I was asked 15 years ago where I felt the church in the west was headed and I said that I believed that the big will get bigger, the small will continue either in sheer irrelevance, or because they have found a niche and a sense of identity outside of the dominant imagination, while those in the ‘muddled middle’ will scrabble around trying to imitate the big guys to appease the consumers, while also trying to focus on discipleship for the committed core. That’s a very tough space to inhabit and one that I believe will become increasingly difficult. Middle sized churches – get big fast or your days are numbered.

There is an old phrase in surfing that says ‘The best surfer is the one having the most fun’. Going back to the focus of my original post it suggests we should reject all economic measurements of success and simply focus on the joy and exhilaration that comes from being engaged in an activity that involves adventure, risk, fitness and a definite attunement to nature. When we are in the water enjoying a perfect offshore day with a few mates then surely we have got to the core of what this surfing thing is really all about?

Maybe we need to find a similar phrase to embody the soul of what it means to be a community of Jesus followers?

One of the struggles for us in the world today – and a nuance I have intentionally avoided in the first few posts – is that we have no choice as churches other than to adopt and embody a certain level of business practice. Incorporation demands a constitution, paid staff demand resources and organisations need to abide by codes of practice. Unless we choose to meet in homes, off the grid completely then we are forced to comply with some minimum demands and administrative expectations. Lately the findings of Royal Commission has meant that churches need to improve their safety protocols around children and this has in turn required seminars, risk assessments, police checks etc. 

So while I have offered a criticism of the enterprise model I am fully aware that to some extent I am having to operate within some of its constraints – I am having to consider budgets and attendance and constitutions, because these things are part of the whole in this 21st C world.

That said we can choose our paradigm. We can choose our imagination and expression of church.

We can allow the business mindset to shape and form all we do, or we can choose a different metaphor and conform to the minimum administrative / bureaucratic requirements necessary.

I can’t see the idea of church as enterprise anywhere in scripture. If you can then show me. Seriously – if I’m missing it then just point it out. I can’t see goals of improved attendance and budgets anywhere in the NT. I can’t see senior pastor as CEO… and while ‘executive pastors’ sound sexy they don’t exist either. I could go on.

The communal NT metaphors are of flock, family and body. These are all organic and must surely inform us as to how the church is to take shape.

A flock speaks of a community with an overseer – a shepherd who cares for them and guides them. A body speaks to the need for interdependence within the community – for each part to do their work, while the family idea speaks to the idea of church as a group of brothers and sisters who behave quite literally like family towards one another. The individual roles of leaders are the apostle, prophet, pastor, teacher and the elder and while some are initiatory roles and some are consolidatory roles these too could have been expressed in 1st C business language if that was appropriate.

My contention is that these metaphors and language must be our starting point for identity formation rather than the pragmatics of how we can make this thing grow/work/zing/fizz!

So… Why can’t we just go back to this?

Surely its that simple…

I sense that for some its because their identity is tied up in the creation of a ‘winning product’ – a church brand that others will consider successful and will prove itself in the marketplace. Let’s be frank and say that those are not the strongest motives for being a church leader… I know – I’ve done it. If that’s you then its time to do a rethink of your role and your call to ministry.

Others are simply trapped in the system and can’t see a way out. If they stop casting vision, and stop calling people to give, then funds dry up and jobs get cut – most likely their own. Its as simple and as straight forward (and as butt-ugly) as that.

So maybe its time for some to break free from the chains that tie us to the machine and to begin to serve Jesus just because it is who we have been made to be. Maybe you can do that within the constraints of your church structure – maybe you need to actually make a radical change.

Maybe you need to resign. Take a sabbatical. Call bullshit. Get fresh perspective

Not kidding…

Think about it.

Maybe even pray about it… remember prayer?… 

Maybe there is a way forward that releases you from the burden of performance and into the joy of simply being a community of faith focused on Jesus. 

I said to Danelle recently that the two decades in which I surfed the most have been my teen years and my 50’s. Who would have thought! But I am enjoying it far more now than in the 80’s because I am in it simply for the joy of surfing, the camaraderie of the other blokes in the water and the connection with the ocean. I’m not out there trying to catch every wave, or be the best surfer in the water. I don’t care about that. I just love surfing and who I am when I get to do it. 

Maybe its a similar shift that has happened in me with ministry, because the same is true to a large extent of how we function in church work these days.

We do it firstly because we are called by God. Even on my worst days when I want to give it all away – when I am over the struggle of Christian leadership – I cannot escape that sense of God’s finger on my life saying ‘this is what I made you for – suck it up and get on with it’. I am most alive when I am being the person God made me to be and as I’ve reflected on what that involves it includes several primary expressions and these are somewhat in order of priority.

• Being with people outside the church either in the water, in my home or in the workplace. My vocation is that of a ‘missionary’ so this is where I ‘feel God’s pleasure’ to use Eric Liddell’s phrase. I rarely feel as ‘alive’ as when I’ve just had a significant conversation with someone who isn’t a Christian about the richer things of life. This is partly why I could never be a full time pastor again – that role kept me away from these people.
• Leading a church community – I love guiding a bunch of people to discern what the Spirit is saying to us. Most often that process happens within our core leadership team – and to some extent with our whole church – but its good and brings me joy. My job is to lead the process – sometimes to speak into it very directly and with strength and sometimes to sit back and listen to those with more insight.
• Teaching / Preaching – For as long as I can remember God has enabled me to find ways to make truth accessible and I just love doing that. I enjoy taking a passage of scripture that initially looks either bland and dull or like gobbledegook and being able to convey it to people in a way that helps them get it. 
• Mentoring / Coaching Men – meeting with blokes usually 1:1 to have authentic conversations about life and faith. 

In my role as ‘senior’ pastor / team leader or whatever the terminology is these days there is also a certain amount of administrivia and organisational stuff that needs to be dealt with, but this is done with the absolute minimal effort possible as it isn’t the stuff I want to invest my best time in. I do what I can and some of it gets left undone because I just don’t care enough. Fortunately Danelle is gifted with admin so she has done lots of this stuff that I find myself avoiding.

I write about this because unless those leading churches choose to operate with a different paradigm then nothing will change. People may leave if they don’t like our methodology, but we won’t learn new ways to be the church as family rather than enterprise.

Maybe you need to lead differently. 

Funny thing is I don’t think anyone is running seminars for this kind of thinking…

I’ve often cited one of the benefits of ‘being Baptist’, (or any kind of free church) as the idea of freedom of conscience – the ability to think for ourselves and hold different / dissenting opinions on various issues. There is no central ‘rule’ in Baptist churches and no one person who calls the shots. The ‘church’ doesn’t tell us what to think or do and if they try to we usually get gnarly about it. For example, our church (QBC) has no official stance on same sex marriage. The upside of this is a decrease in the level of control exerted over people – a lessened call to conformity. No one gets shoved around or forced to comply with a theological position they don’t hold.

I have always felt for Catholics whose church makes decisions and decrees and then expects it’s members to toe the line.

But this week I was reflecting on the weaknesses in our own system. When no one gets to call the shots then everyone gets to frame truth their own way. When there is no recognised authority then in an increasingly individualised world we often find that authority in ourselves. We become our own reference point – our own best guide. You have to admit that is a bit scary…

While I am attracted to the freedom of this perspective I’ve also become disturbed by the conclusions it allows people to reach and it has prompted me to consider the value of the ‘Catholic’ model – placing authority in the church – being willing to submit to the church’s authority. That’s a big call I know…

Our approach assumes people read scripture, listen to God and discern his mind on issues, and when we come together we practice communal discernment. It’s a great idea…

The truth is we are more often driven primarily by the winds of culture and sometimes – not that often – by what we see the Bible saying – if we can read it diligently enough and coherently enough to make sense of it. Honestly – I don’t think more than 20% of people do this – and I’m being generous.

The Catholic way assumes that some people are able to read the Bible much more capably than others and that they are then able to discern a) what God is saying b) what is best for the church. It assumes that on our own we will likely veer into a ditch of misinterpretation and misapplication. It then expects it’s members to accept the statements the church makes. In our current climate the Catholic Church is clear on its stance on same sex marriage – but if you’re a catholic I’m guessing no one sought your opinion or input!

The problem with the Catholic way is that when the bloke/s at the top (because it’s not gonna be the women) gets it wrong then everyone gets it wrong for a very loooong time! There is minimal opportunity for grass roots questioning and dissent. And history has shown that we do get doctrine wrong sometimes.

Ok so there is no perfect method but lately I’ve found myself veering somewhat back towards a church that is willing to take a stand and call it’s constituents to fall in line. Why? Not because I want to retard individual thought but rather because I sense we have lost the ability to submit – to think communally and to allow someone we disagree with to speak for us.

In an increasingly individualised world I sense we are going to splinter theologically into thousands of pieces unless we are willing to allow ‘the church’ to speak for us in some way. I’m not sure how that plays out – and I honestly I don’t like the thought of having my own freedom impinged upon – but I can’t help but wondering if we are going to end up tripping over our own autonomy and finish up in a place of mass confusion.

Back in October 1974 I arrived in Australia as a chubby, freckle faced 10 year old Irish kid with an almost unintelligible Belfast accent. To make matters worse I thought football was a game played with a round ball which in those days cast serious dispersions about my sexual orientation… We rented a house in one of Perth’s cheapest, but roughest suburbs and in those first 3 months I struggled to fit in at my new school and I became the obvious target for ridicule and bullying.

Pasty white skin, a thick Belfast brogue and no clue how to kick a real football meant that I spent lunchtimes in the library away from people, or with my only friend – Charlie – one of the ‘special’ kids as we called them then. Charlie didn’t know I was a loser so he was happy to be my friend.

It wasn’t a great start to life in this new country.

When the new year came we moved house and school. I was relieved as I wanted out and I wanted friends. In this school I knew one person, another kid my age called Mark. On that first morning I went to school I prayed. I don’t think I could even call myself a Christian at this point, but I was desperate and I hoped God might take pity on me and cut me a break. The prayer went something like this, ‘God I know one kid at this school. Could I please sit next to him and be friends? Please?…’

It was simple and direct – the way prayer ought to be I reckon. If I’m honest it was said more in hope than confidence, but I was desperate and prayer always seems to be the place we go to in times of desperation.

When we got allocated to classes I found myself in the lower academic group and Mark was nowhere in sight. I wasn’t convinced prayer worked so that was no great surprise. The morning went slowly, but about an hour before recess the teacher introduced some new maths to us – long division. She gave us a bunch of problems to solve and told us it would take us through to the break. I finished the lot in 10 minutes and got all of it correct. She was clearly a little puzzled at my academic capacity. Starting school a couple of years earlier than everyone else back in Belfast had definitely given me a headstart on the Aussie kids who hadn’t heard of long division until that day.

At that point the teacher decided I really didn’t belong in her class after all and brought in the principal to re-locate me. They had a brief conversation and then told me they were going to move me into the class next door – the smart class – woohoo! As I got to my new class I discovered there was only one seat vacant in the whole room – right next to a kid called Mark…

Now I was the one puzzled. Crikey… this prayer stuff really did work!

Mark became my friend and introduced me to all the other kids at his table, who oddly enough shared my love for football played with a round ball… I instantly had friends and the sense of belonging I wanted.

Although it was over 40 years ago now, I remember that morning vividly – the first time I recall God ever answering a prayer of mine – and what an important one it was to a kid who really needed a friend. Since then I’ve prayed plenty of times and some seem to get answered how I’d want, while others obviously matter more to me than to God.

I can’t say I understand how prayer works – except to suggest that if we see God as a good father then it’s a bit like when my son comes to me and asks for something. I love him and always want what’s best for him so sometimes he gets what he asks for and other times not. That’s what good dad’s do.

No doubt someone will call that experience a co-incidence, a lucky break and that I have just assumed it was an answer to prayer. Honestly?… Maybe you’re right. I can’t be one hundred percent sure it was an act of God, but over the years as I’ve prayed and got to know God I’ve developed a confidence in him that causes me to believe that he actually does care and does want to get involved in the lives of ordinary people – even lonely 10 year old Irish kids who play football with round balls.

No – I haven’t got it wrong – that’s what it is.

For a while I thought I was onto something with so called ‘multi-tasking’, watching a movie while clearing emails, or sending invoices only to discover that I couldn’t follow the storyline or even remember the movie when it was over. I gave up on a number of movies because they didn’t make sense, but in hindsight I wasn’t actually paying attention.

‘Semi-tasking’ crept into my life fairly innocuously – it seemed silly to watch TV and not do something ‘productive’ at the same time, but as time went on I realised I was losing my grip on either or both of the things I was doing. Then it went from doing something productive, to just doing something else, so I’d surf Facebook or Instagram, or eBay while ‘watching’ a movie.

I discovered it became a habit to surf and watch, but a dissatisfying habit and I’d guess even a destructive one.

Maybe its just me, but I get the sense we can either do one thing well or multiple things at a fraction of our capacity. I’ve decided to return to old fashioned mono-tasking and see how that goes.

I’m doing some personal reflection on the place of screens in my own life and this is the first shift. One thing at a time… seems so ‘last century’… but I think I’d like to go back there.

This is the road I drive every day either to or from home.

There is a faster road… by about 30 seconds… It cuts thru the streets and gets us home that little bit quicker, but really, why would you take the 'fast' option when for 30 seconds extra you can drive past this ocean every day?

Sometimes in life – maybe even often – efficiency is over-rated and beauty is minimised. I'm pretty utilitarian and practical by nature, but I also know it's important to enjoy moments of 'pointless beauty'.

It enriches the soul and shapes identity in an intangible way, but in a way that matters very much.

I’ve put down Boyd’s Crucifixion of the Warrior God for a bit as the further I get into it the more disturbed I become – not so much by his ideas per se, but by the sheer complexity of it all. Is the Bible really that hard to understand? I get that we read with 21stC western lenses and we need to re-enter the culture of the people and their writing to appreciate it. I get that we are always interpreting and we need to interpret well, but I fear he has made this so inaccessible that it almost becomes absurd.

I hardly ever write negative book reviews, but there are few things that annoy me more than a bad novel. 

I just finished a re-read of one of my all time faves, The Poisonwood Bible – a brilliant book that was even better on a second pass. Then I moved on to ‘Into the Sea’, a novel that based the story around the subject of surfing. It was set in WA in the late 70s to early 80s as two mates get into surfing and get hooked.

While there are no places named in the story it was obvious the two boys grew up in a suburb near my own, in the same era I started surfing, so that part of the story resonated. Skipping school to surf, buying your first board, living for the waves, were all things we did in that time.

The story moves across to Cactus (not named) for another 100 pages where not much happens and then one of the characters heads off to Indo and doesn’t come back. His mate goes looking for him and finds him surfing perfect waves and happy in his island paradise. 

The end.

Yeah… it was a book pretty much devoid of plot. I read the whole thing, all 300 dreary pages in the hope that some energy would rise from it, but it just lobbed from one surf setting to the next with bland characters and little to hold attention.

Given its origins and characters, I had high hopes for this novel, but it was a mega-disappointment. If surfing magazines are ‘wave porn’, then this would be the equivalent of a porn movie – scene after scene of same same same… blokes surfing or talking about surfing. It might sound promising but it’s actually unsatisfying.

If you see it around give it a wide berth. A good novel ought to evoke some deep stirring, but this one felt like a suburban bus ride where every chapter was a prolonged stop. In the end I was just happy to be home.

If you enjoy reading then get a hold of The Poisonwood Bible instead and delve into the complexities of character, culture and religious nuance it offers. 

I’m onto Hannah Kent’s Good People now and already breathing easier…

Sorry Jay Laurie – if you read this… I really wanted to like your book, i even ‘saved it up’ for holidays, but in the end I just couldn’t. You got the era, the language and the characters down well, but something needs to happen for it to be a good story. 
 

Sorry if you recently got a stupid number of bizarre emails from me!

If you’re a subscriber or follower you will probably have been deluged.

I have been experimenting with a new template for our church and thought I’d test it on the blog. I used to be pretty tech savvy, but I’m not so up to speed with all things wordpress these days.

I imported a template and some dummy pages and I think you got sent all the dummy pages. Anyway – this one’s the real deal.

It’ll save you all emailing me, texting or phoning to let me know 🙂

And thanks to those who already have!

The title of this series is intentional. Its about mission in the local neighbourhood as distinct from going overseas or to a whole new sub-culture. It’s about being effective where we are.

Paradigm shifting was big in 2006. Part of helping people grasp a ‘missional imagination’ was deconstructing the heavily churched mindset that most of us had lived with for so long.

I remember saying things like ‘it’s not that God’s church has a mission, but that God’s mission has a church’. We spoke of Christology shaping missiology which in turn shaped ecclesiology (which in essence meant Jesus inspires us into mission and from there we allow our church communities to take shape). In that time paradigms did need busting, the church needed something of a kick up the bum to get back into the world and ‘revolution rather than evolution’ was the order of the day for the church. I loved that period and the energy that went with learning new things and being challenged to figure out how we do mission in this changing landscape.
But we’re not there any more. Pretty much everyone would sign off on the importance of the church getting back into the community and the importance of a tangible gospel rather than just a five minute spiel. We would agree on contextualisation and thoughtful interactions rather than just spewing a gospel message on people.

So my sense is that these days the issues are far more practical and pragmatic than philosophical. I imagine that’s why Mike Frost’s Surprise the World ‘workbook’ has been so successful – because people are convinced of the importance of mission but not sure where to start. Frosty offers a collection of practices that give shape to a missional lifestyle and I will be taking a similar approach with our crew.

I sense we need to more and more help people move into action and to form a missional lifestyle that is true to who they are. Not everyone is good at caring for the poor and needy, nor is everyone good at hosting parties. So helping people to play to their strengths and developing intentional missionary practices will be a part of what we do.

Our teaching series will only run for 7 weeks but it will be largely practical and each week will offer some tangible expressions of mission that people can pursue.

One of the things I have noticed in church leadership is that presenting people with a concept and allowing them to ‘join the dots’ and come up with their own missional idea rarely results in action – it seems to get filed in the ‘too hard basket’ but… plain old telling people what to do does get traction. Maybe that’s unfortunate but you also need to accept reality and play the hand you’re dealt.

It’s the difference between ‘think of a creative way to bless your street’ and ‘go knock on your neighbour’s door and invite them around for a meal’. Of course you have to cover that with a caveat that says you don’t HAVE to invite people around for a meal if hospitality isn’t your strength. But if we present enough clear practical alternatives then people will realise they can do stuff.

I get the sense we have come out of the dark ages of evangelism – think wacky door knocking and zany street preaching – but we aren’t sure what we are to move into, or how we are to do things in this context.

I’m all for discussing and reflecting on the higher level missiology stuff with those for whom it inspires and makes sense but I tend to think most folks just want some help to get practical and effective as the people of God