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Next generation pastors are finding the same realities as their predecessors when it comes to building a deepening relationship with God:
Without a meaningful devotional life, the ministries of these influential church leaders in their 30s are dry and lifeless. But the constant and enormous demands of leadership regularly threaten to crowd out their time with God.
"I wonder if other pastors struggle with their devotional lives as much as I do," lamented one pastor. "Sometimes it's rich and real, but often it feels like I'm just going through the motions. There has to be more to it than what I'm experiencing.
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"I'm sure God wants my times with him to be much closer and much deeper than they are right now."
These emerging church leaders who are growing in impact across the U.S. long for God to touch their hearts day in and day out, but they resist legalistic demands. They know that misconceptions about connecting with God can dampen the flame of desire, and that the most meaningful relationships are celebrations of affection--not rigidly observed traditions.
"I don't tell my wife I'm going to spend 20 minutes with her doing one thing and then 20 minutes doing something else, and call that a 'relationship,'" says Les Hughes, pastor of Westwood Baptist Church (Alabaster, AL). "It's much more fluid, more varied, and more about understanding and communicating our hearts than going through some arbitrary motions."
"In relationships with people, sometimes I'm talking, and sometimes I'm listening, and sometimes we're just together and nobody is talking. I'm trying to cultivate that kind of relationship with God."
Next generation pastors are deeply committed to God, and they want their ministries to flow out of a heart that is full of God's truth, mercy and power. Though the fundamental ingredients of Bible reading, reflection, and prayer are common in virtually every model of devotional life, they take widely varied forms.
Noel Heikkinen, pastor of Riverview Church in Holt, MI explains that some of the spiritual disciplines used for centuries simply don't fit his personality: “I'm such an extrovert that solitude can actually become a destructive discipline for me if I'm not careful. When I'm alone . . . |
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Lead like Jesus Revolution Simulcast
God has something planned . . . and it's bigger than you think! How do you lead? Who will you follow? The answer to those two questions will change your life and the lives of those you influence. The great philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and others said, "Follow my teaching." Jesus is the only one who said, "Follow me."
Sobering News from the Front Lines
A national study of evangelism in seven mainline denominations presents a sobering conclusion for those groups: Very few are reaching unchurched adults.
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Online Networking Almost Passes TV Viewing
Social networking has become a way of life for the younger generation. It's so prevalent that 9- to 17-year-olds report spending nearly as much time using social networking services and websites as they spend watching television: 9 hours a week of networking compared to 10 hours of television. |
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At-Cost Congregational Profile Available
Large-attendance churches that want a current profile of their congregation are invited to participate in a low-cost opportunity that includes a wide-ranging demographic and spiritual snapshot of their congregation.
The profile also includes data analysis by two experts, comparison data on other large churches and a copy of their own church's raw data so church leaders can do further study.
For a sample of the preliminary findings, testimonials, the actual survey, price and other information, click "more information" below.
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Third Place Comes to Church
By Lois Swagerty
Today's churches are developing strategies that are innovative and missional to reach a group of people who might not be churchgoers, but who are attracted to a nonreligious venue for coffee, lunch, play dates, workouts, or concerts.
This resource highlights some of the ways churches are intentional about "third places" where followers of Christ are hanging out with spiritual seekers.
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