pensees

Money

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:38:00 +0000

Ministry takes money. Often, ministry is money (see Acts 2 and the idea of charity and benevolence).

I've always hated this. Money has got to be my least favorite aspect of being a pastor and church planter. I hate it so much that I more often get criticized for not talking about it than talking about it. (Imagine that!)

Anyway, money has gotten to be such a big headache and hindrance in my primary ministry areas of Antioch, Kilns College and World Relief NEXT that I thought I'd write about it.

My thought was that there might be a millionaire out there (or even someone with 500 dollars) who is willing to help out.

If you woke up in the middle of last night feeling like giving to a worthwhile cause, let me know.

If you'd like to help out or see a list of different needs that you can contribute to... e-mail me at ken@antiochchurch.org

Summer Swamp Plug

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:52:00 +0000

Tamara showed me this video a little while ago... Sara singing a little diddy about Summer Swamp - the kids summer camp that started this morning at Blakely Park.

I think it's hilarious!

Better Every Time!

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:29:00 +0000

It gets better every time I listen to it!!

Justin, Conor and the others did an amazing job on the Antioch CD.

(This isn't a sales pitch, so I won't tell you how to get one!!!)

Tape and Glue Required

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:17:00 +0000

Matt Smith, Antioch's College Pastor, and I have been having a lot of discussions this week on the nature of community and the identity of the church. Far too often, we overlook community and focus only on the function of the church.

However, doing comes out of being and function follows form.

Being in deep relationship with other Christians is essential to our calling.

Matt has some amazing insights on what that looks like and how the church can get there.

This morning, however, I found myself thinking of the other side -- the side of disappointment and failed effort.

What do you do with the hollow demoralizing feeling when others let you down?
How do you keep giving when you begin to realize that others are just taking?
How do we pursue lasting community when people often don't shoot straight and many times don't tell the truth (including ourselves?)
Where do we get filled up when we continually get drained?

I've got a bunch of thoughts on this, but I'll just put down a few.

First, expectations... if we expect perfection or easy results then we are certain to get disappointed or frustrated. We paint because it is worth doing, not because we're Picasso's. Likewise, we live in community because it is worth doing, not because we'll do it perfectly.

Second, forgiveness... if you have lots of kids you will inevitably need tape. Forgiveness is a kind of spiritual or relational tape. Without it we can't get over things. With it we can repair stuff and move on. Church is a glass house with lots of kids - tape and glue required.

Third, fluid categories... if we are all different parts of a body, then we will all have different strengths and, correspondingly, different weaknesses. Extroverts will hurt you in a different way than introverts. Creative people will let you down in different ways than organized people. Laid back people will disappoint differently than strong ones. Be gracious where people are naturally weak so you can appreciate where they are naturally gifted. Don't spotlight the messiness of others the same way you don't want your junk magnified. Evaluate people according to how God made them... not according to your own values and priorities.

Lastly, hang out with more people like Matt Smith... if we are going to grow into community, we have to have people we can learn from.

Sara's 4th

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 01:40:00 +0000

So Beth Fischer hooked us up with this pretty stellar keepsake. Here's Sara's 4th Birthday Party.

Thoughts

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:41:00 +0000

So a couple thoughts from today:

Conflict often leads to clarity (that makes conflict a potentially good thing, who knew?)
Restless Wrestling (a term Matt Smith gave to his spiritual musings... I like it!)
Marriage riddle #86 - What do you do when one spouse wants to lounge around and the other is full of focused energy?
The interns went white water rafting (I wish I was an intern...)
Americans are ranked #26 in the world in health by the World Health Organization (I feel average, which means I'd be healthier if I lived in any of 25 different countries.)
I don't like Twitter (please don't hate me.)
I do like the Old Testament... Just in the mood these days for raw and authentic.

Conference Transcript

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:00:00 +0000

I thought I'd post the transcript of the talk I gave at the conference this week. (Of course, it won't feel the same without Beth's video's playing before and after!!)

***************

One of the things you get to do when you start a church, as many of you might know, is rethink many things that we do and try to do them better than the church has done them in the past. (Of course, we've probably messed up more things than we've improved!)

Anyway, as a church we wanted to be involved in a global cause and realized that there are two things that Christians have typically done in the area of missions and development that present problems.

The first one is that we spread ourselves too thin. It’s like we hit twelve nails one time rather than hit one nail twelve times – and drive it in.

The second is that we don’t realize the destructive potential of compassion.

We can’t even get churches to collaborate with each other in a recreation spot like Bend, Oregon — how do we think we’re really going to change complex socio-political and religious issues half way around the world with two week trips once a year? And when we drop into these places with our money and our influence we often create jealousies, dependencies and rivalries that do more harm than good.

I remember reading about the soldiers that liberated Concentration Camps after WWII. The first thing they did out of compassion was to give the starving survivors their food rations – not knowing that this would kill them due to the extreme nature of their starvation. As crazy as it sounds, compassion can kill.

If you're driving along the streets of Burundi and throw an empty plastic water bottle to a five year old (they use them as toys) and then he gets immediately pummeled by three bigger kids - your compassion has done more harm than good. If your financial gifts to a pastor in a village are too extravagant for the context and you destabilize the economic and political equilibrium, create a celebrity, bring disunity and overshadow the spiritual focus of the gospel - your compassion (although rightly motivated) has done more harm than good.

The problem isn't compassion, but how it is channeled.

So as Antioch sought to get involved in global causes we wanted to both go deep and give smart.

The problem we found was that the big organizations who have on the ground projects and do a really good job of missions and development, don’t have the time or energy to talk to small churches like us.

And if we call our own number and go it alone, we ignore the complexities of cross cultural engagement and don’t benefit from the knowledge and experience of those working on the ground.

So the options were either to sit on the bench or go it alone.

Through a crazy series of circumstances, we started a collaborative effort with World Relief called World Relief NEXT designed to reach the next generation of believers and to harness the power of creativity and collaboration.

World Relief gave us a platform to own a cause - to go deep and give smart.

They gave away ownership, allowed creativity and began a dialogue on how to partner in different ways with the North American church. We gave away control and the desire to be at the center of engagement. In short, we committed to serve those who give their lives to serving in a third world context.

When you come up on an accident scene, you don't push the EMT out of the way in your desire to help the victim. Rather, you offer to help the EMT or doctor - to get a bag out of the ambulance or keep the crowd back. Likewise, we should offer to serve instead of asking those on the ground in foreign countries to serve us.

Meaning has become the new fashion statement. We all want to move from awareness of the world to direct engagement - hands on work. Passion, however, doesn't qualify someone to be a doctor. Passion, without education and capacity, also doesn't qualify someone as an expert in cross-cultural engagement.

World Relief NEXT is designed for collaboration... for helping churches engage through the act of working together with missionaries, relief workers and African pastors and leaders already engaged in the Africa Great Lakes Region. It is about win / win solutions. It is about partnerships and creatively helping one another in our shared passion and God given calling to help the world's most vulnerable.

There’s a card in your conference pack that you can fill out and bring by our table to either find out about owning a cause through World Relief or how you can become a World Relief NEXT partner church – we’d love to see this creative and collaborative venture grow to include and bless other churches.

We’re going to show you a video of the Congo now, which is our cause.

Many people don’t know that more people have died the last decade or so in the Congo from war related causes than anywhere in the world since WWII. 800,000 people died during the genocide in Rwanda and we vowed to never sit by silently again in the face of such horrible death, injustice and oppression. However, 5.4 million have died in the Congo since that time due to the aftermath of that genocide – Hutu and Tutsi rebel groups, as well as a dozen or more rebel groups fighting over the vast mineral wealth of Eastern Congo.

We believe that the God who is big enough for us to give our lives to the cause of justice and the God who ought to be big enough for Christians to collaborate together, is also big enough to bring change and healing to the Congo.

Tired

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:20:00 +0000

I figured I'd show you how tired we are waiting in the Grand Rapids Airport.

(Don't tell Ann about this picture though -- she doesn't know I took it!)

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 18:39:00 +0000

Here's a picture of the NEXT banner hung up at the DeVoss Performing Arts Center in Grand Rapids.

We had the opportunity to present World Relief NEXT to 1,200 pastors yesterday and have been meeting and sharing the vision with hundreds of them since.

There are some pretty cool church planters and pastors out there!!

All in all a pretty amazing time.

PPP Conference

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:06:00 +0000

Up at 3:30 am to make a 5:00 am flight to Portland en route to Grand Rapids.

Shoot me now.

Enough Project

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:52:00 +0000

Conflict mineral video for the Enough Project's video contest.

A pretty amazing piece of work done in collaboration over the last several days.

What's best... the people who worked on this video actually care about the Congo.

ENOUGH FINAL ENTRY from emote360 on Vimeo.

Poets, Preachers and Prophets

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Four of us from the World Relief NEXT team are headed to Grand Rapids this Sunday to take part in a pastors conference called Poets, Preachers and Prophets.

We'll be sharing from the stage about World Relief NEXT and meeting with pastors throughout the conference at a NEXT table.

It's been a ton of fun getting ready for the conference with videos, some new coffee mugs and posters and the shirts that Ann Mara ordered up for us all.

We've also been able to collaborate on some cool stuff with WR Baltimore and a few new friends -- Check out the cover below of the take away piece designed by Jon Bell in Grand Rapids.

Becoming Servants

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:25:00 +0000

Had a great time hanging with our college pastor Matt Smith this afternoon. It kicked up some old thoughts of mine.

What would it look like for Christians and Churches to move beyond just service projects (programmed ways of giving) to becoming servants (programmed to give)?

I guess that I'm wondering if we are fooling ourselves about our obedience to Christ in serving others by our moments of servitude when what Jesus was looking for was a mantle of servitude.

Don't have the energy to go into it too deep, but just thinking that maybe we're not radical enough compared with Jesus' example?

"... whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew

Ed on Legalism

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:19:00 +0000

One of my good friends and mentors is Ed Underwood.

Ed was an old Jesus Movement Christian out of the 70's who hasn't slowed down a bit.

I check his blog every so often and loved his post on legalism.

Click here and enjoy checking out Ed's blog!!

It's Here!!!!!!

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:13:00 +0000

BIG BOXES of Antioch's new music CD just showed up!!!

Some 20 or so artists and musicians collaborated to make this project happen. It's unbelievable the quality of talent around here!!

So get your copy of "Called You By Name" and get ready for the most eclectic Christian CD you've heard in a while.

Super fun!!

Mercenary Rewards

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:42:00 +0000

One of the concepts that C.S. Lewis used regularly as a literary device was that of Mercenary Rewards.

The mercenary, for Lewis, was the perfect symbol of someone who doesn't act for true love or desire for the thing itself, but for the reward he receives - much like mercenaries don't care about the cause of a war, only the spoils.

One of the problems with how we tend to approach God is that we often embody the mercenary. Instead of realizing that God himself is our salvation, we ask for stuff we believe will save us. Instead of realizing that He is what we desire, we seek spoils.

“A joy there is that is not granted to the godless," prays St. Augustine in his Confessions, "but to those only who worship you without looking for reward, because you yourself are their joy." He adds, "This is the happy life, and this alone: to rejoice in you, about you and because of you. This is the life of happiness, and it is not to be found anywhere else.”

When we seek mercenary rewards from God, it betrays our nationality, our hypocrisy and our theology.

When we love God truly, we will, as scripture exhorts, delight ourselves in the Lord and rejoice in the Lord - not as mercenaries, but with undivided hearts.

Which do you desire more, God or what God can give?

Little Concert Promo

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:36:00 +0000

I told Justin I'd throw up a little promo for the Pawn Shop Kings Concert this Sunday night at the Kilns at 7 pm.

If you've never heard these guys - they are brothers and have the most amazing harmonies and lyrics. Crazy unique!

Should be a stellar time!!

The Real Thing

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:16:00 +0000

Here's the real thing.

(much better than the embarrassing out-takes!)

WHAT'S YOUR CAUSE? from emote360 on Vimeo.

Augustine on Happiness

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:48:00 +0000

I'd love to use all these quotes in my message this Sunday, but don't know that I'll be able to get to them all. Posting them here is the second best option!!

“Moreover, how can he give eternal life who cannot give happiness? For we mean by eternal life that life where there is endless happiness.” – City of God

“A joy there is that is not granted to the godless, but to those only who worship you without looking for reward, because you yourself are their joy. This is the happy life, and this along: to rejoice in you, about you and because of you. This is the life of happiness, and it is not to be found anywhere else.” – Confessions

“…it is you who are arousing their delight in these things; and anything that gives us joy through your Spirit gives you joy in us.” – Confessions

“… no one is blessed who does not enjoy that which he loves.” – Confessions

“… it is not without meaning that it is said that all sin is a life. For no sin is committed save by that desire or will by which we desire that it be well with us, and shrink from it being ill with us. That, therefore, is a lie which we do in order that it may be well with us, but which makes us more miserable than we were. And why is this, but because the source of man’s happiness lies only in God, whom he abandons when he sins, and not in himself, by living according to whom he sins?” – City of God

Big God

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 22:24:00 +0000

Looking forward to this coming Sunday more than I look forward to most!

Preaching a message that I've had in the back of my mind for a while called, "Big God" and also getting to hear the band do a bunch of songs on the new Antioch music CD that comes out the following week.

All in all, pretty excited!!

Village Idiot

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:23:00 +0000

So Beth decided to put this little outtake together from some lines she wanted me to say for a World Relief NEXT video she's working on.

Two words come to mind when I watch it: Village Idiot :)

WHAT'S YOUR CAUSE OUT-TAKE from emote360 on Vimeo.

Intern Ministry Thoughts

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:37:00 +0000

I'm pretty amped about the crew of interns who are here for the summer!!

We just had six over for dinner last night, saw the Lakers lose and then watched Gran Turino afterward.

Ton's of fun!

I keep telling everyone that Bend is the coolest place in the summer, but the 3 inches of hail in 30 minutes yesterday afternoon didn't help me. The Chicago kids, especially, think that Oregon is just a "rainy place."

Brandon Reynolds is heading up the intern program and I don't know how he's keeping all the balls in the air between the fun stuff and work stuff for all seventeen.

Last Saturday, Kyle Beall helped introduce the interns to Smith Rock and rock climbing. It is the first of a full line up of intern outings -- Central Oregon style. Below are some pictures that Katy Fein sent me from the trip!!

Balloons over Bend

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:05:00 +0000

Bend, Oregon is a pretty cool place to live.

I could list a hundred little things that I love about it. Especially in the summer, it is as unique as anywhere else out there.

For example, check out the hot air balloons that sailed over our offices on Sunday as part of the "Balloons Over Bend" festival.

World Relief Congo Video

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:01:00 +0000

Check out the Congo piece about the work World Relief is doing in the DRC.

P.S. In case you can't tell... Beth Fischer is a pretty amazing videographer!!

Intern Love

ken@antiochchurch.org (Ken Wytsma) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:55:00 +0000

If anyone has any intern love and would like to help us find part time employment for an Antioch Summer Intern or help sponsor an intern for Family Camp - contact either myself or Brandon Reynolds (brandon@antiochchurch.org).

We'd love the help!