permission giving

I get questions from time to time about what is a permission giving church.

Many organizations operate in a top down fashion.  The board or CEO decides the priorities and those priorities trickle down to the rank and file.  The problem with this in the church is that people end up doing ministry because someone else decided what they should be doing.

In a permission giving church, people are taught to hear God's call.  Everyone is called by God.  What is God calling you to do?  Staff and leaders then, simply help direct and launch what others feel called to do, helping them to take responsibility for, and lead their ministry.  The result of turning people loose to follow their call is that suddenly, there are many things going on in the church, and you can no longer keep track of it all.  Ministry is a grass roots level up thing, no longer a top down thing.   Tom Bandy wrote a book called Christian Chaos.  It is about what happens in a church when everyone is listening and responding to God's calling.  You can no longer manage it, you can no longer control it, the Holy Spirit is just working and you have to stand back and say Wow!

I want to encourage everyone, everywhere to hear God's call and look for ways to live out what He has placed on your heart.  The most exciting part of being a Christian is being in ministry, and its not just for pastors.  God calls us all.

For more on permission giving, here is a YouTube video with some more permission giving propaganda.

click here for video on permission giving

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.