What's The Connection?

September 26, 2011, 9:09 am

Recently I had several of our Pastoral staff members read through Outreach Magazines recent issue on "100 Largest and Fastest Growing Churches in America".  It was indeed fascinating to see the Spirit of God at work in so many different ways around the country.  I took a few hours to immerse myself in the many articles and historical backdrops to these churches.  One thing is for sure: Regardless of the name on the sign, something is happening inside that is attracting so many people.  Now the critics would suggest that these houses of worship are full of heresy and rank compromise.  However, they would be drastically wrong.  I found some very interesting comparisons amongst these many churches.  In brief order I'm going to state my findings.  I am fully convinced that these parallels of ministry are not an accident and that church growth is predominantly strategic.  You get what you go after.  If you want to stay small, simply keep doing what you've always done.  However if you want to experience real and radical New Testament growth, then you had better get a plan, track the numbers, watch the ones who are doing it and hold on for the ride.  In short, here are my findings.

In each of these "Largest and Fastest Growing Churches" we find:

1. An uncompromising passion to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.

By and large these churches do not play games when it comes to a Gospel-centered ministry.  They're preaching and programs are filled with straightforward calls to repentance and faith.  They are all diverse as far as methodology is concerned, but the message of the death, burial and resurrection is as fresh as it's ever been.  Those who have not bowed to the pressures of humanism and politics are to be applauded for their uncompromising stand on the exclusivity of Christ.

2. Consistency amongst the staff and a willingness for long tenure at the church.

The average tenure for theses pastors was 14 years.  While it's true that some churches start big and quickly get bigger, it must be understood that a real overnight success is still about 10 years in the making.  When the leadership is consistent and willing to stay through every season of the church, then the majority of growth will begin to take place.

3. A large volunteer base.

The most obvious connection between all of these churches was the fact that they have the ability to amass a huge volunteer base.  From parking lot attendants, cafe workers, ushers, greeters, stage setting, children's workers, drivers, musicians and so on, they have an art to getting people to pitch in and carry their weight.  Churches that place the entire burden upon the Pastor will grow as fast and as much as he does.  Eventually you'll stall out and hinder growth altogether

4. An un-orthodox approach to ministry.

These churches have clearly defined goals in the way they "do" ministry. A willingness to break the mold and work outside the box is a daily passion. These churches all understand that if you always do what you've always done, then you'll always get what you've always got. These churches do what is Biblical. But they also do what works.  They're not afraid of trying new things and risking failure. They are also quick to stop anything that has stalled out or stopped working. There are many areas of outreach where this comparison is true for these dynamic churches. However the most interesting connection is that 75 of the "100 Fastest Growing" have multi-site campuses. 

5. Relational connectivity.

  Large and growing churches know how to connect people within the community of their church. Actually, regardless of size, any truly healthy church gets people into active relationships. This is especially true of the small group connection. People aren't just looking for a friendly church. They're looking for friends at church. Disconnected people will drift in and out, but will never reach a consistency point. Relational connectivity is huge in the overall vision of a growing ministry. If people don't feel as if they are a part, eventually they'll depart. 

6. Ethnic diversity.

    This is America and it is a rapidly growing mission-field. It's simple, get on board with the fact that "Caucasian" is not as important as it once was or get out of the way so New Testament churches can pass you by. These rapidly growing congregations are filled with multiple races and many times they start specific services to reach out across the racial/ethnic chasm.  

7. Multi-generational worship.

    The churches listed throughout this amazing research were all diversified in their music. The interesting thing however was the emphasis upon music. They were not afraid to use it on everyone's level. The hymns of one generation are vain words to a new generation. Growing churches exhibit 3 characteristics in their worship. It's Biblical. It's Balanced. It's Blended. The unpredictability of worship is what sets these churches a part from dead tradition. 

8. Complete loyalty to the vision.

      Hear me when I say this: You can have the previous 7 principles in your church, but if your leadership is not fully convinced, on board and willing to fight for the vision, you will never reach the tipping point. Loyalty is absolutely essential. If staff cannot be sold on the direction and vision of the church, the people never will be. All 100 of these churches have a simple rule. If a leader can't sign on the dotted line for full support of the DNA, let them walk. And the sooner the better. 

Don't Drink The Water

July 11, 2011, 3:02 pm

Years ago I was preaching in a conference in Mexico.  An elderly Spanish preacher related the following story to me over breakfast.  He said that it was a Mexican legend that illustrated a marvelous truth.

Many years ago there was a village that was full of absolute peace.  Everyone got along in wonderful harmony.  Farmers shared with the less fortunate.  Crime was at an all time low.  Children could be heard for miles as laughter spilled through the neighboring hills and valleys.  This unity was no accident.  It was the careful and prayerful wisdom of the village leader.  He worked tirelessly with the towns leadership to develop programs that would initiate a better living condition, lift people's spirits and make everyone feel as if they were one big happy family.  As far as earth was concerned, there wasn't a more unified, peaceful and "millennial" like village anywhere.

However, all of that was drastically about to change.

An old lady paid a visit to the village leader one day in hopes of adding value to this well-known community.  But in the discretion of the leader, he sensed that the old lady had her own agenda. He decided to be cordial, allow her to reside, but he would certainly keep his eyes on her.  It wasn't long until strange things began to happen.  Reports of fighting amongst long time friends began to be heard throughout the entire area.  One by one, people began turning on one another for the smallest offenses.  Day after day this continued.  The village leader was inundated with people voicing their petty grievances.  It quickly became a disastrous situation.  What was happening?  How could all of this work for unity be overcome in such a short time?

The problem was simple.  The old lady was in fact a witch.  She would go from house to house as a newcomer.  As the quaint towns people invited her in, she would simply poison their drinking water with her potion.  Days turned into weeks and weeks into months.  When he could stand it no longer, the village leader summonsed for the newcomer.  He knew this had to be the doings of this strange outsider.  After further examination her true identity was revealed and she was immediately ordered to leave town.  She could speak to no one and stop nowhere.  She was escorted to the edge of the village and promptly thrust forth.  But a horrible thing transpired.  In her anger and resentment she poured the rest of her potion into the drinking well at the entrance to the village.  It wasn't long before the inevitable yet unthinkable happened.  Every marriage, every school, every friendship was in total disrepair.  Bitterness had become the new reality.  As the village leader tried to address these horrible events, he now became the object of their anger.  Soon, rumors about his leadership began flying around town.  He was openly criticized, lied about, misrepresented and scorned.  The unity he had fought so hard to protect was now destroyed and he was the whipping boy.  It took such a toll on him emotionally.  He rarely slept.  He didn't have an appetite for food and he was dehydrated in every way.  

The end was near.  Finally in one huge move of doubt and desperation he resigned as the village leader.  He had lost all control of the people and at this point could no longer manage himself.  It was time to leave.  He packed what few belongings he could carry and made his way out of the village.  People cheered with an awful anger as he walked down the long dusty road.  As he reached the entrance of the village he realized there was no turning back.  In one last attempt at clarity and strength he lowered his drinking vessel into the well and drank vigorously to begin his long journey.

Then that elderly Spanish pastor looked at me with great passion and said, "Son, if you ever leave town, don't drink the water.

I could have never imagined how true those words and that story would relate to where I am right now in my ministry.  Not because the church I started five years ago is falling apart, but because the movement I have left has turned much of my joy into sorrow.  I have asked God to forgive me and cleanse my heart of any bitterness and anger.  I have asked God to give me a kind and gentle disposition.  This is merely a "blanket" statement and not an attack on any particular church or ministry.  All I can say is that I have been there and I have struggled through many sleepless nights to not drink the water.  May God help me to stand strong, preach hard and love much.  But as I enter one of the most fruitful and important seasons of my ministry, I am choosing to bypass the poisoned well and drink from the fountain of grace.

Sir, don't drink the water.

A Letter to a Prostitute

June 26, 2011, 10:20 pm

Here is the letter that I read to our church family during Sunday morning services on 6/26/11. I wanted to share it here as a plea for churches and believers to step out of the normal comforts and act on radical compassion. 

The ladies in our church will be going downtown and hand delivering these letters to local prostitutes. Included with the typed letter will be an invite card to our church and a small gift. Here it is:


Dear Ma'am,
We are writing this letter to give you hope. We know something that you wish so many others knew. We understand that you are not this person. You are not this woman of pleasure and promise that others view you to be. We also know that you are not a criminal. You my friend are the victim of a sick and dangerous individual that is in love with himself and money. You didn't choose to be where you are. But you must now choose where your life is going to end up.

Why is a church writing you a letter? Because we love to help broken, bruised and lonely people. We believe that there is far more forgiveness in Christ, than there is sin in you. 

So just in case it's been a long time since anyone told you this, let us have the honor of telling you. You are valuable. You are so precious to Christ and He has placed great purpose within you. 

We are a no strings attached fellowship of Bible believers that simply want to tell you that we love you and we stand ready to help you in any way that we can. If you ever see fit to call, I promise you that someone from our church will be there to pray with you and hold your hand through the darkest night of your life. God loves you unconditionally. Please let us help you break free. 

In Christ,
Global Vision Bible Church
Mount Juliet, TN. 

"The New in 19 Challenge"

June 17, 2011, 9:28 am

Since the start of the year, I have given a unique challenge to our church family each month. Each challenge has been met with great success and has seen many new families visit and eventually join our fellowship as a result!

In January, we had the "Homeless Experience". Myself, along with 13 other men spent a long, cold weekend on the streets of downtown Nashville living amongst the homeless and getting a real feel to words of Christ, "The poor ye have always..."

February was the month of the 21 day "Daniel Fast". Three solid weeks of prayer and fasting; eating and drinking only fruits, vegetables, and juices.

The Lord allowed us in March to conduct a 5 WEEK REVIVAL! We met every evening with the exception of Saturdays and saw God do some BIG things.

In April, on "Good Friday", I sat and taught through the entire book of Galatians from 6 PM to Midnight in what we called, "Primal Church". In addition to a super crowd that evening, we also reached our highest total viewers ever on our Live-Streaming feed.

May was a month of reflection and praying for our city. While our church members prayed, I took one whole day and walked the entire 33 mile perimeter of Mount Juliet praying and begging God to allow our church the opportunity to have a strong influence for Christ in our community.

If we expect to be a church that lives and is governed by the Book, I wanted June to be the month where we showed God that we were serious about His Word. Last Sunday, June 12th, I presented our people with "The New in 19 Challenge". As a church family, we are determined to read the entirety of the New Testament in 19 days! Frankly, there are people all accross this country that have been in church for 40 years and have never read God's precious Book from cover to cover. That's not going to be said about Global Vision!

I have attached the reading chart below if you would like to particpate with us, or start the challenge afresh on your own. Remember what the Psalmist said, "..For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name." Let's strive to be a People of the Book!

Jun 12: Matthew 1-12
Jun 13: Matthew 13-23
Jun 14: Matthew 24-Mark 5
Jun 15: Mark 6-14
Jun 16: Mark 15-Luke 7
Jun 17: Luke 8-16
Jun 18: Luke 17-John 1
Jun 19: John 2-9
Jun 20: John 10-21
Jun 21: Acts 1-11
Jun 22: Acts 12-23
Jun 23: Acts 24-Romans 8
Jun 24: Romans 9-1 Corinthians 10
Jun 25: 1 Corinthians 11-2 Corinthians 11
Jun 26: 2 Corinthians 12-Philippians 2
Jun 27: Philippians 3-2 Timothy 2
Jun 28: 2 Timothy 3-Hebrews 13
Jun 29: James 1-3 John 1
Jun 30: Jude 1-Revelation 22