Are There Boundaries when Reaching the Lost?

As many of you know we recently did a big event for Easter called “The Ultimate Giveaway.” We gave away millions of dollars worth of “donated” items in hopes of attracting folks far from God to church so they could hear a message of hope and salvation on arguably the most important day we celebrate as Christians.

As you can imagine the Christian critics came out in force! Those that disagreed with us accused us of fostering things like greed and envy. I have a couple of  simple questions that I hope will generate some responses!

1) In your opinion, is anything, short of sin, off limits when it comes to reaching those farthest from God? Read the question carefully before commenting because we are not talking about allowing sin for the greater good!

I ask that because we were lambasted by Christians and church leaders who accused us of some ugly things simply because we gave cars and things away at Easter! I guess I just don’t understand how thousands of people giving away their personal stuff to people they don’t know simply because they wanted to them  to find Jesus, is somehow a bad thing.

So heres how it went. Our people modeled selflessness and gave, and I am so proud to say they gave like crazy, the things they gave away were given to complete strangers with nothing expected in return, which enticed thousands of people to come to church on Easter that probably never would have otherwise, some clearly for the wrong reasons which was expected, but in-spite of that, 1556 people prayed to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ for the first time in their lives, and BAF grew significantly as many of those who made that commitment are coming back and worshipping regularly now.

So here’s another question:

2) How does any of any of that dishonor Jesus and the sacrifice He made on the cross?

Are we not called to reach the lost? Isn’t that what going after the one sheep means? If were to go out and make disciples and baptize them as Jesus commanded, doesn’t that mean that to fulfill that command we have to reach people that are not yet baptized or saved? Does taking the Gospel to all nations mean only to saved church attending folks? Obviously we (the Western Church) are not doing a great job of spreading the Gospel as were losing a generation, so wouldn’t doing anything shy of sin be better than surrendering and watching the Gospel die out slowly?

I’m interested to hear what you think, but remember this before you comment, as Christians, how we feel about something certainly matters, but those feelings must also align with the Word of God! Just because your church doesn’t do something a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s wrong!

Please hear my heart, this is not about BAF, this is about a deeper question that we as believers and leaders must ask ourselves, because the world around us is leaving The Church in numbers never before seen! Whats sad is that while this downfall is happening, far too many of us are wasting our time criticizing each other instead of doing what ever it takes to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to very lost and broken world!

Let’s Discuss, and we can disagree, but please do so with respect or your post will not make it on here!

John

The Power of Silence

Last weekend Pastor Bil did something we have never done before and it was amazing. He preached an entire sermon without speaking one single word, and 116 people accepted Christ. It was one of those special moments where God just stepped in and did what He does! Take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and get quiet and watch this, you won’t regret it!

http://bayareafellowship.com/video/silence

John

So You Want to be a Leader?

Everyone wants to be “the leader” don’t they! From the outside looking in, the gig looks cool. Leaders usually get a bigger office, bigger pay, more notoriety, more influence, and heck, maybe even some prestige!  The problem is, when you actually get that job, you begin to realize it’s not exactly the walk in the park you pictured it to be. Here’s why being the leader in your church is a tougher job than most people think it is.

1. When people are angry at the church, that anger is vented on leaders.

2. When people are angry at each other, its leaders that usually get the fun job of being the referee!

3. One side or the other in that fight, often ends up mad at, you guessed it, the leader. Sometimes both sides.

4. Guess who gets to say “no” to a lot of things, yep its the leader. That means the leader often has to say no to good ideas from good people who they actually love and respect, even though you know it’s going to hurt them. It also means saying no to not so nice people with bad ideas, and thats a ton of fun too because instead of being hurt, they usually accuse or criticize.

5. If you have people in your church, you have problems. Guess who’s held accountable for all those problems, and the consequences caused by them? Once again, the leader! A lot of the time they’re held accountable for decisions they actually knew nothing about. Try that one on for size sometime

6. When staff aren’t performing at the level they need to be, guess who gets to have the hard talks that sometimes ends in someone being let go? It’s the leader, and it’s a really tough thing to do! On occasions those decisions hurt good people who you love and respect.

7. When it’s time to do yearly performance evaluations, guess who gets to tell people about their weaknesses. Yep you guessed it, the leader! Again not the funnest thing to do!

8. Churches like other business’s, have budgets. Guess who gets to manage the spending and tell good leaders with amazing ideas no because it won’t fit in the budget? Need I answer it at this point?

9. Leaders get criticized to their faces, behind their backs, by people they thought were their friends, by people who have never met them, publicly on blogs and the internet, and often for things they didn’t even have anything to do with.

10. When you’re a leader, especially in the church, you are scrutinized for everything you do or say. What movie you’re seeing, what movie you’re renting, what you say in public pretty much anywhere you go, how you dress, and pretty much everything else. Ask a pastors wife if she is scrutinized for how she dresses in public and see what she says.

Are there benefits that go with a leadership role, absolutely. Are these complaints designed to make you feel sorry for your leaders, absolutely not. What I hope you’ll take from  this is three things…

1. Leadership is difficult, and your pastors work hard and put up with a lot to follow Gods call in their lives.

2. Think long and hard before you start praying about a leadership role in your church, because if you can’t deal with the hard stuff I just talked about, a leadership role will destroy you.

3. Love on the leaders in your churches, their job is a heck of a lot harder than you think it is, and there is more people criticizing them than telling them thank you!

Ask this question before taking on a high level leadership role; am I called to lead at this level, or do I just want the title, notoriety, bigger pay, influence, and prestige? Because none of those things will matter when the pressures of leadership show up, and they will show up!

But hey, if for you the answer is yes, go for it, the Kingdom needs great leaders!

John

INTEGRITY

There are many things a leader must have to be successful, but nothing, in my opinion, is as important as Integrity. Having Integrity will define your leadership, not having Integrity will too!

Why is Integrity so important?

1. Without integrity in our faith, we’ll change the Word of God to fit us, instead of changing us to fit the Word of God.

2.Without integrity, we’ll be able to see pride in others, while missing it in ourselves.

3. Without integrity, we’ll challenge others to live lives of purity, while in the privacy of our own homes we’ll fail at it.

4. Without integrity, we’ll pursue our own desires, instead of pursing God’s desires for us.

5. Without integrity, we’ll bend the truth so it will fit in the world as we want it to be, instead of living and leading in a world defined by GODS standard of truth.

6 Without integrity in our marriages, everything we love and hold close, we’ll still love, but it won’t be close for us to love and hold any more.

7. Without integrity in our leadership, the careers, churches, or businesses we love and hold close, we may still love, but they won’t be ours to hold close any more.

Bottom line, without integrity, we really have nothing.

John

At Leadership Network in Dallas

Really excited to be in Dallas with Jason Curlee and Dave Cotham for a Leadership Network Multi Site Innovation Lab. Leadership Network is a great group of leaders who have a heart to make an impact on the Church and its leaders. Were gathering with seven other Multi Site Churches from around the country who currently have more than 3 campuses and plan on starting more. If you know Pastor Bil, you can be assured were starting more

We are here by invitation and it’s quite an honor to have an opportunity to share what God has done through Multi Site at BAF, and to learn what others are doing and how that can help us in the future. We will be doing a half day today and a full day tomorrow, followed by a long drive home. It’s going to be two really full and crazy days, but were excited about the possibilities, and hoping we can take away some great idea’s that will help us be better prepared for the challenges we will face in the future.

I’ll be posting some ideas and thoughts from these next couple of days so stay tuned. Should be a great funs. No matter what happens, it’s always a great time hanging with Jason and Dave!

John

Multi Site Challenge #2

FINDING THE RIGHT CAMPUS PASTOR

There is no decision you will make on your multi site journey that is more important than finding the right campus pastor! This is a critical decision for many reasons. Here are some things that make a great campus pastor.

1. The campus pastor is the face of your church in that community! Think carefully about the implications in that statement.

2. A great campus pastor must be able to lead a large group of people. Great person does not always translate into great leader. They need to be both!

3. A great campus pastor is a team builder.

4. A great campus pastor is a self starter. A campus pastor can’t be someone who needs to be told what do all the time. I love racehorse leaders! Every once in a while you may have rein one in, but you don’t ever have to light a fires under them to get them moving! I’ll take that trade off any day!

5. A great campus pastor has immense character and integrity. I have complete trust in every one of our campus pastors, and if I didn’t, they would not be in that position!!!!

6. A great campus pastor thinks outside the box. They’re creative, they’re risk takers, and they’re seed planters.

7. A great campus pastor is fiercely loyal to the vision and the leadership of the church. Miss this one and you’ll have a real mess on your hands!

8. A great campus pastor either already has your churches DNA, or they’re a sponge to get it! Without the CP having the DNA of your church, the campus will become it’s own thing instead of being a part of the existing vision and direction.

9. A campus pastor must fit the team!  This is so critical because one bad apple really can spoil the bunch. This is especially critical in a relational system like ours, but I believe it’s critical no matter what your leadership style is.

10. A great campus pastor must be able to hear the word “no.” I told Jason Curlee ( 5 Points CP) no to something one time and he twittered this, “John Atkinson told me no to something today, guess I’ll have to go find something else for him to say no to ” I love that attitude!

Leadership development is so important in all areas of a healthy growing church, but in my humble opinion, I don’t think there is anywhere where developing leaders is more important than with campus pastors. A campus pastor will be handed the keys to a church with your name on it, they’ll be handed the responsibility of the spiritual well being of everyone who attends that church, they’ll be entrusted with the financial health of the campus, and all of this usually takes place in another town somewhere. We have a campus that is three hours away, trust me these things are important. These are big time responsibilities, so make sure you think carefully about who you’re giving them to.

John

Monday Mindless Dump

If you knew me you would know why it’s called the Mindless Dump:)

1. I really thought we would drop below a 1000 in attendance in the Multi Site Campuses this weekend because of Thanksgiving, we didn’t, and haven’t in over two months. Love that people are connecting and making these campuses “their church.”

2. Had a fantastic Thanksgiving hanging with Pastor Loui Canchola and his family. Friday I got to attend his sisters wedding where she married his worship pastor. How cool is that. Oh yea she’s his media director too! There are no words that could do justice to what Loui means to me!!!! He’s a freak of nature good  friend who speaks truth into my life. Thanks bro!

3. Pastor Dave and I are leaving Thursday for Colorado to learn more from a company called Philanthracorp! Thankful to Jim Tomberlin with Third Quarter Consulting for that invitation!

4. Looking forward to hanging with Dan Blankenship who is one of Chris Pinions guys from Life Quest Church in Kansas City MO. They are going MS as we speak and Dan is coming to hang with us for a few days. Love it when we can help other churches!

5. Opening Hotel Atkinson to some awesome pastors next Monday who will be in town for Pastor Bil’s mentoring group. April and I will be hosting Loui Canchola, Sr Pastor of Cornerstone Church  in McAllen Texas, Brett Crimmel, Sr Pastor of Forefront Church in Littleton Colorado, Michael Robison, Sr Pastor of Grace Church in Kingsport TN. Really honored to be able to open our home to this amazing group of leaders.

6. Really proud of the Multi Site team for the hard work and commitment they have shown throughout this year! Such an amazing group of leaders. I am truly blessed to have each of them.

7. I am in the process of losing 40lbs so I can finally after 20 years of pain, get the surgery I have needed for so long. I’m beyond thankful God as put me in the hands of Dr Gib Meadows at the South Texas Spine Clinic in San Antonio. Amazing to see how God closed so many doors leading me to this man. Please pray for the weight loss, I’m working really hard at it. So good to feel hope for the first time in a long time with my back.

8. Better run because all my MS peeps are starting to walk in for our weekly MS Staff Meeting. What are you thankful for?

John

Faith Lesson from a 4 Yr Old

This morning I took my teenage sons car in to get the tires rotated and balanced thinking I would spend around $30. When I got there we found out he had no front brakes, and two of his tires had splits in them. So my $30 has not turned in to $300. When my wife and my little guy Caleb showed up to pick me up I was slightly frustrated. I was doing a bit of ranting, to put it mildly, as I considered the fact the Christmas was just around the corner and that this sons twin brother also needs tires. In the midst of the rant my 4 year old said this, “its ok Daddy, God does good stuff for us.”

Sure is humbling when you get a faith lesson from your 4 year old. No wonder Jesus loves the little ones so much!!!!

John

BAF Multi Site Challenge #1

Five campuses into a big Multi Site vision were still literally learning something new every single day. It’s so funny to see how something we were doing six months ago with 3 campuses that we thought was the cats meow of ideas, is dead now because it doesn’t work with five campuses.  Over the coming weeks I am going to write about some the challenges we’ve faced along the way in hopes it will help others.

Today I’m going to write about worship, not because its the #1 biggest challenge we have, but because it is a big challenge. Here’s a few things we’ve learned about MS worship five campuses in.

1. Don’t underestimate the challenge of reproducing GOOD worship over and over. You can have worship, but good worship is tough, and doing it over and over is really tough. Think through your worship challenges carefully before you move to more locations.

2. MS worship would be a mess if it wasn’t for Pastor Joey Davila who is the MS Worship Pastor. Pastor Joey is an amazing leader and musician and under his leadership, worship is doing very well. In some systems the original church worship leadership team oversees MS campus worship, and we started that way too, but it was overwhelming for them with one MS campus, it was impossible with five. Think about a worship leader/pastor before going to multiple campuses.

3. One of the toughest things a MS campus worship leader has to do, is say no to someone who thinks they’re better than they think they are. When they say yes when they should have said no, the entire campus pays the price. Think carefully before picking your campus worship director, because they need to be a leader as well as a musician.

4. Every time you add another campus it gets a little tougher. We’ve reached the point where sending is no longer an option because we’ve sent everyone who could be sent. This means you will have to raise up local musicians. This can take time so be prepared to be frustrated for a season.

5. Not many visitors will ever get past bad worship. That doesn’t mean you have to have perfect worship from day one, but no worship is better than bad worship. Thats where Pastor Joey comes in for us, he will spend eight weeks at a new campus putting a worship team together. What makes this work for us is he can do great worship great with just him and his guitar, which allows us some time to gather musicians together.

6. Good worship doesn’t necessarily mean a full blown band, it means what ever you do have is quality. Pastor Joey with a guitar and a mic, is great worship! Don’t move to fast in an attempt to get to much too soon only to have a mess on Sunday.

As you read this remember this comes from a MS vision that is reaching small town Texas with campuses running around 300 or so. Churches are starting large MS campuses with full staffs which usually include a full time worship director/pastor, which is awesome if you can do that, but many churches are doing things on a much smaller scale and thats who will hopefully get something out of this series of posts.

Hope this helps someone! I’m easy to contact is you have questions. johncatkinson on Twitter, and jccatkinson@gmail.com via email.

Never Quit Praying

Recently I had a prayer answered that I have been praying about for ten years. This is a very big prayer, but also very personal, so I won’t share exactly what it is, but if I’m honest, it’s also a prayer I had begun to maybe doubt God a little on. Makes me feel kind of yucky inside to even say that, and I’m not proud of it, but honestly thats the truth. Going through this reminded me a few things.

 

1. God never got tired of hearing my prayers.

2. God was working on this situation whether I knew it or not.

3. God didn’t need me to make it happen, so thats why He didn’t tell me about it.

4. And last but not least, as Pastor Sergio De La Mora said when he as here recently, God isn’t just in the blessings of our lives, He’s in the messes too.

You would think as a pastor I wouldn’t ever give up on God, but when it’s all said and done, I’m just a guy living in a broken world trying his best to grow closer to Christ each day, just like everyone else. Sometimes that means God has to remind me once again, just exactly who He really is. Thank you God for the constant reminders. I’ll go out right now and replace that brick so the load won’t be shy any longer

John