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Earlier this year I sat in a room with Ed Stetzer and a group of pastors. We had Ed for the day, and we could ask him about pretty much anything. When my turn came, I asked him about revitalizing existing churches. What he said surprised me.

When Stetzer began research on his book Comeback Churches, he wanted to discover some of the key factors in seeing churches come alive again after slowly dying.

Ed said that the research told him exactly what he didn't want to hear. We are so sick of corporate style leadership in the church, and all the pro-leadership propaganda, that many of us - including me - have reacted against the concept of leadership. But contrary to what he wanted to discover, Stetzer found, "Comeback leaders agreed that having a clear and compelling vision was foundational in the transformation of their churches."

In New York, Ed said that the pendulum has swung too far the other way against vision. Don't tear everything down, Ed said, because you didn't invent it. He advised us to go back and learn from some of the older stuff written about leadership and vision, even if we had to sort through it and hold our noses at times.

So here are some tensions I'm holding right now:

• Leadership is more important than many of the younger leaders say, but less important than many of the boomer leaders say.
• Leadership can learn from Jim Collins and Tom Peters, but it has more to learn from the failed leadership of Saul, or pretty much any other king in the Old Testament.
• Leadership is about strength. But God shows up a lot in our weaknesses. Leading with a Limp helps us a lot here.
• The most important qualification of a Christian leadership is the knowledge that one is not qualified. As Tim Keller said:

My dear friends, most churches make the mistake of selecting as leaders the confident, the competent, and the successful. But what you most need in a leader is someone who has been broken by the knowledge of his or her sin, and even greater knowledge of Jesus' costly grace. The number one leaders in every church ought to be the people who repent the most fully without excuses, because you don't need any now; the most easily without bitterness; the most publicly and the most joyfully. They know their standing isn't based on their performance.

• Leadership is important as far as what people can do, but what the church needs more than this is to see what only God can do. Some boast in conferences and some in leaders. But we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

But after all that - leadership is still important. Kind of.

One of the reasons I liked Transforming Power (mentioned yesterday) is because it really makes you think about what leadership is. You have to, because the images and stories of leadership are so different.

Two examples. First, Paul Borden of Growing Healthy Churches takes no prisoners in his approach to leadership:

Congregations that have been on a plateau or in decline for more than three years are like old drunks. Intervention is needed to produce change...Leadership is essential. The pastor must be a leader or have the ability to exercise leadership behavior...

Pastors and denominations that do not want to disrupt comfortable congregations must understand they are abdicating their responsibilities as Christian leaders to serve God well. Enabling and helping congregations to continually exercise sinful dysfunctional behavior means that such pastors and denominational leaders are practicing carnal co-dependent relationships that work against God’s mission for His Church.

This approach to leadership is going to have very predictable characteristics and results.

Contrast this with the image of leadership presented by James Howell:

As much as churches try to learn from corporate leadership models, I suspect that, at the end of the day, the shape, the style, the mood of the ordained pastor can (and must!) differ in fundamental ways...All clergy near this zenith of leadership incandescence will (thankfully) always seem to be square pegs in the round holes of corporate leadership techniques...

No matter how a particular congregation is organized, no matter what the optimal strategy is in this place to unleash the workers out into the vineyards, no matter the posture of hands-on involvement or in-the-background enabling the leader suspects is the wisest course at this time, the leader maintains that docent feel, continually, and in every possible setting, to direct people’s attention to the treasures of the Church, to urge them to keep moving, to do whatever they do with their minds fixed on the stories, the creeds, the liturgy, the songs, the practices of the Church that dazzle, and give us every good chance of going somewhere meaningfully integrated into the dawning of the Kingdom of God.

You couldn't ask for two more different pictures of leadership. Which one is right? Do we go in with our hardhats and aggressively attack the dysfunction and lead toward measurable results, or do we pursue a spiritual, non-corporate type of leadership that trusts the Spirit and the Gospel to do its work? And these are only two of the models to choose from.

Hugh Ballou, the editor of this book, observed that these differences are probably a result of personality. I think he's right. Yet each personality has the tendency to baptize that approach as the only right way.

I'm going to post a little more about leadership models and tensions tomorrow. For now, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the two approaches to leadership I've just described.

Today I have an interview with Hugh Ballou, a motivational speaker and former music minister. Hugh is the man behind the book Transforming Power. Here's a blurb about the book:

Leaders who have lead a transformation share the story of their experience. This information is invaluable for leaders who are undertaking a transformation of an organization. The information in this book can be advantageous for anyone who is in a situation where they need to make a transformation - no matter what the mission the organization or the type of transformation.

The key to transformation is different for each individual, group, or congregation. Hugh Ballou has brought together a collection of over 25 articles and stories from individuals who have experienced real-life transformations of themselves or their institution. The inspiration offered from the words will enlist a sense of hope and perseverance during difficult times of change. Discover inspiration and transformation through the struggles of other leaders ranging from children's ministry to being in prison, from making Hollywood movies to winning football games, to being leaders who truly lead.

I have mixed feelings about leadership. I struggle with what seems to be an overemphasis on leadership in some circles, as well as many of our leadership practices. However, I still believe that leadership of the right kind is important. Some of these tensions run through this book, so I thought it would be interesting to interview Hugh.

The Gospel Coalition has now posted more information about their 2009 Conference taking place in Chicago next April 21-23. Updates include a more complete schedule and a series of promo videos.

I'm already registered and you should come too. If you're traveling from Toronto and want to hitch a ride, just drop me a line.

Good to hear Tim Keller at Redeemer again after his summer break. Keller quoted from Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail in last Sunday's sermon. Definitely worth reading.

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests. Things are different now.

So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Jeremy Lowrey has written a provocative paper on the current condition of the church. His ten principles:

1. The body is responsible
2. Repentance is essential
3. Focus on Jesus
4. Don't lead
5. Motivate with love
6. Value lives lived for Jesus
7. Acknowledge the power
8. Listen and wait
9. Don't lie
10. Embrace faith

It reads a lot like a manifesto. I like its focus on repentance, Christ, and on moving out of comfortable life and ministry. There's some good stuff in there.

There are many issues he raises that need further discussion, and I certainly don't agree with every direction he takes. But a paper like this is a good discussion starter, especially for those who haven't yet wrestled with some of the issues being raised with the modern church. Jeremy does a good job of raising some of these issues.

You can download a copy in PDF here.

I'm a little tied up this week. I'm actually running games at the kids camp at Richview this week. (Go ahead, laugh. Charlene did.) Plus all the regular stuff, so I don't know how much blogging I'll get done this week.

In the meantime, this post by Steve McCoy is one of the most helpful that I've read in a long time.

Do you ever get in a slump? Or do you grow tired, or skewed, or frustrated, or apathetic, or sapped, or bored? Me too. I have some things in my life that I use to hit "refresh." When I say "hit refresh" I don't mean getting away from ministry as much as I mean righting the ship, getting back on track, reorienting myself to my calling and direction. Though there are more, here's 10 things I do to "refresh".

Worth reading a few times and thinking about your own list.

My friend Bill Kinnon has let me know about The Windrider Forum at Wycliffe College. It's taking place September 9, 10 and 11 during Toronto's International Film Festival. This short video tells you a little about what you can expect:

You can watch a couple other videos and find out more information at the Windrider site. I'll be there.

I just finished upgrading all the templates for the new version of Movable Type. If you notice anything not working the way it should be around here, please let me know.

Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people. (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline)

From the latest issue of Themelios:

At the end of the mission trip one of the team members gave me a CD of a sermon called “What is the Gospel?” by Tim Keller. I put it on my desk and thought to myself, “If i don’t know what the Gospel is by now, I am in sad shape.” Indeed...

A couple of months went by and I finally picked up the Keller CD and listened to it as I drove. Before long, I found myself sitting alone in the car, fighting back the tears. Keller was connecting the dots: Christ's relationship with his Father was shattered so that mine might be made whole. I suddenly realized that I had undervalued the Gospel by treating it as merely the starting point of the Christian life, instead of as the all-encompassing source of truth and grace that empowers all of the Christian life...

The article is only three pages long, and it's worth reading. You can find the article on page 62 of this PDF.

Arguing that "the gospel is literally the only hope for the world today," [Lloyd-Jones] showed how the gospel always makes a powerful effect upon the world after there has first been a distinct quickening in the life of the church. The modern church was bypassing her primary need. She was adopting "methods of big business and advertising" instead of praying for a visitation of God. As the Belfast press reported his words: "The Church has never tried so hard to deal with the situation as she has tried in this century. We have never had so many organizations, we have never worked so hard, but we are not touching the situation." (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: The Fight of Faith 1939-1981)

The greatest need of the hour is a new baptism and outpouring of the Holy Spirit in renewal and revival...The ultimate question facing us these days is whether our faith is in men and their power to organize, or in the truth of God in Christ Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit. (The Basis of Christian Unity)

"The immense value of church history and of the history of doctrine is the dimension of historical depth it gives to one's understanding of the faith, and of the balance it brings to one's judgments. Did ever the church stand in greater need of this?" (T.F. Torrance)

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is not a household name today, even though he died a relatively short time ago. I knew of him as a brilliant thinker, a physician who became a pastor of Westminster Chapel in London near Buckingham Palace. I've heard and appreciated some of his sermons, and I have some of his books. It wasn't until I heard Tim Keller continually refer to him that I decided to learn more.

more at my book blog

Tim Keller and David Powlison have written a helpful piece on what to do when you have some bad news you can share about a fellow Christian or ministry. "Our thinking was that perhaps bloggers would want to adopt these and spread the word about them as a way, in Keller's words, to 'spiritually season Christian conversation in cyberspace.'"

The entire post is worth reading. Here's the summary:

In summary, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the principle is this. If you hear bad reports about other Christians you must either cover it with love or go to them personally before speaking of it to any others.

• The first thing to do is to simply suspend judgment. Don’t pass on bad reports.
• The second thing to do is “cover” it in love, reminding yourself that you don’t know all about the heart of the person who may have done evil—and you know your own frailty. Don’t allow bad reports to pass into your own heart.
• The final thing to do is go and speak to them personally.

What you should never do is rush to judgment, or withdraw from loving another, or pass on the negative report to others. This is challenge enough when you’re dealing with the local grapevine or slow-moving postal service. In a world of instant world-wide communication of information it’s an even bigger challenge, because you can do bigger damage more quickly. Whether the bad report offers true information, or partial information, or disinformation, or false information—it is even more important that you exercise great discretion, and that you take pains to maximize boots-on-the-ground interpersonal relationships.

more

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones rarely took time off to hear others preach. In 1968 he took ill, and for six months he did not preach at all.

This gave Lloyd-Jones an opportunity to sit in the pew and observe what was going on in churches. He shared these reflections in October 1968:

My general impression is that most of our services are terribly depressing! I am amazed people still go to church; most who go are female and over the age of forty. The note missing is "joy in the Holy Ghost." There is nothing in these services to make a stranger feel that he is missing something by not being there...

It is a great thing to be a listener. You want something for your soul. You want help. I don't want a "great sermon". i want to feel the presence of the God I am worshipping and to know that I am considering some great and glorious subject. If I do get this I do not care how poor the sermon is.

I suggest to you that our greatest danger is the danger of professionalism. We do not stop frequently enough to ask, What are we really doing? There is the danger of just facing a text and treating it as an end in itself with a strange detachment. It is all intellectual. Nor should our preaching be just emotional, or only to the conscience. Far to often it is one or the other of these things. There is no life, no power! We of all people ought to have it. Joy and power are intimately related. One without the other is spurious. (D.M. Lloyd-Jones, The Fight of Faith)

I'm preaching tomorrow for the first time in almost a month. These comments by Lloyd-Jones are helping me prepare myself.

My latest column at Christian Week:

The late John Miller, a pastor from Philadelphia, once told a pastor to stay in one place until he had been humbled. If a pastor moves too quickly, people don't get to see how impossible ministry is. Stay until you're broken, Miller wrote, to abandon pride and move into Jesus' love.

I've just finished ten years as pastor in a church, and I know what Miller meant. I came to the church wanting to bring change. A decade later, I've been humbled. Surprisingly, it's freeing. I no longer think that the church's effectiveness rides on being ahead of a trend, or in becoming relevant. Here's what I've learned.

We've had many vacations that have ended with a whimper, but this wasn't one of them. We weren't sure what to do on Wednesday. Tired and a little reluctant, my family agreed to go back to Quebec City.

It's crowded, and the day could have been a bust. This day, though, almost everything went perfectly. A horse and carriage tour:

Then an amazing lunch in the oldest house in Quebec City, built 1675:

Then some shopping, and the best fireworks I've ever seen at Montmorency Falls Park:

You couldn't plan a better last day than this one.