Northwest Conference Leader

In his novel "Who Stole My Church?," Gordon MacDonald addresses that pain and the necessary changes that cause it. In his preface, he tells of a conversation he had with a man who was disturbed by the changes that were taking place in a church where he had been involved for most of his adult years; new technology, different preaching styles, and the replacement of traditional music with contemporary forms. His solution to the problem? Leave and search for another church that appreciated the older and "better" church ways his generation was familiar and comfortable with.

MacDonald continues, "My parting comment was something like this, 'You need to think about the fact that any church that has not turned its face toward the younger generation and the new challenges of reaching un-churched people in this world will simply cease to exist. We're not talking decades-we're talking just a few years."

MacDonald writes as the pastor of this fictional evangelical congregation in New England who, after a very stormy business meeting, invites 15 people from the so-called "builder" and "boomer" generations of his congregation to discuss their concerns with him. In the subsequent meetings, the pastor gives them and the reader an interesting history of the changes which have taken place in church life down through many years, as Christians have reinvented the way they do church life, but remained faithful to their core beliefs. He brings us from the days of Constantine, St. Patrick and St. Francis, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and D.L. Moody up to the modern day.

"We talked about this story of life-changing events in the church and how each change reflected situations unique to that particular time."

When the church became a place for the privileged class and ignored the people in the factory towns, Wesley said he would go to the poor and preach outside the factories, "in such a way, and to such an extent, as never had been done before since the Apostolic age." D.L. Moody, as well as William and Catherine Booth, also faced opposition as they used innovative ways to bring Christ to the masses. The pastor closes one meeting with a quote attributed to Jack Welch, a former CEO of GE: "When the rate of change inside an organization is slower than the rate of change outside an organization, the end [of that organization] is in sight."

MacDonald's pastor states that the American church has gone to war four times over music:

Some churches in New England even split when Isaac Watts ' hymns were introduced.
Fanny Crosby wrote songs that reflected the individual conversion experience, many of which were written at the request of Moody and Sankey for their revival meetings. Some people walked out of their meetings crying out, "You're singing human hymns." They insisted that the only songs worth singing were psalms-or those written by Isaac Watts!The third war took place in the 1920s when Paul Rader encouraged young musicians to write choruses instead of standard gospel songs. From the South also came gospel music sung by quartets.
"As I talked about these early 20th Century forms of music, I could tell that no one in the group had thought about where the music they loved had come from. It hadn't occurred to them that it came from earlier generations eager to touch the souls of people both inside and outside the Christian movement. They just assumed it had always been there."
Contemporary music, which comes from various sources-jazz, country and western, soul music, rock 'n' roll and all the styles that have followed it, first came on the scene in 1969.

In the book, these meetings continue over many months. At one meeting, the young people on the worship team meet with the discussion group, and both share their different viewpoints but their common love for the church. You have to read the book to discover "the rest of the story." (By the way, you may find yourself in some of these pages!)

MacDonald writes: "My hope for this book is that it would spark dialogue among people of all generations who love the church. I would be grateful if the book would convince younger generations of church leaders to be more sensitive to the older generation and their thoughts. Conversely, I have a passion that older Christians would be led ... to understand why many things about the way we have made church work must change and reflect new realities."

A good study guide/group discussion resource is also included in the book.

14 days until Thrive ND!

Greetings Pastors, Church Leaders and Influencers,

It is coming quickly - THRIVE ND!

Oct. 15-16 // Friday 7 to 9 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

I cannot encourage you enough to take advantage of this opportunity to help your people be equipped and inspired for ministry and their spiritual lives. To help your people THRIVE!

THRIVE 2010 logo The number and variety of the BREAKOUT Sessions has been growing steadily. I am so excited about what is going to be offered. If you have not looked at the various sessions, take a few moments - it will motivate you to encourage the people you influence to register.

At HOPE Church we put the entire list of classes in our worship folder this past Sunday. I watched as people began circling ones they were interested in attending. If you would like a PDF form of the BREAKOUTS we could get an electronic copy to you to make available.

Dinner for Pastors (invitation only): From MONVEE (Mark Bankford, Heartland Church in Rockford) on Spiritual Formation. Dinner will take place before the conference begins. Contact Paul Knight directly if you are interested in attending.

Paul Knight

HOPE Church

218-779-1379

Expanded information on THRIVE ND, and a link to online registration, is available on the NWC website.

Communications Corner
What would be helpful?

By Bryan Malley

As I prepare to present on the topic of church communication at both THRIVE ND in October, and CONVERGE in November, I have realized that I have a lot of ideas about what kinds of things I think you need to know. It also occurred to me that maybe what would be most helpful is if I allowed feedback from you about potential topics we should touch on during the presentations.

I plan to touch briefly on why communication matters, thoughts about forming a team, branding, logo design, website design, print promotions, email newsletters, and social media tools. If there are burning topics that I've overlooked, please drop me a line at bryan@nwc-cov.org to make a suggestion.

In the meantime, here's an article I found helpful and interesting this week: Repurposing Content for Maximum Impact.

CONVERGE Leadership Training workshops cover a range of topics for your church leaders

November 13, 2010 // 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Roseville Covenant Church // Roseville, MN

Because of our commitment to leadership, both pastoral and lay, we are intentional about providing learning opportunities throughout the year to engage, empower, and equip those serving in leader roles within conference churches. Therefore, this fall we are offering one such opportunity to our churches by sponsoring a one-day training event called CONVERGE ... a selection of workshops that are intended to provide participants with practical and innovative resources for use within their local churches.

Workshops:
Effective Church Finances
Sandy Norris, Owner of Counting House and Associate Pastor of Operations at Sanctuary Covenant Church

Developing a Powerful Communications Strategy for Your Church
Bryan Malley, Northwest Conference Director of Communications

MissionInsite: Practical training with a new demographic instrument for NWC churches
Mike Brown, Northwest Conference Director of Church Planting

How to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Church Programs
Tom Watkins, Director, Arrow Research

Church Constitutions and Local Church Governance
Mark Stromberg, Northwest Conference Associate Superintendent

Exploring Community Mission: Reaching Your Jerusalem
Jon Kramka, Northwest Conference Director of Mission Development

KidShift: It's a New Day for Children & Family Ministry in Today's Effective Church
Suzanne Elliot, Children's Pastor at The Gallery Covenant Church

Registration:
Lunch will be included with each registration. The cost for the event will be $15/person with a maximum total cost per church of $100.

Coming Together
A Leadership Conference for Multicultural Ministry

Friday, Oct. 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Grace Church Roseville

Coming Together 2010 logo
Samuel Rodriguez will be the keynote speaker at the 3rd annual Coming Together conference presented by the Minnesoa Association of Evangelicals.

Watch this video segment of Rodriguez preaching at Promise Keepers to learn more about this inspirational leader of America's Hispanic evangelicals.

His keynote message will be "Hispanic Christianity and the Future of American Evangelicalism: a vision of the future Church rooted in the Bible and on Jesus Christ, that reconciles cultures and is committed to both justice & righteousness."

He and authors Jenny Hwang and Matthew Soerens will also lead the closing session "The Washington Discussion: an insider's update of evangelicals' efforts to reform immigration."

Rodriguez recently contributed to a discussion in Christianity Today regarding an evangelical perspective on Reforming Immigration: Assimilate Justly, ( read it here).

More About the Speaker
Rev. Samuel Rodriquez has been named one of the "7 most influential Hispanic leaders" in America. As President of the NHCLC that represents 16 million Hispanic Christians, Rodriguez boldly proclaims, "We want Hispanics to be the forerunners, and preservers, of our Christian faith" in America.

He meets frequently with members of congress, and participates in White House meetings, advocating on issues of justice, family values and immigration on behalf of Hispanic evangelicals.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, National Association of Evangelicals, and Christianity Today. He also serves on the advisory Board of the National Campaign to Reduce Teen Pregnancy and Pro Life initiatives with various coalitions.

More
Visit the conference website www.comingtogethertc.org to register, and to learn more about speakers and the conference.

Conference Theme
Who is My Neighbor? We live in a growing cultural mosaic. This conference is designed to help us learn more about our neighbors so that we can build Christian community with them. The NWC is co-sponsoring this 3rd annual event, which is designed to help Christian leaders lead churches and organizations in the 21st century.

Online registration is $39.

Recharge 2011 registration is now open!
Keynote Speaker: Duffy Robbins

The Recharge team, which includes the Northwest Conference, desires to provide a day of inspiration that equips you and your ministry team. For that reason, we've invited some excellent children, youth, and family ministers to speak. Here's a little taste of what's to come at Recharge!

Duffy, A nationally known ministry veteran, is excited to encourage and affirm people who share his passion of ministering to kids!

Find all the speakers online!

You spoke, we listened. You shared the desire for a tool to give your team and others that is easy to email and print. Well, here you go!

Share this exciting opportunity with your team!

Thanks for pouring your heart into kids!
-the Recharge Team

What is your (church's) legacy?

By Kevin Lawson

At Covenant Trust our tag line is "What is Your Legacy?" and that perfectly describes our vision, which is to awaken people to the significance of stewardship though legacy planning and financial management. We have representatives across the country to meet with individuals to help them put a plan together to ultimately determine their "legacy."

The question I would ask you as leaders in Covenant churches and ministries across the Northwest Conference is this: What have you done to help ensure the legacy of your church or ministry?

October is Legacy Planning month throughout the Covenant. This is a perfect opportunity to take an active step toward emphasizing the importance of legacy planning in your church.

Here are a few ideas:

Sponsor a Covenant Trust Company legacy planning workshop.
Share with your people how important legacy gifts are to your ministry; give an example of what you have done or could do with legacy gifts
Use the Covenant Trust Company booklet "What is your ministry's legacy?" as the basis for a meeting with your board about how you can encourage additional legacy gifts to your ministry
Include a reminder in every bulletin insert and publication during October about including your ministry for a legacy gift
Review your own Legacy plan and encourage leaders in your church or ministry to do the same.

Covenant Trust Company works with individuals and families in developing their legacy plan to include future gifts and bequests to conferences, conference ministries and local churches. We are currently aware of over $10 million that is designated for churches and ministries right here in the Northwest Conference. Most of these future gifts came about as a result of a local Covenant Church offering a Legacy Planning Workshop and allowing Covenant Trust to share how we can help individuals and families meet their financial goals and charitable dreams.

If you are interested in getting more information about scheduling a workshop at your church, or to find out how much is currently designated for your ministry, please contact me at 1-877-222-3960 or kelawson@covenanttrust.com.

If you are interested in learning more about Covenant Trust Company, I would invite you to attend a presentation by our President, Chuck Walles, at Covenant Village of Golden Valley on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. Chuck will be speaking about the Past, Present and Future of Covenant Trust Company and it will be a great opportunity to hear about how our organization has grown over the years and how we are positioned to serve as a resource to the Northwest Conference churches and ministries for years to come. There will also be a reception to honor Chuck following the presentation to celebrate his ministry with Covenant Trust over the past 19 years.

Video series highlights ministry priorities of the NWC

The Northwest Conference recently released a series of video segments designed to highlight ministry priorities of the conference, including: "Congregational Vitality," "Church Planting" and "Children, Youth & Family." Each video features interview segments with NWC staff, lay leaders and pastors-intermixed with photos and video footage from the churches highlighted-telling stories of how the conference has influenced and aided ministry on the local level.

The videos are designed for use throughout the year in church new member classes, services and other adult education opportunities to help congregations better understand and engage the work of the Northwest Conference.

Each church's delegates left the NWC 2010 Annual Meeting with a DVD copy of the videos. Because of the range of DVD players and technologies available in our churches, we are aware that the DVD copies may not work perfectly in all instances.

The series is currently available on the new NWC web site's video page. The videos are also available in even higher definition on Vimeo (click here) and this would be the ideal source for streaming the series in your church or group.

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