Spiritual Leadership for "The Present Future Church" Report by Donna Bensley
On September 22 five serving Elders joined Pastors Tom and Mike at the Presbytery meeting at Mill Creek Presbyterian Church. Reggie McNeal, who has served in local congregational leadership for over 20 years, was the featured speaker. His teaching was aimed at helping Christians pursue more intentional lives.
By way of introduction, Dr. McNeal cited statistics that surprised many of us. Did you know that Christianity is the world's fastest growing religion? Yet, while 50-60,000 people in China and 40,000 in India accept the Lord every day, North America has the largest number of English-speaking non-Christians in the world. Using John 4: 34-35, Dr. McNeal reminded us of Jesus' words," . . . open your eyes and look at the field! They are ripe for harvest." (NIV)
He explained that three shifts must occur for the church in American to become the missional church. First, the church must move from an internal focus toward an external focus. Rather than regarding church as a place and a vendor of religious goods and services, he encourages Christians to be on a mission with God. Rather than trying to bring other sectors of society (political, business, education, health, entertainment) into the church, the missional church reaches out to these sectors.
He reminded us that it is Jesus, not the church, who is the hope of the world.
Second, the missional church must move from being program-driven to becoming focused on people-development, moving from being the church in the community to becoming the church for the community. For example, he suggests having "the God conversation" without talking about the church. Consider ministering to an individual by asking:
• What do you enjoy doing? • Where do you see God most at work in your life now? • What would you like to see God do in your life over the next 6-12 months? • How can we help? • How would you like to serve others? • How can we help? • How can we pray for you?
Finally, Rev. McNeal calls for church-based leadership to transition into apostolic era leadership. He describes the apostolic church as genuinely spiritual, team-oriented, kingdom-minded, visionary, and entrepreneurial. The goal is to prompt different conversations from those that are currently happening.
He devoted considerable time to discussing the generations in North America in order to help the audience understand what motivates different age groups. He described the various generations as having "different heart languages." Seniors (individuals born before 1925); Builders (born between 1926 and 1945), whose core values are duty, loyalty, and sacrifice and are grieving over change; Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), who grew up during a time of shift from a manufacturing to a service-based economy, and have an experienced-based, small group orientation; Gen Xer's (born between 1965 and 1983), who strive for authenticity in relationships and don't expect to change the culture; and Millenials (born between 1984 and 2001), who have high self-esteem, want to change the world, and for whom service is a core value.
What are the implications of Dr. McNeal's message for Lake Forest Park Church? First is to share the truth in love. "Demonstration has replaced proclamation as the first step." Information rarely changes behavior, but service often does. People grow by living and working together and trying to make sense out of life. Since Builders have much to offer, and Gen X'ers want to learn and be mentored, why don't we consider doing intergenerational, family mission projects? Also, " expand the bandwidth of how we're presenting God's love." Remember that house churches were the early church, and small groups meeting in homes provide a closeness and intimacy that is not possible in larger settings. As an alternative to regular services, we might decide to send the entire congregation out into the world on occasional Sundays to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. The Spirit is not waiting on the church, says Rev. McNeal, and "God's mission is always beyond his people." Rather than doing church, we must be the church, reclaim the covenant, and be a blessing to others by sharing stories of God's acts in our lives.
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the Presbytery meeting at Mill Creek Presbyterian Church. Reggie McNeal, who has served in local congregational leadership for over 20 years, was the featured speaker. His teaching was aimed at helping Christians pursue more intentional lives. 
to become the missional church. First, the church must move from an internal focus toward an external focus. Rather than regarding church as a place and a vendor of religious goods and services, he encourages Christians to be on a mission with God. Rather than trying to bring other sectors of society (political, business, education, health, entertainment) into the church, the missional church reaches out to these sectors.
into apostolic era leadership. He describes the apostolic church as genuinely spiritual, team-oriented, kingdom-minded, visionary, and entrepreneurial. The goal is to prompt different conversations from those that are currently happening. 
Park Church? First is to share the truth in love. "Demonstration has replaced proclamation as the first step." Information rarely changes behavior, but service often does. People grow by living and working together and trying to make sense out of life. Since Builders have much to offer, and Gen X'ers want to learn and be mentored, why don't we consider doing intergenerational, family mission projects? Also, " expand the bandwidth of how we're presenting God's love." Remember that house churches were the early church, and small groups meeting in homes provide a closeness and intimacy that is not possible in larger settings. As an alternative to regular services, we might decide to send the entire congregation out into the world on occasional Sundays to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. The Spirit is not waiting on the church, says Rev. McNeal, and "God's mission is always beyond his people." Rather than doing church, we must be the church, reclaim the covenant, and be a blessing to others by sharing stories of God's acts in our lives.