Happy New Year! I know we have one more day of 2007 left, but I couldn't wait. Since today is Monday of the first week of 2008, we're starting the year early. I recently completed my first annual teaching calendar, which begins with our service on 1/6, and I'm excited about what this year holds for us.
A fellow pastor in town "invited" me in 2007 to join him in accepting responsibility for the spiritual welfare of people in our community. While there are limits to the amount of responsibility that any person can accept for another person's spiritual welfare, I knew immediately that God was challenging me through my friend's statement. It has been a sobering thought as I've prepared the teaching calendar for 2008. I haven't just been picking topics I like to teach, or topics I think will "put butts in the seats" in our services. I've been asking God to help me envision a spiritual process in people's lives--a process that I hope our teaching content will propel forward. This will be the year that some people cross the line of faith and become followers of Christ. This will also be the year that many of us will look back on as a landmark year in our spiritual lives. For all of us at the Springs, the term "follower of Christ" is going to take on real, practical meaning this year: Christ is going to ask us to follow him to places we haven't been before.
The first such place may be a simpler life. We're starting the year at the Springs with a series called Simple Faith. In January and February, we're going to orbit around the Great Commandment, Jesus' simple summary of what had become very complex religion for 1st century Jews. Jesus responded by condensing the 10 commandments down to 2, and defining faith with 'do' commandments instead of 'do nots' and relationships instead of tasks. Love God and love your neighbor. Simple. Not at all easy, but simple.
We're going to live with "Love God, love your neighbor" for about 60 days. It may take us that long or longer to start to "get it." I'll be writing about it, and I look forward to hearing from you as we let Jesus redefine faith for complicated 21st century life just as he did for 1st century life.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Deconstructing the Clergy
I had a conversation with my wife last night that took me by surprise, although it's not the first time in our marriage we had talked about it. I don't think Elizabeth had ever even thought about being a minister's wife before we started dating, and it was a big issue we had to walk through before we were married. She was totally supportive of my calling to ministry and excited to be involved in it with me, but thoughts about people's expectations of ministers and their families were sobering for her (and probably should have been more sobering for me). With the launch of Church @ the Springs, the idea of being a "pastor's wife" brought those feelings back again, and it's been a topic of discussion around the house lately.
Truth be told, I never really wanted to be a pastor (as I saw the role). A friend who has known me for a long time and understands this about me recently told me that some of the best leaders were dragged into leadership reluctantly--I hope he's right, because I certainly was. I have no doubts that God led me into ministry, but I started out in student ministry because it was the only place in the church I thought I wouldn't be fired, and got involved in music only when the music landscape of the church started to change. For most of my ministry career I've steered clear of the "pastoral" positions. I was close enough to see those jobs behind the scenes as well as in front, and I wanted no part of them. I didn't dislike spiritual leadership, teaching, or caring for people. It was the "clergy" label and function of the pastors as a priestly class that bothered me most: the public persona, the pressure to present oneself and one's family as the epitome of Christian-ness, the expectation to function as a kind of civic personality--like a mayor with a seminary degree. I knew I couldn't stand up to that pressure. I didn't have the wardrobe. I wasn't enamored enough with wielding spiritual authority to be willing to put up with the junk that came with it. I once heard a pastor say that the way most churches function pushes the pastor to one extreme or the other: you become a doormat, constantly trying to fulfill the expectations of a group of people who themselves can't agree about what you should be doing; or you become a tyrant, holding enough power to render meaningless whatever decision-making process the church may have adopted. I've known both types of pastors and churches, and I'm wary of them. But I also know churches and pastors that are none of those things, and hope to emulate them and learn from them.
The role of clergy, as it has been broadly defined by our culture, attracts people to it for some really unhealthy reasons, as we've all become painfully aware over the years. Spiritual authority can be intoxicating, and the chemical reaction between it and an unhealthy need to control other people is usually violent and destructive. It's a well-known truth among pastors: "the pulpit is the best place in the church to hide." Who else has the pastor's opportunity to create a public persona that may or may not be the true self? Who else can promote accountability and personal transparency and deftly avoid them at the same time? And this is not just a matter of pastors manipulating innocent sheep. Parishioners and even church boards often want their pastors to be larger than life, to present an air of success or even wealth. Others expect their pastors to visit the sick, bury the dead, perform weddings, bless babies, baptize the converted, visit prospects, care for the hurting, counsel the troubled, manage the church's business, raise money, have a perfect life and family, and bring an A+ sermon every Sunday--in short, to be the whole church in one individual. No thanks! Many church members would be discouraged to discover that their pastor is just a human being like themselves. Surely he has some kind of special access to God; surely he is anointed, called, set apart...right?
In the New Testament church, there is little doubt that the Apostles were looked upon with a sense of awe. They were eye-witnesses to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and had been personally charged by Jesus with the task of making disciples throughout the world. The Holy Spirit had come upon them and empowered their lives in dramatic ways. Nonetheless, they weren't usually viewed as a priestly class, and they certainly did not view themselves as such; they were still "of the people," like Jesus himself had been. In fact, the existing priestly class seemed always to be surprised that these very un-priestly people had such spiritual impact. They had no formal religious training; they had merely lived with Jesus for three years. In fact, Peter himself refers to all Christians as a priesthood in 1 Peter 2:9 (how ironic that Peter, the purported first Pope, would have been the one to pen those words).
I believe God equips and calls people to spiritual leadership. I believe effective, godly leadership is vital and necessary for the church to accomplish her God-given mission. I believe that leaders are and should be held to a high standard in character and spiritual life. And I believe in the authority of the church's leaders. Jesus did not establish the church as a democracy, and he clearly expects the people of the church to follow the leaders he has equipped and called. But I do not hold Christian leaders on a pedestal above any other gifted men and women. Romans 12 and Ephesians 4 list leadership among other gifts without an asterisk, and in both texts urge unity among people with various gifts. Being a pastor is special, but so is being a helper, a teacher, a generous giver, a servant, a caregiver, and an encourager. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:24 that God has given special honor to the parts of the body that lacked it; since this is true, let's start putting servants in the spotlight and claiming that they have received a special revelation from God. Since what they do is more exceptional than what many of us pastors do, I'm inclined to believe they've heard God in a way the rest of us have not (more on this in a later post).
I think it's time to deconstruct the clergy and just be the people of God instead of the clergy and laity. Where is that in the New Testament? Our community is blessed with some great pastors and church leaders, many of whom I am privileged to call friends. While some may be comfortable with the clergy distinction, most pastors I know dislike being treated so differently most of the time. The "holy man" thing is a lonely life. Don't put that on your pastor or his family. And if the whole church accepts God's calling and mission instead of a few "professionals," the church and the community will be a whole lot better off.
So here I am, just a guy who's pastoring a little church in League City. There is no aura around me when I walk down the street, unless I haven't taken a bath. I hope I hear from God every time I make a decision about church leadership and every time I teach...but I don't have a red phone on my desk dialed into God, and neither do any other pastors I know. We often learn a great deal about Christian living from people without seminary training. I don't wear business suits or clergy collars; don't speak with a Billy Graham accent, on or off the platform; don't have an office, and you won't have a conversation with me while you stare at my credentials on the wall behind my head; you don't have to hide your beer if you see me on the golf course, and I might just have one of those cigars (only the good ones) if the weather has finally turned cold in Houston. I drive a Jeep with big tires, no carpet and holes in the floor so the water will drain out. My kids go to public schools. My wife is fun, and is in fact the best pastor's wife I've ever seen because she's not a 'pastor's wife.' She's a full participant in ministry with me, but she's not running the church behind the scenes. You won't see our family photo on any billboards inviting you to come to church with us--there are a number of other families at the Springs that I would love for you to get to know. I am 'father' to no one, but 'dad' to 2 boys. Neither am I 'reverend.' I'm 'pastor' or 'brother' only if I can call you 'brother' before I say your name--and I'd rather not. I'm just Cameron, and my wife is just Elizabeth, and we count it a privilege to be called to this role in the kingdom of God.
Truth be told, I never really wanted to be a pastor (as I saw the role). A friend who has known me for a long time and understands this about me recently told me that some of the best leaders were dragged into leadership reluctantly--I hope he's right, because I certainly was. I have no doubts that God led me into ministry, but I started out in student ministry because it was the only place in the church I thought I wouldn't be fired, and got involved in music only when the music landscape of the church started to change. For most of my ministry career I've steered clear of the "pastoral" positions. I was close enough to see those jobs behind the scenes as well as in front, and I wanted no part of them. I didn't dislike spiritual leadership, teaching, or caring for people. It was the "clergy" label and function of the pastors as a priestly class that bothered me most: the public persona, the pressure to present oneself and one's family as the epitome of Christian-ness, the expectation to function as a kind of civic personality--like a mayor with a seminary degree. I knew I couldn't stand up to that pressure. I didn't have the wardrobe. I wasn't enamored enough with wielding spiritual authority to be willing to put up with the junk that came with it. I once heard a pastor say that the way most churches function pushes the pastor to one extreme or the other: you become a doormat, constantly trying to fulfill the expectations of a group of people who themselves can't agree about what you should be doing; or you become a tyrant, holding enough power to render meaningless whatever decision-making process the church may have adopted. I've known both types of pastors and churches, and I'm wary of them. But I also know churches and pastors that are none of those things, and hope to emulate them and learn from them.
The role of clergy, as it has been broadly defined by our culture, attracts people to it for some really unhealthy reasons, as we've all become painfully aware over the years. Spiritual authority can be intoxicating, and the chemical reaction between it and an unhealthy need to control other people is usually violent and destructive. It's a well-known truth among pastors: "the pulpit is the best place in the church to hide." Who else has the pastor's opportunity to create a public persona that may or may not be the true self? Who else can promote accountability and personal transparency and deftly avoid them at the same time? And this is not just a matter of pastors manipulating innocent sheep. Parishioners and even church boards often want their pastors to be larger than life, to present an air of success or even wealth. Others expect their pastors to visit the sick, bury the dead, perform weddings, bless babies, baptize the converted, visit prospects, care for the hurting, counsel the troubled, manage the church's business, raise money, have a perfect life and family, and bring an A+ sermon every Sunday--in short, to be the whole church in one individual. No thanks! Many church members would be discouraged to discover that their pastor is just a human being like themselves. Surely he has some kind of special access to God; surely he is anointed, called, set apart...right?
In the New Testament church, there is little doubt that the Apostles were looked upon with a sense of awe. They were eye-witnesses to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, and had been personally charged by Jesus with the task of making disciples throughout the world. The Holy Spirit had come upon them and empowered their lives in dramatic ways. Nonetheless, they weren't usually viewed as a priestly class, and they certainly did not view themselves as such; they were still "of the people," like Jesus himself had been. In fact, the existing priestly class seemed always to be surprised that these very un-priestly people had such spiritual impact. They had no formal religious training; they had merely lived with Jesus for three years. In fact, Peter himself refers to all Christians as a priesthood in 1 Peter 2:9 (how ironic that Peter, the purported first Pope, would have been the one to pen those words).
I believe God equips and calls people to spiritual leadership. I believe effective, godly leadership is vital and necessary for the church to accomplish her God-given mission. I believe that leaders are and should be held to a high standard in character and spiritual life. And I believe in the authority of the church's leaders. Jesus did not establish the church as a democracy, and he clearly expects the people of the church to follow the leaders he has equipped and called. But I do not hold Christian leaders on a pedestal above any other gifted men and women. Romans 12 and Ephesians 4 list leadership among other gifts without an asterisk, and in both texts urge unity among people with various gifts. Being a pastor is special, but so is being a helper, a teacher, a generous giver, a servant, a caregiver, and an encourager. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:24 that God has given special honor to the parts of the body that lacked it; since this is true, let's start putting servants in the spotlight and claiming that they have received a special revelation from God. Since what they do is more exceptional than what many of us pastors do, I'm inclined to believe they've heard God in a way the rest of us have not (more on this in a later post).
I think it's time to deconstruct the clergy and just be the people of God instead of the clergy and laity. Where is that in the New Testament? Our community is blessed with some great pastors and church leaders, many of whom I am privileged to call friends. While some may be comfortable with the clergy distinction, most pastors I know dislike being treated so differently most of the time. The "holy man" thing is a lonely life. Don't put that on your pastor or his family. And if the whole church accepts God's calling and mission instead of a few "professionals," the church and the community will be a whole lot better off.
So here I am, just a guy who's pastoring a little church in League City. There is no aura around me when I walk down the street, unless I haven't taken a bath. I hope I hear from God every time I make a decision about church leadership and every time I teach...but I don't have a red phone on my desk dialed into God, and neither do any other pastors I know. We often learn a great deal about Christian living from people without seminary training. I don't wear business suits or clergy collars; don't speak with a Billy Graham accent, on or off the platform; don't have an office, and you won't have a conversation with me while you stare at my credentials on the wall behind my head; you don't have to hide your beer if you see me on the golf course, and I might just have one of those cigars (only the good ones) if the weather has finally turned cold in Houston. I drive a Jeep with big tires, no carpet and holes in the floor so the water will drain out. My kids go to public schools. My wife is fun, and is in fact the best pastor's wife I've ever seen because she's not a 'pastor's wife.' She's a full participant in ministry with me, but she's not running the church behind the scenes. You won't see our family photo on any billboards inviting you to come to church with us--there are a number of other families at the Springs that I would love for you to get to know. I am 'father' to no one, but 'dad' to 2 boys. Neither am I 'reverend.' I'm 'pastor' or 'brother' only if I can call you 'brother' before I say your name--and I'd rather not. I'm just Cameron, and my wife is just Elizabeth, and we count it a privilege to be called to this role in the kingdom of God.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Why We May Never Have a Fall Festival
It's Halloween, and here we are--one of the few churches not offering an alternative activity for kids. We'll be the same church that doesn't have a Super Bowl watching party on our giant screen (we actually have giant screens now!), that won't have a Christmas spectacular, and that won't have a giant Easter egg hunt. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sucking sound as I've just sucked all the fun right out of the church! Some may think so; I hope you're not one of them. Play is one of the 4 primary functions of our church, so I'm certainly not against having a good time (see other blog posts for an explanation of the 4 functions). It's not the activity, but the location we're taking issue with. So withhold judgment for a moment and continue reading....
Regardless of your opinion on Halloween itself, you have to recognize that it is perhaps the single most neighborhood-oriented night of the year. On what other night do your neighbors bring their children to your door to meet you? People you may wave to every week but have never actually met will arrive on your doorstep on Halloween. You can go to their doors and introduce yourself without an excuse or feelings of weirdness (everything's weird on Halloween, right?). The event itself breaks down social barriers that seem to exist every other night of the year. And on this night, of all nights, the church has tended to encourage its members to...leave their neighborhoods and go to the church building. So the most gift-wrapped opportunity of the year to develop relationships in the neighborhood is lost. I understand many people's complaints about Halloween as a holiday; if you are compelled to boycott it or abstain from participation in Halloween for reasons of conscience, I certainly honor that and am not criticizing it. I just believe our best chance for societal change--and changed lives--lies in engaging our neighbors.
We're having a block party in front of our house on Halloween. Several of our neighbors are bringing their candy bowls out to the party, so families who come trick-or-treating can just join our party for a while, and the kids get several houses worth of treats at one stop. We're basically just grilling and hanging out in lawn chairs with our neighbors for the evening. We'll take turns taking the kids around the neighborhood in a little gang to knock on doors. If it goes as I expect, there will be at least one family who discovers us and joins the party unexpectedly--bonus! We'd love to do this on any other night, but Halloween kind of serves it up to us on a platter.
The same principle generally applies to most holidays and community events. We want to strategically engage our community by participating in it as followers of Christ--whenever possible without compromise--rather than separating ourselves from the community to distinguish ourselves as Christians. One large church with a great track record of serving people in need recently "experimented" with the concept of partnering with existing local charities rather than creating their own, separate service project. In addition to the overwhelming success of the project, they discovered that spiritually seeking people in their community had viewed them as uncooperative in the past because they always "did their own thing," and viewed the church in a more favorable light after the event. Sometimes even our most selfless efforts fail to reap the additional kingdom benefit of "enjoying the favor of all the people."
So don't look for a flyer from the Springs about the big Super Bowl party next February. You'll find me watching the Cowboys and the Patriots on my big screen, hopefully with a bunch of guys from my street.
Regardless of your opinion on Halloween itself, you have to recognize that it is perhaps the single most neighborhood-oriented night of the year. On what other night do your neighbors bring their children to your door to meet you? People you may wave to every week but have never actually met will arrive on your doorstep on Halloween. You can go to their doors and introduce yourself without an excuse or feelings of weirdness (everything's weird on Halloween, right?). The event itself breaks down social barriers that seem to exist every other night of the year. And on this night, of all nights, the church has tended to encourage its members to...leave their neighborhoods and go to the church building. So the most gift-wrapped opportunity of the year to develop relationships in the neighborhood is lost. I understand many people's complaints about Halloween as a holiday; if you are compelled to boycott it or abstain from participation in Halloween for reasons of conscience, I certainly honor that and am not criticizing it. I just believe our best chance for societal change--and changed lives--lies in engaging our neighbors.
We're having a block party in front of our house on Halloween. Several of our neighbors are bringing their candy bowls out to the party, so families who come trick-or-treating can just join our party for a while, and the kids get several houses worth of treats at one stop. We're basically just grilling and hanging out in lawn chairs with our neighbors for the evening. We'll take turns taking the kids around the neighborhood in a little gang to knock on doors. If it goes as I expect, there will be at least one family who discovers us and joins the party unexpectedly--bonus! We'd love to do this on any other night, but Halloween kind of serves it up to us on a platter.
The same principle generally applies to most holidays and community events. We want to strategically engage our community by participating in it as followers of Christ--whenever possible without compromise--rather than separating ourselves from the community to distinguish ourselves as Christians. One large church with a great track record of serving people in need recently "experimented" with the concept of partnering with existing local charities rather than creating their own, separate service project. In addition to the overwhelming success of the project, they discovered that spiritually seeking people in their community had viewed them as uncooperative in the past because they always "did their own thing," and viewed the church in a more favorable light after the event. Sometimes even our most selfless efforts fail to reap the additional kingdom benefit of "enjoying the favor of all the people."
So don't look for a flyer from the Springs about the big Super Bowl party next February. You'll find me watching the Cowboys and the Patriots on my big screen, hopefully with a bunch of guys from my street.
Houston, we have liftoff...
The last few seconds ticked off of the countdown clock and the space shuttle lifted from the launch pad...on our video screens yesterday, as the first Sunday service of Church @ the Springs began. It was an incredible experience from start to finish: from the text messages and emails I received from friends all over the country who were up early praying for us; to the surprise appearances of friends and other church leaders who showed up at our service; to the heroic service of our launch team; to the experience of thanking God and dedicating our church to Him and His purposes.
It may have been a stretch to compare our small beginning to the launch of the space shuttle. There was a lot less fanfare (at least on earth). We were excited to have over 100 in attendance on our first day. There was no media coverage. The truth is, most people in our community don't even know we exist (yet). But there are two ways I think it's worthy of the space shuttle comparison. The first is the boldness and pioneering spirit of our launch team. It still amazes me that this little band of Christ-followers has jumped into this thing the way they have, given sacrificially of themselves and their resources, and valued each other. The second is the reality that, like the shuttle, most of the energy is expended just to get off the ground. At some point in the future of the Springs, we'll break free from the gravitational pull of smallness, lack of resources, lack of exposure in the community, lack of this and that. People who come along in the future will not be in touch with the enormous effort put forth by the launch team and other partners in this ministry, just like people don't remember the giant fuel tanks and booster rockets that fall off of the shuttle just moments after launch. It's not a glamorous job, but you don't fly without them. I thank God these days that I find myself surrounded by booster rocket people.
It may have been a stretch to compare our small beginning to the launch of the space shuttle. There was a lot less fanfare (at least on earth). We were excited to have over 100 in attendance on our first day. There was no media coverage. The truth is, most people in our community don't even know we exist (yet). But there are two ways I think it's worthy of the space shuttle comparison. The first is the boldness and pioneering spirit of our launch team. It still amazes me that this little band of Christ-followers has jumped into this thing the way they have, given sacrificially of themselves and their resources, and valued each other. The second is the reality that, like the shuttle, most of the energy is expended just to get off the ground. At some point in the future of the Springs, we'll break free from the gravitational pull of smallness, lack of resources, lack of exposure in the community, lack of this and that. People who come along in the future will not be in touch with the enormous effort put forth by the launch team and other partners in this ministry, just like people don't remember the giant fuel tanks and booster rockets that fall off of the shuttle just moments after launch. It's not a glamorous job, but you don't fly without them. I thank God these days that I find myself surrounded by booster rocket people.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Pray 2 Launch!
Many of you who read this blog are already visiting the Pray 2 Launch site daily (see web links to the right). If you're not, I hope you'll take a moment to subscribe to the site and begin praying with us from now through our dedication service on 10/28.
God works when people pray. Don't ask me to explain it, but I've experienced it too many times to ever doubt that it's true. I took a trip to Romania back in the '90s, not long after that country's dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, had been executed and the country had opened up to the West. I'd never seen anything like it: massive amounts of money had been invested in construction of beautiful cities, but no money had been invested in infrastructure. There seemed to be no plan for how to repair, supply, and keep the cities running after they were built. We were doing concerts in beautiful performance halls, but half of the light bulbs were burned out and there was no heat. Cars and trucks would sit on the side of the road for weeks or months, because repair parts weren't available. People would line up on the sidewalk if a store got a shipment of toilet paper, and leave their faucets on all day with buckets underneath them, waiting for water to actually come out. I found Christians in Romania to be people of great faith: because they were devoted to Christ in a nation whose government was hostile to Christianity, and because what they needed to survive didn't happen unless God worked miracles. They were very resourceful, and very prayerful. And I watched God answer their prayers daily: government officials turned a blind eye this day; unexpected work came on that day; a friend got extra gas in the gas line and shared it today. And always (as God apparently loves to do) just in time.
We middle class Americans are blinded by our excellent infrastructure into believing that meat just appears at the grocery store, that gas just appears at the pump, that water and electricity just appear at home (even "home" is an assumption). But this adventure we call Church @ the Springs is just far enough outside our infrastructure that we can't depend on things to "just happen." We have to pray in order to have a location where we can hold services, and God answers that prayer through other Christians at the YMCA who show us favor and partner with us in this ministry. We have to pray in order to have financial resources, and to date we've had what we needed "just in time." Today we have a payment to make on the equipment we need for our services, and we'll have almost no money left, but we have enough today and we pray for what we need by the end of the month. We pray for volunteers to serve children and transport our equipment on Sundays, and we have a great response just a few weeks before our first service. We're living like the Romanians did, and I haven't felt like that, haven't been that in touch with God's daily provision, in over a decade.
Hopefully things won't always be like this. But hopefully we'll never lose sight of the fact that nothing happens unless God opens doors for us. People won't come to faith in Christ, won't have their lives and families and neighborhoods transformed, unless someone prays and God works. We are those someones, so pray. Pray every day.
Core Practice: Prayer
Creed: I pray to God to know Him, to lay my request before Him and to find direction for my daily life
Text: Psalm 66:16-20
http://www.ibs.org/niv/passagesearch.php?passage_request=psalm+66%3A16-20&tniv=yes&submit=Lookup
God works when people pray. Don't ask me to explain it, but I've experienced it too many times to ever doubt that it's true. I took a trip to Romania back in the '90s, not long after that country's dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, had been executed and the country had opened up to the West. I'd never seen anything like it: massive amounts of money had been invested in construction of beautiful cities, but no money had been invested in infrastructure. There seemed to be no plan for how to repair, supply, and keep the cities running after they were built. We were doing concerts in beautiful performance halls, but half of the light bulbs were burned out and there was no heat. Cars and trucks would sit on the side of the road for weeks or months, because repair parts weren't available. People would line up on the sidewalk if a store got a shipment of toilet paper, and leave their faucets on all day with buckets underneath them, waiting for water to actually come out. I found Christians in Romania to be people of great faith: because they were devoted to Christ in a nation whose government was hostile to Christianity, and because what they needed to survive didn't happen unless God worked miracles. They were very resourceful, and very prayerful. And I watched God answer their prayers daily: government officials turned a blind eye this day; unexpected work came on that day; a friend got extra gas in the gas line and shared it today. And always (as God apparently loves to do) just in time.
We middle class Americans are blinded by our excellent infrastructure into believing that meat just appears at the grocery store, that gas just appears at the pump, that water and electricity just appear at home (even "home" is an assumption). But this adventure we call Church @ the Springs is just far enough outside our infrastructure that we can't depend on things to "just happen." We have to pray in order to have a location where we can hold services, and God answers that prayer through other Christians at the YMCA who show us favor and partner with us in this ministry. We have to pray in order to have financial resources, and to date we've had what we needed "just in time." Today we have a payment to make on the equipment we need for our services, and we'll have almost no money left, but we have enough today and we pray for what we need by the end of the month. We pray for volunteers to serve children and transport our equipment on Sundays, and we have a great response just a few weeks before our first service. We're living like the Romanians did, and I haven't felt like that, haven't been that in touch with God's daily provision, in over a decade.
Hopefully things won't always be like this. But hopefully we'll never lose sight of the fact that nothing happens unless God opens doors for us. People won't come to faith in Christ, won't have their lives and families and neighborhoods transformed, unless someone prays and God works. We are those someones, so pray. Pray every day.
Core Practice: Prayer
Creed: I pray to God to know Him, to lay my request before Him and to find direction for my daily life
Text: Psalm 66:16-20
http://www.ibs.org/niv/passagesearch.php?passage_request=psalm+66%3A16-20&tniv=yes&submit=Lookup
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Partners In the Gospel
One of the great things about this season of starting the Springs has been the relationships I've enjoyed with other pastors and church leaders. I am excited to call members and leaders of several other area churches friends and partners in the gospel. I appreciate the way I've been befriended and made to feel welcome. Several churches have found creative ways to help me and our church during our start-up, something for which I will always be grateful. When I was on the other side of this equation--being the staff member of a larger, more established church--I was generally bad with these kinds of things. I wasn't against anyone, I was just so engulfed in my own responsibilities and goals that I considered it an inefficient use of my time to focus on other churches' needs or invest time in getting to know other church leaders. I'm so glad to have received better than I gave.
I hope we all have a sense of partnership with other Christians and churches in our community. The truth is, we couldn't be starting the Springs without the support of several existing local churches and several more in other cities. One local pastor talked to me about his sense of responsibility for the spiritual welfare of our community; the weight of that statement hit me hard, but there was immediate encouragement in knowing that no church or leader has to carry that weight alone. And I was impressed that he accepted that responsibility, that he had a personal stake in whether or not people in our community respond to Christ and follow Him.
What we're about is much bigger than the Springs. Our mission is to help people connect to Christ, not necessarily to get everyone to "join" the Springs (whatever that may mean). When we come to see our part of the Church as the only legitimate, effective, or correct expression of the church in the community, we've really messed up. Numerically, all of us together are still a minority in our community: only about a quarter of us are actively involved in church life, so I doubt more than half of us are practicing Christians. The reality that we are as separated as we are is a contributing factor in our lack of success. I don't mean that we worship in separate buildings on Sundays; I mean that we don't seem to feel any connecting to each other the other 6 days of the week. I continue to wonder how people in the community who aren't Christians process the fact that followers of Christ from various churches have little or no relationship with each other. Anything we say about Christ's ability to connect us to each other must ring hollow. If you are such a person, I'd love to hear from you and get your thoughts on how you view Christians and churches in our community.
Based on what I know about my street right now, there are at least 3 churches represented. Only recently have those Christians begun relationships with each other that are distinguishable from other relationships in the neighborhood. I have no agenda that my Christian neighbors jump ship and start coming to our church instead of the one they currently go to. But I do have an agenda that all of us who are followers of Christ start acting like the church in our neighborhood. We can go to various churches, but there's no reason--no excuse, really--not to be the church together right where we are.
I hope we all have a sense of partnership with other Christians and churches in our community. The truth is, we couldn't be starting the Springs without the support of several existing local churches and several more in other cities. One local pastor talked to me about his sense of responsibility for the spiritual welfare of our community; the weight of that statement hit me hard, but there was immediate encouragement in knowing that no church or leader has to carry that weight alone. And I was impressed that he accepted that responsibility, that he had a personal stake in whether or not people in our community respond to Christ and follow Him.
What we're about is much bigger than the Springs. Our mission is to help people connect to Christ, not necessarily to get everyone to "join" the Springs (whatever that may mean). When we come to see our part of the Church as the only legitimate, effective, or correct expression of the church in the community, we've really messed up. Numerically, all of us together are still a minority in our community: only about a quarter of us are actively involved in church life, so I doubt more than half of us are practicing Christians. The reality that we are as separated as we are is a contributing factor in our lack of success. I don't mean that we worship in separate buildings on Sundays; I mean that we don't seem to feel any connecting to each other the other 6 days of the week. I continue to wonder how people in the community who aren't Christians process the fact that followers of Christ from various churches have little or no relationship with each other. Anything we say about Christ's ability to connect us to each other must ring hollow. If you are such a person, I'd love to hear from you and get your thoughts on how you view Christians and churches in our community.
Based on what I know about my street right now, there are at least 3 churches represented. Only recently have those Christians begun relationships with each other that are distinguishable from other relationships in the neighborhood. I have no agenda that my Christian neighbors jump ship and start coming to our church instead of the one they currently go to. But I do have an agenda that all of us who are followers of Christ start acting like the church in our neighborhood. We can go to various churches, but there's no reason--no excuse, really--not to be the church together right where we are.
Monday, September 24, 2007
More on Shared Experiences
I received a comment on last Friday's post on shared experiences that I suspect resonates with a lot of people (see the comments from the Fri 9/21 post). The commenter expressed a great deal of frustration over attempts to provide shared experiences for his/her family, including feelings of failure and futility. I thought the comment was important enough to require a response in today's post. I'm going to try to go a little deeper into the subject of shared experiences and try to offer some help today. I feel a little like Dear Abby! But I'm grateful for the response, which is very helpful, and hopefully I can offer some help and encouragement.
Shared experiences are glue to relationships. The more you have, the stronger the relational bond. Acts 2:42-47 is essentially a list of the shared experiences of the early church. People can be members of a church or even a family, but without shared experiences they may not feel like they're a part. This is how people can participate in a Sunday School class or small group, even for a long period of time, and still not feel like they know people or are known by them. Coming to meetings does not glue people together like shared experiences do. In the family, and the group, and the neighborhood, and the church, we are after shared experiences, not meetings.
In response to the comment by anonymous last Friday, let's first be clear that shared experiences are a lot more than family vacations. It might be helpful to recall the 4 functions: play, serve, grow, belong. You could easily call these the 4 shared experiences. Vacations fall mostly in the play function, which is important but not the whole story. Serve, belong and grow functions are powerful shared experiences. Rather than planning a vacation, plan a serving opportunity or a time where group members tell their stories. Sometimes (and you can't really plan when), these things will turn into unforgettable shared experiences. Weathering adversity together is one of the most powerful shared experiences ever, and you obviously can't plan that, but you can prepare for it. Building habits of being together positions you for real community when it's needed and not just wanted. The kind of bonds that soldiers have, for instance, is born out of interdependence in life-or-death situations; you can't plan that, but you can be together at the right time.
My family enjoys traveling together, but I recognize that families are different and many families aren't road-trip types. That's okay! Don't place spiritual significance on whether or not you go on trips. The value is more important than the method. You do, however, need to figure out ways to play together as a family or group. Playing together can be difficult because it's a matter of personal preference. If your family or group can't play together because nobody can agree on what to do, there is a value issue there that is worth talking about. There has to be some give-and-take for everyone to play together; this is an important relational skill and is part of the reason play is important at all. If people in the group can't do this, you don't have a play problem, you have a relationship problem, and you might as well confront it now.
We are so programmed in our society to seek our own pleasure first, that it undermines our relationships. The strategy of marketing and pop culture is to isolate each member of the family from the others and market to them individually, because that generates more sales. It's not unusual to see every member of a family detached from the others, but attached to an individual form of electronic media: dad's on the Internet in his office, mom is watching TV in one room, little brother is on another tv in the playroom and big sister is texting on her phone. We've been conditioned to believe that leisure and recreation should be all about us. This pre-conditioning is difficult to overcome, but it's totally worth it to do battle on this front. If this is a real problem in your family or group, talk about it openly. Philippians 2:3-4 tells us to consider the interests of others and not just our own; play is a great opportunity to put that into practice. Choose an interest of one person and have the rest of the group value that person by participating in it, then do the same for another person the next time. You may be stoked when everyone is supporting you, but you'll grow more on the days when you're supporting someone else's interests. Or, choose activities that aren't necessarily anyone's specialty. Remember--especially guys--that play is more than competitive sport. Play does not have to be athletic or competitive: examples include camping, going to the park or beach, taking an evening walk or even crafts like woodwork or quilting (at least that's what I hear).
Anonymous, you also mentioned your preference for reading a book over shared experiences. Reading is a great habit and a fine pastime, but it doesn't count as a play function unless it's a book club. Be conscious of the non-verbal communication you're sending: if the other members of the group do feel that you'd rather be off reading a book than be with them, you're going to have an uphill battle on your hands. Let the transformation begin with you; we're often unaware of the impression we give others around us. If you have the courage and thick skin, ask others in your group what kind of impression you give them--it may be an enlightening conversation.
Championing the value of shared experiences can be emotionally hard and take a long time. Please understand, you are attempting to change culture, perhaps years of conditioning and habits, and that doesn't happen overnight. Jim Collins' "flywheel principle" really comes into play here. A flywheel is an extremely heavy wheel or cylinder. It takes enormous energy at first just to move it a little bit, but if one is both consistent (always pushing the flywheel the same direction) and persistent (not giving up or being discouraged by small progress), eventually the flywheel will start to spin, and once you get it going its own inertia keeps it spinning with only a little help. Most of what we're doing at the Springs is like this. Refuse to quit pushing the flywheel, believing that eventually big things will come of it. Don't expect "microwave" results. Relationships are slow-cookers!
Celebrate even small victories. Don't miss shared experiences that come when they weren't planned. Talk about the value of shared experiences, about playing and belonging and growing and serving together, even when you're not experiencing them; that way everyone will recognize them when they happen. Don't stuff your calendar so full that there's nothing left to share. And pray. If there was ever a prayer that was within the will of God, this one is it: as Jesus prayed, that we would be one as he and the Father are one.
----
Readers, leave a comment and share some of your family or group shared experiences. They may range from the extraordinary to the mundane, but every one bonded you with others around you.
Shared experiences are glue to relationships. The more you have, the stronger the relational bond. Acts 2:42-47 is essentially a list of the shared experiences of the early church. People can be members of a church or even a family, but without shared experiences they may not feel like they're a part. This is how people can participate in a Sunday School class or small group, even for a long period of time, and still not feel like they know people or are known by them. Coming to meetings does not glue people together like shared experiences do. In the family, and the group, and the neighborhood, and the church, we are after shared experiences, not meetings.
In response to the comment by anonymous last Friday, let's first be clear that shared experiences are a lot more than family vacations. It might be helpful to recall the 4 functions: play, serve, grow, belong. You could easily call these the 4 shared experiences. Vacations fall mostly in the play function, which is important but not the whole story. Serve, belong and grow functions are powerful shared experiences. Rather than planning a vacation, plan a serving opportunity or a time where group members tell their stories. Sometimes (and you can't really plan when), these things will turn into unforgettable shared experiences. Weathering adversity together is one of the most powerful shared experiences ever, and you obviously can't plan that, but you can prepare for it. Building habits of being together positions you for real community when it's needed and not just wanted. The kind of bonds that soldiers have, for instance, is born out of interdependence in life-or-death situations; you can't plan that, but you can be together at the right time.
My family enjoys traveling together, but I recognize that families are different and many families aren't road-trip types. That's okay! Don't place spiritual significance on whether or not you go on trips. The value is more important than the method. You do, however, need to figure out ways to play together as a family or group. Playing together can be difficult because it's a matter of personal preference. If your family or group can't play together because nobody can agree on what to do, there is a value issue there that is worth talking about. There has to be some give-and-take for everyone to play together; this is an important relational skill and is part of the reason play is important at all. If people in the group can't do this, you don't have a play problem, you have a relationship problem, and you might as well confront it now.
We are so programmed in our society to seek our own pleasure first, that it undermines our relationships. The strategy of marketing and pop culture is to isolate each member of the family from the others and market to them individually, because that generates more sales. It's not unusual to see every member of a family detached from the others, but attached to an individual form of electronic media: dad's on the Internet in his office, mom is watching TV in one room, little brother is on another tv in the playroom and big sister is texting on her phone. We've been conditioned to believe that leisure and recreation should be all about us. This pre-conditioning is difficult to overcome, but it's totally worth it to do battle on this front. If this is a real problem in your family or group, talk about it openly. Philippians 2:3-4 tells us to consider the interests of others and not just our own; play is a great opportunity to put that into practice. Choose an interest of one person and have the rest of the group value that person by participating in it, then do the same for another person the next time. You may be stoked when everyone is supporting you, but you'll grow more on the days when you're supporting someone else's interests. Or, choose activities that aren't necessarily anyone's specialty. Remember--especially guys--that play is more than competitive sport. Play does not have to be athletic or competitive: examples include camping, going to the park or beach, taking an evening walk or even crafts like woodwork or quilting (at least that's what I hear).
Anonymous, you also mentioned your preference for reading a book over shared experiences. Reading is a great habit and a fine pastime, but it doesn't count as a play function unless it's a book club. Be conscious of the non-verbal communication you're sending: if the other members of the group do feel that you'd rather be off reading a book than be with them, you're going to have an uphill battle on your hands. Let the transformation begin with you; we're often unaware of the impression we give others around us. If you have the courage and thick skin, ask others in your group what kind of impression you give them--it may be an enlightening conversation.
Championing the value of shared experiences can be emotionally hard and take a long time. Please understand, you are attempting to change culture, perhaps years of conditioning and habits, and that doesn't happen overnight. Jim Collins' "flywheel principle" really comes into play here. A flywheel is an extremely heavy wheel or cylinder. It takes enormous energy at first just to move it a little bit, but if one is both consistent (always pushing the flywheel the same direction) and persistent (not giving up or being discouraged by small progress), eventually the flywheel will start to spin, and once you get it going its own inertia keeps it spinning with only a little help. Most of what we're doing at the Springs is like this. Refuse to quit pushing the flywheel, believing that eventually big things will come of it. Don't expect "microwave" results. Relationships are slow-cookers!
Celebrate even small victories. Don't miss shared experiences that come when they weren't planned. Talk about the value of shared experiences, about playing and belonging and growing and serving together, even when you're not experiencing them; that way everyone will recognize them when they happen. Don't stuff your calendar so full that there's nothing left to share. And pray. If there was ever a prayer that was within the will of God, this one is it: as Jesus prayed, that we would be one as he and the Father are one.
----
Readers, leave a comment and share some of your family or group shared experiences. They may range from the extraordinary to the mundane, but every one bonded you with others around you.
Friday, September 21, 2007
The Power of Shared Experiences
I'm writing this post tonight from a hotel room in Buffalo, New York. I just spent the day with my family at Niagara Falls: we went to the Hershey store and ate chocolate, then had lunch at the Hard Rock cafe and looked at cool guitars owned by Ace Frehley and Ritchie Sambora. This afternoon we got on a boat called the Maid of the Mist and rode up to the falls from the river. It was like standing in a rainstorm at the base of the falls--we got soaked even with the blue ponchos they gave us. I finished the day playing pop-a-shot and mini-bowling at an arcade with the boys.
There is an immense power in shared experiences. We didn't change the world today, but we were together...and we have plenty of tourist photos to prove it. The truth is, if we weren't away from home today I wouldn't have spent this much time with my wife and kids. I would have spent a lot of time today doing things they don't care much about. I didn't step into the boys' world by bringing them to Niagara Falls, but I did when I played arcade games with them. We'll be able to do that thing that only people who have shared experiences can do: one of us will say, "You remember when we went to Niagara Falls?" and the rest of us will nod our heads. That's a powerful thing, probably more powerful than we realize.
You don't have to travel far or spend a lot of money to have shared experiences. I have some almost every time our home group meets. In a couple of weeks our group is going camping together, and a couple of weeks after that we'll be working together on a Habitat for Humanity house. Helping a deserving family become homeowners is worthwhile in itself, but sharing the experience with friends and neighbors is a huge bonus. I think especially for men and boys, it helps to do something active together instead of just meeting, but sometimes just hanging out is enough. All biblical community--family, spiritual friendships, the tribe, neighborhood life--is built on shared experiences. Nobody feels a bond to people they haven't shared experiences with. Sometimes it only takes one experience to make that connection. It may be a great day or the worst day of someone's life, but if they shared it with you they won't soon forget that you were there and you are now a part of their story. Don't miss this. Be fully present with your spouse and kids, your community and your neighbors. If you're there when the good stuff, the fun stuff and the important stuff happens, you'll be weaving your story into those around you, and God will be weaving His through all of yours. As Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
There is an immense power in shared experiences. We didn't change the world today, but we were together...and we have plenty of tourist photos to prove it. The truth is, if we weren't away from home today I wouldn't have spent this much time with my wife and kids. I would have spent a lot of time today doing things they don't care much about. I didn't step into the boys' world by bringing them to Niagara Falls, but I did when I played arcade games with them. We'll be able to do that thing that only people who have shared experiences can do: one of us will say, "You remember when we went to Niagara Falls?" and the rest of us will nod our heads. That's a powerful thing, probably more powerful than we realize.
You don't have to travel far or spend a lot of money to have shared experiences. I have some almost every time our home group meets. In a couple of weeks our group is going camping together, and a couple of weeks after that we'll be working together on a Habitat for Humanity house. Helping a deserving family become homeowners is worthwhile in itself, but sharing the experience with friends and neighbors is a huge bonus. I think especially for men and boys, it helps to do something active together instead of just meeting, but sometimes just hanging out is enough. All biblical community--family, spiritual friendships, the tribe, neighborhood life--is built on shared experiences. Nobody feels a bond to people they haven't shared experiences with. Sometimes it only takes one experience to make that connection. It may be a great day or the worst day of someone's life, but if they shared it with you they won't soon forget that you were there and you are now a part of their story. Don't miss this. Be fully present with your spouse and kids, your community and your neighbors. If you're there when the good stuff, the fun stuff and the important stuff happens, you'll be weaving your story into those around you, and God will be weaving His through all of yours. As Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Little Stuff
One of the things I struggle with is the lack of "pizazz" in our ministry. I have this urge to do things to hype the church more--years of programming, of looking around to see who's getting attention, have made me uneasy about our quiet approach. We gather in people's homes in various neighborhoods in the community...big deal, I fear people will say. Where's the show? The flash? The lights and sound? But in the middle of that struggle, I'm beginning to see little things happen. They might have gone unnoticed, but they are the seeds of neighborhood life and I'm having fun watching them grow. These things remind me that things of eternal consequence don't always make a big splash...at first, anyway. Let me share a few with you.
Pleasant Interruptions
Our new group has gathered at our house the last two Sunday afternoons. It's been a great experience to share meals with everyone and just spend time getting to know each other. "Coincidentally," both meetings have been "interrupted" by neighbors coming over to the house. Kids from the neighborhood have joined us for our meal and stayed to play with all the kids in the group; parents have come by to ask a question or just to say hello. We've invited some to come back and join us at the next table, and I know it's only a matter of time before it works out and they come. Unplanned contact with our neighbors is a daily occurrence now, and our relationships with neighbors and "church friends" are beginning to intersect. The more it happens, the more I realize this is how I want to live.
This is Church
One of our group members wasn't feeling well this week and couldn't make it to the table...but she brought over dessert anyway! Even cooler than that, though, was her son's response: he asked her if they were "going to church tonight," referring to our group, and cried when he found out they weren't going. Priceless. It's so difficult for us adults to overcome so many years of conditioning, but it's natural for this little guy to view our table gathering as "church." I don't have a crystal ball, but I can tell which way the wind blows. Thousands, maybe even millions, of young people think about church this way. It is entirely possible that this will be the dominant mental picture of church in the world in our lifetimes.
Talking About My Generation
We took our first shot at inter-generational discussion last night: we mixed up kids and parents at the table and talked to other kids besides our own; the kids told us what they liked best about their parents, and the parents talked about what they liked about their kids. Nothing especially earth-shaking happened, and the kids didn't hang with us for long, but they did it. Kids talked with adults around the table. The fact that this is such a novel thing only illustrates how deeply pop culture and marketing have separated us into groups that don't know how to communicate with each other, and therefore can't learn from each other. Do you want your kids to be exceptional? Teach them to be able to have a conversation with an adult.
Small Talk That Isn't Small
After our "catch and release" of the kids, we sat around the table over dessert and talked about raising our kids, baptizing our kids, differences between boys and girls, and the demands of parenting in a commercial culture. We learned how our kids view us from what they said at dinner earlier. It was "just conversation," but it was more than that. Little lines of communication about important things--like raising our kids--are being constructed that may come into play in critical times later on. We're building community, building a culture where people truly know each other and have a place to go when they need something.
There were no fireworks at the Springs this weekend. I ended my day hunting frogs and lizards in the yard with the boys and looking at the moon and the stars with a little girl in the group. It was better than fireworks. It's all little stuff, but it has big potential.
Pleasant Interruptions
Our new group has gathered at our house the last two Sunday afternoons. It's been a great experience to share meals with everyone and just spend time getting to know each other. "Coincidentally," both meetings have been "interrupted" by neighbors coming over to the house. Kids from the neighborhood have joined us for our meal and stayed to play with all the kids in the group; parents have come by to ask a question or just to say hello. We've invited some to come back and join us at the next table, and I know it's only a matter of time before it works out and they come. Unplanned contact with our neighbors is a daily occurrence now, and our relationships with neighbors and "church friends" are beginning to intersect. The more it happens, the more I realize this is how I want to live.
This is Church
One of our group members wasn't feeling well this week and couldn't make it to the table...but she brought over dessert anyway! Even cooler than that, though, was her son's response: he asked her if they were "going to church tonight," referring to our group, and cried when he found out they weren't going. Priceless. It's so difficult for us adults to overcome so many years of conditioning, but it's natural for this little guy to view our table gathering as "church." I don't have a crystal ball, but I can tell which way the wind blows. Thousands, maybe even millions, of young people think about church this way. It is entirely possible that this will be the dominant mental picture of church in the world in our lifetimes.
Talking About My Generation
We took our first shot at inter-generational discussion last night: we mixed up kids and parents at the table and talked to other kids besides our own; the kids told us what they liked best about their parents, and the parents talked about what they liked about their kids. Nothing especially earth-shaking happened, and the kids didn't hang with us for long, but they did it. Kids talked with adults around the table. The fact that this is such a novel thing only illustrates how deeply pop culture and marketing have separated us into groups that don't know how to communicate with each other, and therefore can't learn from each other. Do you want your kids to be exceptional? Teach them to be able to have a conversation with an adult.
Small Talk That Isn't Small
After our "catch and release" of the kids, we sat around the table over dessert and talked about raising our kids, baptizing our kids, differences between boys and girls, and the demands of parenting in a commercial culture. We learned how our kids view us from what they said at dinner earlier. It was "just conversation," but it was more than that. Little lines of communication about important things--like raising our kids--are being constructed that may come into play in critical times later on. We're building community, building a culture where people truly know each other and have a place to go when they need something.
There were no fireworks at the Springs this weekend. I ended my day hunting frogs and lizards in the yard with the boys and looking at the moon and the stars with a little girl in the group. It was better than fireworks. It's all little stuff, but it has big potential.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Four Functions: Grow
(part 5 of 5 posts on the four functions of Neighborhood Life)
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
-Jesus in Matthew 7:24-27 TNIV
Growth, according to Jesus, has 2 parts: hearing and putting into practice. This important balance between receiving and applying truth has been largely lost in the church. In most people's experience, almost everything about church is oriented around hearing. Why? I suspect it is the inevitable outcome of a church oriented around a preacher; what else would end up being the focal point of the ministry besides the preacher's high-profile gift? Or if a church's dynamic worship is the focal point of the ministry, the "hook" if you will, then what do people assume is the pinnacle of spiritual life? Singing, or listening to singing? We hope we have both dynamic teaching and great worship, but I equally hope that neither of these is the defining characteristic of the Springs. How would things change if the defining characteristic of the church was not the personalities or gifts of her leaders, but the refreshing manner in which her participants lived? People may not watch that church's services on TV, but I think they'd be seriously interested in what was happening there. We're not trying to develop professional hearers, but rather people who are living the Christ-life in a refreshing way.
This vision of church and community is driving our approach to growth. For this reason, our neighborhood groups are meeting weekly before we begin regular Sunday services, and we are not jumping into weekly Sunday services until we feel that it is important and necessary. We are attempting to re-orient our thinking about Christian life toward application. Neighborhood life at the Springs aims to push the application side of growth beyond the norm for the contemporary church. Rather than Christians being sent out to apply truth on their own, with little or no follow up, Neighborhood life gives Christians a place to live it out and a people to live it out with.
Jesus said the distinguishing characteristic of his followers would be the love they expressed to each other. For the first Christians, there was an automatic forum for applying this teaching because they shared life together. Contemporary Christians don't generally share life. Our ability to share life is usually limited by the fact that our paths don't cross unless we make an appointment to meet. Frankly, it's hard to grow by appointment. At the Springs, our groups are now meeting weekly, but meetings are not the end game; hopefully, they're a catalyst for the development of relationships that become interdependent and spontaneous. When we're borrowing tools, eating out of each other's refrigerators, and carpooling the kids we'll be a lot closer to sharing life than when we were merely "meeting." What you'll also find--and I guarantee this--is that informal conversations with Christian friends who know you on this level will help you grow more than any class you could attend or any sermon you could listen to. I had just such a conversation last night in my living room.
Neighborhood life is an attempt to recapture the first Christians' ability to live out the "one another" teachings of the Christian faith. Our teaching will come with a built-in forum to apply Christian truth, as well as a group of people who can encourage us, challenge us, and celebrate with us as we live it out. Remember that the difference between the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7 was not that one heard and the other did not. Both heard, but only one put it into practice. Real life--and real growth--is in the neighborhood.
This vision of church and community is driving our approach to growth. For this reason, our neighborhood groups are meeting weekly before we begin regular Sunday services, and we are not jumping into weekly Sunday services until we feel that it is important and necessary. We are attempting to re-orient our thinking about Christian life toward application. Neighborhood life at the Springs aims to push the application side of growth beyond the norm for the contemporary church. Rather than Christians being sent out to apply truth on their own, with little or no follow up, Neighborhood life gives Christians a place to live it out and a people to live it out with.
Jesus said the distinguishing characteristic of his followers would be the love they expressed to each other. For the first Christians, there was an automatic forum for applying this teaching because they shared life together. Contemporary Christians don't generally share life. Our ability to share life is usually limited by the fact that our paths don't cross unless we make an appointment to meet. Frankly, it's hard to grow by appointment. At the Springs, our groups are now meeting weekly, but meetings are not the end game; hopefully, they're a catalyst for the development of relationships that become interdependent and spontaneous. When we're borrowing tools, eating out of each other's refrigerators, and carpooling the kids we'll be a lot closer to sharing life than when we were merely "meeting." What you'll also find--and I guarantee this--is that informal conversations with Christian friends who know you on this level will help you grow more than any class you could attend or any sermon you could listen to. I had just such a conversation last night in my living room.
Neighborhood life is an attempt to recapture the first Christians' ability to live out the "one another" teachings of the Christian faith. Our teaching will come with a built-in forum to apply Christian truth, as well as a group of people who can encourage us, challenge us, and celebrate with us as we live it out. Remember that the difference between the wise and foolish builders in Matthew 7 was not that one heard and the other did not. Both heard, but only one put it into practice. Real life--and real growth--is in the neighborhood.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Four Functions: Play
(part 4 of 5 posts on the four functions of neighborhood life)
All four functions--belong, serve, grow, and play--were modeled for us by the first Christians in Acts 2. Of the four, play is the most often overlooked. If you read Acts 2 through a pious lens, you'll miss the fact that the early Christians were distinguished in their community by their enjoyment of life together: "They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people." (2:46-47) How this picture morphed into the kind of formal, smile-free image of religiosity we associate with Christian living today, I'll never know. And if the example of the early church is not enough, the life of Jesus himself tells us all we need to know. Perhaps second to his claim of divinity, the greatest criticism of Jesus was that he spent too much time partying with the wrong people. "He eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners," they would say. Jesus hung out alot, and it appears that he actually liked people and wanted to be with them whenever he could. Kids always seemed to be playing around Jesus, and he wouldn't let anyone stop them. When he got a chance to describe the Kingdom of God, he chose to tell a story of a master who was inviting everyone he could find to a party, and Jesus cast himself in the story as the one delivering the invitations.
At the Springs, we want to champion the Christian value of play. Say it however you like: we encourage pool parties, game night, golf day, barbecues, and getting together to watch the big game. The Christian rep of having a corn cob in the wrong place has certainly been earned, but it's still a ridiculous and unbiblical way to live. Whether it's a block party with a live band and giant inflatable stuff for the kids, or just sitting on out on the sidewalk in the evening while the kids play--this is the stuff Neighborhood Life is made of.
Now there is a difference in the way Christians should play, but it's not primarily in the amount of adult beverages consumed. As a musician and worship leader, I've always looked at it this way: when our culture turns on the radio or goes club hopping, we're usually looking for the music to have an effect on us, give us a reason to be happy, or a reason to escape, or just something to make us feel good. Worship music is the opposite of that: the Christ-life is our reason to celebrate, and the music is the means, not the motive. Play is the same: in its most "Christian" form, it's an expression of enjoying life, not a way to escape an unenjoyable life. We're not "working for the weekend" as much as celebrating the week. The activities may be very similar, but the motive and the result are dramatically different.
Are you having fun? If not, you're doing it wrong. Our cares are real, but so is our hope. Play is worship. You don't believe me?--watch a kid.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Four Functions: Serve
(part 3 of 5 posts on the Four Functions of Neighborhood Life)
On Labor Day, Discovery Channel aired a marathon of one of my family's favorite shows, "Dirty Jobs." We love watching Mike Rowe attempt the jobs that, in his words, "make civilized life possible for the rest of us." It's a weird idea for a TV show, but a refreshing one--in an entertainment universe that includes Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, it's nice to see people who actually work for a living get their fifteen minutes of fame and be commended for doing necessary work that most of us would rather avoid. One of the reasons the show works, I think, is that Mike genuinely likes and appreciates people who do dirty jobs. The purpose of the show is to honor them, and that always seems to come across.
Apparently there are about 2 million of us who can't wait to see Mike roughnecking in an oil field or replacing a lift pump at the water treatment plant. Why is the show so popular? In a recent USA Today interview, Rowe gave his take: "People are choking on comfort and starting to develop a suspicion that our lives have become too easy." And while we may not want to spend our days getting filthy, the show capitalizes on white-collar envy of jobs that have an inherent sense of accomplishment. "A ditch digger has a ditch when he's done," Rowe says. "You probably do important work at your desk, but it looks a lot like it did when you started your day."
The Christian faith in America is currently living in a Dirty Jobs dilemma. We are, with a few notable exceptions, desk-job disciples. Our trademark activities are academic and can usually be practiced in dress clothes: study, worship attendance, listening to sermons, etc. Jesus, on the other hand, continually called our attention to the dirty jobs of the Kingdom: washing people's feet, telling us that the greatest among us is the servant, caring for "unclean" people. He grew up in a tradesman's household and injected a blue-collar ethic into a white-collar religious world.
Serving is a cornerstone of Neighborhood Life for a variety of reasons: Jesus lived and commanded it; we sense that our souls need it; a watching world recognizes the disconnect between our message and our lifestyle if we don't serve; and, of course, people in need will benefit from being served. Neighborhood Life puts us in more regular contact with people close to us, who, once we get to know them, inevitably reveal ways we can serve them: the elderly couple, the family with a new baby, and the single mom all live within a stone's throw of each of us (maybe they are us). They also become a great group of people to serve with. Our groups will be helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house together this fall, for instance, and other opportunities to serve in our community will certainly present themselves. For me personally, the most rewarding experiences we've had so far in building the church have been the serving opportunities. And because Neighborhood Life is inter-generational, I've had the opportunity to serve with my wife and kids, an experience I value as a parent and husband. I suspect that few things will match the fulfillment or impact in our community that serving in Christ's name will bring.
Mike Rowe has noticed something different about dirty jobs workers: "The people I meet have a pretty even world view, that quiet knowledge that comes from knowing that even though your contribution may not be understood or appreciated, it matters." We are determined to be about things that matter to people in our community. People who never attend a service at the Springs should still experience service from the Springs. And if they do, we'll have the thrill of being in the middle of God's transformational work where we live.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Four Functions: Belong
(part 2 of 5 posts on the four functions of neighborhood life)
Dances With Wolves! I am Wind In His Hair! Do you see that I am your friend?
Can you see that you will always be my friend?
-Wind in His Hair, speaking to Lt. Dunbar in Dances with Wolves
It's an unforgettable image at the end of the epic film Dances with Wolves: Sioux warrior Wind in His Hair, horseback on the cliff above the camp, yelling his loyalty to his friend Dances with Wolves at the top of his lungs. It's a great story of true belonging. Dunbar's previous attachments--the US Military, White expansion across the west, etc.--had proven to lack nourishment for his soul. Though he couldn't have been more different than the Sioux in appearance, background or experience, the sense of belonging within the tribe drew him like a moth to a flame. Eventually he was one of them, in ways deeper and more substantial than blood or background. As Sioux elder Ten Bears says to him, "The white man the soldiers are looking for no longer exists. Now there is only a Sioux named Dances With Wolves." The movie is so powerful because the innate need to belong is so universal. And like Lt. Dunbar, something inside tells us that civilization has robbed us of a deeper sense of belonging people enjoyed in simpler times. In a world of personal computers, Ipods, HDTV and a car for every adult, we still want to be in the tribe.
If the church is anything, it is a belonging organization. But civilization has robbed the church of its sense of belonging. In his book The Connecting Church, Randy Frazee found examples of effective community in gang life that surpassed most church experiences. Think about it: there is a common purpose in which all members are heavily invested; participation is not casual; members are fiercely loyal to one another. In contrast, church is more a commodity than a tribe in most people's experiences.
My hope is that the Springs will be more like a gang than a commodity (minus the gunfire), more like a tribe than an institution. Our turf is the Clear Springs area. Our purpose is to love God and our neighbors and help them do the same. We will not be satisfied with occasionally gathering to play verbal ping-pong ("how are you?" "--fine, how are you?" "--fine, how are you?" "--fine...") and listen to a sermon, but will intertwine our lives closely with others who live near us, know us and our families, and are fiercely loyal to us as brothers and sisters in Christ. This kind of environment is not built overnight, but over time and shared experiences that bond people together. It is not experienced in an auditorium, but might be forged during a family illness or while helping a couple through a rough spot in their marriage. It might be built by those who were present when the baby was born, or those who were there to cheer at the kids' baseball game. It might be made real when the group was willing to listen to all the doubts about whether God really cared or even existed, and still remained loyal friends, or when they celebrated together at the baptism in the backyard pool.
Usually the first question someone asks me when they find out I'm a pastor is, "where is your church?" These days I answer with something about our area of town and the fact that services will be at the YMCA, but honestly I dislike the question. I'm looking forward to the day when the question, "where do you go to church?" is irrelevant. I'm looking forward to being able to talk about my tribe in Magnolia Creek, and the one in the Parks on Clear Creek and the ones in Dickinson and Brittany Lakes. "You know, the ones who bring life to the neighborhood, who belong in a way few experience these days. Yes, those. You should join them."
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The Four Functions of Neighborhood Life
(Part 1 of 5 posts on the four functions of neighborhood life)
The the first Christians were distinguished in their culture by the nature of their relationships with one other. There were no external markers that set them apart; they didn't look any different, walk or talk any different than their peers. They did not have Christian t-shirts, ties or bumper stickers, lace or leather Bible covers, Christian radio or television stations, or political action committees. They had no specifically Christian gathering place, so a Christian couldn't be marked merely by going there. Their new devotion to Christ propelled them into the kind of relationships Jesus himself had predicted when he said, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35) That love set them apart, and drew people to them--and to Christ--in large numbers. It was expressed in several pursuits described for us in Acts 2:42-47:
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
This is the clearest and most direct description of day-to-day Christian living we have in the Bible. And it was day-to-day, not Sunday-to-Sunday. The first Christians were in constant contact with one another, always aware of their fellow Christians' lives and circumstances; they shared both joys and sorrows, devoted themselves to spiritual growth as a group, took care of one another, and just enjoyed life together. At the Springs, we sum up the activities of Acts 2:42-47 in four functions we are committed to pursuing: Belong, Grow, Serve, and Play.
Several conditions are required to live the Christ-life as they did in the first century church: daily or almost daily interaction, some of which is rather unplanned; proximity, which is necessary for daily interaction; and casual meeting places (in the text, the Temple courts, which could be compared to a public square, and their homes). Even though there were thousands of Christians in Jerusalem in Acts 2, they were not gathering by thousands, but rather by dozens. The Acts 2 church was not primarily congregational; in fact, the four functions aren't really possible in a congregational setting. Things are just different in a large crowd. You can feel like you're a part of something at an Astros game, but you don't have the same sense of belonging as the team members do; you can eat a chili dog at Minute Maid Park, but no one would say it has the same sense of connectivity as a family meal.
We tend to think that large, expensive, produced events and programs are necessary for effective ministry. The world-changing activities of the early church were the exact opposite. Christ-life was in the neighborhood. I believe it still is. In my next post, I'll begin to unpack what that life might look like as we pursue the four functions together. But for today, I'll leave you with this quote from the great 19th century pastor and author E.M. Bounds; his words are 100+ years old, but as true today as ever:
We are constantly on a stretch, if not on a strain, to devise new methods, new plans, new organizations to advance the church and secure enlargement and efficiency for the gospel. This trend of the day has a tendency to lose sight of the man or sink the man in the plan or organization. God's plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than anything else. Men are God's method. The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men... . What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more novel methods, but men whom the Holy Spirit can use - men of prayer, mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Is This Your Town?
Where I was born, where I was raised
Where I keep all my yesterdays
Where I ran off 'cos I got mad
And it came to blows with my old man
Where I came back to settle down
It's where they'll put me in the ground
This is my town
Yeah, this is my town
from the hit country song, "My Town," by Montgomery Gentry
With the start of school today, League City felt like a community. For a couple of hours, we were concentrated around the schools as we helped our kids get off to a good start. I drove by the "Boo Hoo Brunch" this morning for the kindergarten moms who were struggling with separation anxiety, and waded through a packed Starbucks where other parents were celebrating their first kid-free coffee in 3 months. There was a buzz around town today; it was my first back-to-school as a League City resident, and it felt good to be a part of it.
I've prayerfully asked a question several times today: is this my town? Do I feel a special affinity for League City? The answer is yes, up to a point. We just moved here in January, and I think attachment is related to experiences, which have been only a few so far. But we moved here to be attached; we moved here with the intention of caring for League City and its people and helping them connect to Christ. I want to be attached, and that certainly helps.
Is this your town? It's an important question. How you answer it may determine whether you are ever happy here. It may determine whether you are willing to get to know people in a significant way, and whether you're interested in serving the community. On average, we Americans move every 7 years (and some curve breakers are moving a lot more often than that). For the vast majority of us, who aren't natives of League City, is there any way to feel the kind of connection to this place that Montgomery Gentry sings about in "My Town"? Is there any point?
Yes. This can be our town, and it needs to be. We don't have to have been born here, and none of us has a crystal ball to know how long we'll stay here (although we do have some say in the matter in most circumstances). But we can have an affinity for this place and the people who live here. If we don't, our time here will be the "years the locusts have eaten" (Joel 2:25). If we want this to be our town, all kinds of good things can happen.
Choose to believe you live here for a reason. If you believe at all that God is directing any part of your life, you have to believe that the place you live isn't accidental or unimportant; neither are the people around you. This small change in thinking sets in motion a whole new set of feelings, thoughts and behaviors in your life. This place is a place where God has placed you. Living here is a blessing and a calling, not a stopover. The next person you meet may become your best friend. The next person you meet may be a difficult relationship God uses powerfully in your life. The next person you meet may come to faith in Christ if someone they knew believed they were here for a reason. This place may be the place you find your niche, the place you bloom, the place you realize your full potential in the body of Christ. Pining for a place of the past or waiting for the place of the future will kill all these possibilities. Our mobile lives carry strong temptations for both, but God can overcome them. Ask God for this sense: make a daily request that your town becomes your town.
The famous "shortest verse in the Bible" is John 11:35, "Jesus wept." He wept because he saw Mary, the sister of Lazarus, weeping over her brother's death. He was moved because Mary was a friend, and he hurt with her over the loss of her brother. He was so moved that he miraculously raised him from the dead. If this is our place, and these are our people, we will share in their joys and their sorrows. We will care what happens to them, and the rest will just come naturally, because you don't have to muster up caring for your friends. And God may be moved to the miraculous. We may not have been born here, and we may or may not be buried here; but right now we are here. This is our town.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
It's a Family Tradition
School is once again upon us. At my house, everything is beginning to change. The boys aren't staying up as late as they did. Summer reading projects are being wrapped up. My oldest son got his locker and equipment for football season today. We've tried to squeeze in some of those "one last time" activities this week: a trip to the skatepark, a daytime trip to the movies. But in just 3 days, the school routine takes over.
Transitions are windows of opportunity, chances to start new habits or create new traditions. While your kids are establishing a new routine, you have an opportunity to inject spiritual life into their--and your own--daily and weekly schedule. Here are few ideas to start a new spiritual tradition in your household next week:
Our first resource for parents (with much more to come) is the 10 Core Beliefs of Christianity, or the 10 Things I Know for grade school kids and younger (which include hand motions for memorability). Learning these is a great exercise that can give a plan and structure to your family spiritual habits. You can download them as part of my teaching on the Core Beliefs, which can be found in the news section of our website, www.cometothesprings.com. The pdf file includes printout sheets you can put on the refrigerator and memory cards you can tape on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, the car dashboard, etc.
National surveys of kids' beliefs reveal that 93% of American 13 year-olds consider themselves Christian, but only 3% actually have a biblical worldview that serves as a foundation for their decision-making (source: Barna Research Group). In effect, they call themselves Christians but they don't really know how to be one. Church involvement can help, but there is no substitute for the influence and training in spiritual life that comes from a kid's own family experience. We are committed to resourcing, helping, and challenging parents to be personally involved in their kid's spiritual development. For instance, at each of our Sunday services, children will be learning the same truths and principles as the adults, and helps will be available to facilitate family discussion on the topics after services. Beyond the obvious benefit to your kids, it may be the single greatest catalyst for your own spiritual growth.
The most significant aspect of every person's life is his or her spiritual health. A clear worldview, a moral compass, purpose and meaning in life--everything else flows from here. We invest so much in our children's development in other areas--it would be tragic to miss the most important one that gives meaning and focus to all the rest. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. It requires no training or experience or even the ability to answer all a kid's questions: just a willingness to engage in conversation with your kids that will help the whole family to grow. I hope you'll let me know how you choose to pursue it, and as always, I'm available to answer questions or provide help in any way I can. Here's to a great school year at Ross, Gilmore, Bauerschlag, Creekside, Victory Lakes, Dickinson schools and Clear Springs High--Go Chargers!
Transitions are windows of opportunity, chances to start new habits or create new traditions. While your kids are establishing a new routine, you have an opportunity to inject spiritual life into their--and your own--daily and weekly schedule. Here are few ideas to start a new spiritual tradition in your household next week:
- Share a brief devotional or spiritual thought at the breakfast table. If everyone doesn't eat breakfast together, leave it as a personal note on the table for each person. It will make a big impression on your kids, especially if you've never done anything like that before.
- Pray for your kids (out loud, with them) before they leave for school; pray specifically that they are aware of God and engage with Him in their school day.
- If your kids take lunches to school, leave a note and/or passage of scripture in their lunch.
- Share the family table--not just a meal, but time spent hearing about each person's day and their personal lives. In nationwide surveys, 90% of Americans say that dinner time is when family traditions are born; in contrast, children who don't eat dinner with their families are 60% more likely to engage in destructive behaviors (source: Kraft Foods, National Eat Dinner Together Week, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse). IMPORTANT NOTE: turn off the TV during dinner!
- Pray with and for your children at night before they go to sleep.
Our first resource for parents (with much more to come) is the 10 Core Beliefs of Christianity, or the 10 Things I Know for grade school kids and younger (which include hand motions for memorability). Learning these is a great exercise that can give a plan and structure to your family spiritual habits. You can download them as part of my teaching on the Core Beliefs, which can be found in the news section of our website, www.cometothesprings.com. The pdf file includes printout sheets you can put on the refrigerator and memory cards you can tape on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, the car dashboard, etc.
National surveys of kids' beliefs reveal that 93% of American 13 year-olds consider themselves Christian, but only 3% actually have a biblical worldview that serves as a foundation for their decision-making (source: Barna Research Group). In effect, they call themselves Christians but they don't really know how to be one. Church involvement can help, but there is no substitute for the influence and training in spiritual life that comes from a kid's own family experience. We are committed to resourcing, helping, and challenging parents to be personally involved in their kid's spiritual development. For instance, at each of our Sunday services, children will be learning the same truths and principles as the adults, and helps will be available to facilitate family discussion on the topics after services. Beyond the obvious benefit to your kids, it may be the single greatest catalyst for your own spiritual growth.
The most significant aspect of every person's life is his or her spiritual health. A clear worldview, a moral compass, purpose and meaning in life--everything else flows from here. We invest so much in our children's development in other areas--it would be tragic to miss the most important one that gives meaning and focus to all the rest. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. It requires no training or experience or even the ability to answer all a kid's questions: just a willingness to engage in conversation with your kids that will help the whole family to grow. I hope you'll let me know how you choose to pursue it, and as always, I'm available to answer questions or provide help in any way I can. Here's to a great school year at Ross, Gilmore, Bauerschlag, Creekside, Victory Lakes, Dickinson schools and Clear Springs High--Go Chargers!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
We Almost Had A Block Party
We almost had a block party this weekend! I know it sounds weird to be excited about a party that almost happened, but I am. It marks real progress for us in developing relationships in our neighborhood, something we've tried to be a lot more intentional about since moving to Magnolia Creek earlier this year. So when my wife Elizabeth said that she and two other ladies on our street discussed having a block party this weekend...well, that alone was reason enough to celebrate, even if the party isn't going to happen this weekend after all.
Neighborhood life is an essential part of life at the Springs. We believe that close proximity and regularity of contact are crucial to the kinds of relationships we see modeled and taught in Scripture. We are currently launching groups organized by intermediate school area because we are small and need a larger geographical area to achieve critical mass; but while we're meeting together weekly as a Victory Lakes intermediate group, participant families like ours will also be developing community at closer range. It is my personal hope that we'll have a neighborhood group by early next year, and that there will be groups in the other neighborhoods that filter into Victory Lakes intermediate also.
Here is how my family is going about it. We're relatively new in our neighborhood, so we're just being intentional about getting to know people. We try not to hole ourselves up in the house; we've met neighbors on the sidewalk and at the mailbox, and from the kids on the street all playing together. We've accepted every invitation from neighbors to come over for a party or a meal, or for the kids to play together. It's not complicated, but it's amazing how few people do it. I'd say our block is about 50/50, where half the families are social in the neighborhood, and the other half just drive into the garage and the door closes behind them. After 6 months, I still haven't met one of my next-door neighbors. Another neighbor only comes out of the house after dark to go to the mailbox. I noticed this, so one night I waited until after dark to get my own mail, and waited to see him come out with his dog like he does every night (O my gosh, I sound like a stalker!). I approached him, stuck out my hand, and introduced myself. He graciously shook my hand and asked me which house I lived in...and that was it. He didn't tell me his name. So now I've met the guy with the dog who lives 4 houses down on the left. I'm not discouraged by this, it's actually fun! It takes time--with some people it may take a long time, maybe years--but it's worth it.
Here's what we're shooting for: neighborhood relationships where we're living out the 4 functions of neighborhood life together: belong, grow, serve, and play. Right now we're just meeting people mostly, but some belong is starting to happen, and some play. We invited a couple of families to serve with us when we did a shoe drive for orphans this summer, and we'll do it again with a Habitat for Humanity project this Fall. When the block party happens (probably Halloween--now I'm a stalker and a heretic), we'll be on the way toward belong and play. We now know some other people on the street who are Christians, and we hope to develop real community with them and begin to serve our neighborhood together as the Body of Christ. Jump in and try it for yourself! Here's how to get started:
Neighborhood life is an essential part of life at the Springs. We believe that close proximity and regularity of contact are crucial to the kinds of relationships we see modeled and taught in Scripture. We are currently launching groups organized by intermediate school area because we are small and need a larger geographical area to achieve critical mass; but while we're meeting together weekly as a Victory Lakes intermediate group, participant families like ours will also be developing community at closer range. It is my personal hope that we'll have a neighborhood group by early next year, and that there will be groups in the other neighborhoods that filter into Victory Lakes intermediate also.
Here is how my family is going about it. We're relatively new in our neighborhood, so we're just being intentional about getting to know people. We try not to hole ourselves up in the house; we've met neighbors on the sidewalk and at the mailbox, and from the kids on the street all playing together. We've accepted every invitation from neighbors to come over for a party or a meal, or for the kids to play together. It's not complicated, but it's amazing how few people do it. I'd say our block is about 50/50, where half the families are social in the neighborhood, and the other half just drive into the garage and the door closes behind them. After 6 months, I still haven't met one of my next-door neighbors. Another neighbor only comes out of the house after dark to go to the mailbox. I noticed this, so one night I waited until after dark to get my own mail, and waited to see him come out with his dog like he does every night (O my gosh, I sound like a stalker!). I approached him, stuck out my hand, and introduced myself. He graciously shook my hand and asked me which house I lived in...and that was it. He didn't tell me his name. So now I've met the guy with the dog who lives 4 houses down on the left. I'm not discouraged by this, it's actually fun! It takes time--with some people it may take a long time, maybe years--but it's worth it.
Here's what we're shooting for: neighborhood relationships where we're living out the 4 functions of neighborhood life together: belong, grow, serve, and play. Right now we're just meeting people mostly, but some belong is starting to happen, and some play. We invited a couple of families to serve with us when we did a shoe drive for orphans this summer, and we'll do it again with a Habitat for Humanity project this Fall. When the block party happens (probably Halloween--now I'm a stalker and a heretic), we'll be on the way toward belong and play. We now know some other people on the street who are Christians, and we hope to develop real community with them and begin to serve our neighborhood together as the Body of Christ. Jump in and try it for yourself! Here's how to get started:
- Pray that God will give you a missionary's mindset for your neighborhood, and that He'll show you opportunities to get to know people on your block--then watch out! One creative way to do this is to walk around your neighborhood while you pray (keep your eyes open); you get some exercise, you can pray house to house as you go, and you may get to meet some people.
- Be in your neighborhood! Actually being at home is important. This may require some lifestyle adjustment on your part. DO IT! You probably need to offload some other activities anyway, so I'm giving you a good reason. Eat at home, be in your yard in the evenings, take walks in your neighborhood, etc.
- The intermediate group should help you here; host the group at your house, and invite a friend or two from the neighborhood to come also. Have a party where you invite intermediate group members as well as neighbors. This way, you don't (and shouldn't) feel like the Lone Ranger out there trying to develop neighborhood life.
- As you get to know people, you will be able to identify other Christians on your block. Pursue Neighborhood Life with them first--commitment to the 4 functions and regular involvement in each other's lives. What "church" each of you attends is not necessarily relevant, and the goal is not to get anyone to change church attendance. We will resource you with ideas and helps for each of the 4 functions.
- Christians living the 4 functions together in a neighborhood is powerful. When this happens, you will start having a major impact on your neighborhood. Opportunities to serve others in your neighborhood will arise, and your community will expand. God will use this in your life: you will grow better, serve more often and more personally, have a sense of belonging as well as provide it for others, and have fun!
I've told some of my stories. I'll save others for another day. Let me hear some of yours! If you have a story about developing relationships in your neighborhood, leave it as a comment. Questions or other comments are also welcome.
Money and the Art of Image Maintenance
When you plant a church, there are always certain ideals you hope to achieve. One of those has been realized recently, and I want to celebrate it.
I'm not a very good fundraiser. I don't enjoy it. Our current income reflects that. But beyond my personal issues, it is important and necessary in church life and especially in church planting. We have some significant up-front expenses in our near future, and I've had to ask our launch team to give to this cause beyond what they've already been giving. I've been honest about my family's ability to give and publicly communicated what we're pledging to contribute, and I've asked each family on the launch team to do the same. Several have done so, but the pleasant surprise has not been in the amount of money we've raised (like I said, I'm not good at fundraising). In recent days I've had some of the most honest, candid conversations with people about their financial situations that I've ever had. It has been a refreshing experience, and one that I hope will set a tone for personal transparency for our church for years to come.
Generally speaking, people are about as secretive about money as they are about anything. Those who have a lot of it don't usually want that to be known, and there are always people who want you to believe they have more of it than they do. People in debt don't want anyone to know about it, and people who don't know how to manage it seldom ask for help. This is nowhere more true than in the church. As a person who has had access to people's giving records over the years, let me just say that who actually gives and how much they give is not the same as what people assume is true by appearances. It may be the area of least honesty in church life...again, generally speaking.
So honesty in this regard is an especially refreshing thing. I have been thrilled to listen to friends as they've honestly laid out their financial struggles, their hopes and dreams, their mistakes and their plans for growth in the future. I've been impressed by people's desire to be in a place where they can be better givers. I've been equally impressed by people of significant means who take seriously their responsibility before God to be good investors, who have asked me the right questions to ensure that an investment in the Springs is a good one. The money is a gift, but even more so the conversations have been a gift. This is the way it should be, and it's made me feel privileged to be a part of this church.
We may or may not have a lot of money to work with, but we obviously have a more precious and rare commodity: people who don't want to play the game. I hope this is true in every area of life for us, not just our financial lives. Conversations are happening daily among the Springs right now that have in them the potential for real life change. They are the kind of transparent conversations that God uses. This is where the kingdom is really built. Thanks for the glimpses I've seen.
I'm not a very good fundraiser. I don't enjoy it. Our current income reflects that. But beyond my personal issues, it is important and necessary in church life and especially in church planting. We have some significant up-front expenses in our near future, and I've had to ask our launch team to give to this cause beyond what they've already been giving. I've been honest about my family's ability to give and publicly communicated what we're pledging to contribute, and I've asked each family on the launch team to do the same. Several have done so, but the pleasant surprise has not been in the amount of money we've raised (like I said, I'm not good at fundraising). In recent days I've had some of the most honest, candid conversations with people about their financial situations that I've ever had. It has been a refreshing experience, and one that I hope will set a tone for personal transparency for our church for years to come.
Generally speaking, people are about as secretive about money as they are about anything. Those who have a lot of it don't usually want that to be known, and there are always people who want you to believe they have more of it than they do. People in debt don't want anyone to know about it, and people who don't know how to manage it seldom ask for help. This is nowhere more true than in the church. As a person who has had access to people's giving records over the years, let me just say that who actually gives and how much they give is not the same as what people assume is true by appearances. It may be the area of least honesty in church life...again, generally speaking.
So honesty in this regard is an especially refreshing thing. I have been thrilled to listen to friends as they've honestly laid out their financial struggles, their hopes and dreams, their mistakes and their plans for growth in the future. I've been impressed by people's desire to be in a place where they can be better givers. I've been equally impressed by people of significant means who take seriously their responsibility before God to be good investors, who have asked me the right questions to ensure that an investment in the Springs is a good one. The money is a gift, but even more so the conversations have been a gift. This is the way it should be, and it's made me feel privileged to be a part of this church.
We may or may not have a lot of money to work with, but we obviously have a more precious and rare commodity: people who don't want to play the game. I hope this is true in every area of life for us, not just our financial lives. Conversations are happening daily among the Springs right now that have in them the potential for real life change. They are the kind of transparent conversations that God uses. This is where the kingdom is really built. Thanks for the glimpses I've seen.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
How Do You Measure Spiritual Growth?
In my previous post, I mentioned the resistance I've sensed in Christian circles to attempting to define or measure spiritual growth. How do you quantify something like that? A groundbreaking passage of scripture for me in this regard was 1 Peter 1:5-9. Here it is in the TNIV translation:
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if any of you do not have them, you are nearsighted and blind, and you have forgotten that you have been cleansed from your past sins.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if any of you do not have them, you are nearsighted and blind, and you have forgotten that you have been cleansed from your past sins.
This passage lays out a kind of layering approach to spiritual growth, and even uses the uncommon terms "ineffective" and "unproductive" to describe it. The text implies that a person could know whether or not he or she has added goodness to their faith, or knowledge, or self-control, etc. (or, in Great Commandment terms, loving God with your heart [faith], mind [knowledge], strength [self-control]) This text, like so many similar ones in the New Testament, ends with love as the pinnacle of the growth process, or perhaps the word that encompasses all the rest (see Galatians 5, 1 Corinthians 13).
Paul definitely promoted an intentional and focused approach to spiritual growth. He compared it to sports training in 1 Corinthians 9:25-26,
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
So much of our spiritual growth activity can be described as aimless: striving for an unknown result and either (1) being frustrated that we don't get a result, or (2) becoming self-satisfied that we merely engaged in a spiritual activity. Jesus calls us to more. As different as this may sound, Jesus is results-oriented (read John 15). We are called to increase in our love for God and for our neighbor, to be intentional about it, and not be satisfied by merely engaging in aimless religious practices.
In September, our neighborhood groups (currently intermediate school-areas) will implement a tool called the Christian Life Profile. It is a guide that helps you discover, in specific ways, the quality of your relationships with God and others. It will give each of us cause to celebrate where Christ has made us fruitful (which Christians seldom do), and will also help us to know specifically how God wants to grow us (which Christians seldom do). It is not an individual activity; it involves three other trusted Christians for every person who participates. The end result of the profile is a specific plan for growth in the next season of our lives. I believe God will honor this process and use it powerfully. Imagine a group of Christ followers who know where they're going, who are not striving aimlessly, and who can celebrate specific and actual progress in their spiritual lives. I'm excited to be part of a group like that. We're going somewhere! And the benefit is not just to ourselves--we are becoming "a spring of living water welling up to eternal life."
Saturday, August 18, 2007
What Is Spiritual Growth...Exactly?
A lot of people are interested in spiritual growth, whether Christian or not. If you believe that, as a human being, there is a spiritual aspect to your life, and you don't want it to atrophy, then you want it to grow. People pursue spiritual growth in a variety of different ways: Bible study, prayer and meditation, reading books or websites about spiritual subjects, serving others, the list goes on. But seldom does anyone really define what spiritual growth is. In fact, it seems almost un-spiritual to define it, or especially to measure it. The word "spiritual" equates with "mysterious" or "unknown," and attempts to examine it or approach it in a scientific way seem out of sync with the whole idea of spirituality. But have you ever considered that, by viewing spiritual growth this way, we only ensure that we never really know if we are making progress? How do we know if we are growing spiritually? Do we just feel it?
I suppose it's easy to miss, but Jesus gave us a simple and straightforward definition of spiritual growth. We call it the Great Commandment: "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27). Jesus said that these two loves, if you will, sum up all the Law and the Prophets, which was a whole lot of content about spiritual growth for the people of Israel. And his definition puts very real boundaries around spiritual growth; it tells us what it is and, just as importantly, what it is not. It's not anything as cold and lifeless as rule-keeping, but it's also not vapor. It's not religious activity, unless it revolves around love for God or neighbor, and it might be irreligious activity if it promotes loving God or neighbor better than religious stuff does. It's spiritual life being poured into a human being, causing that person to be and to do things he or she would not have done on their own; namely, loving God and others. In my experience, no one can just muster up the willpower to do this. So you may or may not go into a trance, and you may or may not feel tingly, and there may or may not be any candles or incense involved. But Jesus said one thing would be true, if it's real spiritual growth: love for God and love for neighbor would be increased.
Some very devoted and very smart people conducted a 3-year study into spiritual growth in Christian churches. It's published in a book called Reveal, which is listed among the books I'm reading in the right hand column of this blog. They performed in-depth studies of spiritual growth in a variety of different churches using--and here's an astonishing idea--Jesus' definition of spiritual growth. When growth was measured according to whether or not people increased in love for God and neighbor, some amazing information came to the surface. I won't "reveal" the whole study, but here are two big light-bulb moments:
I suppose it's easy to miss, but Jesus gave us a simple and straightforward definition of spiritual growth. We call it the Great Commandment: "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27). Jesus said that these two loves, if you will, sum up all the Law and the Prophets, which was a whole lot of content about spiritual growth for the people of Israel. And his definition puts very real boundaries around spiritual growth; it tells us what it is and, just as importantly, what it is not. It's not anything as cold and lifeless as rule-keeping, but it's also not vapor. It's not religious activity, unless it revolves around love for God or neighbor, and it might be irreligious activity if it promotes loving God or neighbor better than religious stuff does. It's spiritual life being poured into a human being, causing that person to be and to do things he or she would not have done on their own; namely, loving God and others. In my experience, no one can just muster up the willpower to do this. So you may or may not go into a trance, and you may or may not feel tingly, and there may or may not be any candles or incense involved. But Jesus said one thing would be true, if it's real spiritual growth: love for God and love for neighbor would be increased.
Some very devoted and very smart people conducted a 3-year study into spiritual growth in Christian churches. It's published in a book called Reveal, which is listed among the books I'm reading in the right hand column of this blog. They performed in-depth studies of spiritual growth in a variety of different churches using--and here's an astonishing idea--Jesus' definition of spiritual growth. When growth was measured according to whether or not people increased in love for God and neighbor, some amazing information came to the surface. I won't "reveal" the whole study, but here are two big light-bulb moments:
- Neither gender, adult age, or particular church attended was a significant factor in how people grew spiritually. Think about that: how much do we separate into age, gender, and cultural groups based on our personal preferences, supposedly in order to receive customized help in spiritual growth? This study reveals an ugly secret about us: our spiritual pursuits are often more about our own comfort than they are about actual spiritual growth. In fact, it may just be that our intent on hand-picking where, how, and with whom we grow spiritually is preventing our growth as much as it is promoting it. I'd like to see a study on that.
- There is only a limited connection between involvement in "church" activities and spiritual growth. [quotations around "church" are mine; church is used here in an institutional sense, which may differ from a biblical definition of church.] The idea that participating in an array of church programs is an effective path to spiritual growth just doesn't hold up to the data. I don't believe that church programs are bad or even poorly executed; it's the inherent limitations of a class or seminar or worship service that pose the problem. Loving God and your neighbor in increasing measure inevitably takes you out of an auditorium or classroom, and into new places like the lives of people and a personal relationship with God. This is important, because it's certainly not the case that you grow spiritually by yourself: the work of the Spirit of God directly and through relationships with others is crucial...just not insitutional.
At the Springs, we're addressing these issues head-on. Our mission is to connect people to Christ and teach them to love God and their neighbor. We've locked in on the Great Commandment as our definition of spiritual growth so that nothing else can define success for us. And we're pushing the church out of the classroom and into the neighborhood, where loving God and your neighbor has real meaning and consequences.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Relationships and Spiritual Growth
In my last post, I wrote about 2 ways I'm simplifying my relational life and encouraging people at the Springs to do the same: pursuing relationships close to me and merging my relational worlds. I'm not a social genius, and those who know me best will all say so. I can be very task oriented, I lack sensitivity at times, and I prefer time alone more than most. Brad, our community pastor, and my wife Elizabeth, are both fantastic relationship people. They are the kind of people others just like to be around. So why am I spending so much time talking about relationships? Because everybody needs them, not just the most socially adept. In fact, if I thought about it for very long, I'd have to conclude that God brought people like Elizabeth and Brad into my life because people like me need people like them. I think that's part of God's plan for the church: the introverts and the extroverts, the task-oriented and the people-oriented, all mixing it up for mutual benefit. When Paul said, "there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free, for you are all one in Christ," I don't think he meant that we're all the same--we obviously aren't. But in Christ, it's possible for us to be one, and maybe we can't be whole unless we become one with all those disparate others. The United States didn't invent e pluribus unum.
I'm learning more and more that these kinds of relationships are keys to spiritual growth. As a church guy, I used to think that church programs were the key. I was raised on a healthy diet of church programs. I'm thankful for that, by the way, because each one represented at least one person who cared about me and helped me grow spiritually. But when Elizabeth and I started dating, she presented me with a dilemma. She grew up in a very small town where churches were under-resourced and had little to offer in the way of programs. She had come to faith in Christ primarily through the influence of her grandmother and some adults in her town who cared for her. She had never participated in a discipleship program or an evangelism program or gone through leadership development or been to Christian camp like I had. But anyone could see that she was more kind than I was, and more joyful, and more patient, and more a lot of other stuff. She loved God and loved her neighbor in ways I did not. She still does. I knew 2 things from that moment on: that I was in love with her, and that church programs didn't make a person like her. They made a person like me: knowledgeable; "prepared." But neither of those things made the list of Jesus' benchmarks of spiritual growth. What is "spiritually mature"? Jesus was not vague about this: love God and love your neighbor. The rest, as it turns out, is window-dressing.
I'm learning more and more that these kinds of relationships are keys to spiritual growth. As a church guy, I used to think that church programs were the key. I was raised on a healthy diet of church programs. I'm thankful for that, by the way, because each one represented at least one person who cared about me and helped me grow spiritually. But when Elizabeth and I started dating, she presented me with a dilemma. She grew up in a very small town where churches were under-resourced and had little to offer in the way of programs. She had come to faith in Christ primarily through the influence of her grandmother and some adults in her town who cared for her. She had never participated in a discipleship program or an evangelism program or gone through leadership development or been to Christian camp like I had. But anyone could see that she was more kind than I was, and more joyful, and more patient, and more a lot of other stuff. She loved God and loved her neighbor in ways I did not. She still does. I knew 2 things from that moment on: that I was in love with her, and that church programs didn't make a person like her. They made a person like me: knowledgeable; "prepared." But neither of those things made the list of Jesus' benchmarks of spiritual growth. What is "spiritually mature"? Jesus was not vague about this: love God and love your neighbor. The rest, as it turns out, is window-dressing.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
In Pursuit of Neighborhood Life
In my previous post, I wrote about Christian simplicity as a core value for us at the Springs. In this post I want to describe how we're pursuing it. We call our pursuit Neighborhood Life, and consider it an application of Jesus' command to love our neighbors as ourselves.
In our commuter society, we tend to ignore the impact of physical distance on our relationships and schedules. For example, we don't hesitate to live far from work or enlist our kids in activities that require long deliveries and pick-ups. If church life is part of the family picture, it tends to be one more factor in family fragmentation. As a church staff member, it was common for me to be leaving my family and waving to my neighbors as I left home for another meeting or church activity. Church, like most everything else in our society, markets separate products and activities to each family member based on age and personal interest. And it's likely that a commute is required for church involvement, too.
There are 2 ways I'm changing my relational world, and encouraging our launch team members to do the same. First, I'm pursuing "close" relationships. We are discovering that being "close" by location really helps us to be "close" in relationship. Our goal is to develop significant relationships with both Christians and non-Christians who live near us. Proximity becomes a factor in relationships that trumps almost all other factors: it dramatically increases the amount of contact with another person; it enables spontaneity, like sidewalk conversations, last-minute invitations to dinner, or a game of cards; and it enables important facets of good friendships like helping each other on a project or borrowing something from the tool box or the kitchen.
Second, I'm merging my relational worlds. It's not something we think about, but our travelling lifestyles produce relational circles that seldom overlap, which is an unhealthy and dangerous place to be. Our spouses don't know our co-workers, who don't know our friends from the kids' sports league, who don't know our church friends, who've never met our extended family, etc. This kind of relational world is difficult to maintain and has a built-in temptation for us to project whatever image we prefer to each group, as the various groups don't know each other--you can be one person at work, another person at home, another person at the golf course and still another person at church. But when your relational world is close to home, the various people you know best also tend to know each other. Your friends know each other, your spouse and your kids, and you know theirs. And it's much more likely that we really know each other, the good and the bad, and experience God's grace through others who know our faults and still care for us. Your kids may play together on a sports team, but they also play together spontaneously (which is a healthy lost art for kids).
The launch team for the Springs is still relatively few in number, so we are currently organized by intermediate school (currently a Creekside group, a Victory Lakes group, and a group in Dickinson in Bay Colony). But at the same time my family and I, and others on the launch team, are pursuing relationships in a smaller area, like our elementary school and our neighborhood. We have only lived in our home for a few months, but the kind of relationships we already enjoy on our block are refreshing and encouraging to us. Our kids play together daily and spontaneously, and eat out of each other's refrigerators; we talk in the front yard or on the sidewalk, and have enjoyed dinners in neighbors' homes, block parties and game nights. We have invited neighbors to help serve others in need alongside us, and some have responded. In my next post, I'll write more about how God is using these kinds of relationships in my life.
In our commuter society, we tend to ignore the impact of physical distance on our relationships and schedules. For example, we don't hesitate to live far from work or enlist our kids in activities that require long deliveries and pick-ups. If church life is part of the family picture, it tends to be one more factor in family fragmentation. As a church staff member, it was common for me to be leaving my family and waving to my neighbors as I left home for another meeting or church activity. Church, like most everything else in our society, markets separate products and activities to each family member based on age and personal interest. And it's likely that a commute is required for church involvement, too.
There are 2 ways I'm changing my relational world, and encouraging our launch team members to do the same. First, I'm pursuing "close" relationships. We are discovering that being "close" by location really helps us to be "close" in relationship. Our goal is to develop significant relationships with both Christians and non-Christians who live near us. Proximity becomes a factor in relationships that trumps almost all other factors: it dramatically increases the amount of contact with another person; it enables spontaneity, like sidewalk conversations, last-minute invitations to dinner, or a game of cards; and it enables important facets of good friendships like helping each other on a project or borrowing something from the tool box or the kitchen.
Second, I'm merging my relational worlds. It's not something we think about, but our travelling lifestyles produce relational circles that seldom overlap, which is an unhealthy and dangerous place to be. Our spouses don't know our co-workers, who don't know our friends from the kids' sports league, who don't know our church friends, who've never met our extended family, etc. This kind of relational world is difficult to maintain and has a built-in temptation for us to project whatever image we prefer to each group, as the various groups don't know each other--you can be one person at work, another person at home, another person at the golf course and still another person at church. But when your relational world is close to home, the various people you know best also tend to know each other. Your friends know each other, your spouse and your kids, and you know theirs. And it's much more likely that we really know each other, the good and the bad, and experience God's grace through others who know our faults and still care for us. Your kids may play together on a sports team, but they also play together spontaneously (which is a healthy lost art for kids).
The launch team for the Springs is still relatively few in number, so we are currently organized by intermediate school (currently a Creekside group, a Victory Lakes group, and a group in Dickinson in Bay Colony). But at the same time my family and I, and others on the launch team, are pursuing relationships in a smaller area, like our elementary school and our neighborhood. We have only lived in our home for a few months, but the kind of relationships we already enjoy on our block are refreshing and encouraging to us. Our kids play together daily and spontaneously, and eat out of each other's refrigerators; we talk in the front yard or on the sidewalk, and have enjoyed dinners in neighbors' homes, block parties and game nights. We have invited neighbors to help serve others in need alongside us, and some have responded. In my next post, I'll write more about how God is using these kinds of relationships in my life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
