Engaging Church

recently larry osborne answered some questions about his book, sticky church.  you can see his answers below.  

1.    Your new book has an engaging title! Explain it.

Sticky Church is all about finding a way to keep people long enough to fulfill the second half of the Great Commission, “Teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

 That can’t be done in a revolving door ministry. We’ve focused on how to open the front door wider. But we’ve paid scant attention to the backdoor – to the point the some of the best front door churches are unaware of their huge back door. Sticky Church is a proven strategy to slam the back door shut and keep it shut.

2.    What works best in your own church when it comes to recruiting and training leaders?

Ministry is addictive. There’s nothing like seeing God work through you. That’s why we always recruit leaders by asking for a small, doable, bite-sized step of leadership rather than a big assignment that scares people off. Once someone takes the first small step of leadership, the Holy Spirit takes it from there.

 The same holds true for our training of leaders. We find bite-sized training in the midst of their task (an apprentice model) works best. It gives them what they need when they need it rather than overloading new leaders with too much information on the front end of their service.

3.    Tell us about the Holy Man myth.

The Holy Man myth is the antithesis of the priesthood of the believers. It’s the idea that the mantle of leadership means that a leader’s prayers and access to God are greater than everyone else’s’. It kills lay ministry and turns the church into a spectator sport.

4.    As you interact with pastors and small group leaders, what are they saying about the Small Group Covenant?

Leaders love the covenant because it gives them something to hold people accountable to. Without a group covenant it’s hard to hold the group member who always arrives late, unprepared or otherwise wrecks the group accountable for their actions. The covenant acts as a reminder of what’s expected around here.

5.    What other insights would you like to share with pastors and churchgoers?

Sticky Church is call to start measuring retention rates as carefully as we measure signup rates. Ultimately, retention is one of the simplest and best measurements of organizational health – without it, it’s hard to really change people and bring them to full maturity in Christ.