plant and run

the biggest mistake in the history of Fellowship Bible Church | August 29, 2009

It has been interesting to hear more and more about the history of Fellowship Bible Church Little Rock from the perspective of lots of different people involved. Like any organization, they have had their share of successes and failures over the past 30 years.

While there has been tons of variation in the story depending on who you talk to, one observation that all seem to be united about is what was their biggest mistake.

Back in the late 80s, FBCLR had grown into one of the larger churches in Little Rock and was exploring what that meant. They felt an obligation to do something big for the Kingdom in a way that could make a cultural impact on their city.

They decided to pour major reasources into a mass-media campaign they created called “Stand Up for Decency.” They created TV commercials, radio spots, bumper stickers, etc. that were themed around the idea of standing up for family values. The campaign squarely engaged issues like Abortion and Homosexuality. In fact, one of their TV ads one a national award. It sounds like it somehow alluded to the Holocaust and compared it to Abortion in the US.

Then the response came. Mainly in the form of a counter-campaign called “Stand Up for Liberty.” They quickly realized that all their campaign had done was flare up hostility toward them throughout the city they were trying to reach. They became known as that church. The one who was mad and hateful. In fact, when the later changed their tune and began partnering with other churches to do community ministry, some thought they were a cult.

A couple of weeks ago I ran on a Saturday morning with a guy named Bill. We chatted for the last 4 miles of our run about life, culture and religion. Bill is an atheist. Of course, this came out in response to my statement, “I’m a pastor and in the Church Planting residency program at Fellowship Bible Church.” We talked a lot about New Orleans, and it was very clear that Bill valued people, the community and making the world better. He did not have one negative thing to say about Fellowship Bible Church. In fact, his only comment about them was noting that they were heavily involved in ShareFest.

I have to admit, I’m dumbfounded at the shift that has occurred in less than 20 years. Rather than shouting from an isolated island, Fellowship is truly impacting and changing their entire city.

What happened? Instead of chilling on their isolated island, they began building bridges to the mainland and walking across. They stopped shouting about what is wrong with their culture and instead did something about it. They mentored in inner-city schools, they weatherized the homes of the elderly, they painted classrooms, they adopted orphans.

And all of the sudden, they had a voice. They haven’t changed their theology. They still hold the same basic worldview. They just share it in a way where they just might actually get someone to listen. They earn the right to be heard through love.

It’s crazy how much this story parallels that of Katrina in New Orleans. The same about-face has occurred in New Orleans in regards to Evangelical Christianity. Unfortunately, it has by and large been achieved by short-term mission teams rather than long-term missionaries (i.e.- every Christian that lives in New Orleans).

For me, part of planting a church is transforming short-term missionary work into long-term ministry. New Orleans needs churches like Fellowship Bible Church Little Rock that will live out the “mission trip” mentality every day.

We don’t want to create an institution, we want to create a missions outpost. We want to create a church that isn’t known for what happens on Sunday mornings in a building, but what happens the rest of the week throughout the city.

Will you step off of the island with us?

[p.s.- I just found a fairly recent article in the "Arksansas Times" about FBCLR. It references the transformation I described above really well.]