Change Please

From my demented perch, change and leadership go hand in hand. If you are not leading positive change, then there is another word for what is going on . . . management.

Now, there is nothing wrong with good management, but I am not sure that is what we aspire to in mission. We usually enter a city or campus setting with the desire to render things different that what they currently are. This we understand - we role up our sleeves and tackle what needs to be done. But the rub is that often times we look behind us, or simply put new window dressing on current practices, and we end up with the same things we have gotten in similar locations (again, not bad at all, but not real change). This is ok if you are going from UCLA to UC-Davis, but may prove painful if you are going to Istanbul or Moscow.

Again, nothing wrong with doing what we know works well, but it simply will never get us anything different than what we are currently aware of. And I believe we are desperately in need of something radically different. The books of Acts was not a revamp of the existing synagogue system, but a whole new format for connecting with God. (new wine skins!)

A few weeks ago I was sitting with Alan Hirsch and a few others over dinner. Alan made a side comment (which are always awesome) about the need for some people in the west to simply go uncorked in experimentation. Not with a better band, or more stories in their speaking . . . but some stuff simply not heard of. What should they do? I don't know . . . . that is where the wild experimentation could really take root. This is where I believe the young and the restless of this generation will make their mark (so us old dudes best get out the way).

What are some ideas?

Deb Hirsch on Distorted Views

Opening night of the Organic Church Conference, Deb Hirsch (the better looking of the Deb and Alan tandem) gave a great overview of how our distorted views in Western Christianity prevent us from engaging the Kingdom in a powerful way.

She listed seven categories on opening night of the Organic Church Conference. More than one caught me off guard. These bullets do not do it justice.

1. Distorted view of Jesus - not so meek and mild and patsy, but a confrontational subversive anti-religious radical.
2. Distorted view of Self - not as the center but as part of the whole
   
3. Distorted view of Others - not scum bag sinners but created in the image of God
4. Distorted view of the World - not expendable but redeemable
5. Distorted view of Love - not shallow and temporal, but sacrificial and committed
   
6. Distorted view of Family - not small and nuclear, but across blood lines and multi-generational
7. Distorted view of Money and Consumption - basically, we are way to friendly with money and its effect on us.
   

Deb statement on money really hit me. Especially about money having key qualities of deity (and therefore worshipable). Qualities like offering security, being omnipresent and wielding power. This is definitely the God of the West. Forget the threat of Islam, mammon has us in its grip.

Hirsch, TSK, IHOP and the USCM

I mentioned earlier that Alan Hirsch was in the house last week. Alan was a featured speaker at 2007 National New Church Conference but he carved out time to hang out and connect as well.

On Wednesday morning I arranged a time for Alan (and TallSkinnyKiwi - Andrew Jones) to meet with part of the National Leadership Team of the US Campus Ministry (of Campus Crusade). Marc Ruter, Carrie Walker and Mark Gauthier joined us for some good conversation at our resident IHOP (observation - have you ever seen an International House of Pancakes in a country besides America?).

Alan was his usually drawing and sketching self and it was great to get these leaders connected. Andrew added tidbits of deep knowledge and overall it was a rousing good time (for a breakfast). I look forward to debriefing with Marc, Carrie and Mark.

Test Time

Linda and I had a grand time entertaining Alan Hirsch for dinner on Saturday night. Alan is in town for the 2007 National New Church Conference (1800 people out at First Baptist Orlando discussing and scheming on planting new churches). Scott & Lori Crocker joined us for dinner and processed life, church and the state of the western world (Alan - you know you love the car sizes in America!!).

Update: At The Forgotten Ways website there are some newly released tools that are worthy of mentioning.

As you know, I have been quite enamored with concept of APEPT leadership from Ephesians 4:7, 11-12 (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher) (here or here for more). In my mind this gives us a much better context for leadership assessment than the current US Campus Ministry leadership model - mainly because this takes into account spiritual gifting, kingdom advancement and the inter action of leaders with primary motivational gifting.

This tool, developed by Alan in connection with some folks from Strength Finders, is a simple means to help leaders determine their leanings. It is clean, quick and cheap. If I was leading a local team I would have everyone take it in the 360 mode - and then lead a serious discussions on how the effects the way we move toward the mission.

This tool (www.theforgottenways.org/apest) will help reveal much about how you lead, why you lead that way, and what are primary motivating factors in your spiritual leadership.

Enjoy.

And now page 104 [more disciple making]

Hirsch goes on to say that he thinks we have lost the art of disciple making. He identifies three reasons as at least partly responsible:

• We have reduced it to the assimilation of intellectual ideas
• The abiding impact of cultural Christianity embedded in our understanding of church.
• The phenomenon of consumerism pushes against a true following of Jesus.

This appears to me to be the values of knowledge, safety and comfort. As a result, we have lowered the bar for participation in the Christian community to the lowest common denominator.

Alan goes on to say that the phenomenal Jesus movements of the past operated against this type of intuition - the early methods seem to go directly against many of our basic church growth principles (and yet they grew much much faster and deeper). In fact, it was difficult to join, but not complicated.

Alan then leans on Neil Cole's often quoted line regarding this principle - 'We want to lower the bar of how church [movement] is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple.'

Hirsch on Disciple Making

From Alan Hirsch in The Forgotten Ways (pg. 103 if you are following along at home):

"It is interesting that when we really look at the dangerous stories of the phenomenal movements, at the most uncomplicated level, they appear to the observer simply as disiple-making systems. But the rather funny thing is that they never appear to get beyond this - they never move beyond mere disciple making. This is because it is at once the starting point, the abiding strategic practice, as well as the key to all lasting missional impact in and through movements." Amen and Amen.

Two observations.
1. In Crusade, I believe we would say this used to be our strong suit (along with evangelism).
2. I believe we have suffered as a movement / organization as a result of moving away from this staple and replacing it with complex issues of personal growth and theology (not bad, but maybe as essential).

It is interesting to me that over time our methods have become more complex and at the same time less effective. We think people need more information to grow and yet the rapidness of this growth seems to have decreased. Is this a false observation? Is this simply the aging of us as an organization? How are we missing this key component? Or are we?

A Holy, Loving Critique

This caught my attention. Again, nuggets from from Hirsch: (if you don't have the book yet, you can read the whole first chapter here).

• A prophetically consistent Christianity means that we must remain committed to a constant critique of the structures and rituals we set up and maintain.
  
• We should . . . understand it as a form of 'holy rebellion' based on the loving critique of religious institution modeled by the original apostles and prophets - "holy rebels" who constantly attempted throw off encumbering ideologies, structures, codes and traditions that limited the freedom of God's people and restricted the gospel message that they are mandated to pass on.
• It is rebellion because it refuses to submit to status quo. But because it is holy rebellion, it directs us toward a greater experience of God that we currently have.
• Vital movements arise always in a the context of rejection by the predominant institutions (eg. Wesley and Booth)
• C.S. Lewis: "there exists in every church something that sooner or later works against the very purpose for which it came into existence. So we must strive very hard, by the grace of God to keep the church focused on the mission that Christ originally gave to it."
  
• We realize that the Bible sustains a thoroughly consistent warning against the centralization of power in a few individuals and concentration of it in inflexible and impersonal institutions.

Not that we want to be rebellious for the sake of rebellion, but I believe we must lovingly, graciously and genuinely question the forms and structures handed to us. What, if anything, hinder us? What would you change?

Or - think of it this way: If Cru were a denomination, what denomination would we be theologically? (A: some kind of reformed baptist kind of thing - with a latent charismatic undertow). Now structurally, if were a denomination, what denomination would we be? (think about our hiring, placement, reporting structures, etc?) What say you? How does this help us, hurt us and inform the conversation?

Jesus Is #1

I have to admit, when I saw this as the central piece of Apostolic Genius, I was a bit disappointed. It seems rather simple - but that may be the very point. Lordship is both simple and radically difficult.

Summarizing this aspect is not easy. These snippets may help us to understand the primacy of "Jesus is Lord." [for Cru purposes, substitute 'church' with 'movement' for this to be relevant to our situation.]

What does all this practically mean for those seeking to recover Apostolic Genius in the life of the community of God?

• it will involve (re)engaging directly the central confession of "Jesus is Lord" and attempting to reorient the church around this life-orienting claim.
• it will also mean simplifying our core messages,
• uncluttering our overly complex theologies,
• and thoroughly evaluating the traditional templates that so shape our behaviors it and dominate our consciousness.

From Alan:

I have become absolutely convinced that it is Christology, and in particular the primitive, unencumbered Christology of the NT church, that lies at the heart of the renewal of the church at all times and in every age.

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Sadly history amply demonstrates how we as God's people can so often obscure the centrality of Jesus in our experience of church. There is so much clutter in our "religion," so many competing claims, that this central unifying claim that lies at the heart of the faith is easily lost. It is remarkable how Jesus can be so easily cast out from among his people.

So - what do we have that clutters our Christiology - and what should we do about it? What should we do about it organizationally?

Is It Really Like This?

More from Forgotten Ways: This is a research quote from Sally Morgenthaler,

Despite what we print in our own press releases, the numbers don't look good. According to 2003 actual attendance counts, adult church-going is at 18 percent nationally and dropping. Evangelical attendance (again, actual seat numbers, not telephone responses) accounts for 9% of the population, down from 9.2% in 1990. Of the 3,098 counties in the U.S., 2,303 declined in church attendance.

Is this true? My take on stats like this is similar to Winston Churchill's ("the only statistics you can trust are those you falsified yourself"). On campus are we experiencing this decline? or is it a 'church' thing only? Would you say, from your observations, that the church is in decline in the west? Or are we moving ahead and progressively getting better and better at reaching students (and people) in all categories?

Most of Alan's book does not focus on the gap, but on what happened to make phenomenal Jesus movements happen. His findings are truly amazing and should inform the expansion of the church for years to come. I put this in my must read category - especially for those who are leading toward the rapid expansion of the kingdom (you will love it).

If you don't own a copy get one here.

You can hook up with Alan and his thinking here.

How Did They Do That??

I am on my second read through of Alan Hirsch's fantastic book on movements. Alan does a excellent job of capturing the essence of 'movement.' He gathers insights by looking at the expansion of the NT church and the church in China and asking "How did they do that?".

So - how did they do it? (go 25k to 20 million in 200 years). Before you venture your guess, here is the reality of both situations.

• Christianity was an illegal religion (at best tolerated, at worst persecuted)
• No buildings
• No Bibles (or very few)
• No professional pastors, teachers or paid staff
• No bands, seekers services, or youth groups (or flannel boards)
  
• No seminaries, commentaries, bookstores or publishing houses
• They made it hard to join!

Those are Alan's observations - here are my additions.

• Few people could read (they could not have a 'quiet time' in the way we often teach)
  
• No one had a college education
• No mass communication (no email, phone, etc)
• No strategic planning processes, no PrEFACE model, no Growth Model or Leadership Model.

Had enough? The growth was explosive - and without many things that we consider essential.

What gives? What is true of these situations that we are missing now? How did this initial movement move so fast, so furiously and so effectively?

Apostolic Genius

Alan identifies six elements of what he has termed Apostolic Genius (defined as the unique energy and force that imbues phenomenal Jesus movements). There may be more, but there are never less.

1. Jesus is Lord - at the middle is this simple but radical confession. This statement oversees all of life. (at first this seems logical, simple and kind of weak - but as you read more on these implication, you begin to realize the highly volatile nature of this radical confession).
2. Disciple Making - the life-long task of becoming like Jesus. Again, this sounds simple, especially with our preconceived notions of disciple making. Disciple making involved bringing every aspect of life into the likeness of Christ.
3. Missional-Incarnational Impulse - every missional movement shows the twin engines of outward thrust and a related deepening. This seeds and embeds the gospel in new locations / people / cultures.
4. Apostolic Environment - this is the type of leadership and ministry required to move ahead. Don't let the word apostolic freak you out - it simply means 'sent one', but the implications are huge.
5. Organic Systems - don't even get me started. Alan says, 'Phenomenal Jesus movements grow precisely because they do not have centralized institutions to block growth through control' - some one get me a tissue.
6. Communitas, Not Community - communities and bonds that come together in the context of a shared ordeal - or those that define themselves as a group with a mission that lies beyond themselves (and engaging in a risky journey).

Here is Alan's take - (this is where I stole the pretty picture).

So the question is . . . how we doin? In each of these categories there is a way that the church in the west has attempted to operated (Cru included) that stunts the functioning of apostolic genius. We must figure out what needs to change and then be courageous enough to change it (or to simply start something new).

I have my opionion (like that will shock anyone) - what about yours? Get the book. When you look at these 6 elements, where do we need to adjust? What are we missing? How do we change? What would you suggest as the next steps?

Over the next few posts, I will try to explore each of these ideas in various ways.

Read This - Now!!

Alan has nailed it. There is nothing I have read over the past 5 years that better describes our situation and solution than The Forgotten Ways (thanks Alan!). I believe every Cru staff member should read this, digest it and allow it to inform our thinking on movements everywhere. He has something to say for all of us who are enamored with the concepts, practices and principles of rapidly expanding spiritual movements.

Alan started the discussion by asking, "How the NT church went from 25k to 20 million in 210 years?"

Or, the contemporary example of the body of Christ in China going from 2 million to 80 million in about 60 years. His findings are inspired, mind blowing, ancient and amazingly simple. I told Alan I felt like he putting words to my angst every time I turned the page. Over the next few weeks I hope to chronicle my findings, hopes and dreams based upon the fork that Alan is jabbing in my side.

If you are Cru staff (or not) please join me in the discussion.