My experience at OC's Quest Lectures

Last Thursday afternoon, Becki and I got into the car and headed off to Oklahoma City for OC's lectureship. The OC Lectures are now named "Quest," and they have a new format that includes some highly interactive sessions after each lecture. They are also offering specialized tracks throughout the year.

I am one of those helping with the Missional Church track. Last year I was on the Missional Church panel and helped facillitate, and this year I gave three presentations on the missional church. It seemed to be well received, with high attendance in the classes and good participation. I am encouraged that the missional movement has begun in the heart of Oklahoma, and that people are responding. A couple of years ago I had done some presentations on this concept with the staff of the Edmond Church of Christ, sponsored by my dear friend and mentor, Don Vinzant. One of the deacons from Edmond that was at the session said that the Edmond church had been seeking to go down the missional path for the last couple of years. It was great to hear that this was spreading beyond the top leadership there.

I also heard some great missional concepts in David Duncan's presentation. David, who was on staff at Edmond a couple of years ago, and who is now the preaching minister at the Memorial Church of Christ in Houston, Texas, gave a fabulous talk on serving the community. More on that later.

One of the things that was suggested that we cover next year in the missional church sessions was practical implications of the missional church. Mission's relationship to worship was also suggested as a topic. I am excited that people are looking forward to next year. I'm grateful to John Harrison and Don Vinzant, the co-directors of Quest, for their leadership in this area. Interactive formats are the way of the future, and may be able to help bring back the next generations. See http://blogs.oc.edu/ee/?/quest/index

Do you like interactive formats, lecture formats, or a combination of both?

My encounter with a stranger--was God speaking to me?

On Tuesday, right before I left work, a man came in needing help with gas. He had a job, but needed needed some help. With gas at nearly $4 per gallon, I'm sure that those who need help with this will only increase.

So we went out to the gas station and I pumped gas for him. As we talked, he asked me how long I had been at the church. I told him a couple of months. Then he said that he felt that the Lord was giving him a prophetic word, and said, "Transitions are hard. But stay with it. You are going to bring a focus at this church that they have never seen before. Don't give up."

On Sunday I had spoken about how if we pray for God to bring people into our lives whom we can show hospitality, that he would respond, and this interaction would bring us blessing. Coincidence? or Godincidence?

Do you think that God speaks to people in this way today? Do you think that strangers can be angels?

Leaders equip and train other leaders

I am increasingly convinced that the larger the church, the greater the need for ministers to be "equippers." For instance, I could spend a tremendous amount of time starting one small group and doing this really well. Or I could equip multiple small group leaders. Which would have a greater impact?

I like the following quote on leadership from Bill Easum, author of Leadership On the Other Side. When he speaks of the "OtherSide," he is speaking of the quantum changes that are needed to be made in order to meet today's ministry challenges.

"Leaders know that unleashing the DNA occurs when they equip individuals to discover and use their own giftedness to enhance the DNA . . . Leaders equip individuals to replicate the church's DNA through the use of their gifts. Their role is to create an environment in which people are encouraged to soar by discovering and living out their spiritual gifts. God gives each person special gifts to be used on behalf of the Body of Christ. Indivdiuals discover their destiny when they are equipped to use their gifts on behalf of the Body of Christ. Disciples are grown, not on preconceived organizational needs, but on the God-given giftedness of the individual.

However, in today's fast paced world, it is not enough for leaders to do one-on-one evangelism. Multiplication is required on the OtherSide. Exponential growth, like on the day of Pentecost, is the goal. Leaders equip other leaders to grow disciples. They in turn are equipped to grow disciples."

See http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Other-Side-Rules-Clues/dp/0687085888/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211924487&sr=8-1

What do we learn about equipping from Jesus' training of the Twelve?

The lost art of hospitality--welcoming the stranger

On Sunday I'll begin a new sermon series on hospitality. Whereas today we think of hospitality primarily in terms of inviting our friends over for dinner or throwing welcome parties, the original roots of hospitality go to welcoming strangers, the poor, and those who are vulnerable due to their status as aliens. I have been highly influenced in this by the the book Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine D. Pohl. http://www.amazon.com/Making-Room-Recovering-Hospitality-Christian/dp/0802844316/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211568502&sr=8-2

Hospitality of all kinds is almost a lost art in American society. People rarely have people of any kind into their homes. Going out to eat with friends is good. But it pales in comparison to the level of intimacy and familiarity that is gained by bringing a person into our homes, with our children running around us. It is much easier to pay others to provide food for friends than it is to take the time to devote to entertaining people in our homes.

But again, I have slipped back into thinking of hospitality as primarily directed towards friends and people of equal socio-economic status. Ancient hospitality was directed towards the stranger, the alien, and the poor. In some mysterious way, the Bible says that through these interactions we encounter God.

Why do you think that hospitality is a lost art in today's society? To whom should we extend our hospitality?

Shepherds can help members discover their Spiritual gifts

Last night I had a great Strengths and Spiritual gifts session with one of our shepherds here and his wife. It was a great time as I got to learn more about them. Of course, as long time Christians and church leaders, much of this time was an affirmation of ways in which they are already serving. And yet, as with most all of these sessions, even for long time members, it seems that this time helped give a language to describe the ways that God had created them and the promptings of the Spirit which they felt in their lives. We found applications for using their gifts in their marriage, their jobs, and in the church. All of us can benefit from having someone lead us through something like this. In most marriage seminars I do not learn a lot of new things, but ask my wife if we still need to go!

I am excited that they are going to work as assessors, helping others go through the Strengths and Spiritual gifts assessments. These tools can help not only in outreach and ministry, but also in marriages and families. Ephesians 4:11 says that God gave some to be pastors/shepherds to equip God's people for service. I'm grateful that one of the shepherds here is taking up this ministry. My good shepherd and friend John in Liberty also was an assessor. It is an important role.

Do you think that there is a lack of equipping in the church? Why or why not?

Some Good Missional Reading

Here is a link to the current reading list of Alan Hirsch, one of the leaders of the missional movement. http://www.theforgottenways.org/reading/ Trust me, whatever Alan is reading, you will want to read if you are interested in the missional movement.

I'll be speaking at the upcoming Quest lectures at OC (see http://blogs.oc.edu/ee/?/quest/presenters), and I'll bring a reading list then for those who are interested.

The low birthrate of Europe and Japan reflects a low value on life--could the US be next?

Below is an except from a fascinating briefing on life, birth rates, and euthenasia in Europe and Japan that one of my friends sent to me today. I'll make some comments after the article below.

A GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING FOR CEOs by HERBERT MEYER

Europe and Japan are dying because their populations are aging and shrinking. These trends can be reversed if the young people start breeding. However, the birth rates in these areas are so low it will take two generations to turn things around. No economic model exists that permits 50 years to turn things around. Some countries are beginning to offer incentives for people to have bigger families.

For example, Italy is offering tax breaks for having children. However, it's a lifestyle issue versus a tiny amount of money. Europeans aren't willing to give up their comfortable lifestyles in order to have more children. In general, everyone in Europe just wants it to last a while longer. Europeans have a real talent for living. They don't want to work very hard. The average European worker gets 400 more hours of vacation time per year than Americans. They don't want to work and they don't want to make any of the changes needed to revive their economies.

The summer after 9/11, France lost 15,000 people in a heat wave. In August, the country basically shuts down when everyone goes on vacation. That year, a severe heat wave struck and 15,000 elderly people living in nursing homes and hospitals died. Their children didn't even leave the beaches to come back and take care of the bodies. Institutions had to scramble to find enough refrigeration units to hold the bodies until people came to claim them. This loss of life was five times bigger than 9/11 in America, yet it didn't trigger any change in French society.

When birth rates are so low, it creates a tremendous tax burden on the young. Under those circumstances, keeping mom and dad alive is not an attractive option. That ' s why euthanasia is becoming so popular in most European countries. The only country that doesn' t permit (and even encourage) euthanasia is Germany , because of all the baggage from World War II. The European economy is beginning to fracture. Countries like Italy are starting to talk about pulling out of the European Union because it is killing them.

When things get bad economically in Europe , they tend to get very nasty politically. The canary in the mine is anti-Semitism. When it goes up, it means trouble is coming. Current levels of anti-Semitism are higher than ever. Germany won't launch another war, but Europe will likely get shabbier, more dangerous and less pleasant to live in. Japan has a birth rate of 1.3 and has no intention of bringing in immigrants. By 2020, one out of every five Japanese will be 70 years old. Property values in Japan have dropped every year for the past 14 years. The country is simply shutting down.

-------------------------------------------------

As I read this, I could not help but think how selfish all of this is and how it reflects misplaced values. Not having children so that you can live a more indulgent life at the beach. Not wanting to let in immigrants because they might contaminate the culture. Not going back to bury your father and mother because it would cut short your vacation. Why is this happening there? Because Europe and Japan, for all of their rich history and beauty, are godless nations. Church attend in Europe is almost non-existent.

Is the US so far behind? We are a nation of much smaller families than past generations. Part of this is birth control, but much of it is economic. Are we trading the joy of children for bigger homes and nicer cars? Have we placed things over humans? And if the crushing financial burden of retiring boomers and parents starts costing families their life fortunes, will calls for euthenasia be far behind?

I am not criticizing anyone in particular on this. I came from family of four children, and we only have two. We may or may not have more, a decision which is partly up to God. We have to balance Becki's stress level and my overachieving work schedule in this decision and waht God allows, but we have tried not to make economics a deciding factor in this. If we do not have more children, I hope that it will be for other reasons, not simply so that we have less cost and more income. But without valuing relationships (and our valuing of God is tied to this), why would a nation not place things above children?

Obviously, no matter what, we will not have nine children as people did in the past. With commutes, school schedules, etc., life really is different than Little House on the Prairie, where everyone was together on the farm. Time is as much of a factor as money. But it is a disturbing trend that birth rates in civilized countries are diminishing. And with the US driven by materialism, dropping in church attendance, and an aging population, could we soon reflect the values (or lack thereof) of Europe and China?

What do you think of the birth trends and attitudes towards life in Europe and Japan? Do you think the US will follow in their paths?

David Archuleta and Lessons from American Idol

Last night I came home after a meeting and watched the results of this week's American Idol. As expected, Syesha, the lone remaining woman in the contest, was voted off. While I was not much impressed with her in the first few weeks, she had really peaked in the last few weeks. This week, however, she only did good, not outstanding, and could not come close to competing with the two superstars in the show, David Cook and David Archuleta.

In the show, the producers showed scenes of each contestant in their home town. David Cook is from Kansas City, MO (actually Blue Springs, which is right by KC) where I lived for six years, and so that was interesting. This must be all over the news back there. While he had a great reception, David Archuleta was mobbed by thousands of teenage girls. It was like scenes from the Beatles coming off airplanes.

Archuleta has a crystal clear voice and a big teen fan base. But I think that most people like him because, well, he smiles a lot and seems to love life. One of Steven Covey's pieces of advice on winning people over is smiling.

I love life, and I love to laugh. Part of my "wooing" of Becki was making her laugh. But sometimes I can get in "work mode," and forget to smile.

As Christians, we have a lot to smile about. God has blessed us richly.

Do you like people who smile? Why do we like these kind of people?

Can we get addicted to our own adrenaline?

Can we get addicted to our own adrenaline? The answer, according to Dr. Archibald Hart, is yes. Dr. Hart gives the following as symptoms of being addicted to our own adrenaline:

• You would rather engage in your activity than sleep.


• When you stop your activity, you feel restless.


• You only feel excited or encourgaged when you engage in your activity; at other times you feel "low."


• Your activity helps you forget your problems.


• Whenever you feel depressed, you turn to your activity to make you feel better.


• You fantasize a lot about your activity when you are away from it.

One of the things that Dr. Hart suggests is slowing down our behaviors, which can slow down our metablism and reduce our need for adrenaline (which is released during high stress situations). He suggests:

• Speak more slowly and deliberately.


• Pause regularly between phrases.


• Learn to be a better listener.


• Walk more slowly.


• Don't do more than one thing at a time.


• Eat more slowly and savor your food.


• Drive more slowly.


• Do nothing for thirty minutes every day.

Here is the link to Dr. Hart's book on Adrenaline and Stress. http://www.amazon.com/Adrenaline-Stress-Exciting-Breakthrough-Overcome/dp/084993690X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1210606183&sr=8-1

Doing nothing just about kills me. But this weekend, I did feel a need to get some more rest. I took a two hour nap on Sunday, and felt like I could have used some more. I've never had an addictive personality, but could it be because I already have an addiction--adrenaline. I think that Paul was also a person who was a high achiever and driven to try to accomplish great things for God. I don't think that in this sense he was normal. But even he spent three years in Arabia without any recorded activity (Gal. 1). I wonder what he did there in the desert? Did he feel non-productive?

Do you think that our society is too fast-paced? Do you struggle with being productive or being too productive?

Real change starts with little movements

There is a great temptation in churches to try to bring about change from the top down. The thinking is, the leadership decided this, go out and tell people, and they will do it. However, while some might go for such marching orders, most will not. Human nature kicks in and many will naturally resist.

How then, do you bring about change in a congregation? Change happens primarily from a gound up, grassroots movement. While it is great to have all or most of those in leadership "on board," there merely needs to be enough support from the top to not kill change movements.

Missional leaders can start change movements in the following way:
1. Start to raise awareness of the missional concept through preaching, teaching, and most especially, through individual conversations.
2. Begin to work with a small group of individuals who really "get the concept." This group of individuals who are Innovators and first adopters may constitute 10% of the congregation.
3. Start some missional outreaches with the Innovators. Sell these as being "experiments" if there is resistance from others.
4. Begin to expand the circle of missional adopters to key leaders who have the influence with others who are less innovative. (Often the innovators are at the fringe of the official power circle.) These Influence Brokers will be able to spread the concept through their relational channels.

After these steps are taken, people will generally be able to see the success of the experimental missional outreaches and will hear the support of the Influence Brokers. This will lead to full scale adoption by most of the leadership and congregation. However, there is a danger now that the movement--which was once fluid and dynamic--will become institutionalized, as the leadership seeks to "get this under control." If this happens, then the entire process must start all over.

What causes such resistance to new ideas and positive change in a church? How have you seen this overcome?

Our kids are a lot like us

Today I picked Gina up from school and took her home. As we drove home, she read one of her books the whole time. Then when I got home, Becki told me that Gina asked her earlier in the day, "Mom, if an intruder broke in, would it be okay to lie about where we were?"

Once again I thought, This child is a lot like me. I was reading and pondering the meaning of the universe and philosophical questionsat a young age, much like her. I started reading the Lord of the Rings at about age seven, the same age as Gina.

One of the reasons that we love our kids so much, I think, is that we see ourselves in them. A bit self-centered? Perhaps. But it also may be God's way of trying to get us to love something other than ourselves, in "baby steps."

What do our children teach us about God and about ourselves?

Sunday Reflections

On Sunday we had our send-off for two mission efforts--a Let's Start Talking going to St. Petersburg, and a Hispanic church plant for Collin County. In addition to highlighting these efforts, I was able to use the occasion to talk about sending and its relation to worship.

In the past, worship was seen as where evangelism took place. The whole concept of being sent and going where people are was lost. Rather than seeing worship as primarily being the place to directly convert people, we should see worship as being the a time in which we are commissioned to go out during the week and share Christ with others. (The assembly does play an important part in a person's conversion, but in a more indirect way.) The great commission was given in the context of worship of Jesus. Isaiah was sent when he encountered God on his throne.

At lunch, we went out with a great young couple that has recently been married. We had a good time, and Becki and I were able to share some of our young couple experiences. I was also able to invite them to study together, and they readily agreed. One grew up in our fellowship, and another grew up Catholic. It will be good to go through the Story of Redemption together with them. See www.storyofredemption.com

Then we went to the Hispanic Church Plant's opening worship service. It was a good turn out. The speaking was translated into English, and the songs were all in Spanish. Carlos, the church planter, had different people who had been reached prior to the worship launch of the church stand and be acknowledged. One was a man that he had met at Starbucks. Another was a neighbor. Another had been baptized, I believe. I was so glad to hear these stories.

That evening we went out to Dave and Jan's house for small group. They live in Prosper, and are seeking to begin 3-4 groups out there. The group had unanimously decided to study Spiritual gifts, a subject which I am passionate about and on which I had recently spoken. Those there all signed up to start their Strengths and Spiritual gifts assessments, which I am excited about. There is a lot of potential for these groups out there. I was encouraged to hear Dave clearly lay out a vision for serving their neighbors through these groups and inviting them into the group. Eventually there needs to be a church in Prosper, and these groups could form a good nucleus for this.

Well, it was a long full day, and I'm just now getting to writing about it. But a very good and productive day.

Ben Stein's Movie Expelled Has Some Intelligence

Last night I took off after church and after tucking in our kids and went and saw Ben Stein's movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. This film is a documentary that seeks to:

1) Show that intelligent design (ID), the theory that life shows evidence of being designed rather than randomly evolving from a single organism, is being excluded from the academic debate;

2) Show a link between evolution and atheism; and

3) Show a link between amorality (not having morals) and evolution.

As to the first, it is certainly taboo to question the established scientific worldview that all of life evolved spontaneously from a single organism without a creator. I am sure that this academic oppression occurs, though I do not know if the people who were cited were good examples of this or not. It is the nature of those who question paradigms to be shunned, ostracized, and even persecuted. Note Galileo. Until there is an alternative theory, people will stay with a worldview even if it doesn't really work until there is another theory to replace it. And usually it takes the old generation who believed in the previous theory dying off for the new theory to become accepted. There is a great book on the nature of scientific revolutions by Thomas Kuhn. Fascinating stuff for those interested in science and worldviews. (You'll have to google it--I'm writing quickly).

As to the second, certainly many who have accepted full scale Darwinian evolution have become atheists. But there are many theistic evolutions, people who believe that God used evolution to bring about the species and guided it along the way. (By the way, all scientistis, Christian or otherwise, believe in small scale evolution, that change happens within a species. Viruses, bacteria, animals, etc. all evolve). So this is a bit of a one-sided portaryal.

As to the third, not all atheists are amoral. But the "natural" implications of atheistic evolution can certainly lead to the believe that there is no right or wrong. The film well brings out the link between Hitler, Eugenics (breeding a superior human race and killing those who are unfit), abortion, euthenasia, and atheistic evolution.

While critics can rightly cry that certain viewpoints were not equally represented in the film, the climax of the movie was quite profound. Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion (a book I am reading) and a proponent of atheistic evolution is caught making some amazing admissions.

Dawkins admits that he doesn't know where life came from.

Dawkins admits that he doesn't know how the universe began.

Dawkins says that there is some evidence for intelligent design, but that this design was performed by aliens.

As to the first two, I have always said that no matter what a person believes about evolution, that is not really the question. The question is, where did the universe come from? Evolution assumes a world, a sea, lighting, and amino acids floating around. And a sun, and a moon, and a galaxy, etc. These were created in a big bang. Okay. I think God could have used that too. But the athetists must ask, where did the big bang come from? This is a question for which they have no answer. Evolution might describe a process for how humans came into being--which people can accept or reject--but it does not explain how the world and the universe came into being. In short, it answers very little, and would do so even if it were absolutely correct.

As to Dawkins' last point, I find it hard to believe that he let himself be taped saying this. Panspermia? You've got to be kidding. So life here shows sign of intelligent design. But aliens from another plant came and planted the seeds of life here and left. But these aliens (or designers as he says) must have evolved without a designer. Something that didn't happen here, according to this theory, but happened somewhere out in space.

I'll have more to say about this later. I will just say that anyone who believes in aliens planting on earth rather than God somehow, in some way, creating us, has more faith than I do.

Have you seen the movie? What do you think of panspermia?

Ministry Flows Out of Relationships

A great book on leadership is Reviewing Leadership: A Chirstian evaluation of current approaches by Robert Banks and Bernice M. Ledbetter. This is from the excellent "Engaging Culture" series from Baker Academic.




I like this quote from the authors:



"Emerging leaders like people because they thrive on relationships. The presence of people energizes rather than drains them . . . Fellowship and minstry flows from relationships . . . Consequently, leaders must embody the values they would encourage in others."

Ministry flows from relationships. I so much believe in this, which is why I try to spend time with both Christians and non-Christians in relational type settings. Church leaders often spend far too much time in meetings, rather than being out amongst people. How many many meetings do we find in Scripture? Not many. But we do see Jesus eating with people, spending time with them, and sharing life with them.

Link to Amazon for this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Reviewing-Leadership-Christian-Evaluation-Approaches/dp/0801026903/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209571988&sr=8-1

Do you feel that you know your leader or the people whom you are seeking to lead?

Reaching Out is a Walk in the Park

I didn't really have much of a day off today, despite efforts otherwise. However, I did break away for a couple of hours with Becki and Emily to a park nearby the house. While there I met a young family named Matt and Courtney who have a son that is 15 months old. He is a music producer who also tours with a band. Anyway, when he asked what I did and found out that I was a minister, he started asking about High Pointe. He was interested in a non-denominational church, which we are, and in short term mission trips. I told him that on Sunday we are sending off a short term mission group with Let's Start Talking to St. Petersburg, as well as praying for the Hispanic church plant that officially launches that day. Now what are the odds that this would happen? God is amazing.

When I explained where the church building is, the Courtney asked, Are you the church that has the consignment shop? (Yes.) I know right where that is! I was just in there two weeks ago. I explained that we had partnered with a consignment shop seller who wanted to give any unsold items to a church that would give it away to needy people in the community. I explained that this is exactly what we are doing, giving away food and clothing to those who are in need.

My friends, we are called by God to be a church that is a light to the world, that feeds the hungry and clothes the naked. That goes into all the world. That sacrifices time and money to further the good news of Jesus Christ. When we do this, people take note. They want to be a part.

In order to reach out to people, we must go to where they are. Parks are a great place for families to meet other families. I talked today with one of our visitors, Art, who works at Raytheon and holds a Bible study at his workplace. Coffee shops, bars, work out centers, community centers--these are all places where people are. This is where the church must go, and serve those around us and share the good news with everyone. And along the way, we will find more and more people like Matt and Courtney who want to join us in this mission of God.

Want to reach out? Take a walk in the park. Remember, God has already gone before you, preparing the way.

What kind of encounters have you had with people that seem to be "G0d-incidences," not mere coincidences?

Why Christianity Needs to Be More Like Seinfeld

The motto of Boomers (when they were younger) was "never trust anyone over 30." For my generation, it might be "never trust anyone who isn't a Seinfeld fan."

There is a reason why this sitcom has been voted the best of all time. The casting was great, the comedic timing was perfect, and the writing was creative and original. But the reason it so resonated with people was that, despite its characteristic New York flavor, it was about real life. Hardly a day passes that I do not find myself in a "Seinfeld moment." The fans of the show know what I mean.

The churches, preachers, shepherds, and Christian books which are resonating with people today are a lot like Seinfeld--they illuminate real life and daily Christian living. I'll spare you the contrast between modernism and postmodernism. But most people don't have the time or the interest in high brow theories. That is not to say that "theories" are not important to learn, but simply that the interest level and need for daily Christian living is great. People need to know how to sense God's presence Monday-Saturday, how to be a Christian at work, how to make love to their wives (read Song of Solomon! and note the success of Rob Bell's book, Sex God), and a whole lot of other things.

I love theology and concepts. Our theology must drive our ministry. However, most people do not live there. So my suggestion to churches and church leaders as I give missional church seminars is to give members practical ways to be missional. http://www.highpointechurchofchrist.org/missional-lifestyles-bells How to bless people's lives. Some weekly spiritual practices. People are desperate for this, and they will often respond enthusiasticly.

Did you like Seinfeld--why or why not? Does Christianity need to become more practical?

Our Little Emily

Becki took some great pictures of Emily. Here is one of them. Little Emily has had a bit of a tough time adjusting to the move. But her normal self is just bubbly--she is a little Becki.

Today Emily drew a picture which she said was of me and mama (Becki). But I noticed that there was only one person drawn on the paper. So I asked here where I was. She giggled and said, "There wasn't enough room." Then she drew in a picture of me as a little baby.

We are truly blessed to have two beautiful daughters!

Sunday Reflections--Giving Food to the Hungry

On Sunday, I spoke on how we transform the world. Rather than depending upon laws, Christians are called to reach the world by being salt and light. That is, we are called to do good deeds, actively serving people, so that the world may praise the Father in heaven. This is something we are to do together as a church, as well as in our personal lives.

As I spoke on blessing people in our daily lives, I knew that there were stories out there of people in our congregation who blessed people this week. Several people shared how they had blessed someone, and it was if a "light" came on. You mean this is ministry? Absolutely.

After the sermon, there was a woman who came back to the offices who wanted financial help. Hmm . . . I had just spoke on being this kind of church . . . So we prayed, I took her to Wal-Mart to buy her some food, and then paid for a night of her hotel. These situations pose a dilemma for me. This was someone whom I had been warned had regularly come for help in the past, and might not be interested in changing her situation. Plus she was a bit pushy, saying over and over again that God had told her that she was being used to test churches. And maybe she is.

I know the gospels, and remember that Jesus said to give to those who ask for something from you. Then Paul says that those who do not work will not eat. We don't want to enable, and yet we don't want to neglect or fail to show God's love.

Should we help people, no questions asked? Or should we be careful not to enable or perpetuate a non-productive lifestyle?

Eating Together Builds Relationships--and can be missional

This week, I have had a breakfast, lunch, or dinner appointment every day, some twice a day. On Friday, I am booked for three meals. Someone suggested to me today that I might need to start watching my waistline.

Why so many meals? Because that is how you build relationships--through food. Food draws people together, and it generates conversation. You want to encourage fellowship? Bring on the potato salad! You want to kill fellowship? Drop the food and drink from any event or gathering. Sine I am trying to get to know different members and build relationships, this means that I am eating a lot.

Sharing meals with others (eating together) is a common pasttime of preachers. It was also a common pasttime of Jesus. In his book, Come to the Table, John Mark Hicks highlights the many meals that Jesus shared with others. He points out that food was a major part of Jesus' ministry. Note the passages that he lists from the book of Luke in which Jesus shares a meal with others, along with the purpose that he assigns to each meal.

5:27-32 Banquet at Levi's house - Evangelism
7:36-50 Dinner at Simon the Pharisee's house - Reconciliation
9:10-17 Breaking bread at Bethsaida - Mission/service
10:38-42 Hospitality at the home of Martha - Discipleship
11:37-54 Noon meal at a Pharisee's house - Inner life
14:1-24 Sabbath dinner at a Pharisee's house - Invitation to all
19:1-10 Hospitality at the house of Zacchaeus - Salvation for all
22:7-38 Last Supper--a Passover meal - Thanksgiving
24:13-35 Breaking bread at Emmaus - The Living One
24:36-53 Supper with the disciples - The missionary community

When we share meals with non-Christians, these meals become a missional activity. One of the missional practices that I seek to have (but do not always succeed at) is to share 3 meals a week with others--1 a Christian, 1 a non-Christian, and 1 can be either. Imagine if a whole church were doing this! When we share meals with non-Christians, we tell them that we care about them and that we take them where they are. These meals open up conversations about real life, God, and our faith. Then when the church does have an event, the church can invite friends whom we have eaten with, not total strangers.

How often do you share meals with other Christians? How about non-Christians? What would happen if we all ate with both of these groups each week?

You get what you pay for--should churches charge for events?

I read an interesting article today on the psychology of price. One of the points of the article is that people often instinctively believe that higher priced items are better in quality. They also often will ignore or undervalue things that are free. See http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/apr2008/sb20080414_027855.htm?campaign_id=rss_smlbz.

On the second page of the article he indicates that churches would be better to "charge" for outreach events, even some nominal fee. Otherwise, people will ignore the event because it will be perceived to not be of much worth. On many church related things, this has been my experience as well. People are more likely to come to a marriage seminar or financial peace seminar if they have to pay a registration fee than if they do not. People value the Strengths Finder assessment when they have to pay for the book, even if at a reduced cost. Churches will value an outreach seminar more if they have to pay for it. We have a "free concert" for a Russian singing group on Sunday night at High Pointe. In retrospect, we probably would have more people come from the community if we had charged some kind of small admission fee.

This is a delicate balance for churches to walk. If a church overcharges, they will be viewed as being after people's money. But if they charge something reasonable, ironically, more people will usually come and more people will be reached.

Why do we place a higher value on expense things?

generational differences - why blogging has typos and emails can be in lower case

since we have a lot of people who are new to blogs who have joined us lately (some really hip older people) i thought that i would explain the nature of blogging

you see in blogging, it is important to blog nearly every day

this leads the blogger to write at unexpected times, in short snatches of time wherever they may be found

because of this blogging is meant to be a bit raw not an essay

so you will often find in blogs ttypos and spelling mstakes and runon thoughts

for those of you who get my blog by email, you get it raw and the first draft. but i will often go back and correct some mistakes that are glaring because i was a senior in college when al gore invented the internet. if i had grown up later though i not care i suppose

you can also find a lot of email today without capitalization. i remember first noting this in one of brian mclaren's books in which he printed in his book actual email correspondence with young adults, and they were lower case and had some typos i thought, what is this? this movement has only increased with the advent of texting

okay if this style of writing has bugged you then you are probably not a millenial you are a gen xer like me or above

after this i will probably continue to write with capitalization though if i start submitting my blog articles through my blackberry then i don't know putting in those caps on those messages is rather annoying

what do you think of the new styles of writing? is it more important to communicate quickly and on the fly and therefore have more communication, or is it better to have less and have it checked and edited before it is sent out?

Spiritual Gifts Assessments Beginning at High Pointe

Last night Becki and I went to a dinner party with two young couples and their families, Chris and Christy, and Kevin and Meriann. We had a great time. Our kids played together, we shared some good laughs, and we talked about the church. There used to be a Wednesday night meal at High Pointe, which really helped young families come on Wed. Going on Wed., after a long commute and with young children, is really difficult. Plus, they liked being able to sit down and fellowship with people of different generations and people they would not normally eat with, like elders; however, apparently there was no who could take up this ministry once those who began it were ready to pass it on.

My ears picked up at this for lots of reasons. First, there is a real need for intergenerational ministry at High Pointe. Currently, everything is segmented by age groups (Bible classes, small groups), and somewhere in the church life there needs to be a mixing of ages. Second, High Pointe needs a church-wide evangelistic/follow-up ministry such as Monday Night for the Master (MNFTM). MNFTM has a central meal, and then the church goes out and visits people, writes cards to seekers and those who are hurting, prays for the lost, etc. The meal is essential to this success, and it sounds like there would be support for something like this again. Third, since no one could be found to continue the meal ministry, it was again made clear that there is a great need for Strenngths and Spiritual gifts discovery at High Pointe.

Aftering talking, our new friends indicated that they were excited about the Spiritual gifts ministry. They want to serve, and want and need some help in discovering how they can best serve. All four said that they wanted to go through the Strengths and Spiritual gifts assessment. The people here are hungry for this discovery. At a women's retreat, one of the women from the search team talked about the need for Christians to discover their gifts. I am excited about starting these assessments with members, staff, and ministers. This will help me know how to better know people and put together ministry teams, as well as hopefully help members serve and reach out. I am excited about beginning this, and so apparently are others.

As I go through these assessments, I will have to be looking for other equippers--people who can quickly catch on and begin assessing others. For some research on how Spiritual gifts discovery and use helps people serve, reach out, and discover God, see http://www.storyofredemption.com/page22.html.

Do you think that most people know their strengths and Spiritual gifts or need help in discovering this?

Our New Web Site is Reaching a Lot of People

I know that most of this online community has probably seen the website of the new church that I'm at, the High Pointe Church of Christ. But just in case you had not, here is our web address: www.highpointechurchofchrist.org.

We are getting about 80 unique visitors a day, which translates to about 2400 unique visitors a month. And we are just now starting to show up in the search engines on Google. Without personal contact, technology is limited in value. But as a point of first contact, the power of the Internet is tremendous. As the site is established, takes on more great content, and is promoted by our members, we will see this traffic increase even more.

No one under age 40, when looking for a church home, goes to the yellow pages. They all do web searches. And if the site is bad, many will rule out this church automatically. Why? Because a church without a good web site--such a vital part of today's culture--shows that it does not care about nor understand the world in which we now live, particularly in regards to young people. And this is increasingly applying towards older people too, as they become more familiar with this technology. A great number of our registered users on our website are older, which is great.

Today I met Laura, a woman who has a consignment sale at the church and then donates the remaining clothes to our church's clothes closet. She said that she looked at the site, and loved all of its "bells and whistles." She said that if she didn't live in Denton, she would go hear. Of course, she says this not just because of the site, but because of the wonderful people here. She just bragged about them, to which I heartily agreed! So technology alone will not reach anyone, but it can be a powerful tool to help introduce people to a loving church and the people of God.

What features do you think most people who are looking for a church are drawn to and help them want to visit? What would you look for in a site if moving into an area or searching?

The great need for equipping, especially in ministers

The longer I am in ministry, the more I am convinced of the absolute necessity of equipping Christians for ministry. I just came from giving a missional church seminar in the town of Odessa, Missouri. It was clear that the church was made up of great hearts, and they really want to reach out. They simply haven't really fully known how to do this. The same is true at High Pointe. The people here have great hearts--they simply need equipping, training, and encouragment.

This equipping and training is the role of church leaders. Paul says that God gives"gifts" to the church such as evangelists, shepherds, and teachers to equip people for service (Eph. 4:11). While this is important in smaller congregations, it is probably even more essential in a large congregation. For example, I bemoan the fact that in a congregation the size of High Pointe, I cannot greet every visitor that comes through the doors. While I can reach a greater number of people through preaching and teaching, proportionally, on a relational level, I am spread three times as thin as I was at Liberty because the church here is nearly three times larger.

During my trip to KC, I got to see Matt and Kevin, two good friends from Liberty. When I was a minister there, I spent time with these guys--going to eat, going to civic clubs together, working on various projects. They are both on the outreach team now at Liberty, and are continuing much of the work there. They both came out to the missional church seminar, and we crammed in a bit more personal training as well. Equipping involves both strengths and Spiritual gifts assessments, as well as personal time with future leaders.

All Christian leaders need to be involved in equipping. In regards to paid ministers, I once had a professor descibe it this way. There are three tiers of people that you can hire.

• 1st Tier - You can hire someone to do a job. So you pay someone to run a ministry, like youth. This position is then limited by what one person can do.
• 2nd Tier - You can hire someone to do a job and equip others to do this job as well. So you hire someone to do youth ministry, who also can build up other youth-type leaders.
• 3rd Tier - You can hire somone to do a job and to equip people who can equip others (equip the equippers). In this case, there is a tremendous multipying affect.

In a large church especially, it is essential to hire the third tier kind of person.

Have you ever had a church seek to equip you on a personal level?

Sunday and Monday Reflections

On Sunday, I spoke about how we must not be a worldly church; instead, we must be a Christ-shaped church. The worldly church judges success in worldly terms--size, budgets, and facilities. The Christ shaped church judges success in terms of lost people who are reached, transformation of people's lives, and service to the community. The temptation that Jesus faced from Satan was to use his power and resources to serve himself. This is the same temptation that the church faces--to serve itself, to devote its resources to itself, rather than the lost.

What I want to head off is the problem that many large churches have in fast-growing areas--being satisfied with transfer and demographic growth, rather than evangelistic growth. Being satisfied with being the biggest church, rather than the most servant-oriented church. This is dangerous waters in Texas, where size is the measure of greatness! However, I was so glad to have this message well received from a wide range of ages. In speaking of how the church is called to be selfless and reach out, one member said, "If this represents what this church is about, then I am on board." In preaching a counter-cultural sermon such as this, it is good to not have this message affirmed and see that people want to be a part of a servant-oriented church.

After Sunday morning, my new friend Travis took me to the airport (a big step in a male relationship, as Seinfeld fans know). I flew to Kansas City to speak at an area-wide church unity gathering called Heartland. The message was about seeking and saving the lost. There was a blending of black and white churches, which was wonderful. (And encouraging for a preacher, as you get a lot of hearty amens!) A large group from the Liberty church came out, and I got to see many of our dear friends. I really got a wonderful sense of God's blessing, knowing that we have great friends all across the US.

Monday night I gave the first half of the missional church seminar at the Odessa Church of Christ. Odessa is a town of 5000 just outside of the KC metroplex ring. Most churches that I have given this seminar for have been suburban. I was glad to see so many turn out. I was touched by the hearts of the people there and their receptivity. Many of these concepts are challenging requiring a rethinking of the central place of mission in the church and new ways of reaching out. And yet, so many older people also affirmed these thoughts. This was just great to see.

Well, I have too many things to get done during my short time here. So I must run.

My Upcoming Speaking Engagement and Seminar

On Sunday after morning worship, I'll be headed to the airport to fly back to Kansas City. Tonight I'll be speaking at an area-wide assembly called "Heartland." Then I'll be giving a Missional Church seminar at the Odessa Church of Christ. See www.storyofredemption.com for the seminar sessions. I'll try to keep up the blog during the trip and keep you posted, but it may get busy.

I really love helping churches reach out, so these seminars are very fulfilling. The only thing that I have to watch is being away from my family. Check with you guys soon!

How Selfish Are We?

I came across a good article this week on being selfish/selfless. Check out http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/07/how-selfish-are-you/. As the author makes clear, it really is hard to have selfless motives.

Why are we so easily self-centered?

People are very friendly in Texas

I've always know it, but it has been some time since I've lived here--people are friendly in Texas. I am amazed at how polite people are about letting others in a lane while driving. Three lanes of traffic will leave open a wide gap when stopped at a light to allow anyone who might want to cross get through to a store or exit. It really is rare compared to the rest of the world.

What makes Texans--and people in the South--so friendly?

The word is getting out about High Pointe

I just spoke with our real estate agent here, Barb. She is a great agent who is a lot of fun. Anyway, she said that she had a conversation with a young couple who was looking to sell their home. It had has a big game room and might be close to the type of floor plan we are looking for. Well, she told them that it was a house that she would like to look at because she had a client who was a preacher who was looking for that type of home. When she mentioned that it was the High Pointe Church of Christ with a new preacher, they said, "We were planning on visiting that church this weekend and checking it out."

God is at work! Thank you to all who have talked with their friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. May be show those who come our way love, kindness, and a church that seeks to serve the community.

What do you think of this story?

Rethinking everything to emphasize our mission

In a recent speech, presidential John McCain spoke of the need to rethink how the US responds to the world. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080403/pl_nm/usa_politics_mccain_dc_20

"We must rethink, renew and rebuild the structure and mission of our military; the capabilities of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies; the purposes of our alliances, the reach and scope of our diplomacy" against the threat, he says.

Any time I hear the word "mission," I of course think about the church. So what if we took McCain's statement, and changed it to apply to the church. It would read something like this:

"We must rethink, renew and rebuild the structure and mission of [the church]; the capabilities of our [leaders]; the purposes of our [relationships], the reach and scope of our [love and care]."

The church's mission must be what gets first priority. It must be constantly emphasized in sermons, classes, bulletins, announcements, small groups, personal conversations, print media, and the web. The church's structure must emphasize the mission, which leads to critical questions. How does the church spend its time? Do the church's weekly meetings and monthly calendar place a priority on mission--or are we just a worship and Bible study club that talks about mission but never finds time for it?

What about our leaders? Are they simply care-takers and managers? Or are they moving the church towards mission? Are they equipping people to serve God and others in their daily lives?

What about our relationships? Are our lives consumed with work, or are we building friendships with churched and non-churched people? To whom are we showing love and care--just our church friends, or the world? Jesus says even pagans love those who love them. We are called to be like Christ and love the world.

If we are serious about our mission, we must rethink everything.

What aspects of church and personal life do we need to re-think in order to prioritize our mission to reach the world? What is the toughest thing to change?

Today's Tornado Scare - How Danger Draws Christians Together

We had a tornado warning today, and for a while we were congregated in one room in the offices. Then it passed. (The picture shown here is not the actual tornado--but this one sure looks scary, doesn't it?)

It is amazing how danger draws people together. What would happen if Christianity became illegal or "dangerous" to practice. Do you think we would find our relationship with other Christians to be stronger? Would we value them more? Would we put minor differences behind us?

In the first century, if you found someone who would confess that Jesus was Lord, and not Caesar or Zeus, you found a brother and a friend. And you would cling to them for dear life when the Romans came to hunt you down.

Do you think there would be more or less unity in America is Christianity somehow became illegal?

Ministers and accessibility and the difference between the older and younger generations

As I mentioned last week, one of the things that is important with younger generations in particular is openness and transparency. However, I noticed when visiting High Pointe that the minister's office was in the back of the offices. I thought, hmm. I would not be able to see people as they come in the offices back there, and they wouldn't be able to see me. People already have to be buzzed in to get into the church (due to the security that is needed for the Christian school). I wonder if there is another solution?

Then Kirk, our facilities manager, generously volunteered to switch offices with me so that I could be more accessible. Even though the office down the hall was a lot bigger, I really didn't care about that. I still have enough room for my most important books and to have people in that I could talk to. For Boomers and up, the other office might have worked. But for younger generations--which this church and community is filled with--it just signals distance.

Do these kinds of things make a difference? Yesterday, a young guy named James dropped by to see me and asked me to go have some coffee together. James is an upwardly mobile, young executive type who works for Ralph Lauren. A definite leader here who loves the Lord (and exhibits "cool"). The first thing that he mentioned was how he noticed that I was in the office up front (with windows) where people could drop by, and that that was great. He wanted to be able to know his ministers, and to him, that signaled an openness and desire to meet and interact with people.

You see, whether we realize it or not, everything that we do is theological (a line that I learned from my D.Min. director, Kurt Frederickson). Everything that we do sends a message.

This also points out the great need for ministers (and other church leaders) to stay up with culture, to spend time with younger people, and to listen to them. There is no excuse for ministers not at least reading about these things and continuing to learn. There also is a great need for teaching about generations and for cross-cultural learning in a church. Younger generations have grown up in a world where video, cell phones, blogging, texting, and coffee are ubiquitous. It is how they learn and function. It is why they want worship to be more interactive (like at a "supper" table?) and multi-media oriented.

Younger generations can learn from older generations the value of walking with the Lord for years. Godly wisdom. Stable families. Staying faithful to one's spouse. Getting through difficult times. And the interesting thing is, people like James want older mentors to help share some life experience. Not to criticize, but to challenge them, to encourage them, and to shed some biblical wisdom and insight.

Is it surprising to you that something like an office location or blog could be so important for younger generations?

My Spiritual conversation with my hair cutter

I managed to squeeze in some time yesterday to get a hair cut. Kirk, our faciliaties manager, had gotten one, so I had to keep up. I went to Sports Clips, which I had gone to in Liberty.

As I went in I met an African-American woman named Nicole. She had a warm smile, and I could sense an open and loving spirit about her. As we talked, she asked me about where I had moved from and why. This opened up a conversation about God.

Nicole talked about how she and her husband had started thinking about "going to church" because of their three children. She indicated that she had not had a loving family growing up, and that that had affected her image of God. I was amazed at her insight. Most people are unaware of this truth that our families, and our fathers in particular, shape our understanding of God.

She also talked about how she was wanting to have more awareness of God in her daily life, and not just make spirituality a "Sunday thing." This is a deep hunger that people have today. Amazingly, this is exactly what I am talking about on Sunday.

For the last three weeks, Nicole has been attending McKinney Fellowship Bible Church. How did she start going there? The minister there came in about a month ago and they struck up a conversation about God! I don't know much about this church, but I am glad that she is at least going somewhere.

Opportunities for spiritual conversation abound--when getting hair cuts, at the neighborhood barbeque, at work, while watching our kid's soccer games. One good book that trains people in how to talk about their faith and start spiritual dialogues is Holy Conversation by Dr. Richard Peace (one of my professors at Fuller). http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Conversation-Talking-About-Everyday/dp/0830811192/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206647179&sr=8-1

Ministers need to get out of the office and interact with people. Having just started here, and needing to get my feet on the ground, get the web site going, build relationships with the other ministers and staff, I've been in the office all the time. But during much of the week, I seek to study and work at places like Barnes and Noble and Starbucks. This gives me a chance to meet people and observe "real life" around me.

Spiritual conversations lead to invitations which lead to people discovering God and Christian community. We need to train people to engage in these conversations that are natural and effective.

What kind of spiritual conversations have you had with people? Were you nervous or okay with this? What helped you overcome any inhibitions

David and Jonathon Pacts-Keeping Friendships

You cannot keep intimate friendships up with everyone. The sad fact is, when you move away, you will have many friends that you only are able to talk with occassionally--perhaps once a year or even longer. I have friends from high school that I see only at reunions. Occasionally I'll get an email or a picture from them, but not often. But we still enjoy one another. When we get together, we have a great time. And we make plans to visit each other some years. Well, if not "plans," then we at least think about it.

I have a friend named Ericka from high school, who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. At our last reunion we talked about going and visiting her and her family in Arizona and going to see the grand canyon.

We have some friends in Connecticut, Bob and Holly, who we know from college. We just corresponded with each other for the first time in a long time. Despite the long gap in time, we both expressed mutual interest friendship. How can you feel that you have "friends" in a far distant place when you have not spoken to them in years? I do not know, but we do, and apparently they do as well.

I have made a few "David and Jonathon" type of pacts with a handful of my friends, in which we vow to correspond with each other once a week in some way. This can be through an email, a phone call, a blog post, a card, or a visit. It takes time and energy to keep up friendships over long distances. But it is worth it. We all need people that we can rely upon to care about us, pray for us during difficult times, and who will celebrate with us through our joys and triumphs.

There are different types of friendships, and friendships, even David and Jonathon ones, may go through different stages. But in whatever form, we need friendships. I once read that if you do not have 5 friends that you could call at a moment's notice during a crisis, then you are in trouble. I am blessed to have some great friendships. To my David and Jonathan friends, and to all of my extended friendships--people whom I see rarely now but still hold most dear--I say, thank you. And my hope is that through this blog, I can stay in contact with more people than I could before.

How do we develop meaningful friendships? Why is this a challenge for us?

We had a great Easter!, Follow-up on events

We had a great Easter Sunday, with nearly 1100 people in attendance. It is hard for me to compare, since I have only been here on a few Sundays, but there seemed to be a bit of excitement in the air. I sensed an openness and receptivity amongst the people as well. The worship leaders did a good job, and thankfully there were no slide or video problems that came out.

We had a bit of an issue with visitors' cards, so we are not quite sure where a lot of the guests came from. I would assume it is a combination of friends and family invited by members, people from the flyer we sent out, people from the news article, and regular Easter visitors. In the future we'll need to track this so that we can gauge the effectiveness of various types of contact.

On this point, personal contacts are always the most effective. However, flyers, newspaper articles, "e-vites" and the like give members help members reach out and talk about their faith. So their effectiveness cannot be judged alone on the impersonal side, but should also include how they help members.

Good follow-up of guests is essential, with cards, visits, and prayer. At Liberty, we had a great follow-up ministry through Monday Night for the Master. Having just started here, I am still learning about what is in place and what improvements we need to make.

It is typical on any "event" type of outreach to put a lot of time and energy and effort into the event (i.e., Easter, marriage seminar, VBS). In fact, usually people are worn out by this time and ready to rest. Unfortunately, this means that follow-up is usually not performed nearly as well as the event, and many opportunities are lost. In the future, we will need to make sure that we seek to do both equally as well.

We are of course learning about how to reach out in McKinney. And we will want to actually go out to reach people, not just invite them to come to us. We need to be in homes and schools and coffeeshops and parks and other places where people are. This is an essential part of being missional. But Sunday was important because we started with an emphasis on reaching out. And that is a good thing. We will be praying that God blesses our humble efforts!

What types of follow-up do you do in your church after events? What seems to be the most effective?

See Our Write-up in the Sunday McKinney Paper

If you get a chance to pick up a Sunday McKinney paper, you can see a full page article on "Local Pastors Mull the Meaning of Easter." There are three churches and ministers highlighted--a priest, a reverend, and just plain old me. They quoted each of us pretty extensively and put our pictures in the paper. The reporter quoted me pretty accurately (except that I came from Missouri, not Kansas, but a lot of people don't know that Kansas City has both a Kansas and a Missouri side). The reporter was a nice young woman.

For our McKinney friends, you might write back to the paper and reporter and thank her for the story. Anytime Jesus makes the news, that is a good thing. We need to remember to try to keep the focus upon him, and as a church, simply reflect his glory as best we can.

Easter is tomorrow--it is not too late to invite a friend!

Just a reminder about Easter tomorrow. It is not too late to invite a friend. People who are really unchurched often make last minute plans on these things, so don't worry about the lateness of date. Also, if you invited someone earlier in the week, you can call them and say, "Hey, I thought that we could maybe go out to eat afterwards . . ." If someone does not have family in town, they may be especially open to this.

Remember to pray, and then put the "pressure" on God to touch their hearts, not yourself. We are simply the messenger.

Earlier in the week a reporter and a photographer from the McKinney paper came out and interviewed me and took my picture. They are doing an article on Easter. It should be interesting to see what they print. They seemed to like our community focus. And they guessed I was in my 20s. I told them, you should see my wife. She looks even younger!

What is this blog all about?

In moving to McKinney and working with a new church, we now have quite a number who are new to this blog. So I thought I would take a moment to explain the purpose of this blog.

First, I'll explain the name:

• Random - While I generally have some main topics that I seek to address, I will draw upon a variety of topics that fit into the other purposes of the blog. And sometimes I just put things in that I find interesting.
• Stimulating - One of the things I seek to do is to try to help people think about the world around them and to "analyze" culture, rather than just blindly accept the predominant worldview. So I will often comment upon cultural trends and phenomenons, politics, and news. (A note on politics--I seek to find truth in all people and things. So just because I point out something positive in a candidate, that does not mean that I am necessarily endorsing him or her.)
• Missional - The word "missional" means "sent." Jesus told his disciples, "As the Father sent me, I am sending you" (Jn. 20:21). To be sent, both individually and as a church, is to recognize that we are always "on mission," that this outward thrust is fundamental to who we are, not just an add-on. So I try to highlight this concept and give practical ways for people to reach out to the world.
• Spiritual - For Christians, all of life is Spiritual, for the Spirit of God lives inside of us. I try to highlight how we can have a greater awareness of God in our daily lives and serve him throughout the week.

There are other purposes of this blog, including:

• Providing some openness and transparency. Many at High Pointe have already commented how they feel that they know me through this blog. I am so glad of this. Hopefully people who are seeking feel the same way, and will be more likely to visit us.
• Providing a sense of community. An online community is not a substitute for a real community. However, hopefully this blog can serve as a "water cooler," where people can come together and chat about various things. This can help give people a feeling of connectedness throughout the week. I always hope that people will comment, so that the voice of the community is heard, and not just one person. So tell us what you think and help us generate some dialogue!
• Providing a research log that can be indexed. I love learning and researching, but I hate filing. The good news is, by posting things that I run across, I can go back and do searches on various topics.
• Providing a bit of an online journal and personal scrapbook. My friends at Liberty have asked me to post some more family pictures and the like now that we have moved away. I probably could do more of this, and years later will really like it. Personal things like this can also help "humanize" a minister and let people know that I am just an ordinary Joe.

Well, for better or worse, that is why I blog!

Which of these things do you like? What topics are of interest to you?

Time is the real challenge for reaching out

My initial impressions are quickly being confirmed. The real challenge in reaching out in McKInney is time. Reaching people today requires developing relationships with people outside of the church, and this takes time. Unfortunately, the long commute that many here have and the long hours make this time difficult to have.

There is no magic solution to this. We need to help people see that they may have to trade one extra children's activity or extra hours at work to make this time possible. Helping people work outreach into their daily lives is also essential. Finally, the church calendar must be flexible enough that members can use whatever night is needed to reach out.

What suggestions do you have for helping people find more time for developing relationships with outsiders?

Children Ministry Video

Check out our Children's ministry video, put together by Bryan Sharp.

My experience with two homeless people this week

Yesterday we had two young men come by the church who were homeless. They had come from the Samaritan Inn, a type of shelter which is nearby. One of them had been asked to leave permanently, and another could not come back until Wednesday.

I must confess that there is always a temptation to "deal with these situations" as quickly as possible. But, in part because the secretarial staff needs help in these situations, and because in my better moments, I remember that Christ cared for the poor, I spent some time talking with these gentlemen. I would discover, however, that there was something different about this situation.


I asked the two for copies of their licenses and various contact information. They gladed complied. Often for career people who do not want to improve their situation in life, just this simple request weeds many out. One of them had a job at the local Blockbuster warehouse and was actively working to keep it. Linda, one of our secretaries, talked about how we have hope in Christ, which opened up a spiritual conversation. Linda has such a good, caring heart. One of the men, Matthew, said that he had been thinking about being baptized--not exactly a normal thing that is said by people in these situations.


I sat down with Matthew and Patrick and asked them about their relationship wtih God. Matthew said that he felt that it was strong. This was true despite the fact that he had grown up in a home filled with mental instability and abuse. Patrick, on the other hand, admitted that he had just started believing in God, having lived a life far away from him for some time.



We prayed together, and then I asked Matthew if he would like to come back and talk about baptism and what it meant, since he had talked about it. He said that he would. We are supposed to meet on Friday at 1:00 PM. Please pray that he shows. If not, I have his name and can look him up at the Samaritan Inn. While I have been in these situations enough not to "bet the farm" on this, I do think that Matthew really is sincere about wanting to improve himself and get right with God. I pray he comes back.

A church needs to be discerning and not just give out money to people, which could just fund their destructive behavior. And targeting people to help, rather than just waiting for people to come by, is by and large a more effective use of funds. But we do need to help people as best we can--which includes providing food and clothing, as well as giving them career counseling, praying for them, and seeking to share the gospel.


Seeing those who are homeless helps remind me how blessed I am, and how blessed our church is. It is good that McKinney has people who need to be helped financially. This can have a transformative efect upon us as well as them.



Have you had any experience with the homeless? What did you do and how did you feel?

Obama acknowledges both black and white anger

On Tuesday, Presidential candidate Barak Obama spoke about race in America. He acknowledged the frustration and anger that has at times been felt on both sides by blacks and whites.

Again, whatever your politics, Obama scores points with voters by acknowledging these things.

The only thing that can really bring the races together, or any two groups that are warring with each other, is a person, Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of Christ having destroyed the wall of hostility that existed between Jews and Greeks (Eph. 2) by making the one in one body--his own. We need to remember that it is Christ, not laws or politics or summits that has the power to bring healing and reconciliation to different peoples.

Here is the article. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080319/ap_on_el_pr/obama_race_41

Our first Sunday at High Pointe

Yesterday was our first official Sunday at High Pointe. We were warmly welcomed by all. It was Gina's birthday, so the church sang happy birthday to her. Then we had a type of "Covenant Sunday," in which the elders, representatives from the congregation, and the ministers all welcomed us and gave us a ministry "charge." Becki received a bouquet of flowers. It was nicely done (thanks, Bryan!).

We ended with a a responding "charge" from me to the congregation, to love God, to love neighbors, and to seek and save the lost. We passed out flyers for people to invite family, friends, and neighbors to our Easter Sunday service, symbolic of seeking to be a people who reach out.

Last night with to the Bryants' life group. It is a group made up of other young families. We had a good discussion about relationships. It was also clear that there was an interest and even a hunger for those discipleship type of groups--three to four guys who meet together to encourage one another in Christian living once a week. Someone also talked about how going on a short term mission trip helped form relationships with other Christians. I was very encouraged to hear all of this, as these types of things are essential in both outreach and spiritual formation.

Just from going to this one meeting, I now have some additional people that I feel I can talk to more meaningfully at worship. Interestingly, I am looking at things now through a visitors' or new member's eyes. How can I form relationships in a 1000 member church? How do I join a small group? How can I develop meaningful friendships? Too often we assume that people will find these things on their own. Some do, but many do not. We need to help people make these connections.

Do you think that most people make connections at a large church on their own? How can we help them to make these connections?

Churches must not be seen as corporations, ministers must be accessible

One of the things that I try to do with this blog is to make myself available, accessible, and as transparent as I can be. This is particularly important in large churches. The reason is that many younger people who are not church going shy away against any feeling that a church is a corporation run by big shot business executives, only concerned with gaining larger market share.

Dan Kimball, in They Like Jesus Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations, (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/103-8252688-0889439?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=they+like+jesus+but+not+the+church) relates the experience of one thiry-something who tried to see a minister. "I went to visit a church office, and it felt more like going to a lawyer's office or something. I had to get by the receptionist, who then had another secretary buzzed on a phone intercom. Then I had to sit and wait like I was visiting a president of a major corporation. When I finally walked through the office, it felt more intense and uptight than the broker's office I worked in. I felt more like I was aan interruption than someone seeking spiritual guidance.

Kevin Jacobs was the president of Oklahoma Christian University a few years back.There is a range of feeling about his presidency. But one of the things that he did that was positive was to move his office into the student center of Oklahoma Christian. This physical move sent a strong symbolical message about accessibility and being on the same level as the students."

On this blog I try to respond to as many people as I can. And as I start a new work at a large church, I want to still keep an open profile. I really love all people, and want to be as accessible as possible. So I want to hear from you, and to have you share your thoughts!

Have you ever struggled to think positively about "megachurches" and "megagchurch pastors?" What would make you think more positively of these churches and ministers?

We've arrived in Texas

Hello all. Last night we got in about 10:00 PM to McKinney. We got off a little bit late, and the trip took a little longer than expected. We heard that we missed a bit of "welcome wagon" from some people who had heard we would be out earlier. Sorry to those who came out! We will have many good times ahead.

Today we got moved into our new "home"--a house of some of the members here who are going to be gone to another house that they own in California. It is very generous of them to let us stay with them as we wait for our house to sell.

I know that we have been a bit slow on email and the like this week. Sorry about that. Next week we should be back in the swing of things.

Onward and upward!

Okay, now that the emotional stuff is behind us, we've got some great things in the works for High Pointe. Our new website will be unveiled this week, which is looking great. We are sending out a mailer to the community for Easter, and letting them know that we are making a new start, seeking to reach out and serve our community. We have new friends to make. New relationships to form. New stories to discover and tell and re-tell.

Onward and upward!

Our transition

Sunday was quite an emotional day. I could not sleep at all Saturday night, and wondered whether I could make it through the service. Class, conversations with people, and the first part of the sermon were all tough to get through. Then I got into the biblical part of the sermon, which put me in a familiar rhythm. By then, I had expended about all of my tears through the night and morning and so was able to finish. I know that God helped me through your prayers. I had several people tell me that they saw my post on Saturday night and had prayed for me. Thank you so much!

The depth of emotion on both sides of this (us and the church) has been quite overwhelming. I'm not normally like this. I had people cry in my arms. Wow--it is amazing to be this loved. Liberty, know that it is 100% mutual.

Dennis and Judy and I went out to lunch yesterday. We are all Achievers (www.strengthsfinder.com), but found time for a last lunch. I have worked with Judy for six years, side by side. She is one of the most servant hearted people that I have ever known, and she shares the mission. Dennis is a great guy, who has come on board in the last year or so. He too shares the mission, is a hard worker too, and will help maintain the values and ministries that have been in place. Dennis said that after seeing how hard this leaving has been on me and the church, he is just going to die here. We all cracked up at that.

My parents arrived yesterday. It was good to see family, since we are leaving a true church family behind. And now we are getting ready to be a part of a new church family.

We will be moving out on Thursday. Our house still has not sold, so we are going to be staying with a family at High Pointe who also has a house over in California. We will stay in their house while they are gone.

We'll keep you posted. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!

Please pray for me tomorrow for my last sermon at Liberty

If you are up tonight and get this message, please pray for me tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to get through tomorrow's sermon. Only by the grace of God. I have never in my life been this emotional. As my preaching friend Chuck said, this is one of the hardest things that I will do in this lifetime.

I now understand fully Paul's greetings at the ends of his letters, in which he names friend after friend, co-worker after co-worker. We are fortunate to live in a world where with email and phone and airplanes, we can stay in contact with one another. I am thankful for the opportunity that blogging affords, for it helps in this as well.

Please pray that I can get something out tomorrow.

What I'm looking forward to at High Pointe

I've shared with you how it has been a difficult week, leaving great friends behind. But to our friends in McKinney, we want you to know that we are--paradoxiclly--looking forward to our new church home.

Some of the things that I am looking forward to include:
--A new challenge
--Helping another church grow and reach the lost
--Helping provide another church with ministry tools (like our new website--it is going to great!)
--The tremendous potential there
--Working with family friends at High Pointe that I've known from years ago
--Developing relationships with elders, other ministers, the search team, and the many great people there that I've met
--Developing new friendships, enriching our circle of friends
--Having our children be close to their grandparents
--Lots of free babysitting from their grandparents
--Being able to go to family reunions (they are always in Texas, and I never can go!)

Just yesterday I received a wonderful note from someone at High Pointe, talking about how she had faced a difficult move. But she said that she thought we were very much needed there, and that, after over two years of searching, God has brought us to them. If that is true, it is a humbling thought. Certainly we hope that God will use us to help many people find Christ and become more connected with God and one another.

Please keep us in your prayers during this time of transition.

Famous Last Words

I have been thinking about what I will say on Sunday. As I have, my mind has often gone back to Chuck, the minister with whom I worked at Wilshire. I still remember his last sermon, and some of it will be a model for me. I heard from Chuck today. He provided some commiseration about the difficulty of this week, and some words of encouragement.

Diane, a friend from High Pointe, also sent me this link http://video.stumbleupon.com/#p=ithct48cqw . It is a video of a professor who is dying of pancreatic cancer who gave his last lecture for his class.

Times like this make you think about what is most important in life, both for our families and for the church.

A tough, emotional week

This weekend was pretty emotional. Becki and I went to a banquet for us with the elders, their wives, and Dennis and Dianne. It was a great time, with food, sharing of great memories, and a bit of a roasting. They know me far too well! One of my kids' favorites "dates" is to go to Barnes and Noble, read books, and drink hot chocolate. They teased me about our kids listing such things, rather than amusements parks and the like, as their favorite things to do. We teared up during this time, during the Sunday sermon, in our minister/staff prayer meeting this morning. I really don't know how I am going to get through next Sunday's service.

One thing I do know--we love this church dearly, and they love us. Every meaningful conversation with people seems to result in one or the other--usually both--tearing up. I thought I was more of a man than this! :)

If you have seen The Lord of the Rings, the last scene in the last film is called, "A long goodbye." Indeed, this scene is quite long, as Frodo says goodbye to Sam and his family and his cousins. The music is slow, and they cherish the moments. This well describes what we feeling and doing right now. I know that we will visit many, many times. We have lifelong friends here whom we will never forget.