Beyond Megachurch Myths

This is a big idea

The folks at Lifechurch.tv are at it again. This is a really big idea.
http://www.lifechurch.tv/one-prayer

I think this idea will be a great campaign for the first and second years they do it.
It combines a few of the great developments in church ( concern for community and world) and culture to a good end PLUS it will have great attraction to those that have wanted to experiment with video teaching.

Kudos to Lifechurch for giving it all away.

Assuming you are ok with the video teaching ideas - what are the other big benefits from this type of approach? Hit the comment and key it in.

Televangelists, Money and the Senator

Part One

By now everyone has read or seen the reports of a Republican Senators requests from six different ministries for information related to their financial affairs. It seems like a growing part of my job is to talk to reporters to give them some perspective on the work of megachurches and their pastors.

While some of these ministries are based and exist as strong local churches, the requests also inquire as to related media ministries established by individuals. In this case, I think it is more accurate to describe the ministries identified as “televangelism.” Several of the leaders also lead large, mega churches. However, it would be a mistake to lump megachurch pastors into this same sort of category.

All of the targets of the information requests have been featured in numerous media reports in the past 18 months which questioned certain expenditures. These have been widely reported elsewhere.

I will make several observations in the next few posts but a few observations based upon my years of ministry with large church pastors.

1. Most large church senior pastors are fairly well paid. I think our last salary survey at Leadership Network had the average figure at around $130,000 per year. Some are higher, some are lower. (that is salary and housing, there are often other benefits on top of that. While that is a good salary compared to some professional positions, it is average for others.

2. Most large church senior pastors don’t have television ministries. Most of the churches that have television ministries are small, local cable operations that are funded by the church. Those that have extensive television ministries are rare when you look at the big picture.

3. There is an old saying “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” I really admire those churches and ministries which are very transparent when it comes to administration and finances. Even when they may not give the exact figures for all positions, they are free in publishing the ranges for the tier of staff.

That sort of transparency breeds trust in both constituents and outsiders.

 Part 2 – Should a Pastor   Drive a Rolls?

Part 3 – How much information should be provided?

(This post is also posted on the Leadership Network Learnings Blog)

 

What I have been trying to say about Leadership....

(This article is also cross-posted at http://learnings.leadnet.org)

I have fielded a few calls in the past few months from press asking about changing Leadership Practices. What I have replied is that I believe we are in the era of Strong Relational Leadership.

 

This has been true in the past as well but even more so today. Leadership is not determined by position or even personal charisma as much as being to truly identify and relate to followers.

Fortunately for me, the latest edition of Scientific American MIND (August/September 2007) reports on a study that says it much better than I could ever hope to say it.

Here are the three relevant findings:

“1. A new psychology of leadership suggests that effective leaders must understand the values and opinions of their followers – rather than assuming absolute authority – to enable a productive dialogue with team members about what the group stands for and thus how it should act. 

2. According to this new approach, no fixed set of personality traits can assure good leadership because the most desirable traits depend on the nature of the group being led.

3. Leaders who adopt this strategy must try not only to fit in with their group but also to shape the group’s identity in a way that makes their own agenda and policies appear to be an expression of that identity.”

My comments – We have known that trait theory has been dead. (All leaders must have these traits) But the substitutes have been found wanting. 

For newly emerging megachurches, the theory helps explain how one leader can build a church very quickly in one setting and culture and the same person bomb elsewhere.

As I have contended elsewhere, fast growth megachurches have leaders that give voice to many of the aspirations of their followers and at the same time call those followers to something more and better. 

At the same time, the new leaders know intuitively the micro culture and values of their own setting and use those intuitions to guide their congregations to reach more people within that same micro culture.

Which is why a Chicago model doesn’t work so well in the bayou.

And vice-versa for that matter.

I will have more to share in the future on this topic.

You can read the whole article here on line. 

http://www.sciammind.com/article.cfm?articleID=1CFBD09F-E7F2-99DF-38898D75F4702C44

 

A Question from a reader

As promised earlier today, we are going to answer a question from a reader.
Here is the question:

 

Gentlemen, thank you for your research. I have 2 questions
1. The senior pastor, is he/she a college graduate in all cases? what is it about the Sr Pastor that draws the crowd?
2. Is there any research you know of identifying the emerging church movement within the megachurch's?
Thank You
Allan Robertson
Church Planter/Youth Leader

Agape Fellowship Church
Williamsport, PA

Thanks Alan for the questions. I think there are actually three there.

To question number one – Education of the Senior Pastor/Directional Leader:

Scott pulled these figures out for you to examine.

Here is the data from 2005

Highest level of education:

2% High school diploma or GED
6% Some college or technical school
19% College Bachelor’s degree
37% Masters Degree (including M.Div)
35% Doctoral Degree (Ph.D., D.Min. – excluding honorary doctorate)

So it is almost universal, but not quite,  to have a college degree.

My sense is that number is pretty equivalent to other entrepreneurs by the way. I have met highly profitable business people that don’t have a college degree and some that hold a Doctorate.

For many traditions, education does not matter as much as “calling” and “anointing.” 

The second question concerns “the crowd.” We cover that in a whole chapter in our book and draw a sharp distinction about that. While many attenders will mention the pastor there are usually very strong other factors that keep a person I the church.

 

And finally to your third question, one of the streams we describe in the book is very close to some of the emerging church conversations. In fact many of those that were in the “emergent” conversation early on have now grown to mega church status.

The other answer is that while there is a clear definition of “megachurches” there is still not a very solid definition of an “emergent” church. My friends in that movement speak of the “conversation” which goes back and forth. I am comfortable in participating in that conversation but I know others in the megachurch movement that will shy away from that conversation.

In a few cases we also have some “church within a church” activities that look like some of the “emergent” churches but many of the “emergent” leaders tend to discount those approaches.

Go ahead and hit the comment button to leave your own thoughts.

Thanks for being the brave one to ask the first question Alan.

Where is Scott? An Update

So why isn't Scott Thumma, my co-author, engaging in the blog?

Have no fear. Scott and his lovely wife have been off on a 25th wedding anniversary trip to Alaska! Scott, being the good husband that he is, refrained from working during the trip. But have no fear, he is now back and as soon as he gets caught up on his real job, will be joining us on the blog. He sent a message this morning with some data to answer the first question from a reader.

Another note, the highest I saw the book climb was right at number #1000 on the Amazon list. But it was as high as number #3 on the sub list which was something like Religion-Christian-Church-Leadership. It was behind two John Maxwell books.
The funny thing was that the other sub-category was "Books by Rick Warren" and it was only number #5 on that list.

Later this evening I will post an answer to a question from a reader. It was a good question. See it later tonight.

Moving Up the Sales Chart

I mentioned earlier about the Amazon Sales Rank. Before the book came out it was somewhere in the high 300,000. Last week it rose as high as 11,000 and when I just checked, it was up to 1,714 best selling book on Amazon.
It is a complicated process and I never expect it to be that big a seller but I attribute the rise right now to the promotion in Rick Warren's MinistryToolBox newsletter.

Several other promotions start next week and we will see if it holds at that level.

As we go on the blog I will share some thoughts on writing/publishing and marketing books from an author perspective. I have had good experiences and I know that others have not been as fortunate to have a good team around them like I do.

Rick Warren MinistryToolBox endoresment

Rick Warren was kind enough to write the foreword to our new book, Beyond Megachurch Myths. Rick was also kind enough to write the foreword to my first book, Beyond the Box as well. I told both publishers to make Rick's name much bigger than mine as Rick has sold lots more books than I have. (They didn't listen)

As many of you know, for all his “aw shucks” ness, Rick is an incredibly intelligent person. He can keep more facts, statistics and other ideas in his head than I can for sure. See below for more on that.

The following quote comes from his Ministry Toolbox newsletter: Beyond Megachurch Myths: What We Can Learn from America's Largest Churches

Rating: *****

http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Megachurch-Myths-Americas-Leadership/dp/0787994677/

by Scott Thumma &Dave Travis (Jossey-Bass, 2007)

Scott Thumma and Dave Travis put years of research into this informative book on today's megachurches. What they discovered shatters some of the most pervasive myths about these churches that run more than 2,000 on a weekend - such as they're all alike, they're cults of personality, and they're bad for other churches. The book was written specifically to help smaller churches understand what they can learn from these megachurches.

You can find the whole newsletter here along with a convenient way to subscribe by clicking here. 

In what was one of the most fascinating interviews I ever read, Rick held a dialogue with some of the leading reporters and pundits in the United States in a Pew sponsored forum a few years back. Rick had his own set of myths he was addressing in that context. It is a long read, but well worth checking out. It is a transcript from a recording so there are a few words here and there that could be inaccurate.

http://pewforum.org/events/index.php?EventID=80

 

Amazon Comes Through

The mail lady brought me a copy of Beyond Megachurch Myths today. So even though the "official" release date is not until later this week, books are shipping from the warehouses to buyers. (I had preordered a copy some months ago to see when it would arrive)

The Religious News Service had an article about the book that appeared in several newspapers in the past week including the Washington Post. The same story appeared in other newspapers around the country, sometimes with a local angle.

The primary writer was Adelle Banks, one of the top writers in the country. Both Scott and I have spoken with numerous newspaper reporters in the past few months about a variety of issues and have tried to mention the book whenever possible.
If you see the book mentioned in your local paper or blog, send it on to me. I would appreciate seeing it. And so would my mother.

Book Now Shipping

I have heard from numerous sources that Amazon is now shipping Beyond Megachurch Myths. Scott got his copy last week and mine says it will arrive tomorrow.

Although official date is not until August 10, Amazon can have you a copy tomorrow if you order it. This is probably the simplest way to get the book.

Buy it through Amazon here.

There have been numerous press stories about the book already.

Last week Scott observed that the book had climbed from something like number 370,000 on Amazon bestsellers up to around 10,000. Not sure all that drives those numbers but the book is now down to number 20,000. So help get the book back up there. Buy one for you and your team today!
Yes, this is shameless author promotion.

The Book Has Arrived

It’s Out There

 Ok, last night a box of the Book arrived. I think they came straight from the publisher because I think formally the books are supposed to be shipping to warehouses across the country this week. So, not available yet through the regular channels. Scott got his a day earlier as did some other folks involved in the project.

I pre-ordered one via Amazon a few months ago to see actually when they would ship from there. ( I doubt it will be as efficient as Harry Potter !) When it does I will let you know.

Anyway – you can pick one up here. Pretty sure you should get it quickly.

So far none of my copies have left the house. My wife got it and here first comment was “It looks good!” I think so. I like the colors. The art on the front. I wish they had Rick Warren’ name in bigger print because if we could just sell 1/40^th as many books, I would be really happy. OK, if we could sell 1/400^th I would still be happy.

 The cover design team did a great job. I must confess that I think about those things, but rarely make good contributions.

The second comment – “Is your next book going to have ‘Beyond’ in the title?” (And you thought I was SAWB?) You see the previous book I wrote with my friend Bill Easum was called Beyond the Box: Innovative Churches that Work.

It is still available here. You can get a used copy pretty cheap it appears. Also did not put Rick Warren' name on the cover in large enough type.

 As I strolled through the first few pages I found a problem. Failure to credit a person on our publishing team. Actually she is credited but her name lost a letter. It says in the book – Stephanie Plage, but it is really Stephanie Plagens.

 Other than that, it looks great. We look forward to you reading and responding to us through this blog. We will attempt to answer some of your questions here and give you updated information along the way.

 Occasionally we will have installments of “Things we didn’t say in the book” as well as links to news articles and other items of interest.

Don’t forget, get your first edition, collector’s copy now!

Buy it through Amazon here.

Barnes and Noble here.

Christian Book Distributors here.

Or ask your local bookseller to get you a copy now.

See if you can race through it like those Potter fans.