The history of evangelism is super interesting.  The first 2000 years of evangelist shows an ebb and flow of faithful believers reacting to those who have gone before them and adjusting practices to fit their culture (not always successfully or respectfully).  In more recent times we’ve seen a generation of arrogant evangelism with preachers emphasizing hell and tarnation for those who don’t believe.  In reaction to this movement my generation has swung so far the other direction that many of my peers squirm at the sound of the “E word.”  Many churches doing great things are shrinking because they’ve never learned how to effectively invite people to join them.

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After day one of the new ministry boot camp in Dallas I have a “to do list” that is half a page long, three pages of notes, and a swirling mind.  There are so many ideas coming at me I’ve spent the last several hours processing.  I’ll leave some updates here on the blog and hope to start communication during the day on facebook.com/woodlawnyoungadults.  The purpose of the conference is to hear the best practices of starting new ministries.  Todays session was specifically geared to larger churches who are starting daughter churches, second campuses, or new ministries.  Things that stuck out was a conversation about DNA vs. fingerprints and how to build ownership in the project. [Read more →]

Over the holiday weekend a friend’s dog got spooked by the fireworks and ran away. It was heart wrenching. Especially because it was such a great dog and such a close friend. All l I could think about was searching for the dog every moment I was outside. I have never been so vigilant, and because I can’t stop thinking about my new job, this vigilance soon became a metaphor for the work I am about to do. [Read more →]

I have been attempting to think of possible church events that I have never seen at a church.  For example: Doubt Week.  A week where we invite people to come and express their doubts in community.  You could have speakers, small groups, etc.  As I brainstormed more I asked for some consulting from a friend who is cynical of organized religion.  I asked him what types of things a church could do that would peak his interest, and what kind of events would he attend even if they were hosted by a church.  Our conversation led to events that were less “churchy” and more community focused.  And that conversation led us to the two most interesting paragraphs of email I have had in a long time…… [Read more →]