Wanted: Risk-Takers and Zealots

“Cover bands don’t change the world.”

That’s my friend Todd’s way of saying something I’ve always believed: if you want something different, you have to do something different.

I’m a pastor by day. Most churches in America operate like cover bands. That’s not to say they aren’t talented or helpful. But they aren’t putting their neck out to take new ground. They aren’t trying new things that get them criticized. They aren’t maligned by peers who misunderstand their methods.

Nearly every church follows the same playbook of “best practices.” It’s the same formula of marketing, hip worship, relevant teaching, and digital content. Scan any church website and we all basically look and sound the same. The same branding, staging, music, and teaching. None of us stand out.

All of this is fine, and even good. I’m part of the “best practices” community. You’d be blind to ignore methods that are effective at reaching and serving more people. In our current culture, these best practices are more compelling for most than a pipe organ, rote prayers, and drab homilies.

But this isn’t moving the needle in America. Church attendance is crashing, and the number of actual conversions isn’t high enough. Suicide is rampant, substance abuse is on the rise, and mental health issues are growing at astronomical rates. We aren’t well, and our current church model isn’t changing that narrative.

Some will say, “Right! That’s why we need to have smaller churches and home churches.” Those are also fine and good, but they move the needle even less. I’ve been around long enough to know that they rarely multiply or grow, at least not in the history of America. Some will undoubtedly respond, “But what about China where the underground church is growing?” Yes, persecution brings different ministry forms that are actually fruitful. Until we start getting martyred for our faith, history will show that our small gathering methods just aren’t cutting it.

What we are lacking are visionaries, risk-takers, and zealots, willing to push all their chips in on a ministry model that hasn’t yet been seen. Who has big ideas that can make a splash? Who is doing things that people don’t understand and even criticize? Who is willing to stand out from the best practices cult? In the history of the church, these are the people God uses to move the needle, creating impact felt for generations.

The revival at Asbury in 2023 was wonderful. More of that please. But it still failed to reach the sacrificial heights of the man the school was named after. Francis Asbury wasn’t interested in reviving the spiritual life of already-believers, but in bringing new people into the fold. He clocked over 300,000 miles on horseback, from small frontier town to small frontier town, bringing the good news of Jesus to people living on the margins of a growing nation. He was part of the Methodist movement, one greatly criticized because of their “methods” in breaking long held “rules” of churches—like you don’t have to attend a seminary to preach; like writing your own worship songs; like putting people in the front row of open air meetings who were already Christians, but would jump up when the altar call was given to “prime the pump.” It was derisively called the “anxious bench.”

Back in the 1700s, the colonies that would become America were far from the religious roots of the Pilgrims who first came to this country. Pastors at the time were monotonous and read from carefully crafted scripts. Then a man named George Whitfiled burst on the scene. A fan of theater, he was dramatic and commanding, with a booming voice said to be able to reach 15,000 people without amplification.

Breaking with tradition, Whitfield held meetings outside in the open-air, where large crowds flocked around him and passersby were brought into the mix. It offended many of the traditional preachers of the day, but it worked. It is estimated 80% of the American colonists personally heard Whitfield preach. During this time period, known as The First Great Awakening, church attendance swelled from 14% to 55%. Whitfield did something new—and it worked.

I was recently on an elk hunt and drove by a YoungLife property. It reminded me of the vision of its founder, Jim Rayburn. One of his properties brought me to Christ. He wanted to reach kids who weren’t in church. He said, “If you want to have Sunday School and actually have kids show up, don’t have it on Sunday and don’t call it school.” He had the audacity to have meetings on midweek evenings in homes. When he outgrew them, he moved to funeral parlors. Then he raised money to buy and build amazing camps all across the country, where local clubs would flock. At one point, he even started his own busing company to get kids to these camps.

I don’t even have time to mention Bill Bright or Charles Finney, Jeremiah Lanphier or Billy Graham. The people who create waves don’t play by business as usual. Better management won’t get us to the next level. Doing more of what we are currently doing more efficiently won’t produce different results. We have to stop playing covers. Where are the Wesleys, Whitfields and Rayburns of our generation?!

It’s humbling to realize that I have more years in the rearview mirror than I do in the windshield, especially when it comes to work. That’s why I am devoting the rest of my life to making as big an impact as possible, and positioning myself, and the church I lead, to be at the center of a generation-defining movement of God. Not because I ever believe my name will be mentioned with the greats above, but because more people don’t know Jesus than do. I’m not saving anything for a rainy day, because it’s already raining! Now is the time.

A few years ago, we bought 440 acres of raw land in the middle of nowhere. We were chasing a first-in-class, easily-misunderstood, high-risk vision. In a world full of distractions, loneliness, and spiritual listlessness, we believed the more people who disconnected for a weekend, spent time in nature, and connected face-to-face with others while worshiping God, the better. What do you know, it actually worked. With beer kegs beside the prayer tent, we are seeing spiritual, emotional, and relational breakthroughs. People are meeting God for the first time, marriages are healed, traumas are confronted, and lives have been drastically changed. Crossroads Camps were born of an aggressive vision for more.

These off-the-grid, low-structure but high-impact weekends have blossomed. What started as one camp has grown into almost 10 a year, offering people from all backgrounds the opportunity to disconnect, focus on what’s important, and grow. Last year, our original and flagship experience, MAN CAMP, was the largest gathering we ever had on that land—nearly 3,000 men from 45 states spent the weekend laughing, worshiping, and pushing past their comfort zones.

Despite the fact that we didn’t have the money in our pockets, this year we added 330 more acres to that original land. Fundraising is stressful and never fun. So why take the plunge? Because more space means more men (and women, and families, and veterans, and fathers + sons, and mothers + daughters) can experience the life-changing message that there is a God who loves them, is for them, and has something better in store for them.

Will primitive camping on 770 acres change the world and trajectory of faith in America? Maybe not. But doing the same thing that everyone else is already doing certainly will not. This is the risk God is calling us to take, and I’m going all in. I’ll work as hard as humanly possible at it, but at the end of the day, the results (and the glory) belong to God.

Camps isn’t the only way God is calling His people to try something new—but it is the way he’s calling me. I’m committed to staying in this car for the duration of the ride. There’s room for you, too.

If you’re ready for a change, to put yourself in a position to have a possibly transcendent encounter with the God of the Universe, we’ve saved a spot for you on some green hills overlooking the Ohio River.

In the not-too-distant past, crossing that same river meant freedom for enslaved people running toward a better life. Today, we applaud their bravery, boldness, and rule-breaking.

Freedom just might be waiting for you there too—if you’re willing to try something uncomfortable, different, and a little dangerous.

Find out more, and claim a spot for yourself, or a guy you know, at MAN CAMP here. Registration closes September 1.