Living in Exponential Times

The above video should only heighten our sense of urgency in sharing the gospel message. We’ve got to stay up to speed in order to reach a rapidly changing world. “The way we’ve always done it” attitude now applies to last year, not just the last couple of decades.

HT: Swerve

The Emergence of a Third Culture World

Dave Gibbons at the Out of Ur blog raises the topic of “third culture” in a fascinating post. You can read the complete post here. Third culture is a sociological term used to describe a person who has spent significant time in another culture, thus incorporating their birth culture with a second culture and creating a third culture. The term is typically attached to children who spend large portions of their developmental years outside of their parents’ home culture.

Historically, third culture children were from military or missionary families. As a result of globalization, however, more children of varied backgrounds are emerging. Gibbons points to our newly elected president as an example of a third culture child:

Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, to a White mother from Kansas with has Irish and English roots, and a father, from Kenya. He studied in Indonesia, Hawaii, California, New York, and Boston. His experience has both urban and suburban, he’s engaged cities and villages, he’s been both rich and poor.

Gibbons challenges the church to respond to this third culture:

While the church is still talking about diversity or homogeneity, city or suburban initiatives, rich or poor, post-modern or modern, Gen Y or Gen X, attractional or missional, the world has changed the conversation. The focus is no longer either/or but both/and. We’re seeing the emergence of people and leaders who can live in the intersections between divergent ideas; people who understand the fringes and the margins yet can weave in and out of multiple cultures, honoring each context yet without alienating those on the fringes.

It’s a third culture world. How are your third culture skills? President Obama is just the beginning of a whole new wave of leaders who will have significant impact in a world where the rules have changed and are changing. Is your church, your staff, your team ready?

It’s a great question and somewhat of a dilemma. Culturally speaking, the church cannot become “both/and.” We are called to be among the people and in the culture, but we cannot become the culture from which we are set apart. Conversely, I don’t think it’s wise for the church to be “either/or.” A person’s culture is not itself a bad thing. It just happens to be where they are, and we are called to meet them there.

Perhaps the emerging third culture world is an opportunity. Clearly, people in this culture are more inclined to live with conflicting values and beliefs – they tolerate inconsistencies. But they also have fewer walls, which means they might be more inclined to hear the gospel. And it might just be the consistency of God’s Truth that grabs their hearts.

Protestants and Bathroom Tissue

According to a new Ellison Research study, Protestant churchgoers are no more loyal to their denomination than they are to bathroom tissue. Just for clarification, people are not that loyal to bathroom tissue. This statistical snippet comes from the study:

Just 16% of Protestant churchgoers will only consider attending their current denomination. Fifty-one percent do express preference for one denomination, but would also consider others. Thirty-three percent do not have any preference for one specific denomination. This is little difference between the loyalties of people who attend evangelical Protestant churches and those who attend a mainline Protestant denomination.

Protestant denominational loyalty is about the same as the brand loyalty with bathroom tissue: just 19% of Protestants will consider only one brand of bathroom tissue.

The research also included a survey of Catholics, with a much different conclusion:

Six out of ten active Catholics would only consider attending a Roman Catholic church, and another 29% prefer this, although they do not rule out other denominations.

In short, Catholics are more loyal than Protestants in only attending a church within their denomination (60% versus 16%). Most Roman Catholics will remain Roman Catholic if they switch churches. Conversely, Protestants are much more likely to switch denominations. I wonder if Roman Catholics stick to their brand of bathroom tissue as well? The study didn’t go there.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, explains one reason why this difference in loyalty exists between Catholics and Protestants:

It’s not as though there are two hundred different Roman Catholic denominations. On the Protestant side, there are scores of different denominations, with some of them fairly similar in practice and theology. The story of this research is that many Protestants may not see a lot of difference among some of these denominations. It may not be lack of loyalty so much as it is the presence of so many options that is causing Protestants to be about as loyal to a brand of toothpaste or bathroom tissue as they are to their church denomination.

Sellers has a point, but I think the issue of loyalty is much bigger than the myriad of denominational options. I think the bigger issue is the dearth of churches, regardless of denomination, remaining loyal to the Great Commission. Most every denomination is losing people. Let’s first refocus on winning the lost (not our brand), then we’ll see more loyal people excited about sticking with a church that is fulfilling its mission.

Ten Questions for Formulating a Discipleship Process

Helping people grow more spiritually mature is not a new concern for churches. It has been the goal all along. Developing a process of discipleship within your church structure, however, is a strategic issue that has been terribly neglected. Rather than developing a clear path of discipleship for all believers, church for many has become a series of disconnected and incongruent programs and activities.

In order for churches to best communicate high expectations and biblical depth, a simple structure must be in place to guide and direct people towards these goals. One way to begin this process of simplification is to develop a quotable and memorable vision, mission, or purpose statement. From this statement should flow the entire process of discipleship. All programs and ministries of the church should fit under the umbrella of this statement.

Biblical depth is more important than the discipleship structure of the church. But churches that do not have a structure in place cannot move people towards an understanding of this depth. A culture of high expectations is more important than the structure of a church. Without this structure, however, a church has difficulty communicating these expectations. A multiplying church is more important than the structure. But without structure, people do not know how to multiply. The right structure is not the most important facet of a church, but most churches cannot carry out their most important purposes because they do not have the right structure.

In a recent LifeWay article, Chuck Gaines addressed the issue of discipleship process. He presented ten questions that growing churches ask about their discipleship processes:

Growing churches don’t look for answers – they look for questions. Specifically, questions related to identifying and formulating a discipleship process.

1. How does our church define discipleship?
2. What does a disciple look like?
3. Do we have an intentional process of discipleship?
4. Does our church know this process?
5. How does this process relate to the purpose of the church?
6. Has our church prioritized distinct practices that relate to the discipleship process?
7. Does our church practice the principle of abandonment based on the idea that activity doesn’t always mean productivity?
8. How does our church measure maturity?
9. How does our community describe our church?
10. Do our church families spend more planned time in a week at church with each other or in the community with non-believers?

There is nothing new or striking about these questions. But seeing them collectively is quite helpful. What other questions might be beneficial to ask of your church’s discipleship process?

Christianity: One Choice among Many in the Religious Buffet

A new Barna Group research project reveals that Christianity is no longer the default spiritual setting for Americans. The fading of the Christian faith in America has been widely discussed. For most, this conclusion is not surprising:

Half of Americans believe the Christian faith no longer has a lock on people’s hearts. Overall, 50% of the adults interviewed agreed that Christianity is no longer the faith that Americans automatically accept as their personal faith, while just 44% disagreed and 6% were not sure.

As Christianity’s popularity diminishes, the religious buffet becomes more attractive. Barna reports about the increased acceptance of customizable religion:

By a three to one margin (71% to 26%) adults noted that they are personally more likely to develop their own set of religious beliefs than to accept a comprehensive set of beliefs taught by a particular church.

In the last section of the report, Barna expounds upon the implications of these findings. I found his insight helpful. I’ll summarize his thoughts:

1. Christianity in American is now defined through the lens of American individualism. We are becoming more comfortable selecting from various sources our personal theological viewpoints.
2. As a result of these individual choices, Americans select a contradictory body of beliefs. And they are comfortable with their decisions.
3. Christianity is not the sole source for the formation of religious beliefs.
4. Americans are more driven by “feelings and emotions” in the development of their faith. Conversations and self-reflection now trump biblical literacy.

Many “causes” and “movements” have surfaced to counter these trends and to “fix” the church. Ironically, success has been limited. Ed Stetzer speaks of this phenomenon in an excellent Catalyst article:

I continue to see movements gaining traction among Christians that do not seem to have many converts. In other words, they have recruits to their cause, but few converts to Christ. And I am concerned. I am concerned that in the name of “fixing the Church” we are not proclaiming the Church’s gospel.

You’ve seen it, too, among others—the emerging church wants to rethink structures; the missional folks want more social justice; the charismatic folks want more of the Spirit; Baptists want to convert the Presbyterians; the house church people want more authentic community; and the Reformed folks just want, well, I am not sure since they never seem happy.

These words from Ed hit home with me:

Now, I am not willing to say that a lack of converts is a sign of unfaithfulness. But, I am willing to say that too many change movements are not seeing lost people’s lives changed. And I think that is the wrong kind of change.

So, my Reformed friends, let’s not only read 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John (that is, John Calvin, John MacArthur, and John Piper), let’s go plant some more churches. My emerging church friends, let’s take a pause from the theological rethink and head into the neighborhood and to tell someone about Jesus. My missional friends, let’s speak of justice, but always tell others how God can be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” My house church friends, let’s have community, but let’s be sure it is focused on redemption. My Baptist friends, let’s focus more on convincing pagans than Presbyterians. And, my charismatic friends, let’s focus less on getting existing believers to speak in tongues and more on using our tongue to tell others about Jesus.

So, let’s continue conversations about being “missional” or whatever, but let’s not do so if it distracts us from the mission. Instead let’s talk about these issues but not let them distract us from our main focus—showing and sharing the love of Jesus to a desperately lost world that needs a message of hope.

Like Ed, I identify with some of these movements and pieces of others. And I have certainly been guilty of thinking my way is the best way to reach people. But a renewed passion and fresh focus on showing and sharing the love of Jesus – is the fix really that simple? I think it is.