http://billwoolsey.org/

Are the Unchurched Hard to Reach?

Wed, 30 May 2012 06:59:23 -0400

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!

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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 indication that people crave human contact more than ever. Yet most of the week, in our churches, in the one place they should find the warmth of human contact, no one is home. A phone call typically gets a long voice-mail recording of the weekend service times. Even with many program options, meaningful conversation is often missing. We all believe that “faith is the substance of things hoped (dreamed) for…” yet nine out of ten pastors cannot tell you a single, God-given dream of one of their parishioners. Something is wrong with this picture.

We Americans have become so accustomed to being frustrated in our attempts at real talk that we’ve developed our best skills around small talk… “Hey, how’s it going?” “Great, how about you?” “Kids doing well, work going OK?” “Great, and you?”

Churches spend much effort rolling out the Sunday invitation then reward the visitor with hurried small talk, a comfortable seat, and what can appear as a musical stage production followed by a monologue. Less than 1 in 8 return for a second try and far fewer bother to tell a friend about their wonderful experience. This may sound harsh, but if we’re really serious about reaching people have we ever stopped to think about how Sunday morning can feel to the average visitor? And we wonder about the diminishing trust-brand of the Church in America. And stop and think for a minute what would happen, if in today’s connected world we regained the lost art of being fully present with people in life-changing conversation, the kind that makes passionate, dream-fired disciples.

Let’s consider some changes.

Obviously its not a simple, quick process to find real solutions … or is it? Because there is so much human desire for the depth of real community, I believe we can get dramatic results from even small changes.

Over the next few Mindstorm letters, I’d like to discuss some creative and strategic options, but here are what I see as the broad steps:

1. Know what God wants.

2. Know what you want.

3. Ask what people want.

4. Measure what you want.

5. Foster empowerment.

6. Communicate the culture you wish to form.

7. Employ today’s technology to serve your goals.

Meaningful conversation and community flow out of those very meaningful things God is already speaking to each of us in the depth of our own soul. The heart of the Called community is the Call itself… the voice of God speaking through dreams, visions, and desires, calling us to the reason we are here. That is both the object and thread of discipleship. And whether “unchurched” at present or churched our entire life, we all respond to the fanning of that internal ember.

As we develop tools and media supports for the Dreamfire initiative, I welcome your dialog. Tell me about YOUR dreams. What big dream has God used to ignite your vision? I would love to come along side you to support those dreams in any way I can. Feel free to reply with a quick email, or call me at 804-366-7761.

When it’s complete, if you’d like to receive this entire series as a single whitepaper: Starting Dreamfire, just email me with the title in the subject line.

Also, we are developing a completely new approach to how churches reach and empower people via their Internet presence. If you’d like to see what we’ve done or be part of a beta group for this exciting project, let me know.

Blessings!

C. Michael Johnson
President

#todayisfivetwo Contest Winners

Wed, 02 May 2012 21:58:30 -0400

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 Pronsati- Kip Fox CD
Gregory Devore- Kip Fox CD
David Brinkman- one on one time with yours truly and cigar if coming to Wiki; if not, one of Alan Hirsch’s books
Shawn Roller- one on one time with yours truly and cigar if coming to Wiki; if not, one of Alan Hirsch’s books
And the grand prize winner…Eric Kolonich won a free ticket to WikiConference. (All participants were entered and chosen at random by random.org.)

Energizing Frustration

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:36:00 -0400

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 ‘people my age, who see the world through my screen, with values that resonate with my heart.’

Imagine entering a profession that builds on the core value of religious faith—a tenet fundamental to one’s makeup—only to discover that the system is not set up to reach people like you. Rather than encouraging risk-taking and re-forming, it squashes and stifles. So you find yourself leading a charge in a setting that doesn’t speak your language nor value your passions…and seemingly doesn’t care.

In the last few years I’m seeing their frustration lead to creativity, however. I’m discovering young leader after young leader who is turning that frustration into wall-climbing energy. Their discontent is leading them to mix more apostolic into the pastoral. And rather than assuming things are just as good as they’ll get, they’re not stopping until the questions get answered, until the Church reaches people like them.

200MM

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:41:00 -0400

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 Jesus.

Moving all of God’s lost people into US cities would necessitate filling the 1000 largest US cities from Cottonwood Heights, UT to New York, New York, and you would still need a couple New Yorks for the leftovers.

200MM people is a lot of lost people.

What is your church doing to reduce that number?

The Authority of Google

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:14:56 -0400

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 was wrong.

Who knows if Google was right or not. All I know that is that it’s become my King. Whether it’s a product, an insight, or an address, I trust Google more than my own insight, my own friends, or my own wife.

Technology. The enhancer of self-doubt. The bringer of mis-trust.

There’s got to be some spiritual application here. I know…I’ll Google it.

#fromnowon

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 09:44:31 -0400

#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 great job. #easter

#fromnowon eggs, bunnies & empty tombs are inseparable. #easter

#fromnowon friendships don’t die. #easter

#fromnowon entropy doesn’t matter. #easter

#fromnowon satan is a loser. #easter

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

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:25:19 -0400

“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.

"The Church is sacramental not simply because it was founded by Jesus but because it is his graceful..."

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:50:05 -0400

“The Church is sacramental not simply because it was founded by Jesus but because it is his graceful presence in the lives of human beings.”

- FiveTwo

"A community never forms by accident but like gravity. People get pulled in and become attracted to..."

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:58:28 -0400

“A community never forms by accident but like gravity. People get pulled in and become attracted to those with common identity and common mission.”

- FiveTwo

Why I Use #sacramental

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:08:27 -0400

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 “incarnational,” incarnational would win.

But #sacramental is better.

#sacramental covers everything incarnational does and more. #sacramental conveys the simple mysterious acts of God celebrated in the mainline, reformation-seeded church. It stretches back to the Passover itself, with the warmed wine. It speaks of mysterious, divine work taking place in ordinary, natural substance. It reminds us how simple water poured on a head or surrounding a body unites my history with God’s history through God’s promise of God’s Spirit, all centered on God’s Son.

#sacramental is never divorced from God’s Word. Rather it flows from that Word, depositing forgiveness into the life of the receiver, reminding the observer there is more going on than meets the eye. #sacramental means holy and sacred but never divorced from profane and sin-filled.

#sacramental embodies the mysterious worship rituals much of the Church holds dear.

But #sacramental does more than that. In a large sense it embodies the everyday Christian. Christians, in the truest sense, are #sacramental. God is doing a mysterious work in us, a work that is more hidden than not. Forgiveness reigns in our hearts yet infrequently lives out in our words. God’s Spirit courses through our veins yet he is absent from our hands. Christians remain natural, broken sinners, yet are gifted to be #sacramental. We are the very embodiment of Christ to the world, offering God’s forgiveness to God’s lost people.

If you are part of Jesus’ family, then you, my friend, are #sacramental. You are the profane bringing the sacred, the natural offering the supernatural. You’re mysterious. In a Godly way. Which is kind of cool.

So, use #sacramental. Reclaim the rich history of the early Church. And reclaim your mysterious role in blessing this world today.

"If you knew you were going to be a missionary in another part of the world one year from now, if you..."

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 21:18:49 -0500

“If you knew you were going to be a missionary in another part of the world one year from now, if you knew you were going to be sent, what would you want to make sure you knew? If you were going to be the only person God sent to that community with the message of Jesus, what would you want to learn this next year so that you were prepared for the job? Write down your answer and then set a plan for how you’ll grow in that answer this year.”

Bill's View...A Hope Full Lent

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:35:00 -0500

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 behind the rolled away stone, squinting into the darkness wondering if the cloth really came from His body and embracing He is not there. He has turned away death. We now can turn away (repent) from our self-centered lives. Thus my opening question.

As you begin the 40 day trek to the vacant cave, what are you hoping for? What does your heart desire for you, for your family, and for your Church? Spend the next 40 days bringing these items to God. Not in an arrogant spirit of entitlement but in a humble spirit of hopeful dust that will ultimately be restored.

Make the list. Put it somewhere you’ll see it every day. And pray. Pray full of hope, full of confidence in the God whose Son is dusty like us.

Here’s my list:

That my daughter Abigail return safely from Egypt after spending two months with friends, serving at FOUND (a school for refugee children), and experiencing life at the crossroads of Christianity and Islam.
That the 12+ leaders CrossPoint is sending to the Verge conference the week of February 27 would create a deeper understanding of how mission is the best way to grow a disciple, and community is the best environment to do mission.
That God would lead us to a campus pastor and a youth director for our SevenLakes campus.
That our EightTen’s campus plan for First Friday Music Venue would be solidified, ready to start.
That God would connect us with the right Spring Branch people to move the community park to the next phase.
That the Spring Break trip would be great experience for our CrossPoint youth and their friends.
That CrossPoint’s Board of Directors and our campus Leadership Teams possess great wisdom from God as they lead through this season.
That CrossPoint’s staff be replenished as we meditate on Jesus this Lent.
That my brother’s (Mickey) health would improve.
That the Brazil Mission Society board I serve on would have a clear vision of our next steps to impact that country for Christ.
That the local groups of FiveTwo, our church replicating network, would continue to replicate—10 thus far around the country (Boston, Florida, Minnesota, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, and California), with another six in the works.

That’s my list. Now, go make yours. And pray.

P.S. I’ll be serving SevenLakes during the pastoral vacancy, which means I won’t be present at the other campuses for a while. Feel free to bring your family and join us any Sunday at SevenLakes High School 10:30 am. It’s the same CrossPoint. Just a different location!

Farewell to Dan & Andrea Hauser

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:49:31 -0500

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 to this ministry. We send them knowing God will use them mightily in expanding His Kingdom in Little Rock.

Join me in thanking them for their years of service by sending them an email here.

Thank You For Encouraging

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:39:07 -0500

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 we have in the synod, and they need to know about it.” I didn’t have to beg or cajole. Jeff saw a way to encourage churches to embrace sacramental and mission and dialed my number. He’s a living example of how encouragement creates momentum.

His encouragement-in-action provided me a forum to present FiveTwo’s worldview, connecting us into 100’s of sacramental church leaders seeking a voice and “how to.” My FiveTwo overview last night generated thank you after thank you of “I’ve been waiting for someone to tie sacramental and missional together,” “Your marrying of sacramental and mysterious and mission are spot on,” and “How do we join this cause? It’s exactly what we need.” All because Jeff lived out encouragement.

So thank you, Jeff Schrank. Over 90 people attended our mixer, sharing their sacramental stories. And at least another 5 FiveTwo Locals will come on-line. All because of you.

Why I Use #apostolic

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 13:50:00 -0500

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 way, however, speaks to a more fundamental issue. Namely that #apostolic is solely for the initial days of Christianity, reserved for history and libraries and theological tomes but of no relevance in today’s age or Church. It possesses past-tense significance but no present-day power. It speaks solely of men and women long gone, of an office once filled but now sublet. It describes not the work of leaders in God’s Church today.

That’s a fallacy. And said fallacy leads to us losing the power present in apostolic work. Paul wrote of this work in Ephesians 4 where he says God gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some shepherds and teachers. He gave these offices to the Church so that the unity in verses 1-6 would result in the maturity God desires in verses 12-17. The bridge (means) to that maturity is the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers.

That work and those offices continue today. They did not die with the first century Church, just as God’s desire for the Church to reach maturity did not die. Nor are they reserved solely for an ordained individual. They were given to the Church, to be lived out by the Church.

When we no longer allow a word but instead relegate it to back pages or sub-bullets, we negate its concept and soon lose its purpose. We speak around the word, about the word, without using the word. And in so doing fail to embrace the authority and meaning of the word. We desire an outcome but possess limited power to reach it.

Thus the reclaiming of #apostolic.

I’m not saying I’m an apostle or she’s an apostle or he’s an apostle. I am saying there is apostolic work to be done in order for God’s Church to reach maturity. And apostolic work is the work of starting new expressions of God’s Church. It’s continuing the work of The Apostles in planting and placing men and women in new locales in need of Church. It’s the work of encouraging and equipping so that Church starts in populated places and on dry, hard ground. It’s the work of questioning current ineffective practices and bringing “What if…? vision so that God’s Church is more effective at reaching God’s lost people.

It protects and propagates God’s value of “Go!” so that all ethnic groups would become followers of Jesus Christ.

That’s why I use #apostolic. By the grace of God I get to do some of that kind of work.

So if that’s the work you find yourself doing, join me in using #apostolic. Reclaim the word for today’s Church so that more of today’s lost people would follow Jesus.

"There falls a shadow between the conception and the creation. In the annals of innovation, new ideas..."

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:13:48 -0500

“There falls a shadow between the conception and the creation. In the annals of innovation, new ideas are only part of the equation. Execution is just as important.”

- T. S. Eliot

How Do You Define Crisis?

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:25:28 -0500

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.

beingblog: Jesus saves near the Packard motor plant in Detroit....

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:06:07 -0500

beingblog:

Jesus saves near the Packard motor plant in Detroit. Photo: Trevor Patt. (Taken with instagram)

Photo

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:49:11 -0500

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

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:23:44 -0500

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