I just attended an Acts 29 Church Planters Conference. Wow. It was amazing. I am really impressed with the leadership of the Acts 29 Network. They are all at least 10 years younger than I am, have a burning desire to serve the Lord through planting new churches in order to reach the unchurched, and don't mind sharing their victories and defeats they have had along the way. I am very inspired.
I felt the call to plant a church about 10 years ago, and have been praying daily about it for the last 6 years or so and feel more clear about it today than ever. Praise God for a group who will mentor new church planters and has thier priorities in the right place.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Playing Well With Others
My wife and I have been hooked the last two weeks on the Fox show Trading Spouses. What a great commentary of how we live out our lives. Last night they finished the swap of Moms. It has been the story of Tammy Nakamura (a well to do white wife with all the pleasures of life) and Mela Biggins (a black wife of more modest possessions). They swapped places, and families, for 5 days. Each family received $50,000 for the experience. The catch is that the Mom who had been living with the family for only 5 days is the one who determined how the money would be spent. I was struck by how the two Moms handled themselves during the swap.
Mela was gracious and happy to be with the Nakamura family. She immediately bonded with the children, Dr Nakamura, and his mother Nana (who also filled the role as the family maid). I sensed that the Nakamura children genuinely liked Mela and that she was sincere in her actions toward the family. Mela became a very close to Nana and left her the $50,000. Mela wasn't a talker, she was a doer. She could talk if needed, but preferred to show her love through her actions.
Tammy, on the other hand, made herself look like a fool. She was constantly talking about how much she was bringing to the Biggins family, kept telling the children that they were overweight and needed to eat healthier, expected everyone else to serve her while she slept in in the morning, and wouldn't allow the children to listen to rap music because, "it gives me a headache." She did a good job divvying up the $50,000, but came across as pushy, selfish, insincere, and a real pain in the neck. The Biggins family obviously didn't like Tammy. At one point Mela's husband says about Tammy, "she acts like she wants to save our family, but I don't think our family needs saving."
I think the show provides a lesson to each of us who call on the name of Christ. How many Christians do you know who have gone out to save the world with the attitude of Tammy? They talk a great talk, but coat the gospel in their own cultural biases, and end up tainting the good news. They not only want to save the world, but want the world to be a clone of themselves. I think we would be much more effective if we took the path of Mela. Be a doer, not a talker. Be willing to let others have their own way if possible. Basically we need to learn to play well with others! We're living in an age where being a "missional" Christian is increasingly important. We shouldn't be trying to make clones of ourselves, but of Christ.
He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 NASB)
Mela was gracious and happy to be with the Nakamura family. She immediately bonded with the children, Dr Nakamura, and his mother Nana (who also filled the role as the family maid). I sensed that the Nakamura children genuinely liked Mela and that she was sincere in her actions toward the family. Mela became a very close to Nana and left her the $50,000. Mela wasn't a talker, she was a doer. She could talk if needed, but preferred to show her love through her actions.
Tammy, on the other hand, made herself look like a fool. She was constantly talking about how much she was bringing to the Biggins family, kept telling the children that they were overweight and needed to eat healthier, expected everyone else to serve her while she slept in in the morning, and wouldn't allow the children to listen to rap music because, "it gives me a headache." She did a good job divvying up the $50,000, but came across as pushy, selfish, insincere, and a real pain in the neck. The Biggins family obviously didn't like Tammy. At one point Mela's husband says about Tammy, "she acts like she wants to save our family, but I don't think our family needs saving."
I think the show provides a lesson to each of us who call on the name of Christ. How many Christians do you know who have gone out to save the world with the attitude of Tammy? They talk a great talk, but coat the gospel in their own cultural biases, and end up tainting the good news. They not only want to save the world, but want the world to be a clone of themselves. I think we would be much more effective if we took the path of Mela. Be a doer, not a talker. Be willing to let others have their own way if possible. Basically we need to learn to play well with others! We're living in an age where being a "missional" Christian is increasingly important. We shouldn't be trying to make clones of ourselves, but of Christ.
He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30 NASB)
UFO Sightings in Nebraska
Things have gotten crazy lately in Nebraska and it has led to this article. Link.
Seriously though, only 10 Days, 3 Hours, and 55 Minutes, and 39 Seconds left to the start of the University of Nebraska opening football game against Western Illinois. With the Cornhuskers change to a West Coast offense it should be an interesting year. Probably more exciting than the last few years.
You can check out all the good information on Huskerpedia. Link.
Seriously though, only 10 Days, 3 Hours, and 55 Minutes, and 39 Seconds left to the start of the University of Nebraska opening football game against Western Illinois. With the Cornhuskers change to a West Coast offense it should be an interesting year. Probably more exciting than the last few years.
You can check out all the good information on Huskerpedia. Link.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Compassion
Scott Williams has a super post on compassion. How do we understand how to help others without first being there ourselves? Link. Thanks Scott for another discussion provoking post.
Kerry's Battle Continues
Nick at Patriot Paradox has some interesting posts regarding the John Kerry/Swift Boat Pilots/George Bush battle going on. Particularly this one. Link. And this one. Link. I think this whole issue has the potential of blowing up in Kerry's face. The harder he pushes the worse it gets. He seems to be digging a deeper hole for himself each day. Why the media looks at the Swift Boat Pilots as accomplishing anything different than Kerry's MoveOn.org I don't understand. Doesn't look like unbiased journalism to me.
Man, will I be happy when this election is over and we can get back to living again!
Man, will I be happy when this election is over and we can get back to living again!
Monday, August 23, 2004
The Blogdom of God
Thanks go out to Rob for his post on the Blogdom of God. It looks pretty interesting to see so many Christians blogging. I think I'll spend some time there this week and see what they have to say.
Date to Save Website (Evangelistic Dating)
Thanks go out to Andrew Careaga for pointing us to the Date to Save website. I don't recommend missionary dating for anyone, and I have a hard time believing this isn't someone's joke. On the lighter side, I like Tamara's list of 10 Tips for Effective Missionary Dating, but only because it is funny. I think anyone who uses these tips would have trouble being an effective, credible witness. What if your date's desire is to see how many Christians he/she can lure out of their relationship with the Lord. Life is hard enough for young adults without having to heap spiritual warfare on the most intimate parts of their lives. Tamara's website should come with a disclaimer that reads: Please don't try this at home, it is better left to professionals!
Friday, August 20, 2004
Blogging Across America
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Excerpts from Planting New Churches in a Postmodern World- Part 3
Here's another excerpt from Planting New Churches in a Postmodern World. On page 266 Stetzer states what I believe is the obvious, but overlooked reason for worship. He says:
The church and its worship are not intended solely for believers, but the true purpose of the church is as broad as the purposes of God. It is the 'missio Dei'- the mission of God. It includes all that God includes...The 'missio Dei' includes worship but evangelism, ministry, encouragement, and pastoral care as well.
Some church attendees are being drawn to Christ and are "called" but have not yet committed to Christ. The Bible refers to the church as the "ekklesia"- those "called out ones" who have made a commitment to follow Christ. When the called are brought together, the planter must present God's message in such a way that it challenges believers and also encourages unbelievers toward commitment.
I think that so many times we see worship and evangelism as two separate things. Worship targets the believers and evangelism targets the unbelievers. But, worship is what links us together. Believers doing what God created us to do, worship, is the greatest source of evangelism for unbelievers. Lets stop separating worship and evangelism and interweave them together in our quest to walk with the Lord.
The church and its worship are not intended solely for believers, but the true purpose of the church is as broad as the purposes of God. It is the 'missio Dei'- the mission of God. It includes all that God includes...The 'missio Dei' includes worship but evangelism, ministry, encouragement, and pastoral care as well.
Some church attendees are being drawn to Christ and are "called" but have not yet committed to Christ. The Bible refers to the church as the "ekklesia"- those "called out ones" who have made a commitment to follow Christ. When the called are brought together, the planter must present God's message in such a way that it challenges believers and also encourages unbelievers toward commitment.
I think that so many times we see worship and evangelism as two separate things. Worship targets the believers and evangelism targets the unbelievers. But, worship is what links us together. Believers doing what God created us to do, worship, is the greatest source of evangelism for unbelievers. Lets stop separating worship and evangelism and interweave them together in our quest to walk with the Lord.
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Excerpts from Planting New Churches in a Postmodern World- Part 2
Ed Stetzer, in his book Planting New Churches in a Postmodern World, makes the following comment regarding evangelism on page 193:
There are two conversions- one temporal and one eternal. The first conversion is the conversion to community. With few exceptions, people come to Christ after they have journeyed with other Christians- examining them and considering their claims. They can come into community at any point....
The journey is not intended to be the same for each people group, worldview, or culture... For each culture, the misperceptions and reasons for rejection are different. The only thing that remains constant is the journey.
I think Stetzer says a lot about the new generations. In the modern world we could persuade unbelievers that Christ is the only way to the Father through empirical evidence. Today it takes our witness, and not just through constantly telling unbelievers about Christ, but leading them to knowledge of Christ through the witness of our lives. Before they understand that God's love is unfailing, they must see the sincerety of it in our lives. We must assure them that God's love means to us exactly what we say it means to us.
There are two conversions- one temporal and one eternal. The first conversion is the conversion to community. With few exceptions, people come to Christ after they have journeyed with other Christians- examining them and considering their claims. They can come into community at any point....
The journey is not intended to be the same for each people group, worldview, or culture... For each culture, the misperceptions and reasons for rejection are different. The only thing that remains constant is the journey.
I think Stetzer says a lot about the new generations. In the modern world we could persuade unbelievers that Christ is the only way to the Father through empirical evidence. Today it takes our witness, and not just through constantly telling unbelievers about Christ, but leading them to knowledge of Christ through the witness of our lives. Before they understand that God's love is unfailing, they must see the sincerety of it in our lives. We must assure them that God's love means to us exactly what we say it means to us.
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