West Branch Ramblings

I recently watch Ed Young (Fellowship Church, Grapevine TX) make some comments concerning a serious issue that he called “Church Pirates.” I found his videotaped discussion with his staff and the resulting comments on the blogosphere intriguing. According to Ed, church pirates are individuals who get involved in a church, as leadership or staff. They build a kingdom within the church and at some point go down the street and start a new church. These pirates then suck people and resources from the first church to their new church. When these pirates are confronted, they play the “God card” by stating that God had told them to do it. Ed’s confrontation of this issue has opened a closet to the dark side of the North American church. Consider the points that Ed Young and others have made concerning Church Pirates. 

Ed’s main Points

• Church pirates disguise themselves as church planters.
• How many church plants are legitimate church transplants or simply just church splits?
• Most churches that have experienced tremendous growth (2,000 to 3,000) in a short period of time are church splits.
• Laymen always believe the victim not the pastor.
• I am not into moving sheep from place to place or stealing sheep.
• He is seeing more and more of this behavior today.
• He points out that this behavior is unethical and illegal in the world.
• Why are church plants always called to the elite?
• Church planting should always take place in an area with a vacuum or need.
• Super specific ministries suck people away from the church.
• Is it church planting or church transplanting?

 The Counter Points from the blogosphere

• We worry about that stuff too much.
• A lot of times it’s God’s way of building the Kingdom. Kind of like the Diaspora. It might not of seemed right at the time, but look at how God used it!
• It’s hard to hear from a guy with a church as big as his.
• Maybe if pastors were able to see more of the need around them and the fact that we don’t need to limit the number of churches in area, since we’re really not in competition (this isn’t the corporate world in many ways) then they would bless these people and send them out.
• It’s hard for me to watch this video because I think it speaks more to pettiness and worldliness than anything else.
• He just really sounds insecure about something that is God’s to begin with.
• He sounds like he is whining over a situation.
• I really think Ed is being sincere, but this problem is perpetuated by the attractional model that Fellowship practices. I would’ve been even more impressed if he had ended by apologizing for the churches that they helped close on their way to huge growth. 

Ed’s comments and the counterpoints of others point to deeper issues in the North American church. Here are some thoughts that I have as I digest Ed’s video and the reaction of others. 

1. The “ends justify the means” mentality
There is a subtle mentality that embraces pastors today. As they are seeking to build their ministries, many have adopted an “ends justify the means” ethic. This has even been espoused in literature where small churches are viewed as feeders to growing churches. 

2. The negative side of church growth
This issue definitely reveals the dark side of the church growth movement. Whereas the movement began with a focus on reaching the lost with the gospel, the reality has been a shift to an emphasis on transfer growth. Statistics reflect that while many churches are experiencing growth, the number of born again believers in North America has not grown in the last ten years. 

3. Superstar mentality
This issue is a direct result of the superstar mentality that has engulfed the North American church. Let’s face the facts; the size of your church gives you significance in our church culture. Have you noticed that pastors of smaller ministries are not given national platforms from which to speak? The result is a subtle pressure to succeed so that we will be recognized by our peers. 

4. A shallow view of church
Finally this issue reflects a shallow theology concerning the church. Lets be honest, much of the material that is available to pastors today concerning the church is shallow and pragmatic. Church pirates are simply a consequence of a shallow understanding of the church.

 A great book to read concerning the issue of transfer growth is William Chadwick’s Stealing Sheep: The Church’s Hidden Problems with Transfer Growth, published by InterVarsity Press.

Webster’s defines an overdose as an excessive dose of a narcotic. Overdosing is not something people seek. It is something that happens on its own. It occurs when the addict pushes the limit of what his or her body can handle, as they try to reach an ultimate high. The addict tries to feed his addiction without trying to reach his body’s limit and overdose. The difficulty for the addict is that he does not know what his body’s limit is. The tragedy of overdosing is that the addict no longer has control when an overdose has occurred. He is totally at the mercy of those around him for help. If he or she is alone, the result is certain death.

For too long, our culture has been addicted to materialism. In our addiction for stuff, pleasure and happiness, we have been pushing the limit of what our nation’s economy can handle. On a personal level we have stretched our credit and bank accounts to the breaking point. We have deceived ourselves into thinking that the prosperity will continue. We continue to borrow and buy in the vain pursuit of pleasure and happiness.

As we watch our buying power shrink and the economy struggle to keep its head above the flood, we are unaware that we are heading to or have already entered a state of overdosing. As we overdose, we are forced into a condition where we must look to others for help or we will die.

Tragically though, we are seeking help in the wrong places. Like most addicts, we want to shift the blame. My boss is not paying me enough. The oil companies are fleecing us. The big box stores are corrupt. The government will not help. The credit card companies need to realize that I have to live. All the while, we are continuing in the downward spiral of self-destruction.

Yet help is readily available. It only requires that I take responsibility for my addiction. It calls me to recognize that I cannot help myself. It is time that we quit shifting the blame and look to the God of the Universe for help. He has been patient with our self-absorption. He has given us the freedom to overdose on our own lusts. He offers His Son to each of us. His Son paid the price to satisfy God’s wrath toward our blatant rebellion. We need only look to Him for our help.

God help us come to the place of admitting our problem, so that we can find the freedom from our addiction that only God can offer. The time is now or it will be too late.

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17 NKJV)

In the twenty three years since my coming to salvation, I have heard numerous messages and read numerous books/articles concerning prayer for revival. I have often been struck with the fact that this request for revival by God’s people is not being answered by the Lord. Recently I had a conversation with a dear friend who ministers in Canada concerning revival. He made an offhand comment that haunted me. He said “that many have prayed for revival for years, and a few have prayed with sincerity.”

The issue of “many praying for revival and a few have prayed with sincerity” plagued my thoughts for more than a week. I was struck with the concern as to whether or not my prayers for revival had been sincere. And as I wrestled with myself concerning my motives for revival, several insincere motives came to mind. These motives are connected to my concerns about the moral decline in America.

Incorrect Motive #1.    Revival will clean up America

As our country continues its destructive spiral into darkness, the natural response of believers is to pray for revival in America. As I thought about it, I recognized that I have begun to view revival as the “cure-all” for the social ills of our country. I held to a concept that stated “We need to pray for revival. Revival will deal with these issues. Remember how the Welsh Revival affected the community as a whole.” As I gave this motive some serious thought, two problems emerged.

First, biblical revival has to do with God’s people. By definition, revival means “coming back to life.” The nature of revival concerns the issue of God’s people coming back to life. Biblically, revival has nothing to do with nations. It has to do with God’s people. Unsaved people cannot be brought back to life when they have not experienced life in the first place.

The second problem strikes at the heart of this motive for praying. The impact on the social ills of a nation is not the aim of revival, but the by-product of it. It is the result of God’s people coming to life, not the reason for it. Sadly, I have to admit that I have been praying for revival as a cure for the social and moral chaos of our country.

Incorrect Motive #2.    Revival will restore America.

As I have entered into this process of examining my motives concerning revival prayer, I had to come to grips with the fact that my patriotism was shaping my prayers. It is not hard to see that our nation is self-destructing as it indulges itself in materialism. We are watching the decline of another nation. My patriotic pride does not want that to happen. The result is a thought-process that sees revival as the instrument to turn America around. Revival becomes the instrument for restoring America to some past glory.

Two problems emerged with this motive as well. First, it assumes that God wants to restore America to some past glory. Is it possible that God does not want to restore America? Since the world is moving to the ultimate climax of Jesus Christ coming again, could the decline of our nation be a part of His ultimate plan? Is my patriotic pride coming in conflict with God’s providential will?

The next problem has to do with the restoration to some past glory. What past glory are we talking about? Every generation in the history of our nation has been marked by godlessness. Every generation has been marked by sin. Sadly the restoration that we are seeking has to do with our comfort. We long for the days when being a Christian was acceptable and respected in our culture. We do not like the antagonism that we are beginning to face in our country. This is especially true in spite of the fact that Jesus promised us that we would suffer for His sake. I have to admit that my revival praying has to do with my comfort level.

Incorrect Motive #3.    Revival will make America like the church.

The third motive was subtle and deadly. It was based on the assumption that I am praying for the nation to become like the church. It assumes that everything is well concerning the heart condition of believers today. This motive is deadly because it arises out of a self-deception that the condition of the church is okay. Yet the truth is very clear that everything is not well in the church. Divorce is prevalent. Believers are guided more by the culture than the Word of God. The church is actually more like our godless culture. Therefore, my prayers were actually a reflection of my spiritual blindness to my sins, than a genuine concern for others.

 

Is it any wonder that God has not answered my prayers concerning revival? The question arises concerning the proper motivation for praying for revival. The answer is simple. We should pray for revival because we want God. Everything else is insignificant.

 

 

 

One of the greatest privileges, that a pastor can have, is the opportunity to disciple and mentor another young man.  In the grace of God, I was given an opportunity to spiritually interact in the life of a young man who started attending our church last year. This young man is studying for the ministry through the distant learning program of Liberty University.

 

As I have entered into this mentoring relationship with this young man, I have been confronted with two examples from scripture that are polar opposites: Paul / Timothy and Eli / Samuel. While I would love to say that I am like Paul, I am struck with a fear that I am more like Eli.

 

We remember Eli from 1 Samuel as the High Priest of Israel. His sons had gone wrong. Even though he handled the sacred daily, no revelation of God through His word was personally revealed to him. He had to rely on the word of others to give him guidance (1 Sam. 2:27-36; 3:17-18). In fact he has to have the young man (Samuel) tell him the word of the Lord.

 

So as I have struggled with the fear of becoming Eli, I have been struck by three thoughts:

 

1.            Do I handle the sacred so much that I am not communicating a real faith to my children? That is a real issue. There is a danger in being a pastor where the sacred becomes trivial and communicating that to my children.

 

2.            Do I receive a fresh word from the Scripture daily? Or do I rely on the word that has been revealed to the young man or others? There is a danger in being a pastor where our personal walk with God can become non-existent. The end result is that we come to the place where we must rely on others for guidance from the Lord.

 

3.            Does the information I impart come from knowledge or experience? Do I simply know about God or Do I know Him? The implication of 1 Samuel is that Eli knew how to interact with God, but the text implies that he did not experience that in his latter life.

 

The reality of becoming Eli is real. It is a subtle and gradual digression in one’s life, if we do not take care to watch over our souls.

 

Lord, grant me the grace to recognize the tendency to be Eli, and the obedience and tenderness of heart to be like Paul.

Recently a ministry opportunity presented itself to our church that we could become involved with.  It seemed like an answer to a prayer that I had made a year and half before. However there was a problem. The church budget could not handle this possible ministry opportunity.

So I decided to pray about it. I told the Lord about the ministry opportunity and asked if He would provide the necessary finances. I told Him that I wanted to be sure that this was what He wanted for the church at this time. After committing this matter to Him in prayer, I realized that I was going through three different stages concerning my prayer request.

1.            Manipulation stage

 After committing the matter to prayer, I began to have intense feelings about doing something to make this opportunity happen. I knew that in my own strength and with persuasive words, I could “encourage” others to finance the opportunity. In fact, I received a phone call from a Christian businessman I know, who could have provided the full amount for the opportunity. While we were speaking, I wrestled with whether or not to say anything about the opportunity.  I decided to wait on the Lord and let Him provide.

2.            Unbelief stage

The next day, I began to wrestle with doubts about if God could provide the money for the opportunity. I was really questioning God’s ability. I was having thoughts such as “God works through our abilities. But now you have handicapped God.”  The questions and the doubts were very real.

3.            Surrender stage

Finally after wrestling with doubts about God for a day, I remembered the account of the Hebrew captives in Daniel 3 who refused to bow to the golden image of the king. I was struck by their response to the king when they said “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” ( Daniel 3:17 - 18 ) Their attitude, “God is able, but if not,”   grabbed me. I had a sense that God is able to provide the money, but if not, He is still God. So I came to a place of surrender. I gave Him the ministry opportunity and rested in whatever He decided.

The next Sunday a couple came into my office to speak with me. They told me that a family member had given them a sum of money for the church. With it they wanted to give some to the missions trip fund. They also wanted to purchase the church a video projection system. Then they asked me if there was anything else that they could give money toward. At that point I felt that the Holy Spirit gave me freedom to speak about the ministry opportunity.  They were excited and agreed to provide the funds for the endeavor.

When they left, I silently sat stunned at how great God was. An interesting side note is the fact that they received the money two weeks before they spoke with me.  The Lord had to do a work in my life before I was ready to see the request answered. In fact He had already provided the answer before I knew about the ministry opportunity. To top it off, the church received a projection system that I have been praying for over the last few years.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21

 

Last night I was reminded of the most important class that I ever took in seminary, World Missions. I took the family to State College to take part in the First Night Celebrations. State College is the home of Penn State University. It was a wonderful night of watching a parade, looking at ice sculptures and general fun with the family.

It was the parade that got me thinking about my seminary missions class. It was a very small parade made up of freeze-dried hippies beating drums, and college kids wearing festive costumes. How does a parade of freeze-dried hippies get me thinking about missions? Well, fifty miles away in the town where I pastor, a typical parade is made up of fire engines from thirty different local fire companies, ten different high school bands, and countless baton-twirling classes. Fifty miles transported me from one culture to another.

There is an assumption that pastoring in America is a “one education fits all” thing. The reality is that is not true. In our church we have had pastors come from California, the city and the South, only to leave in a short period of time in failure. Why? They did not recognize that they were entering a different culture which required them to adapt their methodology. They needed to grasp cross-cultural ministry. They did not know how to study the culture and find ways to contextualize the gospel.

They needed to pay attention in “World Missions” class.

I took Lori and the kids to do some shopping on Black Friday. We decided to go after all the sales ended. As I went from store to store looking for the few items that we needed I was struck with the reality that I am watching an overdose.

As a pastor, I have to peer into the lives of individuals who are self-destructing. Usually you see a pattern. (1) They have a problem and it is killing them. (2) Everybody else sees the problem. (3) They don’t see the problem. (4) They think that they are in control and can stop anytime they want to. Tragically in the end their addiction consumes them and they die.

As I shopped with my family yesterday, I was struck with the thought that I am watching our nation self-destruct. We are addicted to stuff. We crave it. We have to have more. Like a drug, it never truly satisfies. It only leaves us wanting more. It is a downward spiral that will eventually lead to our consummation by our lust and desires.

The addiction is real. The effects of the addiction are evident everywhere in our society. Our economy is consumer driven. Young couples enter into marriage and quickly acquire huge debt loads because they have to have everything now. And in the end they usually wind up in divorce court. Environmentally we are filling up more and more dumps with our broken stuff. We have become greedy and ruthless in our desire to acquire more and more. Just watch people as the stores open on a sale day like Black Friday.

Sadly we are following the pattern. (1) We have a problem and it is killing us. (2) The world sees we have a problem. Some nations are even contributing to the problem to bring about our destruction. (3) We don’t think we have a problem. (4) We live with illusion that we are in control.

Unless something changes, we will consume ourselves and dies as a nation.

As I was recently traveling through Virginia, I was reminded of an incident that I witnessed a few years ago. 

Three years ago I was traveling to a conference in Central Virginia. As I was driving along Highway 522, I saw a house fire in the distance. The house, located along the highway, was completely engulfed in fire. Fire trucks were present in overwhelming numbers. As I drove by the fire, I was shocked by what I saw. On the front porch of this house were ten firefighters huddled together posing for a picture. Obviously the house was a controlled fire for the purpose of training firefighters. But the scene of firefighters posing for a picture with a house burning down around them was deeply disturbing. 

As I remembered that incident, I could not help but think that we are like those firefighters. The house is burning down around us and we are too busy posing for a picture. The world is spiraling to eternity in Hell and we are posing for recognition, for glory, and for success in ministry.  

At that moment on a highway, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and asked me, “George, when it comes to your life in this world, Are you too busy posing?”

I recently returned from a 8 day trip to Haiti, where I had the privilege of teaching a group of Haitian pastors. It was a rather humbling experience since most of these men are pastoring churches that are 2, 3 and even 4 times that size of the church that I pastor.

As I spent time with these men, I believe that I have found the key to church growth in the Haitian context. So the following are some church growth lessons that I gleaned from them.

1.       Minister in obscurity.  No one will ever know your name. Books will never be written by you or about you.

2.       Live in extreme poverty.  You literally have to pray for the next meal. Death is a constant reality. (Note: One of the pastors had to leave the 6 week school and return home because he received word that one of his children had died.)

3.       Live by simple faith. All you have is God

4.       Expect hardship. Each day holds its trials. (One of the pastors received word that his cow fell in a hole and died. This was a major financial loss to this pastor.)

5.       Deal with constant opposition from evil.  You have to deal with the threats of the enemy daily as he threatens your life (literally) and your reputation.

6.       Proclaim the gospel only.        You simply give the message of Jesus’ death and nothing else and watch the spiritually hungry come to Christ.

As I listened and spent time with these men, it occurred to me that we have a lot to learn in the America about true Christianity.

The other day I was struck with the thought that I, like Lot, am comfortable dwelling among the Cities of the Plain. And as I dwell among the Cities of the Plain, I have grown accustom to the wickedness of the culture. It has tainted or vexed (2 Peter 2: my thinking. In reality, it has slowly brought me to the point of taking my eyes from the fullness of the Eternal to the emptiness of the temporal. 

Sadly I wonder if I, like Lot, would argue with an angel about leaving the Cities of the Plain for safety. I know that the cities are marked for judgment, but I can’t tear myself away from the deception of comfortableness that they bring. And even as God in his grace tears us away from the place of judgment, we have to look back. For whatever reason, we must look back. 

We have lost a proper focus. Rather than affecting the culture with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have been subtly affected by the wickedness of the culture. The church has assumed a role of reforming a culture that very clearly has been marked for judgment. Like Lot we assume that sitting at the city gate will bring about the change that is needed. Everyone knows that the city gate is the place of reform. We will soon find out, as Lot did, that we are still resented by a culture bent on wickedness. We are still outsiders. 

The time has come to quit looking back.