Greening America’s Congregations

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Bob Adams

Today I am in Washington DC, participating in a conference entitled “Greening America’s Congregations. It is being held at the White House and is jointly hosted by the White House office of Faith Based Programs and the Environmental Protection agency.

During this event, senior administration officials will call on faith-based organizations across the country to save energy and strengthen stewardship of the environment by improving the energy efficiency of their houses of worship with help from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program.

The event will also feature discussions among Administration officials and leaders of the faith community about how congregations across America are already achieving significant carbon emission reductions by incorporating energy efficiency into their broader mission. The first worship facilities that have achieved ENERGY STAR certification will be recognized and special attention will be paid to interfaith, state, and local initiatives, and the role of stewardship in faith traditions.

Jerry Lawson, director of the EPA’s Congregational Division, is a long-time friend and a wealth of knowledge for churches who want to know more about how they can benefit from the services of the Energy Star program. I have known Jerry for many years, and he works tirelessly to get the message of environmental stewardship out to churches. I highly recommend that your leadership team look into what his department has to offer.

I became involved in the “green church” movement in the spring of 2005 when I made a presentation to the Virginia Baptist Church Building Conference. Later that year, I expanded the presentation at the first WFX Conference and Expo. Since that time, I have been privileged to speak over a dozen times in national platforms, write several articles on the topic, and provide consultation to several churches who were interested in “going green.”

Even though my current role at Auxano is not directly related to the green church, I maintain a high level of interest in it.

I will do a follow-up report at the end of the event – in the meantime, look for some reposts of previous “green church” writings I have done.

Mission: Show Jesus Through Word & Action

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Bob Adams

The final part of a series of posts from the book “Transformational Church.”

The third transformational loop described by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer is labeled Engage. It contains three elements, the third of which is Mission: Show Jesus Through Word and Action.

Good news and accompanying good deeds are like the two wings of an airplane. Each is incomplete without the other. Each complements the other. Each gives “lift” to the other. To study the life and ministry of Jesus is to study a tapestry woven of good news and good deeds.

Transformational churches create environments to present the gospel of Jesus Christ. They train, model, and create platforms to invite people to cross the line of faith and follow Jesus.

Transformational churches have found a way for the convergence of value and activities to result in something specific – transformed lives.

Transformational churches engage people in ministry within the church and mission outside the church.

Transformational Churches seem to have a greater number of people who share their faith out of the overflow of the rest of their Christian experience.

To live as a missionary is to live and work among the people.

Engaging Fully in the Mission

Define success
Prepare
Provide personal leadership to believers

To be transformational, a church must constantly commission their people into service for the city to display and tell the gospel

The mission of God does not progress unless people are talking about God’s mission to save.

Transformational churches multiply vibrant missionaries for the harvest.

In a Transformational Church the influence is on moving people from new to the mission to active on mission to leader in the mission.

Mission is the opposite of self

The excerpts above are from the book “Transformational Church” by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. TC is the result of a comprehensive study of thousands of churches where truly changing lives is the standard set for ministry.

The principles in Transformational Churches are powerful. If you want to “transform” your church, this is a great guide for the journey.

Previous posts in the series include:

When the DNC Comes to Town…

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Bob Adams

Adventures in Parking & Traffic Control at Elevation Uptown

The most brilliant battle plan is only good till the first shot is fired

Attributed to von Clausewitz, Prussian military theorist

When Charlotte was announced as the site for the 2012 Democratic National Convention in February of 2011, something clicked in my mind that the event might impact our church, Elevation Uptown. The schedule hadn’t been announced but early indications of events beginning on Monday September 3 told me that eventually it would impact us.

Sometimes, my hunches are right. This one was dead on.

First of all, you have to understand that Elevation’s Uptown campus (which meets in McGlohan Theater and started in August 2008) is literally in the middle of Uptown Charlotte, and almost everyone who comes drives a car to get there…and parks in the 7^th Street Parking deck a block away.

Earlier this year a news release from the DNC indicated “several streets in the Uptown area surrounding the Time Warner Arena will be affected.”

Because of President Obama’s involvement in DNC activities, security plans were not going to be released until several days prior to the convention’s start.

When they were released, we were in for a surprise: the streets leading to, and surrounding, the parking deck we used were going to be closed, with “restricted access.”

Problem.

As noted above, Elevation Uptown worships in a theater, but all our Guests and attenders park in a deck a block away – which just happened to be on the other side of the “restricted access” line.

Campus Pastor Joel Delph met with Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officials, who assured him that the church would have access to the parking deck by going though the checkpoints. Additionally, an open lot 3 blocks away that we use for our volunteers would be available as usual, as well as the 2 lots next to the theater that we use for VIPs (our first time Guests) and families with small children.

Armed with these assurances, we moved forward with a plan to have our weekend experiences as normal at 9:30 and 11:15. The week before, we encouraged our volunteers to pick up an Elevation logo card to put in the dash to help move through the checkpoints. Late in the week, an email blast went out encouraging people to come a little early to allow extra time for the checkpoint access.

Still, I had that little gnawing feeling in my gut. I take my role as a Guest Services coordinator very seriously, and I wanted to make sure we were ready for the day.

Sunday September 2, 7:30 AM

Pulling up to our Volunteer lot, I find it chained and barricaded

Over at our VIP lots, we found the electronic gates turned off – no access.

Trying to get a handle on what we could expect, I talk to the policeman stationed outside the theater entrance, only to find he’s from Louisville, KY, and doesn’t really know anything except he’s be assigned to this spot – and, by the way, his radio wasn’t working

Checking with other policeman at the parking deck entrance, I found the same thing: they were from Louisville, and only had site-specific orders – no overall idea of the street closure plan. When I showed him the map the CMPD gave us, he said that was the first he had seen of a map.

The quote above came to mind…

By this time, our volunteers were arriving in full force, only to find the lot not accessible. A quick sign adaptation directed them to the parking deck. There, at least, the crew that runs the parking deck was ready in full force. They were only allowing cars that had Elevation logos or were on their approved list into the deck. Everyone else was turned around. The lines were long, and I know people were frustrated.

As expected, our crowds were lower than usual. I don’t know the exact number because I never made it off the street, but I would say probably half as many as a typical Sunday.

Some quick word pictures from street-side vantage point:

Squads of law enforcement officials from around the state, walking with an intense look around the area
A Hummer with two soldiers, M-16s slung around their shoulders
At least 6 different motorcycle patrols checking in to the precinct across the street
4 different bicycle police squads whizzing by in a blur
A mounted police patrol clip-clopping down the street
Black SUVS by the dozens, with sun-shaded occupants
Helicopters buzzing overhead all day long – both military and news outlets
Assorted vehicles of every size and shape, belonging to a broad array of law enforcement agencies
Construction crews bringing in, and installing, concrete barriers around the perimeter of the theater

And an image that sums it up pretty well:

photo from the Charlotte Observer online

We did the best we could, and I hope anyone attending Elevation Uptown for the first time or for the fortieth time felt as welcome as we could make it.

Special thanks go out to members of our Greeters, VIP, and Security Teams for pitching in and helping things go as smoothly as possible.

As always, our Parking Team rocks. Aaron, Tim, Ed – you’re the best!

I’m headed to the beach…

Community: Connect with People

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Bob Adams

Part 7 of a series on the book “Transformational Church“

The third transformational loop described by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer is labeled Engage. It contains three elements, the second of which is Community: Connect with People.

The church must have a process (organic and/or systematized) by which believers are connected to one another and growing in Christ. Today’s church needs to experience a methodological regression to the early church of Acts 2.

The point of this transformational practice is that believers join their lives for the purpose of maturing in the faith and engaging in God’s mission.

Values That Support Small Groups

A smaller number of people provides a greater opportunity for personal discovery
Smaller communities are just that…communities
Small groups are the best way to genuine life change through the local church

Five Myths About Smaller Communities

Your current small group configuration is permanent
Small group meeting locations are limited to church facilities or member homes
Your facilitator must be a highly trained spiritual superstar
Small group organization must be complex
Only pastors are qualified to administer pastoral care

The Five Deliverables of Smaller Communities

Smaller communities deliver deeper friendships
Smaller communities deliver accountability relationships
Smaller communities deliver environments for spiritual growth
Smaller communities deliver maximum participation
Smaller communities deliver missional opportunities

Five Obstacles Facing Transformational Church Smaller Communities

Transference of information is valued much more than life transformation
Teaching is valued more than learning
When they become a reflection of past practices
Segmentation of the mission of God
Lack of intimacy

Five Elements of a Transformational Church Small Group Environment

Missions orientation
Word-driven mentality
Multiplication mindset
Stranger welcoming
Kingdom focused

Living in community creates a “safe zone” where unbelievers feel comfortable asking hard questions and believers feel comfortable finding the encouragement they need for growing in the faith.

Next: Engage – Mission: Show Jesus Through Word and Action

Previous posts in this series include:

Worship: Actively Embrace Jesus

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Bob Adams

Part 6 of a series on the book “Transformational Church“

The third transformational loop described by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer is labeled Engage. It contains three elements, the first of which is Worship – Actively Embrace Jesus.

Reasons for corporate gatherings:

God is glorified when Christians gather together to worship Him
People will look over our shoulders to the God of our experience
Worship provides a defense for the faith that is not man-made but is God authored and supernatural

What Happens When We Gather?

How many encountered the transforming presence of God through worship?
Are we creating consumers of religious goods and services or making disciples?
When people attend worship, are they simply observing a show or being transformed by God?
The Transformational Church plans on seeing people drawn in before God’s presence, experience His power, and be transformed by His grace

Worship serves to connect us with Christ and equip us for ministry. Little of substance will be done in the name of a God we have never experienced. True worship allows us to experience God at a deeper level. When you experience God on a deeper level, personal and corporate mission will always follow.

Real worship will transform the worshipper. Transformed worshippers will change the world.

Worship Pleasing to God

Transformational Churches find a way for people to avoid the debates about place, style, and method. They focus on maximum participation in worship.
Passive worshippers usually live passive Christian lives

Transformational Churches actively engage people in worship and are led by worship leaders who value participation over performance

The Purpose of Worship

In corporate gatherings, we are not called to lead worship but to lead people into the presence of God
Worship is a spiritual discipline that communicates a biblical meaning in a cultural form
Worship from your unity and choose music out of your mission
How can worship be planned to lead people in this time and place to worship an eternal God?
How can our worship be planned so people can focus on God and give Him praise, glory, and honor?
Worship is to be understood by those in need of transformation

Address Tough Worship Questions Together

Ask the Lord
Involve people
Study Scripture
Die to self
Avoid “truces”
Ask new questions
Focus on revelation
Design new scorecards

When lives have been reformed by the presence and power of God, then your worship is working.

Next: Engage – Community: Connect People with People

Previous posts in the series include:

Prayerful Dependence

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Bob Adams

Part 5 of a series on the book “Transformational Church“

The second transformational loop described by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer is labeled Embrace. It contains three elements; the first two have been covered in previous posts here and here. Today, a look at Prayerful Dependence.

Prayer is our link to receive understanding from God about His church and move forward in obedience to His mission.

Prayer is done with expectancy rather than out of repetitive behavior

Strategies, excellence, methods, or even commitment cannot substitute for humble dependence on God

Prayer Priorities of Christ

The proper use of His house
The accessibility of “all people” to a relationship with Him
The response to His praying people

Transformational Prayer Practices

Praying churches experience breakthroughs
Praying churches have praying leaders
Praying churches commonly experience answers to prayer
Praying churches pray for members by name
Praying churches have systems and processes
Praying churches have corporate prayer
Praying churches engage their communities through prayer
Praying churches have praying events

Prayer is the engine of Transformational Churches.

The excerpts above are from the book “Transformational Church” by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. Transformational Church is the result of a comprehensive study of thousands of churches where truly changing lives is the standard set for ministry.

Next: Engage – Worship: Actively Embrace Jesus

Previous posts in the series:

Social Media and the Divinity School Student

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Bob Adams

100 years ago when I was in graduate school at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary…

Okay, it wasn’t 100 years ago, only 31. The pace of change just makes it seem like 100 years.

Anyway, my version of Facebook was a hardcopy directory of all students, printed the first few weeks of each school year (we called it the Funny Book, for obvious reasons). Mail (including tests and papers) was hand-delivered in post office boxes. Research was done in a physical place (library) using objects (books) resulting in papers (typed on a typewriter). GASP!

Today, it’s a little different.

My daughter is beginning her final year of the M Div program at Campbell University Divinity School. She also works part-time as Communications Coordinator for the North Carolina WMU. She is also beginning her second year as a Resident Chaplain for a couple of freshmen girl’s dorms. She loves her life!

Because of my past history at a divinity school and serving on a church staff, and now in a consulting role to church leaders, we often have interesting conversations.

Like the one that followed this question: “How are students at the Div School and in your circle of influence using social media?” Here is her reply:

The divinity school uses it to post pictures of what’s going on during the week at school, serious stuff and fun stuff too, like birthdays’ of professors and when the staff and students are goofing off, or there is a social event, like today, there is a div school tailgating thing after class before the football game. They use Facebook and twitter. Admissions has their own Facebook page along with the Div school itself. They also use it when they go to conferences to announce they are there and if other Campbell people are there, they use it to find them at those conferences and places and such. They post lots of pictures.

Personally, each of the dorms I work with have a Facebook group page so I am a part of that to keep up with events and announcements (keep up with issues in the dorm that the residence life staff have to address) and what official events and unofficial events are going on to go to and get to know the residents. The residents that I am friends with, I keep an eye on their statuses and stuff and if I notice something is wrong and there seems to be a hint of something not right, I make sure to check on them and see how they are doing. Sometimes, Facebook statuses are more informational than just talking with them casually in the hallways and stuff on campus!

One of my dorms LOVES Twitter. The RAs, RD, and residents tweet ALL the time and have conversations with each other. That’s another way I keep up with what’s going on and stay connected. In fact, this dorm is having a program event this semester that is a twitter scavenger hunt. They will have a list of stuff to find and instead of just taking pictures and showing everybody, they will tweet the pics with a hashtag. Whoever finishes with the most items on the list wins, and if there is a tie, then the earliest timestamp on tweet wins! I thought this was an interesting way to use social media to have a dorm event

Ironically, each dorm program has to fit into a certain category and this one is a physical event, because it’s making them get out and walk around campus even though they are using technology and the Internet to show it!

Just a snapshot of how social media is used in my life! 🙂

Absolutely fascinating.

Okay ChurchWorld leaders, are you paying attention?

If you liked this post, you might also be interested in these:

Relational Intentionality

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Bob Adams

Part 4 of a series on the book “Transformational Church“

The second transformational loop described by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer is labeled Engage. It contains three elements, the first of which, Vibrant Leadership, was covered here. Today, a look at Relational Intentionality.

A relational approach to reaching and developing people is woven throughout every ministry and practice. Relationships are the substance of the church culture.

We Are a Friendly Church

Transformational Churches intentionally build platforms to create relationships
The purpose of relationships in the Transformational Church is to see lives changed through the power of Christ

The Look of a Relationally Intentional Environment

What are the challenges within your church environment to cultivate relationships, and how can you address them?

What are the challenges in your church environment to intentionality, and how can you address them?

Produce family
Practice one-on-one relationships
Provide space for difficult people

Every member must be willing to minister because when God really moves, broken and hurting people show up. The outcast and marginalized need the compassion of Christ.

Systems and processes are present and must be aligned

A system is an environment, a way of doing things, providing the “how”
A process is a path with a purpose, a destination, providing the “where”

God’s delivery system for the gospel is relationships with people who have met Him

Vibrant Leadership

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Bob Adams

Part 3 of a series on the book “Transformational Church“

The second transformational loop described by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer is labeled Embrace. It contains three elements, the first of which is Vibrant Leadership.

Transformational leaders let God shape their church. The Transformational Church is Christ being presented to the community. Transformational Churches are tenacious about the vision and are people focused.

Understanding Transformational Leadership

Transformational Leadership understands that the church exists for the mission of God, and God gives leaders to help churches focus on the mission
Transformational Leadership focuses on leveraging every life for the kingdom of God around the world
Transformational Leadership is focused on the outside of the leader’s world
Transformational Leadership is missional in perspective and action-oriented in decision

Shift in Thinking

From one to many leaders
From “me” to “we”
From personal power to people empowerment
From church to the kingdom of God

Whether from bricks and mortar, programs, or just the inward pull of self, the church can become distracted from the mission of the kingdom. It did not take long in the early church for the epicenter of God’s activity to move away from house to house and life to life. With the advent of church buildings, the temptation was to become building-focused, inward, self-absorbed congregations. People became spectators. Scattering throughout the community as the church was replaced with the sacred, passive gathering in one place. When church is reduced to that place on the corner where we go on Sunday, we reduce the church and kingdom to something smaller than God intended.

The Leadership Structure of Transformational Churches

Traditional committees gave way to affinity-based teams
Membership is encouraged to discover strengths, spiritual gifts, and talents
Churches had less structure as opposed to more structure
Structures reflect confidence in their pastor and positional leaders
Congregational members did not vote on every issue
Small advisory teams and accountability groups worked alongside the pastor and staff

Jesus, Leading Transformation

Jesus invested in people
Jesus saw long and far
Jesus sent people away from Him on mission
Jesus grieved for communities
Jesus led a balanced life
Jesus embraced other cultures
Jesus gave up His will
Jesus surrounded Himself with lost people
Jesus’ harvest vision was leveraged by prayer
Jesus felt the needs of the people

Transformational Leadership Environments

Value a team approach to ministry
Values a sharper mission focus
Values new leadership priorities

Transitional Leaders advance through the following steps:

I join Him on mission or the “encounter” level
I lead others to join Him on mission or the “influence” level
I lead others to lead others, to join Him on mission, or the “leading leaders” level
I lead others to lead others to lead others to join Him on mission, or the “movement” level

Next: Embrace – Relational Intentionality

Previous posts in this series:

Missionary Mentality

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Bob Adams

Second in a series of posts from the book “Transformational Church“

The first “transformational loop” in the transformation process is Discern – Transformational churches live out the essence of disciplemaking in their activities through worship, community, and mission. But they do so in the context of their culture.

To do worship, small groups, mission, leadership, prayer, and relationship effectively, you have to know the story of the people to whom God has sent you

Unfortunately, Christian leaders are often more in love with the way they do church than they are in love with people in their community.

Transitional Churches empower and release people to live on mission, with a missionary mentality, where they are right now – at the right time, following God’s activity and obeying His assignment.

The Missionary Mindset

Restless to look, learn, and live out the gospel
Activate ministries that are on behalf of the people to whom God has called them
God has called you to a people first and then to the task

Three Default Modes to Avoid

Deconstructionist – discontented tribe of leaders who obsess with what they will not do anymore
Methodologist – obsessed with what they will do better than the rest
Impressionist – students of conferences and successful leaders

Transformational churches demonstrate a passion to touch the world. They have learned to address the need to work both locally and globally.

Transformational Churches fully embrace missional without losing the mission:

They recognize it is God’s mission, and they are passionate about the mission as He describes it
They understand and obey God’s call to serve the poor and the hurting and are not afraid of a stronger engagement in social justice
They share God’s deep concern about His mission to the nations – that His name be praised from the lips of men and women from every corner of the globe
They are serious about joining God on His mission and obey His commands to disciple the nations

Transformational Churches are truly Acts 1:8 churches. They have a mindset to be a missionary in their community and ultimately to the entire world.

The excerpts above are from the book “Transformational Churches” by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. Transformation Church is the result of a comprehensive study of thousands of churches where truly changing lives is the standard set for ministry.

Next: Embrace