All posts in Church

What Non-Church Workers Think About Church Workers

by Adam Lehman on October 6, 2011 in Church, Culture with 3 Comments

I’ve moved from a professional Church worker to a non-professional Church worker.

My income used to come from the offering plate. Now it doesn’t.

Here are some differences that are important for all you church workers to know about those you interact with that aren’t church employees:

  • Even if you wear a suit & tie, what you do is very, very different from an executive at any similar sized company. Feel good about this, but don’t try to chime in when you’re talking with someone else wearing business attire.
  • You can’t talk to my coworkers with the same influence I can. Treat me to talk to them. Make me talk to them. Refuse to do it for me. This is what I really need.
  • When I say the word “church” most non-church folks seem to think Catholic mass or old-school-Bible-thumpin’-Baptist. If you want different expectations, you’ll have to translate.
  • The only way people will trust you or your church is to talk to people there. A good website or Facebook page IS NOT a substitute for genuinely loving people.
  • Anyone at work will talk about spirituality in general terms. I’d suggest you start there.
  • Most folks don’t seem to view pastors as real people, until the pastor proves otherwise.
  • At the same time, non-church workers seems to view the work that pastors do with some sort of awe. There is an understood devotion.
  • If you try to take 10 hours out of my week for “church activities,” there’s no way in hell anyone I work with is going to show up. (Unless we have no friends or have an insane amount of guilt).
  • But teach us how to find God in the time we already spend and you’ll change our world.
You’re welcome.

Imagine with me…

by Adam Lehman on July 1, 2011 in Church with 6 Comments

 

Imagine with me  a church that didn’t need to raise money to operate (they’re still allowed to raise money to give to the poor & bless others).

 

What if churches operated at $100 a month rather than $50,000 a month?

What would be possible? How would our churches change?

I’d love to hear how you’d imagine this would change a church. Leave a comment below:

 

 

What I Think About Easter

by Adam Lehman on April 25, 2011 in Church with 1 Comment

4 thoughts on Easter:

  1. We should change the name of Easter to “Resurrection Day.” Easter is about eggs and chocolate, there is no confusion over what Resurrection Day is about.
  2. “Death In His Grave” by John Mark McMillan is the anthem of Resurrection Day.
  3. I was Rob Bell’s “Resurrection” video about a dozen times over the past year. The message of Resurrection Day applies to every moment of our life.
  4. I was blessed to worship with Allie, Katie & Kevin at Discovery Church for Easter. Chris pointed out a piece in scripture that I’d never considered amongst the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection: Luke 22:43.

People Love to Believe

by Adam Lehman on March 28, 2011 in Church, Culture, Faith, Ramblings with No comments

In a post-modern world, we’re told that everything is relative. That words only derive their meaning relative to their context and society as a whole is much more fluid than it was years ago. We’re told that today’s world is no longer persuaded by definitive statements and meaningful verbiage is drowned out in a flood of “like,” “ya know,”  & “I feel.”

People of faith have been told that their choke-hold on society is loosening & that soon they’ll be the minority. It’s been presumed that churches have less & less relevance in society.

Yet I can see that people still love to believe. People love to believe so much they’ll will for Butler to continue to win. People love to believe that that new car will make them happy. People love to believe that purchasing those new workout DVD’s will finally make them want to be healthy. And most importantly of all – :) – people love to believe that Steve Jobs is either a saint or satan.

People love to believe, they just HATE to be coerced into it.

They hate making a decision between turning their brain off and being accepted in a faith community. If I am to be accepted at your church, can I still ask questions? Can I ask deep questions ? Can I voice them openly?

I’m not saying I don’t believe in the atonement, I just want to be able to talk about the atonement without assuming it’s meaning or position in our faith. I’m not saying I think hell isn’t real, I just want to be able to talk about the idea that hell might not last forever (or exist at all).

Many years ago, Christians thought it a good idea to hold swords to the necks of “non-believers” and ask them to believe in Jesus. Today, there is a brand of Christian who thinks it a good idea to hold ask “What do you believe?” while waiting for a reason to judge & label as “heretic,” “

Reading the Bible Without the Intent to Teach It

by Adam Lehman on March 27, 2011 in Church with No comments

…changes the way you read the Bible.

Last week was the first week in 3 years that I haven’t been a student ministry director. It’s kinda weird… in a good way.

One of the coolest things about not having my mind constantly churning with regards to lessons and teaching ideas is that when I sit down to read the Bible, it’s just me. I’m not reading with the thought, “Oh, that’d make a great point in a lesson!”

It’s made reading Scripture, prayer & conversations surrounding Jesus more personal & authentic.

I like it.

What’s Happenin?

by Adam Lehman on March 14, 2011 in Church with 5 Comments
  • I spent last week in Vegas. It’s called “Sin City” for a reason.
  • Slot machines have a horrible ROI
  • I’m starting a new job on Monday. I’m crazy excited. Taking steps to living the dream.
  • On Sunday night, I told a bunch of students that I wouldn’t be the Student Ministry Director anymore.
  • It’s been pretty interesting seeing how both ministry professionals & laypeople handle me moving from church employment to marketplace employment. (More blog posts to come….)
  • In the process of moving, I’m going to be giving away a BUNCH of my ministry/church/theology books. Keep an eye on those giveaways over at ChurchWith.Us.
  • I’m starting P90X workouts tomorrow. Wish me luck!

 

Frustrations with Blogging

by Adam Lehman on February 16, 2011 in Blogs, Church with No comments

Lately, I’ve been able to chat with lots of folks about blogging and most of them are frustrated.

  • frustrated that their audience is small
  • frustrated with the lack of commenting on their posts
  • frustrated that their efforts feel fruitless
  • frustrated with their inability to wrestle WordPress into submission
  • frustrated with their inability to post consistently

Most people who blog feel alone in their endeavor. Most have a hard time explaining to their roommates, moms or coworkers what they love about it.

The isolation that bloggers can live in is why I’ve created ChurchWith.Us.

ChurchWith.Us is a blog dedicated to conversations about God (the kind you’d have in church, a small group or over coffee). By January 2011, my goal is to grow that community into 100 contributors. I’m planning some epic stuff for the tribe of contributors who are going to be there. Here’s 5 reasons why you should contribute to ChurchWith.Us.

(At the current rate that they’re signing up, we’re going to have 915 contributors within a year. I’m going to have to think through a cut-off or something … but for now, you can sign up to contribute here)

Of Cohorts and MegaChurches

by Adam Lehman on February 7, 2011 in Church, Leadership with No comments

There is a civil war.

Two sides battle one another with words and passive aggressive remarks.

They are the antithesis of one another. They are the reason for one another.

Large, resource-filled church draw millions of people into their programs each year. Staffed far beyond any “typical” church, they engineer experiences and connections comparable to theme parks and U2 concerts. Proponents of this model know they are the future for reaching our consumeristic culture.

Leaders of these communities are reading business books and deriving their structural models from Rick Warren, Craig Groeschel & Andy Stanley. Strategy, purpose, vision & excellence are characteristic of these environments. These communities are framing the message of Jesus in remarkable engaging ways.

Cohorts, home churches & organic churches are the yin to the megachurch yang. Proudly operating with zero budget and no staff, these communities take pride in their unprogrammed approach.

Leaders of these small movements are uncomfortable even being labeled as such. They continually emphasize the natural and ordinary-ness of their gatherings. Pubs, living rooms and dining room tables are their environment. Proponents of this model know they are the future for reaching our growingly unchurched world. Heroes of this network are Frank Viola, Neil Cole & Rad Zdero.

The Church’s Only Problem

by Adam Lehman on February 2, 2011 in Church, Faith with 3 Comments

There once lived a counselor who had a lot of clients.

The counselor stayed long, long hours in his office to meet the needs of so many clients. At times, she even made house visits.

Her clients were the sickest types of people. So sick in their mind that if they allowed the sickness to mature, they’d perform horrible, horrible deeds resulting in death. The counselor specialized in this sickness and knew exactly what her clients needed to do to reverse its effects.

During each counseling session, the counselor would reinforce the facts that she cared very much about her clients. She would remind them that she was an expert in their sickness. She would make sure they understood that she could definitely take care of their illness. Her clients loved her for this.

But at the end of each session, the counselor would ask her clients to change something about their lives. This was the only way for them to reverse the effects of the sickness. Sometimes the changes were so small and miniscule that the clients didn’t understand the grave importance of obeying the counselor with small things.

These clients would well up with bitterness towards the small, routine pieces of their lives the counselor was working on. They longed for some bigger, more fantastic advice from the counselor. They were sure they’d obey the counselors words carefully, if only she asked for a bit more.

Other times, the counselor would ask a client to make large, extravagant  changes to their lives: moving, changing jobs, giving away money, speaking a hard truth to a close friend.  Clients often found this guidance to be much too difficult to follow, their sickness made them cling so tightly to temporary things that they ended up losing sight of their health.

These clients grew very bitter of those whom they saw actually making the big changes the counselor suggested. They insisted that the counselor really meant for them to make small, gradual changes despite the fact that the counselor asked them for just the opposite.

So it is with the church.

We are a people who specialize in neglecting the words of the Counselor. We are so quick to point towards God’s love, the sending of Jesus or the miraculous stories of the Bible. We are much less quick to actually listen to & seek to obey the words given to us by the Counselor.

The Church’s only problem is that she neglects the Counselor’s guidance.

Church Resource Links

by Adam Lehman on January 29, 2011 in Church, Leadership with 2 Comments

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