Article on the church: $110 Billion - by Chris Lagerlof

I read this great article by Chris Lagerlof and I thought that it is extremely valuable to the local church in America. What is the basic function of the spreading of the good news of Jesus? Churches or Christians? Interesting read... enjoy. 

$110 Billion

By slingshot on May 16, 2013

12% isn’t actually a math test; instead it captures a startling statistic I heard. In the last 15 years the church in the west has spent $110 billion on land and facilities and in that same time church attendance has decreased 12%. If true, our strategy to strengthen and expand the Church is failing. Even if the numbers aren’t accurate empirical evidence tells us church attendance is in decline and the church has spent significant dollars on recourses to reach the lost and grow the congregation. I know of three churches personally that have spent over $75 million in capital improvements the last 12 years and 2 of the 3 have actually declined in attendance. I hate to break the bad news, something isn’t working. Sure we can blame it on the composition of our cities changing, the lack of margin people have, or the reality that we are living in a post-church/post-Christian world. There are many excuses…The reality is the current model and paradigm isn’t working. We are familiar with the cliché “if it’s not broken, then don’t fix it.” In the west it seems that we have embraced the model if it’s broke throw a lot of money into it and it will be fixed. How’s that working?

First, you must know, I’m a raving fan of the church and I love the church! Second, my thoughts are aimed at looking at the current state of the church through a different set of lenses…I will get to that shortly. I’ve been captivated by the book of Acts lately. As I’ve read Acts and focused on it, I’ve realized that Acts says nothing about planting and building churches, however Acts is the blueprint for church growth and church planting. What I’ve really focused on is a simple model for church growth that Acts presents. Ready? Here it is…Reach lost people, disciple them and new churches will start and churches will grow. Acts doesn’t present a church planting strategy…It only presents a transformation strategy. It’s that simple. It’s not linear, built on several purposes and it’s pretty cost effective. Acts presents more of a “hear and obey” model as opposed to a “learn, grow and go” model. Which brings me to my next point, have our western models, paradigms, processes emerged as the greatest barrier for expanding and strengthening the church? Maybe another way to ask it since the Holy Spirit is a common denominator in all church growth movements, especially in Acts. Have western models, paradigms, processes become a barrier for the Holy Spirit to do his greatest work?

Now to my point, It seems obvious the western model of start a church, service or campus, reach lost people and then “disciple” them isn’t effective and we’re losing obvious spiritual ground. Well, Acts presents a model that is working in many places globally. It’s simply; convert and disciple people and churches and faith communities will naturally get started. In fact, in places where the church is exploding and expanding there is no real church planting strategy, the strategy is to basically see people come to Jesus and disciple them. When this happens, churches just start and churches just grow, much like we see in the book of Acts. Here is another way to look at it; Kingdom, Disciple, Society, Church. Let me briefly capture what that looks like:

Kingdom: Having a better understanding of the difference between a “church framework” and a “Kingdom Framework”? How do you plant, start, lead a church based on Kingdom principals and not “church” principals?
Disciple: Disciple, not the preacher, is the lowest common denominator.  How do you make disciples who make disciples?
Society: Every society, no matter how tribal or advanced, is built with common domains. Every church mobilizes their members locally and globally into these domains to transform society. In doing this the church becomes the missionary.
Church: Producing disciples that engage in society leads to the church emerging. It is a natural result.  The models are multifaceted.

Interesting isn’t it? So, here are 5 simple things to ponder and questions to ask:
1. Change your focus from being the biggest or best church in the city/area to churching the city/area.
2. Learn from the global church. Unfortunately most books, conferences, etc. focus on western models of church growth. Put on a new set of lenses and your learning hat and discover how the church is expanding and growing globally.
3. Look at your current model of discipleship and ask tough questions about its ability to produce disciples who produce disciples.
4. Read the book of Acts and ask questions like how did the church multiply? What do I learn about church growth? What happened in Acts that’s not happening in my church?
5. Personally and corporately shift to a model of hear and obey. Observe how your existing model creates barriers from this happening in your life and the life of your church.

I hope this helps and my heart is to help you. Let me know how I can serve you as you digest this stuff!

Original Article by Chris Lagerlof

(My favorite quote of this article is: "Disciple, not the preacher, is the lowest common denominator. How do you make disciples who make disciples?" This needs to be engraved into the hearts of every Christian - it is not the churches job, it is your job to tell people how incredible Jesus is!)

5 Reasons to Co-write Worship Songs - by Claire Cloninger

I came across this article that is really true and may inspire a new level of creativity with the community of God. So, I thought I would share.  Read it over and then I'll add a few of my thoughts on the end... you can think of this as an unofficial 'co-write'.



5 Reasons to Co-write Worship Songs - by Claire Cloninger

1. Co-writing is fun.
For pure pleasure there’s nothing like entering a room with one other creative soul, blank paper, guitar or piano, a rhyming dictionary, an idea or two and the prospect of a great song just half a day away. What could be more enjoyable? There’s mystery at the outset and possibility at the finish line.


2. Co-writing is one way around writer’s block.
I remember when my friend and co-writer, Ron Harris, said of me, “Claire’s definition for ‘writer’s block’ is ‘writing with everybody on the block.’” I think he was joking, but actually I have often nudged myself out of a “block” by making a writing appointment. When feeling creatively stale, nothing rejuvenates like settling down to the give-and-take of fresh ideas or a string of fresh chord progressions. Makes me feel like Lucy stumbling out of the wardrobe into the snows of Narnia.

3. Co-writing diversifies your catalogue.
Songwriter Carol Bayer Sager’s songs sound like they were written by a string of different pop composers, from Marvin Hamlisch to Burt Bacharach to David Foster. Why? She co-writes with all of the aforenamed gentlemen.

I love the fact that due to my own co-writing, my catalogue can sound like Paul Overstreet one minute and Paul Baloche the next. The words are mine, but they have taken a ride on some wonderful melodies over the years by writers like Don Moen, Lowell Alexander, Robert Sterling and Gary Rhodes.

4. Co-writing can be done long distance.
I remember the day I received a tape in the mail on which I found Wayne Watson’s beautiful melody and the words “friend of a wounded heart.” My job? Make a song of it. What a thrill to receive a Dove Award for Song of the Year with Wayne that year for our song by that title. And we had never written in a room together. Though I prefer in-person collaborating, this job can be done by phone, e-mail, snail mail or pony express.

5. Co-writing is a microcosm of the body of Christ.
I marvel at those singer-songwriter-producer types who wake up one morning and say, “I think I’ll be a self-contained superstar!” They pick up the guitar, write a dozen hits, produce a killer CD and go on to win every award known to man. But most of us did not get all of the gifts. We got one or two. And we are usually strongest in one.

When I first took my songs to Nashville, I realized that every publisher who signed a song of mine was quick to introduce me to his “in-house tune man.” In other words, he liked my words, but he signed my songs in spite of my tunes. It was not long before I was co-writing.

Like the body of Christ, we in the songwriting community can benefit from each other’s gifts. We are challenged, sharpened and inspired by each other’s “strong suits.” And as we pool the best we have, the result is often that much better.

Originally posted on February 20, 2013 by Worship Leader on worshipleader.com. Seven-time Dove Award Winner, Claire Cloninger is a songwriter and frequent co-writer who makes her home in Fairhope, Alabama.



My Thoughts: 
I have a few additional reasons that I feel are just as important. 

1. It is an opportunity to get a theologian/pastor involved - As a worship pastor, there is nothing more annoying than a great song with NO SUBSTANCE or worse is Biblically misleading. You really want to use it because it is a great tune and a killer melody. But, the song that is interesting and biblically sound, it can be put on repeat and no one in the church would care.
2. Peer Pressure - I think I could just stop there... but I should explain. If you are anything like me, then you may rarely play the songs you write because "they just aren't right yet." For me, co-writing a song means that I might actually play it! It allows me to feel that it is not just my song, but that I am also honoring the co-writers and their expression of worship by playing the song. 
3. Peer Review - There is a reason why every doctorate program includes this little thing called a "peer review".  In plain words, they want to make sure you don't write anything dumb. They fact check, they comment on flow, and they make sure it is able to be understood. The same thing is beneficial with songwriting. Sometimes it is better to have more people commenting and giving productive input on the content, flow, and dynamics of the song. The worst thing would be to hide a song until you finally release it and it sucks. 
4. Wider Audience - Also, if two or three artists get together and co-write a piece (assuming that they are not contracted to write for someone) they are able to each use the same song on their own albums and it spreads to a wider audience faster than one they wrote by themselves.  
5. By The People, For the People - My favorite type of co-write is with a local church congregation or rather for a the church. I was able to collaborate with a guy on my worship team and with the pastors messages (and review) to write a song based on the sermon series we were doing. So, the first 'drafts' or 'trial runs' of the song tested the audience's response to various aspects of the song. After playing it a time or two we realized the final touches that were needed to make it more accessible to the church.   

So, now it is your turn to go co-write a song!  Find someone you trust and just ask them. PS> It might not work the first few times, but keep working at it. 
- Luke