Outside Help

The past 40 years of new technique, programs, vision casting, leadership models, small group -cell group - home group launches, seeker-sensitive, purpose-driven, post-modern, emerging, gen x, contagious, christianity has resulted in... (drumrollll...)... absolutely nothing! Zero net growth! Flatline!

With no shame, in fact downright aggrogance, we roll out the next new paradigm. We WILL grow a church! With new target demographic...and the promise of madison avenue prophets...the next campaign is bound to grow a church and reap a disciple.

So we turned church into family centers ... and divorce among believers increased!

Now attendence in one church might mushroom when the next new promotional pack rolls out, (and when it does we all scurry to clone the campaign in our marketplace). But the numbers tell us the growth is one of migration not mission. We are winning the war...for transplants...not the transformed.

Still we continue to formulate new strategies empowered by even more dazzling, eye-popping visuals and ear-tingling verbiage...empty as ever of life and power.

Now that is the very definition of insantity.

One problem is that our consultants are as deep in the quagmire as any of us. We all have been raised and baptized into a church culture breast-fed on consumerism, fabricated faith and a gospel that serves merely to cloak the American Dream.

Our plan? Go outside the firm, outside the machine, outside the age. We needed input outside of ourselves. So we called on those whose words have outlived the bartering of days gone by. Whose words were otherworldly with no interest in the current market price. Words of no value to the marketeers of our day.

We reached into the past because the future voices are so rare, so silent. (They would be so valuable. Telling of the time in history (our time) when the love for things, the doctrine of prosperity and the metaphysics of faith brought in the age of cosmopolitan christiantity.)

We brought in church consultant, 'Valiant Voice Ministries'. It might take us a while to digest their findings considering their first set of proposals.

1. "They who preach the gospel must not think of themselves as public relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the world. They must not imagine themselves commissioned to make Christ acceptable to big business, the press, the world of sports, or modern education. They were not called to be diplomats but prophets, and their message is not one of compromise but ultimatum." A.W.T.

2. While “purpose-driven” sounds better than “market-driven” it is basically the same thing.

3. New paradigm churches, are identified by a philosophy of ministry intentionally designed to effect numerical growth. More attention is paid to market strategy, business technique, and demographics than to New Testament instruction...bucket loads of consumer design and only passing references to the book of Acts or any other Scripture for that matter.

4. "That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which God abhors most." C.H.S.

Yes. This may take some time to digest.

'Whatever World Assembly'

Faced now with the challenge of making consumer-driven Christians, disciples, the staff of Whatever World Assembly gathers for another brainstorm meeting. How can we bring self-seeking believers into the self-denying, cross-carrying life of a follower of Christ?

The answer can't be too far off. It was after all, our ministries, our techniques, our packaging and pandering that created this new breed of believer. The solution must be close at hand. We know how to make 'em - the plans to reverse the process must be laying around here somewhere. (I smell a new Maxwell title right around the corner. "Leading Quail-Hungry Christians Out of the Wild, or, How to show the way - while you're choking on feathers.")

How could we have not seen it coming? We've been coached insistently on how to shape our ministries and messages into a fashionable faith for the Consumer Christian.

Who hasn't rolled out the Saddleback template? During it's hay day '40 Days of Purpose' banners hung from nearly every church in town. Ahh, Whatever World Assembly has no prophets, just marketing outlets.

Who hasn't applied the 'new math' drawn out by Barna's calculations. The numbers don't lie. the conclusion, though, do.

Rick Warren seems like nice guy but to base a philosophy, a ministry approach, a worship enviroment and message content on polling data gathered throughout neighborhoods asking, "What do you want church to look like?"... and then implementing it...! Man, we are some mad scientists.

Of course you'll fill the seats!...with consumers!
And they are all pretty s a v v y about the whole 'bait and switch' thing.

Our entire church growth strategy has been based on catering to the consumer. - and you've got to keep catering if you intend to keep them coming. Christian or Carnal, Disciple or Dabbler can all feel pretty comfortable at Whatever World Assembly.


Calls to lead these sweet church-goers into discipleship is certainly what is needed. But it's not going to be pretty.

What might be most troubling?...If we weren't keen enough to realize what kind of 'christian' we were creating - how can we assume to be the agents to bring Christ to the fore of the church-goer's heart and mind?...since it appears, He was so far from ours?

We may need to get some outside help.

Never Whatever!

Some weeks ago I offered a few profound insights to my admiring offspring. Their response?

"Whatever."

After my fifteen minute tirade as to why it is never 'whatever' we calmly decided to ban the use of the flippant phrase from our vocab.

‘Whatever’ is lazy, disrespectful but most of all, and this is why we want it squashed from our daily discourse, ‘whatever’ says, "I've decided to live in a world where nothing is certain, nothing is absolutely true, anything is acceptable and anything rejectable."

Ever heard it from a kid doing his homework? “Hey Johnny, this answer is wrong. 3x3 is 9 not 11.”

“Whatever.”

The worlds of science and math abhor the stupidity (oops, that's another banned word) of relativism. The shrug of ‘whatever’ belittles and defies reality.

When it comes to matters as critical, as constant, and as absolute as God, ‘whatever’ can be deadly!

You got your truth I got mine. You say it’s wrong, I say it’s okay.

Jesus saves? ‘Whatever.’

Jesus is 3 x 3. (and I don't mean in the Benny Hinn way...who claims each member of the trinity has a trinity...but that discussion is for another time...and with Martians.)

The resurrection of Jesus is a frustrating fact in 'Whatever World'. In its light 'whatever' is anti-truth.

“The times of ignorance (‘whatever’) God overlooked, but...He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world...by a Man whom He has appointed; and has given assurance to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:30)

Whatever World and its citizens have, with lazy, pragmatic ease populated school boards, congress, courts and, most astonishingly, pew and pulpit.

Welcome to Whatever World Assembly. Come be a part of...whatever it is you think it should be.