When I was a freshman in college, I was burdened to pray for revival. I read all the books I could on revivals throughout history. I talked to about it all the time. It was my obsession. Sadly, I realized a few weeks ago, that this obsession had wained. Of course, if you were to ask me if I wanted to see a revival, I would have said yes, but I didn't think about it like I used to. I didn't pray for it every day. I think the reason why was that I didn't ever really figure out what revival is. I didn't have a definition. My previous desires for revile were not built on a good thoughtful foundation.
So, what is revival? Here's the simple definition I have come up with in the last few weeks.
Revival or awakening is the revelation of the presence of God. God of course is here at all times -always ever present. But, a revival occurs when we become aware of His presence. He shows us Himself.
What does that look like?
1) When you see God as He is the first response is brokeness. (See Is. 6) I see myself as I really am. As a matter of fact, I can't see myself as I am without seeing God as He is. (Of course, I am not able to see ALL of GOd and take all of Him in, but at times He does open the mind and the heart to feel a little of the weight of the glory of His presence.) The result of seeing God's infinite greatness and holiness is me seeing myself as utterly spiritual bankrupt. All my righteousness, my very best I could ever muster for God, seems like dirty tampons before God.
2) Seeing God for who He is doesn't stop there of course. As great as God is, He is also full of love, grace, and mercy. Through the cross of Jesus, I see the love of God displayed to me and I see a way to find closeness, connection, and friendship with this Great Being. The awakening always moves from a vision of infinite holiness to a corresponding vision of infinite love. In an awakening, people see how unlovely they are in light of the greatness of God and yet how great His love is for such unlovely people.
3) Seeing the love of God that has been offered to me through the cross of Jesus, my response is, as a gift of the Spirit, great love back to God. This love, being a gift of the Spirit burring inside of us, is as much a gift of grace as the love God has toward us. This love burns in us to want to live in honor for God.
4) This love also brings us in union with God's love for others. By seeing the presence of God and the love He has for us and the world, we are filled with the same love. Our hearts, like Isaiah's, become burdens for others. To taste of something so magnificent spurs us to share with others the same.
5) In the context of this revelation, God works with power bringing peace, healing, a powerful community.
It could be laid out like this: presence of God to the greatness of God to the love of God for us to the love for God in us to the love God in us for others to the presence and power of God through us.
That is now my prayer for Boulder. God you are here. Show yourself.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Buzzwords: Gospel-Centered.
I have to admit. When I first heard the idea of being "Gospel-centered" mentioned every fourth word at my church it annoyed me a little. Don't worry, it annoyed me that it annoyed me, so I'm safe. I think it annoyed me for two reasons. 1) After almost ten years in academic training in Greek, Hebrew, and Biblical Theology, I had no clue what it really meant and, 2) I felt like in a small way it deflected praise from Jesus. Shouldn't we talk about being Jesus-centered? Or maybe cross-centered? I mean, I get it. We are basically talking about the same thing, but how many people even know the word gospel? Anyway, those were my big beefs.
I prayed a lot about this one. I studied. I chatted with more spiritual people than myself. Struggled some more. What does it mean to be gospel-centered?
Here's what I think it means:
1) Focused on proclaiming the message of the Gospel to world. That one is simple, right? We all get that. Tell everyone what Jesus has accomplished for them and will accomplish for them though His death.
2) Focus on the power of the Gospel in our lives as Christians. The gospel is simply a message, a story, an announcement about what Jesus has accomplished, but that doesn't mean that we are past its relevance once we believe the gospel at our new birth. (or after if you are reformed) The accomplishments of the cross are how everything else in our lives find us. We pray through the cross. We approach God through the cross. We are accepted with God because of the cross. We have hope only because of the cross. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't teach Biblical wisdom. It means that we shouldn't teach it without going through the cross. The cross is the power for the living the wisdom. Otherwise we are impotent because we are without God. Because of the cross we are connected to God. Only because the cross. Only because of the gospel. Forgetting to live in that faith daily leaves us dangerously close to moralism. We have faith in the gospel (accomplishments of Jesus on the cross) to receive justification. We live in faith in the gospel every moment every day for hope of closeness to God and the power of God in our lives.
3) Because of number 2, We preach the gospel to believers repeatedly. We think of everything as a logic and wisdom flowing out of this simple message.
4) We display the gospel. We no longer seek to just do good or live moral lives, we seek to display the gospel in everything we do. This becomes a sort of new ethic for us. Instead of simply asking what is right or wrong we ask how we can best display the gospel. Then our marriages, lives, service, worship, relationships, etc. become a presentation of the gospel message to our communities.
5) We believe in the power of the gospel. The gospel is simply a message about what Jesus did in His death and resurrection. We believe in the power of declaring that message in life and word. We believe that even if we fail at creative strategies, brilliant leadership, or lack superb talent, the gospel is enough. Personally, I believe that when this message is shared the Spirit allows the hearer to understand it and then enlivens their heart for the potential of faith. Giving them a pre-fall type opportunity to choose Christ. That is power. The persuasive presence of God always accompanies a clear presentation of the promise of the Gospel.
If you haven't figured it out by now, on the whole Gospel-cented thing.... I'm in. Not that the gospel needs me.
Aren't all evangelicals in, though? Unfortunately not. Many churches fail on one of these points in one or the other. Whether it's by simply proclaiming a self-help message or some other from of moralism or whether its fouling so much on the extras that the gospel focus is lost, many churches are "gospel-plus" organizations or "almost-gospel" organizations.
One note to connect with a doubt I mentioned at the beginning. Does our nomenclature matter? Should we announce over and over that we are gospel centered? My thought is no. We shouldn't have to. And, if we do maybe it reveals we are not. Kind of like the quote from Margaret Thatcher about leadership which I will attempt to quote from my poor memory, "Being a leader is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are one then you are not." Personally, I think this applies to the idea of being gospel centered. Don't talk about it so much. Just be it. I am sure the leaders need to talk about the idea and its implications and how you'll apply it. It is great to educate your people on what you are and what it means, but just be careful that's all. The word "gospel" is not magic. Saying over and over every Sunday doesn't make it so. If people aren't believing in the gospel in our church regularly then, well, I hate to break it to you. You are not gospel-centered. Instead, talk about Jesus. Talk about what He has done and is doing because of the gospel. That's my rant on that.
That's for listening, you imaginary minions.
I prayed a lot about this one. I studied. I chatted with more spiritual people than myself. Struggled some more. What does it mean to be gospel-centered?
Here's what I think it means:
1) Focused on proclaiming the message of the Gospel to world. That one is simple, right? We all get that. Tell everyone what Jesus has accomplished for them and will accomplish for them though His death.
2) Focus on the power of the Gospel in our lives as Christians. The gospel is simply a message, a story, an announcement about what Jesus has accomplished, but that doesn't mean that we are past its relevance once we believe the gospel at our new birth. (or after if you are reformed) The accomplishments of the cross are how everything else in our lives find us. We pray through the cross. We approach God through the cross. We are accepted with God because of the cross. We have hope only because of the cross. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't teach Biblical wisdom. It means that we shouldn't teach it without going through the cross. The cross is the power for the living the wisdom. Otherwise we are impotent because we are without God. Because of the cross we are connected to God. Only because the cross. Only because of the gospel. Forgetting to live in that faith daily leaves us dangerously close to moralism. We have faith in the gospel (accomplishments of Jesus on the cross) to receive justification. We live in faith in the gospel every moment every day for hope of closeness to God and the power of God in our lives.
3) Because of number 2, We preach the gospel to believers repeatedly. We think of everything as a logic and wisdom flowing out of this simple message.
4) We display the gospel. We no longer seek to just do good or live moral lives, we seek to display the gospel in everything we do. This becomes a sort of new ethic for us. Instead of simply asking what is right or wrong we ask how we can best display the gospel. Then our marriages, lives, service, worship, relationships, etc. become a presentation of the gospel message to our communities.
5) We believe in the power of the gospel. The gospel is simply a message about what Jesus did in His death and resurrection. We believe in the power of declaring that message in life and word. We believe that even if we fail at creative strategies, brilliant leadership, or lack superb talent, the gospel is enough. Personally, I believe that when this message is shared the Spirit allows the hearer to understand it and then enlivens their heart for the potential of faith. Giving them a pre-fall type opportunity to choose Christ. That is power. The persuasive presence of God always accompanies a clear presentation of the promise of the Gospel.
If you haven't figured it out by now, on the whole Gospel-cented thing.... I'm in. Not that the gospel needs me.
Aren't all evangelicals in, though? Unfortunately not. Many churches fail on one of these points in one or the other. Whether it's by simply proclaiming a self-help message or some other from of moralism or whether its fouling so much on the extras that the gospel focus is lost, many churches are "gospel-plus" organizations or "almost-gospel" organizations.
One note to connect with a doubt I mentioned at the beginning. Does our nomenclature matter? Should we announce over and over that we are gospel centered? My thought is no. We shouldn't have to. And, if we do maybe it reveals we are not. Kind of like the quote from Margaret Thatcher about leadership which I will attempt to quote from my poor memory, "Being a leader is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are one then you are not." Personally, I think this applies to the idea of being gospel centered. Don't talk about it so much. Just be it. I am sure the leaders need to talk about the idea and its implications and how you'll apply it. It is great to educate your people on what you are and what it means, but just be careful that's all. The word "gospel" is not magic. Saying over and over every Sunday doesn't make it so. If people aren't believing in the gospel in our church regularly then, well, I hate to break it to you. You are not gospel-centered. Instead, talk about Jesus. Talk about what He has done and is doing because of the gospel. That's my rant on that.
That's for listening, you imaginary minions.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Buzzwords: Missional
The first big buzzword I worked though was missional. Don't know for sure who first said the word, but I did notice Ed Stetzer using it early on. So, I looked at how he had used it. I basically came to the conclusion that missional meant that a church was "on mission." Whew! Glad that was solved! Now what does that mean?
It means two major things to me:
1) A church sees itself as a missionary organization. It makes decisions the same way a missionary church plant would in Africa or China. It ignores the realities of church tradition in the States and acts and thinks as if it were planting in a foreign soil. That means that the church has to think about things like "contextualization" in a different way than if it weren't missional. A traditional church is inward focused, contextualizing for the people who are already there and who have been there for years. The goal is to maintain. The surrounding community is of little importance to the way church life is expressed. The missional churches sees itself more as a part of the culture and the community it is trying to reach. It is outward focused and culturally relevant. For example, a church in africa would look different in some its expressions than one in Detroit because the missionary communities are different.
2) A church sees itself as a missionary sending organization. By this I don't mean just simply sending missionaries to other continents, though this is a part it is not the whole. I mean it sees itself as an organization that trains and sends missionaries into the surrounding community. Sometimes this is expressed as "taking a mission trip to your city." Or it maybe more general, where the culture of the church is such that members see themselves as on mission everyday in their jobs, in their friendship, and in everything they do.
Phew! I liked that one. Actually, I love it. If I am correct in my assessment of the concept of being missional then I am on board. Maybe you could some up the idea of missional as it is where church is all about the them and not about us. Or where church is about the community outside the the wall of a church building more than the community inside the building.
Missional? Thank you ma'am and I'll have another. Let's talk about being "Gospel-centerd."
It means two major things to me:
1) A church sees itself as a missionary organization. It makes decisions the same way a missionary church plant would in Africa or China. It ignores the realities of church tradition in the States and acts and thinks as if it were planting in a foreign soil. That means that the church has to think about things like "contextualization" in a different way than if it weren't missional. A traditional church is inward focused, contextualizing for the people who are already there and who have been there for years. The goal is to maintain. The surrounding community is of little importance to the way church life is expressed. The missional churches sees itself more as a part of the culture and the community it is trying to reach. It is outward focused and culturally relevant. For example, a church in africa would look different in some its expressions than one in Detroit because the missionary communities are different.
2) A church sees itself as a missionary sending organization. By this I don't mean just simply sending missionaries to other continents, though this is a part it is not the whole. I mean it sees itself as an organization that trains and sends missionaries into the surrounding community. Sometimes this is expressed as "taking a mission trip to your city." Or it maybe more general, where the culture of the church is such that members see themselves as on mission everyday in their jobs, in their friendship, and in everything they do.
Phew! I liked that one. Actually, I love it. If I am correct in my assessment of the concept of being missional then I am on board. Maybe you could some up the idea of missional as it is where church is all about the them and not about us. Or where church is about the community outside the the wall of a church building more than the community inside the building.
Missional? Thank you ma'am and I'll have another. Let's talk about being "Gospel-centerd."
Monday, September 13, 2010
Buzzwords
It's funny how so many buzzwords get connected to Christian things. For a while it was "Great Commission Churches" and before that "Seeker" churches. "Fundamentalist" was one. "Revivalist" was another. Right now, the two biggies among my friends are "Missional" and "Gospel-centered." I've got to admit, for a while these terms annoyed me. Weren't we just rehashing old ideas with new nomenclature? Honestly, I wasn't even really sure what they meant. Don't get me wrong, I said amen when preachers said "We're a Gospel-centered church" just like everyone else -people may have been looking- but I didn't know what that really meant. Maybe Mark Driscoll or John Piper had told all the preachers that was the right thing to do so they did. Who was I to argue? When the Pope or the Archbishop speaks...
After a while, I did what my kindergarden teacher told me to do. I put my thinking cap on. Am I really missional? Am I really Gospel-centered? These are the ideas I am going to address in my next two blogs.
After a while, I did what my kindergarden teacher told me to do. I put my thinking cap on. Am I really missional? Am I really Gospel-centered? These are the ideas I am going to address in my next two blogs.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Quick Review of Drive by Daniel Pink
Drive is another great book I read in the book store across the road from my workplace. OK, I admit it, I broke down and bought this one.
The overall premis of the book is to answer the question, "What are the ingredients that motivate people most effectively?" That's how I would put it. Pink traces several shifts in corporate America's mentality of motivation through out the last few hundred years. Then, he challenges us toward a new shift.
He suggest that the most motivated organizational cultures have three ingredients:
1) Autonomy
2) Development
3) Purpose.
1. Autonomy. We should create organizations that let team members do their thing their way. Sure everyone may need some guidance, but the less you can get by with the better. Give people a simple measurable job description and let them accomplish how ever they want. Let them work 12 hours a week if that is best. Let them work 80. 9-5? cool. 2am to 12pm? If that works. Supervise less. Produce more.
Two ways a church could add this principle into their organizations. 1) With church staff, take the time to craft clear expectations. Then, let them try to accomplish those expectations any way they want to. Let them work any schedule they need. Leaders can simply meet weekly or monthly and discuss progress, help overcome obstacles, etc. What if they fail to meet the expectations? Help them figure out why and how. Move them to another area of responsibility if necessary. Fire them if you have to. Just don't manage them to death. If you have to manage someone more than an hour or two a week to accomplish their expectations then you either need to change how you act in that hour or change the person over the task,
2) The second thing churches can do with this info is to take their hands off of volunteers. State clear expectations. Give them parameters. Then, let people create ministry. Priesthood of the believers stuff.
2. Development. Organizations that are the filled with the most motivated workforces help their teams develop and grow in areas of their own passions and strengths. Simply put, people need to be helped to discover their strengths and unique contributions and then we need to help them perform in those areas of passion at the highest level possible.
Shouldn't have to make the connection to ministry on this one. But, I will quickly. Let people do what they a) love and b) what they are successful at when they do it. Don't ask them to do a bunch of other crap. "But then we won't have someone to run the children's ministry!" Then stop doing it. Don't do anything that doesn't have a corresponding gifted leader. Church's operate according to flesh and outside the provision of God when they do a ministry "just because we are supposed to" even thought no one is passion about doing it. That's why you have burn out. That's why you can't get enough volunteers.
3. Purpose. People have to see and feel that their efforts are worth something to the world, that they are making a significant contribution. Shouldn't have to make the connection to ministry on this one either. So I won't!
The overall premis of the book is to answer the question, "What are the ingredients that motivate people most effectively?" That's how I would put it. Pink traces several shifts in corporate America's mentality of motivation through out the last few hundred years. Then, he challenges us toward a new shift.
He suggest that the most motivated organizational cultures have three ingredients:
1) Autonomy
2) Development
3) Purpose.
1. Autonomy. We should create organizations that let team members do their thing their way. Sure everyone may need some guidance, but the less you can get by with the better. Give people a simple measurable job description and let them accomplish how ever they want. Let them work 12 hours a week if that is best. Let them work 80. 9-5? cool. 2am to 12pm? If that works. Supervise less. Produce more.
Two ways a church could add this principle into their organizations. 1) With church staff, take the time to craft clear expectations. Then, let them try to accomplish those expectations any way they want to. Let them work any schedule they need. Leaders can simply meet weekly or monthly and discuss progress, help overcome obstacles, etc. What if they fail to meet the expectations? Help them figure out why and how. Move them to another area of responsibility if necessary. Fire them if you have to. Just don't manage them to death. If you have to manage someone more than an hour or two a week to accomplish their expectations then you either need to change how you act in that hour or change the person over the task,
2) The second thing churches can do with this info is to take their hands off of volunteers. State clear expectations. Give them parameters. Then, let people create ministry. Priesthood of the believers stuff.
2. Development. Organizations that are the filled with the most motivated workforces help their teams develop and grow in areas of their own passions and strengths. Simply put, people need to be helped to discover their strengths and unique contributions and then we need to help them perform in those areas of passion at the highest level possible.
Shouldn't have to make the connection to ministry on this one. But, I will quickly. Let people do what they a) love and b) what they are successful at when they do it. Don't ask them to do a bunch of other crap. "But then we won't have someone to run the children's ministry!" Then stop doing it. Don't do anything that doesn't have a corresponding gifted leader. Church's operate according to flesh and outside the provision of God when they do a ministry "just because we are supposed to" even thought no one is passion about doing it. That's why you have burn out. That's why you can't get enough volunteers.
3. Purpose. People have to see and feel that their efforts are worth something to the world, that they are making a significant contribution. Shouldn't have to make the connection to ministry on this one either. So I won't!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Reflections from ReWork by 37signals.com
During my lunch hour at work I wander over to the book store and read. Saves money. Inspires my brain. Recently I picked up ReWork, a book by the guys who started 37signals.com. It is basically their attempt to share the wisdom they've learned from developing a successful company. Though, it might be better to call their advice unwisdom. Most of the book basically shoots down much what we are told are the principles to organizational success... and most of the time you come way agreeing with them.
Here are a few thoughts the book inspired in me related to church planting.
1) Break the rules. Why? Because there are no rules. The rules are a facade. Just do your thing. Do it the way you feel comfortable. Work hard. Sweat. Bleed. But, do it your way. I doubt these guys sat down and wrote out a hundred principles of unwisdom before they began their company. It seems they just let their business come out of them, out of who they are.
2) Several sections of the book talk about action. Just do something. Move. That made me think about my brilliant church model. The one that I like to draw on napkins. The one that I share when someone asks me about my dreams. Until I read this book, I think the church model was only in my head and on my computer and on scrap papers wadded up in trash cans. I asked myself a hard question. "Can I DO this thing on the napkin right now? Thankfully, the answer was yes. I can do it today. I can do with a handful of people or a busload of people or a shipload. My challenge for any church planting types out there reading my blog (yes you do exist in my imagination) is to run your strategy/model through the "do it now" filter. Can you? is the first question. Are you? is the best question.
3) Related to the previous idea. Get what you need to do your dream and do it. But, only worry about getting what you need. Do you need a projector to have a small group? No. Do you need a band to help people encounter God? No. You probably already have what you need. If you don't then you're strategy is probably too... too.... clunky. How will people who follow you do the things you are asking them to do if it takes you $100,000 dollars of equipment to do it? It goes back to number two (not that number two, the one above). You're vision for the change you hope to affect in people's lives needs to be simple enough to do now. Then, when you ask them to do it they can do it too. That should help with fund raising.
4) Essence. These guys started a business by creating product that they liked do do things they needed done. It came from their essence. That sounds cheesy. Point? Build your church out of your own essence. It must reflect you. Your values. Your passions.
Heck, if I had any readers, this would probably get a little backlash, but build a church for yourself. I don't mean that as bad as it sounds. Build the kind of church you would want to go to. It's the artist principle. The best artists, musicians, and writers, create their art for themselves. Not in a selfish way. They want other people to experience their creations too, but they are the first audience. Of course for churches, God is our first audience. And, there are some ground rules we have to follow. But, if you don't like or even love your church what's the point? Steve Jobs says that is the way Apple designs technology. They don't design according to a customer panel. They design stuff that they want to use.
Honestly, that is integrity. It's also sanity. Chasing anything else will make you crazy.
Here are a few thoughts the book inspired in me related to church planting.
1) Break the rules. Why? Because there are no rules. The rules are a facade. Just do your thing. Do it the way you feel comfortable. Work hard. Sweat. Bleed. But, do it your way. I doubt these guys sat down and wrote out a hundred principles of unwisdom before they began their company. It seems they just let their business come out of them, out of who they are.
2) Several sections of the book talk about action. Just do something. Move. That made me think about my brilliant church model. The one that I like to draw on napkins. The one that I share when someone asks me about my dreams. Until I read this book, I think the church model was only in my head and on my computer and on scrap papers wadded up in trash cans. I asked myself a hard question. "Can I DO this thing on the napkin right now? Thankfully, the answer was yes. I can do it today. I can do with a handful of people or a busload of people or a shipload. My challenge for any church planting types out there reading my blog (yes you do exist in my imagination) is to run your strategy/model through the "do it now" filter. Can you? is the first question. Are you? is the best question.
3) Related to the previous idea. Get what you need to do your dream and do it. But, only worry about getting what you need. Do you need a projector to have a small group? No. Do you need a band to help people encounter God? No. You probably already have what you need. If you don't then you're strategy is probably too... too.... clunky. How will people who follow you do the things you are asking them to do if it takes you $100,000 dollars of equipment to do it? It goes back to number two (not that number two, the one above). You're vision for the change you hope to affect in people's lives needs to be simple enough to do now. Then, when you ask them to do it they can do it too. That should help with fund raising.
4) Essence. These guys started a business by creating product that they liked do do things they needed done. It came from their essence. That sounds cheesy. Point? Build your church out of your own essence. It must reflect you. Your values. Your passions.
Heck, if I had any readers, this would probably get a little backlash, but build a church for yourself. I don't mean that as bad as it sounds. Build the kind of church you would want to go to. It's the artist principle. The best artists, musicians, and writers, create their art for themselves. Not in a selfish way. They want other people to experience their creations too, but they are the first audience. Of course for churches, God is our first audience. And, there are some ground rules we have to follow. But, if you don't like or even love your church what's the point? Steve Jobs says that is the way Apple designs technology. They don't design according to a customer panel. They design stuff that they want to use.
Honestly, that is integrity. It's also sanity. Chasing anything else will make you crazy.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
How not to Church Plant
Our goal is to start a church that will reach the city of Boulder with the Gospel. And, we are doing it the wrong way. The books I read talk about raising support, having a strict launch schedule, etc. What is our brilliant plan? We don't have one. We are just taking it one step at a time. What's are secret fund raising technique? Don't have a clue. We don't have many real strong churches backing us. We don't have a brilliant strategy. We don't have one dime of money promised to us. I am just taking it one day at a time. I work for a good company. I am building friendships. I beginning to leverage those friendships to make disciples.That's it. Don't you have to live it before you can teach it? Don't we have to figure out how to live as missionaries with real jobs in real life before we can help other believers do the same? Some times I think we are crazy. Often I wonder if we are going to crash and burn. We might. But, Jesus brought us here. He's here with us. Maybe, just maybe He will help us figure this thing out. And, that's what we are going to do. That's our brilliant strategy. Try real hard to stay close to Jesus, hear His voice, and then do what He says. Probably won't make much of a cool church planter book one day will it? Oh yeah, please don't make fun of me because I wrote a few blogs on "developing a strategy" earlier. Please.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Creativity
A lot of us are in what I would call "creative" professions. I call them that because other people call them that. (Maybe I am in the wrong profession.) Just a quick thought on creativity. It takes refreshed energy to create. That's it. You can't allow yourself to get caught up in the grind if you want to stay creative or become creative.
It's like soil. You can't just use the same ground over and over again without letting it rest. It has to have a restoration period. You need the same thing. Most people would become more productive by producing less (less is more, what you do produce will be more effective) and by trying less often to produce.
Of course some people need to get off their lazy butt, stop blogging and do anything.... and without I'm out of here.
It's like soil. You can't just use the same ground over and over again without letting it rest. It has to have a restoration period. You need the same thing. Most people would become more productive by producing less (less is more, what you do produce will be more effective) and by trying less often to produce.
Of course some people need to get off their lazy butt, stop blogging and do anything.... and without I'm out of here.
Go and Make Friends
Ok, that title is not a great translation for the Great Commission. But, it might as well be. I have a simple strategy for fulfilling it. Leverage your interests to make friends. Leverage your friendships to make disciples. That's what Jesus did, it seems to me. Besides, if your life isn't authentically impacted by the Gospel enough to impact your friends, then you don't have much hope of authentically impacting someone else. Maybe you should just stay in the house.
Do What You Gotta Do
One of my biggest values is that people should only do what they are gifted to do. There are a bunch of good books about this. StrengthsFinder 2.0, Now Discover Your Strengths, Go Put Your Strengths to Work, Living the Uncommon Life, and of course the Bible.
The goal of life, it seems to me, is to consistently encounter God personally and for other people to encounter God through the expressions of our giftedness.
For me that is pretty obvious. I am gifted in studying the Bible, figuring out what it means, then explaining that to other people in a way that impacts their life. I know. I know. The connection to how a person might encounter God in the "expression of my giftedness" is obvious for that one. But, God wants to use your unique gifts to cause people to meet Jesus too.
The song writer writes a song to communicate his heart.
The artist creates a work to express His love.
The cook makes a meal that creates community around a kitchen table.
The carpenter creates the most beautiful structures. They give him respect. The respect gives him influence.
There are few statements that reflect the deep core of my beliefs like, "The goal of life is to consistently encounter God personally and for other people to encounter God through the expressions of our giftedness."
The goal of life, it seems to me, is to consistently encounter God personally and for other people to encounter God through the expressions of our giftedness.
For me that is pretty obvious. I am gifted in studying the Bible, figuring out what it means, then explaining that to other people in a way that impacts their life. I know. I know. The connection to how a person might encounter God in the "expression of my giftedness" is obvious for that one. But, God wants to use your unique gifts to cause people to meet Jesus too.
The song writer writes a song to communicate his heart.
The artist creates a work to express His love.
The cook makes a meal that creates community around a kitchen table.
The carpenter creates the most beautiful structures. They give him respect. The respect gives him influence.
There are few statements that reflect the deep core of my beliefs like, "The goal of life is to consistently encounter God personally and for other people to encounter God through the expressions of our giftedness."
Success? Does it Matter?
I went to bed and woke up with a personal struggle. How important is success to me? How much do I do because I want others to be impressed? Should success be important?
Just like anyone else who grew up in church, I heard great quotes like this one from William Carey, "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." A tear probably rolled down my cheek the first time I heard it. But, is that right? Should we want to be great? Even if it is being great for God? Should I want success even if it success for the Gospel?
One thought gave me clarity this morning. It was a thought birthed by reflecting on Paul's prayer is Romans 1. In his prayer, Paul unabashedly admits to asking God for "much fruit" in his ministry. And, it wasn't the first time or the last time, he asked to have a big, flourishing ministry.
Of course, he meant legitimate fruit and success according to God's standards, but he also meant having impacting a lot of people. As we start this process of planting a church, I don't want one ounce of glory or honor to be for me, my family, or my friends who help. But, I do hope we will be immensely successful. And, like Paul, I hope we reach a ship load of people. I guess if Paul wasn't ashamed to admit it, I shouldn't be either.
Just like anyone else who grew up in church, I heard great quotes like this one from William Carey, "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." A tear probably rolled down my cheek the first time I heard it. But, is that right? Should we want to be great? Even if it is being great for God? Should I want success even if it success for the Gospel?
One thought gave me clarity this morning. It was a thought birthed by reflecting on Paul's prayer is Romans 1. In his prayer, Paul unabashedly admits to asking God for "much fruit" in his ministry. And, it wasn't the first time or the last time, he asked to have a big, flourishing ministry.
Of course, he meant legitimate fruit and success according to God's standards, but he also meant having impacting a lot of people. As we start this process of planting a church, I don't want one ounce of glory or honor to be for me, my family, or my friends who help. But, I do hope we will be immensely successful. And, like Paul, I hope we reach a ship load of people. I guess if Paul wasn't ashamed to admit it, I shouldn't be either.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Working Vision Out: My Personal Experience
I thought it might be fun to share my working out of some of the vision thoughts from my previous blog. So, I will share how that went for me. One quick note before I get started. This vision is always a work in progress. Who knows what this will look like in two months much less ten years. Also, it seems like How and the What might change at some point in the future. I don't think the essence of the Why will or should. Right?
The way my brain words is from big to little, general to specific, from complex to simple, etc. That's how I processed this info. I used a cool program called MindNode to map my ideas (you can see that here, just select vision.pdf)). I am a visual thinker so this helps me map thinks out better. I started with what I knew best. For me that was the how. That was the clearest, easiest to articulate thing in my mind. For me how was a three step strategy: Get believers to build authentic, Gospel centered friendships with God, nonbelievers, and other believers. I used the analogy of Dirt, Seeds, and Roots to communicate those three different experiences. Dirt is those honest, real friendships we need to have with seekers. Seeds represent those early stages where we start hearing basic things from God. Roots picture our experience of growing deeper with God and into leaders. Dirt. Seeds. Roots. Or... Get Dirty. Gather Seeds. Grow Roots. That's my uber-flexible church model/ personal life vision right now. I knew that much. But, what did it mean we were hoping to accomplish. What was the what?
The what came down to the simple idea that we want to start a dirty movement or "Get Boulder Dirty." If you want a more traditional "vision statement" I came up with: Our vision is to start a city wide and world-wide movement of believers growing authentic, Gospel-centered friendships with non-believers. That's the what. That's what we believe the future will look like.
Now, the why. The why is pretty simple. This is the way Boulder must be reached. Boulder must be reached with dirt, i.e. authentic, Gospel centered friendships (and authentic, honest, transparent, Gospel expressions through-out). So, that is where I must start communicating our vision. Boulder (and all people really) must be reached with authentic, lay it all out, non-phoney friendships.
A couple of additional thoughts. One, this fits me, my family, and the other people who are joining us. It fits the "Who" like we talked about in the first blog about this. Second, the how part described above is not something that I have to wait to do. I don't have to "launch the church" in order to practice the "dirt, seeds, roots" part of our vision. I can do it now. I think that may be a good test of your how portion. Can you do it now? If you can't, how will your people be able to do it. Third, if you wanted to break this down into labeled pieces I think that the what would be your vision. It's where you hope to end up. The how would be your mission. It's what you do. The why would be your purpose.
Thanks for playing along! The next vision oriented blog will pick up where this one left off. We will talk about communicating your vision.
The way my brain words is from big to little, general to specific, from complex to simple, etc. That's how I processed this info. I used a cool program called MindNode to map my ideas (you can see that here, just select vision.pdf)). I am a visual thinker so this helps me map thinks out better. I started with what I knew best. For me that was the how. That was the clearest, easiest to articulate thing in my mind. For me how was a three step strategy: Get believers to build authentic, Gospel centered friendships with God, nonbelievers, and other believers. I used the analogy of Dirt, Seeds, and Roots to communicate those three different experiences. Dirt is those honest, real friendships we need to have with seekers. Seeds represent those early stages where we start hearing basic things from God. Roots picture our experience of growing deeper with God and into leaders. Dirt. Seeds. Roots. Or... Get Dirty. Gather Seeds. Grow Roots. That's my uber-flexible church model/ personal life vision right now. I knew that much. But, what did it mean we were hoping to accomplish. What was the what?
The what came down to the simple idea that we want to start a dirty movement or "Get Boulder Dirty." If you want a more traditional "vision statement" I came up with: Our vision is to start a city wide and world-wide movement of believers growing authentic, Gospel-centered friendships with non-believers. That's the what. That's what we believe the future will look like.
Now, the why. The why is pretty simple. This is the way Boulder must be reached. Boulder must be reached with dirt, i.e. authentic, Gospel centered friendships (and authentic, honest, transparent, Gospel expressions through-out). So, that is where I must start communicating our vision. Boulder (and all people really) must be reached with authentic, lay it all out, non-phoney friendships.
A couple of additional thoughts. One, this fits me, my family, and the other people who are joining us. It fits the "Who" like we talked about in the first blog about this. Second, the how part described above is not something that I have to wait to do. I don't have to "launch the church" in order to practice the "dirt, seeds, roots" part of our vision. I can do it now. I think that may be a good test of your how portion. Can you do it now? If you can't, how will your people be able to do it. Third, if you wanted to break this down into labeled pieces I think that the what would be your vision. It's where you hope to end up. The how would be your mission. It's what you do. The why would be your purpose.
Thanks for playing along! The next vision oriented blog will pick up where this one left off. We will talk about communicating your vision.
How Jesus Built a Discipleship Community
A few days ago a friend and I were chatting about planting churches and the idea dropped into our chat about Jesus and church planting. The thought was pretty basic. A church is community of disciple making. Jesus created a community like this. How did He do it? Here are a few ideas:
1) He met people where they were. Most people who followed Jesus met Jesus at there hang outs or their jobs. He made connections and deepened connections around the interests of his followers. How many times do we read about Jesus in a boat while his followers fished? Jesus did their thing with them.
2) He had authentication from other people. Some of the first followers of Jesus followed because of the suggestion of John the Baptist. The big three were definitely this way, John, Peter, and James.
3) His community grew virally. Similar to the previous comment, Jesus group got bigger and bigger because one follower asked another potential follower to join. That was the marketing strategy. "I have been hanging out with this guy Jesus and His friends. You should try it to."
4) He had authentication from God. It helps when God Himself speaks audibly in front of a crowd telling them you are the Messiah. It also helps when you can heal people with a word. But, don't overlook how this might play out in your life. Of course, God might heal through you, but most likely it will be the testimony of answered prayer, godly living, and changed lives that others will see God's presence in your community.
5) He asked for people to follow Him. This isn't to be overlooked. Some personality types (myself included) are tempted to believe good things only come to those who wait. We need to be willing to challenge people to join our community. "Hey Dude, you need to be a part of what we are doing."
6) He served others with them. Whether it was healing or feeding people, Jesus lived His life for others. He led His community by example AND He got them involved in the process.
7) Similarly, He let them hang out and watch Him as He did His thing. They watched Him heal. They were there for the sermons to the masses.
8) He took them (the core) deeper. I love it when Jesus would pull his boys aside and explain a truth with a little more clarity.
9) I think you could say that He also started His foundation with seekers. People who were looking for the Messiah.
10) He was full time. Jesus doesn't seem to swing a hammer to often after He started building His community. He devoted His life to spending time with the disciples. At some point, do we all need to make this jump?
11) He was willing to forgo the niceties of life to invest in this community. Most scholars suggest that Jesus was raised in an upper middle class home. OK, by most scholars I mean Dr. David Black, my Greek prof in seminary, but he knows his stuff. He abandoned that lifestyle to invest in these men. Would it have looked different had He been married with children? (Sorry for subtly comparing Jesus to Al Bundy) Would He not have a place for his kids to lay their tiny heads? I guess the point is... be willing to abandon the American dream for the gospel, for the sake of the community.
There are probably more comparisons and better ones too. These are the ideas that came from our discussion. It was a helpful for exercise for me. I had never thought of Jesus as a church planter before. (I know, I know, I'm on the church planting short bus.) I hope some others contribute to this list in the future.
Moving from the What to How and the Why
I recently watched a great TED talk (click here) by Simon Sinek about how the best companies and leaders inspire others. I thought his insights would be helpful as we think about developing a vision. To review quickly from the last post, a vision is where we are going (the what/where), how we are going to get there (the how/the strategy) and why we are bothering to go there in the first place(the why, the who, the problem that must be solved, etc.).
Sinek's TED talk reveals that the best companies tell people the why before they tell them the how or the what. He gives the example of Apple, a company that reinvented itself with their "Think Different" campaign (best commercial ever by the way) that communicated who they were, what they were about, and, because of who they were and what they were for, why they did what they did. He also mentions Martin Luther King, who never talked about the how or the what of racial cultural change. He only talked about the why, the dream. He pounded his beliefs to his audience over and over.
People connect to us over the why -the who we we are and what we are about pieces- before they care about what we are doing or how we are doing it. Most people, once they believe in your why, don't care about the why or the how.
For a church planter, I think there is great wisdom in this insight. We talk to people all the time about our visions for planting. We share before church staffs, large audiences, over lunch, through blogs. What do we share most often? What do we share first? If Sinek is right, we should spend most of our time talking about the why.
So...
1. The "what" is where are going. It should be framed by by asking the question "What can we do better than 10,000 other churches?"
2. The "how" is the things we are going to do to get to the what. It is the strategy piece. The unique practices or experiences we are going to create to make the what happen.
3. The "why" is... well, what's the point? "What" we are doing and our "how" will probably not be easy at times. Why should I buy in? What motivated you to do this in the first place? Who are you? What are you about? What makes you do this thing the way you are doing it? The more honest, unique, and real the answer to the question better it will connect to people who agree with you. The more generic it is the less it will weigh. (The more you spread weight over a multitude of people the less weight they feel).
A few more thoughts on "why." The more specific you are the more narrow audience you will attract. The more people you might offend. This is a good thing. Apple's launch into being the most successful company of this decade was the result of alienating some people as much as it was the result of opening their arms to others.
Also, whenever you are done crafting your vision and strategy, determine how you will measure it's success. This is where the what becomes more helpful. Why's are harder to measure. That's all for now. Thanks for listening.
Sinek's TED talk reveals that the best companies tell people the why before they tell them the how or the what. He gives the example of Apple, a company that reinvented itself with their "Think Different" campaign (best commercial ever by the way) that communicated who they were, what they were about, and, because of who they were and what they were for, why they did what they did. He also mentions Martin Luther King, who never talked about the how or the what of racial cultural change. He only talked about the why, the dream. He pounded his beliefs to his audience over and over.
People connect to us over the why -the who we we are and what we are about pieces- before they care about what we are doing or how we are doing it. Most people, once they believe in your why, don't care about the why or the how.
For a church planter, I think there is great wisdom in this insight. We talk to people all the time about our visions for planting. We share before church staffs, large audiences, over lunch, through blogs. What do we share most often? What do we share first? If Sinek is right, we should spend most of our time talking about the why.
So...
1. The "what" is where are going. It should be framed by by asking the question "What can we do better than 10,000 other churches?"
2. The "how" is the things we are going to do to get to the what. It is the strategy piece. The unique practices or experiences we are going to create to make the what happen.
3. The "why" is... well, what's the point? "What" we are doing and our "how" will probably not be easy at times. Why should I buy in? What motivated you to do this in the first place? Who are you? What are you about? What makes you do this thing the way you are doing it? The more honest, unique, and real the answer to the question better it will connect to people who agree with you. The more generic it is the less it will weigh. (The more you spread weight over a multitude of people the less weight they feel).
A few more thoughts on "why." The more specific you are the more narrow audience you will attract. The more people you might offend. This is a good thing. Apple's launch into being the most successful company of this decade was the result of alienating some people as much as it was the result of opening their arms to others.
Also, whenever you are done crafting your vision and strategy, determine how you will measure it's success. This is where the what becomes more helpful. Why's are harder to measure. That's all for now. Thanks for listening.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Creating a Vision
During the previous blog I talked about the four steps to successful leadership. The first step that we talked about was "Creating a Vision." Humor me for a little while as a share a few thoughts on creating a vision.
What is a vision? A vision is simply an idea of where you want to be in the future. For the author it is the finished book. For the runner it is the goal at the end of the race. For an NFL team it might be the Vince Lombardi Trophy for winning a SuperBowl. A vision is not complicated. But, it is very important.
If it is so simple why do some organizations struggle with it? Sometimes a team struggles with vision because their destination is really hard to put into words or pictures. Maybe they're going somewhere they have never been before. Sometimes a group struggles with a vision because it isn't weighty enough. The why question isn't answered. Why should I make this business profitable? What's the big deal?
Some questions to ask yourself about vision: What do we want to accomplish? What imprint do we want to leave on the world? Why do we want to do this? Can we do this? It might be difficult for me to get buy in from a church start team if my vision is to "Win the Super Bowl."
I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself. So much of a successful vision comes in the next steps of leadership, communicating and transferring vision. Creating a vision is often the easy part. But, there are some important things to consider to make sure your vision is clear. Clear for you. Clear for others.
Recently I read this blog where Tony Morgan interviewed Will Mancini, the founder and Clarity Evangelist of Auxano about having a clear vision. I think the most salient piece of information I got from this interview was his "vision framing question." The question is "What can your church do better than 10,000 churches?" I think that is a great place to start. It helps you really think about your organizational strengths and passions. It is clarifying too. It keeps you from just photocopying someone else's brilliant vision. Maybe what they do doesn't fit your team. A great idea for one may not be for everyone. So, vision may start with a little self discovery huh?
Another helpful resource is Andy Stanley's Visioneering. He reminds us that vision is at it's heart a solution to a problem that must to be solved. What problem does your vision solve? Does anyone else care about this problem?
Both of these questions start with the "what." So, vision is the summary of several questions.
Where do we want to end up?
Who are we? (Our vision has to fit)
What are we going to do
But I think the most important question's are how and why. That will probably be a good blog for next time. "Moving from the what to the how and the why."
What is a vision? A vision is simply an idea of where you want to be in the future. For the author it is the finished book. For the runner it is the goal at the end of the race. For an NFL team it might be the Vince Lombardi Trophy for winning a SuperBowl. A vision is not complicated. But, it is very important.
If it is so simple why do some organizations struggle with it? Sometimes a team struggles with vision because their destination is really hard to put into words or pictures. Maybe they're going somewhere they have never been before. Sometimes a group struggles with a vision because it isn't weighty enough. The why question isn't answered. Why should I make this business profitable? What's the big deal?
Some questions to ask yourself about vision: What do we want to accomplish? What imprint do we want to leave on the world? Why do we want to do this? Can we do this? It might be difficult for me to get buy in from a church start team if my vision is to "Win the Super Bowl."
I'm probably getting a little ahead of myself. So much of a successful vision comes in the next steps of leadership, communicating and transferring vision. Creating a vision is often the easy part. But, there are some important things to consider to make sure your vision is clear. Clear for you. Clear for others.
Recently I read this blog where Tony Morgan interviewed Will Mancini, the founder and Clarity Evangelist of Auxano about having a clear vision. I think the most salient piece of information I got from this interview was his "vision framing question." The question is "What can your church do better than 10,000 churches?" I think that is a great place to start. It helps you really think about your organizational strengths and passions. It is clarifying too. It keeps you from just photocopying someone else's brilliant vision. Maybe what they do doesn't fit your team. A great idea for one may not be for everyone. So, vision may start with a little self discovery huh?
Another helpful resource is Andy Stanley's Visioneering. He reminds us that vision is at it's heart a solution to a problem that must to be solved. What problem does your vision solve? Does anyone else care about this problem?
Both of these questions start with the "what." So, vision is the summary of several questions.
Where do we want to end up?
Who are we? (Our vision has to fit)
What are we going to do
But I think the most important question's are how and why. That will probably be a good blog for next time. "Moving from the what to the how and the why."
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Leadership Cycle
I was asked a few months ago to explain my philosophy of leadership. Funny, I really hadn't thought about leadership that critically before. I just sought to have impact with people. After a lot of reflection, I developed what for me has been a helpful tool when it comes to consistent leadership. I thought it would be fun to talk about this "Leadership Cycle" on the blog as a way to get started thinking through a few deeper ideas -deeper for me any way.
For today, I will just give a basic overview. Later I will go a little deeper on each part of the process. So here it goes:
The Leadership Cycle is basically four steps which come to think of it might mean it is not a cycle. Nomenclature will come later I guess.
Step 1. Develop a Vision. You can't help people arrive at a destination unless you know where that destination lies.
Step 2. Communicate the Vision. This is a very important step in the process. I would say that most leaders do not spend enough time carefully considering the effects of clearly communicating a vision. A simple test will determine if you are communicating it successfully. Can your team repeat it and explain it at a moments notice? You will not be able to move to the next step until the answer is yes.
Step 3. Transfer the Vision. After your team knows the vision well and can repeat it, do they buy in? Do they take personal ownership of accomplishing the vision? This step is the most important step in the process. It is where real leadership is brought to play.
Step 4. Perform the Vision. Each piece of this process is useless if it is all theoretical. The leader has to help the team accomplish the tasks and actions necessary to make the vision a reality. The leader, at this point, becomes a coach. He develops his team members to make sure they are performing well. He is the constant motivator, teacher, and servant.
So, the leader is a dreamer, a communicator, a leader, and a coach. Over the next few blogs I will attempt to unpack these ideas a little more and provide some resources to help fulfill them at a high level. Until then, one final thought. The leader must involve his team in each step of this process as much as possible. The more the team is a part of each step of the process the more efficiently they will accomplish the vision.
For today, I will just give a basic overview. Later I will go a little deeper on each part of the process. So here it goes:
The Leadership Cycle is basically four steps which come to think of it might mean it is not a cycle. Nomenclature will come later I guess.
Step 1. Develop a Vision. You can't help people arrive at a destination unless you know where that destination lies.
Step 2. Communicate the Vision. This is a very important step in the process. I would say that most leaders do not spend enough time carefully considering the effects of clearly communicating a vision. A simple test will determine if you are communicating it successfully. Can your team repeat it and explain it at a moments notice? You will not be able to move to the next step until the answer is yes.
Step 3. Transfer the Vision. After your team knows the vision well and can repeat it, do they buy in? Do they take personal ownership of accomplishing the vision? This step is the most important step in the process. It is where real leadership is brought to play.
Step 4. Perform the Vision. Each piece of this process is useless if it is all theoretical. The leader has to help the team accomplish the tasks and actions necessary to make the vision a reality. The leader, at this point, becomes a coach. He develops his team members to make sure they are performing well. He is the constant motivator, teacher, and servant.
So, the leader is a dreamer, a communicator, a leader, and a coach. Over the next few blogs I will attempt to unpack these ideas a little more and provide some resources to help fulfill them at a high level. Until then, one final thought. The leader must involve his team in each step of this process as much as possible. The more the team is a part of each step of the process the more efficiently they will accomplish the vision.
Monday, August 16, 2010
We Finally Made it to Boulder!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
It's Almost Time: Moving to Boulder
If you have talked to me for more than a few minutes, you have heard me try to tell you the story of God bringing my family and me to Boulder,CO. Of course you probably know that this story, this saga I like to call it, hasn't hardly gotten past the dust jacket yet. We've been eating manna in North Alabama for the last couple of years, trying not to miss Egypt to much.
Funny thing is that about a year and a half ago or so I started a countdown on Twitter. The countdown was for July 1, 2010. A friend made the suggestion that I declare a date for moving to Boulder. If nothing else, it would serve as a goal. I prayed for direction, ate a little Mexican food and felt a moving inside of me. July 1st it would be.
After doing this for a few months, I gave up on July 2010. There was no way we could have everything we needed to happen actually happen by July 1. Too much debt. No one to go with us. No way to pay bills. It must have been the Tamale.
I am writing this blog because... wait for it, wait for it..... we will be leaving for Boulder this July 1st. Permanently. I can't wait to tell you the story, errr saga (because "saga" just sounds cooler) of God getting us to Boulder by July 1, 2010.
Now, where are we....
35 more days till Boulder!
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