: Archive

Are the Unchurched Hard to Reach?

Friends, I ran across this post a week ago and wanted to share. Note the credit info at the bottom of the page. I found this a stimulating conversation. Enjoy! ———- We claim the Unchurched in America are hard to reach. Yet coffee bars and cafes, those places that at least own the brand of conversational community, flourish. Social media also is exploding… another...

May 30th

#todayisfivetwo Contest Winners

Congratulations to the following #todayisfivetwo winners. Well done, twitter nation. Bill Streger- won David Kinnaman book of choice Nathan Kuhlman- David Kinnaman book of choice Jeremy Pekari- Jonathan Reitz book, due out in July Danny Anderson- Jonathan Reitz book, due out in July Karen Weichman- Alan Hirsch book of choice Danny Anderson- Kip Fox CD Rick VanBriggle- Kip Fox CD Andy...

May 3rd

Energizing Frustration

Frustration can debilitate. Many people shut down when faced with walls or discontent. I’m seeing the opposite, however, in the guys I work with. These are the young pastors, not long out of seminary, desiring to turn the world upside down for the sake of Christ. Their frustration? ”I’m pastoring a church that doesn’t even reach me.” The ‘me’ is...

Apr 30th

200MM

I live in Houston. Population of the greater area lurches around 5MM, growing by over 1,000 a day. That’s a lot of people. If you think about all of the people in the US who do not believe Jesus is whom the Scriptures claim, however, 5MM is hardly a drop in an ocean. With over 311MM calling the United States home, best guess says about 2/3 of those ,or 200MM, embrace anything but...

Apr 29th

The Authority of Google

Have you noticed how much authority we give Google? I recently needed directions to a destination I was somewhat unsure of. So like any mistake-fearing man, I Googled it. The O’ Mighty Search Engine gave me three options, each one adding a minute or so. I chose the road less lengthy. According to Google. Even though my gut, which had traveled all three options before, said Google...

Apr 13th

#fromnowon

#fromnowon ashes to ashes & dust to dust get trumped by empty tomb. #easter #fromnowon washing hands can show your yellow streak. #easter #fromnowon children don’t get named ‘Judas.’ #easter #fromnowon roosters are not nice people. #easter #fromnowon you’re my brother not my enemy. #easter #fromnowon wine does eternal things. #easter #fromnowon washing feet is a...

Apr 5th

“It used to be called illegitimacy. Now it is the new normal.”

– New York Times lead on trend for more out-of-wedlock than in-wedlock births for women under 30.

Mar 23rd

“The Church is sacramental not simply because it was founded by Jesus but because...”

– FiveTwo

Mar 22nd

“A community never forms by accident but like gravity. People get pulled in and...”

– FiveTwo

Mar 20th

Why I Use #sacramental

I think we should stop using “incarnational.” Incarnation is a great word. It conveys a great truth: the Son of God became man. John 3:16 and Colossians 1 stuff. Heady and profound all at once, the incarnation is the cornerstone of Christianity. Without it we’d be fools. No doubt that incarnation is great. And if I were choosing between “missional” and...

Mar 12th

“If you knew you were going to be a missionary in another part of the world one...”

Mar 9th

3 tags

Bill's View...A Hope Full Lent

What are you hoping for this Lent? Perhaps that’s not the ashes question you’d normally consider. We typically associate this 40 day season with repentance and reflection, remembering our dusty humanity. Yet it is the certainty of the cross suffered for us and Jesus’ resurrection as God’s gift to us that lead us truly to repentance. Lent is best experienced peering...

Feb 24th

1 tag

Farewell to Dan & Andrea Hauser

Today was the Hausers last Sunday at CrossPoint SevenLakes. They are moving to Little Rock, Arkansas where Dan will serve as the senior pastor of Christ Lutheran Church. The Hausers have been with CrossPoint for 12 years, serving as youth minister (Dan), children minister (Andrea), interim director of our preschool (Andrea), and campus pastor (Dan). Their family has been a wonderful blessing...

Feb 19th

3 tags

Thank You For Encouraging

Jeff Schrank is the senior pastor of Christ Church in Phoenix. His vision brought about the Best Practices conference I’m attending today and tomorrow. 500 people from around our denomination are here, listening, learning and enjoying one another. It is also Jeff who approached me and said, “I want you to tell the group about FiveTwo. It’s the most exciting missional movement...

Feb 17th

Why I Use #apostolic

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll note I occasionally hashtag with #apostolic. To those of mainline heritage, it might appear I’m claiming “the original 12” status. Definitely not. Those guys were of a foundational era, with face-to-face Jesus time. Not me. I’ve had no beatific visions nor friends named Judas. The thought that I’m using #apostolic that...

Feb 9th

“There falls a shadow between the conception and the creation. In the annals of...”

– T. S. Eliot

Jan 25th

1 note

How Do You Define Crisis?

The Chinese word for crisis consists of two characters: one for dangerous, the other for opportunity. When faced with a crisis, which side do you lean to? Consider paying attention to the devastating aspects without losing sight of the potential. Lead through the dangerous into the possibilities. Don’t stop in the valley.

Jan 24th

15 notes

Jan 23rd

1 note

“God’s goal for us in marriage is to become the righteousness of God.”

Jan 15th

Tiesto remix of Mission Impossible theme.

Dec 25th

2 notes

Dec 25th

1 Sure-Fire Way to Hear God's Voice

Over the past almost 25 years as a pastor, a common question I receive is “How do I hear God’s voice?” Whether it’s a job move, an upcoming marriage, a home purchase or parenting struggle, many lament not hearing from God on a variety of subjects and situations. And frankly even when we do hear from God there is always the question of “Was it God or some impostor or just my own desire?” Which...

Nov 22nd

Watch

15 years ago I sat in a living room with 7 families who wanted to start a new kind of church. Today over 1000 families call CrossPoint home. If you are one of those families, join me!

Nov 18th

Watch

Here’s a short 2 minute peek at CrossPoint’s New EightTen campus. Be sure and stop by1106 Witte Road, Houston, Texas for a full tour. Better yet, join us Sunday, December 4 as we grand open a community church for the people of Spring Branch.

Nov 10th

Transportable Training

How do you train disciples of Jesus when they can’t read? And how do you train so that the trainee can train others? While in Brazil recently, learning from Pastor Paulino and his work amongst the Terena Indians, I was struck with some of the challenges he faces. Challenges like: many of the adults he works with are unable to read. Yet Pastor Paulino’s vision of reaching the numerous villages...

Nov 8th

Watch

I’m on my way home today. We started that direction yesterday morning by VW van, so when I land Friday morning October 28 at 5:30 am, it will have been over 36 hours of travel. Anxious to see my family and all of you at CrossPoint. Please join me in prayer for the people and ministries I mention in my post. Prayer is the greatest work we do, and a work any of us can do.

Oct 27th

15 Things I Love Most About Brazil

As Thursday’s flight home from Sao Paolo gets closer, I thought I’d jot a list of the 15 things I’ve loved the most about Brazil. In no particular order. Pardon any omissions. VW “Comby” Vans. The van of choice for church work. Record is 17 parishioners plus driver at one time. So what if it overheated on our way from Campo Grande to Anastacio? Only added to the...

Oct 25th

Watch

This week finds me in Imperatriz, Brazil encouraging and learning from Pastor Darlon and Pastor Clovis of the Brazilian Lutheran Church. Please join me in praying for God’s Church in Brazil and at CrossPoint.

Oct 20th

How This Founder Is Scaling

My last post discussed the challenge of scaling. Scaling is the ability to grow in skills and abilities so that as your organization or ministry grows, you grow with it. Rather than having to find another seat on another bus, you create yourself a new seat or retool your current bus. As the founding pastor of a multi-site congregation, I began this scaling journey about four years ago. Up to...

Oct 17th

Becoming A Founder Who Scales

In the summer of 2010 I had the opportunity to spend one week at Harvard for Strategic Perspectives in Non-Profit Management. A fascinating course, the experience was one of the most rewarding of my life. I spent time with over 100 leaders of non-profits from around the world, working through Harvard’s tried-and-true case study method. The study that impacted me the most dealt with...

Sep 28th

To Boehner or Obama and the 27 Club

The last three days revealed a number of high-profile examples of how broken our world is. Below are some thoughts as to our Christian response. To Boehner or Obama or Somewhere in Between The inability to agree on a solution for the United States’ debt ceiling impasse has served as great fodder for comedians and newscasters alike. The doomsday pronouncements are reminiscent of Y2K, leading a...

Jul 25th

FiveTwo Wikiconference June 21-24

One of the most exciting gatherings of LCMS mission-minded people in decades will take place this June in Katy, Texas. It’s the FiveTwo WikiConference, June 21-24, an event designed to stimulate church replication in a variety of ways. Whether you are a church planter, a sr pastor, a worship leader or a lay leader, considering missional communities or moving towards a multi-site model,...

Jan 24th

Alan Hirsch Rocked It

I am at a Missional Networks Summit in Dallas discussing how to throw gas on the replication aspect of the church. Alan Hirsch was the key provocateur yet. He stretched our minds with a key concept: christology -> missiology -> ecclesiology. What would the structure of your church look like if it flowed from missiology? How are the offices of apostle, prophet, and evangelist providing...

Nov 16th

Chicken or Pig? pt. 14

Jeff laid out his conversation with Alex. Wes, too, had heard the concerns. Frankly he had some himself. But in a true coach fashion he simply told Jeff a story. “Have you ever heard the one about the pig and the chicken? A pig and a chicken are walking down a road. The chicken looks at the pig and says, “Hey, why don’t we open a restaurant?” The pig looks back at the chicken and says, “Good...

Nov 5th

Chicken or Pig? pt. 13

When the skeleton gets hair and eyes… A few months earlier Jeff had encountered conflict of another kind, in the area of music selection. While the group wanted to do a different kind of worship, the reality is that there is different and then there is different. At that point Jeff visited Alex, a church planter in a suburb 30 miles away. This pastor had planted a congregation using the “hive...

Nov 4th

Chicken or Pig? pt. 12

The campaign’s original plan called for the phoning to take place over four weeks. With limited people and a desire to create more momentum more quickly, however, Jeff, his wife Terese and a team devised a one-week proposal. They found a local insurance office with fifteen phone lines and recruited volunteers from local congregations in addition to their own. Using a script and a...

Nov 3rd

Chicken or Pig? pt. 11

How much risk? In October of the first year, the worship leader and his family arrived. A gifted musician, Sammy Lincoln shared the same values as Jeff. He also brought organizational gifts, involving people from day one. He was a true people-mover. “You have six months to find and build a worship band,” Jeff told him. “I want us to launch Palm Sunday. That way we will also have a good...

Nov 2nd

Who's Coaching You?

I have a friend who lives in Kazakhstan. He heads the Asia office for United World Missions. He’s seen the world from a whole different perspective from this Texas boy who’s only traveled outside the borders a handful of times. For the last 8 months we have been Skyping monthly, predominantly for my benefit. Oh maybe I’ve helped inspire him somewhat, but mainly I’ve been...

Nov 1st

Chicken or Pig? pt. 10

Funding From the beginning Jeff sought to build the ministry on the gifts of the worshipers. In his final interview before taking the position he asked every team member for a financial commitment, teaching on Luke 14 and the building of the tower: “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if...

Nov 1st

Chicken or Pig? pt. 9

A Large Church in a Small Church’s Body Since Jeff’s past ministry experience took place solely in large churches, he approached Lighthouse in the same manner, seeking to position it so that it would grow as large as God wanted with minimal changes along the way. He routinely reminded the group they were a large church in a small church’s body. In this way he continually kept the desired future...

Oct 29th

Amos & Secular Music

Read Amos the prophet and you see a preacher who surprised the listener at every turn so that his message of law would convict and break. Amos used word pictures to lure in the listener so that when he gut-punched them with the law, they’d be left gasping,”What???”, leaving room for the Spirit. Only after punching a hole in their cultural wall can the prophet’s message of grace then wiggle in and...

Oct 29th

Chicken or Pig? pt. 8

Jeff also preached anytime he had the opportunity. When he did, the entire launch team would go with him in order to meet people and talk about the ministry. Some of those preaching locations were in the vicinity of the new plant. Others were thirty minutes to an hour away. Whenever he preached, he always asked for names of potential members and prayer partners, and, if the host congregation...

Oct 27th

Chicken or Pig? pt. 7

By March, the seven-family launch team lobbied for weekly worship as a group. Up to this point, they were all attending their respective home congregations—five different ones in all. They were ready to cut those ties and begin house-church worship. Jeff, however, was concerned that weekly worship would take his energy away from being out in the community and focus him too inwardly. Everything...

Oct 25th

“There are just not enough trophies to cure narcissism. The cure is always to...”

– Integrity - Dr. Henry Cloud

Oct 24th

Chicken or Pig? pt. 6

One such individual was Robert Harris, the de-facto leader and “pastor” of the initial group. Someone once told Jeff, “Whoever is the ‘pastor’ of the people who are there before you arrive, he’s still their pastor after you arrive. It will take time, lots of love, and wise decisions before they will give you that mantle.” That was certainly true of Robert. When he spoke, everyone listened. ...

Oct 22nd

Chicken or Pig? pt. 5

January through August Upon arriving in Surprise, Jeff continued the meeting schedule the group had in place. They met every other Friday evening for prayer and study, focusing on understanding the unchurched person and his needs. Early in the process Jeff also introduced possible core values for the new ministry, along with the mission and vision for the plant. He had gathered ideas over the...

Oct 20th

Pig or Chicken? pt. 4

He approached the Arizona synod, wanting to plant a church in his home state. The denomination wanted to plant a church in Surprise. Jeff was brought in for an interview with denominational leadership. He in turn requested an interview with the bishop, where he laid out a three-pronged request: That the new congregation could worship in whatever style it wanted, in order to reach unchurched...

Oct 18th

Pig or Chicken? pt. 3

Think ‘team’ Jeff and his wife Terese had often discussed doing mission work. Natives of Arizona they had considered serving in Mexico or Latin America but that dream never materialized. For nine years they served two congregations in the northwest. In both congregations Jeff functioned as Pastor of Outreach while also serving in a variety of other roles including youth, small groups, and...

Oct 15th

Pig or Chicken? pt. 2

Presbyterians in Surprise Surprise, Arizona was one of the fastest growing suburbs in America. Located about 30 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, the Surprise area was anticipated to continue a rapid growth path for decades. With an excellent school district, booming economy, and arid climate, Surprise was a family-friendly mecca, with young families arriving every day. By all definitions,...

Oct 13th