comments; you can read my academic phrasing in the paper.

I find Yoder's writings on the church to be enormously inspiring. Some people caricature Yoder as a "bury your head in the sand" "come out from them and be separate" sectarian who supports Christians huddling together as the world goes to hell in a handbasket. (That's a lot of cliches). His point of view is much better summarized as: "let's walk our talk"--Why do we expect people to want to become Christians if we don't live as Jesus did? This seems to me to be basic Christianity. (Make disciples . . . Matt 28:18-20). Yoder writes a book called For the Nations in 1997, while Stanley Hauerwas wrote Against the Nations in 1992--note well the difference in emphasis. Not only is this missionary emphasis explicit in his later writing, Yoder's emphasis on the importance of the church being missional is found in his 1967 essay "A People in the World" in The Royal Priesthood and greatly resembles the paradigmatic missional theologian Lesslie Newbigin's understanding of the church as missional. (See page 70 of my paper. By the way, Newbigin drew upon Yoder regularly in his writings and did not caricature Yoder).

Similarly, in the last 17 years of his life (1980-1997), there is very little emphasis in Yoder's writings on pacifism which is what he is most famous / infamous for. He deliberately tried in these later years to show that his ecclesiology was much more multifaceted and fruitful than this emphasis. The idea that Yoder = pacifism is another caricature that must be debunked.

Still, I do offer some critiques of Yoder's ecclesiology in my paper. I argue that the five practices that he presents in Body Politics (as well as in various other places) do not adequately represent the main practices of the early church. As he admits, they are "sample" practices--not necessarily the most central ones (and I argue they are of particular interest to him as an ethicist interested in moral discourse)--but the casual reader could easily get the idea that these are the main practices that characterize the New Testament church. (See pages 13-15 of my paper). I argue for example that the Acts 2:42-47 arguably better represent the early church's life than the five practices Yoder draws out of the New Testament.

Along these same lines, I also think he does not adequately capture the importance of leaders (specifically the apostles in the New Testament) and teaching. By his emphasis on the multiplicity of gifts and the open meeting, he gives the impression that we do not need leaders, nor someone to show up at the open meeting adequately prepared to present something that edifies the community. Though I am a huge fan of interacting with the congregation in preaching, shared leadership, and gift-based ministry, I think Yoder does not adequately address the central importance in the New Testament of someone like the apostle Paul. There is no place in Yoder's ecclesiology for someone doing the kind of leading and teaching that Paul did and my sense is that this leading and teaching function need to be taken up somehow in all Christian communities. I am making quite a pedestrian boring point here I think--churches are not wrong in thinking that often there will be a very good Bible teacher in the community who will also exercise leadership in shaping the direction of the community--Yoder does not want to say this because he is trying to emphasize the priesthood of all believers. Again, you will need to read the whole paper to see my full arguments on these points.

Therefore, here is my advice for people who are Yoder fans. If you liked his Body Politics, you need to see how you can incorporate those excellent practices in your church but at the same time, you may need to keep other good practices like the practice of teaching Scripture.

If you think the church is a boring, bureaucratic sleepy organization where mediocre people dutifully show up to pay their dues, then Yoder is what you need. For Yoder, the church is the means by which God intends to change the world. It is a laboratory run by revolutionaries who intend to undermine all that is wrong with the world by the way they love one another. Amen to that.

Download The_Ecclesiology_of_John_Howard_Yoder.pdf

Download The_Ecclesiology_of_John_Howard_Yoder.doc

See my posts:
Based on Yoder's five practices: Everything I needed to know about the church I learned at Taylor University.
John Howard Yoder on Voting
I recommended Yoder's Body Politics at my post: Best book on ecclesiology I read this year.

See also my major paper: The Missional Ecclesiology of Rowan Williams.

Books mentioned in this post:

Posted at 11:46 AM in Ecclesiology, Evangelism, Missional, Th.D. / Ph.D. | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

A wider target: Deconstructing and redeploying the Seeker Sensitive Service planning of The Purpose Driven Church

In 1995, Rick Warren published The Purpose Driven Church. It was perhaps the most influential book in church circles in the decade. It was the definitive "how-to" manual of how grow a megachurch. In it, he presented Donald McGavran's "Church Growth" principles from the 1970's to a new generation. Younger leaders in their 30's like Leadership Journal managing editor Skye Jethani and myself continue to feel like these ideas need further theological reflection. In his post in January 2008 entitled Sense & Sensitivity: Why It’s Time to Abandon the Seeker-Sensitive Model, Skye reflects on biblical and monastic hospitality and urges churches to embrace people first rather than focusing on which people our church is targeting. Although I largely agree with Skye, I want to affirm in the seeker sensitive approach the principle of intentionality. I think it makes sense to be intentional about how we are communicating in our worship services but I agree with Skye that a narrow target is theologically problematic.

What we need I believe is a wider target. The educational and missional and liturgical task demand that we attempt to communicate as clearly as we can with as many people in attendance as possible. For those not involved in this ideological argument between seeker-senstive vs. not seeker-sensitive, this should be quite obvious. In plain English, the pastor and worship leaders should attempt to draw in and engage as many people who may attend the church from the surrounding community as possible. This is the wide target. This involves speaking clearly, using music that has broad appeal, and using images that are accessible to a large range of people. This is why the tasks of preaching and leading worship are so difficult. However, this seemingly obvious insight does have some edge to it, some "bite," because it means that congregational worship and preaching that only appeals to the most entrenched insiders needs to be given greater accessibility. The pastor can address very complex Christian concepts and stories but they need to use vocabulary that people readily understand (or they need to define those theological words). Rituals need to explained. Music needs to be singable or otherwise accessible or it needs to be carefully taught. What Warren and other seeker-sensitive people get is that the person who visits the church for the first time needs to be given tips and help on making sense of what is going on. This, as I argue below, however does not mean that churches need to only have one target audience. They need to be intentional about communicating with the wider target of their surrounding community.

Here then is my comment on Skye's blog in response to his post.

I think this theological probing into hospitality is important work. I agree with you that the biggest problem with seeker-sensitive approaches is that they seek to capitalize on people's social prejudices by giving them an environment, communication and music that makes them feel comfortable. This can tend to reinforce social barriers. If the worship service is designed to appeal to "Saddleback Sam . . . in his late thirties or early forties . . . among the most affluent of Americans" (Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Church, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995, p. 169-170), then one wonders whether people who do not fit this profile will feel that they do not belong.

As one attempts to speak the language of the people; (I like this terminology because it makes one think of the missionary task or educational task); we must be careful to include the whole surrounding community--a wider target. Warren and others are wrong I think for championing the targeting of one demographic (Saddleback Sam), but they are right in wanting to clearly communicate the gospel of Jesus to those present in language those people understand. "Why do we got to all this trouble defining the typical person we're trying to reach? Because the more you understand someone the easier it is to communicate with him" (Warren, Purpose Driven Church, 171). Yes, that we can agree with. Warren contradicts his own emphasis on Saddleback Sam when he notes in passing that his church has not rigidly followed the single-demographic targeting! He notes, "One of the advantages of being a large church is that you have the resources to go after multiple targets . . . we've been able to add additional ministries and outreach programs to reach young adults, single adults, prisoners, the elderly, parents with ADD children, and Spanish-, Vietnamese-, and Korean-speaking people, as well as many other targets" (Warren, Purpose Driven Church, 159-160). Warren's conscience, even in 1995 before his awakening to the needs to the world, would not allow him to strictly only target one group's needs. But he is wrong that only large churches have the luxury of reaching a variety of people. No, every church needs to intentionally communicate with (and minister to) the broad range of people who live within their community.

Therefore, I do not think that it is mutually exclusive to "welcome strangers indiscriminately into our tent/monastery/church" and "determine our target audience’s desires in advance." Preparing for people to come over is precisely what hospitable people do. The monastery has clean beds and food in the cupboards so that when the stranger shows up, they can be hosted appropriately. Similarly, it is appropriate for churches to prepare well to communicate with the people who will come through the doors.

Furthermore, negligence by worship leaders and preachers in preparing well to communicate in language that guests understand will not necessarily lead to congregation members stepping up and being more hospitable. I have seen friendly and distant congregation members at both seeker megachurches and traditional small churches but my sense is that the pastor and worship leaders have a significant role in shaping congregational practice by their own example and practice.

Outstanding book about college students; Book Review: I Once Was Lost by Everts and Schaupp

Don Everts and Doug Schaupp have written a new book based on their experiences doing campus ministry with college students in Colorado and California for the last twenty years. They describe the spiritual journeys of these students and how they have tried to help. Anyone who works with college students or wants to understand them better, will find this book illuminating and encouraging. See my full review below.

I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus by Don Everts and Doug Schaupp (Paperback - May 30, 2008)

Must reading for those involved in Christian campus ministries, September 19, 2008

By
Andrew D. Rowell (Durham, NC) - See all my reviews

Don Everts and Doug Schaupp help the reader become sensitive to the typical stages college students move through when they become Christians.

This book would be particularly helpful for those who work with college students or want to better understand college students--as it describes the pressures, thought processes, and friendship dynamics of this age group.

It would also be helpful for those who ask the question, "Does anyone today convert to Christianity as a thinking adult?" Indeed they do. Everts and Schaupp try to find patterns in the journeys of the people they have observed moving through this process.

They identify Trusting a Christian, Becoming Curious, Opening Up to Change, Seeking After God, Entering the Kingdom and Living in the Kingdom as key "thresholds" that people move through.

The book is nice and concise (134 pages) and reads quickly. Everts and Schaupp are not trying to make an argument that these are the thresholds all Christians need to work through. Rather it is sociological or anthropological work--similar to the famous Kubler-Ross stages of loss (denial, anger, acceptance, etc.) or Christian Smith finding the phenomenon of "moralistic therapeutic deism" in teens.

Everts and Schaupp essentially share their experiences and then ask if this resonates with others. This is not to denigrate their experiences--they have done a significant amount of interviews and they are in as good a position as anyone with their experience in college ministry with InterVarsity to make these kind of observations. Does their model have explanatory power? I think it does.

If they are right that college students (and perhaps teenagers and adults as well--who knows?) that become Christians, move through these thresholds well, what are the implications for how college ministry and church ministry should change if they want to see more people become Christians? The unmissable point is that these students who have moved through these thresholds certainly did not do so because of one event or program. Someone needed to listen to them, give them advice, challenge them and encourage them. Though Everts and Schaupp sketch a process, they explode the idea that some specially designed program would be able to mass-produce followers of Jesus. This book is much more about how to do spiritual direction than how to do evangelistic programming.

The book does not contain much formal theological language. In my quick reading, I do not remember a reference for example to the Holy Spirit or to baptism. Their goal is not to reflect theologically on conversion. Similarly they do not engage developmental psychology or other sociological research and draw parallels between that research and their conclusions. An academic researcher would want to do interviews with a representative sample of people who became Christians in college to test Everts and Schaupp's tentative conclusions. [See update below].

One final note, the book has in its subtitle the controversial word "postmodern"--What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus. I would simply say that this word plays almost no role in the book. It is not a book that views postmodernity positively nor one that views postmodernity negatively. The book describes students at colleges in California and Colorado in the last twenty years--that is all the authors mean by "postmodern."

In conclusion, I would highly recommend the book as insightful, brief, hopeful and stimulating. College students will be loved better by people who read this book.

Update:

As far as other books that talk about conversion, see chapter five of the December 2008 release: Douglas Campbell, Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008). See especially pages 200-211 for numerous bibliographic references and a good summary of recent sociological discussion of conversion. Much of the discussion by Campbell revolves around the insights of John Lofland and Rodney Stark. The discussion begins with these citations.

John Lofland and Rodney Stark, "Becoming a World-Saver: A Theory of Conversion from a Deviant Perspective," American Sociological Review 30 (1965): 862-75; and Lofland, "Becoming a World-Saver Revisited," American Behavioral Scientist 20 (1977): 805-18 and Lorne L. Dawson, "Who Joins New Religious Movements and Why: Twenty Years of Research and What Have We Learned?" in Cults and New Religious Movements: A Reader (Blackwell Readings in Religion) ed. Lorne L. Dawson (Oxford: Blackwell, 2003), 116-30.

According to Campbell,

Lofland and Stark hypothesized that converts possessed three “predisposing conditions”: acutely felt tension or deprivation, a religious problem-solving perspective, and an overall self-definition as a religious seeker. Four further conditions—“situational contingencies”—depended upon a concrete encounter with a cult: a self-perceived “turning point” (near the time of the encounter), a strong affective bond with one or more cult members, reduced or eliminated extra-cult attachments, and further intensive interaction with other cult members. An individual who met these four further conditions experienced full-fledged conversion and became a “deployable agent” of the new cult (Douglas Campbell, Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008), 200-201.

I cite Campbell's work to (1) highlight his book and (2) to note that Everts and Schaupp are not alone in their interest in conversion; there are theologians like Campbell and sociologists like Lofland and Stark exploring similar questions.

Campbell notes that young and educated people are particularly likely to convert and that rational as well as situational factors are involved--consistent in some respects with the observations of Everts and Schaupp.

My sermon "The Spirit-led Missional Church" (Acts 11) Audio

I preached Sunday, March 30th at Clayton Presbyterian Church in Clayton, North Carolina. My text was Acts 11:1-18 as part of a series in the book of Acts. I would argue that this is one of the most important texts on the church in mission in the New Testament.

The iTunes link is Clayton Presbyterian Church Podcasts (will only work if you have iTunes - a free program - installed on your computer).

The direct link is Clayton Presbyterian Church Sermons - you can download the sermon there or listen to it streaming.

I have also made a copy of the recording and put it here.

The transcript is

here as a Microsoft Word document

and here as a pdf

Summary:
In the sermon, I suggest we appreciate the passion for un-churched people that seeker-driven churches embody. I also suggest, however, that there is real value in churches that are very diverse and ignore the seeker-driven philosophy of reaching a specific target audience. I suggest that Acts 11:1-18 (which essentially retells Acts 10) in which Cornelius, the Gentile centurion comes to faith in Jesus, exemplifies what mission in the church should be like. Not only are unbelievers reached but diverse ones. I suggest that the Acts 10-11 narrative can serve as a paradigm as we think about the mission of our churches.

Here are some of the points I draw out from the narrative: Change is hard. We all like to stay in our comfort zones. Prayer is where it starts but our prayers are often weak. We are prodded by the Spirit to obey what is clear. We are to do this work with others. The message of Jesus is simple. The Spirit goes before us. What can we do to get out of the way so that people can see Jesus?

Additional notes on some of the examples in the sermon:

I mention Donald McGavran - one of the founders of the Church Growth Movement
Saddleback Church - I reflected a bit about Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Church at Strengths of the Purpose Driven Church and Sober Advice For Those Considering the Megachurch.
I reflect more on this issue of having a target audience at: Why pastors should be both goal-setting fanatics and goal-setting cynics
Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community in Pittsburgh, PA
I mention in passing the difficulty of change in organizations (including churches) and list a number of business book titles that try to address this problem. Perhaps the one to start with is: Kotter, John P. Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press, 1996.
The quotes I used in the message that you might enjoy.

There is the old pastor’s legend about the pastor who wanted to move the piano to the other side of the sanctuary and the way he got away with it was by moving it an inch every week. Source: I can't remember where I heard this one.
Pastors often overestimate what they can change in one year but underestimate what they can change in five years. Source: I first heard this from Sandy Millar at Holy Trinity Brompton Church but I don't think it was original to him.
Erik Erikson “all change is perceived as loss.” Source: internet.
If you find the perfect church, don’t join it or it will no longer be perfect. Source: I can't remember.
Like Noah’s ark, it stinks being inside but it is still better than being outside. Source: I can't remember.
Mark Twain: "It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand." Source: internet.
G.K Chesterton: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” Source: internet.

Posted at 10:14 PM in Ecclesiology, Evangelism, Missional, Preaching | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry

On Tuesday I listened to the first two of "Seven Practices of Effective Ministry" podcasts with Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner and Lane Jones. They are the authors of the popular 2004 book of that title. I have heard pastors recommend this book in the last year more often than any other.

Two comments and a question:

1. I want to thank them for putting this out for free. Podcasts are great! I love audio for when I am in the car! It is great to hear the North Point folks trying to explain how they practically implement these tips.

2. I have been reflecting on how these hints apply to worship planning. It has been helpful for me.

For "Clarify the Win," I am asking: do we want to be a) more seeker-sensitive, b) have more meaningful worship, c) equip worship leaders, d) see more participation, e) have more ancient and contemporary worship, or f) see more age-blended worship? North Point tries to have their worship leaders create unforgettable experiences because they are seeker-driven. It would be good to get clear with the leadership of a church what we are trying to achieve in worship. Once we have that, they encourage us to state it simply, repeat it often and celebrate it.

They encourage intentionality in their "Think Steps Not Programs" practice. How do we make sure that worship is actually moving people where we want them to go? How does it fit with the overall plan of the church? Is it central or peripheral? If it is peripheral, nix it. In other words, there are lots of nice things we could do in worship (improve the prayer time, sharpen the PowerPoint, improve the flow of songs, etc.) but do these improvements unintentionally produce more problems in other areas of the church life? The North Point folks want everything to flow from their three environments: "The Foyer" (welcome guests) to the "The Living Room" (connect with friends) to the "Kitchen" (intimacy with family). (See also Andy's January 8&15 2006 messages "A Face in the Crowd" and "Our House" for a description of their church strategy.) All in all, I think this is excellent stuff.

3. My question is: what do we lose when we become focused? Under this strategy, a few people set the "clear vision" and other possible purposes are weeded out. Some might go too far with what the North Point people are saying and try to impose a focus or vision on their people. "Andy Stanley told me to do this! I cannot listen to you people because you are not focused on the vision - my vision."

I listened to a John Ortberg talk on Jesus, Leadership and the Kingdom of God podcast immediately after listening to the North Point material. Ortberg (quoting Jesus) emphasizes that Christian leaders do not lord their leadership over others. The North Point leaders don't lord their leadership over people but it is very clear who the leaders are and it is they that set the direction.

The North Point folks are emphasizing the motto "do less things and you will do those things better." Most of our churches need to hear this. And yet we will have further problems if we think that all of the vision and focus are going to come from the top tier of leadership. In reality at North Point, the leaders do a whole lot of listening to thoughtful and godly "regular" congregation members. Though the church seems to be led from the senior pastor, in reality Andy is also highly influenced by his conversations with regular folks.

So let's do both.

As leaders, let's pay attention to the voices of creative people, prophets, and real people. We might not always enjoy what they have to say. It may not be comfortable. They may not agree with our vision or "focus." But they may have a point that we haven't seen. They may need to tell us the truth because we are off-track. I was tremendously helped to be advised that

Sometimes your critics and the complainers are simply good leaders in disguise who need a place to plug in and unleash their gifts. The reason they are unhappy is that they know we can do better and they want to help.

The Old Testament prophets were constantly trying to make sure that the temple priests didn't get so into their rituals, efficiency and duties that they forgot the real point. I think creative, prophetic, and ordinary-Joe people often help me remember what really matters. Their criticisms of me often have some validity that I need to pay attention to.

At the same time, the North Point folks remind us that we can't be scattered and confused and unfocused because of every little opinion or criticism. We can sort through the feedback and focus on what is most important. So let's listen and focus - that seems to me to be the road toward effective ministry.

See another post about Andy Stanley here where Andy S. actually commented.

See also Granger Community Church pastor Mark Waltz's blog on the 7 practices. Part 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

I rewrote this point on September 14, 2006.

Posted at 12:24 AM in Business, Ecclesiology, Evangelism, Goal-setting, Megachurches | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Is Congregational Singing Seeker-Sensitive?

Last Sunday I visited Willow Creek DuPage, one of Willow Creek's Regional Campuses, which meets at Wheaton Academy. I actually just made it for the end of the service because I went to another church service first.

The Willow Creek DuPage room seemed quite full. All of the rows were 70% full. 400 people perhaps? After the service, they had lemonade and cookies set out at different tables labeled with different high school names in the area. The idea is that people can more easily find people who live near them.

But I had one question. At the end of the video message by Mike Breaux, the worship leader came up and led three songs. He invited people to stand and later to clap their hands. It didn't seem to me like many people were singing. Then again, I was in the back. Perhaps many of the people visiting are "seekers" and thus feel uncomfortable singing.

For this reason I thought that Willow Creek did not invite people to sing very much in their weekend services. I thought the focus was on performed music as opposed to congregational singing. Is this still the line of thinking? Or are Willow Creek and other seeker-driven churches incorporating more congregational singing? Just curious.

P.S. I'm sorry for not asking the regional pastor this question but I felt bad because I hadn't been at the whole service and he had invited people who were hurting to talk with him. I threw away my brochure but I have sent an email to the general DuPage regional church email address to see if someone wants to comment.

I'm also sorry for not carrying my camera and taking a photo. The law of copyrights with photos is that you usually don't get in trouble if you post your own photos. So I'll have to do that more often. This photo is free to use because I found it on stock.xchnge

See my recent post about video venues for more discussion about this concept.

Posted at 09:42 PM in Evangelism, Media and Teaching, Megachurches, Worship | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)