So often in my life, the steps of faith I am willing to take are neither adventurous  nor faith-stretching.  No, the steps I often take are steps I know I can take, steps I know will not require me to place my trust and faith in the living God.  For many years I preached that we are to live for the Lord in the same way in which we came to Him; in faith.  The path of faith God has called our family to walk is and continues to be an adventurous-faith-stretching season in our lives .  I will admit, in the beginning we were very excited to see what God was going to do in and through our lives.  My heart was filled with the excitement and the anticipation of what life was going to look  like.  As much as I tried to guard my heart from dreaming about this new life, I did find myself dreaming.  I was excited.  But as days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, God began to settle us into a life that would be hopelessly devoted and dependent upon him.  Not a devotion and dependence we so often talk about getting to, but a devotion and dependence that comes because you have no where else to turn, except to the One who hung the stars so long ago.  It is more like a helpless dependence and devotion.  One that can only be experienced along this particular path of faith.  And like Abram, God often speaks to my heart and say’s, “Look up Colby, I have not forgotten about  you or your family.  I am your provider, your priest, and your protector.  I am here for you.”   The same God who spoke to the father of faith so long ago, now speaks to my heart and fills it with a faith that is only derived from Him.  Now when my faith has weakened or has waned, God directs my attention toward the vast universe of stars, stars that He alone knows by name, and fills my heart with a devotion and a dependence that comes from Him alone. 

PC.

 The path He calls us to will be very hard to see. Why? Because our view of the path is being obstructed.  What is obstructing our view of this path, none other than our Lord who is walking directly in front of us.  We cannot see past Him (and I am sure this is how He wants it to be), but we can see Him, and we hear Him saying, “stay close, the path is narrow, follow my steps closely and I will bring you to the place of abundance.”  May we find our hope and peace in the one who can grant us real hope and real peace.

We cannot see what is ahead of us, except for the back torn, cross carrying savior.  Our view has and continues to be obscured by our Lord.  Thank you Jesus for continuing to walk ahead of us and making the path known little by little.   And as He walks ahead of us, He places people in our path that encourage us along the way.  Good friends encouraged us with two verses last night and encouragement to continue to climb, for God has left us everything we need to make it along this journey.  We thank God for all that He has done for us and continues to do for us.  We thank Him for the manna He provided for us yesterday, the spiritual encouragement.  We thank Him for His provision, care, protection, times of solace, refreshment, and prayer.  We thank Him that He is our God, and that He is able to carry all of our burdens! We thank Him for being a God who understands our frustrations, not only with Him, but with the path we walk, and with the situations we find ourselves in.  We thank Him that His unending love and patience for us does not end, and we are thankful that He continues to use us, prepare us, and strengthen us for the rest of the journey.  We praise you our Father who gave us Your Son, to not only experience life in the kingdom now, but for all of eternity, and we thank you Father and Son for sending us Your Spirit to indwell us, secure us, and to empower us for this journey!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below, praise Him heavenly host, praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Life is very similar to Pretti’s book.  I find that this chapter in our lives is closing, and I find myself in one of those “kind of sad” moments, knowing this part of our life is closed, never to be seen again, except through the memories that live in our minds.  It is sad.  But there is also an excitement that is brewing inside, and excitement to see what will happen next.  With every good novel, there will be twist and turns, ups and downs, joys and tragedies, and yet, this is what keeps us reading, keeps us expecting.   We read on, because we are now drawn into the story.  We look forward to learning more about the characters, the lives they are living, the situations they are enduring, but most of all we look forward to see how things will all work out.

Life is somewhat similar.  As I move to the next chapter of my life, as I anticipate what will happen, I am neither scared, nor afraid.  I live in hopeful anticipation to see how this grand story will work itself out.  I love this story, this journey God has us on. I know it will be hard, but I know that He has prepared us for this road we are about to travel.  I look forward to walking this road with my beautiful wife of 13 years, a road that will draw us close to our Savior and each other.  I trust in Him, knowing that He will provide for our every need, not want, but need.  I anticpate the stretching that will take place, knowing that when we are flexable we will not break. 

The next chapter begins, and I wonder who will enter into our story, who’s lives we will encoutner, and what the Lord will do.  It is exciting!  So let us begin…

On a Journey with God

On a Journey with God, walking by faith and not by sight, understanding the way God thinks and the way I think are so completely different, and the ways that He acts in my life at times can seem, well shall I say, a bit illogical.  And yet, what seems illogical to my finite mind is completely logical to the creator of the universe.  I simply must trust Him.  The journey He has called us to walk is not easy, the path is usually a bit unknown, and it usually calls for self sacrifice.   We so often forget Christ has never promised us a journey that would be easy, peaceful, unadventurous, or relaxing.  In fact, I seem to remember the call to follow Christ would be difficult, it is a call to a life of servatude  and humility. It is a call to pick up a bloody cross and to follow a path that is both narrow and difficult.  We have been called to join the death march to Calvary, where our flesh is being destroyed, so that, He can raise us to a new life in Him.  This journey is one many in the Christian church would rather ignore and continue to live as if the command to pick-up our cross and follow Him was never uttered.   I have this picture in my head of Christ standing in front of us asking who will follow Him.  Many raise their hands enthusiastically; convince they are ready for the journey.   Christ turns toward the path in which we must travel and in front of Him, He picks up His cross and begins to walk.  Beside His feet is a pile of crosses lying on the ground awaiting those who would pick-up their cross and follow Him.  As the enthusiastic crowed sees what is required to follow Christ, many in the crowd simply turn away.  

   For many of us, this picture shows the grim reality of the Christian life, and yet there is something beautiful about this reality, this journey.  As I picked up my cross to follow my master, I realize the cross that I am bearing is not as heavy as I first thought.  The path though very narrow and difficult, seems to grow easier with each and every step.  I realize I have a renewed strength, a desire and perseverance that I have never experienced before.  What seemed to be a very fearful adventure at first (knowing I was walking to my death), I now have an overwhelming sense of peace and anticipation of what will come next.  Why, because I know now what is being put to death is my imperfections (my sinful nature), and the person who God intended me to be is emerging once again. What at one moment seemed to be a very lonely path I was traveling, the next moment I begin to realize that creator of the universe is walking with me.   The once loveless picture of death and destruction that was before me has now faded into the background, and all I see is the beauty of God’s majesty all around me. The love of my Father in heaven, knew that this death walk would lead to a resurrected life.  This journey that I have begun with God has opened my eyes to the reality that the Creator of the universe, the one who hung the stars and calls them by name, knows my name too. It this God, my God, who loves me with a deep and intense love, His mercies are new every morning, His kindness overwhelms me, and His faithfulness assures me that He will never leave me nor forsake me. Yes, at first glance the journey God calls us to seems less desirable, but as I walk with my God, the path becomes more than I could ever imagine.

  So the adventure continues.  God has called us from our current church where we have served faithfully for 3 years.   He now calls us to take another step of faith and to trust Him more than we have in recent years.  The path He calls us to will be very hard to see. Why, because our view of the path is being obstructed.  What is obstructing our view of this path, none other than our Lord who is walking directly in front of us.  We cannot see past Him (and I am sure this is how He wants it to be), but we can see Him, and we hear Him saying, “stay close, the path is narrow, follow my steps closely and I will bring you to the place of abundance.”  May we find our hope and peace in the one who can grant us real hope and real peace.

PC

In particular, I have really enjoyed this book.  Specifically, part two of this book has really affirmed what I have been teaching for the past few months in our local congregation.   So often we can reduce Christianity to a particular religious system of do’s and don’ts.  Essentially in our churches we have traded a system of legalism for another system of legalism. We tell people that this new “way” is really what God desires for us, and therefore, we must conform our lives to this new system.  People believe, not because they have checked it our for themselves, but because the pastor up front (who is more than likely seminary trained) told them so.  But as Chalke and Mann point out, this was never the intention of Jesus teaching,

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is not designed to provide a better set of rules, but instead articulate core principles that comprise God’s character and demonstrate His nature. The intention of the Sermon on the Mount is not to set out a list of immovable one-size-fits-all regulations, but rather establish a framework for the development of moral skills and habits based on the character of God. (pg.71, italics added for clarification)

Chalke and Mann further state,

Jesus’ sermon is really the public announcement of how things are now that the Kingdom of God is breaking into the world, and God is taking control. ‘The Kingdom is here,’ and was Jesus’ constant refrain. And through it, He unpacks His compelling vision for life—a vision, which over the next three years, He would systematically live out. But more than that, He issues an open invitation to all people to choose to join in and become citizens of this new Kingdom, where God’s will is being done on earth as it is in heaven.

The Christian life is not about a bunch of rules and regulations; it is about living in communion with God.  The Christian life is realizing what God offers us is so great, so grand, and so magnificent, that we would want others to know and experience it.  See, if we really believe that Jesus is the Christ… if we truly believe that God loves us with a deep and immense love…if we truly believe that we can be a part of God’s family…if we truly believe that God has offered us the gift of life…then wouldn’t we really want to participate in what God is doing?  If this is really what life is going to be like now that God has entered our life, then shouldn’t our lives reflect this new nature to the world.  We do not do love because we are commanded too, we love because this is how things now are.  The apostle John puts it this way, “we love, because He first loved us.” God did not come and wait for us to love Him first, but “God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for you.”  God instuted this new norm, and He has empowered us to live out this new norm; the questions remains, are we?

By John H. Armstrong

The old saying, “never judge a book by its cover,” definitely applies here.  At first glance, you might be insulted or you might be saying to yourself, “this book does not apply to me.”   And yet, this book applies to every Christian and Catholic among us.  John H. Armstrong, writes with a witty and engaging style that will draw you into his life journey for Christian unity.  Many within the Church (both Catholic and Christian) are beginning to talk more and more about what unites them, namely, the Second Person of the Trinity; who came to earth in order to restore fellowship between God and man, through His sacrificial death and by the acceptance of that sacrifice through His resurrection.   Dr. Armstrong argues throughout his book for “unity in Christ’s mission” as “vital to the future of the church.”  If you are in the ministry, or if you are not in the ministry, this is a must read book!  It will challenge you, so be prepared to be changed.

Dr. Armstrong begins with his own journey, as he recalls standing in church one day reciting the Apostles Creed.  As Dr. Armstrong muttered those famous last words, “I believe in the holy Catholic church,” the Holy Spirit began to ask him if he really did believe this statement?  It was from this moment that Dr. Armstrong began his journey towards Christian unity, and it is through this book he invites each one of us to journey towards that same goal.

As a young pastor who is trying to encourage others within the church to be the church outside of our four walls, and to commune with others of the same faith within the boundaries of our same city, I have been encourage by one who has walk before me and has encourage me to continue persevering in the race set before us.

In particular, Chapter 12 really reinforced my desire to be the church, not just when it is comfortable to do so within our four walls, but also to be the church in the world,  where it is very uncomfortable for many to live out their faith.  One of the final sections in Chapter 12 really hones in on this point, Armstrong writes

All Christians are called  to bring about the kingdom of God in every aspect of life—church, family, work, community. Why? God’s claim is over all of life—personal and communal, public and private, individual, and collective.  This goes directly against the thinking of most North American Christians.  We have been taught that all of life fits into one of two categories—secular or sacred…the church must engage the world afresh with the story of Jesus. (pg. 120)

The totality of this book I think can be summed up in this one paragraph.  We have reduced Christianity to a place, a time, and an event.  It is no longer about people, it is about an organization.  It is no longer about the mission of Christ, but about the policy’s and doctrine of a particular movement, which keeps us secluded from one another in the faith, and most assuredly those in the world.  For most churches in North America, our churches and services are for members only.  We essentially lock our doors and place signs at the front, which state, “if you do not agree, please excuse yourself.”

Most of our churches are to small, not in size, but in thinking.  Today I attended a Lenten Lunch Series where various churches gather from around the city to have lunch, here a meditation, and fellowship.  A very ecumenical event, and yet not very ecumenical at all.  For when you come into the room of these various churches, it becomes very evident that it is not ecumenical.  We sit with our own, we whisper concerning the other churches and their people, we criticize the pastor giving the message, we pride ourselves in our doctrine and tradition.  And yet we pretend that we are unified.  The church needs a lot of help, and the world needs the church to be the church, not just profess being the church.

The book releases in April 2010, and is published by Zondervan.  Check out Amazon or your local Christian book store in order to obtain this book.

PC

Multi-Site churches are here to stay, are they good for the church, the community, and for Christianity?

We live in a culture and a time when “church” as we know it is changing.  And we know that nobody really likes change! Why?  Because change forces us to look at what we have been doing and admitting that what we have been doing really has not worked very well.  It is admitting that we have failed in some aspect.  As the church tries to find its way in this ever fluid post-modern society, it is confronted with new models, philosophies, and leadership styles invading its four walls.  How the church responds to this “new” fluid culture will determine whether or not it (the local church) will survive.   The problem is not so much whether the truth of God’s word changes, but whether or not the “way” we do church is working.  Because we live in a consumer-driven society, we approach church with this same type of attitude; an attitude of consumerism.  Essentially people approach church with the question, “what does this church offer me, and is it a good product?”  This might seem like a crude way of thinking to most of us, but if we are honest with ourselves we will acknowledge that we do do this.  Take for an example, when we approach a new church we already have come with a preconceived check list, and if that particular church gets a good enough score, than we will consider attending and buying (support through tithes and offerings) its product.  We look for things such as, does it have a good childrens ministry, what type of music does it play, what is the form of church government, how many youth are attending vs. how many old people attend.  Do they have lots of activities and programs for us, do they talk about money all the time, or how do they take an offering?  This is a consumer driven list.  What is in it for me.

Because of this prevailing view, I believe churches have not sought to fight against this cultural norm, but rather to embrace it, and try their best to change the culture from the inside out.   In A Multi-site Church Road Trip, the authors Surratt, Ligon, and Bird travel around the country investigating this new method found within many churches, namely, muti-site churches.  For those who are not familiar with this new method of doing church, it is a method in which churches are opening different sites or campuses with different venues (different styles of music, ambiance, creative arts, etc.)  in various parts of the city, in order to reach more people groups who may or may not have attended the same church.  By doing this, these ministries are able to reach more people without remaining in a localized area.  In other words, the church takes “church” to where the people are, not relying upon the people to come where they are.

A Muti-Site Church Road Trip is a very easy read and it is was very hard for me to put down.  I found it very interesting, learning about the various ways of doing multi-site or venue church.  If you are looking for a single method of doing multi-site church, than this book will leave you disappointed.  This book is more about a conversation concerning the subject, offering various methods and ideas, and not supplying you with a cookie cutter approach to doing ministry; no one does it exactly the same.  Although the common thread of all muti-site venue ministries, they all have mutiple sites and venues.  Yet, the styles of doing things, what each considers to be the essential aspects of their ministry, their leadership styles, what they are looking for, or how they do multi-site “churching” will vary.   Whatever your views on this new movement are, what you will come away with, is an appreciation for what they are accomplishing and what God is doing through them.

The only criticism that I have from the book is a statement that was made in chapter 3, Getting Multi-Site Into Your Genes, where the one of the  authors (Greg Ligon) quotes Jim Collins book, Good to Great, in which Collins argues that the DNA of a ministry takes time for the participates in the ministry to grasp, but when they congregants finally are able to grasp and identify the DNA, the ministry will essentially end up like some of the other successful business in our country.  Collins uses Starbucks as one example of a successful organization in which the DNA of that company took 13 years to be embraced before Starbucks was able to open up multiple sites and become the profitable empire it is today.  My major criticism for using a secular company such as Starbucks to promote the idea that Multi-site churches will be successful once the DNA is absorbed into the ministry, is that it ignores all the bad aspects or results of that company (granted the author might say that this was not what Collins was trying to say, although the average reader would more than likely take that point from it).  The major positive promoted in this book is that multi-site venue ministries are able to bring the church to more people in different areas where the gospel is not being effective, and really unify people around a singular vision (DNA of a ministry) in order to keep all sites feeling unified and a part of one another.  The problem with this is, when organizations grow larger, they begin to look at the bottom line, rather than the customer(or in this case the average attender of the service).  Since the “door” has been opened with the example of Starbucks, I will use that as my primary example.  Starbucks 10+ years ago was dramatically different than it is today.  The reason Starbucks was such a success, was that Starbucks was able to take a product that was essentially the same, while providing a different atmosphere and ambiance for different areas and cultures around the country and world. The music being played, the coffee of the day, the set-up of the store, the pictures hung on the wall, and other details might be different in one part of the country than another.  The problem is that Starbucks has changed dramatically from 10+ years ago.  The coffee is not as good, the area of gathering is smaller, the store is more commercialized by various Starbucks product, and the help is less knowledgeable.   My fear is that as multi-site venue ministries grow, they will succumb to the same results as Starbucks, in which more and more people are leaving Starbucks and returning to privately owned and operated coffee houses that seem less commercialized and more personal.   So my major problems of the multi-site venue model is two-fold from reading this book:

1. The “lead” pastor becomes more of a superstar figure within the movement, in which people are drawn to the superstar pastor figure, rather than the community in which they are suppose to be worshiping with.  In other words, people begin to see the pastor as a superstar, in which they hope one day they will have a face to face meeting with.  The pastor becomes more and more seclusive (as mention in the book) and not really connecting well with the churches (except through a leadership team who are over various campuses or sites), and when He does connect with the churches, the people treat him like a rock-star, rather than the servant of the people.
2. The church becomes a package that is marketable to a particular area. Although the essentials never change, the rest of the church is free to be whatever they need to be for that community.  It just seems to commercialize.  A person walks into the church, the uniforms maybe different, the music being played through the speakers might be different, the straws and the ketchup might be in a different place, and the ambiance might be different, but at the end of the day, no matter where you go, the product (the essential parts of the ministry) remain the same.  It is like a happy meal, no matter where you go, the happy meal remains the same; looks the same, taste the same, the toy inside is the same.  My fear is that we commercialize church so much, that it becomes a package of a particular ministry that is taken to different parts of the country, and yet, although some things might be different, you know that the end product that you are purchasing will be the same.

I know that this may seem a bit harsh, but it is my fear.  If we are attracting people in order to make them feel comfortable in a particular service, or provide them with a service that they feel is satisfactory, are we really doing church or our we just providing a consumer driven society with a particular service that they feel good about?  Are we commercializing Christ so much that he becomes all things to all men, no matter what they are given?  I seem to remember that Bill Hybels asking for forgiveness last year at a conference I attended for leading the Christian church down a road (through the mega-church movement) that was not beneficial, but rather, very detrimental to Christianity.   I wonder if we should really start adopting or fully embracing a particular “new normal” just because it is presented as the “new normal.”  Not saying that we should do away with it, but maybe consider is this what church is suppose to be?  Just my thoughts.

Once again, a great read, not sure if I accept all of the premises of this “new normal,” but really enjoyed learning about new ministries and seeing what God is doing through them.

PC

Your love is peace to the broken, Faith for the widow, Hope for the orphan
Strength for the weak, Your love is the anthem of nations, Brings out to the ages
And You’re Always Enough for me

The chorus above is from Casting Crowns new CD, “Until The Whole World Hears.”  I love this song!  The question I have for me and others who claim to be followers of Christ, “Is Jesus enough?”  The reality is, Christ is more than enough for us, our churches, and our communities.  Yet, until we as a community of faith actually walk in this reality, our churches and our communities may never really experience Christ’s peace for the broken, faith for the widow, or hope for the orphan.   If the church does not wake up and realize that we are the visible kingdom of God in this world, the physical representation of God to the needy, they may never experience these realities.   The Scriptures are very clear, the vehicle by which God desires to present His message of grace, hope, and love to this world, is you and me?  Until we take seriously the great commission, I am afraid many of our churches and communities will never experience the hope that is found in this chorus.  And this seriously breaks my heart.

PC

PC