When the Big Thing Isn't Big

Tonight is the first game of the World Series of Major League Baseball. Okay…big deal. Philly and New York. This is the big deal. Networks are running reruns so not waste the new episodes in competition. They are operating under the assumption that this is the big draw, the big thing. Nope they are wrong. This might be the big deal in Philly and New York, but in New Orleans or Minneapolis or Seattle or Miami or Denver or Cleveland or Oakland, not the big thing. I will be interested in the ratings the World Series draws. I believe they might be lower than last year which was lower than the year before.

How often do we discover that what’s supposed to be the big thing isn’t? We do this all the time in the church looking for the silver bullet that is going to make the church suddenly shoot up and be all she can be. Maybe it is 40 Days of Purpose or it is being a simple church or small groups or catching that rockin’ band? Maybe the big thing is at Catalyst or at the National Outreach Convention or at the Leadership Summit or…? More often than not there is no pot of new members at the end of those rainbows.

Maybe the big thing is in actuality the dozens or hundreds or thousands of small things we do in the church that no one seems to pay attention to. Jesus seems drawn to the small things, a boy’s lunch box, a pearl, a mustard seed, a woman giving two cents when everyone around her is dropping in bags of money. Jesus took 12 guys that are not remarkable, not the “A” team and started a movement that has changed the world.

Right now in this country there are 350,000 churches. Only a handful are the big thing, only maybe 1500 are “mega-churches”, less than one half of one percent. The majority of the rest are the small things of this world. But in those small things are acts of love, compassion and grace. In those small things are daily sacrifices and gift to people most others never see. There is nothing wrong with Big Things. But right now, in this place and at this time it is the multitude of small things that I will watch and place my confidence in. For me the big thing turned out to be small thing after all.

Oh Philly is up 2 – 0 bottom of the 7th. If only the Cubs were there, now that would be a big thing.

A Great Win in the Drizzle

You can list what West Bay Covenant doesn't have on a box of legal pads. You can talk about why we will always be small church or about the obstacles facing us cannot be over come. Phooey.

Last night we held a Trunk and Treat for our community. And in the drizzle and 40+ temperatures we had over 20 people, most in their 70's dressing up, decorating their cars and having ball handing out candy and blessings to over 50 kids who showed up, The parents of the kids kept saying how great this was, and thanked us over and over.

These saints loved it. They had a riot joking with one another, drinking hot cider and letting people know that Jesus loves them. Forget about what we don't have, just look at what we do have!

Nothing But Nets

What makes a good partner? To be able to partner with another person, agency or company what does it take? Do the values have to mesh? Does the compatibility of the goals do the trick? What if only for this project your interests align - is that good enough?

The Covenant is launching a very worthy effort, Congo – Bed Nets for Life. This is to help combat malaria in small children. This is the leading cause of death in children in Africa. Less than 1% of the children under 5 in the Congo have a net protecting them from mosquitoes. They want to help address this issue. I believe they have a inquiry with UNICEF to work with them but they have not answered at the moment. Our church will help, and not just the children, all of us want to be a part of this. This is a no brainer. $10 a net? How many can we raise?

There is another organization who deals in nets; it is called Nothing But Nets. (http://www.nothingbutnets.net/) In 2006 Rick Reilly was writing for Sport Illustrated discovered the issue of malaria and children in Africa and challenged his readers to donate $20 for a net and the response was amazing. He kicked $20,000 of his own cash to jump start it. Since that date the campaign has sent out almost 2.9 million nets, not dollars, nets. The partners for this effort are the NBA Cares, the WNBA Cares, Sports Illustrated, The United Methodist Church, the UN Foundation, United Airlines, the Boy Scouts of America, Orkin (they have best slogan – fight the bite), Exxon Mobil and Malaria No More.

Why not the Covenant? Why not take the dollars from our children and combine them with United Airlines and Orkin and the NBA and bring the nets to the Congo. I am not a NBA fan, but I am a big fan of this effort. The goals align, the results are awesome. Why wait for UNICEF? What makes a good partner? Who can we work with to get the job done? Just a question, just a thought.

An Open Letter to Cialis

To the Executive Team of Cialis:

What is with the two tubs thing? Seriously? I saw your commercial on TV last night for like the one billionth time. (Which is more than enough, way more) In all those times I have never once been tempted, thought or even mused about asking my physician for your product. My only thought is who takes a bath in the woods? I am 54 years old. There is nothing romantic, alluring or sexy about taking bath in the woods or in a field – may be at the beach – no not even there. All I think about is getting out and stepping on pine cone or something; or having Chip or Dale jump in with me. And hey, what happens if hikers happen to come by? No little blue pill is going make that batter.

I have been married almost 30 years. I am a pastor and praise God for his creative provisions. I am not a prude. Sex is good, sex is a wonderful. But the tub thing is just goofy.

Sincerely,

“Not Impressed”

Question

Would Paul the Apostle have attended the church in Corinth if he hadn’t been the one to plant it and work through all the nonsense that church dished out? If he wasn’t the leader of the church would he attend the church? Frankly I haven’t a clue. He is far more mature and Christ connected than I am.

But this is a question that has rattled around in my head for a while. In fact I would like to poll sometime the ministerium of my tribe with only one query. “Would you attend the church you currently serve if you weren’t the pastor of the church?” I would ask the question on a Thursday – never on a Monday. Just only one response, yes or no.

And the answer is…

Failure Is Not an Option

We are having a meeting tonight. It is still over two hours away and it is already a failure. In the Covenant are organized into conferences, with the leadership given to Superintendents. In the conference we are further organized to districts based on geography. Tonight the Northern Michigan District is gathering with the Associate Superintendent. We have nine churches and a camp in our district. Tonight at best three churches will be represented, optimistically. More likely there will be two. 20% of our district.

This is troubling because it indicates that we are a deeply dysfunctional family. We find it almost impossible to work in co-ordination with one another. The churches are irritated that the conference doesn’t pay attention to us. But when they do try to reach out you get almost no response. For better or worse we are connected in this organizational pattern. It may not be the most effective or most forward thinking structure, but it is certainly not the worst.

The central question for me is how do we work together if there is such a disconnect? How do we communicate, build relationships or create trust and respect. The churches in our district are small, and there is a strong feeling that they are disregarded by the leadership. The leadership tries to come but no one shows up. We are politely dishonest about the issue and maintain our façade of niceness and nothing is every resolved. What we are about is too important to allow this to continue unchallenged. If this is not working then what is the next thing we can try? If that doesn’t work then what is the next thing? Something has to work.

"Brand" New

How does a church build a brand? Are we supposed to have a brand? Are we supposed to have a “competitive advantage”? Advantage over whom? I don’t believe I am competing against the Wesleyans down the street or the Community church or any other congregation. If anything, I am competing against the secular lifestyle, against the increasing pagan elements that are influencing my community. But what does it means for a church to have a brand?

Seth Godin speaks of a brand as being shorthand for “relationships, beliefs, trust, permission and word of mouth”. This is more than a slick logo, rockin’ website or a mail campaign to the community. When you speak about a brand like, this is something I can get my imagination around.

• What kind of relationships we do we have at West Bay, not just internally but with our neighbors, with the township, with the vendors we use, with the other churches in town, with the business we exchange with? Are they good relationships, ones which benefit all parties? Are the relationships of trust and grace, compassion and love?
• Are the beliefs we have a church clear and well known? Are the expressed not in condemnation or arrogance, but with a sincere desire to be clear and helpful about who and what we are? Are the beliefs we espouse the launching point for our actions? Do we actually behave as we believe?
• Do we garner trust in the community? Do people see as a dependable in times of needs, safe to speak with, accepting of those who come to us for help? Do they trust us with their children, their parents or anyone who needs attention or care? Do we do what we say we will do? Do they trust us?
• Are we welcome in their midst? Do we have their permission to enter their world of influence? Do we have their permission to speak or invest or even object in their world? Schools, governing structures and other community groups like Rotary or United Way – can enter their world by their permission?
• What is the word on the street about us? What is our reputation in the various sectors of the community? We probably have multiple reputations? I am afraid the West bay has little of any reputation, because might be invisible to most who drive by.
  

A brand seems to take a long time to establish. It also seems to be something you can damage quickly. But given this description I do not see how we can neglect creating a brand for our congregation. It is a part of our witness, our being salt in this city. It is just being who we are – just doing it out loud.