NCD

“The All By Itself Pathway” by Christian Schwarz

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all by itself

  • How can your church grow in quality and quantity regardless of unfavorable trends in society?
  • How can you have the greatest impact on your church regardless of your level of responsibility?
  • How can you maximize your fruitfulness in all areas of life regardless of your present starting point?

The All By Itself Pathway invites you into a 90-minute encounter with Christian Schwarz, the founder and head of Natural Church Development (NCD).  Christian will reduce the discoveries of two decades of research in tens of thousands of churches to a handful of personal steps. While countless churches have implemented individual aspects of Natural Church Development, the majority have yet to discover the strategic key that Christian calls the All By Itself Pathway—
consistently living in line with the unique gifts, energies, and resources that God has already granted you and your church.

In this little book, Christian will explain (among other things). . .
How Natural Church Development leads every movement back to its roots!

The All By Itself Pathway eBook is now available online at:

Why I like Natural Church Development!

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Because it majors on the majors!
When church leaders examine the results of the NCD church survey they will always find change of some sort is advocated; but those leaders, if they read the result correctly, will never be allowed to forget the essentials.
So often church leaders are aware their church needs to change if it is to meet the needs of a 21st century disciple. What is not so easy to discern is the answer to the question: Exactly what needs to change?
In many instances leaders have managed to make their churches even more toxic by ignoring, or even omitting, one or more of the essentials. Or perhaps they have given attention to an essential, but it is the wrong essential for their church at this point in its history.
When the NCD church survey result is taken seriously it will not allow church leaders to make that mistake. The eight Quality Characteristics of a church are like the vital organs of a human being. You cannot leave them out. You may not ignore them.
There are leaders who are tired of ‘business as usual’ in their church, and rightfully so. They want to start something new and radical and effective. Natural Church Development says, ‘Be as radical as you and your people want; but do not ignore the essentials; make sure you major on the majors; do not overlook any one of the eight!’

Natural Church Development Health and Children

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Children and NCD Church Health

When the data from more 1000 Australian churches from 25 denominations and movements is analysed, there is a definite correlation between the numbers of children in the church, and NCD church health.
Does a healthy church attract more children? Does a flourishing children’s ministry make a church healthier? The experts say it would not be wise or accurate to say that one causes the other. All we can say is there is a definite relationship between healthy churches and effective children’s ministry.

The graph informs us that very healthy churches (right on diagram) have a larger number of children (and are adding to the number of children at a higher rate). Very unhealthy congregations (left on diagram) have a smaller percentage of children (and are losing those they have).

While this is the findings from 1000 Australian churches, when the data from 70,000 churches around the world is added, the graph hardly changes.

Natural Church Development Principles and the Bible

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Why are the nations so angry? Why do they waste their time with futile plans? 2 The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. 3 “Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from slavery to God.” Psalms 2:1-3 (NLT)

When the people who rule the world, the most influential people on the planet irrespective of the position they hold, want to ‘break their chains’ and ‘free ourselves from slavery to God,’ what are they talking about?

It seems to me they want to turn their backs on the great unchanging and unchangeable principles that God has woven through every atom and molecule and cell of His creation, and they want to establish their own way of doing things that will result in disaster. Perhaps it is not only that they want to get rid of God as a Person and the great Creator; they also want to find their way around principles, like sowing and reaping, and multiplication. In part this may be seen in the so-called sexual revolution and freedom from the restraints as imposed by the seventh commandment, with subsequent STDs that have developed and spread (principles: sowing and reaping, and multiplication, working against us).

It can also be observed in the development of plants that will not reproduce, even the suggestion that it may become law that individuals are not permitted to grow crops from seed they have carefully gathered for that purpose. Those principles are like the iron rod that will break these decision-makers and leaders of earth (v.9).

It may appear to us that these unfortunate people are being punished for their sins after they have committed them, and that is true enough; but it is equally true to say that the ‘punishment’ was written into the matter from which God formed the earth, and even deeper than that, it was written into the very character of God Himself!. There is no way of escape from God’s great principles.

We may as well respond to the invitation of Jesus and ‘learn the unforced rhythms of grace.’

How Natural Church Development can help your Church: What will you do?

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When we do the survey, control over the quality of our church is placed in our own hands.

God is showing us, through his people and by His Spirit where we should make adjustments so that He can better display His power through our church. Not only does the survey result enlighten us as to where God is doing His best work in our church, but where we should now focus in order that He is empowered to do what He has always wanted to do in and through our community of faith.
The Preacher says, “God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.” (Proverbs 28:9) The law here is not the ceremonial law, but the moral law, those great principles that God has woven through His whole creation. Sometimes our conscious prayers are contradicted by our unconscious prayers. If God were to answer some of our prayers it would be the end of creation.
I am serious about that. It would be impossible for God to answer because we are not in the right space, and if God were to respond to our prayers in the way we want Him to, He would be denying Himself.

Sometimes we pray God will act in our church when He is waiting for us to act; to address the issues uncovered by the survey result.

Natural Church Development Principles and the Bible

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A wise youth harvests in the summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace. (Proverbs 10:5)

This is a simple example of our interdependence with God’s natural world. We do not have any control over the seasons; God has established them and we have to co-operate with, and take advantage of, the way God’s creation works. This very basic principle can be connected to every different world – politics, family, health care, finance, church – to life in general. Natural seasons are easy to see; that is why it is a disgrace if a person sleeps during the summer harvest. Seasons in other worlds are not always easy to discern; that is why we need the advice of others with the appropriate gifts and understanding. Like those soldiers who joined David’s army: “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” (I Chronicles 12:32) In every church it is likely there is – or was – someone like these leaders from Issachar. The question is: Are they heard? Do they have a voice?

Natural Church Development Principles and the Bible

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My child, listen and be wise: Keep your heart on the right course. Do not carouse with drunkards or feast with gluttons, for they are on their way to poverty, and too much sleep clothes them in rags. Proverbs 23:19-21 (NLT)
What is the Preacher saying here? He is saying, ‘Keep your heart on the right course.’ He has already indicated earlier: Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (Proverbs 4:23). He is suggesting that if we get the heart right, everything else will fall into place.
Let’s take this to the local church. The early church leaders showed little concern for issues that were external to the church. Their chief concern was for problems within the church. Internal problems could do serious damage to the church; problems in the world would have little effect – unless church members opened the door to them. So the Preacher’s advice to his son is equally apt for the church. Let’s keep the heart of the church on the right course. Let’s guard the heart of the church above all else because that determines the course of the church.
What is the heart of the church?
It has to be the leadership team, the main influencers in the church. By surveying the thirty main influencers, we get a picture of the health of the whole church.

If we need to improve the health of our church we do not have to ‘lift’ the total congregation. The focus of our strategy should be, must be, the heart of our church, the leaders, the main influencers; where they go, the rest of the church will follow. What they are, the rest of the church is in the process of becoming.

How Natural Church Development can help your Church: Hearing from God

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When we accept the survey result as a snapshot of our church’s current reality (where we are now), we are listening deeply and genuinely to the Holy Spirit of God.

Those who have participated in the survey are the main influencers in the church. Where they go, the church goes. What they model, the church does.

Of all the people in the church, we would expect these people to be influenced by the Spirit of God. Therefore it must follow that the survey result is God’s word for us at this time in our history; just as a doctor’s accurate diagnosis of our health is God’s word for us on that matter.

I once heard a pastor ask if it might be possible for the survey result and the Holy Spirit to be in disagreement with each other. The answer given was informative: “If the Holy Spirit and the survey result do not agree, all I can say is your people are inveterate liars.”

How Natural Church Development can help your Church: Listening to Others

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When we accept the survey result as a snapshot of our church’s current reality (where we are now), we are listening deeply and genuinely to 30 influencers in our church.

Listening to, and taking notice of, other member’s view of our church may require a fair amount of personal security. It can uncover our own vulnerabilities. We may need to be changed. And if deep down we are feeling fairly insecure, we cannot afford to risk being changed.

We may be prejudiced about the survey result because it is threatening our cherished and long-held perspective. The result may also be challenging to the area we have always felt so comfortable in. It may be suggesting we should go where we have always resisted going in the past. If we accept the result as a snapshot of our church, we will have to deal with a new thing happening. The specter of change frightens most people (see Principle-Centered Leadership by Stephen Covey, pages 115-116)

What kinds of changes might the survey result require of us?
Head? Logic? Changes in our thinking (The green area of of the 3 colors of Natural Church Development)?
Heart? Emotion? Changes in our feelings (The blue area of NCD)?
Hands? Action? We may have to break out of some habits we have developed over time (The red area of NCD)?

Natural Church Development Principles in the Bible

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Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest. (Proverbs 20:4)

Jesus said He always did what He saw the Father doing in both the spiritual and the natural worlds. In the world of horticulture, believers and unbelievers alike, do what they see the Father doing in the natural world. They know there is a right season to plough, and if they do not plow at that time they will come up short. There will be no food on the table. They are doing what they see the Father doing whether they believe it or not.

Several significant Principles are ignored by a lazy person like this one in Proverbs:

Sowing and reaping, Fruitfulness, Multiplication, Sustainability, Interdependence, Energy Transformation – all of these are working against this lazy person.

Fruitfulness: There will be no fruit because the ground has not been prepared at the right time to receive seed.

For Multiplication to happen, seed has to be sown and a crop harvested.

Unless someone else comes to his rescue, the life of this person will not be Sustained because he has no food.

Because he has failed to work, using the Interdependence that God has set up in His creation, he will starve to death.

This principle will also be working against him.

Energy Transformation: It is very clear that he is investing no energy whatever in doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, in the way it needs to be done, so there is zero energy going into the very thing that should be done. Investing energy in avoiding work could very well work against him in his muscles seizing up (what you don’t use, you lose); starvation (scarcity of food); strained relationships (who will continue to provide food and a bed for this sorry individual?)

These are some of the principles that God has woven into His creation and that Natural Church Development is based upon. They are always working whether we acknowledge them or not. And if they are not working for us they will surely be working against us.