Why Christ Transforms Culture

From my message Rumors of Another World in the series Where to Find God (When He’s Missing)

John 1:14a (NLT) – So the Word became human and made his home among us.

This may very well be the most mind-blowing sentence in the entire Bible. The word, “Word,” is the Greek word “logos.” Logos is where we get our word “logic” from. But in ancient Greek philosophy it was the name of the “force” that wove all civilization together. It was sort of the essence of being; the source of all life and thought. Logos was a very pagan and secular idea, espoused by the great philosophers like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. It was simply an impersonal force, completely devoid of any spiritual significance.

So why does John use this distinctly secular cultural term to describe the Eternal God become human?

Five Historical Views on the Relationship between Christ and Culture

Here is the chart with the five historical views on the relationship between Christ and culture that I shared in the message, “Rumors of Another World” last weekend.

Seven Keys to Starting a Successful 2nd Worship Service

I’m certainly no expert, but I’ve been consulted several times by other pastors about how to start a 2nd worship service, so I’ll share what I’ve learned in no particular order.

7 KEYS TO STARTING A SUCCESSFUL 2ND WORSHIP SERVICE

1. Have a clear vision. In my estimation, this is the #1 reason why additional worship services fail – lack of vision. Vision is not the same as mission or purpose. For many churches the purpose for starting an additional worship service is to have a “contemporary” service alternative. Often times the reason for such an maneuver is just to “keep” the young people from leaving the church. Although this may be a valid purpose, keeping people happy is not a compelling vision. Any time you are trying to keep people from leaving instead of inviting people to come, you have already lost the battle. Vision asks questions like how will our church be different as a result? Who will we reach that we’re not currently reaching? How will our community be impacted by this service? The answers should be compelling enough that you can’t not do it.
2. You need a minimum of 1/3 of your regulars to commit to attending both services for a minimum of three months. So if you average 100 people a week in your current service, you need at least 30 of those people to commit to attending both the existing service and the new service for at least three months. The reason is you need critical mass in order for the new service to be successful. New people don’t want to walk into a room with only two other people. It will fail the first Sunday. This is why you need a clear and compelling vision. What is going to compel people to give up an extra hour or more of their Sunday (or Saturday)?  If they are in it just for themselves, it won’t work.
3. Ask your 1/3 to serve. Don’t just ask people to commit to attending two services. Ask them to commit to attending one service and serving at the other service. You will need many hands and feet to make this new service a success and you can’t afford to have spectators. One advantage for people is that if they are currently serving during your only service, they are likely missing out on at least part of it already. Show them that now they can still serve and not miss any of the worship service. It’s a win-win.
4. Make your new worship service identical to your current worship service. Now, for those who currently have a traditional or blended service and you are hoping to start a “contemporary” service, the entire reason you are probably starting a 2nd worship service is to make it different. Fair enough. I won’t burst your bubble. But consider this: if you don’t offer all of the same ministries, amenities, volunteers, and effort at both services, the one you neglect will eventually die. Now, maybe that’s your hope for the existing service, and if so, just have the guts to kill it now before you drain all of your people and resources. But you will never grow the new service by skimping.
5. Choose the right time. In every community there is an ideal time for a worship service (typically between 10 & 11 a.m.) and the chances are you have already figured that out and are currently meeting at that time. Good for you! So what time are you going to make your new service? Earlier? Later? Saturday or Sunday night? (adding an evening service is a whole different animal). How will you decide? Whether you make the new service before or after your existing service, recognize that you are probably already meeting at the best time, and the new service will never be as large as your current service. You have two options here. One is you could move the existing service forward or back a half hour and have two new service times to make both services closer to that ideal time. The other option is that you recognize and communicate to your people that guests are most likely to attend at the “ideal” time, so in order to make room for guests, would they consider attending the other “less ideal” service time? Another reason why #1 above is critical.
6. Schedule your worship services close enough together that the people leaving bump into the people coming. Resist the temptation to put “coffee hour” or Sunday School between the services. It won’t work. Not for the services, for fellowship, or Sunday School. People will not mingle unless they are forced to. I know this sounds harsh, but it’s true. The only way you will successfully add an additional worship service without successfully dividing the church is if people don’t know who’s coming or going.
7. Honor your volunteers. It will take twice as much (or more) work to run an additional worship service. Volunteers will get tired, frustrated, and burned out. Recognize the additional workload they are bearing and show your appreciation frequently. A simple “thank you” can go a long way.

Holy Discontent

I always have this sort of “holy discontent” after Big Days. Easter weekend at Epiphany Station was amazing! We asked God for 400 people and we came up just shy with 390 which just totally obliterated our previous attendance record of 279. I’m sure there were at least another 10 people tuning in online (waiting for the stats on that). We baptized 6 people – for the first time ever inside the Station – and it was powerful! The band was amazing – playing all four services with energy and passion! Our volunteers were unbelievable – doing whatever was necessary with a joyful heart! I know from the feedback I’ve heard that many people were impacted by the services. It was a very powerful, moving, and exhausting weekend all around.

So why do I feel so discontented? Bill Hybels has written a book called Holy Discontent, which for the record, I have not read. But I certainly understand the idea. It’s the feeling that visionaries have that although things are good, they could be so much better. That although God is moving, He could – and wants to – do so much more. I think visionaries in particular feel this “holy discontent” often because rarely do things measure up to the vision God has given them. God-given vision, by definition, is unattainable without God’s supernatural blessing and guidance. God-given vision is BIG. And anything short of attaining it just won’t do. Holy discontent.

Holy discontent is good and bad. It is good because we should long for the things that God longs for. We shouldn’t be content to settle for anything less than what God has called us to do. Holy discontent, as Hybels says, “fuels the fire that ignites vision.” It is what keeps visionaries “visioneering.” We are not content to settle for anything less than what God wants to do.

But it can have a darkside, too. Holy discontent can be perceived as negativity. “Why can’t you just be happy with the results?” visionaries are often asked. That is a word of caution. It’s not that we’re not happy with the results, it’s just that so frequently the results fall short of what we envision God doing. But because of that, we struggle to take time to pause and reflect on what God has done before moving on to what God can do. In this way we can fail to give God the praise and glory He deserves.

Today I feel holy discontent because as I do reflect on the record attendance of this past weekend, I can’t help but asking, “so what?” I am thrilled with the nearly 400 people who heard the Good News, experienced Spirit-empowered worship, and were embraced in authentic Christian community. But my thoughts are focused in on the fact that not a single faith commitment was made that I know of and we only received a couple (literally) communication cards from first-time guests. I praise God for the crowds, the baptisms, and for our amazing volunteers and staff! But so what? What does it all matter if people aren’t being drawn toward Christ? Aren’t being transformed by the Spirit? Aren’t compelled to come back next week to experience more? This is what my heart hones in on. Holy discontent.

This is the fuel that ignites God-given vision. Praise God for 400 people! But God has given [e]stat a vision of embracing thousands of outsiders and anything short of that will always fuel feelings of discontent. God has given us a vision of 100 commitments to Christ this year, and anything less than that just won’t do. And so I will keep on seeking. Keep on asking. Keep on knocking. Until the floodgates are opened.

Big Hairy Audacious Prayers

Looking at my post from Easter Week last year (which also, coincidentally, happens to be my last post), it is amazing to me how I am drawn back to blogging again at the same season. We are two weeks away from Easter and this morning I woke up at 4:45 excited, thanking God for all that He’s been doing and anticipating all that He’s going to do.

Last night after the Saturday night service, I had the privilege of talking with a young lady and leading her to Christ. The really cool thing is it was the 2nd Saturday in a row that I’ve had that privilege. All-in-all, we’ve had 6 people make commitments to Christ in just the past week! And here, I’ll let you in on a little secret: our staff and overseers are believing God for 100 commitments to Christ this year. And guess when we started asking God for that? Oh, about a little over a week ago. God is moving! He wants people to be saved. He wants us to ask Him to save. He wants us to pray Big Hairy Audacious Prayers (B.H.A.P.s)! Our God is great! Our God is good! Our God is strong! Our God is loving!

So here’s another B.H.A.P. that flows from the first: That when we see 100 people commit their lives to Christ this year, we will see our church double in size. That means that we are believing and asking God that we will be a church of 500 by the end of the year. Talk about a Big Hairy Audacious Prayer! But I believe that God wants our church to grow more than we do. Our God is big enough! Our God is wide enough! Our God is deep enough! Our God is high enough! He can fill a bucket. He can fill a barrel. He can fill a pool. Let’s give Him a pool!

The thing with B.H.A.P.s is that they are contagious. Once you believe God for one thing and you start to see Him move, you want to ask Him for more and more audacious things. So we are asking God for 400 people on Easter weekend. Four hundred people packing into a gas station? That’s crazy! That’s big! That’s audacious! And our God can do it. Our prayer is that God will be so alive among us that people will be beating down the doors to get in. People will stand just to hear the Good News. They will be uncomfortably warm just to experience the presence of God. They will park blocks away just to say “I was there.” Oh yeah, I believe it’s going to happen!

B.H.A.P.s need to be just big enough that we can’t do it in our own strength. They need to be just hairy enough that it causes a little bit of anxiety and fear. They need to be just audacious enough that it could only be accomplished through faith.

Our God will not be contained by the limits of our imagination. He will not be stopped by the shortness of our vision. If we don’t believe Him to do great things, He will find someone else that does.

I’m Back?

Wow, it’s been nearly a year since I last posted. Sad. I fell the need to make this “buffer” post before I start blogging again. I set a goal of making 40 blog posts this year. Yet, here we are – nearly 3 full months into the year and nothing. How do people do it? I love writing but it takes me so long. I write. And rewrite. And delete. And move things around. Oh well. Here’s hoping… Only 39 more to go.

Easter Week

I could barely sleep last night thinking about all that God has been doing at [e] stat. Four people that I know of have given their lives to Christ in the past week. I can sense that there are many more to come. After all, it’s Easter week!

After sleeping pretty restlessly, I was ready to get going when my alarm went off at 5:30. There is so much still to plan and do. It’s Easter week!

I grabbed my phone and checked emails while making coffee. Several more confirmations that God is at work in the hearts of people. God is not dead. It’s Easter week!

I grabbed “The Story” to read the Resurrection story and my heart was pounding in my chest. I could hardly sit still. I felt like I was one of the disciples at the tomb. God is on the move. It’s Easter week!

God brought to mind the names of many – some regulars at [e] stat, some who haven’t been in a while, and others who have yet to come. I was so excited with anticipation of what God is going to do, I could barely formulate prayers. It’s Easter week!

Whatever stress, fatigue, and pain I feel, I lay at the cross of Christ. Father, fill me with your Resurrection life and power, so that everyone may know IT’S EASTER WEEK!