I decided to get a second television so I could watch the Superbowl while my kids watched “18 Kids and Counting” or whatever they’ll be watching. So I went back to the small business. The sales guy remembered me and showed me four different televisions that might work. He quoted me a price. I decided to compare prices and went to a mega-store. The salesman showed me probably 40 different options, all priced considerably less than the smaller store. My heart was with the small business.

But I bought from the big business…

Why? They had more options and better prices.

In a multi-site church, you can worship with a smaller group of people at your campus. You can be deeply involved with Christ in your specific community. At the same time, you can experience the options and excellence of the large church.

This certainly isn’t the only or best means of doing ministry, but we have found it effective to minister to those God has sent and reach more along with way.

Pray like crazy that you don’t reach new people, so your church will stay small–just the way you like it!

Here are some more options:

• Start new churches. Instead of trying to bring people in, let’s send some people out.
• Start or participate in a network of house churches. (In some ways, that’s how I see our church. The purest form of the church is the LifeGroup. My LifeGroup is in many ways my church. Then all our groups meet corporately with the larger body.)
• Start new campuses.

The bottom line is, we must remember that the church doesn’t exist for us. But we are the church, and we exist to glorify God and to reach the world!

Other thoughts?

Their statement raises some questions:

• When is a church just the right size?

Is 12 just right? How about 120? Maybe 3,000?

• When does a church become too big?

Is there a magic number? Is it when all the people can no longer meet in one service? Or one campus? Or one state? Or one country?

If you like a small church, I guess you can find one and pray like crazy that you don’t reach new people, then the church will stay small…just like you like it.

Or… more tomorrow.

Why do some people go to small churches? Why do others go to large churches?

This is certainly an oversimplification, but track with me.

People tend to stay at small churches because they are:

1) Needed

Each week, someone is counting on them to pass out the red attendance folders, vacuum the floor, fill the communion cups, or help organize the choir robes. They are needed.

2) Known

People love small churches because they are known. If they have a toenail operation, someone knows. If they miss church, someone calls. If their pet cat gets hit by a car, someone cares. They love being known.

All things equal, why do people go to large churches? The answers vary widely:

• The church has a good Mother’s Day Out.
• The videos are cool.
• The church has great music.
• The junior high pastor pays attention to my kid.
• They have a class for widows.
• They have a class for addicts.
• They have a class for everything including annoying people.

People have tons of reasons to go to large churches.

But why do they leave? Typically because they don’t feel:

1) Needed

The paid staff does most everything. The professional band is too good for most. The yard is mowed by a company. The daycare workers are paid. If there is no place for me to use my gifts, I just might leave.

2) Known

If a person misses church and no one calls, it hurts. If someone is in pain and no one knows, again, not good. One can be in a crowded church building and still feel all alone.

What can we do to help people become needed and known no matter what the size of the church?

It’s great to see social media being used effectively to engage people in causes, particularly financially. There’s a lot we can learn from this.

When God blesses your ministry with a wave of impact and growth, you’ll be wise not to expect it to last forever. (If it does, you’ll be an exception—not the rule.)

If the wave slows, don’t try to recreate it. Those who continue to keep doing what used to work, generally miss anything new God wants to do.

If the wave dies, thank God for the ride you just enjoyed and watch for a new one.

I have seen many pastors make promises during the wave only to later eat their words (or be bound by a promise they wish they’d never made).

• We’ll never do a fundraiser!
• We’ll never borrow money!
• We’ll be in the new building by June of next year!
• We only hire staff from within!
• I will always teach live and in person.

Many ministries experience the “wave” early in ministry. They might assume it will last forever. Be careful you can keep the promises you make.

Try not to make immature promises you won’t keep.

Watch out! Your spiritual enemy is roaming and looking for someone to devour.

While riding the wave:

• You will be hiring fast.
• You will be plugging new believers into significant roles.
• You will be working grueling hours away from home.

At times, you might feel invincible. At other times, you’ll feel overwhelmed and scared. At all times, you must realize Satan will attack you.

Put up your guard. Have the highest level of accountability. Take time off. Rest. Listen. Pray. Reflect.

You must watch for warning signs. Too many great spiritual leaders have fallen off the wave, hurting themselves and others.

Decide you will do whatever it takes not to be another casualty. Ride the wave. But do it carefully.

The wave is when God seems to do more than you can handle! During the wave, your buildings aren’t big enough, you can’t hire fast enough, you’re just hanging on for life.

This week we’ll talk about how to ride the wave.

Let’s start with some basics:

• You don’t create a spiritual wave, God does. The ride you’ll take isn’t a result of your creative ideas or masterful leadership. God will certainly use those things, but He is the One who causes and directs the spiritual progress.
• You can work with the wave or fight against it. When God is doing something special, you’ll want to cooperate with what He is doing. I honestly believe when God starts to do something new, too many church leaders get afraid and work against what God is trying to do.
• The wave probably won’t last forever. When God blesses you supernaturally, ride the wave. If it starts to die down, don’t try to recreate the wave. Pray for the next one and ride it when it comes.

My mom taught me the common truth, “You can’t please everyone.”

From my observation, ministers seem to be more vulnerable to people-pleasing than most professions.

In reality, we should be the most resolved of all not to live for the applause of men but the approval of God.

• Don’t let anyone talk you out of following God’s voice.
• Don’t let anyone’s criticism distract you from your passion.
• Don’t long for affirmation before you move forward.

Say what God prompts you to say. Go where God leads you to go. Do what God puts on your heart. Let go of living for people. Become obsessed with living for God.

I’ve found one of the best gifts God can give a leader is the gift of failure.

Too many of us are not doing what we feel called to do because we’re afraid to fail.

As I observe the people around me, it seems the most effective have failed far more times than the least effective.

The people making the biggest impact seem to:

1)  Try something outlandish.

2)  Fail.

3)  Learn.

4)  Adjust.

5)  Try something that works better.

Failure is never final. It is often the first step to success.

If you haven’t failed in awhile, why don’t you try something crazy and see what happens.

When we assume that our way of doing ministry is best:

• We stop learning from others.
• We rarely try something new.
• We quickly see faults in new ideas rather than seeing opportunities.

To reach people no one is reaching, we have to do things no one is doing.

If you think the way everyone else is thinking, you’ll do what everyone is doing.

It is time to let go of old assumptions about how to reach people.

What assumptions about church and ministry are you shedding?

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Too often, what we hold tightly keeps us from following God’s promptings toward something new.

This week I’ll write about a few things leaders need to let go. We’ll start with control.

Too many leaders try to control too much. Our perceived need to control is one of the greatest limiting factors to what God wants to do.

When we control everything:

• We train people to do what they are told rather than think.
• We build followers instead of leaders.
• We put a lid on our ministries.
• We put our faith in our abilities to manage rather than in God and other people.

What are you controlling that you need to let go of?

Systems tend to produce predictable outcomes. When we are innovating and growing, we never know what the outcome will be.

Many “great” ideas bomb. Then God seems to bless some average ideas in a big way.

While we are willing to allow things to get a little messy, we also work hard to make sure we are students.

• What is God showing us?
• What did we learn from the last failure?
• What success is hidden in the last failure?

Our church is currently moving into a season of discovery. Once we discern what God wants us to know, we’ll recruit the right people. Then we’ll build systems and enjoy the ride—until God leads us into a learning and chaotic period again.

Personally, these are my favorite times!

The “old guard” often resents new seasons. I’m a big believer in working hard to lead the tenured believers toward new life. Sometimes, though, they refuse to move forward.

In those times, we have to help people grow. If we can’t help people grow with the new direction, we need to be willing to allow some people to move on.

During these transitional seasons, I’m always looking for new leaders. Often they arise from right in front of you. There could be faithful people that were serving under others who seem to rise from nowhere when there is a new chance to lead.

When the current changes, keep your eyes open to new people God will raise up.

(By system, I mean any program, structure, philosophy, or culture that shapes and helps produce a desired outcome.)

Once people operate within a system long enough, they often start to do ministry out of “muscle memory.” They tend to do the same things and work with the same people, but the results often start to slowly (or quickly) diminish.

Because this is what “we’ve always done,” people might think we just need to do what we did—better. In reality, God might want you to de-construct some ministry philosophy or system so you can hear His new direction.

For example, years ago we were doing everything you could think of at LifeChurch.tv. God directed us into a season of focusing on only five things. This philosophy served us well for about four years. It allowed us to focus on our core ministries without being distracted by lots of less-than-our-best efforts.

After a few years, it became obvious this season was coming to a close. What used to seem freeing started to become limiting. After prayer, we intentionally broke the established system to learn something new.

Sensing it was time to make some changes in our church culture, I prayerfully reflected over the different seasons of our church.

I noticed a distinct pattern that repeated itself at least seven times. (I’m not claiming this will be true for everyone, but might be true for many ministries.)

Phase 1: We create something new (new ministry or new innovation).

Phase 2: We recruit and train leaders for the new initiative.

Phase 3: We build systems to support the new effort.

Once the ministry system (or leadership structure) is in place, the ministry runs somewhat effortlessly for a while.

It could be months or even years that God seems to bless this season of ministry. Eventually, it seems that God slowly (or quickly) removes His blessings from what we “we’re doing” forcing us to seek Him for something new.

I’ll write all week about this.

Have you noticed anything similar in your ministries?