Know Your History

"I remember when we had to walk to school in the snow, uphill--both ways." So goes the famous rant, the intent of which is to drive home a point about how much easier kids have it these days. But the kids don't seem to get the point (I certainly didn't). What they learn is that the ranter is an old fogey, intent on telling stories from a past that doesn't concern them.

If there is a fogey book in the Bible, it's Deuteronomy. The people of Israel are on the far bank of the Jordan river, about to cross over into the promised land. But before they cross, Deuteronomy happens. Moses spends the whole book reminding them of everything the Lord has done for them in the past, and repeating all the details of God's covenant relationship with his people. I can see this mass of humanity staged at the bank of the Jordan, ready to cross. But Moses insists on reminding and retelling all their family history first. He says the word "remember" sixteen times in the book. In chapter 11 he tells us why: "Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm" (v. 2); "It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place" (v. 5). Without their stories, a whole generation would inhabit the promised land with no idea that it was promised at all; they wouldn't understand that their home was a gift from God, that the place they lived was decided by God and representative of their unique relationship with God. The land of milk and honey is one thing if you grew up in slavery in Egypt, and another if you grew up on milk and honey.

Our stories form a lens through which we view the world. Without them, the very same experiences have completely different meanings. This is true for our children if they never hear our stories, and for us if we forget our own past. This Sunday, each family in our table group will be bringing a story of God's provision to tell the others. It occurred to me while working on our story that my own children don't know much about how God has provided for us over the years, even rescued us in dramatic fashion more than once. I don't expect the kids to be riveted by our stories, and they already think we're fogeys. But the stories are still important. I'd like them to know that my low-income, blue collar upbringing was actually great; that people continue to have wonderful lives who have less money and stuff than we have right now. I'd like them to know that the generous giving of others has made the life we live possible, and that generous giving on our part can do the same for other families, or other kids who don't have families. I'd like them to know that God has seen us through, and the other families at our table also. This week, saying grace around the table will have a whole new meaning.

Next week, I'll post some of the stories that are shared. If you have a story of God's provision, I'd love for you to share it as a comment.

The New Math

Apparently, 22 divided by 2 equals 35. That was the math this weekend as we celebrated the birth of a new neighborhood table. Our 22 people at a recent table gathering was the signal that it was time to start a new group in the neighborhood adjacent to ours. But instead of ending up with 2 groups of 11, we had 17 at our table and the new table had 18. I'm not hung up on numbers, but the stories behind them were significant. Here are a few highlights:

• We discovered that there were people who would participate in a group if it was even closer to their home. "Pedestrian scale" - being within walking distance of someone's home - is significant even if the family still drives to the table. This tells us that having more tables covering smaller geographical areas is important. This thing will snowball as more new tables begin.
• People who have not attended a Sunday service at the Springs, and may or may not attend one any time soon, are participating in the new table. While we would love for everyone to attend our services, it is becoming clear that neighborhood life is the place where people are connecting, more than services. It is likely that in the near future, attendance at our tables will be greater than attendance at our services. If you take into account that the tables occur twice as often, attendance is already about equal, and tables are growing at a faster pace. Growth of the tables will drive attendance at services, not the other way around.
• There are probably people who think that neighborhood life is somehow easier for Brad and me because we're pastors. WRONG. We discovered that many people in our community would rather be in groups that do not include us. As soon as a group opened up close to them that did not have a pastor in it, people jumped in. Those of us on church staff are often the least effective in reaching people in our community because of the "clergy" stigma. Brad and I hate the clergy stigma and rebel against it, but it still exists. So all you "lay people" out there, take advantage of the opportunities you have!
• Starting a new group was a contagious win, not a grieved loss. Two families left our existing group to start the new one; instead of sadness over "losing" these families, the predominant feeling at our table yesterday was excitement; two more families are now more excited about their own opportunity to start tables in the near future.

By dividing our table, we added to our involvement and multiplied our potential to love our neighbors. It's the new math!

Several weeks ago, our table decided to purchase some cheap, kid-proof dishes that were washable, instead of going through a bunch of paper goods every time we met. We decided to give our dishes to the new group as a gift to encourage them in their new endeavor. So I presented the new group with their birthday present yesterday, and encouraged them to do the same for the next group that starts.

I hope Target and Wall Mart start getting a lot of cheap housewares business!

Tables Are Turning

This weekend is a landmark in the life of our fledgling church, as a new neighborhood table is scheduled to meet for the first time. A couple of other tables should begin also in the near future. I have waited and prayed for this moment for a long time, and I am excited to see it happen.

For the most part, our "original" tables were formed by organizing people into groups according to where they lived. The economies of scale when we started the church meant that we had three groups covering relatively large areas; in my particular case the group covered more than three subdivisions. This was a good start for us, but it isn't the end game. With the establishment of a new group this weekend, we will have our first group that is focused exclusively on a single neighborhood, and a second group in that neighborhood is likely to form there in the near future. This is significant for several reasons:

• Frequency of interaction increases as the physical proximity of group members gets closer. People see each other in the front yard or at the park. Their kids go to the same schools, and may even be in the same classes. Informal and spontaneous interaction is jet fuel for relationships.
• Neighborhood life is easier. "Pedestrian Scale" community--where group members are within walking distance of each other--means that instead of packing up the family for a meeting, you're just walking over to the Jones's place.
• Awareness increases. Because of the increased interaction, you know more about what is happening in other families' lives. You become more aware of needs in those families that you can meet, and they become more aware of yours. Things like car pools, play days at the park, and gatherings of 1 or 2 group members or families are now realistic. When a more serious need arises, families tend to know about it.
• The table becomes accessible to the neighborhood. This may be the most important of all. I've noticed over recent weeks that my immediate neighbors have "come by" the house several times when the table was meeting, but they seldom stay because most of the people in our house at that time are unfamiliar to them. When your table is truly in your neighborhood, it's accessible to neighbors who aren't already participating in neighborhood life. The table becomes an effective base for ministry to the community, as it should be, instead of being perceived as a church meeting that is more exclusive. It's accessible to Springs participants, people who attend other churches, and people who don't attend church at all.

One day it will be impossible for someone to live in Brittany Lakes, Bay Colony, The Landing, Rustic Oaks or Riverbend Apartments without experiencing the presence of Christ in their neighborhood. People won't be able to live here without someone caring about them and loving them in Jesus' name. They'll have opportunities to belong, play, grow and serve with people who are becoming Springs in their community. We're not there yet, but this weekend we're one big step closer!

Slime Time

My in-laws live on a ranch in central Texas. It's been one of my favorite places since my college days, when I used to run out there after classes to fish in the stock tanks or go dove hunting. But when you're driving around on the ranch, you have to watch out for mesquite thorns. Mesquite trees, even small ones, often have thorns over 3 inches long, and they go through a tire like a hot knife goes through butter.

My father-in-law has become a big fan of Slime, the green goo you can inject into any tire to prevent flats. The Slime coats the inside of the tire, immediately filling any puncture wound from mesquite thorns. Every truck, tractor, and lawnmower tire on the ranch has Slime sloshing around inside, just in case.

Activity is the slime of our lives. There is always a large pool of possible activities sloshing around, waiting for the first opening in our schedules to insert itself. Oh, look! We had a cancellation at 6:00 PM on Tuesday. The first question that comes to mind is, "What will we do?" And so the slime oozes right in. We're convinced our lives will go flat without it, but they won't. In fact, our lives roll along a little better if we let a little fresh air in.

Take a look at your family schedule. Is there an opening this week, when everyone is together at home in the evening? If not, you have been slimed! If so, resist the temptation to slime, and hold that time slot open for family dinner, board game night or an evening with the neighbors. It won't be easy. You may be so accustomed to living in slime that fresh air will feel foreign and uncomfortable to you. You may have forgotten how to have a conversation, or just hang out. You'll want to just watch TV and veg out, the ultimate slime of all slimes. But if you'll push through those feelings and engage your family, friends or neighbors instead, you'll feel the fresh air start to come in. Slime is...well, it's slime, but you don't realize how disgusting it really is until you've experienced life for a while without it.

UPDATE: As it turned out, Tuesday night was open on our schedule and I had just written this post. We knew of a family on our street in which the dad was out of the country this week on business, and we knew the mom had her hands full with 4 kids. So I grilled burgers and we invited them over for dinner last night. Awesome. Relaxation, good conversation, and service all rolled into one dinner time. "Simple. Refreshing. Connecting." I felt like these words we use at the Springs were very true of our lives last night. Say no to slime and give it a try!

The Springs Gives Back

Although it's not the most important thing about the Springs, the most attention-getting aspect of our church is the fact that we don't have services every week. A consultant recently called it "gutsy." Many people think we probably just don't have enough resources to have weekly services. Others just think we're weird. I'd like to offer another explanation: The Springs Gives Back.

For the past two services (which is three weeks, since we don't have a service every Sunday), we've been talking about margin in life, particularly time margin. Time is the most precious commodity in our community. I would argue that it's more precious than money: you can't get more than 24 hours each day. People in our community, if they can afford it, often use money to buy time: by hiring lawn services and house cleaners, by hiring day care and child care, purchasing airline tickets, and the like. Time is so valuable that anything fast is also valuable: fast internet, fast cars, fast food, microwave ovens. "Multitasking" has become a buzzword because of its time promise. We're even willing to jeopardize our health to get more time, by getting less sleep or trying to squeeze more into our days.

Competition for your time is fierce. Everyone seems to want some. Most church leaders, including me, have usually seen this as a competition we must join. Whoever gets your time wins. When I was a kid, churches often required 4 or 5 time slots each week for the faithful: Sunday School and worship, Sunday evening services, committee meetings, weeknight prayer meeting, and perhaps neighborhood visitation. But the church has been losing the time war: she now has a white-knuckle grip on Sunday morning--her valiant last stand--while the beach, professional sports, and kids' soccer leagues are trying to pry those fingers off one by one. How is she doing? -80% of churches' Sunday morning services have declining attendance.

Rather than begging for people's time, or attempting to use spiritual authority to demand it, or enticing people to church with the promise that it will be more fun or entertaining than all other options, we have decided to try something new. We're giving time back. We're still sounding the alarm that we collectively stink when it comes to how we allocate our time. But instead of joining the fray, we're learning and teaching simplicity, sanity, and relationships as Biblical life principles.

So what do you do with 2 or 3 Sunday mornings each month and no church services? Hopefully the things church is really all about, whether you're in a "service" or not. Spending time with God, investing in family, friends and neighbors, serving people in need. No time to get to know your neighbors or serve the poor? No time to invest in biblical community with other Christians? No time to actually do Christianity instead of talk about it? We can give you at least 2 time slots per month, each lasting from 4 to 6 hours. Compliments of Church at the Springs.