Matt Chandler Luke 15
Tax collectors had purchased the right to tax their fellow Jews, from and for a Roman occupation that murdered and raped hundreds perhaps thousands of Jews. Sinners were a class of people...lepers, prostitutes, slave traders, and other grimy people. Jesus simultaneously will deconstructs their worldview and reconstruct it to God's. All good preaching must do this.
Three quick parables. Lost sheep. Lost coin, prodigal son.
Prodigal son. How do you think the grimy crowd heard it? How do you think Jesus knew that worldview of the sinners? Because he ate with them all the time. Don't live vicariously through other preachers. Experience the lost yourself.
Trust your Bible. Preaching is unbelievably mysterious. The Word is to be trusted...it transformed...we can't.
Trust the Holy Spirit...you are powerless.
Preach it like we believe it. We ought to be passionately on fire for what we are preaching.
James Meeks: Preaching the Announcements.
Whatever you want your people to do...preach that.
If it is bring your friend to church Sunday...preach on the friends digging open the roof to let their sick friend down to Jesus. If you have 30 minutes in front of people, use it to tell them what you want them to do.
Andy Stanley...preaching to unchurched and churched people together...double barreled preaching
Approach is everything. Content is important, but approach is more important. Imagine a difficult conversation with the wife..you know the big idea and the application, but if you have the wrong approach...you'll just end up apologizing.
If you don't care what people do with what you say...the truth is...you don't care about people.
Am I ready to change my approach?
1 Cor 9. Win as many as possible. Win win win its all about numbers to Paul.
Are you here to make a point or to make a difference?
His desire is to roll people around in a scripture so much and get such clear and helpful applications that even if they don't believe the scripture they leave saying Wow that was helpful, I think I will come back. That's success for him as a preacher.
In a biblically illiterate society, the approach we take to the bible is critically important.
So do this one tweak for unchurched people and help your churched people communicate to unchurched people.
Here it is: stop saying "the Bible says..." or "scripture says" or "the Word say" because when we do we communicate that the foundation of our faith is not the Bible. It is not. The foundation of our faith is an event...the resurrection. They were not expecting the resurrection. The first three chapters of the book of acts did not repeat the parables of Jesus but they talked about Jesus coming back to life.
The problem with 'The Bible says' is what else the Bible says...like stoning adulterers. We don't have a problem with this is that we have sorted all this out...we are Christians. They haven't.
We take the Bible seriously because we take Jesus seriously and Jesus took the Old Testament seriously.
Instead of saying 'the Bible says', cite an author.
James, the brother of Jesus writes...
Paul, who hated Christians and became one, writes...
Peter, who lost faith in the end writes...
See, everyone has dismisses the Bible, certainly the OT...but nobody says Jesus was a bad guy. Everyone wants a piece of Jesus.
Tee it up. What would you have to do to convince your brother than you are the son of God? Well James was invisible until after the resurrection and he says...
Talk about the Bible as a collection of inspired manuscripts and we are so happy someone put them together is a book. If you pull out one card from the Bible deck and find it a scientific problem and dismiss it all. No..you can't do that with the resurrection.
We did this with marriage ... Forget talking about biblical marriage...all the marriages discussed in the bible were bad marriages. Instead we can talk about NT marriage of mutual submission and service.
If anyone can predict their own death and resurrection, I will go with that guy and take whatever He says.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Exponential East 2014 Plenary Wednesday morning
Danielle Strickland, Salvation Army
Witnessing takes a change in the way we see. See people.
Hugh Halter. National director, Missio.
Incarnational evangelism...uses the line diagram form his book Flesh.
Incarnation...deeply diving into humanity...not afraid of them...diving into their stuff...
Reputation...Christlike
Conversation...with genuine friends...Paul...until Christ be formed in you.
Confrontation...Wil happen naturally.
Transformation
Michael Frost
"of course words are necessary. Unexplained deeds, of themselves, do not constitue the mission of God." Bosh, responding to the quote from St. Francis of Assisi to preach the Gospel always and if necessary use words.
Colossians 4:2-6 so there are some people gifted as evangelists. Pray they both have opportunities to evangelize, boldness and clarity of message. Paul asks such prayers from them, but not for them. Paul doesn't think everyone is an evangelist. Rather he expects us to be able to answer questions about Jesus. Which presumes that we are living a life worth asking questions about. Do I live a questionable, intriguing life? Live a life that is sobfreaking weird that people want to know what's exquisitly different about it.
(Note to self...is this a great guilt trip?)
Christians didn't subvert the Roman Empire...with door hangers and evangecubes. julien the Apostate, Roman Empiror writes to every Roman Governers warning the Empire could be lost because of the Christians and he then lists allnthevbehaviours of the Christians. Those Christians proclaimed Christ and loved people...tended their graves...welcomed them into their homes.
If no one is asking us questions, are we doing it right.
He tells a story of a shoe store owner who invites people to tell him their life story and he will then recommend which shoes they will like. Listening to people is so radical. He gets invited to all kinds of parties, weddings, etc. and only then will share his faith.
Witnessing takes a change in the way we see. See people.
Hugh Halter. National director, Missio.
Incarnational evangelism...uses the line diagram form his book Flesh.
Incarnation...deeply diving into humanity...not afraid of them...diving into their stuff...
Reputation...Christlike
Conversation...with genuine friends...Paul...until Christ be formed in you.
Confrontation...Wil happen naturally.
Transformation
Michael Frost
"of course words are necessary. Unexplained deeds, of themselves, do not constitue the mission of God." Bosh, responding to the quote from St. Francis of Assisi to preach the Gospel always and if necessary use words.
Colossians 4:2-6 so there are some people gifted as evangelists. Pray they both have opportunities to evangelize, boldness and clarity of message. Paul asks such prayers from them, but not for them. Paul doesn't think everyone is an evangelist. Rather he expects us to be able to answer questions about Jesus. Which presumes that we are living a life worth asking questions about. Do I live a questionable, intriguing life? Live a life that is sobfreaking weird that people want to know what's exquisitly different about it.
(Note to self...is this a great guilt trip?)
Christians didn't subvert the Roman Empire...with door hangers and evangecubes. julien the Apostate, Roman Empiror writes to every Roman Governers warning the Empire could be lost because of the Christians and he then lists allnthevbehaviours of the Christians. Those Christians proclaimed Christ and loved people...tended their graves...welcomed them into their homes.
If no one is asking us questions, are we doing it right.
He tells a story of a shoe store owner who invites people to tell him their life story and he will then recommend which shoes they will like. Listening to people is so radical. He gets invited to all kinds of parties, weddings, etc. and only then will share his faith.
Exponential East 2014 How To Plant Churches Using Alpha
Met James Charlton Director, Ministry Development from Chicago area.
Alpha leads from friendship. First people belong, then they belhave then they believe. Hmmm. Not to sure about the order of those last two.
Ric Thorpe Planted 3 churches in Inner city London with Alpha.
Creating a culture of invitation in your church. Alpha is a stepping stone to church. A safe place to ask any question. Used to reach non Christian people.
About 50% of people invited come, says Willow Creek guy.
Some of those who complete the course will become a part of your church.
Another guy comments that missional communities get you to know people in your community but no decisions for Christ. Alpha did that for him.
Rickmsays alpha materials are free and downloadable.
Non believers help each other in a group...community exploring faith.
Develops leaders in the church plant.
Graham Singh says Alpha gives your leaders a forum to develop their theology too. As a group helper they can learn to be a quiet welcoming presence.
Alpha.org/run
Ideal size is 10 to 15 people for a group but it's key to get a leader and helper that non Christians can relate to. Typically use a media to teach. Emphasize the importance of the Holy Spirit weekend.
The first 2 years one often has Christian coming and then that tapers off. Push through this until non Christians start to come. Then you'll be into a good place where each course feed the next with invitees and invitees.
Alpha leads from friendship. First people belong, then they belhave then they believe. Hmmm. Not to sure about the order of those last two.
Ric Thorpe Planted 3 churches in Inner city London with Alpha.
Creating a culture of invitation in your church. Alpha is a stepping stone to church. A safe place to ask any question. Used to reach non Christian people.
About 50% of people invited come, says Willow Creek guy.
Some of those who complete the course will become a part of your church.
Another guy comments that missional communities get you to know people in your community but no decisions for Christ. Alpha did that for him.
Rickmsays alpha materials are free and downloadable.
Non believers help each other in a group...community exploring faith.
Develops leaders in the church plant.
Graham Singh says Alpha gives your leaders a forum to develop their theology too. As a group helper they can learn to be a quiet welcoming presence.
Alpha.org/run
Ideal size is 10 to 15 people for a group but it's key to get a leader and helper that non Christians can relate to. Typically use a media to teach. Emphasize the importance of the Holy Spirit weekend.
The first 2 years one often has Christian coming and then that tapers off. Push through this until non Christians start to come. Then you'll be into a good place where each course feed the next with invitees and invitees.
Exponential East Dave Gibbons session
Dave Gibbons Session 1: Ancient Future: Old School Truth, New School Tools
Condo church...
Recently seeing the big church as often failing the mission of Christ...people moving in from the world to serve in the church. Instead, find out who they are by knowing them, affirming their essence, blessing them with our inheritance, and releasing them back to their environment for Jesus. How to help people grow? Four steps:
Assessment
What is the Father doing in that person? Jesus said I do what I see my Father doing. Strength Finders is inadequate. It fails to recognize the pain of the person and their weaknesses and addictions. A persons pain can often shape their destiny. We often confess and then bury our pain. Our pain can become a gift...Gods strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Art form called kintsugi: dropped pottery fixed with gold seams..is more valuable broken than it was before. Our pain becomes a source of my authority. Embrace the Pain.
Know their story...what energies and deenergises them. Draw a picture of their house when they were 9 years old and out their people in the house or outside. Gets them to tell their story...what is God doing...their essence. Don't focus on their career...those change. But who they are.
His three tools for assessment...the timeline, the energy matrix and the house. To help him discern their essence...positives and challenges...and then design their journey with them. In three areas...work, relationships and inner life.
Holistic Process: Three concentric circles. Moutside circle is who they are in terms of work. next circle in who they are in terms of relationships, inner circle is for their inner life.
Jesus was a liquid leader...adapted and flowed. He became human...how about that for adaptation? So develop liquid leaders...third culture leaders...like Paul...Jew to gentile to Samaritan to Roman...a peaceful joyful servant.
The Four Platforms for shaping someone
A residency intern model...from a Rabbinical models...as Rob Bell says they would be so close to the Rabbibthat they caught the dust from their feet. this is expensive ... Have people live with you and learn from you. The American dream is to be independent...end alone in a nursing home yearning for meaningful relationships. See documentary in Netflix called Happy. Think about widows and orphans and love them in the city...single moms and divorced men. Justice is the hard work of love. It's not normal to ask people to live with you. Invite them into your neighborhood. I can have true love today as we rub shoulders through the hard stuff. Healthy.
Tribes model...commit to do as much life together as possible...kinda second best to the residency program. Do this with as diverse a group of people as possible. Richness has often been lost in the church when we organize by ethnic group. Unify is not association..it has to be deeper than that. Collaboration is equal gifts different sacrifice. It's famiy. Shane Claibourne in Philadelphia. Live like a family, each throwing their money into a pot to share. Be prepared to give away stuff.
Customized Experiences
Creative resources products or tools. People don't need your prepackaged answers but you good questions to lead them to the truth. Self-discovery is the best teacher.
Pick 'the one' person and equip them. These four platforms can enable it to do it.
Recommends book Jack Deere...The Beginners Guide To Prophesy....helps evangelicals move into the area of gifts...go through the book and practice with each other...did this over 7 years with his church. His church is now alive with the Holy Spirits power.
Dave@xealots.org is his email address.
Condo church...
Recently seeing the big church as often failing the mission of Christ...people moving in from the world to serve in the church. Instead, find out who they are by knowing them, affirming their essence, blessing them with our inheritance, and releasing them back to their environment for Jesus. How to help people grow? Four steps:
Assessment
What is the Father doing in that person? Jesus said I do what I see my Father doing. Strength Finders is inadequate. It fails to recognize the pain of the person and their weaknesses and addictions. A persons pain can often shape their destiny. We often confess and then bury our pain. Our pain can become a gift...Gods strength is made perfect in our weakness.
Art form called kintsugi: dropped pottery fixed with gold seams..is more valuable broken than it was before. Our pain becomes a source of my authority. Embrace the Pain.
Know their story...what energies and deenergises them. Draw a picture of their house when they were 9 years old and out their people in the house or outside. Gets them to tell their story...what is God doing...their essence. Don't focus on their career...those change. But who they are.
His three tools for assessment...the timeline, the energy matrix and the house. To help him discern their essence...positives and challenges...and then design their journey with them. In three areas...work, relationships and inner life.
Holistic Process: Three concentric circles. Moutside circle is who they are in terms of work. next circle in who they are in terms of relationships, inner circle is for their inner life.
Jesus was a liquid leader...adapted and flowed. He became human...how about that for adaptation? So develop liquid leaders...third culture leaders...like Paul...Jew to gentile to Samaritan to Roman...a peaceful joyful servant.
The Four Platforms for shaping someone
A residency intern model...from a Rabbinical models...as Rob Bell says they would be so close to the Rabbibthat they caught the dust from their feet. this is expensive ... Have people live with you and learn from you. The American dream is to be independent...end alone in a nursing home yearning for meaningful relationships. See documentary in Netflix called Happy. Think about widows and orphans and love them in the city...single moms and divorced men. Justice is the hard work of love. It's not normal to ask people to live with you. Invite them into your neighborhood. I can have true love today as we rub shoulders through the hard stuff. Healthy.
Tribes model...commit to do as much life together as possible...kinda second best to the residency program. Do this with as diverse a group of people as possible. Richness has often been lost in the church when we organize by ethnic group. Unify is not association..it has to be deeper than that. Collaboration is equal gifts different sacrifice. It's famiy. Shane Claibourne in Philadelphia. Live like a family, each throwing their money into a pot to share. Be prepared to give away stuff.
Customized Experiences
Creative resources products or tools. People don't need your prepackaged answers but you good questions to lead them to the truth. Self-discovery is the best teacher.
Pick 'the one' person and equip them. These four platforms can enable it to do it.
Recommends book Jack Deere...The Beginners Guide To Prophesy....helps evangelicals move into the area of gifts...go through the book and practice with each other...did this over 7 years with his church. His church is now alive with the Holy Spirits power.
Dave@xealots.org is his email address.
Exponential East Session Six
Bob Franquiz
Marketing
Internal : people who already attend your church. Peripheral: people who know someone who attends your church. We reach the internal by preaching the gospel to them. We reach the peripheral by friendship evangelism, relationships. The External: people who don't know that your church exists. How do we reach them?
Of course most people come to our church because someone invited them...we don't do anything else. Personal invitation will usually be primary. We leave on the table all those who have no connection to us.
Promotional Outreach..
.reaches primarily low hanging fruit. When we do direct mail just to zip codes, might as well flush our money away. So segment tat list...eliminate Muslim families and focus on people just moved into town. Facebook ad is 80 characters...less than a tweet...has to be a hook
need a simple track able message. Be invitational so they meet you in person. Track results. Forget about doing 'great branding in your community'. no. Measure people who show up.
One is the Loneliest Number
The Principal of Massive Action. How do we do lots of things at the same time? 20 thing sat the same time. Don't just do one thing...one egg in the one basket. Not everyone responds to the one marketing approach. Email, mailers, Facebook, mothers day specials..etc etc. multiple ways of outreach are best.
Know who we are trying to reach. Don't try to reach everyone. Who has God best equipped me to reach? Who can my church reach? Multiple churches can reach a whole city. What is my church's role in that? When we walk into the room we ask is there anybody here like me? What are my demographics and psychographics...the way we think, values and worldviews. Every city has micro populations...people who will get my jokes. We may look very different but we actually are similar because we all think about the world in the same way. We probably won't reach the urban poor and the urban professionals at the same time.
Match your message, your media and your market. This is the difference between a home run and a base hit. No one under the Agee of 35 listens to the radio...so radio ads won't reach them, but would be great for reaching empty nesters. It's not about getting people there...just give people $5 bills at the door. It's about getting people to stay. Students don't get direct mail...its the parents that get the mail. Twitter and Instagram for young people. Facebook is getting older.
Use your budget strategically. Limited budget...not like the Federal Government...we can't print more money. Billboards are reminder advertising to enhance billion dollar campaigns. that's why billboards just say 'Coke'. Not 'buy a Coke'. There are better ways to create calls to action.
Get people's attention. Everyone is allergic to boring. Prefer to get people upset than bored. The worse thing is to get ignored. 3 second rule...you have 3 seconds to get noticed. A 3 by 5 postcard is so smaller the print will be tiny. For just a few cents more you can use and 8 by 11 card and make it readable. People say no to what is confusing. Designers want to create a work of art. But no one will frame it. The goal of design is to give the message the best opportunity to communicate. Make the stamp crooked on the envelope...gets 3% more response
Learn from each campaign. Just try to keep getting better. he once rejected direct mail until he realized that it worked on him.
Marketing
Internal : people who already attend your church. Peripheral: people who know someone who attends your church. We reach the internal by preaching the gospel to them. We reach the peripheral by friendship evangelism, relationships. The External: people who don't know that your church exists. How do we reach them?
Of course most people come to our church because someone invited them...we don't do anything else. Personal invitation will usually be primary. We leave on the table all those who have no connection to us.
Promotional Outreach..
.reaches primarily low hanging fruit. When we do direct mail just to zip codes, might as well flush our money away. So segment tat list...eliminate Muslim families and focus on people just moved into town. Facebook ad is 80 characters...less than a tweet...has to be a hook
need a simple track able message. Be invitational so they meet you in person. Track results. Forget about doing 'great branding in your community'. no. Measure people who show up.
One is the Loneliest Number
The Principal of Massive Action. How do we do lots of things at the same time? 20 thing sat the same time. Don't just do one thing...one egg in the one basket. Not everyone responds to the one marketing approach. Email, mailers, Facebook, mothers day specials..etc etc. multiple ways of outreach are best.
Know who we are trying to reach. Don't try to reach everyone. Who has God best equipped me to reach? Who can my church reach? Multiple churches can reach a whole city. What is my church's role in that? When we walk into the room we ask is there anybody here like me? What are my demographics and psychographics...the way we think, values and worldviews. Every city has micro populations...people who will get my jokes. We may look very different but we actually are similar because we all think about the world in the same way. We probably won't reach the urban poor and the urban professionals at the same time.
Match your message, your media and your market. This is the difference between a home run and a base hit. No one under the Agee of 35 listens to the radio...so radio ads won't reach them, but would be great for reaching empty nesters. It's not about getting people there...just give people $5 bills at the door. It's about getting people to stay. Students don't get direct mail...its the parents that get the mail. Twitter and Instagram for young people. Facebook is getting older.
Use your budget strategically. Limited budget...not like the Federal Government...we can't print more money. Billboards are reminder advertising to enhance billion dollar campaigns. that's why billboards just say 'Coke'. Not 'buy a Coke'. There are better ways to create calls to action.
Get people's attention. Everyone is allergic to boring. Prefer to get people upset than bored. The worse thing is to get ignored. 3 second rule...you have 3 seconds to get noticed. A 3 by 5 postcard is so smaller the print will be tiny. For just a few cents more you can use and 8 by 11 card and make it readable. People say no to what is confusing. Designers want to create a work of art. But no one will frame it. The goal of design is to give the message the best opportunity to communicate. Make the stamp crooked on the envelope...gets 3% more response
Learn from each campaign. Just try to keep getting better. he once rejected direct mail until he realized that it worked on him.
Exponential East Session Five
Peyton Jones...Churchplanter Magazine
Like Hugh Halter, we have to be active and alert at the front end, mid and back end of people journey to Christ. Bivocational church planters are his heroes. You go into church planting for Jesus not money.
You can get the podcast through iTunes. Text the keyword FREE to 5624494000 to get the link.
Today's message is The Blender.
He started a book group in Borders for the DaVinci Code...30 people came...not a purpose driven church but an accidental church. The people afterwards asked that since Dan Brown is bunk, can we continue to read the gospels now?
So put Starbucks,a book club and people in a blender, and church can come out of it.
His book ChurchZero is all about this...building ground zero churches up out of the ashes of the
Post modern post everything ashes of the traditional church. Don't read the books of Acts so much as jump in and live it.
He was a psych nurse and can tell the difference between a demoniac and a psych sick person.
Open air church. The holy Spirit is at the front line, on mission churches. God cares about people, is penetrating the kingdom of darkness and is in the battle. GO and you will receive power from on high. Get so out of your comfort zone that you must rely on the Holy Spirit. How infrequently we talk about our need for a power that we do not possess? You have to be the Acts Chapter One church before you can be the Acts Chapter Two church. You have to have mission and adventures...not be a spiritual country club. That's why youth have to go on mission trips to get it.
The missional movement is taking us more first century.
Tozer said ... He quotes about the need for people of the Spirit rather than scholarship.
He reads Acts 2.
They used their ears, their eyes, their mouths. This can help us understand first century church planting.
The crowd heard. The Holy Spirit is connecting people. The HS fills the gap between the speaker and the listener. Only the Holy Spirit saves people. Remember to preach and ask the Holy Spirit to come.
Church in Starbucks. For an u saved person to walk through the door of the church is as hard as for us to walk through the door of a strip club . ( note to self...maybe more like a mosque)
Open air preaching is ineffective for 90% of the population, but effective for the 10% of the population that the regular church just can't reach. Open mic nights and gay coffee houses. These are the churches that Jesus would go to. Xbox churches on Sunday evenings? Hospitable space.
They use their mouths. Only Christians want a one hour services. Unsaved people want to go longer.
If we want to learn how to be a great Spirit filled church...learn from Acts.
Like Hugh Halter, we have to be active and alert at the front end, mid and back end of people journey to Christ. Bivocational church planters are his heroes. You go into church planting for Jesus not money.
You can get the podcast through iTunes. Text the keyword FREE to 5624494000 to get the link.
Today's message is The Blender.
He started a book group in Borders for the DaVinci Code...30 people came...not a purpose driven church but an accidental church. The people afterwards asked that since Dan Brown is bunk, can we continue to read the gospels now?
So put Starbucks,a book club and people in a blender, and church can come out of it.
His book ChurchZero is all about this...building ground zero churches up out of the ashes of the
Post modern post everything ashes of the traditional church. Don't read the books of Acts so much as jump in and live it.
He was a psych nurse and can tell the difference between a demoniac and a psych sick person.
Open air church. The holy Spirit is at the front line, on mission churches. God cares about people, is penetrating the kingdom of darkness and is in the battle. GO and you will receive power from on high. Get so out of your comfort zone that you must rely on the Holy Spirit. How infrequently we talk about our need for a power that we do not possess? You have to be the Acts Chapter One church before you can be the Acts Chapter Two church. You have to have mission and adventures...not be a spiritual country club. That's why youth have to go on mission trips to get it.
The missional movement is taking us more first century.
Tozer said ... He quotes about the need for people of the Spirit rather than scholarship.
He reads Acts 2.
They used their ears, their eyes, their mouths. This can help us understand first century church planting.
The crowd heard. The Holy Spirit is connecting people. The HS fills the gap between the speaker and the listener. Only the Holy Spirit saves people. Remember to preach and ask the Holy Spirit to come.
Church in Starbucks. For an u saved person to walk through the door of the church is as hard as for us to walk through the door of a strip club . ( note to self...maybe more like a mosque)
Open air preaching is ineffective for 90% of the population, but effective for the 10% of the population that the regular church just can't reach. Open mic nights and gay coffee houses. These are the churches that Jesus would go to. Xbox churches on Sunday evenings? Hospitable space.
They use their mouths. Only Christians want a one hour services. Unsaved people want to go longer.
If we want to learn how to be a great Spirit filled church...learn from Acts.
Exponential East Session Four
Hugh Halter - Evangelism track and missional author
Wrote the Gathered and Scattered church for pastors wanting to shift their churches towards being missional. He hated writing and reading, doesn't like being a pastor but loves lost people. He likes proclamational evangelism but the world has changed. We have to do something. Church attendance plummeting and this is likely to continue. Nobody will be in the room to hear us.
How do we do evangelism to the people who don't go to a building on Sunday. How do we engage this as incarnational people. This is the stuff of his latest book.
Followers now pick their leaders.
The basic grid is: This is the Way of Jesus:
incarnation > Reputation > Conversation > Confrontation > Transformation.
Incarnation 1 John 1:15. Jesus to save us yes, but also to teach us how to be human.
Paul says he will stay with them until Christ is formed in them. Our job is to form Jesus in people. He doesn't talk about evangelism in his church but how to be like Jesus..then evangelism will happen naturally. The truth became flesh and moved into our neighborhood. If we incarnate like Jesus, people will begin to talk...
Reputation...people will talk to others or just in their head. Leads to conversation.
Incarnation...most people believe in God...they are honest when they say they are spiritual. To help them with their dissonance, Jesus stood in front of them and modeled God. We are modeling God. Google 'Jesus was' and it's all positive. Google 'Christians are' and it's all negative. The challenge is to be authentic and love with heart. John 17 intimate relationship Father to Jesus, Jesus to his Disciples. He prays the heart of evangelism...incarnation. The heart of evangelism is not conversion but adoption. Our motivation is not to see the church grow but to build family. Our posture as a pastor is as a brother or a sister.
People outside the church have deep stories , mostly about a bad church or Christian...they can't figure it out so they don't mess with it. He had a two coffee rule...terrible rule...it takes more than two coffees to bring someone to faith...it takes hundreds of dinners, inconvenient late nights, watching their kids play bad basketball...that's incarnational evangelism.
Jesus worked a job. The Adamic curse...Jesus submitted to the curse of work. Stonemason and maybe carpenter. Our work is a fertile place for bringing people to Christ. Trappist monks were the only ones who didn't beg for money...they worked for their money. This is reputation. Jesus got into public fights. He moves away from his disciples, pissed off at seeing people abused and finds leather to make a whip and turns over the tables. This is human Jesus. You bet the families talked about it that night around their supper tables. You need a public fight to care about the world. Incarnational reputation...Jesus was a friend to sinners. That's his approach. No pulpit of bullhorn but eating and drinking with sinners.
Jesus went to the cross for sin, but he sat with people and overlooked their sin. All the time. Eating with sinners does not condone their sin. Will we be friends of sinners? If Jesus was the only baker in town, yes, he would bake a cake for a gay couple, says Hugh.
Love your neighbor. How is that going for you? James says pure religion is giving priority to the widow and orphan. Do we find it easy to say gay lifestyle is a sin while we help ourselves to an unneeded donut.
Friendship is the primary context for evangelism because you get to know then in the context of their stories. Otherwise to can find yourself judging people.
Being a friend of sinners leads to conversations. Dignify where people are at. Good news draws people. People came to Jesus. When we have a Jesus reputation people will come to me, and my people, because they are good news people.
Conversations leads to confrontation. Make friends of lost people genuinely, invite them to dinner with your most enjoyable saved people. Tells a story of an unsaved guy becoming part of their circle of saved friends and at some point wanting to then come to a social and prayer evening. They'll pick up on your faith and they will try to get their head around your faith and that will bring some confrontation, and they will bring themselves to faith.
So the book is written as a dispels hip course and an evangelism course. You were never meant to be a solo incarnational person but part of an incarnational community. Just get reading groups going.
The two things that work are prayer and redemptive relationships.
Wrote the Gathered and Scattered church for pastors wanting to shift their churches towards being missional. He hated writing and reading, doesn't like being a pastor but loves lost people. He likes proclamational evangelism but the world has changed. We have to do something. Church attendance plummeting and this is likely to continue. Nobody will be in the room to hear us.
How do we do evangelism to the people who don't go to a building on Sunday. How do we engage this as incarnational people. This is the stuff of his latest book.
Followers now pick their leaders.
The basic grid is: This is the Way of Jesus:
incarnation > Reputation > Conversation > Confrontation > Transformation.
Incarnation 1 John 1:15. Jesus to save us yes, but also to teach us how to be human.
Paul says he will stay with them until Christ is formed in them. Our job is to form Jesus in people. He doesn't talk about evangelism in his church but how to be like Jesus..then evangelism will happen naturally. The truth became flesh and moved into our neighborhood. If we incarnate like Jesus, people will begin to talk...
Reputation...people will talk to others or just in their head. Leads to conversation.
Incarnation...most people believe in God...they are honest when they say they are spiritual. To help them with their dissonance, Jesus stood in front of them and modeled God. We are modeling God. Google 'Jesus was' and it's all positive. Google 'Christians are' and it's all negative. The challenge is to be authentic and love with heart. John 17 intimate relationship Father to Jesus, Jesus to his Disciples. He prays the heart of evangelism...incarnation. The heart of evangelism is not conversion but adoption. Our motivation is not to see the church grow but to build family. Our posture as a pastor is as a brother or a sister.
People outside the church have deep stories , mostly about a bad church or Christian...they can't figure it out so they don't mess with it. He had a two coffee rule...terrible rule...it takes more than two coffees to bring someone to faith...it takes hundreds of dinners, inconvenient late nights, watching their kids play bad basketball...that's incarnational evangelism.
Jesus worked a job. The Adamic curse...Jesus submitted to the curse of work. Stonemason and maybe carpenter. Our work is a fertile place for bringing people to Christ. Trappist monks were the only ones who didn't beg for money...they worked for their money. This is reputation. Jesus got into public fights. He moves away from his disciples, pissed off at seeing people abused and finds leather to make a whip and turns over the tables. This is human Jesus. You bet the families talked about it that night around their supper tables. You need a public fight to care about the world. Incarnational reputation...Jesus was a friend to sinners. That's his approach. No pulpit of bullhorn but eating and drinking with sinners.
Jesus went to the cross for sin, but he sat with people and overlooked their sin. All the time. Eating with sinners does not condone their sin. Will we be friends of sinners? If Jesus was the only baker in town, yes, he would bake a cake for a gay couple, says Hugh.
Love your neighbor. How is that going for you? James says pure religion is giving priority to the widow and orphan. Do we find it easy to say gay lifestyle is a sin while we help ourselves to an unneeded donut.
Friendship is the primary context for evangelism because you get to know then in the context of their stories. Otherwise to can find yourself judging people.
Being a friend of sinners leads to conversations. Dignify where people are at. Good news draws people. People came to Jesus. When we have a Jesus reputation people will come to me, and my people, because they are good news people.
Conversations leads to confrontation. Make friends of lost people genuinely, invite them to dinner with your most enjoyable saved people. Tells a story of an unsaved guy becoming part of their circle of saved friends and at some point wanting to then come to a social and prayer evening. They'll pick up on your faith and they will try to get their head around your faith and that will bring some confrontation, and they will bring themselves to faith.
So the book is written as a dispels hip course and an evangelism course. You were never meant to be a solo incarnational person but part of an incarnational community. Just get reading groups going.
The two things that work are prayer and redemptive relationships.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Exponential East 2014 Session Three
Vince Antonucci
Golden principles to preach a sermon that honors God, teaches Christians and also reaches non believers. You apply them as you think in your conquest.
- The Uncross Their Arms Principle.
The anti church people will come to church with their arms figuratively or actually with their arms crossed. They are thinking "I have you down, you have 2 minutes to prove me wrong". They are not open.
- The You Wear Their Shoes Principle.
What are they're thinking, what do they smell in my church. Experience what they experience. Try going to a Muslim service and experience it. You start by thinking...what do I wear? When I get there will the be people asking me questions? Why do they take off their shoes when they go to the bathroom? Do Imhave to face Mecca? That's how the unchurched think when they come to us
- The Guest For DInner Principle.
- The Joe DiMaggio Principle.
In every church service they explain what communion is and how to take it. Also why they take an offering and that it's OK to not give if this is your first week. They explain that we are now going to sing some songs to God and it's OK if your heart is not is it to just sit and listen while we sing. We are sick of explaining why we do this at every service. But we do it.
- The Check Your Influences Principle.
- The Use Their Culture Principle
Story: whole staff met with a Las Vegas pastor who has deep experience in the city. Asks him what sermon topic most resonates with people. In book store people ask most for the topic of forgiveness. They brainstormed names for a series on forgiveness. They decide on 'drop the F bomb' f for forgiveness of course. Then someone told them that Steve Furtick's church had already used this title in his Elevation church. So they stole their video and edited it! So how do we reach people where they are at?
- The Don't Use Your Culture Principle.
Vince's church assumes that every guest is an atheist. So don't assume that everyone prays. If you want to talk about prayers don't say "You know how you pray and ...". If you do say it, acknowledge that you know that not everyone here prayers, so I want you to know that if you do get to pray then...
So you have at least acknowledged that the are people at church that think and act differently, hopefully valued them and engaged them.
- The Authenticity Principle
- The Love Principle
They come to church to get what they can't get at a bar or on TV or via Red Box....it is the non conditional love of God. They will come because you accept them where they are at and love them. If you are going to be good at one thing...make it love.
So if you come to Verve church at Las Vegas, you will experience how they implement these principles:
They like having signs to church to build expectation. No greeters...just seems like forced hospitality...like Wal-mart. A instead have a greeting desk that smile at people and read the people. Only if they want to be engaged. Engage people. Let them go when they want to disengage. The cleverest clothes shops don't have people that immediately ask if you need help but rather the helpers stand just inside and fold the clothes all day long. They'll let you get into the shop and then gently say "let me know if I can help you" and carry on folding clothes. They play only non Christian music before the service of the PA ...like a party atmosphere...because people are OK walking into a party and not OK walking into a mosque. Every pre-service slide projected is informative but also funny. Just trying to uncross their arms. Worship band walks up on stage, just a very few musicians...not like some churches have a 15 piece band...which seems weird. Their first song is a secular current song connected to the topic of the service. ( use sound hound to see what the song is if one comes on the radio that you think might work.) so the first 5-7 minutes are dedicated to non Christians to uncross arms. The rest of the 1 hour 5 minute service is for Christians that is also sensitive to non believers.
The Jake comes up on stage to welcome people, introduce the theme...drop the f-bomb...no not that one but forgiveness. Then show a little video spot that has been made to be amusing.
The goal is to scrubs every service. Like the TV show scrubs. It not just wanted to make you chuckle but the last 5 minutes they would always go after your heart. A change of music to a minor key...and they with genius get you. What you cry about at the end is the same thing you were laughing at for the first 25 minutes. Genius. What can we do to make people laugh at the topic of the services...then how can we make people cry, or get righteously indignant, or repent...etc.
Final song will hammer home the theme of the services.
Exponential East 2014 Session Two
Bob Franquiz, Miami
(I'm sitting next to Kelly from Oklahoma City who pastors with her husband. Their church has 2500 people. Biggest problem they have is the individualistic consumerist mindset that causes people to church hop, and a general lack of really deep commitment to the lost. I tell her in New England we have no money, we are drowning in non believers and the only Christians around are generally committed to Jesus. I like NE better. )
His church was full of saved people. Now, they have had 2000 conversions to Jesus. He is going to talk about evangelistic preaching.
- Evangelistic preaching is not watered down. He preaches exposition ally, but in a way that connects with unbelievers. Use theological terms but just define them. Like ordering a coffee in Starbucks...have to acknowledge their fancy terms. Slow down and don't assume any Bible knowledge. Slow down.
- Evangelistic preaching is for believers too. They need to hear the gospel too. He prays the same come to Jesus prayers every single week so his people know it and can pray it with their friends.
- Evangelistic preaching is not primarily felt-needs preaching. He believes the pulpit is the best time to do discipleship and evangelism too.
- It is non-believer conscious. Will a non believer connect with this? E.g. On tithing...say out loud "some of you will think I'm now going to give you the shake down and go for your money. I'm going to talk about what the Bible says about giving to Christians. If you are not a Christian, you can relax while the Christians squirm but you'll get to hear the heart behind our giving.
- It enters the conversation people are having. This is the best marketing. What objections will people have to my topic? Address them. Don't ignore them. List the likely objections...you enter the conversations that people are having. By doing this you are discipling your Christians in how to have conversations with their non-Christians ... The conversations they are already having.
- It disciples believers and non believers. Let people have a role and implement Christian principles in their lives before they get to be believers.
- Great evangelistic preaching expects conversions. Just stumble through it and it'll probably work. Mid you are the only hotdog stand in town, your hotdogs don't have to be that good and you probably do OK. Just do it and do it expecting response.
Questions from the audience: he preaches through the Bible but always finds a way to get it to Jesus and ask for a response. He always finds a way to get to the gospel. E.g. We need a new building so we are going to raise money. Most people are broken and that includes financially so here is how we find freedom. :-). He adds: most non believers who come to church are in a place when something is broken that makes them want to come to church.
Think about the generation you are speaking to. Younger people are not biblically literate like our parents generation. The gospel presentation is different each week, riffing off the preaching for the day, but the come to Jesus prayer is the same.
Exponential East 2014 Session One
Exponential East 2014 Monday afternoon. Pre conference session one
Vince Antonucci
Jesus announced why he came to seek and save the lost...his mission...he gives us the mission...as the father has sent me I send you. He says it a number of ways.
We get to be a part of most important mission in the world.
Tells story of losing his child in a crowd. That's what God feels like
Jeremiah..oh anguish oh anguish ...my people are ...senseless children wi no understanding..return to me.
Come to me all those who are weary.
Jesus heart races for his lost children...like the fathers heart.
Matthew 9 He had compassion on them...Compassion...from splagna...refers to ones intestines twisted or ripped out. Compassion is from the gut. Seeing sheep with no shepherd...people without their heavenly Father makes him feel sick. Jesus tells his disciples to then pray for harvest workers.
We are the answer of Jesus prayer.
New churches starting everywhere but 8 million people less in church now than 10 years ago.
How come?
There are churches reaching people...just not lost people.
2.2% of churches are reaching lost people. ( Stats from book "American church in crisis" )
Note to self...change web page to say " we love gay people, odd people, ridiculous people normal people, straight people, sex workers, homeless people, white collar, etc etc etc"
How do we start a church with evangelistic DNA?
1. Have evangelistic DNA yourself. You can only pass on the DNA that you have. Do I have that?
- You raise your passion for lost people by hanging out with lost people. Listens to the Counting Crows lyrics for Mrs. Jones. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/countingcrows/mrjones.html
- How? If you have kids...use them. Think like a missionary to your town. Take up a hobby that mixes you with other people. Pray.
2. Have evangelistic stories and metaphors that you share regularly as you build your church. E.g we are a steak restaurant for PETA people. We only want people who don't want church to be a part of their lives. So what do we want our church to look like to attract those types of people? What will we say to people when they are in church? Will we repel them with how we speak? (not what we say). How do we do a church services so an atheist will come back...without compromising our non-negotiables? It will he hard for sure. We have a God who says nothing is impossible. So say the same thing all the time,s just in new ways. "we are like a hair club for bald people!" Burn this into your people all the time. Have great stories for your people.
3. We must know how to live missionally out in the community and how to connect to unchurched people in our church. You have to fish for sharks where the sharks hang out and with shark bait.
Church services are usually good to really good...for Christians.
4. We must be willing to make the sacrifices it takes to reach lost people. If only 2.2 % of churches reach lost people... Are you willing to sacrifice to be on a winning team...to be in a church that reaches lost people? Will you fire people who don't have evangelistic DNA. You'll get criticized by other churches, or by thumb sucking Christians who need to be fed...and who tithe and then they leave. My church will be smaller than most every other church in town. The question to answer each of these questions is...would Jesus?
Do what it takes to start an evangelistic church with that DNA. When he found his lost child...it was the most relief he has ever felt. When we get to heaven maybe God will throw a prodigal son welcome party for us. Even better maybe God will let us hide and watch as he welcomes into heaven each of the people we had a hand in their journeys to God. What could be better than that?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)