ChuckLawless.com is a blog about Missions, Evangelism and Biblical Church Growth

In my current roles, I have had the privilege of educating young SBC ministers, assisting state conventions in conferences, working alongside the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in training leaders, and consulting with the International Mission Board (IMB) in theological education.  Our denomination has much room for improvement, but I am more excited today about Southern Baptists than I have ever been - and the GCR Task Force progress report is one reason for my excitement.  Southern Baptists must still address a final report when meeting in Orlando in June 2010, but this progress report is filled with possibility and hope. 

First, the report begins with a call to repentance over our disunity, arrogance, selfishness, and caustic rhetoric.  Southern Baptists have unfortunately assumed that our size is evidence of God’s blessings on us, and seldom have we been accused of humility.  The GCRTF report is a jolting call to repent of our belief that the evangelical world somehow revolves around us. We have no right to think such about ourselves, especially when our own denomination is in decline.    

Second, the report calls for a return to the primacy of the local church.  A Great Commission Resurgence will occur only when local churches led by God-called pastors grieve over lostness and share the gospel message with people outside of the church.  That is, a GC Resurgence begins and ends with my personal willingness to be obedient to the GC task.  Waiting for the denomination to “vote in” a resurgence is not only an abdication of personal responsibility, but it is also a guarantee that no resurgence will take place.    

Third, the report calls for funneling more Cooperative Program funds to the task of international missions.  A one percent increase may seem insignificant, but the increased dollars are both symbolic and real.  For the first time in our denominational history, we will have affirmed that more than one-half of our cooperative giving goes to international missions.  Moreover, a one-percent increase will surely result in more real dollars given to missions - a positive that we must celebrate.   

Fourth, the task force recognizes that North America is changing and has challenged NAMB and the IMB to cooperate in reaching our continent.  God is bringing the world to our continent - most often, to our cities - where the Great Commission task is so large that both mission agencies will have much to do in assisting our churches to reach our contexts.  God alone knows how much more we could do if our agencies and entities worked together under a common vision rather than duplicating efforts and competing against each other. 

Fifth, the report emphasizes the necessity of training missional leaders to reach our world.  While the task force has proposed that NAMB and LifeWay share the duty to help “heighten our commitment to equip current pastors to missional leadership,” all of us must accept this responsibility.  As a seminary professor and dean, I can affirm that we are producing men and women who believe the Word.  I fear, though, that we are not as intentional about producing strong missional leaders.  Our graduates seldom struggle because their theology is bad, but they do not always know how to relate to their context as a mission field.  Leaders with a healthy understanding of contextualization are a must if Southern Baptists are going to reverse our decline. 

Sixth, the task force affirms the Cooperative Program while also celebrating “Great Commission Giving” beyond the CP.  I am convinced that cooperative giving is still the best way to support the global cause of Christ, and I am grateful every day for the benefits I have reaped because of the Cooperative Program.  At the same time, though, I rejoice as more local churches prayerfully and seriously seek the best way to support missions causes.  A “both-and” approach to giving toward Great Commission causes (rather than “either-or”  between the CP and Great Commission Giving) may well result in even more dollars supporting the work of missions at all levels of Southern Baptist life.     

Seventh, the report calls for continued honest evaluation of our current work.  Four billion people around the world have little or no access to the gospel. More than 250 million people in North America are not believers. Meanwhile, Southern Baptists baptized no more in 2008 than we did in 1950.  Honest, gut-wrenching, God-honoring evaluation of our structures, processes, and programs is thus in order.  This process is difficult and never-ending - but only through accountability can we improve our Great Commission efforts.   

What, then, should we do in response to this progress report?  Because Southern Baptists will be changed only through the power of God, prayer is a non-negotiable response.  I invite you to join me in praying these prayers: 

I pray that I will be ever aware of my own arrogance. As an older Southern Baptist, I must not get frustrated with younger Southern Baptists who are calling for change; instead, I must hear them even while helping them to stay properly focused.  Younger Southern Baptists who continue to call for correction must do so with gratitude to God for the rich heritage of this Convention.  All of us must humbly pray for the Great Commission Task Force as they continue their work on this report. 

I pray that I can genuinely say, “Not my will, but God’s be done.”  For some Southern Baptists, the suggestions of this report may go too far.  For others, they may not go far enough.  In either case, though, this report is not about what I want.  Any unwillingness to change for the sake of the gospel will result only in status quo - and status quo will not work anymore for this denomination.      

I pray that I will be patient with this process.  The SBC will consider this report in Orlando in June, but any proposed changes will take time.  Ours is a large denominational ship that is not turned quickly.  Patience is imperative, as impatience can result in poor implementation of otherwise good plans.  Now is not the time to jump ship because changes are not occurring quickly enough; instead, it is time to jump in, help us steer the ship, and rejoice over every move in the right direction. 

I pray that the discussions at the SBC meeting in June will be God-honoring.  Change is seldom easy, especially when structures and processes to which we have become accustomed are challenged. This report calls for an intense Great Commission focus that will require hard choices.  I am praying now that the world will see us discuss the issues with fervor while still rallying around the Great Commission.  Anything less will harm our witness. 

I pray that the Great Commission Resurgence begins with me now. To be sure, this final prayer sounds “preachy.”  The point, though, is this: no report from any committee will in itself produce a Great Commission Resurgence.  A genuine GCR will begin when I pray for a lost world, give sacrificially to God’s work, and personally tell others about Jesus.  A resurgence will grow as I disciple others to do the same.  To begin these tasks, I need not wait until the SBC gathers in June.

How grateful I am for the church that gathered around me when I first became a believer.  I was young (13 years old), biblically illiterate (I did not own a Bible), and anxious (I did not know the “church lingo” or the Sunday school answers)–but I was certain that God had worked a miracle in my life.  I did not know enough to use the word “calling,” but I also knew quickly that God was somehow calling me to give my life for Him.  The believers that made up that church invited me into that Christian family, loved me, prayed for me, and gave me opportunities for ministry.    

What they did not do was systematically teach me so that I would be a disciple of Jesus.  To be sure, my pastor preached the inerrant Word, and my Sunday school teachers were great.  I would not be where I am today had that congregation not grounded me in the truth of the Word. 

Nevertheless, they had no plan in place to lead me intentionally through Christian discipleship so that I would know how to study the Word, how to fight temptation, how to evangelize non-believers, and how to reproduce Christian faith in others.  They, like so many other churches, unintentionally assumed that my faithful church attendance would automatically result in Christian growth.

Instead, what resulted was a struggling young believer who wanted to grow, but who was too embarrassed to admit his struggles.  I longed for someone to guide me, but I did not know where to turn.  All of the other believers seemed to have their act together.   Only I was struggling, I thought.  To make matters worse, the church too soon gave me a leadership position teaching others in a Sunday school class.  Frankly, I was leading before I was ready to lead. 

Multiply that story by millions of believers, and you have the state of the church in North America–believers who are undiscipled . . . followers of Jesus who have not yet learned how to follow . . . Christians who fail more often than not . . . church leaders who are not spiritually ready to lead . . . members who are susceptible to every wind of doctrine, but who still claim spiritual superiority.  In church after church, we are multiplying mediocrity rather than life-giving, self-sacrificing Christians. 

Now, multiply that story by millions of believers around the world, and you sense the state of much of the global church.  Without question, many churches around the world are rightly focused on the Great Commission task of making disciples–and I praise God for those congregations.  At the same time, though, we have also planted churches that too often lack the depth of discipleship necessary for lasting reproduction.  The result is congregations that quickly depart from biblical moorings to follow the current fad with the most excitement or the latest “teacher” with the most money to give.

This blog, though, is not intended to be pessimistic.  In fact, I see signs of a shifting emphasis that can result in healthier churches in the long run.  First, the young generation rising to leadership in our churches is well aware of the problem, and they intend to move the church in the right direction.  In fact, if I have a concern about this generation, it is that they will so focus on fixing the discipleship problem that they will lose focus on evangelizing the lost. To wait until the church is “fixed” before we evangelize is to guarantee a lack of evangelism.  On the other hand, healthy discipleship must necessarily result in passionate evangelists; if not, “discipleship” is nothing more than imparting information, and the church is nothing more than a classroom. 

Second, I hear missions leaders echoing the cry for discipleship that follows evangelism.  I recently met with three men who will serve as regional theological education consultants for the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention.  Their task is to help facilitate theological training at all levels in the areas where they serve.  These men have accepted their challenge because they are committed to training the trainers while also evangelizing the lost and planting new congregations.  Their assignment is a challenging one indeed, and they deserve our prayer support. 

Must we multiply believers through evangelism? We must.

Multiply churches through church planting?  Absolutely. 

May God help us to multiply the right way.

Leadership has become a big deal for me not only in my role as dean of the Billy Graham School, but also as my denomination (the Southern Baptist Convention) faces transitioning leadership at multiple levels. I am particularly burdened about reaching out to and working with young leaders who are the future of our churches. Given my interest, the November 2009 copy of US News and World Report – an edition that focused almost entirely on leadership – caught my attention.

I read it thoroughly, digesting the comments and thoughts of mostly secular leaders. What grabbed me, though, was just how applicable so many comments are to the church world. Below are some of the words of these leaders, with my corresponding remarks about church application indicated by asterisks (**). Read on, and be willing to be challenged.

“If you’re not thinking about something that’s bigger than life, bigger than you are, then your organization isn’t going to grow.” Bill Magee, philanthropist, speaking about his work, Operation Smile

**Seldom does a church grow if the leaders do not have a clear vision that is God’s vision, one that demands His intervention and power. If we can do what we do in our own strength and ability, nothing we do really matters.

“We have come to realize that the economic crisis was less a matter of subprime mortgages than subprime leadership.” David Green, columnist, quoting Bill George of the Harvard Business School

**By its very nature, leadership affects others. Lead well, and others grow and are blessed. Lead poorly, and others pay a price. We who care for the souls of people must not take this task lightly.

“Massive failures can often be traced back to leaders who don’t listen.” Tamara Lytle, columnist, quoting William Baker, author of Leading with Kindness

**When we choose not to listen to those we lead, we call into question the wisdom of God who puts His church together as He wishes so that we learn and grow together. An unwillingness to listen to others is simply arrogance.

“It turns out that being an extrovert is highly correlated with being chosen as a leader but not with being a good one.” Lytle, quoting Timothy Judge, chair of management at the University of Florida Business School

**Personality may attract a crowd, but it does not equal godly wisdom, a humble spirit, and sacrificial living. Sometimes, in fact, personality takes center stage and robs God of His glory.  God forgive us when our name becomes more important than His.

“A lack of both training and role models for future leaders can contribute to failures.” Lytle, quoting Karen Rothenberg, former dean of the University of Maryland Law School

**When the church grants leadership positions to those who have attended the longest rather than those most gifted—and we then throw them into the work without training them—we should not be surprised when they fail. Nor should we be surprised when generation after generation “leads” the church to mediocrity. Few healthy role models remain, as one generation of untrained leaders produces another untrained generation.

“Leadership is taught. It is not innate. There aren’t many places that teach leadership. Mentoring is probably the most effective way of influencing a younger person’s life. There’s not even a close second.” Karen Mathis, head of Big Brothers Big Sisters

**With all of our programs and teaching, mentoring is still the best way to teach and make disciples. That’s the way Jesus did it, and that’s the way Paul followed suit. The classroom—as important as it is—cannot match life-on-life learning. If only the church would catch up with the world here….

“We remind our players that name on the front of the jersey (North Carolina) is more important than the one on the back (their own).” Roy Williams, University of North Carolina basketball coach

**What a word to the church of Jesus Christ, made up of many parts designed to point to and give honor to the head. Simply put, church is not about us. It is about God’s people working together to glorify Christ.

“We try to give a message of quality in everything that we do, and we think that that starts with the people. It doesn’t do much good to have a quality image, whether it’s with the facility or whether it’s with the merchandise, if you don’t have real quality people taking care of your customers.” Jim Sinegal, CEO of Costco

**Surely the words “customers” and “merchandise” make us uncomfortable, but the truth remains. God’s people should be the best and give their best, and we must expect nothing less than that from those whose lives are a witness to Christ and to His church. Raise the bar rather than lower it if we want to be effective churches.

“These young adults don’t tend to want to write the check. They want to be involved. They like that feeling of giving back in person.” Colleen Carroll Campbell, author of The New Faithful: Why Young Adults are Embracing Orthodox Christianity

**Enough said. Give young people something significant to do in the church, or they will find some place else to invest. They will, I am convinced,write the check, but only if they know the check makes a difference.

The church is not a business, but the business world can still teach us. May God help us to listen with discerning, but open, ears.

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Welcome to the updated website for Biblical Church Growth (now ChuckLawless.com).  I trust that these revisions will make this resource even more helpful to you as you strive to fulfill the Great Commission through your local church:

• facts about the needs of the world and Great Commission quotes will challenge you to find your role in meeting these needs
• “Great Commission Prayer Moments” will guide you to accept your responsibility to intercede for others and to pray with knowledge and passion
• my weekly blog will address issues, offer suggestions, and point to resources related to the Great Commission
• Monthly podcasts will feature interviews with Great Commission leaders in North America and around the world
• Billy Graham School newsletters for local church leaders will provide quick, practical reading and helpful tools for leading a church to do the Great Commission
• updates on my Facebook and Twitter accounts will (I hope) encourage you to pray for me, my wife, and our own Great Commission ministry
• occasional guest bloggers will tackle front-burner Great Commission issues and lead us to do the same
• links to other Great Commission resources will direct you to further helps
• other future additions to the website will always point to the work of making disciples of all people groups of the world.

You will notice the words “Great Commission” over and over again in this blog/announcement - and the inclusion of these words is intentional.  We are uniquely privileged and supernaturally empowered to take the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).  I pray that this website encourages and assists you in this awesome task.