journal : : field notes
If there's one glaring error in my reading selection, it's the lack of fiction. My good friend Josh Goad from Grand Rapids feels its his mission to remind me of this everytime we talk, email, etc. A long, long time ago, he mailed me a stack of novels that were to serve as my introduction to the world of fiction.
I just finished one from his introductory pantheon,
East of Eden, from John Steinbeck
It's 600 beautifully written pages on the struggle of humanity to break free from the sins of their ancestry. Based off of the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis and set in the frontier settler days of northern California, East of Eden is an epic work that is at times a page-turning, and others a struggle to read. It's struggles were not due to poor writing or slow plot, but of probing into the human soul that is difficult to explore. It's hard to see humanity so raw, so exposed, and so depraved.
Without giving t0o much away, here are a few things worth mentioning:
- "Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn"...Steinbeck's depiction of evil incarnate is downright scary and surprisingly relevant. To reduce evil to a cartoonish red devil with horns and a pitchfork is ridiculous, and Steinbeck knows it. His portrayal is much closer to home: lovingly deceptive, calculated, cool, cunning, and heartbreaking.
- Free Will--The ultimate question in this book is this: Are we predestined to all that is wrong in our ancestor's? We inherit their genes, are guided by their upbringing...is there any hope to transcend the sins of our parents? Steinbeck's answer: one Hebrew word (timshel...thou mayest...or, you may). Thus, we are not enslaved by genetics, yet East of Eden dispells any notions of a perfect utopia...though we aren't doomed to repeat our parent's wrongs, we most certainly can reflect the fallen nature in destructively fresh and new ways. Though we may replicate what our parents do, they are still OUR sins.
- 600 pages--Anyone who writes a book of 500+ pages is either arrogant, brilliant, or entirely too verbose. Steinbeck probably possessed the first two character traits in boatloads.
Interesting note: Coincidently, I'm headed to northern California in less than two weeks, to visit a good friend. I'm confident I'll see this region in a deeper way having read this book.
In the words of Lee, a Chinese servant who steals the show: "Don't you dare take the lazy way. It's too easy to excuse yourself because of your ancestry. Don't let me catch you doing it! Now--look close at me so you will remember. Whatever you do, it will be you who do it..."
Therein lies the hope of the book...we are are own people. I am my own person. Who will I choose to be?
book reviewsLabels: books
Link
Ginkworld article
My rant on church signs made its way, in a slightly improved and revised form, to
GinkWorld. You can read it
here. Ginkworld is a great site devoted to the emerging/missional church. My good ol' buddy
Dustin Bagby shared a doozy of a sign that I had forgotten (I'm sure I repressed the memory): "Exercise daily...walk with the Lord". Those right there, my friend, are words to live by.
Labels: writing
Podcasting Porn Pastors
If you haven't checked out
XXX Church, you need to. Mike and Craig, the 'porn pastors' are doing some incredible things to reach out to the porn industry and expose the church's 'dirty little secret': pornography.
They have a fascinating podcast (Dirty Little Secrets) that's worth your time. (Info
here) In the most recent podcast, Mike and Craig try a little experiment: how accessible are today's megachurch pastors? Pretty funny stuff...
Labels: emerging church
Leadership Lessons 2.0: Vision
As a new pastor, I find myself wrestling continually with the whole idea of vision. It's a very , very, very frustrating thing. Vision is something all pastors seem to want, but rarely find. We look at the mega-church pastors, who churn out book after book chronicling their church's growth, reducing what 'worked' to a few principles (which usually start with the same letter...a clever
mnemonic device...or marketing ploy?), and then sell it to other pastors, who are more than eager to replicate. Is this vision? Is vision strategically planning out programs that draw the multitudes into our building (or shall I say, into our offering plates?)? If this is 'vision', I don't want it.
Yet, I can't throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Hebrew proverbs say, "Without a vision, the people perish..." So, I find myself knocking my brain, trying to shake some cells to life in order to figure this 'vision' thing out. Maybe you all can help me?
A year or so ago I tried to read
Visioneering, by Andy Stanley. I didn't finish it. It seemed too packaged, too easy, too 'strategery' (thank you SNL). A few weeks ago, Relevant sent me
The Vision and the Vow, by Pete Greig (author of
Red Moon Rising, founder of the
24-7 prayer movement), as 'payment' for writing an article for their
Relevant Network E-Newsletter. A book like this is a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because it's a free book. It's a curse because it
completely topples my jenga-like stack of books 'to-read'. A new book that wasn't in my prioritized list beckons me to 'just forget the other books...just open me and read a few pages'. I couldn't resist...
Anyway, it's a good, quick, potent read. He makes some outsanding points and helps clarify a lot of the problems I have with the mega-church super-pastor vision.
"The heartbeat of our faith is not achieving great things for God, nor is it doing great things with God. Our deepest longing is simply to be with God, to know Him as Friend and Father, to trust Him as Savior, and thus, to obey Him as Lord."
In sum, according to Greig, the 'vision is Jesus'. It's not numeric growth. It's not war-room type planning. It's kneeling humbly at the cross, and then following Jesus in all we DO. Vision is getting our clothes filthy with the dust kicked up by Jesus' sandals. Scott McKnight offers a similar approach in his book
The Jesus Creed (Loving God, Loving Others).
It's so simple, so pure, yet so difficult. The pressure to offer dazzling programs, to boast numeric, exponential growth, is always lurking. But in the end, we pastors must ask ourselves a question: Is our vision simply Jesus? Or is it engineering a slick, flashy ministry machine?
Greig continues: "All my achievements will mean nothing on that day when Jesus looks at me in the eye with a single question: Did we know each other?" Now, obviously Greig isn't reducing the interaction between God and humanity to mere cognition. In this context, 'know' entails devotion, emotion, commitment, etc.
Pretty amazing stuff, considering all that Greig has DONE. He never planned it out. He never had a 5 year goal sheet. He simply devoted himself to Christ and followed Him, and out of his submission and obedience a movement flourished.
So, I'm going to write this down in hopes that I will be more likely to stick to it:
As a pastor, I will do nothing but simply try to be with God as much as possible. Through my submission to Him I will be equipped and empowered to do whatever work he sees fit. That's it and that's all. Now, don't misunderstand. I'm not going to simply fly by the seat of my pants in all I do. The Holy Spirit is part of the planning process. I'm simply rejecting the notion that vision equals numeric growth and lots and lots and lots of programs.
Mother Teresa may say it best (as she often does): "Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of. . . I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. I will pray that you trust God."
Labels: emerging church
An open letter to all church sign maintenance people
To all the maintainers of church signs--Stop it...please. Stop the silly, ridiculous 'bad theology in a nutshell' sayings on your church signs. I can't tell you how often I drive by your churches and cringe. As a pastor, I'm embarrassed that my collleauges would spew such trash on the one thing that you want everyone to see. "The messages make you think," you'll no doubt say in defense. My reply: "Yeah, they make you think...they make you think about why people don't go to church."
It's not that communicating via a sign is wrong. Just do it the right way. Don't put cheesy sayings on them. You're fueling the fire for antagonists to mock us. Instead, put something on there that truly makes them think. A difficult passage of Scripture, a quote from theologian, a thought from a member of your congregation. Or maybe a quote from a recent movie, or a pithy sentence from a popular fiction novel. Don't pander down to the same book that you all own that gives you second rate stuff. Seek excellence in all you do, including your signage.
There's a reason that a website exists called
Church Marketing Sucks. Because, more often than not, it does. Madison Avenue has revolutionized our culture into purchasing the products they pitch not on their quality, their price, or their practicality. Rather, they sell us on the mirage of an image that supposedly is transmitted to you upon buying the said product. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we should replicated the horrors of advertising, but my point is this: the advertising execs often have a better understanding of the longings of the human soul than we, church leaders, do (to identify, to fulfill, to love, to be accepted, to transcend...) They pour their resources and energies into exploring the complexities of humanity and package their product accordingly. Sure, they sell a myth of happiness that is far short of the joy and peace to found in God and God alone. But we don't do much better. We buy a book with some cheesy sentences in it and arrange the black letters accordingly.
Maybe if we spent more time exploring the deep mystery and wonder of humanity, created by God, in His image, we'd have a better idea of how to reach oursevles with love and truth. We'd have a better idea of how to use our signs to probe deeper into the human soul.
So, my challenge to you, Mr. or Mrs. Church Sign Maintenence Person...take more time and consideration into what you communicate. People read those signs and respond. They just might not respond in the way we hoped.
To create your own Church Sign, click
here.
Labels: church
A Brief Review of a Few Books I Just Finished
I just finished a few interesting reads, and thought I'd put up a few thoughts here.
1.
The Post-Evangelical...by Dave Tomlinson
This was a short, yet incredibly thought provoking read. The author is a pastor from the UK, and started a church in a pub called Holy Joe's. He posed many interesting critiques of the evangelical position (though not without committing a few straw man fallacies) and attempted to portray a new 'middle way', which he calls 'post-evangelicalism'. He's careful to portray that he's not ANTI-evangelical, but simply Post-evangelical. His work isn't all that groundbreaking today, but back when the book first came out in the UK, I have no doubt it was earth shattering.
In this US edition, by Zondervan, the pages are peppered with notes of commentary by a number of pastors, such as Doug Pagitt and Mike Yaconelli. There's also a strong dessenting voice in Galli of Christianity Today, who pulls no punches in his critique of the post-evangelical/emergent theological landscape.
In sum, the Post Evangelical does a decent job of deconstructing some of the pitfalls of evangelicalism, and poses some significant and crucials questions that we must ask as we venture into the future of church and theology. This is a helpful introduction to the emerging theology and why we've started questioning so much about the way we DO church and why we have constructed our DOCTRINE as we have.
2.
Revolution, by George Barna
When you have a book suggested to you time and time again, you should consider reading it (if nothing else to have a frame of reference to discuss with those who suggest it). This was my experience with Barna's newest, and unarguably his most controversial work. Barna has no doubt experienced a revolution of sorts in his life and ministry. I can't imagine the dismay he must face day after day, year after year, as his polls reveal a grimmer and grimmer present condition of the church (aside: check out Sider's
Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience and you'll know what I mean)
Barna is obvously a man committed to reporting and interpreting the pulse of the American church, no matter what the results say. He has and will continue to receive a whole heap of criticism from the power base of conservative evangelicalism, but he doesn't care. There's a revolution of faith brewing in our nation, and we can choose to ignore it, fight it, or join it. He hopes more will join it.
He does a great job of describing what a revolutionary looks like, what they hold dear, what makes them tick, etc...I resonate with nearly all of his conclusions.
Here's what I didn't like: He gave no real life examples of present day revolutionaries, no portraits of past revolutionaries who helped lay the foundation for the revolution, etc. One of his stated goals with this book is to challenge and invite the leaders of the current evangelical establishment to interact with, accept, and empower revolutionaries to continue blazing the trail. His positions would have more credibility if he gave some concrete real life examples (as opposed to all of his 'hypothetical' scenarios) of revolutionaries truly wreaking havoc for the Kingdom...in great and wonderful ways.
Also, while I love his conclusion that revolutionaries ARE the church regardless of where they GO on Sunday morning, he paints a somewhat bleak picture at the state of the churches in America. Although revolutionaries, by and large don't feel welcome or empowered at MOST churches, this doesn't mean that there is NO place for them. There are new, fresh, and wonderful faith communities 'emerging' (the word use is intentional) all over, who unify by their desire to revolutionize the world and the church for Christ's sake (literally). He could have offerred some examples of churches that are embracing the revolutionary mindset with open arms.
All in all, though, this was a great book, as it's from a highly respected, credible, evangelical whom established, modern, evangelical pastors look up to and have leaned upon for decades. This is a great introduction for pastors such as these to begin to understand the next wave of emerging evangelicalism...
3.
The Barbarian Way, Erwin McManus
This is an outstanding short, readable, yet powerful read. If you're a man and you loved Eldridge's
Wild at Heart, you'll deeply resonate with this. If you're a woman, and enjoyed a lot of the passion and wildness of Eldridge's book, but though, "what about me?", you'll love this book. Though not at all based off of Eldridge, he takes what's great about Eldridge's thought (his call for a wild, passionate, untamed faith...regardless of your take on his view on men/women roles) and makes them accessible to both genders. It's funny, I read this book after writing
The Untamed Voice for Relevant Leader's Network E-Newsletter, yet one could easily assume that I ripped off all his ideas. I promise you Mr. McManus, I didn't steal your stuff. Anyway, spend a couple hours and read this book.
Currently Reading:
Desire of the Everlasting Hills, by Cahill,
East of Eden by Steinbeck, and
Through Painted Deserts by Miller...stay tuned.
On deck: my own personal
N.T. Wright experience,
Jesus in the Margins by Rick McKinely, and
Practitioners: Voices Within the Emerging ChurchStay tuned...
Labels: books
Adelphia is my nemesis, as is any psychotic warlord
It's been awhile since my last post, and for a few reasons. First, I spent last week in Florida taking a week off from work, my laptop, and the winter. Second, since I've returned, my internet service at home has been suspect at best (thanks a bunch Adelphia). I'd write an email, click send, and the service would shut down. I'd write a post, click 'post', and my service would shut down. Yeah, frustrating. But I'm not giving up. I'll beat you Adelphia.
On another note. . . I've been showing a documentary in my Sunday morning seminary many of you have heard of, though maybe some haven't. It's called "
Invisible Children" and it's a documentary on the plight of the children in northern Uganda, who live in constant fear of being abducted and brainwashed into being child soldiers to continue the mission of choas and destruction by some serious idiots who claim the Holy Spirit as their guide (can anyone say 'blasphemy'?) Anyways, check it out, get your hands on a copy, host a house party, and further the movement.
Labels: justice
Cha-Ching!
I don't even adhere to the health and wealth theology spewed forth on much of 'christian' television, yet I am absolutly freakin' wealthy! No, I didn't win the lottery (though that would be nice). No, I didn't inherit millions from a long lost aunt (though that would be nice). No, I don't deal drugs (that's not nice). And no, my church doesn't pay me more than the par for a pastor (that would be wrong...although tempting). Basically, I'm filthy rich because of where I was born. Living in the U.S. is like winning a global lottery. Want proof? Click
here, and plug in your own income to see where you stand. I'm in the top 4.33% richest people of the world, ON A PASTOR'S SALARY.
Something's seriously wrong here...
Labels: justice
Leadership Lessons 1.0
As many of you know, I've been a pastor for 6 months now. I was hired by a well-established, tradition rich evangelical church in rural NW Ohio. They hired me to start an emerging young adult ministry. The leadership of the church foresaw the grim future that awaits most evangelical churches...No 18-30 year olds in attendance. Historically they have had a youth ministry most churches would envy, yet a horrible track record of retention after high school graduation.
The community my church serves is affluent and rural, which usually results in a 'brain drain' of young adults to hipper, more happening urban or suburban environs. Such a phenomenon doesn't exist in NW Ohio. There are young adults everywhere. Oh yeah, did I mention the community college 5 minutes away? Thousands of students right in our backyard day and night.
So, here I am...trying to figure out how to reach a young adult sub-culture in a very unique, affluent, rural, and religiously saturated environment (churches everywhere).
Here are a few observations (I'll get to the leadership stuff soon..I promise):
- The established churches are doing a poor job of including young adults into their faith communities.
- Young adults in this area are, by and large, bored (what do you do for fun in a cornfield?)
- This boredom results in either depressive apathy or alcohol induced rebellion.
- The young adults understand a modern Judeo-Christian worldview...but many choose to live by it nominally.
- This nominal worldview adherence results in a very stunted spiritual maturity.
With this backdrop laid, I thought I'd share some insights on leadership development in such an environment. Maybe this will help a few of you out there who are in the same boat as I.
1. Young adults have never been challenged to truly 'lead'. Young adults are fall victim to 2 very dangerous spiritual 'stunters': spiritually overbearing parents who refuse serious spiritual questioning and reflection, and youth ministries that act more as Christian run babysitting service than a place to foster spiritual development. After one or two leadership meetings, it was clear that my young adults wanted to be involved, and were excited about a ministry targeted for their generation...yet had no clue on how to use the gifts and passions God had given them in a leadership role. Many of them had never had the opportunity to lead. They've rarely served, and were used to being served when it came to spiritual matters. I quickly realized that some leadership development had to take place in order to truly embody a team leadership approach.
2. Young adults need clear focus in leadership roles. We spent three months meeting as a leadership team and doing essentially nothing constructive. I did nearly everything: I planned events, delegated a little of the responsibility, and all my 'leaders' did was affirm me and tell me my ideas were good. I finally realized that if I helped them discern what their specific role could be within our community, that would help them better use their gifts and give them some direction in how to use them. After about 4 months of floundering, I put out the call to spend 2 weeks in devoted prayer to what each individual's role would be in our leadership. I then met with each individual on a one-on-one basis and encouraged them with the gifts that I felt were evident within them, and talked through them on how they could best offer those gifts in VOX. These were powerful meetings for everyone involved, and it was amazing to see every leader offer his/her gifts with a servant's heart....
Needless to say, it's been incredible to see the roles defined. Our leaders have exploded with ideas, energies, and passions due to this new focus...
More later...
Labels: emerging church
A New Look...A Fresh Start
I'm going to give this blog thing a real go here. Hopefully I'll find the time to put something meaningful down so that you don't waste YOUR time. No promises...
Labels: blogging
