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Sometimes our church traditions can get in the way of doing what we’re supposed to be doing. For example, I am not convinced that it is wise for most churches to have buildings, meet on Sunday morning, and be non-profit.

Sure, there are times when these things make sense. But in many ways today, such practices are only getting in the way of reaching out to unbelievers and adequately making disciples.

Good and Bad Church Traditions

So how can we discern good and helpful traditions from bad ones?

One good way is to practice something I learned from my two-year old: ask “Why?” a lot.

To discover if a certain church practice should be continued or not, ask “Why?” about it seven times.

If, in asking “Why?” seven times, you don’t get to a good reason, you might want to consider dumping whatever it was you were asking “Why?” about.

And if you ever answer “Because the Bible says so” then ask “Where?” and “Is that really what that verse means?”

This is often good to do with a group of people because they can help you answer the questions, and tell you when an answer is not valid. You may have to “tweak” your question asking a bit to get at the root of the issue, but the point is to ruthlessly examine and question everything. It may look like this:

Here’s how it works:

Asking Why? about Sunday Church

Statement: The church meets on Sunday morning.

Why?

Possible answers:

It’s the Sabbath. (No, it isn’t. Saturday is.)

It’s the day Jesus rose from the dead (So? Where does it say we have to meet on the day Jesus rose from the dead? Doesn’t Paul say all days are equal?)

It’s a day that everybody has off. (Not any more. If we’re trying to meet when most people are free, would Tuesday night be better? And for that matter, why do we want to meet when most people can meet? Furthermore, which people are “most people?”)

See how this works?

Just keep questioning everything you do in the church, and with some careful, critical thinking, you come to see that most of what the church does, it does by tradition: just because we’ve always done it that way.

This frees us up to realize that if there is a better way to make disciples, we should do it, even if we have to abandon most of our traditions.

Asking Why About Preaching

What if we asked “why” about preaching?

Why do we have preaching?

So we can teach the Bible and make disciples.

Ok. Why? Is preaching the best way to teach the Bible and make disciples?

Well, it is not the only way (or even the best way) to do either.

Ok. So if there are better ways, back to the original question: Why do we have preaching?

Well, because the pastor has the spiritual gift of teaching and he should get to use his gift.

Ok. So why is the pastor the one who gets to use the majority of the church service using his gift, and why is preaching the best way to use the gift of teaching?

Well, other people get to use their gifts too, but the pastor went to Seminary, and we’re paying him to preach, and preaching is when he can reach the most people all at once with biblical truth. If he had to use his gifts one-on-one, it would take hundreds of hours of week to disseminate the same biblical truth. And besides, Paul told Timothy to “Preach the Word.”

I see. Each of those statements is going to need it’s own “Why?” question: Why did the pastor have to go to seminary to get his training to use his gift when we don’t send others to seminary to get training to practice their gifts? Why are we paying the pastor to use his gift when we don’t pay others to use theirs? Why do we need to reach a lot of people all at once with biblical truth? (Which returns to the earlier question of whether or not preaching is the best way to make disciples.) And why do we need to follow today the same instruction that Paul gave Timothy? And related to that, why do we think think the practice of “preaching” as it is done today is the same thing Paul meant when he told Timothy to “preach” the Word? If we do have to follow Paul’s instruction to Timothy (which isn’t yet certain), why don’t we figure out what Paul meant by “preach the Word” and then do that?

This line of questioning goes on and on.

The end result is that we eventually see that there are no good reasons for why churches do most of what they do. Often, as we try to defend the practices and traditions of the church, we find ourselves talking in circles and arguing from the basis of the way things have always been done, which keeps us from thinking about how things could be done.

My Traditional Christmas Movie

By Jeremy Myers

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One of my Christmas traditions during the weeks leading up to Christmas is to watch the six hour movie “Lonesome Dove“ with Robert Duvall, Danny Glover, and Tommy Lee Jones. Last night, my wife and I sat down and watched Part 1.

Afterwards, as we were sitting on the couch, a little depressed from all the people who die, the women who get treated like trash, and the overall view in the movie that life is cheap, my wife said, “Of all the traditional Christmas movies, “Miracle on 34th Street,” “White Christmas,” or “A Christmas Story“ why do you watch this movie? It’s so depressing.”

I looked at her and said, “I have no idea. It’s just what I’ve always done.”

My Christmas Tradition

Upon further reflection, this tradition began for me around 15 years ago. I think that the local television station showed this movie on television around the Christmas season for two or three years, and then my mother bought me the tapes for my birthday one summer, and after that, it was just something I did during Christmas. Now I watch the movie at Christmas because it helps me “feel” the season.

Church Traditions

I think most of what we do in church is the same way. We do what we do because we’ve done it for a long time, and it helps us “feel” like a Christian. It’s not that what we do is mandated in Scripture, or that it helps us accomplish what Scripture does mandate (e.g., go and make disciples), but we do it because we’ve always done it.

Tomorrow we’ll look at a way to determine if a tradition is something that should be cut or continued.

What strange Christmas traditions do you practice during the holidays?

Free Grace Churches

By Jeremy Myers

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2012 Note: A while back I tried to start a church planting website to promote and encourage churches that focus on the free grace of God. The attempt failed…

Here is the post from that time….

Free Grace Churches is now live!

At that site, we want to focus on taking the Free Grace theology we all know and love, and putting it into practice in our churches, in our communities, and around the world. By joining today, you have the opportunity to change the future.

By becoming a member, you can:

Add your church to the list of Free Grace Churches (and edit the information any time it changes)
Post (or search for) job openings
Get YOUR VERY OWN Blog for your friends, family, and congregation to read
Get your own “___@freegracechurches” e-mail address
Connect with other Free Grace people around the world
Post (or find out about) mission trips
Get ministry and leadership ideas and resources
Help plant Free Grace Churches in the US and around the world

Best of all…there is no charge! Like grace, it’s free.

Check out the site, join today, and start connecting with others.

Church Planting with Will Smith – Part 3

By Jeremy Myers

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This is third and final installment on things about church leaders and church planters can learn from Will Smith. Yesterday we looked at the first five principles of his success.

Here are the last five:

6. Understand ideas, and which ideas move people.

Smith says that when studying movies, and which ones are popular, he tries to back up and get the big picture. “I look at movies in their essence,” Smith says. “Will that idea sell?” If you look at the movies Smith does, he always does movies that focus on an idea or a story that resonate with the vast majority of people on the planet. He is not just trying to entertain, he is trying to connect.

This is key for church planters. Too often we get caught up in the entertainment mode. But entertainment is fleeting; personal connections are forever.

7. Understand universal patterns.

This is related to number 6. Smith calls himself a student of universal patterns. He watches for movements in worldwide society and culture, and then tries to focus on these patterns. He and his manager sit down every Monday morning any analyze the box office numbers for the past weekend, as well as the past 10, 20, and 30 weekends. He is looking for trends and patterns.

We too can look for universal trends, needs, and patterns. Study history, culture, and relationships. These are the areas in which God is at work.

8. Think globally.

Smith doesn’t just want people in the US to see his movies. He wants to be a worldwide movie star. So after a movie debuts in the US, he travels to England, Germany, Japan, Brazil, China, and promotes his movies. This, of course, makes him popular with the movie producers because it is more money for them.

So also with church planting. While our first focus is our neighborhood, we must also develop a global perspective. See the excellent book by Bob Roberts on this: Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage a Flat World.

9. Go where the people are.

Since Smith didn’t initially have worldwide recognition, he knew it would be hard to get a worldwide platform unless he went where people were already gathering. So when he travels, he travels intentionally. He promotes his movies in South Korea at the World Cup, in Brazil during Carnival, and is headed to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Why try to gather a crowd on your own when you can just use a ready-made crowd?

Churches often try to gather their own crowds, and they spend huge sums of money and large amounts of time to do it. Why not just go to wherever the crowds are already gathering in town?

10. Never neglect what is important: family.

This I though was the most amazing thing of all. Hollywood actors are not known for stable marriages, mostly because they are trying to follow their dreams and make it big. Smith has been married for 10 years and says, “Our first official date was with a relationship counselor. The math is simple. Start while it’s good. Do it three times a week while you’re laughing and still having fun. You get so much more work done. You head off problems. Do it during the ether time, and do it aggressively.” Smith knows that all of his fame and glory is nothing if he doesn’t have a his wife and kids to share it with.

Church planters and church leaders take heed! What good does it do to have a huge church if you lose your wife and kids in the process?

Conclusion

Most of these ten principles are driven by secular goals. But if you go back through them, and substitute in spiritual, biblically-based goals, you have a surprisingly good list of what it takes to hear God say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Church Planting with Will Smith – Part 2

By Jeremy Myers

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In a previous post, I reminisced about Will Smith and his transformation from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to Will Smith of Hollywood.

In the December 10, 2007 issue of TIME magazine, there was a writeup about Will Smith and how this transformation occurred.

What is Will Smith’s secret?

Intentionality.

Will Smith says his success is all according to plan.

TIME reports that “Because Smith has mastered the delicate art of appearing artless, few moviegoers realize that his is one of Hollywood’s most meticulously planned and executed careers.”

He hatched his plan at age 16 after his first girlfriend cheated on him because (in his mind) he wasn’t good enough. He decided that he was never not be good enough again. He made a plan to correct this, and never looked back. You can see the plan unfold as you watch the career of Will Smith.

10 Principles of Success

But what interests me are ten principles he operates by to execute that plan. Here they are as gleaned from the article:

1. Don’t have a Plan B. Relentlessly pursue Plan A.

Smith says “By even contemplating a Plan B, you almost create the necessity for a Plan B.”

As church leaders, while it is often a good idea to make plans, I think we sometimes get derailed from God’s vision for our lives by naysayers and setbacks. But if all we have is Plan A, we will work at it wholeheartedly because there is no other option.

2. Read. Read. Read. Find your answers in books.

Smith has a library stocked with books on every topic imaginable. He reads and studies to find the answers he needs.

This reminds me of something I heard Chuck Swindoll say: “Readers are leaders.”

3. Study what others have done, and emulate. Learn by watching others.

When Smith began his acting career, he would watch and emulate the various actors that came on the show, even mouthing their words after them when they rehearsed. Later, when he started to try to get into movies, he and his manager found a list of the 10 top-grossing movies of all time, and looked for patterns and similarities in them.

Church leaders can do this with churches, but we have to be careful how we define “success.” Big churches are not the most successful churches.

4. Be Friendly. Make contacts.

Smith had a knack for charming his way out of trouble and winning friends. This is how he met “DJ Jazzy Jeff” and later, James Lassiter, his manager.

Church leaders and planters cannot afford to be introverted. We must love to spend time with people.

5. Work hard. Be Diligent.

Smith has a good work ethic and works hard at everything he does.

Leading a church is not easy. It takes hard work and lots of sweat and tears.

We’ll save the final five principles for tomorrow.

10 Lessons Church Planters Can Learn from Will Smith

By Jeremy Myers

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(Note: This post on church planting principles from Will Smith is from 2007… back when I thought I was going into church planting. A lot has changed since then!)

I’ll admit it….

When I was in Jr. High, I listened to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. My friend and I listened to all of his tapes (CDs were just coming out).

His rap was just what Junior High white boys in Montana liked: It was smooth, funny, and just a teeny bit rebellious.

I remember that some of the more serious, hard-core rappers gave The Fresh Prince a hard time for his music. “It’s not rap,” they criticized. “Real rap has edge. It’s angry. It’s not rap unless there is some profanity.”

The Fresh Prince took it all in stride, and just kept selling tapes. Then he got a TV Show and a few movie roles. Now, 30 years later, he can look at all those who criticized him and, with country-western singer Toby Keith, say “How Do You Like Me Now?”

The Fresh Prince, now known as Will Smith, is one of the most sought-after actors in the movie industry, not only in Hollywood, but in the entire world. TIME Magazine recently did a brief article on him and how he got where he is.

As I read it, I was amazed at what church planters (and all pastors and leaders) can learn from Will Smith.

In the December 10, 2007 issue of TIME magazine, there was an article about Will Smith and how this transformation occurred.

What is Will Smith’s secret?

One thing: Intentionality.

Will Smith says his success is all according to plan.

TIME reports that “Because Smith has mastered the delicate art of appearing artless, few moviegoers realize that his is one of Hollywood’s most meticulously planned and executed careers.”

10 Principles of Success

But what interests me are ten principles he operates by to execute that plan. Here they are as gleaned from the article:

1. Don’t have a Plan B. Relentlessly pursue Plan A.

Smith says “By even contemplating a Plan B, you almost create the necessity for a Plan B.”

2. Read. Read. Read. Find your answers in books.

Will Smith has a library stocked with books on every topic imaginable. He reads and studies to find the answers he needs.

This reminds me of something Chuck Swindoll used to say: Readers are leaders.

3. Study what others have done, and emulate. Learn by watching others.

When Will Smith began his acting career, he would watch and emulate the various actors that came on the show, even mouthing their words after them when they rehearsed. Later, when he started to try to get into movies, he and his manager found a list of the 10 top-grossing movies of all time, and looked for patterns and similarities in them.

Church leaders can do this with churches, but we have to be careful how we define “success.” Big churches are not the most successful churches.

4. Be Friendly. Make contacts.

Will Smith had a knack for charming his way out of trouble and winning friends. This is how he met “DJ Jazzy Jeff” and later, James Lassiter, his manager.

Church leaders and planters cannot afford to be introverted. We must love to spend time with people.

5. Work hard. Be Diligent.

Will Smith has a good work ethic and works hard at everything he does.

Leading a church is not easy. It takes hard work and lots of sweat and tears.

6. Understand ideas, and which ideas move people.

Will Smith says that when studying movies, and which ones are popular, he tries to back up and get the big picture. “I look at movies in their essence,” Smith says. “Will that idea sell?” If you look at the movies Smith does, he always does movies that focus on an idea or a story that resonate with the vast majority of people on the planet. He is not just trying to entertain, he is trying to connect.

This is key for church planters. Too often we get caught up in the entertainment mode. But entertainment is fleeting; personal connections are forever.

7. Understand universal patterns.

This is related to number 6. Will Smith calls himself a student of universal patterns. He watches for movements in worldwide society and culture, and then tries to focus on these patterns. He and his manager sit down every Monday morning any analyze the box office numbers for the past weekend, as well as the past 10, 20, and 30 weekends. He is looking for trends and patterns.

We too can look for universal trends, needs, and patterns. Study history, culture, and relationships. These are the areas in which God is at work.

8. Think globally.

Will Smith doesn’t just want people in the US to see his movies. He wants to be a worldwide movie star. So after a movie debuts in the US, he travels to England, Germany, Japan, Brazil, China, and promotes his movies. This, of course, makes him popular with the movie producers because it is more money for them.

9. Go where the people are.

Churches often try to gather their own crowds, and they spend huge sums of money and large amounts of time to do it. Why not just go to wherever the crowds are already gathering in town?

10. Never neglect what is important: family.

Church planters and church leaders take heed! What good does it do to have a huge church if you lose your wife and kids in the process?

Conclusion

Who is the Church Service For? (Part 3)

By Jeremy Myers

4 Comments

We previously asked the question, “Who is the church service for – believers or unbelievers?” (See Part 1 and Part 2). We saw that depending on how you answer that question determines whether you are going to focus on teaching believers or reaching out to unbelievers (aka seekers) in your “church service.”

However, statistics and surveys reveal that in general, disciple-making churches don’t turn out very good disciples, and seeker-sensitive churches tend mostly to attract Christians from other churches. So both approaches are failing in both discipleship and evangelism.

I suggested that the solution to this dilemma is to ask different questions. First, What is church? and second, What is the church service? With basic answers to these questions, we can now see that the only time “church service” is happening is when a group of believers (the church) are actually meeting the needs of someone else (serving), whether these needs are spiritual or physical. To be balanced, a church should focus on both spiritual and physical needs.

So what is the answer to the question, “Who is the church service for?”

The Church is for anybody that that the church is serving.

So while a group of believers could meet together for prayer, Bible study, and fellowship, this is only part of “church” for such practices only serve spiritual needs. As a group, they might want to also go out and put into practice what they have learned in Scripture to meet the physical, emotional, and psychological needs of others in the community.

They could do this all on one day, or split it up during the days of the week, or even alternate weeks. This will work best when the same group of believers that learns together goes out and serves together as well. Such service doesn’t even need to be a part of the church program, but can also be a simple part of living life among other people.

Other than these few things, I cannot find any clear and consistent guidelines in Scripture on when the church is supposed to meet and/or what they are supposed to do when they meet. See this series on the church service for where I discuss this in more detail.

Also, if you want to learn more on how to actually serve people in the community, try my book Put Service Back into the Church Service.

What is the Church Service?

By Jeremy Myers

3 Comments

I am not sure how the hour from 11:00-12:00 on Sunday morning (or whenever you “go to church”) became known as “The Church Service.”

Probably, the term is too ingrained in our church culture to change it.

Nevertheless, “the church service” is one of the most tragic misnomers of Christianity.

No Service in the Church Service

First of all, little actual service takes place in the church service. If we define service as “using your spiritual gifts to edify and meet the needs of others, then on Sunday morning during the church service, only the Sunday school teachers, the ushers, the music team, the pastor, and a few others are “serving.”

I suppose one could make an argument that putting money in the offering plate is “serving” and in some sense, simply showing up is an encouragement to the pastor, but is this really what is meant by “Christian service”?

Limited “Service Times”

Second, it is tragic that we have segmented off an hour or two of our week and called it the “Service Time.” Check most church websites and bulletins, and they have their “Services Times” listed. The implication is that if you show up at one of these times, you are involved in Christian service. And if you ask most Christians what they do in their “Service time” they will talk about praying, singing, and listening t0 someone teach them from the Bible. Is this really service?

Somehow, we need a radical shift in how we schedule our church functions and programs. We need to have actual “Service times” where we get together and go help someone in our church or in our community. Mow lawns, feed the hungry, help single mothers with their kids. Then, we can come together as Christians for times of celebration, prayer, and teaching, but we probably shouldn’t call such times “service.”

You probably aren’t going to get your church to change any of this, but how about you personally? How can you put the service back in “church service“?

2013 Note: This post was from 2007. Since then, I came out with a book titled, Put Service Back into the Church Service, which fleshes out in more detail some of what I wrote about in this post, and suggests some concrete ideas for how to put actual service back into the church service.

Tag, You’re It!

By Jeremy Myers

3 Comments

Daniel over at Messy Pastor tagged me to reveal seven things about myself that not many people know. That’s a creative idea, so here we go:

1. I am a cat lover, and can’t stand dogs unless they act like cats (small, sit on your lap, don’t bark…). Sadly, I don’t have a cat right now…we had to leave him in Montana when we moved to Texas three years ago.

2. I am addicted to books. Not reading them…just buying them. I love to read too, but I buy three times as many books as I read. It’s out of control.

3. I deleted this one, because I don’t want people to know this fact about me. And besides, it’s not true any more.

4. I am a lifelong Oakland Raiders fan, but don’t admit it much recently.

5. I have watched “The Matrix” about 60 times since it came out. I could write a book about “The Gospel in the Matrix.” One day I probably will lead lead a “movie Bible study” and begin with “The Matrix.”

6. I’m going to ditto Daniel on #6: I can’t stand self-righteous or legalistic Christians.

7. I grew up in a family of ten kids. Yep. I am second oldest. You can see how crazy my family is over at tenarrows.blogspot.com.

My Wife Knows Jesus

By Jeremy Myers

7 Comments

From time to time, all Christians struggle with how to know God more intimately. Depending on where you go and who you listen to, there are many different ideas on how to get to know Jesus better. Some say you need to study your Bible more, attend church more, have daily devotions more, pray more, or other such things.

One popular recommendation of getting to know Jesus is through speaking in tongues. Here is something that happened to my wife recently on this topic and what she learned about getting to know Jesus.

Will Speaking in Tongues help you Know Jesus?

There is a wide segment of Christianity which says that if you really want to know Jesus and experience Him, you need to speak in tongues, dream dreams, and have visions. The chills and the thrills prove that God really cares about you.

My wife has some friends who have been telling her this very thing. They are some of the most Godly women we have ever known, and I do not doubt their sincerity, or their genuine love for God and desire to be used by Him. But Wendy started to get confused because some of them were implying that Wendy was missing out on all that God had for her, and that if she really wanted to know Jesus, experience God, and have the close, intimate relationship with God that they did, she would have to pray for God to give to her all that He had for her (i.e., tongues).

She and I talked some about this.

Following Jesus Daily

Finally, I told her to keep praying and seeking God’s face in Scripture, and see what He reveals.

A few days later, she called me at work. She was so excited. She realized that knowing Christ intimately is not found only in “knowing Scripture” but in going along with Jesus in what He is doing in your day. As you read the Gospels, the disciples just followed Him around, listening to His teaching, observing what He was doing, and then helping out where they could. So Wendy set out to do the same thing.

Buying Bears with Jesus

Three days later, she was in our local supermarket. As she pushed her cart around, she noticed a little girl asking an older man, probably her grandfather, for a stuffed bear. The grandfather responded a little gruffly, “I told you No! Put it back.” The little girl obeyed and little reluctantly, and as they walked away, kept glancing back over her shoulder at the bear.

Wendy thought, “I wonder if I should buy that bear for that girl.” She walked over to the bear and looked at the price. It was only $4.99. But she thought, “She probably has many toys at home, and all little girls like stuffed animals. What does she need one more for?” So Wendy walked away.

But she couldn’t shake the idea, and just as she was about to check out, she saw the grandfather and little girl headed toward the check out line as well. So Wendy grabbed the bear, and bought it with her other groceries. Then she went over to the grandfather and introduced herself and explained that she had saw the girl ask for the bear, and had overheard him tell her no. “God has been so generous with us, and I really felt God wanted me to buy this bear for her. I hope that is okay.”

Wendy said that the man’s face, which seemed to be somewhat angry and worried, melted into joy and disbelief. He said, “This is my granddaughter. She wanted the bear for her mother, my daughter, who is in the hospital. When we got here, I told her she could either buy flowers or a stuffed animal for her mother. She chose flowers first, but then wanted the bear as well, so that her mother would have a friend tomorrow after the surgery. You have made her very happy. Thank you.”

Indeed, the little girl was beaming and hugging the bear.

This is my wife…the close friend of Jesus.

The Love of Jesus

Tonight, with Thanksgiving coming up, she is taking a Pumpkin Pie over to our neighbors. We have been trying to develop a relationship with them, which has been difficult since they don’t speak English very well and we don’t speak Spanish. Wendy had been giving free English tutoring to their girls on Thursday nights. Anyway, they have never had a pumpkin pie before, so she made one for them. It is just another way she is showing love to our neighbors.

Now seriously… who needs to speak in tongues or have dreams and visions when you see Jesus loving others through your life in such tangible ways?

The Kingdom of Heaven is not about speaking in tongues, dreaming dreams, or seeing visions. It is about loving others like Jesus. If you want to know Jesus, all you really need to do is look for opportunities to love others. In so doing, you will reveal Jesus to others, and Jesus will reveal Himself to you.

Good and Bad Church Traditions

Asking Why? about Sunday Church

Asking Why About Preaching

My Christmas Tradition

Church Traditions

Conclusion

What is Will Smith’s secret?

10 Principles of Success

What is Will Smith’s secret?

10 Principles of Success

1. Don’t have a Plan B. Relentlessly pursue Plan A.

2. Read. Read. Read. Find your answers in books.

3. Study what others have done, and emulate. Learn by watching others.

4. Be Friendly. Make contacts.

5. Work hard. Be Diligent.

6. Understand ideas, and which ideas move people.

7. Understand universal patterns.

8. Think globally.

9. Go where the people are.

10. Never neglect what is important: family.

Conclusion

No Service in the Church Service

Limited “Service Times”

Will Speaking in Tongues help you Know Jesus?

Following Jesus Daily

Buying Bears with Jesus

The Love of Jesus

Theological Study Archives

Bible Study Archives

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