Book Review: The Noticer by Andy Andrews

The Noticer is what I would most accurately describe as a modern day fable.  But unlike a typical fable that helps children learn the lesson of what happnes if you cry “Wolf” too many times, The Noticer leaves you with wisdom that could possibly change your life.

Don’t be mistaken – this book is a wonderful read of fiction…or non-fiction…I don’t really know – but I couldn’t put the book down.  The book is centered around a central figure who we first meet in the beginning of the book with the nam of Jones.  By the end of the book we find that Jones is a whole more than what we expected.  And if you let him, Jones will teach you about a perspective on life that will show you life is more than we expected.

Totally recommend this.

“How’s your church doing?”

When I hear this question, I know what’s being asked.

• How many people showed up on Sunday?
• What is the giving like?
• What percentage of your congregation is serving at the church?
• What kind of “Big Days” did you pull off?

As of recently I’ve been wanting to answer that question like this:

“Well, the Church that I am a part of is doing great!  In fact, it is doing better than ever because God said that He will build His church.  Now are you asking about how THE church is doing, or are you asking how our people are doing?  If that’s the case, then I would say that they are

Broken

Unemployed

Recently Divorced

Hurting

BUT

Totally depending on Jesus and the expression of him through the local fellowship of believers that I am a part of.

Continually moving towards maturity in their love for God and their obedience to loving others without agenda.

So I guess we’re doing pretty good.”

Don’t ask me how my church is doing.  That’s easy to answer.

Ask me how the people are doing.  That’s a messier story, but it’s authentic, it’s relational, and can be life-changing.

Book Review: Missional Renaissance

“Missional” is just another spin at Christian-ese.

A new generation of ultra-hip, establishment-abortionists with their mac computers and iPhones has come up with a new “catch-phrase” to label their definition of what they think church should be. Why “missional?” Can’t we just say we are biblical?

This is what I used to think when I heard of the word “Missional” being tossed around a few years ago.  Fortunately, my own personal journey of following Christ has allowed me the opportunity to see beyond my own stubborn paradigms.  So when I received this book in the mail, I was open and excited to explore a movement that defines many Christ-followers, who I have judged before even taking the time to understand.

The first thing I realized when I started reading this book was that what I thought the term “MISSIONAL” meant – was wrong.  Being Missional isn’t some trite or redesigned way to describe a people who are evangelistic or believers who like to drink at bars (though being at a bar may be an intentional strategy to fulfilling God’s desire for biblical living).

I will be honest and say that I am still processing a lot of this information.  Right off the bat I found some things I was saying, “YEAH!!  RIGHT ON!”  Then there were things I was saying, “REALLY?   THAT‘s biblical?”  But overall, I found that nothing heretical in nature was found.  In fact, I am starting to believe that the “Missional Mindset” may, in fact, truly be a renaissance of sorts in the organization of the people of God – the church.  With that said, here are some things that stuck out to me, ranging from things I totally agree about to the things I need to break open my bible and talk with God about.

• We must change our ideas of what it means to develop a disciple, shifting the emphasis from studying Jesus and all things spiritual in an environment protected from the world to following Jesus into the world to join Him in His redemptive mission.
• …study after study continues to reveal that active church members do not reflect a different value set than the culture at large.
• Missional followers of Jesus don’t belong to a church. They are the church.
• Our job is not to “do church” well but to be the people of God in an unmistakable way in the world.
• The missional follower of Jesus cannot conceive of their spiritual identity outside of being in accountable and encouraging relationships with other Jesus followers.
• …substituting religions activity for helping people doesn’t cut it with God.
• People deserve to be blessed simply because they are people, not just so we can “witness” to them.
• When the church thinks it’s the destination, it also confuses the scorecard.
• Substituting church activity as the preferred life expression is as weird as believing that airports are more interesting than the destination they serve.
• The missional church, as you might guess, has an allergic reaction to the reach-and-assimilate social engineering of people.
• People will accept help in shaping their spiritual path…especially from people they respect and trust, who seem to have their best interests at heart.
• …if the [YMCA] operated like the church, it’d bring people in once a week, feed them coffee and donuts, and let them watch Jason [the club personal trainer] work out!
• Maturation is messy. It takes time.  It doesn’t occur linearly.  Maturation occurs in an atmosphere where accountability is expected and practiced.
• Giving people information without providing means for application and accountability for their behaviors turn them into knowledgeable but disobedient people.
• …the New Testament discussion about gifts and ministry occurred in a world where acts of ministry were primarily done in the marketplace, not “at church.” They were being the church in the world.
• …missional leaders…believe [they] are on a mission in the world and are partnering with God in blessing the people in [their] sphere of influence.

How “Missional” are you?
(Yes…spell check doesn’t like the word missional too. Just remember that the dictionary hated the word “Ain’t” and now it’s in there!)

Clear Expectations and Follow Through

Communicating expectations you never follow through with is a leader’s wost mistake.

To forget is human.

To neglect is to fail.

It’s not enough just to tell people where to go.  You must take them there. More than that – you must be decidedly committed to going where you want to lead, and you must have the passion, desire, and resolution to journey with those who follow you at a pace where they can arrive at the destination successfully.

Pastors are visionary – at least they should be.  But pastors must also be good managers.  Why?  Because they are shepherds and that job description requires a lot of management.

Clear expectations is vital to the health of any organization, whether it is a church or a business.  I’ve learned this the hard way in my experiences as a pastor, and as a business owner.  When I was clear in my expectations there was positive productivity.  When I wasn’t, it was a formula for disaster. But clear expectations isn’t just enough.

Accountability must follow expectations, otherwise “expectations” just comes off as wishful thinking.  Most of all, a leader must follow through on the expectations they have set up for themselves.

• If you say you’re going to call – call
• If you said you’re going to have lunch – have lunch.

Just ask a shepherd…leading a flock isn’t just done from the front of the pack.  A lot of times it’s done behind it.

Is that clear?

Missional huh?

Today I got my copy of Reggie McNeal’s Missional Renaissance: Changing the scorecard for the church.  To be honest, I don’t really know with this book is about.  As a new member of the staff at Maple Grove Evangelical Free Church I know that this was a book that I was encouraged to read, since everyone else had already read it.  Looking forward to expanding my mind!  As the old saying goes: “Leaders are readers.”

I’m gonna go get my read on!