| March
2004 |
|
Free Online Training Designed Especially
for Church Volunteers |
Never before have we had so many Christian growth opportunities
in North America.
We live in a Christian culture that has a glut of excellent
sermons, Sunday school lessons, curriculum guides, midweek services,
Bible studies, small groups, conferences, retreats, simulcasts,
DVDs, Internet resources, books, and CDs. The quality of speaking,
teaching, and preaching available on Christian radio alone is
staggering.
Yet, about 85 percent of churches in North America
are stagnant or dying!
The more brutally honest church growth pundits would be quick
to point out that of the 15 percent of churches that are growing
in America—only about 2 percent are actually growing through
conversion growth—while the remaining 13 percent of growing
churches are growing through transfer growth.
What is going on here? Why isn’t the church making disciples
who are making more disciples? We invite you to read, "The
Missing Jewel in Your Church" in this edition of Cadre
Connection.
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Never before have we had so many Christian growth
opportunities in North America. We live in a Christian culture that
has a glut of excellent sermons, Sunday school lessons, curriculum
guides, midweek services, Bible studies, small groups, conferences,
retreats, simulcasts, DVDs, Internet resources, books, and CDs.
The quality of speaking, teaching, and preaching available on Christian
radio alone is staggering.
Yet, about 85 percent of churches in America are stagnant or dying!
The more brutally honest church growth pundits would be quick to
point out that of the 15 percent of churches that are growing in
America—only about 2 percent are actually growing through
conversion growth—while the remaining 13 percent of growing
churches are growing through transfer growth.
What is going on here? Why isn’t the church making disciples
who are making more disciples?
I believe one major reason is because most of our efforts
at making disciples today have hung on our speaking, teaching, and
preaching ministries. Authentic TRAINING in the mode of Jesus is
almost as rare as the eight-track tape.
Consequently, many of the people in our churches are often well
taught—but woefully under trained. They know, but they don’t
do. Some can quote the Bible—and the church constitution—but
they are not actively making disciples who can make disciples! Think
about your church. I’m sure it is rightfully filled with speaking,
teaching, and preaching. However, the training emphasis is most
likely depressingly inadequate if it is existent at all! Why?
In part because we don’t understand how training is truly
different than speaking, teaching, and preaching.
What follows is not by any means the definitive description of
training—but merely my attempt to stimulate your thinking
about the differences between speaking, teaching, preaching (STP)—and
training. These differences are not always conspicuous, but I believe
the implications embedded in the following contrasts are profound
in terms of spiritual impact and ministry multiplication. Please
note that out of speaking, teaching, and preaching, I believe that
teaching has the most potential to come closest to training’s
equipping impact. However, because “teaching” tends
to be synonymous with “lecturing” in most churches,
I have included teaching in the following contrasts.
My ultimate goal in contrasting speaking, teaching, preaching
(STP) to training is to make you rethink your own approach to ministry.
I challenge you NOT to hang all your disciplemaking hopes on speaking,
teaching, and preaching (STP) alone, but to also begin to train
others like Jesus!
Some Differences Between Speaking,
Teaching, Preaching (STP)—and Training
1. STP often allows learners to passively listen,
whereas TRAINING requires learners to listen, interact, and
practice what they are learning.
Much of what is foisted off as training these days is nothing more
than speaking, teaching, and preaching misnamed “training.”
How can you tell if you are being talked to or trained? If you don’t
have the opportunity to process and master what you are learning
through interaction and practice (preferably under the direct guidance
of a qualified person), then you are merely a listener to someone’s
speaking, teaching, or preaching. This may not be bad depending
on whom you are listening to. I value excellent speakers, teachers,
and preachers! My point is this: If you can get by being a pew potato,
you are not really being trained!
2. STP lends itself well to large group communication,
whereas TRAINING is best accomplished in small group (including
one-on-one) settings.
Where do I get this crazy idea about the value of small group training
that flies directly in the face of the bigger-is-better philosophy
found in most North American churches? Jesus! Note well that Jesus
spoke, taught, and preached to the masses, but he strategically,
intentionally, diligently, and painstakingly trained the twelve.
Remember, too, that Jesus strategically invested almost three times
as much time and energy in training the twelve than he did in directly
ministering to the masses. (To be sure, Jesus loved the masses,
but he knew the key to seeing those masses ministered to was a well
trained cadre of ministers who could effectively reach the masses.
See last month’s Cadre Connection, “Training Makes All
the Difference.”)
While large group communication is often an excellent medium for
motivational purposes, I think Jesus’ approach to
working with the twelve shows that large group speaking, teaching,
and preaching is not even close to ideal for equipping purposes.
If excellent training could be accomplished in large group settings,
why didn’t Jesus—the Master Trainer—think of this?
Training the masses could have saved Jesus tons of time. So while
we find Jesus speaking, teaching, and preaching to the crowds, we
also clearly see him training the twelve disciples.
While the speakers, teachers, and preachers often love the motivational
component of large crowds, trainers with experience will tell you
that the larger the group, the more difficult it is to conduct authentic
training where people leave motivated AND EQUIPPED
to do the work of the ministry! Even in this age of outstanding
technology, online training, mega-conferences, and simulcasts, the
incarnation of Jesus challenges us to remember that there is no
better learning situation than a small group of hungry learners
getting face-to-face, onsite training with a skilled and loving
trainer with whom they can spontaneously interact.
3. STP often proliferates a culture where the learner’s
goal is to get “fed,” whereas TRAINING intentionally
seeks to create a culture where the trained are equipped and expected
to help in the feeding and training of others.
Speakers, teachers, and preachers tend to view the church as a place
where people get “fed.” Consequently, most pastors are
all too familiar with the number one complaint pastors hear: “I’m
just not being fed.” I heard John Ortberg, speaking to about
1,500 pastors, lament, “Don’t you ever get tired of
this complaint? Have you ever notice that it’s never new Christians
that say that? It’s the people who have been around forever.
I want to say, ‘Not being fed? You’ve been a Christian
for forty years! Get out of the high chair, take off the bib, and
start feeding yourself!’” Ortberg hit a cathartic nerve
as 1,500 pastors yelled hearty approval to his words.
Trainers, on the other hand, while acknowledging the importance
of excellent Bible teaching, tend to see the church as a place where
believers are equipped to do the work of the ministry. Training
people to feed themselves and others—so that those they train
can train others too—is at the heart of Jesus-like training
and ministry multiplication. However, it is extremely rare. That’s
why I keep referring to training in the heart and style of Jesus
as the missing jewel in our churches today. As long as we only speak,
teach, and preach to people, we will never get away from the “feed
me” consumerism plaguing the church. Christians will continue
to sit in their spiritual high chairs with their spiritual bibs
on demanding to be “fed” (whatever vague way they define
“being fed”). Perhaps most troubling, the church will
NOT be understood as a place to equip the saints to do the work
of the ministry—but as a place that continually feeds the
stagnant, already overfed spiritual baby who refuses to grow up
and learn how to feed himself—or learn how to help feed others.
Continue
on to Read Part 2 >>
To respond to this article, please send e-mail to: bill@cadreministries.com
Cadre
Training Is Coming to Florida!
The Cadre team will be in the Orlando, Florida area April 13th and
14th to train YOU and your friends with two fun, highly interactive,
and biblically-based training workshops:
Ministry Is Relationships
Tuesday night, April 13th:
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/relationships2.php
The Aspiring Communicator’s Academy
Wednesday 8:30 AM to 4 PM
http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/aca2.php
* Interested in participating in one of the above training workshops
and need more details? Contact us at info@cadreministries.com
In
March of 2004, You Can Also Catch Cadre Training in:
• Toulon, IL, Saturday, March 6
For more info, e-mail: info@cadreministries.com
• Black Duck, MN, March 12-14: Ministry Is Relationships
For more info, e-mail: info@cadreministries.com
• Des Moine, IA, Saturday, March 20: National Youth
Leadership Conference
For more info visit: http://www.ignite-youth.org
• Kingsford, MI, Saturday, March 27: High Impact Methods
of Teaching
For more info visit: http://www.cadreinternational.com/training/methods2.php
* Interested in participating in one of the above training workshops
and need more details? Contact us at info@cadreministries.com
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CDs
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These fun, conversational, and encouraging audio sessions
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CD #1 Track 1: Getting Intentional About Personal
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CD #1 Track 2: How to Develop a Personal Growth
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CD #2 Track 1: The Struggle for Sexual Purity
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CD #2 Track 2 :How to Find an Accountability
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CD #3 Time Management for Painfully Pooped-Out
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CD #4 Becoming a Credible Communicator (60 min)
CD #5 Track 1: Leading Yourself (30 min)
CD #5 Track 2: Leading Those Who Lead You (30
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To order via mail, print this form:
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ATTENTION
JUNIOR HIGH VOLUNTEERS
THE
NEW BATTERIES INCLUDED IS HERE:
Click here to view all editions: http://www.cadreinternational.com/batteries
For more information hosting or participating in
a Cadre training workshop, contact info@cadreministries.com
For Cadre training resources, visit: http://www.cadreministries.com/store
The Cadre team. From left
to right: Bill, Rennie, Dave, Laura, and Doug... here to serve
and bless volunteers like YOU!
In the spirit of Ephesians 4:11-12, it is Cadre's passion to
bring glory to God by assisting local churches in becoming the best
volunteer training "cadres" in the world.
Cadre is a not-for-profit ministry [501(c)(3)] that exists
to make you wildly successful at becoming what God has called you
to become as you serve others in your local church and community.
We serve as support-based, God-dependent missionaries to come alongside
volunteers and those who care for volunteers in the church (globally)
to help accomplish their God-given mission. Eph. 4:10-17
We provide free monthly online training for volunteers in the
church (Cadre Connection), for volunteer Jr. High Youthworkers (Batteries
Included), and for Student Leaders (Spiritual Caffeine). Visit www.cadreministries.com
to preview our recent free training or to sign up to receive training
in your email-box monthly.
For more information about bringing a certified Cadre trainer
to coach and train the volunteer teachers, leaders, and youth workers
in your church, contact info@cadreministries.com
For Cadre training sources visit http://www.cadreministries.com/store
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