The Road Goes Ever On and On

A Friend Got Me Thinking (Part 2)

  Thanks again, Lauren, for inspiring me to put the church plant thoughts out to my friends. We are still in the planning and dream stage, and I hope these audacious ideas don't come across as cocky.  But if I'm going to uproot my family and follow a dream, it has to be something worth pursuing.  To continue, here are the last 5 characteristics of the church we hope to plant:

    

    6.  We want to own a coffee shop.  This is either stupidity or faith.  Who begins a small business when planting a church?  Although it will be run like a business, the goal isn't to just make money. Our desire here is to be the best coffee shop in Boone.  We don't want to be a "Christian" coffee shop either (by the way, how does a shop or coffee become "Christian?").  Our goal is to be the hang out for Boone and ASU students.  This way we can try to have a presence in student's lives 24/7, not just Sunday mornings.  This will probably be our only permanent facility for awhile, and we want to use it for week night discussions and possibly Saturday night services.  Check out Ebenezer's coffee shop in Washington, D.C.  They are the inspiration for this.

    7.  The web will be a priority.  Church website, pastor's blog, audio/video sermons on line, discussion groups.  The generation we want to reach are the most plugged in ever.  We want to use modern technology to reach them. That will also necessitate another position, web developer or communications director. 

    8.  Hospitality rules.  The wives in our little church planting team (my wife, Kosa, and Kevin's wife, Susan) are the true heroes here.  This is their gift and strength.   We want to be a surrogate family for kids far from home.   But not only that, hopefully our church will have hospitality hard-wired into our DNA.  I suspect it will, because it is in ours, and will be a priority.  So everything we do will be welcoming, nurturing.

    9.    Student empowerment must be there.  We won't reach this goal unless we have a team.  There are Christians already on the campus of ASU, and we want to welcome them to the team and empower them to "do church."  After all, our core team is a little older.  This is their community.  We can be parental figures, but it will be the believers on campus that will win their own.  My goal is to cast vision, preach, and mentor the students to own the church and use it to reach ASU and Boone.  Basically, we'll give it away.  It's not our church anyway.

    10.    Adaptability and Change are welcome forces.  If this church will accomplish this vision, it must be adaptable.  It must be open to new ways of reaching people or "doing church."  Old paradigms won't work here.  We will be open to the arts, different music styles, and doing things in ways it hasn't been done before. 

Whew!  Please remember to pray for us.  This is what  the rest of the team is finding is worth rest of our lives to pursue. 

        

A Friend Got Me Thinking . . .

Facebook is cool.  I've reconnected with folks I haven't talked to since bible college twenty years ago (am I dating myself or what).  One of my old friends, Lauren, asked about the future, so I shared with her the plan that me, my wife, and another couple have made to plant a church in Boone, NC.  Our primary target are the students of Appalachian State University.  Here are some of the ideas we've thrown around.

Keep in mind that since we all have families and extended families to settle, it will take a few years for us to get up there.  But we are dedicated, and have already discussed the question, "What will this BHAG look like?"  After praying and dreaming big, we are starting to get some clarity. Of course things may change (some of it probably will), but here are 5 of the top 10 characteristics in no particular order (the other five, next post):

1. It will be a church.  The past few years we visited a L'Abri in Massachusetts, and a similar ministry that disciples Christian students at UVA in Charlottesville, VA.  We like what they do, which is mainly presenting the intellectual case for Christianity to interested students.  These ministries work with churches, but they are not themselves churches.  Since the Boone area doesn't have a church whose central mission is to reach the 16,000 ASU students, we would like to carve out that niche.  We feel a church is the best way to reach people.  It engages them emotionally, socially, spiritually, not just intellecutally, although we will attempt to do that too.
2. It will be come as you are.  I'll probably preach in jeans.  No pretentions here.  We will probably offer coffee, maybe donuts or bagels.  If there is a remote chance of getting searching kids to come, many of whom have probably partied Saturday night, I'll bribe them with coffee or breakfast. 
3. It will probably be portable.  This is just realistic; a permanent facility comes later as we can afford it.  Hopefully we can convice ASU to let us meet in one of their concert halls or other type of facility.  This will involve set up and tear down (hello delegation).  We also want to be able to buy the best we can afford; i.e., a killer sound system, multiple video screens/projectors and lights.  One of the most important positions would then be a production guy, after a worship leader.  We want to be sharp.  The gospel deserves no less.
4. THE MUSIC WILL BE LOUD!  Unapologetically so.  It won't be southern gospel or campmeeting style either.  We aren't trying to reach people already in the fold.
5. THE MESSAGES WILL BE IN YOUR FACE! Ditto the unapologetic part here too.  These guys are dealing with lifestyle issues like sexuality, drugs and other potential addictions, as well as meaning of life questions.  The gospel will be presented as the powerful, life-changing force it is, applied to the areas college students are struggling with.  I'll save arguing about KJV vs NIV, music styles, and finer points of doctrine to others. 

Praise God for Heretics

One of my favorite bloggers is Seth Godin.  He is one of these guys who seems to be one step ahead of the crowd, anticipating what is coming in terms of cultural change.  He has written several good books on marketing and change, his most recent, Tribes.  For what it's worth, I heartily recommend this book to anyone who wants to see change in their jobs, businesses, churches or even the world at large.  This book will empower you.

Among the many great observations he makes was one he borrowed from the religious community.  He used the terms of faith, religion and heretic to draw some interesting conclusions on the nature of change and change agents. 

To understand his reasoning, you must first understand the difference he sees between faith and religion.  Faith is the foundational beliefs, the truth that changes lives and gives us direction.  Religion is the institutionalization of the faith.  It is the dogmas, practices and approved activities that are built up around  the faith.  When it helps folks understand and embrace the faith, the religion is good.  The problem with it is that it typically resists change.  When the world around religion changes, the religion doesn't want to.  It tries to engage a world that no longer exists, answering questions no one is asking anymore.  Or it pulls itself away from the culture at large and creates its own sub-culture. 

Enter the heretic.  He embraces the faith, but rejects the religion.  The religion is threatened by him, because the religious equate the religion with the faith.  But the heretic rightly recognizies when the religion has lost touch and is actually hindering the faith.  He offers new ideas, challenging the religion to present the faith in culturally relevant ways.  And  he is persecuted for his efforts.

Godin is writing primarily for the business world, which has its own religious system.  But dang!  He hits the church world squarely on the mark.  This did several things for me.  First, it freed me from bitterness I've held towards churches or denominations that refuse to change.  This is human nature;  we value security over innovation.  It's best not to take it personally.

Second, it helped me to see that change comes when heretics are willing to step up and lead with new ideas, in spite of the persecution the established religion throws at them.  I would go so far as to say no meaningful change can come unless someone is willing to pay the price to see it.  It began with Jesus, it continued with Martin Luther, and continues with those willing to take a risk and see the church become what it needs to be to reach the world.  If that's you, you are in great company.  Praise God for heretics!

Why Community Rocks (part 3)

I have a friend who knows everything about me and is still my friend.  And I mean he knows everything.  He has the dirt to really hurt me if he wanted to.  But I trust him and he trusts me, and I know his full story too.  It makes us much better men.

Some would say we are lucky.  Don't insult us.  We have worked hard in our friendship and at some points it almost didn't survive, it was so rocky.  We have the freedom to speak hard words to each other, and we do.  We have both grown in the skill of speaking direct words gently.  But it still hurts, and it puts our friendship at risk every time we do it.  To me that is the definition of a true best friend, that you love the other person so much, you put the friendship itself on the line to help him become better.

At times I have been frustrated.  I've wanted to just be "normal' friends.  You know, share an interest, go bowling, hiking, freakin' anything other than always sharing our dirt with each other.  I've been tempted to end the friendship based on the fact that we don't really do anything except share accountability over coffee once a week.  But I recognize this as my dark side.  I want to hide, to fade into the background and get out of the kitchen because I can't stand the heat.  I've learned my life depends on me resisting that voice.

So what else have I learned?  Close friendships will seem to cost you more than you get from them, at least on the surface; but hang in there, it's only your pride getting a reality check.  If you go deep, you will get hurt (but it's a good hurt).  You must be intentional.  You must have guts because it takes guts to go where most men fear to tread.  Finally, there is no way to be a better man, husband and father if you choose to hide. 

Think Inside the Box

My pastor, Steven Furtick, has really challenged us at Elevation Church.  First, he's not afraid to speak about money during a time when pastors should be helping their people handle their money better.  Second, he challenges us to look inside the box, not outside.  What he means by that is we tend to curse the circumstances outside the box (wall street, interest rates, no credit, high prices, etc.) instead of looking at stuff we can actually control.  Like using a budget, tracking spending, living within our means, and being generous in our giving. 

The principle has really hit home with me, and not just financially.  I see it as exercising strong, passionate stewardship in the areas of your life you can control, and totally trusting God with the stuff you can't possibly control.  For years I've been casual with my finances and trusting that God will come through with a bailout, especially since I pay my tithes.  But if I'm not managing my money well, God isn't obligated to perform a miracle.  In other words, lack of control on my part doesn't mean a miracle on God's part.

Another area is my ministry goals.  For years I've allowed myself to think that if I'm faithful to God, he will open doors for ministry opportunities.  That is true as far as it goes; he can and will miraculously open doors I can't possibly open.  But I can pursue relationships.  I can learn to navigate the waters of building a social network, even if at first it seems political.  I can make calls and meet people;  God won't do that for me. 

It boils down to maturity.  Will I accept the challenge of working hard and being faithful in the areas I can control, and totally trust him in the things I cannot?  For me, I think not wanting to take the risk of failure, or go through the pain of the learning curve in finances, networking or whatever, has held me back.  No more.  Thanks, pastor Steven.

A New BHAG

My wife's family is from Serbia.  Her mother can tell many stories about fleeing from the Germans at the start of WWII, living in London during the Blitz, and traveling by ocean liner with U-boats about.  I love her stories.

Anyway, my wife Kosa still has lots of family in Serbia, and her cousin Andreja sent us a link to an old European walking path built in 1901, we think in Spain.  When I saw this, my heart leaped.  I"ve gotta do this!  I made walking it a new BHAG for myself.  Check it out:

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1438490562&channel=1408963331

By the way, if you are unfamiliar with the term, BHAG stands for a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.  Mark Batterson has a lot to say about it in is new book Wild Goose Chase.  I think the term was coined by Jim Collins of Good to Great fame.  Regardless of its origin, I think we all need a few God-given BHAG's.  

But they go beyond new experiences.  A BHAG may mean leaving a safe, secure, dead-end, soul-shrinking job and pursuing the work God called you to do.  It might mean stopping long enough to search your heart and discover the passion God has put within you.  Here's a hint: it will be work that makes you come alive, not dread another day.  It will involve risk.  That is the nature of a BHAG, and the only way to find God's best.  Like the path you see in the video, walking out your Big, Hairy Audacious Goals isn't safe, it's risky.  But sooner or later I think we all realize that playing it safe is the most dangerous thing we can do with our soul, and taking a risk is the best thing.

Die Empty!

I really like Wayne Cordeiro.  He doesn't know me from Adam, and I've only met him through books and videos.  But I like they guy.  Let me 'splain.

First, he planted New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1995.  It is now the 16th largest church in the country with 14,500 in attendance at 9 sites, and is also the 8th fastest growing, according to Outreach Magazine.  But I don't like him just because he's successful.  I like him because he has a heart for his people.

The first time I saw him on video, he was energetic and funny, and very passionate about pouring into the lives of others. His main discipleship method is to meet 3 or 4 different groups from his church, on 3 or 4 mornings a week at different Starbucks locations around Honolulu for Bible study.  I can just see him suffering for Jesus, reading his Bible with people he likes at Starbucks IN HAWAII!  Life just isn't fair.

But to really get his heart, let me share this quote from his book, The Dream Releasers:

"My motto in life is 'Die empty!'  I aim to give the graveyard nothing but a vacant carcass of a used-up life.  I want the words on my tombstone to read 'Empty!'  Nothing left. No more gas . . . God has filled every one of us with a treasure that this generation desperately needs.  That fortune is wrapped up inside - and the question is, Will the graveyard inherit your wealth?  Will you rob this generation of your dreams?  Will you deprive this generation and the next by taking the God-given treasure inside of you to the cemetery?  Die empty!"

Wow!  And Amen!  I want to live like this too.

   

He Restores My Soul

Rain is coming, and it will be here over the next couple of days.  Being the proactive guy I am, I took the dogs for a walk this morning; it keeps them from being so restless.  Fall is in full swing here in the Piedmont of North Carolina, and the leaves were as brilliant as I've noticed in many years.

The dogs and I were trotting down a quiet street in the neighborhood.  We stopped.  There was a thin veil of fog, which limited the view, but seemed to enhance the sense of sound.  I noticed quiet sounds, like a squirrell rustling through a leafy yard.  Dry leaves rustled in tree tops.  Bird weren't calling, but shifting on branches.  I was totally absorbed in the slow, almost silent descent of a leaf on its way to the ground, gently brushing each branch as it fell.  It awakened my soul, and my soul woke up hungry.  It was starved, for beauty and quiet.

It reminded my of Psalm 23.  David, as a shepherd, was a man of the outdoors.  The sight and sound of still waters restored his soul.  I firmly believe there is a spiritual truth here.  In nature, our souls are restored.  Why?  I'm not quite sure, but somehow God has hard-wired us to receive something of his grace through nature.  Most of our lives are a struggle to get things, but you can't strive to own a gorgeous sunset or a stream's babble; you can only enjoy it in the moment.  It reminds us that we are totally dependent on God's goodness for everything we need.

This restoration, I believe, is different for everyone.  For my wife, it means lying on the beach, dozing in the sun, listening to the rhythm of the waves.  I'm made alive walking a ridge top trail in the Appalachians, hearing the wind whisper through pine trees and feeling its cool touch on my cheek.  So then, what does it for you?  And when will you get out and enjoy it?

 

When Jesus Brings Offense

I read Mark 6 today during my quiet time.  So much stood out, but one phrase really jarred me.  Verse 3b says ". . . and they took offense at him."  Lest you not catch the enormity of this, Mark is referring to Jesus. 

We don't know exactly who the offended were, but the context indicates they were his neighbors, people who knew him and his family.  Basically, he blew their minds.  The previous verses list their questions.  "Where did he get this wisdom?  How does he do these things?  Isn't this the carpenter's son?"

The previous chapters mention a girl raised from the dead, a demoniac delivered, a withered hand healed (on the sabath no less; how could he lack such decorum), and multitudes following.  Big things, good things are happening.  But they couldn't adjust.  They were stuck.   

Let me bring this home.  We are his family and friends.  We "hang" with him in his hometown (the church).  We get used to how things are.  But what do we do when Jesus shakes things up?  Maybe the worship leader wants to update the music so the young people are more involved.  Maybe the economic downturn is bringing in blue collar families seeking help and comfort.  Maybe the Pastor wants us to reach out to single moms, AIDS victims, or the homeless.  Do we try to hang on to the way things are and take offense, or do we welcome the needed change he wants to bring?  Who does Jesus think he is anyway, trying to change MY church?

The Mystery of Balance

One of the greatest challenges I face in my relationship with God is the wisdom of balance.  Specifically, the balance of knowing how much I am to do vs. how much God does.  Some days I lean towards being a control freak, some days a couch potato.  I've never quite figured it out.

Saint Augustine said, "We cannot do what only God can do, and God will not do what we can do."  Simple enough (I think).  I heard another pastor say that when he begins to get stressed out, he knows he's venturing into territory God reserves for himself.  The secret of knowing where the line is and not crossing it eludes me.

My history is to work or worry until I fall into the arms of Jesus emotionally and spiritually spent.  I end up like Peter, wanting to build a tent and stay in God's presence forever. God's vision for my life eventually stirs in my heart again.  Somewhere in the midst of living it out, I take on too much, worry about how to reach the goal, or run all the scenarios of how God will come through.  Thus the cycle repeats itself.

Anybody else?  Do you struggle with balance in your life?  If so, in what area?