I don't consider myself a church planter, although what we're trying to do with Element is essentially trying to plant a church, in the most organic sense of the word. One thing we have struggled to accommodate and work around is the reluctance on the part of some folks to be the first ________ in our community.
This is not a phenomenon unique to new or young churches either, I don't think.
It is difficult to be the only:
ethnic minority
single mom
couple with small children
senior citizen
married couple
Etc.
In our Bible Belt suburban context, in our days of full-fledged "young adult" targeting, it was difficult attracting college students and young adults, because most of these folks want to go where there's already lots of college students and young adults. Big attendance is considered success, and small attendance begs the question, "What's wrong with this place?"
Very few want to be the first of their kind. They want to go where others have already blazed the trail, broken the seal, what-have-you. (I understand the appeal. There is certainly less required that way.)
In the current phase of our ministry, we need couples and families of all kinds to value what we do and what we're trying to do (in a nutshell, the things that set us apart from surrounding churches are heavy gospel-centrism and a missional approach to church "operations") and decide to be the first of their kind.
This is difficult for us because as a small community made up largely of young adults in their twenties, we don't have the expansive children's program or student ministry of the various megachurches all around us, nor do we have many (any?) of their numerous goods and services.
The things we can and do offer are not immediately appealing:
a community where everybody tends to know everybody else
a community that values every message being about Jesus
a community that spends most of its money on people outside the church walls
a worship service that is not heavily "produced"
In our cultural context, those willing to be the first are rare and extremely valuable. It makes sense to want to be where there are other couples and families. But it takes courage to be the first (or second or third) risking discomfort for the benefit of those coming after you.
If you are drawn to a community based on its values and mission but reluctant to dive in because you'd be the only minority (or caucasian), the only college student, the only single parent, the only "old person," the only divorced person, the only widow, the only family, the only whatever, be the first!
That community won't grow until people start being the first.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Awesome!
We wrapped up our series "The Supremacy of Christ" at Element last night. This has been a landmark series for me, four weeks in Ephesians chapter 2, because it has really been the essence of the motivation of my life of discipleship and the passion of my theological pursuit over the last several years.
I broke the chapter up into four sections and the messages were titled:
Christ In Us
Christ Over Us
Christ With Us
Christ For Us
Last night in our "Christ For Us" service, we celebrated communion, and before we ate and drank, for the time of prayerful self-examination, I read the complete chapter of Ephesians 2 as a proclamation over our gathered community.
It was deeply moving for me.
Then we had our worship time after, and that's always moving for me, because it functions as a response to the word heard in the message.
I just love proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. If you're a preacher/teacher, don't you?
And I am grateful for folks who receive this proclamation week in and week out with gratitude and joy and a provocation to worship.
We got a response card in our basket at the info table last night that simply said "Awesome!"
That about sums it up for me, also.
I broke the chapter up into four sections and the messages were titled:
Christ In Us
Christ Over Us
Christ With Us
Christ For Us
Last night in our "Christ For Us" service, we celebrated communion, and before we ate and drank, for the time of prayerful self-examination, I read the complete chapter of Ephesians 2 as a proclamation over our gathered community.
It was deeply moving for me.
Then we had our worship time after, and that's always moving for me, because it functions as a response to the word heard in the message.
I just love proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. If you're a preacher/teacher, don't you?
And I am grateful for folks who receive this proclamation week in and week out with gratitude and joy and a provocation to worship.
We got a response card in our basket at the info table last night that simply said "Awesome!"
That about sums it up for me, also.
Stetzer on Pastoring in the Suburbs
Awesome.
Seen at sub*text
. . . [S]ome pastors hate the suburbs. If you hate the suburbs, stop whining about it and move into the city. I have done both and find them both in deep need of the gospel. It is trendy to mock the suburbs — I have done it myself, calling them the “vast suburban wasteland.” Well, it may be, but everywhere is a wasteland without Jesus. So, if you are called to pastor in the suburbs, dig deep and engage its culture — look for bridges over which the gospel will travel and expose the idols that the gospel must destroy.
Seen at sub*text
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Ray Ortlund at Element
Over the summer, while I was out of town, Element was blessed enough to receive a great message from our friend and mentor Ray Ortlund.
The audio is now available here.
This is really special not just because Dr. Ortlund is a passionate, wise, and relentlessly Gospel-centered preacher, but because his messages are not widely available online anywhere else. (Unless Immanuel Church has begun podcasting lately.)
So not only was Element fortunate to have a superior guest preacher, we are fortunate enough to have exclusive audio of a Ray Ortlund sermon. :-)
The audio is now available here.
This is really special not just because Dr. Ortlund is a passionate, wise, and relentlessly Gospel-centered preacher, but because his messages are not widely available online anywhere else. (Unless Immanuel Church has begun podcasting lately.)
So not only was Element fortunate to have a superior guest preacher, we are fortunate enough to have exclusive audio of a Ray Ortlund sermon. :-)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
How to Feel Scripture
My latest piece at SearchWarp:
Five Ways to Feel Scripture
A taste:
Five Ways to Feel Scripture
A taste:
We like to keep Scripture short and manageable, and that's understandable. It's certainly more convenient that way. But we will not be mastered by Scripture if we don't occasionally allow it to overwhelm us, intimidate us, and force us to wrestle with it.
Gospel Intentionality
Desiring God's David Mathis interviews Tim Chester, one of the authors of Total Church, a new book in Crossway/Resurgence's Re:Lit series that sounds awesome. From the interview:
Great stuff.
Adding this book to my must-get list.
DG: Tim, what do you and Steve Timmis mean by the title Total Church?
Tim Chester: The phrase is actually adapted from the world of football (or soccer in the States!). “Total football” was a style of play associated with the Dutch international side in the 1970s.
“Total church” is our way of capturing the idea that church is not one activity in our lives. Church isn’t a meeting you attend or a building your enter. It’s our identity, our community, our family. It’s the context for the totality of the Christian life.
DG: How would you summarize the message of the book?
TC: Total Church argues for two core principles: We need to be gospel-centered and community-centered.
Being gospel-centered means we’re word-centered (because the gospel is a message; it is good news), and it means being mission-centered (because the gospel is a message to be proclaimed; it is good news).
I think most conservative evangelicals are strong on this. But we also need to be community-centered. The Christian community is the biblical context for evangelism, discipleship, pastoral care, social involvement, and so on. That doesn’t mean meetings. It means the shared life of the community.
One of our catchphrases is “ordinary people living ordinary life with gospel intentionality.” It means doing the chores, having meals, watching sports, and so on with an intention to talk about Jesus, to pastor one another with the gospel, and to share that gospel with unbelievers.
Great stuff.
Adding this book to my must-get list.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Gospelizing a Folk Tale
Another contribution at SearchWarp:
Grace and "The Little Red Hen"
It's about dispensing with "just desserts" and giving people what they don't deserve.
Grace and "The Little Red Hen"
It's about dispensing with "just desserts" and giving people what they don't deserve.
Themelios
The latest edition of Themelios, the Gospel Coalition's theological journal, is out. Good stuff.
If you're going to The Gospel Coalition's 2009 conference, say aye.
The Element team is going and we're really excited about it.
If you're going to The Gospel Coalition's 2009 conference, say aye.
The Element team is going and we're really excited about it.
Perspectives
Via Pete Wilson's Twitter feed, I found this perspective from former attenders of the church we formerly attended.
What I find interesting is that her family left because "it just wasn't the same."
My family left (essentially) because it was too much the same.
Please be charitable (to both her and her new church), but what do you think of her criteria for church selection?
What I find interesting is that her family left because "it just wasn't the same."
My family left (essentially) because it was too much the same.
Please be charitable (to both her and her new church), but what do you think of her criteria for church selection?
The Law, Love, and Reconciliation
Obedience is really about reconciliation. The place of the Law in the context of the Christian life is an integral one, but a tricky one. One of my chief concerns in teaching on obedience and the Law is that order be kept straight. We see it in the Exodus story, and we see it in the order of salvation. We are set free to then follow. God did not hand Moses the Law before the burning bush. He did not deliver the Law to the Israelites while they were still in bondage. He delivered them into the wilderness first.
I think that's really important. We are set free to follow. The call and the deliverance precedes obedience in the same way that a changed heart precedes changed behavior. (Tim Keller is the best of the best on this subject from a pastoral perspective.)
But it still leaves the command to obey, the command to follow the Law, sitting heavy on us like a weight. And so my aim is to give it context, to put the Law in its proper framework, and for post-cross Christians the context and framework is the same as it was for post-Exodus Israelites. Or at least should be. Love.
God gave the Law out of love. And when the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into a legal fumble, it was love that Jesus used to frame the Law:
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.
There are the two tables of the Law divinely summed up (as the first four commandments are about our relationship with God and the last six commandments are about our relationship with our neighbor) and placed not in the context of burden or duty or even creating a peaceful civil society. They are about love creating a community of reconciliation.
Why?
Because the Law addresses the Fall. The two tables (God/neighbor) respond to the two divisions in the Fall -- sin brings separation from God and enmity between neighbors. The Law cannot "fix" this division, but it tells us how a people delivered by the love of God into the love of God ought to live the love of God as a living picture of reconciliation. (Paul's stuff in 2 Corinthians 5 about the message and ministry of reconciliation in relation to obedience is really helpful here.)
A community of reconciliation. That's the purpose of following the Law, just as its the purpose of following the "new" Law in the Sermon on the Mount. It's not about scoring points with God or getting qualified for salvation. It's about testifying to the reconciliation Christ's atoning work has accomplished by becoming a living picture of that reconciliation.
So I obey God's commands, then, not because I think it's good for society or because it inspires others to be nicer (a sort of karmic, "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine" kind of thing) or even merely because "God said so" (although that's the hinge upon which worshipful obedience really turns). No, I obey God's command to honor my parents and not to lie, steal, murder, have sex with someone other than my wife, and covet because I love my parents and my neighbor, and even though we all deserve to have the worst done to us, it is ultimately an act of grace (again, when committed to out of love) to give them the best of myself. By obeying God's command to live rightly, I am demonstrating to others the grace I've been given and I am extending it beyond myself to others.
And that's how obedience is ideally about reconciliation.
I think that's really important. We are set free to follow. The call and the deliverance precedes obedience in the same way that a changed heart precedes changed behavior. (Tim Keller is the best of the best on this subject from a pastoral perspective.)
But it still leaves the command to obey, the command to follow the Law, sitting heavy on us like a weight. And so my aim is to give it context, to put the Law in its proper framework, and for post-cross Christians the context and framework is the same as it was for post-Exodus Israelites. Or at least should be. Love.
God gave the Law out of love. And when the Pharisees tried to trick Jesus into a legal fumble, it was love that Jesus used to frame the Law:
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself.
There are the two tables of the Law divinely summed up (as the first four commandments are about our relationship with God and the last six commandments are about our relationship with our neighbor) and placed not in the context of burden or duty or even creating a peaceful civil society. They are about love creating a community of reconciliation.
Why?
Because the Law addresses the Fall. The two tables (God/neighbor) respond to the two divisions in the Fall -- sin brings separation from God and enmity between neighbors. The Law cannot "fix" this division, but it tells us how a people delivered by the love of God into the love of God ought to live the love of God as a living picture of reconciliation. (Paul's stuff in 2 Corinthians 5 about the message and ministry of reconciliation in relation to obedience is really helpful here.)
A community of reconciliation. That's the purpose of following the Law, just as its the purpose of following the "new" Law in the Sermon on the Mount. It's not about scoring points with God or getting qualified for salvation. It's about testifying to the reconciliation Christ's atoning work has accomplished by becoming a living picture of that reconciliation.
So I obey God's commands, then, not because I think it's good for society or because it inspires others to be nicer (a sort of karmic, "I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine" kind of thing) or even merely because "God said so" (although that's the hinge upon which worshipful obedience really turns). No, I obey God's command to honor my parents and not to lie, steal, murder, have sex with someone other than my wife, and covet because I love my parents and my neighbor, and even though we all deserve to have the worst done to us, it is ultimately an act of grace (again, when committed to out of love) to give them the best of myself. By obeying God's command to live rightly, I am demonstrating to others the grace I've been given and I am extending it beyond myself to others.
And that's how obedience is ideally about reconciliation.
Monday, September 22, 2008
The Glorious Christ and Christ Alone
We sang "On Christ the Solid Rock" at Element last night.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
This gets me. It slays me.
Honestly, in the words of another great hymn, I scarce can take it in.
I am not a fan of emotionalism. And I would never encourage gauging the quality of one's spirituality based on how one feels (I in fact discourage such temperature taking). But I do think it is important for us to be moved when we ponder the gospel. When you even barely grasp the depths of your depravity in even a glimpse of the light of God's holiness, and then see that terrible contrast intersecting at the cross, where God's only Son bled the ground red with grace, how can you not be moved?
How can I not be moved?
These days, the more I think on it, the more I reflect on it, the more I feast on it, the more I trust in it, the more I proclaim it, the more I enjoy it . . . the more I am in disorienting awe over it.
The scandalous beauty of the crucified king, the awful glory of the sacrificed Lord: this is the watershed moment of all of history, and it ought to be the watershed moment of your history.
It is Jesus' offering of himself to the torturous, murderous death on the cross that connects us to the potential of beholding him in his resurrected, exalted glory. Without the full experience of the Incarnation, obedience to the constraints of humanity (His oath, His covenant, His blood / Support me in the whelming flood), we could not behold the full glory of God and live. Yet because he became like us and died, we can behold him as he truly is and live.
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my Hope and Stay
Oh Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
Does it make your soul sing?
Jesus Christ is glorious. He is glorious. Because he is God, and because he bore the sins of the world, undeserving of a necessary death.
When you think on the crucified Christ, do you see the exaltation in this humiliation, the glory in this inglorious death?
Looking back through the powerful lens of the bodily resurrection, we see the cross not simply as the moment Jesus died because of sin and death, but as the moment Jesus murdered sin and death. Christ killed is Christ conquering; Christ raised is Christ in conquest.
That is amazing. Only a wild God could tell a story so fantastic.
Does the gospel still thrill you? Does it still captivate you? Does its simple presentation still warm your heart?
Or are you cold to its plot points? Has the repetition of its propositions desensitized you to its scandal? Is it theory to you, a catchphrase, a buzz word? God forbid, is it a cliche?
It is for me, still (thank God), the inconceivable event of my very real and terrible sin being covered and conquered by a very real and terrifying grace.
Behold -- fix on, revel in, exult in -- the glory of God in the glorious Christ.
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
This gets me. It slays me.
Honestly, in the words of another great hymn, I scarce can take it in.
I am not a fan of emotionalism. And I would never encourage gauging the quality of one's spirituality based on how one feels (I in fact discourage such temperature taking). But I do think it is important for us to be moved when we ponder the gospel. When you even barely grasp the depths of your depravity in even a glimpse of the light of God's holiness, and then see that terrible contrast intersecting at the cross, where God's only Son bled the ground red with grace, how can you not be moved?
How can I not be moved?
These days, the more I think on it, the more I reflect on it, the more I feast on it, the more I trust in it, the more I proclaim it, the more I enjoy it . . . the more I am in disorienting awe over it.
The scandalous beauty of the crucified king, the awful glory of the sacrificed Lord: this is the watershed moment of all of history, and it ought to be the watershed moment of your history.
It is Jesus' offering of himself to the torturous, murderous death on the cross that connects us to the potential of beholding him in his resurrected, exalted glory. Without the full experience of the Incarnation, obedience to the constraints of humanity (His oath, His covenant, His blood / Support me in the whelming flood), we could not behold the full glory of God and live. Yet because he became like us and died, we can behold him as he truly is and live.
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my Hope and Stay
Oh Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
Does it make your soul sing?
Jesus Christ is glorious. He is glorious. Because he is God, and because he bore the sins of the world, undeserving of a necessary death.
When you think on the crucified Christ, do you see the exaltation in this humiliation, the glory in this inglorious death?
Looking back through the powerful lens of the bodily resurrection, we see the cross not simply as the moment Jesus died because of sin and death, but as the moment Jesus murdered sin and death. Christ killed is Christ conquering; Christ raised is Christ in conquest.
That is amazing. Only a wild God could tell a story so fantastic.
Does the gospel still thrill you? Does it still captivate you? Does its simple presentation still warm your heart?
Or are you cold to its plot points? Has the repetition of its propositions desensitized you to its scandal? Is it theory to you, a catchphrase, a buzz word? God forbid, is it a cliche?
It is for me, still (thank God), the inconceivable event of my very real and terrible sin being covered and conquered by a very real and terrifying grace.
Behold -- fix on, revel in, exult in -- the glory of God in the glorious Christ.
When He shall come with trumpet sound
Oh may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne
For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
-- 2 Corinthians 4:5-6
This is Where I'm At Right Now
Don't you love those kind of posts?
It was a good weekend. Even though I got trounced (again) in fantasy football, going 0-3 for the season, the Titans went 3-0 in real football. And even though they had to beat the Houston Texans to do it, it was cool with me.
My bro and my mom are in town too, having gotten out of Houston a little later than expected thanks to that thug, Ike. But when they go back, they'll have their power on, so that's good.
Nashville's bizarre "gas crisis" is a trip. I really was expecting nobody to show at Element last night, but to my surprise they did. And we had visitors!
It was a great night last night, and we made a couple of cool announcements.
The board officially voted in Jason Haggard as our worship leader. Jason's been leading us in an interim capacity, but we're happy to now have adopted him permanently, whether he likes it or not.
We also officially voted in the Bold As Love Initiative as Element's operating budget plan. If you didn't know, Bold as Love is our stab at "missional budgeting," and we are committing to giving 60% of all offerings away to those who in need. Every dollar given to Element results in 60 cents going right back out the door so we can love our neighbors more than we love ourselves.
We'll be supporting foreign and local missions so we can help feed, clothe, comfort, and heal the "least of these" and we'll be supporting church plants so that we can help spread the Great Commission.
In the coming weeks we'll be explaining just who's benefiting from Bold As Love.
It's an exciting time to be in love with the gospel. Well, it always is, but we're excited about ministry and mission to Nashville and beyond.
It was a good weekend. Even though I got trounced (again) in fantasy football, going 0-3 for the season, the Titans went 3-0 in real football. And even though they had to beat the Houston Texans to do it, it was cool with me.
My bro and my mom are in town too, having gotten out of Houston a little later than expected thanks to that thug, Ike. But when they go back, they'll have their power on, so that's good.
Nashville's bizarre "gas crisis" is a trip. I really was expecting nobody to show at Element last night, but to my surprise they did. And we had visitors!
It was a great night last night, and we made a couple of cool announcements.
The board officially voted in Jason Haggard as our worship leader. Jason's been leading us in an interim capacity, but we're happy to now have adopted him permanently, whether he likes it or not.
We also officially voted in the Bold As Love Initiative as Element's operating budget plan. If you didn't know, Bold as Love is our stab at "missional budgeting," and we are committing to giving 60% of all offerings away to those who in need. Every dollar given to Element results in 60 cents going right back out the door so we can love our neighbors more than we love ourselves.
We'll be supporting foreign and local missions so we can help feed, clothe, comfort, and heal the "least of these" and we'll be supporting church plants so that we can help spread the Great Commission.
In the coming weeks we'll be explaining just who's benefiting from Bold As Love.
It's an exciting time to be in love with the gospel. Well, it always is, but we're excited about ministry and mission to Nashville and beyond.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
"Just Turn it Loose"
Here's a choice quote on "making the Bible relevant" from a book by Ben Patterson called Preaching to Convince that I saw once upon a time at Theocentric Preaching:
Yes. Love that. "The best thing I can do is simply get out of Scripture's way."
I am a big fan of the notion we can't make the Bible relevant; it already is relevant.
Reminds me of that great Spurgeon quote:
Scripture is like a lion. Who ever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose; it will defend itself.
The modern church is endlessly attempting to update, innovate, and augment the message of the gospel to best speak to our audiences. It occurs to me that we have somehow decided, a priori, that there is something wrong with the seed that must be fixed. Why don't we stop and perhaps wonder if the problem is not with the seed, but with the soil?
This requires some theological ruminations and may (will?) have some radical implications for how we do ministry, particularly pastoral ministry.
In any event, it seems we are obsessively focused on convincing seekers through a self-trusting fixation on programming and style, when we ought to be relentlessly focused on inviting sinners through a Spirit-trusting enjoyment of the undiluted gospel and a scandalous grace.
This particular temptation used to be the sole province of the liberal theological tradition. But in the past few years, it has gained a number of victims in the evangelical community . . . The sin courted in this temptation is the presumption that it is the Bible that is dead and we who are alive . . .
Is the Bible relevant? Dr. Bernard Ramm once remarked, “There is nothing more relevant than the truth.” The longer I preach, the more convinced I become that the best thing I can do is simply get out of Scripture’s way.
Yes. Love that. "The best thing I can do is simply get out of Scripture's way."
I am a big fan of the notion we can't make the Bible relevant; it already is relevant.
Reminds me of that great Spurgeon quote:
Scripture is like a lion. Who ever heard of defending a lion? Just turn it loose; it will defend itself.
The modern church is endlessly attempting to update, innovate, and augment the message of the gospel to best speak to our audiences. It occurs to me that we have somehow decided, a priori, that there is something wrong with the seed that must be fixed. Why don't we stop and perhaps wonder if the problem is not with the seed, but with the soil?
This requires some theological ruminations and may (will?) have some radical implications for how we do ministry, particularly pastoral ministry.
In any event, it seems we are obsessively focused on convincing seekers through a self-trusting fixation on programming and style, when we ought to be relentlessly focused on inviting sinners through a Spirit-trusting enjoyment of the undiluted gospel and a scandalous grace.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
-- 2 Timothy 4:1-3
I think we're "out of season" right now.
My guess is that we get back "in season" by embracing the charge to preach the Word even though a great number in the Church don't want to hear it.
Leadershipness-osity
Brant Hansen offers another incisive piece: LeaderMan vs. Servant Leader
I could quibble with some of this (ie. Do servant leaders really have nothing to lose?), but I won't. Don't want to dilute the main point, which needs to be made.
Servant Leader: Has something to say
LeaderMan: Wants a platform on which to say something
-----------
LeaderMan: You almost feel you know his family, because he's your Leader
Servant Leader: You allow him to influence you, because you know his family
-----------
LeaderMan: Wants you to know he's a Leader
Servant Leader: You're not sure he knows he's a leader
-----------
LeaderMan: Loves the idea of the Gospel, and the idea of The Church
Servant Leader: Loves God and the actual individual people God brings across his path
-----------
LeaderMan: A great speaker, but self-described as, "Not really a people person."
Servant Leader: Makes himself a people person
-----------
LeaderMan: Helps you find where God is leading you in his organization
Servant Leader: Helps you find where God is leading you
-----------
LeaderMan: Gets together with you to talk about his vision
Servant Leader: Just gets together with you
-----------
LeaderMan: Resents "sheep stealing"
Servant Leader: Doesn't get the "stealing" part, since he doesn't own anyone to begin with
-----------
LeaderMan: Wants the right people on the bus
Servant Leader: Wants to find the right bus for you, and sit next to you on it
-----------
Servant Leader: Shows you his whole heart
LeaderMan: Shows you a flow chart
-----------
LeaderMan: A visionary who knows what the future looks like
Servant Leader: Knows what your kitchen looks like
-----------
LeaderMan: If it's worth doing, it worth doing with excellence
Servant Leader: Not exactly sure how to even calculate "worth doing"
-----------
LeaderMan: Talks about confronting one another in love
Servant Leader: Actually confronts you in love
-----------
LeaderMan: Impressed by success and successful people
Servant Leader: Impressed by faithfulness
-----------
LeaderMan: Invests time in you, if you are "key people"
Servant Leader: Wastes time with you
-----------
LeaderMan: Reveals sins of his past
Servant Leader: Reveals sins of his present
----------
LeaderMan: Gives you things to do
Servant Leader: Gives you freedom
-----------
LeaderMan: Leads because of official position
Servant Leader: Leads in spite of position
-----------
LeaderMan: Deep down, threatened by other Leaders
Servant Leader: Has nothing to lose
I could quibble with some of this (ie. Do servant leaders really have nothing to lose?), but I won't. Don't want to dilute the main point, which needs to be made.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Basic Missional Praxis
My latest SearchWarp piece is up:
Five Missional Practices You Can Do Now
These are baby steps, a starter kit of sorts for individuals interested in testing the waters of missional discipleship.
As a supplement, check out this post by Joe Thorn at sub*text:
Life Hacker and Missional Practices
Five Missional Practices You Can Do Now
These are baby steps, a starter kit of sorts for individuals interested in testing the waters of missional discipleship.
As a supplement, check out this post by Joe Thorn at sub*text:
Life Hacker and Missional Practices
Missional Reformation: Messing With DNA
It is very telling to me that in some of my remarks on rethinking/reforming the way the evangelical church does worship and ministry, the more adversarial responses automatically assume I am calling for a return to choir robes, stuffy and dry sermons, 100% hymns sung to organ music, etc. For those trained to think programatically, it is hard to switch gears.
But while what I and others are calling for has implications and applications for style and how we do worship and ministry, the call to reformation is deeper, more philosophical. It operates from theological convictions, not from aesthetic ones.
When my (former) church's former pastor got the boot two years ago, at his first "rally the troops" meeting in a nearby park, I recall him immediately employing the scare tactic of warning us that our elders removed him because they wanted to turn the church into an inward-focused, traditional, "for churchy people only" institution. (The irony of course is that under his leadership, our church could not have been more inward focused than to exist pretty much entirely to put on a "spectacular" weekend service.) He knew how to play the programming card, to invoke the boogeyman of boredom.
And of course we all know there's no fate worse that can befall a Christian than to have to endure a worship service that is anything less than "exciting." Right? :-)
What we are dealing with, however, is not a crisis of programming or style, but a crisis of culture. This is why I say I am passionate about the reform of the discipleship culture of the Church. Because everything we do in our local churches, from the service to small groups to missions work to whatever, flows from the collective values of the community's identity.
Because of the state of the modern Church's collective values and community identity, the call to reform cannot be met merely by offering alternative programming or adding an "emerging" service or what have you. We're messing with DNA here.
And so the going is slow; the work requires patience and investment. It requires commitment, faithfulness, obedience. As Eugene Peterson would say, "A long obedience in the same direction."
This is not easy. Particularly when you are trying to do this stuff within a community that doesn't value it yet. People want results, numbers, success. Explaining that values that took (charitably) 20 years to form may take 20 years to reform is likely to receive blank looks, if not panicked ones.
I see elements of our "troubling" vision for Element in this bit from Out of Ur's interview with Dan Kimball:
Uh huh.
Being missional requires an ecclesiological change.
Yes.
Reformation is messy business. (At least nobody's killing each other this time around. One hopes.)
It is wearying trying to sell our churches on the notion that what they've been selling for so long doesn't work. It is difficult suggesting that the service-centered approach to reaching the lost has failed. It is a delicate thing to suggest that we have not exalted Christ and we have not glorified God and therefore we haven't really served the people we've claimed to.
And yet for some of us inside this culture, slogging away at discipling the culture into a more vital discipleship, it is incumbent upon us to, in our hearts and minds, say "Here we stand. We can do no other."
But while what I and others are calling for has implications and applications for style and how we do worship and ministry, the call to reformation is deeper, more philosophical. It operates from theological convictions, not from aesthetic ones.
When my (former) church's former pastor got the boot two years ago, at his first "rally the troops" meeting in a nearby park, I recall him immediately employing the scare tactic of warning us that our elders removed him because they wanted to turn the church into an inward-focused, traditional, "for churchy people only" institution. (The irony of course is that under his leadership, our church could not have been more inward focused than to exist pretty much entirely to put on a "spectacular" weekend service.) He knew how to play the programming card, to invoke the boogeyman of boredom.
And of course we all know there's no fate worse that can befall a Christian than to have to endure a worship service that is anything less than "exciting." Right? :-)
What we are dealing with, however, is not a crisis of programming or style, but a crisis of culture. This is why I say I am passionate about the reform of the discipleship culture of the Church. Because everything we do in our local churches, from the service to small groups to missions work to whatever, flows from the collective values of the community's identity.
Because of the state of the modern Church's collective values and community identity, the call to reform cannot be met merely by offering alternative programming or adding an "emerging" service or what have you. We're messing with DNA here.
And so the going is slow; the work requires patience and investment. It requires commitment, faithfulness, obedience. As Eugene Peterson would say, "A long obedience in the same direction."
This is not easy. Particularly when you are trying to do this stuff within a community that doesn't value it yet. People want results, numbers, success. Explaining that values that took (charitably) 20 years to form may take 20 years to reform is likely to receive blank looks, if not panicked ones.
I see elements of our "troubling" vision for Element in this bit from Out of Ur's interview with Dan Kimball:
Because they’re not addressing the deeper, philosophical, theological issues, they’re just changing their style?
Some churches only change the style or add an alternative Sunday night worship gathering to see younger people come to the church and consider that to be missional or emerging. That’s a wonderful hope and worthy motivation, but usually that isn’t addressing the deeper issues. Adding an alternative worship gathering to an existing church is very difficult because the philosophical DNA not going to be different. Being missional requires an ecclesiological change.
That’s why I never recommend starting an alternative gathering with a different pastor in an existing church. Being missional must impact the whole of the church, not just a department within the church. That’s why most churches-within-a-church don’t work and why we are seeing so many church planters. It’s hard to change an existing church at this deep a level. It’s not impossible, but it is a lot harder than just changing the style of an alternative worship gathering.
Uh huh.
Being missional requires an ecclesiological change.
Yes.
Reformation is messy business. (At least nobody's killing each other this time around. One hopes.)
It is wearying trying to sell our churches on the notion that what they've been selling for so long doesn't work. It is difficult suggesting that the service-centered approach to reaching the lost has failed. It is a delicate thing to suggest that we have not exalted Christ and we have not glorified God and therefore we haven't really served the people we've claimed to.
And yet for some of us inside this culture, slogging away at discipling the culture into a more vital discipleship, it is incumbent upon us to, in our hearts and minds, say "Here we stand. We can do no other."
The Gospel Trumps Strategy
I'm just lifting this directly from Triple D.
HT: Transforming Sermons
A couple of good quotes this morning on the gospel and ministry.
First, from R.C. Sproul in the latest edition of The White Horse Inn:"The American church is so much seduced by being successful, by being powerful, that we look for power in programs, in experiences, in entertainment, in psychological applications - everywhere but where God has placed the power, which is in the gospel."
Then this from Ed Stetzer:"If we fail to regain confidence in the gospel, subsequent generations will continue to walk away from it. Staying culturally relevant is important, and it is beneficial to minister in fresh, new ways. After all, we must remove any roadblocks that keep people from getting to Jesus. But, in the end, if strategies and systems replace the core of the gospel, its meaning and power will be lost."
HT: Transforming Sermons
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ever the Cross
It is increasingly obvious that people are prepared to tolerate Christianity up until the point that it begins to define its terms.
-- C.J. Mahaney, in his sermon "Cross-Centered Worship"
What does it mean when Jesus says "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"?
We can connect the Exodus event to the cross of Christ -- in the way that it literally and historically marks the intersection of God's wrath and his mercy, his judgment on sin and his redeeming his children from it -- and it is important, I think, to also connect the Lord's telling Moses and the children of Israel to remember this event (as a sign on their right arm and between their eyes) with our need to remember the cross of Christ in the same way.
Mere days after this enormous demonstration of God's awesome power, his proof that he is mighty to save, the children of Israel were complaining about food. This is why I think we need the Gospel every day. Because we are constantly, naturally, idolatrously choosing to forget the cross and look to God in a sort of "What have you done for me lately?" sort of attitude.
Modern sermons and teaching that do not center or focus on the cross only reinforce this for us. Without meaning to, the church itself can support our error of judging God's faithfulness to us based on our present circumstances, rather than on the great love he has shown to us in the past. Which is why we must always bring the glory of that past movement into our present worship and obedience. That's the need for the call to a cross-centered life.
When John the Baptist was languishing in prison, awaiting execution, perhaps he began to have doubts. At one time he was sure his cousin was the messiah, the king of the kingdom of God. But it's only natural that sitting in jail with death hanging over his head could have driven him to make doubly sure. He sent a message to Jesus asking if he was indeed "the one."
Jesus' response was peculiar, but heavy in its implications. It began thusly:
I can imagine John then thinking, "Well, awesome. But I'm in jail."
The second part of Jesus' reply message was not "As such, we are forming a posse, and we're coming to bust you out of prison." No, instead he said:
What does that mean? Why send that to John?
I think it is because Jesus obviously knew John was going to his death, and obviously Jesus did not mean to work to prevent that, but he nevertheless wanted to reaffirm that the call to follow Jesus is the call to die. Following Jesus means renouncing comfort, safety, and happiness in circumstances as the prime virtue of life.
That is the dividing line for many. That is the point of departure for us whenever we are tempted to think, based on discomfort or grief or stress, that God has forsaken us (something he promised he would never do). We are like the wayward children of Israel in the Exodus desert, faithful one moment, doubting like forgetful morons the next.
What does it mean to remember the cross of Christ as a sign upon our right hand, between our eyes, and in our mouth? It means that Jesus is our way, Jesus is our truth, and Jesus is our life, and when the way, the truth, and the life heads toward crucifixion, we don't part ways. We remember. We commemorate. We look to the cross like a pillar of cloud by day and to the empty tomb like a pillar of fire by night, the signs to follow. Where the world walks the wide path away from the point at which Christ defines his terms, the disciple continues on the narrow path into the way of the cross.
-- C.J. Mahaney, in his sermon "Cross-Centered Worship"
What does it mean when Jesus says "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"?
We can connect the Exodus event to the cross of Christ -- in the way that it literally and historically marks the intersection of God's wrath and his mercy, his judgment on sin and his redeeming his children from it -- and it is important, I think, to also connect the Lord's telling Moses and the children of Israel to remember this event (as a sign on their right arm and between their eyes) with our need to remember the cross of Christ in the same way.
Mere days after this enormous demonstration of God's awesome power, his proof that he is mighty to save, the children of Israel were complaining about food. This is why I think we need the Gospel every day. Because we are constantly, naturally, idolatrously choosing to forget the cross and look to God in a sort of "What have you done for me lately?" sort of attitude.
Modern sermons and teaching that do not center or focus on the cross only reinforce this for us. Without meaning to, the church itself can support our error of judging God's faithfulness to us based on our present circumstances, rather than on the great love he has shown to us in the past. Which is why we must always bring the glory of that past movement into our present worship and obedience. That's the need for the call to a cross-centered life.
When John the Baptist was languishing in prison, awaiting execution, perhaps he began to have doubts. At one time he was sure his cousin was the messiah, the king of the kingdom of God. But it's only natural that sitting in jail with death hanging over his head could have driven him to make doubly sure. He sent a message to Jesus asking if he was indeed "the one."
Jesus' response was peculiar, but heavy in its implications. It began thusly:
The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
I can imagine John then thinking, "Well, awesome. But I'm in jail."
The second part of Jesus' reply message was not "As such, we are forming a posse, and we're coming to bust you out of prison." No, instead he said:
Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.
What does that mean? Why send that to John?
I think it is because Jesus obviously knew John was going to his death, and obviously Jesus did not mean to work to prevent that, but he nevertheless wanted to reaffirm that the call to follow Jesus is the call to die. Following Jesus means renouncing comfort, safety, and happiness in circumstances as the prime virtue of life.
That is the dividing line for many. That is the point of departure for us whenever we are tempted to think, based on discomfort or grief or stress, that God has forsaken us (something he promised he would never do). We are like the wayward children of Israel in the Exodus desert, faithful one moment, doubting like forgetful morons the next.
What does it mean to remember the cross of Christ as a sign upon our right hand, between our eyes, and in our mouth? It means that Jesus is our way, Jesus is our truth, and Jesus is our life, and when the way, the truth, and the life heads toward crucifixion, we don't part ways. We remember. We commemorate. We look to the cross like a pillar of cloud by day and to the empty tomb like a pillar of fire by night, the signs to follow. Where the world walks the wide path away from the point at which Christ defines his terms, the disciple continues on the narrow path into the way of the cross.
Happy Birthday, iMonk!
Happy Birthday today to Michael Spencer: The Internet Monk, proprietor of the Boar's Head Tavern, and the God-blogosphere's most indispensable writer.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Hurricane Relief
Oddly enough, it's been kinda difficult figuring out how to help tangibly in relief efforts for areas affected by Hurricane Ike.
Element would like to donate bottled water or other tangible needs -- not just money.
Does anyone know of any church or charity or mission agency in the Nashville area collecting tangible goods for delivery to hurricane impacted areas?
We wanna give stuff. Just can't figure out where to do it.
Element would like to donate bottled water or other tangible needs -- not just money.
Does anyone know of any church or charity or mission agency in the Nashville area collecting tangible goods for delivery to hurricane impacted areas?
We wanna give stuff. Just can't figure out where to do it.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Cross-Centered Pastoring: The Burden and the Passion
C.J. Mahaney on pastoring in submission to 1 Timothy 4:16:
A year and a half ago I sat in a living room listening to people talk about divorce, adultery, abuse, and addiction, and I went home and said to God, "Kill me if I ever take this calling lightly."
Pastoring and preaching is a burden and a privilege. Don't do it if you can not do it.
Let everyone else lose their passion; not me.
Let everyone else take it lightly; not me.
Let everyone else lose heart; not me.
My self and my community are at stake if I do not take the gospel seriously.
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
-- James 3:1
Pastors, do you enter the pulpit/stage this weekend with the grand scale of the gospel in mind?
You may fail your congregation even if you give them what they want.
A year and a half ago I sat in a living room listening to people talk about divorce, adultery, abuse, and addiction, and I went home and said to God, "Kill me if I ever take this calling lightly."
Pastoring and preaching is a burden and a privilege. Don't do it if you can not do it.
Let everyone else lose their passion; not me.
Let everyone else take it lightly; not me.
Let everyone else lose heart; not me.
My self and my community are at stake if I do not take the gospel seriously.
Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
-- James 3:1
Pastors, do you enter the pulpit/stage this weekend with the grand scale of the gospel in mind?
You may fail your congregation even if you give them what they want.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Yes, Please
Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.
-- Jeremiah 33:3
-- Jeremiah 33:3
Loving the Bride Well
If you love the Church and desperately think the Church must keep reforming, the Internet Monk's latest post is for you.
How Do I Love the Church? (Or, Why Jesus Wasn't An Enabler)
Beautiful, brilliant stuff. Perhaps the post of the year, by anybody. (I wish I'd written it.)
How Do I Love the Church? (Or, Why Jesus Wasn't An Enabler)
Beautiful, brilliant stuff. Perhaps the post of the year, by anybody. (I wish I'd written it.)
Don't Forget
Will the numbers together "nine" and "eleven" ever not spark memory of that day?
I suspect not until the new generation comes into their own, the ones who weren't born or weren't old enough when it happened.
7 years ago today, I was sitting on my bed with my 4 month old daughter Macy, watching "The Today Show." They cut to the first tower burning. Lots of speculation. I watched. And saw the second plane hit the second tower as it happened.
The disconnect between what I was watching on TV and who I was holding in my lap held a power I'll never forget.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:16
I suspect not until the new generation comes into their own, the ones who weren't born or weren't old enough when it happened.
7 years ago today, I was sitting on my bed with my 4 month old daughter Macy, watching "The Today Show." They cut to the first tower burning. Lots of speculation. I watched. And saw the second plane hit the second tower as it happened.
The disconnect between what I was watching on TV and who I was holding in my lap held a power I'll never forget.
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Straight Shot of Gospel
"It's the supreme art of the devil that he can make the law out of the gospel. If I can hold on to the distinction between law and gospel, I can say to him any and every time that he should kiss my backside. . . . Once I debate about what I have done and left undone, I am finished. But if I reply on the basis of the gospel, 'The forgiveness of sins covers it all,' I have won."
-- Martin Luther
(HT: Isaiah543 via Christ is Deeper Still)
Check Out Eoghan Heaslip
Eoghan Heaslip is a great worship musician who hardly anyone has heard of. I figure that's true, because every time I ask someone if they've heard of him, they say no. But you worship leader types may be familiar with him.
He's had some notice initially, I think, because his dad is the road pastor for U2.
But whatever that info does for your impression, know that Eoghan (pronounced "Owen") Heaslip makes great worship music.
Go to iTunes and check out "King of the Ages." Great song.
He's had some notice initially, I think, because his dad is the road pastor for U2.
But whatever that info does for your impression, know that Eoghan (pronounced "Owen") Heaslip makes great worship music.
Go to iTunes and check out "King of the Ages." Great song.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Attractional Church and Enticement Ministry
My latest SearchWarp piece has arrived:
Missional and Attractional, Part 8
It finishes up the chart, covering gradual, implied gospel (and enticements) versus regular, explicit gospel.
A taste:
Missional and Attractional, Part 8
It finishes up the chart, covering gradual, implied gospel (and enticements) versus regular, explicit gospel.
A taste:
Aside from the fact that the data shows that as megachurches increase, the number of Christians in America as decreased, the practical result of the attractional church's reliance on enticement ministry is that Jesus becomes less important than the enticement. Jesus is suddenly the timeshare you try to sell somebody after you've lured them to Florida with the promise of sunshine and pina coladas. All of a sudden, Jesus is Amway. He's a pill hidden in a chocolate. Or something.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
"Nobody wants to go to the circus every day."
The latest Internet Monk Radio Podcast (#110) is excellent.
Political Confusion
I am unclear on a connection.
Why are so many of the younger evangelicals, the ones skeptical of The System and weary of the culture wars and more interested in The Kingdom than in The Nation, so enamored with the Democratic candidate and political liberalism? The DNC historically is about more and bigger government, about governmental answers to the nation's social ills, and their current presidential candidate has only promised more of the same.
This does not compute.
Why are so many of the younger evangelicals, the ones skeptical of The System and weary of the culture wars and more interested in The Kingdom than in The Nation, so enamored with the Democratic candidate and political liberalism? The DNC historically is about more and bigger government, about governmental answers to the nation's social ills, and their current presidential candidate has only promised more of the same.
This does not compute.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Diagnosing the Christian Marketplace
My latest SearchWarp piece is up:
Thoughts on the Christian Marketplace
It's a follow up to my last piece on the subject, with more targeted rebuttals and theses. And a different diagnosis of the "problem" than the average critic offers.
Thoughts on the Christian Marketplace
It's a follow up to my last piece on the subject, with more targeted rebuttals and theses. And a different diagnosis of the "problem" than the average critic offers.
Really?
Tony Morgan favorably highlights this "quotable quote" from Erwin McManus:
Really?
That is the role of pastors at this time in history? Maybe it's part of the pastor's work. But "the role" at "this time in history"?
Do you agree?
If not, what do you think is the role of pastors in today's evangelicalism?
“I think the role of pastors at this time in history is to be a curator of human talent. They need to learn how to cultivate, how to identify, how to nurture, how to develop and unleash the God-given potential in every person.”
Really?
That is the role of pastors at this time in history? Maybe it's part of the pastor's work. But "the role" at "this time in history"?
Do you agree?
If not, what do you think is the role of pastors in today's evangelicalism?
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Attractional and Missional Worship
My latest SearchWarp piece is up:
Missional and Attractional, Part 7
This one covers different approaches to the weekend worship service.
Missional and Attractional, Part 7
This one covers different approaches to the weekend worship service.
The Endless Diverse Excellencies of Christ
Element returns to corporate worship this Sunday, and we are starting a four-week series on Ephesians 2 called "The Supremacy of Christ." I can't wait. I am really excited to proclaim the all-surpassing awesomeness of Jesus once again.
Our tech director, John, emailed me this list recited by John Piper from a sermon titled "How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice." Christ is supreme because . . .
Our tech director, John, emailed me this list recited by John Piper from a sermon titled "How the Supremacy of Christ Creates Radical Christian Sacrifice." Christ is supreme because . . .
He is God's final revelation
He is the heir of all things
He is the creator of the world
He is the radiance of God's glory
He is the exact imprint of God's nature
He upholds the universe by the word of His power
He made purification for sins
He sits at the right hand of the Majesty
He is God enthroned forever with the scepter of uprightness
He is worshiped by angels
His rule will have no end
His joy is above all other things in the universe
He took on human flesh
He was crowned with glory and honor because of his suffering
He was the founder of our salvation
He was made perfect in all of his obedience by his suffering
He destroyed the one who had the power of death
He delivered us from the bondage of fear
He is a merciful and faithful high priest
He made propitiation for sins
He is sympathetic because of His own trials
He never sinned
He offered up loud cries and tears with reverent fear and God heard him
He became the source of eternal salvation
He holds His priesthood by virtue of an indestructible life
He appears in the presence of God on our behalf
He will come a second time to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him
He is the same yesterday, today, and forever
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