Who would have thought that what began with the best of intentions could morph into such a voracious monster.

Ed Stetzer has written a series of 3 posts on the Church Growth Movement (CGM) here here and here if you’d like to dive in deep and explore it more fully.

Stetzer introduces McGavran as a missiologist and missionary who is considered the father of the Church Growth Movement. He writes that McGavran’s approach was refreshing and mission focused. He rejected the ‘come to us’ approach of the church and began to speak of reaching ‘people groups’ and thinking differently about mission. Good stuff.

In his second post Stetzer writes about the problems that came with the Church Growth Movement one of which was its ‘Americanisation’.

He writes:

To be honest, we Americans are guilty of turning anything good into a business. The Church Growth movement is no exception. In The Church Between Gospel and Culture, Richard Halverson wrote, “When the Greeks got the gospel they turned it into a philosophy, when the Romans got it they turned it into a government, when the Europeans got it they turned it into a culture; when the Americans got it they turned it into an enterprise.” An unfortunate by-product of the Church Growth Movement is that growing God’s church can be as simple as 1-2-3 with guaranteed results. I call it methodological mania. Some in the Church Growth Movement lost their way when they became more driven by methodological mania than by a central focus on mission.

He’s right – that ‘Americanisation’ resulted in programs, conferences and packages promising to grow your church. ‘6 Steps to A Bigger Church’, ‘Breaking the 200 Barrier’ and so on were familiar titles of seminars. Most of us didn’t know there was a ‘200 barrier’ until someone named a seminar after it…

And as the Church Growth Movement expanded the Church Growth Industry followed suit. Those who grew the biggest churches held conferences telling other people how to grow bigger churches and the implicit message was that bigger was better.

An industry was forming and it was going to be massive and lucrative.

And how could you argue with the priority of church growth? Didn’t everyone want a big church? Wasn’t a bigger church a sure sign that you were on the money with what you were doing?

Just as the ‘Surf industry’ had an impact on surfing, so the ‘Church Growth Industry’ had an impact on churches and one of those inevitable impacts was the rise of competition between churches. If the goal was to grow bigger and bigger then you followed the formula given in the conferences and more people came to your church – even if they did leave other churches to do so. If the church down the road either rejected the new information or were unable to deliver the goods by way of better services and facilities then you were actually ‘doing a favour’ to those who moved church and joined you.

No doubt there were people still coming to faith in the midst of this, but there were more changing churches than there were converting. In the National Church Life Survey ‘switcher’s’ became a term to identify those who moved churches and people were doing it more often than previously as the range of ‘choice’ increased and as some pretty tempting scenarios were on offer.

So at this point I pause for anyone feeling this is a cynical rant. Its not. Its a disturbing observation of what has emerged in the last 40 years as we all drank the cool aid to varying degrees and we are all part of the ‘church industry’ in some way for better or worse.

I have no doubt the CGM began with the best of intentions – it was inspired by a missionary vision and a heart for people outside of faith.

But our methods are not neutral.

Read that line again. Our methods are not neutral.

Everything we do has a consequence and communicates a message about what discipleship to Jesus looks like. I am not at all romanticising the pre church growth era as frankly it had its own share of issues – it was bland and so batshit boring most weeks that I am surprised any of us still follow Jesus. But we didn’t know any different.

As with the rise of the surf industry the church growth industry has taken its toll on the church in numerous ways. I have no doubt some have found faith because of the initiatives spurred by the CGM, but I am not convinced that the long term impact is going to be what we had hoped.

If the 60’s and early 70’s church was a rejection of culture as evil and destructive then the 80’s-20’s church has been more about trying to embrace the culture and make it work for us. Part of good missiology is figuring out how to engage the culture, using the best parts and rejecting the worst. I would suggest that CGM unfortunately and unintentionally played right into the hands of the worst elements of the culture – selfishness and consumerism.

The phrase ‘church shopping’ may have been around in the 60’s but it certainly didn’t mean what it does today. In these times it captures the darkest spirit of our culture and it speaks to the ecclesial landscape we have been responsible for creating and it impacts and affects all of us in churches everywhere.

How does it affect all of us?

Thats for tomorrow…

On a dark gloomy Sunday morning around 6 years ago big swells, high tides and some people desperate for abalone combined to create a chaotic and tragic situation at our local beach.

The Yanchep Lagoon is generally seen as a beautiful, calm spot to go for a swim, but it is also a place of significant currents and genuine danger for those who are unaware and have little water awareness. When the swell is up (like in the pic above) its just plain treacherous and best avoided unless you are a strong swimmer.

On that morning my friend Scott and another co-lifesaver were the only two on duty. No one should have even set foot in the ocean that day, but the lure of abalone was too strong for the 70 or 80 people who hit the water – some fully clothed – armed with screwdrivers and knives to pry the shellfish off the rocks. Many lost their footing quickly on the jagged reef and were swept off – in need of rescue. The two men on duty worked without a break to do their best to make sure people were safe and by the end they were exhausted physically and emotionally.

In that one hour they completed 13 rescues and for their efforts they were awarded bravery medals but it’s a story that most in the community would be unaware of. In the midst of the 13 people rescued one man went missing and was never found. Tragedy…

If there was ever a group of people who are loved and valued by the community they are part of then surely it would be the local Surf Life Saving Club. Stories as dramatic as the one above are rare, but live savers exist because people get into trouble and need saving.

On Sunday at our Yanchep Church gig I shared a bit of why I believe the Surf Club is a fantastic metaphor for who we hope to be as a church. There are some strong parallels between their presence and activity in the community and the kind of people a church ought to be.

What can a church learn from the surf club?

1.Clarity of Purpose – The SLSC know what they are there for. Its not difficult. It’s to save lives – to be there for those who are going under. When Jesus was on earth he said ‘I have come to seek out and to save those who are lost’. His mission was ‘salvation’ in its most holistic sense. Any church that is going to serve its community will have ‘saving lives’ front and centre of its mission – otherwise it probably aint a church…

2. Presence and Stability – The life savers are always there – rain, hail or shine over the summer months. They don’t bale on difficult or miserable days. They are a stable presence – a sure thing in a fickle world. I have driven past the lagoon on some terrible days and seen the guys there in their hut and felt for them. But it’s what they do – they ‘turn up’ regardless of weather or how they feel.

3. They read the conditions – The SLSC know the water. They know what’s going on and how to navigate the tricky currents, the tides and the reef structure. We need to know how to navigate the cultural currents in our society. There was a day when we would have started a church by sending people out knocking on doors. We don’t do that now – people don’t appreciate a visit from their church. The cultural climate has shifted in so many ways and reading that is part of being effective rather than swimming against the tide all of the time.

4. They are loved and valued by the community – The SLSC are loved and valued because of the service they provide and they would be missed if they disappeared. Wouldn’t it be great if the same could be said of the church? One of the questions we have to consider is what would it look like for people to love us and want us in the community?

5. They are prepared – these guys have started training already for the coming season. They keep themselves in shape and ready to respond. The comparison is pretty obvious – we want to be a bunch of people who live lives of faith so that we are able to lead people into that journey also.

6. They do it often unappreciated – Another SLSC friend told me stories of people they dragged up onto the beach who simply walk away without a thank you – sometimes to get into trouble again… If you lead a church then you’d know that this is just how it is.

7.They only rescue those who want rescuing – They sit on the beach and they wait – and they watch – until there is a need and then they respond. They aren’t swimming out to people not in need trying to drag them onto the beach. They aren’t performing CPR on people who don’t want their help. In the language of faith we would say its responding to the spirit as we see him drawing people in. Seeing someone in trouble is one thing, but until they acknowledge their need to move into their space to ‘rescue’ will be seen as an intrusion.

8. Rescues are done with grace & kindness – when someone’s in trouble then chances are they know they have done something stupid. They already feel dumb, so a rescue that preserves a bit of dignity is important. My friend told me that people getting rescued often feel shame – they know they have stuffed up. So he told me that rather than sitting on the beach and waiting for the ’emergency call’, they watch people constantly and when someone enters the water looking like they are going to get in trouble, they drop the ski in and paddle alongside them – near them. When the call comes its a simple invitation to hop on board rather than a full scale mission. I loved this picture of watching, being alongside and responding as needed.

John wrote of Jesus as the ‘word who became flesh and moved in the neighbourhood’ – how God became one of us. The one ‘full of grace and truth’ – the same one who came to seek out and to save those who were lost…

For many people life hums along nicely – they feel no need of any ‘salvation’ or the like – their life looks more like the image above, but one day there may come a time… when the wheels fall off, when life no longer makes sense, when hope is lost…

And then isn’t it good to know there are good people right there, prepared and ready to help, willing to leave their own comfort and do whatever it takes to show the way back to life again?

That’d be the church doing what it does best.

I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be putting up church signs.

But a couple of weeks back I ordered twenty of these to splash around the suburb in different places and at different times. I’ve also paid for an Instagram ad to get a little bit of promotion – again not in my church planting repertoire previously!

In my mind church planting should begin with moving in and getting to know a place, getting to know the people, becoming part of the fabric of a community and then forming a church community that is indigenous and specific to the kind of people who live there.  It is a slow, unhurried process and the whole Sunday gig comes second to the community engagement.

So for church signs to figure so early in our process of church planting felt a little odd and arse-about. But as I reflected on this I realised that in our core team there is probably more than 20 years of living in this area, getting to know people and becoming part of the community. We live here – we belong here – and we love this community.

That ‘living’ wasn’t done with any thought that one day we might plant a church. It was just ordinary life, but it turns out that it has been the foundation of a church community – ordinary people doing ordinary things. Ordinary people living in their community and being a part of it.

So when the impulse came to plant a church we didn’t need to then start connecting and become part of an otherwise foreign community. We just needed to let the people around us know that this thing is gonna happen.

And so it is… This Sunday we have a ‘launch day’ another phrase that wasn’t in my vocabulary previously. At this rate we will be having pre-service countdowns, offering sermons and Bunnings like greeters at every entry… Ok just kidding.

Its been a slow slow burn, but a fire is starting!

Its like a nervous tic that kicks in when life feels too calm and sane… ‘I should be doing something BIG – starting something – firing something up – kicking big goals – setting BHAGs (do people still do that?) and it feels like a default setting that so easily gets tripped if I don’t consciously resist.

Its not that I’m against doing worthwhile things, but I am very much disturbed by my tendency to see these as ways of validating ministry work.

Think – ‘The more I do the better a pastor I am’ or ‘the bigger a project I take on the better a leader I must be’. We all know that’s a nonsense but its very much a part of our way of being as western Christian leaders.

As I read Petersen’s memoir I came across the story of his church in ‘building mode’, energised, focused and passionate, but then he went on to write about the malaise that followed this – the lethargy and lack of energy that seemed to pervade once the tangible tasks had been fulfilled.

In his struggle with this he sought advice from a mentor. The advice was to start another building project – because people need something tangible to keep them motivated. This advice floored him and he had a ‘lights on’ moment as he considered the type of disciples we are producing if we need to have a tangible project constantly on the go to cause them to feel alive and engaged in the work of God.

He describes it as the ingress of American culture into the life of the church – a not so subtle syncretism that earned the applause of many, but it also became a turning point for him in his understanding of ministry. He wrestled with the need to be busy for several years before realising that his best work was done when he had space to think, pray and listen. He could pastor better when he wasn’t busy – even if he still felt the urge to prove his worth by activity.

Its a tough line to walk because the choice to not be busy can devolve into ‘one more episode on Netflix’ rather than intentional space to pray and listen. Over the last 15 years I have managed to let go of busyness fairly well, but I haven’t always managed to live well in the new space. And at times I feel like it’d be easier just to ‘get cracking’ and start some things up – that way I can see what I’m doing and feel productive again.

However when I use the ‘space’ well and genuinely tune in to the voice of the spirit I find myself doing things that are useful

Recently I arrived to do a reticulation job for a client who had just laid some new artificial lawn. If you know artificial lawn then you’d know there is the stuff you look at and straight away know its fake and then there is the type you need to look twice at.

His was that kind. It could have just about passed for real turf had I not known. And the reason it was so believable was because it had flecks of ‘dead grass’ strewn thru the weave, giving it that appearance of ‘reality’. (Ironically one of the things you are looking for in artificial grass is that it looks as ‘real’ as possible.)

The obvious fakes are those that are a rich dark green all the way through, but the ones that that make the grade as premium are those that have realised no one has a perfect lawn. No one has uniformly lush green grass over their entire yard.

The ‘brown bits’ gave the impression of authenticity – of it being the real deal.

In the same way its the ‘brown bits’ that give our life its authenticity… There is no such thing as a life free from pain, or darkness, or failure and when we try to give that image or even suggest that life can be something other, then we stop living in reality.

We pretend.

Even the most ‘together’ life has its ugly, shitty moments – times of darkness and despair – questioning and lament.

And its in the sharing of those ‘brown bits’ with one another that we actually move forwards on the journey of Christlikeness. Its as we own our darkness and confess it to one another that we find healing and grace to move on. Conversely its as we hide our sin, as we deny our humanity even that we stunt our journey Christward and end up pretending.

Jesus had no issue with people who were aware of their ‘brown bits’, but he had harsh words for those who sought to give outward appearances of godliness but inwardly were rotting away.

If we are to be fully the church then a significant part of that will be in acknowledging that we are a community of broken people trying to help one another become formed in the image of Christ.

However until we see the value in vulnerability and can admit our need we will keep running services, events and smiling at one another from afar, yet we will live with that nagging sense of disappointment and frustration that there has to be more…

There does – but it requires the courage to say ‘this is me’ whatever that means and in that space to find grace and hope to move forwards – or to offer grace and hope to others.