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Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Church Planting in the Christian Chronicle
Church Planting in the Christian Chronicle. I tried to link this page, but it kept not working. So, at the end of this post is the full article.
Also, this is why we need to plant new churches and not just wait for the existing church to change.
In other words:
1. It takes longer for an ocean liner to do a 180 than it does to hop in a speed boat and zip around.
2. You don't just change DNA.
3. You can't grow a forest by making one tree really big.
Folks, we need to fund these church planting efforts. The Southwest Church is giving $1,000,000 to church planting. That is great, a really great drop in the bucket. Let's belly up to the bar and find a way to support church planting.
OR
Maybe you are a church planter at heart. Could it be this is your thing to do. But, maybe you are someone who is not a church planter but desires to participate in a church plant. You might join a recent church plant and be some energy for them. "I'm not an evangelist," you might say. Fine, be something else in that church. Support them with your time and money and confidence and faith and prayer and presence and so forth. Be you in a new and exciting arena.
ARTICLE
Kairos, Mission Alive, Focus Northeast : Church plants boom
By Lindy AdamsSenior Associate EditorJanuary 19, 2005
The Christian Chronicle - The names are varied — Kairos, Mission Alive and Focus Northeast — but all point to a passionate belief. That tenet is simple — the church must grow or it will die — losing its chance to spread the good news of Jesus.
The ministries’ philosophies are varied, but all aim to reach America’s unchurched.
In recent years, mission groups in churches of Christ, such as Continent of Great Cities and Eastern European Mission, have emphasized international work, driven by church members’ experiences in World War II.
Perhaps more than any time in recent years, mission leaders are looking homeward. Three ministries are giving momentum to a growing interest nationwide in church planting.
Stan Granberg is the executive director of Kairos, founded in 2004. Kairos, which means “the right time,” will target the Northwest United States with specific, timed objectives.
By 2016 Kairos plans to be ready to send out 12 “church multiplication teams” each year, Granberg said. The ministry will help mature congregations plant sister churches.
In late November, the Southwest church, Jonesboro, Ark., dedicated $1 million of a capital campaign to Kairos, future church plants, and the support of Granberg and his wife, Gena.
Gailyn Van Rheenen, with his wife, Becky, began Mission Alive, based in Dallas, in early 2004. Van Rheenen describes his ministry’s model as one that “incarnates God’s eternal gospel within local cultural contexts.”
They will view their work as a cross-cultural ministry, drawing on their long-time African mission experience.Three families were accepted as church planters in October.
Focus Northeast, the oldest of the three, began in the mid-1990s under Sunset International Bible Institute (SIBI). It is directed by Charles Cook, with his wife, Tamara.
Church planters, including SIBI students, have posted significant progress as they plant “reproductive” churches “in every major population center” in the Northeast, Cook said.
Also, this is why we need to plant new churches and not just wait for the existing church to change.
In other words:
1. It takes longer for an ocean liner to do a 180 than it does to hop in a speed boat and zip around.
2. You don't just change DNA.
3. You can't grow a forest by making one tree really big.
Folks, we need to fund these church planting efforts. The Southwest Church is giving $1,000,000 to church planting. That is great, a really great drop in the bucket. Let's belly up to the bar and find a way to support church planting.
OR
Maybe you are a church planter at heart. Could it be this is your thing to do. But, maybe you are someone who is not a church planter but desires to participate in a church plant. You might join a recent church plant and be some energy for them. "I'm not an evangelist," you might say. Fine, be something else in that church. Support them with your time and money and confidence and faith and prayer and presence and so forth. Be you in a new and exciting arena.
ARTICLE
Kairos, Mission Alive, Focus Northeast : Church plants boom
By Lindy AdamsSenior Associate EditorJanuary 19, 2005
The Christian Chronicle - The names are varied — Kairos, Mission Alive and Focus Northeast — but all point to a passionate belief. That tenet is simple — the church must grow or it will die — losing its chance to spread the good news of Jesus.
The ministries’ philosophies are varied, but all aim to reach America’s unchurched.
In recent years, mission groups in churches of Christ, such as Continent of Great Cities and Eastern European Mission, have emphasized international work, driven by church members’ experiences in World War II.
Perhaps more than any time in recent years, mission leaders are looking homeward. Three ministries are giving momentum to a growing interest nationwide in church planting.
Stan Granberg is the executive director of Kairos, founded in 2004. Kairos, which means “the right time,” will target the Northwest United States with specific, timed objectives.
By 2016 Kairos plans to be ready to send out 12 “church multiplication teams” each year, Granberg said. The ministry will help mature congregations plant sister churches.
In late November, the Southwest church, Jonesboro, Ark., dedicated $1 million of a capital campaign to Kairos, future church plants, and the support of Granberg and his wife, Gena.
Gailyn Van Rheenen, with his wife, Becky, began Mission Alive, based in Dallas, in early 2004. Van Rheenen describes his ministry’s model as one that “incarnates God’s eternal gospel within local cultural contexts.”
They will view their work as a cross-cultural ministry, drawing on their long-time African mission experience.Three families were accepted as church planters in October.
Focus Northeast, the oldest of the three, began in the mid-1990s under Sunset International Bible Institute (SIBI). It is directed by Charles Cook, with his wife, Tamara.
Church planters, including SIBI students, have posted significant progress as they plant “reproductive” churches “in every major population center” in the Northeast, Cook said.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Post-Restoration Hope #9: Guns, lots of guns
In the movie "The Matrix," Neo is asked what he'll need when he enters the matrix. His answer? "Guns, lots of guns." It is his way of saying that change is resisted and powerful tools need to be accessed in order to effect that change.
How will RM people effect change in the postmodern world? "Churches, lots of churches."
Peter Wagner, church growth expert, has said that church planting is the single most effective church growth strategy, bar none. He wasn’t just popping off or pushing an agenda. He was making an observation.
There are many challenges to church planting for Churches of Christ and RM churches:
Member Fear: Members frequently fear that church planting is the same as a church split. This is probably because so many members have either experienced or almost experienced a church split. Furthermore, so much of the historical proliferation of Churches of Christ has been the result of a church split. So, church planting is automatically connected with church pain, unhealthy church life, or disgruntled members trying to force their way. Most members of a RM church have never seen a healthy church plant and at the same time have seen unhealthy church splits, so the barriers in the category of member fear to healthy church planting are legion.
Leadership Fear: Although most ministers and elders would not say that attendance and contribution are the primary marks of a healthy church, the concept of church planting threatens both their attendance and contribution, and that is enough for resistance to be their first reaction. Initial questions that show up include: “What’s wrong with what we are doing here?” “Why drain off our most talented members?” “How will we meet our budget?” Rarely is their first response something like: “We’ve been praying for church planters to develop in our congregation,” “How can we help make your church planting vision come true?” “Let’s explore the real possibilities of forming a team, training the team and making this thing have the greatest chances for succeeding.” When church planting is done right, it is nothing to get be offended about. Rather, it is the sign that something special is happening in that body of believers. It should come as great news. How many churches can we plant? That’s the question.
Past Church Planting Failures: Old church planting models used by RM churches have proven to have a high failure rate. Many of the RM church plants outside the Bible Belt have sought to reproduce a Southern rural version of church, which once had a terrific attraction in Southern rural locations, but have never had much success anywhere else. Although Churches of Christ exist in almost every county in the United States, most are not only small (nothing wrong with small), but cloistered, huddled, and circling the wagons against the evil culture that is closing in on it. Church planting efforts I experienced as a child in the North included a church planter, a campaign group from the supporting congregation, and an initial push. They would enter a new place one week and set up the church the next. After the church had attracted a few solid and committed members, the church planter would leave to plant a new church, leaving behind a young Southern preacher from a conservative preaching school from the South. This is not the only model used, but it is a common one. It is not a terrible model. At the same time, it was not a terrifically effective model.
Bigger Is Better?: Larger and medium sized churches of Christ and RM churches have often swallowed whole the mega-church model of church growth. With juggernauts like Willow Creek and Saddleback, it is easy to believe that this is the wave of the future. Though it is tempting to view larger churches as successful churches, there are significant problems with the “bigger is better” approach. Lynn Anderson cautions that much of the growth large churches are experiencing is really the result of the consolidation of failures. Smaller churches who are dying lose members to larger churches who feel vibrant and dynamic. A minister friend of mine in a large Church of Christ stated it this way: “We’re the cream of the crap.” Most church of Christ and RM people fail to realize that there is no mega-church model in the Bible, but even more importantly, the most significant church movements globally are small group and house church based models, which can be small or large.
Church planting is for people with theology degrees and proper training: Well, yes and no. Church planting is a gift you are born with as much or even more than it is something you learn how to do. However, people with a natural gifting toward church planting who are not trained to do it, but believe that training is required are automatically given barriers to their calling (if I may use that word) that are unnecessary. Planting a small house church or simple church does not require a theology degree. It didn’t in the new testament and it does not now. Some on the job training or some targeted training will serve them well.
The good news is that Churches of Christ and RM folks in general are finally catching on to the vision of church planting. The RM is actually on the very front end of what I believe will be a very successful and meaningful church planting movement over the next fifty years (hopefully longer). I want to share with you three RM church planting movements in their early stages.
Stadia: This group started in the Independent Christian Churches a few years ago. They are the oldest of the three groups I’ll discuss. They have created a system for church planting that is more thoughtful and research-based than previous efforts. Currently they boast a church plant success rate of over 80%, almost a complete reversal from previous church planting efforts. What Stadia does well is to plant churches in growing suburban areas that are mostly white in the South and the West. Although they are not likely to be mosaic in nature, at least they know what they are good at and stay within those parameters. Stadia is located in Vacaville, California. They are planting a bunch of churches.
Mission Alive: Headed by former missionary to Africa and Abilene Christian University missiology professor, Gailyn VanRheenen, Mission Alive has adopted Stadia’s church planter identification and equipping processes. Mission Alive is a Church of Christ church planting movement. It is theologically thoughtful and open to new ways of doing Churches of Christ. Mission Alive is headquartered in Carrollton, Texas. Dr. VanRheenen also hosts a website called, missiology.org.
Kairos: Also headed by a former missionary and college professor at Cascade College, Stan Granberg, Kairos has adopted the Stadia model. Still in its infancy, Kairos has big dreams about church planting. Kairos is also a Church of Christ church planting movement. It is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
These movements are reason for optimism in the RM. It will be the means by which the RM does not become Amishized or almost completely die out over the next 100 years. But, these movements are not going to be sufficient for the postmodern culture. Although many of these churches will be able to be culturally relevant and countercultural, with their heritage, they will be limited to what is acceptable and therefore struggle to connect to art and music crowd. That is unless they make an emergence from their heritage, which is most certainly possible.
Other places to look for church planting are the Simple Church Movement and Emergent. The Simple Church Movement encourages people to plant house churches and to keep church as simple as possible. They are quite restorationist in nature so far as church structure is concerned. Emergent is a movement that is on the cutting edge of culture (although they would not say they are at the stage of being a movement yet) as they seek intentionally to follow God in the way of Jesus. If emergent can keep to the spirit of its cause (conversation), then emergent will not just become another denomination, but rather will support the planting of experimental churches, which could evolve into anything. Kind of exciting.
Anyway, church planting is necessary in the post-restoration era, and it's not just for those people over there. I am about to overstate something, but it needs to be overstated. A healthy church is a church planting church.
How will RM people effect change in the postmodern world? "Churches, lots of churches."
Peter Wagner, church growth expert, has said that church planting is the single most effective church growth strategy, bar none. He wasn’t just popping off or pushing an agenda. He was making an observation.
There are many challenges to church planting for Churches of Christ and RM churches:
Member Fear: Members frequently fear that church planting is the same as a church split. This is probably because so many members have either experienced or almost experienced a church split. Furthermore, so much of the historical proliferation of Churches of Christ has been the result of a church split. So, church planting is automatically connected with church pain, unhealthy church life, or disgruntled members trying to force their way. Most members of a RM church have never seen a healthy church plant and at the same time have seen unhealthy church splits, so the barriers in the category of member fear to healthy church planting are legion.
Leadership Fear: Although most ministers and elders would not say that attendance and contribution are the primary marks of a healthy church, the concept of church planting threatens both their attendance and contribution, and that is enough for resistance to be their first reaction. Initial questions that show up include: “What’s wrong with what we are doing here?” “Why drain off our most talented members?” “How will we meet our budget?” Rarely is their first response something like: “We’ve been praying for church planters to develop in our congregation,” “How can we help make your church planting vision come true?” “Let’s explore the real possibilities of forming a team, training the team and making this thing have the greatest chances for succeeding.” When church planting is done right, it is nothing to get be offended about. Rather, it is the sign that something special is happening in that body of believers. It should come as great news. How many churches can we plant? That’s the question.
Past Church Planting Failures: Old church planting models used by RM churches have proven to have a high failure rate. Many of the RM church plants outside the Bible Belt have sought to reproduce a Southern rural version of church, which once had a terrific attraction in Southern rural locations, but have never had much success anywhere else. Although Churches of Christ exist in almost every county in the United States, most are not only small (nothing wrong with small), but cloistered, huddled, and circling the wagons against the evil culture that is closing in on it. Church planting efforts I experienced as a child in the North included a church planter, a campaign group from the supporting congregation, and an initial push. They would enter a new place one week and set up the church the next. After the church had attracted a few solid and committed members, the church planter would leave to plant a new church, leaving behind a young Southern preacher from a conservative preaching school from the South. This is not the only model used, but it is a common one. It is not a terrible model. At the same time, it was not a terrifically effective model.
Bigger Is Better?: Larger and medium sized churches of Christ and RM churches have often swallowed whole the mega-church model of church growth. With juggernauts like Willow Creek and Saddleback, it is easy to believe that this is the wave of the future. Though it is tempting to view larger churches as successful churches, there are significant problems with the “bigger is better” approach. Lynn Anderson cautions that much of the growth large churches are experiencing is really the result of the consolidation of failures. Smaller churches who are dying lose members to larger churches who feel vibrant and dynamic. A minister friend of mine in a large Church of Christ stated it this way: “We’re the cream of the crap.” Most church of Christ and RM people fail to realize that there is no mega-church model in the Bible, but even more importantly, the most significant church movements globally are small group and house church based models, which can be small or large.
Church planting is for people with theology degrees and proper training: Well, yes and no. Church planting is a gift you are born with as much or even more than it is something you learn how to do. However, people with a natural gifting toward church planting who are not trained to do it, but believe that training is required are automatically given barriers to their calling (if I may use that word) that are unnecessary. Planting a small house church or simple church does not require a theology degree. It didn’t in the new testament and it does not now. Some on the job training or some targeted training will serve them well.
The good news is that Churches of Christ and RM folks in general are finally catching on to the vision of church planting. The RM is actually on the very front end of what I believe will be a very successful and meaningful church planting movement over the next fifty years (hopefully longer). I want to share with you three RM church planting movements in their early stages.
Stadia: This group started in the Independent Christian Churches a few years ago. They are the oldest of the three groups I’ll discuss. They have created a system for church planting that is more thoughtful and research-based than previous efforts. Currently they boast a church plant success rate of over 80%, almost a complete reversal from previous church planting efforts. What Stadia does well is to plant churches in growing suburban areas that are mostly white in the South and the West. Although they are not likely to be mosaic in nature, at least they know what they are good at and stay within those parameters. Stadia is located in Vacaville, California. They are planting a bunch of churches.
Mission Alive: Headed by former missionary to Africa and Abilene Christian University missiology professor, Gailyn VanRheenen, Mission Alive has adopted Stadia’s church planter identification and equipping processes. Mission Alive is a Church of Christ church planting movement. It is theologically thoughtful and open to new ways of doing Churches of Christ. Mission Alive is headquartered in Carrollton, Texas. Dr. VanRheenen also hosts a website called, missiology.org.
Kairos: Also headed by a former missionary and college professor at Cascade College, Stan Granberg, Kairos has adopted the Stadia model. Still in its infancy, Kairos has big dreams about church planting. Kairos is also a Church of Christ church planting movement. It is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
These movements are reason for optimism in the RM. It will be the means by which the RM does not become Amishized or almost completely die out over the next 100 years. But, these movements are not going to be sufficient for the postmodern culture. Although many of these churches will be able to be culturally relevant and countercultural, with their heritage, they will be limited to what is acceptable and therefore struggle to connect to art and music crowd. That is unless they make an emergence from their heritage, which is most certainly possible.
Other places to look for church planting are the Simple Church Movement and Emergent. The Simple Church Movement encourages people to plant house churches and to keep church as simple as possible. They are quite restorationist in nature so far as church structure is concerned. Emergent is a movement that is on the cutting edge of culture (although they would not say they are at the stage of being a movement yet) as they seek intentionally to follow God in the way of Jesus. If emergent can keep to the spirit of its cause (conversation), then emergent will not just become another denomination, but rather will support the planting of experimental churches, which could evolve into anything. Kind of exciting.
Anyway, church planting is necessary in the post-restoration era, and it's not just for those people over there. I am about to overstate something, but it needs to be overstated. A healthy church is a church planting church.
Blogging Myself to Sleep
It was the pizza. I know it was the pizza. It is one minute til 3:00 AM as I begin this post, and that blast pizza just keeps me up.
But then again, it may be my thoughts. When the world orbits me and my wants and desires, when the world exists to please me and make my life comfy, when the purpose of the unviverse is to make sure I am OK, things seem to plug along pretty well.
I don't get too many of those times. And, the fact that I want those times to be frequent is a sure give away that I am narcissistic and have no respect for God and how this universe is meant to run. It's not about me. Yeah, got it. I more so want to "get it" when my challenges arise, when my doubts make everything foggy, when should be's fly away.
I guess faith gets some growing pains in the crucible of doubt. It's a paradox. It gets pretty hot in that crucible. Kind of makes you want to jump out. However, jump out to what? It takes more faith to jump out of the heat than it does to stay in, or it takes more stupidity. The only difference between faith and stupidity is the angle you're looking at it. Even Chrstian faith is this way. There are plenty of angles to look at a Christian faith that obscure God. Honestly, if there is no God, Christians are really silly to do some of the things they do. OK, let's get really honest. Because there is a God, some of the things Christians do are really stupid.
I digress, and I'm really just killing time trying to get tired. I've never blogged myself to sleep, but I figured it was worth a shot.
OK, I watched the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," the other day. It is one of those profound Jim Carey movies. No weird facial contortions and no body function humor. It was a great movie. Very postmodern. In short, technology cannot trump the human spirit. Will blog more on this later as it relates tot he emerging church.
Also more coming attractions to a blogland near you, "The Gospel Accordgint to Ty," and more "Post-Restoration Hope."
To further randomize this post, I just finished reading, "The Gospel According to Tony Soprano," by Chris Seay, who is the pastor of Ekklesia, a funky new kind of church in Houston. It was pretty good. What was interesting was that it took the abject moral poverty of the HBO hit show and sucked out the tension between good and evil from it. There are many quotes from the show in the book and they are loaded with profanity. So, don't read this book if you have an aversion to seeing 4 letter words in type. However, if you are a Sopranos fan, you'd love the book. I have never seen the show myself and, to be honest, the only reason I bought the book is because it put me over the $25 minimum order on Amazon for free shipping. So, I could have paid shipping for my two other books or get this book as well and paid no shipping. There you go. It's a quick read (150 pages) and does provide some spiritual insight. My dad loves the show and could use of dose of gospel. I'll probably send it to him or just buy him a copy of the book.
Crap, I'm still not tired. Blogging myself to sleep is not working. I'm going to do it the old fashioned way and get a book to read.
But then again, it may be my thoughts. When the world orbits me and my wants and desires, when the world exists to please me and make my life comfy, when the purpose of the unviverse is to make sure I am OK, things seem to plug along pretty well.
I don't get too many of those times. And, the fact that I want those times to be frequent is a sure give away that I am narcissistic and have no respect for God and how this universe is meant to run. It's not about me. Yeah, got it. I more so want to "get it" when my challenges arise, when my doubts make everything foggy, when should be's fly away.
I guess faith gets some growing pains in the crucible of doubt. It's a paradox. It gets pretty hot in that crucible. Kind of makes you want to jump out. However, jump out to what? It takes more faith to jump out of the heat than it does to stay in, or it takes more stupidity. The only difference between faith and stupidity is the angle you're looking at it. Even Chrstian faith is this way. There are plenty of angles to look at a Christian faith that obscure God. Honestly, if there is no God, Christians are really silly to do some of the things they do. OK, let's get really honest. Because there is a God, some of the things Christians do are really stupid.
I digress, and I'm really just killing time trying to get tired. I've never blogged myself to sleep, but I figured it was worth a shot.
OK, I watched the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," the other day. It is one of those profound Jim Carey movies. No weird facial contortions and no body function humor. It was a great movie. Very postmodern. In short, technology cannot trump the human spirit. Will blog more on this later as it relates tot he emerging church.
Also more coming attractions to a blogland near you, "The Gospel Accordgint to Ty," and more "Post-Restoration Hope."
To further randomize this post, I just finished reading, "The Gospel According to Tony Soprano," by Chris Seay, who is the pastor of Ekklesia, a funky new kind of church in Houston. It was pretty good. What was interesting was that it took the abject moral poverty of the HBO hit show and sucked out the tension between good and evil from it. There are many quotes from the show in the book and they are loaded with profanity. So, don't read this book if you have an aversion to seeing 4 letter words in type. However, if you are a Sopranos fan, you'd love the book. I have never seen the show myself and, to be honest, the only reason I bought the book is because it put me over the $25 minimum order on Amazon for free shipping. So, I could have paid shipping for my two other books or get this book as well and paid no shipping. There you go. It's a quick read (150 pages) and does provide some spiritual insight. My dad loves the show and could use of dose of gospel. I'll probably send it to him or just buy him a copy of the book.
Crap, I'm still not tired. Blogging myself to sleep is not working. I'm going to do it the old fashioned way and get a book to read.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Post-Restoration Hope #8: The Religions of Good and Right
Once upon a time, Good was sitting with Lonely at the local coffee bar. Good spent over ten dollars for the two overly sweet and overly caffeinated coffees and a couple biscottis. They talked about how life is hard. Lonely was grateful because this kind of honest conversation was rare. Good was grateful to be considered adequate company. Although life is hard, the conversation was a break from the harshness of it all. When their conversation ended, Good asked Lonely if they could meet again next week. Lonely agreed, leaving Lonely something to look forward to.
Meanwhile, Right counted out, to the penny, the tithe for next Sunday’s contribution. It had to be precisely ten percent. Taking the time count it out twice was worth it since a mistake was not acceptable. This week precision was particularly important since Right was to speak at the communion table on giving. It would be dishonest to speak of the need of the tithe without being able to, in all humility of course, confess to the congregation that tithing was indeed what Right was doing and had been doing all along.
Good used to do church three times a week, but abandoned the Wednesday and Sunday evening portion of the regime to free up time to develop relationships. Good took a walk with Depressed. Depressed had a slough of troubles that Good had no idea what to do with, but somehow just listening to them helped Depressed. As their friendship took over the weeks, the problems Depressed had got worse, but Good introduced Depressed to Hope and things seemed to get a little better. Now the three of them meet together weekly.
Right, being ever so diligent, not only did the table talk on Sunday, but taught class on Wednesday night as well. Right taught about how people need to trust God in everything. People who doubt merely lack the faith in God to whoosh away their doubts. “Yes,” Right said, “people will have doubts, but those people just need to be encouraged with the truth. God is in control of everything. Everyone knows this, but people sometimes are too weak to really believe it.” People in the class gave their appropriate nods of affirmation, but Distressed had some secret self-doubt. God didn’t seem to be in control of everything. Distressed determined it was a faith issue that needed to be resolved. So, Distressed asked Right about it after class. Right prayed over Distressed that God would wipe out doubt. Right used some big words that Distressed did not understand, which gave Distressed another opportunity to feel inferior. Distressed drove home with three rowdy kids in tow to an apartment in a dangerous neighborhood. Rent was due in a week, but the money was already spent. Distressed parented alone.
Good and Right met Sunday after worship service for lunch. Right asked Good about Wednesday evening’s absence. Good told Right all about Depressed and their conversation. Good talked about how exciting it was to watch Depressed meet Hope and the relationship they are starting to develop. Right was not impressed and wanted to know why Depressed was not invited to church. Good tried to explain that Hope was a church member and since people are the church, that actually Depressed did experience Church. Right was disappointed in Hope as well as Good and is exactly not fond of the word experience since it conjures of relativistic theologies which are contrary to the pure orthodoxy of the ages.
“Why do you put so much stock in your experience?” asked Right while cutting through a steak.
“Which would you choose to have taken from you, your words or your actions?” asked Good.
“Your theoretical questions are meaningless. More relativistic drivel,” responded Right as he brought his fork full of steak to his mouth.
Good grabbed Right’s wrist, his bite of steak inches from his watering mouth, “Would you rather eat this bite or have me tell you what it tastes like?”
Right resisted Good’s hand for a few seconds, but then relented allowing the fork to rest on the plate. Right laughed with mouth closed - a little nervous, a little embarrassed. “You’re the Pied Piper, and many will follow you. It saddens me to see how little substance you have, yet how many will believe it to be weighty.”
“You almost sound interested in what I have,” said Good playfully.
“Are you threatening me with inclusion?”
“Is that so bad?”
“I can’t believe you would ever think I would be like you,” said Right sternly.
“I’m not so sure you can help it.”
“Do you not drive people mad with your banter?”
“Goodness does not create madness; it reveals it.”
“Enough of this! How am I supposed to enjoy this steak with you meddling with my mind?”
“Why eat the steak? Don’t you know enough about it without the experience?”
“Check please,” Right said waving down the Service.
“Too late, I already took care of the check,” said Good
“No, I can’t let you buy my steak,”
“I don’t think you have a choice. It’s already paid for and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Service comes to the table and tries to explain to Right that the bill is paid in full. Right insists on paying anyway. Service, caught in a bind, refuses to take Right’s money. Right becomes angry and attempts to stuff a wad of money in the Service’s shirt pocket. Service, now insulted, moves out of the way and lets the money fall to the floor.
“There, I’ve paid my bill,” said Right.
“What’s the matter with you, dude, the bill is paid. You’re kind of freaking me out.” Service said, now kind of afraid of Right.
By now Right has made such a scene that everyone in the restaurant was taking a look to see what was all the commotion. Right looked around, trying to be invisible. He stood there, money at his feet, a spotlight lit him up.
“Come on,” said Good reaching out with his hand trying to save Right, “let’s get out of here.”
Right brushed Good’s hand away and ordered Good to leave. Good left Right Alone.
Meanwhile, Right counted out, to the penny, the tithe for next Sunday’s contribution. It had to be precisely ten percent. Taking the time count it out twice was worth it since a mistake was not acceptable. This week precision was particularly important since Right was to speak at the communion table on giving. It would be dishonest to speak of the need of the tithe without being able to, in all humility of course, confess to the congregation that tithing was indeed what Right was doing and had been doing all along.
Good used to do church three times a week, but abandoned the Wednesday and Sunday evening portion of the regime to free up time to develop relationships. Good took a walk with Depressed. Depressed had a slough of troubles that Good had no idea what to do with, but somehow just listening to them helped Depressed. As their friendship took over the weeks, the problems Depressed had got worse, but Good introduced Depressed to Hope and things seemed to get a little better. Now the three of them meet together weekly.
Right, being ever so diligent, not only did the table talk on Sunday, but taught class on Wednesday night as well. Right taught about how people need to trust God in everything. People who doubt merely lack the faith in God to whoosh away their doubts. “Yes,” Right said, “people will have doubts, but those people just need to be encouraged with the truth. God is in control of everything. Everyone knows this, but people sometimes are too weak to really believe it.” People in the class gave their appropriate nods of affirmation, but Distressed had some secret self-doubt. God didn’t seem to be in control of everything. Distressed determined it was a faith issue that needed to be resolved. So, Distressed asked Right about it after class. Right prayed over Distressed that God would wipe out doubt. Right used some big words that Distressed did not understand, which gave Distressed another opportunity to feel inferior. Distressed drove home with three rowdy kids in tow to an apartment in a dangerous neighborhood. Rent was due in a week, but the money was already spent. Distressed parented alone.
Good and Right met Sunday after worship service for lunch. Right asked Good about Wednesday evening’s absence. Good told Right all about Depressed and their conversation. Good talked about how exciting it was to watch Depressed meet Hope and the relationship they are starting to develop. Right was not impressed and wanted to know why Depressed was not invited to church. Good tried to explain that Hope was a church member and since people are the church, that actually Depressed did experience Church. Right was disappointed in Hope as well as Good and is exactly not fond of the word experience since it conjures of relativistic theologies which are contrary to the pure orthodoxy of the ages.
“Why do you put so much stock in your experience?” asked Right while cutting through a steak.
“Which would you choose to have taken from you, your words or your actions?” asked Good.
“Your theoretical questions are meaningless. More relativistic drivel,” responded Right as he brought his fork full of steak to his mouth.
Good grabbed Right’s wrist, his bite of steak inches from his watering mouth, “Would you rather eat this bite or have me tell you what it tastes like?”
Right resisted Good’s hand for a few seconds, but then relented allowing the fork to rest on the plate. Right laughed with mouth closed - a little nervous, a little embarrassed. “You’re the Pied Piper, and many will follow you. It saddens me to see how little substance you have, yet how many will believe it to be weighty.”
“You almost sound interested in what I have,” said Good playfully.
“Are you threatening me with inclusion?”
“Is that so bad?”
“I can’t believe you would ever think I would be like you,” said Right sternly.
“I’m not so sure you can help it.”
“Do you not drive people mad with your banter?”
“Goodness does not create madness; it reveals it.”
“Enough of this! How am I supposed to enjoy this steak with you meddling with my mind?”
“Why eat the steak? Don’t you know enough about it without the experience?”
“Check please,” Right said waving down the Service.
“Too late, I already took care of the check,” said Good
“No, I can’t let you buy my steak,”
“I don’t think you have a choice. It’s already paid for and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Service comes to the table and tries to explain to Right that the bill is paid in full. Right insists on paying anyway. Service, caught in a bind, refuses to take Right’s money. Right becomes angry and attempts to stuff a wad of money in the Service’s shirt pocket. Service, now insulted, moves out of the way and lets the money fall to the floor.
“There, I’ve paid my bill,” said Right.
“What’s the matter with you, dude, the bill is paid. You’re kind of freaking me out.” Service said, now kind of afraid of Right.
By now Right has made such a scene that everyone in the restaurant was taking a look to see what was all the commotion. Right looked around, trying to be invisible. He stood there, money at his feet, a spotlight lit him up.
“Come on,” said Good reaching out with his hand trying to save Right, “let’s get out of here.”
Right brushed Good’s hand away and ordered Good to leave. Good left Right Alone.
Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Emergent People
Brian McLaren responds to an article by Christianity Today called, Emergent Mystique. Read his annotation of the article here.
The author of the article questioned whether emergent was a movement or not. "Only a few emergent churches," despite lots of emergent book sales.
Here is what I think is happening. Emergent is giving people a third alternative. Before emergent, many people felt constricted by either sticking it out in their denomination or leaving it altogether. There was no graceful way to be different. With a strong denominational allegiance, most people just stuck to the partyline or quietly rebelled, living one way and believing another.
Emergent is room. It is space. It is a chance to move without leaving.
I am a child of the American Restoration Movement. With the help of emergent (and some other converging forces), I have been able to start to learn how to be a post-restorationist. I do not have to forsake my history to move into the future. I cannot tell you how liberating that is. It's like saying I don't have to get a divorce to have change happen in my marriage. Yes, it's that big a deal. Who knows, some day I might be in a post-restoration church? Who knows, I might plant one? What I do know is that I am emerging from the Restoration Movement, not detaching from it. This is good news. People are emerging faster than churches are.
Yes, people are emerging much much faster than emergent churches are being created. It is better, far better this way, for now. There is coming a day when church planting will be far more postmodern that it is now, but that day is coming. I applaud the pioneers, the experimenters, and the those on the frontier. Not only will they teach us what's out there, they will teach us how to pioneer, to create, to survive.
What we need right now is what is happening: Emergent People. Emergent Churches are just the next step in the evolution. When enough people emerge, how could churches not emerge with them? People will not tolerate believing one thing and doing something radically different for very long. The church will respond, and I think the churches who respond with an embrace will survive and the ones who respond with attack will die.
For now I say wait if you can, plant if you have to. Right now we're just preparing the soil, working it, tilling it, disrupting it, de-weeding it, feeding it. From emergent people will come emergent churches, both planted and transformed.
The author of the article questioned whether emergent was a movement or not. "Only a few emergent churches," despite lots of emergent book sales.
Here is what I think is happening. Emergent is giving people a third alternative. Before emergent, many people felt constricted by either sticking it out in their denomination or leaving it altogether. There was no graceful way to be different. With a strong denominational allegiance, most people just stuck to the partyline or quietly rebelled, living one way and believing another.
Emergent is room. It is space. It is a chance to move without leaving.
I am a child of the American Restoration Movement. With the help of emergent (and some other converging forces), I have been able to start to learn how to be a post-restorationist. I do not have to forsake my history to move into the future. I cannot tell you how liberating that is. It's like saying I don't have to get a divorce to have change happen in my marriage. Yes, it's that big a deal. Who knows, some day I might be in a post-restoration church? Who knows, I might plant one? What I do know is that I am emerging from the Restoration Movement, not detaching from it. This is good news. People are emerging faster than churches are.
Yes, people are emerging much much faster than emergent churches are being created. It is better, far better this way, for now. There is coming a day when church planting will be far more postmodern that it is now, but that day is coming. I applaud the pioneers, the experimenters, and the those on the frontier. Not only will they teach us what's out there, they will teach us how to pioneer, to create, to survive.
What we need right now is what is happening: Emergent People. Emergent Churches are just the next step in the evolution. When enough people emerge, how could churches not emerge with them? People will not tolerate believing one thing and doing something radically different for very long. The church will respond, and I think the churches who respond with an embrace will survive and the ones who respond with attack will die.
For now I say wait if you can, plant if you have to. Right now we're just preparing the soil, working it, tilling it, disrupting it, de-weeding it, feeding it. From emergent people will come emergent churches, both planted and transformed.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Post-Restoration Hope #7: To Seek Again
I lead a small group at my church. I call them the "council of the wise." I bring them questions and they give me answers, lots of answers. I really appreciate them for that. The question today was this:
"For a person who has been a churchgoer all of his or her life, what would have to happen for that person to become a seeker again?"
Here are their answers:
1. System of faith fails.
2. A crisis.
3. A step by step process.
4. See the person who taught you your faith fall.
5. Develop a relationship with a person who you once thought was lost because they were not the same kind of Christian you are.
6. Develop a relationship with a "non-Christian."
7. My own answer was that it would take an "agonizing process."
I really like their answers. I believe they "got" my question. I then asked them this question:
"Is happiness a barrier to seeking God?"
Yes.
No.
The council of the wise was divided on this matter and had a good debate on it.
It can be, but does not have to be. The longer one is happy, the more challenging it is to think that anything needs to be different. "People think themselves to good," says C. S. Lewis, "when they are only happy."
I was programmed to believe that salvation from the fires of Hell was my ultimate destination, reason for living, and the end of all things. I was programmed with a virus. Yes, there is motivation in it and it certainly is a powerful motivation. BUT (and this is a big but), what motivation is there when you’ve arrived? Since I didn’t have the luxury of a "once saved; always saved" theology to fall back on, I was abused (almost a hyperbole) by the "get saved; stay saved" theology of guilt motivation and shame-based spiritual formation. So, my desperation was not so much in seeking God, for I had found Him, but rather in holding on the to waters of my baptism.
So, there was nothing seeker oriented in how I was raised. I mean really, seek what? I was saved. All I needed to do was be moral enough to stay saved. "You got it, but I wonder if you can keep it?" was the message I got from my church culture.
The only way (in that church system) to get beyond this was to become a Pharisee. If I were to take hold of certain places of power and authority, then and only then would I be relived on my guilt because in the attainment of certain offices in the church I would be able to be the teacher, the learned as opposed to the learning. I would have arrived again. No one would throw me into doubt with questions for I would be the questioner.
Now, this is no longer my challenge. I am not longer ruled by that church system. I am secure in my faith. My problem now is being too satisfied with my "salvation." Just a "fat and happy" Christian going to the spiritual mall to consume some more of the good stuff.
There is something seriously wrong if taking comfort in salvation removes my desire for seeking God. Yet, the relief of knowing Hell is not my eternity has done something to me, something very, very bad!!! Now, rather than fight my own guilt, I am fighting my own satisfaction. You tell me which is more difficult. Is it the bully of guilt or the deception of the backstabbing best friend?
If you have been reading my posts on "Post-Restoration Hope" you might not believe what I am about to say, but I am a sucker for settling for "church as usual." I am a creature of habit. Don’t mess with my habits! I want to know what is happening, what is going to happen and I want it to be the same always. I lose a day of equilibrium when the furniture in my house gets moved. So, when I say that my enemy to fight is satisfaction, I am not talking about some namby-pamby, flimsy little battle. This is a challenge of heroic proportions.
I am at risk, as C. S. Lewis says, of being "only happy."
But God is good. I have had the benefit, however, of experiencing a church split and much church tension. I have been exposed to a variety of different faiths, and non-faiths. I have see leaders fall. I have seen my faith system come apart. I have experienced every single thing the council of the wise told me about and then some. For this, I see there is a God who loves me enough to do (allow, set up, whatever) whatever it takes not to let my faith rot.
At the same time I have not had the untimely loss of a loved one, significant health issues, lost my home or belongings or job, I’ve not been cheated on and on and on. For this, I see there is a God who loves me enough to do (allow, set up, whatever) whatever it takes not to let my faith rot.
I want to be a seeker of God!
"For a person who has been a churchgoer all of his or her life, what would have to happen for that person to become a seeker again?"
Here are their answers:
1. System of faith fails.
2. A crisis.
3. A step by step process.
4. See the person who taught you your faith fall.
5. Develop a relationship with a person who you once thought was lost because they were not the same kind of Christian you are.
6. Develop a relationship with a "non-Christian."
7. My own answer was that it would take an "agonizing process."
I really like their answers. I believe they "got" my question. I then asked them this question:
"Is happiness a barrier to seeking God?"
Yes.
No.
The council of the wise was divided on this matter and had a good debate on it.
It can be, but does not have to be. The longer one is happy, the more challenging it is to think that anything needs to be different. "People think themselves to good," says C. S. Lewis, "when they are only happy."
I was programmed to believe that salvation from the fires of Hell was my ultimate destination, reason for living, and the end of all things. I was programmed with a virus. Yes, there is motivation in it and it certainly is a powerful motivation. BUT (and this is a big but), what motivation is there when you’ve arrived? Since I didn’t have the luxury of a "once saved; always saved" theology to fall back on, I was abused (almost a hyperbole) by the "get saved; stay saved" theology of guilt motivation and shame-based spiritual formation. So, my desperation was not so much in seeking God, for I had found Him, but rather in holding on the to waters of my baptism.
So, there was nothing seeker oriented in how I was raised. I mean really, seek what? I was saved. All I needed to do was be moral enough to stay saved. "You got it, but I wonder if you can keep it?" was the message I got from my church culture.
The only way (in that church system) to get beyond this was to become a Pharisee. If I were to take hold of certain places of power and authority, then and only then would I be relived on my guilt because in the attainment of certain offices in the church I would be able to be the teacher, the learned as opposed to the learning. I would have arrived again. No one would throw me into doubt with questions for I would be the questioner.
Now, this is no longer my challenge. I am not longer ruled by that church system. I am secure in my faith. My problem now is being too satisfied with my "salvation." Just a "fat and happy" Christian going to the spiritual mall to consume some more of the good stuff.
There is something seriously wrong if taking comfort in salvation removes my desire for seeking God. Yet, the relief of knowing Hell is not my eternity has done something to me, something very, very bad!!! Now, rather than fight my own guilt, I am fighting my own satisfaction. You tell me which is more difficult. Is it the bully of guilt or the deception of the backstabbing best friend?
If you have been reading my posts on "Post-Restoration Hope" you might not believe what I am about to say, but I am a sucker for settling for "church as usual." I am a creature of habit. Don’t mess with my habits! I want to know what is happening, what is going to happen and I want it to be the same always. I lose a day of equilibrium when the furniture in my house gets moved. So, when I say that my enemy to fight is satisfaction, I am not talking about some namby-pamby, flimsy little battle. This is a challenge of heroic proportions.
I am at risk, as C. S. Lewis says, of being "only happy."
But God is good. I have had the benefit, however, of experiencing a church split and much church tension. I have been exposed to a variety of different faiths, and non-faiths. I have see leaders fall. I have seen my faith system come apart. I have experienced every single thing the council of the wise told me about and then some. For this, I see there is a God who loves me enough to do (allow, set up, whatever) whatever it takes not to let my faith rot.
At the same time I have not had the untimely loss of a loved one, significant health issues, lost my home or belongings or job, I’ve not been cheated on and on and on. For this, I see there is a God who loves me enough to do (allow, set up, whatever) whatever it takes not to let my faith rot.
I want to be a seeker of God!
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Post-Restoration Hope #6: Get off your butt
I was sitting in my office dinking around with how church is done at my church and this is what happened. This is a draft and by no means a finished product, so feedback is welcome - needed.
Proposal For Spiritual Formation Structure To Replace Education Structure
The SWCC currently uses an education-based model for spiritual formation. Although the classes offered are generally fair to good in quality, they are almost exclusively knowledge-based classes which do not move class attenders to action. In short, the program functions to allow for knowledge accumulation, but little else. The message this sends (and reinforces from our heritage and tradition) is that all we need is to know what is right, or to be “right with God” in our doctrinal understandings. The fatal flaw of this model is that it creates hearers of the Word, but makes no special provision for create doers of the Word.
This is a proposal for the replacement of an education-based spiritual formation program to an equipping-based spiritual formation program. What this plan would do is move people to action in ministry in tangible and meaningful ways. Bible learning would not be reduced to knowledge accumulation, but rather would move right into service and ministry, the very thing most people want to do anyway.
Below is a chart differentiating the two models:
Education-based model Versus Equipping-based model
Knowledge for knowledge sake V. Knowledge for ministry sake
End result: Being right V. End result: Being good
Self-service V. Serving others
Purpose: Knowledge accumulation V. Purpose: Service
Stays in the classroom V. Leaves the classroom
Consumer V. Producer
Passive V. Active
Audience V. Army
Comfort Zone V. Stretch
Knows what to do V. Does it
What this proposal would do would be to replace all Sunday morning classes with ministry-driven groups. What would happen on Sunday morning is that people would meet in a classroom for the purpose of learning how to do a ministry, plan on doing a ministry, and then doing a ministry. Each group would be lead or facilitated by a ministry leader. That person would equip, train, and lead this group in some kind of ministry.
The reason for Sunday morning is that people must be given a viable choice to minister, or they will not. Ministry cannot be an add-on or be put in a place of little prominence. Accumulating Bible knowledge can be done at other times and alone even. In fact, bringing Bible study into one’s own personal life can be much more powerful than only in corporate life.
Myths:
Our people will become Biblical illiterates. The fear is that our people will become Biblical illiterates if we do not give them a steady diet of Bible, and that is true. However, what we are currently doing is giving them only a diet of knowledge. That is extremely unhealthy. Sunday morning sermons will remain Biblical. House Church and small groups would still use the Bible. And furthermore, the Bible will not be left out of these classes, rather, it will come to life as people actually do something intentional rather than intend to do something, but have to fit it in to something else.
Class attendance will diminish. This matters only if we’re counting noses in order to consider ourselves a success. What would be more successful, fewer people doing more or more people doing less? And furthermore, I think when people get used to it, they will be more dedicated, more loyal and more excited than they are now.
New Christians will miss out on crucial knowledge. What they might miss out on in theory they will compensate for in practice. People learn by doing far better than they do by listening. They will learn the love of Christ by being embedded in a group of people loving God and people in the way of Jesus. Then, when they do read those passages about Christ’s love, they will not find them hollow or distant, but rather they will be in full color because their experience justifies their reading of scripture.
It might not be Biblical. What is not Biblical is learning, learning, learning, but not doing, doing, doing. How many scriptures in the Bible focus on Jesus studying the scripture versus the number of scriptures focusing on Jesus ministering to people? Jesus was either ministering to the lost, equipping his disciples, or alone in prayer. He did know the scriptures, but the only purpose to know them was to use them. Knowing isn’t enough.
This is really different. Yes, it is. This is actually not a myth. It is a complete departure from church as usual. It is what is going to help keep Southwest relevant in a culture that is falling asleep in church if it even gets to church. Think of the news report on KAIT: Southwest Church Scraps Sunday School In Order To Serve People. We could go about loving people, no strings attached, in the way of Jesus.
Examples of types of equipping offerings:
Artistic
-Drama
-Visual Art
-Music, praise team
-Dance
-Writing
Teaching
-Learning how to teach children
-Nursery
-Preschool
-Elementary
-JH / HS
Service / Social Justice
-Feeding the hungry
-Shelter for the homeless
-Visit pediatric cancer unit
-Handyman/handywoman
Leadership
-House Church
-Deacons
-Elder
-Support groups
-Church planting
Missions
-Guyana
-Hungary
-Memphis
-Jonesboro
Family Education
-Parenting
-Marriage
Proposal For Spiritual Formation Structure To Replace Education Structure
The SWCC currently uses an education-based model for spiritual formation. Although the classes offered are generally fair to good in quality, they are almost exclusively knowledge-based classes which do not move class attenders to action. In short, the program functions to allow for knowledge accumulation, but little else. The message this sends (and reinforces from our heritage and tradition) is that all we need is to know what is right, or to be “right with God” in our doctrinal understandings. The fatal flaw of this model is that it creates hearers of the Word, but makes no special provision for create doers of the Word.
This is a proposal for the replacement of an education-based spiritual formation program to an equipping-based spiritual formation program. What this plan would do is move people to action in ministry in tangible and meaningful ways. Bible learning would not be reduced to knowledge accumulation, but rather would move right into service and ministry, the very thing most people want to do anyway.
Below is a chart differentiating the two models:
Education-based model Versus Equipping-based model
Knowledge for knowledge sake V. Knowledge for ministry sake
End result: Being right V. End result: Being good
Self-service V. Serving others
Purpose: Knowledge accumulation V. Purpose: Service
Stays in the classroom V. Leaves the classroom
Consumer V. Producer
Passive V. Active
Audience V. Army
Comfort Zone V. Stretch
Knows what to do V. Does it
What this proposal would do would be to replace all Sunday morning classes with ministry-driven groups. What would happen on Sunday morning is that people would meet in a classroom for the purpose of learning how to do a ministry, plan on doing a ministry, and then doing a ministry. Each group would be lead or facilitated by a ministry leader. That person would equip, train, and lead this group in some kind of ministry.
The reason for Sunday morning is that people must be given a viable choice to minister, or they will not. Ministry cannot be an add-on or be put in a place of little prominence. Accumulating Bible knowledge can be done at other times and alone even. In fact, bringing Bible study into one’s own personal life can be much more powerful than only in corporate life.
Myths:
Our people will become Biblical illiterates. The fear is that our people will become Biblical illiterates if we do not give them a steady diet of Bible, and that is true. However, what we are currently doing is giving them only a diet of knowledge. That is extremely unhealthy. Sunday morning sermons will remain Biblical. House Church and small groups would still use the Bible. And furthermore, the Bible will not be left out of these classes, rather, it will come to life as people actually do something intentional rather than intend to do something, but have to fit it in to something else.
Class attendance will diminish. This matters only if we’re counting noses in order to consider ourselves a success. What would be more successful, fewer people doing more or more people doing less? And furthermore, I think when people get used to it, they will be more dedicated, more loyal and more excited than they are now.
New Christians will miss out on crucial knowledge. What they might miss out on in theory they will compensate for in practice. People learn by doing far better than they do by listening. They will learn the love of Christ by being embedded in a group of people loving God and people in the way of Jesus. Then, when they do read those passages about Christ’s love, they will not find them hollow or distant, but rather they will be in full color because their experience justifies their reading of scripture.
It might not be Biblical. What is not Biblical is learning, learning, learning, but not doing, doing, doing. How many scriptures in the Bible focus on Jesus studying the scripture versus the number of scriptures focusing on Jesus ministering to people? Jesus was either ministering to the lost, equipping his disciples, or alone in prayer. He did know the scriptures, but the only purpose to know them was to use them. Knowing isn’t enough.
This is really different. Yes, it is. This is actually not a myth. It is a complete departure from church as usual. It is what is going to help keep Southwest relevant in a culture that is falling asleep in church if it even gets to church. Think of the news report on KAIT: Southwest Church Scraps Sunday School In Order To Serve People. We could go about loving people, no strings attached, in the way of Jesus.
Examples of types of equipping offerings:
Artistic
-Drama
-Visual Art
-Music, praise team
-Dance
-Writing
Teaching
-Learning how to teach children
-Nursery
-Preschool
-Elementary
-JH / HS
Service / Social Justice
-Feeding the hungry
-Shelter for the homeless
-Visit pediatric cancer unit
-Handyman/handywoman
Leadership
-House Church
-Deacons
-Elder
-Support groups
-Church planting
Missions
-Guyana
-Hungary
-Memphis
-Jonesboro
Family Education
-Parenting
-Marriage
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Buy my book - Help kids
This is the cover of my book, Homefront: Marriage - Family - Culture. You can probably guess what it is about by the title. I write a column in the Jonesboro Sun every other Saturday (that's all they will let me rant. I would write more if they would let me.) This book is a collection of my first 50 articles from the paper. By the way, don't go to Jonesboro Sun online edition looking for a taste because not only do they not archive my column, they do not even publish it online. It's nuts. Like it would cost them anything. OK, back to the point.
Now, should you decide to purchase a copy of this book by filling out this order form on pdf or this order form in MS Word and mailing it to me with your check, you will be doing something more than getting a book of my writing. You will be giving Flaming Pine Youth Camp a gift of $8.00. That's right, $8.00. So, as you probably figured out, after printing, shipping, and marketing costs, Chris is not exactly laughing and scratching all the way to the bank. I don't want to. I want to help this camp.
Why? Well, I spent many summers at this camp as a boy learning of the God of natural wonders (It's the only place I ahve ever seen purple lightning). I learned of the God who mends broken hearts (He mended mine there on more than one occasion). I leanred of the God who is worshipped in many ways (song, art, poetry, play, fellowship, community living etc). I learned there is a community of faith that transcends my little church. I learned that although kids are really never hugged quite enough, there is a place to go and try to get filled up on them. I believe that God still does wonderful things at this camp, so I believe that if I support what God is involved in, I am doing a pretty good thing.
More recently, the camp has been involved in raising money for inner city kids to get the camp experience. I'm all for that.
Anyway, I feel no shame in self-promoting this book because I am not making anything on it and it is going to a good cause. Feel free to buy a copy for you and all your friends, post it on your websites, link it to your blogs, TELL THE WORLD!!!!!!!!
Thanks.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Emergent Migraine Rant
Another pause from the Post-Restoration Hope - more to come
I had a marketing experience and church experience that enlightened me on the worries some emergent folks have on branding, evangelical colonization, and linguistic thievery.
I walked into a drug store to purchase some Extra-Strength Exedrin. I needed to make a pre-emptive strike against the fast approaching trip to the dentist who likes to drill my teeth. By mistake, I picked up Exedrin Migraine Relief, not Extra-Strength. I did not notice my mistake until I got into the car. When I ntoiced that it was specifically for migraine relief, I figured that there was some kind of special medicine in it that was unique to relieving that kind of headache. And besides, it cost more. I then got back out of the car and asked the pharmicist what was the difference. He said that he was not sure, and then looked at the label.
"Nope, it's the same stuff."
I kept the medicine because although it cost more, it was not that much more and I was in a hurry, but thought that if I did have a migraine headache and realized that I am paying more for the very same thing, I'd feel duped.
It was a marketing technique. What emergent people fear is that evangelicals will do the Exedrin switch, calling their church emergent with its new packaging (candles, video clips, coffee etc) when in reality, "it's the same stuff."
I visited a "new kind of church" last Sunday. I heard it had candles and was different. It took me about three minutes (yeah, I'm slow) to figure out this was a contemporary repackaging of old school Southern Baptist. Sure, it had young faces, actually, it had an ucomfortably large percentage of young faces (it had church split in its history written all over it - and I was right), but the theology was, well, you tell me:
1. "God does not speak in dreams anymore because we have the Bible."
2. Sermon illustrations:
A. Video clip from Rocky.
B. A fight.
C. An array of sport analogies.
D. "You need to love your wife."
E. A military reference.
There was more testosterone in this sermon than the Smackdown wrestlers reading Iron John around a campfire eating the flesh of the T-Rex they had just killed with their hands. It was feminist Hell.
3. It was completely consumed with the topic of self-discipline to avoid doing really bad things like being really bad. There was no sense of service for the sake of the world, depth in spiritual formation, or even any insight. I felt like I was at a dorm devo for Freshmen at Baylor.
Now, they did not use the word, emergent, on their website or in their church service, but only because I do not think that word has really hit Jonesboro, AR in any significant way. My guess is that if they knew it, they'd use it. It's hot, it's hip, and it attracts attention. Why not use it to make some more Baptists?
Rant complete!
I had a marketing experience and church experience that enlightened me on the worries some emergent folks have on branding, evangelical colonization, and linguistic thievery.
I walked into a drug store to purchase some Extra-Strength Exedrin. I needed to make a pre-emptive strike against the fast approaching trip to the dentist who likes to drill my teeth. By mistake, I picked up Exedrin Migraine Relief, not Extra-Strength. I did not notice my mistake until I got into the car. When I ntoiced that it was specifically for migraine relief, I figured that there was some kind of special medicine in it that was unique to relieving that kind of headache. And besides, it cost more. I then got back out of the car and asked the pharmicist what was the difference. He said that he was not sure, and then looked at the label.
"Nope, it's the same stuff."
I kept the medicine because although it cost more, it was not that much more and I was in a hurry, but thought that if I did have a migraine headache and realized that I am paying more for the very same thing, I'd feel duped.
It was a marketing technique. What emergent people fear is that evangelicals will do the Exedrin switch, calling their church emergent with its new packaging (candles, video clips, coffee etc) when in reality, "it's the same stuff."
I visited a "new kind of church" last Sunday. I heard it had candles and was different. It took me about three minutes (yeah, I'm slow) to figure out this was a contemporary repackaging of old school Southern Baptist. Sure, it had young faces, actually, it had an ucomfortably large percentage of young faces (it had church split in its history written all over it - and I was right), but the theology was, well, you tell me:
1. "God does not speak in dreams anymore because we have the Bible."
2. Sermon illustrations:
A. Video clip from Rocky.
B. A fight.
C. An array of sport analogies.
D. "You need to love your wife."
E. A military reference.
There was more testosterone in this sermon than the Smackdown wrestlers reading Iron John around a campfire eating the flesh of the T-Rex they had just killed with their hands. It was feminist Hell.
3. It was completely consumed with the topic of self-discipline to avoid doing really bad things like being really bad. There was no sense of service for the sake of the world, depth in spiritual formation, or even any insight. I felt like I was at a dorm devo for Freshmen at Baylor.
Now, they did not use the word, emergent, on their website or in their church service, but only because I do not think that word has really hit Jonesboro, AR in any significant way. My guess is that if they knew it, they'd use it. It's hot, it's hip, and it attracts attention. Why not use it to make some more Baptists?
Rant complete!
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