We Chose Our Adventure

Last night we were driving home from a trip to the local Target (we needed new water bottles since we recently pitched all the cancer causing #7 bottles) and I had a strange realization. I don't really know where it came from, but I think it is a good summary of what our life is like now.

"Michelle," I bellowed (I didn't really bellow, but that's a much cooler word than said), "I was just thinking that if we had moved here so I could take a job in a church, we probably wouldn't have any of the friends we have now. We'd be spending all our time with church people and church programs. I'm sure we'd have some friends, but they'd all be different."

If we had moved here and right away gone into a church, especially if I was a pastor there, I wouldn't be at Starbucks every morning (unless it was to meet with someone from church), Michelle wouldn't have started a playgroup (she'd have stuff for moms with church people), I wouldn't spend any evenings in local bars, we wouldn't be having cookouts for people in our neighborhood, and the list goes on. In many ways it's been very hard to find friends without going into a church, that's how we've always done it, but we're both really enjoying the relationships that are growing right now. We look forward to more forming from our neighborhood, coffee shops, bars, playgroups, and many other places in the coming months.

Reclaiming the Word "Missional"

I had the opportunity to meet Alan Hirsch a couple weeks ago, which was a great honor and, of course, included captivating, thoughtful discussion.

As part of his stop at CTI, he did an interview with Leadership journal and Out of Ur. You can find the audio here.

The short clip focuses on what "missional" really means (because everyone seems to be using the word these days), and I've included a few of my notes here:

• A missionary stance toward the culture
  
• Treat neighbors as a cross-cultural environment
  
• Pretend you're in Papua New Guinea and have to learn all about a new culture
  
• There are hundreds of subcultures around us (different music tastes, hobbies, dress code, political thinking, etc)
  

What does an attractional church do if it realizes they need to shift their posture to a more missional mindset?:

• Win the battle of the imagination
  
• Dethrone Constantine (that the Church exists beyond the institution)
  
• Be patient because it's such a huge shift
  
• Everyone has to take an active role and realize they're more than consumers
  
• Know that people will be upset by this shift
  

Listen to the short audio clip for more context.

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: 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

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.