Bob's Blog

Our church is on that journey called "change." It's been about a year since we sold our property on the south side of our city. We were there for over 50 years ministering to our community through our people. We believe that the Lord still has a work for us, so we continue to seek Him as He leads us in a new direction of ministry. A few questions usually come up as you begin to evaluate and think through your church's ministry. First, what was our original mission? A long time ago, there were a few people who heard God's calling to begin His work in south Whittier. They had a dream and a calling that saw their intial work completed a year ago. Second, how do we find the new "us?" Once God has ended a work, I think it's natural for any church to see what the next step might be. Which leads us to our last question. Who does God want us to be?

A couple of books that some on our leadership team have been reading and that have been a great source of help are Neil Cole's book Church 3.0 and Mark Driscoll's (with Gerry Breshears) Vintage Church. Although Neil Cole and Mark Driscoll come from two different perspectives concerning church models (apologies to Neil Cole for calling Organic a church"model"), they do agree on two very important issues; that the Church lives for Jesus and that the Church is to make disciples of Jesus. If you're church is going through a season of change, get your leadership into the Word and bring along Neil Cole's and Mark Driscoll's books to help you along on your journey.

I read this the other day. It comes from D. A. Carson commenting about the Church and generations. He said that one generation believes a truth, the next generation assumes a truth, and the third generation denies the truth. Does this speak to our current situation in our churches? I wonder how much this statement rings true in the region we live. I still believe that the middle of our nation is prone to be more "Christan" than we are on the west coast. I don't mean that one group of believers is following Christ more than another, but that the Christian "religion" is more accepted in certain areas in our country than in other places. That's not necessarily a good thing. Doing "church" is religion without love and is not who we are, but being the Church of Christ is glorious and full of power.

As a westerner, I see our churches out here searching in need of an identity. It's one reason I believe we have so many models of church and why young adults are looking for a place to call Home. In his book, Vintage Church, Mark Driscoll points out how quickly we have forgotten in how to pass along our faith to the next generation. There are two things that I have noticed with churches in Southern California, and I'm not claiming to have perfect insight, but I do talk with many college-age people, church staff workers, and pastors who minister to young adults. Churches are struggling to connect, pass along, or hold on to their young people. However you like to put it, a younger generation is leaving their faith. Second, there is a lot of criticism about the Church. Critiquing is one thing but to bash Christ's Bride is something far different.

If we are to stop the exiting of our young people, let alone to reach a younger generation, we need to understand who we are in Jesus. The Church is God's plan to draw the world to Himself and He chooses no other way. That's an amazing truth. We can develop the greatest college ministry or create small communities of young adults but unless we understand the unique beauty of His Church and how to pass that to another generation, we're only fooling ourselves in thinking we're accomplishing His mission.

Bob is now blogging at cebobsblog.blogspot.com.

The subject of the Church and its relevancy in this new century has been a hot topic among pastors, church leaders, and church planters for over a decade. As a younger Millennial generation creeps into their late twenties, those churches who once were filled with a post WWII generation are being ignored by a postmodern urban-hip spiritual seeking community. Neil Cole, a founder of Church Multiplication Associates, has just released his new book, Church 3.0: upgrades for the future of the church, which plots out a rethinking of what the church should be for a new century.

The book focuses in on the need and reason to "upgrade" on how we do church today. Just as we upgrade to a "new operating system," the Church today needs to do the same in order to continue being the vibrant Bride of Christ. You may not always agree with his perspective but his insights will challenge you in how we think about the Church. The first half of the book deals with how Organic churches are needed to revitalize God's mission for the next generation, while the second section of the book covers more practical workings of Organic churches. A younger group might find the Organic Movement more appealing to them then an older congregation, but both groups will see the need to be more of what Christ desires for His Church. This is a book that I believe every church leadership should read and discuss, especially if you are looking to pass your faith to the next generation of believers.