"Christianity began in Palestine as a relationship,
moved to Greece and became an idea,
went to Rome and became an institution,
then came to America and became and enterprise."
Richard Halverson
What will History say WE did with Christianity???
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Monday, February 12, 2007
Should Christians raise support? Should Pastors be paid?
This is a question posed by John on Hungry and Thirsty that I thought was very timely in my thought process. Here are my thoughts:
To me this is a question of posture.
How do we best posture ourself to reach those around us? Is that as a full time pastor or is there a better way? Is that better way support? or bi-vocational? I am currently raising support and looking for a job, along with my wife building her business. All of this is to posture ourselves the best we can in our community. I am raising support to allow me to have time for proximity (time, frequency, & spontaneity) so I am not totally trading my time for dollars to pay the bills. I am looking for a job to give me an in to the community. It also gives me a good answer to the question, "what do you do?" To say Pastor or Missionary can be a turn off but to say construction or I work at ... levels the relationship landscape instead of always going up hill. I have been thinking a lot about this lately... can you tell.
To me this is a question of posture.
How do we best posture ourself to reach those around us? Is that as a full time pastor or is there a better way? Is that better way support? or bi-vocational? I am currently raising support and looking for a job, along with my wife building her business. All of this is to posture ourselves the best we can in our community. I am raising support to allow me to have time for proximity (time, frequency, & spontaneity) so I am not totally trading my time for dollars to pay the bills. I am looking for a job to give me an in to the community. It also gives me a good answer to the question, "what do you do?" To say Pastor or Missionary can be a turn off but to say construction or I work at ... levels the relationship landscape instead of always going up hill. I have been thinking a lot about this lately... can you tell.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Missional Church DNA
What does it look like to create church where it does not exist? What makes a missional church?
In the post "Shaping of Things to Come" - 3 from John we see the three aspects of what Forst and Hirsch are saying makes the missional church different from traditional church. SOOOOO the question comes to my mind:
How do we live those things out in a practical on the ground kind of way?
In dialoging with some incredible guys in my area from the missio ministry (www.missio.us) I have heard some awesome ideas. There are three priorities that I want to be the foundational DNA of any missional community I am a part of. They are:
1. Engaging Culture
2. Living life together
3. Growing Spiritually
I think if we actively engage in those priorities we will be incarnational, Holistic, and Missional. So lets take a moment and look at each of these in a bit more detail:
1. Engaging Culture-
This is where incarnational really takes on it's meat. We will engage those around us in loving relationship and love them as Christ loves, with out strings. This should flow naturally from each of our lives as we live out our passion for Christ allowing God to use our likes, passions, and personalities to develop relationships with the non-followers around us.
2. Living life together-
This is true community. A "Do you have any eggs?" life friend. These people have refrigerator rights... they know were the food, plates, forks etc. are and help themselves. This can't happen overnight and demands proximity. To live 30 - 40 minutes away and try to spend the time together needed to "Live life together" is nearly impossible. Just for logistical reasons.
3. Growing Spiritually-
I like how Forst and Hirsch have said that if no faith community comes from our engaging culture can we really say we are building the church? Growing spiritually is always a needed priority of a church. Otherwise there really is no church. Notice what I did not say. I didn't say bible study, or discussion series. To often I think we program the spirit out of our Spiritual development. On the other end of the spectrum, who are we kidding if we think their could be spiritual growth with out God's word. ? It will always be the ultimate authority in faith and in life!
In the post "Shaping of Things to Come" - 3 from John we see the three aspects of what Forst and Hirsch are saying makes the missional church different from traditional church. SOOOOO the question comes to my mind:
How do we live those things out in a practical on the ground kind of way?
In dialoging with some incredible guys in my area from the missio ministry (www.missio.us) I have heard some awesome ideas. There are three priorities that I want to be the foundational DNA of any missional community I am a part of. They are:
1. Engaging Culture
2. Living life together
3. Growing Spiritually
I think if we actively engage in those priorities we will be incarnational, Holistic, and Missional. So lets take a moment and look at each of these in a bit more detail:
1. Engaging Culture-
This is where incarnational really takes on it's meat. We will engage those around us in loving relationship and love them as Christ loves, with out strings. This should flow naturally from each of our lives as we live out our passion for Christ allowing God to use our likes, passions, and personalities to develop relationships with the non-followers around us.
2. Living life together-
This is true community. A "Do you have any eggs?" life friend. These people have refrigerator rights... they know were the food, plates, forks etc. are and help themselves. This can't happen overnight and demands proximity. To live 30 - 40 minutes away and try to spend the time together needed to "Live life together" is nearly impossible. Just for logistical reasons.
3. Growing Spiritually-
I like how Forst and Hirsch have said that if no faith community comes from our engaging culture can we really say we are building the church? Growing spiritually is always a needed priority of a church. Otherwise there really is no church. Notice what I did not say. I didn't say bible study, or discussion series. To often I think we program the spirit out of our Spiritual development. On the other end of the spectrum, who are we kidding if we think their could be spiritual growth with out God's word. ? It will always be the ultimate authority in faith and in life!
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Whisper
Matt 28:19 "Go therefore"
The one verb in the great commission that is a Greek imperative (command) is matheteusate--make disciples. This is preceded by one participle--having gone--and followed by two participles--baptizing and teaching.
Did you catch that "Having gone"
Our World is gong to Hell in a hand basket but the way to counteract this tragedy is not to shout loudly at the world and point out it's faults. Nor is it to live a life that is so similar no one can really tell the difference. In both cases we become irrelevant and out of touch totally negating our witness to the amazing truth of the gospel.
We must instead engage real people in real life and earn the right to whisper into their lives. This is hard work and means we need to leave behind our unreal, fake, facade of a life and begin to engage those around us in authentic relationships. Get out of our safe Christian la la land.
Many of us have become so appalled by sin that we can't even stand the sinner! That's a problem not a virtue. We are so shocked by sin and work so hard to cover it up that we can't be real with our self much less others, Christian or not. The world looks at that and sees nothing different. In fact they pity us. How is that, "they will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." Love not congenial potlucks where fun is not allowed because it looks an awful lot like it might be sin.
So as you are going (having gone) be real, live real life along with all your faults. Share life with your friends and neighbors, Christian or not and whisper all the time about the amazing, true beauty that is all around. Be a people whisperer!
The one verb in the great commission that is a Greek imperative (command) is matheteusate--make disciples. This is preceded by one participle--having gone--and followed by two participles--baptizing and teaching.
Did you catch that "Having gone"
Our World is gong to Hell in a hand basket but the way to counteract this tragedy is not to shout loudly at the world and point out it's faults. Nor is it to live a life that is so similar no one can really tell the difference. In both cases we become irrelevant and out of touch totally negating our witness to the amazing truth of the gospel.
We must instead engage real people in real life and earn the right to whisper into their lives. This is hard work and means we need to leave behind our unreal, fake, facade of a life and begin to engage those around us in authentic relationships. Get out of our safe Christian la la land.
Many of us have become so appalled by sin that we can't even stand the sinner! That's a problem not a virtue. We are so shocked by sin and work so hard to cover it up that we can't be real with our self much less others, Christian or not. The world looks at that and sees nothing different. In fact they pity us. How is that, "they will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." Love not congenial potlucks where fun is not allowed because it looks an awful lot like it might be sin.
So as you are going (having gone) be real, live real life along with all your faults. Share life with your friends and neighbors, Christian or not and whisper all the time about the amazing, true beauty that is all around. Be a people whisperer!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Posture
What is our posture toward the world?
Holier than thou?
Just do it, right along with the rest?
Or is there a way that would better shine Jesus to the world. I have been challenged to posture myself with those around me who are not followers of Jesus differently. I want to love them unconditionally as Jesus would and not make them conform to my way of life just to be around me. I want to become a part of their life and have the right to show them the sacred that is a part of their life, the God that has been there all along. To insist that they must act a certain way, look a certain way, or talk a certain way just to be around me is no way to share the all loving God with them. The act, look, talk comes later and is called discipleship. But even then I think I have gone overboard because if we become so different from those around us they will not want to be around us at all. Totally quelling our attempts to love them and reach out to them in true community. This is a huge challenge because I also want to stand for what IS right and what IS true. But love seems to be impossible with out grace AND truth.
As I remember it is commanded we be "in" the world but not "of" the world.
What a layered and complicated command!
Holier than thou?
Just do it, right along with the rest?
Or is there a way that would better shine Jesus to the world. I have been challenged to posture myself with those around me who are not followers of Jesus differently. I want to love them unconditionally as Jesus would and not make them conform to my way of life just to be around me. I want to become a part of their life and have the right to show them the sacred that is a part of their life, the God that has been there all along. To insist that they must act a certain way, look a certain way, or talk a certain way just to be around me is no way to share the all loving God with them. The act, look, talk comes later and is called discipleship. But even then I think I have gone overboard because if we become so different from those around us they will not want to be around us at all. Totally quelling our attempts to love them and reach out to them in true community. This is a huge challenge because I also want to stand for what IS right and what IS true. But love seems to be impossible with out grace AND truth.
As I remember it is commanded we be "in" the world but not "of" the world.
What a layered and complicated command!
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Stringy Love
As the church we tend to give love, but only love with strings attached. We don't normally just LOVE. We will feed the homeless if they sit through a gospel message. Why can't feeding them BE the gospel and then when THEY ask share the rest of the story. We will reach out to our neighbors, but with an ulterior motive. I don't think that is love at all. At least not Christ like love! He loved because he IS love and nothing more. I often wonder if I am even capable of love like that. Can I truly love my neighbor without wanting something in return? Only through the Spirit working in me. I am, at my core, selfish in my flesh. Only as I become more and more the new creature God created can I come close to loving as He loves. At the very least I am a bit closer to that kind of love now because I am aware of my inadequacy. I want desperately to love those around me without strings. With out treating people as projects to be won for Christ. Just loving them becaus I am filled with God's love and find them lovely.
Just Love.
Love
Just Love.
Love
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