I’ve heard plenty of sermons about how our evangelistic ineffectiveness is directly attributable to our lack of love for lost people. Usually somewhere in those sermons is the phrase, “We just don’t care enough.” While I’m sure that’s true to one degree or another at any given time, I have a different assumption about the people who sit in the theater seats at Grace Hills each week. I assume that they do care. Why? Because Grace Hills cares, and we talk about caring and we show care and we don’t apologize for caring. So the believers who gather as Grace Hills are, for the most part, probably on board with caring or they wouldn’t be showing up.

In other words, I don’t think it’s a matter of a lack of “want to.” It’s often more about “how to.” How do I encourage my friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers to become a part of my faith and my church family? Here are the five most simple ways I can think of, at least within the context of my own church family…

1. Make a list of a few people you know personally who don’t have a church family or a relationship with Jesus. Pray for them and ask God to give you an opportunity to include them in your church family.
2. Bring them to a weekend service. At Grace Hills, we attempt to strike a balance between challenging believers to grow and to go on mission, but also making the truth of Christianity plainly understandable in an atmosphere of real acceptance and love. We are ultra-clear about the gospel, unapologetic about the truth of our message, and unquenchably in love with people – especially people who are lost and hurting inside.
3. Bring them to your small group. Sometimes someone at Grace Hills will ask me, “Is it okay to invite my friend to my group? They don’t attend Grace Hills.” When I hear that question, I realize we haven’t been clear enough that this is the very mission of groups to begin with - to connect the disconnected. YES, bring them to your group! And let your group love them too.
4. Be a greeter, even if you’re not a greeter. We have a greeting team, but the fact is we tell every new member who attends our Newcomers’ Lunch that once they decide they’re “all in,” they covenant with the rest of the church family to greet those who attend. We’re a family, yes, but we’re not one of those families that keeps to themselves. We’re a family with an open door policy and we love it when extra guests show up to the table!
5. Serve people, inside and outside the weekend service. Serving inside the weekend service structure (as a greeter, kids’ leader, diaper changer, stuff-putter-upper, etc.) creates an atmosphere where life change can often happen. And serving outside the weekend service, especially along with the rest of your small group, reflects the real assignment Jesus gave to His church, which is a sent group of people who just happen to gather weekly.

So… bring someone. Think of them, pray for them, invite them, and share Jesus with them by loving words and actions. Now, start your list.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

We sometimes think that raising kids well is all about what we tell them. But what is even more important is what we show them. And if you want to do the best you can for the next generation’s sake, you’ll model at least these three traits in your home.

Security and Stability

Kids need to know that they’re safe, their basic needs are going to be provided for, and that they will be free to grow up in a stable environment. Selfishness often causes us to fight dirty, abandon, or neglect our spouse. Kids need to know that home is the safest place on the planet – the place to which we flee from a threatening world.

Oneness and Intimacy

Beyond merely keeping kids safe and letting them know that we’re stable in our marriage and as a family, we also need to go deep with each other. Getting up close and personal so that you know and are deeply known by your spouse really matters. It isn’t that Mom and Dad need to get along all the time perfectly or have it altogether, but that even when there is conflict, there is also love and commitment.

The Gospel!

Kids not only need to hear the story of Jesus from beginning to end – they also need to see a living picture of the effect and the nature of the gospel. And with the gospel, truth is truth even when it’s painful. God’s expectations aren’t lowered or compromised. But the other half of the gospel is the redemption offered to us when we’ve failed to follow the rules. Legalism and perfectionism show our kids a false or shallow gospel, and so does permissiveness. In between is the balance of truth and grace and the good news of redemption for all of us who have messed up… and that’s all of us.

What else do kids need to learn from us?

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Everybody belongs. When we say everybody, we mean every color, every shape, every personality, and people with every kind of story imaginable. Everyone belongs, even before they believe.

It’s sad that we have to expound on the word “everybody” to make sure people know that we mean everybody. This is the fourth core value of Grace Hills, and like the others, it is rooted both in our understanding of the biblical role of the church as well as our overarching passion for people whom Jesus loves.

Let me clarify my theology of the church by saying that it’s a word that refers to those who are called out from the culture to be an assembly of people who commonly identify with Jesus Christ and who celebrate baptism and communion together while fulfilling the Great Commission. In other words, in the technical definition of the word “church,” it refers to Christians. But…

The Christian Church is a family that is to be constantly adopting new family members. So everybody belongs under the care of, in relationship with, and under the influence of the church. The church should be that family that always has extra guests for Thanksgiving dinner.

Though it should be enough to say that everybody belongs without qualifying who everybody is, we’ve gone ahead and made it ultra-clear who can be under the care of our church family:

• Every color. There is neither Jew nor Greek, in Christ. We want people from every ethnicity in our city represented in our church family. We don’t want people to sacrifice their culture, but rather to share it with us as we get to know and understand one another.
• Every shape. Though we don’t actually mean this physically, it is true nonetheless – tall, short, thin, well-insulated – all shapes and sizes are welcome. But what we really mean is, people with different spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, and experiences.
• Every personality. Happy-go-lucky people, grumpy people, and eccentric types are all welcome. We’re a pretty positive body of people, but we don’t require everyone to wear fake smiles and pretend to be someone else. You be you, and the real you belongs here!
• People with every kind of story imaginable. Everybody has a story and a struggle. Some have been abused, others are addicted. Some have marriages that are falling apart or have been divorced once or thrice. Others have been addicted to drugs, alcohol, pornography, or promiscuity. We’ve heard it all. We won’t let your story shock us, but we will pray that God’s grace will shock you.

Everybody belongs. God formed you for His family and He wants you to come home to Him and do life under His care as part of a community of people who are coming to know Jesus and serving others for the glory of God.

You belong. Yes you!

Also check out our recent “You Belong” video, produced by Nathan Wilson:

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

At Grace Hills, we will do whatever it takes, short of sin, to find people far from God and lead them to life in Jesus. That’s one of our core values, and it’s the one that probably creates the most tension for Christians. It’s a value that is drawn straight from Scripture:

I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do this all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

- 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 (NIV)

Paul was writing about his willingness to adapt his personal communication style to that of his hearer, whether Jew or Gentile. Whenever I hear someone say, “we shouldn’t try to be like the world just to reach the world,” I realize I’m probably up against someone who doesn’t like the pain of change or the awkwardness of adapting to the culture. It’s not that I disagree. We really shouldn’t have a theology or philosophy of life like those who haven’t submitted themselves to the God of the Bible. But usually when Christians talk about being “like the world,” they’re talking about non-biblical issues like the way we dress, our style of music, and whether we have tattoos or not.

So let me clarify what I mean when I say “whatever it takes, short of sin…”

• I mean we will communicate to the culture in its own language, defining our distinctively Christian terms.
• I mean we will share the gospel through the style of music people listen to.
• I mean we will remove the awkwardness of walking into a group of strangers.
• I mean we will address the struggles that people have, the questions they are asking, and the issues they are wrestling with.
• I mean we will spend time with people who have time-consuming problems and brokenness from their past.
• I mean we will host events to build a friendship with the community and ask nothing in return.
• I mean we will love and serve people around us whether or not they ever become a part of our church.
• I mean we will devote resources to missions locally and internationally to find the lost.
• I mean we will care more about being respected and listened to by outsiders than being liked by other church leaders.
• I mean we will speak the truth in love and trust God to heal and change people from the inside out.
• I mean we will always make room for someone else to sit at our table (or in our theater).
• I mean we will go all-out when it comes to kids ministry to serve and help parents.
• I mean we will try things and fail rather than trying nothing to protect our false image of “success.”

That’s what I mean. Or to put it another way…

We will do whatever it takes… (all possible options are on the table)

Anything short of sin… (we do have parameters, but only where the Bible clearly gives them to us)

Anything short of sin to find people… (rather than expecting them to find us)

People who are far from God… (so we don’t expect them to look or act like us)

And lead them to life in Jesus. (the One and Only Savior)

That’s our mission, and it will be fulfilled by people who are willing to leave the comfort zone of their safe, religious bubble to invade the darkness with light.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

When I first moved back to northwest Arkansas to plant a church, not everyone understood. Even quite a few church leaders wondered why the neighborhood needed another church. But Nate Sweeney embraced us and has encouraged us all along the way. I so appreciate his ministry in northwest Arkansas, and I’m excited about the release of his first book, The Abiding Church.

Nate Sweeney has walked through a plethora of leadership issues in his young life, transitioning a church from its long-standing traditions into a church that communicates the gospel clearly to a new generation, with a new name, a new leadership structure, and a new style of ministry. Though he understands how to relate to the culture, Nate’s heart is really for the church to do what it was always intended to do - abide in Jesus. 

In The Abiding Church, Nate offers encouragement, a challenge, and some practical wisdom for church leaders who need a fresh fire in their bones. He balances the idea of growth with the idea of intimacy with Jesus. Healthy churches grow, but healthy churches are more than just smarter or bigger – they’re more committed to the gospel and keep Christ at the center of their attention.

In Nate’s words to church leaders…

At the end of your life you will look back and realize you did a lot of things for God. You had good days and bad. You had victories and failures. You obeyed His word and sinned against Him. All of this should be swallowed up in a loving relationship with Him. If you’re banking on anything else then you will be greatly disappointed. If you remained in Him then you will have produced fruit. You will have allowed Him to prune you so you could grow. You will have done something that mattered because it was centered on Christ. Anything you do outside of Him will not produce lasting fruit. He wants to change you into the image of God as He spends time with you. An abiding relationship with Christ encompasses everything you need to be planted, take root, grow, and produce fruit in God’s kingdom.

Nate oozes kingdom-mindedness and love for fellow leaders, and he’s instigating a movement that might just change the world starting in Arkansas. His words are well worth reading and heeding!

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

When we started planting Grace Hills Church, we moved fast. We had our first public information meeting in July of 2011 and launched in January of 2012. Some planting strategists would make the assumption that we were all about getting to the weekend show and not enough about making disciples. Nothing could be further from the truth. We moved fast because we wanted to pop bubbles as quickly as possible. Let me explain.

One of the reasons so many churches are plateaued at an attendance between 48 and 75 is they’ve grown very comfortable with the size of the bubble in which they are doing life. A few people may be added, but there is often little net growth because of the sociological attachment people have to their bubbles. In our first meeting, 35 people were present. It would have been easy to keep the bubble intact and make it all about those 35, but instead, we wanted to pop that bubble as quickly as possible to form new bubbles – multiple bubbles in fact.

We moved quickly because we wanted to keep our culture fluid and help people to understand several principles:

• It’s not about “us.” If it becomes about “us” it usually leads to becoming about “us versus them,” and we prefer to be “us for them.” We are gathering for the purpose of gathering other, as-of-yet un-gathered people. 
• A single cell that never multiplies isn’t healthy. Multiplication – not just small groups, but various kinds of micro-communities within the church – is essential and needs to happen in a time frame that is measurable.
• We want individuals and small groups to reach other individuals and bring them into the church community, but we also want to bring people into the church community and connect them to individuals and small groups.
• We operate in an apostolic era. Jesus is obviously the ultimate model for living, but to see His plan for disciple-making, we have to look beyond His earthly ministry to see how He empowered the early church through the book of Acts.
• God uses momentum. You can see it in various eras of the church’s history, even in the book of Acts. Pentecost gave the church initial momentum (Acts 2), then the development of new leadership (Acts 6),  and then the persecution that scattered them (Acts 8) and the commencement of the missionary-sending capacity of the church in Antioch (Acts 13).

I completely understand the current de-emphasis of the weekend service (where we “do” church) and the emphasis on our through-the-week living (when we “are” the church). I get it when guys say, “don’t plant a weekend service, make disciples.” But I don’t believe we should throw the baby out with the bathwater. Launching weekend services, if done with a biblical philosophy of mission, generates momentum and allows people to make disciples in the context of the larger church community.

If you’re stuck, figure out how to pop the current bubble and force people out of their comfort zones to form new bubbles. It may mean launching Sunday services sooner than first anticipated, launching a second service or campus, moving, or starting more small groups. Besides, isn’t it fun to make more bubbles?

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Some committee’s recording clerk,
waiting for action to happen.

Here’s some brutal honesty… entire movements have gone down in flames because of boneheaded approaches to good ideas. This isn’t to say we can’t afford to make mistakes. In fact, the only way to know we’re taking risks is to make mistakes. We can’t afford not to make them. But we also can’t afford to ignore timeless principles of leadership effectiveness.

In honor of our most fatal leadership mistakes, here are my “from the hip” ways to kill great ideas (warning: sarcasm ahead)…

• Form a committee. In this way, you’ll be able to devote more time to keeping minutes and electing officers and less time to solving problems. Also, we’ll be able to prevent a single great leader from running with the idea without feeling the need to check with several people with different opinions before proceeding.
• Be sure to control it. Before you even start executing a good idea, be sure to write plenty of rules and parameters so that no one feels the freedom to run too fast with it. Freedom is the enemy when we’re trying to kill good ideas.
• Devote a lot of time to calculating the costs. Be sure that everyone understands just how much failing can cost us so that we inch along, paralyzed by fear.
• Assume it’s everyone’s responsibility. If we’re able to say, “our church should really be doing this,” it takes the pressure off of anyone in particular who might actually take ownership. In this way, no one gets blamed for the death of the idea… at least not individually.
• Assume it’s your responsibility alone. If we get help, we’ll just saddle people with the burden of investing their time into meaningful pursuits rather than having more free time to not develop their gifts for kingdom influence.
• Vote on it. This will give everyone a sense of power and let them decide that they’re “against” the idea even if it isn’t something they understand. After all, majorities of people are usually smart right? Besides, in the end, it’s really about keeping as many people as possible happy.
• Avoid learning from others who have acted on similar ideas. Never ask people who have succeeded or failed before. It’s better to re-invent the wheel, take full credit (or blame) in the end, and brag on how much we’ve been able to do (or not do) all on our own.
• Keep young people out of it. They’re all too inexperienced and unwise to lead anything. Besides, do the voices of the young really matter? I thought they were meant to be seen and not heard… or valued.
• Keep old… advanced… experienced people out of it. After all, they’re just all grumpy, afraid of change, and set in their old-fashioned ways. Their years of wisdom and experience will just complicate matters.
• Keep women out of it. …In all honesty, even in sarcasm, I’m too afraid to touch this one. I can just testify it’s boneheaded.
• Execute the idea purely in our natural power. God’s power is just too much. The Holy Spirit can’t even be seen visibly, especially at committee meetings. Besides, we need to be busy executing, not wasting time in prayer.
• Take a little more time to talk about your intentions for the good idea. As long as you’re intending to do something good, it’s as good as doing it, except that it never get’s done. But you will have meant well when it’s all said and not done.

I’m guilty of at least a majority of these at one time or another in my own leadership, so I’m not writing out of arrogance but in confession.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

I have no idea who this is, but the dog looks nice.

Being loud doesn’t make you a leader. Neither does being popular. Leadership is influence, and influence means taking people in a direction they wouldn’t otherwise be going – hopefully forward. Ambition isn’t enough to qualify you to lead. There is more to the equation.

You need to be led before you can really lead. This one is tough for eager leaders, but in order to lead well, you must first be okay with being led. One of the greatest leaders I know who was in charge of 350+ staff in a well-known megachurch said, “I’m a man under authority.” If you don’t know what it’s like to follow or if you’re unwilling to learn from those ahead of you, you’re not quite ready to lead.

You need to love people before you can really lead. You can lead and love self, but the end result is pretty pitiful. Great leaders love those they are leading. Good shepherds have a tendency to lay down their lives for their sheep, and great leaders are always thinking about how to move their followers to the next level.

You need to become a servant before you become a leader. We know that servanthood is the prerequisite to kingdom influence based on Jesus’ example and His words, but we don’t like to let go of our identity as a leader to fully embrace it. We even like to call ourselves “servant-leaders” so we’re not leaving out the leadership part of the equation. But think differently for a moment. What if you saw yourself as a servant first and as a leader second? How would it change the way you lead people?

Can you lead and influence without being led, being a lover of people, and being a servant? Sure, but why would you want to? Your reward for such leadership is shallow and short-lived. Instead, choose the Jesus path – be a servant and a shepherd. Be led well, and then lead with confidence!

And here’s a follow-up thought…

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

I’m currently reading Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church by Mark DeYmaz. It’s one of several books I’ve read on the subject because it’s a big area of concern for me as a Pastor who is planting a church in a community that is diversifying much more quickly than the churches within it.

But I hope the multi-ethnic conversation among church leaders is short-lived. Why? Because we tend not to spend a lot of time talking about things we have figured out. You don’t hear church leaders saying things like, “We need people to be givers, so let’s encourage more churches to take offerings,” or “Ya know, we just need more fellowship time – let’s encourage churches to have potlucks.” We’re done with those conversations, at least for now.

My prayer is that planting and leading churches that are ethnically representative of the diversity in their surrounding communities will become so normal and commonplace that we don’t have to talk about a strategy for getting it done anymore. But in the meantime… we need to talk about getting it done. If your church leadership hasn’t had a conversation about this, it’s time.

It’s time to evaluate by asking the question, does our church family reflect the diversity of our surrounding community? It’s not that every church has to be highly diverse. If you’re in a town that is almost entirely a single ethnicity, skin color may not be as much of a concern, but economic diversity probably is. Does your church reflect the social and economic diversity of your community?

It’s time to decide that you’ll do something. One of the more common causes of neglect in this area is the attitude that we only need to accomodate the people we’re already reaching. This is the very mentality that caged the newly commissioned disciples to stay in Jerusalem until persecution forced them to go to other nations (ethnic groups).

It’s time to do something intentional. At Grace Hills, we’ve just started translating the spoken elements of our service into Spanish. The first Sunday we did it, there was no one to translate for, but we started it anyway. On the second Sunday? We welcomed our first Spanish-only visitor and her children and she heard the gospel in her heart language. Now we’re thinking through practical ways to show love to every culture represented in northwest Arkansas.

It’s time to sacrifice our cultural preferences. The church has a tendency to be “open to anyone” but offers this invitation with an unwritten clause: We’re open to anyone who wants to come and be like us. Perhaps it’s time we let go of our false idea that the world revolves around me and my experiences and embrace an openness to love and learn from people who come from a different background.

I hope the conversation is short. I hope we get it figured out sooner than later. But as long as the church on Sunday morning is the most segregated part of western society, we need to keep talking… and deciding… and doing… and sacrificing.

What is working for your church in reaching other ethnicities in your community? What strategies are you implementing? Or where do you struggle?

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Sometimes someone comes to Grace Hills from a larger church because they’re “looking for something smaller.” My reply is always the same. “You’re welcome here, but I hope we let you down.” It’s not that we’ve set out to be a “big” church or a megachurch. But we also haven’t set out on this journey merely to settle at any given point. Therefore…

We will attempt big things for a big God. We will go “all in,” choosing to take risks in faith over playing it safe.

That’s our second of ten core values at Grace Hills, and it’s something we have to remind ourselves of often. It’s easy to give into our autopilot and merely coast along on yesterday’s success stories, but we want to think bigger.

Anytime we talk about the need for churches to grow larger, people come along quickly with objections.

• You don’t have to be big to matter to God…
• Large doesn’t mean healthy…
• People are more than numbers…
• We should be multiplying instead of adding…

All of these responses are true when properly understood, but none of them become an excuse for settling while more people die without Jesus. The fact is, both big and small matter to God, large certainly doesn’t always mean unhealthy, people are more than numbers but numbers are a measurement of how effectively we’re reaching people, and we should actually be multiplying as we add.

I’ve hung around leaders who were more concerned with the crowd than the individuals in it. These leaders are often so driven by numerical success that they fail to balance growth with other values. And growth sometimes comes to them, but other people often pay the price.

With our hearts in the right place, focused on Christ and burdened for people, why should we be so passionate about thinking big?

1. Thinking big requires us to envision that which isn’t reality yet. In other words, it requires us to have faith like Nehemiah who could see the walls before they were ever finished being rebuilt.
2. Thinking big honors God and tells the world we believe He is capable of more than we’ve given Him credit for so far. God once told an aging barren couple they would birth a nation that would outnumber the stars. One of them laughed, one of them believed, and the rest is history.
3. Thinking big shows God we take Him and His abilities seriously. Imagine being in the crowd behind Joshua when he and the priests set foot in an overflowing Jordan River, waiting for it to part.
4. Thinking big when our resources are meager leaves the credit for success with God alone. God once cut an army of many thousands down to just 300 men who would then take on 120,000 Assyrians and defeat them.
5. Thinking big takes the Great Commission seriously. Jesus told a small band of men to go after the whole stinkin’ world for Jesus! They stayed in Jerusalem where it was safe. When persecution came, they scattered and went everywhere sharing their faith.

I hunger for a movement of God in which so many lives are being radically changed that people around us are swept off their feet by it all. I don’t want to be held back by budgeting concerns, small and expensive buildings, massive debt, stuffed and stagnant savings accounts, or complex institutional machinery. Instead I want to take risks, try things that fail, and attempt huge objectives for the everlasting God.

For us, this means we will add staff a little earlier than we probably should. We will go to two services before we really have to do so. We will move out of the theater into a more semi-permanent space before it seems affordable. And we will keep dreaming and brainstorming and cultivating our hearts toward loving northwest Arkansas in real, practical, sometimes uncomfortable ways.

Think a little bigger.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

I want the church – your church and my church – to grow. I’m encouraged when I see the church effectively demonstrating the love of God and communicating the good news of Jesus to a culture with an ever-evolving language. I’m concerned when I see the church struggling to connect with people who are far from God. This concern is grounded both in my understanding of Jesus’ challenge to be fruitful and my conviction that millions are spiritually dead and hopeless until they trust in Jesus. But fruit-bearing is only half of the equation.

I do not have a green thumb. I’ve purchased a number of plants over the years and have managed to watch most of them die grueling deaths, mostly from dehydration. But I do have enough common sense to know how vital roots are to the life and vitality of any garden variety plant. And typically, the deeper the roots, the fresher the fruits. Jesus even used this as an illustration of the Christian life.

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. – John 15:4 NLT

Church planting is trendy, which has the positive benefit of producing a lot of new churches which are hopefully engaged in spreading a biblical message of good news for a lost world. But when something is trendy, people usually jump in a bit unprepared. Like prospectors running westward in a rush for gold, people pursue fruit sometimes with such hastiness that they fail to put down roots and tap into something deep and nourishing.

When we plant without deep roots, we’re subject to being blown away, washed away, and dried up in seasons of drought. Plenty of church leaders get upset and yield to a kind of ecclesiastical arrogance, offering a critical backhand to the contemporary church. This only pushes the walls up further and prevents healthy growth for the kingdom. I’d rather share a challenge and some encouragement.

As we have gone about the work of planting Grace Hills Church, we’ve articulated ten core values that guide our decision-making. I’m blogging about them one-by-one, and the first and most important for us is…

The Bible is totally truthful and uniquely powerful. It is a complete and perfect guide for life. We will trust, teach, obey, and live it out loudly.

When I first heard God calling me to ministry, my father-in-law handed me a copy of Standing On the Promises, the autobiography of W. A. Criswell. It changed my life and set the course of my entire ministry. I knew from my earliest days of preaching that I would always remain committed to the Bible as God’s inerrant, infallible Word. Criswell said,

As a Pastor for over forty years, I have found that nothing equals the power and the help of God’s Word in ministering to human necessity. The unique contribution of the Bible in counseling is beyond my ability to adequately present. The Scriptures are a veritable fountain of life and healing. To turn to the Bible as an effective aid in time of need is to open God’s door for the minister who believes God’s Book. The Bible has no equal in its message to the human heart.

In other words, the Bible is not only absolutely true and trustworthy, it is also the ultimate handbook on living life. I will confess that I don’t understand it all. I don’t have all the answers to all the tough questions people ask about apparent contradictions or difficulties, but I’m also not afraid of the questions. The Bible has managed to stand the test of two thousand years of being banned, burned, and belittled. But every Sunday, I see it changing lives!

When I speak of planting churches with deep roots, I’m not referring to any particular organic succession of churches. For me, the authority and power of a church is not found in its ecclesiastical heritage or denominational traditions. It is found in its adherence to the Bible as the Word of God. Out of this core value come several challenges for anyone involved in planting or building the church today…

• Study the Bible and its theology continually and never assume you know enough to move on to loftier pursuits.
• Tap into the history of the church and the people whom God has used to teach the Bible’s truths for twenty centuries.
• Allow the Bible to be the centerpiece of every sermon and a primary focal point in every worship service.
• Look to the New Testament for the original model of ministry – Jesus and the apostles.
• Live it out by boldly obeying it and letting it change your beliefs and attitudes every day.

I believe in adapting our method of communicating the gospel to each new generation. Our terminology, the mediums through which we share the message, and the mechanisms through which we accomplish ministry will change with every age, but always remember that “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” (Isaiah 40:8)

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Pastor Rick and I in his study behind his stage at Saddleback on the night he gave me his blessing and many words of wisdom for planting Grace Hills Church.

I’ve started to write this post quite a few times, and each time, I’ve deleted it. It’s hard to know what to say when someone you admire and love goes through something as tragic as what Rick and Kay Warren have endured the last few days. Their son, Matthew, ended his own life at the age of 27 after battling severe mental illness for many years. I have heard Rick speak of this behind closed office doors, asking for prayer and pouring his heart out concerning his love for his son and his trust in his God in spite of not understanding all the reasons why Matthew suffered so terribly.

I believe that Rick and Kay, their other two children, and all of their loved ones will battle an array of emotions for quite some time. But I also believe that the message of hope that Pastor Rick has shared for the last three decades has come from the deep conviction of his heart. Rick believes that “God never wastes a hurt,” and Matthew’s life and death will prove this, perhaps in ways we cannot fully see just yet.

I love the Warren’s and believe that now is a time when God’s people should pray for them fervently. It isn’t that they somehow deserve prayer more than others because of their success and popularity. Rather it is that Rick is a man who has surrendered himself and all that he possesses completely to God, and God has blessed him by using his life to change the world. And because God has given him such a public platform, his private pain is perhaps amplified. Not only do the Warren’s have to suffer through the loss of their son, but they must do so somewhat publicly by virtue of their influence.

There is little that I can personally do to alleviate their pain. In managing the pastors.com website and community, I’ve sought out some voices that deserve to be heard, such as Beth Moore, Geoff Surratt, and Greg Laurie. I’ve received and answered dozens of emails to Pastor Rick sent via pastors.com, all of which have been positive and encouraging. And I’ve also read some of the most cold and heartless comments on the web from people who have decided to use this moment of pain to pounce on the Warren’s.

What I can do is pray, and I believe that prayer is powerful, effective, and meaningful. And I’m inviting you to pray with me as you read this. As we pray for Pastor Rick Warren, for Kay, and for their family…

• Let us pray that God gives them a peace that passes all understanding – that is a peace that is present when it doesn’t seem possible.
• Let us pray for the heart of a Dad, a Mom who lost a son as well as a brother and a sister who lost a brother.
• Let us pray that others who struggle with mental illness in the shadows would seek help in the light and find churches that will look beyond the stigma of mental illness to offer real compassion and healing.
• Let us pray for gospel-empowered change in the hearts of accusers and cold, calloused critics who would use a moment like this to spit venom on the devastated and broken.
• Let us pray for a church that hurts for her shepherd and a global community of church leaders that hurts for its mentor.
• Let us pray that all that Pastor Warren has taught about the trustworthiness of God and the hope we have in Jesus be all the more believable to a watching world as the Warren’s continue to boldly proclaim their faith.
• Let us pray that in their understandable weakness, God’s grace would be sufficient and God’s glory would be spread.

I can’t imagine their pain. I was in Pastor Rick’s office one day a couple of years ago when he was asking a few of us to pray for Matthew who was at that time hospitalized because of a severe bout with depression. As Rick became transparent and asked a few trusted friends to guard Matthew’s privacy and to lift him before the Father, he also taught a powerful lesson. He explained that life is not a roller coaster with up’s and down’s, but rather a set of railroad tracks where we endure suffering and blessing simultaneously. Pastor Rick never claimed to fully understand the reason for the existence of mental illness. But he did testify to the faithfulness of God in spite of it. Even through tears of hurt for his son, he was teaching powerful truths.

There are only a small handful of men on the planet that I consider to be my pastors, and Rick Warren is at the top of the list. So I’m praying for my Pastor and his family today, and I’m inviting you to pray with me.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Ministry is a marathon. This is true for church leaders, for volunteers, and for the church body itself. When we drive and push people to sprint all the time, burnout is inevitable. You can grow a large church by constantly creating mountain peak experiences and pushing for the top. But you will create a healthy church only as you discover the appropriate cycle of moving forward at an aggressive pace, and taking moments to breathe.

There is plenty of discussion about whether churches should be all things to all people, or keep it simple and do a few things well. I definitely lean toward simplicity. We try to balance the five purposes of worship, evangelism (mission), fellowship, discipleship, and ministry and we try to do little else. Our structure doesn’t have much of a hierarchy to it and leaders are free to lead without being micromanaged.

We like to focus on the mission. But this doesn’t mean we never push hard for growth. Too many souls hang in the eternal balance for us to get lazy and coast along in mediocrity. And while balance is an elusive target, rhythm is possible. How do you find your rhythm?

Focus on five to size peak moments in the year.

Start with the holidays like Easter and Christmas. Then think through any special emphases your church celebrates such as a spiritual growth campaign, a missions emphasis, or something like a Friend Day.  Don’t forget about the non-Sunday events like Vacation Bible School or evangelistic crusades.

Build unity and excitement as you climb toward peak moments.

Spread the word with a gathering momentum. Give people specific challenges and calls to action along the way such as, “Write down the names of three people you’re going to invite…” or “Fast with us through lunch on Wednesdays and pray for the big day.”

Celebrate the big wins as a church family.

We recently set a new attendance record, but I tend to shy away from talking about numbers for fear of an overemphasis there. But when I talked publicly about the big achievement, people were excited. It creates a story worth repeating in the future.

Take breaks from busyness.

Our church has a minimalistic calendar to begin with. Little happens beyond the weekend service, small groups, and the various outreach efforts happening as we live missionally. But in terms of promotion and pushing for a big turnout, we back off after a big day. We tell staff to take an extra day off. We tone down our promotional lingo a bit, partly because when we do need to do a big push, we want it to be noticed.

Strengthen the ongoing ministries between the special moments.

When we’re not asking “how can we do this thing big?,” we’re asking, “how can we improve small groups, create more discipleship moments, and pour into our leaders through meaningful interaction?”

Cut away the good distractions.

There is tremendous power in concentrating on the mission and eliminating distractions. If a program trips us up on our way to fulfilling our mission, we need to eliminate it. There are plenty of good things churches can be involved in, but for every church there are some best things we can be devoting our energy to, and it varies from one church to the next.

Spread the leadership load around.

When I lived in southern California, I would often see large groups of cyclists riding together. The one in front was fighting wind resistance and making the ride easier for the rest of the pack, but when the leader gets tired, he drops to the back and lets someone else lead. It’s called “drafting” and it’s important in the life of the church. Counting on the same few people to take the load on every major event leads to burnout.

Some moments in the life of the church ought to stand out from the rest as especially significant, but between these, we need to breathe, rest, and recuperate. We’ve been working on the mission for a couple thousand years now, so there’s a bigger picture at stake than just next Sunday. If you’re a church leader, it’s up to you to discover the rhythm of your church and align with it. People will thank you in the end.

How have you discovered rhythm or fought against the tyranny of the perpetual sprint?

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Artwork by Josh Sliffe.

On the radio this morning were two different stories about major moral issues in American culture. On the abortion front was the story of North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple signing into law two of the strictest anti-abortion bills in the country: one that bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat can be detected; and the other which bans abortions on the basis of fetal abnormalities. North Dakota may now be the most conservative state on the issue, even surpassing my own state of Arkansas, which recently banned all abortions after twelve weeks of pregnancy.

The second story was about the shifting public opinion about gay marriage. Several recent polls have shown that a slight majority of Americans seem to favor the legal recognition of same-sex marriages. I find it interesting that we seem to be moving in two different directions at the same time.

Regardless of how you stand on either issue, or any other issue for that matter, a common thread can be easily seen: We determine right and wrong predominantly on the basis of public consensus. In other words, if most people seem to be okay with something, it must be okay. Or if most people seem to think something is wrong, it must be wrong. But for Christians, we don’t determine what is right and wrong on the basis of public opinion or polling data. We recognize that the sovereign Creator has spoken in moral absolutes and has revealed truth that isn’t subject to change.

Setting all “issues” aside for a moment, let me appeal to your philosophical core… what are the real ramifications of determining moral standards on the basis of consensus? What if most people were slave-owners? Communists? Racists? We would be obliged to adopt the views of the many, which we’ve done in the past to our present horror. On the other hand, if most people were virtuous, we would also accept their virtue as morally right, but on the wrong grounds. The point is, most people have been wrong plenty of times before. There must be some more sure source of truth to which we can appeal.

For me, and for millions of other Christians, we believe that the Bible is a source of stable, absolute, unchanging truth. And therefore, we make decisions through the lens of the Bible’s revealed truth. It acts like a framework for decision-making.

If you’re on the outside looking in, wondering why Christians are so hateful and judgmental, realize a few things:

Hating people isn’t an option. If we hate people who believe or behave differently than we do, we’ve failed to obey the chief ethic of love presented in Scripture and in the life of Jesus. When Jesus told us to love our neighbors, He was including all seven billion of them from all religions, perspectives, and walks of life.

My opinion doesn’t matter – God’s truth matters. If we say that something is sinful, wrong, or immoral, it shouldn’t be because it violates our personal preferences as though we were God. It should be on the basis of what we believe God to reveal about Himself. Some believers, for example, are opposed to interracial marriage on religious grounds, but have absolutely no basis in Scripture for their belief. It’s merely their preference or opinion, which is a faulty basis for any belief. But if we say that homosexual behavior is sinful, it’s merely because we see that truth revealed in a timeless, unchanging way in Scripture.

And for the record, the world’s worst theology usually begins with, “I know the Bible says that, but I just think…”

We are never in the judgment seat on eternal matters. We can make “judgment calls” about issues based on God’s truth, but we are never in a position to pass judgment on another person in terms of eternity. The difference between heaven and hell is not based on any particular sin or lifestyle choice, but on our rejection or acceptance of God as God and Jesus as Savior. I can’t possibly condemn anyone to hell, especially since I deserve hell myself. The cross on which Jesus died and the amazing grace of God make the playing field level. The fact is, we all deserve hell, but anyone can go to heaven by repenting and turning to Jesus. God’s decision isn’t based on behavior or morals, it’s based on grace and faith.

Back to your philosophical side for a second…

What if God is God?
And what if God has spoken?
And what if we are responsible to listen?
Would anyone’s opinion – yours, mine, or ours collectively really matter?

All that would matter is that God has concluded…

that we are all sinners,
that we all must face death for sin,
that He loves us in spite of our sin,
deeply,
very deeply,
that He gave up His only Son to die for us on a cross,
and that He will pardon anyone of sin who trusts in Jesus.

That’s all that would matter, if truth weren’t subject to change.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Artwork by church creative Kyle Reed.

I get the feeling that churches like left-brained people more. I don’t think it’s intentional, but we tend to gravitate toward people who have teaching and organizational gifts rather than creative gifts. Organizers help us structure the church for numerical growth in logical ways and typically like rules and traditions a little more than the left-brained crowd, so they’re less scary and less threatening to our comfort zones.

Personally, I think the church is missing out on something rather valuable and precious when we pass over creative-types. The gospel is a narrative, a story told through different means at different times. Abraham saw it in the stars and David portrayed it with a home for the ark. The apostles saw the gospel in flesh before them as Jesus. Michelangelo painted it on the ceiling of a church and C. S. Lewis allegorized it with a lion, a witch, and a wardrobe.

God is quite creative in His telling of His own story, and He certainly calls us to reflect His creativity as well. I love a good, well-organized sermon as much as anyone, but we need to foster creativity and celebrate the diversity of ways the story can be told if the church will be all that God wants it to be as His chief storytelling agent in the world today.

So how to do you foster creativity in your church?

1. Focus on empowering, not controlling people.

I wrote about the concept of empowering people to do world-changing things recently, and in that article I offered a reminder that people are not a means of getting ministry done. People are the ministry. Helping someone to try out a ministry, or try something new in ministry, is a win when it fits with the overall vision and values of the church.

2. Help people discover their unique SHAPE.

Not everyone is a painter, singer, speaker, or seamstress. Everyone has a unique make-up of spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. God uses all of these factors in ministry, and when combined, our SHAPE is what makes us unique. The church works best when people are serving according to their God-given SHAPE. At Grace Hills, we do this by trial and error, asking people to “try out” an area of ministry once or twice to see if it’s a fit. We also plan on conducting personal SHAPE interviews once we have our Ministry Matters class up and going.

3. Celebrate great story-telling.

When someone creatively tells a story well, celebrate it. Congratulate and thank them and highlight their work so that the church understands how much we value the labor of love that produces creative things.

4. Provide resources for creative story-tellers.

When we moved to northwest Arkansas to plant Grace Hills, one of my earliest purchases was a Canon XA10 HD camcorder so that we could stream video online. Just yesterday I received a text from someone on our creative team asking if we could sell the Canon and use the money to buy a less expensive camera that would be better for the job. What? Better than what I picked out? My answer was yes, whatever it takes to empower our creative team with the best tools we can afford… within reason. We also hope to utilize some extra office space for a Mac equipped with professional video-editing tools.

5. Allow creatives to reach other creatives.

The funny thing about musicians and artists is that they tend to find each other. I wouldn’t know where to find a great guitarist, but God led me to Neil Greenhaw who has drawn other creative individuals to work in proximity to him. He loves them and empowers them, which excites me.

Thousands of years ago, artificers and craftsmen were recruited for the building of the tabernacle. Later they built a whole temple. Today they’re building churches – not just the brick and mortar buildings, but the people who make up the body of Christ.

Get creative for the gospel’s sake.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Photo by Tim Pirfält.

In the Bourne series, the assassins (who are the central characters) are referred to by their controlling agency merely as “assets.” Sometimes I fear that within Christian ministry, we fall into the terrible habit of treating people as assets – instruments to help us get ministry done successfully rather than people with souls. One of the values I remind myself of often is that people are not a means for getting ministry done. People are the ministry. And those who volunteer are not placed in our path to make us successful, but so that we can help them to grow and to move forward.

To keep ourselves from the edge of the slippery slope of using people to get ministry done, it’s important to remember some hard, unchanging truths…

1. Ministry is about relationships, not results.

If we think like much of the surrounding corporate world, as much of the western church does, then we see goals and figures without seeing people. I’m all for looking at numbers to celebrate and evaluate, but never for the purpose of determining who is and isn’t useful to the kingdom. It isn’t about what a volunteer or staff member can produce in the way of results for us. It’s about what kind of growth we can help to produce in that leader. Growing leaders typically have growing ministries, but numerical success is the byproduct of healthy relationships.

2. People are souls, with or without roles.

If we ever leave someone in a role because of their talent while their personal life is falling apart, we’ve failed. As leaders and shepherds, it is our calling to create healing and health deep within the souls of people. So when people walk into the room, our first question shouldn’t be are you ready to get to work? It should rather be something like how’s life going? How’s your soul doing?

3. Jesus modeled people empowerment perfectly.

Jesus wept over people, prayed over people, and eventually died for people. He gave up His time and His comfort to serve others. And He accepted the rejection, criticism, and abandonment that He would receive from His people, even knowing full well that it was coming. Then at the end of His earthly story, He released His people to go change everything with the gospel. If you want to know how to empower people, start by looking at Jesus.

4. Everybody matters, and every life has dignity.

To use anyone for what they can produce, or to reject someone because we doubt they can produce, is to insult the One who created all people with inherent dignity. Moses even learned this lesson when he questioned his own ability to be a persuasive speaker. God responded simply, “Who made your mouth?” In the business world, we select the most qualified. But in the Kingdom, everybody gets to participate!

5. I’m a people too.

Some awesome mentors and friends have poured into me, expecting nothing in return. Someone is waiting for me to pay it forward. It’s the way this idea of ministry is supposed to work. Don’t use people, empower them.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

According to J. D. Greear, yes! And J. D. is an expert on the subject, having asked Jesus into his heart thousands of times.

I remember leading a fifteen-year-old student through the gospel, which he knew quite well already, and then in receiving Christ by faith. He knew in his head, felt in his heart, and decided in his will to trust Jesus, repenting of his sin. I welcomed him into God’s family, congratulating him on his new faith in Jesus.

His mother held up her hand to stop me and then turned to her son with a question that disturbed me, “Son, did you feel any flutter in your heart? Do you feel any different?” His smile faded into a look of bewilderment. Since he had felt no such physical disruption, she said he’d need to do it again sometime until he felt differently. When I left that church, he was nineteen and had never had the confidence to declare his faith through baptism. After all, he was searching for an emotion that might never come.

In our evangelical culture, phrases like “just ask Jesus into your heart” are familiar and common, not because they are in the Bible, but because they’re part of our tradition, healthy or not. J. D. Greear has written a fairly short book – handy enough to give away multiple copies – that relays his experience, examines the doctrine of justification by grace through faith, clarifies the meaning of repentance and faith, and amplifies the beauty of assurance.

Here are a few of the big ideas I circled…

Salvation is a posture of repentance and faith that you begin in a moment and maintain for the rest of your life.

You’ll never give up your life in radical obedience until you are radically assured of His radical commitment to you.

God wants the intimacy of sons, not just the service of slaves.

We may not be worthy to be forgiven, but He is worthy to forgive for us.

Jesus suffered the full extent of God’s judgment; all that is left for me is love.

To get the context, you need to read this book for yourself, especially if you’ve wrestled with doubts about your own salvation. It’s also the kind of book that will almost certainly bring someone to your mind who has struggled with the issue of assurance. And not only does Greear effectively handle the theological issues surrounding assurance, but he does so in a language that makes this book as much a tract to share as a treatise to study. It’s written in plain language, and would make a great basis for a message series with an evangelistic thrust.

I hope you’ll pick it up, read it, and give a copy away. And if Jesus is already in you, stop inviting Him, and start celebrating His never-ending presence!

Buy a Copy

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Photo by Stuck In Customs.

One of our core values at Grace Hills is, “We stay fast, fluid, and flexible. There are no sacred cows. We embrace the pain of change for the win of seeing more people meeting Jesus.” I wrote that one knowing that of all of our other core values, it would probably be the hardest to honor over the long haul. It addresses the crossroads where theology meets psychology, where truth, mission, and fear intermingle. Change is hard.

The American evangelical church is in a rather desperate condition. You’ve heard that America is a “Christian” nation and that Christianity is dominant. Perhaps it’s the popular religion, but far fewer people are attending church than we realize. And we’re only planting one fourth of the number of new churches needed to keep pace with America’s current population growth and rate of decline in existing churches.

So churches absolutely must change and adapt if they will remain relevant to the culture. I realize many Christian leaders don’t like that terminology, so let me clarify that God’s Word, the gospel, Jesus, and the church as Jesus intended it to be have always been, are now, and always will be relevant without our help. But we often hold onto extra-biblical traditions and ideas that severely limit our ability to communicate with a young generation, an influx of immigrants, and a culture being shaped by its technology and entertainment more than its religious and historical roots. In other words, if Satan’s goal is to blind the minds of those who don’t know Christ to the gospel, we often help by handing out blinders such as inauthenticity, racism, ethno-centrism, traditionalism, and political power struggles driven by fear and selfishness.

But if God’s desire to enlarge His family matters… if people who are lost forever without the gospel matter… and if the church of the future matters… we will embrace the pain of change for the win of seeing more people meeting Jesus.

I don’t have all the answers, but I think I have a few, and they are rooted in my understanding of the gospel’s effect on a community and my experience interacting with thousands of pastors and churches in the last few years. As I look at the landscape of stable or slightly declining existing churches who are fighting hard to stay afloat in the current of a rapidly changing culture, I see some common factors that must be addressed by church leaders. Here are some tough questions I believe every church ought to honestly ask:

• Are we really all about Jesus? Is He the head? Does He have preeminence? Are we clear with people that it is to Jesus, and not to a consumer-oriented experience that we are inviting them? Attraction is good. Jesus was attractive. But are we honest about to Whom we are inviting people?
• Will we hold tightly to our historical, biblical theology? Will biblical inerrancy, which has survived a tough struggle in some circles, continue to thrive among evangelical leaders? Will we be faithful to the word of Him who is the one and only Way, Truth, and Life?
• Will we place our need to control, which is based on fear, on the altar as a sacrifice and begin to rely on the Holy Spirit? Will we trust His under-shepherds without the red tape of boards, committees, and votes? Will we listen to Hebrews 13:17?
• Will we embrace people from other cultures and backgrounds? Will we finally put to death the idea of the “white church,” “black church,” “hispanic church,” etc.? Can we value our cultural heritage without the competitive idea that my culture is better than your culture?
• Will we create a safe place for people to deal with their hurts, habits, and hang-ups in the light of the gospel? Can we ever assure people that we won’t use their past against them and handcuff them to their shame?
• Can we grow up and get over our demand for our own preferences to be met? Will we be able to adapt our communication to the language of humanity instead of church-ese? Will we welcome newcomers with love and wisdom, and listen and learn from them rather than leaving the responsibility of adaptation to them?
• Will we make prayer and submission to God the priority over polished productions and performances?
• Will we take risks, spend money, change names, re-constitute, re-launch, help the new church plant down the street, and venture into new mission fields by faith rather than remaining safe and comfortable? Not all of these apply to everyone, of course, but will we take the necessary risks?

More than ever, we need to keep our passion hot for Jesus, His truth, His church, new churches, new mission fields, unreached people, uninvolved believers, unforgiven sinners, the least, the last, and the lost. Pretty much everything else can be left behind.

Any tough questions you would add? Or how are you wrestling with these and similar issues?

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Grandma Briggs, daughter Carolyn, granddaughter Angie (my wife), and great-granddaughter Ella (my daughter).

I’m white. So when I die, I’ll go to white heaven, right? Actually, a Jewish man named John once had a God-given vision of what heaven would look like, and what he saw was more like “a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9 NLT)

Heaven is God’s ideal – the ultimate restoration and renovation of the earth and universe into what He has envisioned as perfection for eternity, and it’s made up of people from every tribe on earth. Furthermore, in spite of our best efforts to segregate the church into congregations based on ethnicity, God’s real plan for the church is to be a family where everyone belongs on the basis of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

For you are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. – Galatians 3:27-28 NLT

When Angie and I started the work of planting Grace Hills, we were determined from day one that we would lead a church that welcomes people from all walks of life. In our core values, it’s stated this way: Everybody belongs. When we say everybody, we mean every color, every shape, every personality, and people with every kind of story imaginable. Everyone belongs, even before they believe.

I realize that’s a statement that might evoke theological objection from some, especially that last sentence, who are zealous for a church made up only of true believers in Jesus. The Bible is clear that faith in Jesus Christ is the one and only way to peace with God and membership in His eternal family. We are not all children of God. His family is composed only of those who have consciously received His Son, Jesus. But… every church ought to be adopting, and in order to adopt people into God’s family, we need to love them and include them like family, even before they believe.

Our philosophy is that if you hang around our church and let us love on you and care for you like family, you’re more likely to be convinced that we mean what we say when we say we’d like to adopt and include you. The gospel’s credibility is boosted when we love and accept people, even when we can’t approve of some of their choices on the grounds of eternal truth. So we make it ultra clear that everybody belongs, and everybody is welcome. And we get specific…

People of every color belong. Not just black, white, and tan, but every flavor of humanity, people from every socio-economic status and income level, every language group, and every ethnicity. Ethnicity is more than race. Our race is about the genetic and physical uniqueness passed on to us from our ancestors, but ethnicity includes our cultural heritage as well. Some call America a melting pot where people from every culture blend together. My wife, a social worker, is quick to point out that we shouldn’t aim to melt anyone’s culture away, but instead we should be more like a tossed salad where various cultures mix and mingle, each with the freedom to retain their own unique story.

People of every shape belong. Physically? Sure. Every height, build, and weight range are certainly welcome, but when we use the word shape, we’re signaling a reference to the idea that we each have a unique make-up of abilities and spiritual gifts, passions, personality types, and experiences. The body of Christ has its hands, eyes, feet, and even its spleen, and everybody needs each other – even those who tend to be a little grouchy and hard to get along with sometimes.

People with every kind of story imaginable belong. At Grace Hills, we have married couples, single adults and single parents, and divorcees, and they all belong. We welcome recovering drug addicts, alcoholics, and people who struggle with porn, and we can’t help them if they aren’t welcome to belong. Some among us have had abortions, affairs, and have declared bankruptcy because of an unwise approach to finances, and they belong. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and people who hate political parties all belong. Gay people, straight people, couples who live together unmarried, and promiscuous people belong. We want to include you.

We don’t have to condone any unbiblical practices, compromise the gospel in any way, or check our theology at the door to welcome people into our house. We can talk about the biblical basis of membership in God’s family – repentance and faith in Jesus Christ – only if we get face-to-face time together to understand each other better.

I’m convinced that the church ought to be more like Grandma Briggs. My wife’s maternal grandmother was one of the sweetest souls I’ve ever met. From the first time I met her as Angie’s teenage boyfriend, she gave me hugs and kisses and fed me ham (long, inside story). As I watched Grandma Briggs over the years, I noticed that members of her family who had made big, obvious mistakes and unhealthy choices (the kind that get you talked about and shunned by many families) got those same kisses and hugs. They were always welcome to squeeze into her tiny house in Anaconda, Missouri… and eat ham together.

I realize this subject area is messy. It’s tricky. It’s hard to figure out. We walk the tightrope of accepting everyone while not approving of everything. I realize that welcoming people who are different than the people we’ve lived most of our lives with is uncomfortable, especially when we aren’t familiar with their language and their culture. But that’s family. That’s God’s family. And the more colorful and diverse it is, the more beautiful its story.

Jesus, a Jew, told His disciples to go everywhere and tell everyone about Him and His story, making disciples, baptizing them into the same family, and not to stop until He returned. So until He comes back, let’s keep welcoming people, because everybody belongs.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

There are 10 million in Mexico, 100,000 (officially) in China, 700,000 in Russia, and 7 million in Nigeria. Children. Without Moms and Dads. And each one is incredibly, immensely valuable to the heart of God.

It’s quite easy to assume that this is someone else’s problem, but because I’m a Christian, it’s MY problem. If you’re like me, you feel a little helpless. You can’t adopt ten million babies, at least not without a Nanny, and the cost of rescuing all of them is astronomical. So I’m asking you to do something little, something simple yet powerful. I’m asking you to “like” the Global Orphan Initiative on Facebook. But first, let me explain.

My good friend, Matt Fifer, is a business man. He worked his way up through Walmart and eventually struck out on his own as an entrepreneur. He’s founded several rather successful businesses, all of which have been strengthened by his expertise and relationships in the retail industry. I used to design websites for Matt’s businesses until they outgrew my capabilities, so I’m well acquainted with Matt on a professional level, but also on a personal level. We’ve had quite a few conversations about life and faith, and orphans.

Matt and his partners are taking a unique approach to the issue of orphan care. Though they will gladly accept donations from individuals and churches, their real target is the retail industry. In Matt’s words…

In 2011, U.S. companies benefited from the export of some $1.5 trillion in goods and services to other countries. Though the economies of these countries benefit on the whole from reciprocal import activity with the U.S., many are still unable to provide for the basic needs of their growing orphan population. One example is Mexico, which currently has an orphan population of 10 million.

The Global Orphan Initiative will work with various certified orphan care facilities to meet the needs of orphans all over the world. Essentially, we are providing a way for corporations to give back in real and tangible ways to the countries that they conduct business with. We hope to see immediate results and want corporations to know that they have the power to change the lives of orphans for the better, both those living today and those in generations to come.

Every dollar raised will be used exclusively for work in orphan care facilities throughout the world. All administrative costs associated with day-to-day activity will be covered by the generous donations of volunteer staff members.

Asking corporations to get involved in the global orphan crisis is a lofty task, but Matt’s team has spent years in the retail industry, learning the systems and building relational bridges with people who have resources. I heard Matt’s vision over coffee recently, and I’m excited about their work. So I’m asking you to do two, painless and simple things to help:

1. Like the Global Orphan Initiative on Facebook. Your “like” lends credibility to their message as they approach business leaders. One click…

2. Spread the word by liking, sharing, tweeting, and posting this article’s link using the social sharing buttons below.

Obviously, I’m a big believer in the power of social media for good, and this is an example of that power. Your voice really can lend credibility to an initiative that has the potential to help orphans around the world. Thanks in advance for helping those who have very little voice of their own.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Photo by Mike PD.

I’m selfish. There’s my confession. And just when I think I’m starting to get over it, I’m reminded that I still tend to view the world as it relates to me. But Paul encouraged us to…

Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

- Philippians 2:3-4 MSG

It’s that last phrase that really catches my attention. “Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.” I agree with C. S. Lewis, who said, “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less.” I’ve come to the conclusion that I live in one of two mindsets:

• I think of myself and fail to help others.
• I think of others, which helps me more than I realize.

When I say I’m selfish, it isn’t that I have to have my way or everything I want. Rather it’s that I sometimes fail to empathize with the pain of others because my mind is on my own needs instead. But we don’t have to look far to find hurting people. There’s a whole world full of billions of them. They work in the cubicle next to yours and live in the house across the street. They even sit on your pew on Sunday.

What if you spent one day thinking of others first at every possible opportunity? What if you spent that day peering into the lives of the broken, oppressed, and enslaved? And what if you put yourself in their shoes instead of your own?

How would your life change if it truly revolved around God and His purpose for you, rather than yourself?

I’m just thinking out loud… about myself… {Stop it, Brandon!}

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Jesus was irresistible. Yes it’s true that the Jewish leaders stirred the crowds to demand his crucifixion. But why? A big part of their motivation was jealousy. They no longer had a monopoly on the religious devotion of the people because this Jesus guy had come along and was stealing the show… and the crowds.

There was something different about Jesus. He was the life of every party He attended. He was always the giver, the encourager, the healer. And as a result of His character, people wanted to be around Him. The disciples left their old lives behind to follow Him and He taught them to live lives much the same as His, to make Jesus irresistible to their friends.

My friend, Artie Davis, is an irresistible guy. His enthusiasm is contagious. His love is deep, his vision is big, and his heart for people is huge. He’s highly qualified to have written and just released his new book, Craveable: The irresistible Jesus in me. My endorsement appears on the cover and says,

Artie Davis has written an excellent book about a much-needed subject—how to be more like Jesus. This book is a movement-maker, and the people to whom you pass it along will be equipped and challenged to turn their world upside down.

I meant it, and I mean it still. So… go grab a copy or three!

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Northwest Arkansas is a fantastic place to call home, and thousands of people are calling it home for the first time, many of whom don’t have a relationship with Jesus. So a year ago, Grace Hills Church launched publicly to reach people far from God. In that first year, thirty people went public with their newfound faith in Christ through baptism – a moment we celebrate big-time at Grace Hills.

Here’s a brief video snapshot…

What will our second year bring? I’ve already written recently about why 2013 is going to rock at Grace Hills, and to celebrate its kickoff, we baptized two more new believers this past weekend, in 25 degree weather, outside, in cold water!!

As Kelsey put it…

RT @kelsey_lowe: @gracehillsnwa baptizing in 25 degree weather #nice twitter.com/Kelsey_Lowe/st…

— Grace Hills Church (@gracehillsnwa) January 13, 2013

That never gets old! And that’s what I pray 2013 looks like all year long!!

I want to take a little space here to publicly thank the people who have given to make this first year happen.

• Everyone who has gone “all in” at Grace Hills, giving their time, talent, and treasure!
• Friends in the kingdom who contributed over great distances.
• Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, CA
• The Baptist Missionary Association of America
• The Church at the Springs, Ocala, FL
• Garret Memorial Baptist Church, Hope, AR
• Transformation Church, Indian Land, SC
• The Journey Community Church, Conifer, CO
• Lifepoint, Lebanon, MO
• Oasis Church, North Little Rock, AR
• First Baptist Church, Jacksonville, TX

Thank you! Thank you ! Thank you!! And may the next year be the best ever for the sake of souls!

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

In the world of social media, there’s a common scenario that goes a little something like this:

FOLLOWEE TO NEW FOLLOWER: Hi! Thanks for following. Check out my services and my blog, and like me on Facebook!

In other words, I don’t know you or care who you are. I just want you to know me and buy my stuff.

When you first connect with someone new over a social media platform, it’s far better and wiser to establish a genuine connection. Here are seven tips for a better way to connect.

1. Pay attention. Read the bio, click the link, read a tweet or an update or two.
2. Reach out. Say hello, the way normal people do offline, without selling anything.
3. Take a real interest. Comment on something personal about the person.
4. Make another connection. Suggest someone they should connect with in their field.
5. Add some value. Offer a tip, or to help in some way, but not by selling a service.
6. Respond. Keep the conversation going.
7. Be the trusted friend to whom they might turn for help (including paid services) later.

You can’t know everyone, and you can’t always fully flesh out this approach with every connection, but when you want to connect with someone beyond the first follow, there is a better way. Imagine the above scenario, aligned with these tips. It might look more like this…

FOLLOWEE TO NEW FOLLOWER: Hi, thanks for following. You’re from Denver? Been there a few times and love the views!

NEW FOLLOWER TO FOLLOWEE: Thanks! Yes, I work for a marketing firm in the mile-high city.

FOLLOWEE TO NEW FOLLOWER: Cool. Loved the work you did on the Widgets-R-Us logo. Have you connected with Jacob Cass (@justcreative)?

NEW FOLLOWER TO FOLLOWEE: No, haven’t seen his work, but I’ll follow him for sure. Thanks!

FOLLOWEE TO NEW FOLLOWER: No problem. I’m in the SEO business if you ever need any help in that arena. Keep up the good work!

This isn’t necessarily blossoming into a have-you-over-for-dinner-on-Friday kind of friendship, and that’s okay. You can’t do that with hundreds or thousands of people. But you can be personal, authentic, and genuinely helpful. It’s a better way to do things, and good social mojo demands it.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Photo by jurvetson.

What is success? Most people define it in one of three ways:

• How many possessions do you own?
• How much power do you wield over others?
• How much prestige do you have among peers?

American Christians tend to blend right in. We even apply these standards to churches and church leaders. Which church has the biggest budget, the nicest building, or the largest weekend attendance? There’s nothing wrong with any of those things – money is good, influence is invaluable, and popularity is something God can use in huge ways. And we certainly need churches to grow exponentially in a world as lost as ours. The problem is, none of those factor into God’s viewpoint on success.

Jesus gathered a handful of followers in His lifetime, didn’t have a place of His own, and was despised and rejected by the social elite of his community. But He was most definitely successful. In fact, He was so successful that He could come to the end of His life and confidently proclaim…

I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

- John 17:4 NKJV

Jesus did two things completely that provide the perfect framework for our understanding of success.

1. He became all that God wanted Him to become.
2. He did all that God wanted Him to do.

He glorified God in His life perfectly. He grew from the baby in the manger into the perfect, sinless Jesus who changed the world. He was kind, generous, funny (though we usually miss His humor), loving, and strong. He was everything God wanted Him to be. To keep your sanity, start thinking about WHO God wants you to become instead of what options He wants you to choose. In other words, it’s less about where you go to college or which car you buy and more about whether you take the high road and keep your integrity.

He also finished all the tasks which God had assigned to Him, leading right up to the final moment of His life, which He gave as a ransom for mankind. The second way to redefine success for sanity’s sake is to focus only on what God calls YOU to do and not on all the good things that others might be involved in.

Furthermore, He will give us all the time, talent, treasure, and relationships to accomplish exactly His will for our lives. When we are good stewards of these resources, we never run short. Not having enough time, not being able to please everyone, and not being able to escape pressure is usually a sign that we’re trying to do things God hasn’t called or equipped us to do.

So for sanity’s sake, redefine success. Get to the end of your life and be able to say, “I’ve become the person God wanted me to become, and I’ve finished the ‘to do’ list He gave to me.” That’s it.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

2012 was an awesome year for Grace Hills! Angie and I arrived in northwest Arkansas with a big dream and have continued to be amazed at the great things God has done this year. We launched on January 15 with 176 people in attendance, far exceeding our goals and expectations. And in the last year, we’ve baptized 30 people, launched more than a half dozen Grace Groups, and have performed hundreds of hours of service to the northwest Arkansas community in partnership with local organizations. It’s been a good year – a year to celebrate – so glory to God!!

What’s coming in 2013? I don’t know. If that sounds strange, understand that I always approach the issue of “long range planning” with hesitancy because of the unpredictable variables. We don’t know who will come to be part of us in the next year, what will happen in our economy, or what unforeseen opportunities will arise. That’s why one of our core values is to “stay fast, fluid, and flexible. There are no sacred cows. We embrace the pain of change for the win of seeing more people meeting Jesus.”

While we remain flexible, we also believe strongly in vision, so we do plan, but we hold those plans with a loose grip. So here are a few of my intentions for 2013 based on the vision I believe God has given me as Grace Hills’ Lead Pastor…

• Grow a GREAT Children’s Ministry! We’re welcoming a new staff member on January 1 – Meredith Chapuis – who has a big vision for what God wants to do in Grace Hills’ kids. We’re going to create a better environment, improve on an already great teaching system, and reach more kids and families.
• Launch more Grace Groups, and get everyone into a group that we possibly can. We hope to have 12 groups going strong as soon as possible. We have a loose group structure. There may be men’s groups, women’s groups, singles’ groups, etc. but there will also be groups mixed with all kinds of people. If you’re part of Grace Hills, pray about hosting!
• Discover the purpose of life as we take February and March to go through a major, church-wide spiritual growth campaign called What On Earth Am I Here For? It’s based on the tenth anniversary re-release of the best-selling nonfiction book in American history outside the Bible, The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren, and thousands of other churches will be doing the same study at the same time.
• We currently offer a Newcomers’ Lunch, which has been very effective and successful at introducing people to Grace Hills, our vision, our values, and what it means to be a member. In 2013, we’ll launch two follow-up classes: Maturity Matters (an introduction to the basic habits for growing spiritually) and Ministry Matters (where people can explore how God shaped them to serve Him).
• We would love to launch a full-blown Celebrate Recovery. Grace Hills has already become a place where people with hurts, habits, and hang-ups feel accepted and welcomed. But we need to go further and offer solutions for healing in community.
• We keep doing some things we’ve done well – serving the community outside the theater walls, creating an environment where unchurched people feel comfortable investigating the faith and connecting with believers, and getting involved in messy lives in hands-on ways.
• We hope to plant another church, or at least be heavily involved in the planning phase. We always intended for Grace Hills to be “born pregnant” and be a teaching hospital for multiplying new churches for the Kingdom, and we want to stick to that vision.
• We may just move, physically. The movie theater has been a great place to start, for plenty of reasons, but we’re also testing its limits in terms of housing all that we do on the weekend and all that we wish to do during the week. I see a possible new, leased facility as a place to start and launch new groups and ministries. We will remain committed to both gathering and scattering, and a better space would be a great tool for doing both.

As I wrote before, I don’t know all of the unplanned and unpredictable opportunities that God will open before us in the upcoming year. What I do know is that I’m ready to see God move in a fresh and powerful way in the northwest Arkansas community to awaken people to the reality and the life-changing power of the gospel.

If you’re part of Grace Hills, I want to challenge you to adopt this vision as your own. As you give your time, talent, and treasure to see the dream become a reality, God is going to show up and do powerful things so that God ultimately gets the glory and the credit. Let’s spread the fame of Jesus so that the least, the last, and the lost can come to know Him!

2013 is gonna rock!

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

This past year we have witnessed the birth of a new church in northwest Arkansas. Next year, we anticipate the birth of our third child into our sweet family. But the birth that matters most happened two millennia ago when God sent His Son Jesus into the world to live for us, to die for us, and to rise again for us.

As you guzzle egg nog and hand out gifts, may you pause to realize that the only path to eternal peace and joy rests in a relationship with the child that was born, the man who died, the King who is coming again – Jesus Christ the Lord.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Image via Mashable

Things are changing rapidly in the world of communications tools. I’m even writing a book about how to communicate an unchanging gospel in such a rapidly changing world. On LinkedIn’s blog, Ilya Pozin shared 9 trends entrepreneurs need to watch in 2013, and four of them (my first four below) jumped out at me concerning the world of church communications.

1. Crowdfunding

With the flow of capital to entrepreneurs becoming smaller and smaller each year, we’re likely to see an even greater rise in crowdfunding platforms. In fact, these collectively generous communities are estimated to transact as much as $500 billion in 2013.

2. Going Global

Today’s technological world allows us access to customers from all over the globe. Bringing successful U.S. business models into developing or trailing countries presents an opportunity for startups in every industry. Startups like Pheed, 2U, and Threadless have already made the jump into the global waters with successful outcomes.

3. Better Social Platforms

The need for higher quality content online will certainly drive a social trend in 2013 with the creation of more advanced content-driven social networks. Pheed is an example of a social platform that I feel will reach even larger audiences in 2013.

4. Great Emphasis On Company Culture

Creating a positive company culture will be of stronger emphasis for startups in 2013. Many startups are taking new steps toward building cultures that define their products. One step I firmly believe in: dismantling hierarchies, which can eliminate micromanaging and other attitudes that squash innovation.

5. Responsive Web Design

And a fifth, not mentioned by Pozin, but definitely more vital than ever in the upcoming year will be responsive web design, which refers to a website’s ability to detect a user’s browser size or device and re-arrange and adjust its content to fit. My site, along with pastors.com, were converted to responsive designs earlier this year and GraceHillsChurch.com will follow suit in the next month or so.

These are five of many. What else is happening that church communications leaders need to be thinking about?

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Here’s a two minute snippet from my message this past Sunday at Grace Hills where I address the question of why God allows evil. Cruise over to GraceHillsChurch.com to watch the full message entitled The Reasons for Our Hope.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.

Photo by reds on tour.

Leadership is a hot topic with plenty of aspiring and hopeful people clamoring for success in its arena. But the reality is that it’s easier NOT to lead.

When we aspire to leadership, we envision the good stuff – the people who will look to us for direction, the success of our organization, and the accolades of those who follow us. What we can’t really anticipate is the tough stuff – the people who will question us, leave us, and criticize us unfairly.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably a leader with influence, or you hope to be. Stop. Take inventory. Is this what you really want? If you lead, you’re going to have to disappoint people, redirect people, confront people, motivate people to do things they aren’t quite ready to do, and while you may be respected, you will also be disliked and often, you’ll be alone.

Leadership and popularity sometimes occupy the same space, but are never the same thing. Decide which you want.

If you want to be popular, lead halfheartedly, if at all. If you want to influence people, then proceed full speed ahead. The invitation is open for more leaders, and there is certainly a vacuum in our culture waiting to be filled by leaders with character. But count the cost.

It’s easier not to lead. It’s easier to watch from the stands. It’s easier to go with the flow. There is less friction and less pain.

But in the end, maybe God isn’t calling you to do the easy thing.

© 2011 Brandon Cox.

Brandon Cox is a Pastor who is planting Grace Hills Church in northwest Arkansas. He also serves as Editor and Community Facilitator for Pastors.com and Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox newsletter. He authors a top 100 blog for church leaders. You can catch him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or LinkedIn.