Food Drive--Take 1

Last night Michelle, Isaiah, Ayla, and I joined Cory to collect food in his neighborhood for the food drive. Most of the people who he asked to participate did and we got to meet a number of his neighbors. It was actually a lot of fun! Tonight we have the cookout at our house, so hopefully we'll know more people and have more food to donate. Plus, we've covenanted together to remember to take some pictures!

Exponential: Quotable!

Here are my favorite quotations from the week.

• "Christianity started as a Jewish movement, it will end as a Muslim movement." Bob Roberts
• "We use the gospels to tame our children into well-adjusted middle-class individuals. But these are revolutionary texts!" Alan Hirsch
• "In the spark is the pontential of flame. In the flame is the potential of the conflagration that overtakes the forest." Alan Hirsch
• "The barn has been spruced up for the last 30 years and the wheat is still not harvesting itself." Ed Stetzer
• "Too many church planters plant a church in their head, not their community." Ed Stetzer
• "Most churches choose their traditions over their children/communities." Ed Stetzer
• "Jesus never told us to plant a church, he said to make disciples." Neil Cole
• "You've learned how to lead from business leaders and you lead businesses!" Neil Cole
• "See the lost as the leaders of the future." Neil Cole
• "The reason God uses me is because I volunteered." Rick Warren

Exponential: Rick Warren

Growing a Reproducing Church
Rick Warren

How to grow a reproducing church:

1. Keep growing personally.
2. Take care of your family.
3. Develop a kingdom mindset.
4. Focus on building people, not the church.

He wants this on his tombstone, "He served God's purpose in his generation and then he died."

Let all the church planters in an incredible prayer of commitment and then prayed for God's blessing on everyone.

Exponential: Tim Keller

The Gospel
Tim Keller

• The DNA of a reproducing church has to be the gospel.
• In the Christian world, no one's really sure what the gospel is anymore.
• The cross confronts and fulfills cultural longings.

The Gospel Tripod

1. In Jesus Christ, God emptied himself.
2. In Jesus Christ, God atoned for our sins.
3. In Jesus Christ, God will return and restore all things.

Many have focused on only one of the three, which results in an incomplete gospel.

Exponential: Neil Cole 2

Chaordic Leadership
Neil Cole

How do you know if your strategy for disciple-making is exponential or incremental? Here's the forumla he gave to help.

Your baptism goal (number your church would hope to baptize in a year) x 1 million=

If what you're doing doesn't have the potential to reach that many people, then the strategy is incremental, not exponential.

You can't use an addition system and slowly evolve into multiplication.

A church multiplication movement is not...

• a movement without multiple generations (of churches)
• gathering Christians from other churches
• big revival meetings (you reproduce what you are)
• a centralized leadership development institution that sends out leaders

A church multiplication movement is self-perpetuating and self-propagating.

96% of churches don't multiply/reproduce. If this happened with women we'd be worried!

The DNA of the church

• Divine Truth
• Nurturing Relationships
• Apostolic Mission
• You cannot supplement, subtract from, or seperate the DNA without bad things happening.

Can we have order in chaos? (referring mostly to leadership and decentralized churches)

• You can't control spontaneous multiplication. If you're controlling it, it won't spontaneously reproduce.
• We've confused order with control.
• Who is better at control, you or the Holy Spirit?
• If the DNA remains consistent, the whole will be consistent.
• An exoskeletal structure limits growth.
• An endoskeleton grows with an organism and isn't seen.
• Fractals are an example of consistent order in design at every level.

All reproduction happens on a cellular level (in other words, even the smallest units reproduce in living things)

• We all began as a zygote.
• Development happens naturally from micro to macro
• Disciples-->Leaders-->Churches-->Movements
• Multiply the simple enough times and it becomes complex.

Exponential: Neil Cole

Cultivating Kingdom-Focused Lives
Neil Cole

• You cannot control multiplication.
• Spiritual Breathing: Exhaling
  confession/cleansing of sin (2 Tim. 2:19-22)
  The Bible's clear we should confess to each other.
• Spiritual Breathing: Inhaling
  The consumption of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
  Part of the problem is our churches aren't reading the Bible. They're not learning to
  hear God's voice, they're learning to hear it through their pastor.
  Read the Bible like a love letter--all the way through and over and over.
• Spiritual Breathing: Sharing (2 Tim. 4:1-5)
  This will flow out of breathing.
  We'll only know what to say in the moment if we're breathing.
• Life Transformation Groups
  No leader, equally disciples.
  Three activities: read Scripture, confess sin, pray for the lost.
• In disciple making we have to work with people who will be faithful to the process. Some will try to consume your life with their problems and you can't let them. You're not their Savior.
  

Exponential: Ed Stetzer 2

Leading Apostolic Movements

Ed Stetzer

Apostolic Movements must be...

Sacrificial
nothing comes without giving something up.
Reproducible
movements don't occur through large things
million dollar church plants don't survive at a higher rate than thousand dollar ones
we'll never see a movement until any Christian can do it
what you celebrate you become
resist the grandiose in favor of the reproducible
(have) Theological Integrity
Incarnational
we've created a Christian colony while the world changed around us
Empowering
movements occur when disempowered people are given freedom
the "clergyization" of the church has disempowered God's people
for many pastors their identity is tied up in the affirmation that comes from a disempowered church (wow!)
Charitable
Sealable
Wholistic

Exponential: Ed Stetzer

Missional Manifestations
Ed Stetzer

• When you move beyond a single cell you need systems to help a church live.
• There are numerous shifts taking place in church planting movements in the West.

from demographics to discernments
from models to missions
from attractional to incarnational
from uniformity to diversity (of church forms)
from professional to passionate
from seating to sending
from decisions to disciples
from additional to exponential

• Church needs to be biblically faithful, culturally relative, counter-cultural community for the gospel and the kingdom of God.

Exponential: Alan Hirsch 3

The Missional Magnet
Alan Hirsch

• In the context of persecution the people distill the message to "Jesus is Lord." (which assumes Savior)
• If you list the good qualities of the Pharisees, it's us!
• Jesus was theologically a Pharisee, but it's how you inhabit the doctrine.
• Ecclesiology is taking over and Jesus becomes a subset of the church.
• If you ask most people where you go to find Jesus they'd say a church. That's heresy! Jesus is everywhere, not contained by a building.
• The measure of success is not size, it's multiplication.
• We are polytheists. In politics, family, economics, career, etc. we don't let Jesus rule very easily. We serve different gods or philosophies in each.

Food Drive Announcement

Over this next week Infuse is coordinating a food drive for the Hesed House Food Pantry, a ministry in downtown Aurora that provides for 300 to 400 households every week. We are gathering food by going door-to-door in our neighborhoods, by collecting food from friends, and by encouraging others to spread the word, too. Next Wednesday, the Lees are having a neighborhood "Cookout for a Cause" to also gather food for this project.

This is a great way for us to help and serve our community in a practical way, while also doing more to meet our neighbors.

With the economy hurting, and gas prices and food costs rising to record levels, it's a hard time for alot of people right now. In Kane County, family income is declining amidst these rising costs. That also means that food pantries are seeing shrinking donations, but growing needs. For more about Kane County statistics and the Hesed House Food Pantry, read a recent Beacon News article, Report: Earnings fall in Kane, DuPage counties.

If you're interested in donating food to this project, that would be great! Hesed House takes all non-perishables, but items in extra need include: cereal, canned fruit, macaroni and cheese, and baking mixes. They have a complete wish list here. We will be delivering food next week, so we'll need all donations by Wednesday, April 30. To contact us about donating: infusechurch@gmail.com.

Exponential: Alan Hirsch 2

Missionary Movement
Alan Hirsch

• The church is in decline in every Western setting.

4 Areas We Need to Recover

1. The Centrality of Jesus

• Christology lies at the heart of the renewal of the church.
• Jesus sets the template for what it means to be a Christian.
• Jesus' harshest criticism is for the religious people.
• It's easy to take Jesus out of the church because it's hard to live with a Lord.
• Christianity minus Christ equals religion.

2. Discipleship

• Becoming like Jesus.
• Embodiment is critical to transmission.
• Movements only grow in proportion to their ability to make disciples.
• Consumerism is killing us from within. It is an alternative religion and we've wedded ourselves to it.

3. Ethos/Structure of Apostolic Movements

• missionally responsive
• culturally adaptive
• organizationally agile
• mobilize the whole people of God
• every believer a church planter
• reproducible
• structurally networked

4. Missional-Incarnational Impulse

Exponential: Alan Hirsch

Lord Jesus...It All Begins Here
Alan Hirsch

• Missio Dei--as a missionary, God is a redeemer.
• Every Christian is a missionary, we're all sent ones.
• The church doesn't have a mission, God's mission has a church.
• Most people have "God experiences," they just don't know how to interpret them in and through Jesus.
• God is in the places we normally don't go.
• If you organize around ministry you never get around to mission, even if you have good intentions.
• Your budget says what you believe in.
• Worship is offering the whole world up to God.
• Communion should be happeningg whenever we eat and drink.
• We can change the world by regularly inviting the poor to our table.
• Our offer to others is to "come die with us" for the sake of others.

Exponential: Bob Roberts

A Vision for Apostolic Movements Glocally (no, I didn't misspell that)
Bob Roberts

5 Things that are different about Christianity than any other religion

1. Covenant

• The grid for God's operation is not the church, it's society.
• God said Abraham would be the father of many nations, which means he is about all peoples.
• We're called to transform the world, not to put on a show.
• It's a whole lot easier to do a Sunday event than to start a church that changes the world.

2. The Cross

• Reconciles all things.
• Christ is for all nations.

3. The Commission

• Focus on Jesus--the disciple and the church emerge.
• Christianity is the first church to ever shift ethnicity (but didn't abandon Jews).

4. Community

• Christianity started as a Jewish movement, it will end as a Muslim movement.

5. Connectedness

• We've never been able to engage the world like we can today.

Exponential: Andy Stanley

Apostolic Vision
Andy Stanley

• Vision is a mental picture of what could be, fueled by a passion for what should be.
• A vision begins as a burden
• Our vision has to be clear to people so they know how to follow us.
• A vision needs to be portable.
• Leaders often know so much about their vision that they expect everyone else to know just as much.
• Barak Obama is winning because he's the only candidate who's vision we know. "Change." We may not even know what that means, but at least we know something.
• Cast your vision convincingly. Define the problem your vision addresses, state the solution, and explain why and why now.
• What would go undone if we ceased to exist?
• Repeat the vision regularly.
• Celebrate systematically.
• Embrace it personally.

Exponential: Ed Stetzer

Ed Stetzer is a church planting guru who spoke on the state of church planting in the U.S. and then interviewed a panel of pastors who lead reproducing churches.

• Churches of less than 200 are four times more likely to plant new churches than churches of more than 1000.
• Church planting is hard work and is made easier if you're part of a community of church planters.
• Church planting is the most effective form of evangelism.
• If you want to build multiplication into your DNA you have to put resources toward that.
• Bob Roberts--If you want to be effective at making reproducing churches you have to learn from the other side of the world where it's happening.
• Neil Cole--Complex things break down, simple things multiply. Your church is only as good as your disciples.
• Great preaching is one of the major obstacles to church planting because is makes church mostly about Sunday.
• Another obstacle to church planting is focusing on church instead of society and letting church grow out of that.

Orlando Tuesday Morning

I got up at 2:45 this morning after going to bed around 11:30, but I made it to Orlando and even got some sleep on the plane. I'm really excited for how God will use these few days in my life and the life of Infuse. I've already connected with some people, and I'm especially excited about one in particular (the last one below).

1. Jeff Nichols: A friend from seminary and fellow church planter who lives in Denver. We bumped into each other in the registration line and got to catch up a little bit.
2. Hugh Halter and Matt Smay: The leaders of the MCAP training I'm doing are here for the conference and to promote their new book, The Tangible Kingdom.
3. Scott Whiting: I was next in line for the registration and was making small talk with one of the volunteers. He asked me where I was from, so I told him I was from Aurora. The guy behind me in line said, "No way, me too! Where in Aurora?" So after we both got our bag of advertising flyers we talked for a few minutes. He used to be a pastor at Calvary Church in Naperville, but five years ago he left to plant a church. They are now in the process of morphing into a network of groups, something similar to Infuse. I'm pumped to get to know him better over the next few days and to have found another kindred spirit in Aurora!

Praise God that some great things are happening before the conference even starts.

Podcast: Clamoring for Community?

We sometimes make the assumption that people are looking for community, but are they?

Get the podcast.

Off to Orlando

This week I have the chance to attend the Exponential Conference in Orlando. On the upside–some great speakers on missional church planting, three days in Florida, and a sure victory in tennis over my good friend James (who I’ve only beaten once in my life!). On the downside–three days away from my wonderful wife and kids. I’ll have lots of hugs saved up for them by the time I get back!

I'll be blogging daily about what I'm learning, so check back this week to see what's up in Florida.

Orlando, here I come!

Please Pray

The following is an email from Sarah Lowrey's brother, Steve. He is in the midst of a struggle against a very aggressive cancer. The prayer at the the end of the email was written by Robert Lowery. Please bring him before our benevolent God with us.

Today, I was supposed to go on a field trip with Jada. A problem arose. For the past couple weeks, I have been complaining on a pain in my stomach and in my back. My stomach has become enormously distended, it was jetting out looking like I was pregnant. It led to shortness of breath, pain in my stomach any and everytime I ate and was incredibly uncomfortable to sleep. So, I had to miss the field trip today (my dad graciously took my place) and went in to see the Dr. He ordered X-Rays. Nothing showed up. Then he ordered a CT Scan. Great, so I went down and drank that crazy stuff, hooked up to an IV and did the scan. I was scared out of my mind. We then went upstairs back to my Dr's office to wait for the scan results. While waiting in his office, Candy and I really assumed that this was a meaningless trip. That he would look at the scans and say I was just suffering from side-effects of the chemo I was on. How I wish that to be the case.

Dr. Drasga came in and immediately told us this was not good. That the cancer has continued to grow, even though on a new completely different chemo from before. That the cancer has actually produced a liquid in the lining of my stomach surrounding my liver. Tomorrow, I am supposed to go into radiology, they are gonna stick a needle in my gut and drain the liquid (which will come right back in about 1-2 weeks and will need to get this done periodically). I was stunned. I couldn't believe it. I have been doing the organic food diet, taking the vitamins (and yeah, maybe things would have been worse if I wasn't doing that) and bathing this thing in prayer. Stunned, shocked, hurt, scared...all of the above.

He told me I have blown through all 5 major chemos that work on Colo-Rectal Cancer with no results. So what next? That's the question. He offered up a couple options.

1. Retry some of the older chemos that have thus far had no effect on me. He suggested trying different doses, different forms of chemo (like a pill form) and such. He informed us there is a less that %10 percent chance of any effectiveness.
2. Clinical trials. Whether through University of Chicago or some other place. We're looking into insurance stuff and trying to factor things in here with this. But clinical trials have been tested with some success on animals and they are essentially looking for human guinea pigs with no options left. He informed us there is a less than %10 percent chance of any effectiveness.
3. Halt all treatments, stop with science and just let nature take it's course with Hospice. Obviously, this is not an option we are even considering.
So there you have it. I continue to pray, gravel and plead before our God for a miracle. As I have asked before, so I do so again. Pray for my fighting spirit, my strength and most of all hope. Since being diagnosed in July, this cancer has continued to run me through with no signs of slowing, stopping o even regressing.

I do know this, my wrestlers, my friends, my church, my parents, my child and my wife have all aided me in the fight. I will continue to push forward. All I've ever wanted to to grow old with my wife and to raise my daughter into the Godly Servant I know she will be. Sometimes (especially days like this) that dream fades more and more. I appreciate the prayers and the support through this dark and sorrowful time in our family.

I also know, that just as Satan is whispering in my ear, he may be in yours as well. Gently lying saying that "God has abandoned Steve." My God is still right here with me. I made the statement the other day to a fellow minister, "I cannot fathom the mind of God. I don't know what His plans are, I don't know why I have this disease. I cannot grasp Him mind in this. I can, however, fathom and understand His heart. Just as much as I am broken about this, as my wife, my parents are broken about this, my God hearts breaks for this as well." My God is still my Father, my God is still my refuge and my God is still the one true Rock that I will ever cling to.

Lord, we praise you for your tender mercies and your steadfast love . . .
Lord, we praise you for the skill of doctors and others who have provided care . . .
Lord, we praise you for brothers and sisters in Christ who have offered prayers, words of encouragement, and have done acts of mercy . . .
Lord, we praise you for the hope that we have because of Christ . . .
But . . .Lord, we beg you to bring healing to Steve so that he may continue to honor and serve you by being a loving husband, father, son, and leader in your Church . . .
Lord, we beg you to lighten burdens and give strength . . .
Lord, we beg you for wisdom to trust you when we cannot understand why this disease has brought so much pain and danger . . .
Lord, we beg you to to give strength so that your will is honored . . .
Lord, we beg you to help Steve, Candy, and the rest of the family bear the burdens patiently . . .
Lord, we beg you to bless those who are weighed down with the mystery of suffering . . .
Lord, we beg you to reveal yourself even more powerfully as the God of love who bears all our sufferings . . .
Lord, we beg you to draw near, as we call upon your name to deliver your servant Steve from this sickness . . .
We beg you to give him life anew, to stretch out your hand and set him on his feet again, to put strength into him, to give him back to your church and family fully restored . . .
Lord, we beg you to use this time of deep pain to bring glory and honor to you . . .
From the depths of our despair we call to you, Lord.
Hear our cry, O Lord; listen to our call for help! We wait eagerly for the Lord's help and in his word we trust.
Amen.

The Medium and the Message

Last week Scott Hodge, the lead pastor at the Orchard here in Aurora, went to a conference called Q. It was a gathering of various Christian, cultural, and business leaders. He blogged through his iPhone during each session (yes, I am jealous as I hold my old blackberry with duct tape on the back). I thought one of the most interesting posts was this one on the way we communicate now vs. in the past.

What's Happening in Aurora (Updated)

Here are a few recent news stories that have been big in Aurora.

Johnny Depp visits for filming of his upcoming movie "Public Enemies." Previously I forgot the biggest news associated with this--Cory is in the movie! For more on his experience click here.

A huge drug bust was made.

An old building gets a new life. (The building in the picture.)

Monday Thoughts: Real Offering

This week we started looking at 1 Samuel and Ephesians. One of the things that really stuck out to us in 1 Samuel 1-3 was the amazing offering made by Hannah, Samuel's mom. She told God that if she was able to have a child she would give that child back to God. After that she became pregnant and Samuel was born. As soon as he was weaned she took him and gave him to Eli to be trained to serve God. The text seems to indicate that from that point on she saw him once a year. God gave her other children, but it is difficult for me to imagine giving up my only child knowing that I would only see him once a year. In some ways this is reminiscent of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac. In both cases amazing obedience to God and willingness to sacrifice is displayed.

Contrast this with the evil actions of Eli's sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They were designated as priests, yet they were "worthless men" who had "no regard for God." These were the ones who were supposed to be models of what it meant to serve God, yet the real model is a previously barren women.

So what does real offering to God look like? Who are the people in your life who have given you a model worth following?

Podcast: Agendaless?

Is it right for a marriage, friendship, or any other relationship to have an agenda? Is it right for Christians to have an agenda in their relationship with people who are not Christians? That depends...

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Fifth Sunday

This past Sunday we went to a gathering of the church in Aurora (by which I mean quite a few different local churches all coming together). They meet together on Sunday night whenever there are five Sundays in the month for worship, prayer, communion, and baptism.

It was a powerful night. I was blown away by the fact that these churches believe in the unity of the church so much that they save their baptisms so that they can do them with other churches in the area. But that is a good indicator of the spirit in the room on Sunday. Being there you didn't sense any competition or jealousy, just a true spirit of unity and joy that they could be together.

We are very blessed to be beginning Infuse in a place where this type of unity exists among many of the churches. A number of them have welcomed us with open arms. In fact, one of the pastors, Randy from Warehouse Church, said one of the things he and other pastors in Aurora have been praying for has been more workers for the work of planting seeds and harvest in Aurora. So when he heard about Infuse he was excited because it is one way that prayer is being answered--and thankfully there are quite a few other ways it is being answered right now too.