THE DIFFERENCE DNA MAKES

 

This is the first time that I have given this space to a testimonial by one of the people I coach. The following paragraphs point to the power of good DNA in the life of a congregation. This is from Matt Meisenhelter, a church planter south of DC. I am proud of Matt and celebrate what God is doing at his church. - Paul Nixon

SOMETHING IN THE WATER

Ed Friedman, the brilliant congregational systems thinker and author of Generation to Generation and Failure of Nerve, is one of my primary mentors.  I never knew Ed personally, but I have devoured his writing over the years, and listened to many of his lectures.  His thinking is deeply influential in the way that I approach congregational consultation.

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

Cognitive dissonance is the human capacity (indeed penchant) for holding simultaneously contradictory values, beliefs or practices.  We see it in individual people, and we see it in faith communities.  Among conservative Christians, it might be love of guns or participation in the military alongside worship of a character who was practically a pacifist.  Among liberal Christians, it might be belief in the theory of evolution alongside a belief in divine creation  - that somehow both are true.  Or for all Christians, cognitive dissonance occurs when we claim to believe in an all powerful God of love, but we also live with problems of evil and suffering that seem to have no redemptive value.

SURVEY SAID......

In the days ahead, the results will be widely published from the landmark survey of American church planters sponsored by Lifeway.  The UMC and several major denominations participated in the study.  We will be able to break it down regionally and learn volumes about the nature of conventional church planting in the USA.  By conventional, I mean those plants that function with a salaried pastor and seek to launch public worship in the first few months, and to attract tithing members who financially bankroll the young church.

WHY THE COMMUNITY MODEL OF CHURCH WORKS

Last Sunday, before I preached at the grand opening of Cornerstone Centre near Toronto, a woman approached me in the lobby.  She said, "I used to go to a church based community centre in Toronto - my daughter and I loved it - we shared in many activities there.  But that church never grew.  Why not?"  I asked, "Did you ever attend a service there?"  "No."  "Did anyone ever invite you?"  "No."  "Did you get to know many of the church members?"  "I don't know if the people I met were members or not - no one ever talked about the church." 

THE COLORS OF REVOLUTION

Greetings from Indianapolis, where my Epicenter colleague Beth Estock and I are leading a ministry track focusing on social evolution in the United States and the future of the church.  A few years back, Beth introduced me to a comprehensive theory of social evolution called Spiral Dynamics.  Spiral Dynamics is based upon the work of a social scientist named Clare Graves.  It is similar to faith development theory (a la James Fowler in the mid 80s) but it looks beyond the individual's own human development to consider changes in cultural values paradigms over time.  We are finding it a very helpful framework for making sense about what on earth is going on in the United States regarding church participation of late.

THIS IS HOW YOU CHANGE THE WORLD

When I was a kid growing up down South, they used to talk to us in Sunday school about 'inviting Jesus into our heart.' There was a song we used to sing in church with the words "What a wonderful change in my life has be wrought, since Jesus came into my heart." That is old-time religion, and I don't know many Sunday school classes that use this jargon today.