Category Archives: Connection

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3 Songs, 3 Points, Amen!

Attractional Worship Vs. Charismatic Worship

Even pre-COVID, it was becoming clear that attractional churches were past peak and more charismatic churches were growing. Why is that? Passion over Polish is more captivating to Millennials versus Elders by over 25% according to the Barna Research Group.[1] Millennials long for a deeper expression of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

But the COVID disruption and mass move to online, has meant most churches quickly discovered that what ‘worked’ in terms of in-person weekend services didn’t translate online, and many pivoted to shorter services, less music and more engaging, interactive formats to engage people. It’s still uncertain what the future design of church services online or in-person will reveal, but if this crisis is the accelerator and disruptor many think it is, then a return to a format that had stopped resonating deeply before is likely not the best move.

What’s happened so far in the crisis isn’t innovation, it’s adaptation. Most of the innovation lies ahead. Do not become trapped in your “personal echo chamber”. “Everyone wants it this way” is not an effective response to the profound disruption of this global pandemic.

While in Seminary, my classmates and I would joke about having 3-illiterated points, a poem, prayer, and AMEN! That style of performance was in serious decline pre-COVID. This is a great time to evaluate church along the line of these thoughts …..

  • anonymity to a sense of belonging
  • engagement of the heart, not just the head.
  • more variety of services than three songs and a message
  • more passionate expressions of worship
  • additional space during the service for prayer

There is one key thought that has emerged during this disruption, People want to know; Can you help me? Do you care about me? Can I trust you? The Gospel has always been about touching a heart before we impress the mind.

[1] Christian Millennials Are Most Likely Generation To Lean Toward Charismatic Worship. https://www.barna.com/research/worship-preferences/ ACCESSED 15 August, 2020.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Are You Living In An Echo Chamber?

Every Leader seeks affirmation of their bias

Since we are seeking affirmation of our bias, we have never had more ways to accomplish this than now. Digital Babylon is designed to give you what you want, and it is apparent that we like it this way.

So many pastors feel the pressure from their members to reopen and reopen fully. And that’s predictable. People always crave what they’ve known. Think about that for a moment. Even when it comes to food, you’ve never craved anything you haven’t tried.

Leader, you are going to be highly motivated to return to the way things were. That is what you know. Those who had success in the past are going to be highly motivated to recreate that methodology and practice.

Leader, this is your vulnerability, you are open to hearing only what your personal echo chamber is telling you.

Church people are going to love in-person worship because, for the most part, that’s all they’ve known. As a leader, you are going to love it because that’s basically what you’ve led. All your skills, training, and Seminary experience point you back to it. Do not misunderstand my comments; I am not announcing the death of facility-based church activities.

In addition, you are probably surrounded by people who will tell you you’re right, that others are wrong, and add to that the fact that algorithms that control your social media feed will automatically find you more content that agrees with you, and you can convince yourself you’re right. Here’s the irony: in an online culture run by algorithms, you don’t actually get more choices, you get fewer (article: Declining Church Characteristics in 5 years).You should open yourself to a variety of other leaders that will give you a different way of thinking and seeing. There is always another way of leading as a Minister. Let this truth sink into your spirit-man; “What is measured is valued!” At this intersection of history, the echo chamber is not what we need. Fresh thinking and honesty in what we are measuring; “You come” or We Go!” how do you measure the value of spiritual growth and infiltration of the community systems with the power of the Gospel?

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Thank You COVID-19

Ministry in Digital Babylon

Thanks to COVID-19 most every church now has some form of online presence. The church world has infiltrated “Digital Babylon” in ways that could have only been dreamed about last year. However, there is a significant concern that is emerging at this point of (week #17) of our COVID journey.

It’s just that, in the future, declining churches will see it either as an afterthought or a lesser form of ministry. I know there are genuine theological questions that have yet to be answered. And we’ll figure that out as we go along. If that statement bothers you, just read the New Testament. The Gospel moves forward, and the leaders figure out what it means in real-time.

Do not fail to notice that people’s lives move forward daily regardless of circumstance. People are living more digitally now than ever. Businesses are figuring out new models and methods to maintain and/or increase their bottom-line. Consider Starbucks is slated to close 200 stores that are losing retail sales yet while online sells have soared. DavidsTea is realigning their company to become more of an online wholesaler of fine teas and products with their 222 stores in Canada and US.

Why would infiltrating Digital Babylon be seen as a lesser expression of faith in Christ or an afterthought? If our mind-set is settled upon “facility-based” expressions and practices of faith as the ultimate and most divine, you will perceive any other method as intrusive and nonessential. This global pandemic has accelerated the flaws in religious practice and therefore will be the blame for what has happened in the faith community. However, to those who see today as an opportunity will thrive and seize the moment for Kingdom expansion.

Perspective is key – what is measured reveals what is valued!

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Leading Change When Everything Has Changed

Small Mindset Shifts May Lead To your Greatest Season of Growth

I have been following the data trail of our national pandemic shut-down and re-open very closely. I am hearing a lot of leaders and volunteers that are declaring they feel STUCK!

Additionally, spiritual leaders are still feeling that ministry feels like it is in a holding pattern. I would argue something very different. This season that we all are experiencing is not a time to feel stuck! This is the wrong way to view this moment.

What’s the shift? It’s seeing this as a season of openness and possibility rather than gridlock and inability. It’s believing that you’re uniquely positioned to lead change in your ministry, precisely because the world has just changed.

I’ll admit that can sound like a bit of motivational hype. Perhaps, like me, you find yourself more skeptical of good news after two months on lockdown. Let me assure you this is not just wishful thinking. Research on organizational (and congregational) change reveals that leading change is indeed difficult. However, several leading scholars claim that the most difficult aspect of leading significant change in individuals or ministries is getting people out of their existing rut and opening their heart and mind to a new way of doing things.[1]

If you’ve been around church for any length of time, you know getting people out of a mental or behavioral rut is not easy. Change experts would agree each of these ways of thinking or acting is frozen. Further, the experts would tell you that the first and most difficult step of bringing about change is what’s known as unfreezing.[2] Unfreezing means getting a person or group of people to be open and consider a new way of thinking or acting. This concept of unfreezing is absolutely essential for any ministry leader who has wanted to lead some sort of change but so far has been unable to do so. The pandemic means that much of our deeply held thinking about the “right way” to do church or youth ministry are currently unfrozen. Viewing your leadership and ministry in the current season through this lens means the pandemic isn’t simply a barrier—it can in fact be an opportunity.[3]

[1] This theme runs through the work of several influential scholars in organizational development and organizational psychology, including Kurt Lewin, Edgard Schein, and Karl Weick. For further reading, see Lewin and Schein’s articles in Warner Burke, Dale G. Lake, and Jill Waymire Paine, eds., Organization Change: A Comprehensive Reader (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009).

[2] The term unfreezing comes from Kurt Lewin, “Quasi-Stationary Social Equilibria and the Problem of Permanent Change,” in Organizational Change: A Comprehensive Reader, eds. Burke et al. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2009).

[3] The genesis of this article came from writer Jake Mulder on behalf of the Fuller Youth Institute.

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Are We Using The Wrong Metric?

What Is Measured Is Rewarded

What you measure as a leader represents what you value! So, what is your value statement currently? Are you measuring input or output? Are you measuring “facility-based” activity or discipling people to go into all the world? Is the success of the Gospel measured by the number of attendees and viewers or is it in the quality of discipled foot-soldiers?

It is my humble opinion that leaders that measure only attendees to online, live, small group gatherings will grow frustrated as time moves forward. 

Find ways to engage new metric measurements. Track engagement. Discover how to measure real growth in faith. Figure out how to measure what is really going on in people’s lives (This could help).

Data is not the mountain to conquer or altar on which to worship. Rather, data is to assist in making informed decisions and pivots.

Will growing churches of the future become digital operations with physical addresses? If that becomes true, leaders that are unwilling to transition will experience increasing difficulty in church leadership tomorrow.

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Bet The Farm – Everyone Will Return?

Your Decisions Today Determines Your Life Tomorrow

Is the physical church going to return post-covid? YES! As long as there are people there will be a need for human connections. Is in-person church the whole future? That is a much different question isn’t it?

Some Spiritual Leaders are declaring VICTORY with attendance that is 30%-40% less than pre-covid numbers. I recognize today is a difficult day, but somehow I am not able to understand how that a loss of these percentage levels is a victory.

It seems the current “normal” attendance is somewhere between 20%-40% less. While this will certainly improve there is a growing chorus of voices that believe there will be a level of permanent loss. This reality is being reported by the Barna Group stating that 49% of leaders are now openly making this declaration.

If we bet the farm that everyone will return we may set ourselves up for an ineffective future. However, if we embrace the larger opportunity of Live and Digital we most likely will reap a new harvest of Kingdom impact.

The real issue behind this discussion is the matrix that defines success. Is attendance in facility-based worship the primary matrix that defines our accomplishments? Are we measuring input versus output? What is the end goal that we strive for – Attendees or Disciples?

Let’s be clear, no person can predict the future with any sense of accuracy. I respectfully remain open to the idea that I am wrong. However, there are biblical activities and behaviors that are done consistently over time will produce a harvest. We are commissioned to “GO MAKE DISCIPLES!” That is a different matrix measurement that brings eternal significance!

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Is There A Race Problem?

Black Vs. White Perspective on Racism

You have been living under a rock if you have not noticed the layered disruptions of 2020. Pandemic, Economic, Racial, Anarchists, Rioting, Intellectual Dishonesty of our Media, and Re-opening; these layers are enough to cause severe and perhaps permanent damage. Make no mistake the atmosphere of public discourse is very toxic and emotionally charged. Unfortunately, in the American Educational system it appears that we have lost our ability to practice “critical thinking skills.” This is the ability to research information from all sides of an issue and to critically think about the trajectory of our decisions once enacted. What is the trajectory of racial discussions in the American experience? Moreover, what trajectory is the Christian church on.

Below are some data sets that were assembled in 2019 by the Barna Research Group and Racial Justice and Unity Center. These data sets will speak for themselves in terms of enlightenment. This is not a judgmental article, rather it is more about information that can and will guide decisions and actions.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Learn The Warning Signs of Failure

Some churches will not survive

What is your level of comprehension regarding what is happening in our world, nation, city, neighborhood? There are layers of disruption that has and still is occurring; Pandemic, economic, educational, Racism, rioting, Anarchists, intellectual dishonesty of our media, and for some death and dying. Are you in touch with the emotional impact these disruptions are having on people you serve? There are some definite warning signs that failure is emanate. Here are just a few.

Expecting Everything To Go Back To Normal – If you are tempted to wait it out until things “get back to normal”, you are acting from an entitlement mentality. Even after the pandemic is over and we can get ack to some familiarity, things are not going to be as they were before.

You Expect Others To Solve your Problems – If you are waiting on government or denominational leaders to solve this problem you are operating from a position of high risk. God has placed you in a position of leadership – so lead! You need to be humble enough to assess your community and various realities and make decisions on what you are seeing.

Expect Church To Happen Only Inside A Building – If the activity of God through you as a spiritual leader can only in a building, then you are missing out on what God really can accomplish.

Poor Communication – This pandemic has forced churches to shift communication styles very quickly. In fact, it has been amazing to watch. Social media platforms, digital tools are here to stay. The churches that will survive and thrive into the future are those that are using communication to ultimately drive activity throughout their entire organization. Communication is going to have a seat at the senior leadership table of thriving churches in the next normal. 

Insider Focus – Churches that have always been solely focused on those who are already attending have been on the brink of extinction for a long time. The recovery period will accelerate the decline of churches exclusively focused on those already attending. You and I need to double down on our efforts to connect with people who don’t follow Jesus and to lovingly see them get connected to his message. Churches that are just focusing on the insiders, that are more worried about the “keep” than the “reach,” will find themselves increasingly marginalized and unable to survive what comes next.Financial Issues – In the coming days we are going to hear of difficulty in the financial operations of the church. Either our debt load is too large in the face of declining attendance, our strategy is building focused less on humanity, or our need for large gatherings with minimal social impact. Money pushed a vision. The real question is what vision is needed that necessitates our financial support.

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Returning To Normal May Be Dangerous

What if the real problem is not medical but cultural!

With so much uncertainty in our world presently, why is there such a push to return to NORMAL? Is it possible that nostalgia has set into our spirit with record breaking speed? It has only been 4 months and yet it seems like 4 years at times – when will all of this end? The layers of disruption cannot be ignored – Pandemic, Racism, Anarchists, Destruction of cities, Back-To-School, Media Dishonesty! None of us are Superman/Superwoman! The social pressure, psychological pressure, and spiritual pressure cannot be ignored. The combination of so many issues can cause us to long for what we had instead of what we are facing. Here are 3 key insights that should give pause and reflection.

Things are not normal – it may be a while – Current data on attendance says that churches are 25% – 60% of attendees have returned to church facilities for worship. There is a serious question that demands an answer; Are we looking a medical issue or a cultural issue? What if the signs of declining attendance pre-dates COVID by 8 years? That being said, our real problem is culturally related not COVID. Look at the data chart below.

Crisis is the great accelerator. What may have taken 10 years to develop appears over-night during a crisis. The more we cling to the past only makes thriving in the future that much more difficult.

Are we building focused or people focused? – Since resources are not unlimited where are we allocating these resources. If our mission is to fill a building, then continue forward with your strategy. If your mission is to impact people then COVID has given all of us an opportunity to rethink our strategy and budget allocations. Beware of the trap of investing large amounts of resources into areas that are not producing currently.

Not gathering in a building does not mean we cannot gather – The church does not shine the brightest when we complain the loudest in the marketplace. Are we striving for a “zero-sum game” all or nothing? Is the church building the only way to gather? Pastor Greear of Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina recently told his church; “We are going to gather, it’s just not going to be in large groups of 500 to 1000 on the weekend in our facilities. ”Instead of The Summit Church being 12,000 people meeting in 12 different locations on the weekend, now we are going to be about 15,000 people meeting in about 2,400 locations.”Stop looking at COVID as an intermission. Stop thinking about how your future requires going back. Move forward toward your future. Rethink your mission!

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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What Causes You To Panic; Past or Future

The Best Thing You Can Do As A Leader Is To Learn From the Past, Not Live In it!

How is the church re-opening going? The national tracking data shows that churches are experiencing 20%-60% return to pre-COVID attendance. Truthfully, any sense of “old normal” will probably not be returning quickly. That is not be a prophet of “doom & gloom” rather, it is to speak of the phenomenal layered disruptions that everyone is experiencing – Pandemic, Social Distancing, Masks, Racism, Violence, and Anarchists.  Patience is the key life-style principle that should be exercised in abundance. We are re-opening against 14+ weeks of isolation, work-at-home schedules, intellectual dishonesty of our news outlets, a poisoned social narrative, and out-right defiance. This is the short list that is more than capable of discouraging anyone to return to the old-normal of our past.

So that we do not miss the 900lb elephant in the room let’s be clear; there is no trophy for being the first to reach 100% for arriving back at your old-normal! Truthfully the church world was ignoring reality of societies perception of church attendance. Pre-pandemic faithful church attendance was classified as 1.7x per month. Millennials and Gen-Zer’s were leaving the white church (not the black the church) experience. Pre-pandemic data shows many churches building a massive following without having a massive social impact (Programs over Human Relationships). The massive technology shifts within our daily lives has radically altered our relationships, workflows, and social norms. This is nothing but a massive cultural revolution. The pandemic was the open can of gasoline that has accelerated this cultural revolution (Barna Research).

Going back to normal only works if; Normal was working before the pandemic. Secondly, does normal even exist. It is hard to return to something that does not exist. Carey Nieuwhof Ministry recently wrote about the allure to return to the past in a post-pandemic world. It has been suggested that……

  • Your skillset was designed for the Old Normal. You have perfectly prepared for a world that does not exist as before.
  • Your past is not what makes you panic. It is your future that causes the panic. The past is nostalgic the future never is.
  • Your past success makes you the most motivated to preserve it. In 1903, Horace Rackam, President of the Michigan Savings Bank famously told Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Company. His argument: “The horse is here to stay but the automobile is only a novelty – a fad.”
    • Horses and carriages had transported people for thousands of years—literally since Old Testament times. It was rational to believe that this mode of transportation wouldn’t disappear overnight. Until, of course, it did.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Key Note Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com