October 30, 2009
Are Small Groups Just for White People?
Why don't more ethnic churches have a small groups ministry?
I came across an interesting interview in the recent issue of Leadership Journal. The subjects of the interview were from River City Community Church—a multi-ethnic ministry located in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. Leadership talked with Daniel Hill, who founded the ministry, along with several key leaders of the church.
Here's a brief excerpt of their conversation:
What kind of person is attracted to River City?
Hill: Most of our new people are white. But there's a revolving door with the white community here. They have a romantic notion of being part of a multi-ethnic church, so many of them get frustrated and leave when they realize how difficult it is to erase their assumptions about the way church is supposed to be.
What assumptions do white people carry into the church?
Arloa Sutter (pastor of community life): When I came I said, "Let's just start small groups! Everyone wants to be in a group, right?" The fact is small groups aren't as important to other ethnicities as they are to white people.
Small groups are a white church thing?
Hill: White people rely on small groups to connect. Other ethnicities form community more organically, more relationally. Immigrant communities find fellowship within extended families. In the city a lot of community happens on the front porch or sidewalk. So non-whites aren't as eager to set up structures and systems like small groups.
Carlos Ruiz (coordinator of community groups): I think whites really value efficiency.
Antoine Taylor (director of Sunday morning ministries): And releasing that value is really hard for a lot of them. They perceive other ways of operating as inefficient or disorganized.
Jennifer Idoma-Motzko (elder): They say it's not the right way to do church. And I respond bluntly by saying, "You mean it's not the white way to do church."
Obviously, there are some pretty strong statements there, and they raise several important questions:
1. Are small groups primarily a "white" way to do church?
2. If we assume that non-white ethnicities connect more easily and organically than whites, does that mean small groups have no use in those communities? Or can they be a supplement to those organic connections?
3. Are small groups really about efficiency? Is that the appeal they bring to churches, whether white or otherwise?
I've got some thoughts on these questions, but I would really like to hear what all of you think before I let loose.
You can read the full interview with the leaders of River City Community Church in Aug/Sep issue of our digizine, Catalyst Leadership.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 30, 2009 | Comments (45) | TrackBack
October 27, 2009
Virtual Church is STILL a Bad Idea
Online churches are missing a few essential ingredients.
**Editor's Note: I apologize for the lack of posts in recent days. We've been experiencing some technical difficulties. -Url Scaramanga**
I was disappointed to read Douglas Estes’ piece last week on Ur, for a number of reasons, but chief among them is this: it fails to deal substantively with a single serious critique that has been raised regarding virtual church. In fact, Mr. Estes not only fails to address the critique, but he seems to fail even to understand it.
So in a spirit of Christian love and good dialogue, let me respond point by point!
First, Mr. Estes asserts that critique of virtual church can be boiled down to “Internet campuses and online churches are not true churches because they don’t look like and feel like churches are expected to look like and feel like (in the West, anyway).”
Respectfully, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, my concern about internet church is that it’s too much like what we expect (and want) church to look and feel like (at least in the West).
Video venues and internet church are the logical next step to the celebrity and consumer culture of America, and they represent a threat to both the overall maturity of the Body of Christ and our counter-cultural mandate. Celebrity elevation of pastors who have begun to franchise themselves and their “brand” around the nation should concern us for a number of reasons I’ve outlined elsewhere—they draw down people and resources from other church communities and they are unable to do mission-critical activities.
I’d say those are pretty substantial concerns.
Second, this article repeats what I see as the major scriptural argument in favor of virtual church—“Nowhere in the Bible does it preclude online church.” The argument from silence, as we all remember from high school debate class, is the weakest. And in this case, I believe the Bible isn’t silent. Let me ask very plainly:
What do we call a church that not only fails to engage in, but makes a practical impossibility, the idea of church discipline? How will discipline happen in Second Life/Internet/Sim Church, where anonymity reigns and screen names and identities are changed with a couple clicks?
What do we call a church that not only fails to engage in, but makes a practical impossibility, the equipping ministry of the church? What about discipleship and leadership formation? How does one become an elder in a virtual church? What do we call churches without biblical eldership?
Can true community be mediated by a screen, or is it forged in the times at table, bearing one another’s burdens, serving the poor and one another together, at weddings and funerals, births and deaths … all the stuff that happens when I turn the screen off.
These are not “sleight of hand” questions, but real ecclesiastical concerns that go beyond “cultural factors, pop psychology, materialistic misreadings of a few New Testament verses, or worse, citations of famous pastors who have doubts.”
The remainder of Mr. Estes’ article deals with the idea that critics of virtual church are really just privileging one “space” over another and saying that “meeting” in virtual space is equivalent to meeting in a cathedral or even a pub (hmm…a pub? That’s a great idea!)
Ironically, he (unwittingly) offers the best arguments against the model.
Mr. Estes writes that “every virtual church I’ve encountered has worked very hard to put into place ‘regular’ aspects—from baptisms to small groups to mission trips—in order to help build real community across the board.” It seems like he is saying that flesh and blood proximity is necessary for “real community”—a contention I agree with.
No, the space where a community meets doesn’t make it a legitimate church. It’s not where we meet, but that we meet. And whether people are actually meeting together—that is, whether you and me watching the same video stream, silently reading the comments in the chat room as we sip our individual portions of grape juice and eat crackers, rises to the level of “ecclesia” and the picture of Acts 2:42—has yet to be determined.
In other words, I have yet to be convinced that simultaneity equals community.
If "community" was the only reason we had church, there might be some validity to gathering online, in the same chat room at the same time, and calling that “church.”
But it’s not the only reason.
The worship, equipping, and discipling ministries of the church simply can’t take place through the internet. Pieces of them can, but eventually the jump has to be made. I met my wife online, for Pete’s sake! But if we had left it there? Arguing for the validity of “virtual church” is like arguing for the validity of online marriages. There are one or two vital things that get left out ...
A truly biblical Church requires that we heed the biblical call of Hebrews 10 to not give up gathering together and BEING PRESENT to one another in real, actual life. To break bread together requires that we actually be together, not just online simultaneously. Sim Church is a nice idea, but I would much rather see the proponents of virtual church argue for the effective use of technology as part of an overall strategy for connecting with people, while clearly and plainly telling them, “This is not church.”
To be a part of the Body requires you to be present, fully present, to others in a way you can’t be online. Internet tools may enhance that presence when you are apart, but they can’t replace it. And nothing we do as a Church should ever communicate that they can.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 27, 2009 | Comments (31) | TrackBack
October 22, 2009
In Defense of Virtual Church
Douglas Estes, author of SimChurch, responds to critics of online churches.
A myth is growing in some circles of the blogosphere that online church is not good, not healthy, and not biblical. If we read carefully the criticisms levied against internet campuses, they boil down to some very common and tired themes: Internet campuses and online churches are not true churches because they don’t look like and feel like churches are expected to look like and feel like (in the West, anyway). Arguments against virtual church follow the idea that if it doesn’t look like church, feel like church, swim like church, or quack like church, it’s not a church. This may be a useful test for ducks, but churches are far more complex animals.
This myth is causing even open-minded people to have doubts about whether a church online can be ‘real.’ Let’s lay aside for a moment that nowhere in the Bible does it preclude online church, in any way. Let’s lay aside the fact that church history almost nowhere would lead someone to conclude that a virtual church is not valid (the lesson of church history is that new formats for church always go through a period where they are attacked as invalid). Let’s lay aside the troubling truth of the testimonies of meaningful community that are coming out of online churches. Let’s lay aside the problem that most (all I’ve read) of the blogposts criticizing virtual churches are based on cultural factors, pop psychology, materialistic misreadings of a few New Testament verses, or worse, citations of famous pastors who have doubts.
An even greater concern is the proliferation of a related myth: The myth of the “virtual” church. As a result several of the churches who have launched virtual campuses are telling their pastors and people, “Don’t use the word ‘virtual,’ because people think it means fake.” For the record, virtual doesn’t mean fake, it means synthetic. In the long run, it doesn’t matter whether church culture embraces or discards the word virtual, but we need to be accurate in our representation. Virtual churches are not fake churches; they are real churches that use synthetic space as a meeting place (or a synthetic medium as a means of building community). The ‘virtual’ part of the term—which identifies where they meet—has nothing to do with the question of their realness or validity.
Now watch the sleight-of-hand foisted on an unsuspecting audience. We hear and read the myth that the reason why virtual churches are not real is because they don’t have real community. Really? All this time I thought that church—and real, biblical community—had nothing to do with where a church meets. Isn’t church supposed to be about people in communion with God rather than the building? Does it really matter where the church meets? Does it really matter whether a church meets in a bar (‘pub’) in Portland, in a fancy stained-glass cathedral in Cambridge, under a banana tree in a jungle in Arusha, or in a synthetic space created on the internet? Can someone tell me why the cathedral (or the bar) has a privileged position for ‘real’ community over the internet (or the banana tree)? Since when does the location of a church determine the quality of its community? Is the enlightened church in America really still stuck on buildings? To me, this is enough to doom the myth but there is even something more problematic.
People are led to believe that members of online churches all connect to their video-game church as anonymous zombies in a Tron-like world. Supposedly these virtual (fake) Christians never really know each other, it’s all a façade, and that this is the sum and total of a virtual church. The real truth is that every virtual church I’ve ever attended has flesh-and-blood people in virtual (real!) community with other flesh-and-blood people whose primary meeting place is in synthetic space. Note I said primary! Because every virtual church I’ve encountered has worked very hard to put into place ‘regular’ aspects—from baptisms to small groups to mission trips—in order to help build real community across the board. Critics aside, no virtual church I’ve ever met is trying to be virtual-only (not that that would be wrong, but it would be like starting a church in a building and only being the church in that one building—why would you do that?). In fact, the average virtual church works harder at this than the average brick and mortar church. Virtual churches may meet for services in the virtual world, but they are not the one-dimensional illusion that critics like to easily prop up so as to knock down for their friends to applaud. And here’s the irony: Even as virtual churches seek to create community in both virtual and physical space, so too do their critics use virtual space when it is convenient for them in their brick and mortar ministries. (Just don’t tell those folks the discussion created by their blogs are real, not fake).
In this myth, critics single out the lack of ‘physical contact.’ But isn’t that why God invented megachurches—so we could avoid physical contact? So that people could go to church ‘together’ but sit so far apart as to never touch or physically know each other? Of course, I’m largely kidding, and come to think of it, this happens in my small brick and mortar church, too. In fact, as technology improves more and more virtual churches have physical aspects—you can see, hear, talk to and talk with others folks from your virtual church. But here’s the most cool thing: I know someone who comes to my church every Sunday and is not physically present; I can’t touch him, can’t hold him, can’t hug him, can’t greet him with a holy kiss, but thank goodness, He’s there and in community with us. We mustn’t judge the realness of a church’s community with God (or people) based solely on select physical criteria.
The good news for the world today is that virtual churches, Baptist churches, banana-tree churches, underground churches, Lutheran churches, communal churches, house churches, and yes, even tragically-hip Pacific Northwest alternative ‘pub’ churches are real churches. You may not want to meet in synthetic space—and I would not want to meet in a bar—but it doesn’t change the fact that when the people of God meet together for the purpose of glorifying Him, it’s a real church. Online churches are real churches with real people in real relationships with a real God simply meeting in synthetic spaces.
A full report on the virtual church phenomenon, and its implications for traditional churches, can be read in the fall issue of Leadership Journal.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 22, 2009 | Comments (86) | TrackBack
October 21, 2009
Margaret Feinberg: The Surprising Truth About Shepherds
An excerpt from her latest book, Scouting the Divine.
As we finished our tea and truffles, I took Lynne to the book of 1 Samuel. I explained that the first mention of someone in Scripture often reveals something significant about the person’s character. The first king of Israel, Saul, is introduced as a young man trying, unsuccessfully, to find his father’s donkeys. This humorous scene hints at Saul’s later inability to lead others well. Though his early years of ruling God’s people are marked by humility and self-control, over time Saul becomes disobedient, jealous, and full of hatred. He’s known as the foolish king who lost his crown.
The introduction of Saul stands in sharp contrast to the first mention of David, the second king of Israel. The prophet Samuel is told by God that one of the sons of Jesse will be the next king. Noting that the Lord hasn’t chosen any of the first seven sons of Jesse, Samuel asks the father if he has any other sons. Jesse responds, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11). When we meet David, he’s watching over his family’s livelihood.
The Hebrew word for youngest, qatan, implies insignificant and unimportant. One translator even uses the word “runt.” Though David is the runt of the litter, God selects him to rule over Israel.
“Does it surprise you that the youngest child was caring for the sheep?”
“Not at all,” Lynne said. “In ancient societies, and even today in remote areas, the weakest members of a family are often the ones assigned to care for the sheep. When we were in Peru staying with a family, a five-year-old boy, a few women, and an old man took care of the family’s sheep. The shepherds were those who lacked the strength or skill to do more physically demanding labor.”
In the Bible, the younger siblings are often responsible for shepherding, while the older children are given more important jobs. Though Cain is older, Abel keeps the animals. While some shepherds were strong like Abraham’s son, Issac, who makes the Philistines jealous with his abundant flocks (Genesis 26:14), many times the younger brothers or even daughters care for the sheep. Rachel, the younger sister of Leah, is recognized as a shepherdess. In fact, while watering sheep at a well, she meets Jacob and eventually falls in love (Genesis 29:2–11).
I couldn’t believe what Lynne was saying. Those considered the weakest members of society—the children, women, and the elderly—were sent out to protect the sheep. Within this context, the story of David made more sense to me. David isn’t just the youngest brother; he’s the least qualified choice in the eyes of everyone. He takes care of the sheep, because everyone else in the family has more important duties. Samuel’s selection of David must have shocked them all.
“I think shepherding teaches you a lot about management,” Lynne said. “It helps you develop a big-picture perspective and planning skills. As a shepherd, I’m constantly scanning when I’m with the sheep, looking for weakness, sickness, and changes in behavior—which teaches you to pay attention to a lot of different things. Caring for a big flock multiplies the need for all those skills, including learning to anticipate, schedule, organize, and strategize.
“Shepherding also teaches you how to lead from the front rather than the back. Whenever sheep are pushed, they’ll respond in fear or anxiety—even when, as their shepherd, I do it. Pushing a sheep produces agitation. But when I go ahead of the flock and call them by name, they follow me peacefully. They trust me, and they want to follow. Anyone can lead by agitating, but leading in such a way that those behind you want to follow is an art form.”
Lynne’s words echoed some of the wisdom of the Psalms. In Psalm 78:72, we learn that David shepherds with integrity of heart, and with skillful hands he leads his sheep.
I read, “`Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).
“Does this mean that God wants his children to be like helpless sheep in the midst of predators? What does that mean to you?” I asked Lynne.
“When the sheep are in the pasture and a predator like a dog walks by and they’re in danger or what they perceive as danger, the sheep are alert!” Lynne explained. “They will come together as a group. To me, that’s being shrewd. If you’re a sheep in the midst of wolves, you’re not going to stand alone, chew your cud, and wait for a wily wolf to jump you. You’re going to do everything possible in being alert, bold, and together.”
“How does that affect the way we act and react?” I pressed.
“I think Jesus is saying you need to be vigilant, alert, and even stomp your foot like sheep do in boldness, but in the end never give up being a sheep,” Lynne said. “Never give up your sweet, trusting nature. Always remember the strength and safety that comes in community.”
I know many people who have left the safety and protection of the flock of the church to pursue God on their own. I applaud their desire for an authentic relationship with Jesus, but I wonder if a parallel exists between the safety found in a flock under the care of a good shepherd and the safety found in a church under the care of a good pastor. Some of my friends who quit the church have had their belief systems infected by parasites of bitterness and anger or been unable to heal from that which affected them while they were in the church. Others have been picked off by predators of doubt and quit believing in God altogether. Still others have held on, searching for sustenance and fellowship with other wandering sheep. Yet those who choose such a path often find the journey far more difficult and perilous than they ever imagined.
Excerpted with permission from Scouting the Divine by Margaret Feinberg.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 21, 2009 | Comments (3) | TrackBack
October 20, 2009
Scot McKnight's Top 10 Leadership Books
The best books for leaders you won't find at your next ministry conference.
What makes a leader? Ideas. Courage. Contact with great thinkers. What makes a Christian leader? Great ideas, courage, and contact with great thinkers shaped by the gospel. So, I offer to you a list of my top ten books for leaders, and none of the titles of these books have the word “leader” or “leadership” in it. Some of these are overtly Christian classics; others are not. These books have the ability to swell the chest, flood the mind, and reshape how we see the world around us – and a gospel-reshaping of these great works can inspire a leader to new levels.
From the classical world, though one could choose all sorts of great works, I recommend a soaking in Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, to see how the great philosopher constructed a set of ethics that shaped the Western world. Homer told the story of Odysseus and Virgil in The Aeneid. Homer’s story came into the Roman world and gave to all of us the power of a journey into ideas and ideals, sanctifying place and history. Dante took Homer and Virgil to the next level in his Divine Comedy, and if you follow him all the way down into the inferno, up through purgatory and then climb into the swirling glorious presence of God you will find new dimensions to life’s journey.
I’ve heard the case made that St. Augustine’s Confessions reshaped the entire Western world, not least in his probing of his own soul and conscience, but I’m confident that the great North African can lead each of us to the potent truth of original sin and the need to read our lives before God. Not long ago I began to re-read John Milton, Paradise Lost, and was mesmerized not only by his language and meter, but by the brilliance of his vision for the cosmic battle of human life.
No one on this side of the Atlantic can fail to be captured, humbled and even humiliated before God by Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. It brings into living reality the evil of slavery and the heart of darkness, a heart that was eschewed by the arch-individiual, Henry David Thoreau in On Walden Pond. Americans need to dip into this classic work of human independence and freedom if only to capture again what makes so many Americans still tick.
Hemingway said Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was the great American novel. I’m not expert enough on American novels to pose such a conclusion, but I can say that very few have probed more deeply the foibles of the human heart, whether Twain does so with withering wit or raw finger-pointing.
For some reason few today have read C.S. Lewis’ Dymer, his first work, a saga, a journey, and a portrait of human hubris at its apex – and the work provides for us a revelation of what Lewis was like, what his yearning was like, before it became Surprised by Joy. I confess to being one of the few who have not read all of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings – I have read The Hobbit – but I return regularly to his short story, “Leaf by Niggle,” and often wonder if there is a better way of describing our vocation and its relation to eternity.
Every summer, somehow, I find my way to Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, and whether it is the combination of the hunt with baseball in the old man’s musings or not, the struggle to catch and never show what one found … Hemingway reminds me of the intangibles of the human struggle.
Probably the deepest and most penetrating book I read during my seminary days was Martin Buber’s I and Thou, a philosophical, theological essay into the relational nature of what matters most.
Not your usual list of books on leadership, but I wonder sometimes if leadership might best be described by those who are leaders instead of by those who talk about it.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 20, 2009 | Comments (15) | TrackBack
October 19, 2009
Ur Video: STORY Conference
Carlos Whittaker gets excited about the STORY Conference in Chicago.
Skye Jethani will be presenting at the STORY Conference next week, Url will be blogging from the event, and Leadership's editors will be hosting video interviews with the speakers. Be sure to check out more at StoryChicago.com.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 19, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 15, 2009
Quiz: Determine Your Ministry Age
Do your assumptions about leadership reflect the values of your generation?
In recent years we have entered into lengthy discussions about how worship, spiritual formation, and evangelism are transitioning in the church. However, the most crucial area of transition, leadership, has received minimal attention. For more than 35 years, I have been overseeing the ministry of young InterVarsity staff and college student leaders. In that time I have seen a significant swing in how these young leaders view leadership. The emerging generation of leaders desires a context that fosters community, trust, journey, vision, and empowerment.
If we are going to transition the church to the next generation, both existing and emerging leaders will need to understand and appreciate each other's values. This quiz, developed in conjunction with the editors of Leadership, is a helpful start.
This tool is intended to foster dialogue between older and younger leaders about their divergent views and contribute to greater understanding between the generations. No test can fully reveal the nuances that exist within an entire generation, and you may agree with more than one answer for a question. Mark the answer that best fits your approach to leadership.
Take the quiz at LeadershipJournal.net and then come back to Ur to discuss your findings.
How did you score?
Tally your ministry age by adding the numbers for each of your answers. (For example, if you selected answer number 3, that equals 3 points.) Your total score will determine your ministry age.
My Ministry Age _______________
Ages 25 - 41 Younger Leaders
Ages 42 - 58 Pragmatic Leaders
Ages 59 - 75 Traditional Leaders
Your Age, Our Analysis
It is possible that your "ministry age" is incongruent with your actual age. This is precisely the intent of the quiz. Ministry perspective may, or may not, be a direct product of one's generation. A younger leader may fall into the Traditional or Pragmatic categories because he or she is more concerned about doctrine or effectiveness. Similarly, an older leader may discover he or she has more in common with those younger in spirit. In either case a better understanding of one's own leadership style is critical for healthier team dynamics.
This begins by understanding the context from which each leadership style emerged and the different strengths each brings to the church and its mission. The Traditional leaders were at the forefront of the church from 1950 to 1970. They came into prominence soon after World War II, when people longed for stability and when the church was embroiled in significant theological battles. These leaders wanted to ensure the church's survival, remain doctrinally pure, and lead in an orderly manner.
By the 1970s, a new generation of leaders was less concerned about denominational stability and more concerned with helping the church become more effective in a rapidly changing culture. These Pragmatic leaders dominated church leadership from 1970 until 2000. They incorporated the successful management practices of companies like GE and IBM to assist in church expansion. Excellence in programs, effectiveness in strategy, and relevance in teaching that led to numerical growth was the goal of these leaders.
In the late 1990s, younger leaders began to question the pragmatism of the earlier generation. These leaders have been increasingly influential in the church since 2000. They are more concerned about authenticity than excellence, recognizing that churches need to be loving, vulnerable communities if they are going to draw a skeptical generation toward faith. For them, leadership needs to stem more from cooperation and trust than from individual competency or measurable effectiveness. These values have made the Traditional leaders nervous that the Younger focus too much on belonging and not enough on believing. And the Pragmatic leaders are concerned that Younger leaders are not as committed to quantitative growth as they are to qualitative growth.
The church needs all three types of leaders, and they need each other. We need the church to remain doctrinally pure, and we should desire more people to become followers of Christ. However, as I continue to work with younger leaders, I am convinced that if the church is going to thrive in this emerging culture, then we who are more traditional and pragmatic need to willingly and gradually hand over the leadership of the church to the younger generation. But the Younger must also be willing to listen to the wisdom of those who have preceded them.
As you discuss the results of the quiz with others on your leadership team, I hope the sharing will lead to an ongoing dialogue about why you lead the way you do, why divergent values may be the root of some conflicts, and ultimately what type of leadership is needed to carry the mission of the church into the future.
—Jimmy Long is the Blue Ridge Regional Director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and author of The Leadership Jump.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 15, 2009 | Comments (10) | TrackBack
October 14, 2009
The Hansen Report: Calling Out Counterfeit Gods
Tim Keller banks on the recession to make Americans think about their idols.
There is nothing like a recession to put Americans in a reflective mood. Unemployment and a devalued stock market have led many to consider whether money is the pre-eminent form of American idolatry. New York Times columnist David Brooks has called for a new culture war, a “crusade for economic self-restraint” in a self-indulgent age. Adam Sternbergh wonders whether thrift is a virtue that can be developed or a trait that must be inherited. ABC’s Nightline invited Mark Driscoll to discuss the allure of celebrity and corporate idolatry. And Tim Keller has turned his attention to rooting out idolatry with his latest book, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters.
For Keller an idol is “anything more important to you than God, anything which absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” Elaborating on the book’s title, Keller writes that a “counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life, that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.” What does Keller have in mind? Well, everything: family, children, career, earning money, achievement, social status, relationships, beauty, brains, morality, political or social activism—even effective Christian ministry.
To make his point, Keller interweaves biblical stories with cultural discernment and illustrations drawn from his counseling ministry. He evokes deep emotion and insight from the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham recognized his debt of sin before the holy God, Keller explains, yet trusted in that same God of grace, so he could sacrifice his idol with the expectation that God would somehow keep his promise (Gen. 17:19). Keller ends his account of this story with a Christological interpretation. “The only way that God can be both ‘just’ (demanding payment of our debt of sin) and ‘justifier’ (providing salvation and grace) is because years later another Father went up another ‘mount’ called Calvary with his firstborn and offered him there for us all.”
In his chapter “Love Is Not All You Need,” Keller concentrates on Leah rather than her husband, Jacob, and better-known sister and rival, Rachel (Gen. 29–33). This subtle but significant shift recalls Keller’s counter-intuitive focus on the older brother in his last book, The Prodigal God. Once again Keller connects Leah to Christ. Leah gave birth to Judah, patriarch of Jesus’ tribe.
“God had come to the girl that nobody wanted, the unloved, and made her the mother of Jesus,” Keller writes. “Salvation came into the world, not through beautiful Rachel, but through the unwanted one, the unloved one.”
Turning to money, Keller explains the difference between surface and deep idols. Deep idols seek fulfillment through their public manifestation, surface idols. Deep idols can’t be removed. They can only be replaced, and only Christ can ultimately satisfy. Christ replaces deep idols when we consider his costly grace, how he poured himself out for the world. Keller offers several suggestions for rooting out idolatry. Simply identifying the idols is not enough. Only a lifestyle of worship brings transformation.
“Jesus must become more beautiful to your imagination, more attractive to your heart, than your idol,” Keller says. “If you uproot the idol and fail to ‘plant’ the love of Christ in its place, the idol will grow back.”
Counterfeit Gods offers much insight for shepherding local churches. Keller argues that Christians cannot understand themselves or their culture unless they discern the counterfeit gods. Keller’s tests for idolatry could be used personally or passed along in counseling sessions: (1) What do you daydream about? (2) How do you spend your money? (3) How do you respond when your prayers aren’t answered and your hopes are dashed?
Keller offers examples of what these tests might reveal about pastor’s idols.
“Another form of idolatry within religious communities turns spiritual gifts and ministry success into a counterfeit god,” Keller writes. “Even ministers who believe with the mind that ‘I am only saved by grace’ can come to feel in their heart their standing with God depends largely on how many lives they are changing.”
But ministry success wasn’t Jonah’s problem. In fact, the positive response to his preaching in Nineveh was the source of despair for this proud Israelite. Keller treats the reluctant prophet in a prolonged case study. Jonah's plea for death in Jonah 4:2–3 offers hope to idolatrous ministers today. Only someone saved by grace could have been courageous enough to give such a defamatory speech. Only someone whose love for God had replaced love of country could be so brutally honest. There is hope yet for all of us who bend the knee to counterfeit gods.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 14, 2009 | Comments (8) | TrackBack
October 13, 2009
Create-A-Caption Contest
Do you ever feel like church activities, which are intended to promote God's mission, are actually keeping you from promoting God's mission? We're eager to see your captions for this cartoon by Roger Judd. Winners will be published in the Winter issue of Leadership. (Please include your name, church's name, city, and state.)
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 13, 2009 | Comments (45) | TrackBack
October 9, 2009
Ur Video: Catalyst High-Dive Stunt
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Professor Splash dives 35 feet into a kiddie pool with 1 foot of water.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 9, 2009 | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Ed Stetzer Releases New Research on Pastors
The president of Lifeway Research spotlights how America's pastors feel about their calling--and more.
Ed Stetzer, president of Lifeway Research and adviser to www.BuildingChurchLeaders.com, released new research on pastors, which will be published soon in our sister publication, Leadership:
Pastors still believe in the church
Almost all pastors--88 percent--strongly agree that "If I had a friend who wanted to make a difference, I would encourage him or her to do so through their church."
Pastors are investing in developing leaders--but the church may not be doing a good job at this
Among Lifeway's respondents, 67 percent say they “strongly agree” and 26 “somewhat agree” to "I am intentionally investing in leaders who will emerge over the next 10 years." However, those percentages drop (to 52 percent and 26 percent) for "The church does a good job fostering and developing new leaders." Maybe this explains why so many pastors agreed (38 percent strongly, 37 percent somewhat) that "Our church struggles to reach young adults."
Pastors feel they're fulfilling their calling
When asked to respond to "I am currently in a season where I am living out my calling and making a difference," 86 percent “strongly agree.” Lower but still strong percentages (53 percent "strongly agree" and 35 percent “somewhat agree”) respond to "I am satisfied with the way I am currently fulfilling my calling."
Pastors' roles and churches are changing
Lifeway asked for response to the intriguing statement: 10 years ago, I would not have expected to be in the ministry I am today. 30 percent “strongly agree” and 9 percent “somewhat agree.” And the future? "I expect to be in a very different role ten years from now" caused an almost even split:
33 percent strongly agree
23 percent somewhat agree
18 percent somewhat disagree
20 percent strongly disagree
And finally, "I expect my current church to look very different ten years from now": 57 percent strongly agree, 26 percent somewhat agree.
What is next? Lifeway is doing initial research of 7,000 churches; find out more at www.transformationalchurch.com.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 9, 2009 | Comments (4) | TrackBack
More from Chuck Swindoll...
Five statements worth remembering during your next 50 years of leadership
1) Whatever you do, do more with others and less alone
2) Whenever you do it, emphasize quality not quantity.
3) Wherever you go, do it the same as if you were among those who know you best.
4) Whoever may respond, keep a level head.
5) However long you lead, keep on dripping with gratitude and grace
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 9, 2009 | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Chuck Swindoll's 10 Lifetime Leadership Lessons
The popular Bible teacher and chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary lists what he's learned about leadership.
Chuck Swindoll was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at Catalyst 09, and spoke on "10 Things I Have Learned During Nearly 50 Years in Leadership":
1) It’s lonely to lead. Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decision, the lonelier it is.
2) It’s dangerous to succeed. I’m most concerned for those who aren’t even 30 and are very gifted and successful. Sometimes God uses someone right out of youth, but usually he uses leaders who have been crushed
3) It’s hardest at home. No one ever told me this in Seminary.
4) It’s essential to be real. If there’s one realm where phoniness is common, it’s among leaders. Stay real.
5) It’s painful to obey. The Lord will direct you to do some things that won’t be your choice. Invariably you will give up what you want to do for the cross.
6) Brokenness and failure are necessary.
7) Attititude is more important than actions. Your family may not have told you: some of you are hard to be around. A bad attitude overshadows good actions.
8) Integrity eclipse image. Today we highlight image. But it’s what you’re doing behind the scenes.
9) God's way is better than my way.
10) Christlikeness begins and ends with humility.
Which of these lessons strikes you most? Why?
If you were to add an 11th lesson, what would it be?
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 9, 2009 | Comments (11) | TrackBack
Margaret Feinberg on Scouting the Divine
Why God sometimes plants us in gravel
The prolific author (without her constant canine companion, Hershey) introduced her latest book, and gave a copy to each attender at Catalyst: Scouting The Divine: My Search For God in Wine, Wool, and Wild Honey (Zondervan).
To write the book, Feinberg spent time with a shepherdess in Oregon, a farmer in Nebraska, a beekeeper in Colorado, and a vintner / winemaker in California. She learned lessons for life and growth in God.
For example, grapevines are planted in rocky, difficult soil—even up to 75% gravel. Sometimes the vintner will plant more rocks in the soil, to force the vines' roots to grow deeper. Sometimes, Feinberg said, I wonder, why God, am I forced to have these hard rocks in my life? But it's the only way the vine will produce the sweetest grapes, the best wine.
Her hope and prayer for the book? "That people would fall back in love with Scripture."
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 9, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dave Ramsey's Momentum Theorum
What focus and intensity and time and God can produce.
The irrepressible financial guru Dave Ramsey burst on the Catalyst stage talking about “momentum.”
“When you have it, you look better than you are. When you don’t have it, you’re better than you look.”
He talked about times his ministry had no momentum and times that it had it. He poked fun at those who don’t work hard enough to make momentum a possibility. Some people are so low key, he said, they can’t experience burnout because they’ve never been on fire.
Momentum is created; it does not randomly occur. And it requires our best efforts.
He talked through “The Momentum Theorem”: “Focused Intensity over Time, multiplied by God, creates unstoppable Momentum.”
Focus is in short supply in a distracted, short-attention-span culture. Focus is lost for two reasons: fear, and greed. Focus on what you need to do now! Practice, practice, practice.
Intensity must be poured into things that matter. “Don’t put a fish on the car if you’re not going to drive it well!” He described football fans who paint themselves blue, and that’s okay, he said, “but I hope they also put that much intensity into something that matters.” Intensity causes things to move.
Over time means the effort much be sustained. Stick with it. The best book on this: “The Tortoise and the Hare.” Even if you’re slow and ugly, stick with it. Keep going. Winning demands perseverance.
This can’t be done along. God is the one who multiplies our efforts. Get plugged in to Him as a power source.
The result is upstoppable momentum.
He concluded with Winston Churchill’s famous speech: Never give up, never give up, never, never, never give up!
A stirring talk Dave delivered. Gotta give the guy credit. But not a credit card.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Marshall Shelley at October 9, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Priscilla Shirer on Leading like Joshua
Be open to divine interruptions, and follow only where God leads
As a leader, you face a lot of great projects to take on, a lot of good directions to go. But in Friday’s first session, Priscilla Shirer reminded the Catalyst crowd to proceed only down those paths on which you sense God’s presence.
“God often shocks you with his plan,” she said. “But when God interrupts your life, will you obey?
In her sermon she unpacked the story of Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan. She presented Joshua as a paragon of leadership. What did he do right?
1) He acted immediately in obedience to God. Are you procrastinating? Waiting for God to give the task to someone else? Stop, and follow God without hesitation.
2) He acted fearlessly. The Bible is filled with commands to be not afraid. Joshua faced a daunting task of crossing the Jordan, but he put fear aside and followed God’s leading.
3) He acknowledged the presence of God. Joshua waited for the Ark of the Covenant. He Joshua didn’t say “I’m the leader follow me.” He said “There’s God—let’s follow him.”
4) He anticipated God’s miracles. Joshua told the Israelites to “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow God will do wonders among you.” We need to take people’s expectations, shakes them up, and tell them to expect God to do things that far exceed our abilities.
"God fills our lives with divine interruptions," Priscilla said. "You probably never thought you’d be where you are doing what you are doing. But God has interrupted your life and called in you a different direction. Will you follow?"
Priscilla ended her talk on Joshua by recounting the climactic crossing: “Joshua led the people, and that day two million Hebrews crossed the Jordan on dry land.”
Lead like Joshua. You just might find the miraculous happening.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 9, 2009 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 8, 2009
Rob Bell on the Reward of the Tenth Commandment
Soul sickness comes from coveting someone else's life. Accepting God's gift of you is the cure.
Rob Bell warned the crowd before he began: “I’ve never talked about some of this publicly but I have a sense that we need to.” So we buckled our seatbelts.
He talked about the pastor he met who wanted to quit. Because he could never get away from the responsibilities. Another who felt his ministry was insignificant because it wasn’t large. What drives these soul-shaping forces?
Rob pointed to Jesus, who told his followers “you must eat my body and drink my blood,” and many disciples no longer followed him. If you talk about war, or about women and encouraging them in their leadership, or about faith and it's inextricable dance with doubt, the crowds will thin. (And the applause at Catalyst was tentative and uncertain, an indication of the accuracy of Bell’s point). Ministry is not always up and to the right.
In Luke 21, Jesus saw the rich putting gifts into the treasury and the poor widow who “put in more than all the others. She out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Her small gift was, in a deep mystical way, MORE than their large gift.
Rob professed his amazement at Christian organizations that rank the most significant churches and organizations based on size. And they all profess to follow a Savior to said, “The last shall be first?” As Rob said, “Put away the crack pipe!”
You are a “eucharist,” a “good gift” that God offers to the world. And you are to serve those whom Christ has given you, whether many or few.
Exodus 20 lists the ten commandments. Unlike th first nine, the tenth is not outwardly observable--you can't visibly see someone coveting someone else's things. The rabbis say that the tenth is not just a command, it’s the reward for following the first nine. Yes, not coveting is a reward. By living for God, you won’t want anyone else’s life. You won’t want to have what others have. You’ll be comfortable being the YOU that God created you to be.
Rob’s applications:
Keep a Sabbath. What day of the week do you NOT answer email?
Does your spouse get your best, or just the scraps left over after you’ve given your best to others? Do your kids see you at your best?
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Marshall Shelley at October 8, 2009 | Comments (16) | TrackBack
Malcolm Gladwell: What's More Dangerous than Incompetence?
Malcolm Gladwell told the story of the battle of Chancellorsville, VA, in which General “Fighting Joe” Hooker maneuvers his Union Army to encircle the Confederate Army on three sides, and then delivers a speech to his troops: “God Almighty Himself cannot prevent us from victory in this battle.”
What led to such misguided certainty? As the battle unfolded, it turned out he was horribly wrong.
Having more and more information leads to greater, even excess confidence. It’s called miscalibration. We have lots of information. You think you know more than you actually know.
Mistakes are made not because of LACK of knowledge, but because of excess knowledge. Mistakes are sometimes not the result of incompetence, but because of overcompetence. Incompetence irritates me. Overconfidence scares me.
Our economic disaster is a result of very smart, overconfident people making some terrible decisions.
What happened at Chancellorsville? Lee didn’t retreat, as expected, but counterattacked and surprised and defeated Hooker’s army. Hooker’s overconfidence led to his defeat and then his dismissal. Interestingly Lee then went on the offensive that continued until he reached Gettysburg, where he himself overreached and was defeated.
In times of success what we need is not overconfidence but humility. It’s too easy to cut yourself off from listening to the feedback you need to hear.
His best takeaway: In church world, we’ve seen preachers with massive leadership teams, deacons/committees. Then lone ranger not giving away power, wanting efficiency. Then seeking a diverse leadership team. As organization grows, the decision making has to be more collective. As long as then collective doesn't get overconfident, I assume.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Marshall Shelley at October 8, 2009 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Andy Stanley on How Leaders Make Their Mark
Andy Stanley opened Catalyst 09 with an illustration from the Ridley Scott movie, Kingdom of Heaven. In this movie, set in the medieval Crusades, the blacksmith has a phrase inscribed in his shop in Latin: “What man is a man who does not leave the world better?”
Andy then set up this tension: If you have the leadership gift, you want to make a mark, to leave the world better. But you won’t know your legacy, even your greatest mistake, until years later. The defining moment will happen when you don’t know it’s happening. So the problem/challenge for leaders is you don’t know the thing you’ll do that will make the biggest difference.
What to do? Andy drew insights from the Book of Joshua:
When Joshua enters the Promised Land, he is on the verge of making his mark. The incident that I believe marked Joshua is when he's a couple of days out from attacking the city of Jericho. In Joshua 5:13, Joshua saw a man in front of him with a drawn sword. Joshua asks him, "Are you for us or against us?" The man (angel) answers, "Neither. No." In effect, he's speaking for God: “I have not come to be a part of your story; I’ve come to see if you’re willing to play a part in my story.”
Later, when Joshua was 110 years old, he addresses the nation and says (23:8), “Cling to the Lord your God as you have done this day. … Take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord Your God…. Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Why this is so challenging to me: I would like to think that at the end of your life you will be able to look back and see that you have made your mark. To be able to love the Lord your God and to say to the generation behind, “There is no greater thrill and joy in the world than to lean your leadership gift into the will of God for your life.”
I learned from my father, “God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to Him.” Even when he was literally punched in the face during a church conflict, even when he was verbally attacked, he devoted himself to God.
Be consumed not with who’s for me or against me but whom I’m for. That brings freedom:
Thy will be done, thy kingdom come.
Making our mark isn’t worth our life. Living to make my mark is too small a thing to give my life to. But to be positioned to be open to whatever God wants to do through me, IS something worth giving your life to.
Honesty time: Are you energized by making your mark, or devoting yourself to God, allowing Him to do His work in and through you?
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 8, 2009 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 7, 2009
Catalyst Lab: Don't Pity the Poor
Jessica Jackley no longer feels badly for the poor. She's doing something better.
Jessica Jackley was in first grade when she became aware of how the poor were being presented to her. She saw ads for parachurch organizations and appeals for missions groups that featured photographs of impoverished children with distended bellies and flies in the eyes.
She realized even at that young age that those pictures made her feel bad, and they caused her and her friends to give money just to make the bad feelings go away.
As she got older and had more awareness of the pervasiveness of poverty, and gained firsthand experience working with the poor, she realized that appeals that provoke pity and guilt were not pointing in the right direction. To get people to respond simply to ease their own discomfort was actually counterproductive. Such appeals don't help the poor long-term; these appeals eventually just make people calloused and cynical or at the least able to view such presentations with very little impact.
Jackley learned that what the poor really needed was not pity, but something much more useful.
The poor are often very intelligent and resourceful people. Many have entrepreneurial skills. They don't need handouts--they need resources, often relatively modest resources, to allow them to develop a business to sustain themselves.
So Jackley became the cofounder of Kiva.com, the amazingly effective network of person-to-person microloans. A loan of as little as $25 can make a huge difference to a Sudanese goat herder, or a Peruvian seamstress.
We don't need presentations that communicate only despair. Jackley points to the many stories of hope that emerge from the right kind of assistance.
What the poor need is not our pity but our partnership.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Marshall Shelley at October 7, 2009 | Comments (7) | TrackBack
Nancy Ortberg on the Seduction & Myths of Influence
Nancy Ortberg, founding partner of Teamworx2 and editorial advisor and contributor to Gifted for Leadership and Kyria.com, spoke on powerful themes inspired by her books, "Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands" and "Looking for God."
1. The Seduction of Influence
It's tempting to do it for all the wrong reasons. In our lives, there may be a tearing away of the seductions and a refining of the right reasons.
Word 1: Ego. We've brought the celebrity culture into our church and overlook people who are so like Jesus. We attribute more to up-front people than we should, more to attractive people than we should. The solution is to live more deeply into our brokenness.
Word 2: Burden. We place on ourselves a burden in leadership--our numbers, the highs and lows of leadership--it's about power, control, and outcomes, and Jesus didn't talk fondly about any of those things. Free leaders--free of the need for certain outcomes--are the best leaders.
2. The Myths of Influence
Myth 1: "There are no limits to my influence." No matter how much I want to influence and shape someone, though, the reality is that there is still space between us. The best thing we can do is to plant seeds, to put the truth and grace out there, and let God work in the other person over time. Parker Palmer talks about the tragic gap: we live between the potential and the reality of what we are. It's painful to live in that gap.
Myth 2: "Be like me." Saul dresses David in his armor, but Saul is a warrior and David is a shepherd. David said, "I cannot go in these, because I am not used to them." He took them off. A great parent lets each child develop uniquely.
3. The Power of Influence
Good influence is deeply based in relationships. List the people who have most influenced you, and most will be people who personally invested in your life.
Principle 1: Reciprocity. I became the leader, following a hip young leader, of a ministry to postmoderns--and I was a middle-aged woman. After a few months, a staff member said to me, "Your meetings suck." He said, "When you first got here, probably because you knew you had an uphill battle to fight, your meetings were fantastic, creative. I don't know what happened, but recently, meetings have been so bad, we don't want to come." I said, "You're right." That was painful, but there had to be reciprocity--give and take. Older leaders have to pull back to let younger leaders do what they're called to do.
Principle 2: Authenticity. People will walk through fire for an authentic leader. We connect more deeply through our brokenness. As Henry Cloud says, "Failure is the norm" and if we can be honest about that, about our doubts, our seeking, our brokenness, we attract. Authenticity comes through suffering; we should not lead in the church until we have suffered.
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What Nancy's session reminded me of was this wonderful interchange with Richard Foster and the late Henri Nouwen (from Christianity Today Library). The interviewer asked, "How can ministers accept their insecurity that way?"
Nouwen: ... Let me paint a picture. You're in a big room with a six-inch balance beam in the center. The balance beam is only twelve inches off the fully carpeted floor. Most of us act as if we were blindfolded and trying to walk on that balance beam; we're afraid we'll fall off. But we don't realize we're only twelve inches off the floor. The spiritual director is someone who can push you off that balance beam and say, "See? It's okay. God still loves you. Take that nervousness about whether you're going to succeed and whether you have enough money — take the whole thing up on that narrow beam and just fall off."
Foster: That's one of the great values of reading the saints. They had this utter vulnerability to fail by human standards.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 7, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
David Kuo on Big Ideas and What Really Changes the World
When the Republicans went to Washington about a decade ago, their mantra was “we’re going to change Washington, not let Washington change us.”
Nice idea, but it didn’t exactly turn out that way.
David Kuo, former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, noted that after two terms with a Republican administration, the climate was as acrimonious as ever.
The point? Big ideas and good intentions often come to naught.
“There’s no big idea that’s going to advance the kingdom, that’s going to feed the kids in Africa. But it’s not the big idea that’s going to do it. It’s going to take us,” David said.
That holds true, whether in politics or in the church. So what can really make a difference?
“Transformed lives transform lives.”
In his bestselling book, Tempting Faith, David suggested that maybe Christians needed to take a break from politics. Now he thinks he might have been wrong to suggest that.
“We need Christians in politics, but we need Christians willing to transform the way we do politics, not just the policies.”
Ultimately, though, David stressed that truly changing the world is up to us.
“We live in a world that is starving for God. No big idea is going to feed them. We are it.”
David makes a serious point: there’s no one great idea out there that’s going to push the kingdom forward. Yet I think a caveat is in order. As Richard Weaver wrote, “ideas have consequences.” We may change the world one person at a time, but there are good ideas—and bad ones—about how to go about doing that.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Drew Dyck at October 7, 2009 | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Matthew Sleeth on the Environment
A few minutes into his talk on the church and the environment, Matthew Sleeth, MD called up a young man named David to share his story.
David recounted how he had recently suffered a grand mal seizure. After a trip to the emergency room, David received some devastating news: he had an inoperable tumor the size of a racket ball growing in his brain. He’s 27.
How does that relate to the environment? I don’t know. I tuned out for a good 15 minutes after hearing David’s tragic story. I just sat there looking at the guy—passionate, articulate … and only a few years to live, according to doctors.
When I came to, I gathered that Matthew is making a film about David’s story. The film has something to do with time, about not having of it, and how that sobers us, and reveals what’s important.
Matthew sees a connection between our conception of time and our treatment of God’s earth. He didn’t mince words.
“How many of you take a Sabbath?” he asked the room of Christian leaders.
Not a single hand went up.
“You might as well just take the Ten Commandments and rip them out of your Bible,” he said.
Then he took a Bible and actually ripped them out! Yeah, it’s a little cheesy, but it got everyone’s attention.
“I’m a new Christian, so I still actually believe this stuff,” he said.
“By God’s grace we’ve been given 2,000 years. Shouldn’t we pray and act as though he might give us another 10,000?”
David interjected.
“Jesus doesn’t want us to change our light bulbs. He wants us to follow him.”
Then he added.
And if we follow him, we’ll probably change our light bulbs too.”
Wise words from a young man. May God extend his years.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Drew Dyck at October 7, 2009 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Spiritual Formation and Counter-Formation
Darren Whitehead, teaching pastor and leader of Next Gen Ministries at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, teamed with his fellow Aussie Jon Tyson, lead pastor of Trinity Grace Church in New York City, to discuss spiritual formation--and counter-formation.
Darren is in a suburb at a megachurch; Jon is in a city at a church plant. "If we weren't friends, we'd be blogging against each other." But they've been friends for 20+ years, when they met at a camp in Australia.
Formation and Counter-Formation
The central purpose of the church is to form people into the image of Jesus. If you don't do that, it doesn't matter where you're located. Before you know how to form people, you have to know how the culture is forming people. Every culture forms you in its story. The American gods are the mall, the "temple of worship" at sporting events, and the story of "getting more with comfort." That's the defining narrative: you are special and you have the right to gain material blessings.
Romans was written to people who, everywhere they walked, saw graven idols of Caesar and passed the Colosseum and guilds where even to do your work involved worship of idols; what does Romans 12:1, 2 mean in that context?
Each cultural story is enshrined in institutions that take that story and enable that story to be embodied in the culture. e.g., colleges essentially give a secular mindset.
Then these become enshrined in mediums: e.g., you have a personal car, a personal cell phone, which enable individualism.
This is how you become you. Why did you wear the clothes you're wearing? They express your role in the story.
This is why Americans say they believe in God but are barely discernible from the culture. We need to reform people with the story of the gospel.
The Future & What We Imagine
My 3-year-old daughter dreamed about Elmo, the Sesame Street character. I realized she's dreaming about not her own characters but about someone else's. Her imagination has been "taken captive" by the world, in that sense.
If God gave people everything they ever dreamed of, what would that be? More money. Finding a great spouse. Good-looking children who are athletically gifted, academically strong, respectful. A nice home. A car that won't break down. People who don't go to church have the same dreams; have our imaginations been taken captive by the world?
In Ephesians 3, Paul is talking about "God doing immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine," and we don't know what to ask for or what to imagine. What to do?
The future of the church is in how willing we are to be counter-formed by the story of God, the full view of Gospel, so it unleashes in us "kingdom imagination."
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 7, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Doing Justice: the gift no one wants
Making things "right" inevitably strikes many people wrong. What's with that?
Everyone is for "justice," but as soon as anyone tries to make things more just, trouble follows. I came to this lab to hear from a panel of innovative activists who are working for justice.
Charles Lee is a pastor (New Hope in Torrance, CA) and an innovator. He's a guiding force beind the Freeze Project, where up to 2,000 people will gather in a public place and then freeze in place for 5 minutes, and then as people observe this form of performance art, the participants will then disperse after handing out a paper that highlights the problem of human trafficking.
He also developed LaundryLove.com--an initiative in which Christians offer free quarters and detergent in laundromats in under-resourced areas, along with a willingness to listen to the stories of those who stop by.
Leroy Barber pastors Community Fellowship Church in south Atlanta. He has initiated (1) Mission Year, a yearlong community service opportunity for 18-29-year-olds and (2) Green My Hood, an effort to improve the living conditions in urban neighborhoods.
Lisa Sharon Harper is cofounder and executive director of New York Faith and Justice. She offered a great definition of "justice": "making things right" and this includes withing the self, with God, with others, with systems. Systemic change is necessary, she said, to make things work so that "people are blessed and not cursed by the systems."
The panel told stories and probed the motivations of those who work for justice in housing, education, immigration, transportation, and other elements of community life. As Leroy Barber put it, "What are practical ways to love neighbor? Jesus to said to love others as yourself. In other words, do for others what you’re doing/expecting for your own family. Whatever you expect regarding your own family's transportation, housing, education, assumptions, can you work to make those apply to others?"
Lisa took it a step further: "Jesus taught us to pray 'your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.' But so many people today can't imagine what the kingdom looks like at all—they think it’s a worship service. Justice is a way of showing the world what heaven looks like."
This lab did a terrific job of elevating the vision of doing justice. It also left lingering questions about why justice efforts, especially those that seek to change "systems," inevitably lead to conflict.
I walked away convinced we need to do some more work on the relationship between justice and evangelism. How can the "announcement of good news" of God's kingdom be both proclaimed and lived out in our local communities.
We've got a long way to go on this . . .
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Marshall Shelley at October 7, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Blog ... The Devil Wants You To
Why the uber-bloggers encourage fasting from their task
For one of the first Catalyst lab sessions, three of the top Christian bloggers took the stage to talk shop: Ann Jackson (www.FlowerDust.net), Carlos Whittaker (www.RagamuffinSoul.com), and Jon Acuff (www.StuffChristiansLike.net)
So what wisdom did these titans of the blogosphere impart?
Stay away from blogging.
Well, take breaks at least. Basically, blogging is like cat nip for your ego, so taking the odd break is advisable.
Carlos led the way: “When the traffic started coming, I started to get a big head.” And it wasn’t just his head that was getting distorted by blogging exploits, his family, including his 3, 5 and 7 year-old were getting involved as well. No, they weren’t blogging. He was blogging about them. So much so, that Carlos says they “grew up on the blog.” Alarm bells sounded for Carlos when he snapped a family picture and his son asked, “Dad, are you gonna 'twitpic that?'” So Carlos took a break.
So did Anne Jackson. She was hitting the same wall. After her article on female porn addiction for Relevant magazine sent a flood of traffic to her blog, and she landed a book deal, her head started to swell.
“All I could think about was how I could sell more books, promote myself and get famous.”
She took a break too.
Jon Acuff issued the same warning. After his homage / rip off to stuffwhitepeoplelike.com took off he “got drunk on (his) own awesomeness.”
He prayed a strange prayer: “I want fame, God.”
God’s answer: I’m the creator of the universe. What is anyone’s recognition next to mine?
Then Jon threw a curveball, that had nothing to do with blogging.
“I want to talk about the devil. Notice how nobody wants to talk about hell anymore? I bet Satan loves that.”
Like I said, a curveball. But given the dangerous pride that successful blogging seems to engender, maybe a good place to end.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Drew Dyck at October 7, 2009 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Reggie McNeal: 4-phrase definition of The Missional Church
Reggie McNeal, missional specialist for Leadership Network, spoke about his new book, Missional Renaissance (Wiley):
As people emerged from the Renaissance, they could no longer think about the world the same way. Copernican heliocentric view of the solar system, for example, changes the way people view the sky. Similarly, changes are affecting how we view the world and church. These changes may be the biggest since the Reformation. "Doing church better" won't matter, since we've got the best churches we've ever had.
The Missional Church is:
the people of God,
We've been brought up in a world where church is a what, an it, something outside of me, something I go to, something I support, something I bring friends to. But the missional movement is about who. Until we get this, we will never join God in the streets where he is doing most of his work. Wherever I am, the church is already planted. Instead of planting "a" church, we plant "the" church.
partnering with him,
It's not our mission; it's his. We try to get God to fall in love with our efforts, when we need to fall in love with his mission. We consider "children's ministry" inside our walls, so we're so busy doing that, but we don't worry about the low reading levels of 3rd graders in our community. We honor Sunday school teachers as doing children's ministry, but we don't honor public school teachers as doing children's ministry.
in his redemptive mission
One church cancelled staff meeting on Monday afternoon and sent everyone out to pray, in a place where people are: park, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, etc. For 60 minutes, they were to pray one prayer, "Lord, help me see what You see." When they came back to their institutional agenda, they shredded it and were recaptured by the heart of God for people. They sent the entire church out to do the same; that night they had the church write what God showed them.
in the world
What if we asked if marriages in our community were better next year? If schools were better? In Cincinnati, every single school teacher is placed on a prayer chain, and receives a letter asking for any prayer requests. Open our eyes.
Which of these 4 phrases is the biggest challenge for you? Which is the biggest challenge for your congregation?
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 7, 2009 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Catalyst Day 1: A Lab on Your Heart Condition
Mark Batterson's Primal call to purity of motivation
Mark Batterson led off the Catalyst lab sessions with a few words from his upcoming book Primal, which led into a reflection on the foundation of ministry. (Kevin Miller was across the room blogging this session as well, and his report follows this one.) Mark's emphasis:
"What is the primal essence of what we believe? Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That's more foundational than the forms we employ to live that out. ... There are ways of doing church that we haven't thought of yet."
Then Mark pointed out: "We come to conferences too often to find methodologies that we can take out of context and apply to our context. But that too often is misguided. We can learn 'how' but forget 'why.' "
He reflected on 1 Samuel 14-15, where Saul sets up a monument to himself. He suggests we need to erect not monuments to ourselves but altars to God, to remind yourself of the greatness of God and the cause to which you have been called.
Mark told about the moment he was aware of God calling him into ministry. He was in a pasture in Minnesota. Years later, he framed a photograph of that pasture and hung it in his office as his "altar," to remind him of the greatness of God and of his calling.
All of us listening are forced to consider: Am I performing my ministry as a monument to myself? Or to show the greatness of God?
That's a question that haunts anyone who has an ego and enjoys the positive responses of people. But the issue is still foundational.
It's so easy to expect and long for God to empower MY ministry, when God longs for us to give ourselves away for HIS ministry.
Words to live by.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Marshall Shelley at October 7, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mark Batterson on his new book "Primal" and on "Altar Building"
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Skye Jethani, managing editor of Leadership and www.OutOfUr.com, introduced Mark Batterson, lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC. Batterson described his forthcoming book, Primal (Multnomah):
"A couple of years ago, my wife and I celebrated our anniversary in Rome--historic, romantic. We visited the Colosseum, at Trevi Fountain we threw a penny over our shoulder. But the highlight for us was a little church, The Church of San Clemente, not in our travel books, nondescript, weather-beaten. We just walked in one day into this 12th century church, remarkably preserved with frescoes and marble, and it was built over a 4th-century church, which was built over ancient catacombs. For 5 Euros, you could take the underground tour. I will never forget walking down those stairs--like the wardrobe in Narnia, a portal to a different place and time. The air got damp, the lights got low, and the space got claustrophobic, and then you're standing in a place where people risked their lives to worship God. You feel a little uncomfortable with how comfortable you are. When you strip everything away, what is the core of what you believe? The church has evolved in lots of ways--with cathedrals, organs, and more. But what is primal is loving the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength."
"We're known for what we're against, not for what we're for. Shouldn't we be known for what Jesus said was primal?"
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Batterson's main talk was self-confessedly not nuts and bolts, but more devotional / challenging, from 1 Samuel 14:35ff.: "Altar building is a lost art. We don't celebrate enough what God has done right. We need to mark an experience so we have something to go back to."
What is an experience in your life in which God moved? How have you celebrated and commemorated that? If you haven't, how could you?
In contrast, one chapter later Saul builds not an altar to God but a monument to himself.
Why do you want your ministry to thrive--to celebrate God or to build your own reputation?
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by Kevin Miller at October 7, 2009 | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Catalyst Day 1: The Green Room
Backstage at the Catalyst Labs
Catalyst is here. We'll be blogging for the next three days from the event in Atlanta. While the main event starts tomorrow, today the pre-conference "Labs" will feature multiple tracks and a lot of speakers/leaders. We'll be in and out of many sessions and blogging about the experience. The labs really get rolling after 1pm. Until then, I'll been hanging out in the green room which is buzzing with activity.
I had a great chat with Alan and Deb Hirsch about their upcoming book, Untamed. It's their attempt at developing a missional approach to discipleship. It sounds fantastic, and they're the right people for a project of that nature.
I've also connected with Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC. I first met Mark in 2008 when I interviewed him for an article in Leadership. We talked about how his church has been impacted by the changes in Washington this year--mainly the new Obama administration.
Carlos Whittaker and Anne Jackson are also here. They're hosting the "backstage" conversations that will be posted online. We chatted about the pros and cons of online community and blogging. It's nice to find thoughtful, wise, Christians like Los and Anne discussing this topic. They're obviously highly engaged online, but they recognize the shortcomings of the medium.
Well, that's it for now. More updates as the day continues.
Catalyst Leadership is a new digital magazine combining the wisdom of Leadership Journal with the innovation of the Catalyst Conference. Sign up for your free subscription today at CatalystLeadershipDigital.com/subscribe/
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 7, 2009 | Comments (1) | TrackBack
October 5, 2009
Jonathan Edwards on the New Reformed Movement
A posthumous Out of Ur interview.
If he hadn’t died from a tainted smallpox vaccination in 1758, Jonathan Edwards would be celebrating his 306th birthday today--Monday, October 5. When Edwards died, at the relatively young age of 55, he was one of the best known pastor-theologians in the English speaking world. Interestingly enough, the Calvinist pastor is making quite a comeback. There’s been lots of talk on Out of Ur recently about the so-called New Reformed movement—folks that are proud to call Edwards “homeboy.”
But would Edwards be proud to claim the New Reformed movement? Well, I just couldn’t pass up the chance to ask him. Using skills learned on my many travels and my finely tuned interviewing skills, I sat down with Brother Edwards to ask him how well he thinks the new Calvinists are representing the old time religion.
Url: So, I’ve read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” You’re pretty intense.
Let me guess: high school English class.
Yep. Some of the New Reformed folks seem to like that hellfire and brimstone stuff. Did they learn that from you?
They might have. I preached my fair share of those sermons. But back then, you had to. Everybody was religious—it was against the law to skip church. So my greatest challenge as a pastor was combating spiritual apathy. I did everything I could to make sure people took their spiritual lives seriously, because it was really easy for them to take God for granted.
Do you think that sort of preaching is still effective today?
I suppose it can be, though I wouldn’t say it’s the only way to preach. Really, it depends on the audience. If you’re preaching to religious people, you have to rattle their cages. But near the end of my career, I ministered to Native Americans. I took a different approach when I preached to them, because they weren’t spiritually apathetic religious types.
The New Reformed folks talk an awful lot about doctrine. Do you think every church member ought to be a theologian?
Sure. Theology is fun. And the deeper you journey into the mysteries of God, the more rewarding the work becomes.
Plus, I think the more you reflect on God and Scripture, the more you understand your faith, the more likely you are to be transformed into the image of Christ. Dwelling on the things of God makes us aware of how beautiful and lovely and glorious God is. The more we recognize the beauty and glory of God, the more we can reflect that beauty and glory. Does that make sense?
Sure. You’re saying that preaching doctrine leads to spiritual growth.
Actually, I would say that preaching doctrine can lead to spiritual growth. But I think it’s a big mistake to assume that people will necessarily love and follow Jesus just because we preach sound doctrine. People’s hearts have to be touched. As I like to say, there’s a big difference between knowing that honey is sweet because you’ve read about honey in a book and experiencing the sweetness of honey by tasting it for yourself. The Devil has sound doctrine, and it hasn’t done him any good. We should help our congregations taste the sweetness of God. That’s when transformation happens.
The New Reformed folks seem awfully confident that they have their doctrine right. How do you feel about that sort of certainty?
Well I’m unapologetically a Calvinist. I spent my career defending the Calvinist understanding of Christian orthodoxy against the new challenges of Enlightenment rationalism, natural theology, and deism.
That being said, I was always quick to acknowledge that there is much about God, the Bible, and the Christian life that is mysterious. I affirm with the Westminster Confession that the Bible is clear about matters of salvation. The Scriptures tell us everything we need to know about being reconciled with God. But there are a lot of things that Scripture isn’t a hundred percent clear about.
One of those things, ironically, is Christ himself. I once wrote a sermon called “The Excellency of Christ," in which I looked at all the paradoxical ways the Bible talks about Jesus. He’s called the Lion of Judah, but also the Lamb of God. He was most exalted when he died in humiliation on the cross. Jesus holds together dozens of apparent contradictions—and that what makes him excellent.
So I think we can be confident in our theology and doctrine without minimizing the mysteries of God or minimizing the paradox of Jesus.
Any final thoughts?
One thing the New Reformed folks have right—well, some of them, at least—is that God created us to give him glory. He is never so pleased as when we glorify and enjoy him. It seems like some folks focus so much on glorifying God that they don’t enjoy him; other folks enjoy him so much that they don’t appropriately give him glory. I’d say that growing in faith means finding balance in those things.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 5, 2009 | Comments (10) | TrackBack
October 1, 2009
Ur Video: Stetzer & Hirsch on Multi-Site
Is the multi-site movement ultimately helping or hindering God's mission?
Key ideas:
Stetzer--Is multi-site being used to give great communicators a larger audience, or is it being used to raise up more communicators?
Stetzer--Multi-site isn't a big phenomenon in post-Christian settings. It's much more popular among Christians willing to come to church and watch a pastor on a screen.
Hirsch--Any model that makes the people of God more passive is a problem.
Posted by UrL Scaramanga at October 1, 2009 | Comments (10) | TrackBack
