Some of my thinking is changing.  I guess, since none of us are perfect, we should all have a continual progression of thinking.

Maybe it’s a little thing, or a big thing.

We say this in church, but do we ever question it?  We address our time of worship and ascribe to it the purpose of ‘preparing our hearts to receive the Word’.  It struck me today.  "Wait a minute!  We worship God to worship God.  It is not a device of mental preparation." 

I’m not going to totally discount the value that worship might have for me personally.  The value is a reality, however, I’m not going to focus on it.  My motivation for worship should never be, in any way, personally beneficial.  Allow that to be a side issue.  Priority number one:  God is worshipped because God should be worshipped.

As  I continued to think about it, I found the opposite to bear more truth.  Learning the Word should prepare our hearts to worship.  That sounds way more appropriate to me.

This is what I’m thinking about right now.

Most folks in the church don’t really understand what is meant by ‘vision’.  Very simply stated, vision is the act of seeing.  If you can open your eyes and see the; walls, windows and humans around you, you have vision.  If you open your eyes and see Bigfoot in a tu tu, then you don’t have vision.

The easy part of vision involves seeing what ‘is’.

The hard part of vision involves seeing what ‘is yet to be’.

The hard part of vision can be broken down into two segments.  1.-  Walt Disney Vision  2.- Nehemiah Vision

Walt Disney died nearly 5 years before the doors of Disney Land (Florida) opened up.  On that momentous day, one guy said to the other, “I wish Walt could have seen this.”, to which the other one replied, “He already did.”  Walt Disney Vision is developed through personal drive, imagination and great intellect.

Nehemiah Vision is quite different.  As a man living quite some distance away from Jerusalem, he had never seen the ruinous state that of its walls.  And yet, even still, God enabled Nehemiah to see the city in its restored state.  This wasn’t a matter of; personal drive, imagination or great intellect.  God intentionally and purposfully planted this vision in Nehemiah’s heart.

Sometimes we have combined vision.  If you’ve ever read my vision for Overflow, you have read a Nehemiah Disney Vision.  I’m certain that God was in the formation of that idea.  I’m also certain that I was in it.  Someday, God might let this ministry happen.  Right now, the light is undoubtedly red.

I regularly read books that are focused on leadership and ministry.  I’ve processed several John Maxwell books.  He wrote some of them.  Others were written by well intentioned pastors who reprocessed John Maxwell’s material and re-released it.  I’ve also read several books on how to organize the direction of the church.  I’ve read: The Purpose Driven Church, Simple Church, and The Spirit Driven Church (plus others that didn’t end with the word ‘church’ which would have messed up the flow of my list),- and found a common message.

Keep The Vision Simple

Continually Re-Communicate the Vision

Start, Endorse and Support Those Ministries which Obviously Fulfill The Vision

Shut Down the Ministries that Don’t Support the Vision

In the book, The Spirit Driven Church, the author was so bold as to call these unsupporting ministries, IDOLS.  Yikes!  That’s a harsh accusation, and yet I see the truth in it.  How many times do we start up and/or perpetuate a ministry simply because it has become someone’s personal pet project?  Are there things we do every year simply because it’s something that we’ve always done every year?  Are there ministries that we attempt to perpetuate for the simple sake of ‘not offending’ or ’saving face’?   I would bet that most of us would look at our churches and say, “Yes”.

I get frustrated with lots of doing.  Experience has shown me that ‘more ministry’ doesn’t work.  When these books tell me to keep the focus and the vision simple, and shut down everything that doesn’t line up with that focus and vision, I relate.  We have been the church that does everything.  Often times these ministries start out with with an excited group of people and dwindle down to either an insufficient number of worn out devotees or ‘1 man shows’.   We maintain them in guilt, perpetuate them in weariness and feel bad because we’re not excited anymore.  Do good things happen in these ministries?  Absolutely.  Does need and the potential for good fruit constitute our call to take on or continue a ministry?  Nope.

Currently, we have a pretty simple vision statement.  “To become a people: abandoned in worship, common in faith and useful for the Kingdom of God” Or, more simply stated: “Worship, Grow, Serve!”  This really sounds good.  This does not really sound specific.  We could have: a dog washing ministry, a Hebrew poetry class and interpretive yoga worship and still fit them easily within our vision statement.

I always want us to be a fellowship that; worships, grows and serves.  These are things that Christians do.  If we don’t do them, I would question our Christianity.  But, these things are too nonspecific to claim as our personal and unique vision and direction.  There needs to be something else.

Yes, I’m going to leave you hanging.  I’m still on the … voyage.  (I would have said ‘journey’ but it’s overused and abused and much too trendy of a word for me.)  I have a pretty good idea where I’m going on this … voyage.  I’ve been doing research, thinking, praying, reading and collecting input.  Without actually defining it (that’s the part I’m still working on), I can sum up the vision and direction of CCCville by getting a clear picture of who CCCville is.

What are we doing?  What are we doing that works?  Where do we excel?  Where are we productive?  -Things like: teaching, equipping, educating, preparing and training come to mind.

Doing ‘less things’ comes to mind.

Doing ‘more things’ produces extra stomach acid.

We’ve often put a lot of focus on the ‘doing’ in our fellowship.  I strongly believe the we need to put more focus on the ‘training’.  Just as trained warriors fight better, so also, do trained Christians serve better.

If you attend CCCville and haven’t given your input:  click here

]]> http://chadmyhre.wordpress.com/2009/09/21/summing-up-vision/feed/ 2 chadmyhre http://chadmyhre.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/with-a-crack-of-the-whip/ http://chadmyhre.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/with-a-crack-of-the-whip/#comments Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:35:20 +0000 chadmyhre http://chadmyhre.wordpress.com/2008/07/09/with-a-crack-of-the-whip/ ]]>

… the witch hunt is on.  That’s what Ojo Taylor said on his solo album Relative.  What was he talking about?  I’ll be honest with you.  I can’t remember.  But, if I had put those lyrics in a song, it would be a sarcastic reference to the witch hunt trials that many of today’s “discernment ministries” (I use the term “ministry” loosely) are conducting.

I’m not going to totally discount the validity and value of such ministries.  There might be some that are careful.  There might be some that are truly “discerning”. For some people, it works.  There are people who, because of past “cult” experience, are extra sensitive towards anything that slightly resembles a cult-like attribute.  Some people are “so” incredibly sensitive to these matters, that they start seeing things that aren’t really there.   Their assumptions and impressions stretch into demonic definition that sometimes defies (in my speculative opinion) rational.

Maybe I’m wired differently.  Maybe I’m more prone to search things out for the good and profitable.   Maybe I’m digging through the trash looking for treasure.  Certainly our personalities play into it.  Some folks are more prone to dig through the treasure in search of the trash.

What is true discernment anyway?  Isn’t it a gift of the Holy Spirit that enables one to miraculously know the secret intentions of another?  Isn’t it an ability to sense that something is either “right” or “wrong”?  If so, here’s my quandary.  The discernment ministries are dissing: The Shack, Rick Warren, Greg Laurie and All things “Emergent”.  I find myself in an increasing majority of pastors who don’t discern problems in these areas.  There are some who utilize the “emergent” philosophy of ministry that are un-Biblical.  That doesn’t make the entire philosophy wrong.  There are some elements of “The Shack”, if taken out of context and looked at in part, that will come off as being strange.  But in its entirety, the book speaks truth concerning the nature of God in a way I’ve never seen outside of the scriptures.  Rick Warren?  Did he quote someone he shouldn’t have?  Did he stand on a stage next to a heathen?  So what?  And Greg?  Well, you know- guilt by association.

If these discernment ministries are walking in a gift of the Holy Spirit, then I join myself with many of my peers who are unfortunately out of touch with the Holy Spirit.    At the same time, some of these finger pointers are claiming an association with MY fellowship of churches.  I for one, love these brothers and sisters who are in Jesus, however, I don’t like them.  I don’t want to align with them.  I don’t want the identity of my fellowship to be lined up with the malicious, condemning and defaming actions of those on the perpetual Witch Hunt.

If they are officially part of us, I want to know.

If we are officially part of them, I want to know.

point your finger at me, I’ll bite it off.

-Pat Nobody

Here in lies an extensive reasoning and definition of my vision for Calvary Chapel of Charlottesville. It’s long. I shared the summary yesterday to the congregation (1/27/08).. but here’s the big picture – in print.

Intro:

For nearly five years now, I’ve been wrestling with a little three word phrase:

“church without walls”

The article I read this in never once gave any form of definition. I couldn’t help but ask, “What is a church without walls?” Here it is, nearly five years later and I’m still asking this nagging question. Slowly, piece by piece, I believe the Lord has begun to show me what the church without walls is. With equal importance, I’m also beginning to see why the church without walls is important.

The Problem:

The church has mis-communicated itself to society. The culture of Christianity has been telling the world “what” the church is. (Church is a place. Church is a style. Church is a doctrine. Church is an atmosphere. Church is a format.) The Bible never defined church like this. Instead of relaying a message of “what the church is”, we desperately need to relay the message of “who the church is”. The church is not comprised of bricks and steel. The church is solely comprised of people.

Who is the church?

· We who are part of it know that the church is a family of redeemed individuals who have commonly received the forgiveness that Jesus earned on our behalf through the cross.

· We know that our purpose is to: love, serve, worship, pray and grow because we are responding to the grace of God.

· We have received nothing from God through personal merit. Therefore, our hearts should be humble, not ascribing ourselves to be better than anyone else.

Here’s where the conflict arises.

What does society say that the church is?

· Much of society sees the church as a “what” and not a “who”. The church is an institution of individuals who gather together weekly to meet out religious obligations.

· Society sees a people who are only interested in their own agendas, and for the most part are inwardly focused.

· Society sees a people who are; uptight, arrogant and judgmental.

Below are a few quotes from a recent update put out by the Barna Research Group. This report echoes the information that has been gathered in many of their other surveys along with the research Dan Kimball did in his book: They Like Jesus But Not The Church.

“While Christianity has typically generated an uneven reputation, the research shows that many of the most common critiques are becoming more concentrated. The study explored twenty specific images related to Christianity, including ten favorable and ten unfavorable perceptions. Among young non-Christians, nine out of the top 12 perceptions were negative. Common negative perceptions include that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old-fashioned (78%), and too involved in politics (75%)”

“When young people were asked to identify their impressions of Christianity, one of the common themes was “Christianity is changed from what it used to be” and “Christianity in today’s society no longer looks like Jesus.”

“In our interviews, we kept encountering young people – both those inside the church and outside of it – who said that something was broken in the present-day expression of Christianity.”

This article can be found at: http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=280

For the most part, the church has not been aware of this conflict between reality and perception. In most cases, the responding attitude is not healthy. I’ve perceived an attitude in the church that looks upon the outside world with disdain, not feeling the need or inclination to communicate who the church really is. Many are content to build their entire social network from within their church and totally exclude the outside world. Unfortunately, this behavior generally leads to a strong sense of false piety and a judgmental attitude. The Pharisees dissed Jesus for hanging out with tax-collectors. Remember His response? “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” (Lk. 5:31) Paul rebuked the church in Corinth for accepting and fellowshipping with believers who were practicing sexual immorality. However, when he told them to put the evil person away, he was referring to the evil person in the church, not the evil persons who are on the outside. In I Cor. 5:10, he makes it clear. We should not separate ourselves from the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters. The words of Christ Himself just emphasized that, “those who are well have no need of a physician”. By denying the teachings of both Jesus and Paul on this topic, we are causing the church to communicate a negative message. It’s obvious that the church doesn’t intend to do this, but the sad truth still remains: this is the message that many outside our walls have received.

Programs of Man vs. God’s Plan

There are a lot of ideas floating around concerning the manner in which the church should; organize, practice and present itself. Many who are in the traditional camp look to the new ministry models and blame them for utilizing the methods of secular society to grow their fellowships. The new church models are in turn looking to the traditional camps and criticizing them for lacking innovation and ignoring the changes in modern culture. Whether they are willing to admit it or not, both models are utilizing a common motivation. Underneath the philosophies and the practices, most churches are driven primarily with the need to reach people with the gospel and disciple them in the faith. To do that, most churches are providing: programs, methods, and styles that are meant to be appealing to different segments of society. The modern churches are doing what they do to be more inviting to a modern crowd. The traditional churches continue to do what they do for the same reason. They want to be inviting to a traditional crowd. Simultaneously, the two different groups conflict with one another over their interpretations of God’s plan vs. the programs of man.

The moment a church ministry seeks to do something innovative, there are groups that look on and accuse them for using the secular philosophies of marketing and psychology to grow their fellowships. For this reason, many pastors and church leaders ignore any leading that might move them away from the traditional standard of their particular denomination/organization. I have observed, however, that no matter what the style is, (be it old or new), there already exists some form of marketing and psychology. This applies to: the most ritualistic churches, the fundamental fellowships, the post-Jesus People movement charismatic churches, the “Seeker Friendly” churches and the Emerging/Emergent churches. Each group has its own unique style, providing an atmosphere of comfort and familiarity, while communicating in a distinctive way to the folks who find identity there.

Sometimes, God’s plan gets a little blurred through the programs of man. If secular society was divided up into five different groups who only witnessed one of the five church/ministry styles listed above, they’d each walk away with a different interpretation of what the church is. This brings me back to my initial dilemma. How can we be a body of believers who fellowship together in: the Word, worship and ministry, while communicating with clarity who (not what) the church really is?

Individuals are called to communicate their faith in all things. Our actions, our words and our motivations should be glorifying to God, and thus, should communicate sincerity to the onlookers. I love the “whatever” verses in the Bible; the ones that encompass every deed. (3 John 5, I Cor 10:31, Gal 6:7, Eph 6:8, Col 3:17, Col 3:23) Whatever we do should be glorifying to God. That means, our every deed should be sincere and excellent. If we’re glorifying God, there’s no room for pride, but humility serves a huge role. If we’re glorifying God, there’s no room for selfishness, but generosity gets to spread its wings. Such actions and attitudes will not only please God, but they will provide clear and concise communication to the world outside.

We also have several scriptures that call us as individuals to: present ourselves properly, be an example and serve openly. (Col 1:22, I Tim 3:7, I Thes 4:12, Col 4:5, Prov 2:7, 11:3, Gal 5:13, Matt 20:24-28, I Thes 5:22).

If we as individuals are acting decisively to communicate our faith in such a manner, shouldn’t we as a corporate body of believers strive even harder to make sure; our “whatevers”, our “presentations” and our “examples” are properly communicating who we are, and not what we are. Most gatherings are organized and recognized by: signage, adds in the paper, the Yellow Pages, Web Sites and bumper stickers. As an individual, I don’t go around shouting to the world, “Look at me, I’m a Christian!” However, our organized gatherings do. For this reason, I believe the church should reconsider its corporate: “whatevers, presentations and examples” and strive to be fellowships that effectively communicate: sincere, humble and generous love.

Should we consider a change?

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

“Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

“… I have made you hear new things from this time, even hidden things, and you did not know them.”

(Isa 42:9, 43:19, 48:6)

Should we consider a change? Yes!

Should we make a change? Well, the yes doesn’t come so quickly to this question. Deconstructing and rebuilding the way we organize our church fellowship is a scary task. Even small changes can be intimidating. Why? The change affects every person who calls that fellowship “home”. As a pastor, I can’t take possession and say, “The church is mine and therefore it should conform to my ideas.” No way! The church isn’t mine. I can only look to the folks who faithfully find fellowship in our midst and say with them, “the church is ours”. If God has impressed me with a vision for change, then I need to pass that vision on to the body. If I leave them out and make changes behind closed doors, the damages that occur will have been unnecessary.

It is my goal, through this article, to lay a foundation for change. If nothing else, I want to impress upon those who read this that change can be effective, even if nobody else is doing it. In our culture there are many churches that are changing for the simple sake of change. Many churches are decking out the traditional format of ministry with blue jeans and video clips; however, underneath the layer of grunge, the overall communication issue remains the same. In fact, the communication issue might even be worse. Remember, the motivation of this article is to discover how we as the church can communicate ourselves effectively to the world around us. If we emphasize “what” we are with all the modern fluff, then people will walk away talking about “what” the church is. The program gets emphasized over the people, and the wrong thing claims the attention of the onlooker. The modern changes we make in our ministry style might produce more attendance and a buzz of excitement, but, does it improve the communication of WHO the church is? So far, I haven’t seen it.

We need to emphasize “people” over “program”!

How do we do that?

“they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love. They will know we are Christians by our love.”

First off, before I go down this path, allow me to emphasize this important fact.

Our weekly worship gatherings are important! In fact, we can make the changes I will propose without messing up our Sunday morning. (Maybe in your head you’re hearing the sound of screeching tires. “What’s up Chad? Are you messing with our heads? Have we read this far to find out that you’ve said nothing?”) Most of us who are in the church have preconceived ideas that have led us down a mental path of changing “Sunday morning”. I’m talking about change in the church. As a response, we subliminally think of church as a “what” rather than a “who”, so we immediately apply those thoughts of change to our ideas of “Sunday morning”. Those of us who are pastors have had this mentality pounded into our heads. We are told that our best opportunity to impress, (oh yea, and ultimately reach), the onlooker, is by having an impressive program on Sunday morning. It might be our best opportunity if it’s our main emphasis. It might be our best opportunity if that’s all we’re doing. It might be our best opportunity if we ourselves have lost sight of “who” the church is.

For most churches, Sunday morning has become our “all in all”. There is an underlying current that motivates us to: gain, keep and plug people in.

· We decorate to make people feel comfortable.

· We provide peer-relative social groups to give people a sense of identity.

· We make everything we offer as convenient as it can possibly be.

· We have a cool young youth pastor with a soul patch and an electric guitar.

· Our messages are positive and uplifting.

· The scheduled timings are designed to line up with the average attention span of a young adult.

· We greet everyone to make them feel welcomed.

· We don’t greet anybody to make them feel more comfortable.

· Signage Everywhere!!!

Maybe we need to re-evaluate just what our Sunday (or, whatever day) gathering is all about. I totally understand the rational that states: “The more people we get, the more people we can reach.” We definitely want to reach more people, but sometimes, the “reaching” takes a back seat to the “getting”. Is “growing the church” our main goal? Are we really seeking to fill more seats and build bigger budgets? Do we really strive to buy better stuff and hire more staff? Are these the things that drive us?

What is Sunday all about?

All week long, the church is being active as witnesses and servants in the community it resides in. That’s where the real central work of the church is going on. Then, once or twice a week, the church comes together as a family. This is our time to: rejoice, be charged up, share, listen, pray, worship, learn, be corrected and fellowship. When I was very young my family gathered at Grandma’s house every Sunday afternoon. All the: aunts, uncles and cousins were there. We all shared a meal, talked about the week, played and rested. In a way, this is what our Sunday mornings should be like. It should be one of the many elements that define our participation as members of the church (body of Christ).

…and the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” (Acts. 2:47b)

Why did the Lord add to that early church? What was going on there? How were they behaving? What were they doing? The answers to these questions are found in the previous 5 verses.

The continued steadfastly in: the apostles’ doctrines, fellowship, sharing meals and prayer. They were together often. They pooled their resources together to help out the poor and needy. They gathered regularly in the temple and fellowshipped from house to house. There was gladness and simplicity of heart. Because of these behaviors, the following things happened: 1. Fear came upon every soul. 2. There were miracles. 3. They had favor with all people. 4. The Lord added to the church.

The church described in Acts 2:42-47 does not compare well with the church of 2008. The church in Acts 2 was attractive. People looked in from the outside and they saw something good. Love, compassion, Joy and sincerity emanated from the midst of their fellowship. The people of that early church made a commitment to each other, and it showed. For this reason, when the Holy Spirit convicted and drew the unbeliever to the place of salvation, they weren’t put off by the reputation of the church. They didn’t grieve conviction because of their negative impressions of Christianity. Instead, the church of Acts 2 was attractive. Therefore, conviction of the Spirit was embraced and fellowship was sought out without reservation.

I believe the church of 2008 can be attractive too. To make it happen, we need to turn something around. Instead of being a Sunday-priority church that does outreach on the side, we need to be an “outreach-priority” that does church on the side. For those who are only interested in Sunday, it’s still there. For those who are moved to grow into a greater and more effective place of servanthood, we will be prepared to facilitate it.

Here’s the basic plan… “Overflow Community Center”

We are poor stewards of our worship facility. Most of the time, it’s empty. Instead of using it solely for Sunday, I propose that we use it throughout the week, to provide different avenues of service to our community. On Sunday, this will be the place where Calvary Chapel meets. We’ll continue to use if for church-worship related functions Tuesday nights and Wednesday nights, but for the rest of the time, it will operate as The Overflow Community Center. What will go on in the O.C.C.? The options are only limited by the gifts and the willingness of the people who serve.

Here are a few options: Single Mom’s Support Group, Group Music Lessons, Computer Training, Budget Counseling, Hobby Related Workshops, Tutoring, Addiction Related Support Groups, Game Nights, Audio Production, etc.

Why would we offer these services? Each group would be a practical means to support and encouragement to the people of our community. By expressing love in a real hands on way: we will be imitating the examples of Jesus, we will be building relationships, we will be given opportunities to share the gospel, we will find ourselves experiencing rich and edifying fellowship with one another and we will become attractive, in the same way that the Acts 2 church was attractive. All of this leads to the ultimate goal, of God adding to the church daily, (we’d even be happy with weekly), those who are being saved.

By providing the “Overflow Community Center”, we will be communicating a more consistent message to the world around us, of just exactly what and who the church really is.

Those who have ideas for service groups in the Community Center will submit a proposal by filling out an information sheet. This will help them to formulate and organize their idea, plus, enable us to properly schedule and supply what is needed for each group. As the groups come together, we will establish a monthly calendar, website, newsletter and mailing list to promote the opportunities that we are providing. Each service group proposal will be reviewed by the board of Calvary Chapel to insure that it is within the boundaries of our vision, values and doctrine. Upon approval, it will be organized, scheduled and promoted.

Conclusion:

Our ultimate goal is summed up in I Cor. 10:31-33

1. Do all to the glory of God.

2. Give no offense.

3. Seeking the profit of many.

4. Why? That they might be saved.

What do you do when vision bounces off the walls of your universe?  What do you do when your ideas and your concepts don’t fit into the established system?

I have, what I consider to be a transforming idea for “church” ministry.  Actually, it’s one of the few times that I have tremendous confidence that God has brought this vision to my heart.  Since I’m not the most ambitious person in the world, I know that something bigger than me has caused this thing to resound for so long.  It’s been about 5 years.  This year, it appears as if the vision has all come together.  I’ve laid it out there, fully explained it, tested every facet of it and have actually visualized it as being a reality.  Now, don’t fuss at me for being all new-agish on the visualization thing.  Reality is… it seems so real, that I can actually see it as if it’s already happened.

Some might disagree with me on this, but I’ve chosen to lay a fleece out there concerning this whole vision..  (which, btw, I’m not going to go too much into it [the vision] here).  I picked out 12 people in the fellowship that I see as serving in significant roles of leadership, (some, not now, but later).  I laid the whole plan out for them, set some time-relative goals, answered questions and sat back to gauge their response.  In the beginning, those who listened were on board and excited.  Yet, when it seemed like I was building up steam….  I ran out of rail.  Some of my key people started to fudge on one of the most vital parts of the vision.

In a nutshell, I wanted to bring our church into a place where it became an active expression of Christian service 7 days a week, and not just on Sunday.  To do this, we’d have to transfer the major part of our Sunday/permanent building investment into something that would act more as a day to day community center…  and then use a temp space for Sunday morning.  Many churches are doing well in temporary space.  Many churches are experiencing more attendance and more participation in temp spaces.  Many churches have incredible ministries for infants and children in temp spaces.  But, some of my “fleece” people aren’t grasping this as a possibility for us.  The current system that we’re in does not support the change that I propose, and some of my key people can’t think out of the box of this current system.  I don’t blame them.  I’m thankful that God has given me these folks to keep me in check.  Maybe their reservations are protecting me from something that I’m trying to rush or carry out with extremity. 

I’m still a little bit deflated on the whole thing.  It’s still there, but I’ve proven that I can’t lead my key people into the vision, so how do I think I could lead the rest of the fellowship into it?  It’s their church.  I was called to this.  I’m doing this, (for the most part), because I have to..  (joyfully none the less).   Everyone else is here by choice.   They didn’t choose the fellowship that I want this one to become.  They chose the fellowship that this is, now, and has been for the past 8 years.  I have to respect that.

We have an established system here.  I am the guy who planted the church.  In a huge way, I am responsible for the system.  Now that I feel compelled to change it, I’m at a loss.  I can continue on, but I fear it will be with dissatisfaction.  So here I am at a junction.

At the beginning of every new year we often dream about the things which will transpire before us.  Will this be the year that something huge happens?  Will this be the year that we break through in a new way?  Will this be a year of status-quo?  I’m not sure what to think for 2008 anymore.  My vision is still a huge reality to me.  The only way I can practically carry it out is by starting over from scratch.  That’s not really a current option.  At this junction I still wonder…  how will I see this come to pass?  Will I see this come to pass at all?  Is there a way to lead this current system into the one I desire it to become, or will that be a failed attempt to put new wine into old wine skins?

In the mean time, I continue where I ‘m at, and pray for contentment.    

This topic has been on my mind a lot lately.  What kind of message is the church communicating to the world around it.  I’m not talking about the words that Church uses or the propaganda it pushes.  I’m just talking about the impressions that people receive as they consider “who” and “what” the church is.  We as individuals are called to live in a manner that is above reproach… avoiding the appearance of evil… not providing opportunity for accusation…  To do this, we need to present humility to the world around us.  To do this, we need to be sensitive to people’s preconceived notions.  To do this we need to be cautious with any deed or word that might be considered questionable.  Well, if we as individuals are striving to communicate love in every way, shouldn’t the church as a corporate body of believers do the same thing?  How do we do that?
Sunday morning is a great time and should always be done with excellence.  However, if we want to communicate “who” and “what” we are, we need to give the world an opportunity to interact with us on Monday – Saturday also.  The outward display of love by the church should be the grandest impression that onlookers gain.  Let Sunday morning be a side-note in comparison to the activities we engage in during the week.  Think about it:  Sunday morning is (for the most part) for the believers.  That’s our chance to get together, worship and study.  The stuff we do for ourselves (like Sunday morning), shouldn’t be our main communication to those who are on the outside.  To them, we should be a people who walk in love and humility in the “real world” of day to day living.  On a side note, we also get together and celebrate on Sundays.
The issue of communication should be a huge factor to consider when we strategize and plan.
I have tons more to say on this topic.  It will run in and out of many future threads as it has on many past threads from www.simplemindedpreacher.com   It might even end up being a book.

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