3 REASONS I'M DONE CRITICIZING THE CHURCH

In some circles today it’s cool to criticize the church. Search social media and soon you’ll find someone upset because they say the church has failed them. Some have even walked away. In fact, most readers of this blog know at least one person who has decided to leave church altogether.

Obviously, the critics are not totally wrong. Attend church long enough and you’re sure to bump up against adultery, jealousy, lying, or just general unpleasantness among folks who are supposed to be redeemed.

I get it. Sometimes someone will say to me, “It must be wonderful to work at the church, doing God’s work all day every day.” Well, it certainly is gratifying to partner with God in his activity on earth. But it’s not for the faint of heart. Spiritual healing is like physical healing: sometimes it means cleaning messy wounds, draining ugly infection, watching for many months (or years) while disabled people slowly hobble along until their brokenness has mended.

So I could tell you plenty of reasons to criticize the church. But I’m committed not to join the critics, for at least three reasons.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageDecember 9, 2020church, criticizing, complain, leading, leader, leadership, leadership struggle, stop, bride, hope, jesus, loveComment

WILL YOU CHOOSE CALLING OVER COMFORT?

Several years ago, I had a friend who believed God was calling him to serve as a missionary in a Two-Thirds World country. He and his wife prayed about this for a year, alone and with their kids. (The oldest was eight years old and youngest was 2.)

He continued to feel confident of God’s call to this change, so he quit his job, raised funds, sold possessions, packed up belongings, and moved. I traveled to see him and his family about six months later, and my friend told me, “I think God is calling us back to the United States.” I was convinced about his claim of a call to leave home. I wasn’t so sure God was calling him to return.

I thought about this incident this week after reflecting on my final message in our church’s Dangerous Prayer series. This dangerous prayer was, “Lord, send me.” It seems my friend had prayed this prayer. But still I wonder if he accurately discerned God’s answer. What happens when we pray, “Send me”?

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageDecember 2, 2020comfort, calling, comfortable, telephone, difficult, home, stay, sending, send, stay home, fresh, morning, boredom, breakthroughComment

STOP INVITING PEOPLE TO CHURCH

You are wondering if you read that title right. It is not a typo. Let me explain. If there’s one way the post-Covid church must be different than the pre-Covid church, it’s this: We must move from invitation to infiltration.

We must infiltrate because Jesus commanded it. He told us “Go [actually, as you go] into all the world and make disciples.” The place for disciple-making is the everyday worlds of the people who need to know about Jesus. Coming to church on Sunday morning isn’t even on their radar. Our only hope—and their only hope—is for us to go where they are. Who will show them Jesus if someone doesn’t take him to where they are?

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageNovember 25, 2020church, invitation, bar, bourbon, lesbian, pastor, pastors, infiltration, jesus, Jesus, covid, pre-covid, post-covid, strategy, scandalComment

EVERY CHURCH IS NOW A CHURCH PLANT

As every aspect of our daily lives is being reconsidered and refashioned by the pandemic, churches are rethinking their futures, too.

Or at least they should be. But I’m afraid some are anticipating the days ahead only with a vision of the years behind. And I’m convinced this just won’t work.

My thinking on this was influenced by the recent mentoring retreat I attended with Cal Jernigan. As I’ve mentioned before, I get together several times a year with Cal and five other preachers to talk about our lives and ministries. This November the talk naturally included discussions of Covid-19’s impact on the work of the local church. Cal encouraged us to think of our ministries in terms of Pre-Covid, Covid, and Post-Covid. And he helped us realize that Post-Covid ministry will look altogether different than the Pre version.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageNovember 18, 2020church, covid, corona, pandemic, church plant, exhaustion, exhausted, overcoming, new, fresh, starting, pursue, pre-covid, post-covid, possibility, 2021, 2020Comment

WHAT IF YOUR SCARS COULD BRING HEALING?

A local radio DJ recovering from brain surgery spoke this week about a man he met in a store where he and his wife were shopping. “Look,” she said. “That guy has a head scar just like yours. Go talk to him.” The DJ discovered this stranger had undergone the same surgery as he had—by the same doctor in the same hospital. They had an immediate bond, and it started with their scars.

This is an extreme example, but it isn’t all that unusual. Get a group of men together, and they’re often showing off their scars. Each one is proof of their bravery or bravado: a cut hand, a bruised forehead, a gash on the leg. Sometimes the guys will just admit a clumsy fall or a foolish risk. The group gets a good laugh, and the bond between them grows stronger. Women, too, will compare the scars from their Caesarean sections or other surgeries, even if they don’t show them off. Describing their common scars brings them closer to each other.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageNovember 11, 2020scars, hidden, hide, perfection, church, help, depression, anxiety, perfect, life, live, healingComment

Trevor DeVage

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