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2011-02-24T13:27:00.002-05:00

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Signs of Community Transformation

2011-01-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

Jay Van Groningen is the Executive Director for the Communities First Association whose mission is to provide "a supportive learning environment, resources, and tools to those who transform communities." What follows are some thoughts from Jay about the signs of community transformation.

Moving Christians and congregations in their thinking from individual betterment (which is good) to community transformation (which is more impactful) is very challenging. I have been thinking through this week, How can one tell if a church is engaging in Community Transformation? What are some indicators of progress?

Many churches have language, liturgy, leadership, programs and practices for Ministry of the Word and sacraments. What would the language, liturgy, leadership, programs and practices be for a church that was equally focused on community transformation?

Here are some initial thoughts: What do you think?

A. Congregational Readiness: Does the congregation have a target neighborhood? Yes or No. What is the specific neighborhood that the congregation has committed to? How can a church leave a redemptive (and sustainable) imprint in a community, if it does not have a declared neighborhood as its focus for transformation?

Does the congregation have a community transformation leader (or team)? Yes or No? Who is teaching and guiding the congregation in its community transformation engagements? The work will not be sustainable without a leader or team who leads/guides the transformation story over time.

B. Community Transformation Process: Is there a systematic (and ongoing) listening process with the community that results in: (1) Discovering and cataloging neighbors (and members) gifts; Is the gift information transparent, accessible and shared with the community for the common good?

(2) Discovering what residents care about, enough to work on it with support from the congregation. Is there an agenda for change that is shared with the community that arises from the listening process? Is the agenda co-owned by church and community?

(3) Are there community action groups (with congregants and neighbors) forming around the agenda items and working on the things they care about? Is there a shared venue(s) for reporting back to congregation and neighbors the progress being made on their agenda?

(4) Is there evidence of cooperation with other congregations, associations and institutions in the community in accomplishing the agenda? Is there evidence of Church(es) raising the voice of the poor to change the systems that perpetuate poverty?

C. Sign Posts of Progress:

There is movement from “ministry to/for” those people to “ministry with” our neighbors

There is movement from “inward” to “outward” focus in ministry

There is movement from “simple responsiveness” to “more complex” (w)holistic engagements that address root causes.

There is movement from “mono cultural” to “multi-cultural” engagement

There is movement from economic homogeneity to economic heterogeneity

There is movement from “commuter-based” ministry to “geographic-based” ministry.

There is movement from “church-centric” to Kingdom-centric language and frameworks.

There is movement from focusing on “problems” to “future/vision” oriented focus

There is movement from understanding stewardship of “our gifts” to stewarding of the “community gifts”.

There is a “relocation” strategy for changing the residential mix in poor communities (a healthy mix of low, middle and upper-income residents).

My Dad Used To Have This Shirt....

2011-01-11T10:30:00.001-05:00

So, when I was little, my dad (Jim) used to have this shirt that said "Why do people kill people who kill people to teach people that killing people is wrong?" ( I googled to find an image of the shirt, but all I got was a bunch of creepy zombie pictures from the 80s...) Anyway. As a Christian, I believe we have a responsibility to form a view on political issues from a Christ-centered perspective. I know I know...separation of church and "staters" might not like that statement. But for me, it's impossible to separate my relationship from God and the moral implications of social issues in today's society. The Death Penalty is one of those issues that requires some soul searching right? I came across this article today in the Huffington Post's religion (hate that word) section and it got me thinking about this all over again. Are there times when the Dealth Penalty is justified? OR is killing someone for killing someone ever the right thing to do?

~ Ashley

thanksgiving

2010-11-25T23:18:00.000-05:00

Here I am, sitting in the dark on my little macbook. not the cool silver one...the old white one. It's in amazingly good condition...I take care of my things! My tummy is full of home cooked food & my eyes are sore from looking online for Black Friday deals.

Today was great.

Small and quiet, but great. Aside from there being two cooks in the kitchen (if you get my drift) we had a very very nice Thanksgiving day together, just the three of us.

This time of year, I always remember the Thanksgivings when I didn't have anywhere to go. One year I volunteered at the Salvation Army and then ate dinner at wholefoods & I'd wonder, didn't anyone think to invite me over? Doesn't anyone hope I have a family to spend the holiday with. Have you ever been out of town for a holiday? Have you ever invited people into your family for a day? What was that like?

Thankful,
Ashley

How Christian Consumers Ruin Pastors and Cheat the Mission of God

2010-11-07T19:09:00.000-05:00

The following is from the QIdeas blog (www.qideas.org). It is a challenging and honest look at a common codependent relationship many pastors and parishioners are experiencing that causes the whole church to be ineffective ministers to their communities. At One Church we are striving for healthy and strong collaborative efforts between churches so we may together serve our neighbors. For this to occur we must change our perspectives from "it's all about us," to "it's all about serving others."

Millions of Americans live in the shadow of churches that have become consumer Christian centers, but pastors are ruined and the mission of God is cheated when consumers enjoy goods and services from their local church. In their book, God is Back, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge described the state of the American church as the “Disneyfication of God” or “Christianity Lite – a bland and sanitized faith that is about as dramatic as the average shopping mall.”

Believers who think like customers contribute to the underachieving church in America. The damages move far beyond ineptness at engaging the mission of God. The incessant demands of a consumer congregation causes irreparable damage to those who lead such congregations. Some of the consumer demands are based on pastoral perception too. Pastors often experience chronic anxiety because they fear their flock.

Robin Swift is the Director of Health Programs for the Clergy Health Initiative at Duke Divinity School. She has been a part of extensive research by Duke to understand the challenge of being a pastor. In a recent NPR interview, Swift talked about realities faced by pastors: “Pastors, because of their calling, put everybody else first and have a difficult time naming their needs for self-care, and they also, like the Marines or emergency room staff, expect a level of high functioning from each other.”

Wayne Cordeiro, founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii has experienced incredible popularity among Christian leaders worldwide. His success is well chronicled through thousands of attendees at New Hope and planting over 100 churches in the Pacific Rim. Yet he was transparent about his near personal collapse in spite of his success in his book, Leading on Empty:

“I was out on a run on that balmy California evening. One minute I was jogging along the sidewalk, and the next minute I was sitting on the curb sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't stop, and I did not have a clue what was happening to me . . . For over thirty years I had invested my life in Christian ministry . . . But now I wasn’t sure I could keep going.”

Such situations make one wonder if the damage (self-inflicted and from consumer Christians) is inevitable in a modern care-giving profession like the pastorate? Are pastors destined to be victims of their own calling? What do they contribute to the situation?

I believe the mentality in the pew (or cushioned chair) may have another contributing factor: pastoral codependency.

What is a codependent? It's "loosely defined as someone who exhibits too much, and often inappropriate, caring for persons who depend on him or her” (I got this from Wikipedia—because you can trust everything there.) A “codependent” is one side of a relationship between mutually needy people.

A codependent pastor needs a needy congregation. And we have too many of both. But relishing the applause that comes from being the local church superstar often results in performance anxiety and utter disappointment in an underachieving church. It is a vicious cycle where everyone ends up disappointed—including God, I think.

The pastor who insists on being the focus of local ministry trains the body of Christ to sin; believers who demand all ministry to be done by “professionals” lead the pastor to sin. So who started all of this dysfunction? Was it the needy, consumer-driven congregation? Or was it the pastor, hungry for significance? It’s hard to tell. But to break the cycle, the enablers must stop enabling. God cannot receive glory in the church when pastors are always up front receiving the credit and doing the things that their consumerist congregants should be doing.

We need to understand everyone’s role. When pastors do for people what God has called the people to do for themselves, everyone gets hurt and the mission of God is hindered. God designed the church to act as the body of Christ, and bodies have more than one part. Here is what it should look like: “Based on the gift they have received, everyone should use it to serve others” (1 Peter 4:10). “A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial” (1 Corinthians 12:7). The church is most alive when every believer serves in God's mission where assigned by the Spirit.

Congregants should release their pastors to escape the madness by doing what they should have been doing already: caring for each other. Philip Yancey addressed the problem when he said, “I wonder how much more effective our churches would be if we made the pastor’s spiritual health – not the pastor’s efficiency – our number one priority.”

But ultimately the pastor’s spiritual health does not rest only with the congregation but ultimately on the shoulders of the pastor. They should give themselves permission to release undue burdens, and learn to say “no” when necessary. They should visit their doctor for a check-up to get a professional opinion on where they are physically and emotionally. And by all means church leaders should continue this conversation with peers and church leadership.

These are serious issues in our faith communities if we truly believe that God desires to work through His church. We risk more than the implementation of poor practices. The very mission of God is at stake.

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Other than pastoral codependency, how does a consumerist mentality affect churches? In your opinion, what can be done to curb this trend?
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Editor's note: The artwork above by Vrno is quoted from here.

Looking for Others Who Share a One Church Vision

2010-08-01T19:07:00.004-04:00

Most believers would agree, I image, that the Body of Christ, the Church, is meant to serve our communities collaboratively. Yet, most congregations work and serve independently from the other churches in their communities. Even churches of the same denomination or persuasion seldom come together to seek out the concerns and needs of their commuinities and then plan together to serve those needs.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) Jesus reveals his heart for his church as ones who see others in need, are moved with compassion for them, and then simply go to them and do whatever they can to help.

I'm convinced that an intentional effort to mobilize the local Church is needed. If you share this vision and would like to discuss some possibilities, please post your reply to this blog.

A New Generation Expresses its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

2010-07-22T17:42:00.003-04:00

My daughter gave me Pastor Pete Scazzero's, of New Life Fellowship in Queens, New York, little treasure Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: Unleash the Power of Life in Christ, two summers ago; right when I was going through a tremendous life change. I got about a third of the way through it when what little energy I had left ran out.

This week I met an acquaintance for coffee who is becoming a friend. He is dealing with some big issues in his life and mentioned that he is reading Pastor Pete's book. I found out today why the Lord brought this back into my life at this time. It's the chapter about our journey through the Wall. Pastor Pete says, "the ancients called it the dark night of the soul."

I have been searching and searching for an explanation for the confusion I've been experiencing lately. There is nothing wrong and life is the best it has been in a long time; but, I've been experiencing a nagging sense of confusion about God's specific will for me. If I've prayed once I've prayed a hundred times, "Lord, I ask for the knowledge of your will for me."

Pastor Pete's point here is that God's will for us all is that "we be made perfect in love, that Christ's love becomes our love both toward God and others." The purpose of the Wall is to strip away everything getting in the way of that. Thank you, Jesus, for confirming your love for me and your presence with me even though, as Pastor Pete says, sometimes "I cannot see in front of me."

We Need to Listen to Each Other

2010-05-18T17:36:00.002-04:00

God is at work bringing the many and varied parts of his church together for doing the work of and being the people of the Kingdom of God in our communities. It is appearing in many authentic efforts to recapture what it means to be the Body of Christ in community. But, there is a palatable level of frustration on the part of church leaders who are grappling with how to engage their flocks in this movement.

The common approach is to appeal to pastors to get them "on board" so they will sell a particular effort to their churches. Educating and inspiring the leaders in the hopes that actions will be taken to motivate the masses seems to be the primary approach. As one recent speaker at just such a cause event said, "We blow in, blow up and blow out," but does any substantial change occur as a result? Not usually. These hype-events are like roman candles; they are fun and exciting but they are also short-lived with no lasting impact.

We need a process where the movement has "legs." This is much harder to achieve for this requires a lot of messy interactions ... conversations ... arguing and forgiving and "being" with one another until God is formed in us and in our faith communities.

The starting point for this kind of movement is listening to one another.

One Church: An Impossible Dream?

2010-04-18T18:43:00.002-04:00

My dream is that Jesus' Church would live as one church in our communities. What would that look like? How would that experience be different from what we are experiencing now.

Today churches are typically buildings identified by the signs out front. I know there are people who are members of these churches and that "the church" is really the people; but you know what I'm talking about. It reminds me of high school when I was a kid. There were school rivalries and turf wars and sometimes, even brawls, to defend our school's honor. We had school pride and school colors and cliques, victories to celebrate and defeats to endure. What we didn't have was unity.

It may not be as obvious when it comes to churches but just have a conversation with a cross-town or cross-community church and the contest begins. How many go to your church? We had ten baptized last week, how many did you baptize? And so it goes. Is this the "oneness" Jesus prayed for in John 17:20:21, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

We're in a perpetual state of competition with each other to grow our church no matter what that means to your church. After all, if people are drawn to our cool ministry stuff, your stuff must be missing the mark. All's fair, these days, in love and church-wars.

Imagine Jesus' prayer actually being answered. What would that look like? What would our experience be like if we were one "just as" the Father and Jesus were one? We would care a lot more about one another than we do about ourselves. We would trust each other as we got to know one another. We would want to help our brothers and sisters in Christ to achieve the dream that Jesus has for them. We would invest ourselves in each others lives even when, especially when, we disagreed with one another.

We would look a whole lot more like Jesus who did not come to be served, but to serve; to humble himself and wash his disciples feet. And then he said, "Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.'" John 13:12b-15

Growing churches are reaching many people for Jesus; and that is good. But, they are not reaching the world. To reach the world we must be one with each other as we are one with Christ. "May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

Being a With Church

2010-03-12T09:03:00.000-05:00

I recently became a community partner with The Communities First Association. I am learning about community transformation and how the Church can partner with it's community for the better.

Communities First Association is a network of professional Christian colleagues with a common heart and role. Using Asset Based Community Development methods, the Communities First Association Transforms a growing number of communities and engages Christians and Churches in their community change story. (From: www.CommunitiesFirstAssociation.org)

What has come home to me is the differing types of churches in our communities. The first type of church is the "In" church. "In churches take up space in their communities and their ministry is centered on their members only. There is no interaction with the community and the gifts of the body are mostly for the body."

The second type of church is the "To" church. "To churches members want to do good things for their neighbors. They want to evangelize their neighbors. They have money and power to do what they want, so they decide what they are going to do to or for those neighbors, and they do it."

The third type of church is the "With" church. "With church members know God is already in the neighborhood where they occupy space. They want to discover what He is already doing. They listen to their neighbors. They learn to dream with their neighbors what this community might be – “on earth as it is in heaven.” Together they develop an agenda for change. They use members gifts and residents gifts (time, talent, treasures) to accomplish their shared dream for a better future."

In my reading of "Revolution," and "UnChristian" for example, there seems to be a growing awareness that our churches are not, for the most part, with-type churches. Although we mean well, we program for our own desires more so than for our communities needs even when we are trying to do good things for our communities.

Here's is an exercise to evaluate our church's efforts. 1. List the ministries of your church. 2. Decide for each if it is an In, a To/For, or a With ministry. 3. Do you see anything you might like to change?

Going Deeper: WE MUST WANT GOD MORE THAN ANYTHING!

2009-12-09T16:51:00.000-05:00

I'm seeing and hearing it from all directions. God is calling his people to Himself, not as an option, but as the priority of our life.

At a recent pastor's monthly meeting a representative form The World Trumpet Mission (www.worldtrumpet.com) asked, "How desperate are we for change; for the transformation of our community?" Are we really willing to seek God's face until we encounter Him and He gives us his heart for His work in our communities? I am being challenged to go much deeper with God, personally.

I felt led to re-read Nehemiah. Nehemiah's heart was broken because of the sad state of the city of God. He prayed, fasted and mourned and God gave Nehemiah His heart and plan for rebuilding His city. I want to be touched by God with the burden He has for our communities. I was to be part of His rebuilding plan.

Another pastor, preaching at an area denominational meeting, shared from Psalm 42:1-2, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Again the message was a call to give ourselves first and foremost and entirely over to God so He can use us to accomplish His mission in and through our lives. The invitation brought so many forward the aisles were filled. The Lord is calling His people to a fresh encounter with Him.

Then an online friend contacted me about a ministry that is seeking community transformation by leading the churches to engage their communities for positive change together. The key need is once again a people willing to lay it all down for their Savior.

God is bringing renewal to His people through many different channels. And God's people are hearing and seeing and responding.

Who Cares? CONNECTING CARING CHURCHES

2009-11-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

Christians actively involved in their churches know that there are many good people who care very much about their communities. What seems to be lacking is this awareness among the unchurched of our communities.

Christians are often perceived as uncaring or cold to those outside of their churches. They are even seen to be hostile toward those not attending church and to other Christians with whom they disagree. I believe this is mostly a perception problem rather than reality. As David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons say in their book, Unchristian, "Our research shows that many of those outside of Christianity, especially younger adults, have little trust in the Christian faith, and esteem for the lifestyle of Christ followers is quickly fading among outsiders. They admit their emotional and intellectual barriers go up when they are around Christians, and they reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians."

My passion is to seek to change this perception. Imagine a grass roots campaign where churches actively work together across denominational lines to let their communities know the answer to this question, "Who Cares?" by joining forces with other churches to convince their community that they care very much about their neighbors.

What great ideas can you think of to let your community know that as part of a cooperative effort with Christians from your community churches "We Care" about them?

From Good to Great: WHAT ARE WE BEST IN THE WORLD AT?

2009-10-19T16:57:00.001-04:00

As I've asked God for wisdom he has brought me into contact with many wonderful Christian brothers and sisters who have shared their hearts and thoughts with me. They have also shared many great books and concepts from their readings.

I recently asked a fellow minister to review what I'm doing. He told me about a book, Good to Great, and the hedgehog concept. The basic point is that every organization needs to honestly answer three questions. First, "What are we the best in the world at?" Second, "What is our economic denominator (engine)?" Third, "What are our core people most passionate about?" By answering these questions with a willingness to face the answers "without blinking," the organization's hedgehog concept will emerge which "will unify, organize, and guide all of the organization's decisions."

The question I am eager to clarify is "What are we the best in the world at?" At the moment a better question for us might be, "What do we want to become the best in the world at?" My initial answer to this question was: "We want to be the best in the world at listing every church and their ministries in the world."

As I've thought more about this I've wondered what those looking for a church would want us to be the best in the world at. They would want the site to be the best place in the world to easily and quickly find what they were looking for from a church. They might also like to know what other people think about a particular church they were thinking about attending.

People often seek referrals from coworkers and friends before attending or seeking some help from a church. For example, "What kind of services do they have? Do they have a youth program and is it any good?" Searchers want to know the what, when, and where of a church and it's ministries, but they also want a positive referral or a warning if the church has a negative reputation. The reason for searching the web is to be efficient in one's search; to eliminate most options for the short list of likely matches.

It seems then, that a web site that lists all churches and their ministries along with user reviews would be a useful tool for those surfing the web for churches to meet their needs. This site would be a great tool as well if it enabled user interaction - a Christian social networking capability.

What do you think? Is this something you would find useful? One of the three questions referenced the passion of the core people. I'm convinced that there are many Christians who passionately want to connect with their unchurched neighbors. Does the concept of a web site like PaulsOnline.org as described above excite you? What would you like to see changed about the hedgehog concept so far described?

More Stop Signs: KEEPING OUR DISTANCE

2009-09-23T10:37:00.002-04:00

No one likes it when their private space is violated. It is considered rude, for example, for someone you do not know to hug you the first time you meet. This is why we shake hands when we greet others. Shaking hands establishes our personal "space" of at least two arms length. We are comfortable when we keep this distance from others until we become more familiar and mutually desire to move closer in our relationship. This closeness takes time to develop. As long as there is mutual respect and a sharing of common interests, the likelihood is that an appropriately intimate and healthy relationship will develop.

Our tendency as individuals and churches, however, is to keep our distance from others we've been called to seek relationships with. We know that we've been "commissioned" to go into all the world to make disciples of those who do not know Jesus; to be-friend them (Matthew 28:18-20). We have also been "commanded" to partner together (John 13:34-35) as his church. The reality, though, is that too often we have become competitors and critics of one another. This results in our being isolated from rather than intimately relating with one another. What is stopping us from developing healthy relationships with all Christians in our communities and what can we do to change this?

One thing that is stopping us is our distrust of others. We are skeptical when other churches want to partner with us in our community. It is almost as if we think they are spies just wanting to steal our ideas or worse, our resources and members.

Another stop sign is our ignorance. Few of us know the history and rationale for our own traditions let alone those of our neighbor churches. In ignorance we assume they must be wrong in their beliefs and behaviors as a result.

We are also stopped by the simple fear of the unknown. Just as we may be stopped from meeting others at a social event for fear of what might happen, we avoid taking the risk of reaching out in friendship to other churches in our community.

My desire and hope is that others will join with me in making the effort, at least, to not be stopped by these factors. I would suggest replacing our stop signs with yield signs. Instead of being stopped by distrust, what if we just assumed, unless and until proven otherwise, that all Christians and churches can be trusted to relate with us in healthy ways?

Image also if we yielded to educating ourselves about each others traditions, beliefs and practices. Instead of assuming everyone else is wrong, imagine if we sought to understand one another instead.

If fear of the unknown is stopping us because of what "might" happen; imagine if we yielded to the possibility that almost always something positive will happen. Let's major on love and minor in fear for love casts out fear.

I am just scratching the surface of this issue here. I know there are others of you out there who want to see the Body of Christ united in love serving our communities side-by-side. So please join in this conversation sharing your thoughts and ideas for making this possibility a reality.

Stop Signs: BARRIERS TO COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATION

2009-09-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking about stop signs. Stop signs have a purpose. They help to regulate traffic and keep us from running into each other. Many a person has been badly injured or killed as the result of someone running a stop sign.

In relationships we call these boundaries. To have healthy relationships we learn to set up appropriate boundaries to ensure our physical and emotional safety. We know that it is best to honor the boundaries others have set. The concern I've had over the years, however, is when these boundaries result in limiting healthy relationships between the church and its community. These stop signs have often become barriers to relating instead of boundaries.

Take for example churches that make no effort to communicate to their visitors they are expected and welcome in their church by offering poor or no signage in the parking lots to direct their guests to the church entrances and preferred parking spaces. These churches do not have anyone at the church doors to be on the lookout for visitors and are not prepared to welcome them when they do find their way in. These are stop signs to the person looking for a warm church community to become a part of.

There are many other stop signs churches use to actively prevent their church from being challenged to consider their neighbor's needs and, therefore, having to change in order to minister to these needs. These come in the form of "concerns." For example, "How are we going to fund that ministry," or "Where are the workers going to come from to lead and teach and manage that new program?" These concerns become stop signs to developing outreach efforts that stop the church from impacting it's community for Christ.

Worse, I believe, are the barriers we have erected between our community churches to working together to reach our communities. We are stopped by our fear of loosing members to other churches, by our concern over theological correctness, and by our prejudices about other church styles and traditions.

Instead of being stopped from relating altogether, we might consider removing some of our barriers, our stop signs, and replacing them with "caution" signs to make sure we are not foolishly tolerating behaviors and practices our Lord would not tolerate and "yield" signs where we adjust our efforts so we can "merge" with others going in the same direction we are headed.

Let's talk about this and make the effort to find ways of relating for the good of the unchurched and hurting of our communities.

The Unity Project: REACHING THE COMMUNITY TOGETHER

2009-09-09T15:50:00.000-04:00

Most people agree with me when I suggest that the churches of our communities need to work together to reach our unchurched neighbors. Churches, usually of the same denomination, have been cooperating together to do mission activities outside of their communities for decades. But when we look closely at their cooperative efforts in their own communities we see they are usually not targeting the needs of their unchurched neighbors as much as they are the desires of the members of their churches. Churches will join forces to plan a Christmas or an Easter service, for example, but they will seldom work side-by-side to reach the unmet ministry needs of those not attending their churches. While we may be having some good fellowship with other believers we are not reaching out to meet our neighbors and their needs in Christ together.

Churches are increasingly competing for members and their finances. The rise in programs and activities being offered by most churches reflects this trend. The focus of most of a church's ministries is on meeting the needs and desires of the members themselves. There is little if any effort being made to work with other churches in the community for the purpose of reaching those so far unreached by the churches of the community. Reggie McNeal explores this phenomenon in his book, "The Present Future."

In my efforts to build bridges between the churches in our community and then to encourage these churches to work together I am seeing a lot of busy ministers managing very full ministry plates already. As much as they would like to do more together, they just don't see how they can.

I would like to suggest an option -- the Unity Project. The idea of the Unity Project is for at least two churches to commit to working together on one community outreach/missions project. To free up the money and manpower resources of both churches one of the churches would choose not to do a ministry they had already planned to do, possibly an outreach effort they do annually already. The two churches would then plan a cooperative effort they would co-host in the community. Along with the various meetings that would be needed the church leadership could plan combined worship services where the ministers would take turns preaching about unity and obstacles to unity. Small groups could study the similarities and differences of the two church traditions and dialogue sessions could be planned for sharing among the church and the community members. This is doable but it would require two churches willing to take the risks and make the efforts necessary.

My belief is that the unchurched of our communities would be impressed enough by this effort to attend the event, or events, just to see what is happening. This would be a wonderful testimony to them and to the churches themselves of the uniting power of the love and Spirit of Jesus (see John 13:34-45). What do you think? Would you be willing to give it a try?

The Relationship Principle: INTERCONNECTEDNESS

2009-07-27T10:04:00.011-04:00

While channel surfing recently I happened upon, Mindwalk, "a cerebral (thinkers) movie," one critic called it, "serving as an introduction to systems theory." Systems theory teaches that we are interconnected and function as parts of the systems our interconnectedness creates. Our nuclear families are a good example. As individuals we live in relationship with the other individuals in the family and whatever affects one affects everyone through our relationships. Think of it as an infant's mobile over his crib. When a breeze blows the entire mobile responds out of the relationships of the individual parts.

One of the Mindwalk characters takes this interconnectedness factor a step further suggesting that it is out of our interconnectedness that we make "beautiful music" we otherwise could not make alone. He uses the example of a simple musical chord. When it is played a unique harmony is created resulting in a distinctive feeling by the hearer. The notes alone carry none of this feeling. "The essence of the chord," he posits, "is in its interconnectedness. Then, when you add time and pitch, you make melody. Relationship," he concludes, "makes music."

When Jesus' family comes together to serve God out of our love for him, a distinctive harmony is created. As Paul says, ¹²"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." 1 Corinthians 12

Add the unique factor of the particular community each part of the body is serving in and a sweet melody is heard. Serving our communities in relationship with all parts of the body in our community makes a beautiful love song creating a distinctive feeling in the hearts of those listening.

The Compassion Principle: SEE, FEEL, ACT!

2009-07-20T17:24:00.005-04:00

You remember the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 recorded in Mark 6. Jesus saw the shepherd-less multitude who had followed him and his disciples as they were trying to get away for some much needed rest. When he saw them he felt compassion for them, and then he acted to meet their spiritual and physical hunger involving his disciples in the process.

I had a similar experience last week. It was the Jehovah Witnesses 2009-2010 District Convention, "Keep On The Watch," being held over a two weekend period at the Hampton Coliseum. I decided to go and see if I could meet some folks and do a little witnessing of my own. My guess is there were about 3,000 people there.

As I found my way to a seat in the nose-bleed section a deep sadness came over me. "So, this is what a multitude of Shepherd-less people looks like," I thought to myself. It wasn't an arrogant feeling. I wasn't feeling better than or holier than anyone. I was simply and profoundly impressed with how Jesus must have felt that day when he saw all of those good people searching for truth, love, and relationship gathered together looking for him.

I saw, I felt ... but what could I possibly do? I felt so useless. I did the one thing I could do, I prayed. I thanked God for showing me what he sees. I interceded for the children, the youth, the young families, the adults who were being taught wrong doctrine. They meant well, but they simply were not sharing Truth. The sadness is still with me.

Paul's Online is an impossible mission Jesus has given me and a few others. Our purpose is to reach all unchurched people and connect them to the resources of the existing churches in our communities. I say it is impossible, not because there are so many people to reach, but because the church of Jesus is so divided. As I watched and listened to the false teachings, I grieved not only over the need of the Shepherd-less I saw, but for the absence of the church. Have we written them off? Do we no longer "see" them and, therefore, no longer feel for their lostness?

We can act! We must act! It is time we get our act together! Though our differences are significant, we are one Body if we are Jesus' disciples. After all, his solution was to bless and break and use what they had to feed the multitude. That is still his solution.

The Change Principle: MOVE WITH THE CHEESE

2009-06-02T17:58:00.003-04:00

I'm re-reading "Who moved my cheese." It is a story about two mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two little people (Hem and Haw). They represent the four typical ways we respond to change. Although the story teaches many principles about change, what the author calls The Handwriting on the Wall, the one principle that caught my attention was, Move With the Cheese.

As simple and obvious as this sounds, the struggle for me is being willing and able to leave what I know for the unknowns ahead, even though there's nothing here (no cheese) anymore.

The point of the story is that things change and it is best if we pay attention to the changes as they are occurring, adapt to them and then move with them. We will be happier and more productive if we do not resist or ignore change.

Change is hard. Fear is formidable. Yet ministry without a mission is a cheese-less situation for me and worth facing my fears and making changes for. Paul's Online is my new cheese. I haven't found the big stash of various types of new cheese yet at New Cheese Station N (you'll have to read the book to understand this) but I'm excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. At least I'm moving with the cheese now.

The Number 19 Principle: BEING A TEAM PLAYER

2009-04-30T13:29:00.007-04:00

⁷"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."

Alistair Begg told a story yesterday about someone who showed a video at a conference he was attending of a hockey player who, clip after clip, was passing the puck to another player who then scored a goal. Number 19's claim to fame was not that he was a great scorer, but that he was great at assisting others in scoring goals.

I did a little research and found that number 19 for the San Jose' Sharks, the team the video clips were taken from, is Joe Thornton. Consistently over the years Joe has been a leading points getter. Players get their points based on the number of goals scored and the number of assists they have. In the 2007-2008 season, for example, Joe was the highest points getter with 96 points - 29 of which were for goals he scored and 67 were for his assists. The entire team scored 172 goals that year which means that Joe personally scored 16% of the goals and assisted in 46% of the remaining 143 goals. Alistair's point was that although number 19 did not score most of the team's goals, most of the goals that were scored involved number 19 (95 of the 172).

I want to score some goals for Jesus, my coach, and his church, my team. More than that I want to be a number 19. I want to help my teammates score goals. Joe Thornton is a good illustration that teams win on the combined efforts of everyone on the team and that assisting is more important than scoring.

Paul's Online is a team effort following the example of another great team player, the Apostle Paul. Although he personally did many great things for Jesus, he was only part of a much larger team. Just read his letters to the churches and see how he assisted them through his encouragements and teachings. Paul also often mentioned those who assisted him in his work.

Click here for Alistair Begg's awesome Scottish accent: http://www.truthforlife.org

The Magnet Principle: OUR ATTRACTIVENESS

2009-04-11T13:17:00.005-04:00

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him..." John 6:44

Churches are like magnets. Magnets attract ferromagnetic material (i.e. iron) which is material that has the capacity to become a magnet. A magnet's field is invisible and responsible for the force that pulls on these other materials.

Churches have a similar attracting force on their community. The people in the church are like the people in the community whose only difference is that they have become Christians who together serve and worship Jesus regularly. People living and working in the church's community have this same capacity to come to know and serve Jesus.

What I've noticed is that, like magnets, churches tend to attract only those in their community who are near by, either physically or relationally. In other words, most people who will come to a particular church are those who have been drawn to that church by it's members. Churches attract visitors when a church member invites a friend or neighbor or someone they know to attend with them. Like Andrew (see John 1:40-42), who had personally come to know Jesus and then went and found his brother and told him what happened and then brought Peter to Jesus, churches function well by sharing what they know about Jesus with others and then bring these people to Jesus.

A good way to increase the effectiveness of the Church is to increase the "attractive force," the pull we have on our community by taking this force (Christian people) out to where the people are who need to come to know Jesus, like Andrew did. The text in John tells us, "the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, 'We have found the Messiah.'"

Most people simply will not come to church on their own, regardless of our signs, flyers, and advertisements. These efforts will increase their awareness of our presence, but they will not exert any of our natural attractive force on them.

The Chu Chu Principle: GETTING CLOSE

2009-02-07T11:46:00.013-05:00

"The nearer we come to God, the more graciously will He reveal Himself to us. When the prodigal comes to his father, his father runs to meet him. When the wandering dove returns to the ark, Noah puts out his hand to pull her in unto him, When the tender wife seeks her husband's society, he comes to her on wings of love. Come then, dear friend, let us draw nigh to God who so graciously awaits us, yea, comes to meet us." (Charles Spurgeon, Daily Devotions)

Chu Chu is our cat. He is the typical "Morris" or "Garfield" look-a-like. Chu Chu, like most male tabby cats, loves getting close. Within seconds of our coming home he greets us and within minutes he is sitting on one of our laps. He loves being petted and combed, of course, but he prefers to just nudge up to one of us or to sit on one of our laps ... for hours at a time ... and I like it when he does.

I believe God likes it when we just want to get close to him. Relationally, Chu Chu and I are not on the same level. Even though I talk to him all the time I know he doesn't understand a word I'm saying. But, amazingly, although God is on a far different level than us, we can have a relationship with him. We can communicate. So I'm convinced he loves it when we make the effort to get close to him.

I used to be afraid to draw near to God thinking he couldn't possibly relate to me or care about me or want to hear from me especially since I'm "just" a sinful human being. But I've learned this is not the case at all. He is still God and I am still me but after all he went through to make a relationship with me (and you) possible, who am I to think that I don't matter to God.

"Come near to God and he will come near to you," we read in James 4:8a. God knows our nature and our limitations and our sinfulness and our "whatevers," which makes it all the more exciting to realize that he just wants us to nudge up to him and sit in his lap so he can care for us and show us his love for us. He extends an open invitation to us all to "come near" hoping we will.

I'm reminded of a preaching professor speaking on this subject once. He used to play a game with his two daughters. He would always have pennies in his pockets so when he came home they would great him with great enthusiasm trying find those pennies in his pockets. They loved the game and he loved their attention. The pennies were nothing of value to him. What was priceless was his two giggling daughters climbing all over him. He loved it!

Years later he received a Father's Day card from one of his now adult daughters expressing her appreciation to him for the love that she knew he had for them; how he always took the time to just be with them.

When was the last time you took your Father up on his offer? It's OK to come to him for the things we deem to be valuable but remember that he is much more interested in just getting close to you and you're getting close to him ... just the way you are.

The Johnny Principle: MAKING US SOMETHING

2009-01-01T22:09:00.013-05:00

“We are apt to think that everything that happens to us is to be turned into useful teaching; it is to be turned into something better than teaching, that is, into character. We shall find that the spheres God brings us into are not meant to teach us something but to make us something.” (Oswald Chambers, “Daily Thoughts for Disciples,”)

He approached me with a look of hope. “Would you please help me with my homework? Somebody told me you were good at math.” By his expression, I knew he wanted more than help with his math homework. What he was really asking was, “Would you please do my homework for me? Throwing a little flattery in to smooth things over was a nice touch.

Good thing for Johnny that I am good at math and I’m pretty good at hearing what people really mean despite what they say. “Sure, I can help you.” I answered. What happened next had more to do with learning character than it had to do with learning math.

He slid the paper in front of me, “We need to do these.” I led him through a series of questions probing his level of understanding along the way. Before long the light bulb went on and he understood the solution to the math problem. He left only to return in a few minutes because that particular approach didn’t work with the next set of problems. He was disappointed when the old solution no longer worked. His math teacher had changed the nature of the problem slightly. When we figured this out he was happy again. We repeated this process with each new twist and he learned more about math. He felt good about learning. He got a bit frustrated at times but he never lost his humor and he never gave up. He learned because he trusted in himself and in his teachers.

A couple of days later Johnny came home from school proudly waving his math test paper around for all to see. He received the highest grade in the class ... an A+ ... a perfect score. I was proud of him because he had not only learned some math; he had learned something about being responsible for solving his own problems.

God loves to help us, to teach us, and for us to grow and mature and accomplish what we are capable of accomplishing. He also wants us to accept the responsibility for doing our part. God will never do for us what we can lean to do for ourselves...with his help.

When we come to God seeking his help aren’t we often really hoping he will just fix things for us? Have you noticed that he doesn’t just give us the right answers or do what we need? This is because he not only wants to teach us something; he wants to make us something.

Who hasn’t ever asked God, “Why are you putting me though this struggle?” God doesn’t enjoy watching us suffer. But he does enjoy it when we accept the responsibility for our own problem solving.

I love what the Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:12-13, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

How did Paul learn this lesson? Through years of facing life’s problems that he brought to Jesus for help. Jesus didn’t do what Paul needed done. Instead he taught Paul that his grace was sufficient and that God’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12) and so Paul learned, “I can do everything through Christ...”

You can learn the solutions to your problems too if you will choose to do your part; if you accept your responsibility in finding the solution ... with God’s help.

Some people grow up being told they cannot do math. That’s a lie. Everyone can learn to do math. Some people also go through life believing the lie that they cannot know God or be used by God or understand things about God. Everyone can learn. Everyone can get an A+ in math and in life ... through Christ.

The Grace Principle: EVERYDAY GRACE

2008-12-20T08:38:00.007-05:00

Paul's Online was birthed by God out of his grace to us. The principle is that those who have been on the receiving end of God's grace will be on the giving end as well.

In 2 Corinthians 8 the Apostle Paul writes to encourage the Corinthian Christians to fulfill their pledge of financial support to the church in Jerusalem. This is a well known passage to anyone who has been in any church for any length of time. Almost every tithing sermon series includes this passage since no one could be in worse financial shape than the Macedonian Christians who are the model of generous giving.

Here's what Paul wrote: "1And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. 6So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving." The grace principle is that those who've received grace from God can relate to what grace is and will not only be willing, but will be eager to give grace to others.

Many have clarified the meaning of grace using these definitions: Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. As sinners who have "earned death" (see Romans 6:23) if we get what we deserve (justice) we will get eternal separation from God. But God, who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) sent Jesus to take the punishment of our sins for us so we can avoid getting what we deserve (mercy). Here's the awesome news -- when we receive Jesus by accepting this gift of eternal life he offers us, we receive his grace -- we get what we don't deserve - we get eternal life.

It's like the little boy waiting for dad to get home to give him the spanking he deserves for not obeying his mom that day (justice). But instead of a spanking the boy, the dad tells his son what Jesus had done for him by taking his sin punishment and then he has his son spank him instead, taking the punishment the boy deserved (mercy). Then the two go out and get an ice cream cone together (grace).

Don't you think, as a result of this experience, that the boy would think differently, not only about not wanting to disobey his parents, but about wanting to share this grace with others; to offer grace to those who need to know what this is like?

This is what Paul was challenging the Corinthian Christians to do; "9For you know (by experience) the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." He was encouraging them to finish the work they had pledge to do so they would... "excel in this grace of giving."

Paul's Online is motivated to connect those who know this grace firsthand, by experience, with those who do not know it yet. We simply want to excel in this grace of giving ourselves to God and to those in our community who need what God wants to give to them. This may be financial help like the Christians in Jerusalem needed. But it may be many different kinds of things like help in reconciling a marriage or family relationship, addiction support, and any number of real needs people have. We want to help others because we know what it is like to have been helped by God and others who have been on the receiving end of his grace.