As Pastor Brady announced today, the elders are commissioning me to launch a new campus for New Life Church. Here's a little more about our vision and the details. 

VISION:

1. This is not a church plant.
We have had the privilige of sending many of our pastors to plant churches over the past few years. We love and believe in that vision. This, however, is not a church plant. This is an extension of New Life Church. This is a new "campus"-- the word literally means "field" in Latin! It is a new ground for us to till, a new garden to tend, a new place for the Lord to bring about flourishing in the hearts and lives of the people of God. With shared resources and staff, our downtown congregation can make the most of all the conferences, events and ministries that happen up at the main New Life campus.

2. This is about fostering community.
A new "field"-- campus-- can sometimes allow a stronger communal identity to form. In the midst of a thriving large church, people often form smaller, mid-size communities where they worship, connect and serve together. In way, these are like several "micro-congregations" that together form a large church. NewLifeDowntown is a way to form community within the New Life Church family, to make meaningful relationships and walk with others as we follow Jesus. As is often the case with a community of people, culture trumps location. So, this new campus is not about defining ourselves by a zip code. You may find yourself connecting in community here even though you live in a different part of the city, as I do! But more than location and culture, Jesus trumps all loyalties. We have many ideals of community that we bring to "church", and yet, as Bonhoeffer wrote, we must have a certain disillusionment with those ideals in order for Christ to be the defining center of our community, of our connection, of our "life together" as the people of God.

3. This is about facilitating mission.
There are many reasons that may keep a person from coming up to the main New Life Church campus, size and distance being among the common ones. Part of our goal with NewLifeDowntown is to embody the mission of Christ by being in a different part of our city. This isn't about "reaching the downtown;" this is about being the people of God in the heart of our city. Because we believe in an incarnational approach to mission, we want the people of God to embody Christ in different ways right where they are. We gather to "Come and See;" we scatter to "Go and Be." This new campus is a way to Go and Be.  Who knows? Maybe this will be a way to remove the barriers for many who have yet to see the light of Christ shine.

DETAILS:

About the Church Building

The building was owned by the first African-American church in our city (AME), built in 1897 on land donated by General Palmer, the founder of Colorado Springs. While the congregation has moved to a different location, the building was bought by the same people who own the Garden of the Gods Gourmet company who now use it as an event center (It's wonderful to weddings!). They have completley remodeled it, and restoring some of its most beautiful features. They have graciously allowed us to rent the building on Sunday mornings for our use. The address is 320 S. Weber.

About the Church Service

• We will start with services at 9am and 11am on Sunday, April 8th.
• There will be full children's ministry, with the same curriculum as used at the main New Life Church campus. 
• There will be three classes: one for newborns to toddlers, one for pre-school to kindagrten, and one for 1st and 2nd graders.
• Worship will feature many of same songs we know and love at New Life Church, but will be led in a more rootsy, folk-acoustic sort of way. The room as very "live" acoustics that lend a natural musical approach.
• I will preach each week, mirroring the sermon series that Pastor Brady is preaching up at the main campus.
• Follow "NewLifeDowntown" on Twitter: @NewLifeDowntown for all the latest.

[SPECIAL NOTE: NewLifeSundayNight will continue as a service. I will lead both campuses for a short season.]

If you work in "vocational ministry" either at a local church or in a Christian organization, chances are there are many days where you find yourself downing in a sea of emails, tossed about by waves of appointments, beaten down by a torrent of opinions and complaints and expectations...OK, enough with the metaphor. You get it. Some times "ministry" is anything but "ministering"-- to you, to others, and least of all, to the Lord.

Well, you're not alone. Gregory was a Benedictine monk who was called out of the monastic life and appointed as the Bishop of Rome. But Gregory often missed his quieter, more contemplative life. In a letter to the Emperor's sister, he wrote:

"On every side I am tossed by the waves of business, and sunk by storms, so that I may truly say, 'I have come into the depth of the sea, and the storm has overwhelmed me' (Psalm 68:3). After business I long to return to my heart; but, driven therefrom by vain tumults of thoughts, I am unable to return..."

Gregory goes on to use a beautiful metaphor, comparing the business of church life to Leah, but the beauty of the comtemplative life to Rachel:

I have loved the beauty of the contemplative life as a Rachel, barren, but keen of sight and fair (Genesis 29), who, though in her quietude she is less fertile, yet sees the light more keenly. But, by what judgment I know not, Leah has been coupled with me in the night, to wit, the active life; fruitful, but tender-eyed; seeing less, but bringing forth more. I have longed to sit at the feet of the Lord with Mary, to take in the words of His mouth; and lo, I am compelled to serve with Martha in external affairs, to be careful and troubled about many things (Luke 10:39)."

Gregory was one of the greatest leaders the church had in the early medieval period. He brought about incredible reform and helped unify the church despite its spread among various languages and tribal cultures. Even Luther wrote that Gregory was "the last great pope." (Of course, Luther never lived to see John Paul, II!)

Some times I think: it would be easier-- and cleaner and quieter-- to retreat to a "hidden life." I need to fight for the quiet moments and make time to be alone. But for those of us in "ministry", we cannot live there. Like the donkey our Savior rode on into the busy, loud city of Jerusalem, "the Lord hath need of us" where we are.  

How do you feel the tension between the busyness of church life and beauty of the contemplative life?

1. "My Take: The Momma's Boy Tim Tebow Meets Playboy Tom Brady" by Patton Dodd
Synopsis: My friend, Patton Dodd, writes about Tim Tebow, the football story, versus Tom Brady, the football player, on CNN's Belief Blog.

Excerpt:

"But the biggest difference is that, in Tebow’s case, religion is a factor. Brady, a cradle Catholic, became famous as an athlete. Tebow is becoming famous as an athlete, acolyte, and avatar all rolled into one...[skipping ahead]

Brady is a great football player. Tebow is a great football story, and stories are immersive – they give us a chance to get involved, to see ourselves through them.

Tebow’s story tees up the questions that frame many people’s lives: Is God involved? Can he help us overcome? Can he help us win? What if he stops helping us – where is God when our critics are correct, when our flaws are exposed for everyone to see?"

Read the full article HERE.

2. "Tim Tebow is John Elway's Long-Awaited Successor" by Woody Paige
Synopsis: Denver Post columnist Woody Paige makes his boldest statement yet as he compares Tim Tebow's unbelievable second year with Tom Brady's remarkable second year, complete with analysis from Josh McDaniels.

Excerpt:

"McDaniels was confident, despite skepticism of most others, Tebow would excel in the NFL.

'He's got such confidence that he will just not let himself fail. And that quality sometimes is very underrated. There are guys who will say they won't fail, our team's not going to fail, and they have a 'I'm not going to let you down' attitude. That's what you notice with Tim.'"

Read the full article HERE.

3. "I Believe in Tim Tebow" by Rick Reilly
Synopsis: ESPN columnist Rick Reilly won't say he believes in Tim Tebow the football player, but he can't help but love the selfless and inspiring off-field Tebow.

Excerpt:

"Every week, Tebow picks out someone who is suffering, or who is dying, or who is injured. He flies these people and their families to the Broncos game, rents them a car, puts them up in a nice hotel, buys them dinner (usually at a Dave & Buster's), gets them and their families pregame passes, visits with them just before kickoff (!), gets them 30-yard-line tickets down low, visits with them after the game (sometimes for an hour), has them walk him to his car, and sends them off with a basket of gifts.

Home or road, win or lose, hero or goat....[skipping to the end of the article]

Isn't that a huge a distraction?

'Just the opposite,' Tebow says. 'It's by far the best thing I do to get myself ready. Here you are, about to play a game that the world says is the most important thing in the world. Win and they praise you. Lose and they crush you. And here I have a chance to talk to the coolest, most courageous people. It puts it all into perspective. The game doesn't really matter. I mean, I'll give 100 percent of my heart to win it, but in the end, the thing I most want to do is not win championships or make a lot of money, it's to invest in people's lives, to make a difference.'

So that's it. I've given up giving up on him. I'm a 100 percent believer. Not in his arm. Not in his skills. I believe in his heart, his there-will-definitely-be-a-pony-under-the-tree optimism, the way his love pours into people, right up to their eyeballs, until they believe they can master the hopeless comeback, too."

Read the full story HERE.

BONUS:
To those of you who are new to the Tebow bandwagon, welcome. Here's a little GAME just for you. 

I've been thinking about my list of theologians and scholars that I have been or am beginning to be in conversation with.

First, here's my criteria:

1. They Affirm the Nicene Creed
   While there are many great scholars who may not affirm the Trinity or the resurrection, when it comes to the ones that I am going to immerse myself in, I prefer those who do affirm the historic, core Christian beliefs. In this sense, I believe a theological reading of the Scriptures is what makes reading the Bible different than reading Cicero or Josephus.
2. They Draw from the Great Treasury of the Church
   Most of my list are people from the last century, but they are well-versed with the Church Fathers, the saints, and the great theological minds through the centuries. For example, if you read Bonhoeffer, you can't help but get Luther as well, and that's what makes Bonhoeffer trustworthy.
3. They Write and Speak Accessibly for the Church
   There is much need for academics who write and lecture for academics. In fact, theologians and scholars who don't stand the scrutiny of academic "peer review" are usually not worth their salt. But the ones I admire are those whose scholarship is academically rigourous and yet who able to communicate in a way that is simple and accessible. After all, if understanding and learning does not serve the Church so the Church can serve the Christ and His mission in the world, then we may as well close our books. 

OK, now, here is my list of theologians and Biblical scholars I am beginning to be "in conversation with":

1. N. T. Wright (Phd, Oxford; NT Chair at St. Andrews)
   Area of emphasis: New Testament, Christian Origins/History
   Recommended starting points:
   - "Simply Jesus"
   (Reading the life of Jesus in the Gospels through the lens of 1st-century Jewish expectations, Roman imperial culture, and Old Testament Israel images of salvation.)
   - "Surprised by Hope"
   (Why heaven is not our final home or our greatest hope...and why on earth that matters right now.)
   - "After You Believe"
   (How "living in the present in light of God's in-breaking future" gives "character" and "virtue" a competely different emphasis than simply "good works.")
   
   For the more ambitious:
   - "Justification"
   (A fresh view-- in light of a proper understanding of 1st-century Judaism-- of Paul's doctrine of justification as being more than being in right-standing with God but about also being in covenant membership with the people of God.)
    
2. Scot McKnight (Phd, Nottingham; Prof at North Park University)
   Area of emphasis: New Testament Studies
   Recommended starting points:
   - "King Jesus Gospel"
   (Paradigm-shift may be the wrong way to say it, though it will result in that; it is more like zooming out and seeing the "Gospel" as the whole Story of God's plan to redeem the world from within it, culminating in Jesus.)
   - "Blue Parakeet" 
   (A great book on reading the Bible as narrative-- Story.)
    
3. John Goldingay (Phd, Nottingham; OT Chair at Fuller Theological Seminary)
   Area of emphasis: Old Testament Studies
   Recommended starting points:
   - "For Everyone" Commentary series (He's done Genesis through Ruth at the moment)
   - 3 volume commentary on the Psalms
   
   For the more ambitious:
   - "Old Testament Theology, Vol. 1: Israel's Gospel"
   
   
4. Stanley Hauerwas (Phd, Yale; Ethics prof at Duke Divinity)
   Area of emphasis: Christian "Ethics"; Barth scholar
   Recommended starting points:
   - "Hannah's Child" 
    (His memoir-- how he became the theologian he is & how he came to believe what he does.)
   - "Resident Aliens"
   (On what the Church should be-- an alternate society/City within the world.)
   - "The Hauerwas Reader"
    (This is a compilation of his essays, articles, papers, and book excerpts, organized    thematically.)

NOTABLE MENTION (though he's not, strictly speaking, a Biblical scholar or a theologian):
C. S. Lewis
Area of emphasis: Christian theology, apologetics
Recommended starting points:
- "The Last Battle"
- "The Great Divorce"
- "Screwtape Letters"
- "The Four Loves"

For the more ambitious:
- "Mere Christianity"
- "The Problem of Pain"
- "Miracles" 

This is just my list, drawing from books I've read. I'm sure you could add more (I think of Stott and Barth and Bonhoeffer and Packer and Fee....).

So....who are theologians and Biblical scholars (who write accessibly!) that you are "in conversation with"?

Give us some names and recommended starting points.

A prayerbook that has been helpful to my wife and I in our journey is a book, called "Seeking God's Face". It leads you in praying a psalm each day, reading a Scripture, spending time in "free prayer (what some may call "spontaneous prayer"), and praying a prayer based on a  historic confession or creed. To introduce Epiphany, Philip Reinders-- the book's editor and "author"-- writes:

"Epiphany begins on January 6 and is marked by several events and themes in the life of Jesus: the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, and the wedding feast at Cana (the beginning of Jesus' ministry through signs and wonders). Each event unveils the fuller dimensions of the man we call Jesus. He is the worshiped King of kings, the dearly loved Son of God, and the miracle working Lord of the Feast...."

In Epiphany, we celebrate Jesus as He is gradually revealed in His earthly life, paying attention to three specific aspects: His Kingship (as the Magi affirm), His Sonship (which can be seen not only as a picture of His divnity, but also as His role as the representative of Israel-- Israel was "God's Son"), and His Messiahship (the miracles were never party tricks, but signs of the Anointed One who had come, whose feast all would now be invited to attend.)

"There's also an unmistakable missional bent to Epiphany. Jesus, the light of the world, calls us to let our light shine before others (Matt. 5:14-16). Drawn by the light o his star, the Magi came and signaled the universal scope of Christ's mission [the Magi were Gentiles!], where the nations of the world come to worship the King of kings. Epiphany calls us to live God's mission, announcing the good news of Christ's arrival to every culture and to those who live across the street, bearing the light of Jesus to the nations and to those who share a home with us. We, the church, are sent out as the manifestation of Jesus to a watching world."

You see, Epiphany is not just a remembrance or a re-enactment; it's a reality we live into by the Holy Spirit's power. And it raises a wonderful question:

How can we-- as the Church-- shine the light of Christ in our world, revealing Him as the true King, the Son of God, and the awaited Messiah?

I think of our church and our new "Move the Mountain" initiative that will free us from the load of debt and allow us to serve our city. It's a move against the world's way of the rich enslaving the poor through debt and move toward a Kingdom way of using wealth to serve the broken and announce "good news" to the poor.

What are some ways you-- individually and congregationally-- can live to reveal Christ where you are?

But before Tebow there was Clovis, King of the Francs in the late 5th and early 6th century.

Though Clovis, and his fellow Francs were pagans, his wife, "imported" from Burgundy, was a devout Christian. She persistently argued that the "Christian God" was more powerful than the pagan gods, citing the wealth and victory of the "Christian lands" as evidence.

In a difficult war with the Alemanni, Clovis prayed to the God of his wife:

"Jesus Christ...you are said to give aid to those who are laboring and to bestow victory on those hoping in you....I beg the glory of your help so that if you will grant me victory over these enemies...then I will believe in you and will be baptized in your name. I have called upon my own gods, but, as I learn, they are far away from my aid. Hence I believe that they are endowed with no power, since they do not come to assistance of those who obey them. I now call on you. I want to believe in you, if only I am snatched from my enemies."

Clovis and his warriors prevailed. His instruction in faith, under the tutelage of Bishop Remigius of Reims, took place in secret since his warriors had yet to abandon their gods. But then, at a meeting with his warriors-- like a medieval locker room speech-- Clovis won them over, with more than 3000 agreeing to be baptized with their king! 

To Tebow's credit, he's never come close to a prayer like Clovis', but the improbable victories that have followed his public faith may have led a few spiritual stragglers to renew their faith, or perhaps to convert altogether! Conflicted feelings should accompany such stories and it should raise a lot more questions (Does God care who wins wars and football games? Will God answer prayers from people who treat him like an idol or a vending machine? Should we rejoice in a conversion even if it was driven by what a person could "get out of God"?). But whatever our take on this "Tebow Thing," the one thing we cannot say is that it's never happened before. It's as old as god and war.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This account of Clovis's conversion is pulled from a summary in "The Medieval Church: A Brief History", by Joseph H. Lynch, history professor at Ohio State University. I'm reading the book for a class at Fuller Theological Seminary on Medieval Church history...See: seminary's not irrelevant! :) ]

I spend a lot of time each week on OUTPUT (preaching, teaching, discipling, creating content, writing). But if I'm going to spend all that time on OUTPUT, I've got to make sure I'm getting enough INPUT (study, reading, learning). 

It's a very simple equation: INPUT > OUTPUT.

If I consistently invest more time in OUTPUT than in INPUT, eventually I'm going to run out. (You might say: "If OUTPUT > INPUT, then I will go KAPUT"....OK, OK, corny, I know!) The point is, to me, I can't afford not to read or study or stretch my brain.

One more thing: Not only does INPUT need to be greater than OUTPUT in scope, but it must also be greater in terms of depth. If I'm teaching at a "level 6" depth, I need to be learning at a "level 10" depth. This is one of the reasons I don't often read books by other pastors or Christian leaders...stuff you'd find on the "Christian Living" shelf. It's not because they're no good; many of them are. It's just that I need to ABSORB content that's a "10" so I can hope to DISSEMINATE content at a "6" or a "7" (assuming I don't integrate everything I'm learning, because most of the time I don't!) You might think it's hypocritical because all my books are "Christian Living", but it's precisely because I write "Christian Living" books and precisely because I'm a pastor that I must read and learn at a depth beyond that. I used to listen to other pastors podcasts, but since I've been preaching almost every Sunday night for the past two years in addition to often teaching our Sunday School class in the mornings, I've traded podcasts for iTunesU. I want to listen to and read theologians (Hauerwas, Barth) and Biblical scholars (McKnight, Green, Goldingay) and historians (Wright) so that my INPUT > OUTPUT not just in quantity but in quality.

Pastors are famous for dismissing "academics," saying they can't deal with "theories" and "conjecture." They need to learn from "practitioners." I understand that. Many academics have not done well at taking their best learning and communicating it in a non-academic way. (I'll write another post some time on some of my favortie academics who are great at exporting their learning beyond academia-- though you could probably guess the list!) But my response to the "I only need to learn from other practitioners" folks is this: Just as making a copy from a copy will degrade the quality over time, so pastors and teachers who only listen to and learn from other pastors and teachers (and not also from theologians, scholars, historians, etc) will gradually decline in the depth of their teaching.

What do you think?

Who are you favorite sources of INPUT and learning?

"The Flourishing Life" from Glenn Packiam on Vimeo.

Psalm 1 (NIV, 2011)
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Background
- Answers the question of why the righteous flourish
- The next section of psalms raise the question of why the wicked flourish
- This first psalm is the last word on flourishing: It may look  like the wicked are flourshing, but ultimately, the righteous will truly flourish. 

Psalm 1 sets the tone for the whole book of Psalms by providing a look at two lives:
1. The life of the Faithful who flourish, and
2. The life of the Faithless who perish. 

So, how do we flourish?

We flourish when...

• ...we are in community with the faithful
• ...we are in conversation with the Scripture 

How does "flourishing" happen at New Life Church?
- The easy answer may be to think we need another program or event or system. But when you're in a broken place, you don't want a system or a program or an event "caring" for you; you want the people of God with the Word of God surrounding you.
- It is not our role, as the pastors and staff of this church, to meet all the needs; it is our calling to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.
- Part of how we do that is by creating the environments where you can find the "nutrients" for growth: community and the Scriptures
- In a few weeks, you'll see the newly reformatted www.newlifegroups.com, with three "layers" of groups, including "Five Foundational Groups" in "Layer 1" where any person can start attending and any new leader can start leading.

Reflection:

1. Who are you "walking in step" with? What are the voices and images and influences that surround you? 
2. How can you begin to surround yourself with people who are wise and faithful? What small steps can you take toward forming that kind of community?
3. What would it look like for you to read the Bible "in conversation" with others? Is there a time when you and your family or friends can read large portions of the Bible out loud to each other?
4. Would you consider praying a psalm a day as way of shaping the language of your prayer? 

First, verse 12 culminates a stanza about the fleeting time of humans on earth-- 70, maybe 80 years....springing up like new grass in the morning, but fading away by evening. Verse 12 says:

"Teach us to number our days so we can have a wise heart."

Numbering our days prevents us from the lofty deception that we have no limits. A new year is not about imagining endless possibilities; it's first about confessing our finiteness. We are bounded. One more year has gone from us. We do not know how many remain. Numbering our days reminds us that we are finite.

But the Psalm goes on. Verse 17 culminates a stanza praying for God's mercy to be evident, for His "faithful love" to "fill us in the morning" so we "can rejoice and celebrate our whole life long." Verse 17 says:

"Let the kindness of the Lord our God be over us. Make the work of our hands last. Make the work of our hands last!"

Though we are finite, that is not all there is to the story. God works in the midst of our finiteness. God alone can make our feeble work in our finite years....last. Last beyond our years. Last beyond our own limitations.

As you begin a new year, may we confess our finiteness and pray for God's favor, so that in all things Christ will be glorified.

Amen.

Living in such a way that would make no sense if Jesus Christ had not risen from the dead.

For Hauerwas, believing in the resurrection of Christ is good, but not as good as really living lives that make sense only if Jesus Christ did in fact rise from the dead.

So, what does that mean? What would that look like? As we begin a new year, it's worth reflecting on what type of lives would make no sense if Jesus has not risen from the dead and ascended to His throne as the righful ruler of this world.

Here are a few ways...

• Forgive freely and quickly. The power of forgiveness has been released in the world because the crucifed Son of God did not stay dead. All the force of wickedness and evil was laid on him, and He exhasuted it in His death...then rose in victory over it.

• Speak words of life and blessing...even about those (and to those) who say hateful and hurtful things. Discern the prejudices we hide in the name of "protecting our children" or "defending our freedom." Tell the truth to yourself about the ugliness of our own hateful hearts. And let the Word of Christ that brought life to us bring life to others through you.

• Choose peace over power and violence. Christ is the strange Savior who chose to be killed rather than to kill, who told Peter to put away the sword, who defeated violence by refusing violence. He let Evil and Violence do their worst to Him, and then God rasied Him in vindication, establishing Him as the Ruler over all. The world is fueled by pride and is motivated by power, a power that it protects with violence. To acknowledge that Christ is the true Lord of the World is to embrace His way of humility, service, and peace.

• Treat each person with the dignity Chist died to restore to them. We are made in God's image. That image was marred by sin. But Christ came to restore it. By treating people with dignity and respect-- regardless of their race, religion, values, gender-- we are a sign that something is different in the world.

• Let creation-- the earth, the vegetation, the animals-- flourish and thrive because Christ has risen and is Lord. Don't celebrate the killing of animals for sport. Don't encourage the pillaging of the earth for the sake of better profits. Advocate thoughtful, faithful farming that leads creation to flourish and rejoice. 

• Bring Good News to the poor. They have a place at God's table. Show them this by giving them food and drink and shelter even now. There is a feast coming that Christ spoke of. Give them a foretaste of it now, in Jesus' name.

• Live with restraint: you don't need to have your best life now. Christ's resurrection means the best is yet to come: new heaven and new earth and resurrected bodies to enjoy it in. Learn to delay gratification, whether by preserving sex within the beatiful bounds of marriage, or by refusing to accumulate more just because you can.

• Love with no restraint: you have nothing to lose. The greatest impediment to love is fear, and the greatest thing to fear is death. But because Jesus is risen, even death is no longer the end.

These are just my reflections at the moment. I'm sure you can add more. So...go ahead:

What would it look like to live in such a way that would make no sense if Jesus Christ had not risen from the dead?