In 2002 our family discovered Halo. Anni, Via, Emma, and Bella were all in online school, so they had PCs. We got several Halo discs and spent part of many Family Days learning the various hideouts and ammunition caches in all the different worlds. I remember the delight we had in learning something new, especially as we were all the same skill level. Ten years later we got an Xbox 360 with Halo 4. It was a whole new game and we were in a different space as a family. We rarely played. Then some friends came over who knew this game well. Every time we would show up on the screen, they took us out. Over and over again. They delighted in showing us how much they knew. I suppose theoretically this could have helped us improve our skills, but practically, it was no fun so we quit showing up. Our delight was in learning together and improving our skills together.

Many churches have the same pastors for a long time. These groups grow up together, pastors and congregations. Someday these first generation churches will face the challenge of passing on the baton. They will learn to pastor generational Christians. This is a great and worthy challenge, but it is not what I am talking about here. Nor am I talking about starting a new church Christians who are tired of their old church. I am talking about the challenge of starting brand new church families with people who do not trust the church or Christians.

As we get good at doing church together it is natural for us to want to multiply. We sometimes try to plant mature churches. We bring other experienced Christians with us to help us do things right. I applaud those who do this and this strategy is working well for us. On the other hand, in my experience, this strategy takes significant resources, manpower, and years. And results sometimes fall short of our hopes. And pastors and church leaders can get really tired. Sometimes we even hear the word burnout. Are there other ways to birth new churches?

When we are first starting out in a new area I sometimes wonder, “How can this person be a Christian?” , and then I watched them transform into pastors or missionaries. What if we use the Halo analogy above? When our family played Halo just getting online together was a challenge. It tooks us years to really get the hang of it, but we did finally learn the game well. And we loved the learning.

A Biblical Principle?

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24

Sometimes in our neighbourhood young couples move into a bedroom in their parent’s home. In other cases the parents will discipline their married children by taking away their cell phone, or by scolding them. Obviously this is not ideal in the development of a healthy marriage. What if these parents and inlaws can learn to give their children space and grace to figure things out, all the while prayerfully standing by to put on bandaids and to celebrate victories. I remember in the 1990s some of our pastors were offensive to us missionaries. Maybe they were shouting from the pulpit, or chauvinistic, or leading in a style that did not feel Vineyard to us. We would ask our mentors, “What about so-and-so? Here is what he is doing.” We still try to follow our mentor’s awesome advice. “Don’t prune the plant too early. Focus on whether they are trying to walk with the Holy Spirit in their daily life. Be there to love them.”

Think of a time when you have learned to play a new game, or learned a new life skill with another person. Was it more fun being with a professional who corrected you, or was it more fun getting skilful together with peers? I realize you may like to improve your skills by being corrected, and this article is not for you. But is there anyone out there like me who would rather figure it out with some friends?

If you are the sort who likes to figure things out with your friends, think about an unchurched person or family you know who might be a Person of Peace. Would they be interested to discover how God reveals Himself in His Word? Do you think you could help them set up an environment where they could do this in their comfort zone, with their friends, with no doctrinal or behavioral corrections from you? What do you think might happen?
 
Your thoughts?

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I am thinking about organizational change this week because we extended our time together in Altamira as an opportunity to have some organizational meetings.

Igreja da Vinha churches have been planting other churches since their inception. The mission has been helping them in every way we know how. The whole group is full of zealous Christians with a passion to share their faith. Introducing new or different church-planting or organizational strategies produces a variety of responses.

One strategy some of us have been studying and experimenting with is how Disciple Making Movements (DMMs) use Discovery Bible Studies as their evangelism and church planting strategy.

In our discussions I have heard pastors question whether it is easier to introduce DMM’s to existing churches, or whether it might be best to leave the existing church running and to start with DMM’s in a completely new location.

I am trying to start a DMM with some unchurched friends here in Marabá, partly as an experiment but also because I have grown to really like my unchurched friends and I wish the best for them. There are significant challenges. The lifestyle sins they seem to take for granted leave me wondering, “How will this ever work?” I believe that with God all things are possible, but we certainly need His help. I am thinking it would be easier to start with zealous Christians, even if they think differently.

Could it be that the hardest challenge for each of us is the one we find ourselves in?

Gary Best caught my attention during the InterVinha 2017 Conference. “How do you teach a person to fish? Do you send him to a university, far from rivers and water, and have him study all the variety of fish, and the various methods that have been used around the world?” The context was about teaching people to be disciples and to make disciples, but the analogy works for Organizational Change as well.

I remembered my Masters Degree studies. Our textbook for one of the semesters was 998 pages long, and it is about Organizational Change. Without any opportunities to help change organizations this book is dry reading. I now realize this school is trying to educate Organizational Change leaders. And there are no simple one-size-fits-all solutions. This is complex because of many unpredictable variables like the culture, opportunities, and people involved. I feel blessed that the Lord has given us hands-on opportunities to help organizations change and develop.

Take our mission, for example. We were one family, supported by some churches to plant Vineyard churches. Then we were four families, all friends, from a variety of cultural backgrounds. We slowly grew to become what we called a “Mom and Pop” organization. Lots of mission business was resolved around meals together. From here we opted to become a Decentralized Organization with 5 Bases, 2 registered non-governmental organizations, and two international missions, and still growing. Each Base has their own legal boards although most of us wear several hats, participating in groups other than just the Base where we live. We all represent our teams when we come to the table. We are held together primarily by our name, values, and relationships.

The local Igreja da Vinha churches are another example. We started as several smaller churches in outlying regions, and then we developed a Central Church in Altamira. A Brazilian leadership team developed. As they are growing in numbers and maturity they are wrestling with how to keep up with the changing dynamics of the organization. They are also an Association of Churches, held together primarily by name, values, and relationships.

Sometimes organizations have a strong leader who says how it is. This model works well in some situations. For example, God lead the Israelites through Moses (Exodus 14). On the other end of the spectrum, some groups develop into learning organizations. This kind of group is curious about underlying concerns, and curious about strange questions or situations that don’t make sense. What is really going on? As the underlying concerns become clear the learning organization knows how to brainstorm and seek God together to come up with best possible solutions. What might be helpful? For example, God lead the early church through Paul, Barnabas, and the early church council (Acts 15). Are you on any leadership teams? Where do you see your group along this spectrum? Do you think others in the group would agree with your assessment?

Going back to the fishing analogy, I would like to keep studying but only if it helps real people catch real fish. I plan to keep studying about organizational change with the hope that I will be helpful in God’s Kingdom.

This is really dry reading if you do not have opportunities to wrestle with organizational change issues.