The Miniature Earth

Cory posted this slideshow on his blog and I think it's worth taking the time to watch. I think some of us get sick of hearing how rich we are as a nation--and as individuals, but we continue to do so little about it--and I am the first to admit I'm an offender on this count.

At the end of the slideshow there are a few websites listed that have to do with ending poverty. If you have the time check one of these out.

Organic Church

In the last week I've been reading the book Organic Church by Neil Cole. It's been out for a while, but I never read it largely because of the cheesy cover and the cheesy picture of Neil in the back (I know I'm so fickle). I started reading it because I got a copy for free, but had I known what was in it I would have gladly shelled out some cash. This is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

Cole provides a powerfully prophetic message for all Christians. It is true that he promotes a very non-traditional approach to church (which I resonate with), but what he writes is not focused on the form of church so much as it is focued on calling us back to Christ. Here is a tasty sample from the book.

All of us invested in the Kingdom of God long deeply to be a part of a spontaneously growing and multiplying movement where God is doing the work. We read the book of Acts, and our spirits scream to be a part of something like that. When we hear reports of the Kingdom expanding and lives changing overseas in China or India, our souls are touched in a deep place that we seldom feel, and it reminds us that our own experience is so empty. It is unfortunate that we sacrifice our heart’s desire for lesser things. The reality is that as long as we invest in human-driven efforts, we will never see what we all really want to see…There is a risk involved in seeking a spontaneous movement. We must trust God to do His part. We must be willing to place ourselves in a position where, if he does not show up, we will be seen as complete fools. Most have not been willing to take that risk. We are often afraid that God’s reputation will be tarnished. This fear is not from heaven but hell. We will never see the dramatic power of God if we are too afraid to be placed in a position that requires His deliverance.

Do we even know what it would look like to put ourselves in such a place? Are we so comfortable that we wouldn't know how to be risky if we wanted to?

You're a what?

Usually thinking about missionaries leads a person's mind to wander down a path that leads to a place located across at least one large body of water. Somewhere just outside Chicago, Illinois isn't exactly a traditional missionary destination. But it is a place in need of missionaries, and that's why we're here.

It seems that almost every week there is a new statistic released that trumpets massive changes in the way Americans view and practice Christianity. Whether you've seen these statistics or not, you may sense that things aren't quite the same as they used to be. You hear grim reports about youth leaving church once they go off to college. You can't put your finger on why, but it doesn't seem that Christianity has quite as much of an influence on our culture as it used to. You hang out with people who are as interested in showing up at church as they are in dusting. Your experiences and statistics indicate that we are increasingly a nation in need of missionaries.

There are many good churches in the United States making a great impact on the people and communities they serve, but there are also an increasingly large number of people who won't ever step through the door of one of these churches. To reach these people, there have to be those who will approach our culture as missionaries--going to people where they are and being the presence of Christ with them.

This kind of missionary takes time and patience, which is a bit of stretch for me because I tend to have a solid impatient streak.
You can ask anyone in the group I pastored in Denver--if something didn't work in three months (or sometimes one) I wanted to change it. This constant change made it difficult for people to discern what that group was about and didn't give any of our strategies time to succeed.

Now God has taken us from that ministry to one that requires even more patience (do you think he's trying to tell me something?). When a missionary goes into another country, they don't expect to see converts and have a thriving church in a few months. They know that their work, if it is done right, will take a long time. It takes them years to develop relationships, see people put faith in Christ, and teach them what it means to be missionaries as well. Though the context is different, our work is really no different. If we want to reach people who have no interest in going to church, we need to take a long time to listen, be with them, and understand how the gospel is best communicated to them.

When we came here I hoped to see massive impact in the first few months, but I'm learning that's not a missionary pace. The work is intense, and being missionaries has required a huge adjustment in how we live, but if we really want to reach people we have to have a wider lens. I am training myself to think in terms of three years rather than three months. And Michelle gives me a gentle reminder of that every time I talk about changing something.

Go Read Some Other Blogs

A couple of the board members have posted about some aspect of the board meeting on their blogs.

For a nice, long (but worth it) video of a talk by Michael Frost see Cory's blog.

For a more laid back, picture tour of the time with the board go to Mariam's blog.

The First of the Board Meetings

On Monday and Tuesday of this week we had our first annual meeting of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors plays an important part in setting the direction of Infuse and provides accountability for our direction. It's amazing the cross-section of people God has blessed us with in this group.

Mark is a youth pastor at South Suburban Church in Littleton, Colorado.
Mariam is a doctoral student at St. Andrews in Scotland.
James works with Kingdom Advisors in Atlanta, a Christian financial organization.
Cory works at Christianity Today and is a part of Infuse here in Aurora.

I am really excited about what the next year holds for us and the vision God has given. These people all played an important role and we're thankful for their commitment!

Michelle's Thoughts on the First Three Months in Aurora

Moving to Aurora was one of the hardest steps of faith I have taken in my life. We are in a place where we hardly know anyone and we do not have the community of faith we have had virtually our whole lives. It has been a hard move for our family both relationally and financially. It is hard to meet people when you are a stay at home mom with two small children and you are not attending a traditional church. This has been a struggle in a lot of ways, but also a blessing as we are realizing what it takes to be misssional. If we had stayed in Denver our established friendships might have hindered us since we wouldn't feel the same urgency to meet people. I am desperate to meet other moms so I have created two moms groups in order to develop some life-long friendships as well as minister to people.

My first group is a playgroup on Wednesday mornings, we have around 5 moms that attend and we let our children play and we talk. Isaiah and Ayla love it because they have friends to come over again, and I love to be able to be with other moms. The women are each unique and a gift. This past meeting I felt so encouraged as there were some beginning discussions about church and life. I am already learning tons about the women and look forward to serving them. I also recently started a moms' night out group that is purely to really converse with other moms. Our first meeting is this week and I am very excited to see how God uses this as well! Thinking about my groups, it is a real eye opener how people are yearning for
relationships. People truly need people, that is how God has created us. These two groups are not "it" in terms of being missional. We are missionaries. We are trying to meet people wherever we go (Starbucks, scrapbooking, grocery stores, etc.) and changing our mindset to be open to how God might use us. It is a challenge in many ways to be here, especially being away from the deep relationships we had in Denver, but also good since it forces us to be our in our world, loving people as He does.

Blog Migration

As the birds of the ponds in Indiana migrate south for winter, so this blog is preparing to migrate. The Infuse website is now up at http://www.infusechurch.com and that is where this blog is moving. The focus will change just slightly with this change. I hope that numerous people from Infuse will be contributing, talking about whatever is on their minds. We will continue to write the kinds of things we're writing here, and we'll probably even post things in both places for a while, but the days of this blog are limited.

If you have time check out the website and let us know what you think. It's a starting point and I'm sure it will change quite a bit in the next year, so input is welcome!

Evangelizing the Churched?

The first day of the class I had the opportunity to teach this summer we went around the room and talked about our backgrounds. One of the guys in the class shared something like this.

"I have some background with Christianity. I went to church with my mom until the end of high school. But in the last couple years I haven't really gone to church or anything. I wouldn't consider myself as a believer now."

I thought it was brave of him to be so honest, especially at a Christian university and in a Bible class.

The class was on Colossians, and we got to talk quite a bit about what Christianity is supposed to be and how that can differ from what it has become. We also had a good class where people felt comfortable asking difficult questions. Those led to some good discussions. At the end of the three weeks of class that same guy came up to the front, shook my hand, and said, "Thanks for a good class. If I were living in Chicago I'd want to come to your church."

What changed? I don't know that answer for sure, but based on the questions he asked and comments he made in class I have a guess. I don't think he had ever really heard the gospel. This man, who had grown up in church, had never heard the full good news of Jesus Christ. He heard that he was supposed to behave in certain ways, but not that Christianity was supposed to be about following the way of Christ and letting that impact every part of how we live, think, and interact with others.

This was a good reminder to me that just because someone grew up in church doesn't mean they know the gospel. We have to be ready for spiritual discussions with people we might think should alrady know about following Christ.

We're Here!

This weekend was a moving extravaganza! I rode to Aurora with my father-in-law on Friday morning to meet our landlord at 11:00. As we started to unload the trailer a downpour began, which finished about the time we threw the last box in the garage. After that we spent the afternoon helping Megan, Michelle's sister, move into her new place which is only about five minutes from us! My favorite part of that move was that we had to take the railing off her balcony and hoist her box spring up while standing on the U-Haul trailer because it wouldn't fit up the stairs. Michelle, our kids, and my parents arrived safely in Aurora around 3:00.

We spent the bulk of the day Saturday moving all our stuff out of Cory's garage and spare bedroom. It was pretty hot, so I soaked through about four shirts, but we got it done. Many thanks to Cory, Megan, Michael, Steve, Twyla, and Jacki for all their help.

Here's the top five things I learned from the weekend:
1. I'm not meant to be a mover.
2. Stairs are evil.
3. People make jokes about the humidity in the Midwest, those are not funny.
4. If you ever want to move it is best to just have folding chairs as furniture.
5. You always have more stuff than you think!

Church Plant FAQs

(Below are frequently asked questions that have been asked of us as we're preparing for this church plant. Hopefully it'll help you understand more of what we're planning, however, we realize that the Holy Spirit will direct this.)

What is a missional church?

It is a group of Christ-followers who organize their lives individually and corporately around the two-fold mission of spiritual and physical redemption in the world.

Why are missional churches like Infuse needed?

American culture has undergone major changes in relation to Christianity over the last fifteen years. There are about 100 million unchurched Americans, and the church only reaches about 35% of the demographic range of the population.

As Jim Peterson says in Church Without Walls, "We must take into account the fact that we live in a society that is, in many ways, reverting to paganism. Biblical beliefs and values are becoming increasingly foreign to popular thought."

In the past people have come to the church for guidance, relationships, and spiritual insight. For many, this is no longer the case. The United States is following in the footsteps of other Western countries, such as Australia and England. Those countries are now considered to be largely spiritually dead.

What are your hopes and dreams with Infuse?

Our hope is that the Holy Spirit will move in a mighty way through our efforts to bring people into a relationship with Jesus Christ that will result in lifelong discipleship. We desire that out of this movement there would be three primary outcomes:

--A missional church planting movement would be spawned that reaches outside of Aurora. Many other networks similar to this are being formed all over the country.

--That the prayer Jesus told us to pray, "Your kingdom come," would be increasingly answered as we change our world by serving and loving people in practical ways.

--We would foster true discipleship that leads people back into their own world as missionaries.

What will you be doing through Infuse?

Much of what we do will center around cell groups. We view these as a cross between a house church and a small group. They will be given a great deal of freedom to self-organize around the values of worship, community, and mission. We want them to take a unique shape based on the people participating in them and the segment of culture they wish to reach. We do not see them as being controlled by a centralized leadership, rather they will be networked to each other through open communication and bound together by the common values.

When we have more than a couple groups, we’ll also start a weekly gathering for all those involved in the network. This gathering will not be used as a front entry to the church—that’s what the cell groups are for. This will be a place to worship together, communicate our vision, and hear stories of life transformation.

Are you working with a church, denomination, or church planting organization?

Yes, we’re partnering with Christian Resource Ministries and their missional branch, Missio. They’ll provide training and lead us through these beginning stages. You can find more information at these links: http://www.crmleaders.org and www.missio.us. We’ve also established a board of directors that will guide and support us, and provide accountability. Finally, we are setting up missionary-type relationships with a number of existing churches.

Where can I get more information about what you’re doing with Infuse?

We will consistently be updating our church website and our blog. You can find more at these links: http://infusechurch.com and http://infusing.blogspot.com. Or, of course, give me a call or send me an email.

How will your day-to-day life change?

My day-to-day life won’t change a lot. I’m still working full-time at Christianity Today, but my time away from work will be focused on Infuse. My service will focus on meetings and strategy, practical community service, and relationship-building.

What are your financial needs?

Trevor will be spending the most time with Infuse. We’re praying that he’ll only need a part-time job and the rest of his family’s needs will be subsidized by support that we raise together. In addition, our support will go to community service and outreach in Aurora. An example of this might be a tutoring program at a local housing complex. There will be some overhead, like office supplies and a computer. In total, our goal is to raise $100,000 the first year with that decreasing as people join us and tithe to the church network.

I want to learn more about the missional church movement. Do you recommend any good books?

Yes, definitely! Here are a few of the books that have shaped what we’re doing.

Church Without Walls by Jim Peterson.
The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch
The Present Future: Six Tough Questions for the Church by Reggie McNeal

Also, Leadership journal recently dedicated an entire issue to missional churches. You can find a summary here.

Church Plant Update

(Below is my update letter I sent this week about Infuse. We ask for your prayers.)

Friends,

In college my closest group of friends often talked about serving in ministry together, but it was more of an unrealistic dream than something that would ever come to fruition.

For these seven years since graduation, I’ve worked at Christianity Today International. I get to help create resources that equip churches and their leaders, and I’ve grown more in love with the church and convinced that it is the hope of the world.

Lately, through my professional and volunteer church work, God has shown me that one of my unique gifts is apostleship. Apostles are entrepreneurial and often seen using their gifts on new frontiers of ministry like church planting or creating new ministries.

With this in mind, I want to share with you some exciting news in my life.

On July 27, one of my best friends from college, Trevor Lee, and his family will move from Denver to Aurora, Illinois to follow a call God has grown in us—the call to be missionaries to our own culture. We’ve chosen Aurora because of its diversity and its great needs, and Trevor has seen the passion and commitment I’ve developed for this city over the last several years I’ve lived here.

Statistics show that people are detaching from church and becoming increasingly unfamiliar with what it means to be a Christian. You’ll probably notice this just in your circle of influence. I’ve noticed this as more people my age stop being part of a church or never show an interest.

We’re starting a church called Infuse. We want to take time to develop relationships and to understand how to reach those who have had little or no contact with the church. We’ll simply serve and love people more intentionally throughout Aurora.

Infuse is a non-traditional church plant, based on an organic model that is gaining momentum in the States. Practically, it looks like going to a new country to be missionaries. This means taking the time to really listen to people, gain an understanding of what the Church would look like for them, and empower them to live out faith in Christ within their cultural setting. We don’t expect quick, tangible results because we know that relationship-building takes time.

We cannot fulfill God’s call on our lives without the support of our friends and family. We’re looking for partners in this missional church plant, and I thought it was important you know what we’re doing so you could pray with us in these beginning stages.

Because we are starting with a small group and pursuing a model that will take time to make an impact, we will also need financial support to make this work. If you feel led to support us financially in this start-up ministry, you can fill out the card below and mail it in the envelope provided or sign up for electronic funds transfer at www.InfuseChurch.com under “Support.” If you are willing to pray for us, please also let us know on the card so that we can keep you updated on what is happening.

I love talking about what we’re doing so please ask me questions. Attached is an FAQ page that provides more detailed information. We’re excited about this new spiritual journey and look forward to you being a part of it with us.

Trusting in Him,

Cory Whitehead

Praying for Puppies?

One balance I've often struggled with in prayer--especially group prayer--is taking everyone's issues seriously but not making prayer some kind of trite grocery list of suggestions to God. What do you do when someone says their dog needs prayer because it's going to get a shot? Or that their grandma got a bad watermelon at the store that she can't take back?

On the side of accommodating, and even encouraging, any and every request are a few things. One, I believe that God is intimately involved in the world and that there isn't anything that escapes his awareness. So on some level, anything that is a concern to someone is a concern to him. Second, I don't believe I have the right to judge the validity of someone else's experiences. So if someone says they are anxious, sad, or angry about something, my reaction shouldn't be to dismiss it as stupid. It may be something that wouldn't matter to me were I in their shoes, but apparently it does matter to them. Third, I believe that God answers prayer. Prayer is not just something God uses to shape us (though it can do that), he has invited us to shape his involvement in the world through prayer.

On the side of not wanting to accomodate seemingly trite prayers are a few other things. One, the Bible doesn't give us many examples of the kinds of prayer. Prayer in Scripture is rich and is far more about the things of the kingdom of God than it is about minor inconveniences or pains. Two, prayer requests like these tend to make group prayer time less meaningful and more routine. It's easy to make a list, check it twice, and talk out loud about it under the pretense of it being prayer. Sometimes it may be prayer, but I know that there are many times I've just prayed for someone's request without passion or desire because I thought I had to. Many times these requests seem to come out because someone really wants to say something, just give an update on their life and not know when else to do it, or spread some gossip. Third, this reinforces that Christianity is all about "me" and God giving me what I deserve. I don't have time to write about all the things that are wrong with that and how that thinking has neutered Christianity.

Something that motivated this is an article I came across by JoHannah Reardon on group prayer. Again, there's no hyperlink button on this computer, but if you're up for cutting and pasting it's at http://www.christianitytoday.com/smallgroups/articles/artofgroupprayer.html.

Your thoughts on the topic?

Article Worth Reading

This article (http://www.theofframp.org/emerging.html) (sorry, my hyperlink button in blogger isn't working) by Brian McLaren was brought to my attention and I think it's worth reading. A few of my favorite lines to entice you into reading it are:

"So, this quest for community challenges us not to seek community as a commodity, but rather to pursue love (which is patient, kind, not rude, etc.) as a practice, which yields community as a byproduct."

We have massive systemic problems, one of which is "Our transience , which means right about the time we, against all odds, get close to a circle of friends, half of them will up and move away."

"Old categories merge in what I believe is a radical shift in our theology, from a system in which "missions" is one department of theology, to a new place where theology is one department of mission."

"In contrast, missional Christianity says, "God is expressing his love to all outsiders through our acts of kindness and service. You're invited to leave your life of accumulation and competition and self-centeredness to join us in this mission of love, blessing, and peace. Want to join in the mission?"

Any thoughts?

Living in Two Worlds

The Bible attests that those who follow Christ have been delivered from the dominion of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of the Son (Col. 1:12-14). This sounds nice--like something we'd be happy about, but it raises the question of how we live in light of the fact that we are now citizens of and earthly kingdom and the kingdom of God. The implications for mission are not as problematic as the reality of how we live our lives as individuals and communities. For instance--

How do function as self-giving, patient, sacrificial, forgiving, long-suffering communities (Col. 3:12-16 among others) of faith when we are transient, fragmented, selfish, and individualistic people? The realities of the life we've bought make the kind of community life envisioned in the New Testament (and perhaps best illustrated in the picture of a body of believers) a distant reality that appears as a shadow to us. We find it difficult to imagine spending the time and effort it would take to develop deep family bonds with fellow believers let alone to find the challenge and encouragement there to push us out into service and witness in the world. We just don't have the time. We have accepted a life where our deepest relationships with other believers are forged in an hour or two a week. We don't have the patience to work diligently on much anymore, we just want quality quickly.

How can we show people a life characterized by love for enemies and peace when one of our foremost concerns is our rights? Whether or not we should retaliate when our rights are violated isn't given much thought. We just assume that if we are mistreated, caused to suffer, or just not given our due, then someone needs to pay for it. The example of our Master might lead us to consider otherwise (1 Peter 2:20-24).

How will we learn to be disciples of the homeless, sinner-associating, positionless Jesus when we love money and comfort? The life we are called to, both individually and corporately, cannot be lived in the service of more than one master. I just wonder how badly we twist the message of the Master so that we won't have to feel too uncomfortable. We are often bowing to masters we don't know are there, because we don't take the time to look and see them.

Much of this comes out of reflections while teaching Colossians. It is an enormous task for us to live in the place we occupy in this world, as faithful messengers of our Lord, while at the same time being transformed by the upside-down values of the Kingdom of light.

Super Saturday

Michelle and I returned to Aurora this past Saturday to search for a place to live. I ended up being a great day and I wanted to share a couple highlights. In case you're interested in the general but not the specific, I put the general praise in bold and then wrote more about it after.

We found an amazing place to live that is perfect for us right now in many ways...that's what I describe below.
We started the day looking for a place to live in Naperville, then went to Warrenville, spent some time on the east edge of Aurora, and ended up on the west side of Aurora. Most of the day was pretty discouraging in regard to the places we were seeing. However, the last place we went, the one we thought would have no chance, ended up being great and we are approved to be able to rent it. Here are some of the reasons it's so great.

There is a huge unfinished basement. It will need a little sprucing up, but this will be a place that can hold 20-25 people so as we have parties and as our cell group grows there will be plenty of space to meet. Since it is in the basement it is also far enough away from the kids' rooms that they would be able to sleep while we are talking, singing, or whatever. Most of the places we looked didn't have anything like this and we would have had a hard time fitting more than 10 people in the living room.

It is in West Aurora. All along we have liked the diversity of Aurora and wanted that to be the place we were centrally located. We thought we might have to compromise that some because it is so difficult to find a place to rent in the area right now. So we had been preparing ourselves to be in a less than ideal location, at least for the first year. This is in a very nice neighborhood, is only 5-7 minutes from downtown Aurora, and will be a great place to be. We think we could be very happy living here for a number of years, which we thought was out of the question until we saw this place.

There is a huge backyard. Not an easy thing to find in any city. This will be great for our kids, and beyond that there are only partial fences between yards and the person renting to us said people will play across the yards--sounds like a great way to meet the neighbors!

The rent is the cheapest of any of the places we looked at!! Enough said.

The second, and more important, great thing that happened on Saturday happened at lunch. We got together with a couple we met for the first time in May and they told us that they wanted to be a part of Infuse!

The first time we met with Brian and Sarah we left lunch and Michelle said, "When he talks it sounds like you! Or maybe when you talk it sounds like him. Either way, you two think so much alike about the church and what we need to be in our culture." It is a blessing to be joined by a couple that is so seriously pursuing how to live out faith in our culture and are mature in their faith. As a bonus, we sincerely enjoy being with them and just look forward to growing our friendship. They are a really amazing couple!

We have prayed for a long time that God would give us at least 8-10 people by the time we start. We are now up to 6 and look forward to who else he will bring to be a part of this.

Overall we just want to praise God for the way he is abundantly providing for us. We don't function out of a mentality that he owes us or anything, but it is a good reminder during times like this that he does answer our prayers and enjoys providing richly for us (I don't mean he gives us a lot of money, let's please not go there). So praise the Lord with us!

How We View the Poor

One of the things we will make a priority with our church is serving our community, and specifically the poor/oppressed. I was reading an article by Mark Buchanan called Wreck the Roof about the ways they've had to change their focus as a church in order to really reach out to the needy and came across a great quotation. He is talking about a program they do where they give backpacks with school supplies to the children of single parents. Before they begin he meets with the volunteers from his church and here is what he tells them.

"Today, you are Christ's voice, his hands, his feet, his eyes, his heart. If these people see Jesus, it will be in you. And, like Christ, we are doing more than rendering a service. We are loving them as ourselves. We are not just serving, but having Jesus' attitude--being in very nature servants.

"Life and circumstances, and ofthen their own bad choices, have taken many things from these people. But what each of them needs most today is not clothes or a new backpack or an oil change. We can give all those things and fail to give the one thing needed, or even worse: we might give all those gifts with one hand, and with the other strip them further of the one thing needed.

"The one thing needed is dignity. It is their sense of being loved and worth loving. It is their sense of their infinite value in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of God's people. If we give all those other things today but don't give them dignity, we fail. Today, give the one thing needed. Today, we host kings and queens, princes and princesses. Let us act accordingly."

I nearly cry every time I read the last two sentences. So often we see the poor as projects at best and a nuisance at worst. If we serve them with that attitude we will do more to push them down then to give them a hand.

Once in Denver I pulled up to a stoplight and there was a man begging on the corner. I rolled down my window and here's how our conversation went.

"Hello."
"Hello"
"What's your name?"
"My name's Abraham."
"Hi Abraham. My name's Trevor. I'm sorry I truly don't have anything I can give you today, but I just wanted to say hi. It's got to get tough being out here all day."
"Thanks man. I lost my job two weeks ago and haven't been able to get another job. I've been putting in applications but nothing's come through. I really hate being out here and just want to find some work so I don't have to be."
At this point the light turned green.
"Well, I will pray that you get work soon."
"Hey, thanks for saying hi. You don't know how much that means."

The look in his eyes is one I'll never forget. When he told me it meant a lot that I said hi it was like he had been given hope. That seems wierd to me, to get that from someone saying hi, but I've never had to beg on a street corner, so I can't know what that does to you.

I don't tell this story to say I'm great or something. I shudder to think how many times I haven't stopped to say hi or how much I should have done and didn't. My point is that dignity is important. I can't imagine how humiliating it would be to stand on a street corner and ask for money. Or how humiliating it would be to go apply for welfare. We can do so much good by treating the poor as the equals they are. We cannot forget this point if we really want to please God.

June Is a Key Month

I was able to spend some extended time in prayer for Infuse over the weekend, and I realized that June is a really key month for the development of this network. Trevor and I have decided to fast one meal a week throughout this month, and I'd love to have you do the same if you feel led.

We're going to fast every Wednesday's lunch in June, starting this Wednesday, June 6. This will help protect and prepare us, and we want to be plugged into, and at the center of, what God wants for us and this ministry.

Whether you decide to join us or not, I do ask that you pray with us on these key requests:

--That we'd be protected from Satan during this time. Temptations and low points are probably imminent as we're embarking on something that pulls us into territory that Satan does not want us to go.

--Affordable housing in Aurora for Trevor and Michelle. Please pray that opportunities will arise soon, and something could be nailed down in June to prepare the way for them to move to Aurora in July.

--A job for Trevor that integrates well with his schedule and doesn't take too much time away from his family and the development of Infuse.

--Paperwork and processes. Trevor has made great progress with articles of incorporation, website, logo, budget, fundraising and support, but much of this is tedious.

--Support. Trevor has the opportunity to preach and talk about this ministry, meet with churches, and share our vision alot in June. Please pray that God will provide what is needed.

--Excitement and anticipation. We want to stay positive and have a soft heart for people that need to hear about Jesus. Pray that we don't get so bogged down into the details that we forget about loving people.

Thanks for your support and friendship! We couldn't do this without a strong network of other people.

My (A)Spiritual Situation

As we move toward starting our church, I have spent the last week primarily on articles of incorporation, bylaws, and a budget proposal. None of these strikes me as a particularly spiritual endeavor. In fact, the month we have been in Huntington has been somewhat a-spiritual for me. The passion God grew in me to begin this church that drove me to Him in so many ways in the months leading up to our departure from Denver has been buried under paperwork. This gets compounded by the fact that I fight regressing to the person I was growing up. It's funny how location can have power over us mentally and emotionally.

I digress. Last weekend I was on my way back from Aurora after a great weekend with friends from college, and during the last twenty minutes of my drive I started having some horrible fears that I've never had in my life. I quickly became aware that they were from Satan, and I began to pray that God would take them away. Despite my prayers, they grew in intensity all the way home. They have subsided now, but that evening was a strong reminder to me that we are involved in something intensely spiritual. Though I don't enjoy the attack, I took a couple important things from it.

First, we must be doing something Satan doesn't want us to do. In my experience and in the experience of others I've talked to, that is when attacks seem to come most. Second, I'm thankful for the reminder that I am desperately in need of strength from God. I may be able to fill out paperwork on my own, but I can't fulfill his call on my life on my own. I was grateful to be reminded of my dependence on Him.

Church Without Walls

I came across this book by Jim Peterson by accident. I was looking for McLaren's book on the church at the library and this one was nearby. The title caught my interest so I decided to skim it. I liked it so well I bought it and now I'm rereading it. I can't recommend it highly enough. It contains the best explanation of where we are, how we got here, and where we need to go from here that I've seen. There are a couple sections that get a little slow, but it's worth pushing through them.

One of the things I like most about this book is the brief review of church history. He admits that he is omitting many things and only including things that will help to show how the Western church has come to where it is today. He does an excellent job of showing what a number of Church Fathers contributed to the church while at the same time being bold enough to show how some of their major foci have had negative consequences.

This has become my #1 recommendation on the missional church along with The Forgotten Ways.

The Longing Begins

Last weekend Michelle and I were able to travel to Aurora together for the first time. We left the kids in Huntington (with someone, don't worry) so we got to go on an actual date Friday to celebrate Michelle's birthday. That time along with the time in the car each way was great for us. We were able to share with each other what we're feeling about our transition to church planting and moving to a new place on a deeper level than we've been able to in weeks.

There were a few other great things that came out of the weekend.

1) Cory and Megan spent their entire Saturday showing us around Aurora and Batavia. This was great for Michelle and I because now as we look for jobs and places to live we have a reference point for where things are. We disagree already on where we want to live, but I'm sure it will work out in time.

2) We were able to have lunch with a couple named Brian and Sarah on Saturday. They are thinking along the same lines we are in regard to church and the kingdom of God, so it was great to talk with them about that. They are also really fun people and we had a great time getting to know them. We're excited to spend more time with them in the future.

3) Eli Steenlage, a friend who I met in Denver, made a logo for us. I don't have the jpg yet, but I'll put it up when I get it. He's very talented and I'm excited about it.

4) Cory's current church (Ginger Creek) is partnering with another church in Aurora (Family and Faith) to make an impact on the city of Aurora. The pastor of that church spoke and Ginger Creek Sunday and he was amazing. His message was very prophetic and really challenged me. If you have time check out the podcast from the link above.

5) We got to spend some great time with Cory and Megan. We are so looking forward to living near them and engaging in the mission of Christ with them!

So those are some highlights. We both came away from the weekend more antsy than ever to get there. We pray that God provides in a way that allows us to do that soon.

What's Our Creed?

In our discussions about a doctrinal statement, one of the ideas I had was to start with the Apostles' Creed but update/revise it a little bit. My hope in doing that would be to tie into the history of the Church while updating the language and a couple points of doctrine. Below is a draft and the changes that were made. I'd love comments on if this is an okay thing to do and what changes need to be made to it.

We believe in one true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Creator of heaven and earth. Jesus Christ, the only Son of the Father was born of the virgin Mary and was truly God and truly human. He lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and was buried. On the third day he rose from the dead. He appeared to many witnesses and ascended into heaven where he mediates for us at the Father’s right hand. One day he will return in glory and fully establish his kingdom.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the one body of Christ—comprised of all who are in him, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life.


What else needs to be included?
What is included that doesn’t need to be?

Changes from the Apostles’ Creed

1. The Father is not identified as Creator apart from the Son and the Holy Spirit since Scripture attests that all three were involved in the creation in specific ways.
2. That the one God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is made explicit.
3. A statement about Jesus’ perfect life is added and the direct reference to his suffering under Pilate is removed.
4. The mention of descending into Hades is removed. There are varying opinions on whether or not this is what Scripture refers to. It does not seem to be an essential point.
5. A statement of his appearance to witnesses is added.
6. Christ is specifically named as our mediator.
7. The statement of judgment is replaced with a statement of the establishment of God’s kingdom. Might be good to include both.
8. The “holy catholic Church” is replaced with the biblical metaphor of the body of Christ.
9. “The communion of the saints” is removed.

Reimagining Evangelism

It's no news that the Christian culture sometimes doesn't do the best job at engaging nonbelievers, and there's a pretty obvious culture clash in America. A recent article from The Christian Science Monitor tells one story of a man seeking to build bridges with those without faith.

Jim Henderson of Off the Map (please check the site out if you haven't) is a former pastor who realized that most people never come to church and now is on a mission to help other Christians realize why evangelistic efforts turn people away. If nothing else, his resources are a great discussion starter and thought-provoker.

FaithVisuals.com actually has a free, downloadable video from Off the Map called Three Minutes With Three Lost People.

Open Systems 1

I have been doing a lot of reading, thinking, and discussing about open systems in recent weeks. The most recent impetus for this pursuit has been the book "The Spider and the Starfish." It looks at two organizational models. The first is a more traditional, hierarchical brand. It is compared to the spider because it dies if you take away its leadership, akin to cutting off the head of a spider. It is solid, but lacks the ability to adapt quickly. The second is a very decentralized, always-morphing organization that tends to honor leadership based on character and action rather than on position. This one is compared to a starfish because a starfish can be cut in two and rather than dying it will only produce two new starfish. Without going into all the details and making this entry insufferably long, suffice to say that starfish organizations are stand up to change much better (and change is a staple in our culture) and they tend to bring out greater participation and creativity from their members (something we long to see in Christian discipleship). It seems open systems could be good for the Church.

At least in the things I have been reading there is much talk about embracing open systems in our manifestations of the church. Of organizing in such a way that there are not centralized buildings and leadership, or even programs and theology for that matter (don't read that as saying "any statement about God is as valid as any other"). I think that were open systems truly embraced there would be great benefit to the people of God, but there are barriers to realizing this change. One is that humanity loves control. If an open system is created, influence must be earned over time, it cannot be taken or granted through title and position. This also makes paid church leadership a more "iffy" proposition. Not that it can't happen, but it must be abandoned as a necessity or right. A second problem is our undying fear of heresy. We must be in control or we will slide into something far removed from a biblical theology and practice. Other than the glaring problem that much of the Western Church is already in this predicament, especially in the area of practice and subservience to idolatrous ideologies, where open systems have been formed they have shown themselves to self-regulate. For instance, you might expect Wikipedia, with its availability to anyone's contribution, to be a hodgepodge of idiocy and misinformation, but it is nothing of the sort. It is largely accurate and when people do put misinformation on it usually corrected quickly by other users. We may be less necessary as gatekeepers of theology than we think.

There is much more to be said about this, but I'll leave it here for now.

Legal Bonanza

Now that we have temporarily settled in I am working on our incorporation and board of directors. I always knew I wasn't cut out to be a lawyer, but never have I had it confirmed so clearly as I have today. I have to read most sentences three times before I get an idea of what is being said and I'm becoming increasingly aware that I need help so I don't make any big mistakes.

It has been odd for me to reflect on the organic nature of what we are trying to do in contrast to the highly structured requirements of the law. It seems like a difficult task to fit a fluid organization into such a rigid container. I'm still not sure how I will fashion the legal documents in a way that doesn't stifle the freedom of all those who will be involved. There's a part of me that feels like it would be better to skip becoming a legal organization all together, but you give up too much in terms of legal benefits and protection if you take that step.

All this to say that I am reluctantly receiving an education this morning. It is one that will continue for days and even years to come.

No More Moving--For Now

This morning I'm sitting on Cory's couch in Aurora. The move from Colorado is complete, and it was memorable! (A side note--all I really know about Michelle and the kids at this point is that they have made it to Huntington and that the trip wasn't great. Lots of crying, no sleeping--but they're there and safe.)

I got up Tuesday morning and walked outside to discover it was raining--hard. I went from the Naden's house (Southern Gables worship pastor whose family graciously allowed us to stay with them) to my brother's house to load the car up and get the truck. He and I got the car loaded, but it was raining so hard we both had to change clothes and towel off before leaving.

Because of the rain and the time of day, the 15 mile drive through Denver took about an hour. We had been looking forward to our trip together so much that neither of us really cared about the rain or the traffic, we were just glad to be enjoying our time. We had some great talks about theology and the Bible and spent a lot of the time playing stupid games that gave me the hiccups.

Our first night we stopped somewhere in Iowa. It was still raining. When we got up in the morning, it was still raining. In a show of our fatherly inability to really sleep in we were up and on the road again by 8:00. About two hours from Aurora, it stopped raining. This was a huge blessing because we didn't have to unload the truck in a downpour.

One side note--if you ever drive a big ol' truck through the Chicago area, bring wads of cash for tolls. Each one cost us $5.35.

One other great thing is that Cory let us put stuff in his spare room and the garage so we didn't have to rent a storage space. Cory, Ryan, Megan, Michael, and I worked a sweet assembly line up the stairs and filled the spare room in record time.

So we're glad to be here. I do miss Denver already and so many of the people who have greatly impacted our life who we will see less frequently now. But we know that they will continue to be a part of our lives and we continue to see God's graciousness to us in the transition.

God's Goodness in Pain

Coming to Denver from Indiana five years ago was tough for us. When we left we all had to drive separate cars, and when we made our first stop I got out and saw Michelle's eyes stained with tears. She said she had cried for the first two hours of our trip. We both had a hard time leaving our families. We assumed we'd be in Denver for three years and then move back nearer home.

Now, five years later, we are taking the step we thought would be a relief--we're moving back to the Midwest. We are very excited for what lies ahead of us, but it is very difficult too. One of the prayers we prayed when we came here was that God would give us good friends, and I know Michelle prayed for that especially hard. We have seen God answer those prayers beyond what we could have imagined.

Now, when Michelle thinks about leaving, she is moved to tears in the same way she was when we came. If I stop and think about our move in the midst of the busyness I also have a hard time thinking about the people we're leaving.

It's this pain that has been my greatest reminder of God's goodness in the last few days. First, that God would create us with an ability to relate to others in a way that leaving them would be painful. I praise Him for that. And the fact that he has made this place that is so far from home become our home, that could not have happened without His hand, and I praise Him for that. So our pain is our reminder of the goodness of our God. It is this goodness we throw ourselves on as we move to the next chapter in our lives.

Crazy Weeks

We are now only a little over two weeks from leaving Denver. After spending five years here we are sad to go but excited for what is coming next. I don't think the full impact of leaving will hit us for a while because there is so much to do at the moment. We are packing, figuring out how to start a 501C3, looking for housing and jobs (thanks to Cory and my parents for their help on that front!), trying to see everyone here one last time, and finishing up our jobs here.

I am thankful that our lives will only be so scattered for a few weeks!

Who's Purpose 3

I want to wrap up my thoughts on our current church culture and historically American values with a look at wealth. Here's some of what Scripture has to say on the topic.

"Those who love money never have enough; those who love wealth are never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 5:10
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24
"Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay." Luke 3:14
"And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."

It would take a very long post to lay out all the Bible has to say on this very important topic, but these verses illustrate the biblical witness on a few key points. Aquiring wealth has always been a central tenent of the American dream. Entrepreneuership, upward mobility, and a solid portfolio are all things to be coveted. I'm just not sure Jesus' values would match our infatuation with wealth. A few observations about America, the church, and money--

First, in American culture and in the church, money is a very private and personal thing. The fruit of wealth is often seen in houses, vehicles, boats, and other luxuries, but don't ever ask someone how much they made last year or how much they give to Kingdom efforts--that's too personal. The passage in Acts doesn't say that everyone knew how much everyone else had, but they must have had some awareness. The wealthier people knew when there were others in their community who didn't have enough and made sure they were provided for. Now churches are big enough that we can find ways to hide from the needs of others. Our wealth and the way we use it are like our sex life--private knowledge that we keep to ourselves.

Second, Americans and the American church are never content with their current level of financial resources (Ecc and Luke). Norman Rockefeller was once asked, "How much money is enough?" He replied, "Just a little bit more." This summaries the American view of wealth well. Unfortunately it doesn't seem this is often much different in the church, it's just masked more carefully. More money is desired in the name of better programs, which we assure people will mean better ministry. I've never heard a church talk about their excesses and scale back. Rather, attention is given to how just a little more money would solve all the problems. We have adopted this mentality of finding purpose in the pursuit of just a little more wealth.

Finally, Americans have made wealth a god. We work long hours to provide as many things as possible for our families, but we remove ourselves from their lives in the process. We compare ourselves to whoever is one rung up on the financial ladder and try to figure out how we can match them, only to look up again when we get there. We assume more money to buy more things will fulfill us, only to be left empty and wanting. The god of wealth has also invaded our churches. We give preferential treatment to those who put a big check in the plate. We drool over the large houses and vehicles of congregants, never imagining that we should question their stewardship.

Our nation's history and values have taught us that wealth is good, period. This may be the most difficult area for us to embrace Kingdom values, because it will cost us comfort and status.

The Chinese Church

Last week I made a connection that has encouraged me about the missional church movement. As you probably know, the Chinese underground church has grown rapidly--impressively--over the last decades.

The Chinese church forms cell-like structures because they have to. The government's persecution and interference have forced them underground, but they've stayed connected and networked. These Chinese house churches simply can't become a religious institution with "baggage"--buildings, famous leaders, theological and political debates. They have to "travel light," as Alan Hirsch says in The Forgotten Ways.

And the movement has spread because they're driven to prayer, and the Holy Spirit, and the responsibility and passion for sharing Christ comes back to the individual and away from an institution.

I see some connections here with how a missional church usually works. We can learn alot from the Chinese church--and come to think of it, it's not too different from the early church, is it?

Raising Support

One of the necessary parts of what we are doing is support raising. I don't think a family of four can live on thirty hours a week at a coffee shop, so I have to pursue support relationships with people. This is probably the thing I have dreaded most of all that we are doing, but two conversations in the past week have eased that dread a little bit.

The first one was with a guy named Matt who works with Missio. We were talking about raising support and he said, "This is going to be very difficult for you until you believe that people need to give to you as much as you need them to give." I've been reflecting on that, and I do believe that it would be beneficial for people to be involved in it through financial support. It is a way that others can participate with us in God's call to missional church planting. We can't do it without them and they might not be gifted or called to go and do it.

The second conversation was with a friend from Southern Gables named Jim. He and I haven't had the chance to get together all that often, but he always challenges me to think and I appreciate his influence in my life. He was talking about the chain that exists between people in all the work of the Kingdom. For instance, if a person enters into a relationship with Christ, there is someone (more likely many people) who have represented true Christianity to them through words and actions. And there are people behind those people who shaped them in a way that they would be disciples. The chain goes on and on, but I think it really applies to our support raising. We don't yet know who will be impacted by our efforts in Aurora, but I believe those people will go on to have significant impact on others for the Kingdom. If it were not for people supporting us, that chain of influence would not continue to expand.

I can't say I want to become a full-time fundraiser now, but these conversations did help to give me some perspective.

Who's Values 2

In order to not belabor the point I'm going to pretty much skip over the second item I mentioned in the first post--alcohol consumption. All I will say about that area is that I think there may be a connection between the years of prohibition laws and the evangelical church seeing alcohol consumption as a sin for many years (even if this wasn't stated people lived as though it were true). This seems to be changing but that may only be because we are far enough away from that time.

Now I want to turn my attention to a couple values the evangelical church has adopted from our nation that are not biblical. In this post I want to deal with pride (I'll deal with wealth in the next one because it will take its own post!). Below is a sample of what the Bible has to say about pride.

Pride leads us away from God. 2 Kings 19:21-23; 2 Chron. 26:16; Jer. 13:17
It is associated with the wicked. Job 20:5-7; Psalm 10:4; 31:18;
It is evil. Prov. 8:13
In whatever sense pride is positive it is pride in a proper relationship to God and the opposite of the things the world takes pride in. Gal. 6:4; Jas. 1:9-10

Despite a strong biblical stand against arrogant pride, it is an area of sin that is seldom addressed in the church and at best is given some lip service. Most people are socially conscious enough not to be vocal about their pride, but it abounds in actions and false humility. Many of us take pride in our status, job, income, abilities, achievements, and other things we believe come from ourselves.

I believe the reason pride is given relatively free reign in our churches is that our nation has taught us that pride is positive. This starts with national pride. We see ourselves as the greatest nation in the world. It is true that we have more freedom, security, wealth, and power than most if not all the nations of the world, but instead of seeing ourselves in a place of responsibility to serve the world we tend to view ourselves atop the pile of humanity. Though we would never say it, we view the people of the world as beneath us. We take pride in our high position.

This American value of pride extends to both self-esteem and the pursuit of the "American dream." We have been taught that pride in ourselves is essential to functioning properly as human beings. It is what gives us a positive self image. It is often pride that drives us to pursue the things that will bring us status in the eyes of others. As Americans we virtually worship the rich and famous and in so doing reinforce the idea that pride is positive.

Pride is an American value the Church has adopted as its own. A trend that is far-reaching...

Holy Conversations

I had one of those holy conversations this week with a friend. It was one of the first times we've sat down and discussed Church, and it was uplifting to hear his heart, thoughts, and passions. I want to share some of his insights because I think he's one of many people that struggles with some of these things:

He’s felt a pull to become a pastor, but recently decided to hold off seminary because he has seen pastoral work lately as alot of administration and running the business side of a church. He's uniquely gifted at teaching, mentoring, and spiritual development.

He struggles with the professionalism that is pushed upon churches that grow from small to large. No longer is it about the heart of the person, but it’s about who can preach and teach best, who can sing and play best, and, sometimes even who looks best.

He's seen that spiritual growth isn’t happening at the service, and he believes people aren’t experiencing spiritual growth because they’re not in spiritual relationships with others.

Churches he has visited explain everything in three points or four tips, as if you can explain Jesus and put Him in a box. He's wondering if/how churches should embrace the mysteriousness of Christ?

This isn't about negativity toward the Church, nor do I think I have the answers. These are simply statements that I've thought about, and my friend has thought about, and I know others think about.

Article Alert

First, I have to admit that I stole this blog title from Drew Moser, and I'm not ashamed of it. This article is about the way we use power and authority and whether or not the way we use it is modeled after Christ. I wrote it after being convicted that too often my use of power or desire for it looks nothing like Christ. You can follow the link from Christianity Today or just click here.

Who's Values Part One--Sexuality

I've been playing with an idea now for a couple weeks and am really interested in feedback (I know commenting on this blog isn't of highest importance for everyone, but I'd love to get in some face to face conversations about this).

My basic premise is this--the sins the evangelical church has been most critical of are the ones that have been most strongly opposed in our nation's history. The ones we let slide (and sometimes even promote) are the correspond to the values applauded in our nation's history. I will deal with four issues here by way of example--sexuality, alcohol consumption, wealth, and pride. Because this takes some time to develop I'm just going to take one per post.

Sexuality
I recently had a friend who was asked to marry a couple who claimed to be Christians. He asked them if they were living together and they responded that they were. He told them that if they didn't live separately until the wedding that he would not do a Christian ceremony. He would still do the ceremony (and believed that they were Christians who had gotten off track in this area), but he would do the same thing he does for people who are not Christians.

Until the sexual revolution of the 1960s the United States was a fairly conservative nation in regard to sexuality. I don't pretend people weren't having affairs, premarital sex. and homosexual sex, but these were not things people broadcast. To a large extent they were looked down upon, even outside the church (and in what I'm trying to develop that is actually more important). Then the era of free love came along and blew up the conventional sensibilities of the nation in this area. At the time, many looked down on those who led and participated in the revolution that shifted how we think about sexuality. But over the years our nation's culture has come to accept and even glorify promiscuous and liberated sexuality.

But not so with the church. We would like to point to the Bible and say that we take a strong stand on issues of sexuality because it instructs us to do so--and I don't dispute that it does. However, we don't take a strong stand on all the issues the Bible speaks to, even those it speaks to strongly, so why this one? For many years we were able to stand with our nation in affirming a certain sexual ethic. Our nation has shifted but we have remained steadfast. It seems even that may be changing.

To come back to my friend. I don't think he did the wrong thing. He took a stand on an important topic. And he did it out of love because he knew the people he was dealing with. It made them do some reflecting and helped them realize they had stopped trying to please Christ above all else. So my example of him is not a negative one, I'm just asking the question, why are we so strong on this area where sin can manifest itself?

Returning to Consumerism

I want to come back to the quotation in the blog entry on Liquid Church. Mariam had a great comment regarding some of the themes of the Bible in response to that post.

I think I get what Pete Ward is saying (and I only say that because my response may not apply if I don't get it). His quotation, and much of the book, sound like he is just trying to make the faith understandable and relevant for people in a fragmented and diversified culture. He even mentions not "dumbing anything down." This point is valid. Different people will understand the gospel in different ways and have to apply it to the circumstances in which they live. This is one of the key things the missional church must consider.

However, he takes an unnecessary step in labeling this as consumerism. Consumerism has to do with consumption. Taking things and using them up. At least in our culture it has to do with accumulation of goods (and in that way is directly connected to materialism, though consumerism also includes experiences and other intangibles). The gospel is not a product. It is not something that will be accepted by everyone if we can just find the right bottle to put it in. This vastly underestimates the role of the Holy Spirit and the severity of the call of Christ. I would go so far as to say that viewing the gospel as a product to be marketed to consumers is one of the key contributors to the utter futility and lack of depth in American Christianity. It is seen as one more product to be used in the service of our enjoyment and ease of life. This is the most hideous distortion of the gospel I can imagine.

So while I can agree that we must take culture, language, customs, experiences, etc. into account as we seek to spread the good news of Jesus Christ, I cannot agree that this gospel is compatible with consumerism. Consumerism is a poison to the gospel we proclaim.

Hallelujah!

As I said in an earlier post, one of my greatest fears has been that we will not be able to Chicago because our house will not sell. Today was a big day on that front. Our house is now under contract and we expect to close April 23...pretty much perfect timing.

We are still somewhat cautious because we've had friends who were under contract and then it fell through, but we hear that is more an exception than a rule. So pray with us that everything goes smoothly from now until the 23rd! And praise the Lord for his provision!

Me Generation

Trophies for everyone, regardless of who wins and loses. Preschoolers singing songs about how special they are. Individual focused websites like myspace. What impact has all this had on high school and college students, who are being called the me generation? This clip from NBC got me thinking, what impact does this have on mission in our society?

Liquid Church

I just finished this book after having it recommended by Drew Moser. Pete Ward does a good job of interacting with philosophical, theological, sociological, and practical issues in relation to being "liquid church" (his term for thinking of church primarily in regard to relationships and connections, not congregation). But the thing that has me thinking the most is his take on how the gospel should interact with our current culture of consumerism. Ward writes--

People who are looking for God will connect to the network because it offers what they want. In this sense liquid church locates itself firmly in the consumer nature of society. It seeks to offer the reality and fullness of God in a form that people want. There is no sellout involved, no dumbing down of the message. In fact, liquid church will remain committed to an exacting orthodoxy and a committed theology...As solid church has tried to adapt to modernity, it has adopted ways of using contemporary media and communications to package faith and offer it in the marketplace. Liquid church takes some of these changes and pushes them further by taking account of a more fluid market.

Is Christianity reconcilable with consumerism?

How God Works

God wants the opposite of whatever I want. After some time processing with friends this morning that’s the statement I came to. It is a statement of the way I view God. Now before you call me a heretic and pull out a Bible to throw verses at me, let me clarify. My study of Scripture and my past experience tell me this is not true, and I believe that. But on a deeper level, one I can’t just decide to change, I live as though it is true.

Here’s how it plays out in my life right now—I assume because we want to move and do what God has called us to do that we won’t be able to. At the very least we will have to scrape to get by in Denver for another year or two, working odd jobs and never having any time together as a family. The moment I began hoping our house would sell so we could move when I finish at Southern Gables was the moment it became a lock that it wouldn’t happen.

This view contradicts my own experience. I look back on the past five years of our life and I can give many examples of how God has answered our prayers. It’s easy to believe in God’s faithfulness in the past, not quite as easy in the present.

I don’t think I’m the only one who deals with this view of God, and it has a couple disastrous outcomes. 1) We don’t believe prayer is “powerful and effective.” When we start to believe that God wants the opposite of what we want prayer becomes impotent. I pray for our house to sell, but I don’t believe that prayer makes any difference. I pray, but I don’t “wait with expectation” to see what God will do. 2) We lose joy. If the God we serve wants to rob us of the things we desire, even when He gives us the desire (and here I don’t mean possessions, he may want to rob us of those for our own good, but even kingdom-focused things), then it is difficult to take joy in Him or in serving Him.

I have begun praying that the Holy Spirit will remove this view of God from me. It might seem ironic that I’m praying for something because I often don’t believe prayer makes a difference, but I have seen God change me in the past and believe He can do it again. I want to believe whole-heartedly that God is a good Father who loves to give us good gifts. And I want to be filled with expectation and hope when I pray.

Theological Humility

Every now and then I just have to get something off my chest. I just finished browsing a blog discussion about women in ministry on the Jesus Creed blog. There were about 150 comments! But in reading it I became more and more frustrated with a couple people promoting the traditionalist position on this issue. My frustration didn't stem from their position so much as an assumption that was driving their comments.

Stated simply--God gave me a better brain which is why I am 100% right and you're completely deluded!

They made comments that can be summarized as--"Why don't you go read the Bible?" Or "You just care about your position so much you read into the Bible whatever you want." I am so sick of theological arrogance like this. When people are seriously engaging the Scriptures to see what they're saying and then are told they're wrong without any reason other than, "I read the Bible right and you don't," it just drives me nuts! I am all for engaging each other's opinions and having debates about issues. And I don't believe that everyone's opinion is equally close to truth, but we still need some humility in how we engage each other.

Despite what people may say we cannot disregard the culture in which the Bible was written. We cannot disregard the assumptions we bring with us to our reading of the Scriptures today (we all have them!). We cannot disregard church history (though that doesn't mean it's always right). We cannot disregard the way the Holy Spirit works through the body of Christ as a whole (communal knowledge versus individual knowledge).

The reality we live with is that no one will ever have an exact grasp on truth. We do our best and continually strive to understand the revelation God has given us, but we're just too imperfect to flippantly tell others they're wrong.

Worship

The past couple days I was on a retreat with the church where I currently serve. We had a great time together, but fear not, I’m going to refrain from giving the details. What I want to talk about was an insight I had into the corporate worship of the church (and by this I don’t just mean music, but all elements that contribute to worshipping God when we come together as a larger body).

There are nearly an infinite number of things to consider when it comes to this topic—many of which have been beaten to death over the years. What role does emotion play? Which songs should we sing? What should their content be? Which forms of music are appropriate? Who makes these decisions? How do we gauge the appropriateness of our worship? Does experience flow from content or vice versa or neither? What role do aesthetics play? I suppose the questions could go on forever.

What I realized as we had an in depth discussion about many of these things is that it is very difficult to come to a consensus on what is most important and how that looks. I think there are two main reasons for this. 1) I think this one might be the most neglected reason—things like the worship of a larger body of believers are more than the sum of their parts. You can’t dissect worship, put it back together, and lose nothing in the process. It is so much about the relationships between the parts. Our relationship with God as individuals and as a group, and our relationships with each other. There is so much importance in these relationships and what goes on there that just looking at the parts is like looking at the piano part of a movie’s soundtrack, the printed script, and its costumes and then assuming you have fully grasped the movie. 2) God has created us with such great diversity that we will all have nuances to what we believe about how to faithfully worship God—even among those who are completely committed to true discipleship. We’re just different. The challenge is to learn to use these differences to create greater beauty rather than disputes.

So those were some thoughts. Your thoughts?

Let's Talk About the Emerging Church...

...and we can start by discussing your thoughts on this Christianity Today article.

Five Streams of the Emerging Church
Key elements of the most controversial and misunderstood movement in the church today.
by Scot McKnight

Emerging and Missional--Part Two

Based on the reading I've done in both emerging and missional literature, and conversations I've had with people who claim to be both, it seems there are some fundamental differences between the emerging and missional churches, but that they are not mutually exclusive and many people are bringing the two together.

It is much easier to deduce the basic principle of the missional church. As Alan Hirsch says, "the church's true and authentic organizing principle is mission." This is the starting point for anything that can rightly be included under the label of missional church. The focus is on a spiritual and physical redemption of individuals and the world. Things like community, worship, gathering, prayer, service, and study sprout up through the soil of mission and in its support. This does not mean that any of these things are purely utilitarian, but the Christian life is a whole that grows best in the context of mission. It is mission that shapes our prayer life to be more about God's kingdom than ourselves, worship to overflow from the fullness of a heart that is seeing God at work, community that is forged in the heat of shared endeavor. All of these things are a part of what it means to be the people of God in this world, but they are informed by mission--it is their context.

The missional church also has an inherently anti-institutional bent. As institutions grow they take more work, time, and resources to support themselves. All of this can naturally lead to an internal focus, which is anti-missional. There are some institutional churches that are very intentional about being missional, but institution has not proven to be the most conducive setting for fostering mission. (I would also say that being anti-institutional doesn't automatically make you missional. I think less institution fits better with mission but neither necessitates the other.)

The emergent church is a little harder to pin down. From my reading it seems to be more interested in engaging the predominant Western theology and pushing its boundaries. This has led to some wonderful discussion, but the outcome of it isn't always clear.

The emerging church movement also seems to fit better with the institutional church than the missional movement. There is more discussion of how to tweak and work within existing forms to make them more artistic, participatory, and engaging.

Both the emerging and missional church movements are disproportionately fueled by people under 40, but there are strong voices in each who are older. It will be interesting to see how each of these movements continues to take shape in the future.

Sex God

After enjoying Velvet Elvis and recommending it to many people I was looking forward to Rob Bell's new book Sex God. Now if you're about to make some joke about how this book is about you, you're too late. Unofficial statistics from the Denver Seminary bookstore (David) are that about 63% of people who see the title make that joke.

The book is actually about the connections between sex(uality) and God. Here's my thoughts on it.

The Good

1) As he usually does, Rob (we're on a first name basis, he just doesn't know it) brings out some very interesting points. He spends a lot of time unpacking Hebrew concepts that bring life to biblical concepts.
2) This would be a good book for someone who doesn't have much biblical or Christian theological background. He does a good job giving accessible descriptions of concepts like "oneness."
3) He does a good job working through the submission issue.
4) So often in Christian circles we communicate, "Don't have sex until you're married. God says so and that settles it." But for anything God tells us to do there are good reasons. He wants what's best for us. Rob presents clearly many of the reasons why a Christian sexual ethic is best for us--not just random rules to follow.

The Bad (at least for me)

1) "Our sexuality is all of the ways we strive to reconnect with our world, with each other, and with God." This statement just seems way too broad to me. From this statement and other parts of the book I get the sense he's saying, "anything relational in any fashion is sexual." I suppose you can redefine sexuality in this way, but then what does it really mean? There are some relationships that are sexual and others that aren't. I suppose a relationship with a good friend could be related to sexuality in that it is or isn't sexual based on our sexuality, but now I'm confusing myself!
2) This seems to be a collection of a number of things he wanted to talk about that aren't all that connected. He strays from his stated purpose for the book. Although assuming the broad view of sexuality in #1 I suppose it's all related.
3) There wasn't much substance. I think some of the concepts are great but probably could have been covered in an article or two. There really wasn't enough to warrant a book.

So having said all that--it's a quick enough read that it's worth picking up. I'd love to hear reactions to the book as you read it.

Emergent Discission

In a post on the Jesus Creed blog, Scot McKnight summarizes a book called Inside the Organic Church. Especially interesting to me is that Bob Whitesel, the author of the book, found in his study of 12 "organic" churches that they were very orthodox in their theology. One of the things emergent has become known for it pushing the theological envelope, so I thought this was an interesting and encouraging finding. Check out the full summary on the Jesus Creed blog.

Is the Emerging Church Missional?

Are “emergent” and “missional” connected? Both of these are words that are being used to describe movements in the church, especially (though by no means exclusively) in the West. But what, if anything, do they have to do with each other. I have run across books and websites that indicate that they are very closely tied and others that make them seem almost completely separate.

Before I give my thoughts on this I thought I’d see if anyone else has a perspective on this question. I think it is an important one because these two terms are being lumped together by some and it is important to know if this is a plausible thing to do.

Recieving Faith

Since Michelle (my wife) and I decided to leave Denver, my job, our friends, and all that is familiar to pursue the vision God has given us for planting a church we have prayed that he would give us great faith. This is something we both struggle with, but in different way.

I struggle having faith that we will actually be able to do what God has called us to do. I've always had this lingering heresy in my head that God gives you the opposite of what you want, so even in something he's called us to that creeps in. Practically this means I lack the faith to believe that our house will sell--the biggest thing that could keep us from pursuing our calling.

Michelle tends to struggle with faith in areas of security and stability. So the things that are hard for her are things like: Will God provide friends in Illinois like he has here? Where will the money come from to support our family? After all, we have no jobs there and can't raise any support until our house sells.

The wonderful way that God has answered our prayers for faith is that he has given Michelle faith in the areas I lack it and vice versa. I think it would be easier for me if God would give me faith in all things, and I still try to have that and ask him for it, but I am amazed at how God is answering this prayer in a way that draws my wife and I together. In a time of great stress, transition, and unknown, God is using Michelle and I to give each other hope and faith in God.

Faithful Invitation

One of the issues the missional church must deal with (and any church for that matter) is how we are to faithfully pursue the conversion of those who are not “in Christ.” Do people belong before they believe (a well-worn conversation)? Is it our job to make Christianity attractive? What are we converting people to? There are many biblical episodes that can inform our discussion, but one I don’t hear used very often is how the Jesus’ first disciples came to follow him.

In the second half of John 1, we’re told of the first four who follow Christ. In that story it is striking how the commitment of the prospective followers is nurtured through an invitation to be with Jesus personally. In the words of the writer, there is an offer to “come and see.” Jesus extends this offer to Andrew and his companion, Andrew brings his brother Simon to Jesus to see, and Philip extends the invitation to the skeptical Nathanael. In each case these men base their commitment to Jesus on a personal encounter with him.

Today, Jesus does not live with us in bodily form, so we cannot invite people to “come and see Jesus” in a personal, bodily way. But the invitation for people to come and see is no less important and I believe we give this invitation in two primary ways. 1) We invite people to see Jesus in his body—us. The difficult thing with this is that we must be manifesting the true nature of our master in our actions. If we are not faithful to Christ then we invite people to see Jesus in our midst but do great damage because they do not really see him. So it is imperative that we live our lives—individually and corporately—in ever-increasing faithfulness to Christ. 2) We invite people to see Jesus in the Scriptures. The Word of God has tremendous power to allow people to have an encounter with Jesus (Isaiah 55:10-11 and Hebrews 4:12).

As the church we must invite people to “come and see” Jesus and allow him to transform them.

For some great reading in this same direction check out The Insider.

Just A Fad?

As I've delved deeper into the blog-o-sphere I made a startling discovery--not everyone thinks the missional church is a movement of the Holy Spirit! Okay, so I wasn't really surprised, but as I was reading through numerous posts and comments that gave the missional church the "fad" label, I began to wonder if I was being duped into giving my life to something that would pass faster than the rat tail.

After some reflection and prayer I was encouraged that the direction the missional church is headed isn't a fad. There are a few things that make me say this.

1. I continue to have conversations with people who are thinking "missional thoughts" without prompting from me or others. I believe the Holy Spirit is moving and bringing people into agreement and toward movement. I realize lots of people buy into fads, but the question is who motivates the thinking and action taking place.
2. I believe many of the concepts being advanced in the missional church paradigm are more philosophically consistent with biblical Christianity than the church philosophies that have dominated since the institutionalization of Christianity.
3. The missional church philosophy leads to a more biblical praxis of faith. This is especially true in how the form(s) communicate the deep cost of following Christ.

The reality is that only time will tell if it is a fad or not. I am convinced enough to give my life to it.

Leadership Paradigms--Part 2

Because the mechanistic model of leadership is so pervasive I have always assumed that that's just how things work. I had never questioned the paradigm. But recently I have been captured by a different paradigm of leadership, one I'll call an organic model (I know that is an overused buzzword and I'm not trying to join in the river of everything organic, but I didn't want to take the time to come up with something else right now). Instead of being akin to a machine, this model could better be thought of as a river--something fairly stable, but capable of both rapid and gradual change. In the words of Margaret Wheatley, a river doesn't care so much what it looks like as it does about flowing. A few characteristics of this leadership paradigm.

1. Leadership based in spiritual authority: Instead of having leadership that originates in a position, leadership is gained naturally as people follow someone. Thus, authority in this paradigm is based on influence. We have all been around people who were leaders whether they were officially recognized as leaders or not. There is a woman at my current church named D who has no official position but has tremendous influence. She has it because of her integrity, concern for others, spiritual maturity, honesty, and knowledge. She has spiritual authority, not institutional authority. I would contend this type of leadership is much more biblical.

2. Leadership is more about preparation than planning: The problem with strategic planning is that we plan based on the present--a present that will no longer exist by the time our plan is scheduled to bloom. A plan from today meant to transform tomorrow cannot work in a rapidly changing world. The other problem with planning is that it allows us to figure out what we will do so that our actions don't have to stem from who we are. In order to react and lead faithfully we must be people of integrity who will naturally make godly decisions, even when we can't plan what we will do. This fits with the biblical theme of actions flowing from the heart.

3. Disequilibrium and change are welcome: In most organizations it is believed that a state of equilibrium and stability is ideal. Even if we believe this has worked in the past there are significant problems with it now because of how quickly our world changes. Nothing can be counted on to remain the same from month to month or even day to day. Disequilibrium and change are a certainty in our world, so when our paradigm of leadership views them as things to be averted rather than embracing and working with them, failure of some kind will likely result. Working toward stability can also stifle creativity within a people. "When leaders strive for equilibrium and stability by imposing control, constricting people's freedom and inhibiting local change, they only create the conditions that threaten the organization's survival." (Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science)

To keep this from getting even longer I will just list a few other features of organic leadership without describing them--1) The more people who have access to information, the more healthy the system will be 2) Freedom is essential 3) Change doesn't have to be controlled.

I'll close with one more quote from Leadership and the New Science that made me excited about leadership. "Organizations [including the church] lack this kind of faith, faith that they can accomplish their purposes in varied ways and that they do best when they focus on intent and vision, letting forms emerge and disappear."