jen’s list

One of the many hats I wear is content manager/editor for Christian Church Today. This site includes news and blog posts from Christian church leaders, a short info article about these churches adapted from Christian Standard, a jobs board, and other features.

But the most popular page on the site is the Locator. Type in a church and find its address and phone number—maybe even a staff listing if someone from the church has emailed me recently with the latest news. Or type in a city and find all the Christian churches in that area. It’s a handy tool that’s used a lot.

Last week I received an email via the site from a guy (we’ll call him Chris) who wanted to add his church. The church’s website indicated it was affiliated with, or was perhaps even a campus of, North Point in Atlanta. I wrote him back.

“Thanks for your email. Wanted to clarify that on CCT we list churches affiliating with the Restoration Movement. That’s not to be exclusive or denominational—although I realize it may sound that way—it’s just that the specific mission of the site is to serve this group of churches and be a directory for them.”

He wrote me back.

“I went to Restoration schools and worked for a Christian church and that church helped plant the new church. What defines a Christian church enough to make the listing? I am a Christian church guy, and I planted a church.”

The exchange reminded me of the conversations I participated in during a recent gathering of our younger leaders. Although some people may see the current downward trends in denominational loyalty or convention attendance as a negative, this group felt it was a natural next step in living out our movement’s philosophies. If we really aren’t the only Christians, and we’re really acting like it, it’s inevitable—and positive—for the boundary lines between us to dissolve.


However, this also means it’s harder to define what sets us apart, and different groups use different measures.

These pastors, many of them church planters, shared their struggles to get funding from existing congregations because they didn’t include “Christian” in the new church’s name or collaborated with churches “outside the fold.”

“When you try to live out the original spirit of the Restoration Movement, you’re branded an outsider to it,” said one pastor. “We don’t want to be a denomination but we definitely act like one.”

“I don’t know what people are so afraid of,” said another. “We spent all these years defining what we’re against. Now we aren’t sure what we’re for.”


It bothers me when working with, praying for and accepting other Christ-followers as brothers somehow threatens our cozy fraternity originally built on just these principles. But I realized I was guilty of the same thing.

There’s nothing wrong with having an online directory devoted to “our” churches, but who gets to decide which churches qualify? Do they make the list if the pastor went to one of our colleges? If the church name includes the word “Christian”? If they dunk people and serve communion each week? And are efforts at definition worth our time in a world full of people who just need Jesus?

Chris went to our schools and considers himself “one of us.” He WANTS to be connected to us. He’s working with other believers to preach the gospel. He’s committed to teaching the Bible. And he’s “shaking hands” with people across denominational lines while challenging the necessity of those lines.

So I added his church to the CCT directory. I think he fits right in.

more at stake

There is a perception out there that the Christian Standard avoids the hard issues or publishes a “party line” of predictable opinions. As one leader said, “It is narrowly focused in the ghetto of the Restoration Movement.”


I find this ironic because I also read the many letters and website comments that roll into the CS offices criticizing the topics the editors choose to cover or the positions they take.

Here’s a sampling just from current stuff:

“Anyone who would shun small groups, I believe, is of a legalistic nature and is looking for attention” (in response to Brian Jones’ “Why Churches Should Euthanize Small Groups”).

“I am disappointed that Christian Standard would choose to publish or consider this divisive and false doctrine” (in response to Glen Elliott’s “What Should We Believe About Hell?”).

“Why would you even print such a story? Oh, I know, you want to present all sides of an issue…..This time, perhaps you pushed the envelope just a bit too far” (in response to John Mark Hicks’ “God, I Hate You”).

And that’s before you go back into the last few years’ archives for the many articles on creation care, politics, nationalism, Calvinism, the role of women, racial issues, and theology.

In each of these areas, talented authors have explored a variety of perspectives. In fact, I think many of those who spout the Standard’s “protectionist” tendencies actually haven’t read the thing in years.


But more important than defending the magazine to those who have already made up their minds is finding new ways to lead the discussion. There are issues we could be addressing and discussions we need to be having, and younger leaders (who are already grappling with these ideas) from whom we can learn.

To paraphrase one of my colleagues at a planning meeting last week, we can’t gripe about people not coming to the table if we haven’t set a place for them.

So consider the table set.


In its February 6 issue, Christian Standard will launch “Stake,” an every-other-week part of the magazine dedicated to “credentialing the heretics”—the many Christian risk-takers who have not accepted a party line and are asking the tough questions about faith.

The website is already live and packed with great content from our leader, Brian Mavis, and a team of “Stakeholders” including Vince Antonucci, Jim Tune, Troy Jackson and Mark Moore. We’ll be publishing more new stuff each week (sometimes each day) and we’d love your contributions.

Will we address things that shake up our regular readers? Will we attract some new voices? Yes, if we’re doing our job right. But as Brian says in the first issue, “Stake is not about being hip. This is not a place to rag on the Restoration Movement. This is not about dishonoring or discounting our heritage. Though it may be provocative, it is not about being controversial.”

Instead, the point is to provide that place at the table for anyone interested in asking questions, taking risks, discussing ideas, and pointing to Jesus as the Way. We’ll have roundtable discussions (I’ve already completed two; anyone have the spiritual gift of transcription?), videos, and links to resources.  Occasionally there will be a cheesy Christian illustration for a caption contest.

We’ll be encouraged toward unity and discouraged away from legalism. We’ll probably argue a bit. We’ll be challenged to “turn our theology into biography” (which means Brian will regularly suggest new risks for us to take).


I’m really excited to be part of this—I hope you’ll contribute a blog post or two, comment on at least that many, and join the conversation here. There’s a lot at stake.

thoughts on visiting “the tribe”

This past Sunday night I had an opportunity to visit The Tribe, the church in Los Angeles where Alan Hirsch and his wife Deb serve and where Deb leads as a minister. I visited with my friend Mel McGowan and we were privileged to participate in the celebration of the church’s move into a new leased warehouse space.

(One of the things I love about LA is no one thinks it’s odd to see a group of 60 people parading down Albion Avenue carrying sofa cushions and following a very tall man wearing a top hat and hoisting a lit torch.)

So it was an interesting evening. In many ways, this artistic community fit my expectations; it’s a young crowd, mostly single. The people were warm and welcoming. The communal meal included hummus.

In other ways it didn’t. There was less ethnic diversity than I expected (the crowd was mostly Caucasian) and only one child.


But the most surprising thing was how closely this gathering resembled what we know about the early church. The Tribe gathers each Sunday night for a shared meal, then worships through original music, visual art, and study of the Bible. They rip pieces from a loaf of bread, dip them in a cup of wine, and celebrate communion together. They sing acapella and accompanied by drums. They know each other well and pray for each other. They toss crumpled bills into a bright red tote bag to cover the warehouse rent and learn from a small leadership team who coordinates the the weekend services and receives no salary.

I’m not saying this a better way to do church and community, but it does seem more like a New Testament congregation than many of our “Restoration” churches modeled on that ideal. Yet I suspect many of us would be uncomfortable there—which is the most interesting thing of all.

does the nacc have a future?

Apparently I offended someone with a recent post because I said the NACC was dying.

Maybe (probably) I offended more than one of you, and that’s okay. It’s never the goal of any post, but why would anyone read a blog they always agree with?

(A brief reminder: the opinions in this blog are solely mine, NOT necessarily those of Christian Standard or Standard Publishing.)


I worked on staff at the NACC for five conventions (1998-2002) with two managing directors and two executive directors. Since then I’ve served as a Continuation Committee and Executive Committee member and planned last year’s “conference within a conference” for women. I also write for CS, of course, plus manage our “denomination’s” online directory and news site at CCToday.com.

So, I kinda know this movement, and I really know the NACC. If I offended you with my statement, at least I’m informed enough to make it.


The plain truth is that attendance at, financial support for and interest in the NACC continue to drop off. I could spend this whole post exploring the various reasons why (less institutional loyalty throughout our culture, growth of specialized and niche events, an “uncool” reputation) but I’m more interested in thinking about whether it matters, and what can be done.

Most of my cooler, hipper friends will say it doesn’t matter. I’ve written about this before—because there are so many other events offering amazing resources and access to the preeminent Christian leaders of our time, they ask, why do we need another one?

It’s true; the broader evangelical world offers tons of events, podcasts, videos, books, networks and relationships to help our ministries. Why should we care about this network, about these relationships?


It matters because everyone needs a tribe. I read Andy Stanley and listen to Tim Keller and watch Rob Bell and follow Carlos Whittaker but none of those guys took me aside last month to hear my story and offer encouragement and mentoring. It was someone in “our” churches who has known and worked with me for years, someone who had a history with me.

On a broader scale, the same is true for all of us who affiliate, however loosely, with the Restoration Movement. Without long-term teamwork and relationship, organizations like Christian Missionary Fellowship, Orchard Group, Church Development Fund and our colleges—not to mention many of our individual churches—would be less effective (or non-existent), and the kingdom would be smaller for it.


So connections matter, and for some of us that connection is found in the independent Christian churches. Great. But that happens all year long, and would happen even if the NACC died tomorrow. We really don’t need a convention with big speakers and exhibit halls and Babyland to work together.

Because it’s really not about the event, it’s about the mission.

And that’s what needs to change. Getting together for the sake of getting together isn’t enough.


The convention’s current decline happened not because people don’t attend conferences, but because this conference no longer has a clearly-defined mission.

Is it for leaders or entire families? If leaders, vocational, volunteer or both? It’s “the connecting place” but to what end? Who’s connecting? Why is it valuable? How are the connections different from the other ways people are already working together?

It’s a hard truth and those are tough questions, but they offer hope: if the NACC can identify its unique mission, if it can connect us while celebrating our independence, if it can become indispensable in helping us plant churches and bring the Gospel to Nairobi and educate a new generation of leaders, it will thrive. If it doesn’t, it not only will die, it probably should.


Ben Cachiaras, Senior Pastor at Mountain Christian Church and president of the 2010 convention, gets this and has planned this year’s convention with a focus on going “BEYOND.” Francis Chan, Rick Warren, Gene Appel, Brian Jones, and many others will push us to move out of our comfort zones and think more deeply about evangelism, discipleship, racial and justice issues and our own calling. (You can read more, including a great interview with Ben, on the CS site.)

Say what you will about the NACC, this is as strong a lineup as any conference out there. But it’s just one year.

One of the convention’s systemic problems is the lack of continuity caused by annual changes in executive and board leadership. To reverse the convention’s decline, we need a multi-year leadership team committed to one easily-articulated mission, an overhaul of messaging methods and branding, and the money that (in theory) follows mission to pull it off.


“Keeping up with [Jesus] means leaving certain things behind,” Ben wrote about his 2010 theme. “And those who dare follow him quickly discover Jesus always takes you to new places.” Some people who love the movement need to leave behind their outdated cynicism about the NACC and give this year a chance. But the convention itself must leave behind old glory days to discover a new identity. If it does, the results could be beyond exciting.

on the movement

I hear two completely opposing views about the Restoration Movement—often in the same day. (For readers who have no idea what the RM is, it’s modeling church and faith after the example given in the New Testament, without many of the creeds/rules/man-made requirements of other denominations. Learn more here.)

A few weeks ago during a conversation about some upcoming projects, a friend told me, “I still have a place in my heart for the Christian churches, but Steve and Chris always ask why I bother. They think the Restoration Movement is dying and wonder why we need to connect with each other when there are so many bigger networks for leaders.”

In some ways Steve and Chris (not their real names) are right—from Catalyst conferences to Christianity Today to church planting networks across the country, the Christian subculture offers tons of opportunities to connect outside denominational lines. To stay isolated within the independent Christian churches is to miss out on resources, experiences and insights.

But we also have contributions to make in those groups. The same day I had the previous conversation, I happened upon Scot McKnight’s blog post describing Bettendorf Christian Church and his experience there.

“I have to tell you I was motivated by the number of the young adults and high school students in the very front row—and they were paying attention—and they kept me on my toes,” he writes. “BCC illustrates the priesthood of all believers—there are so many folks involved in leadership and ministry one knows right away there is shared leadership.”

He goes on to compliment the church in other ways: “Speaking of priesthood of believers, we were impressed with BCC’s quiet missional life, including youth raking leaves, which we witnessed first hand, and their Second Saturday ministry of service to the community……. BCC is truly intergenerational. I met the former senior minister, retired ministers, senior citizens who were more than contented with an upbeat and contemporary worship style—along with lots of small kids and young parents and folks … all across the generational spectrum.”

McKnight ends the post with this: “One other thing: I’m convinced one of the most untapped sources of evangelical theology and ministry today is the Restoration Movement, sometimes called the Stone-Campbell Movement, and known to others as the Christian Church and the Churches of Christ. My experience confirms to me time and time again that these folks are quietly at work in the USA in gospel work.”

Bettendorf Christian impressed McKnight because of its leadership and focus on service, not because it happens to be an independent Christian church. But that doesn’t mean the church affiliation doesn’t matter, or that we shouldn’t stay connected in some way. Many of you originally found this blog through Christian Standard, the journal for these congregations. I, in turn, found the Bettendorf blog post while doing routine research for Christian Church Today, a website for our churches. Without some loose connections like these, you probably wouldn’t know about this church in Bettendorf, Iowa—if the information is helpful at all, you have our affiliation to thank.

We need a new name (neither Restoration Movement nor Stone-Campbell anything resonates with my generation) and a better annual gathering (if anything’s dying, it’s the NACC), but our churches and organizations are leading the way for others in the evangelical world—pioneering the multi-site movement (Community Christian Church), transforming the literal and physical landscape of church architecture (Visioneering Studios) and exploding into online ministry (Central Christian Church).

We may have some branding issues, but the product is sound. I’m glad to know Mr. McKnight gets it, even if Steve and Chris do not.

survey says…..

If you haven’t already, visit the Christian Standard or Christian Church Today site and take the quick survey for church leaders.  We’re hoping to get some feedback on how connected people are—and how connected they want to be—with others in the Restoration Movement and what the best forum might be for that information. It would be great to get your thoughts.

Yesterday I attended the first of six “Discovering our church” classes at the congregation I’ve decided to join here in Nashville.

During the informative session, led by the the connections pastor, we learned about the history of the congregation, how to reach the elders, upcoming small group opportunities, and many other items of interest to new and prospective members.

Despite all this informativeness, I was surprised by what wasn’t included. About halfway through the hour, a woman in the third row raised her hand and asked what the church believed about music in worship (this is a non-instrumental church of Christ), the role of women in leadership, and affiliation with other churches. As the leader responded to these questions the subject quickly broadened into a discussion of the churches of Christ, how they are different from other denominations, and who makes the decisions about these issues.

Although the leader did an adequate job of pointing to Scripture as the final authority, and although one of the elders competently shared the church stance on the specific questions as well as the broader philosophy of elder leadership, I was amazed at their amazement that these questions came up (and, incidentally, dominated the rest of the class).

In this age of denominational conflict and theological questioning, people want to know more than classroom locations and meeting times—they want to know “what kind of church is this?” with honesty and a minimum of rhetoric. Restoration Movement churches have unique and refreshing answers to these questions (and a great resource in Standard’s brochure of the same name) and it’s too bad my new church missed its first opportunity to share those answers with an obviously-interested audience.

I emailed the pastor today and shared a link to the brochure as well as encouragement for her thoughtful facilitation of our first session. Yep, she’s a woman—this local body and its group of elders have prayerfully concluded women can hold some leadership positions. This autonomy is a wonderful part of our heritage—I hope the church begins communicating it more effectively.

Last week The Zoe Group held its annual leadership and worship conference right here in Nashville, at my own church, and I missed it! Caught up in the chaos otherwise known as my recent existence, I didn’t get to attend any of the sessions, and now I’m kicking myself.

The Zoe Group is a Restoration Movement-affiliated “nonprofit ministry of Christian Renewal.” They publish Wineskins magazine, an online journal which explores issues of contemporary culture and faith, and also develop video projects and other resources.

This year’s ”Look to the Hills” Conference, with the theme “Overflow,” marked Zoe’s tenth anniversary. In addition to the pre-conference designed to “take the discussion to a deeper level” with professional and lay leaders, the general conference “attempts to illustrate, educate and provide experiences to our attendees which will empower their personal and congregational life of worship.”

Oh, enough with the quoting from their website. Check it out yourself here, as well as the wonderful conference schedule which included several sessions with Brian McLaren and Lynn Anderson. I’m going next year.