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.

Our fellowship has some good strengths. I took a survey. Most of the people say that we are strong in: Teaching, Worship and Fellowship. Those are really good things.

We are weak in Leadership, Discipleship and Serving/Evangelism. That’s bad.

My biggest lesson of 09 is: “Invest in your strengths”. We are going to invest in our strength of Teaching, to be more intentional about discipleship, in order to raise up more leaders, who will in turn enable us to be a serving church again. Why? I want to serve better. -I’m starting, by giving the Bible the boot. (well, in part) I’ve been teaching the Bible for 10 years 2-3 times a week. I’m beginning to challenge my ingrained notions of Calvary Chapel idealism. It’s been a hard conclusion to come to… but I’m there. Teaching the Bible isn’t Enough.

I want to serve better. To do that, I’m going to stop teaching the Bible… (gasp) – in part. This plan does include an opportunity for me to invest more richly in the verse by verse expositions that will continue on Sunday mornings. Any Souther California CC cop who stops in for a Sunday morning judgment visit will indeed, still find us teaching verse by verse.

Have I mentioned that I want to serve better? I’ve concluded, that teaching the Bible does not equal discipleship. I have learned in the Bible that I am called to make disciples. Teaching the Bible does produce a few self-made disciple types… but these are few and far between. I would wager that many of us who are in ministry right now are probably the ’self-made’ disciple types. I am. No one really discipled me (that is, with purpose and intent).

Our midweeks are going to change. Instead of telling folks: “This is the Bible. This is what it means. This is how you should apply it to your life. Ok Goodbye!”, we are going to be more intentional about leading folks through the maze of discovering how to receive, infuse and live the perpetual goodness of Biblical truth. We’re going to start out with two levels of discipleship. Everyone who goes through the first level, can then, move onto the next level. For those who complete the next level, I am goin to be developing more in-depth studies based on the 10 topics that we will be covering in 2nd level.

I’m going to be infusing a quarterly family night to emphasize the need for rich fellowship. I’m going to spring occassional ’service’ opportunities… where, instead of having a class, we are all goin to work together to fill food boxes for the poor, or write letters to prisoners, or fill out invitations to the Christmas Eve service.. or.. whatever-

We used to have a strong core of leaders. We also planted 6 churches. Now we’re not that impressive. We don’t get out in the community but once a month. We need to raise up leaders. We’re goin to do this by not teaching the Bible (as much). Please pray that we see fruit.

this guy has amazing fingers… -the end is really scary.

The Gutierrez Brothers… and me.

yes, those are fireworks on my shelf.

Vizcaiano: 10/17

I’m wondering if it’s possible to reverse the experience that I just had this past week.  We spoke to pastors who needed encouragement in the areas of grace and Biblical Interpretation.  The feedback from our messages was incredible.  So many of these guys were trained up in legalism.  So many of these guys take the doctrines and the traditions of their denominations as being the final authority.  In no way did we try to promote Calvary Chapel, but we did promote truth.  Very difficult issues were addressed.  Some of these guys will be changing.

We came to them and addressed some issues that were significant in their culture.  I’m wondering now, if it’s possible to bring guys like these to the U.S. to address issues that are significant in our culture.

We need to hear about faithfulness.  We need to hear about commitment.  We need to hear about contentment.  We need to hear about poverty.  We need to hear about discomfort and inconvenience.

Every year, my fellowship of churches holds a pastor’s conference.  Most of us are pastoring congregations between 50-150 people.  Most of us aren’t located in high population regions.  In spite of the norm, every year, we hear from mega church pastors.  I’m not opposed to these guys and I find their messages encouraging, but they are speaking from one world into a completely different world.  The unspoken message that many of these small town pastors hear is: ‘if you’re faithful, God will bless you with a lot of people.’  No one says this.  Some guys say the opposite, but, when a small time guy looks up to the big time guy, he’s still thinking, ‘Wow, it must be cool to have: staff pastors, secretaries, subwoofers and green rooms.”

This message can’t be avoided.  Truth be known, it’s more an issue of the small time pastor’s immaturity than anything else.

Small time pastors with big time expectations need to hear from some of these servants in Mexico.  They need to hear from the pastors I’ve worked with in Sudan.  They need to hear from the pastors I’ve worked with in Nepal.

I just spent an incredible week with some big time pastors.  Most of them don’t own cars.  Most of them don’t receive any kind of salary.  Some of them have walked away from the thousands of dollars that they were making in the drug trade, to serve Jesus in poverty.

Small time pastors in America are quitting because there are only 50 people in their fellowship.  Small time pastors are quitting because they can’t draw a salary.  Small time pastors are quitting because it’s hard.  (Don’t get me wrong.  There is, for some, a time to quit).  Small time pastors are thinking too much about themselves.

When we start thinking too much about ourselves, we need to go and hang out with some big time pastors.

I just did.

It won’t take long.  Soon, I’ll start thinking about myself again.

Good thing they’ve invited me back.

10/11/09

I’m a rookie.  What is ten years?

Does it take a decade to even begin to learn? 

It has for me.  For the past year or so, I feel like the incubation of knowledge and experience has just begun to hatch.  The shell is cracking, or so it would seem.

Today I was in one of those situations where I stood in front of men who have been around much longer than me.  They have sacrificed more.  They have been preaching more.  They humble me… more.

I stood before these men and taught them how to interpret the Scriptures.  Some of them have been interpreting the scriptures since before I was born.  Why was I standing before them with this topic?

I don’t know… but there I was, and I was baffled by the privilege. 

What became more baffling was the response.  They’ve been asking questions all afternoon.  They are hungry for more understanding.

Not all the faces were smiling.  Some of them weren’t happy about my teaching.  I gave them some basic ground rules and guidelines for interpreting the scriptures.  I basically gave them the info that is available here on the blog… back a few posts.  For some of these guys, accepting these ground rules means serious trouble for their doctrines, traditions and denominational standing.  Many of the denominations and traditions are granted a higher authority than the Word.  making the Word a priority will, for some of these men, mean big trouble.  Ultimately, I believe, it will translate over to a greater freedom in their faith, but with freedom, there is usually a price to pay. 

The teaching team is taking them through Galatians.  Yet again, those who hold to legalistic traditions are being instructed and rebuked.

There’s a lot of potential for change happening here.  A pastor liberated from legalism leads to a congregation liberated from legalism, which leads to discipleship which is liberated from legalism, which leads to future church plants being liberated from legalism. 

This is amazing to me.

The work we do here, might impact the future of the Christian church in the Baja Peninsula in a big way.  That’s coo!

There is already abounding grace.  Now, for some of these guys, that abounding grace is being revealed.  Somehow, I get to be part of this.

It is God’s will that enabled me to be here.  I say this, however, by faith.  My eyes see a path of un-connected randomness.

in 1984, Jon Preussner gave me a cassette tape that he didn’t like.

I loved it.

The band was Undercover.

The lead singer was Bill Walden.

Bill Walden is a fellow Calvary Chapel pastor.

I decided that I needed to be friends with Bill.

I became friends with Bill.

I went to Oregon to be one of 8 guys in a class.

Bill was in that class.

We talked about missions.

Bill sent me an email, inviting me to Mexico.

Bill picked me up in San Diego, and we drove 12 hours down an empty road to a new building filled up with Pastors and church leaders.

I’m glad that Jon gave me that cassette.  I’m glad that I got to be a cracked rookie… just a shepherd boy slinging rocks at Giants.  Just a 14 year old boy with a cassette tape in his hand… a cassette tape that led to an opportunity to change lives in the middle of the Baja Peninsula 25 years later. 

Wow.

God does cool things.

(10/11/09)

Insomnia is new to me.  This is only day 3, but it sure seems like an eternity.  Two nights ago there were snippets of sleep that were occupied with those strange ongoing dreams that both haunt and ravage shallow sleep.  Maybe these dreams are more suitable for deep sleep, but carry too much caliber and force for the shallow slumber.  Strange things happened, but I couldn’t explain them.  I wonder how the human mind (namely mine) is able to conjure up such intricate plots of unimaginable weirdness.  My wife tells me that she understands.  She credits my capacity for the bizarre much greater than I do. 

Last night I worked till 2am.  I was excited to go to bed.  When I got there I instantly became uncomfortably hot and stayed awake past 4am. 

The alarm went off at 7am.  Sure, I had no problem sleeping then.

Today began at 7am EST and probably won’t end till close to midnight PST.  I’ve always been able to sleep on a plane.  I even read 80 pages of a semi-interesting, yet moderately boring book about a pastor named Ed who accounted his attempt to live one year like Jesus.  For some reason, he felt like it was important to pray the Rosary.  That confused me.  Jesus didn’t pray the Rosary.  As I was reading the book about Ed the pastor I was listening to a book by Stuart Copeland, my musical hero since I was ten.  I was a drummer.  I needed a hero.  All my other teenage friends were into sports and had appropriately matched heroes to their favored sports.  I didn’t like sports.  I still don’t like sports.  I do, however, still like the drums.

When you read a book and listen to a book at the same time, strange things begin to happen.  I would suddenly be shocked when Ed the Pastor would blurt out expletives, or when Stuart Copeland the drum god would be observing a Sabbath. 

I’m still not sleeping.

I’ll be honest.  I know why I’m not sleeping.  I don’t want to admit it, but I know.  I’m pretty sure I have a mild addiction.

For 3 days, I have not taken my migraine meds.  They make me tired.  they dry out every drop of moisture from  my head.  They make me fatter than my regular level of fat.  They do however, keep most of the migraines at bay.

There has been a lot of migraine activity today.  I’ll be taking the fat sleepy pills the moment I reach Sand Diego.  Later tonight, in Mexico, I’ll sleep.  How do I know? 

I’m addicted.

Writing this random information isn’t even making me sleepy.  Listening to a random mix of 5 different Coldplay albums (which is pretty boring, but good), isn’t making me tired.

Maybe I’ve discovered my super power.

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