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.

 

I N    T H I S    I S S U E

1. The Missing Jewel in Your Church—Part 1 by Bill Allison 2. Cadre Training Coming to Florida April 13-14, 2004 • Ministry Is Relationships • The Aspiring Communicator’s Academy • March 2004 Cadre Training is also coming to IL, MN, IA and MI… 3. One of the Best Junior High Worship Bands… 4.CDs That Help You Grow, Minister, and Lead! http://www.cadreministries.com/store/audio.html 5. Attention Junior High Volunteers: New Batteries! http://www.cadreinternational.com/batteries

[ Website Version ]

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.

Stay tuned for Part 2 next month...

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

Need a GREAT Worship Band for Junior Highers?

Need a GREAT Worship Band for Junior Highers?

One of the best we’ve ever worked with is KC and the Gloworms:

EXTERNAL SITE:
http://www.gloministries.com

CDs That Help You Grow, Minister, and Lead!

Imagine a fun, substantive, biblical, and free-flowing conversation between two friends who discuss the weighty issues of personal growth, ministry, and leadership. This is precisely what you will get when you listen to Cadre Conversations. Jason Leahy, friend, high school principal, certified Cadre trainer, and Cadre board member converses with Bill Allison to encourage and equip listeners to grow, minister, and lead.

These fun, conversational, and encouraging audio sessions are now on six CD's.

CD #1 Track 1: Getting Intentional About Personal Growth (30 min)
CD #1 Track 2: How to Develop a Personal Growth Plan (30 min)
CD #2 Track 1: The Struggle for Sexual Purity (30 min)
CD #2 Track 2 :How to Find an Accountability Partner (30 min)
CD #3 Time Management for Painfully Pooped-Out People (60 min)
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 min)
CD #6 Becoming a High Impact Teacher (60 min)

To order online, click here:
http://www.cadreministries.com/store/audio.html

To order via mail, print this form:
http://www.cadreinternational.com/download/cadrecatalog.pdf

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

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

[ Website Version ]