The Church That I See...

The Church that I see...

As I have been interviewing with churches and answering a bunch of great questions, it has given me a chance to really reflect on what I hold in my heart toward what church is meant to be. As such putting them down on "paper" (so to speak) helps me organize my thoughts. Here's some random thoughts on the church that I see in my heart...

The Church that I see…

I see a church who plays together.

I see a church who prays together.

I see a church who stays together.

I see a church that is filled with people from the nations.

I see a church filled with people that are passionate and vibrant in their worship.

I see a church that has exciting (spirit), sincere (truth) worship.

I see a church committed to being agents of God’s justice in our community and around the world.

I see a church that ministers to and helps to lift the poor.

I see a church that champions the unborn and their mothers.

I see a church filled with people that are deeply connected to one another and deeply connected to the mission of the church. (A community impacting a community)

I see a church that is living blessed in order to be a blessing.

I see a church that so consumed with Christ that they are not hung up on preferences, but are willing to do whatever it takes to fulfill Christ's mission.

I see a church that rejoices and weeps with each other.

I see a church where people are looking for divine appointments all throughout their week in order to be God's Kingdom agents in the world.

I see a church that makes room for the next generation without abandoning them when change comes.

I see a church filled with people who want to press deeper into the journey with God, but are determined to take others with them.

I see a church who is committed to missions, both foreign and domestic.

I see a church filled with people whose lives have been transformed by the Gospel.

I see a church that embraces the supernatural in a natural way.

I see a church that desires and embraces spiritual gifts according to their intended purpose.

I see a church that doesn't just want to serve Jesus, but wants to bring Him pleasure.

I see a church whose facilities reflect the current mission and heart of God in their community.

I see a church that understands that the church belongs to Jesus and not the pastor or the Board or even the people. (we are stewards)

I see a church that will be creative in their expression and methodology, but will hold true to the unchanging Word of God in an ever-changing culture.

I see a church where the people are not just challenged but equipped to minister both in the church and in the marketplace.

I see a church that boldly engages in the marketplace of ideas today with compassionate, loving and thoughtful input from God's Word.

God's Glory or Your Comfort?

I have always found the story of Lazarus a challenging story in John 11. When Jesus found out His friend, Lazarus, was sick he said in v.4 "This sickness will not end in death...it is for God's glory." But of course Lazarus did die. His sisters, Mary and Martha, were deeply grieved. God's Word says in v. 6 after hearing the news and making this prophetic proclamation that Jesus "stayed where He was two more days." It was during that time that Lazarus died. But, He just said "this sickness would not end in death..."

When we face difficult trials and moments of great need, do we make allowances for God's will and God's timing? When we bring God our "news" of the latest events in our life, are we willing to trust even when it seems too late? Even when it seems the action of God seems to be inaction?

We of course have the benefit of knowing the end of the story. Lazarus was called forth from death and the tomb by the command of the Lord. But in between those moments there was real pain, real distress, real faith and hope that seemed to have been misplaced. It was too late right? Jesus failed to move and intervene. Mary and Martha may have been doing what we do, "did we sin and blow it?" "Is God too busy?" "Does He not love us like we thought?"

John 11 also contains one of my favorite memory verses (due in no small part too its length!). In v. 35 we read "Jesus wept." Why would the Holy Spirit include those two small words in the text for us to read through the ages? If you are like me then you have asked Jesus to glorify Himself through your life. You want Jesus to shine brightly and clearly for all to see. For this to happen it often requires you to be placed in situations where Jesus gets to come to the rescue and is thus glorified. In those moments when we are feeling the very real pain, distress and clinging to hope it is important to know that Jesus is right there with us feeling everything we feel. He is not unmoved by cares of our heart. Even though He knows the end of the story, even though He knows the joy that is coming, He LOVES us! He is deeply moved by the pain in our hearts.

God's will and God's timing might be beyond our grasp in those moments. Will you trust? Will you continue to allow room in your in your life for God to glorify Himself? Or will you live a greatly diminished life by only being guided by things like safety, comfort, least amount of risk? When it seems too late, will you continue hoping in the Lord; will you trust in His love for you?

Spend some time in John 11 today. See if the Spirit has anything to speak to your heart.

My Impending Resignation

Yesterday I announced that I will be resigning at the end of the Summer. The following is an attempt to explain some of what has led to this decision.

Several months ago I received a prophetic word from the Lord that I was to rest for a month with increased time of worship and prayer because there was a "whirlwind" coming. It was a wonderful and refreshing time with my Jesus! Towards the end of that time quite unexpectedly I felt the Lord say that He would be transitioning me out of the church soon. I was kind of ticked to be honest. I love West Shore Church. I love what the Lord has done to turn the church around and the community that has been formed.

Though I tried, it was a feeling that I just could not shake. Things started happening to confirm what I felt. My wife was in agreement with me, both in sensing what was coming and in wanting to resist the coming transition.

The final confirmation came when we learned that my wife had been laid off due to state budget cuts. Since she is a Speech Pathologist working in pre-school and they are often in high demand and usually safe from any cuts, we were caught completely off guard...until we remembered what the Lord had told us. We agreed that we would position ourselves in obedience to what we had heard.

Just after that we learned that the church building which had been on the market for close to two years had sold all of a sudden. The sale had to be ratified by the congregation. As a matter of integrity I knew that I had to disclose to them what was going on before they voted on the building. They needed to know that I would not be on the other side of the sale with them.

The difficulty in this is that it effectively forced me to divulge something that normally would be shared after I knew where we would be going. Another impact of this is that it would be bad for the church if the time after announcing all this went on for too long. It would damage the morale and momentum of the church. So come the end of Summer I will be resigning whether I have found a new position or not. My wife also has pay and benefits until the end of August. So come September we will either be walking on water or sinking! :)

We feel strongly that the Lord has initiated all of this and will provide for us as we have positioned ourselves in faith and obedience. We have been in this position before and He has met us each and every time. We can look back and say "God is good." Our emotions go up and down depending on the day, but our faith is strong.

I have been so impressed with the people of West Shore Church in that they voted to sell the building anyway even though it was a much scarier thing knowing their pastor is leaving. They were deeply disappointed and we shared tears together, but they know that Jesus is the Head of the church not me. I know that they will continue to pursue Jesus in their lives as well as together as a church.

How to Choose a Church

How should you choose a church? Many Christians are living disconnected from a church today, despite the continuous biblical command for us to gather together regularly in worship and the many benefits that come to us and to others from being deeply connected in a church. (did you know that the health benefits are the same between stopping smoking and being deeply connected to a church?) Of course part of that is choosing a "church that doesn't suck...the life out of you." (as we like to say)

So how do we choose? I think many of our frustrations are that we don't make good choices as to what we think we want or need. We are just terrible architects of our own happiness and meeting our own needs. So here are some thoughts on what I hope will be a helpful guide in choosing a local church body to connect to.

1. PRAY - in praying surrender all of your expectations and opinions as to what you think a "good church for you" would look like. Confess that He is Lord and that you will follow where He leads. Our lives are His...we must do more than simply confess this.

2. Do they continually lift up Jesus? Is Jesus (not the stuff of Jesus) central to everything they do?

3. Do they honor and celebrate God's Word as the foundation for understanding who God is? (in today's world you must check out a church's statement of beliefs. Is the church you are considering faithful to the historic creeds (Apostle's Creed, Nicene Creed) of the Christian faith?)

4. Do they welcome the Holy Spirit into their services? (this may take various forms, but is He welcomed?)

5. Do they disciple and equip people to live lives that minister inside and outside of the church?

6. (If appropriate) Is ministry to and equipping of my children a core value of the church?

7. Does the church have a burden to be an agent of social justice both locally and globally? (missions, ministry to the poor, serving the community, etc)

8. Ask: "Is there a way for me to not only grow in my giftings, but also to invest those giftings back into the community?"

9. Does the church have a good website? (What?! The reason for this is because if a church has not made the investment into a good web site, it means that they are disconnected from modern culture and are less than passionate about reaching people today with the Gospel of Jesus Christ)

10. Is your intention to find a place to go and hide in the crowd or find meaningful relationships that will help me grow and I in turn can help others?

11. Is this church dwelling on the past, or are they committed to engaging the world today in love with the counter-cultural message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

12. Are the people (including the pastor(s)) living authentic lives as Christ-followers? (In other words, is there a disconnect between church life and real life? Or are the various people (whatever level of spiritual maturity they may be at) striving for authenticity in their everyday life of faith?)

Remember, there is no "perfect church." You won't find that until Heaven. At some point you will most likely get offended wherever you wind up...churches are filled with people after all. Don't take the bait of Satan in your offense and break community. Be courageous. Determine that you are going to allow the Lord to bear greater fruit in your life with kindness, patience, gentleness, etc. (Gal 5:22-23) That doesn't happen in isolation or by watching your favorite preacher on tv...

Make the leap and join a community of believers today! They need you and you need them!!!

"Why Put the Tree in the Garden?"

So someone brought up something recently that I'd like to respond to. I've never heard any good teaching or explanation on this, so this will be my attempt to think it out...publicly.

There is a situation that can and has created offense within people's hearts toward God regarding our roots in the Garden of Eden. The question has been asked, "Why would God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (aka the Forbidden Fruit) in the Garden if Adam and Eve were not to touch it?" It has been likened by some people to "putting a hand grenade in a crib." Initially this seems like a cruel thing to do. It is an easy jump to make in our minds. We think "if something can cause pain or destruction, keep it far away." We would all say, "yes, of course!"

So why, as God is forming creation, would he put this tree there? Why not put it outside the Garden somewhere? Why put it in the center of the Garden next to the Tree of Life? Whether your views on the Garden are metaphorical or more literal, the question still stands.

I guess I would start by pointing a few things out.

1. Sin had not yet entered into the world. Adam and Eve did not struggle with their broken fallen sinful natures like we do all the time, even after being born again. So we must keep in mind that this was not like dangling a beer in front of someone who is an alcoholic struggling to break free. There was free will, yes, and along with free will there is always choice, but our First Parent's "wanters" were not broken (yet).

2. I mentioned free will. Here's where we hit some controversy. I would argue that choosing holiness or good is dependent upon there being an alternative choice. A choice to embrace good through obeying God or a choice to rebel and declare our autonomy from our Creator. I am not suggesting that good is dependent upon evil (i.e. Yin-Yang) or any such nonsense as some Christians seem to embrace these days. I merely suggest to have choice you must have at least two things to choose from. In this case it was enjoy goodness and perfection innocently without the pull of a sinful nature, or choose to heed the tempter's voice (external influence) and disobey God. Removing choice would not have been a good option as it would remove an integral part of what it means to be created in image of God. After all, we cannot love God (or anyone) and be in relationship with Him (His continuing intentions) except that we choose to do so.

Simple initial thoughts for a complex question. I may add to this posting at some point as I reflect on it more.

UPDATE: (2/17/10)
3. The Leadership Perspective
Adam and Eve had been given dominion over all of creation. (Gen 1:26,28) They were to rule and reign over everything God had created as stewards. As a rule, leadership is always tested. The one restraint given to these stewards by way of command they could not keep. They were not owners, only stewards. The "hand grenade in the crib" argument doesn't work because they were not ignorant or children. They were innocent yes, but they were fully formed adults with an intellect far beyond our own (Adam named every single creature in creation!). And as I said before they were perfect, whole and complete. There was no sinful nature affecting them then that even affects the most innocent of us...our children. (no one has to teach children to fight over toys)

"Halloween" Party?

In keeping with our efforts to reach the unchurched and not other Christians from other churches, we are throwing a "Halloween" Party on Sunday October 31st. We are actually moving our whole church service across the street and renting out Hayes Elementary gym for the morning.

Many Christians would bristle at the use of "Halloween" and not the more church-friendly "Harvest" word. Outside of the church arena, a "Harvest Party" sounds much more weird and spooky than a "Halloween Party." Often we expect the people we are inviting to "get it" before actually giving it to them. Mature Christians understand the need to be cognizant of deeper spiritual truths and respect the fact that most people are messing around with things much more powerful and dangerous than they know. (i.e. demons, death symbols, witches and magic, etc.) However, we must understand that this is knowledge that gets assimilated after a person's spirit is reborn in Christ.

Here's what I mean. This Sunday in our bulletin there was coupled with the announcement about our upcoming party a statement that read "No monster costumes." I stood up and told our people to ignore this. I explained that we are not invited our community to come only if they come on our terms or what we consider spiritually acceptable terms. Imagine a mom or dad who know nothing of Christ and they bought the spookiest costume they could find for their child. They receive our invitation, but feel they cannot come because they would either have to buy another costume or if they showed up with the one they have they would be afraid of being labeled "less than ok" in some way for doing so.

It would certainly be my hope that down the road after their spiritual eyes have been opened to the unseen realities of the spiritual world that they would choose a costume that was not demonic in nature.

As a parent, my wife and I had the discussion years ago about what we would do for Halloween when our kids came of age to either participate or not. We decided that it would be nonsense for us to refuse to allow our kids to participate at all. But we have set parameters. We do the pumpkin carving, and we let the kids pick out or create a costume to go "trick or treating" in. But the costumes are not to be demonic, not to be associated with magic, nor will they have anything to do with death or spirits. We know and respect the spiritual realities that exist and do not want to open any door or create any foothold for the enemy in their lives. However, we will not be governed by fear and create some sort of barricaded approach to life. Our approach allows the kids to fully participate and have fun, but in a way that does not dishonor the Lord.

Soooo.... we are throwing a Halloween party! People are free to dress up however they want. We are going to love them, love the kids and show every one of them that Jesus loves them to the fullest amount possible right now as they are.

New Focus: "Why?"

I am going to start blogging more about the "why" of how I am doing things as I continue to lead a church through a turnaround effort. No need to reinvent the wheel if someone is going through a similar effort. Since there are so many churches that need to turn things around, this will either serve as a help for how to do things or else a "Manual of Things to Avoid!" :) So far, so good though. If in reality this serves more as a journaling tool for me to help organize my thoughts, that's good too.

So...

As I finish year three and look back, I see a difference in my preaching. The first two years I was preaching wonderful, rich theological sermons. (in my humble opinion) However, I realized that I was preaching more for the approval of my peers in ministry (who were not present and I'm pretty sure were not listening online either). This was not done intentionally. I only became aware of it through some prayer and introspection. The same things that speak to me, will not speak to the unchurched and those who are young in their faith. I have found that I am putting things more on the "bottom shelf" as one of my mentor's put it. For all my talk about relevance, it needs to be relevant to the real audience more than a perceived audience. Is it not the role of a pastor to meet people where they are at and draw them higher? Kind of sounds like what Jesus does too...

It is still my goal to have something relevant for people at every level of their spiritual journey with Christ. I know that I am constitutionally unable to stand up front and deliver weak moralisms and empty spiritual platitudes. I just can't do it. What I can do is be more intentional about delivering the uncompromising truth of God's Word in a means more easy to digest. We're called to be "fishers of men." I suck at actual fishing and have no interest in getting better...but even I know that fishermen use different lures and bait in different waters based on what the conditions are and what kind of fish they are trying to catch. The objective for every 'fisher of men' is to find the right bait for the right condition they find themselves in.