Acts 8

Part 4: Smelling Salts for Leadership

The way we are used to doing Church in the U.S. has been severely disrupted by the pandemic. We all know that. And it has revealed some weaknesses in the sustainability of our congregational model. If our members can’t come to our buildings for our programming and give their offerings, how long can we last? Is the only thing we really have to offer the community around us is a Sunday morning service? Do we have no other purposes to fulfill?

The disruption also reveals that U.S. congregations of all sizes have strayed into operating more like nonprofit businesses - with something like a fee-for-services model - than like the New Testament Church we are called to be. And so when the wrench of COVID-19 was thrown into our gears, the model we were relying on failed us.

When the New Testament Church was disrupted in Acts 8:1-4, scattered from each other and separated from the Apostles, the result was not a crippled Church or a confused Church but a multiplying Church. You see, there’s our way for our results but then there’s Jesus’ way for Jesus’ results.

What is this season of disruption revealing about your congregation? It is a perfect time, now that the gears of our current church-machines have ground to a halt, to reflect, evaluate and ask some new questions of ourselves. And so we offer, “Smelling Salts for Leadership.” If we take an unpleasant but bracing whiff of these smelling salts, we have the opportunity to wake up, see clearly what we have been doing to ourselves, and begin to see some of the simple but important reforms we can make.

Now’s the time. Now’s the time to have thoughtful leadership conversations (using technology, of course). “Have we been producing the fruit of a New Testament Church or the fruit of a 501(c)3 nonprofit business? Has this disruption caused us to respond like a threatened business or like a Church ready for multiplication?” Now’s the time to ask because the disruption of our congregational model is no longer hypothetical. Everyone is experiencing the concrete challenge to our congregational viability, identity and purpose.

As my friend, Bryce Formwalt, recently pointed out, “I believe that this crisis has exposed our deeply rooted dependency on Sunday morning gatherings inside our church buildings. Many American churches have built their identity and purpose around Sunday morning worship, fellowship, and education … and not much else. So what is church if we can’t gather inside our beautiful buildings on Sunday mornings? My hope is that this crisis will help you and your congregation to think deeply about this question and reclaim your mission.”

Is Bryce right? Let’s take a whiff of Smelling Salt #4 and see.

Smelling Salt #4

In the U.S., we know how to run 501(c)3’s and denominational franchises, but we’ve forgotten the basics of running a New Testament Church. 

  1. In the U.S., because our congregations have applied for nonprofit, tax exempt, 501(c)3 status, we end up being more thoroughly influenced by what it takes to run a nonprofit business than we are by what it takes to be a New Testament Church.

  2. 501(c)3 congregations are governed by constitutions and bylaws, led by boards and committees, and evaluated by metrics measuring the success of our nonprofit business; for instance, the number of people coming through the doors, the level of revenue coming through the offerings, and the level of satisfaction coming from our members.

  3. Likewise, many congregations are more deeply influenced by what it takes to be a denominational franchise in good standing than being good examples of a New Testament Church in the local community.  For too many congregations, the first question asked is not, “What is the model of the New Testament Church?” but, “Is this Lutheran?” (or fill in your preferred denominational label).

  4. A 501(c)3 congregation is habitually focused on gathering members and supporting itself. A New Testament Church is habitually focused on sending out trained disciples who support the transformation of the community.

  5. One way to tell whether a congregation is thinking more like a 501(c)3 or a New Testament Church is by listening to what is being talk about most at church.

501(c)3

  • Senior staff and Governing Boards are talking most about the sustainability of their 501(c)3: budgets, attendance trends, policies, buildings, paying bills, staff, level of members’ satisfaction, etc.

  • Program committees and staff are talking most about the next “Jesus show” they are preparing or what lessons people need to learn. Their first question usually is, “Will the members participate or not? Will they like it or not?”

  • Small groups (that is, any smaller congregational gatherings) are talking most about their own interests, needs and level of satisfaction with the organization.

  • The rest of the members are talking about how well (or poorly) the congregational leaders are adhering to denominational franchise rules and how well (or poorly) the leaders are meeting their needs.

New Testament Church

  • Senior staff and Governing Boards are talking most about how well the members are fulfilling Jesus’ mission of loving neighbors and transforming the community.  They are talking about how best to use the organization to facilitate these missional results.

  • Program committees and staff are talking most about how their program can disciple the members to live out their baptismal identity for the good of others in their daily lives – that is, how can their program teach/model/facilitate/inspire/champion/train/tell the stories of living such a redemptive lifestyle.

  • Small groups are talking most about how they are joining Jesus and interacting with lost people. What’s working, what’s not and what’s their next step.

  • The rest of the members are talking most about how well (or poorly) the congregational leaders are modeling biblical, missional lifestyles which the members can take note of and imitate in their daily lives. (see Hebrews 13:7)

6. Another way to tell whether a congregation is thinking more like a 501(c)3 or a New Testament Church is by how the congregational leadership is defined and organized.  Is leadership defined and organized around the constitutional requirements of a 501(c)3 or around accomplishing the mission of God and prioritizing the multiplication of missional disciples? (see Matthew 28:19-20)

  • Are senior lay leaders identified by their willingness to serve on a board and by their organizational skills or by their discipling skills and the outcome of their way of life? Do their duties revolve around meetings, agendas, budgets, policies, constitutions, staff evaluations and membership complaints or around discipling new missional leaders?

  • The congregation needs officers to manage the 501(c)3 and comply with IRS regulations.  But we also need the kind of leaders the Bible advocates so we see multiplication of missional discipleship throughout the congregation and out into the community.

7. The Bible says a New Testament Church leader is identified by the outcome of their way of life.

  • Hebrews 13:7, “Consider the outcome of [your leaders’] way of life and imitate their faith.”

  • Luke 6:43-48, “Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.”

  • Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness…”

8. The duties of a New Testament Church leader are defined by their willingness to invest in relationships so that they can disciple other members to follow Jesus and join Him on His mission in the community.

  • 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”

  • Philippians 4:9, “Whatever you have learned from me or seen in me – put it into practice.”

  • Philippians 3:17, “…and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”

9. The qualifications for this kind of leader are simple: a) year by year, do we see them growing up and becoming more like Jesus; b) do we want people of the Church imitating their way of life?

10. Leveraging this kind of leadership means our leaders are regularly gathering in smaller groups with members to

  • invest in relationship with them,

  • talk with them about how life with Jesus is going,

  • encourage them,

  • offer them insights from their lives

  • and spur them on to another week of love and good works for others. (see Hebrews 10:24-25)

11. On the other hand, 501(c)3 lay leaders are leveraged in the following ways:

  • Leaders go to meetings in conference rooms with other leaders. Most members don’t see them or know them nor are they aware of the outcome of their daily way of life.

  • Leaders are put in charge of programs and model for members how to lead a program (and members are still unaware of the outcome of the leader’s daily way of life).

  • Leaders are asked to lead Bible Classes or Small Groups and model for members how to lead in that setting.

  • Thus, members end up being under-discipled in how to live the impactful life of a Jesus-follower in the community simply because the congregation did not identify and organize its leaders for this purpose.

12. A third way to tell whether a congregation is thinking more like a 501(c)3 nonprofit business or a New Testament Church is what metrics (statistics) motivate the members most. For instance:

  • Regarding offerings and membership: for the 501(c)3, these ARE the metrics.  Few other metrics matter. And when comparing the two metrics, “How much money do we have?” trumps, “How many members do we have?”  The level of contentment the congregation has with its finances drives the level of commitment it has for gaining new members.

  • Regarding leadership: a 501(c)3 asks, “Do we have enough people willing to be elected to the positions required by the constitution?” A New Testament Church (NTC) asks, “Who are the leaders in our congregation we want our members to imitate?”

  • Regarding attendance in services and programs: a 501(c)3 asks, “Are people showing up for our services and programs?” A NTC asks, “Are people growing up because of our services and programs so they are a force for redemption and restoration in this community?”

  • Regarding the budget: a 501(3)c asks, “How much money do we need for our services and programs?” A NTC asks, “How much money can we use to bless this community in which God has placed us?”

  • Regarding the commitment of members: a 501(c)3 asks, “Why don’t more of our members come to our voters’ meetings?” (or serve on our committees or volunteer to help with our programs?) A NTC asks, “How can we help our members invest in friendships with more lost people in their neighborhoods?” (or serve the community or volunteer to help other nonprofits?)

Questions to Prompt Action

  • Is the point of Smelling Salt #4 to abandon our 501(c)3 status with the IRS or to be aware of how the framework of such a status can warp how we go about running our congregation?

  • When our congregation gathers in meetings, groups or classes, what do we talk about the most?

  • From the examples given above, how does being a 501(c)3 distract our congregation from being a New Testament Church for the good of this community?  What can we do to correct this?

  • Jesus says, “By their fruit you will know them.” What is our congregational fruit telling us these days?

  • Who are Hebrew 13:7 kinds of leaders in our congregation?

  • How can we organize our congregation into small groups so they can regularly interact with our Hebrews 13:7 leaders?  (Note: for the sake of sustainability and good order, think in terms of where members already live.)

  • The metrics we have are driven by the values we have.  What we value is what we measure. What do our current congregational metrics tell us about our current congregational values? What additional metrics can help us embrace new values?

Is Now the Time to Become an Acts 8 Church?

In the last few days, we have seen public gatherings limited to 250 people and then limited to 100 people and then 50 people and now 10 or less people. As one church leader said, “This creates a crisis for our congregations, even the smallest of our congregations.”

Is he right?

Interestingly, the word “crisis” comes from a Greek word meaning “decision” or “decisive point.”  Does the new reality of COVID-19 present local congregations with a crisis or with an opportunity?

It will feel like a crisis because we have to change our habits in how we prefer to participate in Church. It will feel like a crisis because we are cut off from our professional church workers and volunteers who we depend on to do our Church-business.  It will feel like a crisis because we are used to being passive church-goers and the pandemic is requiring us to get up off our… pews and be active Christ-followers.

Our first urge is to cry out, “We haven’t done Church this way before!”

However, Jesus is not standing in the middle of all this disruption, wringing His hands and saying, “I never saw this coming!  What shall we do??”

Instead, and as usual, Jesus is up to something redemptive in the disruption.  This is a “decisive point” when we can start making new and clear-headed “decisions” about how we can help each other be Church for the foreseeable future.  Jesus is shaking up His Church not so we are alarmed by a crisis but so we wake up to an opportunity… an opportunity to rediscover what being Church is really about.  Perhaps Jesus is administering a whiff of smelling salts to His people so we can start pressing past being 501(c)3 organizations and be the New Testament Church.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus speaks these famous words, “…and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” However, it is not until Acts 8:1, just after Stephen is martyred and a great persecution breaks out in Jerusalem, that the Church is essentially forced to finally scatter into Judea and Samaria.  Acts 8:1 says, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” 

To our twenty-first century, U.S. ears that would seem to signal the death of the Church.  They were scattered and they were separated from the Apostles. I mean, if your congregation was scattered and separated from your professional church workers and volunteers, what would be the result?  (We’re about to find out, right?)

However, just the opposite happened in Acts 8.  This “crisis” didn’t lead to the end of the Church, but to the explosive expansion of the Church. Acts 8:4, “Those who were scattered shared the Good News wherever they went.”

Perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic is our Acts 8 moment.

What follows is some suggestions that other Christ-followers like you are beginning to implement in their neck of the kingdom here in the U.S.  So let’s get up off our… pews and rediscover how to be the New Testament Church!  Woohooo!

If You have Mixed Feelings about Not Gathering for Worship

  1. The Church especially needs to take “social distancing” seriously to help slow the spread of the pandemic. Why?  In South Korea, they have tracked 80% of their COVID-19 infections to one dear woman who went to church services twice within a few days.  She thought she had a cold.  This woman is known as Patient 31.  Patient 31 had all the best of intentions when she went to church.  But because she did not practice social distancing, she unintentionally led to 80% of South Korea’s COVID-19 infections. As of Monday, March 16, there were 8000+ COVID-19 cases and 75 deaths. (Information from Reuters)  https://graphics.reuters.com/CHINA-HEALTH-SOUTHKOREA-CLUSTERS/0100B5G33SB/index.html

  2. Jesus held up the value of the 1 over the 99 (Luke 15:1).  If COVID-19 has an estimated death rate of even 1%, then the 99% need to protect the 1% who are most vulnerable. Right?

Now’s the Time to Discover House-Church

  1. In the New Testament, house-churches were the norm.  Even though we talk about the Church in Corinth or Rome, we are really referring to multiple smaller gatherings in houses in those cities. Now is an opportune time to help our people break out of simply being passive church-goers and become more experienced with being the Acts 8 Church. For instance, we can help them take on actively leading worship in their homes. One tool we have that the Acts 8 believers didn’t have is the internet (and websites, live streaming, Facebook Live, Zoom, Google Hangouts, email, phones, etc.).  So we can start developing content and get it out to our members’ computers like never before.  Praise God!  What a great opportunity to begin shifting the center of their faith and worship from simply participating and receiving on Sunday mornings to actively engaging their family and neighbors during the week.  (see below for a letter from The Point [Lutheran Church] in Knoxville, TN for some ideas of how to communicate this opportunity.)

  2. Interestingly, some years ago in Myanmar, the communist government wanted to begin killing off the Church there.  They thought the way to do that was to limit public gatherings for worship to 8 or fewer people.  But instead of killing off the Church, it exploded.  The Church spread even more rapidly.  One of the reasons is that the believers no longer could rely on their professionals to do what God had given them to do.  And the Word of the Lord spread even faster!

  3. But what about Holy Week and Easter services?  Now is the time to prepare materials that have house gatherings in mind.  Don’t fight it.  Don’t feel down about it.  Embrace it.  Think outside the box.  Be creative.  Be simple.  Be celebrative.  Enjoy it!  What can gifted volunteers prepare for the rest of your people to use with small groups of family and neighbors in their homes?

Now’s the Time to Help Members become Friends with Each Other

  1. Your Church is not a building and it is not an organization.  It is people.  Now is an opportune time to help them get to know each other like never before… even though they can’t be with each other.  How? Map out where your members live using Google mapping software.  Then recruit members who live in the midst of other members to start making phone calls once a week to 5-10 member households who live nearby.  They can use the following questions to get to know each other better:

  • How are you doing?

  • Do you need anything?

  • Do you have internet access?  (So they can receive content from the Church.  If not, what can be a Plan B?)

  • What is your story?  (Let’s get to know each other a little better.)

  • Do you mind if I call you again next week?

Your Church could come out on the other end of this pandemic being relationally closer than ever before.  And all because you became more intentional about talking together over the phone!  (One more idea: after we are past this pandemic, people can have what we call Connect-the-Dots parties with the people they had been calling.)

Now’s the Time to Help Your Members Care for Neighbors More Intentionally

Idea #1:

Place a notecard in each neighbors’ mailbox with Philippians 4:6-7 written on one side (“Do not be anxious…” or John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled…”) and your name and phone number on the other side with the invitation to call if the neighbor needs any help or just would like someone to talk to or even to pray with.

Idea #2:

Go door to door practicing social distancing and collect the following information:
+ Names at each address
+ Contact number
+ Email
+ Occupations
+ Any Special Needs

Tell neighbors you will compile the list and then drop a copy to each of them to keep everyone connected and aware of opportunities to help and serve one another. Times like these can bond people together. If we approach one another safely, intentionally and with love, after this ends, host a block party to celebrate what it means to be good neighbors!

Idea #3:

If you are a current or retired teacher or if you have expertise in math, science, English, etc., reach out to families in your neighborhood who have school-aged children. Offer to help with tutoring or with whatever academic help they could use.

Idea #4:

Here’s something no parent thought they would ever tell their teen, “Get on your phone!”  But you can give them a specific amount of time to check in with their friends, see how they are doing with everything, offer some encouragement and hope, and even offer to pray with their friends.

The Letter from the Point:

This upcoming Sunday, we’re going to be gathering… differently.

We’ve always been a church who likes to meet in unconventional spaces: movie theaters, coffee shops, bars, and now - homes.

Why?
This past weekend, The CDC recommended that groups of 50+ people stop gathering across the country. We are going to respect the professionals, love the vulnerable people in our community, and continue gathering as people of God by meeting in smaller groups in people’s homes all around Knoxville.

We feel like this is such a God thing, and here’s why:

A group of people met a few weeks ago about the future of The Point. This was well before COVID-19 in the states hit the news. This group of people took a weekend to talk and plan and worship and pray - and one of the major takeaways of that weekend was this: Community is really important. It’s also not something we are always very good at.

We knew we wanted to find ways to build community at The Point. But we still weren’t clear on how.

So here we are now: 

We could see this recommendation from the CDC as a hindrance OR we could see it as a huge opportunity - an opportunity to love the vulnerable people in our community by practicing social distancing, to humbly be an example of putting our interests aside for the sake of others, and (most excitingly if you ask us) an opportunity to get to know our neighbors and church family more intentionally than ever before.

What is this going to look like?

Good question! We will not be gathering at our usual location. We will be livestreaming our service on Sunday morning at 10:30am Eastern from Emilie’s house. You can join us the same way as always - via this link.

However, we will also be doing our best to get you an invitation soon from someone at The Point who lives in your area of town. The hope is they’ll invite you to church in their home and we will essentially have mini “livestream parties” all over Knoxville. Worship, truth, and community.

Of course, you know as well as we do that things are moving fast. We don’t know how long we’ll be gathering in this way. But we do know that God is not surprised by any of this. He’s not wringing His hands in worry. He’s strong and good and still in control. As for us, we will keep you up-to-date with any changes as best we can via social media, emails, and this page on the website.

Action Steps For You

If you’d like to host a small livestream gathering at your house, let us know here!

If your information is not up-to-date in our system, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page so we can both connect you with a house church host and easily contact you should things get more dicey in the coming weeks.

If you need extra prayer or help, click here.

Keep an eye on your inbox - some discussion questions for house church and materials for parents to use with kids will be coming your way later this week.

Keep leaning into Jesus and praying for our church, city, and world!

God is moving in our city, our country, and our world. He’s shaking things up. And as always, He is in control and really good. We’re stoked to continue singing in the middle of the storm!