if you're going to have a God....True, so true.
I'm developing this train of thought where, if you're you're going to have a God, you really need to have room in your theology for Him to do something difficult to understand. Or maybe you should just get a dog.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
stuff I wish I would have thought
Randy Bohlender says some pithy stuff once in a while. I'll quote his latest here but click on the link and visit him anyway.
the purpose of life happens in community (part 1)
(being alone so you can be with others)
Being by yourself is necessary sometimes. You need to get away from the kids when they're driving you nuts. Some personal time is in order when you're stressed at work. Maybe there's a friend that's getting a little too clingy and you need to slip away for a while. There are even times when you need to be away from your spouse. Personal time allows you to get away, collect your thoughts, and approach things with a clear head. Our culture calls it "me" time.
As a matter of fact, Jesus took "me" time. When Jesus took time for himself he usually prayed. He went off for forty days where he prayed and fasted. When the crowds became a bit too much he went off by himself for a short while and then went right back healing people. Jesus went off by himself to pray when things got stressful. Sometimes he just got a lone and prayed. No stress. He just got alone and prayed.
About now you're saying, "Yea, but that was Jesus. He was God. I just don't think about praying when I'm alone that much." There's a couple of things we have to remember. First, the Bible doesn't say that Jesus prayed everytime he was alone. At least not like we envision: with hands together, kneeling, and a yellowish-white glow around his head. When he was getting away from the crowd in the boat he was probably rowing and saying to himself, "Why can't these people leave me alone?" We discount too much that Jesus was also 100% human. He had the same frustrations we do with people. When he got alone he didn't genuflect and get all religious looking and then pray. He kept rowing and talking to the Heavenly Father. When you get away...in the basement from the kids, in the bathroom from your co-workers, on a hike away from everybody...just get away and tell God how you're feeling. It sure beats talking to yourself.
Second, the only way you and I are going to survive being around other people is to take time to be alone with God. Jesus taught us by how he lived that we can't provide for others emotionally and spiritually if we haven't taken the time to refuel our own lives. Think about it, Jesus was God in the flesh and he had to get away to pray. Why should we think we can keep blowing and going without any rest and time alone with God? We need to get away. When we get away we allow God to strengthen us and get rest. When we get away and talk to God we can clear our thoughts and gain a whole new perspective on things.
Being with people, no matter what their age, is draining. When you feel like you're running on "empty", take some time away. Recharge. Refuel. Talk to God. God's promise is that you'll have more strength and endurance (Isaiah 40:30-31). Why not take him up on it?
Have a great day.
Being by yourself is necessary sometimes. You need to get away from the kids when they're driving you nuts. Some personal time is in order when you're stressed at work. Maybe there's a friend that's getting a little too clingy and you need to slip away for a while. There are even times when you need to be away from your spouse. Personal time allows you to get away, collect your thoughts, and approach things with a clear head. Our culture calls it "me" time.
As a matter of fact, Jesus took "me" time. When Jesus took time for himself he usually prayed. He went off for forty days where he prayed and fasted. When the crowds became a bit too much he went off by himself for a short while and then went right back healing people. Jesus went off by himself to pray when things got stressful. Sometimes he just got a lone and prayed. No stress. He just got alone and prayed.
About now you're saying, "Yea, but that was Jesus. He was God. I just don't think about praying when I'm alone that much." There's a couple of things we have to remember. First, the Bible doesn't say that Jesus prayed everytime he was alone. At least not like we envision: with hands together, kneeling, and a yellowish-white glow around his head. When he was getting away from the crowd in the boat he was probably rowing and saying to himself, "Why can't these people leave me alone?" We discount too much that Jesus was also 100% human. He had the same frustrations we do with people. When he got alone he didn't genuflect and get all religious looking and then pray. He kept rowing and talking to the Heavenly Father. When you get away...in the basement from the kids, in the bathroom from your co-workers, on a hike away from everybody...just get away and tell God how you're feeling. It sure beats talking to yourself.
Second, the only way you and I are going to survive being around other people is to take time to be alone with God. Jesus taught us by how he lived that we can't provide for others emotionally and spiritually if we haven't taken the time to refuel our own lives. Think about it, Jesus was God in the flesh and he had to get away to pray. Why should we think we can keep blowing and going without any rest and time alone with God? We need to get away. When we get away we allow God to strengthen us and get rest. When we get away and talk to God we can clear our thoughts and gain a whole new perspective on things.
Being with people, no matter what their age, is draining. When you feel like you're running on "empty", take some time away. Recharge. Refuel. Talk to God. God's promise is that you'll have more strength and endurance (Isaiah 40:30-31). Why not take him up on it?
Have a great day.
Monday, July 11, 2005
the dog days of Summer...well, sort of
The title of the post isn't a comment on the weather here in Atlanta this July, especially since it's been relatively mild. I'm referring to church attendance in July. It seems like a lot of my colleagues are making it known that their attendance has been way down. We at The Journey Church are no different. Attendance has been way off.
Part of that has been due to the huge transition of losing a couple of staff guys, neither of which was expected. We handled the transitions well. Even if staff transitions are handled well some people are going to leave because...well, just because.
Since I'm not so much in the popular preacher blog loop (not a bad thing at all), I don't talk about it much here. Another reason is that one of my coaches, Nelson Searcy of The Journey Church in New York City (same church name purely by accident), gave me some good advice. You can't live your life by looking at weekly attendance. You have to look at trends because they're important, but allowing your self worth to be tied to weekly attendance is dangerous. No worries, school starts back in less than a month. Vacations and youth camps are over. "Thank God" in the truest sense of the phrase.
In the midst of this Summer's attendance slump there have been some incredible things taking place. Our worship is better than ever. There's an energy that's been missing in worship, at least for me personally, in my entire ministry. There's momentum in the middle of the "summer slump." Yesterday was one of the most poorly attended days of the year but a first time attender started a relationship with God.
Starting a church is difficult task no matter what. Starting a church with no denominational or financial support is even more difficult. But starting a church and seeing eternal things happen in the middle of the dog days of Summer lets you know that bigger things are on the way.
Part of that has been due to the huge transition of losing a couple of staff guys, neither of which was expected. We handled the transitions well. Even if staff transitions are handled well some people are going to leave because...well, just because.
Since I'm not so much in the popular preacher blog loop (not a bad thing at all), I don't talk about it much here. Another reason is that one of my coaches, Nelson Searcy of The Journey Church in New York City (same church name purely by accident), gave me some good advice. You can't live your life by looking at weekly attendance. You have to look at trends because they're important, but allowing your self worth to be tied to weekly attendance is dangerous. No worries, school starts back in less than a month. Vacations and youth camps are over. "Thank God" in the truest sense of the phrase.
In the midst of this Summer's attendance slump there have been some incredible things taking place. Our worship is better than ever. There's an energy that's been missing in worship, at least for me personally, in my entire ministry. There's momentum in the middle of the "summer slump." Yesterday was one of the most poorly attended days of the year but a first time attender started a relationship with God.
Starting a church is difficult task no matter what. Starting a church with no denominational or financial support is even more difficult. But starting a church and seeing eternal things happen in the middle of the dog days of Summer lets you know that bigger things are on the way.
Tired?
One of the reasons that we feel distant from God is that we're just plain tired. Like any other relationship, maintaining a relationship with God takes work. Since God doesn't take up physical space in our lives, he tends to get less of our attention than the other relationships we have. That can be a real problem, because if we're not close to God we don't react emotionally to our human relationships the way we should. If we haven't spiritually recharged by being with God, we have little or no energy left to give to our human relationships.
Instead of talking to God, we literally wear ourselves to a frazzle talking to humans about things they simply don't have the answer to. We start our mornings worn out from no sleep because we've spent the night worrying about whatever. If we're tapping ourselves out by making plans that end up failing anyway it's probably time to make a change.
When we spend time with God and ask him about family issues, problems at work, strained relationships, or even world events that affect us, we get a completely different perspective on things. Think about it...the closer you get to God the more infinite, powerful, incredible and all knowing he becomes to us. When we recognize that God is able to ____________ (fill in the blank with anything here), we walk away from a visit with him full of energy. Why? Because we sense we don't have to worry as much or try so hard to make things turn out like we think they should. When we ask him for wisdom, which he give us generously (James 1:5), we become more productive in life and our emotions are far more healthy.
There's a very well known Bible verse that says, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). When we settle down, either physically or mentally, we're simply allowing God a chance to get a word in with us. He wants the best for us. He wants to us have peace and joy when life gets difficult. God assures us that when we wait on him, be still with him, and tap into his power, we'll have all the energy we need. Here's what God says:
But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:13, NLT).
Take some time today and be still with God. You'll see renewed strength and you'll sleep better tonight.
Have a great day.
Instead of talking to God, we literally wear ourselves to a frazzle talking to humans about things they simply don't have the answer to. We start our mornings worn out from no sleep because we've spent the night worrying about whatever. If we're tapping ourselves out by making plans that end up failing anyway it's probably time to make a change.
When we spend time with God and ask him about family issues, problems at work, strained relationships, or even world events that affect us, we get a completely different perspective on things. Think about it...the closer you get to God the more infinite, powerful, incredible and all knowing he becomes to us. When we recognize that God is able to ____________ (fill in the blank with anything here), we walk away from a visit with him full of energy. Why? Because we sense we don't have to worry as much or try so hard to make things turn out like we think they should. When we ask him for wisdom, which he give us generously (James 1:5), we become more productive in life and our emotions are far more healthy.
There's a very well known Bible verse that says, "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). When we settle down, either physically or mentally, we're simply allowing God a chance to get a word in with us. He wants the best for us. He wants to us have peace and joy when life gets difficult. God assures us that when we wait on him, be still with him, and tap into his power, we'll have all the energy we need. Here's what God says:
But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:13, NLT).
Take some time today and be still with God. You'll see renewed strength and you'll sleep better tonight.
Have a great day.
Friday, July 08, 2005
reflections on world events
I've had a super busy day. It centered around a trip to the doctor. Thanks to the fall of man I have a sinus infection and bronchitis. Fun. I've just now really had time to sit down and reflect on yesterday's bombings in London.
I'm a bit of a hawk. I took a fair amount of military science classes in college. I even went to ROTC summer camp...for two days. When I made it to the ENT doctor during in service, he disqualified me and sent me home. For guess what??? Sinus issues. Back to the hawk thing. I also pastored near Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK. It's one of the largest new recruit training posts in the Army. I have lots of friends that serve or have served in some sort of artillery unit. I even got to "pull the tail" on a Paladin howitzer. Gee whiz was that a rush. I also pastored near Dahlgren, VA which is home for a Naval R&D base. With extra special permission (seriously) I got to tour the bowels of the computer system for our SLBMs (Trident). I didn't understand 80% (Probably why they let me in, ya think?) of what I saw but it was phenomenal anyway. I also got to tour the training center for the Aegis destroyer radar system. Talk about Star Wars kind of stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with our military personnel.
So when a friend told me about the bombings in London yesterday, I got a pit in my stomach. Not a 911 kind of pit, but a pit nonetheless. My cynical mind went through it's normal thought process...protesters, conspiracy theory...back to reality...terrorists. I watched the cable news networks and scoured the Net for whatever was there. It seems the bombs were simple but the organization of the attacks wasn't. Then I got really ticked off. Whoever did it are a bunch of spineless mongrels. Almost simultaneously I began to laugh.
The name of the group that took responsiblity for the killing of innocent people and wounding hundreds of others was...Are you ready?...The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe. I just thought the name was really funny. Maybe it just lost something in the translation from another language or something. I mean, who takes credit for an act of war with a name like The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe. I still say they're spineless mongrels.
May God bless and protect the Brits. May their intelligence network find and serve justice to the perps quickly. God save the Queen. God bless America.
I'm a bit of a hawk. I took a fair amount of military science classes in college. I even went to ROTC summer camp...for two days. When I made it to the ENT doctor during in service, he disqualified me and sent me home. For guess what??? Sinus issues. Back to the hawk thing. I also pastored near Ft. Sill in Lawton, OK. It's one of the largest new recruit training posts in the Army. I have lots of friends that serve or have served in some sort of artillery unit. I even got to "pull the tail" on a Paladin howitzer. Gee whiz was that a rush. I also pastored near Dahlgren, VA which is home for a Naval R&D base. With extra special permission (seriously) I got to tour the bowels of the computer system for our SLBMs (Trident). I didn't understand 80% (Probably why they let me in, ya think?) of what I saw but it was phenomenal anyway. I also got to tour the training center for the Aegis destroyer radar system. Talk about Star Wars kind of stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with our military personnel.
So when a friend told me about the bombings in London yesterday, I got a pit in my stomach. Not a 911 kind of pit, but a pit nonetheless. My cynical mind went through it's normal thought process...protesters, conspiracy theory...back to reality...terrorists. I watched the cable news networks and scoured the Net for whatever was there. It seems the bombs were simple but the organization of the attacks wasn't. Then I got really ticked off. Whoever did it are a bunch of spineless mongrels. Almost simultaneously I began to laugh.
The name of the group that took responsiblity for the killing of innocent people and wounding hundreds of others was...Are you ready?...The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe. I just thought the name was really funny. Maybe it just lost something in the translation from another language or something. I mean, who takes credit for an act of war with a name like The Secret Organization of al-Qaida in Europe. I still say they're spineless mongrels.
May God bless and protect the Brits. May their intelligence network find and serve justice to the perps quickly. God save the Queen. God bless America.
The God of relationships
To know God better you have to know God. I mean like, know him personally. He's a being not just an idea. While there are mystical and incomprehensible things we'll never know about him (because he's God), he can certainly be known. To know God you have to go beyond gathering information about him...reading devotions, books, blogs or whatever and take the risk of saying, "I want to know you and be known by you."
God wanted a relationship so bad he created human beings. At the risk of getting all metaphysical, any kind of being wants relationships. Beings need community. So, God created humanity. Then he saw that it wasn't good for humans to be alone. I mean, walking and talking with God was great for the first human but the human needed a soul mate. Voila. God took care of that and created Eve for Adam. It was good. Very good.
Then it got bad. Humanity got self-centered and the result was being distanced from God. Humanity went on an "It's all about me" binge. The whole time God wanted to restore the relationship. He tried to show them that a relationship required sacrifice. They sort of got it, but few really understood. Humanity preferred to add God into the equation at their convenience instead of making a relationship a priority. Kind of self-centered, huh?
That didn't bother God. His love was so big, his forgiveness was so deep, his desire for a restored relationship with us was so consuming that he decided to become human. God in the flesh. Jesus Christ. From my perspective that was risky on God's part. Actually, it's remarkable. At many levels it's hard to imagine God becoming open and vulnerable to time and space and pain and suffering and rejection. And he, meaning Jesus Christ, went through all of that and still chose to sacrifice his life for you and me so the relationship could be restored. The power of his love chose to sacrifice everything. The power of his love resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead reaches out to us 24/7/365.
As I wrote this I was thinking and praying:
God, how could I not love you? You've been misrepresented, I've been self-centered, and you still chose to be open and vulnerable so I could know you. It's beyond my comprehension. I don't get it all, but thanks for doing it. Thanks for always being there. Thanks for loving me in spite of me. Thanks for helping me see how Jesus made it possible for me to have a relationship with you and to talk to you.
God's waiting to talk to you. It's definitely worth the risk.
God wanted a relationship so bad he created human beings. At the risk of getting all metaphysical, any kind of being wants relationships. Beings need community. So, God created humanity. Then he saw that it wasn't good for humans to be alone. I mean, walking and talking with God was great for the first human but the human needed a soul mate. Voila. God took care of that and created Eve for Adam. It was good. Very good.
Then it got bad. Humanity got self-centered and the result was being distanced from God. Humanity went on an "It's all about me" binge. The whole time God wanted to restore the relationship. He tried to show them that a relationship required sacrifice. They sort of got it, but few really understood. Humanity preferred to add God into the equation at their convenience instead of making a relationship a priority. Kind of self-centered, huh?
That didn't bother God. His love was so big, his forgiveness was so deep, his desire for a restored relationship with us was so consuming that he decided to become human. God in the flesh. Jesus Christ. From my perspective that was risky on God's part. Actually, it's remarkable. At many levels it's hard to imagine God becoming open and vulnerable to time and space and pain and suffering and rejection. And he, meaning Jesus Christ, went through all of that and still chose to sacrifice his life for you and me so the relationship could be restored. The power of his love chose to sacrifice everything. The power of his love resurrected Jesus Christ from the dead reaches out to us 24/7/365.
As I wrote this I was thinking and praying:
God, how could I not love you? You've been misrepresented, I've been self-centered, and you still chose to be open and vulnerable so I could know you. It's beyond my comprehension. I don't get it all, but thanks for doing it. Thanks for always being there. Thanks for loving me in spite of me. Thanks for helping me see how Jesus made it possible for me to have a relationship with you and to talk to you.
God's waiting to talk to you. It's definitely worth the risk.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Unfreakingbelievable (and a word to people that comment, especially anonymous ones)
OK, so I change the format of my blog (out of sheer laziness) and post my devotions that go along with my current message series and, according to Bravenet.com, I've had 65 first time visitors today? Unfreakingbelievable. I thought the four people that RSS the sight would put me on snooze. What gives? How did this happen? Eleven comments (really 10 cause I screwed up one of my own) on one little entry on the dependablity of the Bible? Unfreakingbelievable. Maybe it's a fluke. Who knows. If not, we need some ground rules here.
A note to people that comment: (other than people I actually know)
The devotions that will be posted over the next few weeks are founded on the historical, orthodox beliefs of the Christian church taken solely from the Bible. If you have questions, I'll answer them as best I can but I won't debate you.
My suggestion is that instead of hiding inside the Internet, go to a church close to you that believes the Bible and start a dialogue with one of their leaders. If they're lame and won't talk to you, go to another one. There's one within driving/subway distance to you surely. If you're unable to get out of your house, we can find someone to come to you. The reason I say all of this is that the Kingdom of God is about relationships. You simply can't form those over the Internet. Constructive dialogue happens when two people are face to face. I encourage anyone that wants to comment to do so, but bear in mind that if you want to enter into dialogue about something, don't try to hide from confronting the issue with a real human. Christianity is made to be discussed in community with real live human beings. The general anonymity of the Internet is simply contradictory to the organism of community. Talk to a human being (in person) that's been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ and you'll find the conversation very engaging.
A word to any future anonymous posters: I'll delete your comment if you post anonymously. In my best Jack Black voice, aka Ned Schneibly: "Posting anonymously is lame." Fortunately, the ones I've challenged have stepped up and given me their name or blogger name. Why so...... ...uncompromising? My job as a spiritual architect is to help people engage God through relationships in community. Anonymity is simply contradictory to the organism of community. I can only care about someone if I know their name.
Tomorrow's devotion: I don't know yet. Something about knowing God better. Based on today's happenings it will probably take a 'relationships and how our culture cultivates isolation instead of community' kind of bent. I'll need to see what the Bible says about it first.
65 new readers today. Hmmm.
A note to people that comment: (other than people I actually know)
The devotions that will be posted over the next few weeks are founded on the historical, orthodox beliefs of the Christian church taken solely from the Bible. If you have questions, I'll answer them as best I can but I won't debate you.
My suggestion is that instead of hiding inside the Internet, go to a church close to you that believes the Bible and start a dialogue with one of their leaders. If they're lame and won't talk to you, go to another one. There's one within driving/subway distance to you surely. If you're unable to get out of your house, we can find someone to come to you. The reason I say all of this is that the Kingdom of God is about relationships. You simply can't form those over the Internet. Constructive dialogue happens when two people are face to face. I encourage anyone that wants to comment to do so, but bear in mind that if you want to enter into dialogue about something, don't try to hide from confronting the issue with a real human. Christianity is made to be discussed in community with real live human beings. The general anonymity of the Internet is simply contradictory to the organism of community. Talk to a human being (in person) that's been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ and you'll find the conversation very engaging.
A word to any future anonymous posters: I'll delete your comment if you post anonymously. In my best Jack Black voice, aka Ned Schneibly: "Posting anonymously is lame." Fortunately, the ones I've challenged have stepped up and given me their name or blogger name. Why so...... ...uncompromising? My job as a spiritual architect is to help people engage God through relationships in community. Anonymity is simply contradictory to the organism of community. I can only care about someone if I know their name.
Tomorrow's devotion: I don't know yet. Something about knowing God better. Based on today's happenings it will probably take a 'relationships and how our culture cultivates isolation instead of community' kind of bent. I'll need to see what the Bible says about it first.
65 new readers today. Hmmm.
God is not boring
There is nothing boring about God. Religion, yes. God, no.
If you want to get closer to God this Summer, one of the best ways is to read the Bible. OK, I already said that yesterday. But reading the Bible is considered boring by most people and I thought it good that I say that reading the Bible is important again. It's important because it will change your life, not because that's what "good" Christians do.
I didn't read the Bible much growing up...even as a pastor's kid. There were two big reasons. First, the Bible I had access to was written in 17th century English. I didn't talk that way. When I read it, I sounded like I had lisp with all of the words that ended in "eth." Second, I heard people talking like that when they prayed and they thought that you had to speak King James English to talk to God. Something wasn't right about that because when I talked to God he heard me just fine. I waited for a better Bible translation. Until a better translation came along I listened to my Dad explain that "And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me" meant Jacob was going to hang back, send a present ahead, and wait to figure out if the guy he wanted to see would talk to him. All that being said, I didn't study the Bible that much. Now I do.
I study the Bible a lot now, not so much because it's my job but that it's a good book you don't get tired of reading. It's not boring. It's only boring if you read it the wrong way. If you start in Genesis and read it like a regular book, you'll start having problems focusing about Leviticus, which is less that 5% into the book. To really understand how much God loves us and wants a relationship with us you need to read different parts of the Bible simultaneously. Otherwise you get stuck somewhere in the blood and guts of 1st and 2nd Samuel or the "begats" of the Chronicles. The great news is that some genius (I really mean that) figured out that if you read a certain amount of different parts of the Bible everyday, you could read the Bible in a year.
Try using a One Year Bible. Go buy a hard copy or go to www.oneyearbibleonline.com and just click on the current day. You can either read it or listen to it (great for stay at home moms). It will make the Bible much less boring because you get a balanced diet of God's story.
When you read the Bible, you're reading what God thinks about you and the world you live in. You're reading about real life...birth, death, war, love, sex, spirituality, kids, husbands, wives....and the God that cares enough to talk to you about all of it. Read the Bible and I promise you'll be closer to God this Summer than ever before.
If you want to get closer to God this Summer, one of the best ways is to read the Bible. OK, I already said that yesterday. But reading the Bible is considered boring by most people and I thought it good that I say that reading the Bible is important again. It's important because it will change your life, not because that's what "good" Christians do.
I didn't read the Bible much growing up...even as a pastor's kid. There were two big reasons. First, the Bible I had access to was written in 17th century English. I didn't talk that way. When I read it, I sounded like I had lisp with all of the words that ended in "eth." Second, I heard people talking like that when they prayed and they thought that you had to speak King James English to talk to God. Something wasn't right about that because when I talked to God he heard me just fine. I waited for a better Bible translation. Until a better translation came along I listened to my Dad explain that "And say ye moreover, Behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he said, I will appease him with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face; peradventure he will accept of me" meant Jacob was going to hang back, send a present ahead, and wait to figure out if the guy he wanted to see would talk to him. All that being said, I didn't study the Bible that much. Now I do.
I study the Bible a lot now, not so much because it's my job but that it's a good book you don't get tired of reading. It's not boring. It's only boring if you read it the wrong way. If you start in Genesis and read it like a regular book, you'll start having problems focusing about Leviticus, which is less that 5% into the book. To really understand how much God loves us and wants a relationship with us you need to read different parts of the Bible simultaneously. Otherwise you get stuck somewhere in the blood and guts of 1st and 2nd Samuel or the "begats" of the Chronicles. The great news is that some genius (I really mean that) figured out that if you read a certain amount of different parts of the Bible everyday, you could read the Bible in a year.
Try using a One Year Bible. Go buy a hard copy or go to www.oneyearbibleonline.com and just click on the current day. You can either read it or listen to it (great for stay at home moms). It will make the Bible much less boring because you get a balanced diet of God's story.
When you read the Bible, you're reading what God thinks about you and the world you live in. You're reading about real life...birth, death, war, love, sex, spirituality, kids, husbands, wives....and the God that cares enough to talk to you about all of it. Read the Bible and I promise you'll be closer to God this Summer than ever before.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Google God...read the Bible
So where do you look for advice about things that are happening in your life. Do you read? Do you Google it? Do you call your spouse?...friend?...co-worker? ... the current prayer hotline on TBN? It's smart to get advice from other people. There's an ancient saying by Solomon that goes like this: "A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel."
History says that Solomon was a smart guy, so it's probably a good idea to take his advice. He says we should seek wise counsel. You can get a good piece of advice from some of the places I mentioned above but you won't always get wise counsel. Ask yourself this question the next time you go to one of your information sources: "Is this place going to give me a quick fix or is it going to give me a principle that will work for the rest of my life?"
There's nothing wrong with Googling for an answer to a problem or asking a friend what you should do in a certain situation. Where most of us go wrong is that we scour our resources looking for an answer and end up exhausted and frustrated. Enter the Bible. We ask our friends to tell us their stories. We read the Web and books to see what people think about any given situation. So why not read the book that God wrote and find out what he thinks about life? Why not read the Bible to begin with, and begin our quest for wisdom and information with a completely reliable information source?
If you're just starting back to church, take this moment to commit to picking up a modern translation like the New Living Translation, New International Version, or the Contemporary English Version and read it. Or go to BibleGateway.com and use its incredible search engine and search dozens of translations. If you've been in church a while but you've replaced looking in the Bible for answers to your life situation with other things, use this moment to recommit to using the Bible as your primary source for answers.
Let the Bible encourage you, strengthen you, make you wiser, and challenge you to change. Make it your starting point for information about life's situations. Things will start to look up very soon.
History says that Solomon was a smart guy, so it's probably a good idea to take his advice. He says we should seek wise counsel. You can get a good piece of advice from some of the places I mentioned above but you won't always get wise counsel. Ask yourself this question the next time you go to one of your information sources: "Is this place going to give me a quick fix or is it going to give me a principle that will work for the rest of my life?"
There's nothing wrong with Googling for an answer to a problem or asking a friend what you should do in a certain situation. Where most of us go wrong is that we scour our resources looking for an answer and end up exhausted and frustrated. Enter the Bible. We ask our friends to tell us their stories. We read the Web and books to see what people think about any given situation. So why not read the book that God wrote and find out what he thinks about life? Why not read the Bible to begin with, and begin our quest for wisdom and information with a completely reliable information source?
If you're just starting back to church, take this moment to commit to picking up a modern translation like the New Living Translation, New International Version, or the Contemporary English Version and read it. Or go to BibleGateway.com and use its incredible search engine and search dozens of translations. If you've been in church a while but you've replaced looking in the Bible for answers to your life situation with other things, use this moment to recommit to using the Bible as your primary source for answers.
Let the Bible encourage you, strengthen you, make you wiser, and challenge you to change. Make it your starting point for information about life's situations. Things will start to look up very soon.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
You've tried asking everyone else what they think. Why not ask God what he thinks?
This devotional series is the result of our God on Film '05 message series. It's primary goal is to connect people with God and/or get them closer than they've been in a while. To see the rationale behind this temporary change in posting style, read the previous post.
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Tuesday, July 5, 2005
_________________________________________________
So you've decided to spend more time with God. Some exciting things are going to take place in your life in the next few weeks because of your decision to walk with God more closely. As I look back over my prayer journal over the past couple of months, it's amazing to see how many prayers have been answered by God. Rest assured that God will do the same for you.
God answers prayer based on what's best for us, not what we want the most. When we ask God to reveal himself and his will to us, he promises to listen and take action. The Scripture tells us "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (John 5:14 NIV). Read that again...he hears us if we ask anything according to his will. That means we have to adjust how we talk to God doesn't it? The adjustment is easier for us to make because God promises that our confidence in how to pray increases when we ask his opinion. Since he's God, his opinion is trustworthy. If our confidence goes up, the time we spend with God goes up.
The first thing I talked about in Sunday's message was that we should ask God to reveal himself to us. When we ask God to reveal himself to us, it's like asking the question, "So what do you think God?" The incredible revelation about the whole thing is when we talk to God this way he actually hears us.
Sometime today, ask God what he thinks you should do about the most pressing issue of the day. Then be still and know that he is God...and your not. He'll begin to make you wiser and more patient in dealing with the things that matter to you the most. He'll hear you and reveal himself to you because you matter to Him. He'll do all of that just because you ask the question, "So what do you think God?"
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Tuesday, July 5, 2005
_________________________________________________
So you've decided to spend more time with God. Some exciting things are going to take place in your life in the next few weeks because of your decision to walk with God more closely. As I look back over my prayer journal over the past couple of months, it's amazing to see how many prayers have been answered by God. Rest assured that God will do the same for you.
God answers prayer based on what's best for us, not what we want the most. When we ask God to reveal himself and his will to us, he promises to listen and take action. The Scripture tells us "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (John 5:14 NIV). Read that again...he hears us if we ask anything according to his will. That means we have to adjust how we talk to God doesn't it? The adjustment is easier for us to make because God promises that our confidence in how to pray increases when we ask his opinion. Since he's God, his opinion is trustworthy. If our confidence goes up, the time we spend with God goes up.
The first thing I talked about in Sunday's message was that we should ask God to reveal himself to us. When we ask God to reveal himself to us, it's like asking the question, "So what do you think God?" The incredible revelation about the whole thing is when we talk to God this way he actually hears us.
Sometime today, ask God what he thinks you should do about the most pressing issue of the day. Then be still and know that he is God...and your not. He'll begin to make you wiser and more patient in dealing with the things that matter to you the most. He'll hear you and reveal himself to you because you matter to Him. He'll do all of that just because you ask the question, "So what do you think God?"
mixing it up...a little change...shifting gears
As a whole, my blog has been a bit random in its content. Sort of, whatever hit me at the moment whether it was a great CD or commenting or even something that ticked me off. That's going to change somewhat for a while (Yuck. Talk about your passive sentences!). As a part of a message series at The Journey Church I've offered to provide daily devotions (5 per week) to those who sign up by email. Since my style of communication is to weave in life stories , I thought I would post them here for eveyone's viewing pleasure...all four of you. In order to massage my ego I must mention that my readership has doubled from two to four in just two weeks. Watch out Terry Storch, here I come...
Change like this is supposed to be the demise of a blog. People read you because there's something they enjoy about what you write about and how you write about it. So I'll look at this as a bit of an experiment. Going from a personal comment on life kind of blog to a devotional kind of blog may knock my readership back to two but, hey, I'm willing to take the risk.
The primary reason to take the different approach for a while is quite simple. I'm lazy. I don't want to write the devotional and blog because, frankly, I don't like writing that much and I'm not as good as Alex McManus anyway. If you don't like the temporary change, go to Alex's blog. His glasses are the same as mine, he's a musician, and he's all about ministry to the next generation. Other than that we're not much alike because he's really smart and I'm just a dumb redneck. Oh yeah, and I've got this prominent Southern accent that he doesn't have. You have to admit that the accent doesn't come across too much in writing, does it?
Back on topic...If you're one of the four diehard readers out there, you just might be able to get something out of the devotions. If not, I completely understand. If it's worth anything, I reserve the right to interject moments of creative overflow or commentary on life as I deem necessary. I know that will help you rest better. We'll see what happens.
In his best Kip voice: Peace out.
Change like this is supposed to be the demise of a blog. People read you because there's something they enjoy about what you write about and how you write about it. So I'll look at this as a bit of an experiment. Going from a personal comment on life kind of blog to a devotional kind of blog may knock my readership back to two but, hey, I'm willing to take the risk.
The primary reason to take the different approach for a while is quite simple. I'm lazy. I don't want to write the devotional and blog because, frankly, I don't like writing that much and I'm not as good as Alex McManus anyway. If you don't like the temporary change, go to Alex's blog. His glasses are the same as mine, he's a musician, and he's all about ministry to the next generation. Other than that we're not much alike because he's really smart and I'm just a dumb redneck. Oh yeah, and I've got this prominent Southern accent that he doesn't have. You have to admit that the accent doesn't come across too much in writing, does it?
Back on topic...If you're one of the four diehard readers out there, you just might be able to get something out of the devotions. If not, I completely understand. If it's worth anything, I reserve the right to interject moments of creative overflow or commentary on life as I deem necessary. I know that will help you rest better. We'll see what happens.
In his best Kip voice: Peace out.
Friday, July 01, 2005
You have to admire Tom Cruise's passion
You have to admire Tom Cruise's passion about life and his religion, even if you don't agree with his religion or like the way he verbally threw up on Matt Lauer. I've been a Tom Cruise fan since Top Gun. The Mission Impossible projects were cool and I really enjoyed watching The Last Samurai on vacation this week. All very passionate movies. I wouldn't expect less from Tom Cruise. In his interview with Lauer he was quoted as saying that he's passionate about life. I would agree. He is one passionate dude.
Mr. Cruise is also passionate about the Church of Scientology. In fact, that's why he really blew up at Mr. Lauer. He went ballistic, pun intended, about his religion. I didn't get to see the interview, but when I read about it I thought it a bit unusual coming from a Hollywood type. I mean, after all, Hollywood types are passionate about a lot of things...usually weird things...but not about religion. When I read about how he went off about how the mental sciences were essentially a hoax I was taken back a bit. Don't get me wrong. If there ever was a "suck it up and tough it out" kind of person, it would be me. But, I think that we overdiagnose and overprescribe meds way too much in emotional and behavioral situations that are even slightly out of the norm. However, I don't totally dismiss drugs or therapy. If you're in the ministry (at least in the majority of ministry environments) for very long you get mentally down. More people in the ministry than want to admit it get depressed. It happened to me. While drugs and counseling aren't the only answer to chemical imbalances they sure can help. I digress...
Even though I admire Mr. Cruise's passion, I find his commitment to his religion suspect. I knew enough about Scientology to get me into trouble so I went to a source that I felt was trustworthy...a minister of Scientology that's also a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. I respect the view of a U.S. Navy chaplain primarily because my experience with Navy personnel has been one that exudes precision. Anyway, back to the suspect thing. To become a minister in the Church of Scientology you have to start out "auditing" other people. Specifically auditing is "a unique form of personal counseling intended to help an individual look at his own existence and improve their ability to confront what and where they are. It is a precise, thoroughly codified activity with exact procedures" (emphasis mine). The auditor keeps a close watch on the counselee by using an E-Meter. The E-Meter continuously measures the electrical resistance of the person's body and
helps the auditor correctly diagnose the person and make necessary adjustments in the person's treatment. The E-Meter ain't exactly an EKG. Read an interesting article on the E-Meter here.
When an auditor establishes their...umm...integrity, they are given the title of minister and wear clerical clothing and everything. The genesis of my cynicism is that Mr. Cruise sounds a lot like a KJV fundie when he starts bashing the "pseudo sciences" of psychology and psychiatry and comes off as a self-professed expert on behavior modification drugs that are readily available on the street. Here's what I really don't get...Why doesn't Tom Cruise think that "auditing" functions, at least on the base level, just like psychiatry or psychology? The intent of any counseling session is the modification of behavior. There's no difference. Except that in psychiatry they actually use EKGs, MRIs, and CT scans.
Another thing I don't get is that Mr. Cruise is a smart guy, but he seems to overlook the fact that Scientology looks curiously like a mixture of Mormonism, Hinduism, and Universalism with a healthy dose of good old fashioned gnosticism mixed in. Then Mr. Hubbard adds a bit of deism to make it look more legit.
One more thing I don't get is how a religion is given so much credibility when it's based on one person's sole writings and teachings with verbosity being the benchmark of truth. Can we get a second opinion from another auditor or something? I even get a second opinion when I ask if a movie is worth seeing. Maybe the reason I like the Bible so much is that it has at least 31 human authors that claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. I figure if over 3o people can come up with the same things about God something has to be right about it.
Wow, that felt better than a discharge of harmful energy...I think. I had a bad muscle spasm one time and the doctor hooked me up to a Medco Sonolator and it made my muscle twitch a lot and then I felt better. Was that like a reverse discharge of harmful energy? Did I dabble in Scientology? They didn't talk to me while they were doing it so I don't think I was "audited". I think I'm OK.
Oh well, you still have to admire Tom Cruise's passion. You have to admit he's a good actor. He's creative. He's intelligent. I also think he's misled. Just my opinion, of course. But what do Matt Lauer and I know about anything anyway?
Mr. Cruise is also passionate about the Church of Scientology. In fact, that's why he really blew up at Mr. Lauer. He went ballistic, pun intended, about his religion. I didn't get to see the interview, but when I read about it I thought it a bit unusual coming from a Hollywood type. I mean, after all, Hollywood types are passionate about a lot of things...usually weird things...but not about religion. When I read about how he went off about how the mental sciences were essentially a hoax I was taken back a bit. Don't get me wrong. If there ever was a "suck it up and tough it out" kind of person, it would be me. But, I think that we overdiagnose and overprescribe meds way too much in emotional and behavioral situations that are even slightly out of the norm. However, I don't totally dismiss drugs or therapy. If you're in the ministry (at least in the majority of ministry environments) for very long you get mentally down. More people in the ministry than want to admit it get depressed. It happened to me. While drugs and counseling aren't the only answer to chemical imbalances they sure can help. I digress...
Even though I admire Mr. Cruise's passion, I find his commitment to his religion suspect. I knew enough about Scientology to get me into trouble so I went to a source that I felt was trustworthy...a minister of Scientology that's also a chaplain in the U.S. Navy. I respect the view of a U.S. Navy chaplain primarily because my experience with Navy personnel has been one that exudes precision. Anyway, back to the suspect thing. To become a minister in the Church of Scientology you have to start out "auditing" other people. Specifically auditing is "a unique form of personal counseling intended to help an individual look at his own existence and improve their ability to confront what and where they are. It is a precise, thoroughly codified activity with exact procedures" (emphasis mine). The auditor keeps a close watch on the counselee by using an E-Meter. The E-Meter continuously measures the electrical resistance of the person's body and
helps the auditor correctly diagnose the person and make necessary adjustments in the person's treatment. The E-Meter ain't exactly an EKG. Read an interesting article on the E-Meter here. When an auditor establishes their...umm...integrity, they are given the title of minister and wear clerical clothing and everything. The genesis of my cynicism is that Mr. Cruise sounds a lot like a KJV fundie when he starts bashing the "pseudo sciences" of psychology and psychiatry and comes off as a self-professed expert on behavior modification drugs that are readily available on the street. Here's what I really don't get...Why doesn't Tom Cruise think that "auditing" functions, at least on the base level, just like psychiatry or psychology? The intent of any counseling session is the modification of behavior. There's no difference. Except that in psychiatry they actually use EKGs, MRIs, and CT scans.
Another thing I don't get is that Mr. Cruise is a smart guy, but he seems to overlook the fact that Scientology looks curiously like a mixture of Mormonism, Hinduism, and Universalism with a healthy dose of good old fashioned gnosticism mixed in. Then Mr. Hubbard adds a bit of deism to make it look more legit.
One more thing I don't get is how a religion is given so much credibility when it's based on one person's sole writings and teachings with verbosity being the benchmark of truth. Can we get a second opinion from another auditor or something? I even get a second opinion when I ask if a movie is worth seeing. Maybe the reason I like the Bible so much is that it has at least 31 human authors that claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. I figure if over 3o people can come up with the same things about God something has to be right about it.
Wow, that felt better than a discharge of harmful energy...I think. I had a bad muscle spasm one time and the doctor hooked me up to a Medco Sonolator and it made my muscle twitch a lot and then I felt better. Was that like a reverse discharge of harmful energy? Did I dabble in Scientology? They didn't talk to me while they were doing it so I don't think I was "audited". I think I'm OK.
Oh well, you still have to admire Tom Cruise's passion. You have to admit he's a good actor. He's creative. He's intelligent. I also think he's misled. Just my opinion, of course. But what do Matt Lauer and I know about anything anyway?
Thursday, June 30, 2005
the end to a short vacation
We were relatively close to the two shark attacks in the Florida Panhandle this week. The last one was closer to us than the first. After seeing this pic on the news, my daughter and I stopped our trips to the local sand bar. I was torn between the logic of the experts that said there was a 1 in 5 million chance of being attacked by a shark and my landlocked, country boy instinct that says it just doesn't make sense to swim where critters can kill you. Nonetheless, I will simply take snorkeling gear on my next trip to the beach. I really love the ocean, I'll just swim underwater where I can see what's coming.
I came home more tanned and rested but I don't feel completely rested. After three years without a vacation, I really did need to take the two weeks in a row suggested by the church elders. I probably could have been gone two consecutive Sundays, I just thought it best to be gone only one. There will be plenty of time for extended vacations later. I plan to splurge on my time off next week and play a round of golf or something. Don't get me wrong though...it was a good vacation, just a bit short.
We spent a lot of time at the pool and walking on the beach. We also took one of those three hour cruise things to Shell Island. I was dreading it for two reasons: 1) I get sea sick. 2) I would have rather been reading. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We came across a pod of 12-15 dolphins. We stopped and watched them and then they cruised along with us. They got withing five feet of the boat on our side. Much cooler than seeing them at the zoo. Shell Island was deserving of its name. Tons of sea shells. Michelle and the girls had a blast. The beach was pristine. I thought of what it might have looked like to the early explorers to see a bunch of tourist running around picking up sea shells and chasing crabs. It was a good deal. Only $12 for adults and $7 for kids. And $1.37 for motion sickness pills.
We're back home in suburbia. Our emotionally needy dog has finally settled down after a few hours. We learned our next door neighbors were evicted while we were gone. Our other neighbors decided they wanted to give us their patio furniture. I don't have to mow the grass tomorrow. Nice. It's the end to a short vacation.
I would really rather be sitting on the balcony of the condo listening to the surf instead of typing this.
Friday, June 24, 2005
looking for the supercritical
I copied this from this week's church e-letter at The Journey Church. Who knows, it may do others some good.
::
As we get closer to moving to our new location it's important that we're all on the same page and understand one of the most "critical" things about church planting: critical mass.
Critical mass: An assembly in which a chain reaction is possible is called critical, and is said to have obtained criticality. In a larger assembly, the reaction will increase at an exponential rate, and this is termed supercritical.
I'm no nuclear phyicist, but I do understand the basics of critical mass. OK, for those of you that know me really well you can stop laughing. I said I knew the basics of the principle. I also know that critical mass can be applied to church planting...or any other social context for that matter. (This isn't new information for people that run in church planting or sociology circles, so you folks can move on to the next part of your day now.) Let me put the principle of critical mass completely in a church start-up/church planting context, specifically The Journey Church context.
The social critical mass in a church setting is around 125 adults. How do I know that? Well, let's start with the Bible. When the early church was born, there were 120 adults in the upper room where they were meeting. Those 120 adults were fervently praying and asking God what they should do next. They had reached a spiritual critical mass. Spiritually "charged" believers that God was able to use. The church reached supercritical in a very short amount of time after that and the church grew exponentially.
That took place after three years of intense ministry by Jesus (God in human form). That took place after Jesus has spoken to crowds of at least 15,000. It took place after he had died and risen back to life. The supercritical happened after only 120 of the 500 that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection did what he asked and went to the upper room. (Just thinking out loud here.)
As a spiritual leader, I'm looking for the supercritical to happen. Some would say that I set my goals too high. I say that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think. I understand that we live in a different spiritual/political milieu than that of the 1st century. But the fact is, God is still who he says he is. He actually wants his Church to grow and touch lives that are sick and living in hopelessness. The big question is when will supercritical happen at The Journey? Here's some thoughts...
The first step is to reach critical with critical mass. Based on the history of the Church and some modern day examples, that means that The Journey needs to be a spiritually healthy group of around 125 adults to reach critical mass. The Journey has become a spiritually healthy church, but we only have about fifty adults right now. That means the people that attend The Journey have to invite others to see what God is doing in their lives and in the lives of their faith community, the church.
The second step is to understand the social importance of critical mass in a church plant. There is a social comfort associated with being in a large crowd. For the extrovert it means there are more people to talk to. For the introvert a large crowd means a better chance of going unnoticed. Both introverts and extroverts attend church. If a church hasn't reached critical mass, first time guests will be very uncomfortable. The reason that most church plants don't survive the first year is that they don't reach critical mass. When people invite their friends, neighbors, and co-workers they have to help them understand the social environment by telling them what to expect.
The third step is interpret critical mass to first time guests. If critical mass isn't interpreted to the first time guest they'll leave thinking, "Somethings seems wrong there" or "That whole thing seems broken." It's the church plant attenders job to preempt the perception of the broken social environment.
First of all, authentic and genuine care for the guest has to be expressed. Ask guests things about their interests, where they're from, what their occupation is and then connect them with people in the church with similar backgrounds and connect them with others quickly.
Second, you have to interpret critical mass to a first time guest depending on what "language" they speak. To the unchurched guest, it's best to describe the principle of critical mass using entrepreneurial language. Using phrases like "We're a startup church" and explaining that "you have to like ground floor kind of things" will help them better understand the social environment. For the first time guest that is churched, it's important to let them know we're an independent church plant with no "mother" church. It's also important to let them know about the critical mass thing from Acts 1. Even churched people will need to have an entrepreneurial mindset. If they're coming from a highly progammed churched, don't be surprised if they feel uncomfortable. Don't worry about it. If they're supposed to be a part of the core that God uses to reach critical mass they'll stick around.
Here's the bullet point version:
- Critical mass is critical to our church.
- Know the Biblical and social reasons for critical mass and be able to interpret it.
Let's do the critical mass thing...
Ken
::
As we get closer to moving to our new location it's important that we're all on the same page and understand one of the most "critical" things about church planting: critical mass.
Critical mass: An assembly in which a chain reaction is possible is called critical, and is said to have obtained criticality. In a larger assembly, the reaction will increase at an exponential rate, and this is termed supercritical.
I'm no nuclear phyicist, but I do understand the basics of critical mass. OK, for those of you that know me really well you can stop laughing. I said I knew the basics of the principle. I also know that critical mass can be applied to church planting...or any other social context for that matter. (This isn't new information for people that run in church planting or sociology circles, so you folks can move on to the next part of your day now.) Let me put the principle of critical mass completely in a church start-up/church planting context, specifically The Journey Church context.
The social critical mass in a church setting is around 125 adults. How do I know that? Well, let's start with the Bible. When the early church was born, there were 120 adults in the upper room where they were meeting. Those 120 adults were fervently praying and asking God what they should do next. They had reached a spiritual critical mass. Spiritually "charged" believers that God was able to use. The church reached supercritical in a very short amount of time after that and the church grew exponentially.
That took place after three years of intense ministry by Jesus (God in human form). That took place after Jesus has spoken to crowds of at least 15,000. It took place after he had died and risen back to life. The supercritical happened after only 120 of the 500 that Jesus appeared to after his resurrection did what he asked and went to the upper room. (Just thinking out loud here.)
As a spiritual leader, I'm looking for the supercritical to happen. Some would say that I set my goals too high. I say that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or think. I understand that we live in a different spiritual/political milieu than that of the 1st century. But the fact is, God is still who he says he is. He actually wants his Church to grow and touch lives that are sick and living in hopelessness. The big question is when will supercritical happen at The Journey? Here's some thoughts...
The first step is to reach critical with critical mass. Based on the history of the Church and some modern day examples, that means that The Journey needs to be a spiritually healthy group of around 125 adults to reach critical mass. The Journey has become a spiritually healthy church, but we only have about fifty adults right now. That means the people that attend The Journey have to invite others to see what God is doing in their lives and in the lives of their faith community, the church.
The second step is to understand the social importance of critical mass in a church plant. There is a social comfort associated with being in a large crowd. For the extrovert it means there are more people to talk to. For the introvert a large crowd means a better chance of going unnoticed. Both introverts and extroverts attend church. If a church hasn't reached critical mass, first time guests will be very uncomfortable. The reason that most church plants don't survive the first year is that they don't reach critical mass. When people invite their friends, neighbors, and co-workers they have to help them understand the social environment by telling them what to expect.
The third step is interpret critical mass to first time guests. If critical mass isn't interpreted to the first time guest they'll leave thinking, "Somethings seems wrong there" or "That whole thing seems broken." It's the church plant attenders job to preempt the perception of the broken social environment.
First of all, authentic and genuine care for the guest has to be expressed. Ask guests things about their interests, where they're from, what their occupation is and then connect them with people in the church with similar backgrounds and connect them with others quickly.
Second, you have to interpret critical mass to a first time guest depending on what "language" they speak. To the unchurched guest, it's best to describe the principle of critical mass using entrepreneurial language. Using phrases like "We're a startup church" and explaining that "you have to like ground floor kind of things" will help them better understand the social environment. For the first time guest that is churched, it's important to let them know we're an independent church plant with no "mother" church. It's also important to let them know about the critical mass thing from Acts 1. Even churched people will need to have an entrepreneurial mindset. If they're coming from a highly progammed churched, don't be surprised if they feel uncomfortable. Don't worry about it. If they're supposed to be a part of the core that God uses to reach critical mass they'll stick around.
Here's the bullet point version:
- Critical mass is critical to our church.
- Know the Biblical and social reasons for critical mass and be able to interpret it.
Let's do the critical mass thing...
Ken
Thursday, June 23, 2005
we are so Naamanesque
Naaman was a very successful and well placed dude that had a very ugly disease. There was a young, Spanglish sort of girl that worked for Naaman. She told him about a guy that she knew back home that she thought could cure him. It sounded like a great idea to Naaman so he went to his boss and asked for some time off. Since Naaman had an incredible track record, his boss gave him the time off and a bonus to help out with expenses.
Anyway, Naaman goes to see the guy in the foreign country. He walks up to the front door of the healer's office anticipating that he will be seen by the man himself, Elisha. Instead, Elisha sends word to Naaman that all he needs to do is go to the public bathing area (definitely not from America) and wash seven times. Naaman gets really ticked and starts walking away. He's all, "I came this far to see Elisha and he sends out his admin? I thought he would come out and personally see me and do his whole healing thing and make a big deal of curing the sick guy! Instead, he tells me to go bath in a public bathing area? For cryin' out loud, the public baths are ten times better where I'm from than they are here. Who's he kidding?" Naaman is beyond ticked now, he's in a rage.
Some of the people in his entourage catch up with him and try to talk some sense into Naaman because he's obviously lost it. One of his admins says, "Hey, think about it Naaman, you came all this way and were willing to do something extraordinary to get cured. Why aren't you willing to do something simple to get the same result?" Naaman is busted, so he goes to the public bathing area and washes seven times. On the seventh time, he is miraculously cured.
Naaman goes back to Elisha's place and Elisha meets with him this time. Naaman wants to pay Elisha for his trouble...very well. Elisha refuses payment. No biggie for Naaman. But, Naaman needs something to commemorate what just went down. Naaman asks for, and gets, some dirt to take home with him to build a memorial. After all, it was a spiritual moment for Naaman.
It was such a spiritual moment that changed the worldview of Naaman. He stopped worshipping the latest and greatest "designer" god. His life had been changed by the one true God and he made some huge adjustments in his lifestyle. He didn't throw away everything, just the stuff that got in the way of him having a relationship with God.
Why is it that when God offers a simple, mainstream, even boring solution to our predicament we often scoff at it? Why do we think we have to see a mediator when God wants to talk to us personally? Why is it that we have a problem with God when he meets our needs but not in a way that we expect or want? Why do we have such a sense of entitlement and expect that God's servants have to do things the way we want them to?
We are so Naamanesque.
Anyway, Naaman goes to see the guy in the foreign country. He walks up to the front door of the healer's office anticipating that he will be seen by the man himself, Elisha. Instead, Elisha sends word to Naaman that all he needs to do is go to the public bathing area (definitely not from America) and wash seven times. Naaman gets really ticked and starts walking away. He's all, "I came this far to see Elisha and he sends out his admin? I thought he would come out and personally see me and do his whole healing thing and make a big deal of curing the sick guy! Instead, he tells me to go bath in a public bathing area? For cryin' out loud, the public baths are ten times better where I'm from than they are here. Who's he kidding?" Naaman is beyond ticked now, he's in a rage.
Some of the people in his entourage catch up with him and try to talk some sense into Naaman because he's obviously lost it. One of his admins says, "Hey, think about it Naaman, you came all this way and were willing to do something extraordinary to get cured. Why aren't you willing to do something simple to get the same result?" Naaman is busted, so he goes to the public bathing area and washes seven times. On the seventh time, he is miraculously cured.
Naaman goes back to Elisha's place and Elisha meets with him this time. Naaman wants to pay Elisha for his trouble...very well. Elisha refuses payment. No biggie for Naaman. But, Naaman needs something to commemorate what just went down. Naaman asks for, and gets, some dirt to take home with him to build a memorial. After all, it was a spiritual moment for Naaman.
It was such a spiritual moment that changed the worldview of Naaman. He stopped worshipping the latest and greatest "designer" god. His life had been changed by the one true God and he made some huge adjustments in his lifestyle. He didn't throw away everything, just the stuff that got in the way of him having a relationship with God.
Why is it that when God offers a simple, mainstream, even boring solution to our predicament we often scoff at it? Why do we think we have to see a mediator when God wants to talk to us personally? Why is it that we have a problem with God when he meets our needs but not in a way that we expect or want? Why do we have such a sense of entitlement and expect that God's servants have to do things the way we want them to?
We are so Naamanesque.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
a rush of html to the head
The family was watching chick flicks last night so I decided I would tweak my blog. Little did I know that I would be able to make the changes I did. They were daunting, monumental changes since my html skills are like Napoleon's "numbchuck" skills.
The result is a new look and some links that have been added. I'm a minimalist but the old look was boring. Everything has been added for your viewing and surfing pleasure.
The result is a new look and some links that have been added. I'm a minimalist but the old look was boring. Everything has been added for your viewing and surfing pleasure.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
beach blanket blessing
It's been three years since our family had a real, shurnuff, vacation. Vacations in the church planting world seem few and far between for most guys. That's why church planters get discouraged. They don't know when to take a break. In their finite, but very good wisdom, the elders of The Journey decided they would make me take some time off before I get to an unhealthy state of emotion.
Thanks to a very generous family, we're headed to Panama City, FL for a week's worth of beach, pool, seafood, crab dip, watching movies, and hopefully a lot of reading. I'm talking serious down time. Our only connection with Atlanta will be our cell phones. That's right, no Internet for me for a week. I can feel the night sweats already. Since I don't own a laptop right now, I'll get whatever information necessary to life via the TV. GASP...reverting to something as arcane as the TV for information. Whatever will I do? I'm so spoiled.
As The Journey gets closer to the most critical time in it's short history, it's important that I stay spiritually focused and come back with a lot of leadership energy. So, just in case the four people that read my blog care, here's the books I'm taking with me to help me to do just that...
While we're out of town our home will be guarded by our trained attack dog. Let the reader feel the fear inherent with the name "Patches".
Thanks to a very generous family, we're headed to Panama City, FL for a week's worth of beach, pool, seafood, crab dip, watching movies, and hopefully a lot of reading. I'm talking serious down time. Our only connection with Atlanta will be our cell phones. That's right, no Internet for me for a week. I can feel the night sweats already. Since I don't own a laptop right now, I'll get whatever information necessary to life via the TV. GASP...reverting to something as arcane as the TV for information. Whatever will I do? I'm so spoiled.
As The Journey gets closer to the most critical time in it's short history, it's important that I stay spiritually focused and come back with a lot of leadership energy. So, just in case the four people that read my blog care, here's the books I'm taking with me to help me to do just that...
While we're out of town our home will be guarded by our trained attack dog. Let the reader feel the fear inherent with the name "Patches".
Friday, June 17, 2005
www.suejennifer.com
Brilliant. Really. Filing a class action lawsuit to keep The Runaway Bride, Jennifer Wilbanks, and her fiance' John Mason from making money on her really stupid and uncalled-for midnight ride to Albuquerque is a brilliant idea. It ticked Q100 "Bert Show" producer and co-host Jeff Dauler off so much that he decided to file the suit and set up the website. Is it a promotional gag? Probably, but I don't care.
The more I see her in the media, the more infuriated I get. To make things worse, the media dives in like a harpy eagle for the kill...killing in the ratings I mean. OK, now I'm really ticked at Katie Couric. Why doesn't Katie Couric interview some single mother in Atlanta that's working two jobs to feed her kids and pay childcare but decides not to run from her problems but works like crazy to do the right thing? Why doesn't Ms. Couric interview an intern at an Atlanta hospital that's been working 36 straight hours for all of the right reasons and has a lot of other reasons to give up the hell they're going through for the sake of serving humanity? Geez, when I'm mad I write really long sentences, huh? Anyway, props to Jeff Dauler and anyone who recoups their money from the lawsuit.
I have a better idea. I'll go talk to Jennifer Wilbanks and ask her to join The Journey Church. She'll say, "Sure, I'll make sure I invite my friends and family. It'll be a great day and I can support your church plant with all of the money I'm making from my little trip to New Mexico." I say, "Gee, thanks." Then I take off with my wife and kids to Panama City and say I can't take the stress of having a celebrity as a church member. As a result of my (our) stress, my entire family gets henna tattoos while in Panama City. Upon our return to Atlanta, we're confronted by angry, legalistic religious people that demand that we remove our tattoos. We, in turn, see the error of our way, seek counseling and cover up the stain of our sins with tube socks. Heraldo Rivera gets wind of it, jets to Atlanta, and scoops the story of our stress induced flight to Panama City. I get a book deal and make a zillion dollars by selling an insane amount of copies my book Coping With Celebrity Wannabees: My Flight to the Redneck Riviera and Subsequent Struggle With Tube Socks.
Hey, my story is just as believable as Jennifer Wilbanks. Think I have a chance?
The more I see her in the media, the more infuriated I get. To make things worse, the media dives in like a harpy eagle for the kill...killing in the ratings I mean. OK, now I'm really ticked at Katie Couric. Why doesn't Katie Couric interview some single mother in Atlanta that's working two jobs to feed her kids and pay childcare but decides not to run from her problems but works like crazy to do the right thing? Why doesn't Ms. Couric interview an intern at an Atlanta hospital that's been working 36 straight hours for all of the right reasons and has a lot of other reasons to give up the hell they're going through for the sake of serving humanity? Geez, when I'm mad I write really long sentences, huh? Anyway, props to Jeff Dauler and anyone who recoups their money from the lawsuit.
I have a better idea. I'll go talk to Jennifer Wilbanks and ask her to join The Journey Church. She'll say, "Sure, I'll make sure I invite my friends and family. It'll be a great day and I can support your church plant with all of the money I'm making from my little trip to New Mexico." I say, "Gee, thanks." Then I take off with my wife and kids to Panama City and say I can't take the stress of having a celebrity as a church member. As a result of my (our) stress, my entire family gets henna tattoos while in Panama City. Upon our return to Atlanta, we're confronted by angry, legalistic religious people that demand that we remove our tattoos. We, in turn, see the error of our way, seek counseling and cover up the stain of our sins with tube socks. Heraldo Rivera gets wind of it, jets to Atlanta, and scoops the story of our stress induced flight to Panama City. I get a book deal and make a zillion dollars by selling an insane amount of copies my book Coping With Celebrity Wannabees: My Flight to the Redneck Riviera and Subsequent Struggle With Tube Socks.
Hey, my story is just as believable as Jennifer Wilbanks. Think I have a chance?
observations from visiting another church
My youngest daughter has been going to Vacation Bible School at a nearby "contemporary" Baptist church. Here are some random observations:
- The meaning of the word "contemporary" varies widely from church to church. For us it means modern rock music and no vestiges of anything aesthetically related to traditional church. For others, "contemporary" means updating your look in some areas and still functioning like the majority of most other churches.
- Some churches don't care if you come there or not. Nobody greeted me or spoke to me when I dropped off my daughter. Nobody. Not the people sitting at the reception desk. Not even the lady that showed my daughter where her grade level was sitting when I asked her where my daughter was supposed to go. There was no, "Nice to see you." No, "How did you find out about us?" No, "Would you like information about the church?" Nothing.
- "Contemporary" doesn't mean high energy to some churches. There wasn't any level of perceived energy that is normally associated with a large gathering of school age children. I'm all for keeping things under control, but there was no walk-in or ambience music, no video playing or anything that set the tone for the day. Boring.
- I miss the pledge to the Bible even though I think it's a bad adoption of culture by the traditional church.
- Volunteers are the backbone of the church.
- I thank God for The Journey Church.
A closing question: What can a church do to be waiting for culture instead of always trying to catch up to culture in being relevant?
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
must read...
If you've ever wondered why I say the things I say and took the leap into the world of church planting, read this article. It's long...really long, but well worth the read. Let me rephrase that...this article is a must read for churched people.
Thanks to my bud Marty Duren for sniffing this one out.
Thanks to my bud Marty Duren for sniffing this one out.
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