You don’t have to be a long-time reader to know I’m frustrated with Christianity in this country.

I’m tired of expensive buildings and the capital campaigns to pay for them. I’m tired of huge staffs and routine services and “the church has left the building” (for one day) and maybe-effective programs like VBS (can I say that on a Standard blog?). I’m tired of people who claim to be Christians but have no idea what they believe or why.

Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me. Long-time readers also know I can overthink things and be critical. (It’s amazing any of you still read this blog, actually.)

Are my expectations too high? Is the church we have now what God intended? Does anyone else feel this way?

Apparently at least two others do, and I got to chat with them last week.



Ashley Wooldridge, executive pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley, shared how CCV completely overhauled its structure by dividing up their entire area into neighborhoods and asking people to build relationships with other CCV attenders right on their street and in their subdivision instead of driving across town for a small group.

But the goal wasn’t more convenient Bible studies; group members are expected to get to know the neighbors around them and own the responsibility for service and outreach in that neighborhood. Groups work together to meet that specific neighborhood’s needs: they provide meals for new mothers and grieving families, help with home renovation projects, organize neighborhood picnics, give groceries to the unemployed, and even collect money for a neighbor’s medical bills or a rehab stay.

(Interesting side note: despite huge growth and a merge with another megachurch earlier this year, CCV’s benevolence budget has not increased.)


On the other side of the country, RiverTree Christian Church is revamping its strategy around “GoCos”–Go Communities ranging from 20 to 70 people, each one committed to reaching a different group. The church will launch 30 of these this fall, but already a few are gathering at the local country club and among the area’s itinerant Mexican farmers. Each group has a leader who’s trained and coached by RiverTree pastors, but each one is also encouraged to function as its own small part of the body and reproduce itself.

Senior pastor Greg Nettle sees this as the way to truly grow; the church recently passed up the opportunity to buy the huge plot of land and build the huge building to focus on this—a strategy that doesn’t require much meeting space and could potentially affect many more people. These folks may or may not ever attend worship at RiverTree, but worship attendance is (finally!) no longer the ultimate measure of success in reaching a community.


I’m not blogging about this to pick on church again; instead, I want to celebrate some churches willing to try different models. Both are more difficult, time-consuming and risky than church as usual. The results of both are harder to measure. And both challenge people to move from consumers of a weekly show to participants in the mission of the church.


Are these approaches a “better” way to do church? I don’t know. But they sure look more like the first church than what the rest of us are doing.

Filed under: people, RM, the church Tagged: Ashley Wooldridge, christ's church of the valley, Greg Nettle, missional, missional Christianity, RiverTree Christian

Last week I was asked to contribute to “The 100 Best Externally Focused Ideas of 2011,” a downloadable resource that will be available this fall.

These ideas cover a range of categories: adoption and foster care, tutoring and mentoring, prison ministry and crime prevention, homelessness, hunger, single moms and crisis pregnancy, business as mission, health care, elderly and widows, public servants and city government, refugees and cross-cultural, special needs, human trafficking, mobilizing college students, families serving together, and more.

So I spent some time this weekend reviewing the last year of Buzz columns and thinking about the various churches I’ve learned about through work with Visioneering, the Association of Related Churches and the NACC.

It was encouraging to come across so many great examples:  the Refuge Medical Clinics developed by Southland…..”God Behind Bars” with Central in Vegas……My Safe Harbor with First Christian in Anaheim…..Cartwheels & Coffee at Area 10. I came up with two dozen examples to write about.


But that means we need about 75 more. (Do not ask me to do more difficult math than this.)

So think about the categories listed above and the churches you know—who’s doing something to make a difference in their community or around the world? Who’s created a program other churches might want to try? This resource will be a great way to get the word out about innovative approaches to outreach, and it might even inspire the people who read it to do something new.

Don’t be shy—leave a note in the comments with the basic info, or email me (jen@seejenwrite.com) with more information. The person who provides the most examples we use for the list will receive a copy of The Externally Focused Quest: Becoming the Best Church for the Community and, when it’s available, a copy of the complete list. AND my eternal gratitude.

Filed under: resources, RM, the church, work Tagged: Area 10 Richmond, Cartwheels and Coffee, Central Christian Church, externally focused, First Christian Church Anaheim, God behind bars, My Safe Harbor, refuge clinics, Southland Christian Church, The Externally Focused Quest

Last week a megachurch that has faithfully subscribed to Christian Standard for years decided to cancel their subscription because of a few recent articles from the “In Opinions, Liberty” column.

To call this ironic is an understatement.

The whole point of this new feature is to spark discussion on ideas in the spirit of the “in essentials, unity” slogan we like to quote. But instead of welcoming thoughtful dialogue on some non-essentials, this Christian church apparently wants to shield its members from thinking about them. And I’m appalled—not as a Standard Publishing girl, but as a believer.


For one thing, it’s a perfect example of the parent/child relationship that tells Christians what to think, not how. Do we discourage people from thinking critically because the ensuing discussions are too much work? Or is it because we’re afraid of the conclusions they may reach?

Aren’t we part of that whole “truth will set you free” thing?

Or perhaps it’s the topics recently covered in the column: Giving more money to global missions. Rethinking the need for expensive church buildings. Studying the doctrine of hell. Working for unity. Cultivating a global worldview. The effectiveness (or not) of small groups.

People are already talking about many of these issues. Others need to be talked about (and just might lead to changes the minister and elders would love to see). Church leaders can either ignore this reality or proactively provide resources that offer a Bible-based perspective. If we’re going to treat church members as children, let’s at least encourage “the kids” to explore risky topics with us.


Whether it’s reluctance to have the messy conversations or lack of faith in the brain power of its members, I’m disappointed by this church’s decision. But I think Christian Standard should feel a certain pride in its recent brush with censorship. When people opposed to thought find you too dangerous, it just might be a sign you’re doing something right.

Filed under: holy crap!, opinions, resources, RM, the church Tagged: censorship, christian standard, critical thinking

“Do you work at this booth or are you just standing here?”

“I’d like someone to do that arrangement of hymns at my funeral.”

“Why is there an exhibitor selling candied pecans?”

“Those Westboro folks really need to get a hobby.”




“I figure if I preach so women and children can understand it, then anyone can understand it.”

“There are 7,000 people at this convention and 5,000 of them are in line at Graeter’s.”

“That’s a LOT of letters in the front of the program book.”

“Wanna go to the workshop on global poverty or should we get a snack?”


“Who were you talking to over there?” 

“No idea. But he seemed to know me.”


“Of course it’s hot—it’s NACC week.”

“I just realized my shirt is on backwards.”

“I don’t remember a traffic jam this bad since an Oak Ridge Boys and Olivia Newton John concert in the early 80s.”

“Dudley/Daryl/Greg/Dave/Phil/Jeff/Francis/Jeff’s sermon was great, wasn’t it?”


“Florida sounds fun.”

Filed under: lists, RM Tagged: Dudley Rutherford, nacc, North American Christian Convention

One of the many hats I wear is content manager/editor for Christian Church Today. This site includes news and blog posts from Christian church leaders, a short info article about these churches adapted from Christian Standard, a jobs board, and other features.

But the most popular page on the site is the Locator. Type in a church and find its address and phone number—maybe even a staff listing if someone from the church has emailed me recently with the latest news. Or type in a city and find all the Christian churches in that area. It’s a handy tool that’s used a lot.

Last week I received an email via the site from a guy (we’ll call him Chris) who wanted to add his church. The church’s website indicated it was affiliated with, or was perhaps even a campus of, North Point in Atlanta. I wrote him back.

“Thanks for your email. Wanted to clarify that on CCT we list churches affiliating with the Restoration Movement. That’s not to be exclusive or denominational—although I realize it may sound that way—it’s just that the specific mission of the site is to serve this group of churches and be a directory for them.”

He wrote me back.

“I went to Restoration schools and worked for a Christian church and that church helped plant the new church. What defines a Christian church enough to make the listing? I am a Christian church guy, and I planted a church.”

Filed under: people, RM, the church, work Tagged: Christian Church Today, Christian churches, denominations, independent Christian churches, Restoration Movement