Franchising the Church

The Point Blog questions the growing church-franchising phenomenon. (Be sure to read the Wall Street Journal article mentioned.)

According to this article, many independent evangelical churches are copying Starbucks' marketing and branding strategies to expand their congregations, both in the US and overseas. Now that Starbucks recently announced that it would lay off more than 12,000 of its employees and close more than 600 of its stores, I hope this is a warning to these churches that brand or image doesn’t make one successful.

Read the rest of the post here.

Are We Seeking Disciples or Crowds?

We’ve been seeking crowds, not disciples. We’ve considered every possible means of getting the most people into our buildings and keeping them there, and we’ve attracted people on the basis of mere self-interest, so that what we have are congregations ecstatic to belong to some place that, in the name of the Lord, takes their self-interest as seriously as they do.

Read the entire article "To Follow Jesus: Counting the Cost of Discipleship" by T. M. Moore.

[HT: Breakpoint]

"Am I Enough For You, Thirsty One?"

I'm a church planter. I send out prayer letters. It's tempting in these newsletters to "hype" what's happening at Riverside, trying to put our best foot forward. After all, everybody wants to know they've prayed for something that's successful, right? Well, we're learning that sucess in God's eyes has more to do with how much we grow in Christ-likeness than with how fast we grow our numbers. These lessons don't come without some heart ache and a few soul-searching moments. Here's one I experienced last Fall:

During a recent twenty-four hour silent retreat, I brought the questions of my thirsty soul to God. I took a long walk throughout that mountain retreat center and spent considerable time looking into the crisp, clear October night sky. Without the usual glow of artificial light to conceal what is real, I saw stars and constellations I barely knew existed. “I just want to know what’s going to happen,” I complained. “Is this church plant going to make it? What have I gotten us into?” I whined to God like the people of Israel moaned to Moses in the desert. “Have I invited these people to follow me into the desert to die of thirst? Would you have us start Riverside Church just to see it dry up in a matter of months?” I waited for an answer from heaven, but it seemed there was no reply written on the night sky.

After an awkward silence, God answered me with a picture. All at once my eye was drawn to the Big Dipper constellation, and the Lord turned the questions on me. “Do you see how big this dipper is? If it was full of water, would it be enough for your thirst? Am I enough for you, thirsty one? No matter what the future holds, will I be enough for you?” (When the answers to my questions come in the form of questions, I know I’m probably hearing from Jesus. He was prone to pose questions to those who put questions to Him.) Before I could answer, He continued, “Yes, I am enough for you. I will be your supply.” As I gazed at the stars that night, the Lord reminded me that He would be my Big Dipper, and that no matter what season of drought may come, He would be my supply.

In what dry place are you crying out to God with a thirsty heart? He'd like to know, "Am I enough for you, thirsty one?" He'd like you to know, "I Am."

[If you'd like to subcribe to Riverside's prayer update newsletter, go to the Riverside website and plug your name and email address into the newsletter sign up box in the left side-bar menu.]

Confessions of a Home Church Planter

I've launched a series of posts over on our Riverside Church website called "Confessions of a Home Church Planter" in which I confess that "I have been pursuing a worthy end by the wrong means...."

Over the next few days these "confessions" will give you some insight into the development of our vision for "a family of home churches," plus some thoughts on how we sometimes substitute the church's goal of "conforming to Christ" with a driving desire to "make something happen."

I will close comments here so that you may leave your thoughts there instead.