September 27, 2010 Monday Message:
For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been looking at declining church attendance, examining things wrong. But let’s turn this into a positive experience. Let’s look at what might help grow our congregations.
1. Do you have a church full of brand new baby-Christians --- or pews filled with mature, long-time believers? What do you feed them each week? Babies need milk; their little bodies can’t tolerate solid food until they get older. But as they grow, it becomes time for meat, potatoes and whole vegetables. Unfortunately, most churches serve only milk from the pulpit. So feed your sheep. Put some meat on the menu from time to time.
2. We talked about welcoming the Holy Spirit into our worship. When He is present, we can direct our worship right to God-the-Spirit. Without this connection, we’re worshipping maybe God in the Bible, maybe some God in our imagination, or maybe God in the God-box into which we have put Him. Even untrained unbelievers can tell if we’re really getting a touch from the Lord or if God is keeping his distance.
3. Intergenerational disconnect. I can’t explain what happened, but there’s a clear leadership gap between today’s church leaders and the next generation. In your church, that could be people in their 40’s, 30’s, or late 20’s. The 20-somethings will fill the pews if they’re on fire for Jesus. Therefore we must mentor and raise up that next generation of leaders. It’s time to rectify the shortfall, to recruit for God's army.
Next week we’ll introduce a few more church growth ideas, and some final thoughts to wrap up this discussion.
May God walk with you on life’s journey.
Norton Lawellin
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Christ's Business Plan
September 20, 2010 Monday Message:
Last week we looked at the declining attendance and membership in many of our denominations. It opens marketing questions, such as “Are the people buying what we have to sell,” and, “Are we selling what congregations want to take home?” Let’s take a closer look.
Jesus, the author of our business plan, says we are to worship in Spirit and Truth. All denominations have truth in their tradition, but does it continue in the pulpit today? Many denominations have slipped away from truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – and are just serving watered-down, lukewarm theology. If a church doesn’t stand for much anymore, it shouldn’t be surprising that no one really wants to commit to it. Surprisingly, it seems that the churches with more “rules” are doing better, while those with fewer rules are declining the most.
Worshiping in Spirit is another matter. Congregations in general have little understanding of the Holy Spirit, few teachers choose to go there, and many people are just plain uncomfortable with the whole idea.
But that’s not the plan Jesus had in mind. Jesus said that he would send a helper, a comforter, someone to walk beside us, and we are to seek and wait for this supernatural power. With the Holy Spirit we can do anything, and without the Spirit we will accomplish nothing.
When the Holy Spirit knocks on your church door, do you need to open up and let Him in? I know, people who worship “in the Spirit” seem out of place in mainline denominations, but they’re present nonetheless. I call them “Charismatic Lutherans.” They may be in the pew right in front of you. If you’re not tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit, you’re leaving 50% of Christ’s plan unimplemented.
Don’t confuse any of this with worship style – there are dead liturgical churches and dead contemporary churches. They all need revival. This is about using God’s power to connect with people, and we’ll investigate the “connecting” piece next week.
May the Holy Spirit touch your life this week!
Norton Lawellin
Last week we looked at the declining attendance and membership in many of our denominations. It opens marketing questions, such as “Are the people buying what we have to sell,” and, “Are we selling what congregations want to take home?” Let’s take a closer look.
Jesus, the author of our business plan, says we are to worship in Spirit and Truth. All denominations have truth in their tradition, but does it continue in the pulpit today? Many denominations have slipped away from truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth – and are just serving watered-down, lukewarm theology. If a church doesn’t stand for much anymore, it shouldn’t be surprising that no one really wants to commit to it. Surprisingly, it seems that the churches with more “rules” are doing better, while those with fewer rules are declining the most.
Worshiping in Spirit is another matter. Congregations in general have little understanding of the Holy Spirit, few teachers choose to go there, and many people are just plain uncomfortable with the whole idea.
But that’s not the plan Jesus had in mind. Jesus said that he would send a helper, a comforter, someone to walk beside us, and we are to seek and wait for this supernatural power. With the Holy Spirit we can do anything, and without the Spirit we will accomplish nothing.
When the Holy Spirit knocks on your church door, do you need to open up and let Him in? I know, people who worship “in the Spirit” seem out of place in mainline denominations, but they’re present nonetheless. I call them “Charismatic Lutherans.” They may be in the pew right in front of you. If you’re not tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit, you’re leaving 50% of Christ’s plan unimplemented.
Don’t confuse any of this with worship style – there are dead liturgical churches and dead contemporary churches. They all need revival. This is about using God’s power to connect with people, and we’ll investigate the “connecting” piece next week.
May the Holy Spirit touch your life this week!
Norton Lawellin
Monday, September 13, 2010
Therefore Grow...
September 13, 2010 Monday Message:
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been privileged to be included in a discussion called, “The Lutherans Die Out.” But the decline isn’t only in the Lutheran church. Midway into our discussion, the United Methodist Church released its survey of 33,000 churches, intending to find out why membership is declining. Presbyterians and Episcopalians have reported declines as well. As leaders in our churches, a brief look at the problem may, hopefully, point us to solutions.
If we just check statistics, we find that Lutheran women have only 1.7 babies, and I suspect other denominations are similar demographically. We’re no longer self-replicating. In fact, if we don’t “go and make disciples of all nations” – e.g. welcome people who are not like us – the handwriting is already on the wall. If your church is to survive, it will look/sound/act different. You need to be OK with that!
The average ELCA pastor is 59, and none is getting younger. I’m saddened by how many have their sights on retirement, refusing to start anything new. The cool thing would be to befriend a number of 20-somethings, and equip them to light a fire in the congregation. None of us can do it all. Build a 20+ team to carry the message. Make it easy for young adults to choose your church.
Be honest – teach truths from the Bible. Put on a quality Sunday Morning event that people wouldn’t want to miss. Give the congregation application for what you teach. Give them something on Sunday that they can use on Monday.
We’ll look at implementation of growth strategies next week. May the Lord walk with you on your life’s journey.
Norton Lawellin
P.S. - I’ll be teaching Psalm 51 at New Hope Center this Friday. Of course David’s confession in Ps. 51 is the result of events in 2 Samuel…
Over the past couple of weeks, I have been privileged to be included in a discussion called, “The Lutherans Die Out.” But the decline isn’t only in the Lutheran church. Midway into our discussion, the United Methodist Church released its survey of 33,000 churches, intending to find out why membership is declining. Presbyterians and Episcopalians have reported declines as well. As leaders in our churches, a brief look at the problem may, hopefully, point us to solutions.
If we just check statistics, we find that Lutheran women have only 1.7 babies, and I suspect other denominations are similar demographically. We’re no longer self-replicating. In fact, if we don’t “go and make disciples of all nations” – e.g. welcome people who are not like us – the handwriting is already on the wall. If your church is to survive, it will look/sound/act different. You need to be OK with that!
The average ELCA pastor is 59, and none is getting younger. I’m saddened by how many have their sights on retirement, refusing to start anything new. The cool thing would be to befriend a number of 20-somethings, and equip them to light a fire in the congregation. None of us can do it all. Build a 20+ team to carry the message. Make it easy for young adults to choose your church.
Be honest – teach truths from the Bible. Put on a quality Sunday Morning event that people wouldn’t want to miss. Give the congregation application for what you teach. Give them something on Sunday that they can use on Monday.
We’ll look at implementation of growth strategies next week. May the Lord walk with you on your life’s journey.
Norton Lawellin
P.S. - I’ll be teaching Psalm 51 at New Hope Center this Friday. Of course David’s confession in Ps. 51 is the result of events in 2 Samuel…
Monday, September 6, 2010
Christian Purpose
September 06, 2010 Monday Message:
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim. 1:15b
When we see something out of place, or something that makes no sense or something that doesn’t meet our standards, my family queries: “What could be its purpose?”
But Paul leaves no doubt as to the purpose of Jesus coming to earth. In his first epistle to Timothy, Paul writes, “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!’”
While he was here, Jesus healed those who needed healing, and did a good deal of preaching and teaching. But his main purpose was to redeem mankind. That’s the one thing he did that no one else could have done!
Paul goes on to say that he was the worst sinner of all, because of the way he persecuted the early Christians. Paul writes that if Jesus can forgive and rescue him, Jesus can forgive and rescue anyone, no matter how great his sin. Paul considered the fact that he - the very worst - had been rescued, to represent hope for all mankind, evidence that each of us could be rescued. After all, that’s what Jesus came to do. That’s his purpose, his mission.
Now that we know Christ’s purpose, let me ask: What is your purpose? Worship and serving should be high on your list. Today is Labor Day in the US, and we should celebrate. God made us all in His image, and yet gave each of us unique gifts and talents, and then placed us in different vocations. Not everyone can or should work in the church. For example, Paul constantly returned to tent-making to support his ministry. We need Christians in all vocations. We need Christian teachers, bankers and senators. We need Christian leaders in our businesses, our governments, and our schools. It wouldn’t hurt if the little-league coach held a Christian worldview, giving the team something they could carry home when the game was over.
We know Christ’s mission – today let’s celebrate your mission!
Norton Lawellin
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Tim. 1:15b
When we see something out of place, or something that makes no sense or something that doesn’t meet our standards, my family queries: “What could be its purpose?”
But Paul leaves no doubt as to the purpose of Jesus coming to earth. In his first epistle to Timothy, Paul writes, “This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: ‘Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!’”
While he was here, Jesus healed those who needed healing, and did a good deal of preaching and teaching. But his main purpose was to redeem mankind. That’s the one thing he did that no one else could have done!
Paul goes on to say that he was the worst sinner of all, because of the way he persecuted the early Christians. Paul writes that if Jesus can forgive and rescue him, Jesus can forgive and rescue anyone, no matter how great his sin. Paul considered the fact that he - the very worst - had been rescued, to represent hope for all mankind, evidence that each of us could be rescued. After all, that’s what Jesus came to do. That’s his purpose, his mission.
Now that we know Christ’s purpose, let me ask: What is your purpose? Worship and serving should be high on your list. Today is Labor Day in the US, and we should celebrate. God made us all in His image, and yet gave each of us unique gifts and talents, and then placed us in different vocations. Not everyone can or should work in the church. For example, Paul constantly returned to tent-making to support his ministry. We need Christians in all vocations. We need Christian teachers, bankers and senators. We need Christian leaders in our businesses, our governments, and our schools. It wouldn’t hurt if the little-league coach held a Christian worldview, giving the team something they could carry home when the game was over.
We know Christ’s mission – today let’s celebrate your mission!
Norton Lawellin
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