Show Me the Money!

I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but I think there are major ramifications for the church as it responds to the credit crisis USAmerica is facing.  It offers the potential for great opportunity for ministry.  Here are some thoughts that I have considering over the past year.

The Front Porch Becomes Important Again

Ok, maybe not specifically the front porch, because many people don’t have one any more, but the concept of the front porch will become more important.  This means, potentially, a return to the geographic neighborhood, as people have little disposable income to pay for gas to drive 30 minutes one way to play poker with the guys.  People may get to know their neighbors - their actual neighbors - all over again.

The Rise of the Local Community Church

With gas prices at record levels and people carrying so much debt, driving 30-45 minutes one way for worship will become difficult.  The local community church could see an influx of people coming from the mega-churches.  Who knows, maybe since they are not driving so far to worship, they may actually invite their friends and neighbors go to church with them nd we could see ministry in a community take place through the church again.

The Rise of Family Diners

Could the family dinner table become important again?  Since people’s disposable income can’t afford all those activities most kids are involved in, families may actually get to have dinner together more than once per week.  Which means families actually have to talk to each other  (Ok, for some folks that might actually be bad.)

Suburban Migration

High gas prices and less disposable income means that the 30-60 minute commutes will be hard to justify.  An increase in public transportation means less driving and less costs.  But we also might see people immigrating out of the suburbs and into the cities again.  Thus the need for more urban strategies for ministry. (Calling Tim Keller!)

The Rise of the Neigborhood Bar

Really?  Yeah, the neighborhood pub or bar or coffee shop will once again become important to the fabric of the community.  Churches who think third spaces can create the relational environment needed to come alongside people in their spiritual and life journies.  This is an opportunity to go to the people instead of having the people come to you.

Then Again…

We may just spend more time on the internet and TV viewership goes up.  We could become more isolated and lonely and depressed.  A “failure to launch” may become an epidemic.  USAmerica could just become one giant cocoon.

Or…

The credit crunch is solved, and life goes back to normal.  I would suggest that this isn’t happening - anytime the government gets involved two things are sure to follow:  1.  It doesn’t work so it has to be “fixed” again and 2. My taxes go up.

Finally…

I could just be a babbling idiot.  Who knows?  If I were a betting man, I may double down on this option!

AquaChurch 2.0

If you’re doing church the same way you were a year ago, or even last week, you’re falling behind and failing.

Len Sweet, page 20.

I have started a new blog at EntrepreneurialMinistry.com.  The goal of this blog is to provide resources and ideas for people who want to do ministry in a different way.  I will look at issues of incorporation, legal documents, financial tools, real estate, and ideas on how to turn business ideas into ministry opportunities.

Why would I do this?  Because I think that so many people think of ministry through the lens of preaching or church staff.  I want to empower those who want to be creative in ministry, and who want to use their training, education and experience for ministry.  This will become more and more important as churches struggle to afford multiple staff.

I may look at adding a team of entrepreneurs and business people to the blog.  If you are interested, click on the contact page above and send me an email.

At my last doctoral class with Len Sweet last week, he posed a question to us that went something like this: Provide for me the metaphors that will describe how we measure success in the church in the future. We are prone to measure success by how man and how much. And we determine who is a great leader by how many and how much.

So today, I want to share with you some of the metaphors we listed (and some I came up with afterwards), of things we can count as a measure of success. But I need to issue a warning. You will have to think about these and you may push back unless you realize the metaphor. So don’t react…Ponder… Continue Reading

My wife pointed me to a post from a children’s ministry blog.  It is the story of a children’s minister who visited two churches in metro Dallas.  One was Fellowship Church, when Ed Young, Jr. is the pastor. The other was Irving Bible Church.

The important part of the post is the following:

Two large churches have a different view of their neighborhood that I want to illustrate. Fellowship Church in Grapevine is typical of most in that most of the church is off limits without an appointment. I had an appointment but entered the “wrong” door because it was inadvertently left open. The receptionist was less than thrilled. But here is a church with stunning decorations that basically go unused when the church is not in session. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is typical and really I expected as much since many of us don’t have the security staff to be entirely open.

But, when I went over to my good friend Gary Lindsay’s church, Irving Bible I was greeted not by security or a receptionist but by several families hanging out in the indoor two story play structure just eating lunch. That’s right. The community is welcome whenever!

So I am wondering…Is your church open during the week?