Insights from a Missional Globetrotter (A Review)

Critique: The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church by Fritz Kling

The critique of a book is in part a critique of its author and, in short, Fritz Kling is legit. His global ministry commitment and experience have earned him the right to write this book and the church leader who reads it with discernment will be better for it.

To begin to appreciate The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church (David C. Cook) is first to recognize what it is not. This is not a book that laments the shift from modernity to post-modernity, that decries the secularism of new millennium culture, or that chastises post-baby boomer Christians for an apparent lack of focus and commitment or for a skeptical ambivalence toward organized church. There are many such books out there today, ironically authored by baby boomers from the generation that began its adulthood with anti-establishmentarianism and that as senior adults has indeed become the establishment.

So what is The Meeting of the Waters? This refreshing book is a blend of testimony, anecdote and observation that have been lived, analyzed and catalogued by a world class missional explorer. Kling has no theological ax to grind or any philosophical, psychological or social agenda. In an engaging storytelling style, he shares his insights gleaned from what he has seen and experienced first-hand during years of missional globetrotting.

Is there an overarching story to the stories that he tells? Absolutely! Kling identifies seven trends or "currents" that are developing strength around the globe today; currents that affect the way people think and live. The Meeting of the Waters: 7 Global Currents That Will Propel the Future Church presents these currents as both warning and opportunity. The wise Christian leader will pay attention.

Passing the Baton

In looking ahead at the future of Christian leadership I have two primary concerns. The first is the boomer generation, of which I am a part. In the sixties, my high school years, rebellion against convention germinated and, in the case of things Christian, gave birth to the Jesus Movement. Status quo was out. New music, new approaches and new expressions were in. Boomers led the way.

In the seventies, ministries such as Calvary Chapel, Maranatha!, Vineyard, and numerous Christian artists laid the foundation for the emergence of Christian music as a style and as an industry, spawning a new genre of church. Boomers led the way.

In the eighties, the seeker movement was born, Willow Creek and Saddleback took the spotlight, church planting exploded and the contemporary, culturally relevant church became the church-du-jour. Boomers led the way.

In the nineties, mega churches began to dominate the ministry landscape. Techno church was born with LCD projection, websites, video preachers on multiple screens at satellite locations, and anyone who could push a button was able to record his church's worship CD. Boomers led the way.

As Dr. Phil, a baby boomer, would say, "How's that working for you?" Answer? Well, the church is over eighty per cent in plateau and decline. Membership is down, giving is down, conversion is down, and influence is down. In boomer terms we've lost market share.

Here's my concern: The church under the leadership of boomers is not getting the ministry job done. And, just as we thought we were better qualified to lead than the previous generation, we think we are better qualified to lead that the next generation. Further, we're going to live for a long, long time. How and when will the next generation take the wheel when Dad always insists on driving? Bottom Line: The boomers that led the way are fast becoming boomers who are in the way, as yesterday's innovation has become today's rut.

My second concern is the next generation. If given the keys to church leadership, where will generation next go? I hear the complaints, I hear the criticism, and I even sympathize to a degree. Murmuring and grumbling are not new to the people of God. Read the Bible and you'll find plenty. But murmuring, grumbling, complaining and criticizing don't make things better. Boomers, admittedly egocentric and flawed, were willing to risk taking charge and trying to make a difference. Generation next seems content to drift into the shadows, claiming righteous indignation over failed leaders and homogenized, inauthentic religion. Bottom Line: If boomers are going to step aside, generation next will need to step up.

Strangely Unaware

Monday, March 29, was our final day in Russia. My wife, Sharon, and I had traveled to Russia to visit with our son and daughter-in-law. Reid is a professional volleyball player who plays for the US National Team during the spring and summer, and who plays professionally in the Russian Super League during the fall and winter. We had a great time with them in their Russian hometown of Novosibirsk, Siberia, and spent the final weekend in Moscow seeing the sights in the city center.

This final day was to be quite simple; wake up, eat breakfast, pack, take a taxi to the airport and fly home. But around 8 am, we began to notice the sound of sirens, lots of sirens, more sirens that I had ever heard at one time. The view from our hotel window was somewhat restrictive with tall buildings all around us, so we couldn’t really see what was going on.

We turned on the TV to a BBC station and learned that there had been an explosion in a metro station near the Kremlin. Interesting, our hotel is near the Kremlin. The news anchor identified the location of the blast as the Lubyanka Metro Station. I looked on the map and realized that this station was just a couple of blocks from our hotel.

Now, of course, the sirens made sense. Soon helicopters were flying overhead and there was a general buzz in the streets. It turns out that the helicopters were airlifting the injured for transport to nearby hospitals. About a half-hour later, the BBC reported that there had been a second blast in another nearby metro station. Sharon and I had just been on the metro the day before – twice!

Though it was the middle of the night in the US at the time, I went to the hotel business center to go online and alert folks back home that we were in the middle of what was going on, but that we were safe. I left the hotel to go to a phone shop to add minutes to my cell phone in case we needed to contact people. Oddly, on the side streets, it was business as usual. People were scurrying to work and hundreds were entering and leaving yet another metro station a few blocks from the blast. I wondered if they knew what had happened and took their chances anyway, or if perhaps the news was so fresh that it hadn’t reached them yet.

The hotel desk advised us to leave very early for the airport in the event that getting through the city would be difficult under the circumstances. We boarded the taxi on the side street in front of the hotel where things were relatively quiet and drove the half block to the main artery that rims Red Square and the Kremlin. Traffic was thick, the street was lined with media vans with large satellite dishes on the roofs, and reporters and camera operators were everywhere. Red Square and the Kremlin were barricaded and bus loads of police and military personnel were arriving one after the other.

Fortunately for us, the main road out of the city was clear. The inbound lanes were clogged, but outbound was open and we made it to the airport without delay. All throughout the terminal people were gathered around flat screens keeping up with the latest developments.

We boarded our plane and ten hours later we were at JFK in New York. There were no sirens, no helicopters, no barricades, media vans or busloads of police and military personnel, just a vague, detached awareness that something had happened in Moscow earlier in the day.

In considering these events on this Easter weekend, it occurs to me that many of us are keenly aware of the life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension and reign of Jesus Christ, while many more move through life with a vague, detached unawareness of our Lord and the implications for their eternal souls. Here am I, send me.

WHAT'S IN A NAME? DOES MY CHURCH NEED REVITALIZATION?

Last week it happened again. A well-meaning colleague pointed out that I use the word "revitalization" in the name of my process - HIGH M-PACT Revitalization Training. He, like many before him, observed that using this word might deter certain church leaders from pursuing training with me because to do so would be to admit that their churches in fact need revitalization.
True - from a marketing perspective this barrier of admission might frighten some in the ministry "market" away. But I have found that one of the first steps in real revitalization is to recognize and admit the need. My goal is effective ministry, not sales, so the word "revitalization" will remain prominently displayed. Why would I spend time trying to impose revitalization ministry on leaders who don't see their need?
That said, who needs revitalization? In short, every church needs revitalization, not just those in plateau or decline. Of course, the typical leader who contacts me is serving in a church that is in long-term plateau or decline, so the lion's share of my ministry is to these kinds of churches. But the church that is healthy and productive today is on its way toward plateau and decline, and should seriously consider revitalization before the symptoms begin to manifest.
Let me invite you to find where your church is on the church lifecycle. If you will go to www.kenpriddy.com and scroll to the very bottom you will find a pdf download of Teach a Church to Fish. This document is a full narrative that will walk you through the entire HIGH M-PACT Revitalization (HMR) process. Included in the download is COACHWORKS!, an implementation guide. Tools for a church's self-assessment by leaders are imbedded on pages 23-30 and pages 38-42 in Teach a Church to Fish and page 102 and pages 104-108 in COACHWORKS!
Take a look - no charge - and see what you discover about your church. If you determine that you need, or want, revitalization, you know where to find me.

More to Come . . . Really

OK! OK! Believe it or not two people told me this past week that they had gone to my blog only to find that I hadn't entered anything for quite a while. Now that I know that someone is actually wanting to read my blog, I am going to make a commitment to write. I'm not going to go crazy with this, just once a month on the first of every month, beginning March 1, 2010. Let's see how this works out!

New Demographics Resource

I have recently learned of a website that provides significant demographic information free. The site is www.zipskinny.com. The more you can know about the community you are trying to reach the better. For years I have recommended www.perceptgroup.com, still a great provider that is focused on helping churches. Check out both of these resources for demographics.

Cool Cup or Jesus!

It's been a while since my last posting (sounds like going to confession!). But I'm determined to get into a regular groove of posting ideas, comments, events, discoveries and who knows what else. So . . . stay tuned.

There is an area of concern that I continue to think and pray through. That area is evangelism. No surprise there, but there is a new twist, at least in my ministry. As a ministry trainer, coach and consultant, I constantly prod church leaders toward outreach. The leading cause of decline in the church is an ever-growing inward focus. The solution is for the church to turn outward in an ever-growing outreach focus. The good news is that many of the churches I serve are doing just that, with the rate of outreach increasing dramatically. However, there has been no corresonding increase in evangelism.

Question: At what point does increased outreach manifest as increased evangelism? How do church leaders make this happen? What are the keys?

Hint: Though a cool cup of water in the name of Jesus has its benefits, it's a poor substitute for Jesus himself.