Monthly Archives: July 2016

Waiting. I have to say that waiting is one of the most difficult things that we have to do. There’s a verse about waiting that we like to quote. “But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength…”  We like to remind ourselves that once the wait is over, it will all be OK. But what about during the wait? What happens while you wait? How well do you wait?

There are several characters in the Bible that I can identify with. For a while, I really identified with David. Musician, lowly shepherd, but destined to be a king. I could relate to that. But I think that the person I have been able to relate the most with would be Joseph. Not the earthly father of Jesus. The son of Jacob. It’s interesting to me how the Bible doesn’t record everything.

As I was reading through the story of Jacob this week, I realized something. The Bible leaves a lot of things out. Details. Things I think I would have found fascinating. It’s interesting to me how the Bible just doesn’t record everything I want to know. And as I read through the Bible, sometimes I have questions that aren’t answered.

You can tell that God is a man because he communicates like a man. He boils what he tells us in his word down to the important things. Only the “need to know” kinds of things. For example, he spends only two chapters of the Bible covering the story of creation. I personally would love to have some insight into God’s thought process during creation. “And then God created the Mouflon. Since he had already created the antelope and had given it straight horns, God thought to himself ‘I shall create an animal which has curved horns! Not only shall they curve, but I shall add a corkscrew twist to them as well!'”. Wouldn’t it have been cool to have had a little more detail about some of the events of creation? But an event like creation is given two chapters of the Bible.

When we get to the story of Joseph in chapter 37 of Genesis, however, the Bible sets aside 13 chapters to his story! And an interesting story it is too! The favorite son of his father is sold into slavery by his own brothers. He is bought by an influential and powerful man in a foreign country and is given great responsibility in that man’s house. But he is falsely accused of wrongdoing and is thrown into prison. After several years in prison, he receives a pardon and is promoted to be the second most powerful man in the entire country. And this isn’t just any country. This is Egypt, the most powerful nation in the world at that time!

I have often felt like Joseph. I can relate. Early in my life I was comfortable, living at home, safe, secure and had little to worry about. There were times when I felt that I had been sold into slavery and didn’t know what the future held for me. I have felt trapped by my circumstances. But, like Joseph, I have been successful at nearly everything I have attempted in life. I was able to overcome my fear of the unknown and have been “delivered” by God. I have been placed into positions of power and authority. Like Joseph, I too have been wrongly accused of things in life and have suffered punishment for things that I did not do. But the thing about Joseph that I most closely associate with is his time in prison.

The Bible doesn’t specify how long Joseph was in prison, but I imagine that regardless of the length of time, Joseph was rather uncomfortable. He knew that he shouldn’t have been there. In spite of being put in charge of the prison, he knew that he had the skill and experience to be more than he was – to do more than he was doing. And yet he was in prison. And he was there because of something completely out of his control. He had done nothing wrong but was in prison nonetheless. Day after day he waited to see what God would do. Would this be the day that God would vindicate him? Would the people who had done this wrong to him ever find out that he was innocent? How long would he remain in this place in his life? I suppose at times Joseph must have questioned everything. Am I here because I deserve it? If I had only not gone in to clean her room, she wouldn’t have grabbed my shirt that day! Should I have avoided her more than I did? I knew she was after me. Do I deserve to be where I am? And to all of these question, he maintained his innocence. He had to. Deep down, he knew his own motives. And yet… here he was. In prison. Waiting.

And then, one day, he sees a chance. He is able to interpret the dreams of two of the prisoners. Through the interpretations, he discovers that one of the prisoners will soon be freed. He asks the prisoner to not forget Joseph when he is set free. Just as he predicted, the prisoner is set free. I can imagine that in the following days Joseph must have sat by the door waiting for the guard to call his name. Every movement in the prison corridors was imagined to be someone coming for him. Surely, this was his opportunity. He would not be forgotten. This was his chance at freedom again. But two more years went by before he was remembered. So during this time, Joseph waited. Of course, he didn’t have an option. He was in prison. If you had asked Joseph about his life while he was in prison, he would have had a different story to tell than he would have in just a few more years. I think that we sometimes tend to tell our story before it’s over. Our story is much different while we’re waiting.

How did Joseph feel while he was in prison waiting for the deliverance that God would ultimately provide? What was he thinking all those years? He didn’t know what God had in store for him like we do. He didn’t know God’s timing with the famine like we do. All he knew was that he was in prison for something he didn’t do. He didn’t know if or when he would ever get out. So he had to wait. He had no other option. He had no choice but to trust that God would make everything right. While he waited, he used the resources that God had given him: The unique ability to interpret dreams. Who would have thought that such a gift would have been his ticket to greatness? God knew. Joseph didn’t.

I find myself in Joseph’s prison often. Feeling like I’m being punished for something of which I am innocent. Having no option but to wait. No other choice. I’m just waiting on God to vindicate me. Like Joseph, I don’t know what God has in store for me. I don’t know the timing of what he has planned for me. I don’t know if or when I will be free. So I wait. Because I have to. I have no choice but to trust that God will make everything right. If you were to ask for my story during this time, it would be one of woe, doom, and despair. But my story isn’t over. Not yet. God has a plan for my life. I don’t know how it will work out, but I know it will. So I wait. How well do I wait? Do I use the gifts that God has given me, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem? Who knows when something I do or say will be the ticket to God’s purpose for my life?

How well do you wait? Do you use the gifts that God has given you, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem? Do you feel you have no option but to wait? Do you feel trapped by circumstances? Wait. Trust. Believe. Who knows when something you do or say will be the ticket to God’s purpose for your life? Don’t tell your story before it’s over. Wait well, my friend.

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I suppose this post couldn’t come at a better (or worse) time. This past week we have seen two African-American men killed by police and a sniper kill 5 policemen in Dallas, TX. It seems that racial tensions are at an all-time high. Even in the church! And that’s where I want to focus our attention this week. You see, the church has a desire to be diverse. Even in times of racial division, the church has a desire to be culturally diverse. According to a survey by LifeWay Research, 85% of all Protestant pastors believe that the local church should strive to be racially diverse. Yet that same survey showed that only 13% of Protestant churches actually had more than one predominant racial or ethnic group in their congregation.

Where is the disconnect? I believe that it’s in the execution, not the desire. You see, racial or cultural diversity does not just happen. It has to be intentional. I’ve heard many a pastor proclaim that “Anyone is welcome to attend our church! We want all people to feel welcome here!” But the reality is that their church is not open to all. Unless all like what they offer. And what they offer is not for “all”.

For example, I am welcome to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch. They would not turn away my business. In fact, they would take my money as readily as any other department store. The problem is, I don’t like their clothes. I could ask them to change the style (and size) of clothes they offer, but they’re not likely to do so. Why? I am not in their target market. You see, Abercrombie & Fitch state in their marketing plan that “The concept of this product is to provide the target market which are males and females between the ages of 14 and 20 years old clothing that allows them to be comfortable and casual while still looking stylish and trendy…” While I am all for looking stylish and trendy, I’m not really looking to for the same style and trendiness that a 14 to 20-year-old is.

The same is true of your church. While it may be true that all people are welcome, do you make your church comfortable for people of diverse backgrounds?

Diversity has to be intentional. And we should be intentional. In a world where racial tension is higher than ever, we should set the example. We should work hard to create churches that are full of people who are different than we are. Of course, there will be communities that are almost exclusively one particular culture. There will be people who attend churches which are predominately one culture because they enjoy the style of church that that particular church has. That doesn’t make the individual racist. It means that they are attending a church that they can support and participate in culturally.

Let’s begin by creating a little diversity in THE church, not necessarily your church. How can we create diversity while at the same time preserving unity? Start by reaching out to churches who are different than you. Here are 3 simple ideas that will work for creating both diversity and unity in the church:

1. Invite a pastor from a culturally different church to lunch. Sit down and just discuss some of the ways in which your churches are different. Discuss some of the ways that your churches are the same. Discuss some of the challenges that each of you are facing in trying to impact your community with the gospel. Just talk. Pick up the phone and call. You know that church people never turn down free food! What have you got to lose? Call.
2. Invite a culturally different church than yours to partner with your church for a night of worship. Maybe call that same pastor you had lunch with. Put your worship leaders in touch with each other. Combine your teams and have a night of worship at one of your churches. It doesn’t really matter which one. You will each learn a little about the other as you sing songs from each church. You may even like some of the songs you haven’t heard before! There is something exciting that happens when people come together to worship God. Even more so when people who are different unite to worship the same God!
3. Partner with a culturally different church than yours in outreach. It may be something as simple as handing out bottles of water in the park to thirsty families or serving meals at the local shelter. You could even partner to do something like VBS. Take volunteers from both churches and open the VBS up to each church to participate in. Both churches share the load as well as the reward. In fact, some churches with fewer resources or volunteers may not even be able to have a VBS. Invite them to join your church.

Diversity doesn’t just happen. If we are not intentional in creating it, we won’t have it. We may have come to this country on different ships but we’re all in the same boat now!

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Church is not what it once was. I have been in church my entire life. As I reflect back at how the church has changed over the years, it stands to reason that church will not be the same in 10 years as it is now. The church is evolving. Whether for good or bad is up to individual interpretation. I would say that there is a little of both in our evolution. But there is no doubt that the church has changed. Even in the last decade.

As I was looking over some articles recently that were discussing some of the current trends in Christianity and the church, I started thinking: What were the trends a decade ago? What was happening then that led to where we are today? Have any of the predictions about the state of the future church come true? I dug a little deeper and was able to find some interesting data regarding the church in 2005 – 2006. Here are some of the statistics and trends related to Christianity and the church:

1. Christianity remains the world’s most popular religion, with about 34% of people worldwide identifying themselves as Christian. About 1% of Christians go to a mega-church each week (attendance >1,000).
2. Although the importance of religion has been declining in other countries, it remains strong in the US. At this time, the US has the highest level of church attendance than any other country.
3. Confidence in religious institutions has hit an all-time low, with only 26% of survey respondents saying that they had a “great deal of confidence” in religious institutions.
4. 61% of people in their 20’s had previously been churched, but were now considered to be “spiritually disengaged”. 70% will leave the faith in college and only 35% will return.
5. Churches are rapidly incorporating new technology into their culture. Large-screen projection is used by nearly 38% of churches and 57% now have websites.
6. 47% of churches have attendance fewer than 100.

Using this information, some predictions were made about the future of Christianity and the church:

1. A growing frustration with churches among younger adults will lead to smaller groups of meetings among Christians, outside of the church. House churches, office Bible studies, and meetings in public places will increase as believers seek to satisfy their hunger for God that isn’t being met in the local church.
2. A re-energized movement of conservative Christianity would arise in the US. This would be seen as a great revival by some. Regardless, the conservative Christian movement would be more vocal and visible in the future.
3. There would be increased conflict over the rights of homosexuals in the US. Canada had just legalized same-sex marriage in 2005. This was viewed by many to be a precursor of the same battle in the US.
4. Greater diversity in local churches. Fewer segregated congregations. There was already growing diversity in churches. The prediction was that this would become the norm in many churches by 2015.
5. Those who are on the fringes of church attendance will drop out completely.

By and large, those predictions of the future state of the church have come true. A decade ago, about 1% of churches were considered mega-churches. Today, that percentage hasn’t changed much. However, the number of people who attend a mega-church has changed. About 10% of church attendees each week attend a mega church. The prediction in 2005 was that people would begin attending smaller churches. In fact, more people have begun attending larger churches. But the recent explosion in “house churches” and the trend among mega-churches to become multi-site churches has kept that prediction alive.

There has been a rise in the visibility of conservative Christianity in the last few years. Much of that rise is due to the increased conflict over same-sex marriage that was also predicted. As Christianity has encountered perceived opposition to its message, conservatism has risen from the ranks of Christendom to become quite vocal and visible in the last several years.  I would not categorize this rise as the beginnings of a revival, however. In fact, the perception among many Christians is that this rise in conservatism has actually damaged the cause of Christianity. We are viewed not as the conscience of America, but as those who are out of touch with our culture and values. Although the message that conservative Christians have presented has been correct, the method of communicating that message has often been delivered in a way that is devoid of the love that Christ taught us to show. I’m not suggesting that we become more “tolerant” of sin. Sin is sin. But I believe that we too often address the symptoms of sin and not the sin itself.

The diversity of individual local churches has grown quite a bit in the last decade. However, we still have a long way to go. Most churches are not culturally diverse. As the world around us becomes more and more diverse, the church does not keep up with the diversity found in our workplaces, our cities, and towns, or even our local stores and shops. I think we need to recognize that not everyone wants diversity in the church. There are some congregations that are not culturally diverse on purpose. They enjoy the specific culture that their church represents and those who also enjoy it will attend. On the whole, however, churches want more cultural diversity. A recent study by LifeWay found that 85% of pastors thought that the church should be racially diverse, but only 13% actually are. Increased diversity in the church appears to be an ongoing trend that is still on the radar in 2016.

The last prediction 10 years ago was that those on the fringes would drop out of church completely. This is one prediction that, sadly, has come true. But not in the way that those who made it thought it would. While some have completely stopped attending church, many have just opted to attend less frequently. Rather than attend each week, many are now attending once or twice a month. This pattern of attendance has become the new norm for many people today. If you consider that in a congregation of 100 people, all of them attend each week, the average attendance is – drum roll please – 100. Now, if just 25 of those people decide to miss just one week out of the month, the average attendance becomes 94. If half of them miss one service each month, the average attendance drops to 87! That’s using a fairly conservative attendance projection. If half of the congregation attends only 2 services each month, the average attendance drops by 25%. Remember, no one has left the church. They are still members, they just don’t attend as often. This is obviously more visible in a smaller congregation, but it works for congregations of all sizes. This is arguably the best reason for declining church attendance in America. People are not attending as frequently as they used to.

Next week, we’ll take a look at diversity in the church. How do we build diversity in our churches? Check back next time to find out. Don’t forget to follow me @RealTomRawlings on Twitter for more church trends, growth and leadership ideas.