Andy Rowell | Church Leadership Conversations

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. 

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. 

1. 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. 

2. 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. 

3. Erik Erikson  “all change is perceived as loss.” Source: internet.   

4. If you find the perfect church, don’t join it or it will no longer be perfect.  Source: I can't remember. 

5. Like Noah’s ark, it stinks being inside but it is still better than being outside.  Source: I can't remember.   

6. 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. 

7. G.K Chesterton: “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” Source: internet.

The missional ecclesiology of Rowan Williams

I have posted below for download the paper I finished recently on the missional ecclesiology of Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Anglican Communion.  The question I was asking was, "What would Rowan Williams be thinking about if he was a church planter or emerging church pastor?" 

Download Rowan_Williams's_Theology_of_the_Church_as_Missionary.pdf

I look forward to reading your comments.  I am not an expert on Williams but I have read eight books by him.  If you know of any place I might consider publishing this, I would be open to advice.   

Three benefits of my paper:

This paper has three main benefits.  First, Christians might use the four “practices” as a guide for evaluating their own churches.  Does our church embrace fully the four practices in Williams’s work that can help ensure our faithfulness to the gospel? 

The terms “practices” and “standards of excellence” are borrowed from MacIntyre and are not used by Williams but I think they are an enlightening way of organizing his arguments related to the mission of the church.

Second, Christians might use the “standards of excellence” for the practice of communicating the Good News to evaluate their own church’s outlook toward mission.  Does our practice of communicating of the Good News adhere to the standards of excellence which should characterize that practice according to Williams?

Third, this paper brings together in an organized way the diverse thought of Rowan Williams for the edification of the church.  Williams tends to be misunderstood as the recent furor over his comments about Sharia exemplify.  His writings have different audiences and content so that one could get a skewed understanding of Williams’s thought if they are unaware of the scope of his work.  For example, if someone only read Lost Icons, they might be unaware of his explicitly Christian writing such as Tokens of Trust.  This paper allows both liberals and conservatives, critics and fans, to better appreciate and understand Williams.  By organizing it in these categories and explaining it, I hope to set Williams’s work “on a lower shelf,” that is, making it somewhat more accessible than it might otherwise be.  I have also quoted liberally from Williams in order to point readers toward the places in Williams’s writing where he makes these arguments so that further research can be done.

When one understands Williams’s work in its breadth, it is difficult not to appreciate the beauty and sensitivity and brilliance of his writing.  His writing truly can help churches who are attempting to do innovative mission work to do so with faithfulness to the Christian tradition as well as great effectiveness and flexibility.  The difficulty in reading Williams is that his essays tend to be so occasional, that is, trying to address a specific situation.  Therefore, it is possible to misinterpret them if they are taken to be representative of Williams’s approach to related issues.  I think this essay helps to relieve some of those possible misconceptions by framing the issue in terms of practices and standards of excellence and bringing together eight of Williams’s works.

A few websites with Anglicans thinking about new forms of church:
Anglimergent
Fresh Expressions

Jonny Baker

Emergent UK:

Emergent UK

Jason Clark

 

• 

  Rowan Williams: Resurrection: Interpreting the Easter Gospel

• 

  Rowan Williams: Writing in the Dust: After September 11

• 

  Rowan Williams: Lost Icons: Reflections on Cultural Bereavement

• 

  Rowan Williams: A Ray of Darkness: Sermons and Reflections

• 

  Rowan Williams: Wound of Knowledge: Christian Spirituality from the New Testament to St. John of the Cross

• 

  Rowan Williams: Why Study The Past?: The Quest For The Historical Church

• 

  Rowan Williams: Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christian Belief

• 

  Rowan Williams: On Christian Theology

Archbishop Rowan Williams: How is emergent church viewed in the Anglican Communion?

Archbishop Rowan Williams: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the emergent church? Archbishop Rowan Williams - What is church?

Five Innovative Missional Ideas for Serving Your Community

Here are five wacky ways I have tried to love my community this year.  I thought they would be fun to share and might stimulate some other ideas.  Only number 4 was actually "successful."  These are extremely experimental.  In chronological order, here they are:   

1. Fix the Wikipedia entry for your town so that it is accurate and helpful. I did this earlier this year with Upland, Indiana.  The description of the town where I live was about three sentences before I added to it earlier this year.  I thought it was good for the world and for the town to have an accurate description at Wikipedia.  Has it had a positive impact?  I don't know but I know lots of people have read it.      

2. Start a blog for your favorite organization or business that does not have a website.  This blog can serve as a fan club for that organization and post relevant information for the world.  I did this earlier this year for Ivanhoe's - a local ice cream shop.  Has this had a positive impact?  I don't know but it has gotten lots of hits. 

3. Write a politician.  I recently wrote Barack Obama to urge him not to portray himself as a one-issue politician because I was reading that he was getting his biggest cheers for his "Pull our troops out of Iraq by March 2008" talk and that his campaign believed his stance on Iraq was his primary strength in comparison to Hillary Clinton.  From what I know about him, he has more to contribute than just that perspective.  Has it had a positive impact?  Maybe I'll never know. 

• Obama's speech to Call to Renewal in June 2006 is especially helpful to listen to if you are interested in learning about his faith.  The transcript and MP3 of the talk are both at Obama's website here. 
• You can also read the transcript of his speech on AIDS at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in December 2006 here.
• Evangelical? Obama's faith too complex for simple label is also an interesting article. 

4. Protest appalling things.  Yesterday I was really annoyed to see the four-inch banner advertisement for the Swimsuit Issue on Sports Illustrated's website SI.com.  I wrote them and complained.  See my note here.  (I also sent a note to The Jim Rome Show and Dan Patrick of ESPN radio but I don't think anything was said on the radio about it.  I like both of those sports talk radio shows).  Well, a day later Sports Illustrated reduced the advertisement to a half inch.  I'm shocked but thankful.  Thanks, Sports Illustrated.   

5. Advocate for something better in your community.  Today I wrote a letter to Burger King (which is the closest fast food restaurant to where I live) because the children's playground has been "closed for maintanance" for five months (at least).  I sometimes study there and it breaks my heart to see kids come in disappointed which today (a Saturday) was like five kids per hour.  So we'll see what happens on that.  See my letter here.

Update: They reopened the playground at the end of March!  :-) 

Book Review: Off-Road Disciplines by Earl Creps

Today I received my copy of the Winter 2007 issue of Leadership Journal entitled "Going Missional."  My abbreviated book review of Earl Creps's book Off-Road Disciplines appears on page 76.  I have posted the full 1000 word review below.  Earl has a website.

Earl Creps. Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2006. 240 pp. $23.95 (cloth), ISBN: 0787985201. 

Reviewed by Andy Rowell, Christian Educational Ministries and Biblical Studies, Taylor University

Over the last few years, Earl Creps, director of doctoral studies at the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, has interviewed hundreds of young innovative church leaders.  In his first book, Off-Road Disciplines, Creps takes the very best of their insights, adds his own wise reflection, and describes twelve ways pastors can keep their ministries relevant and healthy.  Pastors will greatly benefit from this book for three reasons. 

First, Creps tackles relevant and important issues.  For example, he brings up how to cope with feelings of failure when your church doesn’t grow as fast as you had hoped (ch. 1), how to assess how your church is doing (ch. 7), and how to resolve issues of young vs. old in the church (ch. 8, 11-12).   

The second strength of this book is that Creps looks at the issues with a balanced perspective.  Often books on church ministry are written by practitioners who inform us what worked at their church.  We immediately think of twenty reasons why it couldn’t work in our church.  Creps makes conclusions after consulting a variety of perspectives.   

Third, pastors will appreciate this book because the writing is so accessible.  Creps is a pastor’s pastor.  He graciously dispenses empathy, stories and appropriate challenge.

Below I have given a short description of each chapter with a few lines that struck me as particularly insightful and convicting. 

In the first chapter, “Death: The Discipline of Personal Transformation” Creps tells the story of bringing his “ministry paradigm of tidy principles” (8) to a small church in Maine and fully expecting attendance to boom.  He had been taught that the paradigm worked except in cases “of poor execution or weakness in leadership” (9).  “But our Mainers seemed to have missed a meeting somewhere” (9).  Creps calls this experience a “small crucifixion” (4). 

Then Creps describes the different ways pastors are responding to the coming “post-Christian generation” in his chapter “Truth: The Discipline of Sacred Realism.”  In chapter 3 “Perspective: The Discipline of POV” (point of view), he helpfully outlines a ten-tier scale to depict the varying degrees of how people are affected by postmodernism (36).

In chapter 4 “Learning: The Discipline of Reverse Mentoring” Creps describes the rich educational experience of humbly asking young people questions about things he “doesn’t get.”  He gives this advice: “don’t limit yourself to one person or format” and “check your attitude at the door. . . Remember, you are being crucified, not just educated” (49).

Creps urges pastors to develop relationships with non-Christians, whom he calls “the sought,” in chapter 5 “Witness: The Discipline of Spiritual Friendship.”  He reflects on the positive changes in his preaching style after he began to compose his sermons in a coffee shop where he built friendships with the non-Christians owners.  “The length of my talks dropped by a third, concepts and vocabulary grew simpler, and text on PowerPoint slides gave way to images or nothing at all” (69).               

Chapter 6 “Humility: The Discipline of Decreasing” invites pastors to wake up to our tendencies to: fake humility with a little self-deprecating humor (74), deliver infomercial monologues about ourselves (76), and bluff that we have read books we haven’t (78). 

Next, Creps reflects on “Assessment: The Discipline of Missional Efficiency.”  He urges leaders to evaluate things that deserve it, “not just the things that are easiest to count” such as bodies, bucks and buildings.  He briefly describes today’s Traditional, Contemporary and Experimental churches in chapter 8 “Harmony: The Discipline of Blending Differences.”  He sets forth a basic model for theological reflection in chapter 9 “Reflection: The Discipline of Discernment.” 

In chapter 10 “Opportunity: The Discipline of Making Room”, Creps describes how to create evangelism-friendly opportunities where the Spirit might move.  He critiques programs that imitate large successful churches but also criticizes those who would dismiss all forms of intentionality (143).  As a Pentecostal, Creps has done extensive thinking about the role of the Holy Spirit.  That pays dividends in his insightful description of the Spirit’s role in ministry.  The Spirit is not some “depersonalized vague form of divine background radiation” nor the “battery used to power big-personality leaders” (152).  Rather, the Spirit “fills individuals to make the mission of Christ a reality” and “reveals Christ to the sought” (153).

Chapter 11 “Sacrifice: Surrendering Preferences” is the only chapter in the book that seems particularly directed to younger pastors.  Creps shares his pain of being discriminated against by younger people (158).  He explains that young pastors may need to sacrificially give up some of their preferences, as Timothy agreed to be circumcised, for the sake of broader mission.  Chapter 12 depicts the role of the older pastor in this process.  It is entitled, “Legacy: The Discipline of Passing the Baton.”  Here Creps casts the vision for loving younger leaders and having enough faith in them to share power with them. 

You will enjoy reading this book more if I give you one piece of advice.  Don’t pay much attention to “disciplines” in the book’s title.  Though titled Off-Road Disciplines, the book has nothing to do with spiritual disciplines.  Don’t read this book if you are looking for insight into Christian practices, discipleship or spiritual formation.  The chapters make sense independently without that overarching structure. 

If you are a pastor from the Baby Boom generation, this book is primarily written with you in mind.  If you read this book, you will better understand the convictions driving younger pastors and will come away a more gracious, thoughtful pastor.  All church leaders will benefit from the wise and gracious coaching of Earl Creps.