bob thoughts

only 10%

I bet you thought I was talking about money again.

By 2050, Only 10% of Americans will be in church on a given sunday…

Orginally published on Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 9:21 AM
by Todd Rhoades

According to an article in the Religion News Service: Booming megachurches might grab headlines, but the bigger story of American congregations is one of accelerating decline, according to David T. Olson, director of the American Church Research Project. Based on data collected from more than 200,000 churches, he projects that by 2050, only 10 percent of Americans will be in church on any given Sunday.

So... why is the American church in crisis? Olson says: The big problem is America continues to grow in terms of population, but the percentage of Americans attending church on any given weekend keeps declining. In 1990, it was 20.4 percent. In 2000, it was 18.7. In 2007, it was 17...

Some other questions/answers:

Q: Why is church attendance such a critical factor to measure?

A: Part of following Jesus is being connected in an authentic, consistent way with a group of Christians so that it’s not just an individualistic act. It’s a communal relationship with accountability. So when I see that percentage going down, it lets me know that the number of people following Jesus in that way is diminishing in America.

Q: Are certain types of churches faring better than others?

A: Yes. Since 2001 especially, mainline and Catholic churches have been experiencing severe decline. They are declining much faster than they were in the 1990s. Evangelicals are still growing numerically, but that numeric growth is not keeping up with population growth.

Q: What accounts for the decline that you’re describing?

A: Churches tend to stay pretty stable. So even though the community around them may be growing or be in transition with new people coming in regularly, churches often don’t notice those things happening and are pretty happy to just stay the same. From 1990 to 2006, there were 68 million new births in America and a net gain of 23 million immigrants, but churches a lot of times are really not looking outside their doors to think about how to connect with those new Americans.

outcomes vs. inputs

I haven't had time to post much because I've been at a conference in Atlanta. Here is an interesting post I just ran across from Mark Batterson.

Outcomes vs. Inputs

I'm at a place in my life where I don't care about outcomes. I'm focused on inputs. I don't care about extrinsics. I'm focused on intrinsics. If we simply do the right things, God is going to bless it. Period.

Throughout my ministry, I've found that when I focus on numbers I get easily discouraged or distracted. Numbers can easily become more important than people. And it generally leads toward pride or jealousy. And what we need to do is refocus on doing the rights things: meditate on God's word, pray through, obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, genuinely love people. And when you do the right things, everything takes care of itself.

To put it another way, I'm not concerned about church growth. I'm concerned about personal growth. And if you're experiencing personal growth, church growth will take care of itself.

I feel like God gave me a promise today while I was praying. I'm careful sharing things like these. I didn't hear an audible voice. I never have! But God speaks Spirit to spirit. And I felt like the Lord impressed this simple thought on me: if you pray twice as much you'll accomplish twice as much. I think sometimes ministry becomes a hamster's wheel. We do more and accomplish less. On one level we think, if I pray more I'll have less time to do what needs to be done. But if you pray, maybe it'll take half as long.

Here's what I'm getting at. I feel like the Lord was saying: write less and pray more. Same with preaching prep. I'm not saying you shouldn't study, but what do you think will have more impact? Twenty hours of study? Or fifteen hours of study plus five hours of prayer?

10 things I've learned from being a parent

I have learned way more than ten things but ten looks nice on paper (screen). I have also learned more from my kids than they have learned from me and maybe that can be a post someday.

1. Parenting is the hardest job anyone could ever have.

2. Parenting is the most rewarding job you could ever have.

3. It is difficult to admit your mistakes to your kids but when you do everyone is better for it.

4. There is a very fine line between freedom and discipline - too much of either and relationships are damaged.

5. If I only focus on the outcome I may miss the most important part - the process.

6. I need to have a plan and be intentional. If I don't then I miss way too many opportunities to be a good parent.

7. I need to use both WORDS and ACTIONS to express how proud I am and how much I love my kids.

8. Time is so valuable and it most be spent wisely.

9. My kids learn more from just being around me than from me teaching them. This can be good and bad.

10. The things I've learned from being a parent can also be applied to other areas of my life.

DJ & Emmy I love you and I'm very proud of you!

best gift ever

What's your best gift ever?

Not one that you got but one that you gave.

Do you remember where you got it?
Do you remember why you got it?
How did you feel when you gave it?

I love Christmas but the hardest part is actually waiting until Christmas to give your kids a gift that you know they really wanted or a gift that they never thought thew would get. I love giving my family gifts that they absolutely love.

Just a thought - It seems that the more you love someone the more excited you are to give them a gift. It seems the more you love someone the easier it is to give them a gift.

What's the best gift that you ever gave?

funny monday

I love this prank video except the part where they spray water in the old people's face - that's not cool. The rest of it is very funny.

valentines day and marriage

You know that video is funny but the sad thing is that the reason it's funny is because it's so true. Just over half the marriages in America today end in divorce. If your marriage isn't what it used to be or what you'd hoped it would be I have some advice for you. Do something about it. Talk with someone, get some help, and give your marriage the time and energy it needs and deserves.

I'm living proof that you can make marriage work. If a woman can live with me for almost 20 years and still be with me then there is hope for everyone. It's not always easy but it's always worth it.

Martha, thank you for putting up with me. I'm a better person today because of you.

The most dangerous word in the English language is . . .

This is a re-post from an online pastor buddy Kevin Martineau.

The most dangerous word in the English language is . . . I hate to admit it but I am a procrastinator (you can read more about that here). Sadly, I can usually justify my procrastination with some great excuses but that is all they are - excuses. I mean, who starts a diet on Wednesday? Everyone knows that you start a diet on Monday, right? Or how about these excuses: I will start to read my bible tomorrow. When my kids are grown up, or I am more motivated or my workload lightens I will be able to cultivate my relationship with God. When I get more disciplined I will get out of debt. Why do today what I can put off to tomorrow, right? Do any of these sound familiar to you? Some people go their whole life with this frame of mind.

"Tomorrow" is the most dangerous word in the English language. It may cause us to mismanage our finances, it may mean constant problems at work, it can lead to heart attacks, it can damage relationships and it can take away our joy. When we talk about "tomorrow" we miss what matters most which is that God is present in this moment - in this instance. We need to embrace the moment! We need to recognize that each moment is a precious gift from God! We need to maximize each moment for God! That is why the Apostle Paul says: "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity."

So instead of focusing on tomorrow we need to focus on today. We need to focus on each moment. We need to see God at work in every moment and we need to join Him in that work. How can you embrace the moment today? What have you been putting off to tomorrow that should be done today?

65,000 people and a revolution

Did you know that in Glen Carbon, Edwardsville, Granite City, Collinsville, Maryville, & Troy that there are 65,000 people that never go to church? How many of those people do you think LifePoint can impact?

As a church we are called to help people find their way back to God and as we continue to see this happen we continue to love God and love people.

In order for us as a church to better impact these 65,000 people with the love of God we have launched a spiritual and stewardship initiative called REVOLUTION. I am excited about this REVOLUTION initiative. The purpose of REVOLUTION is to raise the needed funds to help us accomplish three things that will help us in our desire to help people find their way back to God.

• Buy equipment that will allow us to creatively and effectively have church at Showplace 12.
• Look for land/building that will ultimately become the future home of LifePoint.
• Give more money and resources towards global impact.

I believe that this is a cause worth fighting for. As you and I partner with God we will bring about a radical change as God impacts our lives and uses our lives to impact those around us.

LifePoint goes to the movies from bob robbins on Vimeo.

lifepoint at the movies

I stole this picture from Emily's blog. A big thank you goes out to Donna Kusche for making the sign.

Yesterday was a great day at LifePoint and you can feel the excitement building as we prepare to move Sunday services to Showplace 12 in Edwardsville on March 22.

If you were not able to be there on Sunday let me encourage you to go watch the video by clicking here.

If you haven't signed up for the daily devotional email you need to click here and then type your name and email into the enews subscription box.

If you have missed any of the first 7 days of devotions you can read them and download them on our Unifyer site. If you don't have an account just click register. 

problem solving or creating

I love to think about the future and what church will look like. I can't wait to see what ways we will dream up to creatively share God's truth and love. That's all I could think about as I read the following article.

Solving a different problem

By Seth Godin

The telephone destroyed the telegraph.

Here's why people liked the telegraph: It was universal, inexpensive, asynchronous and it left a paper trail.

The telephone offered not one of these four attributes. It was far from universal, and if someone didn't have a phone, you couldn't call them. It was expensive, even before someone called you. It was synchronous--if you weren't home, no call got made. And of course, there was no paper trail.

If the telephone guys had set out to make something that did what the telegraph does, but better, they probably would have failed. Instead, they solved a different problem, in such an overwhelmingly useful way that they eliminated the feature set of the competition.

The list of examples is long (YouTube vs. television, web vs. newspapers, Nike vs. sneakers). Your turn.