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.

Being a Turtle

Sometimes pursuing things in a missionary way like we are feels like moving at a turtle's pace. I fight this battle of wanting to see more happening than we are and wondering if we're doing something wrong. So the video I watched today as a part of the training I'm doing was a great reminder. The speaker, Hugh, is a part of leading a missional community that has 14 villages (small communities) which consist of about 240 people. But in the video he talked about the process that he and his wife went through when they first moved to Denver. After 12 months they were friends with about 30 people, but still didn't have a gathering focused on spiritual growth--they were just forming relationships. After two years they had one community, ranging from 8-20 people who were pursuing following Christ in mission together. It was in the third year that things started happening more quickly.

It makes sense that this process is slow. It is a relationally-driven process that relies on Christ-focused community being formed and then multiplication taking place. This isn't something that can start quickly, but it is something that has great chances of exploding once the initial seeds start to bear fruit. I was encouraged today that as long as we are praying for God to work and then intentionally putting ourselves in positions where he can use us, it's okay to move like a turtle.

And if we really look at what's going on here, things are happening after only 6 months. We are building relationships with quite a few people (more about this in the next newsletter), there are other Christians who are exploring joining us in this mission, and we can point to tangible ways we see God at work. I'm convinced that we're moving in the right direction if we will stay the course and follow God's leading into mission.

Setting Goals, Kind Of

This past Sunday night we spent some time talking about setting goals for ourselves and Infuse as a whole for the next six months. One of my hesitations with this is that goals can be limiting. I would hate to set a goal lower than what God wants to do. I also have to realize that the work or reconciliation and redemption is driven by God, not me. He uses me, but I don't have control over it, so setting goals may be somewhat presumptuous.

So in light of those thoughts, we have agreed to spend this week praying about what God wants for us individually and as a group in the next six months. We focusing our prayer on three key areas.

1. Relationships: It is natural for relationships to exist on multiple levels. Jesus had the crowds that followed him, his band of disciples, the 12, and his closest 3. We want to make sure that we are growing relationships from people we don't know yet all the way through those we're closest to intentionally.

2. Tangible blessing: We want to show the love of Christ through service to our community as a whole, and more specifically to the people we're in relationships with. This means cultivating a mindset that looks for ways to bless people.

3. Shared life: In order to develop strong and meaningful relationships we have to share life with each other. Instead of having a time we share with fellow Christians, another time with non-Christian friends, and other time serving, we want to incorporate all of those people into all of life.

We'll let you know how this comes out this Sunday!

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.

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?

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.

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.

The Goal of Serving Your Community

About a year ago I was really struggling. Someone I respected told me that the at-risk tutoring/mentoring ministry I led wasn't really effective unless it brought people into the church, or at least that's the way I understood it. I'm not sure he meant it quite as bluntly, but that's how I took it.

So, the time that we spent serving a need in that low income area, developing relationships with the families and students, and being the hands and feet of Jesus was a waste?

I think wanting to bring people into our church is a good goal, but as we know the "church" isn't necessarily a place many in our culture feel comfortable. I also think that finding ways we can interact with our culture and build relationships is a good and holy goal. I want to do so without feeling a sense of manipulation....that I want something from the people I'm serving. Is this just leaving them off the hook? Or enabling them to take advantage of you?

I still struggle with this, but a recent article I read from Relevant magazine gave me some hope.

Socks and Cigarettes
by Tim Berroth

What the Coffeeshop Teaches Us

As much as I like my once-a-week Starbucks gift to myself, I treasure those more sporadic stops at my local indy coffeeshop. It's easier to go there and stay there for hours. I often choose that coffeeshop when I have a friend I want to spend some quality time with. I meet more people there than I ever would at Starbucks.

I love this article that Leadership journal published about what the church can learn about the coffeeshop (also love it because this coffeeshop is MY coffeeshop and I know the author and his wife):

Coffeeshop Connections
What one pastor is learning, as a part-time barista, about relationship and discipleship.
by David Swanson

Here's my favorite excerpt:

If we believe the church community is the sum of its people, and if we believe that relationships are not something that can be programmed, then we do well to consider how to create margins in church life for spontaneous relational moments, similar to those that attract people to the coffeeshop.