The last Anglican who tried to “Convert me to Christianity” (ie they did not know I was a Christian), made fun of what I was wearing, made fun of the music I was listening to on my MP3 player, and wondered why I had all this hostility towards them when they got around to doing their 2 minute 2 Ways to live spiel.

I am wondering what sort of programs that Connect 09 will have for those people like me who heard the Gospel several dozen times before any real repentance, and was blessed with a few friends with the persistence to invite me to church several hundred times. I was one of those youth group people who everyone thought was a Christian, but wasn’t and it wasn’t till I met a very persistent MTS worker at University no one had really bothered to check to see if had any form of Christian commitment.

I am interested to know if there will be a suggestion forum from churches about Connect 09 ideas. I have been reading some of the forums and thought that we need to list as many things as possible that we could do to reach out to the community and connect with them. At our church we have done two things this year. Firstly, we have asked the 10am congregation to park 3-5 minutes walk away from the church to enable visitors to park. And guess what? They have and visitors have come and said how easy it was to get a spot outside the church. Secondly, the main minister (that’s me) has been doing Child Thanksgiving Services away from the church. I did the first one in an Italian Restaurant and the second in the people’s backyard with their family and neighbours. The couple came to church first (to check me out, not the other way around) and we organised it. The family and neighbours couldn’t believe that a minister would come to the house for the party and do the service there. I have had two more enquiries in the last two weeks. Funnily, the main question I get is - “Are you allowed to do this?” I go back to my Anglican saying of it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Then I say, “Am I allowed to go to a person’s house and give them a children’s Bible and have the local minister give thanks to God for the birth of their child?” I certainly hope that Connect 09 says Yes!!

Hi Colin,
It’s wonderful that you have been able to do such great things in your community, I praise God for you. I am on staff at Connect09 and yes, the sharing of ideas is certainly something we want to hold as priority. The Connect09 website will soon be launched (late March/early April) and this essentially will be the ‘base station’ for Connect09 correspondence. We have allocated a section of the website so that Christians, parishes, ministers etc can post their own ideas to share with others.
I will look forward to seeing your ideas up there too!
Christine

Funnily, the main question I get is - “Are you allowed to do this?” I go back to my Anglican saying of it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

That really made me laugh out loud. The slogan would look great on a T-shirt to wear at certain gatherings ! Actually, it sounds more like a credo than a saying.

Hi colin
i have a mixed reposnse to your two inititatives.
the first is a great way of getting people serving practically though I wonder if it is ever going to be an effective strategy to a community who are not interested in parking in your church grounds. More car spaces is like ringing the church bell longer or louder. It will though attract Christians who are shopping for a new church. i.e it fits nicely at number 5 (below) in attractional church principles.
one of the questions raised on this forum is whether attractional models are going to have much teeth in an increasingly post christian culture.
great act of service , weak strategy for attendance ?

I said this earlier

Shane Rogerson - 30 January 2008 11:54 PM

Hi Craig
from what I can gather an attractional model of chuch seems to be the dominant one that is employed in church growth strategies across growth orientated churches… particularly in WASPish areas.

characterised by

1. buildings and faciitlies that accomodate platform ministry and church based program
2. edgy preaching that connects with the life of its hearers in life application
3. an inspiriing experience of the church event - music, feel, etc
4. excellent parking faciilites for the consumers who travel 25 mins by car to get there
5. top programs in the key areas of kids - get this right and they’ll put up with poor parking and even poor preaching. (McDonalds principle)
6. a home group structure that provides Christians ed., pastoral care, sense of belonging
7. make sure next week was better than last week (and better than the church next door if we’re honest)
8. an ever increasing staff that keeps the whole thing ticking and members that have less and less time for relationships outside the maintenance of the ever burgeoning organisation.

there’s probably others but I think that’s basically characteristic of the attract ‘em in model - the key movement of people seems to be reach out and drag in.
you connect by meeting the spiritual (and sometimes less than spiritual) consumer.

the secomd intitiative is brilliiant because it is actually meeting people where they are in culture. Granted that they still have some kind of God consciousness, the ‘religious bit’ that you do for them is great because it bring God and conversation about Jesus into their everyday context -the living room or patio. wouldn’t it be awesome if this could be translated into the whole family returning regularly to read the scriptures and hear more or maybe continuing in this kind of activity after the holy man leaves.

I still think the challenge is to expose these people to Christian community - otherwise they get the religious bit without the relational engagement (apart the holy man who is in their home for a special reason). could you take a team with you?

One of the reason baptism is encouraged in the regular service is it is about membership in the community of God’s people. Whilst I understand the difference in a thanksgiving- at least they get to witness the community life of God’s people gathered. The private baptsim or thanksgiving extracts what should be a powerful agent in our witness- christian community.

this is one of the issues that we hope to discuss at the Total Church Conference on April 8 at Moore College.

I go back to my Anglican saying of it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

I believe it was the Jesuits originally, Col, but it’s a fantastic saying, and I’ve been operating by it for a very long time. You get booted out of a few places on your backside as a result, but things get done too, which is sometimes nice and occasionally really worthwhile.

I like the idea of a forum for ideas and I see that the permission givers are indicating that one is on its way. ;-) But I might start one here... if that’s OK with you...oh, er wait a minute.

this is the original post on this thread

I’m concerned Connect 09 will get caught up in the logistics of Bible distribution, and not enough energy will be put into the “Connect” part of the strategy.

One suggestion - EM could create a database of “101 ways to connect to your community”. Not just one line ideas, but fully developed, step by step suggestions, including costs. Things like Tim’s Square Foot Garden idea.

Thought

part of thinking of ideas for connecting is thinking through what our missional paradigms are wouldn’t you have thought?

Yesterday was my first go at the forum and it was really interesting to see the different responses. I went and read many other ideas that people had. Can I be really naughty and express another view that may upset people which is not my intention but one for us to think through. I ask a lot of people why they stopped going to church. Many conversations start with,"Well, we had this great guy who did ............. and we loved it and the kids were happy. He was great. He preached really well and the place really grew. Then unfortunately he left and this new person came and basically cleaned out the church because of ...........” Now here is my comment that I would like us to seriously consider. How many churches grow or are cleaned out by the personality of the minister? Do we need courses on not being crabby or aloof leaders? Do we need to be more honest with each other as to how we “really” come across to people. Now, who would I trust to tell me what I am really like? How can I get better at talking to the average joe at the school or at the footy or netball games? Whether I like it or not, my personality is going to have a huge impact on where the church goes. My conversations with people who say such things may be unique but boy I have a lot of them.

Colin David Watson - 19 March 2008 09:05 AM

How many churches grow or are cleaned out by the personality of the minister? .

This seems to be a rod we have created for our own back. Church has become all about the programs and attractiveness of the service and when they don’t stack up to expectations, off the little consumers go to the church down the road whose music is better, preaching is edgier, kids programs have more singing, dancing and colouring in.

This will sound harsh, but better off with the people who are there on God’s mission, not to satisfy themselves.

Hi Colin
I think it is fair to say that the speed of the team is the speed of the leader. He does set a kind of culture with in the church.
sadly I think this is exascerbated in our anglican contextt because we are not so good at exercising leadership in teams or plural eldership -which means we become more suspectible to the whims and foibles of one man.

awhile back I wrote on hospitality and raised the very issue you raise here.

This is why in the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy, one of the key characteristics to be modelled by the leadership of the church is hospitality. The elders of the church are to set an example for their flock in loving the stranger and welcoming the sinner into their midst. Yet how often do we see our leaders disengaged from the culture in which we live and disconnected from relationships in the broader community, let alone the church! Is it possible our overly busy, inhospitable churches are being led by overly busy, inhospitable men?

Can I encourage my fellow pastors to repent! We must free up our lives for relationships, even if this means a radical deprogramming of structures so that the people of God can obey the command in 1 Peter 4 to love and offer hospitality without grumbling. It’s liberating to think your church may actually be more effective in loving strangers and welcoming sinners by simplifying our structures in order to have time and energy to find
the lost. 

if I am not lving with gospel intentionality and thinking creatively about how to engage with those around me for their spiritual benefit, then maybe I am in the wrong job.

I wonder if it is not only personality but his whole ministry paradigm that needs shifting - maybe spend less time running and maintaining prgrams and more time persoinally engaging at the coal face. maybe start leading churches as missional communities rather than preaching centres?

Total Church Conference April 8

Hi Colin

I believe it is a matter of godliness, not personality.

That is not to deny the need for some ‘skills’ - eg able to teach (that includes first understanding the Bible and then being able to communicate that understanding to people)

The big emphasis is on serving people. I think things go wrong when people start thinking leading first, serving second. A minister is a servant of God. In practice sadly this is not always obvious.

thanks Di

Hi Dianne,

Your words reminded me of hearing Michael Green once describing a Christian pastor as one who should lead from the front like a shepherd - rather than a sheepdog yapping at the heels of his congregation. Yes it’s all about all of us having servant hearts - and the need to lead by example.

Have a happy and blessed Easter.

Cheers, Kevin

From today’s AM article ;

( 2008 Australasian Religious Press (ARPA) Awards )

War Cry wins top award

ARPA’s top award The 2008 Gutenberg Prize for Excellence in religious journalism jointly went to both War Cry in Australia and New Zealand, recognising their 125th year of production.

War Cry is almost unique amongst ARPA members, with its entire purpose being to connect Christians with the unchurched, and the unchurched with the gospel of Christ.

The judges said they recognised the publication’s unwilting commitment to reaching outwards had made it ‘the best known Christian publication amongst the secular community’ whilst at the same time reinventing itself to remain fresh and relevant.

In accepting the award, War Cry NZ editor Christina Tyson paid tribute to the service of her staff.

“I praise my editorial team for their stewardship of God’s work,” she said.

Joint winner Laurie Robertson of War Cry Australia explained the vision for evangelism that lay behind the publication, adding that this aim would remain the same ‘until the Lord returns’.

In Laurie’s words War Cry does not aim ‘to preach at people’, rather ‘it is a tool’ which is designed to help church members connect with the unchurched through the regular, weekly task of neighbourhood distribution.

Perhaps there is a lesson here for Sydney Anglicans looking forward to Connect 09 ?

link

What do we think of Jeremy’s question ? Is there a lesson here for us ?

How are the Salvo’s going at outreach though? Are they seeing people converted? Are their churches growing?

That’s a good question.

I did ask one of the Salvo bods, but he gave me an anecdotal answer from his own experience of regularly distributing at a pub.

Off the top of my head their growth rate is better than Sydney Anglicans… but don’t quote me on that ;)