Cafe Church.... getting out of the box

Culture is relevant! Dont ignore or fight against culture. Use it the way the Apostle Paul did! He used the culture as a way of reaching that particular people group.

Cafe Church philosophy and planting churches

The cafe church can be viewed as an organically based philosophy for planting churches, centered around the idea of making the message of Christ's love relevant to the needs of the local community that the church seeks to serve.

The goal of cafe church endeavors is to impact their local community with a message of God's love and the transforming power of Christ's love.

Some churches have already incorporated a "coffee shop" atmosphere at the beginning or end of their worship services. Why was this done? Answer: Because of our culture.

What if we took this to another level? Instead of just having this atmosphere once or twice per week... we had it 6-7 days per week? What if we used this atmosphere to glorify God and show the love of Christ to those who might enter the front door?

Think about it... pray about it.... and when God gives you the green light...DO IT! Dont be afraid to get out of the box of status quo church.

Be blessed,
Jeff Hoglen
Pastor - Church at the Creek

Entrepreneurial Aptitude? Yes!

Many people with a pastor's heart have tried planting churches and.... unfortunately failed. I have always felt that planting a church requires a different skill set. Some people are managers. They can take something that exists and make it better or at the very least manage it at the same level. I call this type of person a settler. I use this term in comparison to a pioneer. A pioneer has a very different skill set then a settler. A pioneer doesn't mind venturing into new areas and trying new things. So.... if you your hearts cry is to pastor an existing church, then you may fall into the manager/ settler mold.

If you, on the other hand have a desire to start from nothing and build from the ground up... and this excites you, maybe you fall into the other classification - visionary leader / pioneer. I have always felt that the church planter and the entrepreneurial gift parallel each other.

Check out this list I found on the Acts 29 blog:

Entrepreneurial Aptitude Micro-Skills:

1. Has demonstrated past successes in starting new ventures.

2. Is an innovative and strategic visionary.

3. Is highly energetic and enthused about starting a new work.

4. Shows ability to enlist others in new ventures.

5. Evidences being a self-starter.

6. Has a willingness to work intensely for an extended period of time.

Take a moment and ask yourself - what am I called to do - pioneer or settle / manage or lead? Note: One is not better than the other...they are just different. The sooner we realize which one we are, the better off we will be in the long run. It will save time, money and heartache.

Born Leaders...or taught to lead?

Leadership is defined as "INFLUENCE" or “the ability to influence others” Leaders can lead people for the good.... or for evil.... in a positive direction or a negative one.

The question often comes up, “Are you born a leader or do you learn to be a leader?” The answer to the question is “yes” and “yes.” Some people are born with natural leadership abilities, but leadership can be learned as well.

Some of the best teaching on leadership that I have read, is by the author John Maxwell. I highly recommend the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.

(The following excerpts are from the book “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”)

If a person doesn’t have influence, he’ll never be able to lead others, because no one will follow him.

“He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.”

How do people become “real leaders”? It is a process.

How To Make Sure Your Church Is Boring! by Perry Noble

Here is a great blog post from Perry Noble. I can truly relate to this article! I hope you are blessed by it. For more posts from Perry - www.perrynoble.com

How To Make Sure Your Church Is Boring! January 13, 2010

I know some people do not agree with me…but I FIRMLY believe that church should not be a boring place…because…

• The Bible is NOT boring–the teachings of God’s Word are more relevant and exciting that anything on the planet.
• Jesus was NOT boring – to see His life lived out in the Scriptures AND to see WHO HE IS should inspire AWE, not apathy!
• Our message is NOT boring – Jesus was DEAD, came BACK TO LIFE and offers us the same opportunity, to cross over from death to life and be reconciled to God–THAT’S FREAKIN AWESOME!!!
• The Book of Acts is NOT boring – there is NOWHERE in the book of Acts that ritual replaced relationship!

If the tomb is empty, Jesus is alive and HOPE is possible then HIS church should reflect that.

BUT…if you want to make sure your church is boring, here are Eight Simple Steps…

#1 – There has GOT to be apathetic leadership – Seriously, the leaders in the church MUST be obsessed with not rocking the boat and pursuing personal comfort!

#2 – There CANNOT be a desire to reach people far from God! Seriously, new birth can bring excitement to a church, which is NOT what people in pursuit of boredom desire. SO…don’t focus on the Gospel…instead teach lots of history lessons and talk about things that very few people actually care about. This will keep people far from God away from your group of people, thus not messing up the chemistry in your holy huddle. WHATEVER you do…DO NOT talk about the Gospel…it changes people!!!

#3 – DO NOT call for ANY type of commitment from ANYONE–EVER! People MUST be allowed to come and go as they please…and must NEVER be made to feel uncomfortable under any type of circumstances. If people begin responding to God it will increase the excitement level, which cannot happen in a boring place.

#4 – Always be predictable. Do the same songs at the same times, pray the same prayers and make SURE that people can look at their watch at any point in the service and know exactly what’s coming next.

#5 – Make excuses when things are done poorly! WHATEVER you do…do NOT address the obvious issues that are right under your nose. In fact, if you will simply criticize any church or ministry that IS seeing success it will take the attention off of your dysfunction and allow you to maintain the current state of your church.

#6 – PLEASE make sure not to make ANY type of references to culture in your church services. If you want to have a boring church then you’ve GOT to make people believe that the lives they live Monday through Saturday and then the life they live on Sunday are two separate things. You cannot teach that Scripture speaks to culture…because if people begin making that connection then they will begin to experience what Jesus promised in John 10:10!

#7 – You’ve GOT to allow people to pretend that their lives are perfect! Seriously, if someone has a problem then you must either put them out of your church OR tell them to act as if they are perfect. If people begin to bring their junk to your church and Jesus begins to help them work through it and they get delivered from it…your church cannot maintain its boring status.

#8 – You MUST focus on the external and NOT the internal. Make the way people dress the MOST important issue…and the way they LIVE a non-issue!!!

Christmas worship Time....

Here is an article from Tom Jackson's Expressive Worship blog. I highly recommend his seminars and DVD's. They are sure to take your praise team to another level with regards to their heart attitude as well as their gifting.

4 Ideas for a Grinch-less Christmas

1. Remember that the Father initiated the whole thing and wants us back.

I love the picture that God set in motion. The plan that sent Jesus on a stealth, covert mission into enemy territory to bring down the regime that had kidnapped and brainwashed His love: us. This is a different picture than a chubby, non-crying baby that has some Gerber induced grin on his face.

2. Reverence is great, but reverence with joy is better.

Church can get stuffy around Christmas. What am I saying… that can happen all year round! Let’s be worshippers who exhibit that we are ones who know their God, Jesus. And He’s good!

3. Strive to make it real.

Jesus lives. Sentiment can sometimes help us understand truth. But if that exchange doesn’t occur, truth is lost to pious religion. Jesus hates religion. Christmas and all that God did to send His Son, can become meaningless window dressing when we don’t see Him as a real person.

4. For some, this is the only time of the year they’ll experience worship, and therefore, something potentially truly life changing.

We all know that Christmas and Easter bring people out to church; in some, maybe many cases, because they’re trying to make their mom happy. Hey, any reason will do! Let’s look at the opportunity as one that could change someone’s life and take it seriously.

Take time to listen to the Holy Spirit; maybe you could do some unexpected song that would break down people’s defenses to the Gospel. I remember a little Hispanic church where my wife was doing a concert. The pastor there walked out into the congregation and started singing Jingle Bells. Everybody joined in and it brought such non-religious joy to the room!

For More from Tom Jackson's Site click HERE~

Be teachable!

Fellow Church Planters,
I pray you would remain humble.....and teachable. Never think you have "arrived". Look for opportunities to refresh and learn something new.

Here is a great resource.... and it's free! Thanks to Perry Noble and NewSpring Church in Anderson SC.

NEWSPRING LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE

Your Worship.....

Have you found yourself frustrated that your congregation doesn't seem to enter into worship? Let me ask you this.... are you a worshiper? Remember as the "head" of the local church you set the atmosphere of worship. I'm not talking about going through the motions....2 fast songs... a medium song and then 2 slow ones! I'm talking about actually worshiping the One True Living God!!


Now.... what about your worship leader? Is he/ she really a worshiper? Have you ever seen them when they weren't  on the platform and someone else was leading? Did they enter in? If not.... maybe ...just maybe they are playing songs...using their talent...but the anointing cant fall on them because they don't have the heart of a worshiper. As the primary vision carrier of the church plant, you need to teach on worship and better yet.... model worship.

Give Us Clean Hands
Charlie Hall
Verse
We bow our hearts we bend our knees
Oh Spirit come make us humble
We turn our eyes from evil things
Oh Lord we cast down our idols
Chorus
Give us clean hands give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us clean hands give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
And oh God let us be a generation that seeks
That seeks Your face oh God of Jacob
And oh God let us be a generation that seeks
That seeks Your face oh God of Jacob

For the Glory of God....

An outreach on Halloween? Isn't that wrong? Why? Everyday is a good day for the good news! Everyday is a good day to honor Jesus!

What other time of year are you going to find people are knocking on your door every few minutes...if not seconds? I say... that if we put on our thinking caps, we can hijack this "holiday" for the glory of God :)

See some of my ideas at www.authenticoutreach.com

"Back to Church" Sunday

This year, we are a part of the Back to Church Sunday campaign.

What is it? Glad you asked.

This year, National Back to Church Sunday kicks off on September 18th, 2011. National Back to Church Sunday is a special day set aside each year on the third Sunday of September when thousands of people who do not regularly attend church are invited and welcomed to a church near them. On that day, thousands of churches will open their doors and welcome everyone who would like to rediscover church.

I wish I knew......

Here is an article from churchleaders.com that you will find hlpful and even encouraging:

10 Ministry Principles I Wish I Knew When I Started

Get a Word.....

Just read an article by Perry Noble and it was something so simple yet something I needed to hear. As church planters, this is something we should all keep in mind.

This is what he said, " the trap that I am seeing so many pastors fall into is they fall in love with the process of creativity and allow it to bypass the love they once had for their Creator."

Creativity is good.... actually great, but it is not intended to take the place of a Word in due season. Perry goes on to say that we should read the Bible until something in us is stirred up into a fire and out of that passion fire, we preach that Word and pass the fire on. (This is paraphrased by yours truly - but the jest of it is Perry Noble's)

Dont Quit!! Keep doing what you do for the glory of God!!

Jeff

Offense....

If you have been a leader for over a month :) you will know the feeling. The feeling of being back-stabbed.... the feeling that someone is talking about you...gossiping about you or the way you handle things... Sad to say but this is part of the gig.

I found a short article to help with such times. I love the last 2 lines: "The greatest leaders I know are not easily offended. Instead, they practice the habit of overlooking offenses. They take the high road, give the offender the benefit of the doubt, and move on."

If you would like to read more check out Catalyst.

Discipleship Program?

Words like Jumbo Shrimp..... or government efficiency (lol) dont seem like they go together. Well, in my opinion the words discipleship and program are the same way!

I know many churches who have such "programs" and I know their heart is well intentioned. But because they are "programs" they are destined to fail. Maybe not at first, but eventually they will fail. Why? Because they are programs! Programs have a way of being cyclical. They are full of excitement at first...then they get grow tired...and then end up with people wondering what's the real purpose.

Discipleship really should be a lifestyle. Isn't true discipleship:

1) Following Jesus?
2) Fellowship with other believers?
3) Telling others about Jesus?

The best discipleship manual is your life. Discipleship works if you understand what discipleship really is all about.

^{Matthew 28:19-20}

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Video on a shoestring budget!

Ever wanted to show a video of the church picnic, outreach or special event but didnt have the "techy" person in house? Well check out ANIMOTO.COM !! fOR $30 per year, you can show videos that you will be proud of... all done with that "excellence" factor that we strive for!

I have been using this resource for our intro videos - at the beginning of service. Let your imagination loose and go for it!!

Lead Pastors set the tone!

Here is a short snippet from www.buildingchurchleaders.com.

The leader of the church sets the tone. The pastor's modeling of friendliness is critical. Ultimately, however, it comes down to love. One of the characteristics of breakout church leaders is their unconditional love for the people in their church. The pastor expresses an intense love for the members of his congregation. The members then show love to non-Christians who are visiting their church. The visitors take note of the genuineness, friendliness, and love being exhibited. They feel comfortable and welcomed. The door is then open for them to hear about the One who loves them more than anyone else.

For the rest of the article please see: Building Church Leaders

Get Connected..... Stay encouraged!

Some church planters belong to denomination. Some are part of a network of churches. Some however....for one reason or another are alone. If that's you, get connected to some life line. Rest assured, there will be times when you want to quit, when you question your calling, when you want to close the doors and nail a sign that says "closed". One way to be connected and encouraged is through social networking. Twitter for example can serve as great encouragement. Today is Thanksgiving.... Lets see some posts from Twitter:

gregsurratt Greg Surratt

Don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged & give up, 4 we will reap a harvest of blessing @ the appropriate time Gal 6:9

dinorizzo Dino Rizzo

Happy thanksgiving , so much to be thankful for ( in-laws that cook, italy jet lag, "others", my tribe , 80's music, most imp. - Savior ! )

erwinmcmanus Erwin McManus

Making good memories is like storing a healing salve for difficult times. Take time today to reflect on all that God has done for you.

Those are just a few people that I follow. If I can be of any help to you, please feel free to email me or connect....via Twitter @jeffhoglen

Marketing Mistakes by Tony Morgan

I just read a great article from Tony Morgan of West Ridge Church near Atlanta. For more of his writing you can visit his site: www.tonymorganlive.com

• Making a promise you can't keep. The world already thinks churches are filled with hypocrites, so make sure you exceed expectations on everything you say you’ll do. The easiest place to begin is with the guest experience. Are you delivering a welcoming, friendly environment? When someone takes a step to connect to your ministry, make sure your team is ready to follow through.
• Trying to be all things to all people. Yes, we want the world to know Jesus, but who has God put in your world? That’s who you need to reach. And, more specifically, what person within your world are you most likely to reach? Design your ministry to connect with him or her. That means some people may not like your church. That’s OK. God uses different ministries to reach different people.
• Thinking other churches are your competition. We are competing with today’s culture. Other churches are on our team. It doesn’t help if you distinguish yourself from another church. You need to distinguish your message from the world people live in. Clearly communicate why someone should connect with your church instead of spending their time doing a million other things.
• Publicizing programs that compete with one another. More choices create more confusion. You may have lots of great programs, but the more options you provide, the less likely people will be to take a step. I know, it’s counter-intuitive. But you don’t want a situation where your men’s ministry is competing with your discipleship classes that are competing with your home groups that are competing with volunteer opportunities. Figure out what you do well and what God is using to reach people for Jesus—and do that.
• Promoting your church instead of generating a response. No one really cares that you are First Church Such-and-Such. And, no one really cares what your building looks like. Promote a message series over the church. Promote a conversation over the church. But don’t promote the church or a specific ministry. Others will do that for you if it’s worth promoting.

6 Mistakes Leaders Make

Here are the 1st 3 of 6 mistakes as written by Perry Noble.
To read the article in it's entirety, check out www.churchleaders.com

1. Not getting the entire story before confronting someone about an “issue” that had been brought to my attention! A leader who always believes the worst about the people he leads needs to do a serious gut-check!
2. Letting emotion get the best of me and shutting down a discussion when I should actively listen. A leader is way more likely to get buy-in if the people he leads actually feel like he listens to them…REALLY listens to them.
3. Choosing “the obvious” rather than listening to The Holy Spirit.

Missions - Local and Global

Remember missions isnt just for third world countries. Also dont forget... it's not necessarily an either/or situation. I like to say it's a yes/ and :) We are to serve locally and abroad...wherever an opportunity should arise...wherever the Lord shall lead.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

More Free Resources

Need some sermon ideas? Listen to some Seacoast resources and get inspired. They do a great job and are kingdom enough to give it away freely.

SEACOAST SERMONS


Need some help with the admin side of church planting? Try this resource from Northpoint Church. Remember to "fish and bone"....take the stuff that you like and leave the rest.

NORTHPOINT ADMIN SITE

ChurchMetrics.com is a free web-based application that helps you keep tabs on attendance, giving, salvations, and baptisms at your church. Did I mention free???

CHURCH METRICS