If the Church Were Christian by Philip Gulley

Philip Gulley, author of the "Porch Talk" book series, has a new book out, "If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the values of Jesus".  Gulley's simple statement about the values of Jesus is too good not to share.

If the Church Were Christian...


Jesus would be a model for living rather than an object of worship.

Affirming our potential would be more important than condemning our brokenness.

Reconciliation would be valued over judgment.

Gracious behavior would be more important than right belief.

Inviting questions would be valued more than supplying answers.

Encouraging personal exploration would be more important than communal uniformity.

Meeting needs would be more important than maintaining institutions.

Peace would be more important than power.

It would care more about love and less about sex.

This life would be more important than the afterlife.

The Last two secrets; Administration and worship

The NCLI Seven Secrets

1. Understand the current situation and start where you are.

2. Be Positive and map your assets.

3. We must reclaim evangelism.

4. Reclaim our compelling Mission; "Why are we the church?"

5. Create small groups for spiritual formation.

6. Administration is Ministry: empower creative people and programs.

7. Transformational Worship.

 #6 Administryation How to do it right 

The title "Administryation" indicates that administration should be viewed as ministry and that whatever we do in business sessions should refelct the priority of ministry.

Michael and Carmen recommend adopting an attitude of experimentation.  A motto to keep in mind is;
"If no one is going to die, give it a try".
They encourage leaders to "De- "not" your church. Which means to create a culture that is accepting of experimentation and to get rid of old policies that are not needed.  Many old policies prevent people from doing the things they want to do.

1. Maintaining an accurate membership database is key.  Gather contact information from everyone about everything.  Visitors and potential members are especially important to stay in contact with.  The rule is "Know Thy People".

Wild Apricot and icontact are two church database systems that they recommend.

2. Test your ideas. 

Keep a jar in a visible place for only  positive, creative ideas. In all things, foster a culture of experimentation.  Consider where are the creative places in our congregation?

How are you protecting the leaders who are doing good things?

How are you incorporating them into the larger church?

Keep repeating the fact that over 90 % of all people who come to a church for the first time come because someone invited them.  Find ways to remind church members to invite.

Have a public greaseboard for announcements about stewardship, mission and events so that anyone can post an announcement or begin a new group.

Experiment, pilot, and play and remember that failure is good when we learn from it.

Train people how to invite; role play, give gifts for the best answer, reward heroes and

always be consistent with the values and vision of Jesus.

Workshop on Contextual Stewardship

Studies have found that most churches have the capacity with a little work to increase their donations by 33%. Paul Tillich provided a guiding image for our work of stewardship when he said, "The church is a treasure chest just waiting to be opened."

Two Books were strongly recommended;  Turning tippers into tithers" and "Not your parents offering plate".

Three closing points;

It is essential to connect spirituality with giving.

Don't be afraid to talk about money in the context of faith.

Define the word stewardship for people.

Secret #7 Transformational Worship

Worship is an experience that changes lives.

Reformation of worship is the engine that drives everything else.

Worship should always have the goal of serving its members.

Worship rightly orders the entire life of the congregation including such areas as; education, spiritual formation, pastoral care and fellowship. 

Two rules guide worship planning.
"There is one God and you are not it."

"Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength and love your neighbor as yourself."

When planning worship, we have to plan as if everyone today has ADD.  Everything in our culture moves so fast that we all have an attention deficit disorder.  People do not tolerate pauses and silence. Services should not contain "dead air".

Remember that in our world today, one size fits some.  We need to offer a variety of worship services with different styles. Don't just think about the people who come to worship, worship should be designed for those who are not there.  Churches should consider the question; How would your worship change if it was designed for people who aren't there?

First, you need to identify  the market you need to reach.

What is worship designed to do?

-make disciples

-promote peace and justice

-turn fear to hope

-remind people that they are servants

-express both Transcendence and immanence... hope beyond us and God within us.

-authentic expression of love for God

Worship like you mean it.

Encourage interfaith and intercultural services.  Worship with congregations that have different styles.

Let's look at worship revitalization as trying to reinterpret what "Sunday best" means. Sunday best used to refer to the clothing we wear to Church.  Think about putting on your "Sunday best" attitude and approach to God in worship.