Recently I took on a new role in “Dutch’s” life – I became his barber.  A few months back he announced that his hair was getting too long and he was “starting to look like a hippie”. He stated that he was too shaggy to be an effective greeter for Impact! Church and needed a haircut.  I offered to take him to the barber, but instead he announced that I would be his new “stylist”.  He handed me a pair of scissors and said, “Get after it…I have people to greet.”  Luckily there was a set of nice electric hair trimmers and some better scissors around the office.  Like we do quite often, I went to some videos online for basic skills training.  After my crash course in YouTube hair styling I went to work on “Dutch”. It took me about an hour to get everything correct before his hair started looking good.  Apparently “Dutch” was quite pleased with the results because he started telling other homeless people that Impact! Church had “professional barbers that gave out free haircuts”.  Before the day was over I had cut hair for several other men in the neighborhood.

Since that day I have cut “Dutch’s” hair 3 more times.  Why am I cutting hair for a homeless man?  Because he is a part of the Impact! Church flock – I shepherd that flock – and sometimes the shepherd has to shear the sheep – literally.  In essence it is Pastoring 101.  The 30-45 minutes I get to spend with “Dutch” cutting his hair is quality time with one of my church members.  We talk, joke around, laugh a lot and discuss the Bible.  It has been one of the best forms of discipleship I have ever used.

Click here for more information about Impact! Church and our ministry to the impoverished, inner-city Parker Street community of Lakeland, Florida.

Her: (In tears) Can you help me? My babies and I are about to get kicked out of the hotel down the street?
Me: Which hotel?
Her: The (describes a flea-bag motel down the street that is a haven for drugs and prostitution) hotel.
Me: You have your kids there?
Her: We were living in the homeless jungle until two days ago (the jungle is a large patch of woods filled with homeless people making or using meth – a pretty dangerous place).
Me: Wow!
Her: I know, but my boyfriend – his father (points to the toddler playing on the Impact! Church sanctuary floor) – left us for a prostitute. We got evicted from our home and had no where else to go but the jungle.
Me; How did you get into the motel?
Her: I met a guy that told me he’d put us up for a few days.
Me: What happened? Why are you about to get evicted?
Her: He wanted something I was no longer wanting to give him…so he left. But he had paid me enough money to get us through Friday at the motel.
Me: Any place I can get you into is going to be checking for drugs. Have you used recently?
Her: No.
Me: Are you sure?
Her: Yes.
Me; But there are track marks on your arms.
Her: (Sobbing uncontrollably) I lied to you!
Me: Mam, please calm down. I am not here to judge you, but any long-term program we can get you and your children into is going to ask these questions. Lying only makes the process worse.
Her: I used heroin and meth two days ago. These guys told me that they would pay for another week at the hotel if I partied with them. I did, but they didn’t.
Me: (Noticing multiple bruises on her) Did they beat you?
Her: Yes.
Me: Do you want to press charges?
Her: NO! Please don’t call the police…I don’t want to upset them…they will come looking for me!
Me: Where were your kids during this?
Her: With a friend in another room. (Begins crying uncontrollably again) I am a horrible mother, but I was trying to keep my children under a roof for another day…keep food in their stomachs. I have never been homeless and have never been in this situation. My boyfriend has always taken care of us. He said he loved me…would care for me and the kids. He left us for a prostitute. I am such a fool…I just want to die.
Me: Mam, that would not be best for you or your children. What is it that you are truly looking for?
Her: Hope…and to know my kids will have a better life. I just need a fresh start…to learn to be a better person…a better mother. I have never been alone, but I don’t want to have to keep doing the things I do just to survive. Will you help me Pastor?
Me: Yes mam, we will.

And we did! Impact! Church provided them with food, clothes, some toys for the kids and prayed with them. This morning we are beginning the process to get her and her children into a program for displaced mothers. Over the next year she will go through counseling, training for self-sufficiency, have a place to live, the kids will be in school, they’ll attend attend Bible studies and church, they will help her get a job, get past the drugs, get past the emotional scars and help her set aside enough money that when she graduates the program she will be able to move into a house or apartment. In essence she and her kids will have a new life – a new future – and hope.

The SIZE of the church doesn’t determine the success of the church. The EFFECTIVENESS of the church determines the success of the church!

There are some amazing big churches out there that are effectively reaching their community for Jesus Christ.  There are also a metric buttload of big churches that simply poached people from other churches in order to grow.  There are a bunch of great small churches in this country that are truly serving their community and seeing people come to Christ because of it.  There are also a metric buttload of small churches that have turned so far inward that nobody in their community would notice if they died. The size doesn’t matter – the effectiveness does.

So how is effectiveness measured?  Well, in Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus is pretty clear about the two things that determine an effective church:

1. Reaching the lost with the Word of God.
2. Discipling followers of Christ.

An effective church basically shares the Gospel with a person far from God, baptizes them when they come to Christ and then walks them through the process of becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ.  Some churches that effectively do this only have 20 people involved.  Other churches that effectively do this have 20,000 people involved. God is just as overjoyed when one person goes through this process as He is when thousands of people go through it.  The Scriptures record both the Ethiopian and the day of Pentecost. Both numbers are important in Scripture, because both numbers are about effectiveness. Pastor take heart.  It doesn’t matter what size your church is.  If you have seen 1 or 1,000 people come to Christ – and are now being discipled – you lead a successful church!

1. Have a private cell phone number.– Reading Bob Goff’s “Love Does” messed me up for life. In the book he gives out his cell phone number.  Yep it’s really his – I called it – had a great conversation. I came to realize that I pastor a small church, spend a lot of time connecting with civic leaders in our community and shepherd a lot of messed up people. In order to do that people have to get in touch with me. I started giving out my cell phone to a BUNCH of people. Pretty much everybody and their brother has my number – and they respect my time. Also I can always turn it off – which I do often. For those that don’t have it – here ya go – 863-409-5914 – be cool with it.

2. Go to a lot of conferences. – In the early days I used to go to about a dozen church leadership conferences each year.  It cost a ton of money, was a place to be seen and yielded very little tangible ideas that were applicable to our church. These days conferences are even more irrelevant to what Impact! Church is doing. For the most part they are the same speakers saying the same thing year after year.  I still go to conferences, but they are few and far between – and normally not the cool ones that everyone else is going to.  There are some really great conferences out there that have speakers that no one has ever heard of, but are bringing fresh ideas and strategies to reaching people for Christ in the 21st Century.

3. Let friendships slide with other pastors. – Over the years I have come to realize just how important friendships with other pastors are. In the early days I was so caught up in my own little world that I never actively pursued friendships with other pastors. I was a loner Dottie…a rebel (pardon the Pee Wee Herman reference). Being alone in ministry just plain sucks! When my doctor told me I had a life-threatening condition I got serious about being intentional with friendships.  I started praying daily for other pastors, started texting or calling other pastors regularly and try to have lunch with another pastor about once a week. I don’t know if it is a benefit to them – but they have greatly blessed me.

Being alone in ministry just plain sucks!

4. Giving a rip about building a platform. – I spent a lot of my ministry life trying to be noticed by people. I was an idiot! One day a pastor friend asked me, “Do you want to be developed by God or discovered by man?”  That wrecked me.  I shut down my blog for a year, dropped off of social media and stopped going to conferences just to be seen. I spent time hearing from God.  I also spent time trying to get people to notice the Lord instead of me.  I am greatly disturbed by the whole “build your platform” movement.  It seems to run directly in contrast to what God called us to do.

5. Trying to be culturally relevant. – I spent a lot of time and money trying to be culturally relevant.  Nothing is more pathetic than seeing a man in his 40s wearing Red Wings, rolling up his jeans and growing a stupid looking beard. Get a clue – even MumFord & Sons have ditched the banjo and moved on. Culture moves too fast to keep up with it.  What culture deems cool today is irrelevant tomorrow.  You just end up with a closet full of clothes that you’ll never wear again – culture is solely based on cool – and never fully grows up. Over the years I have come to understand that the greatest movements in history, in culture, in Christianity were not culturally relevant – they were all counter-culture.  They were a direct contrast to what was cool at the moment.  They rejected the mass cultural lemmings migration and turned to a new direction.  It was a refreshing light in the darkness of cool.

So there you go.  The five things I used to do as a church leader that I don’t do now  Feel free to comment or text me – you have the number.

We never truly embraced a permanent mentality because we wanted the building that God blessed Impact! Church with to be used 24/7/365 for His glory.

On any given day or night we have groups and organizations from all over Lakeland using the building.  We have several addiction recovery groups that meet multiple nights of the week.  There are several businesses that use our facilities as a conference room.  Local bands use the stage, lighting and sound system to rehearse for concerts or conduct jam sessions. Other local ministries and civic groups use Impact Church as a staging ground to work with people in need. In the next few weeks a local university will begin using some of our classrooms for ongoing adult education and literacy programs. On top of all of this we have worship services, small groups and staff meetings throughout the building each week.  We also maintain an open office for our volunteer staff, house about a dozen homeless people each night, take in and distribute clothes, food and water and the city uses us as a secondary shelter in times of climate weather. One other thing – we never charge a dime for people to use our building. God has blessed Impact! Church with a permanent location so we could bless others.

We never charge a dime for people to use our building. God has blessed Impact! Church with a permanent location so we could bless others.

The only way that Impact! Church can be a community center is to keep a portable church mindset.  All of our rooms have been designed to be flexible, sparse and multi-purpose.  We hang very few things on the walls. Almost all of the rooms in our building serve multiple purposes.  The furniture is minimal and all of the chairs and tables are portable.  Most of the audio-visual equipment is mounted on rolling stands so they can be moved from room to room. Even our office is designed for multiple people to share the desks. A typical day at Impact! Church means there is a group of business men discussing corporate finances in one room while an addiction recovery group is meeting in another.  At the same time there is an Impact! Group Bible study meeting while our volunteer staff is working at their open-office desks. In our cafe area sits several homeless people trying to stay out of the rain while a single mother with 3 kids is getting free food from our resource pantry. It can get a little chaotic at times, but it is an amazing way for us to serve the community. Our building – and portable mindset – is just one of the ways that Impact! Church loves God, loves people and makes an impact.