Thom Black was worth the weekend!!!!!

Thom Black and his Bladder Story
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.



Thom Black was worth the trip. He hit on all topics... Youth, Parents, Church drop off, Passion, people, relationships, family matters!

Here is a quick snippet of the information. I was typing so fast, I am not sure that I got all of it.

The normal group he talks to are people that he is trying to convince that people like us (House Church People) exist!

10 years ago 95% of believers were tied to a congregation. Today approx. 75% of believers are tied to a congregation. According to there research, within 10-15 years there will be less than 35% of people attached to a traditional church.

Two things are fueling your movement / revolution

1. Promise Keepers sent men back to get involved and the men found out that the church had no place for them.

7-8 million guys went to promise keepers and upon returning realized that

2. Youth Ministry has propelled the movement / revolution. Young people are looking for a real experience.

Barely 1 out of 10 of young people from past youth ministries are tied to a church as adults. That is sad.

These two revolutionaries are propelling the movement.

They asked the question, what is this group all about? What they discovered is that these people are the most passionate group of believers that Barna has ever put there hands on.

7 Core Passions are shared by these Revolutionaries.
1. They want to be in a worshipful experience with God. This does not mean they want to sit on the other side of a pew listening to a band. Some of them are pulled in by singing to God and others are pulled in by listening. However, they are looking for environments that are real and genuine. The difference is that these people are wanting to worship God 24/7. Do not make this into a program, don't fall back on the old way of doing things. It will destroy what you are doing.
They are looking for authenticity, they are looking for something real.

2. They want to grow spiritually. They have been sitting in pews for years where nothing was happening. They are willing to get out and find it somewhere. We must have an authentic faith and they want to hang out with people who are living an authentic faith.

3. They are interested in spiritual friendships. Global church has defined it as coming under authority/ accountability groups/ etc. Churches today are clusters of like-minded people to the point where everyone is just follows and not revolutionaries. Revolutionaries want to have spiritual friends, a spiritual community that they can be authentic with and that they can share their lives with. There are virtual relationships going on today that will blow your minds. These are spiritual friendships that you investing your lives into each other. If you can offer it, then you have something that you want.

4. They are not into evangelism, they are into faith based conversation. They are not interested in the four spiritual laws being thrust into their hands. They are interested in a faith based life that thrusts them into a conversation about Jesus Christ. Not a paper put in their hand. They want to watch the reality of the experience we have with God. An inner reality that God exists.

5. Material Resources is an issue. The average local church has less than 6% tithe. In the revolutionary community is more than 50% tithe/share with those in need. The revolutionaries do not want to invest in buildings, lights, basketball courts etc. They want to put their money where it counts... for real! In our ministries, we are sitting on top of families who have an incredible heart who want to share their resources into very real life opportunities to affect change in the lives of people. (His example of this is Oprah and the cow idea and the response she had.) How can we create a real experience between people with resources and the people who have a genuine read.

The Revolutionary view of the Church...
Please come to our worship service... no one is coming because it is not changing our lives.
Please come to our Bible Studies... I don't want to study, I want to serve.
Please give money/tithe... I don't want to invest in buildings but people.
Please come to our meetings... They are not making a difference in peoples lives.

6. They want to be in works of service. Help them come up with ideas to invest their lives in people... not buildings.

7. Revolutionaries are deathly passionate about their families. They see that there is no difference between the world and the people inside their church. The highest numbers of people getting divorce are pastors. Revolutionaries see that they do not want their kids and families to reflect the current life/lack of life in the church. They want their families to be at the core of what they do.

Don't think that you can reproduce this... you must be diligent to stay away from a system, away from creating the experts, away from reproducing a model. This is about God assembling a team to do a great work.

It is Barna's opinion that this group (House Church Movement) is where the Spirit is falling. It is where they believe that people are growing and having an opportunity to use their gifts.

Other things...
Work place fellowships...
Business fellowships...
House Churches...
Home Schooling Movement is creating a network of families...
Worship Gypsies... (Worship festivals where 30-50,000 peoples)
Tranformation Churches... trying to change to reach the revolutionaries... (Example... get involved in other things outside of the buildings.)


BIG POINT...

Spouses are caught in this turmoil. One spouse sees the value of the worship service/music time... however the other spouse may see that it is producing not fruit. This seems to be an issue for many. Wives enjoy the experience at the traditional church and the husband may not see the validity of it. (or vice versa)

Any move of God that gives the book(Bible) back to the people will protect the truth of His doctrine.

Issue of Youth and Culture...

Big issue... is that kids travel in herds. That is why it is hard for kids to grow in the house church because they learn and grow better in groups than by themselves.

We must understand the youth culture and the needs of the youth culture. The passion of the parents is highly "family centric" yet if there are less than 2 kids in the group... they are probably struggling.


Thom Black after speaking... Hanging with friends.
Originally uploaded by yafflickr.