Books @ Leadership Network

On the Verge

 
Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson have given us a jewel in the book “On The Verge.”  Obviously by the title one can assume they sense Western Christianity is on the verge of something big- an apostolic movement of gigantic potential for the Church in the West. 

What I like about this book is the blending of a systematic dreamer (Alan Hirsch who has a brilliant mind) and an effective practioner (Dave Ferguson who has an impeccable track record). I’ve known both of these guys for more than a decade and I’ve never been disappointed by either. In fact it’s their coming together that excites me. The collaboration has produced a book you must read at least once and then implement.

I first met Dave in 2000 when one of the stops on our tour was held at his church.  I was impressed with his passion for transformation and the development of the Big Idea which has become the backbone of their multisite and church planting efforts.

I first met Alan in 2002 when he attended an event I pulled together on our island with twenty or so people who were probing the edges of what has become a push for an apostolic movement.  Among the group were such notables as Len Sweet, Ed Stetzer, Mark DeYmaz, Carl George, George Hunter, Bob Roberts, Dave Travis, Reggie McNeal and a host of other folks you would recognize.  I remember talking with Alan during the event and it was clear he had little use for any forms of institutional Christianity.

Since then Alan has moved more to the middle and now accepts the role the institutional church could play in this apostolic movement. At the same time Dave has become one of the leading voices in this movement which appears to be taking shape at this moment. Notice I said “appears.” It’s still too soon to say anything with certainty.

The book is divided into four parts- Imagine, Shift, Innovate, and Move.  Imagine a new form of church that is truly Apostolic. Make the Shift to this new form of church by embodying “movement practices.” Let your imagination run wild dreaming about this innovating paradigm. And then move to make the movement happen.  The first two sections are written by Alan with a response from Dave; the second two sections are written by Dave with a response by Alan.

The heart of the book is what the authors call the “Apostolic Genius” which every church has within its DNA.  The Apostolic Genius is more than just a way of thinking; it is also the intelligence that is found throughout the system the New Testament calls the “ecclesia.” The Apostolic Genius consists of six parts:

• Jesus is Lord is the capstone of the movement and is the only element of this intelligence that isn’t found in every other religious movement.
• Disciple making is essential because movements grow only in proportion to the number of new disciples. Apprenticing people into the way of Jesus is what defines the Christian movement and what is lacking in so many institutional churches.
• The missional-incarnational impulse means that mission is the catalyzing principle of the church and permeates everything the church does and is not just one department among many.
• An Apostolic environment is essential for any missional church and movement which means the primary ministry of a church is mission not maintenance.
• Organic systems point up our need to return to a people-centered understanding of ecclesia which has been lost in most institutional forms of Christianity.
• Communitas doesn’t refer to mere community as we are prone to think of it but more to a profound bond that moves participants from acquaintances to partners and from associates to comrades who are will to risk exploring the edges together.

The last chapter of the book is a thriller that you simply don’t want to miss. Dave shares the nitty-gritty of moving from the status quo to an apostolic movement.  Just to give you a taste here are four questions he asks:

• “Is your church more interested in quality programs or quality people?”
• “Is your church as passionate about sending people out as they are about bringing people in?”
• “Is your church content with addition, or does it long to see exponential reproduction?”
• “Is your church holding on to control, or are they leading with a harmonious blend of order and chaos?”

While Alan thinks the institutional local church can reach only 35-40% of a population, I’m convinced that missional communities will never reach more than 5 to 10% of the population unless, because of persecution, the Church has to go underground. However, when you couple outward focused churches with small groups that function like missional communities, you have the seeds of an Apostolic, missional movement that has the possibility of reaching more than 60% of the population.  This is my hope for the truly New Testament missional movement that may be underway today.

Bill Easum
www.churchconsultations.com
www.Billeasum.com

 

 

Bill Easum interviews Frank Viola about Jesus Manifesto

My friend Bill Easum recently did a good interview with Frank Viola on his new book, Jesus Manifesto. Frank made a brief appearance on our Aha! Show this year, and Bill has been around so much we think of him as family. I thought it would be a good interview to share. and PS. I have read the book and it is great. – Dave Travis

Bill Easum Interviews Frank Viola on the new book JESUS MANFIESTO

I had a chance to chat with Frank Viola recently. You may recall, Frank has published some cutting edge books lately. Then along came Jesus Manifesto coauthored with Len Sweet, a long time friend. When I asked Frank if he would talk with me about the book, he was gracious to talk to me. Here are the results of our conversation.

Frank, it’s good to have you do this interview. I know our readers are to benefit greatly. What motivated you both to write this book?

For years, Len and I both shared a burden and concern that Jesus has been getting short-changed in many quarters of His church. In our observation, scores of Christians are excited about and majoring in things that are about Jesus, while Christ Himself is getting left out in the cold.

It appears that there’s a segment of the Christian church that wants to be the hands and feet of Jesus, while detaching themselves from the Head. Others want to bring attention to the work of Christ in the past, but don’t care too much about seeking His face or living by His Risen life in the present.

So we felt to do a project together that would not only give Christ His rightful place . . . that would not only exalt Him beyond the exosphere . . . but that would also unveil His breathtaking Person in ways that would re-introduce Him in a powerfully fresh way to many of God’s people, leaving them staggering to hunger and thirst for Him and Him alone. Our book seeks to bring together the atoning work of Jesus, the teachings of Jesus, and the Person of Christ into one enormous whole in the context of knowing Christ as our indwelling Lord as Galatians 2:20, Colossians 2, and Romans 8 vividly describe.

Let me give you an example of how deep the problem runs. Take for instance the four Gospels. A question sometimes asked is “What are the main themes of the four Gospels?” And so people will begin counting words and underling terms. “The Kingdom of God” is a popular answer. “Eternal Life” is another. “Salvation” another. But the governing theme of all four Gospels is none of the above. In fact, it’s as plain as the nose on an Italian’s face, yet we routinely and frequently miss it. (I’m Italian by the way ;-)

The theme is JESUS CHRIST.

What are the four Gospels? Among other things, they are the content of what Twelve men who lived with God in human form for a little over 3 years presented to a new group of Christians beginning on the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem. They preached Christ to those new believers for about four years. They told the stories of what it was like to live with Him. What He said, did, taught, etc.

The first church on earth was built on a revelation of Jesus Christ. And that revelation is partly contained in the four Gospels. Yet we very rarely hear the four Gospels described in this way.

Let me go a little further. One of the things that has fascinated me as a Christian is the fact that Paul of Tarsus would spend several months with a new church plant in heathen soil, and then return after a year to find them still gathering under Christ and following Him. In fact, last year, I wrote an entire book about this very subject. The question before the house for me was: “What on earth did Paul preach to those people in the space of a few months to cause that kind of dynamic and sustaining effect?” Remember, that was a day in which there was no NT available, the OT scrolls were scarce and locked up in the synagogues, and 90% of those new Christians were illiterate.

Right or wrong, I believe that some of what we have presented in Jesus Manifesto gets close to what Paul preached. He called it “the unsearchable riches of Christ” in Ephesians – something we don’t hear too often today. We feel (and hope) that Jesus Manifesto gives readers a glimpse of some of those riches.

Tell us the story behind writing the book with Leonard Sweet.

In June of 2009, we put together a 2,400-word essay outlining what was on our hearts. We published it on the Internet, and it quickly went viral. As time went on, two things happened. Readers wanted us to expand the essay, and Thomas Nelson Publishers wanted to publish a book on it. So we began unpacking the ideas we had outlined in our essay into a 200-page book. It released a year later, June 2010.

What has the reaction from readers been so far, and how do you feel about it?

Concerning how I feel about it: To be frank, I think it’s a pretty sweet book ;-)

All jesting aside, I feel quite good about the work. Len and I both felt that a burden had lifted from us when we wrote the essay and particularly when we completed the book. The fact that so many influential Christian leaders from all different tribes have supported and endorsed the work has been a real marvel to me personally. (Readers can check out the endorser list at http://www.thejesusmanifesto.com/endorsements.php)

As far as reader reactions go, it’s beyond what I expected. Our goal in the book was to present a seismic revelation of Christ to the heart of every reader. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit is using it toward that end in the lives of not a few people. Consequently, many are saying that the book has changed their lives. Others are saying it brought them to tears as well as to their knees – this includes Christian leaders and pastors.

When people use words like “masterpiece” … “epic” … “a classic” … “breathtaking” to describe your work, it’s profoundly humbling and causes you to thank the Lord in amazement, knowing that it’s Him and not you. So I feel confident that God has breathed upon it, and I’m very grateful that he would use the likes of me, a very flawed vessel, to carry a piece of the ark so to speak. I’m very in touch with the fact that it’s not what we do that has any spiritual or eternal value; it’s what God does.

Reviews and testimonials are coming to us almost daily. People can read how it’s impacting other readers here.

What do you hope to see changed as a result of the book, especially among leaders and pastors?

I began following the Lord seriously at the age of 16. For about the first decade of my Christian life, I gave my life to Christian service. I did a lot. But something happened to me in my late 20s. I got a revelation of Jesus Christ that ruined me. My entire pursuit changed from serving Him to knowing Him, for I realized that I didn’t know Him very well.

Some of the mail I’m getting is by pastors and leaders who are saying the same thing: it sounds like this -- “This book has wrecked me. I now realize that I don’t know Jesus very well and I’ve been preaching things instead of Christ.”

My hope is that this same epiphany (if I can use that word) would happen to every person undertaking Christian service today after reading the book. That they would put it down and begin to make their sole pursuit and obsession knowing Christ in the depths. For everything else flows out of that relational knowledge, including Christian service.

Incidentally, we’ve just launched a new iTunes podcast that explores these issues in depth called CHRIST IS ALL. It’s free to subscribe and many young leaders are making use of it.

You've written a number of books on the church and God's mission, how does Jesus Manifesto relate to those previous works?

I recently write an entire blog post on this very question. Readers can check it out here. But the short of is that the golden thread that runs through all of my work on the church and God’s mission is the absolute and utter headship, centrality, and supremacy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus Jesus Manifesto is the thread that ties all my previous works together. It’s the hub and the rim while my previous five books are the spokes. In the same vein, Len has said that Jesus Manifesto may be the most important book he’s ever written. People can hear him talk about it here.

If you had one thing to say to a young pastor just starting out what would it be?

There are 3 books that I have written with every young leader in mind: They are: Finding Organic Church, Pagan Christianity, and Jesus Manifesto.

So my advice would be for young leaders (and those who feel called to the work) to read those three books prayerfully and with an open heart toward the Lord. And when you are finished, I'm completely available to talk to you about your impressions, reactions, and what you feel God is saying to you in response.

I'm on the look-out for young people who are gifted and called by the Lord, but who are people of integrity who won't take short-cuts in God's work. But rather, who are willing to prepare for their ministry the Lord's way.

I receive a steady influx of emails from pastors in their 40s, 50s and 60s who are burned-out spiritually and have come to conclusion that they didn't prepare for God's work in their youth the way the Lord prescribed. (The Lord’s way of raising up workers just about been forgotten in our time and it’s rarely observed today, unfortunately.) Youthful enthusiasm and youthful ambition drove them in their 20s, and now they feel they wasted much of their lives . . . and there's little fruit to show for it. Some of these men are (or were) pastors of large congregations.

So I'm always thrilled when I meet young gifted people who are willing to prepare for their ministry God’s way as laid out in the New Testament (the pattern is consistent from beginning to end). I’ve got one eye open for young people who are willing to throw away the calendar and spend their youth knowing Jesus Christ in the depths, learning what Body life is all about experientially, and learning a bit about the cross in experience. To my mind, these are the ones whom God will use mightily in the future for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. Regrettably, such people are relatively rare today (I’m privileged to have some of them in my life right now). But I hope and pray that their tribe increases in the days ahead.

---

Frank’s website contains a vast array of free resources on the deeper Christian life and the organic expression of the church: www.FrankViola.com – To read all about Jesus Manifesto, go to www.theJesusManifesto.com

The Final Book of the Series – Kingdom without Borders

For my vacation reading – Kingdom Without Borders: The Untold Story of Global Christianity – was the most impactful. The author, a professor at Seattle Pacific, tells us upfront this is going to be a serendipitous journey story. It mixes theology, missiology and story telling along the way. Quite frankly, I usually hate that, but I loved this book.

Reasons to love it:

1. It is a reminder that Christianity is alive, well and vital around the world.
2. It helps me again to take off the blinders of our own versions of Christianity practiced in the West.
3. It helps me to hear of how suffering for the sake of the gospel is necessary for bold advance of the gospel.
4. It reminded me how what we call aid and development, is a natural outgrowth of the Christian life of believers around the world.

As Leadership Network considers and weighs it’s global involvements in the future, I was constantly reminded that we have much to learn.

I can’t tell you that I marked too many pages, or drew out a whole bunch of principles from this book, but I was mighty glad that I read it. I am going to make my International Affairs major daughter read it too.

Dave Travis

Managing Director

Leadership Network

Steering Through Chaos – Great New Book by Multi-site Church Leader @scottwilson7

My colleague @chris_willard and I (@gregligon) have spent the last couple of years journeying with churches that are experiencing exponential growth.  Pretty much every conversation is punctuated with two common themes – incredible leadership and “pain.”  The leadership is likely not surprising to anyone who understands organizational growth.  But the pain theme may seem foreign to those who have not been a part of leading or serving in a rapidly growing church.

Unfortunately the pain sometimes is demonstrated through broken marriages or movement away from a ministry calling.  In other cases it’s simply pain expressed in the question, “How can I faithfully lead, serve and love this church which God has called me to and now on most days feels like a “rocket ride?”

When I first met @scottwilson7 and the team at The Oaks Fellowship, they were asking the questions and riding the rocket.  In the pages of Scott’s new book, Steering Through Chaos,   you will find the story of a leader and church who have embraced the pain and in a healthy manner have successfully navigated the rocket trajectory and speed of change.

And through their story, you will see yours and be equipped with language and tools to steer through whatever chaos your church may be facing, 

Hear more from Scott here -

Scott Wilson and The Oaks Fellowship – real deal!

Steering through Chaos – great book!

Greg Ligon

Vice President and Publisher

Leadership Network

The Birds and Bees of Reproduction

I have stolen more multi-site concepts from Dave Ferguson and Community Christian Church than all other multi-site churches combined. Dave is one of the best thinkers (and practioners) in the world when it comes to church reproduction (the corporate kind, not the diaper kind), so I wanted to get his take on the world of multi-site as we continued our Roadtrip across America.

Q:  In the book we describe the leadership structure at Community Christian. How important is structure to the success of a church using a multi-site strategy?

A:  Our experience at Community and through our NewThing churches is that there are structural shifts when going to two sites; when going to a fourth site and when going to a tenth site.  Because of this we are finding that a lot of churches are going to two sites; not very many churches with three sites and there are a whole lot that are going to four sites and more.  Why?  I think it has to do with structure.  Some churches that go to two sites do not think about structure and find it overwhelming and complicated and stop reproducing sites.  While there are other churches that think through the structural changes that need to be made and continue to reproduce to three sites, four sites and beyond.  

Q:  Community Christian does a great job of both planting churches and launching campuses. How do you distinguish between a church planter and a campus pastor?

A:  We really believe the same qualities need to be in place for a campus pastor or church planter.  We want them to be entrepreneurial, have a leadership gift and comfortable relating to all people (churched and un-churched) in their context.  All our NewThing churches are looking to train one leadership resident per site to apprentice and become a campus pastor or church planter.

Q:  You and Jon seem to do an amazing job of leading together. What advice would you give to church leaders who are considering employing family members in their ministry? 
 
A:  They key to family working together is much like any staff working together: good character, great chemistry and genuine competency.  However, (and I’m sure Geoff Surratt will agree with me) it takes a very special and humble leader to allow their brother to be the lead pastor.  Jon (like Geoff at Seacoast) could easily be the lead pastor at this Community or any other church; but instead he uses his extraordinary leadership gifts without getting all the kudos that come with being the lead pastor.  I have more respect for Jon, than any other church leader I know.

Q:  You have been a leader from the very beginning of the multi-site revolution in America. What do you see next on the horizon for multi-site in American churches?

A:  I love this question!  In fact, Jon and I just finished our next book,Exponential:  How You and Your Friends can Start a Missional Church Movementand we talk about this.  So here is what I see on the horizon:

1. More new sites will be launched by sites other than the original site.  In other words we will see new sites reproducing new sites.
2. Sites will be launched not based on the competency of the mother church, but on the strengths and needs of the community where the new site is started.
3. There will be less of the “We use video” vs. “We develop teachers” battle and more multi-site churches will use both video and in-person teaching.
4. A lot more campus pastors will be female and there will be evidence that they are more effective than men in this role which will bring some controversy.
5. Multi-site churches will think in terms of launching a region with multiple sites and not one new site at a time.
6. Online churches ill not just have one site, but they will also have multiple sites!
7. The churches that are effective in reproducing new sites will be the churches that are most effective in reproducing missional communities.

How’s that?

Q:  In your book The Big Idea you describe how every ministry at Community is on the same page. How does the Big Idea work in a multi-site environment?

A:  It was going to multiple sites that caused us to be intentional about implementing the Big Idea.  It was our conclusion that having every campus on the same Big Idea would bring alignment to our vision and mission.   Practically speaking here is how it works: we plan our Big Idea series a year in advance.  Thirteen weeks in advance of the celebration service the teaching team develops and writes a Big Idea “graph” which is a one page summary that gives clear direction and scriptural content.  Ten weeks in advance the teaching team plans the whole message in that series and gives writing assignments.  The following week, nine weeks in advance our creative arts team plans the creative elements such as video, sketches, music, interactive moments, etc… to better accomplish the Big Idea.  This same process is done for all our large group and small groups fro adults, students and kids.  It is awesome!

Geoff Surratt

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

I have stolen more multi-site concepts from Dave Ferguson and Community Christian Church than all other multi-site churches combined. Dave is one of the best thinkers (and practioners) in the world when it comes to church reproduction (the corporate kind, not the diaper kind), so I wanted to get his take on the world of multi-site as we continued our Roadtrip across America.

Q:  In the book we describe the leadership structure at Community Christian. How important is structure to the success of a church using a multi-site strategy?

A:  Our experience at Community and through our NewThing churches is that there are structural shifts when going to two sites; when going to a fourth site and when going to a tenth site.  Because of this we are finding that a lot of churches are going to two sites; not very many churches with three sites and there are a whole lot that are going to four sites and more.  Why?  I think it has to do with structure.  Some churches that go to two sites do not think about structure and find it overwhelming and complicated and stop reproducing sites.  While there are other churches that think through the structural changes that need to be made and continue to reproduce to three sites, four sites and beyond.  

Q:  Community Christian does a great job of both planting churches and launching campuses. How do you distinguish between a church planter and a campus pastor?

A:  We really believe the same qualities need to be in place for a campus pastor or church planter.  We want them to be entrepreneurial, have a leadership gift and comfortable relating to all people (churched and un-churched) in their context.  All our NewThing churches are looking to train one leadership resident per site to apprentice and become a campus pastor or church planter.

Q:  You and Jon seem to do an amazing job of leading together. What advice would you give to church leaders who are considering employing family members in their ministry? 
 
A:  They key to family working together is much like any staff working together: good character, great chemistry and genuine competency.  However, (and I’m sure Geoff Surratt will agree with me) it takes a very special and humble leader to allow their brother to be the lead pastor.  Jon (like Geoff at Seacoast) could easily be the lead pastor at this Community or any other church; but instead he uses his extraordinary leadership gifts without getting all the kudos that come with being the lead pastor.  I have more respect for Jon, than any other church leader I know.

Q:  You have been a leader from the very beginning of the multi-site revolution in America. What do you see next on the horizon for multi-site in American churches?

A:  I love this question!  In fact, Jon and I just finished our next book,Exponential:  How You and Your Friends can Start a Missional Church Movementand we talk about this.  So here is what I see on the horizon:

1. More new sites will be launched by sites other than the original site.  In other words we will see new sites reproducing new sites.
2. Sites will be launched not based on the competency of the mother church, but on the strengths and needs of the community where the new site is started.
3. There will be less of the “We use video” vs. “We develop teachers” battle and more multi-site churches will use both video and in-person teaching.
4. A lot more campus pastors will be female and there will be evidence that they are more effective than men in this role which will bring some controversy.
5. Multi-site churches will think in terms of launching a region with multiple sites and not one new site at a time.
6. Online churches ill not just have one site, but they will also have multiple sites!
7. The churches that are effective in reproducing new sites will be the churches that are most effective in reproducing missional communities.

How’s that?

Q:  In your book The Big Idea you describe how every ministry at Community is on the same page. How does the Big Idea work in a multi-site environment?

A:  It was going to multiple sites that caused us to be intentional about implementing the Big Idea.  It was our conclusion that having every campus on the same Big Idea would bring alignment to our vision and mission.   Practically speaking here is how it works: we plan our Big Idea series a year in advance.  Thirteen weeks in advance of the celebration service the teaching team develops and writes a Big Idea “graph” which is a one page summary that gives clear direction and scriptural content.  Ten weeks in advance the teaching team plans the whole message in that series and gives writing assignments.  The following week, nine weeks in advance our creative arts team plans the creative elements such as video, sketches, music, interactive moments, etc… to better accomplish the Big Idea.  This same process is done for all our large group and small groups fro adults, students and kids.  It is awesome!

Geoff Surratt

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

The Godfather of Video Venues

I first met Larry Osborne, pastor of North Coast Church in Vista California, at a Leadership Network multi-site church event in 2002. Seacoast was just beginning to dive into the world of video teaching and I immediately realized that Larry was the smartest guy on the planet when it came to leveraging technology to expand the Kingdom. And he wears really cool shirts. Over the years Larry has become a friend and a mentor both personally and through his books Sticky Church, Ten Dumb Things Christians Believe and A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God. I recently had a chance to get Larry's wisdom on the role of video, technology and more in the future of the multi-site revolution.

1. You pioneered the concept of the video venue at North Coast. What do you feel are two or three reproducible keys to your success in utilizing video that other churches could reproduce?
   
   

   I believe a huge part of our success was our decision early on to only use video for teaching. Many things don't translate well on a screen (for instance music, drama, and the like). But teaching plays well in almost every geographic and demographic setting.

   
   

   In fact, the biggest shock when we launched our first Video Venue was that it was so readily accepted by virtually every demographic. We thought our older folks would reject it outright. We thought younger generations might find it inauthentic. We assumed churches in the more traditional parts of the country would be highly resistant.

   
   

   But we were wrong. It played well just about everywhere.

   
   

   Looking back we should have realized that teaching is uniquely suited for a big screen. It allows people to clearly see facial expressions and non-verbals – which is why most people in a large facility with a video screen end up watching the screen rather than the little person up on the stage.

   
   

   The other thing that I believe is easily reproducible is our use of differing music styles and ambiances to broaden our demographic outreach. Both Chris Brown (our other teaching pastor) and I are able to reach a far broader demographic (traditionalists, country music fans, and folks with lots of body art) than we could if we had a one-size-fits-all sanctuary.

   
   
2. How important is it for a church using video teaching to have the very best technology available?
   
   

   I think the need for the quality technology is vastly overrated. You don't need the latest and greatest in order to succeed. You can't be so cheap that your venues are cheesy. The video can't look like a 1980's VCR.

   
   

   At North Coast we've always made due with less than the best technology simply because we often can't afford the best. We're not a rich suburban church. We're a blue collar church that meets in an old warehouse. If we felt we couldn't succeed without the best and latest technology, we'd still be saving up to launch our first venue.

   
   

   We've learned that good enough is good enough when it comes to technology. I always tell the churches we consult to buy the best they can afford. There's no need to hawk the future for cool technology you can't afford and there's no reason to hold off launching a new ministry just because everyone else has better equipment.

   
   
3. North Coast has multiple venues with live worship bands at multiple locations and multiple service times. How do you find enough musicians to have that many worship teams?
   
   

   The secret to our plethora of musicians goes back to a decision we made long before we started our Video Venues. Because we believe the job of a pastor is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12) our worship pastors have always been judged, rewarded, and paid for rising up other worship leaders rather than creating an all-star band.

   
   

   I find you always get what you measure and reward. So guess what? Since we measure and reward rising up worship leaders, we get worship leaders. And better yet, once we turned the corner, we discovered that musicians draw musicians. So right now I think we have something like 24 adult worship bands to pull from.

   
   
4. In your book Sticky Church you describe the role of sermon based small groups in the life of North Coast. How integral do you think sermon based small groups have been to the growth of North Coast?
   
   

   Our attendance was about 120 when we started our sermon-based small groups. They haven't particularly drawn people in, but they have helped to slam our back door shut – and when the back door stays shut, a church tends to grow.

   
   

   We're pretty much a word-of-mouth church (we don't do any marketing or advertising) so closing the back door has been an essential ingredient of our growth. But the biggest advantage has been the way these sermon-based groups have enabled us to get everyone on the same page – and keep them there. That's made us a much healthier church not just a bigger church.

1. What did I not ask that I should have?
   
   

   You didn't ask why my books are so much better than yours – at least that's what my mom thinks. Though my wife, Nancy, isn't so sure.

Other than the comments about Larry's books being better than mine (they are, but he didn't have to bring it up) Larry once again stretched my thinking on what is effective and what is good enough in ministry. You can read more of Larry's insight at his blog or in Multi-site Church Roadtrip.

Geoff Surratt

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Multi-site Church Campus Launches, Two or More, John Bishop and Living Hope Church

We are headed to the Pacific Northwest today to hang out with John Bishop at Living Hope Church.  On two different occasions, John and the team at Living Hope have launched five or more campuses on one weekend.  Crazy?  Maybe … but hear from John some fresh insight on the impact it had on Living Hope … and a sneak preview of developing vision. 

       

What was the best thing that happened each of the times that you launched more than two campuses at once?
The best thing that happened by far was a unified mission that had sustainable momentum for the better part of a year.  The second thing we see is that in a large church people can have a tendency to get comfortable, and in getting comfortable they stop serving.    When we launch campuses, we can ask people to step out of their chair, and out of the comfort of this place to go serve. The third thing  is that it has been an evangelistic invitational machine each and every time.

What was the biggest challenge?
The biggest challenge was, has been, and still is, to have adequate systems In place to support campuses, to encourage campus pastors, to stay unified as “one church” in multiple locations with unity.

Is there something unique about the DNA of Living Hope that made it work?
Living hope is a highly invitational church.  I really believe we are a dangerous church.  We have multiple stories of people who come to Living Hope and instinctively invite their friends.  That’s what makes living hope the place that it is.  I very rarely have to ask people to invite their friends – they naturally do it every week.

What is new in your multi-site ministry since we last talked?
Having done multi site for over 3 years I just know it works. BIG VISION - I’m making a goal to see 100 new campuses start globally in the next 5 years.  In a climate where people shrink back I believe is the time to step up the most so that’s what we are doing.  Also, since we talked, I have had opportunity for the first time to visit our New Zealand campus.  To travel almost 9000 miles to spend time with leaders, volunteers and to speak to the church was so valuable.  To our knowledge it is the only campus in the country that is not just called Living Hope but uses videos 80 -90% of the time.   Not only does multi site work, it’s working for us in a different culture, in a different country. As I flew home, I just kept thinking to myself ‘ONLY GOD could make this happen.’ The third thing is  “Bigger Vision”   As one church that meets in multiple locations and countries, I trusted God that there would be a point where collectively there would be something bigger than any one campus to unify us in mission and in purpose.   We are excited to be doing our first global crusade, November 2009 in India.  We are anticipating 30-50,000 people per day, and the exciting thing is campus pastors from each country will join me on this crusade.

You can check out all the other tour stops by selecting tour stop from the categories listing in the right sidebar.

We would love to have us help spread the word about Multi-site Church Road Trip.  We have developed a free online resource – Multi-site Church Toolkit: Launch Analysis that we will send to anyone who completes one of the following. 

Buys a copy of the book

Posts this tweet – Get a copy of Multi-site Church Road Trip Now at http://bit.ly/2KZlzO

Posts a comment on this blog or creates a post on your own blog.

Posts a review on Amazon.com

Once you have completed one of the items above send an email to multisiteroadtrip@zondervan.com indicating where you purchased the book or made your post and we will send you the free resource.

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Robert Emmitt, Community Bible Church, San Antonio – You Want to Launch a Campus Where?

Welcome to day three of our conversations with senior pastors featured in our new book – A Multi-site Church Road Trip.  Today, we are headed to San Antonio for a conversation with Robert Emmitt, Senior Pastor at Community Bible Church. 

1. Robert, your original campus there in San Antonio reaches 14,000 folks every week in a large, beautiful campus.  Some multi-site churches have chosen to secure locations with a similar look and feel to that of their original campus but you chose to go with a wide variety of locations?  Say a little about why you chose to do that?

Variety is the spice of life! The only people who really cared about the multi-site CBC's looking and feeling like the original campus, were those of us who were at the original campus. The communities that we are reaching with our multi-site CBC's don't know anything about the original campus. So rather than try to recreate something that no one knew about, we just decided to let the pastors and leadership teams build their own church. They are all called CBC's. They all have great music, practical bible teaching, and small group ministries. They are connected through our website. The pastor's job is to find the best building at the best price. Whether that is a school, shopping center, restaurant or sharing another church facility. We're open to whatever doors the Lord opens up for us.

2. What are the pros and cons of being in such a wide variety of campus settings? 

The pro's are the more different campus settings we find, the more doors we learn to knock on for the new CBC's. I can't think of any negatives for the wide variety. We are trying to reach, teach and help as many people as we can in Jesus name. The campus settings are secondary to our mission. That has been the history of CBC. We started in a restaurant, moved to a park, a movie theater, a store front, a shopping center and our current location. The buildings change but the mission remains the same.  

3. Which of the settings works best?  Why?

The permanent (at least 3 years) works best.  The shopping center with a 3 year lease, is working great. The 4 acres with a new church on is great. Schools have been frustrating as they don't really like having churches in them. 

4. What is new about the multi-site ministry at Community Bible Church since we last talked?

We quit playing the CD's of Robert, and let the pastors do the preaching.  We are looking more like a church planting ministry than a traditional multi-site. We are moving from a part time pastor to a full time pastor model. It costs more, but if you want the churches to grow, then the pastors need to devote their full time to it.  

5. What have I not asked that I should have?

How many CBC's would you like to have in the next 5 years? Answer: 100  Are you on track? No.
Why not? We got bogged down in trying to manage all the details for the multi-sites. What is your solution? Tell the pastors "You can do it. We can help." Wait a second, that's Home Depot's line.  How about "You can do it, we'll help you."

We will stay in Texas tomorrow with a stop in to talk with leadership development guru Steve Stroope, senior pastor at Lake Pointe Church. 

We would love to have us help spread the word about Multi-site Church Road Trip.  We have developed a free online resource – Multi-site Church Toolkit: Launch Analysis that we will send to anyone who completes one of the following. 

Buys a copy of the book

Posts this tweet – Get a copy of Multi-site Church Road Trip Now at http://bit.ly/2KZlzO

Posts a comment on this blog or creates a post on your own blog.

Posts a review on Amazon.com

Once you have completed one of the items above send an email to multisiteroadtrip@zondervan.com indicating where you purchased the book or made your post and we will send you the free resource.

To get the latest updates be sure to sign up for the RSS feed at www.multisitechurchroadtrip.com

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Multi-Site Church Road Trip En Route to a Store Near You!

We are thrilled to announce the release of our latest book on the multi-site church movement – A Multi-site Church Road Trip.  According to the great team at Zondervan, copies began shipping from their warehouse today, Friday, September 4.  So pick up yours at a local Christian bookstore or place an order today.

The book is packed with the stories of leaders and churches who are taking the multi-site model to innovative new places – from lower income neighborhoods to the internet and literally around the world through locations in India and many countries across the continent of Africa.  Warren, Geoff and I take you behind the scenes to our road trip conversations with 15 plus senior pastors who are leading the new models.

In addition to new locations, you will discover what is new in terms of technology, structure, mergers and leadership development.  And be sure to check out what is certain to be a hot topic chapter, “Are You Sure This Isn’t A Sin?”

We would love to have us help spread the word.  We have developed a free online resource – Multi-site Church Toolkit: Launch Analysis that we will send to anyone who completes one of the following. 

• Buys a copy of the book
• Posts this tweet – “Get a copy of Multi-site Church Road Trip Now at http://bit.ly/2KZlzO”
• Posts a comment on this blog or creates a post on your own blog.
• Posts a review on Amazon.com

Once you have completed one of the items above send an email to multisiteroadtrip@zondervan.com indicating where you purchased the book or made your post and we will send you the free resource.

Hope that you have as much fun “exploring the new normal” on this road trip as we have!

To see all posts for the tour, select tour stop from the category sidebar.

Twitter - @gregligon @geoffsurratt @warren bird #mscr  #leadnet

Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60

In a certain sense the essence of this book is described in its title and subtitle—Reaching People Under 40 While Keeping People Over 60: Being Church for All Generations. Congregation who seek to be a church for all generations will certainly have fewer challenges around conflicts and differing visions between various generations.

It is obviously a book targeting primarily existing congregations who are at least twenty years old and have begun to experience a generational divide. It speaks ably to the conflict that arises when congregations feel the need to start a new type of worship service to keep younger generations from leaving and to attract families/households with children.

Authors Eddie Hammett and Randy Pierce themselves represent some of this generational divide. Eddie is a 50-something, long-term churchperson, and Randy is a 30-something long-term seeker who has now embraced a Christ-centered faith journey. They ably speak from churched and non-churched, modern and postmodern perspectives on how congregations can embrace all generations.

The book offers win-win solutions. Hope. Realistic tactics for existing churches. Virtually every church that is more than 20 years old will confront this issue, and will either put in place a process to address it, or will divide over the generational issue and lose a significant portion of this vitality and vibrancy.

Implied in this look is an important message for churches less than 20 years old. These congregations may believe they are immune to a generational divide. If so, they lie to themselves about other things also. Look in the mirror. This could be you in a few years.

George Bullard, The Columbia Partnership, GBullard@TheColumbiaPartnership.org