Reaching the Receptive

Some of my favorite conversations are the most random. I hear from the woman cutting my hair that she is searching for a church where she can receive help for her spiritual journey. As I listen to a guy in a hospital waiting room, he mentions that he wants to know more about Christianity. My real estate agent has a desire to visit my church simply because I invited her.

Receptive people are everywhere. They are searching, and they want to know more about what a real faith looks like. As I congenially converse with normal, everyday people, I learn that they may not agree with everything I have to say. But they respect the Truth, and they enjoy hearing about my faith. While the unchanging gospel will always offend some, I come across people weekly that are receptive to hearing about Christ.

Understanding this receptivity, however, is critical in reaching them. Many are struggling with conflicting emotions and goals. As believers, we must understand where they are in order to best communicate the timeless truths of the gospel. The Barna Group recently released a study that captured some of these inner conflicts of Americans. Reading the below excerpt from the study made me think of several conversations I recently had with people from the community.

While most Americans want clarity about their life’s purpose, they portray a personal search that is challenging and often conflicted. At times Americans put a positive face on their reason for being; other times they admit to not living up to their ideals. For instance, while 71% of adults believe they are “fulfilling their calling in life,” 51% also say they are “searching for meaning and purpose.”

Another conflicted self-assessment shows up when asked to describe their sense of peace and simplicity in life. Most Americans feel “very much at peace with life” (84%) and the vast majority say they “live a simple life” (84%).

However, most Americans also acknowledge they need to make major life changes. For example, most adults reject the statement “you would not change anything significant about your life” (55%). Also, their sense of peace and simplicity is often thwarted by their strong desire to make more money and do more in life: seven out of ten Americans say they are “totally committed to getting ahead in life” (68%).

These internal tug-of-wars can leave people without a clear sense of direction. Only the clarity and the simplicity of the cross will give people a true and fulfilling sense of purpose and direction. And we must understand people’s stories in order to best communicate this message.

Searching for Church Innovations

Tony Morgan and Outreach Magazine are partnering to search for innovations in the church. I’m sure that some great stories are out there about churches using innovation to reach more people for Christ. Here’s your chance to have these stories told.

You can help this search for innovation by going to his site and completing this brief survey. And if you want to share some thoughts about innovation in the church here, please feel free to comment.

A New Kind of Family Time

I do not know of a formal study supporting the claim, but it’s no secret that Twitter and Facebook are addictive. I utilize both. And why most people care to hear about my random, 140-character-life-snippets is baffling to me. When I started Twittering, however, I had no idea how much fun I would have tracking my family and close friends. What began as an attempt at networking morphed into an unexpected daily connection to my mom, dad, brother, cousin, and uncle. It’s a new kind of family time.

A new study by Pew Research reveals how families are using Internet and cell technology to stay connected. Below are a few of the findings:

Although families often have the means to retreat to their technological “neutral corners” and engage in screen time in isolation, many go online with others. Some 52% of internet users who live with a spouse and one or more children go online with another person at least a few times a week. Another 34% of such families have shared screen moments at least occasionally.

Additionally, families that own large numbers of televisions and computers are no less likely to share screen time with other family members than those families that have lower levels of technology ownership.

A majority of adults say technology allows their family life today to be as close, or closer, than their families were when they grew up.

While new communication technologies have increased the amount of time some people spend at the office or working from home, few people see them as having a negative impact on family closeness.

Indeed, 25% of our survey respondents feel that their family today is now closer than their family when they were growing up thanks to the use of the internet and cell phones, while just 11% say their family today is not as close as families in the past. A majority of adults downplay the impact of technology entirely: 60% feel that new technologies have not made their family any more or less close than families in the past.

People say that new communication tools help them stay connected with friends and family, although their use has blurred traditional lines between “work” and “home.”

Overall, respondents in this survey see much upside and little downside in the way new communication technologies, such as the internet and cell phones, have impacted the quality of their communications with others.

Interactions with my family on Twitter are little highlights of my day. But these electronic exchanges are nothing like giving a big hug or conversing late into the night around the fireplace during Christmas time. While Twitter and Facebook work great for families with adult children, all in different cities, such as my parents, it concerns me that families might be using technology like cell phones as a replacement for important face-to-face conversations.

What my research has shown is that the less connected parents are to their student-age children, the more likely their children are to drop out of church. In fact, parent involvement is one of the keys to the spiritual health of a student. This quality involvement is difficult through electronic means. So while the text messages are convenient, they should not count for quality family time.

In short, I enjoy my Dad’s tweets, but it’s just not the same as our Starbuck’s conversations.

Mystery Worshippers for Hire

The Wall Street Journal published this article on Friday about the rise of professional mystery workers. Since the secret-shopper technique used by marketing firms has become popular, churches are now evaluating themselves based upon these professional mystery worshippers. The WSJ article expounds upon this practice:

The rise of these services has been buoyed by the growth of the secret-shopper industry. There are roughly one million secret shoppers in the U.S., according to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association. Secret-shopper firms have expanded their reach in recent years from restaurants and stores to hospitals and public transport systems. Churches eager to adopt cutting-edge business practices have emerged as the latest market willing to pay for blunt advice. The cost can range from around $150 for a one-time visit to between $1,500 and $2,500 for multiple visits and a detailed report.

The article looked at this practice largely from a business perspective, which is to be expected with the WSJ. And after reading the article, the business slant made me uneasy as a pastor about the practice. But as a consultant, I’ve completed dozens of these “mystery worship reports.” The final product can be quite detailed, as stated in the article about Thomas Harrison, a former pastor from Tulsa, Okla., and a professional mystery worshipper:

Mr. Harrison — a meticulous inspector who often uses the phrase “I was horrified” to register his disapproval of dust bunnies and rude congregants — poses as a first-time churchgoer and covertly evaluates everything from the cleanliness of the bathrooms to the strength of the sermon. This summer, Mr. Harrison scoured a megachurch in Cedar Hill, Texas, and jotted down a laundry list of imperfections: a water stain on the ceiling, a “stuffy odor” in the children’s area, a stray plastic bucket under the bathroom sink and a sullen greeter who failed to say good morning before the worship service. “I am a stickler for light bulbs and bathrooms,” he says.

The reports can be structured in any number of ways, but the most effective is perhaps in the form of a personal narrative. And I’ve found the most valuable narratives come not from professional mystery worshippers, but rather unchurched people from the community.

The meticulousness of a professional worship inspector can be beneficial, but the story of an unchurched person from the community is much more valuable. So if you’re a church leader considering hiring a professional worshipper, get to know a couple of unchurched people from the community, invite them to a worship service, pay them a nominal amount if needed, ask them to write down their thoughts, and then genuinely discuss it with them over lunch or coffee. Not only will you gain an invaluable perspective, you might build enough of a relationship to invite them back.

Stetzer on Living Missionally in the Burbs

Ed Stetzer was recently interviewed by Joe Thorn over at the sub-text. His comments and insight will resonate with many church leaders. You can read the full interview here. I particularly appreciate Stetzer’s comments on some common mistakes churches make in the suburbs:

What are some common mistakes churches in the suburbs make?

I think there are probably several.

First, they assume that nice shiny clean people have nice shiny clean lives. When you work in an urban context, you can sometimes see the sin and trouble with greater ease. It is better hidden in the suburbs. Thus, we think that people need sermons on how to improve their lives. They don’t. They need messages on how to be transformed by the gospel.

Second, the suburbs are community killers. Many churches make the assumption that because people have moved to a setting that has back decks instead of front porches that they don’t want community. I have found that they do — they just do not know how to seek and receive it. Life transforming suburban churches can and must lead people to deeper community even when the culture pushes against it.

Third, some pastors hate the suburbs. If you hate the suburbs, stop whining about it and move into the city. I have done both and find them both in deep need of the gospel. It is trendy to mock the suburbs — I have done it myself, calling them the “vast suburban wasteland.” Well, it may be, but everywhere is a wasteland without Jesus. So, if you are called to pastor in the suburbs, dig deep and engage its culture — look for bridges over which the gospel will travel and expose the idols that the gospel must destroy.

If you minister in a suburban context, what are some unique challenges that you have faced?