The Monday Memo from John Stanko

615: Let's Be Creative!

It's been a busy two weeks for me, and everything in me wants to go to bed right now, but there is work to be done. Well, there is a Memo to be written, and that is hardly work, so let's get at it, for the sooner I finish the sooner I can go to bed.

I continue this week with our series from my book, Changing the Way We Do Church: 7 Steps to a Purposeful Reformation. This week we look at the sixth step, but if you need to catch up with the previous five, you can do so here.The sixth step is this:

Move from fads, copycat programs, and trite and worn out rituals, traditions and doctrines to innovative initiatives in the Spirit of (but exceeding the results of) the early church.

The church of Jesus should be the most innovative entity on the face of the earth. Think of it: We have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us release creativity, gifts and purpose, yet for the most part, we do what we have always done, consequently, we get what we have always gotten. Now, there is nothing wrong with having good church when the people assemble.  But 'good church' should only be part of our repertoire and not the only item on our spiritual menu.

The church is facing problems unique to the 21st century. Granted, the needs of people remain the same since the time of Christ, but the challenges are new every generation. How are our churches using the Internet to broadcast and publish the good news, testimonies and prayer needs and answers?  What new programs in the neighborhoods where our churches are located are we initiating to meet felt needs of the residents? What new titles do our staff and volunteers carry, titles that describe who they are and what they do (how about a pastor for public service, a hospitality pastor, or a chief empowerment officer instead of the title 'pastor?)?

Churches, leaders and the people who attend need a fresh vision of their own, not ones borrowed from someone else or some other work. Those become Saul's armor, fitting someone else perfectly but a total misfit for the borrower. What will help this process along?  Why, purpose will of course! When the Spirit moves on the hearts of the people, He will stir up creativity and innovation and the Body should then be listening to and experimenting with those stirrings.

Everywhere I go, people lament that younger people are not attending church, yet everywhere I go, churches keep doing pretty much the same things. Many hope that a supernatural revival will come and save the day - maybe it will and I pray God will send one soon. But Isn't it time that we did what the church in Acts did, and that's address new problems and challenges in new Spirit-led ways?

This entire series, and my book, is my appeal to incorporate the dynamics of purpose in the life of the modern church. Let's regain our edge by doing what God has always done well:  Direct the creativity of His people to astonish those in and out of the church with God's creative love. Let's reform the church and while you are at it, have a blessed week!

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KENYA UPDATES: You can read in this week's update what Pastors Peter and Francis are doing to try and generate revenue for their people's needs [an example is pictured left]. Once you have read, please invest in their work and help us provide markets for their products. You can give to their needs and work through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  Thank you for your help!

614: Want To

I continue this week with our series from my book, Changing the Way We Do Church: 7 Steps to a Purposeful Reformation. Let's look at the fifth step, but if you need to catch up with the previous four, you can do so here.

The fifth step is: Develop services, Sunday Schools, kids church, youth meetings and even committee meetings that people want to attend because there is a spirit of excellence and the unexpected.

Keep in mind that we are focusing in this series on the impact purpose can and should have on the church. When you have folks doing things because someone has to do them, you get noble but usually uninspired and unanointed results. When you find people whose purpose it is to do those things, then you get supernatural results.

Can you imagine what would happen if everyone working in church wanted to be doing what they are doing (not from duty or guilt) and the people, including the youth and children, could not wait to get there?  It would be a purposeful reformation!  The challenge is that some leaders don't have a system to know what people can do and some people have not done the work to know who they are so they can do their purpose work.

I am on the go today, and won't have Internet service throughout the week, so this is short. We will expand on this more next week as well as look at the sixth step.  Have a blessed, purposeful week!

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KENYA UPDATES: I updated the work in Kenya with two reports from Pastor Peter and Pastor Francis. You can access them both on the site where they are posted. After you read, do what you can to help the people there by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882 or by giving through my website. When you give, you will be helping some precious and sweet children and orphans as pictured here from Pastor Peter's work.  Thank you and God bless you!

 

613: Empowering Leadership

We are more than halfway home on this seven-part series based on the material in my book, Changing the Way We Do Church: 7 Steps to a Purposeful Reformation. (You can review the first three posts if you like before you move on to this the fourth part.) As I explained in past weeks, Rick Warren's book, The Purpose-Driven Life, sold more than 30 million copies! I think that says something about people's interest in what I have come to call the purpose craze.

Yet with all that interest, I don't think our churches have changed that much to accommodate this phenomenal movement.  When people bought the book, they 'voted' to hear about purpose, but it made little or no difference in the life of most churches that I can see. So I am reflecting on what it would take to see a purposeful reformation occur in the Church worldwide.

The fourth step as I see it is: Help leaders and governing bodies move from attitudes of ownership to attitudes of servant-leadership and stewardship.

For purpose to take hold in a church, the leaders must use the power they have to empower others to find and fulfill purpose. That means the vision of the church must at times be adjusted to include the vision of the members that God has sent. This is similar to what a coach in football or baseball has to do: the coach must adjust the game strategy to the players available. Effective coaches win with different style players because the coaches are flexible and adapt. Pastors, elders and church leaders need to do the same.

I have often said if your purpose is to be a swim coach, I don't have to build you a pool. But If I find as a church leader that God has sent me nine swim coaches, I may have to build a pool whether or not it is part of my vision or passion. I don't own the church; I am just managing it on behalf of the Holy Spirit. And my job as a leader is not just to build the church, but to build the people in the church.

That will happen not when I get them to do the activities I feel need done, and for which they may not have gifting or talent, but when I help provide opportunities for them to express their purpose in the church. While not everyone can or should look to fulfill purpose in the church, I think we can provide and should be providing more opportunities than we presently do. This goes in line with what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:11-12: "So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up . . . ."

If you are a leader, what are you doing with your leadership power? Are you building a thing or building the people? Are you giving away your power to empower others, or are you using your power and position to build your vision? If you are not yet a leader, I urge you to determine today that you will use the power yet to come for the good of others in their pursuit of purpose. We have all this purpose energy in the church; let's find how we can more effectively use it to build the people and consequently to build the church.  Have a great week!

I have written extensively on the topic of leadership over the years. You can read my posts on my site to learn more about my views on servant leadership in the church and business.

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KENYA UPDATE: I did not receive any updates from Kenya this week, but I have good news on the July 29 benefit game at PNC Park. We have sold 11 of 15 tickets. Yes, we have commitments for $11,000!  So don't wait to move on those other four tickets. You can give through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

LISTEN IN: Check out my new media page for all my Saturday morning radio broadcasts, as well as some of my sermons from the past.

612: Messy

We are in the midst of a series based on my book, Changing the Way We Do Church. In that book, I outlined seven steps I believe the Church needs to take in order to harvest the tremendous interest and energy contained in what I call the purpose craze. You can read my last three posts on this subject here, but now it's time to move on to the next step in the seven-step process:

3. Help leaders be productive in their purpose as they oversee Holy Spirit chaos created by people pursuing and fulfilling their purpose.

Now someone questioned the word 'chaos' in this step, because the Holy Spirit cannot oversee or create pure chaos. She raised a good point. The chaos is not from His perspective, however, it is from ours as we change and adjust according to His direction and will. To avoid this confusion, however, let's think of chaos in terms of messy and not disorder.

As an example of this 'messiness,' let's look at Acts 13:1-3

Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

I am sure Barnabas and Saul had a significant role in Antioch. Yet once the Holy Spirit spoke about their purpose and how they were to be deployed, the church acted at once. There was no smooth transition or training period; they simply left for the mission field to which they were directed. Once they heard, they did not keep praying and praying, asking and asking, as some have been known to do.

I love an orderly step-by-step plan as much as anyone, but sometimes that's just not possible and, what's more, is that what God ordains. We learn to trust Him and His abilities when we follow His plan, which sometimes we cannot see or comprehend until later.

Let me say, however, that this does not mean that we wait and wait, doing nothing while we wait. Notice that the men in Acts 13 were actively seeking, fasting and praying. And when they heard, they moved without concern for what the absence of Barnabas and Saul would mean. That meant leadership had to help the men move out and then help those remaining make sense of the way forward.

Are you avoiding the messiness of purpose in your own life, family or organization? Is your church or company so structured that there is no possibility of messy? If so, then you may be missing out on the benefit and growth opportunities that messy can bring. As my friend pointed out, chaos or messy to me is not the same to the Holy Spirit. Learn to trust Him in the midst of purpose transitions and the church and its people will be the better for it.  Have a great week!

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KENYA:  I have two updates from Kenya concerning the impact that your giving is making there.  Read them here and then give generously to the ongoing work there.  You can give through my website or by sending a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  Thank you and God bless you for your help.

BASEBALL GAME: Don't forget about the benefit game for Kenya on Monday, July 29, here in Pittsburgh. It's not cheap but every penny goes toward the work in Kenya, since the box, tickets and food have been donated. Read about it here and then spread the word so that every ticket can be sold.