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QUESTION 1:

We are interested in the potential (or actual, based on your  consulting experience) responses of different sizes and types of churches to the concept of "permission-giving networks" as outlined in your book. For instance, would your model be better received by a large, urban congregation or a small, rural congregation?

ANSWER:

Everything positive and Christian is usually best received by a large church.  Small churches seldom make changes easily or readily. Small churches are more likely to be ruled by a bully or two who live for control. They are big fish in a little pond. If you are asking is this a process that will work in any size church, the answer is yes. God does not care what size a church is.   Spiritual gifts are spiritual gifts and control is control and sin is sin no matte what size church.

QUESTION 2:  

What about issues related to ethnicity and gender in the new model of  church organization and mission? So much of the focus of your discussion is tied to generational issues, how would diversity in terms of ethnicity and gender enter into the picture?

ANSWER:

I really need more information about what you mean here. It is not clear to me. However, here goes. God is no respecter of persons. I disagree that much of my stuff is for generations. I am beginning to see that it is not generational as much as it is did the person grow up in the church or didn't they. Did they grow up in a churched culture or did they grow up outside of a church culture. And if they affect gender issues, they favor the female side of the human nature. Women are more "both/and" instead of "either/or".   On the other side, not enough attention is given to the difference between those who grow up in the churched culture and those who do not. It is the difference in night and day. Then you add to that the end of the industrial world and the rise of the digital world and quantum physics and you have a new day for a new breed of humans.

QUESTION 3:

In your consulting experience since the book appeared in 1995, what  has the reaction of congregations been to your ideas in the Sacred Cows book? How many churches are you aware of which have taken up the challenges in your book and adopted the ministry teams approach? Are you aware of significant successes and/or failures, however these might be defined?

ANSWER:

Nothing I have written has gotten me into as many new doors as has Sacred Cows. The book resonates across denominations including both Pentecostal, mainline, Unity, Southern Baptist. It has gotten me into New Zealand, Hawaii, Australia along this coming year. When I wrote the book, I did not know if there was another church like the one I was serving. Now I have discovered new churches starting with the model, old church transitioning. The interest is making the book a best seller. Since its arrival I have become Abingdon's leading author in 1996 and 97.

My first realization of how this book was affecting churches was when I heard from Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville, MN., one of the nation's largest church. They are transitioning into this model. Now I run into these churches regularly. I do not know the exact number, but I have heard directly from several dozen churches. There is now a forum on our web site just for Sacred Cows. It has about 500 people signed up for it and the traffic is daily and around the world.