As our church continues to grow, anxiety threatens to grow in my heart. But not because of all that might first come to your mind. Like, more people equals more stuff. Of course that’s true, but no, that’s not it. That’s normal. We all have stuff and we want a church of people with stuff – or it’s not a real church. No, anxiety doesn’t knock because more people are knocking.
How about the fact that we are at (or beyond) the stage when building campaigns arrive. Also true, but no (breathe), that’s not where anxiety lurks for me. Our culture doesn’t tilt in the direction of building projects, and I haven’t had a conversation or a sense that would cause a turn in that direction. For as long as we can hang on to the description, “we are the church,” as opposed to “there is the church” will be a great thing.
How about the increasing pressure to do things better and bigger, and with more flash than we have in the past? Now you’re getting warmer, but not quite. There is that pressure. In fact, in some cases, in order to do well what we’ve done well in the past we will have to add more sophistication…like the Kids Registration System for example. The Kids Community has done a timely and masterful job at bringing this much needed improvement online without sacrificing any core values in the process. No, as long as we can keep our grassroots, organic style a continued part of our public conversation, we can set accurate expectations of what we’re about. For it is largely a scrambling to meet the expectations of the growing crowd that lead down the “bigger, better” path.
And there are a host of other things I could list that might stress us out if we aren’t diligent to fend them off. But the one thing that tends to create a growing anxiety in me is the inclination to add staff and put the ownership and leadership of ministry on the backs of “professionals.” Although a staff-centric approach has been proven and effective to support and even perpetuate church growth, it is not the vision God has placed in our heart as we currently understand it. We believe that the growth and impact of the local church on it’s community and it’s capability to care for one another, is dependent instead upon the ownership of Kingdom responsibility remaining squarely upon the shoulders of each member of the family. We believe that the church finds its greatest capacity to expand across and transform our surrounding society, is when individuals hear and respond to Jesus’ call on their life to act, empowered by the Spirit, bringing the hope and healing of Jesus to bear in their spheres of influence.
It is the threat of taking the Kingdom value and ownership away from the Average Joe that creates the greatest threat for anxiety in me. For the sake of the church, and…for me, I suppose…since I am one.
Nice report thanks. I like that you point out that SEO rquires ongoing attention; too many people assume which SEO requires a big total amount of work and then absolutely nothing additional needs be completed!
I maintain listening to the news talk about acquiring free on line grant applications so I’ve been
looking around for the very best internet site to obtain one.
Thank you for the support!
Dave has valid concerns about how we make sure connections happen. However, I see this as a problem that plagues all churches (and secular arenas as well) whether or not they have “professional staff”. Pretty much every church I have ever been a part of has had the same problem. On Sunday mornings, when the last “Amen” is said, or the last song is sung, most people head for the car to get to lunch, soccer, football, naps, whatever. The people that do hang around generally talk to the same friends they talk to every week!
We are reluctant to reach out to someone we don’t know, and no matter how much you pay a church staff member, there’s very little they can do to change people’s behavior. Each of us, as individuals, have to decide each week, every day, not just Sundays, to step out of our comfort zones and connect with (Encounter) other human folk. Look someone in the eye, shake their hand, introduce yourself, ask their name, and remember it next week when you see them again. That right there is half the battle.
Personally, this kind of thing is hard for me…I like to meet up with the friends I already have and run out to lunch after church. I’m trying to get better at it because after 8 months of attending Vista I realize that I still know only a small percentage of the crowd! But that’s no different than the last couple churches I attended that had staff paid to make sure I got “connected”.
Mike- one thing that I appreciate about Vista is that it is welcoming to the Average Joe. You constantly encourage us to be the church, to make room for people you don’t know, to be the first to welcome a new face. That falls on all of us, not just connections or the staff. I see it every Sunday and hear the stories, as I know you do too. It is happening in a normal, non-threating and non-weird way. Not everyone is going to connect with everyone but if everyone is connecting, people will get and feel connected. From one average Joe to another, thanks for keeping it real! Billy
I am anxious when Average Joe and attend Vista for a couple of weeks and then slip away unnoticed. Average Joe and Jane have needs but are uncomfortable reaching out to others. As Vista grows, how does “the church” meet Joe and Jane’s needs when they are uncomfortable reaching out to “the church?” It’s easy to say the Professional Christians will take up the responsibility – but that is excatly what makes Vista different – the responsibility is within “the church body itself.”
So how does Vista ensure (not just enable) “the church” actually reaches out to Joe and Jane? How do we make the connections possible to Joe and Jane so they know we, “the church,” care about them – without a paid staff member responsible for the connection?
I ask becuase I do not see the connections being made during the Sunday morning rush and while I agree it cannot be the staff’s responsibility, how can we better equip “the church” to effectively reach the Jane and Joe? Without true connection, “the church” will not grow. I guess it boils down to what are we doing to equip “the church”? And if it is small groups, then is it enough?
Nice! “…a scrambling to meet the expectations of the growing crowd that lead down the “bigger, better” path.” That’s an interesting way to state the issue… “scrambling” almost always describes a stressed scenario in my mind. For myself, I know that a less-than-sensitive side tends to rear its ugly head in a scramble. The robot, “git-r-done” side of me starts on the war path!
One of the things I appreciate most about you and your team is the desire to avoid a tailspin dive into developing “programs”. I don’t know why, but we humans tend to have a way of making things more complicated… we even have a way of making things complicated (emotionally) in an effort to keep things simple! I chuckle when I catch myself doing this. I agree that as long as there is a desire to remain organic/grassroots then the addition/development of programs will be approached from the right perspective. Programs in themselves are not a bad thing… we all need structure to a certain extent. I do anyway… sort of. I guess the tricky part is figuring out the right mixture/balance of “extent”.
Another thing I appreciate is the encouragement to “be the church”… man, I love that! I realize this can be a very liberating thought… or a paralyzing one. We fall all over that spectrum… even as individuals we swing on the scale depending on the scenario. But as you have said, “the truth is in the tension”. I think when we are travelling off the beaten path we find out what kind of “stuff” we’re made of. In my mind I think of staff growth the same way as program development… staff in itself isn’t a bad thing unless the balance is off. I wonder what it looks like when an “Average Joe” becomes “Church Staff”… actually, reminds me of Brian Webb… that dude is my hero! I see him as a “man of the people”… totally accessible and yet, he’s absolutely a Pastor in my eyes. That’s a great mix of character and personality!
All that being said I couldn’t agree more w/ your closing statement… “It is the threat of taking the Kingdom value and ownership away from the Average Joe that creates the greatest threat for anxiety in me.” It’s too easy for us (for me!) to look to “leadership” to do “the stuff” rather than realizing that God is telling each of us to do “the stuff”. I think God has created each of us to be leaders in some respect… in some arena.
An excellent anxiety to have! I was recently reading a book that in part addresses the ‘depersonalization of professionalism’, not just in the church but across many aspects of life. Once professionals are brought in, the average joe is truly left out of some very important work that God has prepared. The only professional in this kingdom business is Jesus!!! The rest of us are truly average joe’s that He is training and transforming!