Pastor Bowman's Blog

Growth Church Strategy Versus Spiritual Growth Strategy

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:13:00 GMT

The first year of every new pastor appointed to the church focuses on growing the church. But then after the end of the first year, the pastor may say, “Okay, Lord. What do you want me to do?” And the Lord says, “I want you to grow people.” The Plaza Church strategy is not a church growth strategy. It is a spiritual maturity strategy. It’s bringing people closer and closer to Christ. First, you get them to know Christ (exploring), then to love Christ (embracing), then to love Christ’s family (equipping), then to grow in Christ (empowering), then to serve Christ, and then to share Christ which will lead to discipleship. The biggest mistake that churches make is that we think sermons will produce spiritual maturity. In my short time at Plaza it is encouraging to hear when people may purchase a cd, but I really love when I see the congregation taking notes. It is a known fact that when people don’t take notes, they forget 95% of what they hear within 72 hours. That is not going to produce spiritual maturity. The Plaza Church mission statement is not a growth church strategy but a spiritual growth strategy! Why is this important?

In North America, church growth lags way behind population growth. Every year we see that while the population continues to grow, the church continues to lag behind. It has been estimated that over the half of the congregations in the United States are less than 100. Other estimates have told us that over 80% of the congregations in America have less than 250 people on an average Sunday. Most churches generally face growth barriers when Sunday attendance approaches 65, 125, 250 or 500. I’ve observed through direct research, personal experience and dozens of consultations that there are two critical decisions every pastor must make regardless of the attendance barrier they face. The decisions are in two questions, “How do I get my church to grow?” and “What is keeping my Church from Growing? “

God is pulling for us! He is on our side. He sees so far beyond where we are right now. He sees what can be in our community. He sees the day that He talked about in Luke 23, when His house will be full. Do you see that day? I hope you have captured that vision. I hope you have that internal motivation and now I hope you have made some key decisions that begin to move us in the right direction. Remember the harvest. We can break the next attendance barrier!

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The Meaning of Stewardship

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:24:00 GMT

Stewardship is based on God’s ownership by right of creation and redemption and that God seeks man’s willing acknowledgement of His right. The words steward and stewardship do not occur often in the scriptures, but some of the passages in which they are found help us understand their meaning. Let us look at a few scriptures the Apostle Paul gives us and one in 1Peter 4:10, then we will tackle the elephant in the room about tithing and offerings.

Paul exhorted the Corinthians: Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1-2; the NIV uses “those entrusted”).

Peter likewise commanded: As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10).

Paul again wrote of his stewardship: For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship (1 Corinthians 9:17).

A steward is someone who manages someone else’s household. A steward is the management or administration of someone else’s household affairs. A steward is a trustee or agent for the benefit of the owner. These terms are indeed appropriate for the Christian, who is administering property and matters not his or hers own. All the property belongs to God and all the household affairs are His. The steward has been appointed by the owner and is accountable to Him for his or her stewardship.

When the subject of stewardship is mentioned, some people think the whole of it is comprehended in tithing. If everyone would tithe, they think, this would take care of the matter. There is nothing wrong with tithing in itself, but the scripture shows that Christian stewardship is a much broader subject than tithing and that there is a much higher standard of giving than the tithe.

In Old Testament times men acknowledged God’s ownership of their lives and property by the payment of a tithe-that is, a tenth-to Him. This system, of course, could be wrongly understood. One who did not realize the significance of it could mistakenly assume that the remaining nine-tenths was his own to do what he pleased.

The payment of the tithe, however, was an acknowledgement that a person is responsible to God for all the possessions God has given him. In a very real sense God has entrusted him with all these things, that is, He has appointed him a steward. When God gave the law to Israel through Moses the tithe was included as an integral part of the legal system. The people of Israel were given explicit instructions concerning the tithe (see Leviticus 27:30-32). The tithe was not an offering in the strict sense of the term, but an obligation placed on everyone under the law. In other words he had to pay the tithe or become a lawbreaker.

Now to the good part about the text that hits all of us between the eyes. Malachi brought to the people of his day God’s solemn accusation that they had robbed Him. You may even memorize the first verse: Will a man rob God? (Read Malachi 3:8-10). Many seek to apply these passages directly to the Christians today, but there is no commandment in the New Testament which says that the Christian must tithe. But before you get happy and leave it, there are, of course, principles of stewardship that can be gleaned from these Old Testament teaching. The matter of giving for the believer in Christ in this present dispensation of grace is not based on legal obligation. The different periods of testing are know as dispensations. Each dispensation is a particular stewardship, having to do with a man or woman’s management of God’s affairs on this earth.

Finally, let us bring up a couple of things you may still be concerned about but this subject will need more discussion. Is it wrong, then, to tithe? Assurely not, in itself, but on the other hand the New Testament does not command Christians to tithe. If a believer decides in his or her own heart out of love for the Lord Jesus Christ that he or she will give a tenth of their earnings to the Lord, they are at liberty to do so and will be blessed in it. But he or she must not do it as if tithing were a legal obligation, and they must not do it with the idea that the other nine-tenths are their own to do with what they please without consulting the Lord.

If the tithe is not binding on Christians, does this mean they are to be careless or random givers? Not if they are to please God. Obligatory tithing, especially if one tries to lay the obligation on another, is a form of legalism. But random, careless, occasional giving is a form of someone as a Christian in name because the value of being a Christian is much more than this behavior. Therefore, this person may be a believer but is not in either of these positions. What then is to be the standard for a Christian under grace? Ponder the following scriptures (2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9), I hope this helps and let us keep the discussion open.

Happy reading!

Building the Church without Buildings

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:11:00 GMT

I do not stand alone when I talk to my fellow clergy about serving and blessing and winning those outside the church walls. But it is difficult at times going from speaking to doing. And, of course, controversy breaks out among some of the parishioners. It’s when my program, my office, my title, my privilege, my influence, and my comfort takes precedence over others needs. Then we become barriers and not gateways. The Plaza Church is so privileged to have over fifteen surrounding communities in a maximum ten to fifteen minutes drive to the house of worship at 10:00am every Sunday and 7:00pm every Wednesday night.

Please allow me to share with the Plaza Church, the communities, and to my colleagues in ministry these barriers that keep us from building the church without buildings. It is when we are so concerned and care more about keeping things intact than about restoring lives that are shattered in our communities. When we get upset over things broken in church rather than excited when the broken are mended spiritually that we miss the presence of God. When we reduce the preaching to just “Give me a show or preach me happy’’ to not seeking forgiveness and healing for ourselves and our neighbors (inside and outside the church).

The question I ponder is “What are we protecting?” I continue to ask the Plaza Church if this entire church body could perish overnight would the community miss us? To all the communities the Plaza Church would like to know- what are your needs and how can we covenant with you to meet those needs? Secondly, what are you already doing and doing well that we may celebrate with you? The German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, during World War II from his Flossenburg concentration prison camp wrote, “The church is only the church when it exists for others,” The Plaza Church is laboriously striving from the misconception that it is still a white church. No! We are God’s Church set apart to genuinely care for our community and our world by moving from membership to discipleship.

Peace & Blessings!

Good Out of Evil?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:45:00 GMT

Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today, (Genesis 50:20 NRSV)

            Plaza we are really having a blast discussing the stories of the bible on Wednesday nights. The bible is not a history book but a book that is prevalent today as yesterday and tomorrow. The stories give an extra eye into the mysteries of God that are transforming but also refreshing.
            Critics of God say the existence of evil proves His imperfections: "If God was all-powerful, He would stamp out evil in the world. If He was all-loving, He would rescue those who suffer due to evil acts. Either God is not all-powerful or He's not all-loving. Either way, He is an imperfect God."
            A righteous God and the existence of evil in His world do raise questions. But the Bible answers them: God is not the cause of evil. Evil is a manifestation of sin; and because "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5), He is not the cause of evil. But God uses evil to demonstrate His power and accomplish His purposes. When Samson chose to marry a Philistine woman--God used it as a means to bring judgment upon this evil nation. Or when Joseph's brothers sold him into slavery--God used that evil act to provide a safe haven for Joseph's family in a time of famine. With God, evil never has the upper hand. If you are feeling the effects of an evil act, know that God will cause good to come from it.
            The ultimate goal of all creation is God's glory--and that includes the evil that temporarily lurks within it.

God is so powerful that He can direct any evil to a good end.

Thomas Aquinas

Peace & Blessings!

Stories of the Bible Series

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:32:00 GMT

Are you someone who feels that you don’t know anything about the Bible at all? You come to church and you enjoy being a part of our family of faith. But you feel as if you’re carrying around a little secret that you don’t want anyone to know. In reality, you don’t know much about the Bible at all.
Let me give you a chance to get acquainted with the Bible. I will list for you key stories in the Bible from the Old Testament and New Testaments that will acquaint you with the basics of the great Biblical drama out of which our faith comes. You can set aside a few moments at the beginning or end of the day to read one of these stories and in a couple of months from now, you will have a pretty good feel for what the Bible is all about.

We are the people of The Book. There’s no way we can go forward in our faith, much less plumb the depths of what our faith is all about, without knowing the basic stories that have formed us as a people across the centuries, and out of which our faith has come. Once you begin to get a handle on these basic stories in the Bible, you will be amazed at the growth of understanding that will begin taking place in your life, and the renewed appreciation you will have for who we are as a people and what our faith is really all about.

This Bible Study Series will be held on Wednesday nights at 7:00 beginning July 2. We will bediscussing the "Stories of the Bible" and how they apply to us today. A pamphlet will be available in the next few days and the story references will be listed on the Plaza website.

See you there!

The Abundant Life

Fri, 02 May 2008 04:18:00 GMT

One of my favorite regular devotional readings is “Living the Message – Daily Help for the God-Centered Life”, written by Eugene H. Peterson. In his July 5th writing entry he titles it, Good News About Ourselves, He says, “The personal dimension of the gospel is good news about ourselves. The reality of what is within us is every bit as important as the news from political, industrial and scientific centers of the world. Even if world peace were an accomplished fact and the domestic economy stabilized to everyone’s satisfaction, we still must deal with ourselves.”

It was refreshing to read an article in the Charlotte Observer (Tuesday, April 29, 2008) in the Health and Family section. The title of the article was “Meet the woman who shaped the star.” The Plaza Church is proud to be a host site for Athletes United for Youth whose mission is to provide youth services throughout Charlotte-Mecklenburg communities resulting in positive attitudes in our children. Their goal is to assist youth ages seven to sixteen in preparing for a quality future educationally, spiritually, and respectfully. The athlete partners are Dell Curry, Steve Smith, and Jay Bilas. These present and former athletes are well known but my focus on this article are the comments by Dell Curry’s wife, Sonya Curry.

Sonya Curry shared her heart about one of her sons by the name of Stephen Curry, Davidson College’s star of this year’s NCAA tournament. In her humble way as much as her husband Dell’s success has drawn much attention she too was an athlete in college at Virginia Tech where she met her husband. I was impressed with how Sonya talked about her family and their priorities and what are important. Sonya and Dell keep their family grounded even with all the fame and attention. The two of them have instilled values and priorities in their children. “First God, then family, and everything else comes after that.

            Please allow me to leave you with this story. A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering the guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a pot of coffee and an assortment of cups — porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal- some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite — telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
            When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
            What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups. And then you began eyeing each other’s cups. Well consider this     : Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of the Life we live.”
            Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.” God brews the coffee, not the cups. Enjoy your coffee!
“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.” Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

Your Pastor & Friend!

The Power of Vision

Sat, 05 Apr 2008 19:23:00 GMT

It is hard to believe in less than three months, I would have served a year as your pastor. The majority of the Plaza congregation sees me only during Sunday morning worship. Since arriving an enormous amount of my time was spent in church meetings, discussing church concerns (which I see as opportunities), shortfalls of the budget, and expectations of the Plaza Church during these transitioning years ahead. These may be important, but they are not as important as our most valuable asset, which are people.

Many of you attended the meeting when we unveiled our five year vision plan. One of the most misunderstood tasks of the church today is that vision and mission are related but distinct. Mission is a general statement of ministry objectives; it is philosophic. Vision is a specific, detailed statement of direction and uniqueness; it is strategic. I have come to believe that an effective and compelling vision in the twenty-first century is probably good for about five years. Then the process of re-visioning must occur. Sometimes this re-visioning is part of an intentional reassessing. More often than not, however, it is the result of ministries that just are not working, especially ones that once did.

Vision is always needs-based. The needs that the vision addresses, however, are not those of the ones already there. So vision is externally focused. But this external focus is what creates mission. God blesses the church mission, not the congregation of the status quo. But, when God lifts up a vision for ministry beyond us, then our deepest needs are met. Continue to pray for the Plaza Vision!

The Road Less Traveled

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:07:00 GMT

In the next weeks there are many roads we chose to travel. The road of possibly the uncertainty of America’s future, the road to the White House, and eventually the road to the Final Four of the NCAA. But! This is the season in Christianity of a road sometimes less traveled. Each of the gospel writers (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23) gives us three instructions, first to deny yourself, secondly, to take up your cross, and thirdly, to follow Me. Many find this to be a hard saying of Jesus but it is much harder to hear “depart from me…”

Why is this important? There are many that love the Jesus Kingdom in Heaven stories, Jesus has many who desire comfort, but few who desire suffering. Jesus find many share in His feast, but few His fasting. Jesus has many share in the Breaking of Bread but few to the drinking of the Cup of His Passion. Jesus has many that enjoy his miracles but few follow His humiliation to the cross.

I truly hope we all understand during this season of Lent leading up to Palm Sunday and finally Resurrection Sunday, which is Easter that we take the road less traveled. I hope that we meet those that may see our light so shine among humanity that it will glorify our God, which is in heaven. Finally, I do believe if there was a better way, more profitable to the salvation of humanity than suffering, then Christ would have revealed it in His word and life. But He clearly urges both His own disciples and all who wish to follow Him to deny himself, take up his or her cross, and follow Him!