HIGH M-PACT Revitalization (HMR) is the process that I have developed over the past eighteen years to lead a church through comprehensive revitalization. Because of its comprehensive nature, many churches have struggled to get revitalization going because HMR is quite demanding of time, energy, commitment and creativity. In light of this, I have moved the starting line back to a "kinder, friendlier" model that I'm calling simply Basic Church Vitalization (BCV).
BCV is a stand-alone approach to establishing health and growth in a church that gives churches and excellent opportunity to move their ministries forward. Seminal elements of HMR are utilized so that, should a church decide to move beyond BCV to HMR, seeds are already planted and momentum already gained so that HMR can be engaged more quickly and effectively. Please note that an entire narrative of HMR is currently available as a download on my website at www.kenpriddy.com.
One of the key concepts of Basic Church Vitalization is the Great Commission Matrix. The idea is simple and yet holds tremendous potential for making ministry happen. First, identify all of the ministries or programs currently active in the church. Then run each through the matrix of the Great Commission. How so? The Great Commission states, "Go and make disciples." Think of "Go" as Outreach, "Make" as Evangelism, and "Disciples" as Discipleship.
Second, run each ministry or program through the Go - Make - Disciples grid. For example, let's say that one of the church's ministries is Youth Ministry. To run Youth Ministry through the grid, church leaders would ask three questions:
1. Go/Outreach: What strategies can we employ to reach out to youth in the community through Youth Ministry?
2. Make/Evangelism: What strategies can we employ to evangelize the youth in the community through Youth Ministry?
3. Disciples/Discipleship: What strategies can we employ in Youth Ministry to disciple youth from the community who have been reached through outreach and evangelism?
Envision every ministry/program of the church having the capacity to reach into the community to build relationships with the lost, to present the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to the lost with clarity, and to grow those who respond to the call of Christ to maturity in Christ through discipleship. The church that is able to make this happen throughout its ministries and programs is a church that will have great spiritual and strategic vitality. The Great Commission Matrix is one of the elements of Basic Church Vitalization.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Leading Worship
Having been a worship leader for many years and a worshipper for many more, I'd like to speak to the issue of leading worship. Here's a little background. I'm a second career minister; my first career was professional musician. As you might imagine, I spent night after night, hour after hour, on stage and became quite familiar and comfortable with appealing to an audience. As I like to say it, Jesus "ruined my career," calling me to a life and ministry that was a complete reversal from where I was headed in my pop music life.
Now on "stage" as a worship leader, I called on my years of experience as an entertainer to engage the "crowd," now a congregation. Obviously I was off base. This was not a crowd and this was not entertainment, and the worship leader as center of attraction and attention was far off the mark. I was to be a worship leader, not the star of the show. So I retreated into my invisible worship leader period, setting up my keyboard rig in some obscure corner of the platform trying to lead worship much like the Wizard of Oz, behind the curtain. I was determined not to be the center of attention, so I hid myself and let the music simply carry the moment. Again I was off the mark.
The challenge is that the worship leader needs to demand focus and be invisible simultaneously, but how do you pull that off. Over the years I have come to understand that the worship leader needs to function much like a tour guide, say, at Disneyland. The tourists enter the theme park and hop on the trolley, riding around the park guided by the expertise of the tour guide. The guide is intimately acquainted with the main attractions and has in-depth knowledge and experience concerning all the ins and outs of the park. The tourists listen to the guide with interest, taking in all that the guide provides while looking past the guide to the main attractions. At the end of the day, happy and fulfilled tourists leave the park with great memories of the main attractions, having essentially forgotten all about the tour guide.
As a tour guide, the worship leader is intimately acquainted with the main attraction, God, and has in-depth knowledge and experience in worshipping Him. The worship leader is a conduit, connecting God to His people and His people to God. The worship leader is not there to worship but is there to see that God is worshipped by His people. The worship leader is not worshipping but is working hard to see that worship takes place.
What if a preacher walked to the pulpit on a given Sunday and began to study the Bible with language aids and commentaries while the congregation watched? Does that sound ridiculous? Of course it does. The preacher studies during the week and brings the best of his findings to the pulpit and guides the congregation in study. The congregation doesn't watch the preacher study; it watches the preacher preach. Likewise, the worship leader doesn't come to the platform to worship but to lead worship. This leader has worshipped God throughout the week and brings the best of that worship to the platform to guide the congregation in worship. The congregation doesn't watch the worship leader worship; it watches the worship leader lead!
At the end of the worship service, happy and fulfilled congregants leave the church having had a great encounter with the living God, and having essentially forgotten all about the worship leader.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Proclamation & Demonstration
Last week I heard a missionary speak. He serves in Turkey, a country that he describes as culturally Muslim. To be born a Turk is to be born a Muslim, much as in bygone days to be born an American was to be born a cultural Christian; perhaps not so much these days. When asked to reveal his ministry approach to evangelism, he stated that he simply uses the evangelism model of Jesus, that being to proclaim the Gospel and to demonstrate the Gospel. According to this missionary, making their ministry visible by way of demonstration, by way of being the Gospel, lets people see the nature of Christ. As the Holy Spirit moves in the hearts and minds of people, those people seek out this new breed of people who have come to town, and find them easily because they are so visible in their actions.
I was profoundly struck by this simple model, immediately connecting the concept to my own model for reaching the lost which I describe as outreach coupled with evangelism, or deploying contact strategies and convert strategies. In short, I connected the demonstration of the Gospel to outreach or contact strategies, and I connected the proclamation of the Gospel to evangelism or convert strategies.
As I have considered the streamlined model of proclamation and demonstration, it seems to me that we in conservative evangelical circles are fully committed to proclamation, but fall woefully short in our commitment to demonstration. Yet it is in demostration that the opportunity for proclamation is nurtured. In practice, we proclaim to ourselves, while never getting the Gospel to those who need to hear it, the lost.
How visible is our demonstration of the Gospel? Do we, a la Acts 2, enjoy the favor of the people? Are people being winsomely drawn to the Gospel because of our visible outreach? Will we ever stop talking to ourselves?
I was profoundly struck by this simple model, immediately connecting the concept to my own model for reaching the lost which I describe as outreach coupled with evangelism, or deploying contact strategies and convert strategies. In short, I connected the demonstration of the Gospel to outreach or contact strategies, and I connected the proclamation of the Gospel to evangelism or convert strategies.
As I have considered the streamlined model of proclamation and demonstration, it seems to me that we in conservative evangelical circles are fully committed to proclamation, but fall woefully short in our commitment to demonstration. Yet it is in demostration that the opportunity for proclamation is nurtured. In practice, we proclaim to ourselves, while never getting the Gospel to those who need to hear it, the lost.
How visible is our demonstration of the Gospel? Do we, a la Acts 2, enjoy the favor of the people? Are people being winsomely drawn to the Gospel because of our visible outreach? Will we ever stop talking to ourselves?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Story of Ministry Priorities
What are your ministry priorities? Over the course of this year I have served as adjunct faculty at three seminaries. One exercise I have used concerns Ministry Priorities. I identify ten typical ministry priorities as follows:
Worship
Prayer
Teaching/Preaching
Discipleship/Education
Fellowship
Evangelism
Pastoral Care
Missions
Community Service/Outreach
Giving/Tithing
Of course there might be others if you were to design the list, but in general these are priorities of a typical church. I ask students to rank these ministry priorities in their order of importance. You can imagine the consternation this generates. Aren't all ministry priorities of equal importance? Who's to say what ministries are more important than others?
These are not the questions that should be asked. The question should be, "Based on what criterion?" If we are to rank these ministry priorities as to their order of importance, what grid or measuring stick should we use? Church leaders tend to use a default criterion such as history, tradition, or convention, along the lines of "we've always done it this way." I would argue that the true criterion for gauging ministry priorities should be God's vision for a particular church in a particular community. Further, I would argue that God's vision for a particular church in a particular community has much to do with outreach and evangelism, as in "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost," (Luke 19:10); as in "Go and make disciples," (Matthew 28:19), as in "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few," (Matthew 9:37).
Back to seminary classes: so I ask these students to rank these ministry priorities according to their importance. As a final treatment, I ask students to analyze the ministries of their churches in two ways. First, rank the order of these ministry priorities according to what the church says about its priorities. Second, rank the order of these ministry priorities according to what the church actually does about its priorities. Then they are to compare the two lists and note any gaps between what is said and what is done.
Guess what? In almost every case, regardless of how high the priorities of Missions, Community Service/Outreach and Evangelism are listed in the says list, they fall toward the bottom in the does list. The only priority that ranks consistently lower than these in the does list is Giving/Tithing.
Isn't it interesting that most American churches are seeing very little fruit in evangelism and are struggling financially!
Worship
Prayer
Teaching/Preaching
Discipleship/Education
Fellowship
Evangelism
Pastoral Care
Missions
Community Service/Outreach
Giving/Tithing
Of course there might be others if you were to design the list, but in general these are priorities of a typical church. I ask students to rank these ministry priorities in their order of importance. You can imagine the consternation this generates. Aren't all ministry priorities of equal importance? Who's to say what ministries are more important than others?
These are not the questions that should be asked. The question should be, "Based on what criterion?" If we are to rank these ministry priorities as to their order of importance, what grid or measuring stick should we use? Church leaders tend to use a default criterion such as history, tradition, or convention, along the lines of "we've always done it this way." I would argue that the true criterion for gauging ministry priorities should be God's vision for a particular church in a particular community. Further, I would argue that God's vision for a particular church in a particular community has much to do with outreach and evangelism, as in "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost," (Luke 19:10); as in "Go and make disciples," (Matthew 28:19), as in "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few," (Matthew 9:37).
Back to seminary classes: so I ask these students to rank these ministry priorities according to their importance. As a final treatment, I ask students to analyze the ministries of their churches in two ways. First, rank the order of these ministry priorities according to what the church says about its priorities. Second, rank the order of these ministry priorities according to what the church actually does about its priorities. Then they are to compare the two lists and note any gaps between what is said and what is done.
Guess what? In almost every case, regardless of how high the priorities of Missions, Community Service/Outreach and Evangelism are listed in the says list, they fall toward the bottom in the does list. The only priority that ranks consistently lower than these in the does list is Giving/Tithing.
Isn't it interesting that most American churches are seeing very little fruit in evangelism and are struggling financially!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Sola Cutting Edge - NOT!
I'm always on the lookout for new or unknown materials and tools that might be of help to the pastors and leaders I serve in my training and consulting ministry. Recently I have become familiar with two promising resources that might be classified under discipleship or small groups, but that carry an evangelism commitment that takes these materials beyond the typical. First is The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and second is The Acts 29 Kit by Chris Kovac. These were both mentioned in my July 1, 2010 blog. My intent here is not simply to repeat myself, but as I have considered these resources, especially Halter's offering, the phrase "cutting edge" has come to mind. The Tangible Kingdom is, indeed, on the cutting edge of missional, incarnational ministry.
When we use the idiomatic expression "the cutting edge" we are identifying that which has taken the innovative lead in an enterprise or that which is out front, first to the field. The American Heritage Dictionary cites definitions for "cutting edge" as 1. an effective quality or element, and 2. the position of greatest advancement or importance; the forefront. The Collins English Dictionary defines "cutting edge" as the leading position in any field; forefront. As someone who has planted churches and who thrives on the adventure of ministry, I have often prided myself (this is a confession) on being on the cutting edge, as if somehow I've understood something that others haven't understood or been places that others haven't gone. But my recent thoughts on the proverbial "cutting edge" took me to an unexpected place as I began to consider the literal cutting edge, that part of a knife that literally cuts.
Google being what it is, I did a bit of research on knives and I discovered something obvious and yet completely missed in the fascination with the cutting edge. Simply stated, the cutting edge cannot cut anything without the participation of the rest of the knife. Without the entire knife, the cutting edge is just a thin sliver of metal with no purpose, function or capability. A typical knife has at least ten identifiable parts: blade, handle, point, edge, grind, spine, fuller, ricasso, guard, and buff. All need to work in concert or the edge cannot cut.
Not all pastors and leaders, or churches for that matter, can be on the cutting edge of ministry, but all need to be part of the knife, empowering, enabling, and equipping those on the edge to do the innovative, first on the field, forefront work. I don't want to go overboard with this metaphor at this point (point; get it!) as I'm still thinking it through, but I do want to encourage the cutting edge to understand its dependency on the rest of the knife, and I want the rest of the knife to understand the strategic importance of the cutting edge. And if you as a pastor or leader, or even church or judicatory, are not even part of the knife at all, please step up now and put your force behind the cutting edge.
Finally, just to be clear, the cutting edge of the church is the slashing, penetrating Gospel as it cuts into the hearts, lives and communities of the lost. It's the applied Great Commission!
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do? Acts 2:37 ESV
When we use the idiomatic expression "the cutting edge" we are identifying that which has taken the innovative lead in an enterprise or that which is out front, first to the field. The American Heritage Dictionary cites definitions for "cutting edge" as 1. an effective quality or element, and 2. the position of greatest advancement or importance; the forefront. The Collins English Dictionary defines "cutting edge" as the leading position in any field; forefront. As someone who has planted churches and who thrives on the adventure of ministry, I have often prided myself (this is a confession) on being on the cutting edge, as if somehow I've understood something that others haven't understood or been places that others haven't gone. But my recent thoughts on the proverbial "cutting edge" took me to an unexpected place as I began to consider the literal cutting edge, that part of a knife that literally cuts.
Google being what it is, I did a bit of research on knives and I discovered something obvious and yet completely missed in the fascination with the cutting edge. Simply stated, the cutting edge cannot cut anything without the participation of the rest of the knife. Without the entire knife, the cutting edge is just a thin sliver of metal with no purpose, function or capability. A typical knife has at least ten identifiable parts: blade, handle, point, edge, grind, spine, fuller, ricasso, guard, and buff. All need to work in concert or the edge cannot cut.
Not all pastors and leaders, or churches for that matter, can be on the cutting edge of ministry, but all need to be part of the knife, empowering, enabling, and equipping those on the edge to do the innovative, first on the field, forefront work. I don't want to go overboard with this metaphor at this point (point; get it!) as I'm still thinking it through, but I do want to encourage the cutting edge to understand its dependency on the rest of the knife, and I want the rest of the knife to understand the strategic importance of the cutting edge. And if you as a pastor or leader, or even church or judicatory, are not even part of the knife at all, please step up now and put your force behind the cutting edge.
Finally, just to be clear, the cutting edge of the church is the slashing, penetrating Gospel as it cuts into the hearts, lives and communities of the lost. It's the applied Great Commission!
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do? Acts 2:37 ESV
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Busy Month - Much to Share
It's been a busy month and I've come across numerous items I'd like to share as follows:
I'm about mid-way through reading one of the most important books of my ministry lifetime. The title is Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity by Nancy Pearcey. Think intelligence - apologetics - theology - history - L'Abri - Francis Schaeffer, and more. This book is endorsed by folks such as J.I. Packer, Ralph Winter, and J.P. Moreland. It's one of those books that's difficult to highlight because virtually every page would be all yellow. Read it!
Discipleship Recommendations:
I ran into Hugh Halter at a conference a few weeks ago. He gave me a copy of his work, The Tangible Kingdom primer: an eight-week guide to incarnational community. If you're looking to mobilize small groups into missional communities, grab this resource. If your ministry context is not yet ready for this primer, check out the Acts 29 Kit by Chris Kovac, published by Navigators.
Great Speakers:
Last week's EPC General Assembly featured guest speakers Reggie McNeal and Richard Pratt. Both were strong. McNeal's Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church needs a look. His idea of changing what we measure in the church resonates strongly with my concept in HIGH M-PACT Revitalization of identifying the correct criteria for decision-making and resource allocation. He was dead on target with his hilarious reference to the "Six Flags Over Jesus" church, the church model that turns church into an amusement park to draw a crowd. Just to stay ballanced, perhaps a mention of the "Six Feet Under" church should be made, the church that's dead to its own community.
Richard Pratt (see Third Millennium Ministries) was powerful as always and great to see again. I studied Hebrew and Old Testament under Richard at RTS Orlando. What a great reminder that our true value rests in being made in the image of God, a quality that all people share. If only we valued people as highly as God does! Thanks, Richard.
Oh, one other thing - McNeal mentioned a couple of websites worth investigating if you're looking for inspiration and information about connecting your church with the community. Check out www.tituscountycares.com and www.kidshopeusa.org.
I'm about mid-way through reading one of the most important books of my ministry lifetime. The title is Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity by Nancy Pearcey. Think intelligence - apologetics - theology - history - L'Abri - Francis Schaeffer, and more. This book is endorsed by folks such as J.I. Packer, Ralph Winter, and J.P. Moreland. It's one of those books that's difficult to highlight because virtually every page would be all yellow. Read it!
Discipleship Recommendations:
I ran into Hugh Halter at a conference a few weeks ago. He gave me a copy of his work, The Tangible Kingdom primer: an eight-week guide to incarnational community. If you're looking to mobilize small groups into missional communities, grab this resource. If your ministry context is not yet ready for this primer, check out the Acts 29 Kit by Chris Kovac, published by Navigators.
Great Speakers:
Last week's EPC General Assembly featured guest speakers Reggie McNeal and Richard Pratt. Both were strong. McNeal's Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church needs a look. His idea of changing what we measure in the church resonates strongly with my concept in HIGH M-PACT Revitalization of identifying the correct criteria for decision-making and resource allocation. He was dead on target with his hilarious reference to the "Six Flags Over Jesus" church, the church model that turns church into an amusement park to draw a crowd. Just to stay ballanced, perhaps a mention of the "Six Feet Under" church should be made, the church that's dead to its own community.
Richard Pratt (see Third Millennium Ministries) was powerful as always and great to see again. I studied Hebrew and Old Testament under Richard at RTS Orlando. What a great reminder that our true value rests in being made in the image of God, a quality that all people share. If only we valued people as highly as God does! Thanks, Richard.
Oh, one other thing - McNeal mentioned a couple of websites worth investigating if you're looking for inspiration and information about connecting your church with the community. Check out www.tituscountycares.com and www.kidshopeusa.org.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Rightly Multiplying the Word of Truth
In most of my study, teaching and preaching these days I use the English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible. But in this case I want to go to the King James Version (KJV). The verse I have in view is 2 Timothy 2:15, which in the KJV reads, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." In the ESV and other more recent versions the word "dividing" is replaced by the word "handling." So the ESV version of 2 Timothy 2:15 reads, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth."
In the ministry circles where I serve, the emphasis that is placed on rightly dividing, or handling, the word of truth is one of accuracy. To divide rightly is to exegete rightly and then to exposit rightly with a concentration on the preparation and delivery of expositional teaching and preaching that would make a Jonathan Edwards proud. Of course, most of us who have been called into pastoral ministry see ourselves first as preachers, and we work diligently to learn the art and science of preaching well.
So far, so good, but all too often I am finding that those of us who preach view preaching well as the goal, the destination. The finely crafted sermon that is both theologically accurate and intellectually and emotionally engaging is its own reward. At its best, this falls well short of what is intended by the preaching of the rightly divided word.
We need to ask, "What is the goal of preaching? What is its biblical outcome intended to be?" Jesus has said that He will build His church (Matthew 16) and that the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19). In putting these two declarative statements by Jesus together we see that He is about the business of building His church by seeking and saving the lost. What, then, is the goal of preaching?
Yes, preaching is in part to strengthen the body of those who believe. Again, I ask, "Why?" Why is the body to grow in strength? The body is to be strengthen so that those who believe will be equipped to join Jesus as He builds His church by seeking and saving the lost. Paul puts its like this, "But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? . . . So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:14, 15a, 16).
To fulfill the Great Commission, preachers, and those who support them, must go beyond rightly dividing the word of truth for the already-Christian community, and move toward rightly multiplying the word of truth by getting the gospel to the ears of the not-yet-Christian community. It's time for us to stop talking to ourselves and to begin taking the gospel to our neighbors. Perhaps then today's church will begin to stem the tide of plateau and decline that so dominates the church in our time.
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