Doing Justice and Mercy for God's Sake

Well I just finished a book on urban missions by veteran pioneer, Bob Lupton. He's been in the business of mercy ministry for about 30 years and shares a great deal of wisdom from Christian Life: Rethinking Ministry to the Poor. He makes some heavy, thought-moving and real-sense statements like "all people are not created equal" and "you (the poor) need to get a job." These are hardly the words you would imagine coming from an inner city minister and servant. But they are spoken with a right wing perspective in mind. On the contrary he urges the would-be Christian suburbanite to take responsibility for his resources and use them for the kingdom of justice and redemption. And he's not simply talking about residual income given at every guilt trip turn, but using business savvy and politcal accumen to be incarnational, not merely outsourcing volunteerism. The book is written with short stories and devotional thoughts that are intended for the reader to reassess his ministry to urban communities. It begs the question of me..."when can I get out there and start listening to the city?" Reading Lupton's book made me all the more aware of the need for team development and a well-planned proposal. It takes just a year to be among the people to assess the "felt-needs" in the community. It takes at least 15 years to experience the kind of transformation that is community development (different from ministry) according to Lupton. 15 years is a long time...

Teleconference - Jan 16th, 2008

Agenda for Teleconference @ 8:30pm on Wed. Night:
1) Rich Updates Group on Urban Ministry Opportunity
2) Discussion Around How Rich's Opportunity Affects Proposal
3) Discussion About Our Effectiveness/Fit w/ Urban Ministry
4) Schedule Meeting w/ the Four Couples to Invite Women to the Table and Understand Where Everyone is At

Update on Rich's opportunity:

Heritage 2 year plan:
- Intern'l mission theme 08
- Local Columbus mission 09 - urban area long term investment
- maybe Northland area
- Asked Rich to lead the charge, direct the program for 2 years
- in home bible studies, people may ask for a church later
9-12 months prepare, research, build core group
need to transition out of children's pastor role soon

Pavi conversation with Rich - excited? yes. details needed before
full committment

Jim discussed with executive team - approval yes

Response date? Jim, assumed Rich will take this opportunity.

Rich: Want church focus from the beginning as the reason there.

Heritage leadership's goal: be responsive to what God is doing already:

- involvement in urban areas started 4 yrs ago with Better Way
- increased desire to do something more substantial that we can track
- Jed Dearing's proposal - good response of people who are doing similar work
- small volunteer base still exists that is interested in urban work
- younger generation disillusioned with large church prone to support this work
- older mid 30's group doing financially well want to make impact, expose family to world needs

3) Discussion About Our Effectiveness/Fit w/ Urban Ministry

Shane: If urban ministry is "the" fit for us, this may be a perfect blessing from God.
Is it?

Rich & Shalla's take - Shalla's main involvement will be at home with the kids, limited external role, but grow over time. Move? Close enough already. Want something close enough
to suburban groups that they can join in...15 to 20 minutes max.
"not moving to the concrete jungle..."

- Geographic challenges, Shane Jon Kyle further away
- Social stigmas - "white yuppie folk" who can't relate to the people and situations they face

Either hard wired to minister to this demographic or God has to move you towards them
The value is in diversity - moved by compassion, understand the cost, learn their world.

2a) Rich must put together a plan & proposal
- our involvement level if we are in?
- Rich point person, lead, ask for input, ask for help to fill in gaps
- initial "LOI" joint ownership in development, investment level, etc.
- when Rich campaign for a team?
- with ministry in Northland...necessity to move? Rich...not initially, once church takes off
the question becomes what type of leadership do you want to have.

2b) Implication for current "church" proposal idea.
- stop where we left off prior in delegating content
- All agreed this does not contradict anything we committed to originally as
we were committed to exploring the vision for ministry God has put in each of us
and we still are committed to sharing life together just as always, standing with one
another, and co-laboring for the gospel however that takes shape.

Shane stressed the need for us all to stay in the loop as things develop and not check out.
God may increase the desire to do this type of work by hearing about its details.

Jon mentioned helping in any way Rich may need with proposal and planning. We all stand with Jon on that.

Proposal Preliminaries

Here's a recap of our meeting on Nov 29th, 2007. Goal was to brainstorm content of the proposal and capture the main purpose of this proposal. Please chew on it.

**Our next time together will be spent:

- discussing which items make it into the proposal
- clarifying what they encompass / mean
- dividing up the work

Notes:

Response to Rich's thoughts on being missional...just the multi-ethnic piece.

Benefits of Multi Ethnic:
1. Gain understanding of God's working/presence in other cultures
- one-dimensional culture / congregation more easily produces a one-dimensional view / experience of God
- forces us to see outside of our cultural bubble which has blind spots
2. Helps the people of God to break through cultural norms / ways of life that are "systemic evils"
- such as....affluence, comfort, & indifference to suffering
- and...irresponsibility, unbelief, loss of hope on behalf of those in a plight
3. Prepares us for eternity where diversity will be celebrated as a kalidescope reflection of the beauty and diversity of the Godhead.

To achieve in the congregation requires:
- leadership must be multi-ethnic
- diverse population must be "near-by"...situate ourselves close to urban area.

Why are we suited for reaching multi-ethnic (urban) groups?

- Jon's response: "I don't want to be in a all white church." Strong personal desire.
- Shane & Kyle's : No strong alternative preference.

- Kyle's response: Not a strong desire (yet) as with Jon or Rich, but I do see a history and pattern of God building multi-ethnic relationships in my life...it comes easy, they just happen, I don't seek them out yet I always become friends with ethnically diverse people.

- Shane's response: Not a strong desire (yet) as with Jon or Rich, but I've notice that age and socio-economic factors do not pose as barriers in relating to people...some people get hung up on that, but it's easy for me to relate to all types of people.



Proposal

Purpose of "why anyone in our shoes should do a proposal at all?":

1^st: To articulate the vision God has given us for planting a church and confirm our partnership is solid, and mutually in the same direction.

2^nd: To present to a 3^rd party body for support, counsel, & blessing.

Purpose of the content of OUR proposal:

1^st: To provide sufficient, adequate foundational detail to achieve buy-in / partnership / blessing / confirmation of a 3^rd party body, where Heritage is our 1^st choice for partnership, yet also being prepared to seek out others (e.g. Acts 29, or others) inclusively or exclusively of Heritage depending on their response.

The purpose of this proposal is not to hammer out details regarding every possible, good, hopeful facet of the ministry in years to come.

Proposal Content:

Brainstorm Topics:

- Our purpose, mission, vision, etc
- Core values
- Creeds, Doctrines, Beliefs
- Interesting Facts / Demographics
- Immutable facts
- What, when, why, how, where
- Our vision regarding:
o Preaching
o Fellowship
o Worship
o Expanding the Kingdom
o Getting Involved
o Small Groups
o Role of the Pastorate
- Structure
- Offices & Qualifications of Leadership
- 1,2,5 yr plans
- Measurement of Success
- Leadership development
- Team based approach
- Personal Biographies -> My name is Jon, I have red hair, etc.
- Ministry focus areas
- Ministry style / Philosophy / Approach
- Startup Focus:
o Serve Community
o Build Weekend Worship Event
- Move Families near location?
- Use of media / tech in communication / outreach

Location, Location, Location

A friend of mine in church ministry mentioned today that if he were to start all over again that he would begin with service to the community before focusing on the worship service. The later seems to be the concentration of many church plants in America, whereas the missional emphasis of the church is the start point around the globe. That provided some interesting food for thought. It seems that “the church” gets going at a much slower pace with that approach, but does take some pressure off of the performance of ministry (weekend service).

If the church is to truly be missional, then it seems that there needs to be a clear understanding of the people targeted with the Kindgom message of Jesus’ transformation. So is it me, or does narrowing down a location keep coming back up? I would really like to hear from you guys the kind of community and people you see yourself being a prophet unto. Do you sense a calling to that “people group”? Do you have a passion for that “people group”? Are you open to learning more about that “people group” to be an effective communicator?

I will tell you where my mind is (at present) on the topic of location and being missional.

1.) Urban – yet close enough to suburban communities and people who are particularly concerned about “the other side”. I like the Northland area.
2.) Mercy minded ministries – the poor (namely financially and academically / addressing women and young men) and the foreigner
3.) Multi-ethnic flavor – only happens as there is multi-ethnicity in the area. The largest concentration of ethnic diversity is closer into the city, not away from it.

Women on the Front Lines - In War and In Church

Piper makes an nice explanation why women going to war is not a good thing - it undermines and goes against the very God-designed idea of manhood. Besides the scriptural bans on women with teaching / governing authority, I think this is a great second-level argument we can share with "the common person" and grab onto for why elders should be men. What do you think?

Here's Piper's comments:

"The exhortation is a good one that we not minimize the sacrifice of the American women who have died in combat, even if we think their presence on the front lines is a powerful commentary on the cowardice of our male military and political leaders. It is not a commentary on the cowardice of women. I do not commend women in combat. But I commend the sacrifices of love in a cause of truth and justice.

My whole position assumes that competencies and character are not the "first" criteria for who fights the enemy. Women may be more courageous than men in any given situation. They may have nobler vision. They may be smarter. That is not the issue. What God has written on our hearts and designed for our survival and our joy is the issue. Manhood puts itself forward between the women and the enemy. That is part of what manhood means. That is who we are by God’s design. The courage of women will show itself in a hundred ways. But when a man is around, he will not exploit that courage to fight the battle where he belongs."

Church Size Matters

This is the first article I've ever read from Redeemer's Church Planting Center. Very helpful perspectives as I think about my feelings, preferences, convictions, and expectations regarding church size. Take and read.

http://www.redeemer2.com/themovement/issues/2006/fall/church_size_dynamics.html

Thoughts on Love

i was talking to a friend yesturday and they mentioned the dream love in high school was someone who did not have an interest in them and it made me think about some past relationships. Unfortunately my adolescent years were not as chase as they should have been, and my mind and heart were constantly focused on the dream girl…who/which happened to take a different shape each year as I got older and they got older. However, the dream girl had to capture my attention long enough to hold the dream – usually over the course of several months before I got the nerve to pop the question. It was usually too late by then anyway because some other, more confident guy swooped in for the kill. Still, I wanted them even though they did not want me. It made me more crazy! Why? Because they were yet unreachable.

When I would finally get the girl in my grasp my attention would normally wane. For some reason it would not hold up. For those ladies who I had the most lengthy relationship, there was a greater engagement of my all senses: smell, sight, touch, sounds, tastes that would take me completely in my thoughts and emotions back to them. That’s the bad part of dating, right? Connected to too many people over time makes for a real mixed salad and bad tastes. But the grasp of the girl made it all sweet. But it also made me confident … a little too much because they were all mine. You know, no longer singing and writing poetry and such.

So this thought process led me to Shalla. She was way out of my reach from the beginning. Months later I gathered the nerve to only befriend her – still out of reach. Once I did grasp her in a devoted relationship all of my senses were engaged. I don’t think I’ve ever been over confident in my grasp. I feel secure, I know a few things for sure…but some things still seem out of reach. The good news is that it keeps me going…keeps me reaching for her. There were times when I would have used the word uninspired in relation to my marriage. From another perspective now I feel challenged (it’s something outside of my grasp) and inspired by the small things done in love. Last night she made a special dinner to celebrate my license renewal. Yea! The good news continues…she does want me (may not express like I want some times, but...).

And I am to love her in this same mysterious way – within her grasp yet just beyond her reach. Secure in our relationship and surprised by who I am becoming and reflecting.

And this brought me to my relationship with God. Just in the last year have I truly felt an immeasurable gift of love from the Father. Meditating on John 5:20, I’ve been more amazed and surprised that He is just beyond my reach. He is my dream catch (so to speak). Instead though, He is interested in me. He loves me. He shows me that He loves me and compels…even challenges me to love Him back…by caring for what He cares for the most. And the moment I feel like I have Him in my grasp He is there to remind me that He’s just beyond my reach. It’s becoming a beautiful relationship.

I hope it’s making me more loving in my marriage and friendships.

Boys to Men-

I really did like the group when I was in high school, but I'm not talking about the crooners from Philly most recently heard backing up Shane's favorite solo artist, Michael Bouble. I am talking about Men's Ministry.

I attended a meeting at Heritage Wednesday with men's leaders from our church and two Vineyard churches in the area. It was one meeting I did not mind spending two hours on and it may have even changed my heart towards this focused ministry.

My challenges with Men's ministry, as of late, have been that MM is too focused on formula's - ten steps - or whatever. I don't think that way and I don't think the Gospel is presented that way. But because we've become such students of behavior and culture we've learned that men just learn and process better in logical steps. That may be true, but that doesn't always lean towards a heart transformation. As one leader mentioned...men are used to living from the neck up and the waste down...very rarely in between where it counts.

My other problem with MM is that it becomes another thing to add to the proverbial plate of overprogrammed ministry offering. No wonder men have not gone deep into relationships...have we given them too many offerings?

Both of these issues were discussed at the meeting, although there was no resolution. In listening to the guys that have done this before, there does seem to be a huge need however - a ministry focused on men. My question though...is this ministry needed because of another area the church has not been forthright in speaking to? How about marriage or mentoring or fathering? You might be thinking, "those are the topics we'd discuss in men's ministry."

Yeah, sure. But where is the practice and where are the people who are most directly affected in relationships brother?

I don't know. If you asked a week ago. I'd tell you that I was totally oppossed to MM and that the focus and culture of the church should be calling boys into manhood through leadership and discipleship. But hearing these perspectives has made me stratch my head.

What are your thoughts on MM? Keep in mind...our demographic might be the least likely to attend. What does it look like if you think there should be one?

Vision Slogan

I was listening to D.A. Carson last week speak about the plans and purposes of The Gospel Coalition. In his talk he said this phrase in relation to the gospel and our ministry approach. It caught me, grabbed me...I hit re-wind to hear it a few more times. So it's sticking in my mind as something that says a lot, keeps a lot in balance, and packages it real nicely. It's a slogan. I really like it. I'm not going to go into detail about explaining each part of it right now. Maybe later. Chew on it for a while.

If Rich is right about the name then welcome to:

The Church on The Way

"Rooted in History, Grounded in the Scriptures, Looking to the Future"

Believing and Living

Below is an excerpt from The Jesus of Suburbia by Mike Erre. Although theology is important, Mike makes the case that believing is more than just "knowing" God. Believing involves trusting, and trusting "always reveals itself in behavior." The early Christians were known as followers of the Way - "a way of life instituted by Jesus (Acts 9:2). Following Jesus was understood not as an act of believing but primarily as a way of living." The excerpt below talks about Mike's concern about incorrect view of believing.

"The vast majority of people in the United States say they believe in God, yet that belief makes little to no difference in how they live. Believing Christian theology does not equal following Christ. As Mark Buchanan writes, "to have carefully tested theology is good, but it is not the same thing as knowing God. Too often theology ends shy of love, worship, and service. Too often it gets stuck in smugness, dryness, and rigidity. Too often it is as impersonal as calculus...Jesus' apostles were theological idiots, while demons almost always showed themselves to be astute theologians." I'm convinced it is possible to be able to agree mutually w/ information about Jesus and still not know him. It is possible to be able to recite our creeds and belief statements and still not have come to accept Jesus as Forgiver and King. It is possible to have great theology and still not trust Christ."

As Zippay mentioned in his sermon last weekend, a foundation has to be established in order to stand up to the storms of live. A foundation of biblical theology and a transformed way of living are the bricks and mortar needed to form that solid base.

The Gospel Coalition - Interviews

Sorry... so good and so short I had to put these out here as well.

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/interviews.php

Check out Piper on "What is the state of the pulpit in America today"

I'm curious if you agree with his assessment...and what direction would you hope preaching take in our church?

Also, Pastor Jim mentioned the surveys that show no real difference between the way believers and the world lives....this following link makes an interesting point along those lines and it relates to some things we've previously discussed on approach to ministry.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2007/2312_Good_Doctrine_Makes_Better_Teenage_Saints/

6:33

Not am or pm! Does anyone know that means by the way? I put my money on Kyle Roth. I actually think 6:33 would be a cool name for a young adult, sort or post modern gathering. It would actually start at 6:33...PM of course. What's the whole deal with starting at a even number anyways?
Okay seriously.
6:33 obviously relates to Matthew 6:33. Need I quote it? Probably since you all don't practice scripture memorization - "Seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Typically this verse is used to comfort those dealing with the uncertainty of life squeezing out any confidence they might have that God even cares about their every day routine of eat, sleep, work, espn. I don't have espn, so I have plenty of time to seek the Kingdom of God. To be honest...6:33 hit me the other day because I had been waking up in the morning around 6:30am without the assistance of the clock. First thing I've been doing is hitting the floor on my knees for prayer. I haven't done that in a long time...this evangelical influence has led me astray. Praise God is leading me back to my roots.
So we've been talking about praying together and even got real close to establishing a location off 23. So much for that. But we do have a dedicated prayer room at Heritage. It's atmosphere is peaceful and calm, though I sometimes prefer a destructive environment because my conversation with God is not peaceful nor calm. But what do you say about us getting together to pray at HCC? 6:33am or 6:33pm? I don't care about the time really. But I think each of feels it's a necessary value. How about next Wednesday? Midweek seems to often work as a good time.
Take some time to respond...even with a list of things we could/should be praying about.

Peace-Out,

Ecclesiological Structures Revisited

Okay -

Shalla an I just missed a wonderful evening with the Van Horns and Campbells and possibly the Roths. Am I disappointed? Just a little...because I had the pleasure of attending yet another poorly attended, unscripted, meeting of elders, pastors and directors-AKA...shepherding meeting.

Don't ask me how the shepherding meeting got started...with good intentions I'm sure. Probably something about caring well for the flock of the church. Blah, Blah, Blah...

I actually thought about walking out.

Why?

Because only one third of the said group actually showed up to meet. Now, I there are extenuating circumstances. I only wish that I thought visiting friends was valid enough myself. But one third of the group just decides to skip it. What's up with that?

I'll tell you what's up! Two thirds know what the other third is afraid to admit. There is no point to the meeting. Can you believe that an hour was spent on talking about how pastors were doing with the work-life-family balance?

Hello! I'm at a stinking meeting when I could be with my family that has felt neglected by my coming to this meeting in the first place.

So where does this bring me? Make it relvant to church structure Rich!

Well Shane...you talk about forced community...could be more evident than at these meetings...and I'm wondering if there is a better structure of governance and shepherding.

Governance - I am growing to be convinced is best left to the leadership - elder/pastor. Whereas Shepherding is shared, at various levels, between the elder/pastor & deacons/directors & community group leaders.

I don' t think one needs to have a meeting of community group leaders once a month to see how things are going. Perhaps one needs a monthly meeting with deacons/directors, but I'm sure to cover more than soulcare issues of the membership. And definitely elders/pastors should meet regularly-weekly to continue to press through values and convictions and dreams and visions.

Really, each group needs to have a defined content and agreed purpose. Else we will be left to polish off the evening with Guiness, Newcastle and Honey Brown.

Peace

Ecclesiology

Ecclesiology is the study of doctrine as it pertains to the life of the church itself. As a broad category, it asks questions such as:

• Who is the church?
• Must one join the church?
• Where lies the authority of the church?
• What is the church called to do?
• How should the church be governed?
  

This post deals with the last of those questions. How will our church be governed? How will we structure our leadership? This is a big question. How would it work with the four of us? Or four or ten of any combination of us and others? Central to this area are questions of:

• biblical precedent
• relative authority
• practical efficiency
  

I am currently reading "Biblical Eldership" by Strauch for his insight, and have contacted Jonathan Leeman of 9Marks Ministries to pick his brain since he is doing his PH.D. on Ecclesiology right now. Hopefully he will respond.

In the meantime, I want to get your thoughts moving. Below is an outline of the major popular options as highlighted by Mark Driscoll in his book, "Confessions of a Reformission Rev." All quotes are his words, and do reflect his biases. Below is merely an explanation of the models. None of this is a biblical argument for anything, which notably is a major flaw in contemporary thinking that opt solely for what works...as if God has nothing to say at all about church structure.

1. Congregational Ecclesiology:

• Authority flows: Congregation to Staff to Pastor
• "the congregation holds the highest authority in the church. Practically this means that the congregation votes on church matters and that some form of majority rules, basically like a democracy. The staff and pastor are essentially seem as employees of the congregation and although proven that these types of churches are marked by longevity, they have difficulty growing for lack of a clear leader."
  

2. Senior Pastor Ecclesiology:

• Authority flows: Senior Pastor to Staff to Congregation
• "here the Senior Pastor is God's specially anointed man and functions as the highest authority in the church. Under the senior pastor is a staff that works for the pastor and is supposed to implement his vision for the church. The people in the congregation are the customers to be taken care of by the pastor and his staff. This model borrows it organizational structure from corporate business, with a CEO, employees, and customers. Church using this model have a high potential to grow large quickly because they have simple and decisive leadership. But they are also prone to make big mistakes, dumb ideas, and heretical doctrines if it comes from the senior pastor, since he is not functionally submissive or accountable to anyone"...also puts ongoing life of the church in danger if say the Pastor gets hit by a car and dies.
  

3. Elder Ecclesiology:

• Authority flows: Senior Pastor to Elders to Staff to Congregation
• "here you have a team of senior leaders that were mutually submissive...and a model that took into account the need for insight and accountability of other qualified elders...however, when I inspected elder-governed churches, they did not operate as a team of equals with a first-among-equals leader. Instead, a strong senior pastor still sat as the highest seat of authority in the church. The elders did function as peers of the senior pastor, but they were mainly unpaid volunteers who were good businessmen. They were generally godly but were not skilled pastors. They functioned well in this system because it was much like the corporate business structure they were accustomed to, with a CEO, a board of directors, employees and customers. But rather than functioning as fellow pastors, they instead were more like a corporate board that approved the plans brought to them by the senior pastor and his staff and gave generously to help underwrite the fundraising. Under the elder board that focused on business were staff members who were recognized as pastors by not as elders. The staff pastors generally knew the Bible, the people in the church, and the day-to-day needs of the church far better thatn the men on the elder board who were leading them and making decisions that they were supposed to implement.
  

4. Purpose-Driven Ecclesiology:

• Authority flows: More from the bottom up through service and gift based ministry yet with a Pastoral staff guiding a team of core lay ministers...The power is in the people and every member ministry. This one's unclear to me beyond that.
  
• Created by Rick Warren - read "Purpose Driven Church" for a clearer explanation.
  
• "here the goal is to move as many people as possible into leadership at the center of your church. This is accomplished by having various classes to train people for ministry and to prepare them to become more vitally invested in the church. Positively, Warren's model: 1)moves Christians in the church from being customers served by their pastor to being ministers serving according to their spiritual gifts. 2) shifts the duty of the pastor from doing ministry for Christians to training Christians to do the ministry as Ephesians 4:11-13 teaches. 3)It puts lost people on the church organizational chart and had the church existing for them and not just for the Christians already in the church. 4) It puts the mission of evangelism at the forefront of the church."
  

5. Emerging and Missional Ecclesiology:

• Authority flows: Father-Son-Spirit to Elders to Deacons and informs the membership and attractional / missional ministries of the church.
  
• Created by Mark Driscoll with help of the Gospel and Our Culture Network (GOCN).
  
• Includes the following elements which touch on all the ecclesiological questions listed above (structure item are listed first):
  
• Jesus is the Senior Pastor to be followed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus mediates between the church on earth and God the Father in heaven (this sort of negates any lingering Catholic ideas on priests being a valid mediator for the saints)
  
• Structure is rooted in biblical theology not secular organizational theory.
• The church has leaders but is not organized by hierarchy.
• Elders are a qualified team of co-equal male pastors who are player-coaches both leading the church and training people for ministry.'
• Deacons are qualified male and female pastoral associates
• Members are church leaders who give their money, service, prayers, and time to the advancement of the gospel and submit to discipline if needed.
• God rules over both the church and culture as Lord so that ministry extends beyond the church and into culture.
• The church exists to welcome and convert lost people.
• The church labors to be as culturally accessible to lost people as possible.
• A clear gospel thread binds everyone and everything together on Jesus' mission.
• The church has tow simultaneous missions: going out into culture (missional) and bringing people into God's Kingdom (attractional)
  
• A membership class is used to filter the wrong people out of the church and the right people into the church.
  

Finally he puts forth some concluding observations after his study of current church structures.

• Jesus did not make the church organizational chart.
• Much is patterned after various kinds of secular organizations.
• Many have no gospel or theological convictions.
• Many structures do not have a mission outside the church and do not consider lost people.
• Many do not take into account any surrounding cultural engagement.
• Many are simply arguing over leading from the top down through authority or from the bottom up through service.
• Many bog down from either too much hierarchy or too little leadership.
• Many are static organizational structures that are not moving on a mission.

Peace out,
Kyle

Upsurge of Reformed Theology

Kyle:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/september/42.32.html

Regarding Mark Dever’s church in D.C.:

“I visited Capitol Hill Baptist in January. The church kicked off with Sunday school, which really should have been called Sunday seminary. Class options included a survey of the New Testament, spiritual disciplines, and a systematic theology lesson on theories of the Atonement.

Such rigor can be expected from a church led by Dever, who earned a Ph.D. from Cambridge studying the Puritans. He embodies the pastoral theologians who are leading young people toward Reformed theology. He has cultivated a church community in the Puritan mold—unquestionably demanding and disciplined. And the church attracts a very young crowd. Its 525 members average 29 years old. Dever mockingly rejected my suggestion that they aim to attract an under-30 crowd. "Yes, that's why we sing those hymns and have a [55-minute] sermon." Dever smiled. "We're seriously calibrated for the 18th century."

On youth ministry:

"The young people I talked to want churches to risk disagreement so they can benefit from the deeper challenges of doctrine. Joshua Harris said years after he graduated from high school, he bumped into his old youth pastor in the grocery store. The pastor seemed apologetic as they reminisced about the youth group's party atmosphere, focused more on music and skits than Bible teaching, Harris said. But the youth pastor told Harris his students now read through Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology.

Rich: Sounds exciting...but let me be critical for a moment. Knowledge doesn't equal spiritual transformation anymore than having a good time singing and dancing. Have you come across any reports on what folks are doing with all this information? Of course, I have not read the website attachment you sent that may shed light on this area. :-)

Shane: "Dedichotomization" should be our overarching theme.

Jon: Okay Shane, What did you say? Remember any word over 8 letters it too big for me
to understand. So what should our theme be?:) Thanks for the clarification and I am not joking!
As for Kyle's first e-mail...I agree with Rich in that there needs to be a heart change with the info that is coming into their minds. If we have all the knowlege in the world but our hearts aren't changed what's the point of it? There needs to be a mix of theology that is intermixed with action and heart change; a bit of faith in action--my boy James talks about this in chap 2.

Shane: I was kind of joking, but there's also some truth behind desiring to find middle biblically supported ground that doesn't gravitate towards the ever present dichotomies (e.g., Calvinism or Arminianism, Left or Right, Answer A or Answer Z) that we create when trying to explain or understand our infinite God by our finite minds.

Kyle: And CT has something to say about the "middle ground" too...geez, who are these guys?
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/february/32.46.html
Key quotes: "Yet doctrines aren't "dispensable" because they provoke controversy...
We jettison 'nonessential' theology at our own peril...Rather than providing a path to church unity, avoiding theological distinctives often just leads to superficiality."

Shane: ...and here's another thing in all seriousness. The one quote below was preceded by a sentence that explains why CT said what they did. "Yet for many, fear of DIVISIVENESS has cut them off from the riches of the church's cloud of witnesses. Rather than providing a path to church unity, avoiding theological distinctives often just leads to superficiality."

My concern is not with divisiveness; it is w/ arrogance and ignorance. Arrogance in the sense that one camp says to the other camp, "I'm right and your wrong," and ignorance in the sense that some of these controversial theological positions are realistically so difficult to get your hands around, yet we think in our infinite knowledge that understanding them and standing behind them is akin to first grade elementary math. Obviously I'm painting an extremely negative take on this matter, but there is some merit in acknowledging our humanness and HUMBLY taking a stand for either a particular traditional belief, some middle ground belief, or a remarkable
Spirit led revelation. Ok, apparently I had something to say. If nothing else is on the upsurge,
at least our dialogging is!!

Kyle: Shane, you would be happy to read these guys thoughts...but we won't let you
be their executive pastor. http://www.newattitude.org/humbleorthodoxy/

Jon: I know that we are all having fun with this, but what is the purpose again of the blog? I have received about 15 e-mails in regards to this stuff. Shouldn't we be talking about this stuff on the blog so that we don't forget it all:) Just a thought. Looking forward to seeing you three when we get back in two weeks.

Teams & Conflict

A couple of thoughts from my VLI intensive on Team Building and a comment Rich made last week. We certainly would like to dream of us being a team right?

A Team Defined: "A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable"

Rich mentioned the need to tell the truth and be completely honest with eachother during the whole process...regarding future plans, changes in direction, viewpoints and convictions.

Russell West, Professor of Leadership Education at Asbury Theological Seminary stressed to our class that he is always worried when he hears about a team that does not have any conflict. To him that signifies avoidance, pseudo-community, and a group of people who are unwilling to be truth-tellers. When that happens, they look like a team on the surface, but they are not united at a deep level. It is pretense, not teaming.

All that to say, lets commit to being truth-tellers, and let's not shy away from conflict with eachother. Let's teach ourselves to see conflict, primarily as a necessary part in the team building process and only later as a reason to disband.

Prof. West outlined this typical path for the formation of authentic teams:

• Pseudo-Teaming (initially nice, but characterized by avoidance)
• Chaos (people are beginning to tell the truth...conflict is inevitable)
• Emptiness (No one is manipulating anymore, and common ground is scarce)
• True Teaming (Something finally comes together out the ashes of conflict and respect)
  

Looking For the Horizon

If you've ever watched a sunset at the ocean, you've found yourself wondering "How far out is it where the sun meets the water?" Your eyes strain to focus on that distant horizon and yet to no avail. Your intuition tells you it really exists but your eyes, limited by their short-sightedness plays games with your mind.

That's how I feel right now about the dream of planting a church. It is a distant horizon. Beautiful to think about, yet hard to focus in on. My thoughts, feelings and longings shift their gaze out to the sea of "church planting" repeatedly during the day, straining to focus in on where that horizon actually is. Focus!. ..c'mon! I can't! It's too far away. Every time I get a glimpse of something concrete, something shifts, some pressing situation interrupts and the gaze is lost. Why is it so hard to find 10 minutes to look intently at this horizon? Life. It happens. It doesn't stop does it...and it tramples it's way without asking or permission into everything I do. Nevertheless, my soul tells me this horizon does exist in the mind of God, clearly and in complete focus. I need his vision. We need his vision. Our eyes are to short-sighted.

Far away to us, yet near to God always poses a dilemma for us - namely, how to move closer. God seems to work in steps and through our "working" so it always helps to place some markers that are closer, and yet in the right direction. Sort of like bouys, placed at various depths as the sea floor begins to drop off...10 feet, 25 feet, 50 feet, point of no return. That's where I want to get. The point of no return. Right now, I'm merely skimming at 3 inches on a boogie board.

In part, that is what this site is intended for. Our thoughts are those markers. They are the verbal expression of the substance God has placed within us. Substance we may not even realize is there until we try to pull it out. These God-Ideas are the precursors, preliminaries, and foundations for what will come. Now, if you are like me, it's very intimidating to even consider where to begin and what to say first?

So, may I suggest several guiding principles for our posting:

• Anything is better than nothing
• Sooner is better than later
• There is no grading involved
  
• There is no requirement for content to be time-tested & historically refined.
  
• Eagerly engage topics which you don't have a clue about...someone else may.
• Partner with God's timing:
• Share first what excites you or burdens you in your studies / reflections.
• Secondly, tackle topics that are needed but currently disinterested in.

Let me also suggest an overview of topics for consideration:

• Timeline (Rich & I discussed this last week...feasibly still 2 yrs out)
  
• Vision - How big is it...central Ohio, statewide, one church, many churches?
• Location
  
• Obstacles / Other Opportunities.
• Who we will be...what we will be about...how will we be structured?
  
• (This last area should receive most of the attention up front...lets hammer this area out, however long it takes. There is no sense in talking much about other things if we are not on the same page here.)
  

Finally, check out the links I've posted. Acts 29 is there in case you've never checked them out. Two of the others center around making technology work for the church, especially church plants. No need to reinvent the wheel. Pretty cool. I'm the type of fool who worries about not knowing how to design a website...as if I would have to do that myself, you know :)


10-4 brothers...Dan Brown is signing out.

Peace.

IN THE BEGINNING...the blog was formless and void

Yo Fellas!! What do you think? It seems like it will work for documenting our thoughts on the church plant. Hope you like the template. Not sure who the woman on the video is...she just came with the amazing grace footage...oh well.

See you thursday Rich.

Kyle