Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (1 Peter 3:9 ESV)

Recently I have witnessed the power of the blessing as part of sharing the Gospel with people.  The hardest part of evangelism is 1) starting the conversation, 2) earning the right to declare the topic of conversation, and 3) bringing up God.  Blessing someone performs all three of these.  When I go up to someone and ask them if I could say a blessing for them for anything they need in life (such as family, job, car, health), it 1) starts conversation, 2) shows I care about them and gives me leeway in conversation since I am doing something for them, and 3) brings up God.  I usually try to bless them by reciting a blessing from scripture and then praying the Gospel over them, praying for God to show Himself clearly in Jesus Christ (which is the greatest blessing of all as seen in Eph. 1:3))!

If you ask someone “Can I pray for you?” they are usually skeptical, but asking “Can I bless you?” is totally different… who would turn down a blessing!  A blessing communicates something very differently than most evangelism.  Often people see evangelism as selling religion and selling a God who is angry at them.  God is angry with their sin, but also lovingly beckoning them through Jesus Christ who paid the penalty for sin.  When we bless, we communicates the vast love of our God who is upholding their life and blessing them every single day:

“For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” Matthew 5:45 ESV).

So the next time God puts someone on your heart – maybe in the checkout line or walking down the street or someone in your office – try blessing them… and see what God will do!

You see, postmodernism plays word games with us. Postmodernism tells us there’s no such thing as truth; no such thing as meaning; no such thing as certainty. I remember lecturing at Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in this country. I was minutes away from beginning my lecture, and my host was driving me past a new building called the Wexner Center for the Performing Arts. He said, “This is America’s first postmodern building.” I was startled for a moment and I said, “What is a postmodern building?” He said, “Well, the architect said that he designed this building with no design in mind. When the architect was asked, ‘Why?’ he said, ‘If life itself is capricious, why should our buildings have any design and any meaning?’ So he has pillars that have no purpose. He has stairways that go nowhere. He has a senseless building built and somebody has paid for it.” I said, “So his argument was that if life has no purpose and design, why should the building have any design?” He said, “That is correct.” I said, “Did he do the same with the foundation?” All of a sudden there was silence. You see, you and I can fool with the infrastructure as much as we would like, but we dare not fool with the foundation because it will call our bluff in a hurry.

(Ravi Zacharius, from his Address to the United Nations’ Prayer Breakfast)

I love this quote and I would commend you to contemplate it a bit.

A bad foundation first becomes visible in a misaligned roof, then slanted walls, then stuff starts breaking down.

This quote is especially relevant in our secular humanist society.  So many of our laws, our values, and the very nature of our society come from Christianity and Biblical values.  Public Education and Public Health are two things that Christianity introduced to the world.  The understanding that “all men are created equal”, a foundational truth behind all America’s laws, is only understood in the context of a loving creator who made us all equally in His image.

Most people today are like this foolish architect, thinking we can fiddle around with the infrastructure and glory in our self-centered creativity in rejection of God, while all along still relying on the firm foundation the Lord has laid.  But what is even more scary is the greater push to reject that very foundation, rejecting that life is sacred, that sex is for marriage, and that truth exists.  We’re breaking the foundation, and I think we’re already starting to see some of the results in some slanted floors, a misaligned roof, and some walls that are slowly beginning to buckle.

One question I have for God: Why create this?

I got this letter this morning and figured I’d respond right away:

Good morning.
I just googled “can God be glorified through bedbugs” and found your article (link to that article). Would you write and tell me how you got rid of them? This is a different kind of suffering. I am having a hard time understanding how the Lord can use this at all. Thanks for sharing your experience.

We had bed bugs two years ago.  You can read more of that story in this post.  It was a very serious trial and strain on our family.  Now that bedbugs are rapidly infesting places across the country, I know more people are interested in getting rid of them.  We got bedbugs from a woman who lived in our neighborhood.  Once they’ve infested a place for long enough their eggs are everywhere and they are super-sticky and are carried by shoes and clothes.  You can get these super sticky eggs on you even in theaters or on the bus.

We noticed we had bed bugs because of small insect bites that would appear in the evening (these bites may take up to 18 hours to appear after you’ve been bitten!).  We thought they were mosquito bites at first.  Once you notice being bitten a lot, you’ve likely got a large infestation on your hands.

Here’s how we got rid of our bed bugs.  It took about a month of extreme diligence and even after that we had a small resurgence of them in a chair about 2 months later (adult bed bugs can stay alive for up to 18 months, sometimes stuck in something, and can pop up when you move or shift things around).  But with the help of the Lord, we got rid of them completely!  God is far bigger than bed bugs (remember, He created them even!)

(Besides this method, which we used, there is also a method of heating an entire house for several days to 120 degrees, which kills the bugs.  This could be done instead of the method below or in addition to it.  It is quite expensive.)

Here’s the steps:

1)  Stay in your bed.  Do not leave your house and do not sleep on the couch.  Don’t have people over.
This is the most difficult part.  I figured out we had bed bugs one night then had to sleep in my bed knowing they’d come out to feed on me.  I did not sleep well.  This is important because the bed bugs will move, so if you sleep on the couch they will infest your couch as well as your bed.  DO NOT go to a hotel, as you’ll just bring them with you and spread them to more people!  Also, this is not the time to have company over!  Do not have people over or they may spread it!  If you live in a multi-dwelling building, let others know so they can protect their bed.

2)  Use insecticide to kill the bugs (Call a pest control specialist!)
Bed bugs need to be directly sprayed with insecticide.  We found that rubbing alcohol also works well in a pinch.  Almost all pest control guys have experience with bed bugs these days.  Get someone in there and spray it down.  They will pull your bed up and tear out the bottom lining to be able to see into the cracks. They will spray liberally all over the creases of the bed and around the bed.  Make sure they are diligent and search your couches and other places you sit as well!

3)  Wash Everything in hot water
We washed literally everything we could in hot water.  They are most likely localized on your bed (because that is where you are) but it is likely a good idea to wash clothes in dressers and such as well.  Be sure to wash your sheets and bed covering multiple times in HOT HOT HOT water.  We threw out our pillows although washing them may have been good enough.

4)  Protect the Bed
This is the essential part.  Bed bugs cannot jump and only crawl.  They also live in little nooks and crannies.  Here’s my recommendations for protecting the bed:

a)  Encase your bed
I recommend you first buy an encasement, which is like a big sealed pillowcase that you put your mattress inside.  An encasement prevents any bedbugs that are inside your bed from getting out and prevents any new bedbugs from getting into your mattress.  We ended up going to a mattress store to buy some that were like $150 a piece (we used two, one for the box spring and one for the mattress).  You can buy cheaper vinyl versions at Walmart, but I’ve heard they rip, which can be disastrous.  I’d recommend not trying to skimp with this step!  Two years later our encasements are doing great and we are thankful they will make it difficult for bed bugs to reestablish another colony on our bed.

b)  Isolate your bed
Again, bed bugs must crawl up your bed, most likely up the feet of your bed but also up a bed-skirt or anything else touching the bed.  Ensure your bed is not touching ANYTHING (walls, dressers, etc.) and make sure nothing on your bed touches the ground.

c)  Fortify your bed
The most important part to protect is the feet of your bed that touch the ground, as that will be the access point now that the encasement is on your bed.  We bought small generic pyrex-like bowls and filled them with  mineral oil.  They get stuck in the mineral oil and eventually die (I can verify that!).  We also covered the legs of the bed with vasoline.  If the bugs get past the mineral oil, they will get stuck in the vasoline (which I can also verify).

They also now make a product that is like sand but is made up of small broken up shells which are sharp enough to pierce a bed bug.  It is called fossil shell dust, diatomaceous earth, or goes by similar names.  You can buy this power and put it around your bed or in between your mattress and box spring.

5)  Be Diligent on cleaning them out
We spent about a half-hour every night and often every morning searching for bed bugs.  I would turn through all our sheets and bedding.  I’d search around the bed and in the couches.  Most all the bugs were killed by the insecticide, but I would often find one or two here or there in random places. We would spray them with alcohol when we found them or crush them.

About two months later we got an outbreak on a glider chair.  We had moved some kids clothes boxes out of the closet and likely knocked a few loose that were stuck there.  I sprayed them with alcohol and then removed the padding and washed it in hot water.

These are my recommendations.  There is LOTS of information on the internet, which I would recommend to you.

Remember, God is not simply far away not doing anything.  God is literally in control of all things.  God sent the bed bugs into your house.  The Bible is clear that it is God’s will that we be sanctified (1 Thess. 4:3).   Remember, this is not just some bellicose God sending you pain.  This is the God who sent His own son to die for all your sins on the cross!  This is the God whose “steadfast love endures forever” (see Psalm 136).

The suffering right now is likely almost unbearable.  I know, I’ve been there.  But God has so much bigger plans, and He has promised to bring us into eternity with him where bed bugs and no other suffering exists.  This is a light and momentary affliction (2 Cor. 4:17), even though at the moment it seems so hard.  Trust in the Lord!  He is Savior!

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Tim. 4:18)

Let’s see what scripture says about this:

¹⁰His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
¹¹but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:10)

or how about:

²³Thus says the LORD: ”Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, ²⁴but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiahs 9:23-24)

God is NOT glorified by these athletes if they are not actively seeking Him and giving Him the glory.  Otherwise they are playing for themselves, to lift up their own name, to make their own selves great… and this is appalling to God.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5)

Maybe we should think twice about celebrating, honoring, applauding, and enjoying those people God is opposed to.

CJ Mahaney has a good e-book on how we should play sports in our own lives and how using it for our own glory is a waste: Don’t Waste Your Sports

By faith Enoch was taken up (out of this world) so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:5-6 ESV, comments mine)

I once had a coworker who had his car stolen.  He was actually quite happy about it because he didn’t want the car and as it turns out he got more money back from insurance than he could have gotten if he would have sold it.  For him, being robbed resulted in getting a better car without a loss, so the outcome was greater than the loss and hence he was happy about it.

We read about a similar situation in the book of Hebrews, where the author is addressing his readers and referencing how they lived when they had first become believers in Jesus Christ:

34 For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.  (Hebrews 10:34)

Go back and read the verse again.

Now picture something you value greatly.  Maybe your house or your wedding ring or your bed or your stock portfolio.  Now picture it being “plundered”, “robbed”, “seized”.  It is taken away from you without recompense.  How would you feel?

Would you be “joyfully accepting” what has happened?  Would the outcome of the situation – having a greater possession in heaven - outweigh the loss and result in joy?

Is the reality of heaven greater and more desirable and more exciting and more pleasing to us than the reality of our worldly possessions?  This is a hard word for me and prompts even deeper reflection on what I am truly setting my heart on.

This week we went through this verse with my mentor group.  It even more finely highlights the reality of heaven for us:

29 This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, 30 and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, 31 and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

Let me reiterate a truth worthy of dwelling on every day:

the present form of this world is passing away

or as the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 13:14:

For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

I’m not here to debate his politics, I’m here to point out that Glenn Beck is not a mouthpiece of God and hence should be treated with much skepticism because he is not proclaiming truth.

I believe in prophecy

First off, I need to say I believe in prophecy.  God continues to send prophets to direct His people (Ephesians 4:10).  Prophets direct people to God.  Sometimes this is by foretelling coming events (as with Agabus and the famine in Acts 11:28), but most often it is encouraging others toward Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 14:3).

With the understanding that prophets are for today, I will now point out why Glenn Beck is clearly not a prophet.

Glenn Beck lacks the Fruit of the Spirit

Prophecy comes from the Holy Spirit.  As the Apostle Peter tells us:

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

(2 Peter 1:21 ESV)

So if Glenn Beck was a prophet of God, he would be a prophet by the Holy Spirit.  Now, the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives is obvious, as the Apostle Paul tells us:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV)

Do any of those adjectives describe Glenn Beck?  Is he patient?  No, he is rude and interrupting.  Is he gentle?  Not a bit, instead he is quite rough with people.  Is he kind?  No, he spends most of his time slandering.  Is he peaceful?  No, he’s quite violent and aggressive with his words and actions.  Is he joyful?  He mostly sounds angry and upset, not joyful.  Is he loving?  No, he promotes quite a lot of hate.  Don’t believe me?  Watch this group of clips of his show.

Glenn Beck inspires anger and fear, not peace in God

Everyone I know who watches Beck is angry with our government and fearful about our future (I’ve written previously about how we shouldn’t fearfully store up canned goods).  But here is the truth:  God is in complete control of absolutely everything, including our government (Rom. 13:1).  God is good and trustworthy (Ps. 145:13).  And God promises to bring His beloved safely into His Heavenly Kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18).  Given these truths, God’s message to us in the Bible is clear:  Do not be anxious! (Matt. 6:27, 1 Cor. 7:32, Phil. 4:6).

Glenn Beck worships America and not Jesus Christ

Glenn Beck promotes what I’ve coined as “Americolatry” (see my post on Justin Taylor’s blog).  This is the worship of America as our savior.  It sounds like this:  ”If we just get the right government in place (or go back to the constitution, or whatever else is on the agenda) THEN everything will be perfect, THEN we’ll achieve heaven on earth”.  Glenn Beck (along with many others) uses God as a stepping stool to get what he really wants (I’ve written previously about using God to get other desires).  Our true heart’s desire demonstrates what really is our God, and Glenn makes his heart’s desire very obvious.

Glenn Beck promotes war

I’ve written previously about how God hates violence.  God really does hate violence.  Glenn Beck talks about invading countries (Britain, the Middle East, etc.) often.  A prophet of God would point people to following God’s heart, not straying from it to murder and kill.

What should our reaction be?

A few things.  First, we should pray for Glenn Beck, as he clearly needs God to save him from dead works and show him that only Jesus can save.  Second, we should gently and loving inform others about Satan’s lies propagated through Beck.  Third, we should live out a peaceful faith in Jesus Christ by showing dependence on Him and not anxiety about our government.  Finally, we should pray and thank God that He is in sovereign control of all things and praise Him that one day He will set up an eternal kingdom with no more pain, crying, mourning, or death (or politics!).

Monkey see monkey do. We're surrounded by people (including Christians) who are leaning on their own understanding, so we end up doing it too!

All Christians ask this question.  Most of you right now are desperately seeking an answer to this question.  Whether its about marriage, buying a house, finding a job, leaving a job, finding a church, befriending something, going overseas for missions, or whatever the question at hand might be.

Here’s the truth:  God is speaking to you.  I’ve written previously on “How do I know if God is speaking to me?” (go read it, its a popular post).

The problem is:  you’re not listening.

I know this because every time I’ve wrestled with one of these big questions, I’m trying to seek my own will and asking God to do it for me rather than listening to God and doing His will.  Until we are following God’s will generally for us, we cannot hear from God any specific direction, mainly because God is more concerned with our heart and faith in Him rather than specifically what we do.  So our first task is to be abiding in God through following His will.

So what is God’s will for us?  God’s will is for us to allow Him to work through us by the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Paul makes this very clear in two passages of 1 Thessalonians:

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

(1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

The first thing the Holy Spirit does is draw us to holiness (hey he’s the HOLY Spirit right!).  God’s will is to draw us away from indulging the flesh, loving the world, and being enslaved by Satan’s lies.  God’s will is for us to yield to the Spirit, who desires to do these things in us.  We cannot do them on our own, but the Holy Spirit can and will do them, as it is the will of the Father.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17)

The second thing the Holy Spirit does is draw us to God.  So first He draws us away from ourselves, this world, and all that is evil (especially Satan) and then draws us TO God.  Three outward directions of that are rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving.  The Holy Spirit in His perfect union with the Father already rejoices in God, communicates (prays) to God, and expresses thanksgiving to God, and He brings us to join Him in that.  Quenching the Spirit is when we follow our own will and choose to be angry or upset rather than rejoice, to fear or be self-focused rather than pray, and to be demanding and selfish rather than thankful.  We cannot do this on our own.  We cannot be thankful for cancer, rejoice in suffering, or pray with all the world’s distractions, but the Holy Spirit can and will do it in us.

So what is God’s will for you?  HAVE FAITH in Him.  Yield to the Holy Spirit.  Have the faith to allow the Spirit to permeate through your life, to sanctify you by replacing sin with rejoicing, prayer, and thanksgiving.  Once you are in that place of trusting God, the path forward (with your job, with your spouse, with your house, with your life, etc.) will suddenly make sense.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

(Proverbs 3:5; Proverbs 3:6)

Luke as a Fireman. He's not smiling because he's had candy and he's tired.

A week ago I wrote a post on “Is it okay for ‘boys to be boys’“?  In it, I detailed how our culture declares that violence is the way of boys and men but that God declares otherwise (also as I’ve written previously, God hates violence).

So here’s a question for you:  would it be okay to dress up our boys as Hitler for Halloween?  Maybe not now, but let’s say… in like 200 years, long past the time anyone could remember the atrocities.  Would it be okay then, in 2211, to dress up a 3-year-old as the Nazi dictator?  He could do cute goose-marches and have a fake Hitler mustache.  Would that be cute?

Or is that an appalling notion, to dress up a child and allow him to pretend to be one of greatest murders in human history?  I think it is.

Should we dress up 3-year-old boys as Crypt gang members?  How about as Ted Bundy, the serial murder?  Or how about as a child molester?  Or how about as Al Qaeda terrorists?

Why then, do we dress up our boys as vikings, who were murdering, pillaging, and raping villains who terrorized villages, raped nuns, burned churches and monasteries, and killed thousands of innocent people?  We laugh when they blow the viking horn, yet thousands of our Christian brothers and sisters in years past would have run in terror, knowing their children will be killed, their wives raped, and their possessions stolen.  Or why then do we dress up our boys as ninjas, who are essentially hired murderers?  Or why do we dress up our boys as pirates, glorifying thievery, murder, and selfishness.  Thousands of people in our world today still experience the terror of pirates, especially in the Arabian sea and even still in the Caribbean.  Vikings, Ninjas, and Pirates have been glorified and “toned down” by our culture.  That does not make what they did or what they represent any better.

Will dressing them up as a viking make them a murderer later in life?  Probably not.  Will it lead them away from following God’s will for them in the future?  Possibly.  Does it dishonor God right now?  Absolutely.

A Better Vision For Our Boys

We should shepherd our boys in their play as well as in their make-believe dress-up times.  We want them to make-believe to be men after God’s heart, men who are “not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money” (1 Tim. 3:3).  We want men who are “well thought of by outsiders”, not men who are a danger to all those around them.  We want our boys to be men who are “hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined” (Ti. 1:8).  Our boys should not seek to do violence against the “bad guys” (sending them to hell) but rather to instruct them in the trustworthy word of Jesus Christ.  When we are dressing our children up and shepherding them through imagination and play, let’s us always consider how to use those opportunities to paint a better vision for them than what our culture is offering!

Tonight I also came across a great website that drives home the point that Overpopulation is a Myth.  I LOVE their tagline:

Overpopulation is a myth. This myth has caused human rights abuses around the world, forced population control, denied medicines to the poor, and targeted attacks on ethnic minorities and women.

Check it out: http://overpopulationisamyth.com/

Maybe we should make a “Keep your Lies off my body” bumper sticker.

————————————————————————————–

Ministry model innovation is the new strategic imperative—by now, this is becoming more generally acknowledged (examples: the Willow Reveal Study, the Missional movement, and Organic Church movement). But churches routinely fail at self-reinvention because they are so busy pedaling the bicycle of their current ministry models they leave no time, attention, or resources to design, prototype, and test new ones. Even where investments are made in innovation, those efforts are focused on new programs and services delivered through today’s ministry models and on making the current models operate more efficiently. These are important to do, without doubt. But they are hardly sufficient in the highly networked 21st century, when ministry models don’t last as long as they used to and incumbents increasingly face the risk of disruption.

Having watched many churches over the years as they recognize the imperative to change, yet somehow stay stuck in their old grooves, I’ve noted some patterns in their experience. Here, I think, are five important reasons that churches fail at ministry model innovation:

Pastors don’t really want a new ministry model.
The most obvious reason churches fail at ministry model innovation is because Pastors and their senior leadership teams don’t want to explore new ministry models. They are content with the current one and want everyone in the organization focused on how to improve its performance. The clearest indication that a church and its leaders aren’t interested in ministry model innovation is when any discussion about emerging ministry models and disruptive innovation is viewed and treated solely as a competitive threat (or as theological error).

Program is king. Nothing else matters.
The lines are blurring between program and service (in other words, blurring between Church programs and parachurch “service” ministries). Ministry models that are exclusively focused on programs are vulnerable to being disrupted by models that blend both program and service to significantly change the value proposition. Think iPod. Apple didn’t bring the first mp3 player to the market. It changed the way we experienced music by delivering on a value proposition that bundled product (iPod) and service (iTunes). Industrial era thinking and NAICS industry codes reinforce the habit of characterizing a ministry model as being either program or service focused, but this is a false choice constraining ministry model innovation (as in, the church does “X” and not “Y”, parachurch does “Y” and not “X”). Sometimes a proud program heritage can get in the way.

Cannibalization is off the table.
Part of the thinking by line executives in most organizations goes like this: “the last thing we want to do is risk any of our current ministry. It’s hard enough being at war with the competition in a battle for market share (of people’s attention and time). Why would we want to compete against ourselves?” These sentiments tend to be voiced whenever new ministry model ideas threaten to cannibalize existing programs. When pastors look at new opportunities they see them through the lens of the current ministry model and view them as competing with the current way the organization creates, delivers, and captures value. Organizations fail at ministry model innovation because they blindly take cannibalization off the table even if a new ministry model may have significant upside potential.

ROI hurdles are too aggressive for fledgling models.
There’s no easier way to prevent ministry model innovation than to assess potential new models using the same economics and financial metrics as projects to improve the performance of the current ministry model (in other words: butts in seats, numbers in small groups, take-in with offering, baptisms, meals served, etc.). Financial metrics utilized to assess alternative projects to improve the current ministry model reflect the cost structure and required returns to sustain and grow in the context of today’s model. New ministry models are likely to have very different economics and must be assessed in that context (such as: number of those being actively discipled, number of people sharing Christ, number of people fully helped out of poverty). Most new ministry models will be dismissed out of hand if judged by the economics and constrained by the ROI requirements of the current model. Churches fail at ministry model innovation because they apply the wrong financial lens in assessing the attractiveness and feasibility of new ministry models.

Rogues and renegades get no respect.
Many organizations fail at ministry model innovation because they shoot their renegades (apostolic leaders, prophetic voices, and evangelists). Or, if they don’t shoot them, they wear them down until they leave (and go into parachurch ministry). Ministry model innovators go against the traditional church grain. They see entirely new ways to create, deliver, and plant the Gospel. If those that are tasked with sustaining and growing today’s ministry models are allowed to reject those with the perspective and insight to help design the next one, ministry model innovation efforts will fail. Churches must learn to celebrate and support people within the organization who are willing to challenge the status quo, to bring totally different perspectives on delivering value to the table, and to take experimental risks to explore new models.

(All credit given to Saul Kaplan for this article and the Lord Jesus Christ for inspiration to change a few pieces of it.  There, of course, are limits to all of these statements but I found it helpful as a way to think about our church paradigms.)

Books I highly recommend on this subject of church model innovation:

Launching Missional Communities: A Field Guide

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Deliberate Simplicity: How the Church Does More by Doing Less (Leadership Network Innovation Series)

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Church 3.0: Upgrades for the Future of the Church (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series)

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AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church (Exponential Series)

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The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church

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