A Story For Traditional Churches that are not on the Edge.

A Metaphor for Making Disciples by Shifting Models of Ministry...

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time...

there was a church that wasn't sure what it wanted. (Little did they know that they were asking the wrong question!) What they said was that they wanted to serve the Son of our Lord God. However, you could tell by what they did that their building was rather important to them. And you could tell by the questions they asked potential pastoral candidates that came to their church, that they wanted someone to take care of them.

Of course they always felt that their concern for the building and their desire to be taken care of were all in line with what the Son wanted for them as a Church. And yet they knew they didn't feel the excitement that they read about in the book of Acts. They chalked this up to history. That was then, this is now.

They couldn't put their fingers on it, but for some reason they just didn't seem to like most of the candidates that they spoke to. Each reassured them that their building and their friends and relatives would be well taken care of. However, none of these candidates seemed to resonate with the search committee.

Then one day a single mom, who's children were grown and on their own, came in for an interview. Although she wasn't saying some of the things the committee either had hoped for or expected, they seemed captivated by her enthusiasm for her sense of purpose. She actually had a passion for her faith and that passion seemed to rub off on those she spoke to.

When the search committe went home that night, they remembered, more than anything or any other interview, her challenge to be all that God wanted them to be. They had little idea what that meant, but they knew it made them feel alive.

After some excited discussion among the search committee folks, they had to admit that this single mom gave them hope. One person commented: "Maybe if she were called to serve our church, we wouldn't be doing this search every 3 to 4 years as has been our 'tradition'!" The committee realized that most of the other candadates were pretty much carbon copies of others they had called in the past and after 3 to 4 years these pastors moved on. So, the church went looking for a new pastor, once again.

Here is how one member of this church remembers what happened next:

Her first month of sermons were about: "Getting Ready!" She said she believed that God's 21 century Pentecost was alreay spreading around the world and when it hits the shores of America, we had better be ready. It was obvious that we weren't ready now. Why if 100 people showed up at our door the only way we could involve them in the life of the church, was at worship (if we had room) and when we pass the plate! (They could put their money in it!) She helped us to see quite clearly that we were not ready for a present day Pentecost.

Next she shared with us how Jesus had made a difference in her life. There was something about her sharing her Faith Story with us that made us want to follow Jesus too. She also said, "I need to continue to tell you my story of faith and I want to hear your stories of faith. But I especially want to hear how your relationship is coming with our Lord Jesus Christ." Well, that raised the bar. If I was going to tell my story about my relationship with Jesus, I guess I had to continue to develope that relationship with Jesus. Looks like "once and done" faith isn't going to cut it around here anymore!

None of us expected a present day Pentecost, so we didn't really think that a growing relationship with Jesus would matter. She also pointed out that our lack of "prepairedness" was not due to past clergy or the unfaithfulness of the faithful in the pew or even the fault of the denomination. The problem was the System of ministry we were using.

She told us to open our Bibles to Exodus 18 and proceeded to read and explain to us the Biblical Foundation for her comments, the story of Moses and Jethro. The short version is that Jethro was trying to get rid of his daughter and her two audacious sons, his grandchildren. (To be fair to the boys, I think anyone would be a little audacious with names like: "I have become an alien in a foreign land" and "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh." Can you imagine recess around the sheep pens? They must have taken a verbal "bleating!")

But I digress, A short visit was one thing, but they had overstayed their welcome! And when Jethro found that Moses didn't have time for them, since he was answering people's questions from morning till night, Jethro realized he had better do something or be stuck with his daughter and her kids for I'd say... about 40 years!

Our new pastor pointed out that the church of today acted very much like the early Moses. We hire someone to answer our questions and care for us and our friends. When we don't get our way, and depending upon how close we are to the nucleaus of the church fathers and mothers, we either leave (if we are not close) or we complain (if we are sort of close) or we try to get rid of the pastor that slighted us (if we are very close).

Each of us could think of situations that fit her discription to a tea. And while we didn't want to admit it, she certainly had our attention. Her proposal was based upon the steps that Jethro and Moses took to train leaders of 10s, 50s, 100s, etc. She outlined them this way:

Phase I:

• Pastoral Mentoring:

  • She said that the first thing we would notice that anything that she did as a Pastor, she would train others (with the gifts and call) to do -- so that, she could move on to other areas of ministry. Some of the areas she would be mentoring others for included:
  • Visiting the Hospitals
  • Visiting those at Home or in Nursing Homes
  • Preaching - Her first goal was to have 1 Sunday a month where a member of the congregation shared about how God has touched their lives (what Jesus means to them)
  • Worship Preparation - would be designed by a trained Team
  • Building Administration - would be the responsibility of a retired member with the gifts and call

While this raised some eyebrows, people realized at some level, that their needs would still be addressed. Maybe at first by the pastor and her mentorees and later by those with the gifts and call for that ministry. She pointed out that when it became apparent by the skills and abilities of those she was mentoring, that they would be dedicated, during a Worship service, for the ministry that God seemed to gift and call them for.

This was obviously not a filling of empty spaces or roles. She noted that even if we saw a ministry that needed our attention, if there was no one with the gifts and call to focus on that ministry, that we would wait and pray and depend upon God to fill that gap. (We had experienced many "gaps" with past pastors. However we felt it was the failings of the pastors that something didtn't happen. She was suggesting that it may have been because we didn't pray for it and so God didn't give it birth. Don't you just hate it when stuff you blamed others for [pastors, God, someone] you one day realize may not have materialized because you failed to take the request before God! Ouch!)

Next in the outline came:

• Devotion: (Ex. 18:10-12) (Prayer, Praise, Worship)

  • She wanted those folks who loved to pray to see her after church. She said the real battle was a spiritual battle and those who loved to pray (Intecessors) held the key to success. That was because while most of us would work in the "visible world", these Intercessors would be working in the "Invisible world" with God, to make our way smooth in the visible world.
  • She wanted all of us to pray for our neighbors. Especially if we didn't like them or didn't know their names! She was open enough to admit that in the last place she lived, there were some neighbors who's names she didn't know, until she took the time to pray for them.
  • She wanted some of us to form triads when we go out to eat or shop or whatever in the community. Instead of chatting with one another our responsibility was to listen to the needs that those in the community seemed to be concerned about or the needs they were struggling with personally. Then we were to find a place to share what we heard and to pray for those people and their needs.
  • Finally she said she must insist that we run any group or meeting or event using the formula that the Early Church used (as outlined in Acts 2:42) She said that from now on, any group she was involved in would focus first on God, then on the concerns of one-another, and finally on the Tasks at hand. And before leaving we would be given an opportunity to share our prayer concerns for one another (in 2's) and then all together we would close with the Lord's Prayer.

No one had ever challenged us with specific things to do or be involved with and certainly not with the balance between both church and community. We knew something was different, and I'm sure many of us had some concerns, but we didn't voice them. How could we! She didn't ask us to do much of anything except to PRAY. What was embarrassing was that we were a church and we hadn't been praying for one another or our community.

• Discipleship: (Ex. 18: 20-25) (Training)

  • With the extra time she would have after getting gifted and called folks to do some of the "pastoral" ministry, she planned to start an Alpha program -- focus on Faith. (For those of use still having trouble with the idea that we might not see the pastor in the hosptial after 3 to 6 months, she pointed out that Jesus spent most of his time working with a leadership core, the 12. Darn, Biblical precedents once again. I hate it when she does that!)
  • This first Alpha program was only open to those who would consider being leaders on future Alpha courses. So the first Alpha Team would experience the course and then they would offer it to others.
  • After the Alpha Leaders ran their first course (and gathered more leaders) she planned to take a few of the original Alpha Leaders to experience the Omega course -- focus on gifts and call. Folks in this course would experience many different ways to listen to God so that once they became aware of their gifts, it would be easier for them to hear when and where God might want them to use those gifts - what she referred to as one's call.
  • She also pointed out that this Adult Spiritual Formation process would be the place where a number of past teaching points would come together. That is she was proposing that:
    • Confirmation
    • New Member Assimilation
    • Transfer Membership
    • Membership Renewal
    • Teacher Training
    • Youth Leaders Training
    • Small Group Leaders Training
    • Mentoring Leaders Training
  • Would all be expected to take the Alpha course to be able to minister at this church and that
    • Marriage preparation
    • Baptism preparation
    • Committee Selections (future Team selections)
  • Would all be expected to at least be introduced to the first Alpha presentation before setting any dates for marriages or baptisms and before committee members sat in on their first meetings. (As our church grew into this process, gradually even in these areas, folks would be expected to take the whole Alpha course. Gradually we realized that only those that had been through the Alpha and Omega process were the ones asking to be Married or Baptized in our church. The commitment level began to set itself!)

Well, that certainly raised the bar. And yet somehow she made this all seem that this was just the natural process for a Disciple that wanted to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. She had plenty of Biblical support. Why the Disciples spent three years with Jesus and she was only asking our friends wanting Baptism and Marriage to view one video or for those who wanted to be leaders in the church, to take part in one 12 week course.

(After about a year, about 80% of the congregation had taken at least the Alpha course, so it seemed natural for anyone desiring a ceremony or wanting to be a part of the leadership team to have taken this foundational course. It was like, "if you want to be involved in this church, here is what is expected of you" without anyone making a big deal about it. It was just assumed that you would want to go through the process. Those that refused just didn't seem to have what it took to be a leader in this church, so they were not chosen. Those that wanted a ceremony preformed, knew from the initial letter they received that our new tradition at this church was Discipling. You want a Baptism or Wedding at a Discipling Church, then you take part in Discipling!)

I hated to admit it, but she was making some sense. As a matter of fact, she kind of made us feel funny that we had allowed people to lead with little or no leadership training in the past. She pointed out that we had done them a disservice by putting them in roles and positions with very little of the Spiritual foundation needed to be Faithful in those positions.

You know, so far there was very little to take offense with. Our "care" needs were being addressed, she was asking us to pray and she wanted us to develop a "System of Disicipleship" so our folks could continue to grow spiritually and to realize why God had planted them on this lovely blue planet anyway. Who could argue with this.

Why, we were actually kind of excited about having a plan of action. In the past we just seemed to move from one thing to another, no real direction, just the putting out of fires whenever they seemed to flar up! She was offering us a path to travel and one that seemed to me to be going in the same direction that God was moving.

We were actually beginning to realize that the people and pastor relationship wasn't about what "we" wanted, it was about what "God" wanted in the life of our church.

Finally she pointed out the need for:

• Deployment: (Ex. 18:26) (Ministry Support)

  • With future folks realizing their gifts and call, we would need some sort of Encouragement and Support structures to help them respond to God's call.
  • This might take the form of someone being involved in a Small Group for support and prayer in their ministry
  • Others might like a mentor to share with and pray with
  • Others might just gather their own group of like-minded folks who were as passionate about their cause and call as they were themselves
  • Some of these folks might find ways to minister Within the church:
    • Alpha / Omega Leaders
    • Small Group Leaders & Mentors
    • Leaders of Children / Youth
    • Team leaders and participants for specific needs
      • Hospitality Teams
      • Telecare Teams
      • Others...
  • Some of these folks might find ways to minister Outside the church:
    • Habitat for Humanity
    • Heifer Project International
    • Issues of Justice and Peace
    • Local Needs and Concerns (remember the Triads!)
    • Community / State / National / World issues or call

As I reflect back on that first Phase, I began to realize that if 100 or 300 or even 3000 people showed up today at our church (the new Pentecost) we had a process in place, a Biblical System, that could help them to grow in their faith and respond to God's call. We no longer were restricted to the number of people we could put on committees and who could teach in the Sunday School. Suddenly there were as many possibilities for ministry as there are people with gifts and a willingness to use them. I really felt like we were "Getting Ready."

This was all she told us for the time being. I guess she figured that we had enough to get use to and plenty of work to do. We had a plan and our goal was to put into place the steps we found in Ex. 18 of Devotion, Discipleship, and Deployment. Had she gone any further, I'm afraid it would have been like giving a class the final exam on the first day of school. Too overwhelming.

There is more to the story and since the first Phase is behind us now, allow me to summarize what happened next.

Although it wasn't publized for about a year, early on our new pastor told some of us about Phase II and III. She seemed to feel that once a church focused first on Devotion to God (prayer) and then had a Discipling & Deployment process in place, that they might be more open to the idea of starting a second Worship serivce. One that was what she called "culturally relevant." Although we didn't know what that meant right away, we figured it didn't mean "organ" music!

The way it was presented to the church as a whole, after about a year or so of the Discipling process, was that maybe it was time we began to reach out to the community in terms of worship. (Some of our gifted folks had already found ways to begin ministries in the community.) We were told that potential believers would not respond to our service of worship as it was currently conducted. Now you can imagine that even after our focus on God in prayer, growing in the Alpha and Omega courses, and using our gifts in ministry, that we were still beginning to squirm when someone began to suggest that we had to change the way we did worship.

Our pastor noted that hymnals and organ music and even taking up collections were not "culturally relevent" to the next generation. Was she suggesting that to really follow Jesus we had to change our experience of Worship?

Thank goodness no! She said we could go that route, or we could prayerfully, emotionally, spiritually, and financially support a second worship service that would happen at a different time of the day (or on a different day of the week) and would be run by a Team of gifted folks.

Phase II

We were happy to hear that we didn't have to change our service, so we got right behind the idea of creating a second service of worship. We began by using the same Steps we used to "Get Ready!" We started with Devotion, that is praying for this service and for God to raise the Team of gifted folks to run it.

Once we felt our prayers were answered, our team went through a Discipleing process (or training) specifically designed for this ministry. For the most part they read books, attended other services of worship that were trying to be "culturally revelavent" purchased video tapes of contemporary worship experiences, and attended two or three seminars to see the different ways folks were currently doing worship. Part of the training included meeting each Sunday evening to practice together. They praticed for about 3 weeks and then invited their friends to come and join them for worship on the 4th week. After the service they would sit around with their friends and ask them what they liked and didn't like to get an idea of how to respond to this generation.

One comment they continued to hear was that folks really like the "treasure box" (which had the text:

• Lev. 15:29 On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting.
• Lev. 16:7 He shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting;

written out on it). They liked it at the door to the worship room, instead of the taking up of a "collection". Somehow they felt they were really giving their money to God instead of to an institution that they were not familiar with, yet! Hopefully they would come to feel as through this was no institution, but rather the "Body of Christ."

They continued this 3 weeks of practice followed by a service of worship on the 4th week, that now their friends were inviting their friends to! After about 6 months of this, those monthly services were drawing about 100 people. Maybe it was time to have a weekly service. The Team was ready, they had had enough practice. They had more people involved in leadership since each Worship Sunday they would ask for more volunteers to help out. It was time to Deploy or start a weekly Second Worship Service.

Once the Team decided to move to weekly services, they put into place the Steps of Devotion, Discipleship, and Deployment for the people that came to this new worship service. New Teams for Prayer, Training, and Ministry Support were created, new leaders were trained and the beat went on!

At first many of us were thinking: "Oh great more people, more money, more growth and excitement." That was when this new pastor (who wasn't so new anymore) pointed out many of the potential problems we would face if we tried to "incorporate" this group into the life of our church. This was our "reality" check!

• First she would have to figure out the appropriate leadership style for a church of 250 instead of a leadership style for a church of 150.
• Second we would have to share leadership (which wasn't a big problem since many of us were getting tired of the committe work as it was) but she pointed out that this "next" generation doesn't do committees. And if they did, they would have "very different" ways of doing things. Probably ways we wouldn't understand and certainly ways we wouldn't care for!
• Third, we really didn't have room to have both groups together at one time (although we did rent out a school gym one Easter early on to combine our communities of faith together in worship - for just that one Sunday! There is currently some talk about making this a yearly tradition. We're thinking about moving the date to Penetcost Sunday!)
• Fourth, she noted how "planted" churches are the best form of evangelism there is currently. And if we would support them prayfully, emotionally, spiritually, and financially (for 3 to 6 months) that we could be a Mother Church and plant a daughter church either in our own space or if they choose in some other location around town.

Phase III

The beauty of what she was suggesting is that we could have the thrill of being a part of what God is doing by providing the foundation for another church to plant itself, without all the trama that combining the two groups would inevitably bring. This was sounding too easy to be ture. Faithful to our call as the Body of Christ without all the growing pains!

She likened it to having a child (the early worship Team and monthly worship) helping them grow into adulthood (the weekly services and the Steps: Devotion, Discipleship, & Deployment) and then allowing them to move out on their own to take on the world. She really helped to sell the point when she shared with us what it was like to have one of her sons return home after college to live with her. Different values, different beliefs, different gifts and call, all of which led to arguments and fighting and bad feelings and heartache. Many of us knew exactly what she was talking about.

"But once he was out on his own," she continued, "our friendship seemed to blossom. He would call and share how things were going. Occasionally we would meet for a meal together. And all in all, we each were following different paths, but the same pathmaker."

For this "planting phase" we took the same steps as before: Devotion (Prayer) for the new chruch to be; Discipleship (Training) we helped them to send a whole church planting team to some "Planting a New Church" seminars and some "boot camps" for church planters. Not everyone on the team could make everything, but they pooled their learnings and moved on together.; Deployment (Ministry & Support) finally the day came for them to move out on their own. We had a big celebration where we all invited friends, we Worshiped (some of their stuff some of ours), we listened to how lives were changed, and how Jesus had made a difference in people's lives, we heard how folks were using their gifts in the church and in the community, we were filled with joy and life and love. We praised God for what God had done in our midst!

So... here we are today. Since that first "run through" we have given birth to 4 churches. Because of Phase I we have the maturity in Christ to give birth. We find the Second Service of Worship as the key to this successful delivery. We nurture and help this little one to grow in Spirit and in numbers. Then the time comes, and we all seem to know instinctively when it's time, we gently shove that young adult out the door so they can go on with the life that God is calling them to and we can go about making more babies!

Our Pastor is no longer with us, but that is OK. You see, she showed us the process and helped to put together the Phases and the Steps so that our: