Tag: Church

  • The church is shifting

    Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet a ton of people for the first time. Convention attendees, authors, speakers, and ministry leaders from across the US. And it was interesting because there was a phenomenon among the conversations that I found fascinating.

    Somewhere in the conversation there would always be this thread of “do you see what is working in youth ministry?” In other words… “what’s worked for me in the past is presently not working.”

    Here’s how I described what I’m seeing in my work.

    There is a shift towards the small. While I see large ministries getting larger, more organized, and reaching more masses of people than ever their successes come via the small and intimate settings of community, micro-community, and stuff that happens outside of programs. But outside of churches in the 3,000-5,000 range I see tons of head scratching frustration. Leaders are sensing the shift, they are seeing numbers change, yet they aren’t coping with it well. Their response to the shift towards the small is to create a program that appeals to that. In other words… their people want something small and not programmatic but ministry leaders desire to create a program of ultra-small groups. And they wonder why it isn’t working.

    Here’s a problem to be overcome. As soon as I say “the church is shifting” many people’s brain automatically label “shift” as “emergent church.” And that includes a whole slew of people the church at large seeks to ignore and marginalize. I really think they would rather fail than admit that some of those people were right.

    Here’s what I am not saying. I’m not proposing that the church should change. (future tense) I am recognizing that society has shifted (past tense) and that the church is shifting to respond. (present tense)

    Here’s what I am saying. This isn’t about theology. It is about the church, the timeless truths of God’s Word, and it’s leaders responding to a seismic shift in how culture works in our society. Society is shifting and many church leaders are clinging to programs as if they were the Gospel!

    Instead of purpose-driven churches we need to see mission-driven churches. Instead of copying what we see at conferences and mega-churches, we need church leaders to spend serious time studying their communities doing the hard work of ethnography. (This isn’t new, A.B. Simpson said the same thing 120 years ago!) We need to see churches working within their communities instead of asking the community to come to their buildings.

    Let’s make it even simpler.

    Churches who build their ministry around their community are succeeding.

    Church who build their ministry around the short cuts of copying megachurches are failing.

  • The Mission of Less

    Planet Wisdom Chicago was great. 2000 kids slammed into a building to be challenged by the word of God is always awesome. Going into it I knew that the team was passionate about the conference and I saw first hand why. It’s really cool! Lives were changed. It doesn’t get any better than that.

    At the same time I felt really challenged by the church that hosted. It was one of those brand new megachurch $10 million deals. I don’t know how long it has been open but it was massive and it was gorgeous. It had that new church smell. And I thought to myself, “I’m glad I am not on the leadership team of this church.” I would never question the integrity of a church leadership team and I am certainly not doing so now. Yet, I wondered how I would process the excess as it correlates to the excessive need of the gospel in their community. Would I have stood behind the decision to build? This is more a reflection of where I am in my walk with the Lord than it is an indictment on a church. In fact, I want to fully acknowledge that I am positive that it’s a great building for them. And I want to make it clear that I am positive the gospel is advanced as a result of that church. And this post has way more to do with big church buildings generally than it does the particular church who hosted us. Moreover, driving around the Chicago suburbs that particular church merely did what dozens of others did… build a bigger building to better suit their needs. OK, enough apologizing for what I’m about to say!

    Here’s what I was left thinking about. For $10 million how many churches could they have planted in their community? For $10 million how many kids could they mentor at the local schools? For $10 million how many homeless people could they feed? How many families could they help? Assuming they paid cash for the building, for the $10,000-$20,000 per month it likely costs to heat, cool, and light the building how much kingdom work are they prevented from doing with those same dollars?

    Now that we go to a church with no building, my perspective has changed. All of my life I’ve said “the church is the people and not the building.” And yet fiscally, the churches finances reflect that the church is the building and the staff. (90% of spending, more or less.) When a person diverts giving to advance the kingdom, a building based church says “No, that money needs to pay our light bill! We have staff to pay!” And as a result the kingdom work the Holy Spirit has compelled a giver to give towards is thwarted by a churches building needs. Now that we go to a church with no building, we can worry about building the kingdom of God in our community and not a building. It’s freeing and wonderful and we are thankful for this time that God has placed us here.

    As I’ve shared before, my perspective on big fancy churches always makes me think of my time in Europe. Congregations spent generations building trillion dollar cathedrals that are largely empty today. They were so busy showing their community that they were the city on a hill that they forgot to be the city on the hill!

    What do you think? Is a big, nice building needed to advance the gospel? Or is it preventing the people from being the church?

  • The Gospel is Social

    As I mentioned in my post last night, my head is spinning a little as I think about today’s evangelical church.

    And yet I know that simply by saying that the evangelical church should stop doing church the way they currently that some people will instantly categorize my thought as “social gospel” in order to ignore what God is doing in my heart.

    Here’s the thing. The gospel a social gospel. Pure and simple. Jesus didn’t just come to make a way for us to experience salvation. He also came that we may “do good works” to help bring the Kingdom of God to the people. This means bringing justice and mercy to people who experience injustice and no mercy.

    This is what I’m really asking. Is there any way that the church can stop discriminating? Is there any way we can try to reach all people? Or are we doomed to see the evangelical church target rich white people for another generation? And will that generation tolerate classism towards everyone who is not rich & white?

    What do you think?

  • The stupidity of labels

    A couple times a week someone asks me if I’m a liberal or a conservative. So I want to say this loud and clear. My name is Adam McLane, I want my label to be “Christ-follower.” You can call me crazy. You can call me radical. But liberal or conservative are stupid titles.

    Here’s why the labels mean nothing. Labels like conservative and liberal are not black and white, it’s not that easy. They are completely subjective to the person asking the question as well as the question that person uses to determine if a person is “left or right” of them on that particular issue.

    Two examples from my world.

    Politics In this year’s election you have McCain vs. Obama. Mike Huckabee would call John McCain a liberal republican. But just about any democrat would label McCain a conservative. On the democratic side most democrats, who republicans call liberals, would consider Obama a liberal and themselves conservative. It is difficult in 2008 because one traditional test of a persons “liberal or conservative status” is determined by who is seen as the person with the best family values. Boy, that’s a tough call in 2008!

    In Christian circles the political labels reverse based on where you live. Traditionally, Christians in the north vote republican while Christians in the south trend towards democrats. Now Christians from the north or the south would have the same view that abortion is murder, but a “conservative” would use a persons belief on abortion as the litmus test for his candidacy while a “liberal” would use a litmus test along broader social policy lines.

    Church This is where it gets really scary. In conservative places, like my alma mater and the churches I’ve worked at, I was labeled a “liberal” in that I believe Paul, that men and women are equal in Christ. But with others, because I went to a “conservative” Bible college and have always worked at “conservative” churches and I personally believe in the inerrency of Scripture, I’m a borderline fundamentalist conservative Christian. the crazy thing is, in the church, these labels have so many litmus tests that no one truly is a conservative or liberal but most of us are both liberal and conservative at the same time.

    To further draw out the point from a church perspective. A “hard core conservative” would call teachings from a place like Willow Creek Community Church, liberal. But a “hard core liberal” would call the same teachings “conservative.” It’s all about perspective, baby!

    Here’s why labels like this are stupid. Most times I am asked the question, “Are you a liberal or conservative?” I have no freaking clue how to answer it. And most of the time, the people asking the question are mixing politics and religion together… which is something I think is equally difficult in a postmodern, pluralistic society. I think its possible to be a flamingly liberal on social issues while holding firmly to my conservative religious roots. But on other issues, I am flamingly liberal on matters of faith… longing to shake the church out of inaction into world change… while staunchly conservative on certain political matters. So the label is meaningless altogether.

    Labeling a person one way or the other is a dismissive thing to do. It devalues the entirity of a human being, someone bought and paid for by Jesus, into a label. This labelism is a dark mark against us as believers. It is a hate crime to a persons intellect which prevents us from fulfilling the Great Commission. Labels are, in fact, a devisive tool of our enemy, Satan. Labelism is emblematic of the label-fighting our Lord fought against. Over and over in the Gospels we see religious people asking Jesus litmus test questions. And over and over again, we see Jesus giving double answers that defied labeling.

    Remember when mom taught you, “Sticks and stones will break our bones, but words will never hurt me.“ She lied. Words (labels) are powerful. My challenge to is always the same, live wildly… crazily… passionately… stupidly… for Jesus Christ in all you do.

    Never be distracted by fans or haters!

  • What’s up with “that church?”

    I’ve had several people ask me about the church in Romeo, so here’s a quick update. I know a bunch of people who go there read my blog… so please feel free to fill in the blanks by leaving a comment.

    Did the church close? Nope, they just changed their name.

    Do they still have services? Yes, Sunday’s most likely. But I don’t know what time.

    Are they in the same location? Yep. I understand they took down the Romeochurch.com sign and now it just says “Stoneridge.” That’s where it is. It’s not a community center (that I know of) nor the offices for a new subdivision development. It’s still at 32 & Campground in Romeo. Same church, new name.

    Do they have a website? I can’t find one if they do. I see the old website is gone which is probably why people are asking me if they went out of business. So apparently adammclane.com is their new website. Welcome!

    Are they the same people? I think the point was that they wanted new people. So they figured if they changed the name the other people wouldn’t see the sign and new people would think they were going to the park and accidentally go to church there. Poof! OK, actually… it’s the same leadership team and I would guess that most of the same people go there.

    Do I like the new name? Yeah, it’s way better than “First Baptist Church.” Here’s a secret… that was the first “baptist” church I ever attended.

    What’s the name mean? Once upon a time [circa 1992], in that very location, a mountain range crested along Campground Road. As you reached 32 miles north of the center of that range a massive ridge line of large stones fell off to the west as far as the eye could see. Hence the most historically accurate name for 32 Mile & Campground is “Stoneridge.”

    I also feel it is sociologically accurate for a community with an alleged marijuana problem to have the word “stoner” in it. (Yes, they have munchies between services.)

    Any other thoughts on Stoneridge? I’m secretly jealous that I worked there for 5 years with a church name handicap and then I leave and they instantly solve the biggest problem in reaching the community.

    My biggest thought on Stoneridge is that I can’t remember the name half the time. So for Kristen and I it has become an ongoing joke. OK, so it’s just me telling the joke and once I saw Kristen snicker about it.

    – Stonemeadow

    – Stonevalley

    – Stonepoint

    – Stonecreek

    – Stonemountain

    – Stonecrater

    – Stoneorchard

    – Stonedbaptist

    – Stonefalls

    – Stoneriver

    – Stonelake

    – Stoneapple

    – Stonetech

    – Stone- did you hear they had a mechanical bull last night?

    – Stonetemplepilots Memorial

    Do you think the church is screwed up and secretly that’s why you left? OK, just between you and me. If it means that people come to Jesus, I hope they do whatever it takes. (Swing dancing, roller coasters, bar & grill, gas station, bookstore, start a parachute club, whatever!) Here’s a revolutionary concept… the church is there to reach the community and equip the redeemed to reach the community. With 3-4% of North Macomb residents currently attending a church I’m just glad they are trying to do something, anything, to bring light to a very dark place.

    If I have said anything inaccurate, please feel free to leave a comment.

  • Are you fake around your pastor?

    Check out this quote.

    Dear God,

    I was a pastor for 23 years. It killed me. I am not sure I was every called to it. As you know, the overwhelming numbness finally caved in all around me. Now, I am on the outside of the church looking in and I don’t like what I see. Why do we have to be fake to be a Christian or part of a church? How did we buy the lie that showing up occasionally was the same as a relationship with you? Now that I am not a pastor, people are honest with me. I had no idea how hard life was for so many people because when they came on my “turf” they pretended just as much as I did. I feel hope inside God. Now, without the job I feel like you let me go through everything to understand pain. I want to do what I can, but I feel like a failure every day. Can you still use me? link

    While I can’t identify with the feeling far from God or having felt fake with God while serving at a church, I can definitely tell that people are more honest with me about their lives now that I don’t work at a church full time. Why is that? Was there something in my title that made me someone you couldn’t speak openly with? Did you feel like I couldn’t help? Did you feel like I didn’t want to know? Were you trying to protect me? Do you think I’d judge you? Not love you? Tell others you were human? Were you looking for an escape when you were around me? Did I project myself as someone who couldn’t understand? Was I above your struggles? Was I intimidating? Was I uncaring? Was I too transparent? Not transparent enough?

    The thing is, I’m not done being a church leader… at least I hope not. I just want to know. 

    HT to Andy

  • Finding a church home: The Prize

    Ladies and gentlemen, let’s look at the grand prize and see what churches in San Diego would get if they won the McLane lottery.

    The total package. This family of four churchgoers label themselves as “contributors.” They won’t just be bumps on a log at your church, they will give it everything they’ve got. Adam has a passion for student ministry and would love to be the best volunteer you’ve ever had. Besides helping with those crazy adolescents Adam is pretty handy with all technical areas of the church. He can create stuff, manage teams of volunteers, or just generally make all your tech stuff work. Kristen has served on church boards, lead small groups, and loves doing outreach to other moms like her. These bible college grads don’t just give their time, they give their money too. But wait, there’s more!

    Adam and Kristen don’t come alone, they bring kids. Their two children are the perfect addition to your kids ministry. Megan is entering 2nd grade, loves to make friends, and will make your children’s workers gush with pride. Paul is a fresh faced kindergartner who is 100% boy. When he’s not pretending to be Scooby Doo or a Power Ranger, Paul will amaze you with his intellect. 

    Could there be more? Why yes! Not only does this family come regularly and contribute positively, they bring people! This family is hard wired for outreach into your community. Whether you are looking for people to head up a major outreach event or just looking for someone to invite their neighbors, look no further.

  • Finding a church home: Pre-search thoughts

    Pre-search thoughtsThis week marks the beginning of a new era. For the first time in more than 10 years Kristen and I begin a search for a new church home. Sure, there were other searches before– but they were always tied to employment so that’s a little different. Now that I don’t have a church job we are looking for a new church from a whole new vantage point, and that’s kind of exciting!

    And so the search begins in earnest.

    What are we looking for? There’s no simple answer to that. I wish I were one of those people who could say, “I’m looking for a church of 350-500, a certain type of music, a certain program of discipleship, a certain set of theology, a certain demographic, and looking for families like ours.” But I’m not that kind of person and this isn’t that simple.

    So, here’s the deal. We’ll visit a church at least two weeks in a row before deciding if its worth more of our investment or not. It’s simply not fair to judge anything on one shot. (Well, unless the vibe is bad. Then we may not stay beyond the cup of coffee.) We’ll play the role of visitors. We’ll fill out the cards, chat with the people welcome team, etc.

    How will we chose the churches to visit? The old fashioned way. We’ll ask some friends. We’ll search the web. We’ll drive around where we live. Stuff like that. But we’d be open to a church marketing to us. Want us to check you out and play secret shopper? Leave a comment or send me an email. Here’s a family of four looking for a place to not only attend, but contribute… come and get us! San Diego, East San Diego County, bring it.

    The non-negotiables… because we do have some standards.

    – We’re looking for a church that teaches the Biblical truth.

    – We’re looking for a church where kids are important.

    – We’re looking for a church that expects us to jump in and get involved but will be patient enough to let us settle in.

    – We’re looking for a church that is practically passionate about reaching the community we live in.

    – We’re looking for a church that values its people, all of ’em.

    Other than that, we are open. It can be an old church or a church plant. A big church or a little one. One that has a pretty white steeple or meets in a store front. A church that is huggy… uh, better skip the huggy ones. Fast and loud music or soft and boring.

    Last Sunday during the service I looked at Kristen and said, “I’m ready for the next step.” She nodded in agreement. As much as we loved our time in Romeo, it is time.

  • Music Wars Rage!

    pump organ | instrument of the devil

    For as long as I’ve been going to church I’ve had to hear about “music wars” in the church. Contemporary music was never an issue for me as I hated the music at the old Presbyterian church I went to from 5th grade through 10th grade. Seriously, half of the words in the hymns meant nothing to me. It was just music to be sung. (Nothing against the music director, who is still there!) Later in high school I went to a church which sung more contemporary hymns and some praise music… and the terms “worship” and “music” finally connected to my emotions. 

    There is a great post about music wars by Dan Kimball on his blog. He writes, “It is fascinating how our own personal choices and preferences dictates what we feel is appropriate worship or not.” Certainly at Romeo that was a word I learned to hate… “appropriate.” In my eyes, if it was meant or used to honor and/or worship God’s name it was appropriate!

    He also illustrates the churches most controversial instrument, the organ! It seems the standby of worship we all grew up with was once battled over in a music war of its own. 

    Also included in this excellent reflection on hymn favorites. Check out what was said about the hymn, “What a Friend I’ve Found in Jesus.” This letter comes from 1890.

    “What is wrong with the inspiring hymns with which we grew up? When I go to church, it is to worship God, not to be distracted with learning a new hymn.  Last Sunday’s was particularly unnerving.  The tune was un-singable and the new harmonies were quite distorting.“

    Check out the rest of his post, it’s intriguing and centering on the core of the music war issue.

  • Cardboard Testimonies: What is yours?

    Check out this powerful video from Hillside Christian Church in Texas.

    If you were to write your testimony on a cardboard cut-out, what would you write?