daveingland.com

Ministry: is it just another form of sales?

daveingland — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:43:57 +0000

First of all, I must confess something. I am a big fan of John Cusack and 80′s films in general. However, only after watching Cusack’s Say Anything for the first time after having had some experience in formal ministry, the movie was quite different for me. It became more about the underlying tale of lives intertwined in everyday stuff–where people aren’t always what they seem, and not everyone strives to be an achiever.

One of the things that stuck in my brain this time was when Lloyd Dobler (played by Cusack) was asked about his aspirations once he graduated from high school. His response was:

“I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.”

When I heard this, my mind immediately went to ministry. I have stayed away from ministry for some of the reasons that Cusack’s character Lloyd Dobler mentioned staying away from choosing a career path. Yeah, it’s kind of a convoluted thought, but if you stop and think about it, don’t you know of someone in ministry that has been guilty of selling something (church, religion, tithing, serving), buying something (doing something in exchange for getting financial support), processing something for sale (personalizing a theology or doctrine and then preaching it, rather than Christ crucified) or ____________ ? (add your own thoughts here)

Ministry shouldn’t be about sales or buying something or having an agenda. It should be about people and connecting them with the eternal love of Christ.

Now, it’s your turn to say anything…

The Idea Camp Challenge

daveingland — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:41:10 +0000

I’m throwing out a challenge to the leadership and community from The Idea Camp. It’s more so an expression of a long-term idea rather than an actual challenge.

A bunch of us have stayed connected and formed a tribe of sorts stemming from attendance at the very first The Idea Camp back in February 2009 in Irvine, CA. We’ve stayed connected and helped encourage and support others, but we have yet to take an idea and collectively work together to see it happen. Of course, Charles Lee–the creative force and facilitator of The Idea Camp–has seen his ideas come to life through hosting each event, but what about a ground level, grassroots, collaborative movement inspired by and carried out by our group, affectionately known as Idea Campers?

So, my challenge to my fellow Idea Campers at large is this: Let’s brainstorm some ideas and collectively pool together our talents and resources to see something come of it. Let’s take what we’ve professed as the DNA of The Idea Camp and do something with it!

If you’re not familiar with The Idea Camp yet, learn more and join in the community here:

website: http://theideacamp.com

ning: http://theideacamp.ning.com

twitter: http://www.twitter.com/theideacamp

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/theideacamp

We replicate what we celebrate

daveingland — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:13:33 +0000

I’ve been staying away from a lot of reading material regarding the church and leadership this year. It all began sounding the same and it was rehashing things I’ve already learned in previous books. However, an excerpt from Ed Stetzer‘s newest book Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers has gotten me excited.

In regards to multiplication of the missional church, here are some snippets from the post over at Foursquare News:

“People will need to consider church planting as one of their ministry’s core values. Church planting cannot be an afterthought, someone else’s ministry or a department. Churches will live, eat and breathe it. The widespread expectation that people will be sent out must become normal rather than exceptional.”

“Churches will always have a scorecard…With our emphasis on a multiplication movement, a new scorecard will lend itself toward opening relationships and dialogue between church leaders. Let’s cross the proverbial aisles to help those in varying denominations, networks and methodologies celebrate how God is multiplying churches. Then our members will do the same.”

“We replicate what we celebrate”

“Multiplying churches are going to do a better job of disciple making. This is due to their determination to emphasize the transformation occurring in small communities and to simpler church structures that give more time to personal formation.”

“Future churches will be less tied to the construction of buildings…Multiplication movements are built on the principle of easily reproducible models, and facilities must follow suit.”

“…it is time to for us to assume a position of learning from the global Christian community. We can learn much, for example, from the worldwide church planting movements.”

“Here in the United States, the majority of church growth continues to come from immigrant and non-Anglo congregations. They may take a leadership role in this country’s church multiplication movement, because their congregations may be willing to multiply sooner and faster than others.”

“Saints persevere, but their institutions and facilities are temporary. As new congregations are formed in the multiplying movements, we will view church facilities as kingdom assets. Church buildings are like an inheritance to pass along rather than a living trust to keep.”

Finally, I’ll end with a quote from Stetzer’s book credited to Bill Easum: “Historically all movements have begun because of the charismatic efforts of one lone individual who touched a nerve among a host of people. Who will step up to be that person?”

See all the quotes in context from Foursquare news here: http://www.foursquare.org/articles/1382,1.html

blog one another

daveingland — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:48:46 +0000

The title is in reference to my friend Jon Reid‘s blog of the same title. In particular, it has to do with this post: “and” (Philippians 1:1 lectio) and Jon’s reply to my comment on that post. I’m sure my takeaway from Jon’s post was different than his thoughts that went into writing the content, but it struck me pretty hard in my own way. You see, I’ve been wandering around here in Portland, OR for the past six months feeling alone and like a stranger in a strange place. No matter what I do, I just feel unsettled here. During a tokbox video chat with my friend Josh Roberts, I found myself unexpectedly going off on a rant about pastoral leadership and how I felt there was a breakdown in pastors caring for and mentoring leaders within their churches. So many people are leaving the ministry and embracing life in roles as speakers, authors, coaches…you name it. They are abandoning the church. It saddens me. So many people are falling away from their roles as servant leaders because of feeling burned out or just going through the motions. They have lost their passion and have become unsupported for their callings. This saddens me as well.

During my rant I told Josh that it was just what was in my mind at the time of our conversation. He insists that it was more than that. He told me it was a burden on my heart. I never thought about it before as a burden, but from that moment on I’ve thought about what he said. Is it a burden? Must I respond?

Feeling lost and alone here in Portland, I too have removed myself from any formal ministry role. I’ve been working up to 12 hours a day, coming home around 9:30pm and even working Sunday mornings until 9:30pm sometimes. I’ve been okay with that up until that tokbox conversation with my friend Josh. I hadn’t really thought about acting on it much until I read the post from my friend Jon. Jon wrote in his blog post:

“I haven’t had either a Paul or a Timothy in my life for many years now, and it shows. ++Lord, send me a Paul. Send me a Timothy.++”

This crushed me. My heart went out to Jon. I know his pain and anguish. I hope for what he hopes for. We need people to have a burden on their hearts to help equip and encourage others. We need people like the Apostle Paul to pass along his encouragement and training to people like Timothy. It must be a continual cycle of renewal. Somehow we have lost this mentoring relationship. I feel I must get back into this, even at an informal level. I may not be the designated leader in a community at the moment, but I have a burden to give back to those who want to receive and encourage those that just need a little boost.

While I could always just go do this, I feel like there must be more to it than that. A community, a network, a fellowship… something bigger than myself must be the result.

It’s all in the eye of the beholder

daveingland — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 05:40:59 +0000

I’m curious to know how you feel about the following quotes:

[there is a] “greater purpose for every single one of us, even if we’re stripped of all our wealth or our resources.”

“One thing about honor, one thing about dignity — it’s not dependent on what’s written on a document…That comes from standing up and being truthful to who you are.”

[He also vowed to] “continue to speak up for those people who cannot.”

“I know that there are a lot of people who are suffering, and my oath, my commitment to them, doesn’t end…”

So, what do you think? Do these sound noble? Might they even be words you’ve said or thought at some point? Are they your battle cry?

The above quotes are from Lt. Dan Choi whose website bio reads:

Arabic Linguist.
Iraq Veteran.
West Point Graduate.
Infantry Officer.

Gay… Fired… and Fighting Back!

Question is, does knowing who made the above statements change your mind about how you feel about them? Next question is, why?

Here is the context of the quotes from cnn.com: http://bit.ly/aj91HG

The illusion better known as: The Church

daveingland — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:42:58 +0000

I’ve had several conversations with people in the past few months about the church. What they thought they were doing for the sake of the church was in-fact helping to propel an institution rather than creating a movement of love, grace, hope and faith. It became more about saving the institution of church, rather than sharing the saving grace of Christ with the world.

As I see it, the church has become the focus of our faith. How many times have you heard the story of someone who left their faith at the doorstep of the last church that disillusioned them? In the real world it seems like people have become conditioned to the concept that the church is where our hope should be placed. Why is that? One reason could be how we have preached that ones money and time must be given to the church in order to prove our Christianity. We must tithe to our local church and share Christ’s love through ministries and programs within our local church in order to be considered “members” of that church.

Church as we know it has become about being self-sustaining rather than life-giving. We have put the emphasis on our success as a church rather than being instruments of Christ amongst the marginalized and fringes of society where he walked, dined, and conversed during his 3 year ministry.

Yes, my commentary has taken on a somewhat cynical tone, but if you had been involved in the fifty or so conversations I have had in the past few months, you too would see this trend that people have become disillusioned by the church. As a result, many of them have abandoned their faith. Some of them, while not abandoning their faith, have left their leadership roles within the church in search of something different.

Today’s seeker sensitive movement may not be about seeking God and his Son Jesus–instead it may actually be about people believing in God and wanting to find a place where he resides and seeks our hearts rather than our time and money.

While I may sound cynical about the church, it is not my intention to be critical of the church. However, I do believe that we as the church are losing people to secularism because we no longer have something to offer them. We have unintentionally directed our intentions to the masses of people already in eternal relationship with the Savior at the expense of those that aren’t drawn to our church–or the way we portray our God.

I am burdened by this missed opportunity, yet do not have an answer about how to address it. Let the conversation begin!

Marketplace ministry: Church at a Kia dealership?

daveingland — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:32:01 +0000

I must admit that for the longest time I felt like a failure…not because our first church planting experience wasn’t a success, but because after all of my time in seminary and as an assistant pastor and lead pastor, I suddenly found myself working at a Kia dealership in Portland, Oregon. To me it was a job–the only job I could get after a two month job search–not a ministry. How foolish of me though! God has been unpacking a lot of things for me in just the 30 days I have been an internet sales manager at this Kia dealership. I have several stories I could share, but one is so poignant that it never seems to leave my mind.

Mr. H is a very successful businessman. He makes over $200,000 a year at a business he has owned for about 20 years. He grew up in the church and has been a pretty faithful Christian until a year ago. You see, Mr. H lost his brother at the age of 57. One night his brother went to sleep and never woke up. His heart stopped beating in the middle of the night and he passed away. A few months after the loss of his brother, Mr. H felt like God had left him. He blamed God for taking his brother away from him and his family. Mr. H was still hurting and still resentful towards God. He stopped going to Sunday services and didn’t want anything else to do with what he thought God wanted. Know that I did not force my faith upon Mr. H, nor did I manipulate the conversation to direct to this topic. Through some crazy, convoluted series of events we ended up on this subject and I never see it coming, until I’m immersed in the dialog.

Through just listening to Mr. H tell his story, I could see that there was some revelation and some healing happening right before my eyes. Mr. H asked me to share my story of how I went from being an atheist of 37 years to a seminary graduate and pastor. Mr. H told said to me that it was obviously God moving in my life. He said that it would just that kind of miraculous act of God coming upon him in his voice in order to resurrect his faith. However, I knew that Mr. H knew that deep down inside he knows God and that he knows God is there. He’s just stinging from the pain of losing his brother to a heart condition that could ultimately take his own life as well. It’s a hereditary condition that the doctors don’t know why it happens or when/if it will strike. That’s scary! Mr. H is in pain, but I know he is also scared. We talked some more and I shared how in Ecclesiastes and the final chapter of Jonah of examples God gave us of being angry or not being able to understand why things happen as they do. It’s a real emotion to be hurt and confused about God’s actions and that he understands that. It’s not a punishment and it’s not for us to feel sorry for ourselves over. As we come to realize that, we free our mind to begin to see some sense in the losses.

The craziest part of all of this, is that a successful businessman named Mr. H came in to buy a truck for his business, yet chose to reveal some painful experiences from the loss of his brother and his personal relationship with God to a stranger. You see, for some strange reason these are the stories and conversations I was never able to have with regular attenders of a church service. However, sitting across from me at my desk as I hold the title of internet sales manager, people seem free to discuss personal aspects of their life and faith and God with me in a very real and meaningful way. I’m at a Kia dealership worried about whether I’ll make enough money to pay my rent, yet God is bringing people to me that have impacted my life and given me opportunities to do what I always dreamed about doing as a lead pastor of a church plant–I’m reaching people outside of the church, speaking language they understand, and getting them to look at church, God, Christ, and people in a different way. What I call a job, God is using as a new ministry. I still find it a mystery, but am very grateful for the opportunity I have been entrusted with to be a small part of the process to (hopefully) seeing some people renew their faith in God and his church.

How I batch unfollowed everyone on twitter

daveingland — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:34:48 +0000

Yes, it is possible to unfollow everyone on your twitter account all at once. I chose to re-start my account from zero and after some experimentation, learned how this can be done:

Set up a new email account using a free service such as gmail or yahoo.
Change your twitter account name to something else…anything else.
Change your email address associated with your twitter account to your new email address.
Confirm the account change using the automated email sent by twitter.
Once all is confirmed, cancel your twitter account.
Go back and re-register your old account name on twitter.

Act fast through the process to make sure no one snatches up your twitter account name after you let it go. This lets you completely batch unfollow everyone and lose all of your followers at the same time so you can start from scratch and reset your follow/follower lists. This is especially useful if you’ve been loaded up with spam bots following you, or if you follow thousands of people and want to go back to just following a few that you want to stay connected with. Happy tweeting!

tithing…is it relevant today?

daveingland — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:42:40 +0000

Currently having a great conversation via twitter that started with this initial question:

@AaronBird: What do you say Christian leaders: Does supporting a missionary or ministry outside of your church count as your tithe?

How would you answer? Before you do, here are some snippets of additional dialog that you may consider as well:

inworship: @daveingland Gotta be honest. That question from @AaronBird sounds very religious and selfish.

aaronbird: @inworship …worthy ministries also require funds. Conflict of interest? Dunno. Just thinkin’.

daveingland: @aaronbird @inworship i think your tithe/offering should go to those in need. i’m more in line with paul’s teaching on gracious giving.

soverpeck: @daveingland @aaronbird @inworship modern way of doing church is a money pit. in the bible the “10% tithe” was about giving food to the poor

inworship: @AaronBird Biblically, we need to encourage heart giving. Any expectation to the local church/organization, opposes that teaching.

aaronbird: @inworship I don’t disagree. Just wonder what a church leader feels when giving is down & has 2 make cuts but ppl expct more but give less.

daveingland: @soverpeck @inworship @aaronbird in acts 2, they sold what they had & gave to those in need. way more than 10% & definitely money, not food

soverpeck: @daveingland @inworship @aaronbird absolutely. again, not to pay salaries or for cool sound systems and a mac

aaronbird: @soverpeck @daveingland @inworship Do we always have to defer to “the way it used to be”? Why not forge ahead & be relevant to now?

aaronbird: @soverpeck @daveingland @inworship Should we not pay or pastors & other church leaders because that’s how they used to do it in the NT?

So, should one tithe to the church? Is a tithe 10%? Should giving be considered a tithe? Can one–in a biblical sense–give to those in need outside of the church and consider that their tithe…thereby not giving to the church as well? Your thoughts are appreciated.

Seasons change…Why i re-started my twitter account

daveingland — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 19:10:56 +0000

It seems that when I re-started my twitter account a few weeks ago–taking it from 1800+ followers down to 0–it caused a lot of confusion. Therefore, I figured an explanation was in order.

It had nothing to do with spammers or bots following me. I have been pretty good about keeping up with those. It was just a personal decision I made based on the way I use twitter. You see, I use twitter to develop and facilitate conversation and relationships. It’s a great networking tool that has kept me in constant contact with the friends I cherish from the first The Idea Camp in Irvine, CA in February 2009. To have connected with most of them on twitter and then having a chance to meet them in-person was great. Some people I had met in-person at The Idea Camp were then connected afterwards via twitter. I value my friendships and appreciate having a tool to stay connected with them in-between times when I can make it out to meetups with them. Along the way I have connected with over 1,700 other people on twitter. What I’ve found is this: my twitter connections seem to have seasons. Some people will connect heavily for awhile, then disappear. Others will connect once or twice and then stop. Then some, like my The Idea Camp tribe of friends, will stay connected forever. Using lists and tweetdeck columns just wasn’t working for me. In fairness, what’s the point of following someone on twitter if I never engage (or in many cases, even see) their tweets? To me, twitter is like community. Community is engagement. Community is sharing and living life together. Therefore, rather than try to scan through 1,800+ followers and decipher who was really engaged with my tweets and who really could care less, I figured the best thing to do was to just start over. I’m sure many people that followed me previously put me in some column that they never looked at anymore and were still following out of courtesy. Well, now they have been released and given the option to intentionally follow me back if they want. If not, no worries!

For me, if I can have less than 200 people I follow on twitter and have them follow me in return because we share in community, then that would be ideal. I don’t need to broadcast to the masses and my worth and influence aren’t measured by the number of my twitter followers. As seasons change, my follow/followers change as well. It’s just the nature of life and community.

Twitter is now manageable for me once again and I feel much better connected to my friends now vs 6 months ago. If you followed me in the past and thought you were still following me, chances are you are not. If you haven’t realized that you have not seen a tweet from me in about 3 weeks and haven’t wondered what happened, then you are probably one of those people that stopped caring anyways. Maybe it just slipped your mind.

My best wishes to you all as you transition through your changing seasons as well.