Consulting, Coaching & Chatter

Every time I pick up a mainline hymnal that was printed anytime after 1990 I get just a little bit disgusted. In an effort to save our sensibilities and to be as politically/theologically “correct” as possible, many of the old hyms were lyrically changed. Now, I’m all for inclusive language and all that, but I find myself bemused as I flip through the hymns and see the ones that were “tampered” with and the ones that were somehow seen as too “holy” or something to mess with. I’m not going into the specifics here, but I say all that to say this …

On Sunday, I was at a church where we sang out of one of those “mainline” hymnals. It’s Advent time, so churches all across the world are singing Christmas carols. We sang some of the good ol’ ones like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” that suffered only a modest molestation in the transition to the “new” hymnal. But then we sang “What Child is This.” Now, one would think that the hymnal committee would at least be moderately interested in transitioning ancient lyrics not only for the sake of political correctness, but for understanding’s sake as well. I mean, with less than 17 percent of the USAmerican public in church last week – and that number is shrinking as each year goes by – one would think that communicating the gospel would be a critical decision.

One would be wrong. Really, really wrong. Which, of course, is just another reflection of why the mainline is losing members and attendees faster than any other block of churches. As a rule, we’re less concerned about being relevant and more concerned about maintaining tradition (Matthew 15:3 comes immediately to mind).

And so, the “offending” lyrics? For a moment, put away your churchese and try and put yourself in the shoes of an unconnected first-time guest who will be showing up on your doorstep for his/her annual pilgrimage to the church. They’re hoping to find hope in the church, though only sort of, because they’ve made this trek many years in the past and have gone away with “nice” and “sweet” and “cute” and sometimes even “moving” year, after year – but hope and life giving? Not so much.

And so the service starts with the typical carols. “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “The First Noel” go by without incident. And then “What Child is This” gets going, and there, on the Big Screen – projected for all to see are these magical, mystical, moving lyrics:

“Why lies he in such mean estate where ox and ass are feeding?”

What do you think when you read those words? My wife’s first thoughts were, “Sounds like a lot of churches I know.” I didn’t want to admit it, but that’s what went through my mind too. Of course, that’s not necessarily what an unchurched person might think, but I suspect confusion and maybe even bewilderment might be their first reaction if they were cognizant enough to be following the lyrics.

This year, as you finalize plans for your Christmas Eve service, keep in mind that what passes as tradition for you and me, may well pass for a “Huh?” moment in the minds of your unconnected guests. Plan and read and produce carefully. Remember, you may only get one shot at sharing the gospel with a lot of unconnected people this year. Choose even your hymns with that in mind.

The other day I got a Twitter question from Phil Longmire, a church planter in Richmond, TX. We were talking about church planting priorities and I was saying how important it is for planters to be out of the office, away from the computer, and out in the public’s eye. So he Tweeted me and asked, “What are the top five things a planter does in the community?” I promised him I’d write on Friday, but yesterday’s come and gone … so I’m doing it first thing today.

The top five things a church planter needs to do while they’re out and about in the community is:

1. Meet new people – share the vision
2. Meet new people – share the vision
3. Meet new people – share the vision
4. Meet new people – share the vision
5. Meet new people – share the vision

Get the idea? The primary thing a church planter needs to be about is meeting new people, sharing the vision, watching for those whose eye’s light up, and building relationships with them. IMHO (and after 4 church plants), one of the top reasons assessed and trained planters fail is because they get tied up doing #6–10 instead of the top 5. And what, you ask, are #6–10? (6) Marketing, brochure and website development; (7) meetings with other Christians (think Minister meetings, etc.); (8) sermon development (in a church plant, if you spend more than 2 hours doing this, you’re wasting time); (9) worship development; (10) and most of all – doing church.

There’s an old church plant coaching joke that in short, sums it up. It goes like this:

Q: How do you get a church planter to plant a church?

A: Take away his/her laptop.

If you’re out of the office and in public with your laptop … and you’re writing, posting, blah blah, then you’re not interacting with those around you. If you’re not interacting with those around you, you’re not engaged in the top five things a church planter needs to do when they’re out in the community. I’ve done a number of debriefs and post-mortems on failed church plants. There were some common themes I noted with the majority of these failed churches. They all had  (1) a great website; (2) four color professional looking brochures; (3) creative business cards; (4) well-planned, high tech worship … and all of this was created by the church planter. When I asked how they spent their time, they admitted they spent a lot of time behind a computer screen, they attended clergy meetings, joined and participated in service club meetings (like Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, etc.), and spent a lot of time with their core team. Meeting new people almost seemed like an afterthought.

Church Planters … hear this: If you want to plant a new church you MUST spend the VAST majority of your time meeting new people in the community. Don’t waste time building online social networks – until something changes (and it well may), Internet attendees don’t fill worship spaces and rarely write checks. How much time should you be spending meeting and talking with NEW people? Six hours or more each day. Every day, meaning SIX days a week. And when do you stop doing this? When you have 350+ in average worship attendance … but not until. Okay, maybe I exaggerate a tiny bit. Take it down to four hours a day, six days a week when you have 200+ in average worship attendance … but not until.

“But I don’t know what to do with six hours a day. What do I do with my time?” If that’s the question haunting your mind, my first response is to ponder the assessment and training process you “endured” to get where you’re at. Natural church planters (and if you’re not a natural at this, the church plant is probably going to be in trouble) don’t have much problem finding new people to hang out with. If networking is a chore for you, then church planting is going to be a nightmare. But if you’re one of those who’s planting without a net, then here a couple of ideas followed by a bonafide church planter training assignment.

Where to Meet People Ideas

• The mall
• The bars
• The coffee shops
• Toastmasters (it’s not a service club)
• Book stores
• PTA
• Soccer/little league/grid-kids games
• Small businesses
• College campuses

How to Meet People Ideas

• At B&N, glance at what someone’s reading and ask, “Is that a good book? What’s it about?”
• Ask the barista “You a church-going guy/gal? [if not] Good. Can I ask you a question? What would a church have to be like to get one of your friends to check it out?”
• Comment, compliment, or ask for an opinion from someone sitting near you at the mall.

So, here’s a bonafide church planter training assignment (in case you didn’t go to CMTC Bootcamp). List 50 places to meet new people in your target community. In addition list 50 ways to meet new people (just going somewhere that people are hanging out is not the same as actually meeting new people). That’s a long list of 100 places and ways to meet people. Don’t stop until you’ve completed the assignment. It’s a killer … trust me, I had to do it. But when you’re done, you won’t have to ponder where and how. Then get busy with your six-by-six days. Six hours a day, six days a week: meet new people and share the vision.