Church

The Business of Church Part 3

~ Mike Schwiebert ~ 9 Comments

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It’s not very sexy to say, but few things matter as much as organizational structure. The way we live—literally determined by a sequence of choices born out of belief—determines everything.

This is very true of the church as well. Whether good or bad, the structure of our churches exactly matches what we really believe. There’s no way around it.

As we continue to til the soil of understanding about how the church does its work, we have looked at this important definition:
A. A business is an organization involved in the trade of goods and/or services to customers in exchange for money.
B. The efficient and effective operation of business is accomplished through the management of financial, capital, and human resources.

Last time we talked about money. This time we focus on organizational structure.

Keep thinking! Continue reading.

The Business of Church Part 2

~ Mike Schwiebert ~ 6 Comments

freeimages.com/wynand van niekerk

This is the second part in my series of posts on the Business of Church. In this post, I continue to till the soil of our understanding—to dig up the roots underneath our thinking and our philosophies of ministry. We will plant some seeds, but for now we are still plowing.

In part one, I question our thinking process itself. Why do we think the way we do? The scientific method lurking behind our western processing of facts pushes us to drive towards efficiency with the unintended consequence of dehumanization. That represents one row in this field.

Part two continues this questioning, but in a different row of the field.

Keep thinking! Continue reading.

The Business of Church Part 1

~ Mike Schwiebert ~ 4 Comments

freeimages.com/wynand van niekerk

Call it a personality deficiency if you must, but I have always distrusted hierarchies.
It is not in my nature to accept authority. (Isn’t that true for all of us?) Particularly, titled authority that lacks the requisite gifting and intelligence (but more importantly, or less harshly perhaps, the needed capacity to love).

I freely admit this distrust is part of the filter I bring to the topic of church and the way we do our work as the church (and, incidentally, the hermeneutic I weave into the book of Acts and the Epistles).

It is this innate skepticism towards those in charge that is part of the reason I find myself rejecting the leadership movement of the last decade.
(Did it start with John Maxwell* in the 90s? I don’t know for sure. I just know I don’t like it, and it does not appeal to the deeper longings of my soul.)

Additionally, my distrust comes from my personal experience. I have experienced the relentless crush of the ministry machine masquerading as the church. And yes, usually there is a “leader” at the helm cracking the whip for more, bigger, better.
(The fact that the more, bigger, better is tightly connected to their personal goals and finances should not be ignored.)

There has to be a better way to carry out our mission.

Keep thinking! Continue reading.

A Breath of Fresh Air

~ Mike Schwiebert ~ 4 Comments

I love to talk about new expressions of the church for our changing world, and I realize I am joining a chorus that has been sung for a long time.  In 2004, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York along with the Methodist council founded the Fresh Expressions Organisation. I found some inspiring material and quality thinking over at their website: Fresh Expressions. To me it was incredibly encouraging.

Many existing churches operate with a ‘you come to us’ mindset. ‘Would you like to join us?’ is an invitation to come to ‘our’ church, set out as we like, at a time that fits us, in a style that we have pre-arranged. The flow is from outside-in: from the world into the congregation.

Fresh expressions have a ‘we’ll come to you’ mindset instead. They start not with an invitation (‘Come to us on our terms’), but with an offer (‘We’re willing to come to you, serve you and stay with you. If you want, we’ll also help you to be church in a way that suits you – in your style, not ours’). The aim is not to provide a stepping stone into existing church, but to form new churches in their own right. The flow is from the congregation to people outside – not inward, but outward.

Fresh expressions is a new mindset, not a new model of church to be copied. It is a mindset that starts not with church, but with people who don’t belong to church.

…

Fresh expressions are:

  • missional – serving people outside church;
  • contextual – listening to people and entering their culture;
  • educational – making discipleship a priority;
  • ecclesial – forming church.

from the article: What is a Fresh Expression Church?

What a great summary in those four small bullets! All I can add is wow and yes please.

Keep thinking! Continue reading…

Think Free

~ Mike Schwiebert ~ 3 Comments

ClassroomIt may seem outside my purview on a site dedicated to Technically Thinking that I would post an article exploring education. But this is a blog about thinking, so I believe I can squeeze it in.

Without even realizing it, the church has copied the world’s system when it comes to how we do what we do and how we think about it. We organize and structure ourselves like businesses organize. We educate disciples like the public school system educates factory workers. I say it is past time to break free from these molds and myths and think free. Let me explain.

Recently I read a fantastic article on kottke.org titled, “Yeah, I’m Free Thinking.”
Kottke.org is an eclectic collection of links to articles and videos and all things internet; anything Jason Kottke finds interesting. This particular article is about education.

Education is undergoing a global, seismic shift. Indeed, I would contend that all the 7 major spheres of society (or 7 cultural mountains) are undergoing a similar ground-shaking transformation. On a global scale.

Keep thinking! Continue reading.