Collision (This is a re-post from January 2010 that has had a great response…)- when two or more bodies come together, “the collision of the particles resulted in an exchange of energy and a change…” When Church and culture collide, energy is exchanged, walls are broken down and a change occurs. In this case, local cultures are changed because of a group of people’s willingness to be used for good. Church becomes the people, not the building, and a significant change is made.

So Church and culture collide: culture is met on culture’s terms and the love of Christ is shown in the midst of hurt, deception, injustice and pain.  Here are a few ways the LifeChurch.tv Fort Worth campus has collided with culture, followed by a list of ways LifeChurch.tv has collided with Culture around the world.

Collision in Fort Worth (through LifeChurch.tv volunteers, not staff)
200 coats were given for local refugee families through World Relief.
40-50 different volunteers worked w/ Neighborhood Needs to help serve 25,000 families food.
300 families donated over $6,000 worth of basic need items for neighborhood families.
Over 25 volunteers helped 50 people identify health goals & provided walking & running groups, accountability groups, Taebo & aerobics classes for the entire community.
Partnered with 3 hospitals, 3 government agencies and signed families up for health & dental care for their kids (that otherwise wouldn’t have it).
Small groups moved 2 struggling single moms in need with trucks and trailers.
Witnessed over 600 people give their life to Jesus in 2009 (went through 4 Baptism pools).
Helped dozens of struggling families with food or clothing during the holiday season.
Partnered w/ FWISD & 15 teachers to train volunteers for mentoring at risk kids & parents.
Developed 25 volunteers to mentor kids & parents, w/ 400 volunteer hours logged to date.
Developed a team of 12 volunteers to connect with new believers and visitors.
Released over 20 new small group leaders to help build biblical community in the area.
Released 2 nurses and health professionals to make crisis calls and hospital visits.
Put on Financial Peace classes to help 40 people overcome debt.
Offered leadership courses to help over 35 people in their families and workplace.
Mobilized a team of 12 local volunteers to facilitate a global church experience through Church Online.
Released a volunteer to serve as the Church Online LifeGroup support for leaders worldwide.
Took a local prison support ministry online to reach those affected by prison worldwide.
Released hundreds of individuals into the community to make an impact in their families, neighborhoods and workplace.

Collision Around the World Through LifeChurch.tv
Launched LifeKids.tv, increasing visibility of spiritual conversations between kids & parents.
Thousands of LifeKids.tv downloads weekly around the world.
Through YouVersion- 3.6 million users on cell phones.
In Jan 2010, 120,000 Bible reading plans downloaded.
Coming up on 2 Billion minutes of reading Scripture through YouVersion mobile.
Church Online added 31 new worship experiences in 2009.
1 million unique users at Church Online in 2009. 8611 Recorded salvations.
1600 New believer Bibles mailed to 49 different countries around the world.
Biggest audience for Church Online became India.
$135k was donated for Haiti in one weekend.
500k was given to Digital missions to reach people around the world.
In 2009, added 60 network churches, for a total of 96 churches using free messages weekly.
In 2010, network church attendance will likely surpass LifeChurch.tv campus attendence.
Through Open- 35,000 churches downloaded materials in 2009.
Global Translation for messages beginning because of new production studio.
1600 churches started in the last 2 years because of the One Prayer initiative.

What role can you play this year?  What could happen if your church collided with culture? What would happen if you allowed God to use you in simple, yet tangible ways to transform lives in your corner of the world?

I joined up in Oklahoma with LifeChurch.tv Pastors from around the country to show one another how much we care for each other. This is my good friend Tony Milliken’s tattoo after one game. Think we got a little too close?

I was behind a bunch of barrels shooting at him and he left his position Kamakaze style and ran straight at me. Tony came over the top of those barrel like Luke or Bo Duke from Dukes of Hazzard. Uncle Jesse wasn’t there to settle him down either. Yeehaah! He is from Tennessee, so I wasn’t too surprised… Ha. If you’ve never played paintball, you should give it a go some time. Doesn’t the above picture inspire you to want to go?

Our team represented around 13 campuses from around the country with around 40,000 people attending weekly. Our roles are to help people grow spiritually, impact communities and ultimately thrive and live the lives they were created to live. During three days together, we talked about developing our character, leading with spiritual authority, leading by outcomes and casting vision. We practiced speaking in front of crowds, discussed how to help develop local communities back to the way God designed them to be. We even hit a few restaurants and I was able to hit my first Thunder game with Tony and writer Darrin Currin. Thunder up! I got to run with Tim Doremus and even eat pizza and talk about developing community in my neighborhood with Daniel DeMoss, Jacqueline Edwards and Robert Davis.

We were able to encourage one another and build relationships. Like the paintball “tattoo” above, we didn’t hesitate to speak directly to one another too, giving helpful feedback (even if it stung a little)!
This is my crazy life. It’s a pretty decent example of God using a normal dude to do some not so normal things. It’s my own little story of what can happen when you give up control (from the life you were living) and allow God to take your life and basically use it for his purposes. It’s not always fun, but it is worth it! I can’t believe I get to do this for a living. Here is a video of the prior gathering, where we played dodgeball.

So real friends sometimes have to speak the truth to one another, even if it stings a little. Why is it so hard to do this with those you love the most?

I don’t go to a white church. It’s not black either. Or Brown. It’s like a Salad Bar Kind of Church. With TONS of different colors, tastes and textures. We have people from all over the world and all different backgrounds attending the LifeChurch.tv Fort Worth campus. Honestly, we haven’t forced it. We’re just trying to understand it.

Enter Scott William’s new book Church Diversity from New Leaf Publishing Group. It is engaging, challenging and real, and I’ve been reading it over the last week. It is directly shaping the way I look at our church and giving me practical insight in regards to how I help lead, speak and staff our team at the LifeChurch.tv Fort Worth campus. Scott’s book is reminding me that our church “is not a black church or a white church… IT’S GOD’S CHURCH!”

If you are a church leader like me, trying to understand your church and how to capitalize on its strengths, you should get the book. If you are a leader in the marketplace and want to learn how to embrace a culture of ethnic diversity, you should get the book. If you are a believer and have always wanted to see more diversity in your church, you should get the book. If you just enjoy authentic, in your face writing, and you are looking for a good book to read, you should get the book! If you want to be pushed to THINK differently, and more importantly, ACT in a way that can transform whatever organization for are a part of, you should get the book!

Church Diversity isn’t just theory. It’s not pipe dreams. It is a behind the scenes look into Scott’s brain over the last ten years as he has wrestled and dreamed about a more diverse Sunday at church. It is an adventure into the minds of many other leaders around the nation that are pushing the envelope and leading the way with organizations that look, act and feel a lot more like heaven will be: Super Diverse.

Church Diversity is up front and in your face, but then again, author Scott Williams wouldn’t have it any other way!  I’ve known Scott for the last few years from LifeChurch.tv. He reached out to me a few years ago and began to invest in me as an individual. Here are a few things I’ve learned from him and here is one of the guest posts I wrote on his blog once about Twitter. Scott is the Real Deal Holyfield and he will make you do some thinking! If you or your organization are looking for someone to help you understand where you are, who you are and where you need to go next, you should drop Scott a line!

“Whatever racial woes we face in America, they cannot be dealt with by politicians or Washington D.C., but rather by the local church…help our nation navigate through this critical and much needed conversation on race.” – J.C. Watts, Jr., Former Member of Congress

TheWayItCouldBe.com is a site promoting cultural impact through personal and spiritual transformation. Post topics include family, faith, leadership and other stuff. Feel free to browse around by category. If you dig the site, you can subscribe for free email updates by simply entering your email address in the sidebar out to the right.

What are your thoughts on diversity in the church? Possible??? What action steps are you taking in your church?

I’m no church growth guru with a magic wand. My last name isn’t Chan, nor does it rhyme with Schmatterson (I love you Mark Batterson). I’m an Associate Pastor at a LifeChurch.tv campus in the state closest to what heaven will be like (Yes Texas. Uh…go Rangers). I’m a SIMPLE dude serving a BIG God with a SOLD OUT group of people that are passionate about seeing their city changed (hear some stories from a recent message on reaching out into the community).

Ok, so enough about not having all the answers and not being omnipotent. Here are 4 Reasons Your Church Isn’t Growing Like It Should Be:

1. You don’t know your sweet spot. You aren’t the church down the road. You aren’t Saddleback or New Spring. You are _____ (fill in the blank). God has called you, Pastor A, to lead Church B and Leaders C, D, E and P, to influence Community Z. You have a set of strengths or gifts and so do all the key leaders and everyone else in your organization. God has given your church a specific calling, a sweet spot. Question is, have you really tapped into it? Figure out your sweet spot. Get in your zone. Clarify your calling. Then go and do your thang like no one else! Once you get in this zone, you can say NO to the softball league you loathe, NO to the fruitcake baking ministry you are average at, and YES to whatever is it the good Lord has created you to do.

Tip: As you begin to clarify & develop your sweet spot, don’t just write it out on Saturday and tell everyone what it is on Sunday. Develop a shared vision that everyone can own and go after it!

2. You are not personally inviting people. Seriously, you are one of the key leaders in your church. If you are not living, breathing and (dare I say….no I won’t say it, but it rhymes with hooping) inviting people, the rest of your crew isn’t going to invite people either. People are smart and they know when you aren’t smoking what you are selling! I try to invite someone to my church every single day. I know that sounds crazy, but I promise I’m not annoying about it. I don’t do it every day, but I am genuinely interested in the people that I engage with in the community. I’m aware of their need for other people and more importantly their need for a God that is nuts about them, regardless of their messed up lives! Every day I am looking for the hurting, the messed over, and the broken. I don’t always invite every single person to church, but I’m trying and I’m praying for change in the community. I believe this- if the ones I invite will just come check it out, their lives could be drastically changed forever! Do you believe the same about your church? What will it take to get you there and get you inviting people??

Tip: I carry invite cards everywhere I go- in my car, in my borderline girly man bag satchel, everywhere. I always have a story to retell about how scared I was to invite this guy or how nervous I was to talk to that couple. I’m pretty sure people from my church hear about the stories and are challenged to do the same thing. Heck, even if they don’t, I’m inviting a lot of people!

3. You aren’t ready for the growth. Deep down, you know that because you aren’t yet in your sweet spot (reminder: by this I mean that your church doesn’t know what it is uniquely positioned, called and expected by God to BE and DO), you really aren’t ready to see the real growth you know you should be seeing. It’s like in the eighties when people put patches on blue jean jackets. How silly would it be to put the best patches on a jacket that doesn’t even fit (especially if it was a Beastie Boys patch)?? Yeah, that would be silly!  In the same way that you wouldn’t put cool patches on your 80′s jacket, you can grow if your church isn’t ready for growth! You’ve got to know who you are as an organization AND be comfortable in your own skin. Side note- I think the 80s reference is a bad example, but I couldn’t resist!

A better example would be the parable of the talents (Matthew 25). Simply put, the faithful servants were given more! Pretty simple, right? I know this isn’t exclusively a church growth principle, but I’d put money that the truth applies here. Why would God give you more people if your church isn’t being faithful with the ones you have? Why would God send a HUGE influx of new people if you are hoarding everything to yourself as a leader and not empowering able and called people, other than yourself to minister, lead, guide and develop others? Just think on that for a moment. Marinate on it even… then go get ready to grow!

Tip: I’m not suggesting that just because you aren’t growing doesn’t mean you haven’t been faithful. I don’t know your situation and don’t know your heart. I would challenge you to ask, “Are people at your church ready for the growth or is it still just about them?” If people still think it is all about them, you are in for a long, uphill battle. Sometimes you need to separate the men from the boys before you kick everyone’s rears into gear (go back and study Gideon in Judges). Develop the right people, get the right vision, get it inside of you and go for it!

4. People don’t have clear “Next Steps” to take. The buzz of your cool (or not so cool) band will wear off after awhile. People need a place to belong and they need to know what is a good Next Step for their life as a follower of Christ. New believers need clear Next Steps. People that have gifts to use need clear Next Steps to know how to use those gifts. Those that are leaders need to know how to be empowered and released to lead others. Those that don’t have healthy relationships with other believers need to know how to find those relationships.

Next Steps don’t have to be programs. They don’t have to be a 1, 2, 3 ministry. However, they do need to be simple and intuitive. If someone has to jump through 18 hoops to get in a small group, they are probably going to give up after hoop number 5 or 6. Make it clear, make it simple. Everyone has a place in the body of Christ!

Tip: Challenge EVERYONE to take a Next Step in their faith. For some, it may be as simple as picking up a Bible. For others, it may be restoring a broken relationship. If ALL people are not always taking some type of Next Step in their faith life, it is highly unlikely that they will continue to be a sold out, kingdom building, church growing, follower of Christ!

What are the most common personal challenges for church leaders when their church just isn’t growing the way it should be? Love to hear you thoughts in the comments below!

I had the opportunity this spring to “team teach” at LifeChurch.tv Fort Worth with our awesome Senior Pastor Craig Groeschel and over 100 Pastors from around the world for Week 5 of Who Do You Think You Are? Several of you heard about it after the fact and have been asking if I had a copy of my portion of the message, so here you go! The message is all about reaching out in the community to meet needs, heal hurts and doing a whole bunch of things that don’t fit neatly on a page! The message starts out with an intro from Craig, a personal intro from myself, stories from LifeChurch.tv Fort Worth, Sermon points from Craig and personal stories from my life growing up, including when I truly become a follower of Jesus.

Working at LifeChurch.tv has been one of the most rewarding and amazing experiences of my life and I hope to be around for a long time! Thankfully (for myself and everyone else), I don’t preach frequently (except this other time). However, this was a fun experience on a topic that I am particularly passionate about. I work with some incredible leaders on what I think is the best campus team at LifeChurch.tv (I’m not biased or anything)!

Dance party today at TheWayItCouldBe.com with me and a new friend. Check out this 45 second video…

TheWayItCouldBe.com is a site promoting cultural impact through personal and spiritual transformation. Post topics include family, faith, leadership and other stuff. Feel free to browse around by category. If you dig the site, you can subscribe for free email updates by simply entering your email address in the sidebar out to the right.

Weird, because Normal Isn’t Working. Normal is stressed out, broke, divorced, etc. Hope you’ll check out Weird this April at LifeChurch.tv Fort Worth or at Church Online.

It sort of goes without saying these days that social media avenues such as Twitter (and Facebook) allow for serious innovation. Twitter lends itself to instant global conversations, sometimes with a few and sometimes with thousands (just watch Twitter Trending Topics for 1o minutes).  With all this innovation today, who would have thought that we could be mirroring some characteristics of an ancient civilization?    What civilization am I referring to?  None other than….the 1st Century Church (yeah 2000 years ago).  “Whaa? You say.”  Yeah.  Don’t believe me?  Check out a few verses from a section in the book of Acts, which most scholars believe was written around 62 AD (right before the fall of Rome in 64).  Here is The 1st Century Church….And Twitter!

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles. Acts 2:42
Today, we see people sharing biblical truths via Twitter and Facebook.  Some of them are outright Scripture (like from King James, one of 13 Twitter Types).  Others are thoughts or quotes that have both intended and unintended Scriptural elements in them (like 20 Tweetable Truths).  Still other Tweets and FB updates tell stories or share experiences that show a person’s devotion to the Scriptures.  In the area of sharing Scripture, it’s crazy to see the similarity of the 1st Century Church and Social Media.

They devoted themselves to prayer. Acts 2:42
Several weeks ago on Twitter, a guy named John asked me to pray for him as he was looking for a job and at a big time low.  I sent out a tweet that said, “Who will pray with me for my friend John who is looking for a job and needs encouragement?”  Within a couple of hours, I had over a dozen people commit for one week to pray for John’s spirits to be lifted and for a job.  Barely a week later, a position with incredible influence opened up for him in the most random of places.  Coincidence?  Maybe. I believe, however, that those prayers shared through Twitter were answered and John is different as a result of his faith to ask for prayer.

They met together in one place. Acts 2:44
I realize that in this context, the verse meant one physical place, but this was the culture of the first century AD.  People lived in close proximity with one another and rarely traveled or communicated abroad.  Now, most of us are all spread out yet still have the ability to “meet in one place,” especially with social media tools like Twitter.  In the same way that Roman roads made it possible for the gospel message of Jesus to be quickly spread, Twitter allows us to “meet in one place” while being in a million different places.

They had everything in common. Acts 2:44
Another version translates this verse, “They shared everything they had.”  I’m no Bible scholar (I’m actually a cemetery, I mean seminary drop out, ha)  and I’m not trying to take the verse out of its context.  I do gather here though and throughout the Scriptures that the 1st Century Church shared everything with one another.  Today, we see some of the most influential people in the world sharing everything about their day and lives on Twitter.  People on Twitter have everything in common with one another like never before !

They sold their possessions and shared the money with those in need. Acts 2:45
In the last month, I have personally witnessed the following take place through posts on Twitter and/or Facebook: a family on the streets was provided clothes, food and shelter by eight different people (How Twitter Helped Save a 3rd Grade Girl), twelve different meals were provided for sick people, people showed up to serve food and supplies to 200 refugees.  Uh….wow.

I’m not suggesting that Social Media is a replacement for being a part of a church. I am, however, suggesting that much of what we see through social media resembles much of what we know of the 1st century church: a people that shared scriptures with one another, prayed for one another, met together in one place, shared their lives together and helped one another when in need.

Could it be that we are not much unlike this group of people that lived nearly 2000 years ago?  Could it be that there exists in the Twitterverse and in culture an instinctive desire to be something that in some way resembles what the church was in its infancy, what the church today is really supposed to be all about?  What do you think? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments…

Here are 7 Ways We Cheat on the Church. Maybe you can relate…

Our hearts are divided between God and the world. The heart is usually an indicator. The Scriptures point to disloyalty as born from a divided heart. James 4:8-9 When we are dating the world, baby we are cheating on the Church!

We don’t allow our gifts to be used. Instead, we use all our personal gifts only for our own personal benefit. Ephesians talks about us (the Church), being built together, “to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Eph. 2:22. When we don’t share our lives and our gifts, its like a builder taking key building materials out of a home- the result is an incomplete house! We are like a delivery truck that keeps driving by with the right materials, but won’t pull over and drop them off!

We Don’t submit to any type of authority, particularly the authority of the Scriptures. We do what we want, when we want and how we want. If there is something we don’t like, we’re out! Even though Christ put himself under authority, we are unwilling to do the same.

We Have a “ME” mentality… It is all about our comfort, our opinions, our agenda and our happiness. Me. Me. Me. This is called pride, and if this is a struggle for you,  read this.

We place the church at a low priority in our lives. A lot of times (not every time) this happens as a result of God being a low priority. Paul said this, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” In “giving himself up,” he meant Jesus’ cruel death on a cross, because he loved us, the church, so much. The Church was such a priority for Jesus, he gave himself up for her!  (The church being a low priority, doesn’t always mean God is a low priority. Often it means we’ve been burnt by the church and have yet to build up enough courage to give it another go).

We don’t place ourselves in any time of close relationship with other believers. This way we don’t have to really live out what I say we believe. There is no accountability and no fuss! This is what I call Lone Ranger Christianity…

We don’t recognize the church as Christ’s living and active body here on earth. We ignore Christ’s reminder when he said, “it is better that I go away, for if I don’t the Spirit will not come to you…” John 16:7 In other words, he meant, “through you (the Church), my living and active body here on earth, I am going to do even greater things than when I walked the earth nearly 2,000 years ago! Even Paul reminds us of a similar concept when he said this, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” Eph 1:22-23

How else can we cheat on the Church? Thoughts? Love to hear them in the comments…

Every sky-soaring high has its spiraling, breath-taking low. Every victorious mountain has its shadowy, dark valley. And every great leader has their moment face down in the mud!

Introducing The Leadership Hangover.

The Leadership Hangover is when you have a great moment of leadership and victory followed by an unexpected, yet realistic spiritual attack. I’m not talking about chemical related mood swings (I’m not qualified to write on those). I’m talking about a real, significant bump in the road following a leader’s victory.

A great new friend reminded me of this recently with through a moving, personal note.  Here are basically his words indented below; I changed a few words and added the name The Leadership Hangover:

When speaking out boldly and powerfully about God, there’s a good chance you’ll be hit with one mother of a hangover – on par with one from too much tequila, Jell-O shots, Jack & Coke, topped off with a few lukewarm Nasty Lights.  The only big difference being you’re not throwing up… or at least throwing up doesn’t make you feel any better.

The Leadership Hangover

This hangover, though is just as real as the Jello-shot induced kind.

The adrenalin rush that hit its peak Sunday morning, has gone into a free-fall.  The result is a huge emotional whiplash.

Much like Elijah’s.  He demonstrated enormous confidence in God: smack talking the prophets of Baal,  rebuilding the Lord’s altar, and watching as the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven, and saw his prayer for rain answered.  A man highly in tune with, and in a very real, personal relationship with God.

Then in short order he is so despondent he flees to the desert.  Alone.  Then he crashes under a broom tree and prays that he might die.

The Leadership Hangover.

After a BIG win as a leader, you may not be camped under a broom tree, but you are in a place where you are open for attack. Pride swirls. Dirty Mr. Ego comes out to play.

The Leadership Hangover is real.

You have a choice to make at this point. What will you do?

This is where you come in. What do you do at this place? What is the best cure for The Leadership Hangover? I have some ideas, but I’d really love to hear your thoughts in the comments first! – Chad

Repost: These thirteen statements were provided for LifeChurch.tv staff during the Spring “All-staff” event 2010.  Every 3 months, 200+ LifeChurch.tv staff members from around the country join together to worship and hear direction from our leadership team.  Normal people.  Not-so-normal vision.  The following notes are from Senior Pastor Craig Groeschel’s talk to our staff.  Here are 13 Game-Changing Values of LifeChurch.tv:

1. We are faith-filled, big-thinking, bet-the-farm, risk-takers. We will never insult God with small thinking and safe living. Without faith it is impossible to please God.  We want to think in terms of hundreds of thousands, think millions.

2. We will do anything short of sin to reach people for Christ. In order to reach people no one is reaching, we’ll have to do things no one is doing (Ex. Google searches for adult entertainment leading people to Church Online).

3. We are all about the “capital C” Church. It’s not about us, its about the big Church, because we believe the local church is the hope of the world and we know that we can accomplish infinitely more together than apart. We are all about the local church (Ex. There are over 1600 churches that have started calling themselves One Prayer churches as a result of OnePrayer.com in India, Cambodia, China and Sudan).

4. We are spiritual contributors, not spiritual consumers. The Church does not exist for us, but we are the Church and we exist for the world. We exist for the world. We exist for the world.  Check out When Church and Culture Collide.

5. We give up things we love for things we love even more. This is sacrifice redefined. It is an honor to sacrifice for Christ and His church. (Ex. people are downsizing their homes, getting out of debt). It is an honor to sacrifice baby!

6. We are a micro-church with a mega-vision. We wholeheartedly reject the label mega-church.  We are just getting started! We are a start up church. We’ve got energy. We are passionate. We are young. We don’t care about our status of being big. We are tiny compared to the billions of people around the world that don’t know Christ. We are not a large church.

7. We will lead the way with irrational generosity. We are truly more blessed to give than receive. We will trade money for influence any day of the week. We love serving the church (Ex. On a good weekend, there will be 33,000 on a weekend at our church. Through Open, there are 38,000 churches using free materials. We serve more churches than people on a weekend).

8. We will laugh hard, loud and often. Nothing is more fun than serving God with the people you love (Ex. Our Senior Pastor just played a prank on a staff member and involved the local police and news station).

9. We will be known for what we are for, rather than what we are against because the world has enough jerks. We are going to be pro-church and pro-kingdom, instead of defending that “our way is the best.”  We are not going to build a defensive culture.

10. We always bring our best because excellence honors God and inspires people. God loves when we do our best.

11. We don’t recruit volunteers, we release leaders, because volunteers do good things, but leaders change the world. We are taking highly capable people and asking them to dream big.

12. The only constant in our ministry is change. God is always doing a new thing. How we do things will change, why we are doing things will never change. We must not live on yesterday. The greatest threat to the future is to call yourself successful today. Question everything.

13. We are thankful for what God is doing today and we expect even more tomorrow. We are living in the good old days.  This is the best time of our lives. We are about the best mission on earth: Christ.

What thoughts do these values provoke in your mind?  We’d love to hear in the comments below!

TheWayItCouldBe.com is a site promoting cultural impact through personal and spiritual transformation. Post topics include family, faith, leadership and other stuff. Feel free to browse around by category. If you dig the site, you can subscribe for free email updates by simply entering your email address in the sidebar out to the right. – Chad