The other day, Andrew, a friend of mine, called me and asked me a question about strategies for missional church leadership (being missional simply means that you live as a "sent" representative of God in the world - a missional church is a church that does not depend on attractional programs to reach people, but rather, it sees its people live dynamic, "sent" lives for Christ in the world as His ambassadors). He is a student in seminary doing a paper on this for a class, and he had to interview a pastor that was seeing his church step out missionally and engage their community and their world. He asked me about strategies and vision and plans. He reads this blog, so let me first of all say that his questions were very fair and I completely understood his assignment. This isn't about the questions. It is about my answers.
My answers were pretty pathetic if you were looking for coherent strategies in the way that most "church" experts talk about strategy. But, I think that God is showing us some things and while my answers may seem kind of Sunday School-ish, I think that that they are right. Maybe we need some simplicity in this type of discussion.
I have not had time to sit down and think through anything remotely interesting to blog on latey. My brain has kind of been a pile of mush the last few weeks when it comes to writing. So, I thought I'd throw up a bunch of random thoughts, twitter style, and see which ones stick. Comment as you wish.
My health insurance for my family and me costs around $1000 per month. I had a minor surgery this summer to repair a hernia and another minor surgery to fix what wasn't fixed to begin with. I'm still having problems because the wound won't heal. I'm also facing mounting medical bills for these "minor" surgeries even though I had insurance. I'm not for government run health care, but something needs to be done to bring reform to this system. It is just unsustainable.
Kanye West was out of line. End of story. Why do people give him any attention? Uh oh. Why am I giving him attention? He needs Jesus and I need to pray for him.
By the way, what's up with all the outbursts lately? Kanye West. Joe Wilson yelling out "you lie" to President Obama (I know, Democrats booed President Bush - both sides need to chill on that kind of thing). Then, you have Serena Williams. Excuse me? As John McEnroe would say, "Are you serious?" There seems to be a lot of anger building these days all over the place.
Jimmy Carter pulled the race card by saying that opposition to Obama is rooted in racism. I'm not saying that there aren't racists out there, but him saying that is the same thing as Republicans saying that those who opposed the Iraq War were unpatriotic. He needs to be denounced and this kind of rhetoric from both sides needs to end. We need to have a vigorous debate over the issues and not demonize one side or the other.
I preached on election and God's foreknowledge this past Sunday. I'm not a Calvinist, but I see these doctrines in the Bible. I also see the Bible saying that God wishes all people everywhere to be saved. So, I proclaimed the mystery that declares both human created positions in this debate to be incomplete. It went over well, but there has been a lot of discussion about it since then. I'll preach on 1 Peter 1:3-12 on how Christ is our Living Hope. I'm looking forward to it.
We are still working on our building project for our church. I've spent WAY more time on it the past week or so than I have wanted to, but some minor changes needed to be made, which is harder when you have work crews trying to get stuff done and they are waiting on you to make a decision.
Have you seen the Acorn scandal being reported on Fox News? Sadly, I think that there is corruption everywhere. It is just being exposed here. I hope that someone will clean this kind of thing up. By and large, we have become a pretty corrupt society, I think, so this kind of stuff is happening all the time.
Caelan, my 4 year old son, learned his "fours" in preschool yesterday. He learned how to write the number 4 and everything. I told him that was a pretty big deal. It really is. Think about it. What if you had never learned your fours? You end up using them your whole life and it is pretty awesome to be able to come home and say, "Guess what I learned today? My FOURS." I didn't learn anything nearly that significant yesterday.
We have been going through a study on Wednesday nights on Tim Keller's The Prodigal God. It has been outstanding. If you have not read it yet, I highly recommend it. It blew me away.
My 2nd grader, Peyton, was talking to my 5th grader, Ashtyn, about the Fibonacci Sequence on the way to school this morning. He was saying that his teacher likes to teach them things that are way beyond their level and Ashtyn said, "Yeah, you aren't supposed to learn that until you get to college." And he said, "Yeah, and then you'll be using really big numbers like 300 or something." Smart kid.
We'll see a couple get baptized this Sunday. I performed their wedding this past Sunday. Amazing story of God's grace, guidance, and restoration. I love stories like this and hope to write a full post on what happened next week.
My wife is awesome. She is going to graduate school, leading a massive fundraising project for the PTA at our kid's school, leading the Sr. High youth girls small group at our church, working a couple of days a week to make some extra money, and raising 4 kids while doing an amazing amount around the house. She apologized to me this morning for not helping me out more lately. WHAT??? I'm thinking I need to go home and do some laundry tonight.
I am seeing God's miracles all around me. In my kids. My beautiful wife. My church. People are encountering God. Lives are changing. I don't deserve what I am getting to witness. Sometimes, I take my eyes off the ball and miss it. I thank God that He is always working, though (John 5:17), so there is always something new and fresh happening right in front of me if I only have eyes to see. My prayer is that I be conformed to the image of Christ. That's a big prayer and I find that the most unruly terrain that I encounter tends to be my own heart.
That's it for right now. Lots of stuff going on. It is hard to keep up with everything. More than anything, I find myself in need of the Sabbath rest that Jesus provides. I need to be more attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and to prayer. Spiritual change only happens in spiritual ways.
God is working everywhere. The Kingdom of God is breaking in.
"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4
"Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatheless, plead the case of the widow." Isaiah 1:17
"He (the Lord) defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." Deuteronomy 10:18
"Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless." Isaiah 10:2
Those are just a few of the verses that tell us how God sees the weak, poor, and fatherless. How do we see them? There is an epidemic of fatherlessness in America. 40 percent of children were born to unwed mothers last year in America. Holiness requires that our hearts turn to the fatherless because that is where God's heart is turned. How can we do less?
We have lost two generations since the Great Evangelical Retreat began 50 years ago. It is time for us to turn and face the wreckage that we have left behind and begin to bring healing though sacrificial love. How can our hearts be different from God's and we still claim to walk with Him?
Questions that I am pondering today in prayer. God help us to join you in your work of redemption.
Yet another trip through my always overactive, spinning brain . . .
I can't help but think that the Carrie Prejean/Miss California controversy is a look into the future of what awaits those who take a stand against gay marriage. I generally don't like to be alarmist and I know that most Christian ministries that make big statements about what is coming follow them up with an address where you can send THEM money to fight the encroaching evil, but it still seems like a well-worn strategy of attacking mercilessly those who deviate from the accepted PC response so that no one will dare utter a deviation again without also fearing persecution. It usually works. We'll see what happens here.
I returned from India a week and a half ago and I'm still excited about what I see happening. It seems as though God is using us in some ways to come alongside the believers there and pray for them and encourage them. We are not the ones doing the evangelism or development work, but they are. It is hard work and there is a reason that Northern India has been so resistant to the gospel all these years. We are trying to go back in October and are working on dates. If you want to go, let me know.
This Sunday, my church, Gateway Baptist, celebrates our 25th anniversary. I've been there for 9 1/2 years of the 25, so I have seen a lot of the recent history. I've been the pastor for almost 4 years after serving as associate pastor the first part of my time here. It is a great church with a lot of love for one another and a real desire to follow Jesus. It is a privilege to be a part of this church and to be able to pastor here. God has been really good to us and I look forward to celebrating what God has done this past weekend.
About a month ago, I felt convicted about the lack of intentional prayer in my church. I felt that it was important that our leadership begin to seek God for the ministry of our church. So, I sent an email to those involved in ministry leadership at Gateway and I asked them to commit to praying for the ministry of our church for one hour per week. One hour out of 168 spent in prayer for the ministry of our church. We had around 40 people agree to do so and since then I have seen a real difference in our church. My level of peace has greatly increased and I have seen a much greater excitement about what God is doing. Also, there have been several salvations over the past month from both people who are coming to our church as well as from the personal ministry of our folks out in the community. And, we have seen a huge basketball ministry develop and grow in our parking lot with a good number of our folks engaging the kids coming. God seems to be moving and I think that He is calling us to pray and ask Him for His power. Who knew?
I am working on a New Believer's Study as well as discipleship material that fits with the vision/mission of our church, which is Loving God, Loving People . . . To the Ends of the Earth. I taught a summary of this in India at a conference that we were speaking at and am trying to get it written up to give to every person who comes into our church. It will be in the form of a small booklet. I am pretty excited about it. The New Believer's Study will cover issues like the Kingdom of God, gospel/salvation, baptism, the Holy Spirit, assurance, the local church, the Lord's Supper, the Bible, sanctification, and what happens when we die. We have a lot of young people and new believers coming in, including children, so I think that this will be helpful. The discipleship material will base our Christian growth around the relational flow of the Great Commandment (Loving God & People) and the Great Commission (Acts 1:8 - receive power from the Holy Spirit to be Christ's witness all over the world, starting at home to the ends of the earth). So, this will occupy a lot of my writing emphasis over the next few weeks. I hope to have it finished by the beginning of June.
Along those lines, many churchgoers and pastors are confused about what defines spiritual maturity. According to Barna research, the answers are all over the place. Since Christianity has been around for 2,000 years, shouldn't we have a perspective on what it means to be spiritually mature? The lack of discipleship in our churches is killing us. Here is a starting point: Spiritual maturity maturity means that we look like Jesus. We follow Him and obey Him. His life becomes our life. The fruit of the Spirit is evident in us because that is the character of Christ. Just a thought.
That's enough for now, I guess. Lots to do today. I'm beginning our Summer Bible Study on Developing Intimacy With Christ tonight. It goes for seven weeks. I am praying that God will draw us closer to Him and refresh us as we focus on Him. I'm looking forward to it.
Time for another mind dump. Lots of stuff to highlight today.
Susan Boyle, the 47 year old lady from Scotland on Britain's Got Talent makes me cry everytime I see the video clip. Here it is, by the way. If you haven't seen it, stop what you are doing and watch it. Be honest: Whenever you first saw her, you thought it was a joke, didn't you? She has the voice of an angel. When I see people who were laughing at her a moment before, stand up and cheer, it is overwhelming. We have all become cynical with these talent shows and assume that the person who looks unattractive has no real talent. We all got fooled and our superficial hearts were exposed. At least mine was. This story is full of gospel allusions and that is why I think people resonate with it so much. God looks on the heart, not physical appearances. What matters is what is inside, not the outside. Amazing things come from common places. I think that it is interesting that Susan Boyle shocked us all on Easter weekend when we celebrate the Savior of the world dying on the cross between two thieves and raising from the dead to change everything. What an amazing story.
We got a golden retirever puppy this week named Sasha. I think that people think we are crazy, but life is for the living and, why slow down? Erika and I realize that we are still in shell shock from Caelan's cancer, though. Last night, Sasha was very listless and throwing up over and over. We got scared and took her into the animal hospital. We had to call a vet to come in and see her. We found out that wasn't cheap, by the way. As it turned out, she just had an upset stomach and was probably homesick. Erika said that we went through all of that to find out that Sasha had "Sleepy Puppy Syndrome." Reflecting on it, we overreact now when anyone is feeling bad, even the new puppy. But, she is fine and we're glad we have her. The cool thing is that our nurse last night was a lady that we used to know who has 6 kids. She would like to come to church, but they don't have a ride. We invited her and she said that she wanted to come. So, this Sunday, I hope to bring her to church with us. God moves in mysterious ways!
Sasha has been keeping us up at night, though. I also picked this week to start the writing phase of my book project. Poor timing. I had a very late night last night, but I got the first draft of the preface finished. Yeah! So, this morning, sleepy as can be, I broke down and went to Starbucks. Their White Chocolate Mochas are my new favorite drink there. Yum.
Last night I went to a local art gallery to see a show.Craig Greene, a local artist and member of our church had his work on display. He is really good. His paintings are abstract, but they have form and the eye can follow his lines. I also like the use of vivid colors and faces. A bunch of people from our church came by. I was thinking about it last night and we have quite a few very talented artists in our church. I am hoping that we can begin to display some of their work and that we can allow them to use their talents for God's glory.
Kieran, my 5 year old son, had his first school play today.
His role was as an old-time Hollywood musical dancer, wearing the bowtie and tophat. It was about what the kids wanted to be when they grew up. Kieran is awesome and he is always making us laugh in some way or another. I love that kid with all my heart and am as proud of him as I can be. He is in kindergarten, but he is reading like a pro and has a really sweet heart. He also came to us a few weeks ago and asked how he could know Jesus and be saved. So, we prayed with him about that and see a real desire in him to follow Christ.
Someone broke out the back window of an old van of ours that was parked on the street yesterday. That stinks. Anyone want an old van that doesn't run? You can have it if you come get it.
We're taking the kids to ride horses tomorrow with another family that we are friends with. It should be a beautiful weekend here. I'll be sure to bring the camera. The pictures of that will be amazing.
I asked the leadership of our church to commit an hour a week to pray for the ministry of our church in every phase. I sent an email to around 60 people and they have been responding back all week that they would do it. Already, we are seeing amazing things happen and I am sensing God's presence more and more. After the leadership lays the foundation for this for a few weeks, I might take it to the whole church. But, I wanted to start with those actively involved in ministry leadership.
Well, lots to do. You can keep up with me on Twitter if you like. I'm starting to get the hang of it and it is easy to text from my phone. Look around and ask God to show you where He is working today. He is always working, redeeming, and restoring!
Last night, I couldn't get to sleep. My mind was racing. Finally, I drifted off, but not before I ran through a dozen different subjects. I've been told by friends that I have adult ADD. Maybe so. It would explain a lot. Normally, I write essays for this blog because it is really rewarding for me to lock in on one topic and explore it and I use it as a teaching platform for my church. Today, I'll take you on a random tour of what I'm thinking about in classic, stream-of-consciousness form. Each of these thoughts could be a blogpost all their own and they have been building up in my head. So, I think I'll clean out my brain a little so that I can think more clearly and start over.
I'm going back to India at the end of next month. Around midnight last night, I called Thom Wolf in India and talked with him for awhile. It was almost noon there. He was my professor and intellectual mentor in school back when I lived in San Francisco and he lives in New Delhi. We will go north to the Himalayas and do our normal thing with the ministries there, and then possibly travel with him for a couple of days to the south of India to meet some people doing very interesting things.
I am working through Paul's letter to the Philippians right now in my Bible study and my preaching. I am also writing essays to go along with each topic. Philippians is a great letter to address the "God as a means to an end" syndrome that plagues contemporary Christianity. I am thinking of releasing the essays after I am through with this. It has been really interesting. Today, I am working on one called "Chains" about how Paul volunteered to put himself in less than ideal situations so that the gospel would be spread to others through his life and suffering. Check out Philippians 1:7-14. Am I willing to do the same?
"According to some estimates, Christians in developed Western countries now represent only 37 percent of believers worldwide. As I travel and also read chruch history, I have observed a pattern, a strange historical phenomenon of God 'moving' geographically from place to place: from the Middle East to Europe to North America to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where He's wanted." ~ Philip Yancey, Finding God in Unexpected Places.
I ran across a fascinating article today on urban development in post-Katrina New Orleans on Newgeography.com by Andres Duany. Duany, of Cuban descent, says that "New Orleans is not among the most haphazard, poorest or misgoverned American cities, but rather the most organized, wealthiest, cleanest, and competently governed of the Caribbean cities." He says that New Orleans is not really an American city at all. Rather, it is a Caribbean city. Jimmy Buffett, after Katrina hit, said that the northern Gulf of Mexico is actually the northern part of the Caribbean, not the Southern part of the U.S. I agree. Being from there, it is different that the rest of the country, and I love it. Totally different way of thinking, worldview, and lifestyle. Maybe this is why Baptists have had so much trouble reaching the Gulf Coast? Hmmm.
My two favorite songs on my ipod right now are "Rocket Man" by Angie Aparo and "A Change is Gonna Come" by Ben Sollee. They are both cover songs, but the music and vocals are really intriguing. If you haven't heard either of these guys, check them out. Here's a live version of "Rocket Man." I think about this when I am travelling too much.
And, Ben Sollee on the cello. Yes, the cello. This is amazing.
This week marks the 3 year anniversary of us finding a lump on Caelan's chest that was a cancerous tumor. It has been a hard three years, but I praise God everyday for His faithfulness. Last night, Erika told me that the little 3 year old girl that my family has been praying for since we saw her at Caelan's last scans died last week. Her name was Cassie. My heart was broken over that. Maybe that is why I keep singing "A Change is Gonna Come." Ben Sollee, covering Sam Cooke, says he doesn't know what's beyond the sky. I do, and more and more each day I pray that God's Kingdom come.
"As heretical as it sounds today, it is probably worth telling Americans that you don't need Jesus to have better families, finances, health, or even morality. Coming to the cross means repentance - not adding Jesus as a supporting character for an otherwise decent script but throwing away the script in order to be written into God's drama. It is death and resurrection, not coaching and makovers." Michael Horton, Christless Christianity.
Baseball season is about to start. I really don't like baseball. Too slow for my taste. During the dead of summer, it is almost like there are no sports going on. I'm just waiting for football. Although, our church has formed THREE softball teams with about 50 players and they'll be playing mostly on Monday nights, so I am glad for the fact that a lot of people from our church will be hanging out together and building relationships. Being blind in my right eye caused me to never play baseball because I have no depth perception, so maybe that is why I don't like it. I do plan to play summer league basketball, though.
The groundbreaking for our church's new building is April 5, right before we have a huge neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. We've been reaching a lot of teenagers in our community lately, and God really moved in their lives at a youth retreat that we had this past weekend. Several came to Christ and many more opened their hearts to Jesus. We have also started tutoring, GED classes, and are helping with job placement. God is doing some amazing things. The building is just a tool to help us with this, and it should be finished by October. I'll be very happy.
I keep watching Jon & Kate plus Eight. I don't know why. Erika keeps asking why I stop there when we are watching TV and I have the remote and I told her that I really can't believe how mean Kate is to Jon and I can't fathom how they manage eight kids like that. Wow. It's like a car wreck. I have four kids of my own. Do I really need to watch someone else's stress? Strangely, I'm drawn to it. That, and Clean House, which is about people who live in an unfathomable mess. I guess that it is cathartic to see other people's stress and mess instead of my own. Normally, these shows come on right after we put the kids to bed. Hmmm.
I turned in my taxes yesterday and I'm trying to get some insurance stuff taken care of. It's a pain and seems to be taking forever. Car tags have to be paid on Monday and I'm doing a TV interview tomorrow for a local religious broadcasting station about our work in India. I lump all of that together because it all feels about the same to me - stuff I have to do that I don't like doing. I'm not just trying to be humble about the TV thing either. I HATE stuff like that. Communication should be two-way and interactive with feedback, not captured on a television for people to pick over and misinterpret as they wish. Maybe I'm just insecure.
Books I'm reading right now (they happen to all be "Christian" books, which is not good - I need to vary things up a bit and learn from some other disciplines):
Finding God in Unexpected Places by Philip Yancey - picked it up in the airport last week. Yancey writes essays about where he sees God working in the world. Excellent.
Christless Christianity by Michael Horton - states that the American church has given itself over to an alternative gospel that he calls, therapuetic moralistic deism.
No Place for Truth - Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology by David Wells. This came out about 15 years ago, but it was recommended to me by a friend of mine. It is pretty dense, but a good read. Makes some of the same claims as Horton, but from a historical perspective.
My church is always heavy on my mind and my heart. I graduated from seminary over 9 years ago. I've been the lead pastor of our church for 3 1/2 years. I'm realizing more and more each day that I am not smart enough, talented enough, entertaining enough, or gifted enough to do what needs to be done, no matter how many books I read. God has to work through me. I need Him. I carry the weight of people's struggles pretty intensely. I greatly desire for people to walk with the Lord and to glorify Him and I want our church to hunger after Christ with their whole lives and to reach people who do not know Jesus. But, I am really having to pray about this and release it to the Lord. I can't make anyone do anything. I am completely powerless to make anything happen. God has to do it. I have always known that intellectually. I am learning that emotionally and spiritually and it isn't easy, believe it or not.
Ashtyn has started soccer.
I have great kids and an amazing wife who listens to me go on and on about everything that I am thinking about. She is really patient and she always gives me great feedback. I do not deserve her, and I'm not just saying that because it is what I am expected to say. She's really something. She texted me two days ago and said that we should go on the mission trip with the youth group this summer. I told her that I agreed. Not many mother's of four kids would do that.
My city, Montgomery, just elected a new mayor in a special election a couple of weeks ago. In his election night interview, he said that he hoped that he would "rule" well. Rule #1 in American politics: Never tell the people that you plan to "rule" them. It doesn't sit well in a democracy. Then, he said that he was pushing the inauguration back a week because he was taking his family to the beach. Rule #2: When we are in a severe recession, don't tell the people that just elected you that you would begin to rule, er, serve them, but first, you have to go to the beach. Go to the beach in a few months AFTER you have worked for them for a little while. Wow.
Look, a BUTTERFLY!!!! Sorry, had to get that out. Does anyone ever feel that way? Random as can be.
I've lost 10 pounds in the past two weeks and I don't know how. I guess that I haven't been eating as much. Duh. Stress? Busyness? I don't know, but I'll take it. I could stand to lose a lot more.
Well, that's about it. Not really, but I figure that no one is still reading at this point, so I might as well stop. Believe it or not, engaging in an exercise in complete randomness actually made me feel better. So, I leave you with a picture of my kids that I really love.
God is good, by the way. And, He's always working in every thing. Big, little, important, mundane. God is always at work.
