Mark Conner Books, Church

The Rabbit and the Elephant: Why Small is the New Big for Today’s Church

Rabbit Imagine you take two elephants. For our purposes, they are a male and a female. You put them in your garage (hopefully, it's big enough!). You give them plenty to eat and drink and you shut the door on them. Three years later, you come back and open the door. What comes out?

Three elephants, that's right! Mum and Dad elephant and one baby!

Now instead of two elephants, let's pretend you put two rabbits in the garage. At the end of three years, when you open the door, you had better run for your life, because millions of rabbits will explode out of that door.

The point? Something that is large and complex is hard to reproduce. Something that is small and simple multiplies easily. Elephants take a long time to reach maturity and have long gestation period. It takes time to produce a single elephant. Rabbits, on the other hand, are extremely fertile all the time. They reach maturity in four to six months, and their gestation period is a mere thirty days. Hence the expression "breed like rabbits."

So begins a new book The Rabbit and the Elephant by Tony and Felicity Dale and George Barna on why small is the new big for today's church.

God's original mandate to us was to "be fruitful and multiply (Gen.1:26)." Reproduction is God's will for all of us. Disciples need to reproduce more disciples, leaders need to reproduce more leaders, ministries need to reproduce more ministries, and churches need to reproduce more churches. No doubt, smaller (more simple and less complex) things reproduce far easier. That's why large mega-churches sometimes don't grow (proportionally) as fast as smaller churches. That's why small groups are an essential part of any church, and especially as a church gets larger, because they enable unlimited reproduction. The first church at Jerusalem was a large church with over 3000 people from the first day but they multiplied rapidly through a network of smaller groups meeting in homes throughout the city (see Acts 2). Maybe God is wanting to so something similar in our generation … in every town and city across the face of the earth.  

Let's go forth and multiply …

Mark Conner Personal Development

Sharpen the Saw

Saw Ecclesiastes 10:10 states: "Using a dull axe requires great strength, so sharpen the blade. That's the value of wisdom; it helps you succeed (NLT)." There a lot of wisdom here . . . if we'll stop and think about it.

Imagine finding someone in the woods working hard sawing down a tree. “What are you doing?”, you ask. “Can't you see?” comes the impatient reply. “I'm sawing down this tree.” “You look exhausted!” you exclaim. “How long have you been at it?” “Over five hours,” he replies, “and I'm dead tired! This is hard work.” “Well, why don't you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen the saw?” you inquire. “I'm sure it would go a lot faster.” “I don't have time to sharpen the saw”, the man says emphatically. “I'm too busy sawing.” It sounds funny but how true it can be in our own busy lives.

Stephen Covey in his best-selling book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People refers to this as Habit 7, which is taking time to "Sharpen the Saw." It's all about preserving and enhancing one of the greatest assets you have – you.

Let's briefly look at for dimensions of your life that need regular renewal:

1. The Spiritual Dimension. Spend time in conversation with God and meditation on the Scriptures, which represent your value system. Investing time in your spiritual life should not be a mechanical duty but a source of power in releasing and multiplying your energies. Finding peace with God and walking with Him on a daily basis is the key to all other aspects of our life (see Psalm 27:14. Isaiah 40:28-31).

2. The Physical Dimension. Care for your physical body by eating the right foods, getting sufficient rest and relaxation, and exercising on a regular basis for endurance, flexibility and strength (see 1 Timothy 4:8).

3. The Mental Dimension. Many people cease from any form of continued learning after they finish formal education. We tend to stop reading and exploring new subjects. We don't write or think analytically any more. Give time to reading, writing, thinking and planning on a regular basis (see Proverbs 4:5,7).

4. The Social/Emotional Dimension. Give time to strengthen your personal relationships on a regular basis. Spend time with people who are emotionally replenishing.

Balance

We need to exercise all four dimensions of our nature, regularly and consistently in wise and balanced ways. Any dimension that is neglected will have a negative affect on our overall life.

When it comes to personal renewal, no one else can do it for us. We must do it for ourselves. It is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life. These things are not urgent but they are extremely important to our lives.

Here are a few practical suggestions:

1. Make a list of renewing activities in your spiritual and mental dimensions and then set daily or weekly goals for each one.

2. Make a list of relationships you would like to improve or develop and set a goal to do so.

3. Make a list of activities that would help you keep in good physical shape, that would fit your lifestyle and that you could enjoy over time.

4. Commit to write down specific “sharpen the saw” activities in all four dimensions every week, to do them, and to evaluate the benefits.

5. Develop a daily habit of giving one hour to “sharpen the saw” activities.

Is it time to stop and sharpen the saw?

Mark Conner Humour

Dirty Kitchens ..

Kitchen Hey Aussies … we need to lift our game. A recent study revealed that Australia is one of the dirtiest countries in the developing world when it comes to hygiene. In fact, our kitchens have a higher level of bacteria than our bathrooms!

The Hygiene in the Home Study 2009 covered Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Germany, India, Malaysia, South Africa, Britain and America. Virology expert Prof John Oxford from the Hygiene Council says Australia has high levels of contamination in the kitchen. Kitchen cleaning cloths are the dirtiest item in the home, followed by the kitchen tap. The study found that toilet areas were relatively clean because they were considered important places to keep hygienic.

Prof Oxford says Australia is at the top of the league in regard to kitchens because 95 percent of cloths and 80 percent of taps contained high levels of bacteria. The study showed that only India and Malaysia were worse than Australia when it came to contamination.

What's up with this?

Mark Conner Spirituality

Living a Prayerful Life …

PRayer Life naturally tends to get busier as time goes on. There is so much to DO. Leading a life, a family, a ministry or whatever, tends towards a preoccupation with tasks. Like Martha, we can be so busy serving God that we don't take time to love God and just sit at his feet like Mary did, listening to his word (see Luke 10:38-42).

If only we could learn that the best productivity always flows out of a depth of geunine spirituality. As we are continually connected to Jesus, he will flow his life through us and help us to be truly fruitful (John 15).

Here are a few challenging thoughts about prayer from Henri Nouwen …

"In a society that seems to be filled with urgencies and emergencies, prayer appears to be an unnatural form of behavior. Without fully realizing it, we have accepted the idea that 'doing things' is more important than prayer and have come to think of prayer as something for times when there is nothing urgent to do … Left to our own impulses, we will always want to do something else before we pray …"

"Prayer requires that we stand in God's presence with open hands, naked and vulnerable, proclaiming to ourselves and to others that without God we can do nothing … (unfortunately) we have turned prayer into a last resort to be used only when all our own resources are depleted." 

"Discipline means that something very specific and concrete needs to be done to create a context in which a life of uninterrupted prayer can develop. Unceasing prayer requires the discipline of prayer exercises. Those who do not set aide a certain place and time each day to do nothing else but pray can never expect their unceasing thought to become unceasing prayer."

"We simply need quiet time in the presence of God. Although we want to make all of our time, time for God, we will never succeed if we do not reserve a minute, an hour, a morning … or whatever period of time for God and God alone. This asks for much discipline and risk-taking because we always seem, to have something more urgent to do and 'just sitting there' and 'doing nothing' often disturbs us more than it helps. But there is no way around this. Being useless and silent in the presence of our God belongs to the core of all prayer."

"Silent time makes as quiet and deepens our awareness of ourselves and God."

"Prayer must be our first concern."

[From The Only Necessary Thing: Living a Prayerful Life, p.92-95]

 

Mark Conner Humour

Dogs – a Man’s Best Friend?

Dog When I was growing up as a kid, I loved cats and I never really took to dogs.

My wife, Nicole, has always loved dogs and she never really took to cats.

We got married and we bought an adorable little kitten that we fell in love with while window-shopping at a pet store (bad idea!). Unfortunately, Nicole got hay fever from it, so we gave it away to some friends.

Since then, we've had a variety of dogs (German Shepherds, Terrier crosses, and others I couldn't name) – usually two at a time. I must admit, I've learned to like dogs. It's nice to know that they're ALWAYS glad to see you – even if their perpetual barking drives you crazy some times.

We have two little dogs at the moment and one of them sleeps on our bed down by our feet. Her name is Tash and she thinks she runs the house. If I move my feet into her space, she growls. But life could be worse. I am a happy man.

I saw a video clip the other day with all sorts of dogs in it doing funny things. It was worth posting - so click here to watch and have a good laugh (or download the file here). It's called 'Psycho Dogs'!

Dogs – a man's best friend?

Mark Conner Family, Relationships

Aussie Men are the Least Desirable Husbands!

Husband A recent study conducted by Oxford University revealed that Australian men are the least desirable husbands when it comes to housework and helping with the children. With Aussie men, it seems that their passion for beer and sport takes precedence over doing the washing up. Aussie men are still perceived as being Steve Irwin and Crocodile Dundee types for whom a kitchen is largely unexplored and dangerous terrain. For single women, this only reinforces the old joke – ‘You start off sinking into his arms, then you end up with your arms in his sink.’

My fellow Aussie mates, we have work to do! This is an appalling result. We can do much better than this.

The report reveals that Swedish men make ideal husbands – not because of their Viking good looks, but because they are most likely to help with the housework.

The study, led by economist Dr Almudena Sevilla Sanz, set out to find the countries with the highest proportion of egalitarian men – those who have no problem strapping on an apron and doing their fair share of the housework.

Click here to read an article about this in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mark Conner Humour

Preaching Bloopers

Bloopers Okay, confession time … I have had a few clangers – or bloopers, as most people call them - in my life as a public speaker. These are embarrassing moments when you get your words mixed up or say something that has a different meaning than you intended.

Here are my Top 3 Bloopers - for your enjoyment:

  1. "The church is a living orgasm …" [instead of "… a living organism …"]
  2. "There were lots of people following Jebus, I mean Jesus …" [no comment necessary]
  3. "A man came and did some staff training for us a few years back. He had three balls. He took them out and started juggling them …" [no additional comment necessary]

Yes, these were very embarrassing moments!

Here are a few other bloopers that I have heard, made by other people (whose name I will protect):

  1. "… the diery farts of the wicked one …" [instead of "… the fiery darts of the wicked one …"]
  2. "… I was so tired and puffed out that I was grasping for breasts …" [instead of … "gasping for breath"]
  3. "… Lot was pinching his tits …" [Instead of "… pitching his tents." Click here to view the evidence]

How about you?

Have you heard any others?

I'd love to hear your comments … 🙂

 

P.S. For some church bulletin bloopers, click here.

P.S.S. For some 'prophetic bloopers', click here.

Mark Conner Church

Growing Churches

Outreach 100 Every year, Outreach Magazine publishes a list of the 100 largest churches in America along with the 100 fastest growing churches. The 2008 research about the top 100 largest churches can be seen here or purchased here. The list of fastest growing churches can be viewed here.

Missiologist Ed Stetzer makes some insightful observations about this research in his article Behind the Numbers, including what growing churches have in common and why they have grown so rapidly.

Here are a few excerpts:

1. Behind the numbers are stories of changed lives, renewed churches, and transformed communities.

2. If current trends continue, the number of medium-sized churches will continue to decrease and the bulk of churches will tend to be large or small.

3. New sites, as well as new buildings and regional population increases – even new leadership – served as growth catalysts. 

4. Many churches are exploring the virtual world by making use of online technology for things such as internet campuses.

5. Multi-site continues to be one of the best-known strategies for church growth and expansion.

6. Interest in multi-generational churches for all ages is growing. So also is a focus on the 20-somethings, many of whom embrace megahurches who are intentional about reaching them.

7. Other common aspects of growing churches include: an outward focus, a climate of creativity, leader teams, clear vision, and the danger of leadership burnout.

Ed concludes by saying, "Regardless of your church's size or shape, Christ calls each f us to seek out fresh ways to contextualize the Gospel for a dying world. I pray that we never lose sight of that call or the people waiting to meet their Savior in or through our churches." Amen to that!

P.S. You can view a Power Point presentation of Ed's insights here.

Mark Conner Church, Leadership

Leadership Network Survey Results

Bob Buford Leadership Network is an excellent ministry established by Bob Buford. It's mission is to: identify, connect and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact. They provide a wealth of resources for churches and leaders through their web site, publications, blogs and e-newsletters.

Recently Leadership Network conducted an extensive survey seeking to gain insights into the ministry roles of Senior Pastors of larger churches and of Executive Ministers.

Click here to read the Senior Pastor report and here for the Executive Minister report.

Any questions, feel free to post them in the Comments section.

Mark Conner Theology

Providence

Providence – I love the word and the truth that it conveys. Our lives are not subject to luck, fate or chance. We are in the hands of a sovereign loving God.

One of my favorite quotes from the Bible is Paul’s statement in Romans 8:28 where he says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”

A few observations:

  • It doesn’t say “God causes all things.” He doesn’t. We make choices, as do other people, and those choices have consequences.
  • It doesn’t say, “All things are good.” They aren’t. War, rape, sickness and accidents aren’t good.
  • It doesn’t say, “All things work out the way we want them to” or “All things have a happy ending.” They don’t. Not every person is healed, not every student gets an ‘A’, not every married couple lives ‘happily ever-after’, and not every business person makes a million dollars. That’s the reality of life.
  • What is does say, is that “God causes all things” – the good, the bad, and the ugly – to work together for our ultimate good, because we love him and are called according to his purpose.

God is the master planner and the grand designer of everything – even using our pain, our mistakes and our failures to contribute to his ultimate purpose. As Joseph said when he was re-united with his brothers who betrayed him – “You meant it for evil (it was wrong and it hurt!) BUT God used it for good (I believe in providence!).” And this is something we know – we can be assured of if – not something we merely hope for.

This means that nothing is wasted with God – absolutely nothing. Take a moment to think back through your life – even at things that were painful and annoying at the time- and try to see God’s hand in redeeming those things for his purpose. Even the small things matter to God.

For instance, I remember taking an accounting course as part of a Diploma in Business Management that I completed many years ago. At the time, the pages and pages of detailed, lengthy hand-written double-entry accounting work I had to do was annoying and tedious (any accountant will understand). But now, because of that experience … I am able to understand a financial statement at a ministry board meeting and I can take good care in managing our personal finances because I know what happens when I hit ‘enter’ on a transaction in my Quicken personal finance software program. Believe me … nothing is wasted in God. Even the seemingly trivial.

Take a moment to appreciate the providence of God in your life … and as you do, place your trust afresh in him … whatever you may be going through.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6. NLT