Great Stuff!

I like Ed, I enjoy watching him use his giftings for the Lord and how he is challenging people like me to take the leap from the way it always has been done to reinventing new ways to communicate the Gospel. 

Thanks for sharing his stuff with us Todd.

Ive recently been exposed to Ed and he is definately a great communicator of God’s word. Ive enjoyed his style of bringing across the message of the Word of God. Thanks for sharing this article. Good stuff.

My church has struggled for years with this exact problem and it seems that we can never get any more commited disciples we seem to get a couple and lose a couple. But this is inspiring to me and i definately want to apply these thoughts.

Thanks again.

Tony,
I had the same question myself but came to the understanding that sometimes we get creative people in our midst and its clear where they can serve and how they can be effective, creative leaders.
But more often i believe we ask God to give us wisdom in teaching the freedom to use one’s own mind and thoughts driven by God to lead us and fellow leaders.

Some may be afraid to lead creatively. Some may think if they don’t see there idea with some “holy” light around it then they just don’t offer it. Some feel oppressed by leadership and or traditions.

So i guess creative leadership comes with the encouragement of exsisting or new leaders to be exactly that! Creative!

Hope this helps......

Frank

“Inspirational McMessage, fun-filled McChildcare, heartwarming McMusic, sensational McProgramming” –

Ed is a very successful McCreator and purveyor of McChurch.  Had Noah been a McChurch guy-- There would not have been room on the boat for the animals!

Have a Blessed day!
Jim

Interesting comment Jim, but make it plain. What are you saying?

I’m not as blunt as Jim is, but I think he might have a point.  Doesn’t the emphasis on creativity cater to the consumer mindset?  It’s like the same old marketing line - “NEW AND IMPROVED!”

I admire the passion here, but the message makes me sad.  Are we saying that the Gospel isn’t enough?  That somehow we must enhance the message to make it more attractive?  It would seem that living and sharing the Gospel message authentically would be both radical and creative in this world in which we live!

I don’t think God tells us to grow his church, but I do find make disciples, equip them for ministry, and turn them loose in the world. We are to cry out like Isaiah, here am I send me, and it is God that adds to our number those daily that are being saved.

The key measures are not the size of the church or how many satellite locations you have, but rather how many faith commitments/baptisms, % involved in small group participation, how many know and are using their spiritual gifts, and how many have been sent out. If you are not doing those things, you need seriously think about what you are doing. Creativity is just one tool in the arsenal; it is not the end all.

Personally, I am hoping Ed will write a creative book about how to raise up and send out pastors to start new churches!

Richard

Amen, Amy. Let’s genuinely live out the Gospel and preach the unaltered Word of God with passion that comes forth from a life lived for God.

Are we trying to fill auditoriums or fill genuine beleivers hearts with the Spirit of God? I know that some would say both are possibel, but I am not sure that it is.

We instruct people to ‘ask Jesus into their heart’ and then criticize them for an emotionally based faith.

We promote a doctrine of ‘going to church’ and then criticize our followers for only ‘going to church’.

We have created a generation who comes to have their ears itched because we have basically itched their ears and then we criticize them for wanting their ears itched.  Come on Ed, the megachurch is McDonalds.  Please admit it and live with it.  How dare you criticize the speck in your diciples eyes when there is a board in your own?

Come on church—there is not tooooo many differences in what the first century church faced. They went through the same with life threatening threats to their lives due to their position.  You could best believe that there were many (in the first century) who dipped their ears toward the message and were challenged to accept the truth.

Fortunately for us we do not experience the same threats but we should still be PREACHING the WORD, not preach about the Word or tickel the ears.  Look at Peters first speech at Pentecost in Acts two.  He quoted Scripture out of Joel, explained the events, put relevance to Christ’s heritage through King David, and called for a response to the WORD who is the Christ.

McChurch, watered down gospel, seeker sensitive, and all the terms used today still deal with people who NEED the TRUTH of the WORD as much today as they needed it in the first century. Any design to reach people without preaching the WORD (not preaching about the WORD) will have the same growing effect on a church that will be filled with people because they are not being offended by the WORD and allowing it to cut deep into the hearts (soul) of the hearer!  There I said it!!!!!!

It is not the NEXT book (forgive me Ed) that will turn people around so they will make the Church their home!  It is not the tele evangelists! It is not the size of our building, the size of our congregation, or the programs you may have in that building called “church!”

It is however—the WORD!  We are to busy in our churches today preaching “funny, tickel the ears, make them laugh, promote our programs, don’t offend them please messages, that we FORGET to “PREACH THE WORD”

I know this is not going over big with many that read this because many have been weaned from that type church because the “mega church pastor” must be doing something right and out of that church comes more of the same.  This is not true of all mega churches so please do not think I am putting them in the same boat.

You know that people today are easily offended by the TRUTH of the Word but it is the TRUTH of the Word that manke us free, not the size of our church or the best read author of books.  The Bible is still the #1 seller—WHY?

For me, It is the WORD of God in me that made a difference in my life, and I know it is the same for all who believe.

Let’s promote the WORD more and direct people to read it FIRST.  Then when they read Ed’s next book they migh have some understanding of God’s position because His position and His PRESENCE in us is the only one who truly makes a difference.

PREACH the WORD!

Blessings

McChurch culture?  The culture and the church are supposed to be radically different.  Paul spoke about his foolish preaching in the power of the Spirit that changed lives in 1 Corinthians.  His culture demanded eloquent public speakers and he was not.  He did know the various cultures he was sent to evangelize.  He used the synagogue to reach Jews and the open forum of Athens to reach the Greeks.  He used military terms in Ephesians 6 (the armor of God) probably because he was witnessing to the Roman soldiers.  We do need wise use of creativity in communication.  I agree there.  The challenge is finding the common points of contact where we can preach the uncompromising Gospel, let the Spirit convict/save, and then move forward in discipleship.  Jesus’ focus was on discipleship in Matt. 28:19-20.  Our difference is supposed to help draw people to us in relationships with God and each other.  That does require some creativity in expressing love.  It does not always have to be technology - just thinking outside the box to express love and still declare the Gospel.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Dan

Pride, prejudice, and paradigm has always been the most difficult to overcome in the church. Perhaps this creative leadership is another method for attempting to overcome these inherent evils and get people committed to love. What leader in the church today has the same paradigm of love as Jesus?