As a protégé, you will choose a ministry department to focus your efforts throughout the year. You will be assigned a mentor within your department that will work alongside of you throughout the year. If you love kids- we’ve got them, and we want you to help us create environments for them and teach truth to them! If you are passionate about seeing the marketplace and the church collide, we would love for you to experience the management behind Ebenezers coffeehouse. If you love creating environments where community is built and transformational growth happens, our discipleship team would love to take your passion even further! Love creating videos? Our media team wants to invest in your talent to tell the story of God through moving pictures. If you are a worship leader, we would love to pair you up with other talented and anointed worship leaders that want to take your gifts to the next level!

Additionally, Proteges meet in huddles once a week for ongoing discipleship training and leadership development in a small group environment that focuses on topics such as Leading Yourself Well, Character Killers, Dreaming God-sized Dreams, and Leadership Rhythms.

Apply today here.

We are preparing for our upcoming Easter Baptism, and every year I have numerous conversations with people about whether or not it is the “right time” to get baptized. My perspective: The moment you make the decision to follow Jesus Christ is the right time to get baptized. It’s about obedience. If we want to follow him, that’s the first step we take.

Many times, we make baptism about us. When is the right time? When is the right environment? When will I feel good about it? There’s often a desire to “get my act together” before getting baptized. Or a hope that we can “make this whole Jesus thing stick” before we get baptized. I think that’s backwards.

Baptism is not about us doing something for God. It’s about recognizing what God has already done for us. Baptism is not an opportunity for us to get wet to prove to God that we love him. It’s a picture of new life God has raised us to in Christ. We don’t wait until we get our act together to make sure the Jesus thing sticks or that we are in a place where we are right with God. We follow immediately– it’s an act of obedience and surrender to and identification with Christ.

In Acts 8, the Ethiopian man was captivated by Isaiah and the fulfillment of its promise in Jesus Christ. His response: “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”

If you’ve made the decision to follow Christ, the time is now. Why not?

We spent today in the archaeological site of Biblical Beersheva and the Wilderness of Zin. One of our guides mentioned that the wilderness often became God’s classroom with three primary lessons.

In the desert, one learned humility. There are no lone rangers there; it requires living in community and humility towards one another. Scripture states that Moses was the most humble man who lived. It’s notable that he spent 40 years in the desert before the Exodus. And a considerable amount of time there afterwards, as well.

The desert also becomes a place of hospitality. Even modern Bedouins are known for the hospitality they display to guests. For instance, a Bedouin may serve a guest up to three days without expectation of even learning their guest’s name. In Genesis 18, Abraham extended hospitality to three guests in the desert, and he received the presence and blessing of God as a result.

Finally, the desert is a place to learn patience.  Moses waited forty years. Abraham waited decades. Jesus endured temptation. We can afford to trust God’s timing, and we often learn that lesson with some time in the desert.

Seven years ago, I came to Jerusalem with seven other pastors. To describe our story sounded like the beginning of a bad joke: A Presbyterian, a Lutheran, a Southern Baptist, an Anglican, an evangelical ministering in the inner city, and Heather…however you might describe her…

To say the trip changed my life in profound ways sounds ridiculously cliche, but I’m not sure how else to say it. I learned the value of pilgrimage (and the nuances between it and travel), the practice of the spiritual discipline Stations of the Cross, the diversity of and the beauty of the Body of Christ with all of her flaws and inconsistencies, the significance of understanding church history, and the importance of learning to live in the tension of faith and reason that is at times difficult to reconcile.

More importantly than anything else, however, is that I encountered God in a new way and my reading of Scripture took on new depth. The ancient theologian and historian Jerome referred to Israel as the Fifth Gospel, referring to the idea that the land itself revealed something of God’s character and helped us to understand something of his story. When I came here seven years ago, I felt as thought Jesus excitedly took me by the hand to show me the places where he walked, experienced life, and discovered through human eyes the beauty of his own creation. Through that process, I fell in love with him in a new way and fell in love with the land where he lived and served.

Today, I am here once again. Different time. Different context. The teaching team from National Community Church has come to explore the Holy Land together with a few dozen other soon to be great friends. We echo the statement Paul made 2,000 years ago that we have come to this place, compelled by the Holy Spirit, and we do not know what will happen to us here. Hopefully, prison and hardship doesn’t await us here like Paul expresses in the very next verse. My prayer is to be taken captive once again by the awe and wonder of a God who one day decided to leave his home to come wrapped in the skin of his own creation in order to rescue those he loved.

We don’t want the loudest idea to win; we want the best idea to win. If one person on the team wins and another loses…all of us lose.

For our team meetings, we collectively developed some rules of engagement to ensure that we talk with one anther, dream with one another, and fight with one another well. Here’s what we came up with:

TEAM D RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
We are charged with creating community and making disciples at National Community Church. This charge is a reflection of the Great Commission: Go make disciples of all nations. If we miss this target, we fail to live out our calling in our generation and we fail to serve our church well. We must be Biblical, intentional, thought-full, prayerful and creative. This isn’t about us as individuals. It’s about the Kingdom of God. It’s not about our preferences or opinions, it’s about making disciples.

As we see throughout the story of the Bible and the Church, God uses people of differing perspectives and opinions to accomplish goals that are much bigger than they are. The way ahead is often found in the tension. We choose to embrace that tension with humble confidence in order to discover how God wants to work in us and through us in this season at NCC.

We choose to promote, protect, and abide by these rules of engagement:

Positivity
Prioritize Positivity. Make the first response positive.

Honesty and Honor
Engage issues critically; engage people positively. If you don’t like an idea, say that and say why you don’t like it. But honor the person. Use discretion- bring up the right topics in the right environment and the right time.

Differentiating Debate and Decision
Disagree in Debate; Commit on Decisions. This also means that Heather identifies which hat she is wearing when appropriate and/or needed.

Teamwork
Everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a voice. And everyone is required to participate. But at the end of the day, the name on the front of your jersey is more important than the name on the back. It’s not about one person winning and one person losing. It’s about winning as a team.

…and humor. It doesn’t need to be listed as a rule. It’s just going to happen. We embrace that.

1. See Handel’s Messiah live.
2. Participate in a live nativity.
3. Get your picture taken with Santa Claus as an adult.
4. Read the Christmas story as a family.
5. Go to a multi-hundred-voice, over-produced spectacular Christmas production at your local Baptist mega-church.
6. Participate in a multi-hundred-voice, over-produced spectacular Christmas production at your local Baptist mega-church.
7. Attend a carols by candlelight service.
8. Make a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
9. Leave out cookies for Santa Claus.
10. Eat the cookies left for Santa Claus.
11. Go Christmas caroling in your neighborhood or at the nursing home.
12. Wear a really ugly Christmas sweater.
13. Listen to someone yodel through Silent Night (I witnessed this at a Lutheran church in Oregon last Christmas…I am not kidding you! I saw “yodeler” listed in the program and started laughing. I was not disappointed).
14. See Polar Express in IMAX 3D.
15. Watch A Christmas Story 5 times back-to-back on TBS.
16. String popcorn, cheerios, fruit loops, etc. Eat more than you string.
17. Decorate a gingerbread house.
18. Make a gingerbread house from scratch.
19. Pack a shoebox for Samaritans Purse Christmas Child.
20. Send a letter to Santa.
21. Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas (this one should happen every Christmas)
22. Cut down your own tree after at least 2 hours of deliberation. Preferably a Charlie Brown tree.
23. Give a gift to your post officer and trash collector.
24. Go shopping on Christmas Eve.
25. Finish your Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving.
26. Give the gift of time to someone who really needs it.
27. Kiss someone under the mistletoe.
28. Fry the turkey.
29. Play football with your family after eating the fried turkey.
30. Decorate your house with something really outrageous and embarrassing.
31. Read a bunch of children’s Christmas books with friends.
32. Go see the Nutcracker.
33. See the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
34. Assemble a train under the tree.
35. Make your own advent calendar.
36. Visit Santa at Macy’s in Herald Square.
37. Go on a drive to find the most amazing display of lights.
38. Leave secret Santa stockings for friends.
39. Learn about the 12 days of Christmas…and the hidden theology behind the song.
40. Don’t stop celebrating on December 25. Celebrate Christmas all the way through Epiphany.

When we come and see Christ for who he really is, it should leave us wonderstruck.

My friend, Margaret Feinberg, is one of my favorite authors, speakers, friends, and gold panners (yes, we did that once). Her new book and 7-session Bible Study called Wonderstruck: Awaken to the Nearness of God (releasing Christmas Day)—a personal invitation for you to toss back the covers, climb out of bed, and drink in the fullness of life. Wonderstruck will help you:

• Recognize the presence of God in the midst of your routine
• Unearth extraordinary moments on ordinary days
• Develop a renewed passion for God
• Identify what’s holding you back in prayer
• Discover joy in knowing you’re wildly loved

Follow Margaret’s snarky, funny, and inspirational posts on Twitter, Facebook, or her blog. You can learn more about this great book by visiting www.margaretfeinberg.com/wonderstruck where she’s offering some crazy promos right now with up to $300 of free stuff. I’ve seen the book for as low as $7.95 ($14.99 retail) on Barnes & Noble. Get it. For your small group. Your family. Your personal growth.

So where have you seen the wonder of God in your life?

We opened the door and walked right over the welcome mat just as we had done hundreds of times before, but on this particular day Ryan noticed it. Our pathetic shredded excuse for a welcome mat had faded. We had worn out our welcome. The word “Welcome” on the welcome mat had been worn down by the copious foot traffic it had endured over the past several years.

When Ryan and I bought our first home, we really wanted to make it an open door environment. A place where small groups could congregate, where the church and community could cross paths on our front porch, where 20-somethings could find a home away from home.

In that spirit, we desired to choose a welcome mat carefully and discerningly. We selected one that boasted the word “Welcome” in large, bold font emblazoned in the middle surrounded by smaller translations of the word “welcome” in various languages.

On this particular day, we realized the big word “welcome” had faded, and most of the welcomes in other languages had disappeared as well. We had officially worn out our welcome.

As usual, our perspectives on this mundane domestic development were almost as far apart as the loyalties of Red Sox fans and Yankees fans or the political views of Mary Matalin and James Carville.

My immediate reaction: that’s terrible, we need a new one! Our house is a mess!

Ryan’s immediate reaction: that’s awesome, we are so hospitable! Our house is full of people!

It’s not often that I like Ryan’s perspective better, but in this instance, I’m willing to part with my opinion. It’s true, we had worn out our welcome. And I think that’s awesome. Here’s what I’m learning: Discipleship and hospitality are closely connected. I used to think that hospitality was about teacups, doilies, and properly set tables. While those social niceties may represent a dimension of hospitality, at its Biblical core, it is primarily about inviting people into safe places to encounter the dangerous message of the Gospel. It’s about creating environments where people can experience the presence of God. Isn’t that the most important thing we can do as disciple-makers? And shouldn’t hospitality be fun? I think Christians need to learn how to throw better parties.

It doesn’t sound sacred, but good stewardship led us to purchase a karaoke machine, a large screen television, and Settlers of Catan, and those have proven to be some of the best investments we could make. Our next big decision is whether or not to invest in a soda fountain. When people come to our house, they know we are not going to set a table for them, prepare something special for them, or cater to their wishes. If they are lucky, we will ask them what they want to drink. The rules are simple—here is the fridge, here is the pantry. If it’s in a Tupperware container without a clear date inscribed, beware. Otherwise, help yourself. You know where the movies, the games, and the karaoke CDs are…go for it. We want to create a place where people want to be, and that means making a place that is fun.

It’s going to look different for you than it does for us, but the principle is the same. What part of your life can you open up to include someone else? Hospitality is more than teacups, doilies, well set tables, and good manners. It’s a lot more dangerous than that. And a lot more fun. It’s inviting people into your life as you live it and where you live it. Wear out your welcome. Throw better parties.

Fun is both a spiritual gift and a spiritual discipline. I’m convinced that the blessings of God require discipline and the spiritual disciplines double as spiritual blessings. For instance, confession is a spiritual discipline, but we find when we practice it that we receive the gift of healing (James 5:16). Reading the Word is a spiritual discipline– it takes intentionality, practice, and energy–  but it also brings spiritual blessing (Joshua 1:8). Likewise, leadership and prophecy and mercy are all spiritual gifts, but we are instructed to nurture them, grow them, and steward our leadership in them with the discipline of an athlete, patience of a farmer, and focus of a soldier (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Timothy 4:15, 2 Timothy 2:3-6)

Fun is no different. Sometimes fun overwhelms us. We laugh until we hurt, we worship until our words dry up, we play until we are sore, and we are returned to childhood in the magic of DisneyWorld.  Fun comes naturally and without effort.

Sometimes, fun is more like a discipline. We have to plan for it, prepare for it, and be intentional with it. I don’t want to stretch the idea too far, but I see parallels with the practice of Sabbath. Sabbath was given to the children of Israel as both a discipline (to reflect the character and ways of God- Exodus 20) and as a blessing (to celebrate their freedom from slavery- Deuteronomy 5).

I’ve made a conscious decision that fun will be a part of my life. I love the times it just happens, but other times I have to be intentional and strategic about pursuing it, recognizing it, and living in it. Jenilee and I will often plan adventures and schedule fun because we know the joy of the Lord is not just something we drift into but a reality we are called to search out and discover.

Recently, we wanted to surprise some friends in Chicago. Great idea. Except the details and planning of such an adventure threatened to spin out of control. How do you schedule the flight and connect to the train to arrange to be at just the right spot at precisely the right time to bump into your two friends in downtown Chicago when they walked by? It was a logistical nightmare, but the hard work paid off in fun.

Another time, we planned a midnight scavenger hunt birthday party for our friend Maegan, complete with video clues, surprise visits from friends, a video greeting from the boyfriend on mission trip in Ethiopia, and breakfast on the roof of Ebenezers Coffeehouse. It was schedule and intentional fun.

This week– plan some fun. Put it into the schedule and into the budget. It’s both a spiritual discipline and a spiritual gift. Let’s practice it.

Check out Jenilee’s blog for previous installments of Theology of Fun and to read past posts.

I have a tendency to take myself far too seriously. If someone corrects me, I am quick to make excuses (if only they knew the challenges I had faced). If someone criticizes, I am quick to defend (if only they knew who I was). If someone praises me, I am quick to wonder how many other people have taken notice, as well. But the reality is…I love people better, worship God better, and get more out of life when I don’t take myself so seriously. Alternatively, I don’t honor others, I worship myself, and I don’t have nearly as many laughs when I do take myself too seriously.

Here’s an example. See that picture at the top of the page? Don’t be too impressed. Here’s the story. For a couple of years, Jenilee and I have wanted to ride a mechanical bull. We’ve separately passed up individual opportunities recently for the sake of doing it together. Our dream finally came true on Monday. We had taken our friends to Cox Farms for the day (side note: the fact that there were 6 adults at Cox Farms without children is actually a  post on its own. Imagine 6 adults at Chuck E Cheese and you are kinda close to the scenario).  We ate apples, navigated a corn maze, braved rope swings, milked a cow, stuffed ourselves with kettle corn, and raced down the giant slides. Back to the story…they had a mechanical bull. Jenilee and I immediately bought our overpriced tickets and lined up. Jenilee did pretty good. She put on a good show for the kiddos and held on as they ramped up the bull faster and faster. Then…my turn. Just a few seconds later…this happened…

Let me clarify…this was a KIDS paced ride. No wild bucking. No sudden jerks. Just a gentle gliding and turning. Jenilee lasted about 44 seconds before she was finally thrown. I lasted somewhere around 14. So embarrassing.

But to end the story there would be an example of taking myself far too seriously. It actually took me more time to get ON the bull than I spent riding it. I’m short. My arms are short. My legs are short. And I’m just not as athletic as I once was. I’m not even sure how many jumps and kicks and tugs it took before I finally managed to clumsily thrash my way onto the saddle, but by the time I was actually sitting upright, I was so tired I felt like I had already gone eight seconds on a real bull. My friends were doubled over in laughter. One had walked away out of embarrassment. Whole families had congregated to view the comedy. And then after all that trouble, I got thrown off faster than every kid in line before me.

That’s the whole story. But my tendency is to edit my story and paint for myself, my friends, the Facebook world, and all others a far more serious picture of myself.

As we launch into this series on the Theology of Fun, I know some immediate reactions occur. Some of you may think that developing a theology of fun throws us into a danger of dismissing the weightiness of God. Of not recognizing his holiness and his majesty. Here’s what I think lies at the heart of a Theology of Fun:

Take God seriously. Don’t take yourself seriously.

The moment you start taking yourself too seriously, you start worshiping yourself, and worse, expecting others to do the same. It’s the worst form of idolatry. We’ve got to be willing to look stupid. The epic stories of our faith are ripe with people who were willing to look foolish. Disciples jumping out on the rough waters to see if they can walk. Prophets engaging in the first forms of Fear Factor feats to get their point across. A king who stripped down and danced wildly in the streets to worship God to the horror and embarrassment of his wife.

The less we take ourselves seriously and the more we take God seriously, the better we will be. The great hedonistic benefit of not taking yourself too seriously is that I believe you actually have more fun. We take more risks, we experience more things, and we definitely enjoy more laughs.

Worship God, not yourself. Point to Christ, not to yourself. Let the Holy Spirit animate you, not your ambition. Take God seriously, don’t take yourself seriously, and you will worship more and have more fun.

I’m ready for another bull ride. Who’s with me?

Check out Jenilee’s blog next week for the next installment of Theology of Fun.

“Whence comes this idea that if what we are doing is fun, it can’t be God’s will? The God who made giraffes, a baby’s fingernails, a puppy’s tail, a crooknecked squash, the bobwhite’s call, and a young girl’s giggle, has a sense of humor. Make no mistake about that. (Catherine Marshall)

I believe that God tells the best jokes and plays the best pranks. No, I can’t cite a chapter and a verse for that, but you can’t cite a chapter and a verse for the theological concept of the Trinity, either. We believe it because God’s relational nature is on display throughout Scripture and can be seen in the way he interacts with us. It’s the same with his sense of humor. Why wouldn’t the Great I Am be the greatest giver of fun? Why wouldn’t He who created laughter have the best laugh and instigate the most laughs? Why can’t the maker of jokes be the best teller of jokes?

Several years ago, a friend of mine made an off-handed comment that “it’s not godly to have fun all the time.” Some form of righteous anger erupted in me. Okay, after I simmered down, I conceded that perhaps not all the time. But I think fun is an expression of godliness.

The creation reveals a streak of whimsy. Jesus seemed to be fun to be around. C. S. Lewis, the man who brought us the intellectual weight of Mere Christianity and the playful allegory of Narnia, argued, “The Scotch catechism says that man’s chief end it ‘to glorify Go and enjoy Him forever.’ But we shall then know that these are the same thing. Fully to enjoy is to glorify. In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him.” As I look at the adventure of my own life, I can’t escape the idea that God is fun, and I think my theology needs a category for it.

Ryan and I have core values for our family. One of them is FUN. If it’s not fun, we are not going to do it. If it’s not fun and we are required to do it, we are going to make it fun. This core value has turned flight delays into adventures, inconveniences into memories, and conflict into marital strength.

Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to explore the theology of fun. And since I believe that everything is more fun when you are experiencing that fun with other people, I’ve enlisted the help of my friend Jenilee. Jenilee is the student pastor at National Community Church and is likely one of the most fun people you will never meet (see– how can God not be fun? He creates people like Jenilee!) Each week, one of us will blog about some dimension of the theology of fun, and we will bounce back and forth between our blogs.

Quick disclaimer. Does our faith come with hardship? Yes. Do we experience tension and conflict and sorrow? Absolutely. Do broken hearts and tearful eyes reflect the heart of God? Certainly. Ecclesiastes 3:4 clearly tells us there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. My concern is that we somehow find weeping and mourning more “holy” practices than laughing and dancing. Seriously, many of us have spent time weeping at the altar; how often have we laughed at the altar? I’m just hoping to explore a dimension of God’s character and recover a practice of Christian community that we may ignore. Laughter is a spiritual discipline and a gift. God is fun. And Jenilee and I are going to have fun exploring that. Join us in our adventure.

As a small group leader, I’ve encountered lots of messy situations. Some messes have been as benign as personality differences while others have resulted in people leaving the church. These environments we call “small groups” are messy because they involve people hauling their brokenness and their baggage into our living rooms and dumping it on the floor. I always tried to manage mess and pray it away, thinking it was a hindrance to community. When I stepped into a role of overseeing group life at National Community Church, I approached my job as the chief mess reducer and preventer. Instead, I discovered that there was just more mess to navigate. At a programmatic level, community is messy because discipleship isn’t linear, systems are made to be destroyed, and everything is an experiment. Through the journey, however, I’ve discovered that mess can actually be beneficial; mess may be the catalyst God uses to cultivate the community and drive the transformation we so desperately want to see.

I wrote Community is Messy to encourage small group leaders that mess is okay. It’s normal and it should be expected. But I also want to encourage them that mess may be the catalyst for a better group experience.

I also wrote Community is Messy for small group directors, discipleship pastors, church staff and volunteers who champion group and community life in their churches. It outlines some principles that group life at my church, National Community Church, has built our small group strategy on. They are principles that embrace the mess and the promise that God can write his story of redemption through the mess.

At NCC, we do groups on the semester system. This allows groups to follow the natural rhythm of the DC calendar; comfortable entry and exit points for group members; and targeted opportunities for discipleship, promotion, and rest for you as a leader.

Each small group is an experiment that emerges from your gifts and passions. Helpful “bumpers in the gutters” are that whatever group you lead, it should be a place where group members can be in relationship and be transformed by the gospel of Christ.

1. What are some of the ways that the semester system can be most beneficial to you as a leader?
2. What are some ways that the semester system could be detrimental to community life in your group? How can you navigate that?
3. What are your gifts? (Both spiritual gifts and natural talents and abilities)
4. What are you passionate about?
5. What are your hobbies? (things you like to do – reading, football, scrapbooking, movies, camping, etc.) What are your interests? (things you like to follow or want to learn – public policy, sports, history, technology, etc.)
6. What are your spheres of influence and who is in them? (family, work, church, friends, outside activities, etc.)
7. Think about your gifts, passions, hobbies and interests. How can you use those to disciple others?

Boxes of early shipment of Community is Messy

I can’t escape the mess. Twenty years ago, I hauled around boxes of sampler bottles from Ben Hur Research Farm so I could run chemical analyses and determine biokinetic properties of the reactions in the swine farm treatment lagoon.  Today, I’m hauling around boxes filled with a different kind of mess– my new book from InterVarsity Press, Community is Messy.

Biological Engineering might have been the best possible academic background for a discipleship pastor because it’s all about cultivating environments where growth is possible. When I look at small groups, I sometimes see a swine farm treatment lagoon. Other times I see an experiment with Instron machines to determine the modulus of elasticity. And every now and then, I remember the fish slaughter of 1996 and hope I don’t neglect my small group members in the same way. Yep…this is all applicable to group life and spiritual growth.  What we discover is that mess may not be a hindrance to community; rather, it may be a very potent catalyst towards the community and transformation that we pray for.

I’ll be blogging more about the ideas in the book in the coming weeks. You can get your own copy through Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, or directly from InterVarsity Press.

This video describes what small groups are and why we do them: God exists in community so we are created by and for community. The church – the family of God – is the expression of the community Jesus experienced with the Father and wants us to experience with each other.

Small groups are a way to be intentional to act out the mission of God as the family of God. They are people who have been transformed by the Gospel coming together to commit to live life in relationship with one other.

1. Describe what the church is in your own words.
2. In what ways do small groups fulfill Christ’s commands to “make disciples?”
3. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 says, “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” What are some ways that others have shared their lives with you that caused you to grow in your relationship with Christ?
4. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses.  Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.  List three things that God has taught you that might be helpful for you to pass along to someone else.
5. How do you see your potential small group as an expression of the church?
6. What are some of the ways the Christian community should look different from other relationships?

This is Part 2 of our Summer Semester Small Group Promotion.

As a part of NCC, you are a shareholder in our church-wide vision. You are a part of the story God is writing through National Community Church. Conversely, we are shareholders in your personal vision. We are a part of the story God is writing through you.

1. How is God writing His story in your life?
2. How do you see God using you in the story of NCC?
3. This video shared some of the core values of NCC and things that define us as a church. What makes you unique as an individual? What are your personal core values?

Questions:

1. What aspects of leadership are you most looking forward to?
2. What aspects of leadership are most intimidating to you?

We made the move to online training for new leaders. Honestly, I launched it as a necessary evil.

Now that we are doing it, I’m a fan. Here’s why:

More Content, More Quickly
We can cover more content more quickly. The videos are tight and the material is succinct. We can hit them with audio, visuals, and print.

Interactive Experience
We require participants to answer questions about what they are learning and how they will apply it in their unique setting. During the live, platform-driven event, I had not idea how participants were hearing, interacting with, or planning to apply the information. I barely even knew if they were awake. These answers give us an opportunity to disciple and coach a new leader before they even step into leadership.

The online training also embeds the old paper application, so we get all the content we need from a potential leader at once– demographic, spiritual history, family information, references, etc.

Just in Time, On Demand
Leaders can complete the training in their own time, at their own pace, in their own place. They are no longer locked into a 3- hour meeting on a specific Saturday. Additionally, the videos are online so they can go back and watch any of them whenever they want. When they are 6 months into a group and trying to remember what we said about raising up potential leaders, they can go back and watch the video again.

Variety of Voice
We have a variety of voices in the training now. Not just mine. We’ve incorporated different members of our team so that new leaders get to know them. And it makes for a more interesting experience.

Fun
Finally, it’s just fun. We were able to turn our collective creative juices on and had fun in the process of making them. Hopefully, this experience will be more fun for those who are watching than the old model.

We want to make these available to whoever might find them helpful. They are very NCC-specific, but maybe they will give you some ideas. Be on the lookout starting tomorrow!

This amazing promotional video was developed with Team D Protege Andy Backus, Visual Storyteller Andy Pisciotti, and Children’s Pastor Jenilee LeFors.

Protege Program was added to my portfolio, and it has wormed its way into my affections as one of my favorite parts of the job. Our former proteges have gone on to become mission pastors, student ministry pastors, and small group pastors. One moved to serve as an executive pastor for a church plant.  One launched a non-profit to promote adoption. One has set out for the mission field. The list goes on and on.

Basically, the Protege Program is a year-long leadership and discipleship immersion experience at National Community Church. It’s not an internship because we are not going to give you only crap work or relegate you to the fringes of our team. You will be given significant leadership responsibilities and full access to leadership of NCC. While you will have lots of opportunities to lead, we also focus heavily on discipleship. We want to help you cultivate the character necessary to sustain your calling.

We are looking for Proteges in the areas of worship, missions, discipleship, media/production, coffeehouse and events, etc.

Check it out and apply here.

Our Annual Leadership Retreat is a time when we gather all of our small group leaders and ministry leaders to worship together, pray together, play together, celebrate the previous year together, and look forward to what God might want to do in the upcoming year. I’ve always promoted three goals for the retreat- a time to cast vision, deliver training, and create community with our leaders. While all of those are certainly goals we pursue every year, I discovered one that might be even more important while working on the retreat last year: to maintain and celebrate our culture.

When I think about our core values- everything is an experiment, do it right and do it big, go the extra mile, pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you, playing it safe is risky, everyone is invaluable and irreplaceable, etc.– I realize that everything we do at the retreat is built on those core values.

This year, the theme is IF.

What if we were so desperate for a move of God that we would be willing to go anywhere or do anything just to be a part of it?

What if we slowed down long enough to wait on the presence of God?

What if we resolved that we would be leaders who would honor others, work with excellence, and walk in humility?

What if we really acted like we believed Jesus when he said that those who would be first must serve others?

When God is in the equation, the possibilities are endless. Dirt becomes the medicine that heals, love becomes the best weapon we can wield, and the voice of God is heard in the cry of an infant.

This is the time of year when we find ourselves absolutely amazed by what God can do if 300 leaders commit themselves to creating community, making disciples, and doing ministry. Church buildings become movie theaters, and movie theaters become gatherings for Church. Coffeehouses become sacred ground. Wells are dug in the Congo, kids are mentored in Anacostia, and women are loved out of the brothels in Thailand. If we pray, miracles become the new normal.

Now, we live in a multi-site reality. Leaders live all over the DC metro area. Because of work schedules and travel demands, even some of our most committed and faithful potential leaders found that more than a few semesters could pass before they had an opportunity to participate in the training. So we started looking at the online option.

Here’s what I love about it:

• Leaders can complete the training in their own time at their own pace.
• Because of the interactive questions embedded in the training, participants aren’t just listening to an information dump anymore, they are thoughtfully engaging the material.
• The answers that participants provide are collected in a document that comes to us in the form of an application, and it gives us added insight into the readiness and character of the potential leader.
• The face to face interview that follows the training is more meaningful because we have a better idea of how they have wrestled through the material.

And I love it because it gives us greater latitude for creativity and experimentation. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be highlighting and releasing some of our training videos. Here is a sneak peek with one of my favorites. This training module helps leaders decide what to study in their groups.

Huge thanks to Maegan Stout and Will Johnston for leading the charge.

Michelle read Theology and Galatians, learned more about Jacob Arminius than she ever thought she wanted to know (and heard me talk more about Calvin than she ever wanted to hear), and met with me more than six times to share what we were learning.

I had decided that I would do something to celebrate the completion of her studies. And what does Heather do to celebrate? She goes to NYC. I kept it a secret as long as I could, doling out clues here and there, but I’m pretty sure Michelle had it figured out before the first clue. She’s been a keen observer of the patterns in my life.

Here’s how we celebrated:

We left DC after school on a Friday, drove to NYC, checked into our hotel, and caught a cab to the Empire State Building. Unbeknownst to Michelle, I had recruited a couple other people to scheme with me. Her student pastor, Jenilee LeFors, and her small group leader, Emily Hendrickson, left DC earlier in the day and were already positioned on the top of the Empire State Building to surprise her when she arrived. It took Michelle a few moments to realize that their presence was not just a coincidental chance meeting but that they were there specifically for her.  Later that night, we checked out the Christmas Tree and the ice skaters at Rockefeller Center.

The whole gang on the top of the Empire State Building

The next day, I dragged everyone out of bed early and led them to Herald Square. It’s not every day that you get to meet the real Santa directly from the North Pole at Macy’s Department Store. I am 37-years old, and I’m not exaggerating when I claim it was one of the most magical moments of my life.

We visited the REAL Santa Claus at Macy's!

Jumping from one extreme to the other, we toured St. Patrick’s Cathedral, reviewed some of our theology lessons, talked about liturgy, and considered the stories of some saints.

Next, lunch. At the best pizza in NYC- John’s Pizzeria. I took a couple moments at lunch to remind Michelle why we were there. Because we were celebrating her accomplishment. I told her that we don’t always get rewarded like this for being obedient to the call of discipleship. The point is not to think that every time we make a good decision to follow Christ that we get to go on a fun trip. The point was to mark this particular moment in her life so that she would not forget what she had learned and experienced.

After lunch, we headed to Broadway for the primary reason we all came- to see Godspell.

We are going to Godspell!

We ended the trip with massive amounts of pie at The Little Pie Company.

Here are a few take-aways from that experience:

• Mark discipleship moments and celebrate steps forward. Whether you are a small
  group leader, working with kids, a parent, or discipling someone one on on, mark moments and celebrate them.
• Have fun. I’m convinced that spending time with Jesus was fun. Theology can be fun.
• Involve others. It was really important to me that Jenilee and Emily also be there because they play a much larger role in Michelle’s day-to-day spiritual life. I wanted them to experience that moment with her and for her to be encouraged by them. And…Jenilee and Emily always make things more fun (obviously, I like to have fun)
• A road trip always produces more opportunities for discipleship. Some of the hardest hitting conversations I’ve ever had with Michelle happened on the drive to NYC (in between the Pistol Annies and Christmas music singalongs). Proximity, time, and shared experiences are fertile ground for disciple-making opportunities.

I said “yes.” But on the condition that she sign a discipleship covenant. In summary, the covenant declared that Michelle would:

• Read the book Theology.
• Read the book of Galatians.
• Meet with me six times to discuss readings.
• Write a report on a theologian (choosing from Athanasius, Augustine, Calvin, Arminius, Luther, or Lewis)

She had to complete all of this according to a 3-month timeline.

The covenant further committed me to the following:

• To read Theology and Galatians with Michelle.
• To meet with Michelle 6 times to discuss readings.
• To pray for Michelle regularly.
• To send Michelle regular encouragement.
• To help Michelle select a theologian she might find interesting.

The covenant required 4 signatures- Michelle, me, her mom, and her student pastor.

We laughed; we prayed; we talked about the tensions between the Swiss Reformers, German Reformers, and English Reformers; we talked about friends; we wrestled through issues of faith and science; we talked about boys; we explored how the Bible came to be; we talked about fashion; we tried to grasp the mysteries of the Trinity and the final judgment…we wove theology into the fabric of life to discover answers to two questions: How can we worship God more? How might I live my life differently?

A couple thoughts about discipling teenagers:

• Give them credit. A lot more credit than you think you should. And set a high goal for them to accomplish.
• Put a timeline on it.
• Ask them to commit. Draft a covenant and have them sign it so there are clear expectations.
• Involve others- parents, friends, student pastors, small group leaders, etc.
• Celebrate- about 2/3 of the way into our study, I told Michelle that we would do something fun together if she finished. I’ll cover that in the next post.

Tension is important. Without it, the physical laws of the universe would not work. Tension keeps planets in orbit, my tennis racquet strung properly, and tightrope walkers secure as they hover above the audience below.

Tension brings a beauty to life.  For instance, there is tension in my politics. I have situated myself comfortably and securely in a particular position, but I appreciate the challenge and the paradigm shifts that have come only from my friendships on the other side. When I went to college, I experienced the tension of a love for theatre and a love for engineering. It even creeps into my theology. On any given day, I can’t decide if I align with Calvin or Arminius. I’m not theologically lazy or confused (I don’t think), I just see a lot of truth right in the center of the tension.

Today, the tension is reflected in my clothing. The cap on my head proclaims my love for the Crimson Tide. The t-shirt and sweatshirt reflect by loyalty to the Cajun Tigers of Louisiana. I own regular season and championship paraphernalia for both teams. I’m from Alabama, but I’ve got two degrees from LSU. Most of my friends think I am crazy and can’t understand my divided heart. I just remind them that tension serves an important functional purpose in our world. It gives us stability and direction. And I remind them that there is beauty found in tension, giving us meaning and purpose.

I’m not trying to make a single spiritual point in this post. So stop looking for it. I wanted LSU to roll the Tide all the way back to Tuscaloosa the other night. But if LSU is going to lose to someone, I’m glad it’s to my sweet home. And I’ll wear that cap proudly.

Never Travel Alone

Ten Commandments of the Family of God

In Cathedrals in Conflict

Gratitude

When Christians Lie

The Tale of the Carrot

It’s Not Just a Meeting

Parenthood

The Mr. Potato Head Altar

Unlearning What You Have Learned

And just for kicks, this post and this post record the dumbest thing I did in 2011.

Earlier this week, I ran across this prayer in 2 Thessalonians:

“asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

That’s the prayer I pray for those I have the privilege of doing life and ministry with.

Not that we would focus primarily on knowing the call we are to pursue…but that we would live a life worthy of it…whatever it may be.

That our faith would prompt us to do things that are impossible without the power of God active in our lives.

That God would be honored because of the way that we live.

That any honor we receive would come to us only because we have honored Christ.

1. See Handel’s Messiah live.
2. Participate in a live nativity.
3. Get your picture taken with Santa Claus as an adult.
4. Read the Christmas story as a family.
5. Go to a multi-hundred-voice, over-produced spectacular Christmas production at your local Baptist mega-church.
6. Participate in a multi-hundred-voice, over-produced spectacular Christmas production at your local Baptist mega-church.
7. Attend a carols by candlelight service.
8. Make a pilgrimage to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
9. Leave out cookies for Santa Claus.
10. Eat the cookies left for Santa Claus.
11. Go Christmas caroling in your neighborhood or at the nursing home.
12. Wear a really ugly Christmas sweater.
13. Listen to someone yodel through Silent Night (I witnessed this at a Lutheran church in Oregon last Christmas…I am not kidding you! I saw “yodeler” listed in the program and started laughing. I was not disappointed).
14. See Polar Express in IMAX 3D.
15. Watch A Christmas Story 5 times back-to-back on TBS.
16. String popcorn, cheerios, fruit loops, etc. Eat more than you string.
17. Make a gingerbread house.
18. Pack a shoebox for Samaritans Purse Christmas Child.
19. Send a letter to Santa.
20. Watch A Charlie Brown Christmas (this one should happen every Christmas)
21. Cut down your own tree after at least 2 hours of deliberation. Preferably a Charlie Brown tree.
22. Give a gift to your post officer and trash collector.
23. Go shopping on Christmas Eve.
24. Finish your Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving.
25. Give the gift of time to someone who really needs it.
26. Kiss someone under the mistletoe.
27. Fry the turkey.
28. Play football with your family after eating the fried turkey.
29. Decorate your house with something really outrageous and embarrassing.
30. Read a bunch of children’s Christmas books with friends.
31. Go see the Nutcracker.
32. See the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.
33. Assemble a train under the tree.
34. Make your own advent calendar.
35. Don’t stop celebrating on December 25. Celebrate Christmas all the way through Epiphany.

Here’s the back story. At our Annual Staff Planning Retreat in 2010, the creative team/teaching team brainstormed a sermon series that would focus on the attributes of God. We like preaching that focuses on people’s felt needs, but also realize that if we elevate the goodness, sovereignty, faithfulness and character of God then that will address every felt need anyone could possibly face. Mystery, holiness, sovereignty, wrath, mercy, beauty, faithfulness, love, and jealousy. Nine weeks. Nine attributes of the character of God.

Our worship team then launched one of its most ambitious projects ever– composing songs that reflected each of those attributes.  And the summer culminated with the recording of a live worship album– which releases 11.22.11.

Order here.

Check out the series here: www.godanthology.com

So proud of our team. So excited for the album.

“Your shots are ugly. And when you jump…well, I don’t really know what’s going on.”

Thanks.

Here’s the back story.

When I was 6, all I wanted was a basketball goal. I spent what seemed like hours throwing a soccer ball onto the roof of our house, just imagining that a rim was there. My dad gave me my wish for my birthday. It was before the days of those super cool adjustable goals, but he built one for me. He gave me a 7.5-foot goal that could adjust up to 10-ft with age. And a shiny, brand new full-size men’s basketball.

I never played on a team. Never played competitively. And while my dad played the game with me in the backyard, I never really learned the form or fundamentals. It took every ounce of strength to get the ball to the rim. I jumped, not to clear the blocking hand of an opponent, but to give me enough momentum to get the ball in. My little 6-year-old self needed all the power I could muster.

In middle school and high school, much of my prayer time happened in my backyard while shooting. And I was solid. Hit most of what I shot from various places on my concrete court. Didn’t  matter to me how I made it…just that I made it. In college, I would come home and shoot in my old school gym, and the middle school team would be amazed at my shooting percentage.

But it was based on really bad form.

Yesterday, everything changed. I finally learned how to shoot correctly. As a certain green Jedi master might say, “You must unlearn what you have learned.”

There are moments in our leadership when we have to unlearn what we have learned. As Pastor Mark says, it’s the difference between doing ministry out of memory and doing ministry out of imagination. My jump shot served me well when I was seven. But not when I’m thirty-seven. What worked ten years ago  may not work today. We’ve also got to make sure that our character is rooted in the unchanging fundamentals of our faith and leadership.

I learned how to shoot a basketball yesterday. Correctly. It feels weird. I hurt. And I felt stupid in the process. But it will serve me well in the long run. I was also reminded that my leadership needs this process as well. I need to unlearn bad habits and root myself in good habits. No matter how well I might be getting by on the bad ones.

And when I win at that game of H.O.R.S.E., I will be sure to let you know.

I’ve got a lot of great speaking opportunities this fall, but this weekend is the one I’ve been most excited about by far. It’s our first student ministry retreat ever in the history of National Community Church, and I feel so humbled and honored to be a part of it. I’m so proud of our student pastor, Jenilee LeFors, and the way she leads.

Tonight, we are talking about the Bethel moment. In Genesis 28, God encountered Jacob in  a dream. In verse 21, we see a pivotal moment in Jacob’s life. He said, “then the Lord shall be my God.”

Up to this point, He was the God of Abraham and Isaac. In this moment, He also became the God of Jacob.

A lot of our students know the God of Abraham and Isaac. But have yet to make Him the God of Jacob. In other words, they know God as the God of their parents, the God of their church, the God of their friends, etc., but they need to get personal. They need to have an encounter with God and make Him “my God.”

Pray for some Bethel moments tonight.

A few days ago, I was processing some things with one of our leaders here at NCC, and I found myself in a similar situation. I could deliver warm Christian fuzzies or I could speak truth. I raised up my thumb and index finger, positioned them about a millimeter apart to indicate my range of care, and said, “Here’s what you’ve got to understand. I’ve got about this much interest in your comfort and happiness. But I’ve got a great deal of interest in your growth.”

In some strange turn of the tide, it seems that Christians often persecute themselves these days. We flee from the potential pollution of “the world,” sequester ourselves and the Gospel inside the walls of our safety bubbles and render ourselves impotent and ineffective. We stop doing things that are hard because we fail to realize that significant things are always hard. We seek peace instead of taking the Prince of Peace into turbulent places. We pray prayers that revolve around our comfort and stability. The Comforter isn’t needed unless we are in uncomfortable places.

In the movie Luther, the reformer declares, “I’m not interested in people’s comfort, I’m interested in the truth.”

Growth requires pressure, stretching, training, and discipline. Growth hurts, throws us into disequilibrium, and threatens our security.

But I’ve ultimately got to bring all this big talk back on myself:

• What potentially painful place in my life is  an opportunity for growth?
• What prayers am I praying?
• Am I allowing the Spirit to lead me into places that are relationally, financially, spiritually, and emotionally uncomfortable?

I’m hoping Catalyst #7 will land somewhere in between. Here is what I’m encouraging our Protege Team with today. It’s Catalyst-specific, but the principles apply to all conferences.

• Learn about the speakers before going. http://catalystconference.com/main-speakers
• Take notes. Blog them, tweet them, share them with someone. You learn more when you have to pass it on.
• Conferences are more about connection than content- meet people.
• Meet with someone at another church who does what you do.
• Get to know someone on the NCC staff that you don’t know very well.

And some questions to help them process:

What was the most meaningful part of your Catalyst Experience?

What speaker/message did you disagree with? Why?

What speaker/message challenged you in a new way?

What is one change you are going to make in your life/leadership or one experiment that you are going to try as a result of your time at Catalyst?

Yep, I’m a discipleship pastor.

Here’s the deal. Our 3-hour Leadership 101, the initial online training that all NCC small group leaders are required to complete, is being updated. And for a few of our modules, we needed legos and the gun range. Discipleship is risky. And fun. Here are a few shots from yesterday…no pun intended.

Will Johnston, Andy Backus, and Andy Pisciotti prepare for a Lego shoot.

Andy B and Andy P set up in the gun range.

My sharpshooter Team D girls. Little Maegan Stout popped the X out of the center of the target on the first pull of the trigger.

I rarely travel alone. In fact, I’ve already blogged at least once about this idea. It’s good to travel in twos for accountability purposes. The time on the road also allows for lots of opportunities to talk. But it’s more than the accountability and the discipleship of a captive audience. It’s a chance for young leaders to see how I practice what I preach.

It’s one thing for me to tell someone to live with integrity; it’s another thing for them to watch me handle expenses. It’s one thing for me to talk to a young leader about humility; it’s another thing for them to watch me handle praise and criticism after I speak. It’s one thing for me to talk to a young leader about making the most of every opportunity; it’s another thing for them to see me turn delays and detours into moments of fun. It’s one thing for me to talk about patience; it’s another for them to see my attitude when I get completely lost.

Whatever you do, go in twos. It’s an opportunity for real life discipleship to happen. And it’s just more fun.

NCC staff moves into new office space today, and that means I’ve spent the better part of the last 48 hours sorting, sifting, and packing  my stuff. It’s amazing what accumulates over 10 years. My notes from our Godspell auditions in 2007. “CG” Leadership Training from 2002. Handouts from our first Leadership Retreat. Props from our 2007 Leadership Retreat. Sermon manuscripts from 2006. Small group promo videos from 2005. First Protege Huddle notes from 2008. Preliminary discipleship map designs from 2006.

I was never sure exactly what I was sifting through– 10 years of crap? Or 10 years of altars of God’s faithfulness? I guess it depends on perspective.

The buried treasure I got most excited about was this. Notes from a “zone leader” meeting from August 2002. Zone Leaders were our first coaches. Nathan Gonzales, Leslie Adams, and Brian and Kim Hill. They were the faithful crazies that helped me give vision to, train, care for, and navigate insanity for our leaders in the early days. And I’m pretty sure these are the notes from our very first meeting as I was casting vision for them regarding their role.

Notes from an early zone leader meeting.

The past two days have been an opportunity for gratitude and worship. To see where God has brought us. Every leadership application, every retreat handout, every summit attendance list, every Alpha message manuscript, every Mr. Potato Head retreat prop…are altars. They are memories of God’s blessings and markers of his faithfulness. So thankful for the amazing people I’ve had the privilege of doing life and ministry with and humbled and honored that I get to do what I do.

My answer boils down to rhythms and relationships. If we are going to lead ourselves well and become leaders worth following, we’ve got to ensure we’ve got the right rhythms and relationships in our lives. Here are just a few that are critical for me personally.

Rhythms

Sabbath Rhythm- there must be one day a week that I live differently from all other days. A day that revolves around what I get to do and now what I have to do and that recognizes that God is ultimately in control– not me. This keeps my relationship with God in the right place and results in me relating better to those around me.

Spiritual Disciplines- I try to set goals for those about once a “semester” (following our semester system at NCC). I think in terms of Bible reading, prayer, and a discipline or two that I haven’t practiced in a while.

Monthly Goals Breakfast- once a month, Ryan and I sit down for a couple hours at one of our favorite breakfast spots to review our goals and coordinate our calendars for the upcoming month. This, along with regular date nights, keeps my relationship with Ryan a priority.

Relationships

Who is investing in me? I need to make sure there are people that are intentionally investing in me and people who have made themselves available and “on call” in my life.

Who am I investing in? I want to make sure that I am regularly pouring into younger leaders. Right now, I’ve got a handful of folks that I meet with monthly.

Who are my friends? This might sound like a dumb question, but sometimes those of us in leadership are those who most need to ask it. Especially those involved in community-oriented ministries. Sometimes, we get so busy creating community for others that we fail to experience it for ourselves. Make sure you’ve got people in your life that let you take that leadership hat off.

Rhythms and Relationships. Leaders need to be strategic and intentional with them and steward them well.

Today, I want you to meet Jenilee LeFors, Student Ministries Director at National Community Church.  Jenilee is a master at turning everyday life into an adventure and then turning that adventure into a disciple-making opportunity. Not every crazy idea results in a new business. Some crazy ideas simply change the way we do what we are already called to do…but in turn significantly change the lives of the people we are called to. Check out her blog here.

ONE CRAZY IDEA…AND CHIPOTLE!
By Jenilee LeFors

Jenilee, Michelle, and Summer eat the first burritos created at the new Union Station Chipotle.

It started with a rumor.

Walls went up, concealing remnants of an old shop. New signs were installed.

“Coming Soon: Chipotle at Union Station.” The rumor was no longer a rumor, but a fact. The date was unknown, but we were eager with anticipation.

A twitter conversation with Chipotle (@chipotletweets) later confirmed the date of Chipotle’s opening date at Union Station: September 25th.

I cannot recollect an exact day that I fell in love with Chipotle, nor can I remember when I first went to Chipotle with Summer and Michelle. It was as though it just clicked. We had loved the restaurant forever. We would go to movies on Friday night, and would grab dinner at Chipotle. We celebrated birthdays at Chipotle. On random nights of hanging out, we would stop by Chipotle.

Chipotle had become a part of my strategy (if you will) with my girls. I could get them to hang out with me if I told them I was going to Chipotle. They would definitely bring friends to Uprising (our church’s youth group) if they knew they could get Chipotle. They memorized verses as long as they knew Chipotle was the reward. I told a small group that I was taking the group to Chipotle in two weeks, so they all brought friends through the selling point of going to Chipotle. Let’s just be honest, Chipotle has played a significant part in my discipleship and development of students.

It’s a common ground that we all share. I love Chipotle. They love Chipotle. They know that when they hang out with me they can convince me to go to Chipotle. Easy. I got texts over the summer saying, “I haven’t been to Chipotle in TWO weeks.. We need to go!”

I was no longer begging and bugging the students to hang out with me, they were begging me to hang out with them. Maybe not necessarily begging to hang out with me as much as it was the opportunity to eat great food. But let’s be honest, Chipotle is nothing without great company .

Everyone wants to be a part of something great, something fun, or something interesting. And it all began with the aforementioned rumor. I text messaged Summer and Michelle and told them that Chipotle was coming to Union Station (which I might add is mere blocks away from where we live). Since July we had been planning for the September 25th opening date.

“Let’s camp out the night before and be the first customers!!”

This statement was mentioned lightly, but it was not taken lightly.

On September 25th, Summer, Michelle and I arrived to the doors of Chipotle at 8am (a compromise from a sleepover), three (yes THREE) hours prior to the opening of Chipotle. With breakfast in tow and orange juices opened, we pulled out our plethora of colored construction paper and markers. And thus it began.

“We. Love. Chipotle” and “Yummm-o” are just a few of the signs that we made. We definitely got smiles from the workers, met some of the regional directors for Chipotle, and boom, we got a place in their hearts and a prime first in line spot for Union Station’s Chipotle.

Middle school and high school students aren’t looking to just live life. They want to be a part of something exciting, they want to be a part of a story, they want to tell stories of their experiences! If we as leaders and as families aren’t giving them a crazy awesome story to tell (and/or live), they are going to go elsewhere to find that excitement.

It may seem daunting to reach out and invest in middle schoolers & high schoolers, but I guarantee you, they want to be a part of something awesome, and it may require a little craziness… But not jumping off a cliff craziness… More like showing up to Chipotle on opening day with two teenage gals, so you can say you were the first customers at Union Station’s Chipotle.

Summer, Michelle & I were the first customers at Union Station’s Chipotle.

Beat that.

The Chipotle Girls celebrate their victory.

Today, I want you to meet Kate Schmidgall, Founder and Director of Bittersweet Creative. I clearly remember the first time I heard about Kate’s dream. We were hnging out at the flat on High Street in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she and her husband Dave had called home for two years. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, Kate began to share about her her passion to fuse creatives and missions. I’ve already sung their praise here. But I wanted to let you hear their story in Kate’s words.

BITTERSWEET CREATIVE
By Kate Schmidgall

A few years ago I started a small company called Bittersweet Creative. From day one it’s felt a lot like running alongside a speeding train, which has been both invigorating and exhausting…as anyone with start-up experience can surely relate.

Fundamentally, Bittersweet does two things: provides identity/branding, print design, and web design/development services to clients, and publishes a local, artistic, documentary-style zine. Both of these are part of an ongoing effort to create more opportunities for creative professionals to use their skills, talents, experience to engage our broader community–and the world–in a meaningful way. Quite basically, we love what we do and want it to matter.

While the Creative Group is the financial engine of Bittersweet, the Zine is an outpouring of our hearts…a labor of love. We generally feel that mainstream news is overwhelmingly negative and many times awareness campaigns about social issues are more paralyzing than empowering. I think it’s important that we understand the issues, but also go a step further to recognize and celebrate the good work being done by dozens (if not hundreds) of organizations in our city.

To that end, the Bittersweet zine shares stories of organizations doing inspiring and much-needed work in response to the critical social issues of our day, in our city. With the help of a half dozen creative professionals, we try to frame the issues and tell the stories in an artistic way using photo essays, infographics, articles, interviews, short films, and, well, anything else we can think of. Not only that but we always include engagement opportunities that offer a wide range of possibilities and clear action steps for our readers.

There are so many ways to make a difference and contribute toward building stronger neighborhoods and serving those in need here in DC. In our first year we profiled about two dozen organizations, including DC Central Kitchen, Food & Friends, Pediatric Care, The Women’s Collective, Joseph’s House, Polaris Project, Courtney’s House, FAIR Fund, Ward 8 Farmers Market, Common Good City Farm, Neighborhood Farm Initiative, Guitars Not Guns, New Community for Children, Brainfood, Southeast Whitehouse, Washington Youth Garden, and others.

You can support the local food movement by volunteering at urban farms (like Neighborhood Farm Initiative, Common Good City Farm, and Walker Jones) and shop at farmer’s markets, like the Ward 8 Market, Dupont or 14th St Markets. You can mentor kids through music or teach them to read one or two days a week after work. You could pack and deliver meals for the chronically ill through Food & Friends, or help DC Central Kitchen prepare the thousands of meals it creates and serves daily to shelters and rehabilitation clinics throughout the district. You could combat the spread of HIV/AIDS by participating in outreaches through the Women’s Collective, or tutor kids with HIV through Pediatric Care. You could join the loving, caring folks at Joseph’s House to provide end-of-life care to those in serious need. With Brainfood, you could teach kids about character and leadership development through culinary training. And the wonderful thing is that the list goes on and on and on and on…

With immense need comes tremendous opportunity–to be light, to show love, to build a better city, to write a better story. We love what we do and want it to matter, so we try to tell better stories to inspire and empower people to engage in the good work being done in our city. I guess maybe that’s a crazy idea…but it feels so natural.

Today, I want you to meet Jason Yost, Founder and Director of the New Rhythm Project. And check out his recent Leadership Summit talk here.

NEW RHYTHM
Jason Yost

“I’m so sorry, there are no available families at this time.”

It was a little over a year ago today that I remember hearing those words from my wife after getting a phone call late one evening. It was a late wintery night and we were sound asleep. Both of us were warm and cozy underneath our goose feathered down comforter when suddenly the phone rang. It was two in the morning and Shelly immediately jumped up to answer the phone. We have gotten phone calls like this one in the past, after all, my wife Shelly is a social worker and it is her job to help find placements for children in emergency situations. It is safe to say that we were kind of used to this type of situation but for some reason this night was different. It was a call for a sibling set of three. They waited after school for their parent or guardian to pick them up but they never came. It was hours later at this point and there was still no sign of a parental figure for these children who were all under the age of eight. The Social Service Department was calling around to agencies to try and find a safe, loving, and comfortable place for these kids to go temporarily or with potential permanency, depending on the outcome of the situation. As Shelly perused through her list of families she noticed that all of them were full and she was not going to be able to help these kids find a home. When she hung up the phone I couldn’t stop picturing those three young kids sitting in a waiting room, with no warm colors on the walls, no comfortable seating, and with no one to hold them or play with them and tell them that it is going to be ok. As far as we know, they are still in that waiting room today.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that during this same time that Shelly received this particular phone call I was at an unsettled place in my life, wrestling intrusively, and wondering if I was actually finding my life fit within the pages of Scripture. Sure I believed in the Word of God and read it and went to church and encouraged others to do the same but there was a huge gap I felt between what I was reading in the Bible and what I was actually doing with my life. The gap in this case wasn’t defined by the deep dark sins of commission and the things I was doing in secret or in the open. In fact it had everything to do with the things I wasn’t doing, the sins of omission. It was the parts of the Bible that I read and then just turned the page without giving proper attention to the words before me. For example, there is a particular verse found in the book James that speaks specifically about caring for those children that were on the other side of the phone that night. I have read many, many times before. It is written like this, “Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after the orphans and widows in their distress.” Did you notice those two adjectives that were chosen specifically to describe God’s design for religion, in this case meaning the church? The words are pure and faultless. Those are heavy words with enormous definition. The word pure means it is not mixed or adulterated with any other substance or material, it is without any extraneous or unnecessary elements. And faultless, it means free from defect or error. Wow. Just reading these words gives you great anticipation for something so beautiful and so powerful and so genuine and yet when I think of the noun that they are describing, the church, it doesn’t quite match up. I want to be careful here. It would have been easy for me to stop right there and join the conversation of how much the church has missed the mark over the past several years and point my finger at how adulterated and stained the church really is. However, simply joining this conversation is not going to make my life, and/or the church, pure and faultless. You know what is? Actually believing and doing what the Bible says to do. In this case it is to care for the orphans and the widows. Then, after you have done these things, your faith and deep convictions will be known all around the world for generation to come as pure and faultless. That is what I want my faith to look like.

So Shelly and I started having this conversation with one another about how we could utilize our abilities and experiences in an effort to mobilize the church and the community to care for orphans and walk out the pages of scripture in a pure and faultless way. That is how New Rhythm Project came into existence. The more and more we had this conversation, the more and more we found out the need.

Did you know?

• there are 163 million orphans in the world?
• there are over 100,000 children available for adoption in the U.S.
• there are over 4,000 children in foster care in D.C.
• if 1 family in 1 in 4 churches adopted one child their would be no more waiting children in the US
• if only ¼ or less of the churches in D.C. got involved, there would be no more orphans in D.C.
• if you got involved there would be one less orphan in your community

Collaborative efforts are what New Rhythm is all about. We educate, train, and mobilize communities to care for the orphans. New Rhythm goes into a community and pulls out the red carpet from the church door to the government door. I know this may sound taboo but according to the Bible it is the church’s responsibility to care for the children, not the government. That is where the new rhythm happens. So first, we connect with the local DSS and other agencies to find out the particular needs of the community and solicit partnerships. Then we join with a business organization or church and educate them on the doctrine and logistics of orphan care. Finally, we help train individuals, and directly connect them with specific childcare organizations according to the individual or families needs and/or desires to serve. The result equates in major community needs being met which includes: finding stable and loving homes for children to find permanent or temporary placement, healthy communication and networking between businesses and organizations, & the church finding a new rhythm, rising to produce a movement that holds credibility to the adjectives that God had in mind for it.

If you are interested in learning more about New Rhythm or having a New Rhythm come to your church, business, or community group please contact info@newrhythm.org

Are you a church of small groups or a church with small groups?

How many of us dread being asked that question? We all think we want to be a church of small groups, but the numbers don’t ever come close to backing it up. Can we exist somewhere beyond that distinction?

When people ask me this question about NCC, “are you a church of small groups or a church with small groups?” I say, “yes.”

We hear this distinction a lot- a church of small groups versus a church with small groups. Pastors are encouraged to consider which camp their church falls into. Do we have groups as just one of many ministries? Or is the entire ministry of the church revolving around the small groups? Are small groups simply an arm of the church or are they the sole focus church?

I completely understand and appreciate the distinction. In one sense, it’s an important question. Knowing whether your church is of or with helps the pastor immensely in determining budgeting choices, deciding what gets premier announcement time on Sunday mornings, and navigating tricky scheduling conflicts, among a myriad of other things. In many ways, being a church of small groups can really simplify your entire ministry.

Identifying your goal of being a church of or with small groups also affects some pretty big decisions about how you structure groups, train leaders, and decide curriculum.

Categories can be good because they can help us think through our motives and goals. But categories can also be limiting.

Let me get back to NCC for a second. Here are some of my goals. My ultimate goal is to see every NCCer growing in community and growing more and more like Christ. A related goal is that over 100% of NCC’s average attendance would be plugged into NCC small groups. Why? Because we have some small groups organized for the primary purpose of building relationships with those who are not yet following Christ.

Let me be clear– my goal is not to have 100% of NCCers in an NCC small group. A hush falls over the crowd…and someone asks quietly, “Does Mark Batterson know about this?”

My goal is that people grow in community and grow closer to Christ. We do small groups because I honestly believe that is the best environment for facilitating that process. But our college students need to be in college-focused ministry small groups, like Chi Alpha or Intervarsity or Campus Crusade for Christ. Those at NCC struggling with relational and sexual brokenness need to be in Regeneration’s Living Waters Program.

So—when someone asks me if we are a church of small groups or a church with small groups, I say “yes.” We want everyone in community. And we want everyone to grow closer to Christ. We want everyone to be in a small group. But we don’t necessarily think that everyone should be in an NCC small group. I think NCC has the best small groups of any church out there. But I also realize that NCC might not be big enough to offer the small group experience that everyone needs. So in one sense, yes, we are a church of small groups. But I think we are somewhere beyond that distinction.

Or I could be completely off my rocker…

I was thinking about the modulus of elasticity yesterday. Yes, I tend to think about such things. Blame it on the 6 years I spent in the engineering labs. The modulus of elasticity is the mathematical description of an object or substance’s tendency to be deformed elastically (i.e., non-permanently) when a force is applied to it. Once a material reaches the yield point, permanent transformation has occurred. Or more simply, it is the point at which an object can be stretched and return to its original size. The more rigid the substance, the higher the modulus of elasticity. For example, a rubber band has a very low modulus of elasticity. You can stretch it to double, triple, and quadruple it’s size and it will return right back to it original size. Steel, on the other hand, has a higher modulus of elasticity. If you stretch it, twist it, compress it, or deform it too much, its shape will be permanently changed.

There’s a parallel to spiritual growth here. So often, we implement disciplines and participate in experiences that stretch us, but they don’t actually stretch us to our spiritual yield point. When we leave that mountain-top experience retreat, we swear we will never be the same again. And yet by Thursday, our lives and our spiritual fervor have shrunk right back to the pre-retreat size and shape.

In the engineering world, you typically want to design so that the stresses on a material do not exceed that yield point. But in the world of discipleship engineering, we’ve got to go beyond our current ways of stretching and growing people. We’ve got to recognize that one sermon, one class, and one retreat will not produce permanent results. Implementing a new spiritual discipline for just a few days will not produce permanent change. We’ve also got to realize that discipleship can’t be one-size-fits-all. Just as wood, steel, and iron all differ in their modulus of elasticity and require a design that recognizes that, so each person in our congregation has their own unique spiritual modulus of elasticity and we must design discipleship environments that offer flexibility and personalization.

Ryan and I have officially worn out our welcome. The “welcome” word on our mat, that is. Yesterday, Ryan noted that the welcome mat at our front door was faded and shredded. You couldn’t even read the multi-lingual “welcomes” on it. As usual, our perspectives on this mundane domestic development were almost as far apart as the political views of Mary Matalin and James Carville.

My immediate reaction: that’s terrible, we need a new one! Our house is a mess!

Ryan’s immediate reaction: that’s awesome, we are so hospitable! Our house is full of people!

It’s not often that I like Ryan’s perspective better, but in this instance, I’m willing to part with my opinion.

It’s true, we have worn out our welcome. And I think that’s awesome. Here’s what I’m learning. Discipleship and hospitality are closely connected. I used to think that hospitality was about teacups, doilies, and properly set tables. That’s definitely a dimension of it. But at its core, hospitality is about inviting people into safe places to encounter the dangerous message of the Gospel. It’s about creating environments where people can experience the presence of God. Isn’t that the most important thing we can do as disciple-makers?

Dave Gibbons described his mentoring strategy at the Willow Grouplife Conference: whenever someone asks Dave to mentor them, he tells the potential young padawan that they must come live with him. Makes sense to me. If discipleship is about “imitate me” and “doing life together,” then let’s do it.

If you are a small group leader, disciple-maker, mentor, pastor, here’s my challenge to you today: invite people into your life by inviting them into your house. For dinner. Dessert. Games. Movies. Karaoke. To help you pack for your trip. Don’t just invite them in when the house is prepared for guests. Invite them in when it bears the marks of life. Wear Out Your Welcome.

I’ve been talking for a while now on the topic Community is Messy. Usually, I share examples from the vantage point of a third-party observer of a mess, a consultant in the navigation of a mess, or the victim of a mess. But what do you do when you– the leader– are the originator, creator, and mastermind of the mess?

I found myself in that very situation last week.

Short story– we included a humorous bit (well, we thought it was funny) in a leadership summit last weekend that offended some folks. Including some folks on our staff team. The details of the scenario are really not important, but I thought I would share a bit on how I handled it. Or at least on how I wish I had handled it. Okay, let’s just say these are some lessons I am learning about how better to lead and serve in the midst of a mess of my own creation.

1. Affirm the relationships. Relationships are more important than anything else. More important that vision, more important than strategies, more important than being right. If you’ve got a leader with a complaint– no matter how valid you think it is or isn’t– make sure to validate and affirm the relationship.

2. Seek counsel. I spent close to 48 hours doing little more than seeking counsel. As a high “thinker” on the Meyers- Briggs personality profile, I actively sought out feelers and others who could help me sort through the logic and the emotions surrounding the mess.

3. Recognize your blind spots. Will Johnston summed up what both he and I felt at one point, “Enough people that I respect are offended that I am pretty sure I am wrong…I just don’t know why.” Listen to the people around you. It’s quite possible you have a blind spot. Let me re-state that, it’s absolutely probable you have a blind spot.

4. Be honest. Be humble. I felt like it was important for me to be very honest with my reaction– I didn’t just roll over and wave the white flag of surrender. I stood my ground. But I also tried very hard to be humble– to say, “this is what I think; help me understand a different perspective.”

5. Own it. Somehow, I was immune to the initial criticism. It was all leveraged against my teammates because they were the implementers and the ones on the platform. But the reality was that they were simply executing my vision. I had to own it. And even if it was all my team’s fault, I’m still the leader. I’ve got to own it. Own your own mess.

6. Keep a good sense of humor. I tried to acknowledge from the very beginning that “one day we will laugh about this.” And we were laughing about it before the day was over. Not in a flippant or arrogant or dismissive kind of way– in a self-depricating, we are not going to take ourselves too seriously kind of way.

7. Look for the growth goals and the leadership lessons. One of my biggest goals throughout the process was to find the personal growth goals and the leadership lessons available. Whether it was how to communicate better with our team, how to better discern appropriate content, how to anticipate reactions, how to be sensitive to differences of opinion, etc. Whenever you are in the midst of a mess, ask yourself, “How do we all grow from this?” and “How does God want to get glory from this?”

8. Take care of your team. My primary focus on the first few days of processing was to make sure that my Team D was okay. Some of them are relatively new to leadership and to ministry, and I wanted to affirm them. I asked lots of questions that day about their feelings, their thoughts, their opinions, and their ideas on next steps.

9. Strive for good conversation, not final resolution. At the end of the day, I’m not sure any of us found a perfect point of resolution. This may be one of those areas that we won’t find a place of perfect agreement on for a number of years. Maybe I need to mature a good bit before I see every dimension of my error. Or perhaps this is just one of those things where good people who love Jesus will have to agree to disagree. What we must do is preserve an environment of open, honest communication. And as leaders, we must embrace the idea that the tension is good and resolution is not necessarily the end goal.

10. Keep failing. That might be the wrong way to say it. Because failing should never be the goal. But experimenting, trying new things, pushing the envelope, and innovating should be the goals. And that means messes. New discoveries are never made without failures. I think it’s healthy for us to realize that we will continue to make messes. The goal is not to keep a clean lab. But to ensure that any messes we make are cleaned appropriately and that progress is made as a result. If we are going to be the kind of leaders that make change happen, then we can be confident that we will make some colossal messes along the way.

I’m sure there is much more I could say…stay tuned for the next mess of my own creation. I’m sure it’s not too far in the future.

“Just tell me everything is going to be okay.”

That’s all my friend wanted me to say. Just a little comfort and assurance. We had just spent about four hours talking about the difficulties she was facing in ministry and leadership and relationships. And we had hashed through the advantages and disadvantages of potential upcoming decisions.

“Just tell me that everything is going to be okay.”

That’s all she wanted. Just one little throw away line to give her heart some warm fuzzies and set her mind at ease. Empathy is not one of my strengths. But I empathized deeply with her in that moment. And I dug deep down into the most empathetic place in my heart…and refused to tell her it was all going to be okay.

We Christians love to say that kind of crap to each other. And I guess in the eternal sense, it is all going to be okay. We know the end. Jesus wins. He reigns. And he’s prepared a place for us. But regarding the matters of these temporal things, we are not assured of anything but God’s grace, goodness, faithfulness, and sovereignty.

“Sorry. I can’t tell you that. Hebrews tells us that some Christ followers were mocked and beaten and stoned and sawed in two and thrown to animals. So yeah– who knows what could happen to you.”

And yes, I pretty much said it exactly like that. Not because I lacked empathy. But because I was filled with empathy in that particular moment.

We Christians love Hebrews 11:1-35. But we never seem to mention the last 5 verses of that great chapter on faith.

“It’s all going to be okay.” Why do we lie like that? I think sometimes we lie unintentionally because our theology is screwed up and we really do think it’s all going to be okay. Most of the time, we lie because we truly want to make the other person feel better. But I think there is often a far more sinister reason why we lie like that. Because we want to be off the hook. If it’s all going to be okay, then we are excused from the responsibility to bear the burdens of those we are in community with. We are excused from praying for them, encouraging them, walking through the much with them. Because hey…Jesus is going to make this all okay. Right?

We lie because we are lazy.

Faith is not an assurance that everything is going to be okay. Faith is the assurance that God is in control and we can trust him. Period.

I don’t think lying in these particular situations is the right response. And certainly not the most Biblical response. The response is to make a decision to be all in. All in spiritually to pray with them and for them. All in emotionally to laugh or cry with them as is appropriate for the situation. All in physically and mentally to walk through the mess and bear their burden with them. Will it all be okay? Maybe. Maybe not. “okay” is relative to the person’s perspective and the situation. We can’t promise that. But we can promise to walk with them.

And if you think of me, pray for creativity and productivity.

My blogging has slowed to a paltry handful of posts every few weeks, so I thought I should offer an explanation. So…please take this post as it is intended. Not as self-promotion. But as a pitiful, lame, desperate excuse to explain away my lack of posting productivity. Okay, and maybe a little self-promotion. But either way, lame.

I am writing a book.

Tentatively titled, Community is Messy, it explores some of the values and convictions of small group life at NCC. Stuff like…Discipleship is Not Linear, Everything is an Experiment, Wear Our Your Welcome, Blow Stuff Up…

There are references to speakeasies, black markets, the modulus of elasticity, t-ball, and pointillism. It’s gonna be fun.

So…I’m writing. I promise. Just not on the blog. I’ve got three weeks left to knock this out, and then I’ll be back in full force!

Here’s just a little window into Heather Zempel’s sermon prep process. The process is always a little bit different, but it always includes lots of Biblical study, cross-referencing. word study, some meditation on the Scriptures, externally processing my ideas with the rest of the teaching team in a Big Idea meeting and Team D, reading some commentaries and books related to the topic or passage, and prayer.

At some point during the week leading up to the message, usually on the day or two before, there is a turn in my spirit.  I develop a sense of desperation in my spirit. There is a moment where I move beyond the mechanical task of developing a message to share and I find that I am personally moved by a sense of divine frustration to go deeper with God on the topic I am studying. It happens when I realize I have lots of great content. But no point. And no anointing. And I find myself going head to head with God to make sure the message is personal.

If we haven’t prayed our messages, we aren’t ready to preach them.

This week, I was closing our God Anthology series with God is Love. Now, on one hand, this should be the easiest message we ever preach. Any pastor that cannot get up and spontaneously and passionately talk on that topic needs to quit and find new work. On the other hand, it is one of the hardest to preach. Because it is so important and yet so difficult to fully grasp.

This week, I found myself at one point praying in that place of deep desperation. Knowing that God is love but not really getting it.

“God I know that you are love. Thank you that you are love. But I need to know what it means that you are love. I need to understand love and your love that way it is meant to be understood as you define it. I want to know what love is. I want you to show me.”

And then I had Foreigner playing as the soundtrack of my prayer life.

On the seemingly endless ride in the airport-hotel shuttle, I did a quick inventory of some of the more notorious delays and detours in my travels. They include…the time my mom and I got stuck in Newfoundland an extra day; the multi-day delay in St. Lucia; the week-long trek from Oregon to DC during Snowmageddon 2010; they 1-hour layover in Rome that turned into an 8-hour layover in Rome; driving 25 miles in the wrong direction into the hinterlands of Georgia; flying from Baltimore to Orlando via Long Island…I could go on and on.

It seems that every time I enter the journey, disaster waits in the wings for the perfect moment to throw a wrench into my well-laid plans.

And yet, as I ponder every one of these delays and detours, I am reminded of the laughs, stories, people, memories, and life lessons that happened because of them. They are among the most meaningful and memorable moments of all my journeys.

We hate delays. We get frustrated by the detours. But if our perspective is right, we find that they are the moments when the best of life happens.  Both literally and metaphorically.

Two friends were walking along the road to Emmaus. Or perhaps it was a husband and wife, we really don’t know. As they walked, they encountered a man who seemed to be ignorant of the news from Jerusalem. The news that a young Jewish rabbi from Nazareth, who was thought by some to be the Messiah, had been crucified by the Roman government. And that now rumors were spreading that his body had disappeared from the tomb and some of his followers had claimed to see him alive. From our perspective as the reader, the whole situation is quite amusing because the author lets us in on the secret that the man they are talking to is actually Jesus himself.

Jesus then gave them a lecture on Old Testament history, the words of the prophets as they foretold the Messiah, and Scriptural interpretation on the things that concerned him. Can you imagine anything more amazing? To listen to Jesus himself talk about how the Old Testament foreshadowed and revealed him? To hear from Christ himself how he was the fulfillment of those words of hope and peace that were uttered hundreds of years before?

But even after a reasoned sermon from Christ himself on who he was, they still did not recognize him.

Later that night, they sat around a table in Emmaus to eat dinner. In a scene somewhat reminiscent of the last supper, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. In that moment, their eyes spring open and they recognized who he was.

On the road, they received reason. At the table, they got revelation.

On the road, they heard a lecture. At the table, they saw life.

It absolutely amazes me that what opened their eyes to Jesus was not walking down a road with him or listening to a sermon from him. It was sitting at the table with him.

When we hear the word “hospitality,” we often think of good manners and well-set tables. Hospitality in the most Biblical understanding of the word, however, is really about creating a safe place to deliver a dangerous message. More people are going to see Christ around the table facing one another than they are in a pew facing forward.

Who is sitting around your table?

“I need to write. I need to write. I need to write. I need to write. I need to write. Oh…there is leftover pizza in the fridge!” (Heather Zempel, Facebook 07/19/2011)

All writers love the Muse. That unpredictable inspiration that inspires us, frustrates us, flirts with us, entices us. For me, the Muse likes to show up at the beginning of a project and then disappears about a quarter of the way in. The Muse might peek in here and there, awakening creativity just to the point of adequacy but then disappearing before bringing it to its full potential. Every now and then, it will unpredictably rush in for a few short hours. There are many things I do not know or understand about the Muse. The only thing I know for sure is that the Muse is a mystery. She shows up at unexpected times, in unexpected places, in unexpected ways.

Last night, it showed up in the form of a milkshake.

“If you get 1,000 words down on paper, we are going to get milkshakes tonight. So go home and write. Because I want a milkshake.”

Those were the departing words of Jenilee LeFors. And they were the words that obliterated a writers block that has been plaguing me for a few weeks and unleashed many more than one thousand words last night. The chapter is now half written; and I have consumed more than half a week’s worth of fat grams.

Was Jenilee the Muse? Was the milkshake the Muse? Is it the combination of friend, timing, hot summer weather, and chilled chocolate-flavored dairy products? I don’t know. But I’m thankful for Jenilee, words on paper, and chocolate milkshakes.

The following is the talk from Travis Mason who serves as the Worship Leader in our Protege Program at National Community Church.In this video, Travis tells leaders that they must Be Healthy.

See other talks at www.leadersmust.com.

Leaders Must Be Healthy – Travis Mason from National Community Church on Vimeo.

The following is the talk from Will Johnston, who serves as the Small Group Catalyst at National Community Church.In this video, Will encourages leaders that they must live in rhythm.

See other talks at www.leadersmust.com.

Leaders Must Live in Rhythm – Will Johnston from National Community Church on Vimeo.

The following is the talk from Dave Schmidgall who serves as the Campus Pastor at the Gala Location and the Missions Pastor at National Community Church.In this video, Dave makes the compelling argument that Leaders Must Be Present.

See other talks at www.leadersmust.com.

Leaders Must Be Present – Dave Schmidgall from National Community Church on Vimeo.

The following is the talk from Maegan Stout who serves as the Executive Assistant and Leadership Training Developer at National Community Church and blogs at Oil For Joy.  In this video, Maegan states that Leaders Must Leave a Legacy.

See other talks at www.leadersmust.com.

Leaders Must Leave a Legacy – Maegan Stout from National Community Church on Vimeo.

The following is the talk from Andy Pisciotti who serves as the Visual Storyteller at National Community Church and blogs at Andy’s Journey.  In this video, Andy states that Leaders Must Fail Well.

See other talks at www.leadersmust.com.

Leaders Must Fail Well – Andy Pisciotti from National Community Church on Vimeo.

The following is the talk from Jason Yost who serves as a worship leader at National Community Church and is the Founder and President of The New Rhythm Project. In this video, Jason states that Leaders Must Find Gaps and Fill Them.

See other talks at www.leadersmust.com.

Leaders Must Find Gaps and Fill Them – Jason Yost from National Community Church on Vimeo.

But nothing draws people like a story. Thanks to Small Group Catalyst Will Johnston for pulling this together.

NCC Small Group Promo from National Community Church on Vimeo.

Here’s a recurring conversation in my life. Usually after a night of Theology 101 or The Story.

NCCer: You know so much about the Bible and church history! Where did you go to seminary?
Me: Well, I didn’t, actually.
Now Confused NCCer: Oh…well, so did you go to Bible College?
Me: (awkardly) No…I just read a lot.
NCCer: Oh…okay.

In those moments, I never know what to say. Do I talk about having a masters degree in engineering and how that really shapes my ideas about community and discipleship? Do I talk about how my Southern Baptist upbringing taught me more about apologetics and theology than most seminaries do? Do I list out all the books I’ve read or the seminary classes I’ve actually taught?

I typically just let the conversation go. But then I go home and reconsider whether or not I should be doing what I’m doing. I know there are folks who have chosen not to follow because I don’t have the proper training and credentials. Some of them may have even left the church.  So…yeah…maybe I shouldn’t do this.

There is often significant insecurity that stems from the fact that I don’t have the right “story” for a pastor. I don’t have the right training, the right resume, the right credentials.  And for the foreseeable future at least, none of those things are going to change. So I can either let it paralyze me. Or I can choose to ignore it.

In the movie A Beautiful Mind (spoiler alert),  mathematician John Nash takes on a job as a cryptographer and then his life begins to unravel. In a nightmarish journey through fantasy and reality, he discovers that he is schizophrenic. And some of the most meaningful friends in his life are merely figments of his imagination. The roles they played in his life were very real…to him…but for him to lead any sort of normal life, he would have to force himself to ignore them.

Paul asked God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh. We don’t have any idea what that thorn was, but what we do know is that it was something Paul saw as a hindrance to his leadership. And he really wanted it to go away. Instead, he had to learn to ignore it.

Sometimes, we have insecurities in our lives that we just have to ignore. They are not rooted in sin or pride, so they don’t need to be crucified. And we can’t grow through them because they’ve always been there and may always remain. We just have to make a conscious choice to ignore them.

• Where have you led recently where you felt like you were firing on all cylinders?
• Where have you led out of frustration, weakness, or emptiness?
• Who needs to be encouraged?
• Who needs to be challenged?
• Who needs to be confronted?

If you aren’t familiar with the TED Conference, you should definitely check it out. Typically, the speakers talk about some aspect of creativity or leadership or innovation…in under 10 minutes. My favorite TED talk is Derek Sievers on Building a Movement.

Tomorrow, 6 NCC staff members from a variety of departments will speak for 6 minutes or less on the topic “Leaders Must…”

Here’s the awesome lineup:

Jason Yost- Leaders Must Find and Fill Gaps
Andy Pisciotti- Leaders Must Fail Well
Maegan Stout- Leaders Must Leave a Legacy
Dave Schmidgall- Leaders Must Be Present
Will Johnston- Leaders Must Have Rhythm
Travis Mason- Leaders Must Share

I think this is going to be our best summit ever!

When I was 16 I sat at a table with Larry Kramer and told him I thought I might want to write a play. He told me that writing was like throwing up, you had to get it all out and clean it up later. Great advice.

Fast forward a few years, and Elyzabeth is now an accomplished playwright herself, serving as playwright-in-residence at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and publishing her most recent work, Gee’s Bend.

I’m definitely finding Kramer’s advice to be helpful in my own life. Just throw it down on paper– no matter how choppy, disorganized, frenetic, silly, dumb, or disconnected. Then clean it up.

Ten years ago, I assumed the lead on small groups at National Community Church. I have a distinct memory of an older, more experienced leader questioning my ability to lead. More specifically, questioning my ability to teach anything worthwhile. Regardless of possessing a very healthy self assurance strength, that one conversation (honestly, it was more of an off-hand comment) shaped my view of my leadership value for almost 10 years. In fact, it’s only been in the past 2 years or so that I’ve come to a place where I think I have any wisdom or experience that is worth passing on. But that was an insecurity I had to grow through.

Some insecurities just need time. Time and experience. Some leadership insecurities plague us in our twenties but we just need to hold on tight. Because a decade can make a world of difference. Ten years of time and experience will cause them to diminish in their power over us. Of course, then we discover that there is a whole new set of insecurities that we have to grow through and we go through the cycle all over again.

I think about young leaders like Joshua– who got numerous pep talks from Moses and God before his new role of leadership and in the first few years of it. I think about Timothy as he served as pastor in Ephesus. I think about Samuel who grew into his gift of hearing from God and Joseph who grew into a more mature understanding of how to leverage his influence.

Insecurities that often require this kind of response include things like age, lack of experience, lack of wisdom, lack of opportunities, etc. Young leaders tend to get frustrated and want to speed up the process. Just slow down and enjoy the journey. Read a lot, learn a lot, experiment a lot, and look for mentors.

Some insecurities will go away…we just have to give them time.

The vast majority of conversations I’ve had with young leaders over the past 2 months have revolved around the issue of insecurities in leadership. Some of the insecurities are legitimate, some are figments of the imagination, some are just plain ridiculous. And I’m talking about my own.

I’m discovering there are three primary categories of insecurities that I face. Or at least three different kinds of responses that are required.

There are leadership insecurities that I just need to grow through. Time and experience diminish their power over me.

There are leadership insecurities that I just have to ignore. They will always be present, and I just have to stop feeding them.

And there are leadership insecurities that I just need to wrestle to the ground. They are rooted in pride or other sinful pattern and need to be put to death.

I’m feeling a few blog posts in the making…

• Plane travails. Whether 4 hours waiting for an electrical issue to be resolved, the loading dock slamming into the plane door, a pilot who was “almost certain” the problems were fixed, a poor woman passing out from dehydration, the cabin going pitch black in the middle of the flight…oh, the joys of travel.
• An unexpected but blessing of a 8-hour layover in Rome. In four hours, I ran Maegan Stout and Steph Modder to Trevi fountain, pizza, gelato, the Pantheon, Trajan’s Forum, the tomb of the unknown soldier, the Colosseum, and Mamertine Prison.
• Worshiping with Philadelphia Church in Thessaloniki. Great people, great hearts, great spirit. Hoping to see those people again! I talked about messy community.
• Crossing the border into Bulgaria and being shocked at how easy it is to move people in and out of Greece.
• Playing with kids at the gypsy camp.
• Being asked if Maegan Stout was my daughter.
• Watching teammate Daniel Gonzales become our go-to prayer guy during the trip…and just watching him grow in general.
• Seeing the I Heart Cafe, interviewing students on the university campus about human trafficking, and watching Steph Modder in concert. Loved seeing the convergence between A21 Campaign and I Heart Cafe.
• Learning about the human trafficking issues…and thinking through ways to engage.
• Getting lost in Athens– yeah, I have a sick love for that kinda stuff.
• Digging into the Scriptures to study Paul in Athens and Paul in Corinth…and then going to those places.
• The food…everywhere…all the time. I miss gyros.
• Seeing John Hasler.
• Selecting and purchasing my first icon.
• Getting started on a small group curriculum focused on human trafficking. Working with the amazing Maegan Stout on that. Oh yeah– and leading with her, in general, was a win. It was also fun to get her up on the oldest pulpit discovered in Greece.
• Watching Andy Pisciotti work like a mad man during the entire trip!
• Watching Reagan Chaney keep things positive, encouraging, and exciting. So many laughs!
• Every trip should have an encouragement team– ours was amazing. Thanks Colin, Reagan, and Daniel.
• Filming for Crosswalk Kids, Uprising, and God Anthology…at times, not entirely legally.
• Filming on top of Mars Hill and discovering there is free wi-fi there!
• Seeing the archaeological sites at Philippi, Thessaloniki, Athens, and Corinth again…and watching different team members “get” Paul’s second missionary journey.
• Hanging out on the rooftop of the hotel in Athens, listening to Andy’s “Yanni Live at the Acropolis” with the Acropolis in view.

Tasha Mitchell, one of our teammates, said a couple things that really stuck with me. She said, “Most people go on a mission  trip and fulfill a mission. Ours was different. It’s like we discovered a mission.” She also said, “The trip is over, but the mission is not.” I agree. This trip was more about learning and becoming aware of a problem in the world. On the last team meeting, it was cool to hear some of the ways different team members hope to engage the issue upon returning to their normal every day lives in the U.S.

I didn’t get a SINGLE photo of our team actually working or being productive…but here are some shots from the fun…

Hanging out with Maegan at Trajan's Forum in Rome. Thankful for delays and detours.

Team members eating their first gyro. Oh the joy!

Filming at the I Heart Cafe

At the top of Mycenae. And we saw Agamemnon's tomb. Crazy!

These are some of my favorite people! Maegan, John, Steph, and Andy. After a long day of filming, a fun evening of shopping, and full night of eating in Athens.

This is why I am in Greece with 14 NCCers this week. We are joining the new abolitionist movement. These things should not happen.

But the highlight of the day…or lowlight…honestly not sure how to react to it…was the moment that the lead pastor at Philadelphia Church asked me if Maegan Stout was my daughter. Yes, that happened. It was so, so funny. Granted, Maegan is a good 10 years younger than me and looks about 10 years younger than she actually is. So I don’t guess it was much outside the realm of reason.

It’s especially funny in light of a conversation that Maegan and I had a few weeks ago. There is a handful of girls that I intentionally invest in, and Maegan is the oldest in age (slightly) and the one I’ve been investing in the longest. So she commented the other day, “I feel like the oldest child.” I course-corrected to say that I viewed it more as a big sister kinda thing and informed her that if she ever referred to our relationship in that way again she would get a butt kicking.

The truth of the matter, however, is that discipleship really is about parenthood. When I think about what my parents did well, I can create quite a list. Just a few– they saw potential in me, they encouraged me, they asked me good questions, they gave me great experiences, they created memories, they gave me guidance, they managed well the tension of being 100% for me while still challenging me to be a better version of myself, they encouraged me to seek out answers in the Bible for myself and not rely on what someone taught me just because they were in a position of authority, they gave me a role model to imitate while simultaneously giving me room to become my own person. And they taught me about Southern food, art, and baseball. Yep, that pretty much sums up my relationship with Maegan.

While I still prefer to think of myself in the big sister or crazy cousin role with Maegan, there is an element of parenting in all discipleship. Who are you parenting spiritually? And for all of you who came to read this blog because you were expecting a different announcement…sorry…no little Zempels on the horizon yet.

Heather and Maegan heading to Greece

The Twist: Our flight from Boston to Rome was delayed for 4 hours. Which in turn delayed our arrival in Greece by almost 12 hours.

The Opportunity: Free time in Rome.

What can you do with four hours in Rome? This is what I did. And I dragged Steph Modder and Maegan Stout with me:

• Trevi Fountain
• Pizza and Gelato
• Pantheon
• Trajan’s Forum
• Mamertine Prison
• The Colosseum

Sabbath looks different every week. Sometimes, it needs to be personal, contemplative, and restful physically, emotionally, and mentally. Other times, I need to exhaust myself with fun. Sometimes I need to read or write. Other times I need to do anything but read or write. Often, it involves great friends. Whatever the case, Sabbath is about doing what I can do and not what I must do. And filling myself with things that refuel me and re-connect me with God.

Yesterday, it involved early morning coffee with mentors who can say in one sentence something so profound that it radically changes my perspective, strategy, or approach to ministry. Later, there was more coffee with yet another mentor who encourages me and challenges me and laughs a lot in the process (Starbucks had to ask us to be a bit more quiet).

The day also included pizza, Segway tours, hot dogs, and checking another MLB stadium off my life goals list. (I’d rather be at Wrigley, but it was great to be at Comiskey)

If you are a leader…scratch that…if you are a human being, get serious about practicing the Sabbath. It can seriously change your life. If you think you are just too busy and there’s not way you can incorporate that into your life, get over yourself. You don’t keep the world in orbit…and maybe you need to practice Sabbath to be reminded of that. I do.

Easter Baptisms at NCC from National Community Church on Vimeo.

Bruce Shelley argues, “Many in the Church today suffer from historical amnesia.” And because of that, we are doomed to make the same mistakes, embrace the same heresies, and fail to see the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. More than dates and dead people, the Story of the People of God gives us faith and courage to finish our own races well and motivates us to worship God more.

We learn that we are all a little heretical, we are all a little hypocritical, and we are all a little hysterical. But most importantly, we learn that the story is really not about us. Through heresy, persecution, hypocrisy, inquisitions, and Crusades, the Church has advanced. Obviously, someone is in charge; and it’s not us.

3 nights. 2,000 years. Starting tonight at 7pm at Barracks Row.

The Story 2 from National Community Church on Vimeo.

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

These were among the last words Paul left to his disciples. What you heard me say, pass on to others who will pass it on to others. That was the plan. Really? That’s it? That’s the best that God could come up with? The Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of the universe left the history of his Kingdom to a game of worldwide telephone? (You remember that game, right? The one where you sit a dozen people in a circle, whisper a phrase in the ear of the first person, and they whisper it to the next and on and on it goes until the person at the end announces what they have heard and it’s completely different?) That just seems odd to me. Seems like God would have come up with a more foolproof plan. Maybe even one that would bring him back to earth for some visits from time to time. Hadn’t the disciples already proven their inability to get the message and keep the story straight?

But that was the plan. The story of God passed from generation to generation. People becoming living, breathing vessels of the Gospel of Christ and pouring themselves into others. We are here today because those guys 2,000 years ago dared to believe that discipleship worked. Passing the faith from one person to the next. And it’s our responsibility to pass the faith on to the next generation.

Who are you passing the faith on to today?

Anyone can make the easy decisions. The 90-10 decisions. You know the ones I’m talking about. Should I take an umbrella with me when there is a 100% chance of rain? Should I add another service for Easter weekend? Should I schedule travel on the weekend of my anniversary or spend it with my husband? Yankees or Red Sox? Coke or Pepsi? See…those are all simple. Those are not decisions that require leadership; they simply require common sense.

Leadership requires the confidence, courage, and humility to make the 51-49 decisions. I first wrote about this idea when I was impressed with Joel Schmidgall’s leadership during Convoy of Hope a few years ago.  And I encountered it again last week.

The scenario. Thunderstorms were rolling through Knoxville, hail was hammering down, and tornadoes were thundering down the streets. The worst seemed to be over, but no one knew for sure. It was Wednesday night– the last night of the semester for The Walk– a collegiate ministry at the University of Tennessee.  Over one thousand students were expected, over $6,000 had been invested, and dozens of people had volunteered hours too numerous to quantify. My friend Tim Miller was the final vote.

If he cancelled and the weather held, he would look like an idiot and blow the budget. If he did not cancel and the weather turned bad again, lives could be endangered. The leaders of The Walk pride themselves in their “rain or shine” dedication. And their competitive nature and commitment to excellence make them squirm at the thought of a cop-out decision or a move that would make them look like wimps. There was no easy answer.

Tim listened to everyone who would be impacted. Volunteers, staff, family, friends. Then he took note of the opinions of those he trusted the most. And then he made the hard decision. It was a lonely moment. A decision that only he could make. He cancelled. I could see the pain on his face. Only a couple hours later, it was crystal clear that his decision was the right one.

I respected him so much. Not necessarily for making the right decision (even though it was the right decision). But for making the decision, period. That’s what a leader does. One of my favorite lines of musical theatre is found in Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George: “The choice may have been mistaken; the choosing was not…” I’ve never known for sure whether I was supposed to agree with that line or not; but I just really liked it. I think this is why: leaders have to make choices.

Sometimes the decision to make the hard decision is even more important than what decision is actually made. Sometimes we will make good decisions and sometimes we will make bad decisions. And when it comes to the defining decisions, it is always unclear in the moment whether the result will be good or bad. That’s why we’ve got to make good pre-decisions about our values, beliefs, and the community that will help us call the audibles.

I like Tim Miller. I’ve been impressed with his skills as a communicator; I’ve watched him build and lead through teams; I’ve listened to him talk through strategic vision. But last week, I saw him at one of his most critical leadership moments. Making the tough call.

Leaders make decisions. And then those decisions make the leader.

So…we left Sevier Heights Baptist at 11:30, arriving at Emily’s neighborhood sometime around midnight. We were greeted by standing water. My rental car was already puckered with hail-sized dents, so I wasn’t about to try driving the car through. Not to mention the fact that my mom had already sent me a Facebook reminder to never drive through standing water. So, we kicked off our Chuck Taylors, rolled up our jeans, and walked through what we would term the “marsh of the alligators.”

At this point, we were already entertaining the idea of heading to Atlanta that night. Nina’s breakouts weren’t starting until 11am, but I had learned that my youth group buddy Taylor Royle was going to be speaking at some point during the earlier opening session. Since Emily and I are both night people, it just made sense to start moving southward on I-75. Maybe go halfway. Or stop an hour north of Atlanta. Now…later in the evening, Emily would question the wisdom of our choice. So let me just explain why this plan made sense at midnight. If we started towards Atlanta, we could stop at a hotel at 2 in the morning. And then sleep until about 7 the next day and still get to Orange on time. Otherwise, we would be getting up in Knoxville at like 4 am and be driving into unknown debris and traffic problems caused by the tornadoes. Plus, my car was already practically on the street because of the flood anyway.

So, we pack it back into the car and start heading south on I-75. I will now try to summarize in bullet points:

• Chapter 1: No Gas.  About 1.5 hours down the road, I realize I need gasoline. Badly. At this point, it’s about 2 in the morning. I stop at an exit with 5 gas stations listed and numerous restaurants. Nothing is open. I go to the next significant exit. Gas station is open. Pumps are decorated with bright yellow signs informing us there is no gas. And the nice attendant told us the further south we drove the worse it would be. He recommended heading back north. I’m guessing I might be able to get another 30 miles out of this thing.
• Chapter 2: No Gas, No Hotel. Well, we didn’t make it as far as we wanted, but we might as well just bunk down for the night. There were a bazillion hotels so we had our pick. Three hotels later, we are informed that there are no vacancies at that exit.
• Chapter 3: Gas, No Hotel. So we turn the car north. Back towards Knoxville. We stop at the first exit that appears to have a gas station that is open. And they have gas. SUCCESS!!  Now, we just have to find a hotel. Hampton Inn- nothing. Super 8- the front desk attendant is asleep and drooling on the desk. The news: no vacancies anywhere at that exit, either. So we turn our eyes south once again towards Atlanta.
• Chapter 4: I-75 is Closed. Emily informs me, “Oh by the way, I-75 is closed at Ringgold. Thank goodness for Maegan Stout and her Christmas present. The Garmin navigated us around the closure. It’s now somewhere in the neighborhood of 4am.
• Chapter 5: A New Strategy. Well, 4am is just too late to get a hotel at this point. Let’s just muscle it all the way to Atlanta and see if the NCC kids team will let us borrow their showers. Are you hungry? Yeah. Okay, let’s just go to their hotel. Wait, where is their hotel? We have no idea. Emily and I got a hotel room close to the conference site. Where were the NCC girls? No. Clue. Stop off at the Waffle House. Pop open the computer and look through the email archives to see if we can figure out where they are. Emily asks, “Why did we think this was a good idea?” Shut up, Emily. It made perfect sense at the time. We get the coordinates of the hotel. Well, we got the name and address. Plug that into the Garmin and keep driving. We get to the exit of their hotel, text Jenilee to ask if we can crash their room later in the morning when they are done getting ready, and head to the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. They are open at 6am, right? Oh yeah, and we’ve had no sleep.
• Chapter 6: The Wrong Hotel. Emily and I finish our breakfast. And everything seems to be funny. We go to the NCC kids team hotel and just crash in the lobby, catching up on emails, tweets, facebook, and tornado news. About an hour later, Jenilee texts us their room number.  We knock on the door. No answer. The curtain was slightly opened, so I peered in. Back to texting: Are you sure you are in Room 102? Um…yeah…but Room 102 at the Comfort Suites not the Comfort Inn. The Comfort Suites which has the same address and is just tucked behind the Comfort Inn. Yeah, that one.

The rest of the day was great. We got to hear Taylor rock out the platform at Orange. Nina did an amazing job at her breakouts. I got to hang out with the pastor from my church in high school. Great dinner at Jim and Nick’s. Kicked lots of young youth pastor butt at Dave and Buster’s.  Got to bed around midnight. Awesome 42 hours. 42…straight…hours. I slept well…

Last week, I experienced a new adventure. Let me try to sum up.

I flew to Atlanta on Wednesday with our NCC Kids Team. The amazing Nina Schmidgall was leading breakouts, and I wanted to cheer her on. Since Nina didn’t speak until Thursday morning, I scheduled a little side trip for Wednesday. I set my Garmin for Knoxville, Tennessee… specifically, Sevier Heights Baptist…so I could hear my good friend Emily speak to the high school group and my good friend Tim Miller speak at The Walk.

I knew there were bad storms and even tornadoes creeping across Alabama and Tennessee that day, so I was a little nervous about the trip. But Emily did a quick check on the weather for me and assured me everything would be okay.

Let me frame this just a bit. In an earlier life, I was an environmental engineer who specialized in stormwater management. That means I’ve been out working in some pretty severe weather. And I’m from Mobile, Alabama, where I have witnessed a fair share of hurricanes. What I drove through on Wednesday was unlike anything I have ever experienced.

Finally arriving at Sevier Heights, I went directly to Emily’s office, which is actually inside a satellite office building across the parking lot from the rest of the church. I found it odd that no one was sitting at the front desk reception area. Maybe they left work early because of the weather. Trudging my soaked self down the hallway, I poked my head into Tim Miller’s office. He too, was absent. I jumped into Emily’s office with great exuberance…only to find that desk, too, was void of its owner. Callie Dunlap was also nowhere to be found. I plopped into Emily’s desk, took a photo looking out from her desk, and sent her a text: “I am here; where are you?”

It was then that I remembered I desperately needed a potty break (Sorry…TMI).  I decided to take the scenic route to the restrooms in hopes of running into someone that would know the whereabouts of Tim, Emily, and Callie.

The entire office. Empty. Completely unlocked, all power on, and deserted.

At that moment, I had two thoughts. One, my eschatology was wrong; there is a rapture after all. And two, that rapture just happened.

Before I could consider the implications of being left behind or strategize how to avoid the mark of the beast or develop a survival plan for the next seven years, my phone rang. Emily said, “you’ve got to follow my instructions.” Sure enough, she was calling to tell me where all of the people who didn’t want the mark of the beast were camped out. Oh wait. Never mind. The rapture didn’t happen…they were just all evacuated into the main building. Not to avoid the mark of the beast but to avoid the tornadoes that were rumbling down the streets of Knoxville. Awesome, back to my postmillennial self. Or amillennial. Or whatever I am on any particular day.

I raced across the church parking lot to join the huddled masses as they waited out the storm. After a few minutes, we were released.

Fast forward…time for Elevate…the high school student ministry. Emily had barely started her message before chaos struck. As she stood teaching, we heard a distant roar that sounded like an approaching train. Building and building and building. Emily speeds up her message and ends the service abruptly.

Meanwhile, Tim is trying to decide whether or not to cancel the last night of The Walk. A $6,000 investment…and a man-hour investment too large to quantify. I’ll blog later about the tough decisions that leaders are required to make. The Walk was cancelled.

Tim, Emily, and I hid away in the pastor prep room as storm after storm after storm swept through Knoxville. I checked in with friends in Alabama and Tennessee. Then the hail started. Hail the size of my head. Okay, maybe not quite that big. But definitely the size of tennis balls. My poor rental car. Oh well, let’s not think about that right now. Let’s think about the fact that the kitchen is filled with enough cotton candy to feed 1,000 college kids who are no longer coming. I ate pink, blue, and purple fluffs of sugar until my head hurt. We thought about playing hide and go seek in the church but decided that taking down tables and clearing up the set-up from the planned Walk event would be a better investment of time.

At 11:30, the television to which we had been glued was now assuring us that the end was near. Meteorologically speaking…not eschatologically speaking. Emily and I decided it was finally safe to head to her house. The debris along the road was unbelievable. Trees down. Limbs mangled. Wrecks.

As we turn into Em’s neighborhood, we see the next adventure before us. Standing water. The neighborhood was flooded. Time to kick off the shoes, roll up the jeans, and head out Huck Finn style. We were about to learn that this was not the end of the night. Far from it. It was only the beginning…

To be continued…

We use two books: Who Needs Theology (Grenz) and Across the Spectrum (Boyd and Eddy)

We divide and conquer topics as follows:

Week 1: Introduction, Expectations, Definitions
Week 2: Why Theology?
Week 3: Practices of the Theologian
Week 4: Real Life Theology, Doctrine of the Bible
Week 5: Doctrine of God
Week 6: Doctrine of Man
Week 7: Doctrine of Christ and Redemption, Part 1
Week 8: Doctrine of Christ and Redemption, Part 2
Week 9: Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
Week 10: Doctrine of the Church
Week 11: Doctrine of the Future

On the last week, I let participants ask me what I personally think about stuff and I break my neutral vow and tell them. We also watch the movie Luther.

I always communicate two big goals for the group. I believe that the study of theology should move us to 1) worship God more and 2) live differently. Without those two things, we are wasting our time, or worse, moving our faith to a realm of intellectualism that is destructive to community. If we don’t worship God more and live differently by the end of the semester, we have failed. Every week, I try to ask those two questions. How does the debate we’ve had tonight move us to love God more and live differently?

This has been a particularly great semester of Theology 101. A group full of nerds. But they are hungry. And they love Jesus. And that has been a lot of fun.

This summer, we are doing a sermon series called God Anthology to highlight the attributes and character of God. We had previously developed a list of the 9 attributes we wanted to focus on, and the challenge today was to figure out who was going to talk about which attribute and when. Here’s a sneak peak to give you an idea of how this works:

Mark Batterson: Heather, would you want to tackle jealousy again? Or maybe do wrath?
Heather: Sure, either way.
Mark Batterson: Or, what if we flipped it?
Heather: You mean I do mercy and you do wrath?
Mark Batterson: Oh no, I want you to play to your strengths.

Laughter.

Mark Batterson: Wait, “mean” isn’t on the list.

I love my job.

What a crappy opportunity to pursue.

During this week where we reflect on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, I think it’s good to pause and check ourselves. Judas’ motivations are fuzzy. But he most likely did not betray Jesus because he was angry with him or no longer liked him. And surely he didn’t do it for the money since he held the bank for Jesus’ ministry. Judas’ most likely motivation came from his focus on the Kingdom that Jesus had promised to establish on earth. If Judas could just get Jesus into the hands of the Roman authorities, it would force Jesus to see that the time was right to overthrow the government, establish a new Jerusalem, and step into his role as King.

He was focused on the task. Instead of focusing on the person and the heart of Christ, he focused on who he wanted Jesus to be. Instead of being content to simply be present with Jesus, he looked to the promises. He missed understanding the will of Christ because he was more concerned about his own will. And he pursued the wrong opportunity.

For those who do ministry as our full-time job, this week can become a temptation to pursue the wrong opportunity. At NCC, we have Good Friday services, Easter Eggstravaganzas, baptism celebrations, morning prayer meetings, and new location launches. Oh yeah, and we are registering new small groups and getting missions teams ready to deploy and trying to be creative in discipling our kids. It’s easy for Holy Week to become about the task.

We have an opportunity this week. An opportunity to reflect on the greatest gift we have been given- atonement. An opportunity to show the love of Christ in powerful and unforgettable ways. An opportunity to lift high the risen King of Kings. Don’t waste the week by being so focused on the task that you pursue the wrong opportunity.

I’ve got a new book coming. Tentatively titled Community is Messy, it will focus on that little idea that few of us were ever warned about when we entered small group leadership. It’s messy. But the good news is that the mess may be the very thing God uses to bring growth to our lives.

We’ll explore the ideas of creating a culture of experimentation, leading yourself well, investing in other people, blowing things up regularly, running groups so they mesh with real life, embracing a view of discipleship that is not linear, and wearing out your welcome.

Look for it from InterVarsity Press sometime next year.

I’m kidding. You didn’t think I was serious did you? Some of you sickos are “morning people” and probably wholeheartedly agreed. But not me. Tuesday is the start of my work week, so Tuesday morning meetings that start before 9am are not usually my favorite. But I had one today. And it’s changed the way I view meetings.

The meeting started this way: “The last time we met like this was about a year ago, and you said something that I’ve thought about every day since.”

I remembered saying it. It was a pretty simple statement about leadership and character. It wasn’t anything profound or significant. John Maxwell would have been more pithy. Andy Stanley would have been more sticky. Dallas Willard would have been more weighty. Mark Batterson would have been more creative. But they weren’t there. It was just me. And the Holy Spirit.

I realized this morning that it wasn’t just a meeting. It’s not just an event on our calendar. The moments we spend with people may include the moment God wants to speak something significant to them. They may be the moments where we encounter the places the Celtic Christians referred to as “thin places” where heaven seems to meet earth. These aren’t meetings. They are prophetic opportunities.  If we will just be available and keep one ear to the person and one ear to God, we may find that we aren’t being driven by the insanity of a schedule but by the holy chaotic leading of the Holy Spirit.

When I look at my schedule from now on, I don’t want to see appointments. I want to see opportunities.

He said a lot of great things that I’m sure I will blog more about later, but the one that I got most excited about was the Romans 16 list. We often think of Paul as a task-oriented, no-empathy, rough kind of guy. But this chapter reveals his heart for people. As he closes out his letter to the church in Rome, he lists about three dozen names. People who have served as his mentors, his disciples, his teammates, his spiritual family. Priscilla and Aquilla, Erastus, Phoebe, Rufus, Gaius…

Paul had just completed the book that is the closest thing we find to a systematic theology in the Bible. It was his statement of faith. But no personal statement of faith is created in a vacuum. It is a reflection of the voices that surround us. Paul ended Romans with a list of names. People who  had shaped him and formed him, people who had invested in him, people who had taken a risk on him, people who had been crazy enough to join him.

When I come to the end, who will be on my Romans 16 list? Who will be on yours?

My good buddy Julie is an organic farmer in West Virginia, and she taught me one of the most valuable leadership lessons I’ve ever heard.

Carrot seeds. Where are they? Have you ever seen them? How does a carrot reproduce? Here’s the deal…

You can plant a carrot seed, and in one season, that seed will become a fully formed carrot that you can pull from the ground and eat right then and there. Instant gratification. But that’s the end of that seed.

But if you want carrot seeds, you have to leave that carrot in the ground, let it overwinter, and wait. In the second season, the flowering stalk will shoot up and produce seeds. Now, you not only have a carrot; you have a reproducible carrot.

One good carrot can develop in a season. Perhaps even a great carrot. But if you want a carrot that can live beyond itself, you have to be twice as patient. Instant gratification does not produce reproducible carrots. You’ve got to let that carrot lie in the cold, dark, hard ground for a long time.

Maybe you feel overlooked. Maybe you feel like you are in a cold and isolated place. Maybe you feel like you have served your time for far too long. You have stood by as others have been picked before you. You’ve been passed over while others have been picked. Is that unfair? Or is it possible that you are being groomed for a much greater purpose?

Maybe you are a good carrot. Or even a great carrot. But if you want to be the kind of carrot that is reproducible, that can multiply your influence more broadly, you may have to stay in the ground and trust the farmer to know when the time is right. Because being a reproducible carrot isn’t just about your ability, it’s also about your potential. Don’t short-circuit your potential  by being too eager to come out of the ground.

Four Kinds of Criticism

Correct Criticism, Correct Heart

Incorrect Criticism, Correct Heart

Correct Criticism, Incorrect Heart

Incorrect Criticism, Incorrect Heart

Just a few final thoughts:

• Don’t let an arrow of criticism pierce your heart until it first passes through the filter of Scripture.
• If an arrow of criticism does pass through the filter of Scripture, let it pierce your heart deeply.
• Surround yourself with people who love you, are for you, have your best interests at heart, and will tell you when you are stupid.
• Ignore anonymous idiots whose criticism is invalid. And if someone you know gives you criticism that is invalid, don’t waste time dwelling on the criticism. Focus instead on protecting the relationship.
• Express gratitude to those who have the courage to give criticism that is life-giving and productive.

All of this is much easier said than done.

Nope.

Once, I fell through a hole in the sidewalk. Actually, I should clarify and say that the sidewalk opened up and swallowed me. It’s not like I walked into a pre-existing hole; I just took a step forward and the whole thing collapsed underneath me.

A few years later, this Protestant girl fell into Purgatory. Yep. I was walking through the Franciscan Monastery, missed a step, a fell down some stairs right into the altar in the Purgatory chapel. Thirty minutes later, I had to lead a Bible study for the entire tour group.

Recently, I was doing my best Danny Zuko walk and tripped on a curb in front of the Lincoln Memorial. All I remember about the experience is that I had a moment of crystal clear clarity that I was flying through the air perfectly parallel to the ground and that wasn’t good.

This morning, I did an almost perfect slide as though I was stealing second base. Only there was no second base. There was no game. Only slick sidewalk. My jeans remained intact but I’ve got an impressive strawberry on the knee.

I don’t post this for anything other than entertainment value. Yes, I could offer some commentary on humility. Or a leader’s need to have a healthy ability to laugh at themselves. But that runs the risk of compromising the pure hilarity of these moments. No  need to exploit my clumsiness for the sake of a leadership lesson metaphor. Sometimes, it’s good to just let the stupidity stand on its own.

And finally, incorrect criticism from a wrong attitude and heart. This is where you hit the delete button.

I say hit the delete button because this criticism often comes in the form of anonymous emails, tweets, blog comments, and other forms of technological warfare. I recently received an email that was horrific. Anything a person could possibly attack about me was attacked. Except for nose. Had they mentioned something about the prominence of my nose, that would have been correct. It was personal and it was vicious. It also got very silly. Stuff along the lines of, “and your shirt was ugly.” Okay it didn’t actually say that, but close.

Delete.

Sometimes, we have trouble discerning whether the criticism is valid or invalid. That’s where having trusted accountability can be helpful. Several years ago, I gave a talk at my first women’s conference. It was well received. With the exception of one girl. She cornered me in the lunch room immediately after to express her concerns. She accused me of being disingenuous when I encouraged people and systematically listed out for me a litany of my relational faults. I just stood there in a state of shock. There are lots of things you can attack about my abilities and my character. But my desire to see potential in people, call it out of them, and encourage people is just not one of them. I genuinely want to see people grow into their potential.  And her attitude was just bad.

I thanked her for verbalizing her thoughts but told her I disagreed.  I also told her I would take her comments to some other people to solicit their honest feedback…just in case it was a blind spot. I talked with four different girls who knew me well, knew me in very different contexts, and would be honest with me. They all said the criticism was incorrect.

My new challenge was to ignore the criticism and not allow the attitude of the person to affect the way I related to them. Because unlike the anonymous idiots, this was an idiot I had to see on a regular basis.

Wrong criticism from a wrong heart. Don’t waste time on it. Delete. If it’s from someone in your community, do your due diligence and seek second and third opinions. But if it’s incorrect, don’t dwell on it. Don’t internalize it. Move on.

Sometimes, we receive correct criticism, but it comes from the wrong heart and attitude. Hands down, this is the most difficult kind of criticism to navigate. Because everything within us wants to just ignore the criticism because the person is an idiot.

I used to say that I would only receive criticism from those who knew me best and had my best interests at heart. I would only listen to criticism from those who loved me. The problem with that philosophy is that people who don’t love us and even have incorrect motivations may still be correct in the content of their criticism. And it might behoove us to listen. But being willing to listen to that kind of criticism is very, very difficult.

Two years ago, we attempted our first ever “alignment series” at NCC. That means we oriented an entire semester of small groups around the sermon series. It was called A18:Neighborhoods, and you can read more about it here, here, and here.

In summary, parts of the experiment were a big, big win. Some of the best small groups we’ve ever had emerged from it. Other parts of it…well..let’s say they gave us some great learning and growth opportunities. At the end of the semester, we threw a survey out to our leaders. It was intentionally designed to generate negative feedback. And we got it– lots of very good constructive criticism. But one set of feedback, in particular, was nasty.

And when I say nasty, I mean nasty. According to this particularly  leader (and another leader they claimed to speak for), it was a complete and total fail. The most horrible idea our church had ever generated. So horrible, in fact, that it about near destroyed them and they would never try to lead such a thing again. Their group had failed and they blamed the failure entirely on our leadership. Perhaps I should say my leadership.

Initially, I read their comments and then just tossed them out of my mental reserve. The comments stemmed from a place of hurt that had absolutely nothing to do with the summer small groups. Their comments were vicious and lacked a desire for productive and constructive critique. They were designed simply to let the writer vent and to attack everything they felt was wrong with NCC and with me as a leader. For those reasons, I characterized them as invalid.

But then I thought again. Much of the content of the criticism itself was very valid. It just came from the wrong heart. How do we navigate that? Can we dismiss criticism just because it comes from a bad attitude? I took the content to the other leaders who were on my team and those I had submitted my leadership to. And we talked about it. Turns out, the content of the criticism was incredibly valuable.

In summary, this is what I try to do.

• Separate the content of the criticism from the attitude of the critic. I realize it’s  much easier for thinkers than feelers. And exponentially easier for someone with a self-assurance strength.
• Take the content of the criticism to a circle of accountability that loves us and is for us but will consider the criticism objectively and give us productive feedback.
• Course correct ourselves but ignore the idiot if they are an anonymous blog poster or a critic that hides behind other forms of technology. If the idiot is a part of your community, then you have to engage them. You have to walk through the mess with the person. You have to acknowledge that the content of their criticism is correct, but the attitude of their heart is wrong. Have fun with that conversation.

Of the four scenarios I’m talking about in this series, this kind of criticism is the hardest to navigate humbly. It requires us to course correct ourselves while separating the criticism from the person’s heart.

Tomorrow, Jenilee turns 26. And she wants to leverage that milestone to raise money for mycharitywater.org.

Jenilee is the children’s and student pastor at National Community Church, and I have had the honor of knowing her as a Protege, a co-worker, and a friend. She is one of the most fun-loving, encouraging, giving people I know. So when her birthday rolled around, I wanted to be a part of something that would bring fun-loving, encouragement, and give joy right back to her. I wanted to bless her. But she just doesn’t stop. Her birthday wish is to bless someone else.

Jenilee is ready for her Big Booty Party to raise money to dig a well to give a community clean water.

Here’s how it works. It costs $5,000 to dig a well in a community that needs clean water. That’s a lot of booty. So Jenilee is using her birthday to loot and plunder to raise the money. Tomorrow night, we are hosting Jenilee’s Big Booty Party. It’s pirate-themed and costumes are strongly encouraged (hence, the hat). We invited a shipload of her friends and asked them to bring loot to contribute to the well. But you don’t have to attend the party to contribute. Even landlubbers can give to the cause. And that’s what I’m asking you to do.

Give $26 (or more!) towards Jenilee’s well.

Recently, I created a masterful mess. I won’t go into the gory details here. (But you can read them here). It involved some decisions we made at a leadership training event that really upset some folks. When I sought correction from one of my fellow pastor friends on staff, he responded, “You just need to have more lead time. You get into these situations when you do things at the last minute and don’t think through them completely.”

Okay. That is true sometimes. But in this particular situation, it was not true. This mess did not emerge from incomplete planning. It was a completely pre-meditated and strategically planned mess. We had planned more for that summit than any other summit we had ever done. The criticism about the overall situation may have remained valid. But the specific criticism about my planning practices was simply incorrect.

So…I corrected him. But tried to do so humbly and with gratitude. And recognize that though the criticism may be invalid in this particular situation, that I needed to take it to heart in the future. Because it may still be a valid criticism in general.

Another recent situation. I got an email from a randon NCCer who I had never met who criticized a comment I made in a sermon. The email was respectful and thought-full. But was wrong. They just heard me wrong. I read the email out loud to about 4 people who happened to be in my house when I received it; none of them had heard me say that. I went back and looked at my manuscript and listened to the audio. Yep, the random NCC critic emailer just heard me wrong. So I sent an email back thanking them, re-stating what I had actually said, and explaining how that could have possibly been misunderstood. That random NCC critic emailer is a new BFF.

Sometimes we get criticism that is incorrect, but it comes from the right heart and the right attitude. In that situation, preserving the relationship should be the priority goal. Be grateful that they are willing to speak into your life, humbly correct them, and bravely look forward to the time when they bring you correct criticism.

It’s still not always easy to respond well because most of us don’t like criticism in any form. But this kind of criticism is easy to navigate from the sense of mentally knowing the right way to respond even if it is difficult to practically carry out.

When we received criticism that is accurate from a heart and attitude that are right, we must course correct ourselves and do so expressing humility and gratitude to those who have corrected us.

We desperately need people who love us to see our blind spots and point them out. We need people in our lives who love us but love Jesus more. And when they see something in our lives that needs course correction, we should listen, submit, apply, and thank them.

“You can be mean sometimes.” That statement came from a very good friend. And actually, they didn’t say mean. They used a different word. But “mean” would be the word appropriate for a Christian leader blog post. A couple days later, I found myself acting in a way that epitomized meanness. I got a laugh at another’s expense. I have a problem with that. My poor sister has endured 35 years of such behavior. I rarely ever intend be mean and get a laugh at another’s expense. And most of the time, it’s good natured and even the victim finds it funny. But sometimes, it’s just plain mean.

Course correction needed. I asked both the person who pointed it out and the victim from this most recent episode to start pointing out when I do this.

It’s not always easy to hear. But we need correct criticism from the correct heart. And as criticism goes, it’s the best kind we can get.

From personal experience, I’m discovering four different types of criticism:

• Correct criticism from a right heart and attitude
• Incorrect criticism from a right heart and attitude
• Correct criticism from a wrong heart and attitude
• Incorrect criticism from a wrong heart and attitude

Clear as mud? The challenge we face as leaders is to know how to handle criticism when we receive it. We usually say things like “I will only accept criticism from those who are closest to me and those who are for me.” The problem is those folks are still sometimes wrong. But the bigger problem is that sometimes those who don’t know us well and don’t have our best interests at heart and have the wrong heart and attitude are still correct in their criticism. How do we navigate?

Over the next few days, I’ll share a little of what I’m learning. And now that I think about it, I’m not expert in criticism. I don’t give it rightly. And I don’t receive it well. But I’m trying to grow.

That’s all my friend wanted me to say. Just a little comfort and assurance. We had just spent about four hours talking about the difficulties she was facing in ministry and leadership and relationships. And we had hashed through the advantages and disadvantages of potential upcoming decisions.

“Just tell me that everything is going to be okay.”

That’s all she wanted. Just one little throw away line to give her heart some warm fuzzies and set her mind at ease. Empathy is not one of my strengths. But I empathized deeply with her in that moment. And I dug deep down into the most empathetic place in my heart…and refused to tell her it was all going to be okay.

We Christians love to say that kind of crap to each other. And I guess in the eternal sense, it is all going to be okay. We know the end. Jesus wins. He reigns. And he’s prepared a place for us. But regarding the matters of these temporal things, we are not assured of anything but God’s grace, goodness, faithfulness, and sovereignty.

“Sorry. I can’t tell you that. Hebrews tells us that some Christ followers were mocked and beaten and stoned and sawed in two and thrown to animals. So yeah– who knows what could happen to you.”

And yes, I pretty much said it exactly like that. Not because I lacked empathy. But because I was filled with empathy in that particular moment.

We Christians love Hebrews 11:1-35. But we never seem to mention the last 5 verses of that great chapter on faith.

“It’s all going to be okay.” Why do we lie like that? I think sometimes we lie unintentionally because our theology is screwed up and we really do think it’s all going to be okay. Most of the time, we lie because we truly want to make the other person feel better. But I think there is often a far more sinister reason why we lie like that. Because we want to be off the hook. If it’s all going to be okay, then we are excused from the responsibility to bear the burdens of those we are in community with. We are excused from praying for them, encouraging them, walking through the much with them. Because hey…Jesus is going to make this all okay. Right?

We lie because we are lazy.

Faith is not an assurance that everything is going to be okay. Faith is the assurance that God is in control and we can trust him. Period.

I don’t think lying in these particular situations is the right response. And certainly not the most Biblical response. The response is to make a decision to be all in. All in spiritually to pray with them and for them. All in emotionally to laugh or cry with them as is appropriate for the situation. All in physically and mentally to walk through the mess and bear their burden with them. Will it all be okay? Maybe. Maybe not. “okay” is relative to the person’s perspective and the situation. We can’t promise that. But we can promise to walk with them.

That was the primary message I gave to one of my young 20-something friends. She is incredibly gifted, Biblically passionate, and generous in her influence. And she’s leading in an environment that is ridiculously difficult. Where there are fractious relationships, a culture that stifles creativity and innovative thinking, and quite, frankly, a prejudice against women in leadership. It’s not a life-giving place.

But I didn’t tell her to leave. I didn’t tell her not to leave, either. But I advocated the advantages of staying.  The reality is things show promise of being much better in just a few years. And…even if they don’t, there are valuable lessons being learned. Don’t forfeit 45 great years of ministry because of 5 tough years. It may be worth staying in the crucible for now because God is far more interested in who you are becoming than what you are doing in your third decade.

What if Joseph had given up after being thrown in the pit? Or thrown into slavery? Or after being wrongfully accused and imprisoned?

What if Daniel has simply given in to the expectations of his captors?

What if Peter had just gone back to fishing?

Or let’s look at some stories from the other perspective. What if the rich young ruler pushed all his chips to the middle of the table to follow Jesus? What if Samson had remained true to his identity and calling? What if Jonah hadn’t been more concerned about his reputation than the grace of God?

Here are some things I’ve learned about the crucible. In no particular order or poetic beauty:

• Follow well. Find a way to show honor to those you serve. If you think it’s just too hard, take a cue from David.
• Let God develop your character. A lot of young 20-somethings are so gifted that they will rise to levels of great influence quickly. If they don’t have the character to sustain it, they will crumble under the pressure of their own influence.
• It’s more about who you are called to be than what you are called to do.
• The time in the crucible allows God to reveal insecurities in your heart and leadership. And it allows time for you to discover and develop pure motives.
• It compels you to seek after God harder than you would.
• It makes you want it– the calling, your ultimate vision, God’s primary purpose for your life– even more.

Sometimes, God intentionally puts us into the crucible to refine us. Other times, he watches us walk through things that should never happen to another human being. But in his sovereignty, he still works everything together for the good according to his purposes at work within us. Trust that. Trust him. And don’t forfeit the awesome stuff that may be in store in the future because of the difficult road you have to walk to get there.

Should my friend stay and allow the circumstances to refine her? Or should she go where her gifts are recognized and she is given more opportunities for affirmation and growth? I have no idea. But I do know that God will allow us to walk through the mess one way or another. Because it’s good for us.

The Dixie.

And the Stonewall Jackson.

If I owned a movie theater, this is what I would call it.

If I owned a hotel, this is what I would call it.

That’s what I said as I stood in front of St. Peter’s tomb in the excavations underneath the Vatican.

We Protestants don’t have heroes. Or at least we don’t have many. I guess Jim Elliot, Lottie Moon, and Martin Luther qualify. And for a smaller subset, John Calvin. But there are thousands and thousands who have gone before us in the journey of faith and dozens and dozens worthy of following.

During my trip to Italy and Greece, I remembered often Barnabas’ encouragement that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. (Editorial note: okay, okay. Technically, and to be accurate, I should say “The writer of Hebrews.” But I would love to assume that Barnabas wrote it, so there you go…)

I’m not advocating that we worship or give adoration or even venerate certain people, but I am advocating that Protestants emerge from their historical amnesia and recognize that we would not be here today if it weren’t for the faithfulness of those who have gone before us. Church history did not begin in 1517. Nor did it begin with the invention of the “contemporary church.” Or whatever denominational titles or theological perspectives we cling to. There’s probably some stuff that got thrown out during the Reformation that needs to be rediscovered and reclaimed.

I was filled with gratitude last week, as well, when I stumbled upon the news that my distant cousin was the first native-born Methodist pastor in the United States. I was filled with gratitude for my heritage and was compelled to learn all I could about this Reverend Richard Owings.

We need role models. In Italy and Greece, I walked in the footsteps of my brothers and sisters in Christ from hundreds and thousands of years ago. I’m their spiritual progeny. And I was filled with gratitude for their lives and their sacrifices. Peter finished well. That fills me with hope and challenges me to run my own race well.

I know the Bible is real. I believe that and teach that. In fact, one of the things that compels me to do my job is an insatiable desire to see people “get” the Bible. When people begin to discover the Scriptures for the first time or rediscover them in a personal way…that just never gets old. In every setting I can, I remind people that the Bible was written by real people to real people who lived at a real time with real problems. And while it was thousands of years ago in cultures very different from ours…there are more similarities than differences.

But when you walk on the ground where it happened, it comes alive in new ways.

Trekking from Neapolis to Philippi to Amphipolis to Thessaloniki to Berea to Athens to Corinth made Paul’s second missionary journey sense. I’ve taught it in The Story for years; but something about walking it (or mostly driving it) myself made it all come together.

Standing in the starting blocks in the stadium at Corinth brought new meaning to Paul’s use of athletic metaphors.

The starting blocks in the stadium at Corinth. Paul would write to the church in Corinth to encourage them to run their own races in such a way that they would win the prize.

Hanging out at the Bema in the Roman Forum, I felt much closer to that moment of uncertainty as Paul was once again dragged before the city officials and forced to make decisions about what he would sacrifice for his faith.

Climbing to the bottom of the valley to find one street slab with the name of a city official named “Erastus” confirmed the historical accuracy of the Bible.

This street slab declares that the city official Erastus funded the paving of the road. Erastus is mentioned by Paul on three different occasions as his partner in ministry and a leader in the church in Corinth.

Sitting by the river at Philippi where Paul met with a business leader named Lydia.

River in Philippi where Paul met Lydia, and the church in that city began.

Climbing up Mars Hill at Athens, I was reminded of the need to ensure that the Gospel message is shared in a way that makes sense in the context of our culture.

At the Aereopagus on Mars Hill

Traveling to other sites, such as the place where Octavian defeated Antony and Cleopatra or the Acropolis, though not specifically mentioned in Scripture, still firmly rooted the Biblical narrative within an historical context.

When you are actually there, those simple verses that we skim over as “scene changers” or “filler” verses take on great new meaning.

Pilgrimage makes me want to read the Bible more slowly. And it reminds me that it was real then…and it’s real today.

“God loves idiots.”

“God loves people I can’t stand.”

“God loves people that drive me bonkers.”

I decided it’s really just an issue of God’s love being bigger than mine. Much bigger. Eternally and extraordinarily bigger than mine.

When I landed at Reagan-National Airport after my two week pilgrimage to Greece and Italy, Jenilee LeFors greeted me with energy and enthusiasm. I knew what her first question would be: what was the highlight. My response: The most important thing I learned is that God loves idiots.

One of my prayers going into this trip was that God would give me a fresh understanding and appreciation for community. Oh boy.

Let’s just start with the team I was with, okay? Sometimes, the levels of ethnocentrism from a group of graduate-level students was staggering. Other times, it was simply the stupidity levels or the laziness levels I found annoying. Whether it was complaints about food or grumbling over toilets or rude comments about other cultural traditions, there were a number of times I wanted to explode. Who complains about pizza in Naples? Who complains about food of any kind in Greece? Who complains about pace and early mornings and fast walking when you are going to see the Acropolis or the Colosseum or the freaking catacombs?

Then I was reminded of a sobering thought: God loves me. Self-centered, self-righteous, self-promoting, self-important…me. And he loves these ethnocentric, grumbling folks, too. And he said that our love for one another would prove to the world that we are his disciples.

This is one of the difficult truths that the early church learned, as well. There were moments that Paul wanted to punt John Mark to the curb (and did) and wanted to call Peter some very pointed names (and did). But Paul also wrote over and over again about the importance of unity and practicing “one another” living.

Our history as the people of God is messy. And community is messy. But God’s love and grace and sovereignty are so much bigger than the messes we create of ourselves and of his family. So what did I learn about community? God loves me. Which means he loves idiots. And his love is much bigger than mine.

I’m going to start a series of blog posts to talk about what I’ve begun to process. It will include such philosophical and theological richness like “God Loves Idiots,” “The Bible is Legit,” and “I Told St. Peter ‘Thanks.’”.

So here we go: What I learned on my trip to Greece and Italy, Part 1: Church is Messy.

Our history as the people of God is riddled with inconsistencies, heresies, hypocrisies, and general stupidity.  We’ve had inquisitions, crusades, and systematic killings in the name of Christ. Peter and Paul, who lectured those who were healed under their ministry to worship Jesus alone, are now venerated by some to the point that they may once again be confused for deity.

The more I learn about the Greek Orthodox Church, the more I appreciate the way they revel in the beauty of the Creator and his creation. But then there are also things I don’t get. For example, the altar of sacrament, or “holy of holies” is off limits to congregation; only the priest can go there. While I can respect the idea behind that and the reverence for the eucharist that is so often lacking in my Protestant experience, what the heck was the meaning behind the torn veil in the Temple?

Facing the iconostasis at the Church of St. Demetrius in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Standing in St. Peter’s Basilica was a holy moment. Everything about the architecture and the art pointed me to Christ and gave me a window into the awe and wonder and majesty of God Almighty. It made me appreciate my connection to the thousands and thousands who have come before me. The saints and martyrs to whom I was connected in the family of God. The more I study church history, the more I want to be Catholic. My stomach was in my throat. Then I remembered that the construction of this magnificent basilica was facilitated in part by the sale of indulgences.  My stomach turned. Tension. Conflict. Was this a moment when I was supposed to be enraptured by the glory of God? Or disgusted by the perversion of his Gospel?

St. Peter's Basilica

Light invades St. Peter's Basilica

While standing in cathedrals in conflict, I settled somewhere in the uncomfortable but inevitable land of the in-between. And thanked God for his grace and sovereignty. I think that’s what it boils down to. God is full of grace. And God is sovereign. So even though we have been stupid along the way, his story moves forward. He continues to build his church through the mess.

The reality is, we are still constructing cultural hurdles to hold people at a distance. We still throw up hurdles to make it hard for people to come into the presence of Christ. We still sell salvation– we just call them by a different name– like prayer cloths– instead of indulgences. Sure, future generations will look quizzically at our ecclesiology and wonder how the truth was ever able to prevail underneath the layers of our bizarre faith practices.

But that’s the beauty of our faith. It isn’t up to us. It’s all about God, his grace, and his sovereignty.