Bill Easums Observations

I first wrote about movements in my book Unfreezing Moves: Following Jesus into the Mission Field.   I described Christianity as an organic movement and compared it to modern day religion. God intended for Christianity to be a movement not a religion.  The problem is Christianity has been highjacked by our passion for democracy.

Movements only happen when an individual is free enough to take on the mantel of an apostle. Democracy hates an apostle with a passion- thus we have been free from movements in the U.S. for some time now.

However, over the past few years I’ve watched the emergence of a number of apostolic leaders who are changing the face of Christianity in the U.S.  In an article titled “The Apostolic Movement of our Time, I wrote the following about this new movement

• One quality stands out above all the rest in every one of these pastors – they pastor as spiritual leaders who listen to God rather than corporate leaders who lead based on democratic rule. 
• The rule of thumb of this new movement – the less democracy in the church the more authentic and effective the church is in advancing the Kingdom of God!

 You can read the full article here.

Bill Easum
www.easumbandy.com

One thing separates the mediocre pastor’s actions from those of the highly effective and might I say biblical pastor. Know what it is? Okay, don’t want to guess? Well here it is – the mediocre pastors spends most of his or her time doing all kinds of pastoral care- taking care of members, visiting the hospitals and shut-in, mediating conflict in the church, doing counseling, and doing things in the office other than devotional or sermon prep.

So what does a highly effective pastor do?

I guess before I answer that question I need to define what I mean by “highly effective.” To me “highly effective” means the pastor is doing something to enhance both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, i.e. the church is a place of love, trust, and growing people.

So what does a highly effective pastor do? As little as possible other than focus on being the spiritual architect who sets the culture and mentors the core leaders.

So what happens to pastoral care?

Read Acts 6 and you will get your answer.

The U.S. Church is in a mess (see The American Church in Crises) It continues to decline as the population increases.  We are facing the perfect storm if something doesn’t change.  And as is the case in all enterprises, that change must be initiated from the top, by the pastor.  If pastors don’t change the way they go about life and ministry, the Church will continue to decline in the U.S.

That’s why when a book comes along like the Hughes’ Liberating Your Ministry from Success Syndrome I want to puke. The last thing we need is to allow ourselves anyway off the hook for the mess we’re allowed to happen on our watch.  I don’t know the Hughes. I’m sure they are wonderful people, but reading their material, I have to wonder if they ever pastured a growing church.

I’m as skeptical about a person who says numbers aren’t important to faithfulness as I am about someone who says numbers are everything to faithfulness.  But I will not allow faithfulness to be relegated to some sweet life of loving, believing, prayer, and holiness.  Listen to the way the book is described at Christianbook.com  

 “Offering biblical perspectives and personal reflections, longtime pastor Hughes and his wife show you that true accomplishment in ministry lies not in numbers but in faithfulness, serving, loving, believing, prayer, holiness, and a Christlike attitude. You’ll learn to confront your feelings of failure differently—and discover a godly understanding of success. “The last the average pastor today needs is to find a way to comfort their feelings of failure. Man what a travesty. 

Pastors, please don’t rush out and buy this book just to rationalize your feelings. Instead get on your knees and break your heart over the plight of your city and resolve to make it a better place. Decide now to spend 80% of your time working either with non-believers or with leaders in your church who will spend time with their non-believing friends.

Bill Easum
www.easumbandy.com

I just finished an interview with Craig Henningfield who is the missionary coach for the Church Without Walls in Denver. The Church Without Walls is a growing, loosely networked group of  house churches. Question: Why the House Church?Every day I meet more people who are dissatisfied with the institutional church.  Most of these people have never read the books like Pagan Christianity or the Barna research. I also run into many pastors who have been dissatisfied with the institutional church but still want to serve. We can’t throw the baby out with bathwater just because a churched tradition no longer serves a growing number of people.Question: How do you fund your ministry?Answer: Most of our pastors are bivocational.  Some raise their support from congregations and individual Christians.  Funding and giving are two of our biggest issues.  People come out of the institutional church and join us thinking there is no need to give any longer.  We have to rewire them to give out of grace to a mission rather than support of an institution.Question: What do you think will hold your movement together over the long haul?

Answer: Jesus. I know that is clique, but it is what we think we do it.  We aren’t a church planting movement, we are a disciplining movement. We’re not interested in how many more house churches can we plant, but how many people can we disciple to be like Jesus. The key is longevity is to train leaders so if they move they aren’t lost and can start new groups wherever they go.  America is a churched nation- everyone has some view of what a church looks like. So the house church needs explaining. When they get it, they will talk about it with all of their friends.  

Question: What question haven’t I asked you that I should have?

Answer: I think getting more clarity on the relationship between denominations and the house church movement is essential.  In the beginning our denomination supported our work with some start up money but as the project developed the denomination found it difficult to figure out how to relate to us since we didn’t resemble anything near an institution.  Denominations need to continue thinking through the relationship with the institutional church to avoid the “us” versus “them” problem.

According to Henningfield most of the house churches are still along denominational lines. This fact surprised me.  

Leadership and the New Science, Margaret Wheatly
Kicking Habits,  Tom Bandy
Servant Leadership, Robert Greenleaf  
Growing Up Digital, Don Tapscott 
Growing Spiritual Redwoods, Tom Bandy & Bill Easum
The Continuing Conversion of the Church, Darrell Guder
The Missional Church, Darrell Guder
Difusion of Innovations, Evertt Rogers 
God’s Missionary People, Van Engen 
The Birth  of the Chaoric Generation, Dee Hoch 
Future Perfect, Davis Stanley
Steinbron, Melvin The Lay Driven Church
Heifetz, Ronald Leadership Without Easy Answers
Cordeiro,Wayne Doing Church as a Team
Ogden, The New Reformation
Townsend, Five-Star Leadership

I got one of those mailers the other day that’s meant for pastors to leaf through and buy all the latest and greatest bulletin blanks, choir robes, doctoral degrees, visitor packets, etc. I must have been very bored … or distracted … and I picked it up and leafed through it. I about fell out of my chair (laughing? crying? wailing?) when I saw the ad for a CD with a collection of policies and procedures for every church. The ad said, “It’s so great to say ‘It’s against Church policy’ instead of just plain ‘NO’. What a blessing to the pastor!”

Now, don’t get me wrong, I get what this is all about, but over 200 pages of ways to just say “No” is so typical of the crying and dying church. Last time I checked, the effective points of policies and procedures in the church is so we can just say “Yes!” to ministry and “Yes!” to Jesus. But alas, many, many, many (dare I expand that to most?) churches in North America are so concerned about protecting what few resources they have left that they’re almost paranoid that someone might possibly do something and use more than their fair share. Now, don’t get me wrong. The just say no policy and procedure manual is necessary for those churches who are clueless about their own mission, vision, and especially shared values. If you don’t know what you’re for, you’d better at least know what you’re against … that way you have an opportunity to feel like you’re in control. Sure, the church may be going down faster than the Edmund Fitzgerald, but we’re gripping the wheel all the way to the bottom.

Every church must have boundaries, but they have to be developed based on the church’s DNA and all toll they shouldn’t be longer than a half-sheet of paper. They could look something like this:

1. All church ministries must specifically further the mission of the church.
2. All church ministries must specifically further the vision of the church.
3. All church ministries must reflect the shared values of the church.
4. All church ministries must promote and be in the name of Jesus - no anonymous ministries.
5. All church ministries must be team-based - no Lone Rangers.
6. All church ministries must be led by a member in good standing. (Put this in words your congregation will understand - the ministry leader must be a practicing Christian who has made a commitment to the church’s DNA and supports the church with their treasure, time, talent, and testimony.)
7. All church ministry leaders must be in a ministry accountability partnership with another member in good standing who is not a participant or beneficiary of the ministry.
8. All church ministries must be self-sufficient or underwritten by the ministry’s team. (If your church will seed beginning ministries to XX dollars, then say so here.)
9. All church ministries using church property must coordinate their activities with the office. (Not a committee, but someone who can ensure there are no double-bookings of rooms, vans, sound equipment, etc.)

That’s it. Less than ten policies and procedures that pretty much covers everything that might come up in the church.

 Or you could buy the CD and wade through 200 pages of reasons to say no.

 Bill Tenny-Brittian
www.EasumBandy.com
www.NetResults.org

I’m sure, like me, you love the song Silent Night.  It’s a classic.  The problem is that is just what is happening - the church has become quiet and calm while the world continues to deteriorate. Most churches don’t realize the outreach importance of Christmas and Christmas Eve.

A quote was shared on our advance forum just yesterday -”“the church gives people just enough of Christianity  to immunize us against the real thing.” It was soon followed up by this quote from another member who quoted a Keith Green song- ” “The world is asleep in the dark that the church just can’t fight because it’s asleep in the light – how can we be so numb – not to care if they come –” All across the world people will gather to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s a glorious occasion. The problem is most of these celebrations in the West will be for the members only with little or no consideration that someone might show up who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus.

So this Christmas do everything with the stranger in mind. Prepare your people and be on the watch. Don’t let Christmas be a silent night- make it shout the Good News that Jesus Christ is born!

Have a noisy, glorious Christmas
Bill Easum
www.easumbandy.com

First, let us wish all of you a Blessed Christmas. I think “blessed” is so much better than “merry.”  Merry can mean so many things- happy, smashed, giddy, etc.  But “blessed” conveys a much more defined greeting. When you think about it, and Christians don’t have to think very hard, we are all so blessed. Christ, in our lives, is the best blessing one could ever imagine. So why not take a moment to consider all the Christ has blessed your life? And while you’re at it, how about the people who have blessed your life over the years? Make a list of them and give them a call. Now to Christmas Resources.

If you go to our website, and do a search you will come up with 117 different resources. So have fun.

But here’s the best tip anyone can give you - plan your Christmas Eve services with the unchurched in mind.  Give them a healthy dose of what they might experience  if they returned to your church. Have some way to respond to them with 48 hours.  And have your people ready to great them because Christmas Eve is still one of the most important days for evangelism.

Have a Blessed Christmas,
Tom, Bill E., Bill T., and Susan

Leadership Network is relaunching its books blog  . Tom Bandy and Bill  Easum are going to be regular contributors to the blog.  You should find it a helpful tool for discovering cutting edge books.  You can also find a long list of recommended books at our site in the Library.

“Wee ordaine that the day of our ships arrival at the place assigned for plantacon in the land of Virginia shall be yearly and perpetually keept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty god.” So stated the charter for the British colony known as Berkeley Hundred.  On December 4, 1619 Captain John Woodleaf held the first service of thanksgiving.  Berkeley Plantation continues to be the site of the official annual U.S. Thanksgiving event to this day.

As congress recognized the importance of the Thanksgiving observance, President George Washington issued a national Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1789. He wrote,“Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country…for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed…and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually…To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.”

We know it’s trite to say it but we have to say it anyway - “Happy Thanksgiving from EBA.”