Models don’t work. Programs don’t work. Doctrine as the basis for faith, doesn’t work. Universal moral truths and principles don’t work. Life is far too messy and too complicated. God, while the same yesterday, today, and forever, is not static. God is a dynamic reality with constant and ever developing plans and purposes. Why would be so arrogant to think that God would fit in our tiny definitions, models, and doctrine? If God did fit in our boxes, would that being still be “God”?
I am always studying ways of doing church and working out faith in daily reality. There is always so much to learn, and I have, in no way, “arrived”. I am on a journey, like anyone else. I have simply embraced my status as a “failed pastor”. This does not mean I define myself that way. As a matter of fact, I have rejected that completely as a definition of my inner and outer self. I am not a failure. However, embracing that, by all current model and success based definitions and models I am, indeed, a failed pastor, this frees me up to see the deficiencies and failures of the system itself, rather than focusing on my own. Of course, my own failures are legion, but they are all learning experiences. I have merely learned the 99,999 ways to NOT do church. I do not walk around as a failure. I am a man who says, “Yes!” to God, even if it leads to me looking like a fool or dying. No matter what, it always leads to God’s glory, and it is for that glory that I live and breathe. My own reputation and life are God’s anyway. I have no say in how they are spent. Does that make me weak? Sure. But it is in my weakness that God is strong. I am a “Yes Man” for God, and I have grown in incredible wisdom and strength as a result of being weak and foolish enough to do whatever God asks of me. We cite Romans 8:28 all the time, “…all things work for the good for those who love the Lord, Jesus, and are called according to His purpose.” That’s awesome, and it is encouraging! ….until you think about all of the martyrs who loved the Lord, Jesus, and were called according to His purpose. How did they feel about all things working for the good? When we make ourselves truly available to God, when we pray the life-threatening prayer of “Thy will be done…”, we just have to be aware of counting the cost. By embracing how I completely serve at the will and whim of God, I am free to look at all of these church and faith things with nothing to lose. I like that position.
So, back to our Willow Creek and Bill Hybels example, God has used him and his church mightily. No question. In terms of current measurements of success, Willow Creek would be in the upper echelon of all models of successful church. But I have two damning observations to make here, as I see church after church adopt that model and fail. First, none of the people who seek to copy the Willow Creek model are named “Bill Hybels” or live in Barrington, Illinois. God did a very specific thing in a very specific time and place with a very specific person who bore a very specific gift set. If Bill Hybels, himself, was starting Willow Creek right now, I doubt he would have the same level of success. As a matter of fact, to his immense credit, Hybels is re-thinking the whole thing. He is no longer seeing the impact with this generation that they saw with wealthy, suburban, mostly white, already-believing Boomers. He is moving with the Spirit to see where God is leading into the future. My point is, his model and formula worked, not because it was a great formula or model, but because all of the factors were perfectly in place for radical success. Like pulling the handle on a divine church slot machine and seeing all the reels come up with “7’s”, Hybels was lucky. I think he would say the same thing. His “Yes” to God led to this path. It may have, just as easily, led to utter failure and poverty. He could have had all my struggles, and I could have had the massive church in Barrington, Illinois. C’mon, God!!
The second observation I would make is one of lasting success. This requires some linguistic common ground as well. By “success”, do we mean “a big church with lots of people and resources? Lot’s of people being willing to attend church to hear about Jesus, who might, otherwise, not attend? Lots of people being evangelized and even seeking salvation (a term which has lots of baggage of its own to deal with)?” If those are our definitions, then, without a doubt, Willow Creek is a success. Billy Graham was an incredible success. Rick Warren is the most successful Christian leader of all time. But, if we dig into that definition, we expose some problems.
This is not intended to, in any way, take away from how God has impacted hundreds of millions of people through the ministries of these three men. I am only raising questions that each of them have raised, themselves, in times of introspection. How many people, of those who have responded to altar calls, prayed the “Sinner’s Prayer”, and committed their lives to Jesus in all three of these ministries, are still following Jesus with anything resembling fervor, commitment, and passion today? What percentage of those affected by these ministries have a solid walk of discipleship that perseveres like a rock in times of storm and trial? My definition of success would be more about leading people to experience the Presence of Jesus Christ, so that Jesus can do a work in them that will last an eternity. In the process, I give people the skills, encouragement, and support to be able to say “Yes” to Jesus, regardless of circumstances. Any ministry that can do that is an incredible success. Why? It’s Multiplication vs. Addition.
Models are all about Addition. They are about growth and adding more people to our list of those who hear the Gospel. That is far too shortsighted. Jesus did not waste time with addition. He was all about multiplication. How does one man change all of human history? He makes disciples. He doesn’t make sure he always preaches to at least 100,000 people, to add the most possible. He focuses on 12 people, speaks into their lives and hearts in a special and unique way (in their vernacular), in order to make them into disciples, willing to say “Yes”, even unto death. He did not change His message to appeal to the masses. That would be easier and more spectacular. He did not sit down with the 12 and plan out a marketing strategy and PR scheme to reach the most people. He poured life into the 12. He had a single conversation with a single, promiscuous, Samaritan woman at a well, so that she became a zealous herald of the King. We see multiplication at work through that story, as the people she tells about Jesus proclaim that they now believe. They even say that they no longer believe because of what she told them, but because of seeing Jesus, themselves! That is multiplication. His last words to His Disciples while still in the flesh before them did not involve any kind of tactics, outreaches, models, programs, doctrine, principles, or numbers-based-goal-setting. They were about multiplication: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Multiply yourselves. Then, when Peter preaches for the first time, the 3000 who are added as a result are tacked on at the end as an afterthought.
From my time as a youth minister, alone, I have more than 20 people who, as adults, have gone on to do full-time work for the Kingdom: pastors, youth pastors, evangelists, missionaries, liaisons to the Muslim community, teachers, writers, and many other pursuits of a life of discipleship. I never had a flashy program that put lots of butts in seats. I was never good at adopting models. I simply introduced a lot of kids to Jesus. As a result, I multiplied myself by more than 20. Some of them stay in touch. Some are not even talking to me because of issues or baggage or something stupid I did. Nonetheless, as I stalk them on Facebook, I see they are still following Jesus. I have been multiplied. They are making lots of disciples, who will make lots of disciples, and on it goes. I become the indirect spiritual father of a multitude, all because I was foolishly willing to say Yes to God’s direction to pour into some teenagers. That is a pretty cool success story.
Where we run into trouble is that the models currently rule the day. They are unquestioned. They are absolute. We define ourselves by them. We are a “Willow Creek Church”. So, Bill Hybels, himself, blessed you and sent you out with people, support, a plan, and a blessing? No…it means that we pay the yearly fee to have their models and resources sent to us…
We are a “Small Group Church”. Cool! I haven’t heard of that community of churches. How is that working? Well, we aren’t affiliated with a larger community. And the small groups seem to be going ok. Some of them are a little inward-focused. Some are kinda “support group-ish”. I am more of a large group presenter, but they need me to come up with the lesson, discussion questions, and plan for each week. It’s a lot, with meetings, sermons, counseling sessions, etc., but I do it. It’s way outside my gift set, but this is a conservative area, where people are very private about faith, emotions, and life stuff. If I don’t give them lots to do, it’s torture for the leaders. Then they burn out, and I have to lead some of the groups or shut them down. If I do that, the congregation starts to thin out, because people perceive that we are failing.
We are strictly “Urban Church”. Cool! What’s that like? Well, it’s good…I guess. This is what God called me to do. It’s hard, but it’s really good! Really good! I mean, He’s doing great stuff in me! Awesome, but what is the fruit of your ministry? Well, these are really hard people. There is a lot of addiction, so we have to get people clean and sober. There is a lot of poverty, so we have to feed a lot of people. God is good, but none of these people have money. We are in a loosely affiliated group of churches, so there is no common pool of resources to support urban church planting. Our population is not only broke, but they are also transient. We aren’t able to do consistent ministry with them. It’s really hard…but it’s so good!
We are “Home Church”, just like the 1st Century Church! That’s what we want. We want do church, just like the apostles did it! Cool! So you guys fight and disagree all the time about the requirements for entry into the community? Huh? No way! I told you, we have the unity of the first century apostles. We have a common purse, just like Shane Claiborne. How is that working? Well, I’m no Shane Claiborne. We have had a lot of trouble adapting that to a modern age where people no longer live like that. We are also having trouble with people refusing to grow and reach more people. They all say that they have just grown to trust the people we have gathered already. Adding more people would just change the dynamic, and we’d have to start over with building trust. We have been the same size for the last 10 years, with the exact same 20 people. They are not really developing in their discipleship, because they never encounter people who aren’t like themselves. There is no “iron sharpens iron”, because they all agree, and we are all preaching to the choir every week.
This list could go on and on with an incredible number of conversations I have had with struggling pastors. Those who are successful are not model or tactic focused. They are simply people who say Yes and trust God to use their gifts. Bill Hybels didn’t even have a model. As a matter of fact, he was 20 years into the Willow Creek experience, before he asked his team if they should maybe start writing some of this stuff down.
God does not call the people who have the best plan or model. God does not go after the smartest and the most articulate. God doesn’t even call people to tasks for which they will necessarily be successful by any definition. God calls people according to character. God calls those who will say yes, drop their nets, and follow. When we take our focus off of our little structures, and put it on the response of Yes, we are set free to succeed, fail, thrive, or falter all for the greater Glory of God and the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
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