I usually skim the articles in the newsletter from my alma mater, but I was captured by the latest cover article: Stealing Sheep: A Study in Church Growth Ethics, by William Chadwick. Since we want to be a church that evangelizes and disciples unchurched and dechurched people, it might be interesting to see how we stack up!
The author gives five tests to detect Sheep Rustlers. I'll give you the categories with my summary definitions:
1. Advertising/Marketing - are we intentionally promoting ourselves to the Christian subculture rather than non-Christians?
2. Networking - are we inviting our converted friends and family or maintaining a "positive secular network of friends"?
3. Gross mistrust between ministries - is there a sense of cooperation between churches and ministries in our city or do we ignore everyone else?
4. In-house dissension - do we have a lot of high maintenance spiritual pygmies bringing their baggage to our church from the one they just left?
5. Emphasis on secondary pursuits - do we feel the pull to water down our message to avoid the reality that no one is coming to Christ?
Here is how I see us stacking up:
1. We intentionally don't advertise on the local Christian radio station for this very reason. We don't want Christians!
2. Part of our monthly Newcomers orientation is teaching people how to invite their unsaved friends and neighbors. We especially emphasize this for special services like Christmas Eve and Easter.
3. The churches I know that are cooperating with each other are all intentionally (...as evidenced by their programming!!) seeking to reach lost people. The institutional/denominational churches seem to me the least likely to be communicate with other ministries in the area.
4. Everyone is going to get some high maintenance people from time to time. Shallow people are going to hop around, but currently, we don't have an issue with lots of this.
5. Every Sunday there is an opportunity for people to come to Christ...and it's happening almost every week.
Well, there you go. So how about you? Are you a shepherd or a rustler!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
The Piano Theory of Life
Raising kids is tougher than I thought it would be. I knew they would have a will of their own, but that surely wouldn't be that big a deal...right?
I've come to realize that it's all about being alert for teachable moments and jumping on them like a tick on a dog. Those teachable moments will come along periodically, but why not be proactive and create teachable moments (ie furious battles of willpower) every single day?
The best way that I've discovered to guarantee such a test is the daily piano practice. In just one hour per day, your child can experience every known human emotion (and so can you).
First, your child will have to do something they don't particularly want to do, but will benefit them in the long run! Then there is the frustration that occurs when things don't go according to plan (getting the fingering wrong). Oh, by the way, there is no instant gratification during piano practice---it just takes a long time to get it right--a long, long time! Sometimes a child can remain grumpy during the entire practice. This occasionally requires parental discipline to overcome--man, I hate that. They also learn that sometimes they have to humble themselves and ask others for help. Don't forget the stress of recitals and concerts...for the child and the parent! Oh, and how can a child watch all of Ratatouille and not move, but have to go potty umpteen times during a one hour piano practice!?
There are joys too! When the dynamics, phrasing and accurate fingering come together and the little face lights up because she got it right!
Come to think of it, I think piano lessons are harder on the parent than the child. So why do we do it? It's a training ground for the struggles and joys of life...for the kids and for me!
Well, here we go: "Girls, it's time to practice"!
I've come to realize that it's all about being alert for teachable moments and jumping on them like a tick on a dog. Those teachable moments will come along periodically, but why not be proactive and create teachable moments (ie furious battles of willpower) every single day?
The best way that I've discovered to guarantee such a test is the daily piano practice. In just one hour per day, your child can experience every known human emotion (and so can you).
First, your child will have to do something they don't particularly want to do, but will benefit them in the long run! Then there is the frustration that occurs when things don't go according to plan (getting the fingering wrong). Oh, by the way, there is no instant gratification during piano practice---it just takes a long time to get it right--a long, long time! Sometimes a child can remain grumpy during the entire practice. This occasionally requires parental discipline to overcome--man, I hate that. They also learn that sometimes they have to humble themselves and ask others for help. Don't forget the stress of recitals and concerts...for the child and the parent! Oh, and how can a child watch all of Ratatouille and not move, but have to go potty umpteen times during a one hour piano practice!?
There are joys too! When the dynamics, phrasing and accurate fingering come together and the little face lights up because she got it right!
Come to think of it, I think piano lessons are harder on the parent than the child. So why do we do it? It's a training ground for the struggles and joys of life...for the kids and for me!
Well, here we go: "Girls, it's time to practice"!
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