Lives of Significance: Christian

Showing posts with label Christian. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Relationships and Zombies

This past week I attended my brother-in-law’s (John E. Browning) celebration of life (funeral). I was reminded that at the heart of life it is all about relationships. The basic and most important relationship is with God. Somehow we Christians have bent, folded and mutilated this simple faith into a list of rules to be followed and requirements to be met in an effort to please God and hope that he likes us and approves of us enough to let us into heaven. Even a cursory reading to the New Testament makes it obvious that Christianity is all about loving a God who loves us and calls us to love each other. Life is about loving God and loving those around us.

My brother-in-law’s life is a fine example of that truth. He certainly loved God and those around him. His life impacted many of those around him in positive and strengthening ways. He lived as an example of a Christian. Don’t get me wrong; he wasn’t prefect, but he sought to daily be the man God wanted him to be. Many people mistake claiming to be Christian is to claim to be perfect. In reality it is to claim to follow the One who is perfect on a spiritual journey of being conformed to the image of Christ. It is neither instantaneous nor easy. But it is a wonderful journey.

Because life is all about relationships, it is memorialized in memories. Sometimes those memories are just snapshots of moments in time and other memories unfold in our minds like short movies. At John’s funeral my sister asked me to speak and share some memories. I was a bit surprised at the invitation because I am known in the family for saying some things that others may not choose to say. Not quite inappropriate but certainly edgy. And there is something in me that causes me to always go for the laugh. Often I leave people both laughing and shaking their heads. But, she asked and I spoke.

John had many great qualities but I chose to speak to three of his qualities that I enjoyed the most. First was his full and infectious laugh. He had a great sense of humor, was very funny and laughed at everything. My mind when back several decades to what I believe was 1969. My sister Liz and John were in college and dating. They had come to visit us for the weekend. We were living on a farm outside of Wilmore, Kentucky, where I was attending seminary. The year before a movie, “The Night of the Living Dead”, had hit the big screens. Since money was in short supply, movies were not in the budget and we had not seen it. It was a movie about a group of people hiding from bloodthirsty zombies in a farmhouse. Stupid, right? Who believes in zombies? But it had made it to the drive-in and so was much more affordable. We all piled in the car and off we went. I look at that film now and laugh at it. But it was 1969 and movies were different back then. It scared the living begeebers out of all of us. The ride home was very quiet.

Let me take a moment to give you the lay of the land. We were living on a farm… in the country… where it is very dark at night. To get to our little four room house you drove back a quarter mile drive to the big house out front. There you parked your car and walked a couple of hundred yards back to our house. Did I mention it was very dark? And that we were all scared to death? So I parked in front of the big house, turned in my seat, offered John the house keys and suggested that he might want to go open the door for us and turn on the porch light. He just laughed at me. Never said a word… just laughed. After the laughter died down we discussed our dilemma. We came to this agreement. We would drive through the yard, park as close to the house as we could and all get out of the car at once. It must have been amusing to any zombies watching to see the four of us trying to fit through the doorway all at once. And you can laugh if you like, but I was pretty sure there was at least one zombie nearby.

John’s second outstanding attribute was his appetite. John rode a bicycle… a lot. Thus he stayed in shape and could support his ample appetite. The first time I noticed his love for food was on one of their weekend visits to the farm. With company in the house we had a very nice dinner together. My wife was a good cook and often fixed my favorite dishes. One of those favorites was corn pudding. I still love it. We sat down to dinner, and after a short blessing, I, being a gracious host, passed my beloved corn pudding to John. He gave me one of his huge smiles and proceeded to scrape half of the contents of the bowl onto his plate. I was shocked but attempted to remain pleasant and hospitable. So I said, “So, John, do you like corn pudding?” I will never forget his response. “I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never had any. But if I like it I’ll eat all of it and if I don’t I’ll eat it anyway.” Now that, boys and girls, is a good appetite.

The third thing I shared about John was his open and warm heart. Like most of us men, one had to scrape a little under the surface to see how kind and generous John was. I experienced it one birthday many years ago. As I mentioned, John was a bicycle rider. He rode his bicycle many miles a day to and from work. He rode in bicycle races. It warmed his heart to engage in bicycle races when he was the “old guy” in the crowd. The youngsters would eye ball him and make comments about grandpa riding a bike. And then he would smoke them in the race. Afterward he would just stand around and grin at them. He didn’t say anything. He just smiled. He would wait until he got home to laugh at them.

Needless to say, John had a great bike. John’s bike was top of the line. It was light weight with a strong frame and multiple gears. He had a tight fitting, multi colored, aerodynamic biking outfit and helmet. He took his bicycle on trips and vacations and biked wherever he went. He loved his bicycle and to ride. And he thought everyone should. So on my birthday many years ago John gave me a bicycle he had made. He had gathered a good frame, brakes, gears, wheels, tires, cables and handlebars and all the needed nuts and bolts and hand built me a bicycle. It was beautiful and it was super cool. I couldn’t believe it. John had been that thoughtful and had gone to a huge amount of work and trouble to build a bike for me. He didn’t just go out and buy me a bike… he hand built me one. I was touched and amazed. What a kind hearted and thoughtful man he was.

To say he will be missed is the understatement and understatements.

He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Happy, Happy: Joy, Joy

Just recently I read a very challenging blog. In it the writer was taking the pastors of many mega churches to task for preaching the prosperity gospel. That is not what the blogger called it because the author is not deeply enough immersed in the church culture to know insider code words such as “prosperity gospel”. I certainly don’t agree with everything he writes in this article, but it certainly has me thinking. What he was complaining about was the pop-psychology, theology-lite sermons that are preached on Sunday mornings in many churches in North America.

He put it like this: “Feel good! Be happy! Be nice” There you go. I just summed up the message that millions of Christians will be hearing at the mega churches of Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, and many others this weekend. If you were planning to go, now there’s no need. You’re welcome. In fact, if you’re driving there and you see a “Don’t worry, be happy” bumper sticker on the back of someone’s minivan, you might as well turn around and head home. That’s about all you were going to hear when you got there anyway. Sure, they might come up with more compelling ways to communicate it, but in the end, when you dig past the charisma and the personality of the pastors who utter this gibberish, this is all you’re really left with. An episode of Barney. Syrup and sugar. A smile and a pat on the head. A self-help speech.”¹

I certainly understand Mr. Walsh taking a shot, in my opinion a quite accurate shot, at pastors of many, but not all, mega churches. Such pastors are large and easy targets. And many of them do consistently serve up non-nourishing, mushy textured nothingness to their congregations. It is appealing and easy to swallow but isn't spiritually helpful. But they are certainly not the only preachers doing this and they did not invent the process. We mainline denominational pastors, who love to hate those mega church pastors, have been doing it for years.

We are not as blatant. We do not say that God’s basic will for your life is that you will be fat, happy, rich and trouble free. Instead we talk about stuff that doesn’t really matter. In our congregations it doesn’t matter what we say as long as it is not challenging. Most of our people don’t come to church to be challenged, they come to be congratulated, calmed, soothed, and taught theology. Not practical theology; instead, theology that reminds us how much God loves us and thinks we are the bees knees. Compelling and challenging sermons are seen as an affront to our intelligence. How dare we, the pastors, assume to speak to them about the realities and practicalities of life?

On Sunday morning in the “normal” church one hears what sounds like a lecture by a history professor or a feel-good pop psychology talk or a deep and convoluted study of the scriptures in the original language that is impossible to follow or a cute little homily with little to feed the soul. Some churches I have attended remind me of an episode of The Ren and Stimpy Show with everyone leaving singing a rousing rendition of “Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.”

The most frightening aspect of modern day sermons is the lack of confrontation of our sinful lives. God is presented as some type of pleasant fellow who loves us like a grandfather and thinks whatever we do is just wonderful. And anyone who says different is a fundamentalist, legalist, narrow-minded, hate monger who is anti-Christ. Since the ultimate good in our culture is not righteousness, but is niceness, we need to get our feet off of the sin pedal. I think it was Rob Bell who articulated this idea best in his book, Love Wins. Basically his book boils down to the idea, there is no hell because God is much too nice to send anyone there. I have trouble with Rev. Bell’s conclusion since it is my belief that God doesn’t send people to hell, they choose to go there and wouldn’t be happy in heaven. The stuff that goes on in heaven is not the least bit appealing to them. Because, for the unrepentant, it is all about me. And the glimpses we get of heaven in Scripture tell us it is all about God.

My concern with the church’s present approach to sharing truth was summed up several years ago by A. W. Tozer when he wrote: “The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions.” Are we present day preachers going to someday stand before God and answer for the hazy, shallow, culturally acceptable, happy, happy, joy, joy crap sermons we have preached? I believe we will. And it is a scene I don’t even want to think about. Because I am pretty sure at that point Mr. Nice Guy God is not going to be all that nice.

¹themattwalshblog.com – The Bible Isn’t a Self-Help Book (Despite What Your Mega church Pastor Tells You)

Bill McConnell is Senior Minister at Lindenwood Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee and is a Church Transformation consultant and a Christian Leadership Coach. He is a frequent speaker at Church Transformation events. His latest book on church transformation is DEVELOPING A SIGNIFICANT CHURCH and is available at Westbow Press. He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Theology-lite Church

I make it a policy to avoid negativity. One of the factors that dictate the content of my sermons is that they should not speak of other faith traditions in disparaging way. I have had other preachers in my pulpit who only lasted one out of three services. That was because they didn’t believe me when I said, “We don’t talk badly about any other church.” They either failed to believe me or they just could not help themselves.

But over the past years as I have served a church in Memphis, something has been happening on Sunday mornings that is driving me nuts. As I prepare for worship I leave the radio on to the same station that was the alarm that woke me. On this particular station, which I chose because it is a strong signal and doesn’t fade, there is a fundamentalist preacher on (Same one every week) who is preaching against something. He is preaching against people who disagree with his theology, his view of science and his world view. I find it interesting because I have yet to hear what he is in favor of. And he rarely mentions Jesus. If one is going to be a fundamentalist at least preach about Jesus. He is my role model (Bad example) to keep me positive.

This poor guy is so tied up in his theology and rules and defending them against all comers that he doesn’t have the time to talk about Jesus and love and grace and forgiveness. This guy is the poster child for not being a fundamentalist.

My particular brand of protestant Christianity (Read denomination) proudly proclaims that we are not encumbered by doctrine or a doctrinal statement. That should work well in our current culture where being a “none” is very popular. A “none” is a person who describes him or herself as spiritual but not religious. A “none” is a spiritual person who is unencumbered by church theology and is making it up as they go. A great way to go since that way I can design my own God who approves of everything I do or fail to do. Instead of, as the Bible says, being created in God’s image, one is able to create a God in one’s own image.

Early in my life as a clergyperson I would occasionally field phone calls from people who, for varied reasons, wanted to know what my church believed about the second coming of Christ, or baptism or abortion or salvation and on and on. They would generally become hostile when I said we have no doctrine and no stated beliefs on any of those subjects. Before angrily hanging up on me, nost intimated that they thought me a gutless liar unwilling to stand up for what I believed. More than once I was told, “If you stand for nothing you will fall for anything.”

We say that we have no doctrine but when asked, the average clergy of my denomination will rattle off a pretty substantial list of the things one needs to believe or least accept. Unfortunately, like most groups who envision themselves as open and accepting, we tend to only be accepting of people who think like we do. Those other stupid people are, at best, to be tolerated. Like most groups the rule is: if you are smart you believe what we believe and if you don’t, you are stupid. We have an unwritten doctrinal statement and we are very protective of it.

I did attend a seminary (Not one of “ours”.) that taught systematic theology. They knew exactly what they believed and taught it well. Of course, me being me, I didn’t agree with their theology and spent much of my seminary class time arguing with my professors and classmates. It was very stimulating. And my professors were awesome Christian gentlemen who made such discussions a joy to engage in. (Yes I know about ending a sentence in a preposition. I just don’t care.) There is some things good to say about systematic theology. It helps one be consistent in one’s belief system. It causes one to have some foundational theology upon which to build a belief system. (That sentence could have been simpler but I didn’t want to end it in a preposition.)

Being a part of a doctrine-less church has its pitfalls and shortcomings. One is that we are inconsistent in our theology. We tend to believe things that, if true, are diametrically opposed to each other. Another is that we sometimes lack a foundation for our belief system and that causes us to wander and be open to believe the next best thing that comes down the pike. We lack a systematic method to measure and filter a new thought or theological concept. We lack a measuring stick, a foundation, when we see the Bible as a book that can be discounted when it fails to agree with what we choose to believe on this particular day.

It seems to me that if we have any basic and foundational theological concept it is that we have to be nice, agreeable and accommodating. Several decades ago we dropped any reference to sin and canceled hell around that same time. Our theology is constantly in flux; God is ever changing and right and wrong is a matter of opinion. As one very popular author said, love wins. That conclusion is based on a rather shallow and syrupy concept of love. Love, when seen through the lens of the God of the Bible, is a love that challenges and disciplines. It is not always nice but it is always loving.

I like being a part of a theology-lite church. But it is a dangerous place to hang out. One must really pay attention if one is to survive as a part of this church.

He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Seeking a Senior Minister – Can’t Miss Interview Questions

I love meaningful conversations with my church members. They are intelligent and fun – a great combination.

I love a conversation that leaves me thinking. I had one this Sunday morning. It was about finding a new minister. Our church is in the process of searching for a Senior Minister. It is a difficult task and it is difficult for several reasons. The minister – church member relationship is exactly that – a relationship. It is much more like a marriage than it is a boss-employee relationship. Though some church members believe they are the pastor’s boss, he or she is not. The pastor answers to the Board of the church and ultimately to the Lord.

It is impossible to use the usual (normal) methods of filling a position. The information about the candidates on the papers denominations circulate fails to give the search committees much help. It is nice to know where the candidate went to school and where they worked. But it is impossible to read the papers and get a feel for their theology, philosophy, work ethic, personality and the really important things that make or break a successful pastorate. Of course the search committee has available to them sample sermons and references. But, as a preacher friend once told me, every preacher has at least one good sermon. And references: if they can’t find three people with something nice to say about them, they should just go ahead and leave the ministry.

The interviews are something else. In all of the interviews I have experienced, it has been the rare occasion that I have been asked any meaningful or relevant questions. Instead, when interviewing candidates, the committee members dip into their own experiences of being interviewed for their jobs and end up asking “normal” interview questions that are almost meaningless for finding a minister. But the committee tries to use them anyway.

I have been asked questions like:

What is the most difficult situation you have dealt with in your ministry? Answer: People like you.
Do you visit people in their homes and in the hospital? Answer: Do preachers do that? I had no idea.
Are you a good preacher? Answer: Or course I am. I am Billy Graham’s role model. (I have yet to hear a preacher describe him or herself as an average preacher.)
Do you think children and youth are the future of the church? Answer: It is supposed to by a resounding YES. But the correct answer is – Children and youth are the church, now.
What would you do if someone criticized you? Answer: I would be totally shocked. I’ve been in the ministry for four decades and no one has ever criticized me.
Can you work well with our Board of Directors? Answer: Can anyone work well with your Board of Directors?
What will you do about evangelism and church growth? Answer: I, of course, will do all of the evangelism for the church. That is what you are paying me for, isn’t it? And, with my awesome preaching, people will just flock in.
Will you work forty hours a week? Answer: Are you kidding? I only work on Sunday mornings. That is why I went into the ministry.
Will you keep office hours? Answer: Only if I am allowed to use the church computer to check my Facebook, Skype with my friends, watch Youtube videos for hours at a time and shop on Amazon and Ebay.
Do you do pastoral counseling? Answer: Yes. But only hot single chicks.

Okay, I have been asked those questions but those were not my answers. It was what I was thinking but not what not what I was saying.

Here is a list of questions I think I should have been asked.

Tell us your spiritual journey with emphasis on what your life was like before you accepted Jesus, how you came to know Jesus as a reality in your life and what difference has being a Christ follower made in your life?
On a scale of 1 -10, rank how much authority you attribute to the Bible.
What are your personal spiritual disciplines?
Describe the thing or things that you find most challenging in being a Christ follower.
What is the primary purpose of the church?
What are your core values?
What are you attempting to accomplish through your preaching?
What would you encourage church members to do to facilitate their spiritual growth?
What methods would you put in place to engage church members in ministry?
How is your relationship with your wife?
What will be her involvement in the church?
You are divorced. Tell us about that?
Who are your mentors and spiritual heroes?

If you are going to ask me questions, ask me questions that matter. Instead of trying to discover what I can do, find out who I am, what I believe and what moves and motivates me. Those are the things that will direct and empower my ministry in your church. The other things are learned skills or skills I can learn.

I am looking forward to my next interview. Hope there are some good questions.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Expecting God – To Be Real

The Advent church season is a time of preparation for the coming of the savior of humankind.

For centuries the Jews were expectantly watching for the coming of the Messiah. As expectant as they were, they still missed him. Jesus failed to look like or act like they expected the Messiah to look and act like. They were expecting a conquering warrior and, instead, got a suffering servant. As we prepare our hearts this Advent I pray we don’t miss the Messiah. Jesus was called Emanuel which means God with us. What are we expecting God to be like and act like? Sometimes when it comes to things spiritual we tend to make them other-worldly, unreal and a bit strange. My hope is that when we are looking for God to be with us (Emmanuel), we are expecting God to be real.

The most important preparations we can make for the coming of the Messiah is Getting our Heads on Straight.

After we arrive on this earth, we start the process of learning and developing. In the process we develop a World View. Our world view is the lens through which we sees the world; attempt to make sense of the world; makes our decisions; makes judgments; makes plans; it is how we see and understand other people; it dictates how we live. The recent events in the news clearly show that different people have different world views which cause us to live differently and see and understand events differently.

As Christians our challenge is to have a Biblical Worldview. We are called to learn, as best we can, to see the world through the viewpoint of God as He is revealed in the Bible. It is a difficult challenge in many ways. First because research tells us that Americans are basically Biblically illiterate. And that includes a majority of us who claim to be Christ followers. And it is a challenge that is not for the meek nor the weak. Non-believers like to proclaim that claiming a faith in God is a copout for those too weak to live in “the real world.” Those who espouse such a view obviously don’t understand the full and true ramifications of being a disciple of Christ.

Jesus calls us to be Upstream People in a Downstream World. He asks us to love the unlovely and the unlovable. He insists that we no longer insist on being first in line and the center of our little universes. We are told to give rather than receive, to be givers instead of takers. He told us to forgive early and often. To even forgive the unrepentant. The world says that seeing is believing but we are encouraged to live by faith, not by sight. That believing is seeing.

If it is so difficult, why not take the easy road and live by a non-Biblical world view? There are a multitude of reasons. But central is the fact that such a world view doesn’t take into consideration God’s plan. The difference looks subtle but it is huge. The non-Biblical world view seems to make sense - like in this short story. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Matthew 16:21-23)

What Peter said made sense but was uninformed because he did not have an understanding of God’s plan.

Without a Biblical worldview we are left to make up our own standards for living. This leads to ungodly living and to our approving of ungodly living. Paul, in his letter to the church in Rome said this about that: “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind; to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32)

Why live by a Biblical worldview? What are the advantages? What is the payoff? Again looking at the letter to the Roman church: “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8)

We begin to understand and pursue the things of God. We are empowered to do what God is calling us to do and be who God is calling us to be. As we understand the ways and will of God, we can please God. We see others with the eyes of God. “’For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

At the core of having and living by a Biblical worldview is the choice of making Jesus the Lord of your life. Jesus put it like this. “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both. If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.” (Matthew 6:24-25)

As a young person I was urged to accept Jesus as my savior. And I did. But then I did something radical. I read the Bible. Over the years I have come to the conclusion that one cannot accept Jesus as ones savior. It is not an option. One must accept Jesus as the Lord of one’s life and he becomes ones savior.

It is a decision that will impact every area of your life: how you live; how you treat your family; who your friends are; your lifestyle; your spending; your use of time; every decision and choice you make.

Again in Romans: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2)

Give yourself completely over to God as a living sacrifice and decide to no longer live like the world. Allow God to change your life and renew your mind through study, prayer and fellowship. Let the God who is with us be the God who changes us.

He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Locked Out of Church

It was Tuesday evening and my Life Group was deeply involved in our weekly meeting. Ironically we were discussing doing evangelism as a small group. During that conversation one of our group members, whom we assumed wasn’t coming, arrived late to the meeting. I won’t call her by name. Sally (oops) texted one of the members and said, “Hi y’all – church doors locked – can someone let me in?” That was her first of five texts to a group member who had shut off her phone. Finally she texted another group member, “HELP! OPEN THE DOOR!” What a great example of evangelism as we talked about evangelism.

There is nothing friendlier than a locked door, is there? What is a better way to make someone feel welcome at church, or anywhere, than by locking the door?

Every church I have ever been associated with has told me that they are friendly. In my denomination we like to talk about hospitality. For us that is about inviting everyone to participate in communion. Unfortunately sometimes we fail to be welcoming in the time and space between a guest’s arrival in the parking lot and being seating in the worship area. We expend much time, energy and words talking about welcoming people different than we and lose track of just being welcoming to everyone who shows up.

Many of us church folks fail to understand that visitors to a church worship service have decided whether they are coming back, or not, well before the sermon has started. And a big part of that decision is based on how they were welcomed (or not) upon their arrival. As much as it galls us preachers, the sermon is not on the top three list of why people come back to church after a primary visit. Unfortunately our (we think) fabulous preaching comes behind: a friendly and adequate welcome; a safe, clean and well-staffed nursery; and clean restrooms. Boy that can burst your “I am important” bubble.

Several years ago I was serving a church in a ministry to young adults and singles. I had gotten word of a Methodist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, that had a great singles ministry so I went there to visit on a Sunday morning. I remember getting out of my car, looking at the church, and thinking, where in the world to I start? Within seconds a very friendly person showed up in the parking lot and asked if I could use some help. They took the time to take me where I needed to be. Not only was the door unlocked, they were ready for visitors.

I often enter into conversations with unchurched people who feel, in many ways, locked out of church. They feel they are different and thus unwelcome. They think they have to believe first before they can attend. That they need to make lifestyle changes before they would be welcomed. That there are “secret” things they must know and do before they can fit in. That if they come to worship they will stick out like a sore thumb, do something stupid, be singled out as an outsider or a sinner, used as a bad example, excluded from the insider, Christian part of the service. They fear being ignored and they fear being overwhelmed by aggressive, religious people. They thought of going to a worship service is very stressful to them. They feel locked out.

Church folks, it is time for us to unlock the church doors. Because the people out there who do not yet know and have not yet experienced God’s love and grace are trying to get inside the church to hear that message. “HELP! OPEN THE DOOR!”

He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ William T. McConnell

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Worship in the 21st Century Church

The church I presently serve has had a contemporary worship service for almost 15 years. They

have done this type of worship well for a very long time. The contemporary worship services at this church are some of the most deeply spiritually moving I have ever been in. What is different for me is having professional musicians as worship leaders. They have a completely different way of expressing things than I am used to hearing. Last week I heard these phrases during worship prep: “I will change instruments when I feel you ramping down.” “Don’t use a bunch of worship jargon.” “While you are praying I will be grooving in the background.” “Back out of the prayer time gently.” My favorite was when we were talking about opening the service and the praise leader said to the minister, “Just say something profound and spiritual.” Gosh, I thought everything I said was profound and spiritual. It is an interesting bunch to work with. I love them.

Several weeks ago I was engaged in conversation with one of our senior members who attends our wonderful traditional worship service. She was sharing with me about how much she enjoys the worship and music in the service she attends and really can’t understand why anyone would want to attend the contemporary worship. To her ears, the music is just noise. I am thinking she feels about contemporary Christian music like I feel about rap music – that’s not music. She was shocked and amazed when I told her that some of the deepest spiritual experiences I have ever had were during contemporary worship.

I have been involved in what is known as “Contemporary Worship” since the early 1970’s. I have seen it move through several changes and the genre has morphed in many ways. Each decade has fostered a change in songs and musical approach – a generation of praise music. When I was first involved there were no publishing companies involved in the movement and songs were passed around the church and the nation through word of mouth. If I heard a song while worshiping in Kansas City, I would write it down and take the song to my church in Louisville. It was cool to watch that happen. It felt a little 1^st Century.

Slowly publishing houses were established that started providing songbooks, chord charts, music tapes and then CDs and then worship DVDs. There was Maranatha Praise and Worship, Vineyard Music, Hosanna Music, Integrity’s Praise! Music, Brentwood-Benson, Word, Hillsong and the list goes on. It has grown from nobody publishing that “new stuff” to a multimillion dollar industry.

Contemporary/Praise worship has been exciting to me because it was a great opportunity to move from doing worship as I had known it to something very different. The greatest change needed was not in music style but in the basic intent in our worship and what it accomplished. I know, because I was there, that for most of the 20^th century the church became proficient in developing what could be called the consumer church. People came to church to consume; to have spiritual their needs met; to develop networks of friends; to have a place to marry them and bury them; to have Christian education provided for their children; to hear a good sermon (whatever that is) and enjoy some good music. People often bluntly state that they are church shopping. We came to church to take, not give. Mission and ministry opportunities were extremely limited. The emphasis was on hands-off missionary work. We paid someone to do it for us and prayed God never called us to the mission field. Not us – we had lives to live.

Sunday morning was the ultimate consumer experience. We went to a worship service. There was little emphasis on worship and a great emphasis on consuming. The average family went and occupied a pew and felt we were doing our Christian duty and doing God a favor by just showing up. We sat and watched and observed and critiqued. It wasn’t that blatant but it was close. After worship we gathered with family and friends and critiqued the sermon. Was it interesting? Was it understandable? Was it doctrinally correct? Was it too long? What was the theme? Next we moved on to the choir. Did you like the selection? Could you understand the words they were singing? Did anybody hit a wrong note? Next on the agenda were the Elders. How were the prayers? Too long or too short? Did they wander from the subject? Sunday dinner was critique time.

In all of the critiques I sat through, I never heard the most important, necessary and critical question asked: “Was God pleased with our worship?” In fact, mention of God never showed up in those sessions. It is not because we didn’t care about God, it was because we were a part of the consumer church and in that church those kinds of questions never came up.

My excitement about and hope for contemporary worship was that we could move from watching worship to participating in worship. And, for me, a few times in a few places that has happened. And when it does, it is awesome. God shows up and it is a powerful, moving, empowering and life changing experience.

Christianity in America still tends toward being a spectator sport that is watched and enjoyed but is rarely participated in. But I see a trend in the church of the 21^st Century of a church that is becoming more missional, more participatory, more hands on. And that is happening some in worship. Lately many have been saying, “Don’t go to church; be the church.” May I add this: don’t go to worship; be the worship.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Off the Deep End

The following is taken from my latest book, Developing a Significant Church.

As a child, I remember going to church every Sunday. My father had a policy. The only valid reason for missing Sunday school and church was a death in the family… yours. Since I survived childhood, I attended church a lot.

Some adults who were forced to attend church as children resent that and refuse to

attend as adults. That wasn’t my response. Attending church was a generally good experience for me. The church I grew up in was a positive, loving place. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a place where I experienced the reality of God. Nice… but more like a club than a church. I sense that my home church wasn’t all that different than most other mainline denominational churches of the time.

At our church we practiced religion. A nice, comfortable, socially acceptable, not terribly spiritual, let’s not get carried away with being Christian style of religion. It was understood that if one got too religious, too excited about God, he or she was to be viewed with suspicion and some degree of disdain. Getting too religious could immediately call one’s credibility into question. Such a person was said to have “Gone off the deep end.” God forbid that I, or anyone I know, should go off the deep end.

This concept made absolutely complete sense to me. It is my natural inclination to be cautious, to live life close to the vest, and to stay in the shallow end. Perhaps that inclination comes from my introverted, shy nature. Perhaps it comes from an incident from my early childhood. My family was on an outing to Cox’s Lake for a day of fun in the sun and water. Our good time was interrupted when I, at the time a preschooler, decided to follow my older brother out into the deep water. This idea would have had a more successful outcome if I had either been using a flotation device like he was or had known how to swim. Since I did neither, I casually strolled in over my head… and drowned. You know, like suck in a bunch of water and stop breathing drown. Fortunately someone noticed. A lifeguard dragged me out of the lake, pumped the water out and replaced it with some air. Needless to say, since that day I haven’t really enjoyed being in the deep end.

After my jaunt to the deep waters at Cox’s Lake, I spent most of my growing up years in the shallow end of any pool I entered. I was a shallow end person when it came to swimming and when it came to practicing my religion. I felt safe and comfortable in the shallow end. Unfortunately, as I got older and my contemporaries moved on to deeper waters, it also became lonely and boring in the shallow end. As I entered young adulthood, neither swimming nor practicing my religion was much fun. So I quit doing both. Most of us can stand anything except boring.

Then one day I was challenged to get into the deep end. For swimming it came when I took a job as a program director at a Boy Scout camp. Like every other Scout camp in America, ours had an aquatics area. The Camp Director, Don Craig, expected me, like every other staff member, to take and pass a swimming test. That test required me to swim several laps in the pool. A friend coaxed me into the deep end and off I went. I passed the test. I could now enjoy going into the deep end.

It was my older brother who challenged me to enter the spiritual deep end of Christianity. He was the one who explained the difference between being religious and having a relationship with the Living God. And that made all the difference in the world. As I grew in this new found relationship, Christianity became exciting and fulfilling… anything but boring. Occasionally it has been a little frightening. I am constantly aware that I am in over my head, just a little out of control. Instead of experiencing my faith as soothing and safe, it is now challenging and unsettling.

Before I could get into the deep end I was forced to answer an important question. Why was I confining myself to the shallow end of life? What kept me in the places I considered safe? Fear, mainly. I was afraid. I was afraid and too lazy to learn how to swim. I sense that my motivation or lack of it is not unusual. Those are probably the same reasons most people doom themselves to lives lived in the shallows of life.

May I encourage you to consider, as I did, the differences between living in the shallow and deep ends. What happens in the shallow end? Not much. People wade around and splash around and play silly little repetitious games. In the shallow end one is surrounded by the immature – children. And we all know what children are known for doing in the pool. Is that where we want to be? I think not. In the shallows I perceive myself to be totally in control. But not much of any consequence is happening. It is safe but boring.

What happens in the deep end? The deep end is for those serious about swimming and diving. It is where the purposes of being in the pool really happen. One is surrounded by others who are going for it and one can be challenged to grow and develop. Being in over one’s head tends to give opportunities for one to grow and develop new skills and competencies. Spiritually speaking, the deep end is where God is. So, if you want to hang out with God, you have to get into the deep end. That’s where I want to be.

I really don’t see how any adult Christian could take being accused of splashing around in the shallow end as a compliment. So, if anyone ever accuses me of being off the deep end, and unfortunately no one, as yet, has, I will certainly take it as a compliment.

Monday, October 13, 2014

9 Reasons Unsociable People Like Social Media

There is a lot of chatter around the subject of the sociability of social media. Many questions are being asked. And many of them are good questions. Is social media good for our society or are there too many negatives to the large amount of time many people spend on social media? Do we spend so much time and energy connecting with people in the cyber world that we are failing to fully live a non-cyber life?

If you are observant you have seen a table full of teens or young adults in a restaurant with their faces buried in their smart phones texting other people about what they are doing. Which seems strange to me because all they are doing is sitting in a restaurant not talking to the people they have chosen to spend the evening with while texting people they have chosen to not be with. (Yes I know about prepositions.) The question is asked, “Are we missing the moments of life as we attempt to record the moments of life?” We have all seen the people who, during a child’s performance in a play or at a recital, are busy scurrying around the room attempting to get the best shot or camera angle. Will they have to go home and watch the video to really see the performance?

It is not unusual for me to forget my smart phone and go a day without it. Even so, I have been a bit concerned that I am too tethered to it. Yesterday I downloaded an app that registers how many times a day I check my phone. Of course, I have to check my phone to check the app that tells me how many times I check my phone. Somehow, that just seems wrong.

Often I go to lunch and leave it sitting on my desk. The only thing that motivates me to carry it is that if my wife calls me more than twice and I fail to pick up she assumes something horrible has happened to me. I hate to cause her that heartache and concern, so I try to remember to carry my phone. But I will admit that eating lunch without my phone works for me. Unlike some of colleagues who seem to spend a majority of the lunch hour texting and chatting on their phones. No doubt these conversations are of great importance but they leave me, the person sitting with them, feeling rather unimportant and out of the loop. I occasionally think about texting them just so I can have their attention. Since when did the people calling or texting us take priority over the people we are with physically? It is like the old days when I found myself in the check out at a department store and the clerk would stop checking me out to answer a phone call. Why does the phone take precedence? For years I have had the policy: If I am busy, my phone is busy. If I am with someone I will not pick up a call. (Unless it is my wife. Reason already stated.)

Here is the other side of that coin. Social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, texting and all the other forms it come in, works best for people like me. I am an introvert. Those who don’t understand introverts assume we are unsociable or antisocial. Not true. We introverts love people and we love conversations: Only we like you in small doses and are only interested in talking about meaningful matters. We love to talk but we abhor small talk. And even though most might not think it is designed for us, the “unsociable”, social media is a gift from God.

Unsociable people love social media because:

We can engage with you when and as often as we want to – or not.
We can end the conversations with the click of a button.
If you get on our nerves, we can unfriend you.
You can send us long texts and we don’t have to read them and you still got to say all you wanted to say.
We can answer you with an emoticon. Like this.
We can mark your email as spam and never see it or feel a need to read or respond to it.
If we don’t want to check Facebook we don’t have to look at it. For days at a time.
We save time because we think: Why spend three minutes texting you when we could just call you. And then we think: If I call you I have to talk to you – forget it. Thus we save all that time.
Twitter allows the user a message of no more than 140 characters. That is pretty much our maximum message anyway.

So, if you are looking for me, check out social media. And if I fail to respond to you try not to take it personally.

Lives of Significance