The Road Goes Ever On and On

Vital Statistics

NPR had a very interesting story regarding the suicide rate in Las Vegas yesterday.   Apparently, it is twice the rest of the country.  Another interesting point was that the rate held not just for residents, but for visitors.  One final curious tidbit  was that those residents who left Sin City for vacation every year significantly reduced their risk of suicide. 

I'm sure we could all wax eloquent on the question of why Las Vegas' suicide rate is so high compared to the rest of the nation.  Does legalized prostitution have anything to do with it?  Gambling?  Alcohol?  Is it something in the air or water?  Do people go there for their last fling before doing the deed?  Then why do the people who live there also decide to off themselves?  On it goes.

This past March, I had the pleasure of attending a church planting conference and hearing from Pastor Devin Hudson, who has successfully planted Grace Point Church in Las Vegas.  He had a lot of interesting things to say about the experience.  But two things stood out.  First, Sin City and the West Coast in general, are usually 5 years ahead of the rest of the country.  Is that scary or what?  Is the rest of the country going to have a similar suicide rate?

Finally, he mentioned a statistic that stuck with me.  93% of the people who live there have recently moved there.  In other words ,they have no support system or social network. Maybe that is part of the reason the rate is so high.  But Grace Point capitalizes on this opportunity by providing human connections as a caring church.   What an example of what the church should be. Instead of analyzing the problem to death, Grace Point is shining a light in a very dark place. 

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.