This will be my final post on this website. As I close out my time as the National Missions Director, I simply want to say, “Thank You!” It has been the greatest privilage of my ,ife to serve General Baptists in this position. My final day in the office will be June 15. I have enjoyed working for General Baptists and pray that brighter days are ahead.

You can still follow my work on my personal website www.stephengrayonline.com, you can follow me on twitter, StephentGray, or you can follow me on facebook, http://www.facebook.com/people/Steve-Gray/761298634

Churches die. That’s a fact. Yet, many of us have bought into the idea that our church was meant to last until Jesus comes. That is simply not the case. Too often churches struggling to stay alive pursue the search for the fountain of youth. Many believe that if they can’t find that fountain of youth, the doors will close and they will be considered a failure. While we may mourn the passing of a great work, I think we need to correct our ecclesiology.

Understand that there is a big difference between “church” with a small “c” and “Church” with a capital “C”. The Church (capital C) is eternal and will never die. But, the local church (small c) is community of believers. Those involved in these local community of believers age, move away, and eventually die. Churches have life-cycles. Some last longer than others and some are churches for a season.

If a church closing is a failure, then all of the churches of Acts were miserable failures. Realize not one of them exists today. However, what we do have is the legacy they left. The churches of Acts were springboards, stopping off points in history for the spreading of the gospel. They served as the foundation for future works. Your church is proof of that. Your church exists today because the churches of Acts were sending bodies that did not think about self-preservation. Rather, they thoughts about the multiplication of the kingdom and the spreading of the good news.

    No church was intended to be around forever. The problem rests in the fact that many congregations see their church as a castle to protect, instead of a small part of God’s kingdom-building process. We are not called to be castle fortifiers, but kingdom builders. We need to come to terms with the fact that many of our churches will not last for another 15 years, but they might be a stepping stone in the history of God’s multiplying and spreading kingdom. Instead of fighting to keep a church on life-support, let’s celebrate what God has done. Let’s have proper funeral and throw a party for their faithfulness.

    Can you imagine what might happen if churches fighting to stay alive, where celebrated, closed and the assets where used to plant another vibrate, growing church? What kind of a legacy could that church leave for future generations?

    Why even talk about such a fatalistic issue? Why bring up such a difficult subject? Because the Church in America is in a severe crisis. Watch this video from David Olsen. If the video peaks your interest visit The American Church and order his book.

Ever felt like you were just going through the motions? As a pastor or church planter, we get so busy “doing stuff” that sometimes we end up feeling as if we are just going through the motions. I wonder if we allow enough time in our schedules to slow down and allow God to transform our hearts?

I have had the privilege of traveling around the U.S. and listening to many wonderful pastors ,and some not so good ones as well, over the last few years. What I’ve noticed is that whether or not they are traditional or contemporary, expositional or topical, confrontational or narrative, some preach to perform and others preach out of their transformation. Let me explain:

I have heard many wonderfully scripted and polished messages, yet there seemed to be little passion or authenticity. At other times I’ve listened to poorly scripted and planned out messages, and yet was cut to the very depths of my heart. Was it because the Spirit spoke to me through the one and not the other? Possibly. Yet, I think something more was happening as well.

So often in our performance driven society pastors are expected to hit a “Home Run” every Sunday. So, as pastors we look for that perfect message or perfect series to “WOW” the audience. We work hard to polish our messages in order to drive home our point with a series of strong stories and catchy phrases. Yet, week after week, it seems as if we preach to closed ears and deaf hearts. I wonder if it is because we have focused too much on performance and not from a transformation of our own hearts?

I’m not talking about whether the pastor borrowed the sermon off the internet or wrote it themselves.  It goes deeper than that. A pastor can use another man’s message and be profoundly and personally affected. A pastor doesn’t have to be originial to be transformed by the word.

I heard Wayne Corderio share it this way. He said that as pastor’s we tend to preach like this.

(He took his hand grabbed at his bible and threw his hands out as if scattering the words of God on us.)

Wayne continued by sharing that the most effective and powerful preaching comes when we preach like this.

(He took his hand grabbed at his bible, brought his hand to his heart as if spreading the word into his heart. He then took his hand grabbed at his heart and threw it at the crowd as if scattering the seed of transformation.)

I guess what I am saying is, good preaching is more than simply sharing a polished story, reading a few pungent scriptures and calling for a time of commitment. Good preaching involves, the transformation of the speaker. Before we can expect the people to be touched and transformed by God’s word, we, as pastors, must be touched and transformed by God’s word.

We can perform well, once the word of God has transformed us. The question remains whether or not we can perform well without transformation first?

Drift Happens! In fact, drift seems to be the norm rather than the exception. Drift happens within the boundaries of every organization, denomination and church. The key to overcoming drift, is seeing the problem and facing the facts before it’s too late. Jim Collins, in his book Good To Great calls this practice, FACING THE BRTUAL FACTS. The problem with facing these facts is that it is tough on the ego. That is probably why most leaders would rather not. But we will never rally go beyond where we are unless we are willing to face our problems head on. Every leader must stop and ask, when they see that the organization is drifting from a movement to a monument, “How can we find our momentum again? How can we energize this movement before its to late?” (The reality is that if you wait too long to ask that question, it may be too late. Every leader and organization should spend time renewing and refocusing each year.)

The simple solution is, to get back to the basics. Too refocus and narrow down your strategy is always a good idea, but it goes much deeper than that. We have to look back and rediscover what drove the founders of your movement and recapture that driving force. As it concerns the church, the answer is simple: The Great Commission was the driving force of the early church. Today, however, I fear that the Church across our nation has replaced the Great Commission as a driving force with a drive to be comfortable. Many have also traded in the call to grow the kingdom with a call to grow an empire. With that menatlity, many have lost the missional drive that launched their church in the first place.

Jesus called his people to action in the Great Commission. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” Matt 28:18 – 20. Again in Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” This is what drove the early church.

How did the early church understand the Great Commission and practice it? Once we understand that, we can put it into our own context. The church today views the Great Commission as a program or outreach event, but the early believer’s understood it in the context of “going” and “spreading” the Gospel. Early believers lived out this commission by establishing of new communities of believers everywhere they went. Keeping a Great Commission mind-set will keep your church from experiencing Historic Drift.

What is a church-planting movement? This is a question that I have been wrestling with for quite some time. In fact, I am not the only one. Many people smarter than myself are asking the same question. People like Ed Stetzer, David Garrison, Alan Hirsch, Neil Cole, Bob Roberts, and the list goes on. Each one of these leaders share differing nuances about what this “Movement” would be. What does a church planting movement look like, and how do we know if we are experiencing one?

Even Webster’s Dictionary has multiple definitions of what the word “movement” means. I think the one that fits best, at least for this discussion, is “abundance of events or incidents”. I think that is what everyone is driving at.

Bob Roberts wrote “We want to see a movement that will transform societies similar to what has happened in the past and is happening in the East.” (The Multiplying Church, Zondervan 2008) American Christians are hungry for something, maybe a revival of old, to happen in our country. We want to see the Spirit of God sweep across our land in a powerful way as it is in China.

But here is the rub for me. As we look at movements across the world, as we look at what is happening in India, China, South Africa, and how the Gospel is taking these nations by storm, we have to put it all in its own cultural context.

We are not Mainland China where Christianity is openly persecuted. We are not India where a house church movement is maintained as a way to keep the church flourishing in an openly oppressive (against Christianity) culture. I believe we have to be careful as we describe what we see taking place elsewhere, as prescriptive of what must happening in every society, culture and place. What a movement in the U.S. looks likes, I believe, will be radically different from what one looks like in the East. With one exception, God shows up!

The book of Acts reveals a great mixture of both an indigenous, explosive , movement, led by lay-people as well as a more “professional Apostolic” movement, led by the likes of James, Phillip, Peter and Paul. The missionary journeys of Paul reveal to us that he went to places where believers had already been meeting as well as places where no movement of God had been seen. How God determines to move in any particular setting varies.

As I look at my own country, I want what I see across the ocean to happen here. But it won’t look the same. We may not see the widespread movement of God that I believe is being generated by persecution and hardship. (Nothing like persecution to get the church moving.) But we cannot discount that, as has been reported, we are for the first time planting more churches every year then we are closing. True, the state of the church and American Christianity is at its worst in our history, but I believe that we are seeing the early stages of a genuine Church Planting movement in the United States. Will it look as it does in another cultural context? No! Nonetheless, God is showing up all around the country. We are, as Malcom Gladwell put it, at the “Tipping Point”.

What excites me more than ever is that churches are starting to get the point. Even in our own group, many are starting to believe and own the vision. Instead of simply sending money they are now doing it for themselves. Will it look the same? No! Even around the U.S. our cultures and structures differ. There is no one way to plant a church. One thing is for sure, if we are to see a movement pick up speed, it has to begin with the local church.

Have you ever felt like Abraham? Called out to an unknown place, sure when you’ve arrived, and uncertain what the future holds? Yet, Abraham left knowing that God was in control. I am sure many of you have found yourself in that kind of a situation a few times in your life. For me, however, this is a first. Through 23 years of ministry I have always known where God was leading. It was always very clear what he called me to do. Now, I find myself in that awkward position of Abraham - A man without a country.

Over the last two weeks I have been in a focused season of prayer and personal reflection. God had been stirring in my heart for quite some time but through the events of the last few weeks He has forced me to take a time to focus my thoughts.  On Friday, April 23rd, I started a weekend of fasting and by Sunday afternoon God calmed my heart and said, “Trust me. I will lead you where you need to go.” Not exactly the awe inspiring, detailed, and perfectly laid out information I was looking for, but nonetheless I knew God was leading towards something new. What that “something” is I do not know.But I do know this, God is in control and I trust Him leading.

For know I will carry on in the office as the Director of National Missions until June 15.I have enjoyed working for General Baptists and pray that brighter days are ahead.

As for me and my family, well we will see what God has in store.

I haven’t had much time lately to blog so I thought I would rebolg. After attending Exponential 2010 in Orlando, I was reminded once again of our need for a powerful movement of God to sweep across our nation. What will it look like and how will we know when it happens?

I read The Forgotten Ways some months back written by Alan Hirsch. I would highly recommend this book to every pastor. Alan spends a great deal of time talking about the missional drive of the church. He gives us a stark reminder that if we don’t keep the main focus before us, we will quickly become an institution guided by rules and bylaws, rather than a movement driven by passion and vision. Hirsch’s description of a movement and an institution are worth sharing and considering. As you read these contrasting descriptions ask yourself where your church/organization fits and how you can make steps to change.

A Movement

Has pioneering missional leadership as its central role.

Seeks to embody the way of the founder.

Based on internal operational principles.

Has a cause.

The mission is to change the future.

Tends to be mobile and dynamic.

Decentralized network built on relationships.

Appeals to the common person.

Is defined by what is stands for not what it stands against.

Inspirational/transformational leadership dominant; spiritual authority tends to be the primary basis of influence.

People of the way.

Centered-set dynamic

An Institution

Avoids leadership based on personality and is often led by an “aristocratic class” who inherit leadership based on loyalty.

Represents a more codified belief system.

Based on external legislating policies/governance.

Focuses more on corporate preferences rather than doctrine

Is the cause.

The missions shifts to preservation of the past.

Tends to be more static and fixed.

Centralized organization built on loyalty.

Is defined more by what stands against

Tends to be more elitist and exclusive.

Transactional leadership dominant; Institutional authority tends to be the primary basis of influence.

People of the “book”.

Closed-set dynamic.

Which one are you?

Excuse #4 - We are suppose to be different from the world.

Of all the excuses I hear from pastors, this is probably the most common. Here are two verses used to support this thought.

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. Therefore come out from them and be separate’, says the Lord.” 2 Cor 6:14-17

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Rom 12:1-2

What does Paul mean when he tells us not to be “conformed to the world”? What his point when he quoted Isa 52:11 as a called to be “separate”? More importantly, what are we to separate ourselves from or avoid being conformed to and in which areas of our lives do these verse apply?  

I won’t go into a huge diatribe about these two verses because it would take too long and I would lose you as a reader very quickly. However, here is my thought: Why is it that these verses only apply to what we do inside the walls of the church? Those who use these verses as proof texting for why they won’t move to a more contemporary format in their services don’t use the same measure for their “other” life. I say “other” because it seems as if many have been able to compartmentalize their “Sunday morning life” from the rest of their “day-to-day life”. While the insides of their churches look like something from the last century, they still drive up-to-date cars, watch TV on their new HD TV, (and mind you many shows that are not very appropriate) use the latest appliances and live life to the fullest in century of which they are a part. I find it interesting that these leaders and their members are not personally committed to live separate or non-conformist lives, as least to the level they require on Sunday morning. Doesn’t that seem odd to anyone else? Isn’t that a real definition of hypocrisy? I fear many are using the church as a place to create a sense of comfort rather than commissioning. I fear many have elevated comfort as a higher value than the call to do the Great Commission work?

Maybe I am over simplifying, but it seems to me the Biblical calling to be separate or not to conform has to do with a calling not to live an ungodly, Christless, sin-filled life. I don’t believe “stuff” or methodologies of ministry were even a thought in Paul’s mind when he penned these verses. Besides if they were, then even the traditional church of today would be worldly to Paul because it looks nothing like the church of his era.

Excuse #3 – If we preach it, they will come. Since they don’t they are not really interested. It’s not our fault.

Remember the Kevin Costner movie, Field Of Dreams?  Costner plays the part of an Iowa farmer, Ray Kinsella, who is down on his luck.  The farm is about to be foreclosed and the family has no way out. One day “Ray” hears a voice in his cornfield whispering, “If you build it, he will come.” So, he builds a baseball field on his farm, and the ghosts of multiple baseball players show up and play a game of ball. Hundreds come from around the area, pay to watch the game, and VIOLA the farm is saved! If it were only that easy!

Yet, it seems as if many in the pulpit today have bought into that notion. In fact, it is a popular excuse for way many congregations remain small. The idea goes something like this: The Word of God is powerful and all we have to do is preach the Word. Those who live in our community know where we are located and if they really want to change they will come and hear the word. We don’t have to do any of that fancy stuff to get people in our doors. If we simply preach the Word of God faithfully, they will come. If they don’t, well then, that is their fault not ours. I don’t mean to sound so harsh, but I can’t tell you how many times I have heard those very words.

I do agree the Word of God is powerful. Hebrews 4:12 makes that very clear, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” However, where does the Great Commission state, “STAY”! Where do we find the lackadaisical approach to ministry in the Word? Where does it tell us that ALL we need to do is preach the Word?

Any realistic look at Scripture will reveal that we have a pursuing God who asks us to follow his lead – to go out into the “Highways and byways”. We cannot allow our lazy pursuit of those caught in sin to be something we attempt to justify through God’s Word.

Excuse #2 – Our size is simply a sign of the times.

Without a doubt there will be a time of great apostasy before Jesus returns. The Bible warns of this great falling away at the end of time. 1 Thess 2:3 “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first…”. So, we should expect nothing different. However, never was this statement, by Paul to the church of Thessalonica, intended to be a used as an excuse to sit back on our laurels and simply accept as a matter of fact, “this is the way it is.” Nor should we quote Matt 7:14 “broad is the road to destruction and narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” as a justification for inactivity.

Some, well-meaning leaders have used 2 Tim 2:2-4 “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” as an excuse for poor functional systems, bad planning and no evangelistic direction. Make no mistake, the scripture is clear that many will not receive God’s word regardless what we say, but that fact cannot be a justification for our smallness or lack of growth. We must not use scriptures of this nature to “proof text” our behavior.

Who knew the condition of mankind better than Jesus? He understood the hardness of men’s hearts and what the end of time would hold. Yet, he was urgently driven to share the Kingdom of God with all who would listen. Jesus told the truth every time he opened his mouth. What was the response? “Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” Matt 4:25. Did many reject him? YES! But many also followed.

Bottom line is this: We can never, and should never accept that fact that our church is not growing as a “sing of the times.” As people of grace, we should be compelled by love and driven to share with all, whenever and wherever we can. Will we be rejected? YES! But every no brings us closer to a “YES” for the glory of God’s kingdom.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Gal 6:9