ChurchPlanters.com "Giving You Permission"

Be Strong and Courageous

I caught myself praying this morning, "keep me safe and protect us".  Think about it.  Here is my prayer..."God I want to play it safe and I want a promise that nothing bad will happen to me and or my family.  Oh, While you are at it... bless me really big."  You see the narcissistic bent on my prayers.  In Joshua we read, "Be strong and courageous because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.  Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the let, that you may be successful wherever you go."  Joshua 1:6 & 7.

Just over two years ago my son came telling me that he was going to join the army. Immediately the words, "I would rather you die for something, than to live for nothing", came out of my mouth.  He replied, "That's what I was thinking".  On another occasion I talked with a young man who was contemplating going in the army.  I told him if he went he might die.  his reply was, "Then I will die."

We can't deny the fact that we all have a need for security, but at the same time their is something deep inside our souls that long for adventure.  We want our lives to count.  We become most alive when we take risk or narrowly escape death or injury. 

 

Jesus invites us to take up our cross, deny ourselves and to die daily. 

There is something daring and dangerous about following Jesus.  So today I changed my prayer, "Father make me brave and bold." 

Missional Thinking Inside the Beltway

If you are like me you kept your eye on the elections last night, Super Tuesday 2.  I can't recall an election in my lifetime where I personally have so many mixed emotions.  On the Republican side I don't know if I want a Baptist pastor running our country.  I'm just being honest.  It's not that I don't like Huckabee, I do!  In my opinion he is a stand up guy and I love so much of what he represents.  On the other hand I'm not sure about McCain.  My son is fighting a war in Afghanistan.  I like McCain on national security.  I think if anything I struggle with his age.  Then there is the Democratic side of things.  It has been really cool watching a new voice echo off the political landscape, but like a lot of conversations I hear I'm concerned about substance.  Let's not forget Hilary.  I'm just not ready for 8 more years of any Clinton.  So where does that put me.  I think I will vote for Jesus!  No, I really mean it.  Sure I will vote.  It is my responsibility.  I am going to think through the issue.  Do my fair share of homework.  I'm going to pray about and for the candidates, but at the end of the day I am casting my vote for Jesus and his ways.  I don't believe any one party has the answer for our nation and our world. 

In May my new book Breaking the Discipleship Code will be released.  In Part 3 of this book I talk about What does a missional follower of Jesus look like ______________?  In one of the chapters I talked about the Beltway.  Here are a couple of opening paragraphs:

"I have been guilty of voting a straight ticket. I hate to admit it, but I did at one time walk into the voting booth and pull the lever. I only did it once, and maybe it was because I was too busy to keep informed, or perhaps because I was just lazy, or maybe I had read one of the voting guides designed to tell us how good a Christian votes. Whatever my reasoning, I hope you (and God) will forgive me for being naïve, lazy, and narrow, and parking my brain, heart, and freedoms at the door of a voting booth.
            Today, I have repented. I am rethinking my politics, including the issues, parties, and candidates that drive them. I’m no longer taking my freedom to vote for granted, and I refuse to sell out to a party that does all my thinking for me. I refuse to blindly adhere to any reading guide or anyone else’s dogma without investigating it for myself through the lens of Jesus.

We have an Image Problem

Unfortunately the issue is much deeper than simply becoming more informed and voting our convictions. Our politics and attitudes about our politics have become a huge barrier to our missional engagement in the world. It was our hope that our political actions, at the end of the past century and the beginning of this century, would do much in righting our nation morally and putting us on the straight and narrow as a nation. We envisioned a better world but, for better or worse, what many of us envisioned hasn’t happened. The alliance of religion and beltway politics has proven not to be the answer. Organizations like the Moral Majority and Christian Coalition have had their moments in the political spotlight only to ease off the stage of American politics without as much as an encore. We have had a conservative Christian President and a conservative congress working hand-in-hand for the first time in many years under the backdrop of a conservative judicial branch, yet we have seen limited progress.

At the same time I don’t want to be too hard on those who have fought so hard for the soul of our nation. Who knows where we would be without those who have so courageously laid it all on the line? We can’t deny that there has been a salt-like effect in preserving the moral fabric of our nation. At the same time, if we had any notion that the answer to the moral and social issues of our day was a political surge by a conservative brand of Christianity, then we are to be greatly disappointed." 

Here is my point.  I think we can learn a lot from the Psalmist "Some trust in chariots and some in horses,  but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Psalm 20:7. The lesson we can learn from Jesus in the Gospels is don't simply vote...act. That's right love like Jesus love...feed the hungry, cloth the naked, visit the lonely...That's the Jesus way! 

A Missional Response...World Care

I am overwhelmed today...God is continuing to do something in my heart...I just began reading The Calling; A Challenge to Walk the Narrow Road by Brother Andrew.  I highly recommend it.  Over the last year or so God has been doing a new work in my heart.  I have always said that I was called to be a missionary to the North American Church.  Lately that call has taken new life...as a missionary to the North American Church I am hearing more clearly his call for the North American Church to be in the world. 

Recently I was in Malawi where the church can freely operate...as I moved from village to village, town to town, and city to city I noticed a growing Muslim presence.  There were new mosques in many places.  Like much of Northern Africa if we don't respond as the Church by strengthening the African Churches the landscape will quickly change.  Misunderstandings will take place...confusion will abound...relationships will be challenged....and freedoms limited.  Now is the time to respond as Jesus would respond.

As I reflected on the world this morning I couldn't help but think of Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan.  I am so thankful for those who lead the way in these hard places.  God is at work.  As the church we too must respond. 

Yesterday we emphasized World Care at Mountain Lake Church.  Many responded.  I couldn't help but reflect on what it means to be missional.  Over the past few years the word missional has replaced concepts like; church growth and church health.  What does it really mean to be missional?  Being missional is not about doing church in a cool way for the cool people...being missional is not about a certain form and expression of worship...being missional is about recognizing that as Jesus was sent, we too are a sent people.  As a sent people there are no borders or limits to our being sent.  We are sent to our families, coworkers, neighbors, friends, enemies, and to the world. 

Being missional is about rediscovering the centrality and simplicity of Jesus and His ways.  Here are a couple of ways you can respond to the world.

Malawi Water Project - This Christmas we are adopting a village and putting in a well in Malawi.  We have printed up some tee-shirts and are giving 100 percent of the proceeds to provide this well.  If you are interested you can e-mail at [email protected].  I would love to tell you how to get involved.

Give Water. Give Life!

Egypt Vision Trip - I am leading a group of leaders to the Egyp t in March for a vision trip to see how we can partner in that region of the country.  If you are a pastor or a leader of a ministry I would love for you to consider going with me.  We are currently encouraging and supporting several churches in the Cairo area and are looking to expand our base of North American churches that will develop long term relationships in Egypt with churches. You can e-mail me if you are interested at [email protected].

First Look @ Breaking the Discipleship Code

I was pleasantly surprise when I ran across my new book on Amazon.com.  It won't be released until May, 2008 but here is a first look....Check out Breaking the Discipleship Code here!

Why We Serve Starbucks

I got an e-mail for a church planter the other day asking me about the ins and outs of serving Starbucks in our cafe.  I take this stuff for granted, but thought it might be helpful to blog on it....Here is why we serve Starbucks....

1.  I love Starbucks and I began drinking it before it was cool...so no turning back for me.

2.  Starbucks has become an icon for our culture.  It is sort of like Apple...it communicates familiarity with people in our context and culture.  When people see the logo on in our lobby or on a mailer they are relieved that we might be normal people.  We believe it is an important link to those who are disconnected from Christ and the Church.

3.  It creates another touch point.  When people come to our weekend environment they are going to be touched by five to eight people.  The Cafe Team provides one of those touches for many of those coming. 

4.  It let's people know we are not down on everything.  Let's face it Starbucks like any other successful organization takes some heat along the way.  It's good to be seen as a church that is not always joining the chorus line in being down on everything. 

5.  It provides an entry place for people to volunteer.  At MLC we do everything we can to get people involved in volunteering as fast as possible.  Our Cafe is one of those places that require a large number of volunteers over a weekend.  In addition, you don't have to be a superstar to volunteer in the Cafe...the whole idea of Christ and the Church can be new to you.  Welcome abroad.

6.  It set's the tone for our lobby and even our church culture.  Our mission is "...to belong in a healthy relationship with God and others, and to become more like Jesus everyday."  When you walk into our lobby and see our cafe it really communicates "belonging". 

I've got to go...I need a cup of Starbucks.....david

Rethinking Discipleship Again

I had an awesome time at the National New Church Conference. Here are some of ranting and ravings from my talk on “Rethinking Discipleship”. If you were there I hope you found it helpful…even if you were one of the guys who had to leave early.

 So when it comes to rethinking discipleship here is what we are seeing…

 A shift from complexity to simplicity. We have made both church and being a disciple way to complicated. We have focused on the complexity of doing church instead of the simplicity of being the church. At the same time we don’t do simple for the sake of doing simple. We do simple in order that we might rediscover the centrality of Christ.

In this context a disciple is someone who lives like Christ lived, loves like Christ loved, and leaves what Christ left behind, which is people who live like him and love like him. It’s really that simple.

A shift from information to transformation. I really do believe you can sum up discipleship in terms of life change. God is rewriting all of stories. The chapters that are unfolding are full of God’s good news. It’s really not about what you know or how much you know. It is about who you know and how He is changing our life.

A shift from being a spectator to and active participant. The seeker movement of the 80’s and 90’s opened the door to lost people. Prior to that the church was most often a club, enjoyed by club members. However, in today’s culture it is not enough to open the door. Our culture has shifted and disciples are made when we invite those who are yet to discover who Jesus is in to explore and experience faith for themselves. People who have limited or no Christian memory needs safe people and a safe place to try on faith. Our communities of faith can become that place.

A shift from an emphasis on conversion to spiritual journey.  I’ve been watching an interesting thing over the past twenty years. When people come to faith as a result of an extend involvement in a community of faith they are often way down the road in terms of discipleship. This does not minimize conversion, but it shifts where it happens in the disciple journey. Often those who cross the line of faith are already having a regular time with God, serving, part of a small group, and even participating in some kind of greater impact. This shakes up our discipleship process. We come to understand that discipleship is not a program. Programs do not work. Discipleship is a life. Jesus invited the very first disciples to come follow Him. Did they understand everything about faith? When was there conversion experience? This and other questions force us to face the messiness of discipleship. This kind of discipleship is organic. It can’t always be measured in terms of a 101 or 201class.

A shift from utilizing qualified leaders to qualifying the unqualified. How do you make disciples? By qualifying the unqualified. That’s right. I recently returned form the middle east, while I was there two of the guys with me preached their first and second sermons, every one in their group told their stories, and we all did things way outside of our comfort zone. Were we qualified? Depends on who you ask. You want to disciple someone. Let them lead a group. You want to disciple someone. Send them to the middle east. You want to qualify someone. Get them involved in serving. You get the picture

 A shift from the individual to the whole. A few year back discipling people was the responsibility of certain individuals with certain gifts. This doesn’t even make sense. It is the responsibility of the body of Christ to “make disciples”. This happens in the context of community.  When people who are eager to or even reluntant to press up against the gospel are invited into our communities of faith and see the body as a bueatiful bride something mystical begins to happen in their lives.  As they venture deeper into community, life change is inevitable. 

 

Get Ur Done!!!

What does Texas Holdem...Line Dancing...The Get Ur Done Band...all have in common?  I'm glad you asked...They were all part of our Can't Miss Event for our Empty Nesters held last Thursday at Mountain Lake Church. 

Hey the new picture actually came from our Students and Parents event held on Friday Night.  I mopped up the table with a not so friendly game of Texas Holdem at least until I let a middle school girl buy in right in the the middle of the game.  I believe it was a set up...I will get her next time.  Oh yea...before you judge me for a friendly or not-so-friendly game of poker I actually learned to play with our pastors on a retreat. 

Back to the Empty Nestes it was great to see them swaying to the music with one another in our worship center turned dance floor.  Some how I can't help but believe that God smiled when the hearts of people who had been married for years begin to beat hard and fast as they swayed back and forth.

I'm so glad Jesus sets up free from religion...david

The Church as the Missionary

I first heard the statement "the is the missionary" from my good friend Bob Roberts.  Bob is being used by God to redefine missions for the local church.  Matter of fact I just returned from working with a middle east partner because of doors that Bob opened.  It was amazing and there is no doubt that God is at work in the middle east.  We are planning on staying there for a long time.  I am currently praying through my next trip.  What I hope to do is take a group of pastors and business men over some time next year.  I clearly heard the Macedonian call while I was there and plan on rallying the troops.  If you have an interest send me a comment I would love to talk  with you about this trip. 

Here's the deal...while the church is the missionary in the middle east, it doesn't begin there.  The CHURCH IS THE MISSIONARY.  That's right the Church is the missionary period.  And as the missionary it begins right where you are planted.  If you are in downtown LA you are the missionary.  If you are in Anderson, SC you are the missionary.  If you are in the suburbs of Atlanta you are the missionary.  Every day, every week the church is the missionary.  What happen this past week at Mountain Lake Church was we went missional.  We removed all the barriers and invited people to go public with their faith and we had 203 people go public through baptisms.  We had a missional moment!!!  However, there would not have been a missional moment if we did not go missional every single weekend.  Nor would there had been a missional moment if the people who make up MLC did not go missional every single day of there lives.  The CHURCH IS THE MISSIONARY. 

I was once asked by a missions agency about our evangelism program.  My reply was we don't have one.  Then he asked me how we train our people.  Once again my reply was we didn't.  He had a hard time believing that we could reach disconnected people and not have a formal evangelism program.  On the contrary I don't know how you have a formal evangelism program and reach people.  What we are experiencing at MLC is a movement of God that begins with life change.  Like the woman at the well our people are going back into their villages (homes, work places, schools, and etc.) and inviting people to "come and see".  And this past weekend 203 people went public with their faith. 

Hey the cool thing is we are doing it again and we are already hearing stories where the movement is bubbling up again.  All week long we have gone missional and this weekend we will celebrate by going missional again....give me your thoughts....d

Hisholyspace

If you read this blog regularly you know my son is in Afghanistan.  He is deployed to a remote firebase in the eastern part of the country as part of a recon unit.  Yes he is in harms way every single day of his life.  As I blog the NATO forces are preparing for the Taliban's spring offensive.  The Taliban has threaten the Afghan people with 2000 suicide bombers.  As a forward observer my son will lead they way. We are very proud of him.  He is a courageous young man with a humble spirit and a good heart. Tami and I appreciate your prayers for him and the troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

With that said I often find myself living to hear from him.  He doesn't get to communicate very often.  We heard from him 8 days ago and before that it was 10 days.  We are thankful for those somewhat infrequent calls.   He also e-mails us.  As you can image every day I check our e-mail accounts to see if he has left us one.  Most days we don't have anything, but about once a week there will be a simple e-mail, "I'm fine, I miss you, I love you...dave"  So yesterday home with Strep I was checking one of our e-mail accounts.  Actually it was one of Tami's when I noticed that she was invited to join someones "Hisholyspace".  I couldn't  believe it.  I'm sure I had to have heard of this, but just sort of ignored it.  Now we have a "Hisholyspace".  I place where we christians can go and not be tarnished by world!  No wonder there is an image barrier when it comes to how disconnected people perceive us. 

"Hisholyspace" reminds me of a story in the Bible of how Jesus took John, Peter, and James up the mountain and was transfigured before them as he spoke with Moses and Elijah.  What did they want to do? You got it, build a HIsholyspace and never leave the mountain. I love Jesus' response, "Get up".  Read it for yourself (Matthew 17).

My gosh!  What are we thinking?  His Holy space was a cross!  "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations".  Hisholyspace?  I think we need a new strategy.  I wonder what my son thinks when he is getting shot at by some religious fanatic in the name of Allah for the sole purpose of preserving our freedoms and in return we are creating our own little holy space.  Wake up church!  It's not about me!  It's not about you! It's not about myholyspace!  Get dirty!  Get out there!  Start a Pub Church!  Go to Africa and care for AIDS Orphans!  Spend time with you family!  Spend time with a neighbor!  Go to the hospital! Reach out to the "myspace" generation (Tami opened her account to communicate with our son...knowing her it will become a ministry because everything she does becomes one).

You get my point and I feel better now.  By the way Jesus is all I have...all I need...all I want...and all I plan on doing the rest of my life...david

PS  I got an e-mail for Dave...he sounded good...said he hadn't used in indoor toilet in 5 weeks.

In The World?

I have been home in bed sick since Sunday afternoon.  It has been unbelievable.  My diagnosis is strep throat.  I wouldn't wish this stuff on anyone.  It's Thursday and I still feel like someone has run my throat through a meat grinder.  After the doctor look in my throat the other day she said, "I'm going to clear out that stuff around your tonsils so I can get a better look."  My reply was simple, "I don't have any tonsil unless I've recently grown a new pair.  I feel like I'm raising porcupines in the back of my throat and they keep attacking my ears.  Enough of my whining.  My wife keeps reminding me that I'm not attractive when I whine.  I hope that means she thinks I'm attractive when I'm not whining.

Anyway so I'm laying in bed this morning and Christian Radio is on, I would have turned it off, but it would have required for me to get my rather sick body into motion.  I laid there and listened to it for over an hour.  Thank God it finally went off. 

Here is my tirade....Jesus told us to be in the world, but not of the world and we have become of the world, but not in the world.  That's right!  We have created our own world.  It is just like the world's world, but we have baptized it in our own moral aspirations and religious culture.  We have our Christian TV, Christian movies, Christian magazines, Christian novels, Christian music, Christian stores, Christians colleges, and etc.  You name it, if the world has it we have Christian version of it. 

Is this what Jesus meant when he described himself as being in the world, but not of the world.  NO!  Look at his life.  In Luke's Gospel He is know as "A Friend of Sinners".  He didn't get that title from the PTL show.  That beloved title was placed on him by the religious leaders of His day as an insult. 

Okay, what does it mean to be a friend of sinners in your context?  Answering that question will take you one step closer to breaking the missional code.