200churches and the MayDay Coup!

Hello Friends of 200churches! We went dark after last Wednesday’s post and podcast when I (Jeff) left for a pastor’s retreat in Pennsylvania and Jonny took over the church for the week!

Yes, he did try to take it over. It was like the August coup back in 1991 when they tried to topple Russian President Gorbachev while he vacationed in the Crimea. Boris Yeltsin stood atop the tanks in the streets of Moscow and opposed the group attempting the coup, and helped Gorby retain his power.

Jonny couldn’t help it, he’s in thesis mode finishing his degree requirements, and is getting quite aggressive! When my flight was cancelled on Saturday night, I called him to tell him he was on for Sunday morning. He tried to consolidate his power by preaching the best message of his life yesterday morning, while I was stuck on a plane to Chicago. 

It didn’t work. I undercut him in a 6:00am elder meeting this morning to reconstitute my authority over the ministry! I’ll never leave again while Jonny is here on staff. He’s too hungry! If I had been gone for one more day, the locks on my office would have been changed and the 200churches website passwords reset!

All in good fun, right? Of course. I did leave, and Jonny did assume responsibility, and my flight was cancelled, and Jonny was the hero. But in all the hoopla, we did not write a blog post for Friday or this (Monday) morning. So this is it. Such as it is.

This week on the podcast, episode 69, we’re talking about the active ingredient necessary for a 200church to be viable to millennials. Generation Y is interested in God, just not in “Boomer” church. They don’t appreciate prepackaged sales pitches, or slick, well rehearsed services. They are real people, looking for real relationships and authentic connections with the God of the universe.

On Wednesday, listen for a great episode where we outline with Karl Vaters the one condition that makes small churches the next big thing in our society. This generation doesn't mind small churches, but there is a condition that must be met. What is that condition? Listen in and find out on Wednesday.

Also, we’ll share our ministry experiences from the last week. Classic small church pastor stuff! Plus, I will talk about some of the characters I kept company with on my very small, very exclusive pastor's retreat. It was by invitation only. I caused some trouble and likely won't be invited back! I'll explain why this Wednesday.

Have a great week loving and leading your people!

The super-secret location of the super exclusive pastor's retreat in Western PA.