by Gary Reinecke | Jan 7, 2021 | Leader Development, Uncategorized |
For Christmas my two young-adult children gifted me with some mountain biking gear (see image above). Little did I know how dramatic the goggles would improve my technique. I have been riding for 25+ years. Over that time, I’ve sharpened my skills trying new approaches. But when I wore my goggles something fundamentally changed. One of the habits I’ve had is the tendency to look down at every nook and crevice that I ride over! With the new goggles (my first pair ever – to be exact) the frame on the lower edge does not allow me to look down; I am forced to look ahead. Guess what? My “Strava” (GPS app) times on some segments of technical trail have improved up to 30 seconds. This was a major advancement in my riding speed and enjoyment on trails that I have ridden hundreds of times over the last 12+ years. I want to challenge you with this idea today:
What adjustment can you make to enhance the effectiveness of your ministry; especially as it relates to crossing socio, economic and ethnic barriers?
There are a number of ways to accomplish the vision to plant a multi-ethnic church or for an established church to create a culture of diversity. You might already be doing a number of things to bridge the cultural divides that separate groups of people but if you can fine-tune what you are already doing or introduce something innovative, the fruit could be amazing.
Instead of outlining best practices, which have already been written about by practitioners in books like Ethnic Blends by Mark Deymaz, I will share three sure fire practices to AVOID! Hang on tight – here we go:
- Don’t think short-term: envision what the church can become in 3-5-7 years!
- Last week I referenced Martin Mora who is the Worship Arts Director at Sunrise Community Church (SCC). The founder of SCC is Russ Siders. His vision for a multi-ethnic church was instilled in the DNA of the leadership team and congregation from it’s inception in 1998. Today, the surrounding community is reflected in the congregation:
- 40% Anglo
- 45% Hispanic (both English and Spanish speakers)
- 15% African American and other ethnicities
- Reflection Question: How close does the make-up of your church reflect the demographic of your community?
- Don’t be so focused on diversity that you lose sight of the mission: be fruitful & multiply!
- One of the challenges I have seen is when leaders become over-focused on an issue to the detriment of making disciples, developing leaders and planting churches. Russ Siders lived in the tension of becoming a multi-ethnic church and the mission of Jesus. Living in that tension, Sunrise “daughtered” a multi-ethnic church. Imago Church, located in Visalia, is a gospel-centered ministry seeking to reach out in both English and Spanish so that people can find hope through a relationship with Jesus.
- I will be collaborating with Russ to discuss some of his learnings from 20+ years of multi-ethnic ministry in a FaceBook LIVE event on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 @ 9am PST/noon EST. We will build on some of the information shared here. Hope you can join us!
- Reflection Question: How do you measure the fruit of your ministry?
- Don’t just talk about multi-ethnic ministry: do something!
- When Gina and I moved downtown into the inner city of Phoenix in 1995, I quickly realized that there were a lot of things I knew, I didn’t know! That led me to invite three pastors from distinct communities to participate on an advisory board. I asked them to educate and advise me how to navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of our city. I remember how rich and enjoyable our quarterly meetings were. William Hogans, Gayle Parker and Pablo Contreras gave me the gift of sharing their life and ministry experience.
- My point is, you might not be able to hire a pastoral staff person right now of another ethnicity, but you can certainly begin to learn from other people who have a different ethnic or social or economic background. For all of our married life, some of our best friends have come from different backgrounds than ours. Gina (my wife) is a “third culture” citizen of the world and my culture is American-European. The best advise I received from one of our dearest friends is to – invest in the relationship, treat each other with love and respect, and remain curious. Just this one simple act establishes bonds that will overcome many of the obstacles that get in the way of multi-ethnic ministry.
- Reflection Question: Who are you engaging with that is from a different ethnic or social or economic background?
Next week we will address the third and final question: What is your leadership development strategy?
by Gary Reinecke | Dec 23, 2020 | Uncategorized |
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
Imagine a world that has a local church in every community where apprentices of Jesus are living out their faith in every aspect of their lives. More than ever we need the Church to be the Church! I love the following quote by Timothy Keller that encompasses the reason why InFocus exists:
New church planting is the only way that we can be sure we are going to increase the number of believers in a city and one of the best ways to renew the whole Body of Christ.
I have the absolute privilege to work with amazing leaders who are striving to make the world a better place. May this Christmas season be a reminder of the baby that was born in a manger to transform humanity. May the Prince of Peace rule our world, our communities and our hearts!
by Gary Reinecke | Dec 11, 2020 | Uncategorized |
One of the best experiences of my life was our decision to move out of our apartment and into a townhouse in a multi-ethnic community in the downtown area of Phoenix, AZ. That’s our humble abode above with the arched windows on the second floor. Our neighbors were from South America, Europe and Asia. It was not the safest neighborhood but we called it home from 1996-2008. We created some amazing memories. We started our family there, we built deep relationships with our neighbors and we saw God do some pretty cool things.
We did not do this to be trendy, popular or politically correct. We lived in a multi-ethnic community for 12 years because we believed God cares for the disenfranchised!
I remember one night when an explosion rocked our townhouse, lit up the sky and rumbled through our home like an earthquake. Gina and I grabbed our two children who were fast asleep in their bedrooms in the front of the house and quickly brought them into our room until the firetrucks arrived with the other support vehicles. Apparently someone had triggered an explosion in a car that was sitting on the curb within a football field’s distance of our townhouse. Once we were safe I went out to explore the wreckage under the moon-lit sky and glow of the street-lights. Bits of metal, plastic and assorted car parts were scattered everywhere Nothing gets your attention quite like a car bomb!
We re-evaluated our purpose for moving into the community.
We assessed our motives again after a break-in and attempted rape of our neighbor at gun-point, 2 doors down to the left of our home. And again when we discovered the proliferation of sex offenders, drug activity and suspicious behavior from people we would observe as they made their way through our complex.
Despite that, we built high-trust relationships with people living on the fringes of society, one-step away from moving up in society or falling through the cracks. Fact is, most of our neighbors still live in that place.
Over the next three blogs I will do a deep dive into each of the following questions with the intent to give context to the discourse around multi-ethnic ministry. I will be the first to admit that I am not an expert. Just a person with a heart for people far from God, experience building authentic relationship with our neighbors and perhaps some lessons learned that I can pass-on.
Here are the 3 questions I will address related to multi-ethnic church planting and ministry:
- What is your “why”?
- How will you create a culture of diversity?
- What is your leadership development strategy?
I do hope you will participate in the conversation below. Let me ask you that first question another way: Why is it important to break down the walls in your community that separate you ethnically, socially and economically?
Look forward to reading your response to continue the conversation.
by Gary Reinecke | Nov 29, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Back in 1988 when I entered my first church staff position I accepted a challenging assignment. I had just graduated from seminary having been part of a church plant that was reaching 18-25 year-olds in So Cal(ifornia). Typically, this is that stage of life when young adults are wanting answers to life’s question and the last place most young adults want to look for those answers is the local church. Most churches in America are confronted with the challenge when students begin to drop-out of church. New Song Church was one of the first churches to make an impression in the conscience of young adults at that time. However, that experience did little to prepare me for what was next in my development.
Let me step back a bit. In the summer of 1987 I interned at a church in the downtown center of Phoenix, AZ. Today, downtown Phoenix is thriving. It is full of life, lot’s of cool restaurants, parks and thriving churches of all varieties (from missional/incarnational communities to classic churches that most of us experienced in our growing-up years) within walking distance of the capital.
When I first arrived in the summer of 1987, it was the exact opposite. The blueprint for the future painted the picture of what it has become today. Following graduation in 1988 I raised my financial support and made my way to Phoenix. For 7 years I labored in a difficult part of the city: crime, homelessness and drugs were commonplace. In short, I was hired to “grow” a dying congregation. I was naive enough to think I could partner with God to do something special in that place. Initially it was just me but later, another pastoral staff person, Gayle Parker and I joined forces on this adventure. We envisioned a multi-ethnic, multi-socio and multi-economic community that would be birthed from within the existing congregation, in effect, a church within a church. What we learned could fill an entire year of blogs. Since then I have coached many leaders who have variations of the same vision and have learned some of the do’s and don’ts of multi-ethnic ministry;robust a and continue to learn more and more each passing year. To save you from reading a year’s worth of blogs on my experience, let me share three questions to consider if you are planting, or becoming a multi-ethnic church.
- What is your “why”?
- This is first because it is most important. Thousands, or at least hundreds of pages have been written on the how-to’s of multi-ethnic ministry but few, in my estimation, have done sound and robust theological reflection to unpack “why” churches need to move beyond their particular ethnic bent or affinity group. Right now it is clear the church needs to play an important part in the mission of Jesus to demonstrate how people can live alongside each other, build authentic relationships and break down the walls that separate us. I remember the conversations we had as a leadership team around the “why” of our vision for being “multi”. We were not attempting this bold vision to be inclusive because it was trendy, popular or politically correct – we were dong it because God cares; therefore, we too must care! Until this is clear in the mind of the leadership, anchored in the heart and clearly communicated in a compelling and engaging style – you will have difficulty convincing anyone!
- Suggested Resource: Reading While Black by Esau McCaulley
- How will you create a culture of diversity?
- Back when we were planting a “church within a church” we learned that one of the most important statements we needed to make was to have a diverse leadership team. I would suggest that it is much, much easier to do at the very start of the church planting process than to move an existing church in this direction. If you don’t have that luxury than as soon as you are able, bring people into leadership that you are wanting to reach that are under-represented in your congregation. Our goal was to make a place at the table for people that were very different than the majority of the existing congregation and us – and more representative of the community we were called to reach.
- Suggested Resource: Ethnic Blends by Mark Deymaz
- What is your leadership development strategy?
- Developing leaders from the Harvest for the Harvest is a clever way to say, “developing leaders beginning with people who are not currently in your church – starting with the newest disciple”. However you state it your team must have a clear path for disciplemaking and leader development. It can’t be too complex. It must be clear, focused on character formation and skill development. The formal name of this strategy is a Leadership Farm System.
- Suggested Resource: Leadership Collective for Multi-Ethnic Leaders launches March 7-9, 2021
The end of the story is kind of cool. That church eventually went through the predictable life cycle of any church. The overhead of managing the facility was too expensive for the congregation we had planted so in 2009 they decided to sale the property to the congregation mentioned below and with the proceeds, purchased a warehouse they converted to a worship and community center. Unfortunately, a poor financial decision led to it’s demise. However, the building that we once inhabited is now host to a thriving, multi-site, Hillsong campus – CLICK HERE. Four years ago I was in town and fortunate enough to visit with my wife Gina. I am thankful to see the work that was started in 2008 had come to fruition.
by Gary Reinecke | Nov 20, 2020 | Uncategorized |
Praying you and your family have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!
“The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
Numbers 6:24-26
Thank you for your continued dedication to:
-
make more and better disciples
-
create environments to train leaders
-
plant healthy churches that reproduce
Imagine a world that had a local church in every community where apprentices of Jesus were living out their faith in every aspect of their lives. I love the following quote by Timothy Keller that encompasses the reason why InFocus exists:
New church planting is the only way that we can be sure we are going to increase the number of believers in a city and one of the best ways to renew the whole Body of Christ.
I have the absolute privilege to work with amazing leaders who are striving to make the world a better place!
by Gary Reinecke | Nov 11, 2020 | Uncategorized |
The photo above is at sunset after riding a gnarly uphill out back we call Jacuzzi Hill (because someone dumped their jacuzzi in the beautiful hills of Murrieta, CA). It is a 25.2% grade (very steep), technical and challenging. Since it had rained recently, I was able to navigate it successfully (which I have only done on 1-2 other occasions over the last 12+ years of riding this particular trail).
As I recovered I paused to take in the beauty.
As Christian leaders it is important to pause to reflect on how we can more effectively engage people in their disciplemaking journey? Back in the spring when we pivoted to a remote small group via Zoom I thought this was going to be a difficult challenge; but then my perspective began to change. Instead of seeing virtual interaction as a substitute for the “real’ thing, I shifted my perspective to engagement. Regardless if we meet in person or virtually the question remains – “How can we support people in their disciplemaking journey?”
That question helped me realize that the debate between live, in-person vs. virtual is a secondary issue for disciplemakers. I’ve read about trendy techniques to keep the interest of people using platforms like Zoom e.g. smile, lighting, sound, backgrounds, etc. While these things are helpful I have discovered three invaluable lessons to engage and keep people engaged in their disciplemaking journey: BE FUN, BE AUTHENTIC and BE CHALLENGING.
The names of our small group leaders and participants has been changed for purposes of anonymity. Let me unpack each of these aspects below:
BE FUN – How can our leadership team lead with a fun factor to open the discipleship conversation?
- Note – don’t do this alone! We have a fantastic leadership team. Two couples who really love the Lord, each other and our small group. If you are attempting to do this alone – stop whatever you are doing and invite others into your mission.
- One way we express that love for our small group is through ice-breakers. And I mean thoughtful, fun and meaningful ways of breaking the ice at every small group gathering. This is one place we need to think of the unique challenge of meeting online.
- Traditionally, at the outset of a new small group term we spend more time getting to know each other and then taper-off as we get more and more comfortable. However, in this season where we are meeting socially distanced online we have made ice-breakers a high priority. We have learned that every week is a new start, introducing people who have missed a week or two to the “regular” members of the group. In fact, we have one of our leadership team members dedicated to creating engaging ice breakers every week.
- Here is one fun idea “Marje” suggested for Halloween. Three weeks prior, she asked everyone to come to the meeting just before Halloween with a decorated pumpkin – not carved, decorated. This allowed everyone to participate. Initially Gina (my wife) and I were very slow to get going. But after we gathered our decorations and discussed ideas, our competitive instincts kick-started our creative juices and we were on our way before we knew it. The next night, everyone was excited and showed-up with a pumpkin. Each person presented their pumpkin and the materials used. We laughed, we pointed at each others creation and we celebrated – then voted. That’s right, we were given 15 categories to vote with the hope that everyone would be a winner. And the next day, “Marje” personally delivered prizes to the winners! It is amazing what that single event has done to connect people.
Our entry in the Pumpkin decoration contest
BE AUTHENTIC: How can our team be real and genuine in supporting our people on their discipleship journey?
- When it comes to the technology challenges, the best advice I would suggest here is – “relax”. Everyone is dealing with the same issue. Be transparent and honest with those struggles.
- As always whether meeting online or in person, lead with your struggles when it comes to your discipleship journey.
- Before we even met for our fall term our team invited all of our people to meet in smaller groups (groups of 2-5) in backyards to reconnect or meet each other for the first time.
- Because people are missing the human touch, I would suggest increasing your use of texting (or whatever medium you choose) to “touch” your people.
- Beyond the regular meeting utilize text between sessions to encourage, pray and support each other.
- Most important – pray! Pray during the sessions, pray in prep for your small group meeting and following. Moresoe than ever, people need to sense they are not in this alone but that the Holy Spirit is alongside them every step along the way.
- We have a critically ill person in our group. His journey is long and hard. It is complicated by the season we are in right now. We ask for and receive updates via text, our people are quick to let him know that he is cared and prayed for.
BE CHALLENGING: How can we challenge people to stay the course on their discipleship journey?
- I use a coach-approach in making disciples. Leaning heavily into listening and asking questions is extremely effective in helping people engage in their discipleship journey. Here are a few questions that I have found to be helpful:
- Disciplemaking coaching questions:
- Where are you on your disciplemaking journey?
- This infers people are aware of a disciplemaking journey like the Missional Discipleship storyboard – see below.
- What are you doing to move forward in your disciplemaking journey?
- Who are you engaging in their disciplemaking journey?
- Where are they on their dsiciplemaking journey?
- What questions can you present to challenge them to take the next step on their disciplemaking journey?
