In the book of Acts you see a picture of the church that is far removed from the loud music, fog machines, webcasts and trendy pastors we call church today. In the church today we strive to create a neat and streamlined package that is all about the end user experience. While none of these things are bad, the picture of the church in Acts is far different. Sure, you can argue that they didn’t have fog machines or Hillsong United back then, but I think that might be missing the point. A great summary of the day-to-day life of the church is found in the second chapter of Acts. Luke describes a group of believers meeting together often, being taught the truth about Jesus, sharing communion, eating meals together, and uniting in prayer. These believers were even willing to give up the things they owned to ensure everyone was provided for. It wasn’t a neat and clean package. It was often messy. But, this was community at its finest.  This gathering was not static. They didn’t close the doors and look inward. But rather, being a part of this group made them a better member of their city. At the end of chapter two Luke says, “Daily there were added to their numbers those who were being saved.” Imagine communities like this in every city in America.

Sometimes it seems the differences between newly planted church and the existing ones in that city are that of marketing. How often do you see products at the grocery store that say, “New look, same great taste!” That doesn’t inspire me to buy a product I have never tried and I doubt that it works for the church. We don’t need brand reinvention. We need to take a hard look at the product we are selling. I am in no way saying we need to revise our doctrine or make our message more palatable. I don’t believe those are the things we are marketing.

Think about the change you see in the pasta aisle. Ten years ago you wouldn’t have seen whole-wheat spaghetti on the shelf. Now companies have seen that the market is demanding healthier choices for their diet. When you walk down the pasta aisle now you will not find a major pasta company that does not make a line of whole wheat pasta. It would be a horrible misunderstanding of the market for a pasta company to look at this and decide only to revise their packaging to make it look healthier. “New look, same great taste!” However, this is exactly what churches do. I am in no way arguing that we shouldn’t revise our image, but if that is all we do we have missed the point! We need to make some fundamental changes to the product we are selling. Studies show that Americans are among the loneliest people in the world. People are not only looking for a “cooler” looking package. They are looking for something fundamentally different. They are looking for community.

I am not arguing that there isn’t a need for different models and ways of doing church. I believe there is a need for different models because each city is different and each leader is different. However, if community isn’t at the heart of the model then what you end up with is not a representation of the church. If we learn anything about the church from a study of the book of Acts we see that while there were many different manifestations of the church, at the heart of each of them was the idea of dynamic Christ-centered community. Rebranding alone will not create community. Community must go to the very heart of who we are as a church.

In light of this I would like to announce the name of the church we will be planting in Louisville, Colorado: Boulder County Community Church. This church will not only be a community church, but it will also BE a community.

Watch our video:

Boulder County Community Church

I looks like I sold my iPhone too soon…

Before I begin, let me first say that I have invested a lot of time, energy and resources into my own leadership development. I firmly believe that without solid leadership any organization, including the church, will struggle and even fail. Poor leadership is crippling to those who follow. Leadership is a significant need in the church. Church leaders need to develop the skills and techniques necessary to effectively lead. That being said, I think we face a problem in the church today that I don’t think reading the latest leadership book will solve. I fear that we in the church have become leadership minded merely so that might gain more followers. You can be a great leader; leading your church over a cliff, but that won’t change the mess at the bottom.

When you are a leader, you are asking those who follow to imitate you. The question is who are you imitating? In my mind one of the most important qualifications of a leader is that he or she would be a good follower. Paul told the church in Corinth “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1) Can you say that? If everyone in your church was an imitator of the pastor would that be a good thing or a bad thing? Would the congregation become more like Jesus if they imitated the life of the pastor? There are far too many pastors and church leaders who have focused so intently on becoming a “great leader” that they have forgotten to follow Christ. Corporate principles without Jesus will not grow the kingdom, even if they do grow the sphere of influence of a “church” or a “pastor.”  A church that is not leading people closer to Christ is not a church. A church like that may be a club, or a social movement, or even a rock concert; but it is not a church. Likewise, a pastor who implements all the latest leadership techniques, but does not imitate and follow Christ, is not a pastor. He may be a manager, a CEO, or a motivational speaker, but not a pastor. I believe that many pastors start down the road of leadership learning and development with good intentions, but somewhere along the way they forget that all along they were supposed to be following Christ.

As leaders in the church I am first supposed to be a Christ-follower before I am to be Church leader. Can I personally say, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ?” Most pastors would rather say, “Hey read your Bible it’ll tell you how to live.” Paul was so confident in where he was going that he said, in-effect, “follow ME.” And consequently Paul was actually a leader. Rather than being a spiritual micro-manager handing out spiritual to-do-lists, Paul said, “Do what I do.”

I guess the whole point of this discussion is that if you want to be a leader you must know where you are going. If you are a Church leader, the place that you are going MUST be knowing and becoming more like Christ. Feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think, or if your have something you would like to add.

Ok, men get out your steel toed boots and your sports cups and watch this. Its a hard message, but i think its necessary.

I am in the process of getting this site set up. In the meantime have a look around. I will begin posting soon….