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Category: Catalyst (Page 21 of 26)

A catalyst is one that sparks something. The catalyst speaks from experience and enables others to move forward more freely. These articles are written to act as a catalyst in your life.

Would The Real Church Please Rise

January 13, 2021 / / 0 Comments
The Church Has Left the Building - Willowbrook Church

It’s been around for centuries. And to be honest the church has remained largely the same for as long. We’ve held our ground and not really allowed for changes in culture or geography or schedules or pretty much anything else to change how we do church. For better or worse we’ve stayed put.

Now before I go too far I want to be clear. Consistency of message and beliefs is critical. I’m not against tradition or keeping our footing firm. However, there is a problem we do face. The way we do church is growing largely irrelevant to the culture into which we bring a very relevant message. What’s the church to do?

Pre-Churched Era

Culture has gone through stages in its history. In America alone we started with a predominantly pre-churched ideology. The pre-churched approach is really like that of a missionary in a new country, and that’s exactly what the church was. It was a full out mission entity. The church cared so much about the people that it went out of its way to get to know the culture. It found shared value systems and gained credibility within its cultural context. The church went to where the world was and served the world where it needed to be served.

The pre-churched era was marked by devotion to God, growth in the Bible, and intentional acts of service toward felts needs of the community and it worked! The culture started to then mirror the church. The culture started to welcome the efforts of the church and even partner with it to help local communities.

Churched Era

This paved the way for the next era of church that we’ll call the churched era. This era of church is drastically different than what preceded it because by this point the church has taken center stage in the life of culture. The language of the church has made its way to the community. The church primarily functions like a community center, hospital or gathering place. People just come to the church for help. They ask the pastor questions about life, marriage and parenting. The church has become the epicenter of activity in culture in a churched society.

If the church sought the world in the pre-church era, then in this stage the tables are turned and the world seeks the church. The churched era really brought the church to a place of comfortable existence. The church didn’t have to try very hard. This was the build it and they will come era of the church. When the church settled into this stage of life, it became fairly complacent, which proves very challenging for the next phase.

Post-Church Era

The final era of the church is probably the most challenging and scary. It’s scary because it’s a perfect combination of the two previous eras. The church is thinking it’s still in the churched era while the world is really moved beyond the church back to the pre-churched mindset. The church is no longer in the center of the town square being admired by anyone. No one is coming to the doors of the church asking for information or help or guidance. The church as an institution has grown largely irrelevant or out of touch with its community and the culture at large.

The church acts the world is looking for it still while the world acts like it could care less about the church and honestly doesn’t even understand its language anymore. The longer the church stays in this mode, the more dangerous it is for the church moving forward.

The world population is growing. Our communities are growing. Population density is becoming more consistent around many of our churches. Yet churches are shrinking. Churches aren’t serving their communities. We’ve started to circle our wagons at best and at worst we’ve begun grandstanding for our pet projects, platforms or political ideologies.

None of this is good. All of this is dangerous. It’s time the church circled back to the beginning, where it all started. We need to see ourselves as missionaries in a vastly uncharted new world. We need to staff for mission development. We need to set aside more funds for community outreach and mission development and less for overhead costs and bigger buildings.

The pre-church era church was very organic, less programmatic, very relational, not so much institutional. The true church – the relational, relevant, and real church needs to stand up and begin again looking at its community. Caring for its neighbors. Becoming the hub of family activity and training. Would the real church please rise and meet the challenges of our day!

Good Friend, Good Conversation!

December 15, 2020 / / 0 Comments

For the past week or so we’ve looked at four different daily habits we can start right now to help improve our outlook on life and help us manage some of the challenges we face. Now we turn to some key habits that aren’t really feasible to be done daily but more on a weekly basis. All of these eight habits in total can be started in whatever sequence you’d like. None of them are magic, but they are all things that can be very beneficial if done intentionally.

One of the greatest blessings in life is having good friends! A really good friend can be a rock to lean on when times are tough. A shoulder to cry on when sadness strikes. Someone to laugh with at the good times. Someone to sing off key with to the favorite song on the radio. And someone to just talk to who will help keep you grounded in life. That’s today’s habit actually.

Time to Talk

Having a good friend is great but making time for that friend to share your good times and bad times is really important. Today’s habit is about intentionally setting aside time to talk to a friend for about an hour a week. This can be one friend for an hour or a couple of friends for shorter times, but don’t cut these conversations too short!

Practically speaking you can do all sorts of things. You can schedule this as a time to talk face to face over coffee or supper. You can make this conversation happen while exercising. If you’re married, then you can have this weekly conversation as a couple. However it works best for you is how you should do it.

The point of this weekly conversation with a friend is to just talk and catch up on life. So take a few minutes to list out the friends who you truly value. Then set times to call them to catch up. You can talk to the same person each week or a different friend each week. Just feed your soul with a good conversation with a great friend and enjoy all this life has to offer as you do life together.

Is This Significant?

November 11, 2020 / / 0 Comments
Pisces: misunderstood genius! | Neon signs, Neon words, Neon quotes

What a year 2020 has become! I don’t know if anyone could have predicted the dumpster fire that this year has turned out to be. It sure doesn’t seem like anything is as it should be right now. But is any of this significant?

Over the past few days I’ve been looking back on what all has occurred throughout this monumental and earth shifting year. One thing that seems to keep coming back over and over again in my mind is one of the restrictions that many of our cities and states have implemented. Heck even the CDC has said this.

If you remember back to April and May of this year perhaps you’ll recall that we were all told to limit our gatherings to no more than 10 people. I think the reasoning was to limit the potential for spread of Covid and to make it easier to track back who all you’ve been with recently. At least that’s what I have understood from it all, and I didn’t think twice about it.

But recently I’ve heard a few different references to the number 10 and how it applies to the church and it’s got me thinking…is this significant? Is there a misunderstood genius behind all of this?

Now I’m not going to go all numerology on you or anything like that but let’s look at the history of the number 10 and why it might be significant here. In the Bible and in ancient Jewish tradition, the people were to come together to establish a synagogue or gathering of worshippers in a localized place. Well, enter what might be the significant part…

You had to have a minimum of, yep you guessed it, 10 people to constitute a synagogue. So what in the world might this mean?

Some might say that this is some demonic force trying to prevent God’s people from gathering in a mass numbers. While this could be? I’m not really sure that I buy that one. I don’t buy it because we’re still able to meet, albeit virtually but we’re still able to gather in many informal settings and the word is still able to be preached. Could the Devil be up to something? Of course he is! When isn’t he? But I think there might be another, and potentially more transforming thing happening here.

The ten mandate is still the case for some people. Much of the country has excluded places of worship from this mandate, but it does still apply in various locations to this day. But the number limitation holds for gatherings of people for many other purposes too. Enter the conspiracy theory portion of this post – don’t worry this is a positive conspiracy theory if that’s such a thing?

What if God was in control all along? Yeah I know he is but stick with me here. What if God was taking this whole pandemic craziness thing and using it as a way to allow some of our churches to stay within the guidelines while still doing, being and even growing the church?

Think about it – you can’t come to the church either because it’s not allowed based on this rule or because you’re just not comfortable in groups that large. But are you able and willing to be in a smaller group with a more controlled atmosphere? Could you gather and form your own grouping of say 10 people?

Ten doesn’t seem like that many, but God even said that for the sake of 10 faithful he would have delivered all of Sodom and Gomorrah. Whoa there’s that number again!

Could God be up to something? Are you unable to get back in your in-person worship space due to restrictions or comfort level? Are you willing to be one of 10? I think this is massively significant and something we need to be taking full advantage of in this weird and wild ride we call 2020. Want to be a group of 10…hit me up and we’ll see how we can resource you.

Who would have thought that something as simple as the number 10 could actually help?

Ok friends those are today’s random ramblings.

Good vs. Evil

November 3, 2020 / / 0 Comments

What a battle it is out there! Things seem to be getting crazy in our world and things are spiraling faster and faster out of control. We’re in the midst of some of the most challenging times in our lives. What’s going on in life right now is the most foundational battle ever known to man. It’s the battle of good against evil.

But hold on! This battle may not be exactly what you think. The battle of good vs evil isn’t about one man against another or one party against another. It’s truly the battle of ultimate good facing off against ultimate evil.

I recently heard author, Jon Gordon, speak about one of his books. He was talking about this battle of good and evil referring to it through the lenses of what he called the 5 D’s. These five D’s are foundational to understanding who the real enemy is in life.

Doubt

At the outset, most conflict is brought on because some level of doubt is brought into view. We doubt if we’re loved. We doubt if we’re good enough. We doubt if they have our best intentions at heart. We doubt if what we have is good enough. Doubt is looking at what we don’t have instead of seeing everything we do have.

Distortion

When we start to doubt that what we have is enough it begins to distort the truth. We begin to believe the lies that these doubts bring up in our mind. They act like fog, preventing us from seeing what’s right in front of us with any clarity at all. We’re so overcome by the doubt factor that truth is distorted. But it doesn’t end there.

Discouragement

Beyond distortion sits the enemy of discouragement. When doubt settles in and prevents us from seeing reality as it stands in front of us, then we easily get discouraged. When we can’t see the clear path ahead of us we get disheartened and discouraged. You see none of this has to do with the people around us or the events happening to us. It’s really about vision and how we see things.

Distraction

When discouragement takes root in our lives, we lose focus altogether. Our attention moves to other things that are mundane at best and destructive at worst. We tend to major in the minors so to speak as discouragement gives birth to distraction. As we continue to battle against the enemy of doubt, we quickly lose all footing and slide off course into an unhealthy spiral distracting us from what’s important.

Division

Finally, when we’ve run the course of doubt, distortion, discouragement and distraction the final step is division. The ultimate goal of any war is division. The enemy wants to break down the unified front we have to problems. We’re living in a world that has become so fragmented that unity has all but left.

You see the problem isn’t the people around us. The problem is doubt. The enemy has brought doubt into our lives over so many things. But your friend with a different viewpoint on life is not your enemy. The president for whom you did not vote is not the enemy. The party with which you’re not affiliated is not the enemy. The enemy is the darkness of doubt that spirals all of this out of control causing so much chaos and fear and division.

Stay strong my friends. Hold each other close. Value friendship. Cherish differences. Be civil in disagreement. Most of all speak truth and focus on the things you do have instead of the things you lack.

Don’t Skip This Step

October 21, 2020 / / 0 Comments
person climbing concrete stairs
Photo by Clique Images on Unsplash

I’m going to admit that this post is very much directed at churches, pastors, and other leaders in church-topia. But if you’re not in one of those roles, I’d love for you to still read and hold those of us who are in these roles accountable. Because what we’re doing isn’t enough. I recently heard someone say we’re perfectly positioned to get what we’re currently getting. Or put another way we’ll keep getting what we’ve always gotten if we keep doing what we’ve always done.

So what needs to change?

As church people and church leaders we have big dreams for an Acts 2:47 kind of moment. That’s the moment when God added to their number daily those who were being saved. I mean who wouldn’t want that for the church they serve or even the church they attend!

I’ve been a pastor for over 18 years now and in every church I’ve ever served, we always wanted to reach more people so the kingdom of God would grow. We celebrated baptisms and new member classes. We would hold big welcome events when we brought in a new group of people to the church.

But when we weren’t seeing an increase in numbers we started to wonder what was wrong. What are we missing? Why isn’t God bringing them to us anymore? Why did attendance shrink? Why aren’t new people coming anymore?

This problem is only getting more vivid as we move through this post Covid reality. Churches are shrinking. Less than 75% of church members on average are returning to in person worship. Those who are staying home are saying it’s getting harder and harder to stay connected digitally because the digital time feels like the in person time just without the person connection.

And so many of our churches are pushing to go back to normal. It’s so easy to want to go back to regular in person worship. We want our coffee hour and our fellowship meals. We want to gather the way we used to between services and catch up on what’s going on in life. We want our Sundays back for crying out loud.

But we can’t have our Acts 2:47 moments without living in verse 46 first! Verse 46 is easily overlooked. We love verse 42 where we read how they devoted themselves to breaking of bread, fellowship, prayers and teaching. We expect God will add to our numbers daily in mass quantities. But what did they do with the fellowship, bread, prayers and teaching? Did they do it on Sundays? Did they keep it tucked away for an hour long expression of service and devotion one day a week? Here’s what Acts 2:47 says:

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.

Do you see it? Day by day! They saw something that we have forgotten. Church is not an hour on Sunday. It’s not a building we go to on the weekend. It’s who we are. It’s the people with whom we surround ourselves.

Do you day by day with Jesus and those in your community of faith? Do you day by day in the promise of the temple? Do you day by day around the breaking of bread?

It’s really not as hard as we’ve made it out to be. There are so many ways to day by day! You don’t have to spend hours a day. You don’t have to be a bible scholar. You don’t have to host a small group or be at church 24/7! Two of my favorite ways to day by day are the S.O.A.P plan and the 5x5x5 plan. I’ll explain the 5x5x5 plan more in a future post but the gist is five minutes a day in the bible, do one of five simple tasks with the verses (highlight, memorize, etc), and do it five days a week.

These are just a couple ways that we can day by day with God and one another. I’ll unpack a few more options in the weeks to come. But for now start where you are and lean into God a little more today and soon you’ll be in a day by day situation too.

Loneliness and Anxiety

October 9, 2020 / / 0 Comments

If there’s anything this pandemic has taught me, it’s the value of people and healthy, strong relationships. Men and women were not created to do life alone, which makes this long and drawn out season of distancing and limited gatherings an extremely challenge time for so many people in our communities.

It’s no wonder the depression rate is on the rise and the suicide rate is skyrocketing. It should be no shock that substance abuse and addiction diagnoses are greater now than in recent history. Loneliness is driving so many to lengths they would never normally go.

Marriages are falling apart. Friendships are being broken down. We’re highlighting problems more than solutions. Compliments have turned to complaints. Love has turned to hate. All we see is the negative in other people.

The spirit of men and women is being broken. It’s being broken by our inability to be around other people. We need to be surrounded by others who can challenge us in a healthy way and encourage us in a loving way. I fear the longer this forced distance goes on the more long lasting harm is going to be done to whatever is left of our relationships.

This distancing is causing loneliness in so many people. And that loneliness is leading to anxiety the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades.

How do you deal with stress and anxiety.

  • Physical activity – Do you workout? Are you a runner?
  • Mental distraction – Do you have a hobby? Love to craft? Is coloring or video games your release?
  • Rest and relaxation – Enjoy napping? or vegging with a movie or video games?
  • Relational release – Find someone you can talk to. Find a friend to lean on emotionally. Who can you call to talk through the difficulties? Who’s already in your life as a constant source of encouragement and grounding?
  • Spiritual connection – An aspect of life we all too easily overlook is the spiritual needs we have. Take time to be in prayer. Take a walk and list the things for which you’re thankful. Spend time reading the Bible. Join with others who believe the same way and study together. Ask someone whose opinion you respect some hard faith questions. Try fasting (who hasn’t packed on a couple pounds since covid started?) Experiment with meditation.

Whatever it is, we all need to find a healthy and nondestructive way to release some tension. Take time to focus on self care. Relieve stress. Rebuild relationships. Restore the basics of your faith system.

These are a few ways you can handle the loneliness and anxiety that are infiltrating our communities and families. What have you found most helpful to help relieve stress? How do you show those around you that you value their friendship?

Flip the Curve

October 2, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Imagine for a moment one scenario with two potential outcomes. The scenario is simple you face a challenge. You get caught off guard. You’re thrown off track. Something comes out of no where and completely derails all of your plans. All of your momentum is halted. You come to what feels like a dead stop in an instant.

Sound familiar? I think we’ve all kind of lived this very scenario in our own ways. Graduations were canceled. Spring athletes never had their chance to perform their talents for family, friends and scouts. Summer activities were canceled. Businesses were closed. Churches stopped meeting in person. Family gatherings were stifled. Nearly everything we knew ground to a painful, screeching halt.

And if we’re being honest things aren’t really all that much better. The very thing that brought this calamity upon us is still with us. Fear is being handed out like it was candy to a group of children on halloween. The situation seems so bleak. Business are closing their doors. Churches are being split over how they handle the regulations. Families and friends are divided over where they stand on the issues facing our country.

When our situation is this dire there are two natural outcomes: crash and burn or pivot and soar. The rest of this post will address the issue as it pertains to churches but is really applicable to all scenarios.

In a recent article in Outreach Magazine, it’s been estimated that nearly 1 in 5 churches will likely close their doors within 18 months of the pandemic. This is awful to even think about. But how can we prevent this from being our reality in whatever field we find ourselves in?

If we keep doing the same things we’ve always done, we’ll get the same results we’ve grown to accept or even worse.

So to change the tide we need to pivot. The idea of pivoting in basketball is to keep one foot in place while moving the rest of your body in different directions to determine which way will benefit the team most.

Right now we’re in a situation that demands a pivot. The curve is trending downward. We’ve grown accustomed to being an organization that is all about Sunday morning. Gather together is the goal. Meeting is the mission. But what happens if we pivot our thinking?

The mission of the church never was to just gather and meet. Jesus said to make disciples. The mission of the church if we’re following the command of Jesus should be to go, baptize, teach. It’s all about growing the family of God.

If we don’t pivot our thinking we’re going to ride the plane right into the ground. But if we can keep one foot firmly rooted in the promises of God in scripture, then pivot our methods to see where He might be leading us we’ll be able to soar in ways we never thought imaginable.

Over the next couple of weeks we’ll look at a few things we can do to pivot our thinking and approach our current situation not as a series of challenges but as opportunities that God has placed before us to help us soar.

As we end this post consider where you’ve been and what direction you’re headed now. Then evaluate why your church or organization really exists. That information will be helpful as we move forward next week.

Trust Circles

September 23, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I heard recently on a podcast about this idea of trust circles, and I have to say I was beyond intrigued. In these weird days in which we’re living trust is a commodity in short supply. I’ve wondered why it seems good friends are acting like they’ve never met at best and like they’re enemies at worst. The speaker on this podcast suggests that our trust circles are shrinking at alarming rates. Let me explain.

A trust circle is simply the circle of people who are around you that you’re close enough to that you feel you can share key life moments or struggles or even disagreements with them. With that understanding think about your life and the people around you. Who is in your trust circle?

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Influence Compounds

September 18, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I really wish someone would have taught me about compounding interest when I was younger. If had really understood how it all worked, I think I would have approached my financial life a lot differently when I was 16 years old! But money isn’t the only thing that compounds. I’ve realized over the past few years that leadership and influence compound over time as well.

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This Is Why I Stand

September 11, 2020 / / 0 Comments

On September 11, 2001, an enemy pushed us to the ground. Terrorists toppled the trade center. They used our own complacencies and comforts against us. While on the outside it looked like they won, there’s something they forgot. We are Americans. They killed the innocent. They crushed our heroes. They darkened our economy and halted our skies, but not once on this day did we kneel. For we are Americans. 

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