Why Flashmobs make me cry

There is something beautiful about watching large groups of people do things together. It's absolutely amazing to watch. Think about the organization that goes into something like this, the practice, the hard work, the details.

Have you ever felt like you were a part of something much bigger than yourself? Ever seen the results of a project that took tons of time and tons of people to pull off? I dream about stuff like this. Not dancing to Black Eyed Peas for Oprah per se, but being a part of something epic, something world changing with a group of other people that seems literally impossible.

Who's with me?

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STORYCHURCH Launch

Yesterday, after four and a half years of dreaming, we finally launched Story Church. It was one of the greatest days of my life - to see a vision become reality. I was so proud of our team and so amazed at our God. There are seriously so many highlights, but I'll try and name some of them here.

- Our team did a tremendous job. I am amazed at the people God has assembled here at Story Church and the gifts they have.
- Final attendance was 96 people. More than double what we had at our preview services.
- We learned a lot about what works in getting our name out around here. We did a smaller (5,000 piece) direct mail campaign, yard signs, and facebook ads. By far the facebook ads were the most successful in getting people to our site, and ultimately to the service. The combination of yard signs and mailer did well (when people got a mailer and saw a sign). However, for other church planters - for the cost, I can't recommend Facebook ads more highly.
- Our band, led by @alastairvance did amazingly well.
- Our setup was different this time. We added a significant amount of pipe and drape, and moved our sound board and media off to the side as opposed to the back center of the room. The pipe and drape really gave the elementary school gym a much better feel and created an intimate space. It's a little more labor intensive than I like in a mobile church environment, but I'm sure we can develop a better system for that.
- We had a new sound board and a new projector - both of which worked out really well.
- Just saying, there can't be a better spread of food anywhere in the kingdom of God.
- Our kids ministry rocked it - I heard nothing but great things from parents.
- When I finally got up to preach, I was pretty amped up but also quite emotional. It took a few deep breaths and a prayer to get me calmed down enough to speak my heart. In the end, I think it went really well.
- We gave away John Eldredge's book Epic to everyone there - a great book for a church named STORYCHURCH!
- Overheard "Is this going to be every week?!"
- Met a girl who recently moved here from AZ. Found out she went to the church of my former youth pastor, mentor and friend Linn Winters at Cornerstone Chandler. We were all amazed at the connection.
- Met several young couples looking for a church home. Lots of PhD students. Not sure I'm smart enough for this crowd.
- Got so many emails, texts, and twitter messages from friends and other pastors that encouraged the heck out of me.
- Jesus was lifted high!
- We get to do it all over again in 6 days!!

You can hear this week's message here, and see more pictures here.

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The gospel and suffering

My friend Luke is a prison chaplain. At the prison he works at, there are five different facilities that house inmates, each one with varying levels of freedom. The lowest level are men who work outside, who aren't locked into cells, and don't have gates keeping them there. At the highest level is full lockdown with double doors, double windows, gates, bars, razor wire, the whole thing. As one of the chaplains, Luke gets the opportunity to preach in each of these facilities. Though he is new, other chaplains have described to him something that he is beginning to see as well. Chaplains describe that the enthusiasm for the gospel is inversely related to the level of freedom that the inmates have. Those that have quite a bit of freedom are generally emotionless and subdued in hearing the gospel preached to them. Those that are kept under higher levels of security express much greater enthusiasm for the gospel.

I suppose this shouldn't surprise me. Jesus had crowds of "sinners" that couldn't get enough of him. Those that outwardly were probably furthest from God were the most attracted to a message of hope and grace and freedom. On the other hand, religious people hated Jesus. Those that outwardly seemed to have it all together had the least need for Jesus (or so they thought) and therefore saw Jesus words as a threat rather than a welcomed hope.

We see the same thing outside of prison walls though don't we? Why is it that the church in the United States is in decline while everywhere else in the world it is flourishing? Why is it that in some of the most difficult, painful places in the world the gospel is seeing unprecedented growth and advance? Freedom, prosperity, and consumerism can be numbing. The church in America is largely filled with affluent people who have always had everything they wanted. We have rarely been in a position where our freedom has been limited. We have probably never gone without a meal - except by choice. If we don't like Church A, then we'll just go down the street to Church B. Or maybe we'll just stay home.

While the reality is that the church here is in decline, I am hopeful for the church. I believe that our best days are still ahead of us. The church in the western world has unprecedented opportunity. But we need a desperation for God. We will never change the world by being comfortable. We must be willing to step into brokenness, to embrace the suffering, and to learn from our brothers and sisters around the world who are poor and marginalized. Our freedom and our prosperity must never be allowed to numb us to the power of the gospel. Jesus said that he came for the sick. He came to set the prisoners free, to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry. I want to be part of a church that is full of sick, naked, hungry prisoners. I want to be surrounded by people who are desperate for God, aware of their own failures, and eager for more of Jesus.

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100 Days

Today marks the 100 day countdown to the launch of Story Church. Depending on your perspective, that can either seem like a long time, or not much time at all. For me, it's more of the latter. A couple of months ago the plan was to launch on September 13. I had a hard time giving up that date and pushing things back, but I am so glad that we did. I can't even imagine what things would have been like if we had tried to push it. We simply wouldn't have made it.

So what is there to do in the next 100 days? Here are some of the things we are trying to accomplish in no specific order:

1) 3 preview services - Oct. 11, Nov. 15, and Dec. 20. The previews serve two purposes - to allow people to see who we are and maybe get excited enough about our vision to join our team. And secondly, to let us practice and try and figure this thing out.

2) To grow our team to about 35 adults. It just takes a certain amount of people to be able to hold babies, serve people, etc.

3) To raise money. We are trying to be good steward of what we have, but it simply costs money to start a church that meets in a rented facility. There is sound equipment, kids ministry stuff, food, advertising, rent, insurance, graphic design and more to pay for.

4) Serve our community. We are trying to build into the DNA of Story Church that we are going to be a church that not only exists within our community but that we play a vital role in it. Our desire is to be a generous, life-giving church. That doesn't happen on Sunday mornings alone. So we are beginning to find our place in Durham and the ways that we can live out the gospel to all people.

I'm so excited for these next 100 days. They are vitally important days. They are days of faith, of great dependence upon God. Pray for us and for Story Church. And if you are in the Triangle area, let us share our heart and vision with you. Come out and visit us on October 11 for our next preview. All of the details are on our website here.

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I am not a salesman

When I was little it seemed like I was always raising money for something. (I guess some things don't change - see storychurch.org to give now!) I remember one time standing out front of the grocery store selling candy for yet another church trip. I think this time it was chocolate eggs, large tasty eggs, for $6 a piece. I remember the man who felt bad for me and bought my last 5 eggs which meant I got to go to Disneyland for free. But it wasn't because I was a great salesman. It was pity. I didn't have a smooth sales pitch, an engaging question, or even a sweet catch phrase like "BINGO!" (see yesterday's post if you don't understand)

I still hate selling stuff. In fact, even watching someone sell someone else on something is kind of awful to me. I hate the fact that it feels like someone is getting manipulated. I hate the false sense of excitement, the way the product gets talked up as if it's the greatest thing ever, and the feeling I get when I've been totally bamboozled into buying something I didn't really want or need.

I fear this about being a pastor. I never want to be a salesman. I don't want to have to give a pitch for Jesus. I don't want to have to talk Him up like "He slices, He dices, He blesses." I fear this because I guess there's enough of it in the church world that it makes me afraid to become that. There's certainly a reality to the fact that I want people to come to Jesus because of what He can do for them - heal them, restore them, redeem them. But Jesus isn't a product, and the church isn't just the packaging, and as the pastor I'm not Billy Mays (RIP). If Jesus isn't attractive enough on his own, lived out by his followers, then we're probably doing something wrong.

With that said, I'm all for churches making Sunday morning worship an attractive thing. It would kind of be counter-productive to say that we shouldn't do that. But don't invite your friends to church so that the professional salesman can sell them on Jesus. It doesn't matter what I say as the pastor - the message they will hear the loudest is what they see in you. And frankly, I'm out of the chocolate egg industry.

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Plans vs. Vision

"Plans change, vision stays the same." I listened recently to another Andy Stanley leadership podcast that hit me at just the right time. I asked on twitter last week for people to be praying for me as I had some pretty big decisions to make. I feel like God really answered many of those prayers by allowing me to hear this particular podcast. In it, Andy talks about how many of us fail to realize that our particular vision is not the same as our particular plan. I know for me this church planting adventure that I am on is one where my plans and the vision God has given me sometimes get confused. I think this is common for many of us. Maybe your vision is about a particular ministry, or about your business, or even a particular vision for your family. Our plans become so important to us. After all, we pray about them, we align our finances around them, we follow our plan to the greatest detail. But which is more important - the plan (how I will accomplish the vision), or the vision itself? Sometimes we have to be willing to be flexible with our plans. Plans change, vision stays the same.

In my context my church planting plan has had some significant changes along the way. The vision has continued to stay the same. Our vision is to plant a life-giving church that encourages people to embrace the story they were meant to live. It's a vision that calls people out of boredom and into the life God intended for them. And yet my plan has often gotten confused with that vision. Originally my plan was that this would happen primarily in downtown Durham. When God began pointing me closer to the Grove Park area, I struggled with that. How could we change our focus like that? Oh yeah - downtown isn't the vision, a life-giving church is the vision. More recently I've wrestled with a new change of plans. For a year I've been planning on launching Story Church on September 13, 2009. And yet recently, I've come to terms with the fact that we aren't ready to launch. At first this was a devastating reality for me. How can I change my launch date?? Oh yeah, September 13 isn't the vision - a healthy, life-giving church is the vision. September 13 is a plan. And it can change without affecting the vision.

How about you? What's the vision you have for your life, your career, your family, your marriage? Is that vision married to a particular plan, or is the plan flexible? If we don't learn to flex the plan, our vision can die with a bad plan. Good vision thrives at the right time with the right plan - but it's not the same as our plan. We die for vision, but not for our plans.

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Declaration of Dependence

Independence is overrated. Don't get me wrong, I love living in a free country, but I'm a bit over the individualized existence so many of us live. Somewhere along the line we as Americans, maybe even as Christians, have come to the conclusion that we are the center of our world, and that we don't need anyone else. We have become our own masters, and even those of us who call ourselves Christians have become very independent of each other - after all, all I need is Jesus, right? In what has been a very difficult, trying, and stressful time - I'm declaring today my complete and utter dependence. I am learning just how dependent I am on others. Kimi and I live and pay our bills because of the generosity of others. We live on their monthly support which allows us to focus on ministry here in Durham. So we are dependent upon so many in that regard. I'm also learning more and more what it meant when God said "It is not good for man to be alone." We were created for relationships. None of us can live the kind of lives we were meant to live without investing in relationships. We left California 11 months ago now. That's hard to believe. I've learned over these months just how dependent I am on having friends that I can lean on, and friends that lean on me. I've really missed that. None of us is created to do this life solo. I am learning more and more about the depth of relationship available in my wife as well. She is my closest friend, my greatest ally, my strongest supporter and encourager. I am dependent upon her in so many ways.

Ultimately, I am dependent upon my God. I am dependent upon him for his provision, for his love, and his grace. I've made some pretty huge mistakes along the way in my life, and it's my dependence upon him that has sustained me through those times. I'm dependent upon him for hope, for forgiveness, for restoration. I'm dependent upon him for direction, for wisdom, and for guidance. I am trying to plant a church with people I don't yet know, and money we don't yet have. I'm dependent upon him to build his church.

In our finances, we're dependent. In our marriage, we're dependent. In our parenting, we're dependent. In our relationships, we're dependent. In this church plant, we're dependent.

I think we're afraid of being dependent, or maybe just of admitting it. In doing so, we admit our weaknesses, and our need for others. That's not usually the kind of thing we like to announce or celebrate. But I wonder what we're missing by being so independent? In the midst of celebrating a country that is free this weekend, I'd challenge you to celebrate and embrace your dependence.

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Durham is cool

I've lived in Durham for about 7 months now. It's kind of hard to believe. But I came from Southern California, the place on the cutting edge, the place where everything is always happening. And yet, I've found that in a few short months here in Durham, NC that maybe SoCal isn't quite as cutting edge as it wants to be. I guess what I mean by that is that there is a lot going on here, way more than I expected there to be. Let me give some examples. In these seven months I have had the opportunity to see Donald Miller (author, Blue Like Jazz), Shane Claiborne (author, Irresistible Revolution and Jesus for President), Mark Driscoll (church planter, author - Vintage Jesus), and this week Ed Stetzer (church planting guru, author Planting Missional Churches). And all of this has been within 15-20 minutes of my house. I guess it comes with living in a University saturated area. But it's awesome.

As a church planter, it's pretty cool that this area is booming with those on the cutting edge of planting churches. There's a monthly forum about 10 minutes from my house led by Summit Church called SendRDU. This is where this week I got to hear Ed Stetzer talk about the pitfalls of church planting. Oh yeah, and every one of these things I've been able to do so far have been free. Can't beat that.

In June there will be a national conference for church planters and those interested in moving the church forward. Where is it? Oh, it's in Durham. So while hundreds of people will fly in from all over the country, I'll sleep in my bed, get up late, and drive to the conference.

All this to say - SoCal is still cool. And while it can boast of Disneyland and the beach and In-N-Out, at least I have trees and seasons and Shane Claiborne. It's a pretty good trade.

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A revealing question

What won't happen if we don't do what God has called us to do? I've been listening lately to a leadership podcast from Andy Stanley. In a recent episode, he asked this question. From a leadership standpoint, it's important he says to get people thinking about a problem that needs to be solved, and that this question helps do that. I've been thinking a lot about it in terms of my own life, and in the life of Story Church. A couple years ago Don Miller gave a talk at Mars Hill (Grand Rapids, MI), in which he talked about story. That message is the basis of where our name came from. Anyway, he said that the way you tell whether or not a story is good is to ask the question, "What would happen if this story wasn't resolved?" He asks how would the story resolve if the hero got hit by a bus. He gave the example of his friend Jenna, who heads up Blood:Water Mission. What would happen if Jenna's story wasn't resolved? People would die. She provides clean water wells for millions in Africa, and if she couldn't continue - thousands if not millions would die. That's a good story!

I have friends who are living great stories. One friend gave up a huge career opportunity to go spend a few months working in a health clinic in Africa. Another friend is rescuing a whole generation of kids in one of the poorest communities in Guatemala. Another friend goes every week to hang out with his friends who are homeless in downtown Raleigh, for whom he buys boots in order to take care of them in the cold. Still another friend planted a church for 20 somethings who were burned out on a church that was disconnected with the world around them. Now they are providing food for families that are HIV+ and have adopted them as part of their mission. What would happen if these people didn't do what God called them to do? What if instead they pursued something else? Like the American dream, success, fame, money, etc. It's so tempting isn't it? To spend our lives trying to better ourselves, to have more, to achieve more.

What won't happen in your life if you don't do what God has called you to do? Who won't be mentored? Who will go hungry? Who will suffer from an absent father or mother? Who will be sick? Who won't be loved? Who won't experience grace and forgiveness?

For me, I wonder what won't happen in Durham if Story Church doesn't do what God has called us to do. What marriage won't be rescued? What family won't be redeemed? What person will give in to hopelessness? What addictions won't be broken? For many churches in America, we fail to ask this question, and the church suffers. We grow inward, we fail to connect with a hurting world, and we basically become irrelevant. It's not the way God intended His church to be. God invites us to be part of something so much bigger than ourselves. He invites us to be part of a bigger Story, one of redemption and hope. I pray that you and I and the church in America begin to realize this truth and to live for something more.

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Sick

I don't get sick very often. But I've got it pretty bad this time. It started on Monday with a bit of a sore throat. Monday night I was up during the night with a fever, going from shivering cold to sweating and back to shivering again. Tuesday the throat was getting pretty bad. I also had some pretty bad headaches, and the occasional fever. Tuesday night - shiver, sweat, shiver, repeat. Wednesday, my throat was awful. More headaches, more fever. I haven't had much of an appetite either, since it hurts so bad to swallow. Wednesday night I ran a lower fever. This morning (Thursday) my throat felt like a bomb went off inside. So I finally went to the doctor. The first place I went was a little clinic, who tested me for strep (which I was convinced I had) and it came back negative. So they sent me to Urgent Care. At Urgent Care they again tested me for strep (I still think I have it), and it again came back negative. They also tested me for mono, and for the flu. Have you ever been flu tested before? Yeah, you may want to pass on that one. They put a real long stick up your nose until they can touch your brain, and somehow that tells them if you have the flu. It's awful. So I don't have mono, or the flu, or strep (maybe I should get tested again). I think more by process of elimination than anything else, they diagnosed me with tonsilitis. Awesome. So I got 10 days worth of antibiotics, and apparently that should do the trick.

I think sickness is intelligent somehow. It always knows when it's a terrible time to get sick, and then it jumps on you. I am supposed to teach twice this weekend. The first being our normal Story Church weekly study. The second is on Sunday morning at a church in Raleigh. They are helping me to get licensed here in the state of NC as a pastor, and they've invited me to share this week about my calling and what our vision is for Story Church. I'm excited about the opportunity, but I really hope I'm feeling better by then.

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Why do you go to church?

It's an interesting question. Most people would probably answer that they go to church to "worship God." But is that really the purpose? I saw a live event online yesterday with Dallas Willard and John Ortberg discussing spiritual formation and discipleship to Jesus. In case you don't know, Dallas Willard is a brilliant writer, thinker, philosopher out of USC. His book The Divine Conspiracy is one of my favorites, and probably the most life changing book I've read outside of the Bible. Anyway, one of the things they talked about was the role of church in one's spiritual formation and I found one comment by Dallas Willard to be particularly thought provoking. Here's the way the conversation went:

Ortberg: Why go to church?

Willard: To love and to be loved.

Ortberg: I thought you would have said "to worship God"

Willard: that may happen, but that's not why I go. I go to love and to be loved and I assume that the presence of Jesus is there in those people.

What do you think of this statement? Why do we go to church? Most people would agree that I can worship God on my own at anytime and any place. So why do I need to go to church to worship Him? And, if Willard is right about the reason we go to church, then why are church services almost entirely forward facing, and non-relational? As I'm laying the ground work for a new church here in Durham, this is a question that I really wrestle with. I have more thoughts about it, and my own personal feelings, but I'd love to hear from you. So feedback would be great! What do you think?

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Meet the Family

Tonight was an incredible night for Kimi and I. After three years of praying and dreaming about church planting and forming new communities, tonight we had a house full of people who desire the same things. In the picture are 21 of us, kids included, who dream of doing life together in meaningful ways. I can't express in words what it's like to begin to see in reality some of the things that God has been putting in my heart for so long now. Thanks to all of you who are praying and participating with us.

If you live in Durham and are seeking a community to share with and do life together, please let me know! We'd love to grow this group and create more communities just like it as well.

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UnChristian - Part 4

The next perception is this: "Christians are boring, unintelligent, old-fashioned, and out of touch with reality."

The perception is that Christians are simple minded people who aren't very educated, believe in some silly things, and basically have no idea what the real world is really like. I have to say that in some circles of Christianity, that probably isn't too far from the truth. But overall, while the perception may not be true, the reality is that it's how we are perceived.

Here's the main thing to me - younger generations are more than willing to live in a world without all the answers. Previous generations have prided themselves on figuring it all out, from science to theology. Everything was neatly categorized and boxed. Newer generations are excitedly exploring all the intricacies of life, and are highly skeptical of anyone who says that they know the answers to life's most difficult questions. They are comfortable with difficult questions, with contradicting answers, and with the unknown. For me, this is a breath of fresh air. I love to hear people wrestling with ideas. I love that younger generations aren't satisfied with pat answers. I'm also really excited about a generation that is comfortable with a growing understanding of God. God teaches me new things all the time. My understanding of Him grows. And there is so much that I don't get. I just don't understand Him. And that's ok! Who wants to serve a God that we can completely understand and disect? I want a God that is Big. A God that I learn more about all the time. A God that surprises me in the ways that He does things. A God that speaks through people, and then bushes, and then donkeys. The day that I have God figured out and I have all the answers is the day that I have made God in my own image. He doesn't play by my rules, I don't understand Him, and that is beautiful.

I think what these generations are saying to the church is this: Don't be afraid to say "I don't know." It's ok to not have the answers. Don't take huge complex issues or ideas and boil them down to 3 easy steps, or 5 keys to this, or some funny clever acrostic. Share your opinions, share your journey as you've come to understand something, but don't be so quick to package it, and mass-market it. Younger generations love to hear your story, but they want their own story too. They want to learn and experience these things for themselves. They are eager for this. As the church we need to provide opportunities for people to explore, to ask questions, to grow and to wrestle with deep, difficult ideas. And if they leave asking more questions, that's ok too. Isn't that what we want? I'd rather someone come searching and leave with a hunger for more, than to have them come with real questions and leave with a bookmark. Let's not trivialize God.

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UnChristian - Part 3

I'm reading the book now faster than I can keep up with the blog, but I'll try and do a couple here tonight to catch up a bit. The next perception Kinnaman tackles is this: "Christians show contempt for gays and lesbians." At least so far, this is probably the most difficult perception to deal with, and maybe a bit controversial in some circles.

First, what Kinnaman is not saying. He is not saying that homosexuality is ok. He's also not saying that we should read Scripture any differently or adopt a new theology of any kind. But here's what he is saying. He is pointing out the hypocrisy of the church as it relates to this issue. There are many, many sins in the church that get simply overlooked. Divorce, gluttony, greed, pride, materialism, etc. And yet, homosexuality somehow gets raised as the sin that simply can't be forgiven. Let's agree on this, sin is bad. All sin. My sin. Your sin. Listen to this finding though in Kinnaman's research: "In our research, the perception that Christians are 'against' gays and lesbians - not only objecting to their lifestyles but also harboring irrational fear and unmerited scorn toward them - has reached critical mass. The gay issue has become the 'big one', the negative image most likely to be intertwined with Christianity's reputation" (92). He also says that "our hostility towards gays - not just opposition to homosexual politics and behaviors but disdain for gay individuals - has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith" (92). Wow. Is that what Jesus said? "This is how they will know that you are my disciples, by your disdain for people."

As usual, there are tons of talking points from this chapter, but let me focus on this one thing. I fully believe that most Christians simply don't know what to do with this issue. It's a difficult one. It's hard to understand. But even more, unless you can put a face to this issue, you are going to have a very different view than others. Kinnaman shares a personal story about a homosexual friend who felt condemned and judged by him because of his Christian views. I have experienced some of the same things. One of my best friends as I grew up came out as gay in his twenties. All through junior high and high school people teased him because he was different. He swore he was straight. I'm positive that at that age I said things about gays that I would be completely embarrassed about now. I wonder though, did he know in high school? If so, he clearly had no safe place to share that, or to wrestle with the feelings he was experiencing. Even worse, I wasn't safe. What things did I say that may have pushed him away? My guess is that the only place he experienced grace and understanding was in the homosexual community. It certainly wasn't in the church.

Flash forward 10 years. I got a call one day from a student who wanted to come talk to me right away. When he showed up in my office I could tell he was as nervous as could be. After some small talk he eventually got around to telling me he was gay. I was the first person he ever told. Can I tell you the first thing that came out of his mouth after this news? "Am I going to hell because I'm gay?" This question wasn't just a random question. It was THE question that had given him such grief and heartache for so long. It's what kept him pretending. It's what caused him to be angry, to be socially awkward, to over eat, to hate his parents. It was fear that drove him to live a lie. It was fear that made him shake so badly as we talked. Yet, in the midst of this fear he was searching. He was reaching out because he desperately wanted someone to love him and accept him and to tell him that God still loved him. In his mind, God hated him. I wonder where he got that idea.

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UnChristian - Part 2

The second perception that Kinnaman deals with is this: Christians are insincere and concerned only with converting others. In this chapter he touches on a number of myths about how people come to be Christians. I was going to go over each one, but I think instead I'll just talk about the one that stood out the most to me. That is this - "Anything that brings people to Christ is worth doing." Many churches pay huge dollars to do evangelism efforts that will reach tons of people at the same time. They may mail Bibles, or tracts, or other Christian material to homes in their community. Or they will do an event and then sneak in Jesus at the end. Kinnaman says that the research shows that such efforts will create three to ten times as much negative response as positive. In other words, for every person that responds positively and moves toward Christ, three to ten others will move away from Him even further. This is huge. The perception of people is that they are simply a number, a notch on a belt, a statistic. Can I ask a really difficult question? Is that really just a perception? Do we care about them, really care about them? What if that person that you befriended tells you that he or she has no interest in Jesus - what happens to the friendship? What is our motivation? Do we seek conversion, or friendship? Do we love unconditionally, or with an agenda?

Here's a confession for you. As a pastor I struggle with evangelism. It's not one of my gifts, nor is it something I get excited about. Let me clarify. I struggle with the whole make-a-decision-and-pray-a-prayer kind of evangelism. Let me explain. I've done plenty of "raise your hand and pray this prayer" kind of sermons. But if I'm honest, they always feel awkward and weird. I feel like I'm trying to sell someone on something. It's almost like I'm trying to be a used car salesman. Just get them to sign on the dotted line next to the "as-is, no warranty" line and once they drive off my property it isn't my problem anymore. We get so geared up and focused on the decision. The prayer. The raised hand. The checked box. Don't get me wrong. I believe that people need to make a faith commitment to Christ. There's a place in there somewhere where people acknowledge their need for a Savior. But it seems to me that while this is an important step, it certainly shouldn't be where it ends. Nor should it be the highlight. To me the highlight is someone who is learning to walk with Jesus as his disciple. Kinnaman says "Intentionally or not, we promote the idea to outsiders that being a Christ follower is primarily about the mere choice to convert" (79). We need a more holistic approach to being a Christ follower. We need discipleship. We need to do life together with people. We need friendships that run deep. It's not as flashy, not as noticeable, not as numbers driven. It's slower, harder, more messy. But it's real. It's genuine. It's authentic. It's discipeship. Now that's something that gets me excited.

I'll end with this one other quote from Kinnaman and then I'd love to hear feedback. "Transformation is a process, a journey, not a one-time decision. This resonates with Mosaics and Busters. The depth and texture of Christianity ought to appeal to young people, but the unChristian notion strains life in Christ into mere mental allegiance to a religion. The truth is that when a person makes a commitment to Christ, it is just the first step into a much larger reality" (82).

Thoughts?

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UnChristian

I'm finally getting around to reading David Kinnaman's book UnChristian. I bought it right after it came out, and then it joined the list of books to read at a later date. For those of you who may not know about this book, Kinnaman is a researcher who works with the Barna Group. This book is the result of research he did into the perceptions of 16-29 year olds on Christianity and the church. As someone who has worked with this age for the last few years, I'm finding the book to be an affirmation of so many of the things I have seen and heard in young people both inside and outside the church. So here's the plan - Kinnaman says that in his research there were basically six broad themes that continued to surface from people. Over the next week or two (depending on how long it takes) I plan on spending a little bit of time on each of those six themes. I'll review a bit of what he says, and try and give my own take on my own experience and perceptions. So anyway, here goes.

The first theme that he touches on is the perception that Christians are hypocritical. By that, he means of course, that we are perceived as saying one thing and doing something different. With that, is the idea that Christians pretend to have it all together and in reality they are just as messed up as everyone else. And the evidence backs that up. In just about every lifestyle activity, Christians and non-Christians are nearly identical in their behavior according to the research. There's a serious problem here. Of course the lives of Christians probably ought to be a bit different than the rest of culture. But beyond that, I'm more concerned with the fact that while most of culture is pretty open about their behavior, Christians (generally speaking of course) pretend that they have squeaky clean lives. In a culture that values authenticity and transparency, a little bit of honesty could go a long way.

Here's a thought, what if we stopped pretending and starting owning up to our own junk? How huge could that be to people who want nothing to do with us because we look down at them for their behavior and in reality our lives are generally no better? What if the church was a place of open dialogue about our struggles and failures as we attempt to follow Jesus? Kinnaman gives the example of a friend who taught a five-week series in his church entitled "Confessions of a Sinful Church." What a great idea. It reminds me of what Donald Miller and his friends did in Blue Like Jazz. They dressed up like monks and set up a confession booth in the middle of their secular campus. But rather than people coming in to confess sin, it was Miller and his buddies who did the confessing for all of the junk that Christians and the church have done in the name of Jesus.

My own experience has echoed this research too. I can't tell you how many conversations I had with students for whom this issue was keeping them from embracing Jesus. They were afraid to become like the people they couldn't stand. Other students who were part of our church already would often confront me when they thought I wasn't being real with them. I couldn't get away with anything. When I had a bad week, I better not try and put on a face and talk about joy. They could see right through me. I appreciated that about them so much. I learned from them all the time about living an authentic life. They seemed to have no problem living authentically. In fact, sometimes I wished they would put on a face a bit. Their willingness to be so authentic often led to situations of brutal, blunt honesty. That's fine when it's just you and them talking, but it's a whole different thing when you're in a group setting with other adults who don't share their willingness to be so transparent. But I think these students got it. They refuse to carry on a version of Christianity that is fake or forced. It's also why I think there is great hope for the church in the future. There is a generation of Jesus' followers who are forging a new path. I pray that we learn from them and learn with them as we advance the kingdom.

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Acts

I've been reading through the book of Acts. I figured that's it a good thing to be doing seeing as how we're trying to start a church here in Durham. It's amazing to me the way things were happening in the early church. Entire paradigms were being shifted. There is the shift from Old covenant to New, the extension of God's grace from the Jewish people to include even Gentiles. There's the shift in dietary rules, the movement of the Holy Spirit, a well known terrorist becoming one of the apostles. Wow. Why do we tend to think that all the cool stuff happened way back then? I mean seriously - is God still moving and active or isn't He? Didn't Jesus say that the gates of hell would not be able to hold back the church? Didn't Jesus say that we would do even greater things that He did? It sure doesn't feel like it most of the time does it? I want to believe that Jesus meant those things. I want to believe that its possible for a church to exist that is literally transforming the culture around it through the power of the gospel.

Along with Acts, I've been reading Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution. You need to read it. I'm warning you though. Don't read it unless you are willing to have some of your foundations rocked. You won't be able to read it and continue on with life as usual - let's put it that way. I'll give a more full review of it in a couple of days. I'm still digesting and wrestling with it. The cool thing is that Shane will be in Durham in January to speak at Duke's chapel. So I'm looking forward to that.

It's been interesting to read about the early church, and then read one person's perspective on where we've gone wrong between then and now. Shane is living out the kingdom like no one else I've heard of and there is such power in it. It's the kind of power that makes you really believe the things Jesus said.

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A Franciscan Benediction

The church we went to this morning here in Durham was awesome. They ended the service by reading this Benediction together, and I think it is one of the most amazing prayers I've ever heard. May this be true of all believers everywhere.

May God bless you with discomfort

At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships

So that you may live deep within your heart


May God bless you with anger

At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,

So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.


May God bless you with tears

To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,

So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and

To turn their pain into joy.


And may God bless you with enough foolishness

To believe that you can make a difference in the world,

So that you can do what others claim cannot be done

To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.


Amen to that!

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You throw a baseball like a girl!

I don't usually venture into politics or discussions about politics. But I have been really blown away by what is going on in our country over the last couple of weeks. Regardless of what your specific political views are, this last week has been a history making week for us as a country. One party has nominated an African-American man to be their presidential candidate, and the other party has nominated a woman as part of the presidential ticket, meaning she could be president if McCain keeled over, or potentially after his terms are up. Wow. How far have we come?

But as someone who works in the church, I am quite intrigued by the incredible support for Palin coming out of the conservative Christian ranks. I don't think it's a bad thing at all, she is pretty impressive. But it is interesting that in many of the churches from which Mrs. Palin is gaining such support - she would not be allowed to lead. In other words, she can lead our country, make decisions that affect millions of people, but she couldn't take on any kind of leadership role in those churches. A blog I read regularly is that of Dan Kimball, and he raised this issue today on his blog. You can find it here. What do you make of this?

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Monsters Inc.

So I was talking to a friend the other day over lunch. We were talking about the church and culture and how the two relate. I left that conversation thinking about "Monsters, Inc." Have you ever seen it? It's the story of a bunch of monsters who work at a power plant of sorts. All of Monstropolis runs on the power that is captured from the screams of young children. The monsters go in to work, where doors are brought to their station. They open the doors (which are sort of like doors into another world - think Wardrobe and Narnia), go inside and scare kids. The kids scream, their scream is captured and converted to power. It's a rather clever story line. However, there is one thing about this job. It's a dangerous job. The monsters believe that any contact with humans or human things requires decontamination. Alarms go off, monsters get shaved, its crazy really. But one day a little girl follows the monster through the door and into Monstropolis. A couple of monsters grab her (after much debate about whether it was safe or not) and spend the rest of the movie trying to get her back where she goes. Along the way, the monsters figure out that the girls laughter is way more powerful than her screams and eventually the whole process gets revamped. The monsters are no longer mean and scary, but funny and nice. It's a great movie for helping kids with the inevitable fear of monsters in the closet.

So why did I leave a lunch conversation about the church and culture thinking of "Monsters, Inc."? Many people in the church live in a sort of bubble. We are afraid of what is outside of Monstropolis, but we need it in order to maintain our way of life. So we'll go in, but only as much as we have to, and take what we need in order to carry on life. So we'll go to the grocery store, the mall, the car dealership, etc. but we do so with great caution and great care - knowing that we could be contaminated quite easily. Those that live in the real world (the humans) are afraid of us too. They only see us step in on occassion, and it's never with good news. We're usually there to make noise and then we retreat to the safety of our churches, christian coffeehouses and book stores. I wonder if we can't learn a thing or two from a good old Disney movie. What if the people in culture (the humans) aren't as scary and contaminating as we think? What if they actually have something to offer us? What if there was a way to bring joy to them rather than fear? What if when they saw us coming they didn't scream or hide under the sheets, but rather got excited because we brought with us hope and joy?

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