Category Archives: Church Inside Out

The church has left the building!

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The coronavirus is something serious. We need to take necessary precautions and even unnecessary ones. If the actions we take now help slow the spread of the disease, later on it will look like we overreacted. Good.

Take a moment to think what under-reacting looks like. Can you picture it? A lot of vulnerable people suffer. If we’re going to err, it must be on the side of overreacting.

So the church has left the building. That can be a reason for lament and discouragement. But it shouldn’t be. Just as the persecution in Acts 8 caused the Jerusalem church to expand its outreach to neighboring regions, so this time can mark a decisive turning point for the church.

What if…

  • …we discovered that genuine Christian ministry is best practiced “out there” rather than “in here”?
  • …we found out that our relationships can be strengthened when our interaction is intentional rather than coincidental (we both are at the building at the same time, so we fellowship)?
  • …our leaders were spurred to consider the flock on an individual basis rather than a single mass that gathers on Sundays?
  • …our care for one another became day-to-day and house-to-house?
  • …we became creative in finding ways to help the weakest among us?

Those are just a few starting points. Amazing things can happen when God’s people turn their eyes outward rather than inward.

Stay safe. Practice good hygiene. Take necessary steps to avoid catching and/or passing on the virus.

And go be the church!

Church Inside Out seminars

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I’ve submitted my next book to 21st Century Christian, and we have a verbal agreement for its publication. That said, I’m not done with Church Inside Out. The material in that book reflects so many things that are important to me. I love having the chance to share that material with others.

I’m grateful to Herald of Truth ministry for making that possible. Any church that would like me to present the Church Inside Out seminar to their people can make that happen free of charge. The only costs to the church are my travel expenses; Herald of Truth covers the rest.

Church Inside Out is a practical workshop for the congregation that wants to increase its impact on the community around it. The material is presented in four sessions:

Session 1: The Church Inside
Christians face new challenges when trying to reach today’s changing society: hostility toward religion, skepticism toward the Bible, apathy toward church membership. Yet the biggest hurdles we face are often inside our own congregations.
In this first session, we will look at attitudes in our churches that distance us from the communities around us. We will also examine the role of Christians as ambassadors of the Kingdom.

Session 2: The World Outside
In this session, we will look at how to analyze the make-up of our community and how to purposefully serve that community. We will also discuss the need to develop relationships with non-Christians to be able to share Christ with them.

Session 3: The Church Goes Out
Conversion is a process, and church members need to know how to actively participate in every stage of that process. The third session will look at how to treat people who are at different points in their spiritual journey towards God. We’ll learn how to recognize when people are ready to hear the good news and how to share it with them.

Session 4: Outsiders No More
When foreigners come to a new country, they go through something called acculturation. This is the process of learning the appropriate ways of doing things in their new culture. When new Christians begin meeting with the church, they go through a similar process. The final session deals with how to help new Christians become active members of the church.

I hope to get the chance to present this material at your congregation!

God’s magnificently varied grace

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Yesterday I was in Snyder, Texas, for a Church Inside Out seminar with the Eastside Church of Christ there. Someone asked an interesting question. I was discussing the varied nature of potential ministries in the church, mentioning everything from a cookie ministry to after-school tutoring to free yard care for the elderly.

That’s when someone asked if I knew of an available resource that contains suggestions for possible ministry activities.

I don’t. I’m not aware of anything like that.

Do you know where to find that kind of information? If not, have you heard of unique ministries that people have developed? I’d love to have more to share with others.

“Serve one another with the particular gifts God has given each of you, as faithful dispensers of the magnificently varied grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10)

The joy of travel and sharing

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Phew! It’s been a busy past few weeks. Since February 22, I’ve been to Canada, Nicaragua, Cuba, and Alamosa, Colorado. Blessed beyond blessed to get to share with believers in so many places… but I’ll confess that I’m a bit road weary. I’ve got a seminar in Snyder, Texas, this weekend, but at least I’ll be in my own bed.

Paul Smith, preacher at the San Luis Valley Church of Christ in Alamosa wrote a very nice article about recent seminars they’ve had at their congregation, including the Church Inside Out seminar I did there last weekend. I encourage you to read what he wrote.

One reason that I thoroughly enjoy doing the Church Inside Out seminars is that I believe the information is relevant and useful to most Christians. I think most congregations can find something in the seminar that will help them reach out more effectively; I think most individual Christians can also find something of use. As I’ve said before, there’s not that much original thinking in the seminar. One skill God has given me is to be able to combine the ideas of others who are more original than I. Hopefully I can give Christians information they might not get otherwise.

Travel does seem to be the enemy of blog writing, at least in my case. I decided long ago not to be a slave to this site; I’ll update as I can, hopefully providing some things of value along the way. Thanks for reading!

O, Canada

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I made my first trip to Canada last weekend. I was privileged to receive an invitation from the Great Lakes Bible College to come and present my Church Inside Out seminar. The seminar was held at the Waterloo Church of Christ in Waterloo, Ontario. The event was also live-streamed via Zoom. The Zoom recordings are posted online: https://courses.glbc.ca/courses/church-growth-seminar-church-inside-out/ (That’s not my favorite type of video, but it’s certainly better than nothing. If you’d like to see what these seminars are about, that’s a good way to get a feel.)

Loved being with fellow Christians in Canada. As always in our brotherhood, I met lots of people that know people that I know. Those shared connections always create additional joy.

My main cultural problem was remembering that Canadian dollars and U.S. dollars are not the same! The difference in value can get confusing at times.

God is at work in Canada, through good people that want to see the Kingdom grow. I was privileged to get to share some time with them.