Eleven Trends for 2011...from Strategist Will Mancini

Here are some predictions about new and enduring trends we can expect in North American ministry in 2011 and beyond...

1: Increasing diversity of opinion about what good vision and strategy look like

In 2010, Craig Groeschel posted on the Death of the 5 Year Plan, yet vision mavens like Jim Collins still talk about 20-year BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). To add to the confusion, the list of “how-to-do-church” books grows exponentially. We’ve gone from simple, deep, organic and total to sticky, viral, dangerous and hybrid. Are we getting clear yet?

2: Articulating the biggest picture will be the leader’s greatest asset

Every church leader is saturated with countless best practices, bombarded with more communication, and ministering to people struggling with increasingly complex lives. This gives us a hyper-need for clarity. Communicating Jesus-centered meaning in life has never had more competition. The best leaders won’t take the most basic assumptions for granted.

3: Social media will open new possibilities for more churches


Unfortunately most churches lag behind the “real world” by 10 years or so when it comes to technology and communication. But online giants like LifeChurch.tv not only lead the way with technology, but do so generously by offering sites and apps like VideoTeaching.com and YouVersion.com. There is a new world of possibilities for vision and strategy not just for large churches but for every spiritual leader with an innovative spirit. Church online, Facebook, and Twitter are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, check out Gordon Marcy, John Saddington, Charles Lee, and Terry Storch.

4: Visioning and spiritual formation will emerge more visibly as disciplines

True visioning in the local church should always be a Spirit-led, Word-anchored exercise of daily spiritual formation. But it is easy to separate the strategic and the spiritual in daily practice. In the future there will be little tolerance for strategic conversations and visioning exercises that aren’t first God-worshipping and God-listening initiatives. Church leaders are tired of anything in the name of vision that smacks of corporate ideology.

5: Small will continue to be the new big

Thinking, acting, and leading small will continue to mark the church landscape. One factor is the new normal of multi-site churches. Leadership Network played a key role in accelerating this innovation which helps larger churches expand through smaller beachheads. Second, as church planting and missional thinking continue to expand, smaller expressions—from house churches to missional communities—become more legit against the traditional, monolithic measurement of big-church-butts-in-seats. We have recently witnessed the birth of a new network to small town, small church America called The Sticks. Last year brought counter-intuitive book titles and blog posts like The Strategically Small Church and The Micro Manifesto.

6: Networks will become the new denominations

As new learning, new strategies, and new relationships cluster in frontline church planting networks—Acts 29, Redeemer City to City, New Thing, ARC, ChurchPlanters.com, PLNTD, Vision360 and the ICF Movement—the knowledge, encouragement, and accountability of traditional denominations become less valuable. Please note that these networks are not trying to be new denominations. Some effective networks, like Stadia and the Church Multiplication Network, are denominationally based. But the momentum of these networks is changing the game.

7: Leaders will pay more attention to shorter time horizons

The emphasis on leadership in the future will be preparing for the uncertainties of the future, rather than trying to predict them. As a result, answering the question, “Where is God taking us?” requires a 90-day focus and a 1-year horizon of shared storytelling like never before. Will other time horizons be important? Yes they will, but not like the way we used to think about it.

8: The intersection of personal and organizational vision will be magnified

Peter Drucker recognized early on that the movement from an industrial to an information paradigm would push the envelope on personal clarity and self-management for business and non-profit leaders. Yet I find very little evidence in the ministry world that a hunger for personal clarity is making an organizational difference. Even so, I suspect this is coming.

9: Visioning will involve making meaning rather than predicting the future

Life brings a daily tidal wave of monotony. We all fight to keep our daily routine vital and life-giving in view of greater purposes. A key attribute of vision is and always will be how it keeps people focused on the future. But one aspect of vision that will bring increasing value is how it refocuses our work today. This is why I like the word “clarity” as a practical substitute for “vision,” especially in church. Expect that people will not care about where your church is going until you can make meaning for them right now. Why am I in worship? Why should I participate in a small group? Why should I give to your church? Clarity today before you envision tomorrow.

10: External focus and biblical justice will stay prominent

Now that biblical justice has returned to mainstream evangelicalism, it will remain a prominent feature in our vision and strategy work. Strengthening this trend will be a generation of Millennials who will rise in organizational leadership. They mark an era of altruism where volunteerism and social entrepreneurship are the standard not the exception. Generationally speaking, they care more about people “outside of the organization” than the boomers did. The mantra we will continue to see, sparked by Eric Swanson, is “Don’t be the best church in the community; be the best church for the community.

11: Churches will consult for vision clarity rather than for capital campaigns

For almost four decades, capital campaign consulting has been the dominant category for “strategic outsiders” in local churches. The role of consulting is moving away from packaged campaigns and programs towards the ability to navigate organic and culture-savvy solutions. Help in clarifying vision has become the most common reason for a pastor to pursue a consultant, according to the Society of Church Consulting.

The Harvest is Past... and We Are Not Yet Saved

A great piece from a partner in Zambia with Jubilee Center about justice and courage in Zambia...hoping to visit their ministry with students this May back in the mother land!

We argued last week that Evangelical and Pentecostal leaders are a major force on the Zambian political scene. Our leaders receive invitations to the State House; and public media outlets: the ZNBC, the Times of Zambia, and the Daily Mail quote Pentecostal and Evangelical leaders more than any other religious constituency. We also noted that during the election candidates will be appealing for our votes and the votes of those we lead. How much difference do we make in how our members vote? Leaders do influence their people, but in the absence of quantifiable data we are not sure how many Evangelical or Pentecostals vote or what other issues we care about apart from the “Christian Nation” clause.

Evangelicals are rightly known for efforts to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the lost. Pentecostals are known for proclaiming the message of generous giving as a way of coming out of poverty as well as for exploring new forms of worship and for building new church structures. Both groups however are still lacking when it comes to caring for the needy beyond their church community. As one who identifies with both groups I can say we also have a difficult time making disciples who practically understand what it means to be Christian citizens in Zambia and the world.

Consider the economy of England in the 18th century that was largely built on the abusing children from poor families who were made to work in coalmines and factories under terrible conditions, and on the slave trade that cruelly exploited Indians and Africans. A ruling class addicted to privilege, licentious living, and status dominated the English government. It was during this period that God raised up William Wilberforce out of a life of wealth and class, who in part was a disciple of John Newton a former slave trader turned pastor, to lead through his position as a Member of Parliament to influence his fellow lawmakers to abolish the slave trade in England.

Much of Zambia’s current leadership is no different than the 18th century ruling class that enslaved the poor and oppressed the weak for personal gain. Copper prices have soared to record highs and yet those living in poor communities are seeing little change. Our natural resources and economic future are being sold and yet the proceeds are benefitting only a small band of investors and the elite ruling class. The majority of the Zambians still lack access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation. As a result, women and children spend a disproportionate amount of time collecting water and then caring for those who have contracted water-borne sicknesses from that water. Jeremiah lamented in the scriptures, “Remember O Lord what happened to us; look and see our disgrace. Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens our homes to foreigners” (Lam.5: 1-2) He cried, “Harvest is past, summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken; I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?”(Jeremiah 8:20-22)

Zambia needs a John Newton who will tell our Wilberforce in Parliament that “God has raised you up for the good of the church and the good of the nation.” Do we have a Wilberforce in Parliament...someone who will forgo wealth and privilege for a higher cause? Do we have a John Newton in our pulpits...one who has the credibility and courage to speak boldly to the ruling class on behalf of the marginalized and disciple them to make a difference for good?


Lawrence Temfwe

Notes from A Chapel Message to Open the Spring Semester in 2011...

I JOHN 3:18...
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

I JOHN 4:7-12...
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

I JOHN 4:16-21...
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

WHAT IS LOVE?
Love means I will follow through on my commitment to:
do what I say I will do
and
be who I say I will be

JAMES 1:19-27
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.  Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

THE PROBLEM WITH WORDS...
*so many of us don’t want to fully believe because of the broken promises we have experienced

*how often do we say things we don’t actually do?

I JOHN 3:16-20
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.


A Quote from Generous Justice by Tim Keller on the story of the Good Samaritan…
In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus was giving a radical answer to the questions, “What is love?” and “What does it mean to love your neighbor?” Jesus answered the questions of a law expert by depicting a man meeting material, physical, and economic needs through deeds. Caring for people’s material and economic needs is not an option for Jesus. He refused to limit the implications of this command to love. He said it meant being sacrificially involved with the vulnerable…

Jesus also refuses to let us limit not only how we love, but who we love. It is typical for us to think of our neighbors as people of the same social class and means. We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that. By depicting a Samaritan helping a Jew, Jesus could not have found a more forceful way to say that anyone at all in need—regardless of race, politics, class, and religion—is your neighbor. Not everyone is your brother or sister in the faith, but everyone is your neighbor, and you must love your neighbor.

THE POWER OF ACTIONS...
*this is where you see ideas turned into reality and a desire becomes your true passion in life

“The greatest cause of atheism is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door and deny Him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
BRENNAN MANNING

THE CHALLENGE FOR GOD'S PEOPLE...
*truly care for people in your communities…

*focus on the needs of others rather than fixating on your own stuff…

*when you have the opportunity to simply change another’s life, you must take it…

A VISION FOR CU THIS SEMESTER...
Speak Less

Do More

Young People Who Walk Away from Faith and May Not Come Back...

The latest research spelled out here drives me to help this generation of students discover together with me the goodness of God, the blessings of following His call, and the joy of being engaged in Kingdom work...those are the things that draw people toward Jesus and His Church and keep students engaged in the community of faith...

The statistics are grim. According to Rainer Research, 70 percent of youth leave church by the time they are 22 years old. Barna Group estimates that 80 percent of those reared in the church will be "disengaged" by the time they are 29 years old. Unlike older church dropouts, these young "leavers" are unlikely to seek out alternative forms of Christian community, such as home churches and small groups. When they leave church, many leave the faith as well. Barna Group president, David Kinnaman put the reality in stark terms:

Imagine a group photo of all the students who come to your church (or live within your community of believers) in a typical year. Take a big fat marker and cross out three out of every four faces. That's the probable toll of spiritual disengagement as students navigate through their faith during the next two decades.

Strangers from Our Midst

Kinnaman reports that 65 percent of all American young people report making a commitment to Jesus Christ at some point in their lives. Yet, based on his surveys, Kinnaman concludes that only about 3 percent of these young adults have a biblical worldview.

Kinnaman translates the percentages into real numbers: "This means that out of the 95million Americans who are ages 18 to 41, about 60 million say they have already made a commitment to Jesus that is still important; however, only about 3 million of them have a biblical worldview."

Of course, that doesn't mean that there are 57 million young ex-Christians in the country. Only the most theologically lax would count anyone that makes a pledge or says a prayer as a genuine disciple of Jesus. On the other side of the coin, not having a biblical worldview doesn't seal your fate as an unbeliever. Ultimately the precise number of young adults leaving is beyond human knowing. Still, such research shows us something very valuable about young people outside the faith. As Kinnaman concludes, "the vast majority of outsiders in this country, particularly among young generations, are actually dechurched individuals."

In other words, these are not strangers, some mysterious denizens of a heathen underworld. Rather, most unbelieving outsiders are old friends, yesterday's worshipers, children who once prayed to Jesus, even if they didn't fully grasp what they were saying. Strictly speaking, they are not an "unreached people group." They are our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters, and our friends. They have dwelt among us.

Won't They Just Come Back?

Some hold out hope for a mass return, believing that once these young people settle down and have families, they'll come back to faith. And indeed, in past generations, people raised in the church who leave do tend to come back once they establish careers, marry, and have children. However, there are reasons to believe that this return will not automatically occur with this generation.

First, there's reason to believe that today's young people are leaving the faith at a greater rate than young people of previous generations. Reporting on the latest studies, Harvard professor Robert Putnam and Notre Dame professor David Campbell note: "Young Americans are dropping out of religion at an alarming rate of 5 to 6 times the historic rate (30-40% have no religion today versus 5-10% a generation ago)." Comparing today's young people with their parents may be like comparing apples and oranges.

Second, young adulthood is not what it used to be. For one, it's much longer. Notre Dame sociologist Christian Smith describes this new extended phase in life: "The transition from the teenage years to fully-achieved adulthood has stretched out into an extended stage that is often amorphous, unstructured, and convoluted, lasting upward of twelve or more years." This is important because some of the defining milestones of adulthood, such as establishing a career, getting married, and having children are also factors that tend to drive people back to religious involvement. Past generations may have returned after the leaving during young adulthood. But coming back after a two or three year departure is one thing; returning after a decade or more away is much more unlikely.

It may be comforting to view what's happening with young adults as a temporary phenomenon, a short-term hiatus, and assume that they will automatically return en masse. Let's pray that they will. Unfortunately, such thinking may do more harm than good by giving us false hope and luring us into complacency.

A Final Blog from the DR...

Hello for the last time from the Dominican Republic...we are just getting ready for a final team dinner together on a warm and breezy night...we said goodbye to new friends this morning at our ministry site and then headed into the capital city of Santo Domingo...we visited the market and then walked in and around some of the oldest buildings in the Western hemisphere, including the National Cathedral and National Monuments of the DR...these buildings are amazing structures and are almost 500 years old!

We then drove to the coast and spent some time this afternoon enjoying a resort on the ocean...there has been good food, lots of Dominican music, and a time to relax at the beach after a very busy week for us all...in many ways, it is somewhat strange to be at a resort after being part of a community with such great physical needs during our time in the DR...you find yourself feeling somewhat guilty and somewhat resistant to what you see all around you...yet in many ways this resort represents more of who we are as blessed Americans...and the greatest challenge of this trip is yet to come in many ways...God's calling to us is not to just feel guilty and grateful...it is to live with what we have seen, experienced, and heard from God in a place of prominence in our daily lives...it is the challenge of living in our own community and culture that God has placed us in as a Christian who is compassionate, communicates about the needs of others near and far, and serves out of a heart that is full because of what God has done in Jesus for us...that's really our final task of this trip...to spend time asking God to show us specifically what our response individually and as a team will be as we come back to Cornerstone and the semester ahead...we'd ask you to pray for us to be motivated and passionate to be advocates for the people of the DR and to help us to build a community that is focused on others and creates a mindset of service and love and character in the soccer community and other places of influence in our lives...

We are tired and yet so very blessed after our time on this missions trip...we appreciate your prayers and support more than you know...we are excited to tell stories, show pictures, and talk about what God is up to in this world when we return...don't be afraid to ask questions of us when we are back with you...

Thanks for reading this blog and giving us encouraging comments back...I've loved being with young men who I believe will indeed change the world...CHIP

p.s. If all goes well, we should arrive back at CU sometime around 2:30 am or so after our travel day tomorrow!

A Final Day and Night in Los Alcarrizos

It is just about 10 pm here and we are all hanging out as a team after a full last day of work and conversation here in the community we have enjoyed being part of for the last 6 days...today was a day of sweat and reflection for all of us...we spent several hours under the warm Caribbean sun breaking rock, shoveling and wheelbarrowing dirt, and smoothing out the ground of a future community center space where a new church plant will soon become reality and there will be a new well where people can come to get water used for bathing and cleaning in a community where almost have no access to running water or even a natural water source...the guys on this team have worked and worked and worked this week...it truly is an act of worship as we work so that change can happen in the lives of those we work alongside in the days and years to come...they love the sense of being part of God's work in progress...and very much look forward to possibly seeing one day what they helped to start...

It is easy to see why we are doing what we are doing as Zac Tolsma and I spent time with the little guy and girl the Bell and Huber families sponsor here so they can attend the Lighthouse school...as the little girl hugged me and asked when we would be back again, you are blessed by your chance to invest your blessings to bless the lives of someone who you pray and believe God will use mightily someday...

We then somehow found the energy to beat a Dominican softball team that had previously been undefeated in the mission trip team challenge world...who says soccer players aren't good baseball players?

And then we sat down for a time where we refelected on what God has spoken to us individually and as a team, what he has taught us from His Word and our experiences, and the responses and next steps we plan to take in our lives, the soccer community, CU, and the world...

Here's a little window into our world and what God has been up to this past week in the DR:

*We see again that the church is a global church and doesn't just look like American in its worship and passions...
*We embrace a new passion for service and evangelism...and love how the two fit together so very well...
*We are excited to discover individually the specific callings God has upon our lives to use soccer and other gifts for impact on other people's lives
*We are committed to hosting local soccer clinics for kids in need in the Grand Rapids community...
*We are pumped to expand our Night of Nets event to have even greater involvement at CU and impact globally as we meet the needs of those in desperate need around the globe...
*And we are dreaming of a community that is built on brotherly love, demonstrates the character of Christ on and off the field, and grows in its care for each other and vision for what Jesus can do in and through us as His athletes and followers...

Needless to say, it was an inspiring time of celebration...a time to thank God for calling us here so we can learn from and embrace a new people and culture, discover and build new relationships, see how the game of soccer is a connection to people and vehicle for sharing the hope and meaning found only in Jesus wherever you go in this world, and leave with tired hands and full hearts from a place where God is physically and spiritually building something that reflects His glory to the people of the Dominican Republic...

Tomorrow we will share a last meal with the staff here and take a little visit to Santo Domingo and spend a few hours in the capital city at the market and the incredible historical sites in the place Christopher Columbus came to so many centuries ago...and then we will relax together at a beach resort and enjoy a little AC and a warm shower before heading back to Grand Rapids on Thursday...

Know tonight as we head to bed that your prayers are being answered in the lives of young men...for all the CU Soccer crew, CHIP

Guest Blogger Night...A Few Words from CU Soccer Player Josh Rimel

Tonight I am turning over my writing job to one of the CU soccer guys...Josh Rimel came back for a second year here in the DR and offers his perspective on the trip so far...tomorrow is our final work day here at our ministry site...we are blessed and learning and experiencing much...I would have loved you to hear our conversation about how being a soccer athlete offers us incredible opportunities for ministry on the field and across the world...can't wait to see some of the visions God is birthing becoming reality...and here's Josh's insider's perspective:

It has now been five days since we have gotten here and everyday has been just as exciting as the day before. To start off each day we usually work in the beating sun for a minimum of about four hours doing brick work. This can possibly involve anything from carrying cinder blocks up flights of stairs to lifting buckets of cement above your head to fill in colums for a new floor on a building. At the end of each day you are so sore and tired that you can't wait to fall asleep on your bed that is most likely surounded by mosquitoes that show no mercy to your aching body... and in the morning you wake up to do it all again. Some people would question why would a group of college guys would raise $1500 to spend their semester break doing this for a week. Well, the answer is quite simple. We all were presented with an oportunity to be able to take a little time out of our busy lives to fly down to the Dominican Republic and help an orginaztion in a small community that is trying to make a difference, and we couldn't pass the invitation up. Every day here I can say I have definitely gained much more than I have given. As you walk out the gates of the ministry camp and walk a block away you find yourself literally in the midst of pretty sever poverty. You see what so many times you only hear about exisiting somewhere in the world. This has really opened my eyes and made it so much more personnal to me. Also being able to actually be an active part of what your money goes toward, and seeing what it is being used for I feel encourages your desire to send and return again. I can honestly say that each one of the guys who came down here to the Dominican Republic wouldn't have changed their mind if they were given another chance to spend their vacation time serving people, sharing Jesus, and playing soccer in the Dominican Republic. Good night from the DR!