The Hurt Hits Home

So tonight we had our Tuesday Home Group.  As usual the food was good, the friends were great and the conversation went deep. We entered a new level of vulnerability tonight- perhaps spurred on by the impact of the recession, people were unafraid to talk about their financial needs.  We ran the gamut from those who are doing pretty well to those who have gone without groceries.  Now for those of you who are part of a community of Believers, to hear that someone in your community went without groceries is inexcusable.  Communities exist in part to care for one another.   I am glad to say that by the end of the evening funds exchanged hands and the immediate needs were met.  We even had people wondering what they could go without so that they could participate in the need of this special family in our midst. 

If you are a Jesus follower, and your life is somewhat dull – you need to start following a different Jesus.  The Jesus I follow barely allows us to catch our breath before we are on to the next thing.  It was a wonderful night tonight – having the opportunity to be a tangible touch in the life of a friend is a special, special thing -

Our conversation for the evening was based on Matthew 6 – we talked about worry and how it robs us of life if we let it.  We read and marveled as Jesus reassured us that our Heavenly Father who cares for the little birds of the air will surely care for us.  I think tonight that some of us finally believed this to be true for our own lives.  

The Journey continues – I am looking forward to tomorrow in a new way – Oh by the way, for those who have been wondering what happened to my blog – I have actually been blogging at a different location over the past year.  But for now I will try to keep two blogs running – I just felt that I needed to give this blog a rest for a while.  

Barna Is On Top of Things Once Again

This week George’s newsletter from the Barna Group once again nails a trend that has been developing and will continue to develop in even greater ways in the coming years. I am including the link to the article so that you can have a look and see what you think – Subscribing to George’s newsletter is a good idea, regardless of the topic, he always presents research in an easy to read and assimilate manner.  Enjoy the article – Blessings

A Week in Texas

What a great week! I just got back from Dallas and East Texas visiting new friends and pastors.  This was an extraordinary week on a number of levels – with one of the most significant happenings being the network that was created with people who will be instrumental in my life and the life of our ministry.  Texas is a very interesting state; the level of pride that Texans have for their state is really quite amazing – you see the star of Texas everywhere.  I also noticed a proliferation of state flags, they were everywhere; I think it is really cool that the people of the state love where they live.  Of course Texas has a storied role in our nation’s history, so that might play into the level of pride that is exhibited.  It was really nice being able to be outdoors all week without having to wear a coat – the day I returned home it was 70 degrees in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, that was really nice in that it was about 15 degrees here.  As odd as it might seem to rational thinking adults, I was thrilled to be back home in the Badger State.  I will share more about my trip and all the connections that were made, but it is way past my bedtime so another time will have to do for writing all the details of the trip.  

New Friends

It has been so nice to be able to focus again. So much of the last two years were spent in a near state of total distraction.  I neglected many long-term relationships, and I slowed way down on developing new relationships with those who I admire and who I have wanted to get to know.  Over the past two months I have reconnected with many good friends – that has been wonderfully refreshing and exhilarating.  I addition, I have been very fortunate in starting a number of new friendships with others I had hoped to know for some time now.  One of the people that I just met and am looking forward to getting to know better is Mark Batterson.  Mark is the Lead Pastor at National Community Church in Washington, DC.  After meeting Mark I learned that he is also an author.  Mark has written two books and is finishing up a third, that I believe he is hoping to have completed within the next few days.In one of our communications Mark asked if I had read his book In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day.   I told him that I hadn’t read it but would be happy to make it a point to order a copy – Mark was quick to offer a copy, a very generous thing to do.  I am so glad that I met Mark and that he offered a copy of his book “In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day,”  what an excellent book. When the book arrived, almost immediately, I was fully engrossed in the text.  If you are looking for a great read that holds out excellent content presented in a wonderfully articulate manner, this is a book that you will want to read.  It is good to be clear thinking again these days – there is so much to do, so much to learn, and so many great people to meet.  I am looking forward to the road ahead.   

Too Good Not To Mention

This morning I, along with a large number of other people received an invitation from Kevin Rains of Vineyard Central to join a Facebook group called Lent 08′  After I accepted Kevin’s invitation to join this group – I reread the verses that Kevin choose and that are central to this group.  I was so moved by the importance of these verses; at the same time I was moved nearly to tears as I considered how badly most of us, as followers of Jesus fail to live out the truth of these verses.  As a collective whole the church (the people) favor major on minors and in doing so we miss the point almost entirely. We would prefer to argue minutia so that we can be “right,” regardless of the issue, rather than exercising unending compassion and extending grace to those who need us most.  Here are the verses that are guiding this group called “Lent 08.”  Please read and consider what these verses have to say, they can change your life if you let them become part of who you are. Isaiah 58 (The Message)1-3 “Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back—a trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins!They’re busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me.To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people, law-abiding, God-honoring.They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ and love having me on their side. But they also complain, ’Why do we fast and you don’t look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’ 3-5″Well, here’s why: ”The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit. You drive your employees much too hard.You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting you do won’t get your prayers off the ground.Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after: a day to show off humility? To put on a pious long face and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like?6-9″This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, to free the oppressed, to cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage.Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’A Full Life in the Emptiest of Places9-12″If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again. 13-14″If you watch your step on the Sabbath and don’t use my holy day for personal advantage,If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy, God’s holy day as a celebration, If you honor it by refusing ‘business as usual,’ making money, running here and there—Then you’ll be free to enjoy God! Oh, I’ll make you ride high and soar above it all. I’ll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob.” Yes! God says so!

The Endorsement is Written

It was down to the wire but I was able to finish writing my endorsement for Doug Pagitt’s new book “A Christianity Worth Believing.” I had to get the endorsement to the publishers before the end of the month and for a while there I was thinking that I might miss the deadline.  It wasn’t that it was difficulty to create write in short form the reasons why I think Doug’s book is an excellent read – it was more along the line of how do I say that the ideas presented in this book are very important for Jesus followers to consider.  For many the premise of Doug’s book is going to be difficult to accept – for those who are longing for a more complete understanding of what it means when we read “the Kingdom of God is among us”  there will be excitement as they gain a deeper understanding of what Jesus meant.At any rate – it was a pleasure and a privilege to have the opportunity to read a digital copy of the book and to write an endorsement supporting Doug’s work, his thinking and what his words represent.  As I learn more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, I realize just how important it is to connect with others who have been given the “same” vision for what it means to follow Jesus in a fairly radical and hopefully authentic way.  Friends have just arrived so I have to run  - more later.   

Sojourners Article

We just received the latest copy of Sojourners this week and as usual it is full of great articles, links and connection opportunities related to peace, justice and following Jesus.  One side-bar article really caught my attention and  fired my commitment for a new expression of church in the Lake Country area. I’m not quite sure how God will bring that about, perhaps He already has a missional-emergent church planter on the way – I guess time will tell. Anyway, back to the article; the data shared in the article is not surprising, but simply confirmed what I already knew to be true, sad, but true. Here is the article - The New Evangelicals – The tide of political priorities among white evangelicals may be turning.  Asked in an October CBS News poll what issues they would most like candidates to discuss, respondents revealed that gay marriage and abortion are not among the top priorities.  Health care tops the list at 23 percent, followed by the Iraq war at 20 percent.  When asked to identify the issues evangelicals should get more involved in, 33 percent said poverty and 17 percent cited genocide and violence.  A recent Barna Group poll suggests that the views of young evangelicals may be driving the change.  The poll of 16 to 29 year-old Christians suggests the younger generation exhibits a greater degree of criticism toward Christianity than did the previous generations when they were that age:50% perceive Christianity to be judgmental, hypocritical, and too political.33% say Christianity is old-fashioned and out of touch with reality.80% say “anti-homosexual” is a phrase that describes Christianity.22% agree that Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus (that is really very sad).The Barna Group’s David Kinnaman said that “the descriptions that young people offered of Christianity were more thoughtful, nuanced, and experiential than expected.”  

Emerging Church Explained (more or less)

There was a very good little article in Relevant Magazine this month concerning the Emerging Church.  It is too long to paraphrase so I thought that I would simply copy and paste the entire piece for your reading pleasure.  The article was written by Doug Pagitt – the same Doug that was kind enough to have me read and endorse his new book. I hope that you enjoy the article – I think it will be helpful to many who are trying to understand emergent and to those who are troubled by what they think emergent represents. Perhaps you have noticed all the attention the Emerging Church seems to attract these days. Within the last year the emerging church has been the focus of news articles on the front page of the New York Times, in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. It was the topic of an hour-long religious special on ABC, as well as numerous cable television and radio shows. Not to mention the attention generated by religious news outlets and publishers who are creating their own line of emerging products.The Emerging Church even has it’s own detractors. Fearing we may have slipped, capitulated, lost the essentials, or otherwise gotten too close to culture for it’s own good – there are good people giving warning about this “movement”. If it’s true that a movement has arrived when it has official opponents; then the emerging church has arrived. With all the press the emerging church is getting you would think it would be easy to find a definition, but it’s more difficult than it seems to pin down this movement.Many estimates put the number of emerging churches around the world in the thousands but there is no central hub. Part of the difficulty in getting the straight scoop on the EC (emerging church) is that there is no official brand. Church expressions from nearly every tradition are using the phrase at their own choosing. In one city there may be a Presbyterian church and a Catholic young adult ministry using the term; or an evangelical nondenominational church and an Episcopal expression right up the street both comfortable calling themselves emerging. While there is no “emerging church seal of approval” and they come in many expressions and forms, I would like to take a crack at my list of tendencies, passions and perspectives of churches that call themselves emerging. By the way, my using such 1980’s techniques of making lists that summarize people could result in the revocation of my emerging church decoder ring. In no way do I suppose to speak for all emerging communities but from my understanding as an insider – this is what I see.

Emerging Churches strive to be positive about the future.There is a passion within emerging churches to become globally focused. Many hold the perspective that we live in the greatest period of time in history and the church can, and should, live into that. I like to call it “open-eyed optimism”. Optimism that understands the reality of the world, which is not always pretty, but sees the hope of God living and active in the world as a whole. This positivism is reconstructive, moving beyond critiquing Christianity and toward constructive change. Churches within the emerging community are committed to God in the way of Jesus.As Christ-centered people, many of us understand the Gospel in terms of Jesus’ radical, profound, and expansive message of the kingdom of God. The emerging church is helping to articulate the call for Christianity to go beyond mere belief in commands and into a life that’s in rhythm with God. The Kingdom of God is a central conversation in emerging communities.Mark Scandrette of ReImagine, a significant voice in the emerging church, says this, “The kingdom of God is a generative people who believe that a more beautiful and sustainable way of life is possible.” Within many of us there is a desire for the Good News of Jesus to really be good news for the people of the world and not just the promise of a world to come. Many find good news in the call of Jesus to join the kingdom of God. And let me tell you “Kingdom of God” language is really big in the emerging church. The emerging church values communal life – living like family.Emerging churches often speak of themselves as if they were a family where the love and commitment to one another is deep, meaningful and essential. Almost completely gone from the emerging church conversation is the idea that the church is a supplier of religious goods and services provided to a wanting consumer. Instead, people are invited to join in and become one of us. Emerging churches seek to live as missional communities. Being missional does not mean having a mission statement that clearly communicates the goals of the church. Instead, it’s the desire to be on the agenda of God. More than seeing their role as setting forth a bold vision (mission statement) and asking God to bless it, we seek to join God in the work of the kingdom wherever it is found. Brian McLaren puts it this way, “We practice our faith missionally – that is, we do not isolate ourselves from this world, but rather, we follow Christ into the world.” Friendship and hospitality are transformational pieces in the emerging church. Emerging churches believe that friendships change people. They stress that Jesus welcomed the original disciples into a warm friendship with himself and one another. Through the centuries the church has been an extension of this friendship through space, time, and transition. Emerging churches put much emphasis on hospitality. But this is not just your grandma’s after-service dinner in the church basement kind of hospitality. It takes the kindness of those dinners and adds a new level of vulnerability – a call to an intimate redemptive relationship. Communities in the emerging movement value theology. Emerging churches are often vigilant in their assertion that what they are about is not merely changing the methods of their faith; they are seeking to be full theological communities. Many will stress that they are not called to do “cover versions” of other generation’s faith with their own spin. But they are called to be living theological communities who articulate and generate understandings of God, life and faith. So that is my list; it’s not intended to be static – nor the end of the conversation. I guess you could say it’s just emerging.

So Much Is Happening These Days

Beside the fact that my health has been a constant bother since Christmas – I am having an incredible time right now.  While I have been forced to take it easy the past several weeks, besides working for the awesome ministry that employs me, I have been very intentional about reconnecting with a number of friends that I haven’t seen or talked with in a while.  It has been great to make these re-connections as it helped me see just how myopic I have become over the past 18 months while I was muddling along with things that I should have let go much sooner.  Since Christmas I have had several incredible opportunities come my way, all of which relate to my passion for the missional-emergent church.  One of the very fun things that I am involved with right now is establishing an Emergent Cohort for SE and SC Wisconsin.  I am really looking forward to the new relationships that will come from this initiative.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, Doug Pagitt asked if I would read a digital copy of his soon to be released book “A Christianity Worth Believing.”  What an incredible book – I wish that I could post excerpts for all to read, but alas that is not my call.  I am writing my endorsement of the book this week so that I can get it off to Doug’s publisher before the deadline I was given – I am really hoping that the release is not too far off into the future; what Doug addresses in this great book is going to resonate with hundreds upon hundreds of people.   

What a Week

Wow! That is the only way that I know how to describe the end of 2007 through the beginning of 2008. I was treated to my first ever ambulance ride complete with lights and sirens blazing away – I’ve been to the hospital and clinic far to many times in this short span and it looks like I am in store for more visits in the coming weeks. All of this excitement revolves around issues with my heart that just seem to hang on like a bad cold. I am on a new medicine these days because my doctor is afraid that I am a risk for stroke or heart attack. Having a bad heart is a tough thing to accept when you are someone who had completed nine full marathons and had his sites set on completing at least one ultra-marathon before his distance running days were over.

Well as my wife likes to say when we are faced with things beyond our control – “it is what it is, but God is still on the throne.”

Anyway enough of my health – I am now the proud owner of a brand new iPhone with the prospect of a new Macbook right around the corner; so all in all who am I to complain about a little heart problem.

As you may remember this blog is dedicated to presenting ideas about what it means to be a Jesus follower; the behavioral aspect of being a Jesus follower. One very bright spot that is not too far off in the distance is a new book by Doug Pagitt titled “A Christianity Worth Believing” Doug was kind enough to send a digital copy for me to read so that I could participate in the launch of the book by writing an endorsement to be used by the publisher. I am almost through the entire text and am absolutely thrilled at the prospect that this fine book will soon be on the shelves of bookstores everywhere.

The reason I am excited about this book is that Doug does a masterful job of dealing with Biblical issues that are in desperate need of attention. Of great concern in handling of the issues that Doug addresses is the the behavioral aspect of how best to enter into conversation concerning all that is in need of discussion. I would encourage everyone to keep an eye out for the release of this book and then do everything that you can to be the first kid on your block to own a copy.

One interesting article that I read this week that is worth sharing is from Scott Bessenecker as it appears in the recent issue of Relevant Magazine. Scott raises some wonderful considerations – Enjoy!

Try this little experiment. Go to Amazon.com and do an advanced search. First, search for books that have the word “leader” in the title. If you do it soon, you’ll see there are 24,668 results. Number one in the list (sorted by relevance) is something about being the “pack leader” in order to transform the life of your dog. After browsing a bit, do another advanced search, this time with the word “follower” in the title. You’ll find 865 results, most of them about Christian followers of Jesus (though a few leadership books that happen to have the word “follower” in the title have snuck into our search). For every book about being a follower there are at least 25 more about being a leader. I don’t find Jesus quite so obsessed with leadership as we are. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Now try this. Go to Biblegateway.com. Search for how many times Jesus uses the word “lead” in the Gospels. You’ll there are 21 times this happens in the NIV, and most of the references are negative! Judas leading the crowds to apprehend Jesus; the blind leading the blind; and so on. None of them are commands to the disciples. Now check out how many times He uses the word “follow.” There are 86 references—four times as many, most of them positive and many of them direct commands … as in “come follow me.” Jesus was far and away more concerned about His disciples’ ability to follow well than about them leading well.

Why are we so obsessed with leadership? Why is following so disdainful to us? We don’t even have the word “followship” in English. Now, to be sure, leadership is a wonderful spiritual gift, one that I even think I possess. But how is it that Jesus taught so clearly and thoroughly about following, and I can go to Amazon.com, restricting my search to “religion and spirituality” and still come up with 15 times as many “religious” books about being a good leader as I can about being a good follower?

The American quest for independence has poisoned us. The leadership obsession within capitalism has infected our spirituality. These influences have convinced us that following is for wimps.

Submission is central to spiritual growth, and following is almost always the more important quality in the Kingdom of God than perfecting your leadership gifts. The problem is that books on submitting just don’t sell. I’m still waiting for someone to write the book Extraordinary Submission: Turning Good Leaders into Obedient Followers. I have the feeling it could be a long wait.