Church Planters - YOU ROCK!!

I am write this on New Year's Eve 2008 to the North Central Conference Church Planters and leaders of churches sponsoring a church plant and assistant superintendents.

As we look across the horizons of time, forward and backward, we can see an important fact. Everything has a beginning and everything has an end. Kingdoms rise and fall. Religious movements blossom, grow, wither and die. When the callous disregard for a biblical view of Christ and discipleship led a few radical preachers and lay people in the mid 19th century to begin to proclaim the good news of Jesus as not merely a fix for eternity, but for a call to radical love and counter-cultural holiness, to call for an end to human slavery and an unbiblical view of gender inequality, they were thrust from the larger group of Methodists and forced to form the Free Methodist movement.

Most of the Free Methodist churches in the North Central Conference had their genesis in church planting projects that grew out of a passionate desire to live out and invite into a life of truly following Christ. A movement of church planting that seems to have had its largest impact within about 75 years of the birth of the Free Methodist movement. Now, in the NCC, most of those congregations no longer exist, yet most of the churches which stand today (albeit in
different locations and incarnations) were founded within that time period. We would not exist were it not for that old-school church planting movement.

Perhaps God raised Free Methodists for merely the cause of reminding the body of Christ of the need for Scriptural holiness and to join the larger cause that God had wrought to put an end to the villainy of American slavery (as John Wesley called it). And perhaps that was all it was called into being to accomplish. Like the plant which gave shade to Jonah, a quick rise, and a quick demise, all to the glory of God and to lead another prophet to bring about the liberation of a people.

But I don't think so.

I believe the DNA of the FMC is knit too closely to the heart of biblical Christianity to exist as a flash in the historical pan, and the call to radical obedience and the delivery of peoples and
communities and nations out of oppression -- not merely delivery a personal sin which seperates from God, but from the pervasive powers and principalities that keep people in the bondage of poverty, the sex-trade, greed, depression, racism, sexism and every evil that Satan
revels in and too many Christians tolerate. The FMC was called to invite people to truly live eternity NOW!

All our pastors must be leading the charge to re-start the movement. To wake up and understand that if we don't catch the passion for starting new movements, new churches, and new ministry opportunities consistent with the DNA, the life, the core that breathed into our
movement over 150 years ago, we will continue to wither and perish, and simply cherish the days when it meant something radically odd and powerfully confrontational to be a Free Methodist. Then we deserve to be a footnote.

Our church planting efforts are not a new grasping at straws to keep the institutional boat afloat, they are tapping the roots of God's initial call to the apostles and to the early Free Methodists.
Without continued church planting and new works starting then it is a joke to think we can be called an apostolic movement.

Times are financially very difficult. Each of your church planting works are struggling, as are every established congregation of which I am aware. Each of your works are very different -- from hispanic works based on small groups and ESL ministries to house church experiments to large-scale launches (as large as we can afford).

Frankly, we all know that there are no guarantees of success, and that starting a new church plant is risky business. But what else are we going to do with our talents, hide them away in the hopes that the master will be glad we didn't take any risks? If I'm not mistaken, that thinking gets God a bit steamy.

I have such love and respect for your willingness to venture, often unoticed, often unpaid, getting bloodied in the fight, sometimes limping forward and sometimes sitting with your face in your hands and tears streaming wondering what in the world you've gotten yourself into.

Keep on being daring. Keep on being radically different. Keep on listening to the voice of the Spirit and allowing God's call and the needs of a hurting community forge your vision into an steel rod that crashes through the gates of hell. Run, and do not grow weary, and I will be doing all I can to run with you. Regardless of what I can do, we all know that it is Christ who has granted you authority and is with you always.

We are 'bringing Jesus to the north central united states through PLANTING and growing healthy churches advanced by boldly apostolic leaders working synergisticly together." We will plant 50 new churches by 2025. If half of our new churches remain viable (which would bust through all church planting odds) and go on to plant new churches as part of the reinvigoration of the work God began in Paul, Luther, Wesley, Roberts... YOU? then imagine the multiplication of changed lives and growth of the radical counter-culture which is the body of Christ on earth. Understand this, as an NCC church planter, you are not a footnote in an historical journal about the end of a minor denomination but a hero in a story of radical renewal and hope that will bring about a resurgence of God's plan to change the world.

Only, don't give up. Draw upon the strength of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Draw upon the strength of one another and your NCC yokefellows. And strive every morning when you wake up, pray, allow the Scripture to grab your heart and mind to move
into your day, and your 2009, with the ability to say with all sincerity to those you are called to lead, "follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1Cor.11.1).

Christus Victor!

Supt. Mark

Leadership & High Anxiety

As we near the time which observes the birth of the Son of God, I rejoice. At the same time, on occasion I’m flummoxed. Jesus just plain didn’t give us a lot of clarity on important things. Yes, we know he is the savior of the world, he certainly modeled and taught extraordinary love. On the other hand Jesus did not leave us with the 10 steps to abundant living or the top 5 practices that will guarantee happiness. Buddha made it easy, follow the Noble Eightfold Path and find enlightenment. Mohammed was clearer still – practice the Five Pillars of Islam. Granted, the good news of salvation through faith in Christ as a gift from God leading to a life of love is about as simple as it gets. But in this simplicity is the real difficulty. It’s ambiguous (in fact, this is a real complaint by Muslims against Christianity – too easy to interpret the faith in too many different ways).

In reality, however, Jesus is the ultimate model of excellent leadership. There is a temptation in times of high anxiety and stress (as had been first century Palestine and 21st century America – and really just about every era and place if you study history) to look to the guru with the clear, simple idea that saves the day. The leader people want is she who can promise a fix, quick is better, simple is best, to whatever ails us. The leader people need is she who can distinguish between technical and adaptive challenges, and provide the framework in which people learn to face hard realities, adapting their behaviors and attitudes for greater health.

There are two basic situations that require two different kinds of leadership. First, a technical problem requires technical leadership. Some situations have a technical solution, and clear leadership with 3 easy steps is exactly the kind of response that is necessary. My car is broken (situation), what must be done? The mechanic (in this situation, the leader of choice) will diagnose the problem (spark plugs need to be replaced) and fix it (replace the spark plugs). Most of the situations Jesus dealt with, and with which those who pastor churches or lead board and committees deal with, are not merely technical problems.

Second, an adaptive problem requires adaptive leadership. Sometimes, identifying the problem is not simple (why is my church declining?) for even the most expert of leaders, nor is identifying the solution (is it prayer, evangelism, worship style, discipleship, demographic??). It is maladaptive and unhelpful for leaders to provide easy answers. It is equally unhelpful for those seeking to be led to expect all the answers to flow from the point guru (or senior pastor). In adaptive leadership, the leader and those being led must covenant together to learn how to identify the real problems and their solutions. In a technical situation, the leader with the know-how should provide the easy solution, but in an adaptive situation the leader must assist those being led to grow and learn together how best to change under the circumstances.

Jesus said, “Come follow me,” and “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” That was an adaptive invitation. God invites us into the God-life which provides no easy answers, but an invitation to continual growth, continual learning, continual facing of our own weaknesses and submitting them continually to the abundant grace of God. Indeed, how amazing it is that the God-Man would be born of woman, and by virtue of this entry into our lives, need to grow in stature and wisdom.

Leaders of the North Central Conference – resist the temptation to jump to easy conclusions about what you and the church you lead must be and do. Above all, resist the temptation, and it is very strong, to need to appear like the man or woman who has all the answers. Instead, keep focused on the Jesus-way, and do the harder and more honest work of keeping your congregation and community focused on the real-life challenges that lie ahead, while providing the environment of mutual love and respect that allows for learning, failing, risking, succeeding, failing and learning some more.

It’s not the 8-fold path or 5-pillars, or 3 things to fix your church forever way of thinking. But perhaps is more authentically the Jesus way of leading.

Your servant,
Superintendent Mark