Leasing Space - Now Might Be Your Time!

In the past, I've discussed at length (here) the many attributes of leasing space as opposed to building facilities. While our church built a new facility and relocated last year, we originally looked strongly at leasing. The cost to build was out of this solar system, but, in our area, a suburb of Portland Oregon, things were booming in the retail industry as well. After researching 50 properties, there were no options for us. Mercantile spots were not available simply because we represented little retail traffic for other stores. Forget the fact that we would be paying top dollar. Forget the fact that we had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank. Forget the fact that we were signing a lease of 7-10 years. Nothing!

Many of you know that we recently started a new campus, a third service on Saturday evenings, in a town 50 miles from our facility. Oh, the difference a few years makes! We've been able to secure square footage directly in the mall for pennies on the dollar compared to what we were looking at a few years ago. In fact, the mall has multiple spaces they are willing to make available to us for a very reasonable amount of money. Our space is about 5K feet, but they have spaces as big as 46K feet they will allow us to occupy. While I can't publicize the prices we are paying, you have to know that I couldn't meet in a tent at for the same monthly charge!

Of course, the mall's long term goal is mercantile. Our lease is quarterly. But they are appreciative of our timely payments, and our behavior amongst the other stores, and our interaction in the mall life, no to mention that we have brought in some retail traffic as we gather. They WANT our business, and until the economy picks up (and it would really have to pick up in this mall), we have time and space to build a family!

I say all this to challenge you to do your homework. If you have a building that is hurting your cause, and you can find similar diggs in a mall/shopping center/office complex that would be better, why not consider taking the millstone from around your neck (SELL!!!) and allow the asset (money) to launch you forward into a more visible place of ministry in the community?

For more pics of the campus click here.

For more info on our 2nd campus launch click here.

Do I Suck At This?

I had a lengthy discussion with a good friend who is pastoring his first church with 5 years of previous full time ministry experience. He's finished some major construction projects at the new place that had been unfinished for several years, but there have been a few families that have left and his numbers are lower than he'd like. In his mind, he isn't seeing results that cry out, "SUCCESS." He made the statement "I know right now I suck at this, but if I ....." and that's the spot he trailed off in my mind talking about some other blah blah blah while I was locked in on his statement.

Suck? Not a chance. He's the type of guy that is sharp, creative and never does anything half way. There is no way he has ever sucked at anything, and yet, here he was expressing how he viewed his ministry. I probed a little deeper with some questions and think I got to the root of the issue. He is frustrated with the results he's seeing, and in his mind, results are the by-product of ministry. Sucky Ministry = Sucky Results. A+ Ministry = A+ Results. And that my friends is a flawed equation. Believe it or not, it just doesn't calc out that way!

There are some people who just stink at pastoring and they have stinky results, but I also know some people who stink and have incredible success. There are others who are incredible and yet it takes years for success to catch up to level on which they operate. And then there are the guys that everything they touch turns to gold - we secretly hate those guys, don't we :-)

For those of you doing a great job without the great results... especially for those of you who are REPlanting, let me share a brief story:

I was at a friends house who is a couple years into outdoor gardening. His results have been lousy, until this year. He built some planting boxes and filled them with multiples types of rich soil and fertilizer, and then loaded them up with seeds. He had enough seed to plant next top the boxes as well. Then came water, and a little time, and results! The crops in the boxes were incredible! The crops outside the boxes were almost non-existant. Same farmer, same seed, same water, but different successes due to different soil!

Results are often impacted by your soil. One of the goals of REPlanting is to change the soil. Sometimes that takes a while. I mean, like 5 years a while! And during that time you are going to wonder a zillion times, "Am I doing the right things, or do I suck at this?" I spent that long wondering every day if I would ever succeed.

The Bible encourages you to measure yourself with a sober judgement. That's an important practice to learn. It is critical that you be able to assess yourself and the job you are doing, apart from the results! Results often confuse the picture! Some people are way too up on the job they are doing, and others are way too down. Both will sabotage your results in the long run!

If you are confused at how you are doing, bring someone in that you believe is "getting it done" and ask him to shadow you for a few days and give you a report card! I think you'd be surprised at the assessment!

Make Changes Slowly? Really?

For years I have heard the analogy that making big changes in a church is much like turning a large boat with people standing on deck, and that the goal is to turn slow enough so as not to throw anyone off.

What a stupid analogy! At best, it has extremely limited application!

I received yet another phone call from a young guy back east who has been pastoring his church of thirty people for four years, trying not to make too many changes all at once, and finding the church really isn't changing. Go figure. It reminds me of the kid with the dangling tooth... that's been dangling for three weeks, afraid of how bad it might hurt to yank, uncomfortable, unattractive, in pain, just hoping it will some how take care of itself. You know, it's "BE A MAN TIME!" Sneak up on him and yank it out - he'll ball like a baby for 30 seconds, and then move on without all the baggage.

A couple of thoughts about change:

1. Never make unnecessary changes. Changes motivated by personal preference, or to "mix things up" or to be more like another group are a waste of effort. There should be a reason for change. If you can't clearly articulate it and it's value, skip it!
2. Never be afraid to make changes in the best interest of the group. Any parent would make necessary changes on behalf of their child, regardless of the child's preference. When something is wrong, you make the right decision for change and let the pieces fall where they will!
3. If you are new to a group you have a window of grace to make more changes in the first year than you will be able to make in the next five. Certainly you should take some time to figure out what is "really going on" and to "get to know people," but you can do that in three months. If you make relatively no changes your first year, you can expect that you will be allowed to make less the next.
4. The smaller the group, the faster you can make changes! Small groups that have been around for a period of time usually need quick change so that life can take place once again. Identify and remove tumors quickly. Get it over with an move on. It's not like the group can really get any smaller! Sweep the debris off the deck so that future would be passengers will give your ship a second look.
5. Develop a culture of change that allows for failure. We are always trying new things at our church, but we know that failure is part of the equation. Sometimes we have the right idea, but wrong method, and it just takes a few attempts to come up with the right one. Don't buy into the lie that failure is a sign of God's displeasure. I would rather fail trying to live that stand in one spot dying a long slow barely detectable death!
6. Stay away from group decisions when it comes to change. Allow the spiritual people to make decisions, and don't give the unspiritual ones a choice! That's called leadership. The tail should never wag the dog.
7. Beware of making changes and using "God told me to" as some sort of trump card guaranteeing your right to lead change. If you are unsuccessful, you will make God look stupid, you will lesson your leadership influence, and you will diminish it's value the next time when God really does tell you to do something.

I was too slow in changes in our replant. I was worried about losing people. I was trying to obey the "turn the ship slowly" rules. I only dragged things out. The changes needed to be made. Sooner is so often better than later. Things rarely take care of themselves.

It Aint A Replant Forever...

Sometimes we find our identities our circumstances. Our tragedy or victory becomes our identity. We wear it like a badge, long after the circumstance has passed, failing to recognize that we are no longer the guy who threw the touchdown pass at the homecoming game, nor are we the guy who dropped it. Time and space has moved us on to a new identity.

I've considered our experience at TFH a REPlant for so long that I was shocked to wake up recently and realize that we are no longer a REPlant. We have moved a dying church from an unhealthy pot (leadership, ministry style, mission, doctrine, facility, location, etc.) to a new pot, and life has resumed, fruit is growing, and the world is experiencing the amazing life this healthy church provides.

We are no longer a REPlant. We have been REPlanted.

That's not to say that the need to continue this discussion is over, by any means. It's just that I can no longer speak to the need as if I am still needy. There are plenty of challenges ahead, but they are no longer REPlanting challenges.

That chapter has been written and completed. On to the next chapter.

Weird!!!

Before Focusing On Church Growth... Part 3

This article is Part 3 of a series on Church Growth Pre-Requisites.  Click For Part 1, or Part 2

In order for a church to begin to experience and retain numerical growth, a number of not so visible ingredients have to be present (see Part 1 for those ingredients) in order for growth to experience traction. Today's Ingredient for discussion: you must have life-giving gatherings.

Everywhere Jesus went, things came to life. He created a stir. His presence was felt like a major earthquake, shaking off the debris that had snuffed life out in the first place. He shook the physical, the emotional and the spiritual realms.  Even dead people noticed his arrival... by getting out of their graves.  As obvious as the rising of the sun, so WAS the presence of Jesus! And so IS the presence of Jesus!

I attended a church for 6 years during Jr. High and High School. There is only one way to describe it - DEAD!  The worship, the teaching, the preaching, the relationships, the fellowship, the gatherings, everything.  Then I walked into one of those crazy Charismatic churches.  I could say a lot of things about the difference between the two churches but the most profound thing I noticed was there was something in the air... the spiritual air. I didn't know what it was then, but I do now. It was refreshing. It was intoxicating. It was arresting. It was liquid life. It was the Spirit of Jesus. One sip and I have never been the same since!

I don't know why, but there are some places where followers of Jesus meet and their gathering are sadly missing His Presence. It can be a hard thing to try explain why. After all, He promised that when two or three gather in His Name, He would be there in their midst, and yet... silence! 

There might be a thousand different reasons why, and often finding the culprit is like finding a needle in haystack. Regardless, I can say if His Presence is not resident prior to growth, growth techniques might bring people in but they will not bring in His Presence. Without His Presence, their life will not be impacted, and they will not return, and your efforts will be for naught. Before you try to grow, ADDRESS THIS ISSUE! Find the problem and fix it. Then attempt to grow!

"Why" is the question, but the lack of His Presence is a deal breaker.  If He is not experienced in your gatherings, there will be no infusion of life. All the marketing in the world will not bring a visitor back. If there is no LIFE when they come, there will be no LIFE when they leave. If your efforts to experience growth are going to be productive, His Presence must be in your gatherings!