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EPISODE 131: Compelling Community chap 7 & 8

Date: 10/05/2022

Questions:

I know Pastor Josh has preached multiple times on church membership and its importance. But the book (pg 126) advocates to emphasize the priority of church membership by restricting membership to regular attenders and restricting church involvement (Life Groups, etc ) & volunteering to members only? Do we think the “exclusivity [will] fuel a blazing hot community of believers [that will] do far more gospel work” (pg 127) or do we think that it will be too restrictive and viewed as unwelcoming/unloving? Do we have a process to “clean up the membership rolls” or is that not something we should do? pg 129 Much of the onus of chapter 7, and really the whole book, is on church members to cultivate organic and informal discipleship. As a church, how do we keep pushing in that direction without programming it? Page 128 says that Sunday morning service should be “accessible to unbelievers, but focus[ed]… on the maturing of believers”. Practically speaking, how does this manifest — welcoming to the seeking unbeliever, challenging to the nominal, in-name-only christian, and maturing to the believer? Pg 145 advocates for a second weekly service as an opportunity to foster community and help the church feel more like a family. Has Gateway considered a Sunday night or midweek service? What holds us back from doing it? Or should we not for reasons unique to Gateway? The patience section on pg 132 was so good for a “doer” like myself. “Have faith in the ordinary means of grace… but as Christ’s servants, our job is not to effect change… it is to be faithful. We work diligently to guide our churches in the right direction and then as much as we long for change, we can rest content with whatever pace our Lord deems best.” What a great reminder that so much of this is played out in years and even decades, not overnight programs and immediate results.

  1. Open enrollment or restrictive ministry
    1. I think we’ve gone back and forth about this a few times in our discussions.
    2. What we need to ask ourselves is not — do we have ministries that are open to people not as committed to Gateway — because we do. Nearly every ministry is. I think the question to ask is — what ministries do we have that require a commitment to Gateway in order to participate in so that the highly committed are discipled, encouraged, and not solely being used to drag along the uncommitted.
      1. Joshua’s Men example
  2. Membership roll clean up
    1. Our constitution requires that we clean up the membership rolls at least annually. But nearly every month we do some sort of clean up of our rolls as our shepherding elders find out that folks have moved or are no longer attending Gateway. 
    2. Keeping our rolls clean helps make it clear as to who we (the elders) are spiritually responsible for. There’s also an economic reason to keep rolls clean (per member asking for presbytery).
  3. Organic membership ministry
    1. The ease of programming ministry is that it gets everyone on the same page.
    2. The difficulty of organic ministry is that there will be groups of individuals all wanting to accomplish the same goal, but with different ideas on how to do so and wanting the church to back up their way.
      1. This is the most challenging aspect of organic ministry, but is the obstacle we have to overcome as a congregation. 
      2. Sitting down with others who want to accomplish the same goal, but in much different ways. Is it “my way or the highway” or are we open to working together to accomplish goals?
    3. Though I firmly believe that organic ministry is a sign of a more healthy church.
  4. Sunday mornings — believers and unbelievers present
    1. I tend to focus on believers while acknowledging that unbelievers are present. So I’ll say things like, “You may be here and aren’t a Christian.” and “If you’re not a Christian, consider today to be an invitation to explore what Christians believe.” Or “If you’re not a Christian, you may have never considered what ___ means for you.” 
    2. Scripture shows congregational gatherings that are disciple-focused, yet acknowledge that unbelievers may be present. (1 Corinthians)
  5. Second worship service
    1. It’s always important to recognize differences between us and CHBC when we consider specific ministry programs (like an additional worship service).
      1. CHBC – has no youth group ministry, no kid’s programming, no midweek programs, they do Sunday School instead of small groups, etc…
      2. They’re staffed heavy on the pastoral side since they don’t do many of the ministries that we do (9% of our staff are pastoral; 72% of their staff members are pastoral). 
      3. They’re a one location one Sunday morning worship service church. We have two locations and four services each weekend.
      4. All that to say, we’re in a much different position than they are when it comes to adding a second worship service. It’s not just us adding a worship service, but part of the conversation would be around what would we need to stop doing so we can do a second worship service. And I’m not sure anyone wants us to stop doing some of the things CHBC doesn’t do in order to add an additional worship service.
  6. Long obedience in the same direction
    1. Lasting cultural change takes time. We do need to be thinking years, which is a muscle that doesn’t get used much in our modern time. 

    Compelling Community 

    Chapter 7:

    When people grow in hospitality, they grow and invite others into their lives. And they grow in reaching out to those with whom they don’t share much natural affinity. This simple model of relationship helps shape a church culture. In this case, the result is a culture with relational breadth. (First paragraph, p. 121)

    1. Difference between fellowship and hospitality.
    2. Hospitality means having relationships with people who you have no natural affinity with other than your faith.

      How are we being intentional about showing hospitality on Sunday mornings, and throughout our week?

      1. Kristi and the first impressions team
      2. Are we looking for familiar faces only when we’re at our campus? Or are we being intentional about reaching out to unfamiliar faces as well?
      3. Hansons – have a young lady over to our house every Sunday after church.

        It follows, then, but if you want to cultivate a culture of intentional relationships, you will need to make a big deal out of membership. Rather than letting membership language unnoticed in the background, make it front and center as the gateway to life in your church. (Third paragraph, p. 126)

        1. We’ve talked about membership a bit already.
        2. Some of the sermons I’ve preached on church members have been the least popular. Folks even left Gateway over them.
        3. There’s a strong desire — in Christian culture — for there to be a zero commitment/expectation of churches towards the people who attend. While there are expectations of people who attend towards the churches.
          1. Don’t expect me to serve. But I expect you to offer ministry programs.
        4. Church shopping. Can we do member shopping?

          What ways are we currently emphasizing the privileges of church membership and what are some ways we could better emphasize the privileges of church membership?

          1. Members have shepherding elders. Regular attenders don’t.
          2. Members have the opportunity — if called and affirmed — to be leaders in the church. Regular attenders don’t. 

            Chapter 8

            Make it clear to your congregation that it’s OK for things to die. No ministry is so valuable that it must continue in perpetuity. For example, if someone wants to do a weekly Bible study at a local prison, you’ll gladly get behind it. But if the congregation eventually shifts their involvement to other things, don’t put the prison ministry on life support and harass people until you get volunteers. Just let it die. (Third bullet point, p. 140)

            1. Own, Catalyze, and Bless
            2. Wednesday night kid’s program as an example

              One reason we end up with all these structural obstacles to community in our churches is that we have to narrow our understanding of what it takes to grow a community. I’ve talked with pastors who see small groups as the tool for building community and their churches. Or who see demographic-based ministries as the way they will foster community. In other words, if we don’t have a strong community, we start a ministry to check that box. “Insert small groups. Now we have community!” (First paragraph, p. 149)

              1. This is always the danger. Pragmatism trumps biblical community.
              2. We want to be in community with people like us. Instead of seeing the beauty and importance of God’s diverse people.
                1. If you’re a small group of young married couples with infants, you may be able to relate to how exhausting life is, but can you really pass on life wisdom to each other? You need a couple who’s been through the season of life you’re in who can help you see that eventually your baby will sleep through the night, or crawl, or walk. Guys, you need a husband who blew it so he can help you know what not to say to your physically and emotionally exhausted bride during this season of life.
                2. Singles need married couples. Families with kids need empty nesters. Boomers need Gen Z and so on. 

                Are we leaning on one ministry more than others to facilitate community in our church? If so, what other ministries can we better utilize?

                1. Yes, life groups. That’s why you can be in a life group and still not feel connected to others.
                2. There are lots of organic connecting opportunities happening. Life groups getting together for potlucks. Game nights and dinners that folks put together and host in their homes. Emily and I have a dinner on Friday night with some couples from Gateway, a Hang with the Hansons event on Saturday, Monday night we’ve got a dinner with a family from Gateway — those are opportunities we’re taking advantage of this weekend to connect to others outside of our life group that met last night.