Things Reggie Has Taught Me

I have been a fan and a friend of Reggie McNeal for the better part of three decades. His older brother Royce served with me in Monroe for two of those. That relationship opened the door for me to enjoy conversation and consultation with one of America’s best coaches and thought leaders on leadership, kingdom impact, church vitality, and personal mission. This weekend it brought me much joy to share Reggie with the good folks of First Baptist Church in The Boro.

In stark contrast with most writers, teachers, and consultants, I can’t remember Reggie ever saying the road to a church made alive was paved by doing what we are doing, just better. And certainly not go back to what we used to do. The world is changing too fast for that. And whether we are or not, God is always doing a new thing, and we are invited to get in on it. Here are a few things Reggie has said that has impacted my life and ministry over the years. We heard some of them this weekend.

·      Jesus’ idea of kingdom was the world as God intended it to be

·      We must make the shift from being church centric to kingdom centric

·      It is a good time for people and churches who get it

·      Don’t compare or compete; become the church God has designed us to be

·      Being prepared is more important than having a plan

·      Marketing to find or make good church people is a losing proposition

·      The kingdom is the mission, not the church

·      The church is the people of God partnering with God

·      Like the Good Samaritan, nothing happens until we get off our donkey

·      The church is the hub, life is the destination

·      The church was always a movement, not an institution

·      Wherever we think we want to go, God is already there

·      Like an airport, any church that thinks it is the destination gets in the way of the destination

·      The goal of the church is spiritual formation not customer satisfaction

And there were many, many others. This weekend Reggie inspired, informed, and challenged us to look at faith, life, and church in a radically different way. It was in his sermon where he dared us to add capacity to our compassion. On Saturday when he challenged us to develop new scorecards for life and church; scorecards not based on participation alone. Sunday, he called us to use our imagination as to how we can help the “Kingdom Come,” and told us how groups always deny and resist before they explore and commit.

If you were part of Saturday and/or Sunday’s sessions with Reggie, you are invited to be part of a next steps experience in the Bible Study November 15. Details will follow. If you were not there, you can get caught up by watching Reggie’s sermon and a video of his presentations. Follow this link to request access to the video of his presentation.

We are not going to let our VIVE weekend drift into fond memory without the chance to be changed and channeled by our experience. Like Reggie says, it’s a good time for people and churches that get it. So, let’s do just that. And then do something with it.

Together.