SimChurch is a book by Douglas Estes of Western Seminary (San Jose, CA) and Berryessa Valley Church (San Jose, CA) that explores the answers to the question, “what does it mean to ‘do’ church in the virtual world?” I had an opportunity to ask Douglas Estes a question of my own:

What are the main advantages that a virtual church has that a brick and mortar church doesn’t?

Here is what Douglas said:

The average Christian in our world today is only vaguely aware of the coming role of the internet in being and doing church, and many are stuck on the questions of whether a virtual church is even real, or possible, or just a glorified video game. Most people can think up disadvantages (whether accurate or not), but if they see me praising the virtual church … it may seem crazy to them! Or cause them to wonder how much of my retirement I have invested in Google, Apple or Second Life.

To answer your question, we need an honesty-check: Are we willing to admit that any and every type of human church has both advantages and disadvantages? That traditional Lutheran churches and conservative Baptist churches and überhip ‘contemporary’ non-denominational churches and every other imaginable type of churches have strengths and weakness? I meet a surprising number of church-leader people who can’t wholeheartedly say ‘yes’ to that question. They’re convinced their version of the church is the one that God has blessed. If we can admit that all churches found in our world today have advantages and disadvantages, then here are three of the top advantages I see of virtual churches:

First, the most obvious is the increased reach a virtual church can offer as a congregation of believers. When I say reach, I don’t mean it will help Glory Church have more tithers members around the world. I mean that it will allow churches to reach areas where a brick and mortar church has a harder time reaching. We in the U.S. forget that our particular culture makes brick and mortar churches much more accessible than almost any other world culture (for a variety of reasons). In fact, virtual churches will not just increase reach in communist countries, but also post-Christian societies, cultures torn by war, isolated regions of our world, or places inhabited by busy upper-middle class workaholics. Part of this reach, I hope, will be within our own Western world—where being a Christian may one day have more to do with regular virtual connections with our church co-laborers and a lot less to do with one day a week performances.

This leads to a second big advantage of the virtual church: Its ability to redefine and even reform what church means in many parts of the world. Myself, I’m a pastor of a typical brick and mortar church in the US. If I had to pick one model to describe our church, it would probably be contemporary-attractional (though we subvert this at times). I say this because like most churches we are locked into Sunday performances; no matter how much I talk about being a follower of Jesus is more than this, actions do speak louder than words. Some folks would like to get rid of my kind of church to set up something communal but what the church needs (as always!) is some reformation, not destruction (as razing all our buildings to all meet in communes or homes would surely lead to). All this to say: The coming of the virtual church can retrain Christians in thought and practice to understand that church is not so much about a place or building but about the people who are connecting with the purpose of building up the Kingdom. (I see lots of people on blogs defend virtual churches by stating that church is the people … but this is inaccurate. The church is the people united by the presence of Christ on mission for the Kingdom. Just a few Christians hanging out at Seattle’s Best for coffee does not make a church, even if God may be there with them). So the virtual church can reform the church at large by reminding the church at large of the true nature of community (without demolishing the church at large, as some alt-church movements desire).

Third, and the thing that I am actually the most excited about, is the advantage the virtual church has to push margins. I need to say up front that I do not consider myself a margin-pusher, a radical, or anything close to that (far from it, actually). I’m just not wired that way. But as I was writing SimChurch, I really was struck by the testimonies of folks in virtual churches … and began to realize that many of these folks are marginalized-by-society people. And then I started to read a few Christian “trolls” (shouldn’t that be an oxymoron?) who would respond to blog posts about internet churches, implying that people who can’t or won’t go to a brick and mortar church are somehow lesser, weirder, weaker in their faith, or some other implicit negative descriptor. To be fair, many of these comments were not mean-spirited as in the political blogosphere, but there definitely was a strong undercurrent of ‘if you can’t go to a brick and mortar church, then there’s something wrong with you.’ To be honest, this torqued me quite a bit and got under my skin. Yes, a lot of testimonies from virtual churchgoers that I saw, read, heard, or heard about are in fact from people the world would write off—but why would the church do this? Just because a person feels uncomfortable in a Western-style brick and mortar church makes them unworthy of Christian community? If you met me in person, you’d know I’m not a bleeding-heart anything but to know that a real church with a real community could reach real people that Christ died for—people who have been marginalized by both society and church culture—does something for me. The church I pastor is an urban church, and I honestly know it will be very hard for us to reach the many marginalized people who walk past our church each day because they just don’t ‘fit in’ (and no amount of convincing myself they should fit—or simplistically thinking we just need to love them more—will cause that to happen). But a virtual church can reach them. And I applaud them for that.

For more insights on the pros, cons, challenges, and peculiarity of doing virtual church, read SimChurch.

Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of SimChurch.

Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) closed Catalyst Conference’s last and 10th session by discussing how to create a healthy work culture at your church.. Here is what he said:

I think that your church and your church culture should be the healthiest organizational culture in your city. I think that business people in your city should stop by during the week and say, “Wow! I have never seen an organization run so well!” I am not talking about on Sunday. I am talking about your church’s weekly work culture.

Think about this.

In the local church we have so much going for us culturally (if we follow the Bible… love, harmony, work as though unto the Lord) that we should have the best work cultures. Yest some of the meanest people I have met are on church staffs. Some of the laziest people I know are on church staffs. Some people think it doesn’t take much competency to work at a church because they lazy people who work at a church. And that is a shame.

Healthy people are drawn to healthy cultures. Healthy people don’t stay in unhealthy cultures. Unhealthy people thrive in unhealthy cultures.

Occasionally, there are gaps between what we expect people to do and what they actually do. As leaders, we choose what to put in this gap. And what you as a leader choose to put in that gap will shape your culture. And what you put into that gap, will also be what your staff puts in that gap. You will either assume the worst or expect the best.

There are a couple of things that determine what I put in that gap:

1. What I see
   If someone consistently brings you poor quality, you will always assume the worst.
2. Who I am
   Your past hurt and betrayal will influence what you put in that gap. We like certain types of people. And we dislike others.

Developing a culture of trust is critical to the health of your organization. Trust fuels productivity. The message of trust is this… I think you are smart enough to know what to do, and if you make a mistake, you will tell me then fix it.

A culture characterized by trust attracts healthy people.  You will never know who you can trust until you trust them. The longer you refuse to trust people, the longer that untrustworthy people can hide in your organization. The moment you feel to tightly manage someone, you might have made a hiring mistake. And if you don’t address the hiring problem, you might create a culture where everyone distrusts each other. You will never know who you can trust until you trust them. Trusting is risky. Refusing to trust is riskier.

Trust enables an organization to move faster. In an organization of trust, the culture is fluid. When their is a high level of trust, I am going to act/email/write/communicate as if I believe the best. Teams use trust as currency. The development of trust then becomes a significant leadership strategy. It feels 100% relational and 90% emotional.

Developing a culture of trust begins with a leader. Trust and suspicion are both telegraphed from the leader throughout the organization. We must learn to choose to trust.

When you choose to trust, you must choose to confront. The moment there is suspicion in a person, everything he does is tainted. When you and I sit on our raw assumptions, and it leaks out to our family and organization, the energy makes our suspicion grows bigger and uglier. And then all of a sudden, a handful of offense gets a huge response. If you want to build a culture of trust, you must confront fairly and quickly and refuse to sit on it. Before I assume the worst, I should at least ask for the facts. The consequences of concealment are far greater than the consequences of confrontation.

To develop a culture of trust, leaders must be trustworthy. Worthy of trust does not mean perfect. It means when I create a gap where your expectations don’t line up with the experience I give you, I talk to you about it.

5 Essential Commitments of Trust

1. I will believe the best.
2. When other people assume the worst about you, I will come to your defense.
3. If what I experience begins to erode my trust, I will come directly to you to talk about it.
4. When I am convinced I will not be able to deliver on a promise, I will come to you ahead of time.
5. When you confront me about the gaps I’ve created, I will tell you the truth.

The gaps are the opportunities… the gaps are the litmus test… for you to choose what culture you will have.

Questions to Ask

1. Are there people in your organization you have a hard time trusting.
2. Is it your issue or is it theirs? (if you have never chosen to trust it is still your issue)
3. What can you do about your part?
4. What do you need to address with them about their part?
5. Who do you sense having a difficult time trusting you?
6. Why?
7. What can you do about it?

If you choose to trust, you will create an organization that is more nimble and effective.

Chuck Swindoll of Insight for Living discussed 10 things he has learned in almost 50 years of ministry during Catalyst Conference’s 8th session. Here is what he said:

Fifty years ago, I was a first year student at Dallas Theological Seminary. I was scared, unsure of myself, and fresh out of the Marine Corp. I did not know much about seminary.

I remember sitting in chapel, and a minister told me, “When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible person and crushes him.” I am so proud of everything you are dreaming of and doing that I hope that you remember to leave room for the crushing.

10 Things Chuck Swindoll Learned in 50ish Years of Ministry:

1. It’s lonely to lead.
   Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decisions, the lonelier it is.
2. It’s dangerous to succeed.
   It is dangerous to succeed while being young. rarely, does God give leadership that young because it takes crushing and failure first.
3. It’s hardest at home.
   Nobody at home is applauding you. They say, “Dad! You’re fly is open.”
4. It is essential to be real.
   If there is one realm where phoniness is personified it is leadership. What I care about is that you stay real.
5. It is painful to obey.
   There are rewards, yes, but it is painful nevertheless.
6. Brokenness and failure are necessary.
7. My attitude is more important than my actions.
   Some of you are getting hard to be around. And your attitude covers all those great actions you pull off.
8. Integrity eclipses image.
   What you are doing is not a show. And the best things you are doing is not up front but what you do behind the scenes.
9. God’s way is better than my way.
   God is going to have His way.
10. Christ-likeness begins and ends with humility.

2 Corinthians 4:5-7 tells us that we must be willing to leave the familiar message without disturbing the Biblical message. We get that backwards. This was written in the first century, and now we are in the 21st century. The message stays the same. Don’t miss the message. As you alter the methods, don’t mess with the message.

Traditionalism is the dead faith of those still living. You will defend those things that don’t need defended.

Three Important Observations:

1. With every ministry a special mercy is needed.
2. In every ministry the same things must be renounced and rejected.
   That is hiding shameful things, doing deceitful things, and corrupting truthful things. Guard against deception. Guard against deception.
3. Through every ministry a unique style should be pursued.
   We don’t preach or promote ourselves (it isn’t about us). We declare Christ Jesus as Lord (it’s all about Him). We see ourselves as bond-servants for Jesus Christ.

Five Statements Worth Remembering During Your Next 50 Years of Leadership:

1. Whatever you do, do more with others and less alone.
   It will help you become accountable.
2. Whenever you do it, emphasize quality not quantity.
3. Wherever you go, do it the same as if you were among those who know you the best.
   It will keep you from exaggerating. it will help keep your stories true. Your good friend will tell you things that others will not. They will hold you close to truth.
4. Whoever may respond to your ministry, keep a level head.
5. However long you lead, keep on dripping with gratitude and grace.
   Stay thankful. Stay gracious.

Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research shared his major church planting mistakes at Catalyst’s third lab. Here is what he said:

All too often church planters run gung-ho into church planting like they’re storming the beaches of Normandy but then get mowed down. I share mistakes, so that hopefully you can avoid them.

I knew that I needed to make some change in my life. People never change until the pain of staying the same grows greater than the pain of change.

ED’S BIG 7 CHURCH PLANTING MISTAKES

1. Forgetting the mission.
   Our motivations can naturally be mixed. We often focus on our own agenda rather than God’s agenda. You should want to plant a great church because of who God is rather than to prove something about yourself to others. God intervenes when we make it about our minds and our power and our glory. If at the end of the day, you could have done it without God, then God isn’t in it. The goal is God’s glory. You can’t become distracted by the tools.
2. Being married to a model.
   If you are more excited by the “how” than the “who,” then you are being distracted. I must be sure that I do not fall in love with someone else’s ministry model and mission. If you listen to other churches’ success stories, you can become distracted by the model. Ministry pornography is an unrealistic depiction of something that you never going to have that distracts you from what you are supposed to do. The “how” of church planting is in many ways determined by the “who,” “when,” and “where” of culture. Too many church planters plant a church in their head and not in their communities. If you aren’t asking “how” you should plant, you have a problem.
3. Not taking care of yourself.
   (1) First and foremost, you need to take care of yourself physically. If you don’t take care of yourself, then you will not be able to properly prioritize God in your life. Don’t tell yourself that you will take care of your body after you… plant that church… write that book… whatever. My job first and foremost, is to be the type of Christ follower, husband, and father God wants me to be, and if I am not taking care of myself, then I will never be able to be who God wants me to be.
   (2) You also need to take care of yourself spiritually. The personality type that plants churches is not consistent with the same personality type that is great at walking with God.Your people need more a pastor who has been with God than an entrepreneur that is full of ideas.
   (3) And you need to take care of your family. Your family will be with you in the end, but often the people you start a church with are not the ones you finish a church with.
4. Arrogance.
   I was too sarcastic and didn’t listen well. There are different reasons people are arrogant, but my arrogance was from trying to desperately prove myself to others. I needed to realize that my Father in heaven is already pleased with me. Unfortunately, my needs got in the way. Churches whose pastors have a weekly mentor pastor churches that are twice as large as churches whose pastors are without mentors.
5. Not taking believers deeper.
   People who are yearning for maturity are longing for what Christ followers need. But I made the mistake of thinking their quest to go deeper was not aligning with the church’s mission to reach people. If your vision doesn’t take people deeper spiritually, then you have a bad vision. You don’t want to take pride in what God calls a problem. Christians wanting to grow deeper are not you enemies but your partners.
6. Ignoring hidden agendas.
   Every person in your church has a vision for your church, and it is not the same as your vision for the church. Often the people you start with go away, and the people who stay try to hijack the vision a year later.
7. Afraid of finances.
   Part of why I was afraid of finances is because of the popular mindset of the time that said that talking about finances would offend seekers. Talking about money is fine… just don’t talk about money in a creepy way.

What your church needs is a godly and God-directed church planter. Anything else is not his agenda but yours. Anything else is too much about you and not enough about Jesus.

Alan Hirsch discussed fear of failure at Catalyst’s second lab. Here is what he said:

Victor Turner is a cultural anthropologist that studied the rituals and rites of passage for young African boys into manhood. The ordeal the boys would endure through their rite of passage created a bond deeper that community. It created communitas (takes community to the next level and allows the whole of the community to share a common experience, usually through a rite of passage).

Journeys of adventure can change you significantly.

One of the most profound sense of communitas in the US was 9/11.

In the Bible, when David was in the cave with his band of warriors, communitas was created. When Moses and the Israelites wandered the wilderness for 40 years, communitas was created. The exile formed communitas. Jesus and the 12 disciples were a journey of communitas, so was the group of 70.

The Church in the west is in big, big trouble. The Church is fine in the east. The early church and the Chinese church grew exponentially (BOOM!) despite their persecution. Mission is risky. If you create a community that avoids all risk, the people are stifled.

In trying to reach men particularly, we can learn from this. We can journey together. C.S. Lewis says, “Women are face-to-face creatures, and men are side-by-side creatures.” There is something about a bonding experience that we can learn from, experiences like Habitat for Humanity.

Creating artificial environments at church do not prepare people to cope with the rest of the week. Middle class has an obsession with safety and security. The problem is that we undermine our ability to engage the real world. No wonder we form religious enclaves. We easily forget the good things that God has done for us when we are in a safe zone.

Take some journeys. You can change the world.

In his new book, Whole Church, Mel Lawrenz of Elmbrook Church (Brookfield, WI) discusses how a church can practically apply God’s grace, salvation, and people’s personal lives, in church community, in local community, and globally.

I had the opportunity to ask Mel the following question:
What are the best ways a church can keep itself and protect itself from withdrawing inwardly rather than seeking to engage its local community?

I think community engagement is one of the great movements of God through the church today. All over the country churches are re-discovering the joy of getting outside the walls of the church, serving in the local community, and glorifying God in it. There are 350 practical ideas for cohesion in Whole Church, some of which are about community engagement.

But I think the real focus is here: congregations will get moving out into the community when they are given imagination and inspiration. In other words, rather than form a church program where people can plug into the community, we should scour our congregations, discovering the examples of where the people are already doing it, and then tell the stories with power and conviction. Tell the story of the woman who is tutoring at the local rescue mission, the coffee-shop owner who uses his place for a Sunday-night college group, the young adult group that volunteers at a nursing home once a month. Find such stories, and dozens others, and tell them.

Challenge the congregation to look around their own communities, to use their own imaginations, to give something a try. But tell them NOT to wait for specific marching orders from the top.

For more excerpts of Mel’s wisdom check out Leadership Network’s blog tour.

Outreach magazine in collaboration with Ed Stetzer of LifeWay Research has published their annual list of the top 100 largest churches in America.

Over 8,000 churches were invited to submit their weekend attendance averages from February and March 2009 (excluding Easter). Children and adults were counted. Physical campuses were counted. Internet campuses were not counted.

It is interesting to look at how the attendance of the top 16 largest U.S. churches has changed since 2006. Some change quickly. Some change gradually. And others fluctuate.

For the full list and analysis of Outreach’s 100 largest churches, you can buy a PDF or print copy at OutreachMagazine.com.

Top 16 Largest Churches in America for 2009
13,000+ attendance

1. Lakewood Church (Houston, TX) :: Joel Osteen
   43,500 (#1) for 2009
   43,500 (#1) for 2008
   47,000 (#1) for 2007
   45,000 (#1) for 2006
2. LifeChurch.tv (Edmond, OK) :: Craig Groeschel
   26,776 (#2) for 2009
   20,823 (#5) for 2008
   19,907 (#5) for 2007
   16,071 (#13) for 2006
3. Willow Creek Community Church (South Barrington, IL) :: Bill Hybels
   23,400 (#3) for 2009
   22,500 (#4) for 2008
   23,500 (#2) for 2007
   21,500 (#5) for 2006
4. North Point Community Church (Alpharetta, GA) :: Andy Stanley
   23,377 (#4) for 2009
   22,557 (#3) for 2008
   17,700 (#7) for 2007
   16,700 (#12) for 2006
5. Second Baptist Church (Houston, TX) :: Ed Young Sr.
   22,723 (#5) for 2009
   23,659 (#2) for 2008
   23,198 (#3) for 2007
   22,266 (#3) for 2006
6. Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) :: Rick Warren
   22,418 (#6) for 2009
   19,414 (#8) for 2008
   22,000 (#4) for 2007
   20,595 (#6) for 2006
7. Fellowship Church (Grapevine, TX) :: Ed Young Jr.
   18,355 (#7) for 2009
   19,913 (#7) for 2008
   13,000 (#16) for 2007
   18,124 (#9) for 2006
8. Southeast Christian Church (Louisville, KY) :: Dave Stone
   17,261 (#8) for 2009
   16,264 (#12) for 2008
   18,013 (#6) for 2007
   18,520 (#7) for 2006
9. Woodlands Church (Woodlands, TX) :: Kerry Shook
   17,142 (#9) for 2009
   16,380 (#11) for 2008
   15,600 (#12) for 2007
   14,120 (#18) for 2006
10. Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) :: Bob Coy
    15,921 (#10) for 2009
    18,000 (#9) for 2008
    17,000 (#9) for 2007
    18,300 (#8) for 2006
11. Central Christian Church (Las Vegas, NV) :: Jud Wilhite
    15,081 (#11) for 2009
    13,010 (#22) for 2008
    12,000 (#22) for 2007
    8,994 (#43) for 2006
12. First Baptist Church (Hammond, IN) :: Jack Schaap
    15,059 (#12) for 2009
    13,678 (#19) for 2008
    12,000 (#20) for 2007
    11,300 (#26) for 2006
13. Prestonwood Baptist Church (Plano, TX) :: Jack Graham
    14,975 (#13) for 2009
    14,450 (#17) for 2008
    14,000 (#14) for 2007
    14,871 (#17) for 2006
14. Thomas Road Baptist Church (Lynchburg, VA) :: Jonathan Falwell
    13,100 (#14) for 2009
    13,000 (#23) for 2008
    17,445 (#8) for 2007
    7,626 (#71) for 2006
15. Calvary Chapel (Albuquerque, NM) :: Skip Heitzig
    13,000 (#15) for 2009
    13,500 (#20) for 2008
    12,000 (#19) for 2007
    12,000 (#24) for 2006
16. New Birth Missionary Baptist (Decatur, GA) :: Eddie Long
    13,000 (#16) for 2009
    15,000 (#14) for 2008
    15,000 (#13) for 2007
    22,000 (#4) for 2006

Surprisingly, quite a few large churches are not on the list. Some churches did not respond to the study for various reasons that include:

• did not want to reveal attendance data
• did not have time
• do not like church ranking lists

Churches listed on a previous list with 13,000+ attendance but unlisted on the 2009 list are as follows:

• Last listed in 2008
  20,000 =  West Angeles Church of God in Christ (Los Angeles, CA)
  17,000 = The Potter’s House (Dallas, TX)
  16,000 = Hopewell Missionary Baptist (Norcross, GA)
  13,500 = New Light Christian Center (Houston, TX)
• Last listed in 2007
  16,000 = First Assembly of God (Phoenix, AZ)
• Last listed in 2006
  23,900 = Without Walls International Church (Tampa, FL)
  13,000 = Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church (New Orleans, LA)

Large churches typically have implemented great systems to manage themselves more efficiently. If you want to learn church methodology, the top 100 largest churches are a good starting point.

Looking for more great church blogs to read?

My list of top church blogs has been updated and expanded from 60 blogs to 100 blogs. It is still likely missing some eligible church blogs, so please tell me in the comments which blogs you think would make the list.

Check them out. Subscribe. And enjoy the free wealth of knowledge.