Enjoying the transition from Christmas and New Years back to the "grind" of bleak, midwinter life. I have a lot of thoughts on my mind but not a lot of time to refine them at this point. But here they are, for what they are worth.
The Situation:
• The reason the church exists is to glorify God by "being" disciples of Jesus Christ and by making disciples of Jesus Christ. The reason the church in North America is in bad shape is because we don't understand our purpose: our churches are full of Christians who are not disciples of Jesus and therefore we've apparently few ideas about how to make disciples. Now disciple making might involve things and programs like Rick Warren's 5 Purposes, but I'd say that those are more to help us understand "how" to make disciples rather than why we exist.
• It seems like so much of what people are concerned about these days has to do with "playing church." Now I'm all for creative play, but we also need to incorporate a certain amount of results orientation into our methodology. Are we "making" disciples. How do we cure the feeling that we are just “playing church?”
• We need to move from "confirmation" to" Christ-formation" across the board. The old ways aren't working any more and the model of church we are pursuing (programming/modern) will be radically different in 20 years. This radical change is necessary. The status quo is no longer acceptable. It is a matter of spiritual life and death.
An observation for those who seek to address the situation:
When you bring the Word the kingdom of God will become more real to more people. You can count on two things:
a. The hungry sheep will line up to be fed and they will come from everywhere.
b. The devil and his allies in the world don’t like this and they will throw everything they have at you.
• True discipleship reflects the cruciform pattern (as does all Truth). All true discipleship reflects the experience of Jesus. If you haven’t been persecuted you must ask yourself the question, “Is what I’m doing really discipleship or am I just making peace with the world?” "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice..." Jesus’ invitation to us to “Follow me: live like me, die like me, lay down your lives like me.” Bonhoeffer once said, "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
• As you try to do kingdom work, those who run “the system” will try to crucify you.
Another Observation: Discipleship demands submission. The most pressing question for us in the church today is the one Jesus’ asks: “You call me teacher and Lord, yet why do you not do what I say?”
We’ve made church about us to the point that we don’t submit to the Holy Spirit. It's also difficult to submit to each other. Many in our midst are not spiritually mature in their faith. “No student is above his master.” Mt 10:24 ff. The reality is that in every existing congregation the need exists not just to evangelize the lost (Mt 28:19ff) but also to re-evangelize the already converted who have become "comfortable" or sleepy in their faith (Jesus' words to Peter, " ..;then turn and convert your brethren. "
“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” When you preach the kingdom you will always gather a crowd, but that crowd is both good fish and bad fish.”
The nature of the church is that we are both wheat and weeds, good and bad fish, good seed and bad seed. As has oft been said, “Wherever the Lord builds a Cathedral, the devils builds a chapel.”
Winton Marsalis, Jazz University Program on XM/Sirius Radio - “A way to break someone’s spirit is to tell them that what they are doing is not worth it -- it’s worthless - and is of no value. So we seek to do the opposite. We seek to build up people.”
Vision for for the church (to amend what we have been and to enhance what we are)
The church needs to be...
1. A culture of praise to God. God is real. God acts in real ways in people's lives. Let's celebrate that more intentionally.
2. A culture of thanks to God and people. A culture of appreciation.
3. A culture of joy.
4. a culture of fun.
5. A culture of optimism (can do!)
6. A culture of welcome! Let’s get to know you!
7. A culture of generosity.
8. A culture of believing. Expectation of miracles. A culture where faith can flourish.
9. A culture of learning (perpetual).
10. A culture that values creativity and innovation without MacGyverising.
11. A culture of safety where discussion, repentance, forgiveness and change can occur. A culture that allows for mistakes and learns from them.
12. A culture of desperate love for the lost. A desperation for people to know and love Jesus. A culture that so loves others that it is willing to change and get out of our preferential comfort zone in order to create an environment where people can meet Jesus and be changed.
13. A culture of direct communication. No junior high games.
14. An environment where kids want to be here and it’s the best hour of the week for their parents.
15. A culture of grace. Quick to forgive, quick to put the best intentions on the acts and motives of others.
16. A culture without guilt or shame.
17. A culture where we focus on leadership development/discipleship.
18. A culture of truth where the gospel is preached in all it's purity, leading to repentance and transforming faith in those who hear it. A place where the Word, as Dallas Willard puts it, is proclaimed, taught, and made manifest.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Discerning the Times for the Church
I think too much. I spend a lot of time thinking about the church. I think and pray about what is going on in my congregation but I also think and pray about what is going on in the church locally and around the world. One of the things that has become clear to me over the years is that we are living in times when much of what we know about church must change. The signs announcing this change are all around us. Oh, we're not going to stop trying to be what the Bible tells us to be. The church will still be a human organization trying to do Divine things, but many of the ways we seek to do those things will simply have to change.
In Mark 13, Jesus and his disciples were walking around the Temple in Jerusalem and the disciples were amazed by all the buildings. Jesus tells them that it is all about to end, that it will all be destroyed. The disciples want to know about the end times, especially when it will be. Jesus tells them not to worry about it. Instead of worrying, he tells them to look for the signs, to be discerners of the times. Jesus' followers are called to be watchers of the times and discerners of what God is doing.
I'm grateful for what I call the American Reformation that was brought about by the charismatic wave of the 70s and the shift in focus to evangelism and reaching the lost that was pioneered by such churches as the Crystal Cathedral and Willow Creek and Saddleback. I'm grateful for the lessons they've taught us and how the Holy Spirit has used them to speak to the church in North America (and indeed, around the world). But I sense an even greater change coming. It is more than simply considering the questions and preferences of the unchurched and how to address those. I sense changes coming that will fundamentally alter the way we "do" church.
Here are some of the things I'm wondering about:
How do we welcome people with no concept of "church" or Christ and also reverse years of laxity in solid, Biblical teaching? We have to renew our focus on teaching.
Even here in Iowa, far away from the cultural and ethnic melting pots of the major urban centers, we are facing our first unchurched generation. There are entire families that have no memory of church at all and may not see churches as something benign. How will we address this growing group in our society and invite them to meet Jesus? I feel that most churches are absolutely unprepared to do the very basic work of leading people to Christ and welcoming them into a life of discipleship. Most probably we are unprepared because we have turned church into something that we do for ourselves and quite frankly, we don't expect people we don't know to ever come into our church. Further, many in our congregations haven't learned anything new since confirmation and don't look to the church to teach them anything else about who God in Christ is. We must find ways of re-igniting historic, orthodox, biblical teaching.
Is the way we "do" church sustainable?
By this I mean the following:
A generation is passing who knew how to give to the church. The next generation is in debt up to its eye balls with school loans, car loans, credit card debt, mortgages, etc. The big budgets we've seen for the last two decades may no longer be sustainable. Can we learn how to do more with less? How can we to teach people who are leveraged beyond belief how to give?
Buildings. Many of them aren't paid for yet. Older ones need a lot of work. Will we be able to afford this expense going forward? And what if a generation who doesn't see the church as important suddenly doesn't think the church should be exempt from paying property taxes? We must learn to think of our ministries beyond buildings; that means beyond programming. Not that this will happen tomorrow, but what about in the next 20 years? This kind of thinking needs to impact our thoughts about building drives. Perhaps we should pay off debt instead of acquiring new debt? Perhaps increasing the size of our physical plant won't really help us as much as we think when it comes to future ministry. These are hard questions to ask in a church culture that measures success by buildings.
Gunmen. Nobody likes to talk about it, but churches have recently become targets of gunmen. How do we prepare for such challenges? God has to be our safety and protection. We also need to be conscious of this new reality and seek ways minimize risks without causing problems within congregations or making them look like airport screening lines.
What if a generation who doesn't value the church doesn't see why there should be a charitable giving deduction on our taxes? Is giving by our membership seen as a faithful response to God's love and grace or as a write off?
What if preaching about sin from the Bible becomes "hate speech?" We've seen this already happening in Canada.
What if future laws require us to provide a translator? Because we are a public event, it is possible that such future laws might apply much as the American's with Disabilities Act required us to modify our buildings.
We must raise up and equip new, young leaders for the future. Currently, few churches have plans for future leadership. The whole approach to leadership by most churches is rather haphazard. It needs to get much more intentional and fast. Everything from helping in discernment processes to helping to pay the costs must be examined. We need the right leaders, the ones that God has chosen. And we don't need them to be acquiring $100k in debt for a job that pays $30k. We doom them to failure by making them bear these costs alone. We need to learn how to embrace new generations and stop acting as if younger people aren't credible. "Let no one despise you because of your youth," Paul says to Timothy. We have to change the way we look at leadership and realize that spiritual maturity is not always age related.
We must become creative with staffing and in ways of making key volunteer positions sustainable. We need to actively fight against burn out in church workers and also prepare for a time when we might not be able to afford the salaries we pay now. Are we prepared to shoulder the real burdens of ministry and not just the financial costs? A sustainable future might very well involve large commitments of time to the church. And the church needs to explore new methods of "compensation," like affirmation, appreciation and encouragement.
We must consider carefully the effectiveness of our programming. In the past, much programming has sought to carve out a Christian subculture for our membership in the world. For instance, if the school has a Halloween Party, we have a Harvest Party. We frequently duplicate what the world is doing in order to put the stamp of Christ on the activity. But what if modern people are so busy that they need the church to offer less, instead of more, activities and opportunities. What if our time with people turns out best spent in teaching them and equipping them how to minister to "the church in their home" rather than being another source of entertainment or activity?
I realize that we must trust God in all things. My purpose here is not to be alarmist. I see it as simply necessary to realize that we live in a sinful world that hates the church and the Gospel. We simply need to be prayerful and aware. We need to be discerners of the times.
I'm reading quite a lot of stuff lately about the necessity of change in churches. Here are some interesting links. Enjoy. Please join me in prayer for the future of the church. God bless you. Thanks for reading. PJ.
http://www.russellmoore.com/2009/11/09/what-the-church-can-learn-from-sesame-street/ What the church can learn from Sesame Street.
George Barna: The State of Main Line Protestant Churches
http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/17-leadership/323-report-examines-the-state-of-mainline-protestant-churches
Gracefully Passing the Baton by George Barna
http://www.barna.org/component/wordpress/archives/77
In Mark 13, Jesus and his disciples were walking around the Temple in Jerusalem and the disciples were amazed by all the buildings. Jesus tells them that it is all about to end, that it will all be destroyed. The disciples want to know about the end times, especially when it will be. Jesus tells them not to worry about it. Instead of worrying, he tells them to look for the signs, to be discerners of the times. Jesus' followers are called to be watchers of the times and discerners of what God is doing.
I'm grateful for what I call the American Reformation that was brought about by the charismatic wave of the 70s and the shift in focus to evangelism and reaching the lost that was pioneered by such churches as the Crystal Cathedral and Willow Creek and Saddleback. I'm grateful for the lessons they've taught us and how the Holy Spirit has used them to speak to the church in North America (and indeed, around the world). But I sense an even greater change coming. It is more than simply considering the questions and preferences of the unchurched and how to address those. I sense changes coming that will fundamentally alter the way we "do" church.
Here are some of the things I'm wondering about:
How do we welcome people with no concept of "church" or Christ and also reverse years of laxity in solid, Biblical teaching? We have to renew our focus on teaching.
Even here in Iowa, far away from the cultural and ethnic melting pots of the major urban centers, we are facing our first unchurched generation. There are entire families that have no memory of church at all and may not see churches as something benign. How will we address this growing group in our society and invite them to meet Jesus? I feel that most churches are absolutely unprepared to do the very basic work of leading people to Christ and welcoming them into a life of discipleship. Most probably we are unprepared because we have turned church into something that we do for ourselves and quite frankly, we don't expect people we don't know to ever come into our church. Further, many in our congregations haven't learned anything new since confirmation and don't look to the church to teach them anything else about who God in Christ is. We must find ways of re-igniting historic, orthodox, biblical teaching.
Is the way we "do" church sustainable?
By this I mean the following:
A generation is passing who knew how to give to the church. The next generation is in debt up to its eye balls with school loans, car loans, credit card debt, mortgages, etc. The big budgets we've seen for the last two decades may no longer be sustainable. Can we learn how to do more with less? How can we to teach people who are leveraged beyond belief how to give?
Buildings. Many of them aren't paid for yet. Older ones need a lot of work. Will we be able to afford this expense going forward? And what if a generation who doesn't see the church as important suddenly doesn't think the church should be exempt from paying property taxes? We must learn to think of our ministries beyond buildings; that means beyond programming. Not that this will happen tomorrow, but what about in the next 20 years? This kind of thinking needs to impact our thoughts about building drives. Perhaps we should pay off debt instead of acquiring new debt? Perhaps increasing the size of our physical plant won't really help us as much as we think when it comes to future ministry. These are hard questions to ask in a church culture that measures success by buildings.
Gunmen. Nobody likes to talk about it, but churches have recently become targets of gunmen. How do we prepare for such challenges? God has to be our safety and protection. We also need to be conscious of this new reality and seek ways minimize risks without causing problems within congregations or making them look like airport screening lines.
What if a generation who doesn't value the church doesn't see why there should be a charitable giving deduction on our taxes? Is giving by our membership seen as a faithful response to God's love and grace or as a write off?
What if preaching about sin from the Bible becomes "hate speech?" We've seen this already happening in Canada.
What if future laws require us to provide a translator? Because we are a public event, it is possible that such future laws might apply much as the American's with Disabilities Act required us to modify our buildings.
We must raise up and equip new, young leaders for the future. Currently, few churches have plans for future leadership. The whole approach to leadership by most churches is rather haphazard. It needs to get much more intentional and fast. Everything from helping in discernment processes to helping to pay the costs must be examined. We need the right leaders, the ones that God has chosen. And we don't need them to be acquiring $100k in debt for a job that pays $30k. We doom them to failure by making them bear these costs alone. We need to learn how to embrace new generations and stop acting as if younger people aren't credible. "Let no one despise you because of your youth," Paul says to Timothy. We have to change the way we look at leadership and realize that spiritual maturity is not always age related.
We must become creative with staffing and in ways of making key volunteer positions sustainable. We need to actively fight against burn out in church workers and also prepare for a time when we might not be able to afford the salaries we pay now. Are we prepared to shoulder the real burdens of ministry and not just the financial costs? A sustainable future might very well involve large commitments of time to the church. And the church needs to explore new methods of "compensation," like affirmation, appreciation and encouragement.
We must consider carefully the effectiveness of our programming. In the past, much programming has sought to carve out a Christian subculture for our membership in the world. For instance, if the school has a Halloween Party, we have a Harvest Party. We frequently duplicate what the world is doing in order to put the stamp of Christ on the activity. But what if modern people are so busy that they need the church to offer less, instead of more, activities and opportunities. What if our time with people turns out best spent in teaching them and equipping them how to minister to "the church in their home" rather than being another source of entertainment or activity?
I realize that we must trust God in all things. My purpose here is not to be alarmist. I see it as simply necessary to realize that we live in a sinful world that hates the church and the Gospel. We simply need to be prayerful and aware. We need to be discerners of the times.
I'm reading quite a lot of stuff lately about the necessity of change in churches. Here are some interesting links. Enjoy. Please join me in prayer for the future of the church. God bless you. Thanks for reading. PJ.
http://www.russellmoore.com/2009/11/09/what-the-church-can-learn-from-sesame-street/ What the church can learn from Sesame Street.
George Barna: The State of Main Line Protestant Churches
http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/17-leadership/323-report-examines-the-state-of-mainline-protestant-churches
Gracefully Passing the Baton by George Barna
http://www.barna.org/component/wordpress/archives/77
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Welcome, 2010
The end of the year is a natural time to reflect upon one’s life and, in the case of a pastor, one’s ministry. One thing I can say about 2009, it was never dull. There were times when I longed to be bored. Times when I prayed for quiet. But God had a plan and although that plan was not easy and required the loss of many things in order to remain faithful, we stand now poised to enter into the new year with optimism and hope because God is on the move and we are following him.
The words of Paul (Romans 8:31 and following) come to mind:
“If God is for us, who can be against us? ... For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will separate us from the love of God that in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Goodbye, 2009. Your job is done and you have brought us to where we need to be in time. I hated much of the bumpy ride but we are here, where God wills us to be. With each bump in the road, I was brought closer to the Lord. Nothing is wasted in his economy. No experience is without some value. He uses everything to build us and shape us for the future which is of his design and always to equip us for ministry to others. Transitioning to the new year, I pray that Almighty God will grant each of you grace and patience and wisdom and courage and strength for the living of these days. We live in a unique and challenging time full of colliding ideological forces and an on-going technological revolution which is reshaping our society in yet to be comprehended ways. But for such a time as this were all of us placed upon the earth. We may not always be comfortable, but let us strive to be faithful to our high calling as followers of Christ to be his witnesses even and especially when we feel that we are living in the end of time.
Welcome, 2010. You bring us a fresh start, a turn of the calendar page and new seasons of opportunities to sow the gospel seeds as we advance into the future our God has prepared for us. Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
The words of Paul (Romans 8:31 and following) come to mind:
“If God is for us, who can be against us? ... For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will separate us from the love of God that in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Goodbye, 2009. Your job is done and you have brought us to where we need to be in time. I hated much of the bumpy ride but we are here, where God wills us to be. With each bump in the road, I was brought closer to the Lord. Nothing is wasted in his economy. No experience is without some value. He uses everything to build us and shape us for the future which is of his design and always to equip us for ministry to others. Transitioning to the new year, I pray that Almighty God will grant each of you grace and patience and wisdom and courage and strength for the living of these days. We live in a unique and challenging time full of colliding ideological forces and an on-going technological revolution which is reshaping our society in yet to be comprehended ways. But for such a time as this were all of us placed upon the earth. We may not always be comfortable, but let us strive to be faithful to our high calling as followers of Christ to be his witnesses even and especially when we feel that we are living in the end of time.
Welcome, 2010. You bring us a fresh start, a turn of the calendar page and new seasons of opportunities to sow the gospel seeds as we advance into the future our God has prepared for us. Thanks for reading. God bless. PJ
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Merry Christmas and Here’s the Real Meaning of the Great Commission
It’s Christmas time. Time to consider once again the second most amazing event in human history: that God became flesh and pitched his tent among us. It’s a sign of God’s amazing and unfathomable love and grace that the Son, Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be selfishly held on to, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
The second most amazing event in human history is that Jesus died, a sacrificial death, in our place and was raised again at Easter. Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Some will feel differently, of course, but for me, this is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time when we can’t help but focus on the fact that the light has come into the darkness. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Then he said, “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”
We are invited by the light of the world to become light so that the darkness can be overcome. We are also commanded to take this light and let it shine into all the world that others, too, may be in the light. We are followers of Jesus and also his fellow follower (disciple) makers. Jesus asks us to be his followers and also to make more Christ followers. Truly, this is a great commission!
The Son’s commission to us, ”Go and make disciples of all nations…” reminds me of the Father’s commission to mankind: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.”
Have you noticed how we are recently reticent to fulfill either of these commissions? A diminishing number of people have large families any more. We seem to prefer 2 or 3 children to 12. I grew up in a selfish generation. My friends and I grew up believing that we should first “do something important” and then save up money, in order to have children (and only a few) later in life. In other words, the meaning of life was to be found in doing something for yourself, and only secondarily in having a family. My grandparents came from a mindset that family was the most important thing and that children were a blessing from the Lord.
People far smarter than I have been watching this trend for a long time. It has something to do with prosperity: for some reason, the richer we get the fewer kids we have. Maybe there is something to be said about large families having to struggle together, but being stronger for it. I suppose the more prosperous we become, the more we think we have to provide for our children (ipods, cell phones, flat screens, etc) so children become less and less cost effective. Frankly, I like the space we have at our house, more kids would mean there would be less space for me and what I want. But you see, I’m selfish.
God isn’t selfish. He’s magnanimous. He is bounteous. He specializes in abundance. That’s one of the reasons or signs that point to Jesus being the Messiah, the Son of God. Wherever Jesus went there was suddenly abundance: water became wine, five loaves and 2 fish suddenly multiplied to fill a multitude and there was still enough left for 12 baskets; fish filled the nets, the dead came back to life. “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.”
I remember story time in elementary school. We read a lot of science fiction about the end of the world. On Saturday mornings there were cartoons and dramas (like Ark 2) about how overpopulation and the consequent pollution was destroying the earth. We’d all freeze to death in the dark. Alas, the science has changed and now we’re getting too hot and we now have over 50,000,000 million abortions in this country alone. Apparently we don’t think much as a world about God’s command: “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it.” When it comes to not doing what God commands, just about any excuse will do.
So to the church Jesus gives the great commission, “Go and make disciples.” The great commission is simply God reminding us that as far as he is concerned, more is better. “Fill the earth with my disciples because I want abundant children.” “Let there be more light.”
The church is therefore commanded to grow the family. But we’re big enough, surely? Aren't we cozy as we are? More will get messy! Not for the magnanimous, over abundant, bounteous, grace beyond all measure attitude of God. We need to make room. Oh sure, there will be issues like “what about me and mine?” but hopefully, the joy of seeing new life will overcome those if our hearts are in the right place.
But the house is too small! But the budget is too small! But we haven’t prepared! Doesn’t matter. The fields are white with the harvest. God commands: “Go, make disciples, fill the earth and subdue it. Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify me, your Father in heaven.” The most joyous times in ministry and in my personal life were'nt when there was plenty and everyone had their own space. They were when we were together, bunched up, falling over eachother and there wasn't enough to go around. That made community, it made memories, it made love. In a room crowded with disciples, the light is very, very bright.
It’s not a Christmas hymn but it bespeaks the meaning of season: that God became man so that men might become sons of God, and now asks us to increase the family.
"Going forth with laughter, sowing for the Master, Though the loss sustained, The child often grieves; When our weeping’s over, He will tell us gently, We shall come rejoicing to heaven, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves, Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Merry Christmas and thanks for reading. PJ
The second most amazing event in human history is that Jesus died, a sacrificial death, in our place and was raised again at Easter. Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Some will feel differently, of course, but for me, this is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s the time when we can’t help but focus on the fact that the light has come into the darkness. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Then he said, “Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”
We are invited by the light of the world to become light so that the darkness can be overcome. We are also commanded to take this light and let it shine into all the world that others, too, may be in the light. We are followers of Jesus and also his fellow follower (disciple) makers. Jesus asks us to be his followers and also to make more Christ followers. Truly, this is a great commission!
The Son’s commission to us, ”Go and make disciples of all nations…” reminds me of the Father’s commission to mankind: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.”
Have you noticed how we are recently reticent to fulfill either of these commissions? A diminishing number of people have large families any more. We seem to prefer 2 or 3 children to 12. I grew up in a selfish generation. My friends and I grew up believing that we should first “do something important” and then save up money, in order to have children (and only a few) later in life. In other words, the meaning of life was to be found in doing something for yourself, and only secondarily in having a family. My grandparents came from a mindset that family was the most important thing and that children were a blessing from the Lord.
People far smarter than I have been watching this trend for a long time. It has something to do with prosperity: for some reason, the richer we get the fewer kids we have. Maybe there is something to be said about large families having to struggle together, but being stronger for it. I suppose the more prosperous we become, the more we think we have to provide for our children (ipods, cell phones, flat screens, etc) so children become less and less cost effective. Frankly, I like the space we have at our house, more kids would mean there would be less space for me and what I want. But you see, I’m selfish.
God isn’t selfish. He’s magnanimous. He is bounteous. He specializes in abundance. That’s one of the reasons or signs that point to Jesus being the Messiah, the Son of God. Wherever Jesus went there was suddenly abundance: water became wine, five loaves and 2 fish suddenly multiplied to fill a multitude and there was still enough left for 12 baskets; fish filled the nets, the dead came back to life. “I have come that you might have life, and have it abundantly.”
I remember story time in elementary school. We read a lot of science fiction about the end of the world. On Saturday mornings there were cartoons and dramas (like Ark 2) about how overpopulation and the consequent pollution was destroying the earth. We’d all freeze to death in the dark. Alas, the science has changed and now we’re getting too hot and we now have over 50,000,000 million abortions in this country alone. Apparently we don’t think much as a world about God’s command: “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it.” When it comes to not doing what God commands, just about any excuse will do.
So to the church Jesus gives the great commission, “Go and make disciples.” The great commission is simply God reminding us that as far as he is concerned, more is better. “Fill the earth with my disciples because I want abundant children.” “Let there be more light.”
The church is therefore commanded to grow the family. But we’re big enough, surely? Aren't we cozy as we are? More will get messy! Not for the magnanimous, over abundant, bounteous, grace beyond all measure attitude of God. We need to make room. Oh sure, there will be issues like “what about me and mine?” but hopefully, the joy of seeing new life will overcome those if our hearts are in the right place.
But the house is too small! But the budget is too small! But we haven’t prepared! Doesn’t matter. The fields are white with the harvest. God commands: “Go, make disciples, fill the earth and subdue it. Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify me, your Father in heaven.” The most joyous times in ministry and in my personal life were'nt when there was plenty and everyone had their own space. They were when we were together, bunched up, falling over eachother and there wasn't enough to go around. That made community, it made memories, it made love. In a room crowded with disciples, the light is very, very bright.
It’s not a Christmas hymn but it bespeaks the meaning of season: that God became man so that men might become sons of God, and now asks us to increase the family.
"Going forth with laughter, sowing for the Master, Though the loss sustained, The child often grieves; When our weeping’s over, He will tell us gently, We shall come rejoicing to heaven, bringing in the sheaves.
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves, Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves, We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
Merry Christmas and thanks for reading. PJ
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Everything Must Change
One of the most exciting things I believe was summed up best by Bill Hybels: “The local church is the hope of the world.” I know some people will jump on that and say, “Gee, PJ, I thought Jesus was the hope of the world.” The answer is, of course, that Jesus is the hope of the world and that people best get connected to him in their local church. Jesus is the local church after all, it is his body.
I don’t really care what that church body looks like: high church or low church, cathedral or store front or living room. What’s important is that the local church understands it stands as Christ’s representative. All those wonderful words in 2 Corinthians 5 about being the ambassadors of Christ are written to the local church, to “ya’ll” in the church. If people are going to come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord they will somehow need to be connected to his body. That’s why the local church is the hope of the world. Because the local church can bring the hope and transformation that only Jesus has.
This is an awesome mission. What would it be like if we really lived this out together? What if we actually believed and acted like we believed that our local congregation was the hope of the entire world? I think a lot of the petty arguments would stop. I think our priorities would be re-arranged. It would have to stop being about us. I think everything would change for the sake of the mission. And I think that’s what needs to happen. Now.
Why are we slow to adopt this vision that we, the church, are the hope of the world? Because I think we worry too much about our institutional survival. We can’t afford to lose any members, especially in these tough economic times, so we accommodate people who aren’t mission minded and try to keep everyone happy. This mindset can be held by pastors, boards, and members in general. If the worst thing that can happen is that you’ll lose a member, you probably will never gain any. And you certainly won’t add people who didn’t know Christ before because you won’t be being the hope of the world. You’ll be being the customer service department.
Sometimes, as preachers, we’re tempted to preach nice sermons full of empty platitudes that don’t rock the boat. But if we don’t preach for life change and transformation, if people don’t go away challenged to know Christ or know him better and equipped to do so, what’s the point?
I think we’ve been focused on meeting the felt needs of our members for too long. We’ve become insular, unable to identify and therefore to relate to the outside world. We’ve lost our edge, too. We are no longer expected to be imaginative or creative or innovative in the ways we make our witness or engage the world. I suppose it’s too risky to be too innovative, it might make someone uncomfortable or leave them longing for the way things used to be.
I’m speculating here but what if we in the local church have come to believe that if people want to meet Jesus they must first conform to the culture of the church? I think the early church dealt with that problem in Acts 15. Nothing is required before you meet Jesus. If we were missionaries we wouldn’t expect the people of the land we were evangelizing to learn our language or adapt our culture first. We’d learn theirs with joy so we could share Jesus. That’s the right attitude. We’re supposed to be the missionaries, not the consumers.
I don’t really care what that church body looks like: high church or low church, cathedral or store front or living room. What’s important is that the local church understands it stands as Christ’s representative. All those wonderful words in 2 Corinthians 5 about being the ambassadors of Christ are written to the local church, to “ya’ll” in the church. If people are going to come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord they will somehow need to be connected to his body. That’s why the local church is the hope of the world. Because the local church can bring the hope and transformation that only Jesus has.
This is an awesome mission. What would it be like if we really lived this out together? What if we actually believed and acted like we believed that our local congregation was the hope of the entire world? I think a lot of the petty arguments would stop. I think our priorities would be re-arranged. It would have to stop being about us. I think everything would change for the sake of the mission. And I think that’s what needs to happen. Now.
Why are we slow to adopt this vision that we, the church, are the hope of the world? Because I think we worry too much about our institutional survival. We can’t afford to lose any members, especially in these tough economic times, so we accommodate people who aren’t mission minded and try to keep everyone happy. This mindset can be held by pastors, boards, and members in general. If the worst thing that can happen is that you’ll lose a member, you probably will never gain any. And you certainly won’t add people who didn’t know Christ before because you won’t be being the hope of the world. You’ll be being the customer service department.
Sometimes, as preachers, we’re tempted to preach nice sermons full of empty platitudes that don’t rock the boat. But if we don’t preach for life change and transformation, if people don’t go away challenged to know Christ or know him better and equipped to do so, what’s the point?
I think we’ve been focused on meeting the felt needs of our members for too long. We’ve become insular, unable to identify and therefore to relate to the outside world. We’ve lost our edge, too. We are no longer expected to be imaginative or creative or innovative in the ways we make our witness or engage the world. I suppose it’s too risky to be too innovative, it might make someone uncomfortable or leave them longing for the way things used to be.
I’m speculating here but what if we in the local church have come to believe that if people want to meet Jesus they must first conform to the culture of the church? I think the early church dealt with that problem in Acts 15. Nothing is required before you meet Jesus. If we were missionaries we wouldn’t expect the people of the land we were evangelizing to learn our language or adapt our culture first. We’d learn theirs with joy so we could share Jesus. That’s the right attitude. We’re supposed to be the missionaries, not the consumers.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Blood, Money and Mission
I went to the Blood Center the other day to give blood. I went because they called, as they do frequently, and expressed a need for blood.
I’ve done this for a while, but there were things about this particular visit that I really hadn’t noticed or thought of before.
They have the latest and greatest technology. Well, I mean, it’s a medical enterprise, what would you expect? It’s important work, you’ve got to keep up with technology.
On the walls around the interior are hung giant posters of people’s faces. These are the faces of those whose lives have been saved or changed by the blood we donate. I know this about the posters because also around the room are smaller pictures of the same people, the smaller versions containing the testimonies of how donated blood changed these people’s lives.
That got me thinking about fundraising. The Blood Center is a nonprofit corporation. But I don’t suppose they have trouble raising enough money to keep the doors open. Why? Because everybody knows how important the work they do there is. It’s work that saves lives. Why, they just call up people like me and say, “We need your blood,” and I show up. Because the work they do is important and I know it. I bet that when there isn’t enough blood to go around, people don’t blame the Blood Center. Nope. They are there to take the blood that people donate. If there isn’t enough blood it’s because people are too selfish or too busy to give it, not because the Blood Center failed in any way.
Anyway, I did my check in and then got sent to do some paper work necessary before they take my blood. It was routine. Same paper work every time. I have the answers memorized. I finished in record time but I had to wait for 40 more minutes. So when they took my blood pressure it was a little high, only because I noticed that people who came in after me were being leaped-frogged in front of me and time was getting on and I had another appointment. Plus, they were about to stick a huge needle in me and I wanted to get that part over with. But hey, it’s the Blood Center, they know what they are doing, it’s important work, and so I just sat there and re-read the impressive fliers telling me about how important it was I was doing what I was doing.
When you finish giving blood, they treat you to your choice of juice or water or coffee and whatever kind of cookies or muffins you want. No charge. It’s free. In fact, the bakery across the street donates their day old stuff and so as a donor I can take home a whole sack of bagels or bread or muffins. Free. Because I gave. And because other businesses recognize that what they do is important.
I didn’t realize it, but the Blood Center also has a point system. Apparently, whenever I give blood I get points. And these points are redeemable on line for Blood Center merchandise: water bottles and sweatshirts and the like.
Some of you are saying, “What’s your point?”
Here is my point:
When the church calls for volunteers, do you think we get a better response than the Blood Center?
There is never enough money in the church budget to keep us current with the latest technology, even though communication is critical to what we do.
We get criticized for spending money on posters that tell people what we’re doing and sometimes we even get criticized for testimonies because “it makes it sound like it’s about the person or the church and not God.”
The church is also a non profit corporation and yet whenever we fail to hit our numbers it is our fault, not the fault of the people who didn’t give.
A lot of church members get mad if they aren’t served within what they consider is an appropriate amount of time and not only do they give feedback about how our procedures need to change to give them better service, but they might just walk out and never come back.
When we tell people what we do in our literature, we get criticized by our own folks for thinking too highly of ourselves.
If our coffee hour doesn’t pay for itself, somebody’s going to hear about it. After all, it’s a luxury, and people don’t really need it.
And as for point systems, give aways, or thank yous, well, it’s the church. If we spend money on that then we’re told that people don’t need to be thanked and if we don’t spend money on that people tell us we’re ungrateful.
Why do two organizations, both specializing in blood (red blood cells or the blood of Jesus) receive such different reactions when they are both simply going about their mission?
I think that part of the answer is that we need to loose some of our “self righteous church people attitudes” that keep us from telling others how important the church is. Fifty years ago the church was seen as important to society and most people attended. Not so these days. And part of that may be our own fault for being so concerned about not being seen as not humble that we come across as insular, insecure and irrelevant.
Another part of the answer, in my opinion, is that almost everyone considers the work of the Blood Center to be life saving and life changing and important. But the work of the church? Only a few realize that we are also a place where lives and eternities are saved and changed. This might also be part of the difference between growing churches and dying ones. Take a look at the materials from your local blood bank some day. No doubt that they consider their work of critical importance. Then look at your church materials. Do you see the same kind of confidence in the critical nature of the church’s mission? Will it ever be different? Will more people come to realize that what we do as a church matters in a life saving way? I believe the answer is “yes.” But only when more people experience the life saving/life changing power in the blood of Jesus. And that is our mission.
I’ve done this for a while, but there were things about this particular visit that I really hadn’t noticed or thought of before.
They have the latest and greatest technology. Well, I mean, it’s a medical enterprise, what would you expect? It’s important work, you’ve got to keep up with technology.
On the walls around the interior are hung giant posters of people’s faces. These are the faces of those whose lives have been saved or changed by the blood we donate. I know this about the posters because also around the room are smaller pictures of the same people, the smaller versions containing the testimonies of how donated blood changed these people’s lives.
That got me thinking about fundraising. The Blood Center is a nonprofit corporation. But I don’t suppose they have trouble raising enough money to keep the doors open. Why? Because everybody knows how important the work they do there is. It’s work that saves lives. Why, they just call up people like me and say, “We need your blood,” and I show up. Because the work they do is important and I know it. I bet that when there isn’t enough blood to go around, people don’t blame the Blood Center. Nope. They are there to take the blood that people donate. If there isn’t enough blood it’s because people are too selfish or too busy to give it, not because the Blood Center failed in any way.
Anyway, I did my check in and then got sent to do some paper work necessary before they take my blood. It was routine. Same paper work every time. I have the answers memorized. I finished in record time but I had to wait for 40 more minutes. So when they took my blood pressure it was a little high, only because I noticed that people who came in after me were being leaped-frogged in front of me and time was getting on and I had another appointment. Plus, they were about to stick a huge needle in me and I wanted to get that part over with. But hey, it’s the Blood Center, they know what they are doing, it’s important work, and so I just sat there and re-read the impressive fliers telling me about how important it was I was doing what I was doing.
When you finish giving blood, they treat you to your choice of juice or water or coffee and whatever kind of cookies or muffins you want. No charge. It’s free. In fact, the bakery across the street donates their day old stuff and so as a donor I can take home a whole sack of bagels or bread or muffins. Free. Because I gave. And because other businesses recognize that what they do is important.
I didn’t realize it, but the Blood Center also has a point system. Apparently, whenever I give blood I get points. And these points are redeemable on line for Blood Center merchandise: water bottles and sweatshirts and the like.
Some of you are saying, “What’s your point?”
Here is my point:
When the church calls for volunteers, do you think we get a better response than the Blood Center?
There is never enough money in the church budget to keep us current with the latest technology, even though communication is critical to what we do.
We get criticized for spending money on posters that tell people what we’re doing and sometimes we even get criticized for testimonies because “it makes it sound like it’s about the person or the church and not God.”
The church is also a non profit corporation and yet whenever we fail to hit our numbers it is our fault, not the fault of the people who didn’t give.
A lot of church members get mad if they aren’t served within what they consider is an appropriate amount of time and not only do they give feedback about how our procedures need to change to give them better service, but they might just walk out and never come back.
When we tell people what we do in our literature, we get criticized by our own folks for thinking too highly of ourselves.
If our coffee hour doesn’t pay for itself, somebody’s going to hear about it. After all, it’s a luxury, and people don’t really need it.
And as for point systems, give aways, or thank yous, well, it’s the church. If we spend money on that then we’re told that people don’t need to be thanked and if we don’t spend money on that people tell us we’re ungrateful.
Why do two organizations, both specializing in blood (red blood cells or the blood of Jesus) receive such different reactions when they are both simply going about their mission?
I think that part of the answer is that we need to loose some of our “self righteous church people attitudes” that keep us from telling others how important the church is. Fifty years ago the church was seen as important to society and most people attended. Not so these days. And part of that may be our own fault for being so concerned about not being seen as not humble that we come across as insular, insecure and irrelevant.
Another part of the answer, in my opinion, is that almost everyone considers the work of the Blood Center to be life saving and life changing and important. But the work of the church? Only a few realize that we are also a place where lives and eternities are saved and changed. This might also be part of the difference between growing churches and dying ones. Take a look at the materials from your local blood bank some day. No doubt that they consider their work of critical importance. Then look at your church materials. Do you see the same kind of confidence in the critical nature of the church’s mission? Will it ever be different? Will more people come to realize that what we do as a church matters in a life saving way? I believe the answer is “yes.” But only when more people experience the life saving/life changing power in the blood of Jesus. And that is our mission.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
A New Identity Comes At Enormous Cost
The Bible tells us that our new identity in Christ was purchased by his death. Because he died, we are made new. New identity costs big time.
I’m contemplating the whole topic of new identity for our congregation now that we are leaving the ELCA. So far, I am very thankful to our bishop for not trying to stop us and for not putting up bureaucratic obstacles. Now that our course seems clear, such obstacles would only make the angry people in our congregation angrier and the sad people sadder. We’re healing and we’re holding together after having a lot of very difficult conversations.
It’s interesting to me that most of the churches leaving the ELCA seem to be finding their new identities in mission. In other words, having taken a stand on the word of God, they now seem more committed than every before to go out and make disciples and be salt and light. It’s exciting to see. All of these departing congregations will be forming new relationships with congregations and denominations and associations that share their scriptural worldview.
It also looks to me that the ELCA will be getting a new identity of sorts. Also termed mission, it seems as if those remaining in the ELCA will be finding new unity in having taken a stand on social justice issues like gay marriage. Now, without the rest of us to raise a ruckus, the gospel of inclusion without transformation and salvation without the cross can be preached across the denomination and the trend toward universalism can continue unabated. Now there will be no one left to point out the inconsistency in preaching the Old Testament prophet’s hatred of the oppressor without preaching the Old Testament prophet’s hatred of sexual immorality.
From what I’ve seen and heard during the last couple of weeks, it looks as if measures are underway to be sure that there is no resistance to the new unified missional identity within the ELCA. From my vantage point, it appears as if efforts are underway to silence any remaining resistance within the ELCA. I site the following:
In a recent conversation with a certified and trained interim pastor, I found out that he was prohibited from even interviewing for any vacant interim position in our Synod. The only explanation is that the Synod office doesn’t approve of his stand against the actions of the Churchwide Assembly.
This from a friend whom I trust: Two clergy reported a bishop said to a group of clergy: "I will not do this, but every ELCA official who comes after me will.
If you do not agree with the resolutions of the CWA on sexuality in August,
you will be set aside."
From a Facebook post on Nov 6:
“My godfather, a 50 year Lutheran pastor, was forced out of his church this weekend for taking a stand against the ELCA decision. He delivered a sermon regarding the gospel (little g) of acceptance replacing the Gospel (big G) of redemption. Most of the congregation agreed with the sermon, but a small number found it "intolerant", including the Sr. Pastor, and he was asked to resign...and not allowed to clarify his comments. I have a copy of the sermon...it's quite tame. Anyway, thought you'd find that interesting. He's quite hurt.”
Apparently respecting “bound consciences” does not apply to bishops or Synods, who must carry out the policies enacted at the August CWA. This from the Lutheran Core November, 2009 newsletter:
“ELCA synods will not have the option of upholding traditional Christian
teaching on marriage and homosexuality in their standards for pastors and other rostered leaders according to a draft of candidacy rules released Oct. 10 by the ELCA
churchwide organization. No synod or bishop may make decisions on ministry standards that differ from the new policies of the ELCA churchwide organization as defined by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, the policy draft explains.” See the full article and explanation at http://www.lutherancore.org/pdf/Connection-Nov-09.pdf
I’m contemplating the whole topic of new identity for our congregation now that we are leaving the ELCA. So far, I am very thankful to our bishop for not trying to stop us and for not putting up bureaucratic obstacles. Now that our course seems clear, such obstacles would only make the angry people in our congregation angrier and the sad people sadder. We’re healing and we’re holding together after having a lot of very difficult conversations.
It’s interesting to me that most of the churches leaving the ELCA seem to be finding their new identities in mission. In other words, having taken a stand on the word of God, they now seem more committed than every before to go out and make disciples and be salt and light. It’s exciting to see. All of these departing congregations will be forming new relationships with congregations and denominations and associations that share their scriptural worldview.
It also looks to me that the ELCA will be getting a new identity of sorts. Also termed mission, it seems as if those remaining in the ELCA will be finding new unity in having taken a stand on social justice issues like gay marriage. Now, without the rest of us to raise a ruckus, the gospel of inclusion without transformation and salvation without the cross can be preached across the denomination and the trend toward universalism can continue unabated. Now there will be no one left to point out the inconsistency in preaching the Old Testament prophet’s hatred of the oppressor without preaching the Old Testament prophet’s hatred of sexual immorality.
From what I’ve seen and heard during the last couple of weeks, it looks as if measures are underway to be sure that there is no resistance to the new unified missional identity within the ELCA. From my vantage point, it appears as if efforts are underway to silence any remaining resistance within the ELCA. I site the following:
In a recent conversation with a certified and trained interim pastor, I found out that he was prohibited from even interviewing for any vacant interim position in our Synod. The only explanation is that the Synod office doesn’t approve of his stand against the actions of the Churchwide Assembly.
This from a friend whom I trust: Two clergy reported a bishop said to a group of clergy: "I will not do this, but every ELCA official who comes after me will.
If you do not agree with the resolutions of the CWA on sexuality in August,
you will be set aside."
From a Facebook post on Nov 6:
“My godfather, a 50 year Lutheran pastor, was forced out of his church this weekend for taking a stand against the ELCA decision. He delivered a sermon regarding the gospel (little g) of acceptance replacing the Gospel (big G) of redemption. Most of the congregation agreed with the sermon, but a small number found it "intolerant", including the Sr. Pastor, and he was asked to resign...and not allowed to clarify his comments. I have a copy of the sermon...it's quite tame. Anyway, thought you'd find that interesting. He's quite hurt.”
Apparently respecting “bound consciences” does not apply to bishops or Synods, who must carry out the policies enacted at the August CWA. This from the Lutheran Core November, 2009 newsletter:
“ELCA synods will not have the option of upholding traditional Christian
teaching on marriage and homosexuality in their standards for pastors and other rostered leaders according to a draft of candidacy rules released Oct. 10 by the ELCA
churchwide organization. No synod or bishop may make decisions on ministry standards that differ from the new policies of the ELCA churchwide organization as defined by the 2009 Churchwide Assembly, the policy draft explains.” See the full article and explanation at http://www.lutherancore.org/pdf/Connection-Nov-09.pdf
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