How globalization is affecting the spread of the gospel

I just finished reading GloboChrist: The Great Commission Takes a Postmodern Turn by Carl Raschke. It is a very interesting book that, among other things, explores the impact of globalization on the spread of the gospel.

Globalization has been received in various ways. Trade unions are against it, and anyone who has had his or her job outsourced probably is not a big fan. However, globalization has also helped lift millioins of people out of poverty in India, China, Africa, and other places around the world. It has also made most goods in the US and other Western countries much cheaper.

Whether one is a fan or not, however, globalization is here, and it is an unstoppable force. If companies do not globalize, not only do they miss out on market share, but they also will fail to be competitive and may go out of business.

One might think that globalization would have a positive affect on the spread of Christianity, as Western thoughts and Western technologies flow into non-Western countries and people groups. And it has had a positive effect--but not for the reasons that we might think.

Western culture is moving away from Christianity at a rapid pace. Europe has done so for some time, and the US--while founded with spiritual dimensions and retaining a spiritual vitality--has moved in this direction as well. Filling the void of Christianity has been secularism, consumerism (pursuit of material things), and hedonism (pursuit of decadent pleasure).

According to Raschke, the reaction of the "Global South" to globalization and the exporting of Western values has been a strong move towards religion, as these forces have been seen as a threat to their values and way of life. The two religions that these countries are turning to are radical Islam and devoted Christianity. While these religions are obviously very different in terms of theology, they share a common vitality and all-encompassing worldview that inspires their adherents.

This helps explain the phenomenal growth of the gospel in continents like Africa. In 1910, after colonialism with its enforced, non-indigenous expression of Christianity, there were only 108 million Christians. By the mid-1980s, however, Christianity had grown to be the majority religion in Africa, growing at the rate of 6 million new adherents per year. (p. 43) Radical Islam has grown significantly during this time as well, resulting in events like 9/11.

One of Raschke's most interesting--and scary--points is that anemic, consumeristic Christianity as is so typical in the West does not have the power to compete with the fire and passion of radical Islam. It is seen as the product of a corrupt, consumeristic West. Only the "real deal"--a passionate, Christ-centered Christianity offers a real alternative to the appeal of Islam. As globalization brings eastern religions and Islam backflowing to the US, they may have great appeal to Americans. Indeed, Wicca and Islam are currently the two fastest growing religions in the US. Churches that offer weak, add-on Christianity to a consumer lifestyle will suffer attrition to churches--and other faiths--that offer a more devoted, comprehensive worldview.

GloboChristianity is a fascinating read for anyone interested in globalization, Islam, and the spread of world-wide Christianity. i recommend it.

What do you think of Raschke's conclusions?

What does the world think of us? Check out these headlines

I did a search today on http://www.digg.com/ on "church" to see what articles would come up with this in the title. Here are some of the article titles that I found and the categories that I have placed them in:

Political
- Mormon Anti-Gay Machine Cranking Up Against IL Civil Unions
- Why Do American Christians Approve of Torture?
- New Proposed Arkansas Law: Take Your Gun to Church
- Soldiers in Afganistan Gives Bibles, Told to "Hunt People for Jesus"
Immoral
- Disgraced Pastor Ted Haggard Facing New Sex Allegations
- Pastor Had Sex With Daughters to Teach Them How To Be Good Wives
- Two Catholic Priests Stole $8 Million From Church

Hateful/Judgmental
- Hate on Display: The Westboro Baptist Church Protests the White House
- UK Flooding is God's Judgment on Society
- My Christian Daughter Says I'm Going to Hell

Abusive
- 16 Victims of the Church of Scientology
- Catholic Church Excommunicated 9 Year Old Rape Victim
- Mormon New Zealand Man Beat Daughter Over Church Refusal
- Thousands Raped and Abused in Catholic Schools in Ireland

Out of Touch/Ignorant
- Why the Catholic Church Can't Ignore Science
- Reason is the Greatest Enemy Faith Has
- Faith Healing Parents Charged in Infant's Death

Not Helpful Spiritually
- Spirituality, not Religion, Makes Kids Happy
- Church Signs That Won't Make You Go To Church
- The Eight Most Bizarre Patron Saints
- 7 Year Old Steals Car to Skip Church, Car Chase Video

With all of this negative publicity, it is easy to see why the world is not big on "church." The implications of this are huge.

First, we must not assume that someone wants to "go to church." Non-Christians are likely to fear that they will be judged, hated, abused, bored, or subjeted to politics at church. This means that impersonal appeals and church marketing will continue to decrease in effectiveness in getting people through the church building doors.

Second, we must create safe, non-threatening and appealing entry points into church life. One of the workers that I know at a Starbucks here in McKinney named Brittany attends a house church in Princeton. Small groups and worship gatherings in homes, coffee shops, book stores, parks, and other non-churchy type of settings are places where we need to invite people to visit.

Third, we must do things which give the church a good name. Jesus told his disciples to do good deeds before people so that they may praise the Father in heaven (Mt. 6:14-16). This means we must do things which impact people and the community and are recognized even by non-Christians as being good. This includes feeding people, clothing people, providing school supplies to needy children, helping the abused and lonely.

As an example, you can read this story of how a family praised God because of how the Clothes Closet Ministry and the High Pointe Church of Christ helped the family after they had lost everything in a fire. I also met one of the school representatives who was up at our building today, coordinating with us on school supplies that the church provides. She talked about how this church helps them so much.

Basically, to change the way the world things of us we must act and be more and more like Jesus Christ. Not focused on ourselves. Not spending on ourselves. Not judging, but loving. Serving. Helping. Would not this type of church impact the world and our communities?

What do you think that we can do to change the world's opinion of us?

Pictures and Video of Our Coldplay concert

Here is a video (Viva la Vida) and some pictures of the Coldplay concert that we went to on 7-21-09. This was an anniversary gift to ourselves, and it was a great one. The concert rocked!

Becki and I at the Concert

We ran into Regina Irons, now married, and her new husband, at the concert! Regina was in the youth group when I served as a youth minister at Wilshire. She is now teaching music at an inner city school in OKC,

These bouncing yellow balls came out on one of the songs. It was fun!

Pictures of the crowd!

Ron and Diane O'Neal--came to the concert too! Ron is a shepherd at High Pointe.

A cool picture of him playing.

The band came out into the audience, not far from us!

Magic fingers at work!

Have you been to a Coldplay concert? Do you listen to them? What are your thoughts?

Is Christianity a movement or an institution--lessons from the health care debate

There has been much talk about those who have shown up to "tea parties" and town halls to protest government spending and the current health care bills. Principally, the question has been, is this a genuine grass roots movement? Or are these merely events manufactured by political groups.

I'm sure that there are elements of both. But for my part, I see people who have never gone to political functions going to them. I don't condone rude behavior, such as shouting people down, but the people I have seen speaking on the news seem to be very genuine in their concern. I am interested in going to a tea part or town hall myself to get a feel for people's moods first hand.

Bussing in protesters, whether from political groups or unions, would not be a genuine movement. But providing information on where to go? This kind of "organization" does not mean that there is not a genuine movement going on.

So now let's turn to Christianity. Certainly, it began as a movement. There was no massive "institution" organizing them, no manufacturing of responses. The movement was a Jesus movement, a spreading of the message and way of life of Jesus and the kingdom of God. As people heard about this Jesus and responded to him, they passed this on by word of mouth and in the public square. Their primary public spokespeople were passionate believers, willing to die for their faith. As these Jesus followers engaged in mission together, they naturally bonded, coming together to encourage one another, break bread, and pray.

In other words, the church was the result of the movement, not the other way around. When we start with Jesus, we get a church. When we start with a church, we miss Jesus. The faith becomes all about structure, organization, following the rules, and top down management.

So what are we today--a movement or an institution? Certainly, the church has largely become institutional--inflexible, bureaucratic, and hierarchical. Consider the following:
- A movement flows wherever the message needs to go. An institution says that you must go through "government forms" and a lot of hoops to do anything.
- A movement is innovative. An institution is primarily concerned about preservation of established ways of doing things.
- A movement has natural leaders who surface as the message is being spread. An institution requires a person to run for office and have an official title, designated by the institution.

Not convinced? Try changing your assembly times each week in response to the needs of the message or community. In many churches, try doing something religious (hold a Bible study, outreach, or worship) without getting approval. Try ditching Wednesday night service for Saturday night neighborhood outreaches. What would be the response?

So you tell me--is the church a movement or an instituion?

Why recruiting leaders in churches does not work

Most every church I've known has struggle in finding ministry leaders. There are undoubtedly reasons for this that are specific for individual churches, but I want to highlight a few reasons for these struggles that tend to be true in most churches.

Here are the mistakes that churches make in trying to recruit leaders:

1. Recruiting through impersonal means.
The bulletin is a lousy place to recruit. True, it may occassionally catch someone's eye and interest. But most of the time, it doesn't. Same goes for sign-up sheets, unless it is done in the worship assembly, in conjunction with a message on the subject, with time given for people to respond. Even then, one study has shown that personal recruiting is 5 times more effective than impersonal methods.

Reliance on impersonal methods is even less effective in big churches. Why? Everyone assumes that someone else will do the work or task. And in a large group, there is less relational pull. No one will know if you are a spiritual bum and never lift a finger to help. In smaller churches, it is harder to hide.

While I will at times put out invitations to serve in the bulletin and pass around sign-up sheets, I know that this usually at best raises awareness of the ministry. Primarily, the church bulletin is a place to celebrate ministries. A great picture or a powerful testimony of a ministry at work can do more to recruit new people than any generic announcement. (But personal recruiting is still best.)

2. Failing to consider a person's Strengths and Spiritual gifts when recruiting.
The fact is that when a person is given an opportunity to serve in the way that God has made them, rarely do their arms have to be twisted. Churches are horribly guilty of finding people to fit ministries, rather than letting ministry flow out of a person's giftedness and heart's passion.

True, some ministries need better organization and publicity. But much of the time, churches need to let ministries die if there is no one to fill the post. We are in the people business--and so is God--not the program business. A program is a life of its own that continues regards of the people involved. We need to let more things die in churches so that people can be freed to pursue the ministry God has put upon their hearts. At High Pointe, most all of our new ministry leaders have come from people going through a personal strengths and Spiritual gifts assessment.

3. Failing to reach out and make new disciples.

I am finishing up reading Organic Leadership by Neil Cole, a very interesting book. He says the following:

"When churches reach new people, the changed lives infuse the whole congregation with energy . . . . If your ministry is struggling without leaders, do not reevalutate your leadership development program. It is time to reevalulte your disciplemaking system. If you are doing next to nothing to reach lost and broken people, your leadership development system will yield very few resutls." (p. 138-39).

I am very pleased when I go back to Liberty (my previous church where I ministered for six years) and I find new converts serving on the minister search team, serving on outreach teams, and serving as ministry leaders in finance, transportation ministry, and more.

Recently at High Pointe, one of our new converts from Celebrate Recovery said that he wanted to help transport our clothes for our Clothes Closet ministry. (Read his story). And he volunteered to do this even before being baptized! New converts provide passion, energy, and new leadership in all kinds of different ministries. (Of courses, we should not forget that the primary goal is to send them back on mission and not become part of an internal church ministry machine.)

So, if you want to find new leaders, recruit personally, help people discover their strengths and spiritual gifts, and make new disciples of Christ!

What thoughts do you have about recruiting and developing new leaders?

The Tangible Kingdom

This is a short video that graphically illustrates the contrast between going to church and being the church out in the community. It promotes the "Tangible Kingdom" the book by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. See www.tangiblekingdom.com.

The Tangible Kingdom came out in 2008, and it has quickly taken hold in missional and church planting circles. One of the reasons it is pretty powerful is because it tells the real life story of the authors, who church planted in Denver (and elsewhere). They tell their challenges and blessings of being in established churches, and then in church plants.

Some interesting points that they make include:

• Telling Christians who want to join their community that they are on mission, and that in order to be a part of this group, they will need to commit to certain missional practices such blessing others, hospitality, etc.
• Letting "Sojourners" (those who have not yet fully committed to Christ, but who are searching) participate in their community, including having leadership roles in certain parts of worship.
• That starting a church with Christian is not really easier than starting it with non-Christians, since most Christians bring with them a consumer attitude that says, "Feed me," rather than seeking to feed and serve others.
• That mission is an essential part of spiritual formation, and that spiritual formation is a process.

They also have four major missional practices:

• Leaving - Replacing personal or Christian activities with time spent building relationships with people in the surrounding culture.
• Listening - Listening is watching and sensitively responding to the unspoken and spoken needs of Sojourners in ways that demonstrate sincere interest.
• Living Among - Participating in the natural activites of the culture around you, with whimsical holiness. This would include eating and drinking whatever was put in front of you (including moderate consumption of alcohol), a la 1 Cor. 10:23-31 and Jesus' example (who was accused of being a drunkard and a glutton).
• Loving Without Strings - Pretty self-explanatory!

The Tangible Kingdom is an interesting, thought provoking book with real life application.

Have you read this book? What do you think of the video and above summary?

PIctures of my wrecked car

Just to commemmorate it, here are some pictures of my wrecked car. As most of you know, a car pulled out in front of us last week. It was Friday, July 24, 2009, at about 5:45 PM, and Becki and our girls were in the car. We were headed down Virginia street going east, about to go under HWY 75, when a teen and her boyfriend turned left in front of us. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt, though I've been dealing with some back and neck pain.

The car was totalled, as you would expect from these pictures. Unfortunately, it is unlikely we'll be able to get anything near what the car was worth. It was a 1996 Honda Accord in excellent condition, with relatively low miles, leather seats--and it was paid for. We will have to pay more to get anywhere close to this.

I was just thinking the other day how great it was to have two cars that were paid for. Looks like I need to eliminate these positive thoughts next time to avoid jinxing myself!

Any thoughts on where to get another similar type and condition of Honda? What tips do you have on getting a good settlement for the car with the insurance company?

Creation, Adam and Eve, and my 8 year old

Tonight, the girls and I just had Bible stories, not "songs, prayers, and Bible stories." We started late, and frankly, my back is killing me (from someone pulling out in front of our car last Friday, in case you had not heard).

The Bible story that we read was about Genesis 3, which looks at the "fall" of humanity. I could not get through this, however, without Gina, my eight year old, asking all kinds of questions about this story and creation.

She asked questions like, how did dinosaurs and people and the ice age all fit together? And, did the serpent really talk?

Even, Emily our five year old, wondered about the talking serpent. Gina reminded us all of Balaam and the talking donkey, and that it was possible. But she said maybe that was just a way of saying it . . .

I tried to explain that the creation account was not an exact chronology. While true, it was poetic in its explanation and did not give exact timelines. And lo and behold, Gina said, if a day to God is like a thousand years, maybe the days in Genesis are like that.

Wow. That girl is too sharp! She thinks like a theologian and a biblical scholar. Since this discussion was not over her head, as I thought it would be, I went on and pointed out that the creation "days" were not to be taken literally because the sun and the moon were not created until "day" four--and 24 hour days only exist from the rotation of the earth around the sun (Gina completed my sentence about the rotation of the earth around the sun being what made 24 hours). In a literal reading, the sun was not even created until "day" four, so no regular days prior to this were even possible.

Besides being amazed at how sharp my girls are, here is the thought that came to mind. If an eight year old can see the problems with an overly literal reading of Genesis, so can adults--particularly non-Christians.

So let's not try to convert people to a literal 7 days of creation, the age of the earth, or anything other than Christ. He is the one whom we ought to seek to convert people to!

What questions have your kids had about the creation account?

Forgiveness

This Sunday I am speaking on the subject of forgiveness. There are many, many texts on this, including the "Lord's Prayer" from Matthew 6:9f.

This, then, is how you should pray:
”‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Here are some additional passages on forgiveness:

25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Mk. 11:25).

“If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him" (Lk. 17:3-4).

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34).

10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake (2 cor. 2:10).

13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you (Col. 3:13).

What are your thoughts on forgiveness? What do these verses and others tell you? What makes forgiveness so difficult?

Do you dread checking your email?

Email started as a great idea. In a click of a button, you can send a message around the world. Keep up with friends, share ideas--what a great tool!

Now, however, email is out of control. I don't know about you, but I often dread checking my email. Email is a bad way to send or receive bad news. Many use it to hide from conflicts, be passive aggressive, or avoid personal interactions. Then there are the sheer number of forwards that we both have inflicted on us and inflict on others. And, the whole world is spamming us!



So, when I want to enjoy a day, I may delay checking my email for a few hours. Like last night, when Becki and I went to the Coldplay concert. But then I begin to dread what may await.

Of course there are many positive uses of email. I get wonderful notes of encouragement and support through email, and these brighten my life and my day. But sometimes, you wonder if your life might be better without all of this impersonal contact. If we all lived in the mountains and read French poetry to one another at high altitudes. Or we all lived on the beach without a plug-in.

Sigh. We live in an electronic world. We need to use it for good. But sometimes, I wonder if all of this technology is really good for us. What do you think?

What thoughts do you have about email? Do you ever dread checking your email?

Angel Summoner & BMX Bandit Video

It has been awhile, so I thought that I would bring back one of my favorite humorous YouTube videos. Feeling overshadowed? Not sure if you need the help of angels? Watch this hilarious video!

Using the Government to Enforce Morality

What is, and what should be, the role of government in regards to morality?

It seems that both the right and the left want to use the government to enforce different moral positions. The right wants the government to outlaw abortions and defend traditional marriage. The left wants the government to take care of the poor and offer healthcare to all. And of course, both sides want the government to enforce laws against murder, theft, and other universally recognized moral laws.

So, on what basis do we use the government and laws to enforce a particular moral position? If the government should outlaw abortions and defend traditional marriage, why not have the government take care of the poor and offer healthcare? Usually the answer that is given is that it does not work. Capitalism works. Socialism does not.

But this is a pragmatic argument, not a moral argument. Would we argue against laws that outlaw abortion based upon pragmatism? Even if these laws did not work all the time (say, women who who wanted an abortion went to Canada), they would undoubtedly work some of the time. The moral basis for these laws would be upheld, even if they were not 100% efficient.

And we at one time had laws against things such as adultery. Would we be for these laws now? How about laws against pride? Lying? Gossip? Where do we draw the line?

I do believe that some moral issues ought to be upheld by laws. But it seems that we do not have a consistent rational for why we use the law to uphold some moral issues and exclude others. I would be interested in someone providing a good rationale.

What moral issues do you want the government to enforce? Which do you not want them to involved in? Why?

Rev! - A Ministry Magazine Worth Looking At

I get a lot of ministry magazines just sent to me. I let them stay in my mailbox at work until Teresa, one of my trusty administrative assistants, forces me to go through them. Much of the time, they are quickly skimmed and go in the trash.

However, recently a magazine called "Rev!: Revving Up Ministry Together" caught my attention. The articles were current, insightful, and covered many different areas of ministry, including missional outreach, leadership, and spiritual formation.

Here are some of the articles in the july/august issue:
- Leading On Empty
- Twitter THIS!
- Who's Your Leper?
- Your Sons and Daughters Will Prophesy
- The Browning of Our Churches
- Rethinking and Re-engaging Missions
- The Top Five Church Growth Principles
- Growing Fruitful Ministries
- A Framework for Tracking Spiritual Formation

I have a hard copy of the magazine; however, here is the website link. Let me know what you think!

Do you read Rev!? What ministry magazines/sites do you like?

Would you have been for the Patriots or the Torries in 1776?

I am a proud American. I love many of the things that America has stood for. We are not a perfect country, but we have been a country that has probably done more good than any other country throughout history.

But what was the basis of our country's founding? We were being taxed without representation. Hey, I'm sympathetic. I don't even like taxation with representation! But would Jesus have been for a violent overthrow of a government for this reason and others like it (such as violation of individual rights)?



Think about it. The British government did believe in God and Christ. The Roman government was thoroughly pagan and polytheistic, and it of course did not believe in Christ. And yet, Jesus counseled "turning the other cheek," "going the extra mile." and "giving to Caesar what belonged to Caesar." He never counselled violent overthrow of this corrupt, pagan empire.

So--whose side would you have been on in 1776--the patriots or the torries? Let's stir it up!

Saying goodbye to a good friend, Steve Cunningham

As many of you know, last Saturday Becki and I traveled to Liberty, MO--home of the previous church where I served as a minister--to attend the funeral of a dear friend, Steve Cunningham.

When I first moved to Liberty, we really needed a youth deacon who could love and help mentor our youth. At the time there seemed to be no suitable candidates, and I can remember us saying, "God may just have to send someone to us." And that he did!

Steve, his wife Anna-Marie, and their two boys, Jeff and Danny, arrived to us via Chicago and the Cardinal Dr. congregation. With his loving and willing heart, he soon became our youth deacon, and he and Anna-Marie did an outstanding job. They took the kids on youth retreats, hung out with them, taught Bible classes, and helped them reached out to their non-Christian friends through their "Fun in the Son" gatherings. Later, he would help start a young adults ministry at Liberty to try to help this group find a place. He became a voice for them too, and he regularly came to our Starbucks outreaches--a popular hangout place for young adults.

Two or so years later, we were looking to install new elders. I can remember my long time elder friend John Miller and I going out to lunch with Steve. There we told him that we thought that he would make an excellent elder (he was already shepherding the youth), and that we needed him in the group to help us confirm our direction. Steve smiled, leaning forward, and said that he was onboard. He was soon recognized publicly for the outstanding shepherd that he already was.
In our meetings, Steve helped bring out the perspective of younger people, which helped the church go forward in our direction of reaching out. Some leaders bring about change by their ability to persuade or force of personality. Steve, however, was a calming influence, and you got the sense that if he was behind something, it must be pretty reasonable.

Steve was an incredible guitar player, and he, Roger Dingus (guitar; now also an elder), and John Hess (drums) started having a few jam sessions together. They were all a bit older (late 40s), so they started calling themselves the "Assisted Living." I came in for two rehearsals right before our first "Fourth of July" party at the Hess' house and played the whole set that they had worked up, adding keyboard and some youth to this bunch of over the hill Baby Boomers! :) Later, Robert Ritter would be added, playing bass and allowing Steve to concentrate almost totally upon guitar (he sometimes covered bass, and he was excellent with it as well).

Our band played mostly classic rock. It was the genre we played best. I grew up on Billy Joel and 80s music, all very keyboard centered. In this band I learned Boomer classics like "Simple Man," "Smoke on the Water," and "China Grove." I have to say that playing classic rock is a lot of fun. I helped stretch the band by introducing them to some younger sets with U2 and Coldplay. I also love Christmas and Christmas music, and so each year we had a huge Christmas party in our basement, inviting the whole church and our neighborhood. When trying to decide whether or not to leave Liberty for High Pointe--among many other things!--the band kept coming to mind. I didn't want to lose all of those great times we played together. I still miss it. The band represented good times.

Steve, John Miller, and I were also in a "BELLS" discipleship group together for a couple of years. We came together each week, meeting in Starbucks, and talked about who we tried to bless each week, who we ate with, what we studied, what we heard God saying to us, and who we tried to spend time with. These "missional lifestyles" sought to imitate the lifestyle of Jesus. We need these kind of intimate groups for encouragement and accountability. I am a minister, and yet, I found that when we did not meet, I often would fail in these practices. Again, it was difficult leaving behind this group.

I got a call from Judy Dingus, another great friend and co-worker from Liberty about 7 weeks ago. She told me the shocking news that Steve had lung cancer and that he had been given 1-4 years to live. We were stunned. I immediately thought about going up to Liberty right then to see him. But I had meetings . . . and I thought that I would see him for the 4th of July. I thought I had more time. But I did not. I wish now that I had gone.

Last week, Steve's lungs began to fill up. They tried to get the fluid out, but they could not. He had a blockage in one of his lungs, and his heart just gave out. They were able to revive him briefly, allowing him the opportunity to say goodbye to Anna-Marie and his oldest son, Jeff. Danny was at camp. Judy called me on this day, telling me the sad news and that she was going to pick Danny up from camp. I prayed for her and the whole family.

The funeral was on Sunday, and it was packed. Between the viewing and the funeral, there were probably 500 people represented who came out to remember and honor Steve. He had church members from not only Liberty, but Cardinal Dr. in Chicago. There were neighbors there, as well as the friends and parents of his son and their sports teams. His co-workers came--he even had business associates from China attend. Wow! What an impact.

John Miller, who had been with Steve through his ordeal, officiated the funeral. I said a prayer, and there was an "open mic" section in which people shared their thoughts and memories of Steve. Many people took the opportunity to share during the open mic section. There were many great stories about Steve here that made us laugh and cry.

John is also 52, the age that Steve was when he died. We talked, as did others, and we all thought about how short life is. We need to live for today, and make sure that we concentrate on what is most important, as Steve did. What is most important? Loving God and people. Nothing else really matters. It has made me impatient for seeing the things God calls us to do to happen. Both individually and as a church, we need to make sure that we live everyday--starting today--for God.

Thank you, Steve, for teaching us how to love God and people. Thank you laughing with me, praying with me, encouraging me--for showing up at Starbucks, for playing those great guitar leads, for patiently listening, for speaking up for those who had no voice, for being willing to try new things, for truly caring for my life and the life of so many others. We will miss you Steve. I still can hardly believe that you are gone. But thank you for showing us how to live--love God, love people. Nothing else really matters. I hope to be able to impact as many people for Christ as you did with your life. May your love and the love of the Father shine down upon us. We will see you in heaven!

Your friend, co-worker, band member, and brother in Christ.

James

Steve with his boys, Jeff and Danny

Steve with his wife, Anna-Marie

Steve with our Band, Assisted Living





Steve playing the guitar

What thoughts and memories do you have of Steve? What did you learn from him? How did he bless your life?

Renovare Blogging 7

The main speaker in today's afternoon session is Richard Foster. This is the first time I have heard him in person. I am surprised about some things-he speaks very flowerly and poetically, and he is wearing a suit and tie. I expected this teacher on simplicity to be a bit more, well, simple in style and delivery. But what he is saying is great.

Foster is speaking on the importance of words, as demonstrated in the wires of Moses. No other person in Scripture has more recorded words than Moses.

Words have the power to hurt or heal. Our postmodern world recognizes the importance of words, how they limit or empower. We would do well to take note of this.

The words of the gospel can be words that heal and bring hope and meaning into people's lives. May we share these healing words with the world around us.

What words do we need to share with the church, our family, and the world?


-- Post From My iPhone

Renovare Blogging 6

What is Spiritual formation? The Renovare conference put together a definition after consulting with 200 spiritual formation authors and speakers.

Here it is: Christian spiritual formation is the process of being shaped by the Spirit into the likeness of Christ, filled with love for God and the world.

Here are some sub-points that they make:

- God calls us all to become like Jesus.
- As we are rooted in Jesus and in the kingdom he proclaims, we ate progressively transformed.
- Our engagement with God's transforming grace is vital.
- Spiritual formation happens I'm community
- Spiritual formation is, by it's very nature, missional.
- We invite all people, everywhere, to embrace with us this calling to become like Jesus.

What do you think of this definition? What strengths or weaknesses do you see?

-- Post From My iPhone

Renovare Blogging 5

The third speaker in today's afternoon session is Dallas Willard.

Dallas is speaking on Servanthood and the Jesus Way. He begins by saying we should ask not just What would Jesus do, but How would Jesus do it?

The basic message of Jesus was about the kingdom. Repentance as Jesus was about in this context was thinking about your thinking, not getting down on one's knees.

When we come to Jesus. We enter into an interactive relationship with God, which is his kingdom. And Jesus' life is our example of this interaction.

At the last supper, what would Jesus want to leave as a last thought for his disciples? Servanthood. He shared this "thought" by washing their feet. Jesus did this, John tells us, knowing that he had come from the Father and would return to the Father. This is a verse that has always stood out to me.

The Jesus Way is to abandon our own kingdoms for God, putting our trust in him. The desire to build our own kingdom has always been thedesire of humanity, going back to Babel.

The language of the kingdom of God and that God is king emerges out of the exile in 2 Chr. No matter what was hppening in the world, God was still king.

Is God enough? Yes. It is in exile that we discover the sufficiency of God. When we turn over the control of our lives, there is great feedom that comes. The cross relieves us from self-control and fees us to serve others.

The reason we struggle with mercy towards others is because we are not servants.

Being a servant is not about individual acts. We live as a servant of Jesus, acted coming into the kingdom.

When we cast our burdens on God, we are freed and can trust that God has our back.

What do you think is the relationship between servanthood and the Kingdom of God?


-- Post From My iPhone

Renovare Blogging 4

Chris Webb, the president of Renovare, is also speaking at today's afternoon. He is speaking on sin. He makes the point that we want cleaned up homeless people and prostitutes. We would rejoice in this story. But what about the struggling prostitute, who worships with us and then goes back out on the street? Would an AA group kick out an alcoholic? No. What about a church that kicks out all sinners? It would be empty.

David was a terrible sinner, sinning in most every chapter. But he was a man after God's own heart. When confronted with his sin, he was shattered.

Why do we pretend that sin does not exist in the church? What can change this pretense?


-- Post From My iPhone

Renovare Blogging 3

Speaking in the afternoon session is Randy Frazee. Randy is the senior minister at Oak Hills Church, working with Max Lucado. I loved Frazee's book The Connecting group, in which he highlights neighborhood and intergenerational troops.

He is talking about giving out a survey, both self assessment and from a few close to him, on Christlikeness. He said that it is too easy for us to deceive ourselves. Chtistlikeness must happen in community.

We all could be helped by asking those around us how we could grow. That is a bit scary, but the fact is that those around us that are closest to us-such as our spouse, close friends-already know our flaws.

Have you ever had the courage to ask those around you about how you can grow?


-- Post From My iPhone