Whole Church E-Book

Mel Lawrenz

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: J-B Leadership Network Series
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 310

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Beschreibung

Praise for Whole Church "Mel is a thoughtful analyst of church life today. Best ofall--he actually does what he writes about. This book can leadto new levels of engagement for your church." --John Ortberg, author and pastor, Menlo Park PresbyterianChurch "Mel Lawrenz's vision of a local church that actually reflectsthe wholeness and beauty of God as it engages with the Lord, oneanother, and the community is a much-needed call back to God'soriginal Plan A - a plan that has too often been cast aside inthe name of specialization, church growth, and expediency." --Larry Osborne, North Coast Church, and author, Sticky Churchand Spirituality for the Rest of Us "Wow! This book is for every Christian leader who wants to movetheir church from a narrow self-focus to active engagement in theworld with all the resources and possibilities of heaven." --Mike Slaughter, Ginghamsburg Church "While Mel Lawrenz's 'four kinds of engagement' aims atcongregational application, it also creates a template thatindividual Jesus-followers can use for self-evaluation of what itmeans to be the church today. The final 'dynamics' section is worththe price of admission for church leaders." --Reggie McNeal, author, The Present Future and MissionalRenaissance "Having known Mel Lawrenz for thirty-five years in variouscapacities as student, intern, colleague, and eventual successor assenior pastor of Elmbrook Church, I can testify to his keen mind,his profound respect for and knowledge of history, hisforward-looking curiosity, and his undoubted communication gifts.Add all these to his many years as a seasoned practitioner ofchurch ministry, and the result is this very helpful book, WholeChurch." --Stuart Briscoe, author, Flowing Streams and broadcaster,Telling the Truth

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

LEADERSHIP NETWORK TITLES

ABOUT LEADERSHIP NETWORK

Acknowledgements

PART ONE - WHOLE CHURCHES AND FRAGMENTED CHURCHES

Chapter 1 - FOSTERING WHOLE CHURCHES

SICK OF FRAGMENTATION

THE REAL STUFF

A CALL TO ENGAGEMENT

EXPONENTIAL EFFECT

LIFE IN THE CLUTCH

Chapter 2 - CONFLICT AND FRAGMENTATION

THE REALITY OF FRAGMENTATION AND CONFLICT

THE IMPACT OF CONFLICT

USING CONFLICT CONSTRUCTIVELY

DIAGNOSING FRAGMENTATION

VALUES: SAVING US FROM OURSELVES

Chapter 3 - GETTING THE WHOLE CHURCH ENGAGED

ENGAGING WITH GOD

ENGAGING WITH GOD’S PEOPLE

ENGAGING WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

ENGAGING WITH THE WORLD

PART TWO - FOUR KINDS OF ENGAGEMENT FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY CHURCH

Chapter 4 - ENGAGE WITH GOD CLOSING THE GOD GAP THROUGH WORSHIP AND TEACHING

ONE GOOD FRIDAY

ENGAGING WITH GOD THROUGH TRANSFORMATIONAL WORSHIP

WORSHIP AS A WHOLE-CHURCH PATTERN

THE PURPOSES OF WORSHIP

THE PRACTICES OF WORSHIP

THE EFFECTS OF WORSHIP

PREACHING AND THE WHOLE CHURCH

AIMING AT THE CENTER IN PREACHING

Chapter 5 - ENGAGE WITH GOD’S PEOPLE CLOSING THE PEOPLE GAP THROUGH REAL KOINONIA

EXPERIMENTS IN COMMUNITY

IN SEARCH OF KOINONIA

THE SHARED LIFE: KOINONIA AS THE CONTROLLING PRINCIPLE

THE COMPOUNDED POWER OF ENGAGEMENT

SHORT-TERM TASK GROUPS AS ENGAGEMENT

HOME FELLOWSHIP GROUPS AS ENGAGEMENT

Chapter 6 - ENGAGE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY MORE THAN A THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT

WHY DO WE WITHDRAW?

MORE THAN A THOUSAND POINTS OF LIGHT

WHAT DOES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LOOK LIKE?

BEGINNING A MOVEMENT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Chapter 7 - ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD A WHOLE CHURCH FOR THE WHOLE WORLD

TWENTY PEOPLE, SEVENTEEN COUNTRIES, THREE WEEKS

ENGAGING WITH THE WORLD—AN ORGANIC REALITY FOR EVERY CHRIST-FOLLOWER

PARADIGM SHIFT—HOW THE WORLD GAP HAS BEEN CLOSING

PART THREE - THE DYNAMICS OF THE WHOLE CHURCH

Chapter 8 - THE DYNAMICS OF COHESION

COHESION

APPEALING FOR UNITY

EXPERIENCES OF COHESION

THE TEACHABLE MOMENT

A HISTORIC TURNING POINT

IMPARTING A VISION

RESPONDING TO A CRISIS

COMMITTING TO A NEW INITIATIVE

Chapter 9 - THE DYNAMICS OF MOMENTUM

MOMENTUM AS ENTHUSIASM

MOMENTUM AS GROWTH

MOMENTUM AS MOVING OUT

MOMENTUM AS WORK

Chapter 10 - CREATING A CULTURE OF CHANGE

CHANGE WILL UPSET PEOPLE

CHANGING THE MESSAGING WITHOUT CHANGING THE MESSAGE

STRATEGIC CHANGE

CONTINUAL INCREMENTAL CHANGE

CHANGE AND THE GENERATIONS

Chapter 11 - CHURCH CRISES THE MAKE-OR-BREAK MOMENTS

CRISES OF THE WHOLE CHURCH

BEFORE CRISIS HITS: BUILDING A CHURCH TO WITHSTAND EARTHQUAKES

Chapter 12 - FAILURES AND SUCCESSES IN COMMUNICATION

COMMUNICATION AND THE SHARED LIFE

COMMUNICATION, MOTIVE, AND TRUST

COMMUNICATION AND THE SPIRIT OF A CHURCH

COMMUNICATING INFORMATION

COMMUNICATING CHANGE

Chapter 13 - CHOOSING WISE LEADERS

WHY WISDOM MATTERS

SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS TO LOOK FOR IN FINDING WISE LEADERS

DON’T GIVE UP ON LOOKING FOR WISE LEADERS

AFTERWORD

NOTES

THE AUTHOR

INDEX

Copyright © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741—www.josseybass.com

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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lawrenz, Mel.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN : 978-0-470-46480-9

1. Christian leadership. 2. Church controversies. 3. Church-Unity. I. Title.

BV652.1.L32 2009

253—dc22

2008055665

LEADERSHIP NETWORK TITLES

The Blogging Church: Sharing the Story of Your Church Through Blogs, Brian Bailey and Terry Storch

Leading from the Second Chair: Serving Your Church, Fulfilling Your Role, and Realizing Your Dreams, Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson

The Way of Jesus: A Journey of Freedom for Pilgrims and Wanderers, Jonathan S. Campbell with Jennifer Campbell

Leading the Team-Based Church: How Pastors and Church Staffs Can Grow Together into a Powerful Fellowship of Leaders, George Cladis

Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens, Neil Cole

Off-Road Disciplines: Spiritual Adventures of Missional Leaders, Earl Creps

Reverse Mentoring: How Young Leaders Can Transform the Church and Why We Should Let Them, Earl Creps

Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments, and Practices of a Diverse Congregation, Mark DeYmaz

Leading Congregational Change Workbook, James H. Furr, Mike Bonem, and Jim Herrington

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community, Hugh Halter and Matt Smay

Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey, Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James H. Furr

The Leader’s Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation, Jim Herrington, Robert Creech, and Trisha Taylor

Whole Church: Leading from Fragmentation to Engagement, Mel Lawrenz

Culture Shift: Transforming Your Church from the Inside Out, Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro, with Warren Bird

Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement, Will Mancini

A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey, Brian D. McLaren

The Story We Find Ourselves In: Further Adventures of a New Kind of Christian, Brian D. McLaren

Missional Renaissance: Changing the Scorecard for the Church, Reggie McNeal

Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders, Reggie McNeal

The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church, Reggie McNeal

A Work of Heart: Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders, Reggie McNeal

The Millennium Matrix: Reclaiming the Past, Reframing the Future of the Church, M. Rex Miller

Shaped by God’s Heart: The Passion and Practices of Missional Churches, Milfred Minatrea

The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World, Alan J. Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk

The Ascent of a Leader: How Ordinary Relationships Develop Extraordinary Character and Influence, Bill Thrall, Bruce McNicol, and Ken McElrath

Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America’s Largest Churches, Scott Thumma and Dave Travis

The Elephant in the Boardroom: Speaking the Unspoken About Pastoral Transitions, Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree

ABOUT LEADERSHIP NETWORK

Since 1984, Leadership Network has fostered church innovation and growth by diligently pursuing its far-reaching mission statement: to identify, connect, and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact.

Although Leadership Network’s techniques adapt and change as the church faces new opportunities and challenges, the organization’s work follows a consistent and proven pattern: Leadership Network brings together entrepreneurial leaders who are focused on similar ministry initiatives. The ensuing collaboration—often across denominational lines—creates a strong base from which individual leaders can better analyze and refine their own strategies. Peer-to-peer interaction, dialogue, and sharing inevitably accelerate participants’ innovation and ideas. Leadership Network further enhances this process through developing and distributing highly targeted ministry tools and resources, including audio and video programs, special reports, e-publications, and online downloads.

With Leadership Network’s assistance, today’s Christian leaders are energized, equipped, inspired, and better able to multiply their own dynamic Kingdom-building initiatives.

Launched in 1996 in conjunction with Jossey-Bass (a Wiley imprint), Leadership Network Publications present thoroughly researched and innovative concepts from leading thinkers, practitioners, and pioneering churches. The series collectively draws from a range of disciplines, with individual titles offering perspective on one or more of five primary areas:

1. Enabling effective leadership

2. Encouraging life-changing service

3. Building authentic community

4. Creating Kingdom-centered impact

5. Engaging cultural and demographic realities

For additional information on the mission or activities of Leadership Network, please contact:

Leadership Network [phone] [email protected]

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Someone once asked a pastor how long it took him to prepare a sermon, and he wisely answered, “A lifetime.” I cannot acknowledge everybody who has helped me learn to shepherd over the past four decades, but here are a few.

Pastor David Hughes and Pastor Bill Shepherd (what a great name for a pastor!) let me be their pastoral assistants over several summers when I was barely twenty years old, even allowing me to share in the preaching. They showed me the essence of shepherding: visiting the sick, supporting the grieving, being ready for the next opportunity and the next problem, leading in worship.

I am deeply grateful for the influence of Stuart Briscoe in my life ever since I was a college student. When I first heard him preach I discovered the explosive power of proclamation and the innate veracity of Scripture. He has modeled an integrity and focus of ministry that is compelling. I can only hope that those of us trained by him will be energized by the Word and the Spirit as he has, will not get bogged down in minor issues, and will keep as happy a spirit as his in the trenches of church ministry.

There are too many people to count at Elmbrook Church over the years who have shaped my values and perspectives of ministry. I am grateful for the dozens of pastors I’ve gotten to work with over the years, each one unique, each one trying in his or her way to lead people to a God-filled life. I am glad for colleagues who all share in the sense of our competence in Christ and our incompetence without Christ.

The members of the church teach me continually about what matters in ministry. Their encouragement has strengthened me so many times, and their longing for an ever deeper and wider impact has motivated me.

I am blessed to have a partner in ministry, my wife, Ingrid, who has always willingly accepted the cost of leadership, who challenges and supports me, who has incredible insight and wisdom, and who insists that the call of God be louder than any other voice.

And as for book writing—I am deeply grateful to work in partnership with the good people at Leadership Network whom I’ve gotten to know over the years, and for new friends at Jossey-Bass who are clearly focused on producing quality books to help leaders. Thank you, Sheryl Fullerton, for believing and reminding me that publishing is both important and fun at the same time.

PART ONE

WHOLE CHURCHES AND FRAGMENTED CHURCHES

1

FOSTERING WHOLE CHURCHES

THE BIG IDEA

The gospel we stand for is a message of wholeness (shalom, salvation, spiritual health) for broken people and a broken world, and that wholeness must be reflected in our churches. Powerful forces are constantly fragmenting us and our churches, but it is still possible to be a Whole Church. Engaging God’s supply with human need is a call for the twenty-first-century church.