In Defence of Youth Ministry
Recently on Facebook I caught a disparaging quote on the state of contemporary student ministry based on Drew Dyck’s book “Generation Ex-Christian.” It elicited several supportive responses. I chose to post a comment to the contrary. Let me explain …
Now I enjoyed reading Dyck’s “Generation Ex-Christian.” His writing style appeals to me, and more importantly he has a lot of good stuff to say about how we ought to be working with young adults. Anyone interested in wrapping their minds around today’s young adults will find this a very enlightening read. Let me be absolutely clear, I highly recommend reading “Generation Ex-Christian.”
But Dyck makes a few comments and hangs on to some statistics that I have intuitively and anecdotally reacted against. Quoting respected researchers like the Barna Group or Rainer and Associates, Dyck claims, “Young adults are fleeing the faith in record numbers.” We’re talking numbers like “70% of youth leave church by the time they are twenty-two year old,” or “80% of those reared in the church will be ‘disengaged’ by the time they are twenty-nine years old.” Those are devastating and sensational stats!!
Hey, it’s hard to argue with statistics, but in looking at the churches I know both locally, across Canada and those few that I connect with in the U.S., I just couldn’t see that drastic of a loss. Yes I do see loss, but not at that level. And the stories Dyck told of guys like his friend “Abe,” are stories I could tell from youth ministry over 30 years ago. I have always been amazed at the ability of some people to have such profound experiences with God, only later to totally reject faith. I’m not sure that’s that new of a phenomenon. Perhaps it’s happening at a greater pace than before, depending on what you are statistically measuring?
The Facebook post that got my attention was an accurate reflection but not a word for word quote from Dyck’s book: “(Over the past couple decades) the focus in youth ministry has shifted from spiritual growth to attracting large numbers of kids and keeping them entertained… (This move) has had some ugly unintended consequences. Today many youth ministries are practically devoid of any spiritual engagement.” (See page 48) (The words in brackets are those of the Facebook poster, the rest belong to Dyck.)
Wow, in my mind those are unfair comments. Dyck carefully qualifies the statement with the word “many,” but still it strikes me as more sensational than reality. To add to the sensationalism Dyck quotes Ed Stetzler, President of Lifeway Research as saying that most youth groups are “holding tanks with pizza,” and throws in a footnote about the evils of including Halo 3 in a youth ministry setting. Has anyone really done the research to back all that up??? Isn’t that the kind of sensationalism that turns the next generation off? Low blow and inaccurate from what I can see, at least in Canada. And Drew Dyck is a Canadian!
Looking back to when I was but a youth, mass rallies by Youth For Christ or Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship used the slickest of entertainment of those days and employed “forbidden rock music”. It was all about being relevant to attract large numbers of young people. In Toronto of the 70’s, Inter-Varsity’s Great Pumpkin Hunt was “the event” to go to. YFC’s Toronto concerts with their pre-concert “electric chair” stunts and the likes of Larry Norman singing “Why should the Devil have all the good music,” were amazingly! I don’t disparage those at all. They played a positive role in my spiritual journey. However my observation since my own experience as a youth in church and parachurch, followed by a time as a youth pastor, is that over the last several decades youth ministry has become far more focused and intentional in it’s approach to reaching and making disciples of students for Christ. Entertainment is certainly there, but no more or less than it’s ever been; and it’s used carefully and prayerfully.
And while I don’t necessarily fully align with the growing young reformed movement, I have a huge respect for its passion for student ministry that is deeply rooted in the Scriptures and deeply engaged with the life of Christ. And I see that kind of passion in churches all over the place, reformed or not. Even in my own city, I can point to multiple churches including my own, where youth ministry today is far more focused and intentional in terms of holistic discipleship than it was 20 years ago.
But can you argue with the stats? That’s when I stumbled on a great book by Brad Wright, a sociologist at the University of Wisconsin who is also a believer: “Christians Are Hate-Filled Hypocrites … and Other Lies You’ve Been Told”. Ironically Ed Stetzer writes the forward to this book!
Wright takes on the research done by Barna, Rainer and others head on and counters it with data from slightly more secular and potentially more scholarly sources like the Gallup Organization, the Pew Foundation, and the General Society Survey. He comes up with a bunch of contrarian findings that align more closely with what I’ve been sensing. (Not that “my sense” makes it better! ☺) His premise is that a lot of the bad news we’ve been hearing, a lot of the stats we’ve been using, simply are not true. Dyck also quotes the Pew Foundation but perhaps not as carefully.
On the youth ministry front Wright insists “the percentage of youth who attend church has held steady over the past twenty years.” This totally flies in the face of what evangelicals having been saying about themselves. Further Wright demonstrates that “the beliefs of young evangelicals over the past several decades have either remained stable or have become more in line with the church.” This is a surprising thought for many! But it does line up with the observation that youth ministry has become far more intentional over the years. What I see and find some support from Wright is that our youth grasp more clearly and hold onto more firmly a handful of key fundamentals. However I would suggest that the list of fundamentals they hold onto is shorter and they are much weaker at quoting chapter and verse of the Bible. I’m okay with that. I think that means we’re ahead!
Not that the news is all good. Wright is clear that “on the negative side, the number of young people who do not affiliate with any religion has increased in recent decades, just as it has for the whole population.” In other words, fewer folks hanging in the margins of faith are calling themselves Christians. It’s this reality that I think Dyck could have handled more carefully.
So I do wonder if guys like Drew Dyck who has so much good to say, don’t try to get our attention, as Wright would suggest, using sensational statements and scary statistics. It’s a good reminder to a guy like myself who loves stats and needs to get people’s attention when preaching, to be careful in their use.
And while it’s not very consoling to those many parents who have raised their kids in the church and are struggling with their current lack of faith to say that statistically it’s not a lot different than a generation or two ago, I am pumped to see some evidence that youth ministry has actually shifted towards a deeper experience with God and a greater commitment to a handful of key beliefs. So kudos to all of our youth ministry workers out there!!
I am reminded of a quote I have often used that is also found in Wright’s book from an Assyrian stone tablet that dates to 2800 BC, “Our earth is degenerate in these later days … children no longer obey their parents.”
Experiencing God at 11.6 Litres per 100 Kilometres
I love to drive long distances. It relaxes me. It quickly gets me into another world away from the intensity of day to day life as a lead pastor of a wonderful but often complex church family. Not to mention my own complexities that I add to the mix! ☺
The drive to North Bay to start the first phase of my annual summer study leave was no exception. The iPod was lined up with my latest playlist with worship songs ranging from Skillet’s “Awake” to Hillsong United’s “Aftermath” to Linclon Brewester’s “Real Life” and on and on with a little Coldplay and U2 thrown in as well. There were also a few podcasts to catch up on.
What I had not remembered about this drive is that on a couple of occasions in the past, God has used this time to speak very powerfully to my heart and set the tone for what we wants to do and how he wants my study leave to unfold. Unexpectedly this drive was to be another one of those clearly divine occasions.
My heart is always opened up to the majesty and holiness of our God as I view the spectacular beauty of creation, especially Northwestern Ontario. I love driving the along the north-shore of Lake Superior. I never tire of its beauty. And when God really wants to get my attention on a drive like this he throws in some wildlife. It started with a young buck that bolted daringly across the highway in front of my truck and stood momentarily in front of a sign that read, “Night Danger: Beware of Moose.” I’m not sure what point this buck was trying to make except to proclaim that deer are on the advance. A little later down the highway I did get to see that moose, the sign warned me about. Sweet! And then a spectacular highlight was a very healthy looking wolf, which you just don’t get to see that often driving along the Trans-Canada.
Those who don’t hunt find it hard to comprehend how stirred the average hunter is at the sight of these spectacular members of God’s creation. And for me it’s a way that God grabs my attention and gets me listening to what he has to say. I was tuned in.
Scattered between my iPod playlist were three podcasts. This first two somewhat coincided with the wildlife sightings about a third of the way into the drive. I listened to a young 30 year old speaker by the name of Steve Futrick speak on the 5th Anniversary of what has quickly become a mega Church called Elevation in Charlotte North Carolina. Listening to Futrick I heard both the joy and pain that deeply accompanies mission driven pastoral leadership. His story left me encouraged and inspired about my own role in Redwood’s journey.
I then listened to Mark Batterson from National Community Church in Washington, D.C. speaking on the “Battle of Jericho” with illustrations form the journey of his own church family as they seek against human odds to buy a piece of property in downtown Washington for the next step in fulfilling their mission. I was struck by his call to look to God to work in the long-term and not always to expect instantaneous miracles.
A theme was emerging. God was starting to speak more specifically to my heart. As I enter the 20th year of my leadership of Redwood, the call is to remember the original calling of creating a welcoming church family for those who are apart from God, and a church that would have strong impact throughout the city and Thunder Bay and beyond. It was a call to remember that God works powerfully and continually over time, even decades.
Well it was almost Canada Day, so time to listen to a good Canadian speaker. The theme God seemed to be speaking was trusting Him to continue to work miraculously through Redwood for kingdom advance. So when I saw the message title “Mission Impossible,” by Bruxy Cavy from the multi-site Meeting House rooted in Oakville, I went for it. While I was enjoying Bruxy’s preaching style, the message was not what I had expected. Burxy was taking the theme, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God,” (Luke 18:25, NIV) using the story of Zacchaeus found in Luke 19. I get that salvation is the ULTIMATE miracle, but this message just wasn’t in line with what I was “expecting” to hear.
But then it came, out of the blue, Bruxy took this familiar story gave it a twist and nailed it, leaving no doubt what God was speaking to me. Bruxy described the mission of the Meeting House, which should be the mission of all churches, as being like an easy to climb sycamore tree, where the spiritually intrigued can climb and get a better view of Jesus. That the church is to be a place where seekers can get a better view of Jesus who longs to enter into relationship with them. Yeah, so true. What a great picture of the church.
Elevation Church, National Community Church and the Meeting House all have a crystal clear focus on the priority of reaching people who are not yet Christ followers and leading them to a holistic faith that passionately expresses itself in advancing God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. These churches think big, with citywide impact and influence that extends around the world. And as I listened, God reminded me that Redwood has a similar calling, with multiplied impact that is yet to be realized in Thunder Bay, with influence that will extend increasingly around the world.
It’s a good way to start the summer. It’s a clear reminder to seek God to fulfill the mission and vision He’s given to those of us in the Redwood community, “to bring the message and life of Jesus to our city and world.” I have a renewed sense that our God is strongly committed to taking Redwood to the next level in our missional journey, and that this summer is part of my preparation for the next leg of our journey together. I’m pumped!!
Oh and on a side note. Not only do I love the drive, but I gotta admit, driving a Dodge Ram makes it all the more sweet! At 11.6 litres per 100 kilometres from Thunder Bay to North Bay, I made it to within 250 kilometres of North Bay on one tank! For a half ton, that’s not bad!
C3 2011, Ed Young & Fellowship Church
We have a huge value at Redwood to get our staff and key leaders exposed to the best practices as well as solid leadership and biblical teaching from other churches in their context. It’s one thing to watch these guys on video, it’s a totally more powerful experience to be there with often hundreds even thousands of others and experience not only good teaching and training but to be infused and encouraged by the manifest presence of God. So often these events are profoundly transforming experiences helping us not only to take the next step forward in leadership, but to journey further and deeper in our relationship with God. In many ways they are like ancient pilgrimages where folk travel far, not because God wasn’t where they are, but simply because he often is better able to connect with us when we are well beyond the distractions of our home environment.
So myself, our Student Ministries Director Paul Ireland, our Children’s Ministry Director Heather Poulter and our Middle School Pastoral Apprentice Jesse Hochstetler took off for a 3-night 2-day conference sponsored by Fellowship Church in Dallas, under the leadership of Ed Young.
For those of you who know us at Redwood, our pilgrimages don’t often stray that far from places like Willow Creek Church in Chicago or Saddleback Church in Orange Country. So heading to Fellowship was a bit of a leap outside of our normal circles moving into a much less seeker sensitive environment, as well as a substantially more classic evangelical environment than we are used to. It’s good to shake things up a bit and be exposed to styles outside of your own. It’s also good to separate the good stuff form perhaps the not so good stuff!
Our primary purpose in heading to C3 (where C3 stands for Creative Church Culture), was to expose our children’s and student ministries leaders to new ideas and best practices from a church that is very effective in these ministries. Currently we use the “Elevate Curriculum” produced by Fellowship in our children’s ministry. Our expectations here were not only met, but exceeded. This is a church that as it works with the emerging generation understands the ethos we have at Redwood for “Life, Passion and Adventure.” They understand the need to connect at the heart level with a sense of adventure, encompassed with passion, on the foundation of what it means to become fully alive in Christ. I was impressed on how they introduce a strong sense of adventure into their children’s ministry right from Kindergarten. Their understanding of the mind and culture of kids and students and how to connect there is in my estimation, leaps and bounds ahead of most churches, even most contemporary mega churches.
Now the theme of the conference was, “exce3ed: go beyond what you are allowed.” Fellowship and C3 are an interesting mix of rebelling against the way most churches do church in the US south, while actually emphasizing some elements of that culture which in my view not only grate against the sensitivities of unchurched Canadians, I suspect as well, a lot of Americans without a churched background. But it sure works with a good number church raised folk from the south! There is a clear market or demographic they are effectively targeting, a demographic in abundance in the south, but sparse in Canada!
These guys take hype and pragmatism to whole new level! For me, uncomfortably so. They totally crossed the line with their nightly offerings that employed crass emotionalism and manipulation that sadly worked really well for them. And while I am convinced that it is over the top as an effective tool for reaching the average unchurched person, and while it comes across as inauthentic within the culture I serve, I get that these guys are totally sincere. The hype is not just put on, it is at the core of who they are and how they just naturally operate. What you see on the stage is how they interact off stage and with each other. And it works at reaching a key segment of the churched raised but turned off of church demographic they appear to be targeting.
Overall it was a most worthwhile experience. We were able to affirm who we are as Redwood and why we do things differently, while at the same time grappling with a few new ideas and learning’s that we would not have encountered by staying closer to our comfort zone. And like pilgrimages of old, we were able to have a fresh encounter with God that has left us inspired, encouraged and strengthened for the work he is call us to.
Praying For Redwood in 2011 ~ Isaiah 27:6
Currently I am working through the book of Isaiah in my “quiet times,” of prayer, prayerful reading, listening for the Spirit and journaling. And while I’m careful about taking Scripture out of the context and purpose for which it was originally written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I do find as folk have throughout history, that God often takes a Scripture and invites us to make personal application to our lives and ministries independent of the context. This always needs to be done carefully and prayerfully.
At the start of a new year, as I’ve been reading the tough but grace filled words of God through Isaiah, I was struck by these words in Isaiah 27:6, “In days to come Jacob will take root, Israel will bud and blossom and fill all the world with fruit.” (NIV11)
It’s a tremendous promise of God to prosper the people and nation of Israel. This is not so much a promise of financial and commercial blessing as much as it is the promise that God will use Israel to be the source of hope and salvation for a world in need. Reading this passage reminds me of a few words penned earlier by Isaiah, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit,” (11:1). This is a prophetic reference to the coming of Jesus to bear the fruit of making us and ultimately this world right. Israel is clearly called to be a blessing to the world by being the people through whom Jesus the Messiah would come.
Isaiah 27:6 is a powerful promise to a small group of primarily agricultural people on a trivial slice of land surrounded by nations full of cultural wonders with economic and military strength, all vying for dominance on the world scene, that they would fill the entire world with fruit. God so often works through small groups of seemingly insignificant people to do amazing things.
As I read these words of Isaiah, I sensed God inviting me to take this promise to Israel and make it a prayer for Redwood for this next year. My sense is that as we go through 2011 this is what God wants to do in and through us as we prayerfully seek him: “In days to come Redwood will take root, Redwood will bud and blossom and fill all of Thunder Bay and beyond with fruit.”
I believe this is a prayer that God would invite all of us at Redwood to faithfully and passionately pray in 2011:
• That as we drink deeply of this living water we would then bud and blossom and be beautiful and attractive to our city and beyond. That we would make the beauty of our invisible God clearly visible to our city and beyond.
• That we would then abundantly fill our city and beyond with life giving fruit from the Father that heals, restores and makes right. Fruit that makes each of us fully alive.
• That we the church family called Redwood, would be a source of hope and life for our city and beyond.
So I believe God is inviting all of us to pray throughout 2011, that this will be a year when Redwood sinks its roots deeply into the life our God has for us, and as a result will produce buds and blossoms and fruit that will bless our entire city and beyond, including our Barrie satellite site, our work in Indonesia and so on.
It should be an amazing year for us at Redwood!! Hey we’re already a few weeks into the New Year and we need to add seats to the 11:15 service!! Will you join me in praying that this will indeed by year where we grow deep roots and produce abundant fruit!
Church, Vacation and the Dreams of Youth
So Jane and I have taken a quick post Christmas break in warm and sunny Orlando. Unlike last year’s escape, the temperature is actually nice, it hit 81F/ 27C yesterday! Unfortunately the traffic is like double last year, perhaps a sign of an improving economy or just good weather, or both, but I digress …
Let’s get to the point. Yeah, I do church on vacation. I love the church and I love God’s people. In times past the location of a good church has influenced where a vacation might happen! It’s the only way I get to experience church as a casual attender. I love the opportunity to experience the diversity of how God’s people worship and work out their local and global mission. There’s always something I can learn. So often God uses these times to speak directly to me. And I must admit so often it causes me to appreciate the amazing church family I’m a part of and how we approach worship and mission.
So this morning Jane and I connected with Summit Church, a multi-site community whose main campus meets in a renovated twin screen movie theatre in an older area to the northeast of downtown. Currently 2,500 strong, Summit was founded in 2002 by now 30-something Isaac Hunter and two of his friends dating back to their teen years. As 18-year-olds, this trio began to dream about creating a church that would truly reach people with the love of Christ, the hope of the Gospel and love each other well in the process. They held onto that dream and are finding themselves on an amazing ride orchestrated by the hand of God.
Now the church community I’m a part of, Redwood Park, has a somewhat unique flavour that impacts it’s Sunday worship experience and approach to mission that is not found elsewhere as often as we at Redwood might expect. Our desire for a passionate worship experience that is relevant and inviting to people who are not yet committed Christ followers combined with our missional focus to see God’s invisible Kingdom made visible in a way that draws more and more to personal faith in Christ, seems basic but it’s not always all that easy to find.
My sense is that Summit shares many of these same values. One of my take-homes from Summit is their “jobSERVE” program where they are seeking to work with the unemployed and underemployed in their lower income location by offering resume coaching, mentoring and counseling in job attainment skills. This might be something we at Redwood should consider.
Unlike Redwood whose demographic is well spread over all age groups, Summit’s demographic is highly skewed towards 30-somethings with young families. The tight worship band has a definite 30-something appeal. The low key, dry humoured Isaac Hunter has a speaking style that is engaging to the under 40 crowed. One of the reasons his speaking works is because it’s not typical of most large successful evangelical churches. Hence in contrast to Redwood, this results in a lot, if not most of the growth coming from evangelically raised young adults looking for a more authentic grace oriented church with a pumped but not charismatic worship experience. Like Redwood, NT Wright is clearly a respected theologian at this church.
While Isaac speaks very well of his father Joel, who is the Senior Pastor of the mega 12,000 strong multi-site Northland Church, this is clearly not his father’s church. There are similarities for sure, but Summit is clearly further down the road of eliminating those things in evangelical culture that cause so many unchurched folk to run in the opposite direction. Summit seems to understand the balance between the Gospel as good news for individuals who need to experience Christ personally, and the Gospel as good news for our neighbourhoods, cities and world as a whole.
But what really struck me is that three 18-year-old devoted Christ followers had a dream together and didn’t let go of it. They have allowed God to use them to break through so much traditional evangelical church culture that can be such a turn off for the younger generation apart from Christ, creating a fresh expression of church bringing God’s kingdom to earth as it is in heaven. May God raise up a few 18-year-olds around Redwood with such vision and passion to do church and extend God’s kingdom in a way that is relevant to the next generation.
So if you happen to be visiting Mickey and the Orlando area sometime, don’t forget to include church in your schedule. And a church well worth the visit would be Summit: http://www.summitconnect.org/ Check out their founding story here at vimeo.
2010 in review
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,300 times in 2010. That’s about 13 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 8 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 21 posts. There were 20 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 15mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was August 12th with 79 views. The most popular post that day was The 2010 Willow GLS: Leadership in Transition.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were redwoodpark.org, facebook.com, insideredwoodpark.org, twitter.com, and northernboy.theadvancecommunity.ca.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for u2 album, u2 no line on the horizon, bill hybels, missional canadian, and arthur guinness christian.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
The 2010 Willow GLS: Leadership in Transition August 2010
4 comments
Perhaps St. Guinness? March 2010
9 comments
Surprised By Hope in U2′s “No Line On The Horizon” March 2009
2 comments
The Bible: One Big Story June 2010
Halloween: Let’s Enjoy it!! October 2009
6 comments
I Love Sundays!!!
For those who think that larger church services where committed believers gather with those who are not yet committed but are exploring the Christian faith is a relic of the past, I beg to differ. Sunday after Sunday I see this very eclectic mix of ages, races, and all levels of faith or no faith, gather at Redwood for worship, community, and for some, just to see if there is any reality to this “God thing,” or not.
This past Sunday was no exception. Although the fact that we got an extra hour of sleep the night before with the return to standard time, definitely boosted attendance. Especially among those who are tire kickers, just checking out the buzz that they might catch a glimpse of God in a church worship service of all places.
As I prepared to speak at our Sunday morning services, I had one of those experiences where God was calling me to abandon the nicely laid out worship schedule and really focus on the communion table with a bit of theology about what it means to inherit a “sin nature,” from Adam and how the reality of the Evil One only complicates our desire to overcome this propensity we have to do wrong. We celebrated the provision of our “new nature,” provided by Christ’s death on the cross, that while we won’t experience it fully until His return, we can begin now as we discipline ourselves to stay in the flow of the Holy Spirit, to see more and more of that “new nature,” expressing itself in our lives.
Really just the good news, that life transformation is possible because of the cross. We don’t have to stay the same. And the response was amazing!! Folk from seekers to veteran believers identified with the struggle and committed or recommitted themselves to accessing the power of the cross and living in the flow of the Spirit. Worship around the communion table following the message was electric. The presence of God was tangible! Wow!!
But it didn’t stop Sunday morning. I got to speak to about 140 of our high school through college-aged students at Plunge Sunday night. Problem was, changing my morning message plan midweek combined with a much larger number than usual of people needing to connect with me during the week, left me short of time to really prepare adequately for Sunday night. The result was a message that was not as tight as I wanted it to be. I rambled much longer than I had meant to. I simply wouldn’t rate it as one of my stronger speaking experiences.
But my weakness didn’t appear to stop God from working. Worship following my speaking was simply intense, as the young people responded with passionate hearts. In the hang out time after Plunge, all sorts of folk got into conversation with me about issues of what it means to be called to work with God in the building of His Kingdom on earth and “how unsafe is God when you follow him in building his kingdom?” Some very cool discussions where a number of young people are grappling with life directing ideas.
And then to top off the day was a little beer and pizza with our adult ministries pastor Darryl Buckle at Boston’s. A time to bond in our relationship together as fellow servants at Redwood and a time to mutually express awe at the obvious work of God throughout the day.
Yeah, I really love Sunday’s!!
Church Governance: An Ongoing Journey …
This Saturday the Pastoral Staff and Governing Board of Redwood are going to meet for a full day to brainstorm about church governance. In these rapidly changing times from modernism to postmodernism, thinking on how major directional and financial decisions are made, how accountability is accomplished, how staff and board relate to each other, as well as how the church family as a whole speaks into the direction of the church, is undergoing significant re-evaluation.
I say re-evaluation because the issue of governance has been a hot topic for local churches for the last 20 years or so, especially among those who are older or more modernist in their perspective. Over the last 20 years, churches appear to have been moving in one of two predominate directions.
• Often midsized to larger churches including Redwood have moved in the direction of what can be best described as a “staff led/board affirmed,” governance model, where vision and direction are set by staff under the leadership of the Lead/Senior Pastor, and the board exists as an affirming presence, championing the direction of the ministry. In this model the Board also serves as guardrails, insuring that the Lead pastor and his team do not take the church off track.
• The second model that has emerged, that is more typical of small churches is the “elder led/staff-executed” model, where elders or board members discern vision and direction, and staff is responsible for executing the vision and direction.
• Both models employ some level of what is called “policy governance,” where ultimately the board is responsible, whether on it’s own or with primary input from the Lead Pastor/staff team, to establish what the mission is, what metrics for success are, and establishes policies within which staff operate in order to achieve these metrics. Over the last 20 years it’s become increasingly understood that church boards or elders boards do not meddle in the day-to-day affairs of the local church, nor do they play a direct supervisory role with any staff other than the lead pastor.
• In the Christian & Missionary Alliance, of which Redwood is a part, how this works out is a bit more complex. The CMA local church constitution has slanted things in favour of a staff lead church or even more so a Lead Pastor led church, by essentially granting the Lead Pastor the position of first among equals on the board. In the Christian & Missionary Alliance the chairmanship of the Board defaults to the Lead Pastor unless he chooses otherwise. Constitutionally the Lead Pastor is a direct report to the District Superintendent. Much of this is in reaction to congregational church governance, which historically the Alliance has seen as counter-productive to the visionary leadership needed for church growth. The Christian & Missionary Alliance is fairly unique in Canada in its approach to leadership in the local church.
As we look to the future, the two major trends as well as the unique Alliance approach to those trends is being questioned. Over the years as we at Redwood have tried to move towards a well defined staff led “policy governance” approach, neither staff nor board have ever been all that settled with how this could work. You would often hear the statement that the clear delineation between staff and board roles is not something you can find in the New Testament. The passion has always been to work more closely together, collaborate more and not be so worried about who has final authority. While the documents with well-delineated roles, responsibilities and policies made sense, the result didn’t sit well with the heart felt passion among our board and staff for what New Testament including John 17 style community looks like.
Add to that the passion of our key leaders and volunteer workers who are so avid about the mission of Redwood that they desire to get right in the middle of dialogue around Redwood’s future, and it’s clear that our current structures as well as the direction we have been moving in reflecting the values of the past 20 years, will not be satisfactory for the future.
It appears to me that the future looks a lot more collaborative and a lot less hierarchical than the past including our current Alliance constitutions. I don’t think it means abandoning everything that has made policy governance a giant step forward for so many churches. Nor do I think it means reverting to congregational government that so often solidifies the status quo and puts the brakes on change. I suspect it looks different than anything we have at present.
It’s not that there isn’t a role for the Lead Pastor as an initiating visionary leader, but that much more room needs to be made for others to contribute to the dialogue. The future involves a lot more dialogue between key leaders, staff and board, in a way that is not bureaucratic, cuts through red tape and is responsive to rapid change when rapid change is needed to move the mission forward.
Our staff and board are actually pumped to be able to spend a day thinking about this kind of stuff. They love being together. They truly want to find a way to work more effectively, more collaboratively together. Should be an interesting day that leads to further discussion involving more of the church family. Ultimately is should lead to a revamped governance structure that more effectively advances our mission while being more collaborative and less bureaucratic. Coming up with something like that is no small task! Your prayer about all this is appreciated!
FIERCE CONVERSATIONS/FIERCE LEADERSHIP: Seeking life & relationships that are deep, authentic, passionate and unbridled …
Susan Scott in her books, “Fierce Conversations,” and “Fierce Leadership” has my attention. Over the course of this past summer during my annual study leave, these two books managed to deeply root themselves into my mind and heart about what it means to walk and lead with authenticity and integrity, what it means to connect deeply and passionately with my team, my family, or whomever God has me in relationship with. Her clarion call to sincerely invite truth, creativity and even contrarian thinking to the table hit me with an intensity that I have rarely experienced, even under the best of preachers and Christian writers. That may have more to do with me and where I’m at in my life journey these days, than any preachers or Christian writers, but even so, there is a freshness to Scott’s approach that simply rings true. And yes I believe the Holy Spirit spoke clearly and directly to me, through the words of this secular prophet.
I owe a huge thanks to a couple of guys in my Pastoral Small Group, Mike Wilkins from West London Alliance and Garth Leno from Heritage Park who introduced me to the books and blog of Susan Scott. I was working through some of my own “stuff” and sharing that with the group, when both guys jumped with the name Susan Scott and strongly encouraged me to take a look. They were surprised that I was unfamiliar with her as so often I’m the guy recommending secular authors who have something to say to the life of the local church.
Contrary to Susan’s Scott’s strong recommendation, I read “Fierce Leadership” before I read “Fierce Conversations,” which worked well for me, but “Fierce Conversations,” is clearly the foundation upon which the next book is built. I was struck by how the virtues Scott espouses are so obviously Christian. I wondered what in her background contributed to an ethic that so often reflected the teaching of Jesus despite her obvious disdain for institutional religion as well as her colourful yet sensitive use of such language. Perhaps her expression “what fresh hell is this,” will not win her points with the average evangelical church goer, but I must admit I found it an original and winsome way to express the realities we continually encounter in church and family life.
It wasn’t until I got to her first book, “Fierce Conversations” that I discovered that Susan has a churched upbringing with a mom who has been concerned about her daughter’s rejection of their family’s faith background. That explained a lot, including her phrase, “What Would Love Do?,” likely her secularized version of WWJD. She provides an excellent exposition of Matthew 18:15-17 without ever letting you know that she’s been influenced by the Bible. Reading between the lines, I suspect the values that she holds so strongly to, that she “preaches” so passionately, which are biblically consistent, were likely sadly absent in the church of her upbringing. Like so many, she embraces many biblical values, sees herself as “spiritual,” but rejects Christianity. Someone how I found myself identifying with this jaded reflection of church culture, and it caused me to look deeply within, at where I might be contributing to the culture Scott has come to reject.
Let me just throw your way a few quick things among many that struck me as I read these two books:
• Our work, our relationships succeed or fail one conversation at a time. We build our emotional wakes for the positive or negative, one conversation at a time.
• What each of us believes simply reflects our own view of reality … and reality is unforgivingly complex. In other words, no one person owns all of the truth.
• The person who can most accurately describe reality without laying blame will emerge the leader.
• If your behaviour contradicts your values, your body knows, and you pay a price at a cellular level.
• Authenticity is not something you have, it’s something you choose.
• What are you pretending not to know???
• We must recognize that humans share a universal longing to be known, to be loved.
• What we do at work that hurts people or alienates coworkers we also do at home, hurting and alienating those we love.
• When we keep important thoughts private, our ability to learn and make good decisions is lost.
• Feedback is invaluable. Anonymous feedback is not honest. Like all toxins, anonymity should be kept as close to zero as possible. Trust requires persistent identity.
• The goal is to have open, honest, face-to-face conversations, 365 days a year, with the people central to your success and happiness.
• A careful conversation is a failed conversation because it merely postpones the conversation that wants and needs to take place.
• A central part of my job is to build a culture that includes genuine affection for and an emotional connection with coworkers and customers.
• Master the courage to interrogate reality.
• The point of accountability is to empower the other person, not for you to become the new source for his or her power.
• Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?
Well that’s just a tease that hardly scratches the surface of two books that are immensely practical, incredibly challenging, yet refreshingly biblical in an arena you might not expect it. In some ways Scott’s books were almost like reading the sequel with practical application to NT Wright’s new book, “After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters.” Wright talks about the tough work of putting to death our old nature and putting on Christian virtues, and likens it to the difficult challenge of learning a new language. Yes we have the working of the Holy Spirit who will empower us, but only as we first choose to do what we as human beings have been enabled to do by our Creator God, as His image bearers. But that would take another blog to unpack.
So I give a hearty two thumbs up to both of Scott’s books, “Fierce Conversations,” and “Fierce Leadership.” I’d recommend them for use at home, at work, in the church, or wherever you interact with people committed to some sort of mission or task. Hey, I might even suggest that “Fierce Conversations,” might be one of the better books we could use in pre-marital counseling. Go buy both books and read them NOW!! (And after that take a look at Wright’s book! )
The 2010 Willow GLS: Leadership in Transition
The WillowCreek Leadership Summit, now called the Global Leadership Summit has been a staple in my summer diet for 14 out of the last 15 years of the Summit. I am never disappointed. Always I find myself inspired and challenged deeply by the event. This year through the diversity of speakers I could visibly see the transition taking place between the leadership thinking of modernism and what is beginning to develop with the emerging post-modern generation.
The Summit did start a bit slow for me. I found the first day of the two-day event to be good but not as captivating as in previous years. One of the contributing factors was the lack of emphasis on worship and the arts on that particular day. I found it intriguing that that lack had such an impact on my experience, despite some amazing teaching and presentations. The second day was much stronger on the arts front and contributed to my ability to better take in all the material that was presented. That contrast between day one and day two was a significant educational “take home,” for me about the power of the arts as well as the release that comes from spending a significant amount of time in corporate worship. I don’t think some of my staff team who were not at the Summit would have made it through day one with the almost “all business approach” to the day.
But the lack of arts and worship on day one aside, the Summit proved once again to be an invaluable contribution to my own leadership journey. I commend the Willow team for putting together such an excellent teaching team or as they like to call them, “faculty.” Let me just list a few of the many “take homes,” that impacted me. It’s too long for many of you to read all at once, just scan down and see what catches your attention:
• I had already been in a setting where BILL HYBELS did a test run of his Summit talk, but I was struck anew by the intensity of his passion for knitting together teams of what he calls “fantastic people,” folks who you would go out into the hall and vomit if you ever heard they wanted to leave your organization!
• Hybels has now added a fourth “C” to his team-building list, that being “culture,” in addition to character, competency and chemistry. He distinguished between chemistry as being inter-personal, and culture being the DNA or ethos of your organization.
• “Good is the enemy of great,” was the renewed rallying cry of JIM COLLINS, who once again was mesmerizing in his presentation.
• As a part of his presentation on why some “mighty organizations” fall, Collins built on Hybels session by emphasizing that we must have all of our key seats filled with fantastic people, that we must resist any attempt to move ahead or grow until we have those fantastic people occupying those key leadership seats.
• The signature issue that separates great leaders from good leaders, leaders who are often able to prevent “a catastrophic fall,” are those who are marked by humility.
• With passion Collins said that if we desire to be truly useful as leaders, then we must never capitulate, never ever give up on the idea of creating a great church or organization, never ever give up on the discipline of creating our own future, while being willing to embrace loss and endure pain in the journey towards those goals. You might have thought he was a preacher!
• DR. PETER ZHAO XIOA’s presentation was simply fascinating. He became a Christ follower studying the American economy for the Chinese government and concluding that biblical values make for a stronger economy. He is proud of his Chinese heritage and looks forward to China becoming once again one of the dominant nations in the world. His call is for us to not fear China, but to work to strengthen Christian presence in China, which will only benefit the nation and the world.
• The concept advanced by ANDY STANLEY, that great organizations have problems that shouldn’t be solved and tensions that shouldn’t be resolved, is a keeper! He argued that we need to identify those critical problems and tensions, that if held in a creative both/and balance, bring progress for the organization. While tensions are organizationally specific, they include things like: time with family/ time at work; reaching the unchurched/maturing believers; led by the Spirit/ attentive to logic. He calls the balancing of these unresolvable tensions a “third category,” that when artfully handled, propel the organization forward.
• Throughout the Summit there was an emphasis on creating environments of collaboration. This came out brilliantly in TERRI KELLY’S, the CEO of what we know as Gore-Tex talk. The culture of Gore and Associates really grabbed my attention, where it is a peer-based organization where everyone understands that it is their job to make everyone else in the organization successful. Her presentation of what a peer based organization based on personal relationships and the power of small teams is all about, where there are more coaches than bosses, where every staff member has a sponsor in addition to a supervisor who is committed to the betterment of the person, really got my mind going on overdrive. Yeah she stretched me big time, and it was good to be stretched!!
• Again the whole issue of hiring the right people was emphasized. The need for the right kind of behavioral interviewing that assures that the people you hire fit the culture they will be working in.
• And if I thought Terri Kelly was brilliant then I’ve run out of strong enough adjectives to describe the thinking of DANIEL PINK. His work on what it is that truly motivates us was simply captivating. I bought both the audio and print editions of his book, “Drive”!!
• Pink uses three concepts to describe what he calls “enduring motivations”: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. He argues that most organizations use lesser motivations like reward and punishment, including financial profit and money. He calls “management theory,” an outdated 1800’s concept designed to get compliance when folk yearn for autonomy, that we need to find ways to give folk autonomy over their time, teams, tasks and techniques. This leads to the need for an individual to develop mastery in what he or she is doing that reflects their personal passions, and mastery is motivated as people see they are making progress. Pink like some of the other contrarian thinkers at the Summit is very hard on traditional performance appraisal systems, opting instead for an ongoing process of encouragement, where the individual is motivated to monitor his or her progress with the help of a supervisor/coach.
• Pink then moves on to purpose, which many of us resonate with who think of faith in terms of “the purpose driven life. Pink is strong that even in business purpose trumps profit every time.
• Tom’s Shoes with it’s CEO BLAKE MYCOSKIE is a great example that purpose trumps profits, in a for-profit business venture. His buy a pair of shoes, and we’ll give a pair away to someone in need in the majority world has impacted both the churched and unchurched community. It’s become a viral movement capturing the heart of the younger generation that truly want to make a difference. I’d love to see Tom’s Shoes in Canada!
• Listening to JACK WELCH helped me to better understand Bill Hybels. There’s a unique combination of old school and new school leadership thinking that Welch represents that has impacted Hybles, who re-reads Welch’s “Winning” every six months. He isn’t the most studied CEO of the 20th century for nothing! Welch brings to leadership an amazing combination of energy, candor, as well as passion for the individual. However he takes a more hard lined approach to performance appraisal that clearly grades the individual in relationship to the rest of the employees, so that he can abundantly reward the top 20%, care for and grow the core 70% and remove the bottom 10%. Hybles takes a softer approach on this than Welch, but similar. After listening to Daniel Pink and Terri Kelly, I sensed that on this issue, the Welch performance appraisal system’s days are numbered.
• The summit wrapped up with a resounding message by Bishop TD JAKES. I’ve heard him speak before and was not all that enthused to hear him again. I personally find wumped up enthusiasm, and what for me is trite clichés, to be a bit grating. This time, Jakes surprised me and totally engaged me. There was a level of humility in his speaking that captivated me. He was well worth the risk Hybles took in brining him back to the Summit.
• Several of Jake’s statements that stayed with me include: “You cannot lead someone who cannot read you, you have to transparent enough to be understood, you have to show your wounds.” “They learn as much from your troubles as they do from your strengths.” “Lord I need a me! That’s someone who is safe to encourage me as I encourage others.” Jakes lamented how few “safe encouragers” there are out there for pastoral leaders.
So yeah, a lot of good stuff!! I hope to bring some of these sessions to the Redwood staff team and the Christian and leadership community at large in Thunder Bay through a series of “LEADERSHIP LUNCHES,” at Redwood’s Thunder Bay campus. I just have to check with Jane and see if she’s willing to put the soup on for us! I should have more information come September.
About
Doug has just recently accepted the position of Lead Pastor of the Fort McMurray Alliance Church in the bustling Oil Sands region of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta. Fort Mac Alliance is a church with a passion to tangibly make Jesus visible to our municipality and world, serving as a grace filled community that is welcoming and sensitive to people whatever their faith background and wherever they may or may not be at in their faith journey. It’s an adventurous community that is willing to think outside the norm while prayerfully wrestling with what it means to be involved in ministry both within and beyond the walls of the church facility. This results in a passion to see individual lives and the city as a whole touched and transformed by the love of Christ. Being in a city with global influence, Fort McMurray Alliance is seeking to be a unique global influence for Christ in partnership with it’s denominational family, the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
Doug is also involved with Briercrest College and Seminary in Caronport, Saskatchewan, where he teaches two courses a year as an Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology. From his home base in Fort McMurray, Doug serves as the Program Coordinator for Briercrest’s MDiv (Master of Divinity) program, with an urgency to see the next generation of ministry leaders raised up up to serve effectively within our ever evolving Canadian culture, as well as our vastly changing world.
Previously Doug served for 20 years as the Lead Pastor of Redwood Park Church, a multi-site missional community that is committed to seeing the message and life of Jesus impact Thunder Bay, Barrie and beyond. LIFE, PASSION and ADVENTURE are three words that both Doug and Redwood uses to describe the nature of Christian spirituality.
Doug is married to Jane, who possesses an amazing gift of hospitality and the ability to cook for hundreds! They have three young-adult children. Meagan is a pediatric resident at the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. Susan who is married to Chris Groenheide, among other things supply teaches at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School and promotes “eating local” through a variety of greens and specialty vegetables from her market garden. Graeme who has been involved in an eclectic mix of insurance and financial planning, working for a highway line painting company, and ushering at Thunder Bay’s Community Auditorium is heading off with a generous scholarship to the Vancouver Film School. Each of them in their distinct way has a yearning to be difference makers in this world.
Meal times at the Doyle household tend to be a bit of a party, but you might want to ask what it is you’re eating – as sometimes Doug enjoys a hike with a good friend and a gun in the beauty of our rugged Canadian outdoors, or maybe a paddle on a remote lake with rod in hand. He’s thinking that with the move for Fort McMurray, he might have to break down and add an ATV to his toys.
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