One of the most significant trends in American churches the past 25 years has been the migration of people from smaller churches to larger churches. We will be providing more information in the future about this movement. The implications are significant and should not be ignored.

In my own denomination of some 46,000 churches and 16 million members, the concentration of people to larger churches is a clear and present reality. Look at some of these statistics that give evidence to this phenomenon.

• Less than one-half of one percent of these churches report an average worship attendance of 2,000 or more, but 12.6% of the total attendance of the denomination is now concentrated in these relatively few churches.
• Only 1.5% of all these churches have an attendance of 1,000 or more, but 22.2% of the total denominational attendance is in these congregations.
• Only 4.4% of the churches have an attendance of 500 or more, but 35.3% of the attendance of 46,000 churches is concentrated in just those few churches.

We expect to see continued migration of people from smaller to larger churches, and that the concentration of these members in larger churches will be even more pronounced with each progressive year.

The first obvious question is “Why?” Why are people in increasing numbers stating a clear preference for larger churches? At this point most of our evidence is anecdotal, but we believe we can offer some reasons that will likely supported by more objective future research.

• The migration of the U.S. population to cities and other areas of greater population. In 1900, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 60% of U.S. residents lived in a rural area. In 2010, only 16% of the residents lived in rural areas. And the 84% of the population that lives in urban and suburban areas are concentrated in only 10% of the total U.S. land. That significant concentration of people lends itself to a higher probability of the development of larger churches.
• The smaller church is not as likely to be the hub of the community as it once was. Not too many years ago, the social, religious, and recreational life of smaller communities would revolve around churches in the area. That is no longer the case in many smaller churches.
• The multi-campus church model is opening the door for even larger churches. Church size is thus no longer constrained to one location on limited acreage. Today we have about 70 churches in the U.S. that have an average weekly worship attendance of 10,000 or more. Just a few years ago, it was rare to see churches reach 2,000 in attendance. More and more people are moving to larger and larger churches with multiple locations.
• The church attendee is demanding quality that many small churches cannot afford. Just yesterday I spoke to a young couple who transferred from their small church to a much larger church in the area. They were the first members of their family to leave their smaller church in four generations. Their reason for doing so was straightforward. As new parents, they wanted to be in a church that had the most secure and advanced preschool for their daughter. Their smaller church was simply not able to offer what the larger church offered.
• The larger church tends to attract leaders with they type of communication and leadership skills that in turn attracts more people. Indeed many of these larger churches have leaders with personalities and platforms that extend well beyond the churches they serve.

I have been careful not to assess a qualitative judgment about this migration trend. I love the smaller church, and I grieve as many are closing, and others are barely making it. And I have no doubt there are many incredible and effective small churches in the United States today.

My purpose in this brief article has been to define the reality of what is taking place in American congregations. We need to understand this reality so we can understand the context in which God has placed us.

There are so many unanswered questions about this trend. Is this migration positive, negative, or neutral for American congregations? What are the implications for the future? Will the trend continue and, as a result, even more of the smaller congregations close their doors? What are implications for the training of pastors and other leaders who will go to either larger or the smaller churches? What are the implications for the future of denominations and similar bodies?

This issue is one of pressing importance. It cannot be ignored. These and so many other unanswered questions must be answered in the near future.

Posted by Thom Rainer

I’m not sure I feel that way any more.

Don’t get me wrong. I still believe educational preparation is a preferred way to cultivate leaders for the church. It’s hard for me to believe education would actually hurt someone’s ministry potential. However, I now know a number of effective church leaders who have intrinsic gifts of ministry and the ability to interpret and preach the Word effectively. I also know some extremely “prepared” ministers who still struggle in ministry.

How do we explain this? I’m not sure, but I’ll take a stab at it.

Albert Einstein, in this lesser known quote, says: “Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.” I know some of my colleagues just tore their clothes when they read that, but Einstein’s point is worth thinking about.

I’ve always been a proponent of the “leaders are readers” concept–and I still am. However, I do know some preachers who are more-or-less professional readers. I do think there comes a time when education and preparation can reach a point of diminishing returns.

Here are a couple of other questions I’ve had:

• Does our seminary education process effectively equip ministers? If not, what can we do to improve it? I think it could benefit more from an uptick in focus on ministerial practice and spiritual preparation–while maintaining scholarly rigor.
• I also wonder if a focus on education reduces our belief in God’s role in the preparation and empowerment of the minister. I don’t think it has to, but I’ve witnessed the criticism some academic elites aim at highly capable ministers simply because they don’t have MDiv. or higher degrees. It’s absurd to me, though I certainly value education.
• It seems to me we view someone as “qualified” based mostly on education and experience, rather than calling or effectiveness. I wonder if we couldn’t view qualification more holistically.

We all have finite lifespans. It seems then there are wiser things to do that spend it preparing for what we feel called to do without actually doing what we feel called to do. Continuing to learn and grow while in ministry is vital and is not at all what I’m questioning here. I’m addressing the belief that unless one goes to college for 7-10 years, they cannot be an effective minister of the Gospel–and the assumption that those 7-10 years actually prepare them well for ministry.

Does preparation for ministry matter? Yes. As much as we’ve always assumed? I’m sure on that one.

What do you think? How important is educational preparation for ministry? When is a person properly equipped to enter ministry?

While none of these features are inherently wrong, (and can of course be used by good people to do good things), these days I find myself longing for a church with a cool factor of about 0.

That’s right.

I want a church that includes fussy kids, old liturgy, bad sound, weird congregants,  and…brace yourself…painfully amateur “special music” now and then.

Why?

Well, for one thing, when the gospel story is accompanied by a fog machine and light show, I always get this creeped-out feeling like someone’s trying to sell me something. It’s as though we’re all compensating for the fact that Christianity’s not good enough to stand on its own so we’re adding snacks.

But more importantly, I want to be part of an un-cool church because I want to be part of a community that shares the reputation of Jesus, and like it or not, Jesus’ favorite people in the world were not cool. They were mostly sinners, misfits, outcasts, weirdos, poor people, sick people, and crazy people.

Cool congregations can get so wrapped up in the “performance” of church that they forget to actually be the church, a phenomenon painfully illustrated by the story of the child with cerebral palsy who was escorted from the Easter service at Elevation Church for being a “distraction.”

Really?

It seems to me that this congregation was distracted long before this little boy showed up! In their self-proclaimed quest for “an explosive, phenomenal movement of God—something you have to see to believe,” they missed Jesus when he was right under their nose. 

 Was the paralytic man lowered from the rooftop in the middle of a sermon a distraction?

Was the Canaanite woman who harassed Jesus and his disciples about healing her daughter a distraction?

Were the blind men from Jericho who annoyed the crowd with their relentless cries a distraction?

Jesus didn’t think so. In fact, he seemed to think that they were the point.

Jesus taught us that when we throw a banquet or a party, our invitation list should include “the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” So why do our church marketing teams target the young, the hip, the healthy, and the resourced?

In Bossypants (a book you should really go out and buy this very instant), Tina Fey describes working for the YMCA in Chicago soon after graduating from college. This particular YMCA included, “a great mix of high-end yuppie fitness facility, a wonderful community resource for families, and an old-school residence for disenfranchised men,” so Fey shares a host of funny stories about working the front desk. One such story involves one of the residents forgetting to take his meds, bumping into a young mom on her way to a workout session, and saying something wildly inappropriate (and very funny—you should definitely go out and get this book). Fey writes, “The young mother was beside herself. That’s the kind of trouble you get when diverse groups of people actually cross paths with one another. That’s why many of the worst things in the world happen in and around Starbucks bathrooms.”

Church can be a lot like the Y…or a Starbucks bathroom. 

We have one place for the un-cool people (our ministries) and another place for the cool people (our church services). When we actually bump into one another, things can get awkward, so we try to avoid it.

It’s easy to pick on Elevation Church in this case, but the truth is we’re all guilty of thinking we’re too cool for the least of these. Our elitism shows up when we forbid others from contributing art and music because we deem it unworthy of glorifying God, or when we scoot our family an extra foot or two down the pew when the guy with Aspergers sits down. Having helped start a church, I remember hoping that our hip guests wouldn’t be turned off by our less-than-hip guests.  For a second I forgot that in church, of all places, those distinctions should disappear.

Some of us wear our brokenness on the inside, others on the outside. 

But we’re all broken. 

We’re all un-cool.

We’re all in need of a Savior.

So let’s cut the crap, pull the plug, and have us some distracting church services… the kind where Jesus would fit right in.

***

Do you ever get the feeling that church is just one big show? Have you found a congregation in which Jesus and his friends would be welcome?

I’m sorry…

I’m sorry that I spend more time on my computer than I do talking to You.

I’m sorry that I come to You so often when I am broken, hurting, and lonely, and not before.

I’m sorry that You get my leftovers when what you deserve is my first fruits.

I’m sorry that I still doubt You even though I know you have never let me down.

I’m sorry I don’t look more like Your Son and instead I look so much like everyone else.

I’m sorry I still sin when I know good and well I have been freed from sin.

I’m sorry that I treat You warmly one minute and act distant the next.

I’m sorry that I don’t tell nearly enough people about You.

I’m sorry that I am often lazy in my faith.

I’m sorry for the times I am lukewarm.

But, I thank you…

Thank you Lord that you still listen to me even when I complain and grumble.

Thank you that when I offer you leftovers you offer me grace and compassion.

Thank you that I could never earn your love, because I know I would fail, but instead you give it so freely.

Thank you that even when I doubt You, You never doubt me.

Thank you that your love covers a multitude of sins.

Thank you for finding me, and rescuing me, and being with me always.

Thank you that when I lay my burdens before You, I am reminded that Your burden is easy and your yoke is light.

Thank you that you are a God who allows me to come to you with each piece of broken me, each bit of tarnished girl, and that You never shame me or guilt me for the choices I’ve made.

Thank you for your Son, who I want to be more like, and who you gave to me, for freedom’s sake.

Thank you that You aren’t finished me, not even close.

Thank you for bringing me gifts of tremendous blessing even though I am so undeserving.

Thank you that You are a good God.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I love you…

Sincerely,

Nicole

What would you apologize for? What fills your heart with gratitude?

“Jerk: Slang . a contemptibly naive, fatuous, foolish, or inconsequential person.” Not a cuss word.

According to recent studies (you know, the same ones that show that research is known to cause cancer in rats), if two Christians disagree with one another online for more than three consecutive days, there is a 97.3% chance that one of them will end up calling the other a “child of Satan” or a near-equivalent.

With that in mind, here are nine sure-fire ways to perfect the art of being a jerk online:

1. Move from arguing the substance of a disagreement to attacking the person with whom you disagree. (This is called an ad hominem argument. Attack the messenger while you disagree with their message. People often do this when they can’t win an argument.)

2. Assume what other people think and believe rather than asking them directly. And state your assumption about what they think and believe as though it were gospel fact to others. (Did I say without asking the person whose name you’re dropping directly about what he/she believes or thinks? I’m always amazed when Christians do this.)

3. Say things to your fellow sistas and bruthas in Christ that you would never have the gall to say to their faces. (In other words, play the part of a gutless wonder and a spineless coward.)

4. Don’t read a blog post or comment carefully. Instead, read “into it,” jump to conclusions, then go off (or go snarky) on the blogger or commenter. To be more specific, never ask clarifying questions about something you just read (such as, “Maybe I’m not understanding you correctly, but are you saying xyz?” . . . or . . . “If what you’re saying is true, what is your response to abc?”). Nope. Just lay into the person after you’ve “read into” their post or comment. Ask no questions in a gracious manner, only make statements and accusations.

5. Write something online when you are angry or your feelings have just been hurt. Give no time to bring it to the Lord. Stone that angel who is telling you to wait because you’re not in the Spirit. Instead, let your emotions control your reaction.

6. Presume to know what another person is thinking and assume you know the motives behind their words and actions. Put yourself in the seat that only God Almighty occupies and impugn their intentions. (Anytime a person says something like, “You said that because” . . . or “You were trying to xyz when you said or did abc” that person is judging the motives of another mortal.)

7. Engage in “drive-by” character assassination by posting a comment on other people’s blogs that smears the reputation of another child of God. Don’t post your real name and your real email address when you leave the flaming comment. And hope that the blogger is sloppy enough to not notice the comment so they don’t delete it immediately. (As heinous and immature as this is, I’m sorry to say that some “Christians” actually do this sort of thing. Interestingly, every comment left on a blog has an identifiable IP address. So it’s not that difficult to identify the person.)

8. If someone gives you a response, ignore their response and repeat your points over again. Have the attitude, “Don’t confuse me with the facts,” and disregard what they say. Just keep pushing the same points over and over again, hoping that they will eventually agree with you.

9. With forethought and deliberation, completely misrepresent what another person has said or written, then play the victim. For instance, accuse someone of attacking others when they’ve attacked no one. Accuse them of holding to beliefs and ideas that they don’t hold to. Play on the fact that most Christians will believe whatever you write instead of going to the source to verify if what you’re saying is accurate or not. While this is the height of fleshly activity, it’s fitting for the one who is perfecting the art of being an online jerk.

10. Forget what your Lord taught you. Defy your spiritual instincts and grieve the Holy Spirit of God by treating other people (especially those you don’t like) in a way that you would never want to be treated yourself. Post things online to and about others that you’d never want posted to and about you or your loved ones. In other words, claim you believe Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:12, but disobey them without wincing.

News Alert: The world is carefully watching how we Christians treat one another online. Keep this in mind the next time you sit in front a computer and write something.

Just sayin’ . . .

Some fun conversation followed in the comments, but one particular thought stood out to me. Here is what someone said in response to what I wrote:

Jon…its all talk until you delete him out of your ITUNES

I really like that comment, because I really want it to be true.

When I bump into challenges in my faith, I want the solution to be as simple as deleting a file from my computer. (Or, in my case, removing it from Spotify.)

I want to press a button, feel a twinge of completeness, and walk away. But there’s a problem: That’s never worked in my life.

It didn’t work in the seventh grade when I would go on a retreat, get on fire for God, throw CDs away, and then buy them again a month later.

And it’s continued to not work. Despite the barriers, steps, and plans I come up with, I keep doing things I don’t want to do and not doing things I want to do. Just like Paul said.

The truth is, that’s what’s so frustrating to me about God. I want him to give me a to-do list. I want him to give me some action items, and he keeps refusing.

I say to him, “Give me a solution.” He says “I gave you a savior.”

I say, “Give me something that will fix me forever.” He says, “Walk with me today.”

I say, “I want a present from you that will change me.” He says, “I want you in my presence.”

I want a quick fix. I want actions. I want progress I can control and monitor. And instead, in the face of all of that, God offers me something incredibly simple.

Relationship.

Why? Because that is the only thing that will lead to renewal in my heart. All the plans I craft will eventually crumble. All the good intentions I might have will fall apart. All my willpower and discipline will abandon me in my greatest time of need. But one thing remains steadfast: My relationship with God.

It’s messy. It’s slower than I want. It’s not always the shape I’d like it to be because, though I know what I want, God is the only one who really knows what I need.

But the truth is, if I want my heart renewed, if I want my soul sanctified, if I want to be the new man God’s always known I could be, I have to trust in the relationship. I have to return to the relationship. I have to give all to the relationship.

If you read this and think, “OK, I don’t need a filter on my computer. Actions and plans don’t matter,” then I’ve done a poor job writing this. It’s not that actions don’t matter, what matters is where they come from. The actions that blossom from my relationship with God are completely different from the actions that start in my own desire to fix something.

If you’ve got a song you don’t think you should listen to, then delete it. Delete it all day. But just know that actions alone won’t change your heart. We are not designed to renew ourselves. What a sense of freedom and release from pressure I felt when I first realized that. Trying to fix me with me is exhausting.

True change, heart change, life change, can only come from one place, your relationship with a God who already commissioned the action that matters most, the death of his son on the cross for you and me.

They’ve been advised by well-meaning believers that they must address it with the person. They are certain it will be received wrong, but they were told it’s the “Biblical” thing to do.

I may be wrong, which wouldn’t be that unusual, but I don’t think that’s always true. I think what they have to be able to do is forgive in their hearts, reconcile the disagreement in their own minds, and move forward with their lives without the conflict continuing to haunt them. If they can’t do that, then I would agree…they must confront the conflict.

Not every conflict, however, is necessary to be resolved. Sometimes, two people may have to agree to disagree and, if necessary, be willing to go separate ways to avoid future conflict. (Read the conflict between Paul and Barnabas in Acts 15.)

Based on the disclaimers listed, here are 5 questions to help pick your battles:

Can I move forward without holding a grudge or being resentful in my heart? – If not, do you need to confront simply to clear your heart to be whole again?

Will I be able to change their opinion if I confront them? – If not, then is there any value in the confrontation?

Is it impacting other people? – If your conflict is simply between two people, then what’s the urgency of the conflict? If others are affected by your disagreement, then some sense of resolution may become necessary.

Does my heart lead me to confront? – We can’t dismiss the Spirit of God working in our lives. If the issue won’t leave your mind, you need to do something.

Am I at peace with things as they are? – If you are at complete peace and the thought of confrontation only makes you miserable, then are you sure you are supposed to confront? Again, a conviction to confront should not be avoided, regardless of the fear involved, but if you are already at peace, why disrupt the calm?

Have you had a relationship you simply couldn’t reconcile? What questions would you ask?

1. Where do you place the importance of preaching in the grand scheme of church life?

The Spirit of God moving through the preaching of the Word is the driving force at The Village. Our groups rally around it, our missions flow out of it and our community is built on it.

2. In a paragraph, how did you discover your gifts in preaching?

It was quite by accident. I began by the invitation of a friend to teach a Sunday School class my freshman year of college. God did some tremendous things in that class and it led to other opportunities to teach. I had a bad experience at a small church before I arrived in Abilene and didn’t think I was going to end up in the church. God continued to grow my influence as a teacher/preacher and about a year later I was preaching in front of about 1000 college students every Thursday night.

3. How long (on average) does it take you to prepare a sermon?

On average 6-10 hours. It used to take me much longer but the more I have studied and preached the quicker it has started to come.

4. Is it important to you that a sermon contain one major theme or idea? If so, how do you crystallise it?

I think it’s extremely important to tap into a major theme or point so that your hearers walk away knowing what the Word said about whatever the theme or point was. I know this will sound like an oversimplification but I want to let the text crystallise it.

5. What is the most important aspect of a preacher’s style and what should he avoid?

This is a hard question because I think everything from context to content plays into the answer. I think a preacher needs to be himself. To learn from other preachers but not when all is said and done to emulate them.  In a day where you can listen to anyone and watch anyone by simply clicking a button on your phone or computer I think it’s important to find your own voice so the kingdom doesn’t get a carbon copy of someone else.

6. What notes, if any, do you use?

My notes are a bit of a hybrid manuscript/outline. I try not to look at them while I am preaching so I study those notes and pray a ton before I step out on stage.

7. What are the greatest perils that preacher must avoid?

The greatest peril for a preacher is wanting the acceptance and approval of his listeners. This is a serious thing that we have been called to and we will regularly have to say things that our culture thinks is foolish and the religious find offensive.

8. How do you fight to balance preparation for preaching with other important responsibilities (eg. pastoral care, leadership responsibilities)?

It’s important for me to do both so I set aside blocks of time each week for both. Tuesdays and Thursdays are study days for me.  I put together sermons and pray and study on those two days. The rest of the week I am meeting with people and trying to shepherd well the people God has asked me to lead.

9. What books on preaching, or exemplars of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?

John Stott’s book Between Two Worlds and John Piper’s The Supremacy of God in Preaching are two of my favorite books on preaching. I more recently read Tony Merida’s book Faithful Preaching and thought it was excellent.

10. What steps do you take to nurture or encourage developing of future preachers?

The main two ways we nurture and encourage is reps and feedback. We want to create different venues for our young men to preach and then we want to give them honest and straight feedback about how they handled the text, how they engaged the crowd, whether they communicated clearly, etc.

I’m just a self-published blogger without book deal. I’m not a real writer.

I am a husband but my wife makes more money than I do. I am not a man.

I am not an athlete. I drop the ball and look like a gazelle when I run. Because of this I have been called a girl, a fag, and a homo so I must be gay.

I once told a joke where I made a derogatory comment about someone whose skin color is different than mine. I was fired the next day. Now I am a racist.

I cheated on my girlfriend in college, which means I am untrustworthy.

I received a D on my six-grade report card, and did not graduate from high school with honors. I am an idiot.

I broke a promise to my mother that I wouldn’t take a drink while I was in high school. I am no longer a man of my word.

I write about being a gentleman, but I’ve taken things too far with a woman and never called her again. I am a selfish pig.

I say I have a heart for the homeless, but I’ve ignored them if giving change would inconvenience my day. This makes me a hypocrite.

I believe in the Gospel, but I once denied my love for Jesus to a woman because she was an atheist and I thought she might sleep with me. I am unforgivable.

I am alone.

I am the only one struggling.

Do you still want to know who I am? Do you still want anything to do with me now that you know I’ve been labeled a liar, a cheater, a hypocrite, and a sex addict?

We are labeled a lot of things in this life, and it starts the moment we are born. Maybe this why we come into the world crying. Because deep down inside we know we are innocent and we want to stay that way, but everyone is already assuming the worst about us. And we are defenseless. We believe we are a product of our environment rather than the product of intelligent design and love. All it takes it one mistake in the gym class to be labeled a “wimp,” and a “fag.” One day of wearing the wrong outfit your freshman year of high school to be called out and beat down by the “popular” kids.

Can you picture a world where we walk around every day wearing shirts plastered with the labels: “Liar,” “Cheater,” “Porn Addict,” “Gay,” “Abusive,” or any of the atrocities we commit against ourselves and each other? A life where we let those around us shape the perception of our reality with their opinions of us? Where everyone has embraced the labels given to them without question, and accepted the lie of what was said about you in the locker room after gym as truth? Or letting your identity lie in one past mistake, one feeling or lustful thought?

The most dangerous part of labels is how easily we can become what we’ve been labeled.

I used to watch pornography every day, but my identity is NOT as a recovering sex addict.

I blog, am self-published, and do not have a book deal, but I AM a writer.

My wife makes more money than I do, and I am STILL a man.

I have spoken in a derogatory manner to someone with different skin color than me, but I am not a racist.

I have broken promises, and as a result I make sure my “yes” means yes and my “no” means no.

I graduated high school with GPA under 3.5, but I am intelligent and capable.

I cheated on a girlfriend in college, but my wife trusts me entirely.

I have ignored the homeless and I am a hypocrite, but I am NOT alone.

I am not the only one struggling.

Who am I?

I am Max Andrew Dubinsky.
I am a sinner.
I am forgiven.

Those are the only labels that do not lie.

But it had looked like it at one point. Apparently, Paul had faced strong opposition when he had first preached in Thessalonica. People had accused him of preaching from false motives.

He was just after money.
He was just trying to tickle ears.
His teaching was heretical.

When the opposition was actually happening, most probably would have called Paul’s visit a failure. A waste of time even.

But we know it wasn’t a failure. And we know because this letter exists. Paul is writing to the church he established on that visit. Apparently, the gospel had taken root, and the church had even expanded after he left. Paul’s work wasn’t in vain.

Many of the things that we consider failures in our lives really aren’t failures at all. They’re just stepping-stones to God’s purposes in our lives.

It doesn’t feel this way immediately. In the middle or immediate aftermath of a failure, it can feel like our efforts and time were wasted. But this is not a necessary truth. We serve a God who can work all things for our good. Who can turn failures into successes. Or use them for successes.

I’ve seen this repeatedly in my own life.

One of the most discouraging days of my pastoral career was when our church was scheduled to sign a contract to occupy a facility as an additional campus. Everything looked promising, but then we were shut down at the last minute. On the surface, it looked like a failure. But a year later, we ended up getting the building when we were more ready and better positioned for optimal impact. We’ve now seen hundreds come to Christ in that building.

It wasn’t a failure.

There have been sermons I have preached that I thought I did a terrible job delivering. And then hundreds of hands would shoot up during the invitation.

It wasn’t a failure.

I’ve had speaking engagements where I had no clue why I was there. It felt like a waste of time. But then I would meet someone who years later has now significantly impacted my life.

It wasn’t a failure.

I’m not saying things don’t go wrong or according to plan. Or that you’re never going to experience failure. Because you are. Plans are going to fall through. Expectations aren’t going to be met.

But you have to keep the perspective that there is no failure in your life that is beyond God’s power to use for good and turn into a success. Your screw-ups can become God’s setup for what He wants to do you in your life. Your greatest disappointments can become God’s greatest display of His power to work redemption.

Your failures might not turn out to be failures after all.