On Saturday the 25th of August 2012 I taught a Seminar on ‘Cross Cultural Ministry and Church Growth’ at the Annual Conference of the Solid Rock Church of God in Dublin. Our question and answer sessions ran longer than expected, and I promised the delegates at the Seminar that I would post some added material about Church Health online. So, for those delegates, and anyone else who is interested, here are Eleven Vital Signs of Church Health. Some of these have been adapted from the writings of C. Peter Wagner.
INTRODUCTION
Sometimes we get all worked up about Church Growth, when we should more properly be concentrating on Church Health. Things that are healthy grow without even trying! Think about our children. We don’t worry about how to make them grow. They grow naturally. In fact, sometimes when we’re having to buy them clothes we wonder how they can grow quite so fast! But if a child wasn’t growing at all then we’d take them to see the doctor. We understand, when it comes to children, that non-growth is an indication of a health problem. We need to apply that same understanding to churches.
One of the first thing a doctor will do, is to check your vital signs. He’ll check your pulse, your temperature, your blood pressure. Note that all of these are essential – just getting half of them right won’t cut it! You don’t say, “Hey, my temperature is OK even if I have no heartbeat – so I’m not doing so bad!” In the same way, every church needs to make sure they’re cutting it when it comes to the Vital Signs of Church Health.
1. RESPECT FOR THE WORD OF GOD
Having a strong emphasis on the Word of God and Scriptural Authority doesn’t guarantee growth – but a lack of it will guarantee decline! Church History demonstrates that churches and denominations that take a liberal approach to Scripture always experience numerical decline. Don’t preach ‘Christianity Lite’ – give people the Word!
2. PRAYER
A church that lacks prayer will never have the spiritual power to change lives – and without changed lives there can be no growth. There is no one way or style to pray. Let a multitude of prayer ministries and meetings become part and parcel of the life of the Church.
3. A SERVANT LEADER
Growing churches always have strong leadership – and that means a team led by one strong leader. Committee-led churches don’t build the vision that is necessary for growth. But neither can a one-man-band grow strong Christians.
Leadership should not be domineering or tyrannical. We must follow the example of Jesus who said, “If you want to be great in God’s Kingdom – learn to be the servant of all.”
4. MOBILISED MEMBERSHIP
In Ephesians 4 we see that the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist and Pastor/Teacher are to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. One of the biggest contemporary barriers to Church Health and Church Growth is the unbiblical divide between clergy and laity.
Healthy growing churches release as many members as possible into ministering to each other.
5. CELL, CONGREGATION & CELEBRATION
Human beings crave fellowship with each other, and we find this fellowsip in different sized gatherings.
a) The Cell is a small group where people get to know each other and share intimacy, trust and their problems. In traditional society people found this in their extended families, but in today’s geographical dislocation (with people migrating all over the globe) mean that this small-group experience is more often found in the church.
b) The Congregation is a larger group. It lacks the intimacy of the Cell, but is still small enough for everyone to know everyone else’s name. Some people seek this experience in a pub or a bar.
c) The Celebration is a big event – where we become part of a crowd. It produces an energy and dynamism that meets a deep need in the human psyche. We can get this at a rock concert, a crowd at a sports event, or a big worship event.
Growing healthy churches will seek to provide their members with different worship and fellowship experiences – including the Cell, the Congregation and the Cell. Sometimes it will be necessary to cooperate with other churches in order to do this.
For the Irish, Olympic gold medals are as rare as hens’ teeth. In our nation’s entire history we’ve only ever won 9 gold medals (and 3 of them were ‘earned’ by a swimmer in Atlanta 96 who was subsequently exposed as a drugs cheat. Heck, even one of our horses was stripped of an equestrian gold medal in Athens 04 for taking drugs!
For years, in Ireland, Pentecostal Christians seemed to be as rare as Olympic medallists. Frequently derided as a cult, they were often relegated to the margins of society. It was not unusual for Pentecostals to be mocked for following an American religion, and therefore, not being Catholics, they weren’t truly Irish.
All of which makes Katie Taylor a breath of fresh air. Katie is a 4-times world boxing champion who, this afternoon, will be fighting for Ireland’s first Olympic gold medal for 20 years. The level of national support is overwhelming, with the country expected to grind to a halt to watch her bout. For the semi-final, 10,000 Irish supporters crammed the boxing arena in London, and in the process created a roar that was measured at 113 decibels, exceeding the noise of a Jumbo Jet’s take off.
Katie, a committed worshipper at St Mark’s Family Worship Centre (Assemblies of God) in Dublin, is a humble young woman who has so far proved a wonderful ambassador for her country and her faith. Some boxing pundits have hailed her as the best pound-for-pound boxer (male or female) in the world today. At the end of her semi-final bout she pointed heavenwards thanking God for the gifts he has given her.
(My American friends are used to so many of their sporting heroes acknowledging Christ, but understand that for Pentecostals in Ireland this is something very new and exciting for us).
Which makes me think about how I should pray for Katie today. I would love her to win that gold medal, but something within me stops me praying for God to ‘fix’ a boxing match. The whole thing that makes sport special is the unpredictability of it. You watch a match and you know both participants have the same opp[ortunities to win. If God was to ‘fix’ the result, then what would be the point? It would no longer be sport – it would just be vulgar theatre like WWF wrestling.
So this afternoon I will be glued to the TV cheering Katie on. I will be fervently hoping she wins that gold medal, and I’ll probably shed a tear or so if she does. But I won’t be praying for her to win. I’ll be praying that neither she nor her Russian opponent suffer any significant physical harm, and I’ll be praying that, whether she wins or loses, Katie will keep being such a wonderful ambassador for the Gospel.
Here are two more items that appear on the General Assembly Agenda. They both relate to how business is conducted at the General assembly every two years.
6. MOTIONS COMMITTEE
We recommend: That we amend page 68, S4. INTERNATIONAL GENERAL COUNCIL, IV. INTERNATIONAL GENERAL COUNCIL MOTIONS COMMITTEE, by adding the following paragraph:
Previous notice shall be required for any motion which greatly alters the organizational structure of the Church of God. When motions are presented to the Motions Committee, the following guidelines will be followed:
1. Each motion will be processed and prioritized by the Motions Committee according to the guidelines of the General Assembly Minutes.
2. The Motions Committee will initially determine if the motion would “greatly alter the organizational structure of
the Church of God.”
3. If in the opinion of the moderator the motion would “greatly alter the organizational structure of the Church of God,” the motion will be read to the body by the chairman of the Motions Committee at the direction of the moderator with the notation that it is a motion that will require previous notice before final disposition.
4. The moderator will explain that if the motion passes in the present International General Council, it will be placed on the agenda of the following International General Council in order to fulfi ll the requirement of previous notice.
5. The item will then be open for full debate on the presently-convening International General Council floor.
6. If the motion does not receive a majority vote, it falls to the floor.
7. If the motion receives a majority vote, it is committed to the International Executive Council with the mandate that it be placed on the agenda for the next International General Council in a manner that fulfi lls the requirements of previous notice.
This is really a ‘safety first’ measure to avoid any potentially game changing motions slipping through the General Assembly without being properly considered or debated.
The Agenda for each General Assembly is prepared in advance by the International Executive Council. It is publicised so as to give all delegates the opportunity to pray over it, and to discuss it among themselves beforehand (just like I’m doing in this blog). However, sometimes the discussions go quicker than expected and there is time left over after the Agenda has been dealt with. In this case, any delegate can propose a measure to the Motions Committee and, if time permits, that can then be debated and voted on.
In my opinion this is a good thing. It opens the door to wider participation, and prevents a small leadership group from totally dictating what comes up for discussion. However, there is also a danger. Often, at the end of the day, people are tired and many delegates have drifted off to get a meal or prepare for that evening’s Worship Service. The danger, therefore, is that a small and tired remnant might, at the end of the day, wind up passing a measure that would have great impact and consequences on the Church of God. Item 6, therefore, ensures that such motions would not be passed without due discussion and consideration.
8. CONCLUDED AND DECIDED AGENDA ITEMS
We recommend: That we amend pages 67, 68, S4. INTERNATIONAL GENERAL COUNCIL, III. INTERNATIONAL GENERAL COUNCIL AGENDA, by adding the following:
Furthermore, no agenda item concluded and decided by the International General Council and/or concluded and decided by the International General Assembly is to be included on the published agenda for the next International General Council unless approved by a two-thirds majority of the International Executive Council. This does not apply to items of previous notice or informational reports.
There is a frequent complaint that the same subjects keep coming back for discussion at each General Assembly. The fear appears to be that Headquarters leadership are trying to push a measure through, and will keep putting it on the Agenda until everyone gets so weary that it finally passes. This measure seeks to alleviate that fear by making it more difficult, if a proposed measure gets voted down, for it to immediately come back again at the next General Assembly.
I think both Items 6 & 8 are sensible, and so I will be voting in favour of them.
Today the General Council of the Church of God elected a new Executive Council (Council of Eighteen) to serve for the next two years. I was particularly delighted to see Dwight Allen, of the Cooper City Church of God, being honoured in this way.
Tonight also marked the end of my four years serving on this Council. It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the Church of God in this capacity.
The Church of God General Assembly has now started, with the elections of a new General Overseer and Executive Committee.
General Overseer: Mark Williams
Assistant Overseers: David Griffis, Jim Stephens and Wallace Sibley
Secretary General: Thomas Propes
I’m excited by the quality of leadership this represents for the next four years. Congratulations to all five brothers.
We also elected Gary Lewis as Youth Director and David Blair as assistant Youth Director.
Proposals to eliminate the positions of Assistant Youth Director and Assistant Word Missions Director were comprehensively voted down.
Here’s another item coming up on the General Assembly Agenda in Orlando this week:
Item 15 seeks to permit women to be fully represented in roles that have hitherto been restricted only to men.
These include:
a) A pastor’s spouse serving as his or her assistant/
b) Women serving on a Congregational Trial Board in discxiplinary cases.
c) Women serving on the Church of God Publications Board.
d) Women serving on the US Missions Board.
The removal of these outdated and senseless gender restrictions, in my opinion, makes such obvious good sense that there’s not much more I can say on the subject. Needless to say, I will be voting for this item, even though it comes about 100 years too late!
Here’s another motion that will be debated at the Church of God General Assembly in Orlando next week.
2. AFFILIATION WITH CHURCH OF GOD
We recommend:
That we amend pages 137, 138, S49. AFFILIATION WITH CHURCH OF GOD, by substituting the following:
That non-Church of God churches that wish to affi liate with the Church of God be allowed to join as associate churches. They shall be able to retain ownership of their properties. They shall make monthly reports to the state/regional and general offi ces with the same financial accountability as International General Assembly congregations. The pastor shall submit to a background check and he/she shall secure Church of God ministerial credentials in accordance with the denomination’s polity.
An associate church can remove its associate status by placing the church properties on a Church of God warranty deed with the approval of the administrative bishop and the state/regional council.
At present Church of God congregations in the United States, if they own a church property, are supposed to deed their properties to the denomination. In many other parts of the world this is not an issue. For example, in Ireland most Church of God congregations rent their properties – and there would be huge legally problems in trying to lodge the deed to an Irish property with an institution with headquarters in another nation. Many items in the Church of God Minutes were framed in an American context with little thought for how that might work in another country – which fails to reflect that the vast majority of Church of God members now live outside of the United States.
In the US, there are independent churches which would desire to come under the covering of Church of God, but which, quite understandably, wish to retain ownership of properties that they have sacrificed over the years in order to build or purchase. This measure would allow such churches to come into Church of God while retaining ownership of their property.
In my view this is a win/win measure. But a similar motion was voted down two years ago at our last General Assembly in 2010. The opposition seemed to come from two pretty opposite viewpoints:
a) Some see the policy of retaining title deeds at headquarters as necessary to stop churches from leaving. This, to me, is depressing. Surely a movement that is going forwards should be looking to carry its churches into the future through a shared vision? If we have to blackmail churches into staying by threatening to take aaway their buildings then we’ve probably lost the plot anyway.
b) Others would like to see existing churches in Church of God allowed to hold the deeds and ownership to their own properties. Therefore they look at this measure and say, “Why should others get a freedom that we don’t have? If I can’t benefit from this change then I’ll make darn sure no-one else will either!” Again, this is short-sighted. The existing system involves thousands of churches and with many loans and mortgages being underwritten by denominational headquarters at State level. It makes sense to proceed with caution. Allowing Associate Churches would be a prudent first step whick, with very little risk, could pave the way for similar freedom to be extended at some time in the future to existing Church of God congregations.
Needless to say, I will be voting in favour of this motion.
Next week in Orlando, Church of God members from all over the world will be attending the biennial General Assembly. It’s a time of fellowship, worship and also debate and discussion. Over the next few days I intend to contribute some thoughts and ideas with regards to the issues under debate.
Let’s start with Item Number 18:
18. RESPONSIBLE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
We recommend:
That we amend pages 156, 157, S63. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR MINISTERS, by adding the following:
10. Responsible Use of Social Media
Christians are exhorted by Scripture to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), to provide things honest in the sight of
all persons (Romans 12:17), and to do all things for the edification of others (Romans 15:2). The use of social media (such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, websites, and so forth) by believers should conform to these and other biblical standards.
Church of God ministers, as examples of believers in speech, life, faith, and purity (1 Timothy 4:12), shall at all times agree:
a. To write and post only under their own name.
b. To not attack fellow ministers or members of the Church of God. One may disagree with others, provided the tone is respectful and does not become a personal attack.
c. To not disclose any sensitive, confidential, or financial information about the church, its ministers, or its members, other than what is publically available.
d. To not post any material that is defamatory, libelous, threatening, harassing, abusive, or embarrassing to any person or entity.
e. To uphold the doctrine of the Church of God by not writing or posting anything contrary to the accepted doctrine of the Church of God.
Failure to follow these guidelines on the use of social media shall result in the offending minister being subject to discipline
At first glance, there’s a lot here to agree with. Christian ministers should be careful how they express themselves in public, and that includes the internet and social media. I’ve had to warn teenagers in our church to pause to think before they post everything they might think or feel on Facebook for the world to view. How much more embarrassing when pastors start squabbling and griping on the internet as if they were six-year-olds.
It should go without saying that Christian ministers should refrain from being abusive to others – whether online, when writing letters, or in verbal speech. And there is something particularly repugnant and cowardly about attacking another human being while hiding behind the anonymity of a pen-name.
Jesus gave us guidelines in Scripture about how we should resolve conflicts with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Such resolution starts with face-to-face discussion. But that becomes impossible when one party hides behind anonymity in the electronic version of a poison pen letter. Two years ago, I made a public speech advocating the full participation of women in all aspects of ministry in the Church of God. Within hours I was attacked on the internet, including some untruthful and personal remarks about myself.
One of those who attacked me did so under his real name. I was able to take steps to contact this brother directly, arrange a face-to-face meeting (over a fine breakfast) and we resolved our differences. We still agreed to disagree on certain issues, but we did so with love and mutual respect. However, such biblical resolution was impossible with those peop[le who attacked me while remaining anonymous. It is sometimes claimed that the use of pen-names is through the fear of retribution. In this case that was most certainly not applicable. I have no political clout or power in the Church of God to harm any of these people – and there should be no physical fear since it is over 30 years since I injured anyone badly enough for them to need hospitallisation. No, it was simple cowardice and lack of integrity that allowed others to attack me in a way that rendered it impossible for us to pursue any kind of biblical conflict resolution.
So, having said all of that, I should be in favour of Item 18 – yes?
But, in fact, I see more problems with this measure than any good that it might achieve.
1. First of all, it will be embarrassing to put wording such as this into the Church of God Minutes for future generations. In ten years it is quite possible that MySpace and Facebook will have gone the way of audio cassettes and the Osmonds. It’s like reading rules about people who operate ‘moving picture shows’ or condemning coca-cola, chewing gum and bobbed hair (whatever that is). All it will do is shout to future generations that we are culturally trapped in the past.
2. Secondly, and much more importantly, trying to legislate for every eventuality leads to Pharisaism. The most important issues are to do with the heart – and in this case we already have the words of Scripture that our words should be ‘yes’ or ‘no’ without dishonest equivocation.
Pharisaism is often well meaning, but it ends up straining at gnats and swallowing camels. Already our Church of God minutes sanction the removal of a minister’s license if he smokes a cigar, but provides no penalty if the same minister harbours racist hatred in his heart. Is smoking a cigar worse than racism? Of course not. But it is easier to legislate against – and so such pieces of legislation distract us with minutae while we neglect weightier matters.
Wouldn’t it be better to train our ministers more effectively, so that they have courage and integrity, rather than trying to legislate rules for every new technology or form of communication that might arise?
3. Thirdly, there are entirely legitimate reasons why people might sometimes use pen-names. For example, I have on occasion solicited prayer on an internet forum for visits I was making to ‘closed’ countries where believers face persecution. If I had made these prayer requests under my own name then I would have exposed myself to the risk of arrest, and possibly caused the torture and death of those to whom I was seeking to minister. If Item 18 passes then I will have to refrain from seeking such prayer in such a forum. or face the penalty of losing my ministerial credentials.
4. Fourthly, how can we have discussions about doctrine if it is forbidden to question existing ‘accepted doctrine’? If the early Methodists or holiness movement had an Item 18 then would the modern day Pentecostal movement even exist today?
For these reasons I will be voting against Item 18. I believe it was framed with the best of intentions, but we don’t need more legislation on this issue – we need to start shaping up and living according to the words of Jesus.
Back in 1999 I published a book called “Faith – The Real Thing: A Practical Commentary on Hebrews 11”. Although out of print for some years, it is being reprinted next month by Success Services Ireland. It is already available on the Amazon Kindle and, to celebrate, Amazon are GIVING it away free for the next two days (up to 7am GMT Sat 24th March). After that it will cost $9.99. Kindle files can also be downloaded with the Kindle app onto PCs, Laptops, iPhones, Blackberries, Android phones etc.
Here’s a free sample Chapter.
FAITH – THE REAL THING – LOOKS FOR POTENTIAL, NOT PROBLEMS
By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. (verse 11:23)
The King of Egypt had commanded that all male Hebrew children must be thrown into the River Nile (Exodus 1:22), but Moses’ parents defied the king’s command and hid Moses for three months. They did this because they realised that this baby was ‘no ordinary child.’ Their awareness of the potential that lay within that baby was stronger than any fear that the king’s command may have been able to create.
Babies are, by their very nature, noisy and inconvenient. For three whole months Moses’ parents lived under constant threat of arrest and execution. Every time the baby Moses cried, it could have been enough to cause someone to inform on them, to attract the Egyptian soldiers. But they reckoned the potential in the baby to be greater than the threat of arrest. This shows us another characteristic of Hebrews 11 faith. Real faith looks for, and recognises, the potential in people, rather than trying to find fault with them.
Words have a power all of their own. With words we can build, affirm and encourage. With words we can destroy, demolish and discourage. It is significant that, when God saw men building the idolatrous Tower of Babel, He said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them” (Genesis 11:6). The answer? Simple, just confuse their speech.
It is always easier to destroy, demolish and discourage than it is to build, affirm and encourage. Any fool can kick a window in, but it takes a craftsman to re-glaze it. Anyone can criticise or run somebody else down, but it takes a person of faith to see potential in someone and to speak the words that can help unlock that potential.
Kids all over the world grow up discouraged and demotivated, making easy meat for Satan, because they have been bombarded by negative words. From before they can walk or talk, they are told that they are stupid, that they will never amount to anything. They grow up believing this.
I heard a story about two fish, a pike and a stickleback. The pike is not only a big fish, he is also a hungry fish. Apparently the pike is always hungry, even just after a meal! Some researchers put the pike and the stickleback in opposite ends of a big long fish tank, and then put a sheet of glass across the middle of the tank.
The pike looked down the tank, saw a smaller fish that would obviously make a nice mouthful, and swam towards the stickleback as fast as he would go. Wham! His nose hit that sheet of glass. So round he swam and tried again. Wham! He kept on trying. The first day, that pike bumped his nose off that glass several hundred times. The second day, he hit it a few times less. The third day, even less, and so on. A fish doesn’t have much brains, but even a fish gets tired of bashing his nose. After several weeks the pike had given up going for the stickleback altogether. That was the point where the sheet of glass was taken out. The pike and the stickleback continued to co-exist quite happily in the same tank for several weeks. Even though the barrier was now gone, the pike’s painful experience stopped him from trying to eat the smaller fish.
The world, and particularly the Church, is full of people like that pike. The reasons for past hurts are long gone, but they can’t move on because the painful memories still hold them back.
It never ceases to amaze me that some Christians seem to feel that God has appointed them to heap more negativity onto people already broken by the words of others. Their so-called ‘evangelism’ consists of abusing people and telling them how bad they are. Then they wonder why no-one seems to be responding to their offer of the ‘good’ news.
Next they get angry at people for rejecting their message. Their anger makes them more abusive, and makes their ‘Gospel’ even more a message of condemnation. This creates a vicious circle with the ‘evangelist’ getting more judgmental, cranky and thoroughly unattractive, while the people he is trying to evangelise get more and more turned off any mention of Jesus Christ.
I have to confess that I got caught in such a vicious circle. I was a young pastor, just out of Bible College and ready to save the world. I really did want to reach people with the wonderful life-changing message of Jesus Christ. The only problem was that I had decided that people who didn’t know Christ were proud, needed to be taken down a peg or two, and were trying to earn their way into heaven through good works. So I began going round each evening, knocking on people’s doors, telling them what sinners they were, and how stupid and pointless it is to try to work your way into heaven. Not surprisingly, no-one responded to my message, so I became more and more extreme, more and more judgmental, and more and more ineffective.
One day I was reading my Bible and I came across the verse that says, “whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “That’s your problem. Your evangelism is nothing but sin.”
I was horrified and began to protest, “But Lord, how can evangelism be sin? Anyway, I’m doing this because of my faith. How can You say it is not of faith?”
The Holy Spirit replied with a simple question, “When you knock on someone’s door, are you expecting them to get saved?” For a long while I just sat there, overwhelmed by a realisation of my own faithlessness and stupidity. I had long ago stopped expecting people to get saved. What I had may have looked like faith, may have sounded like faith, may even have smelled like faith, but it wasn’t the real thing.
That day God changed my whole approach to sharing the Gospel. I began to listen to people, to talk with them instead of talking at them. I came to realise that most people are not proud, but are crushed by guilt and condemnation. Most people are not trying to work their way to heaven, they are rather so aware of their sin and inadequacy that they find it difficult to accept the Gospel message that God would ever want them in heaven. I began to concentrate on releasing people’s potential, rather than hammering home their problems.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m no Billy Graham. My primary ministry is that of a teacher rather than an evangelist. But, from that day onward, I began to have the joy, on a weekly basis, of leading people to faith in Jesus Christ.
We need to do the same within the Body of Christ. When you look at other Christians, do not be looking for problems. Look for the glorious potential that God has placed within each believer. Each time I preach to a congregation, I am aware of the enormous reservoir of gifts and blessings that are gathered before me. Faith – the real thing – the Hebrews 11 kind, looks for that potential rather than focussing on problems. We are to develop and release that potential, for we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Before you get mad about the title of today’s blog entry, please take the time to real down to the bottom of the page.
In recent weeks we’ve been studying the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit at the Solid Rock Church in Drogheda. We’ve looked at many of the gifts listed in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12, and we see that not everybody operates in each ministry gift. Yet there is a sense in which every Spirit-filled believer can move in a manifestation of that gift. So, for example, not every Christian is a Prophet. Yet there is a sense in which every one of us can be prophetic. So what would it mean for a church to truly be a Prophetic People?
Last Sunday we began by looking at the Old Testament:
The New Ireland 