With the house show a huge success (and more on that topic to come) Melissa and I are now turning our attention to planning our trip to Sheffield, UK to see the Missional Community model of church in action at St. Thomas's Anglican/Baptist church.
To do that, though, we've got a lot of money to raise. So while I'll be explaining A LOT more about all this in the days (or hours) to come, the main purpose of this post is to try to test the best way to implement the new "Donations" button that we'll be utilizing for taking some of our donations.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Sunday, December 5, 2010
My Missional Thesis
So in my endeavor to really figure out how missional/incarnational Christian community is going to work in my life and in my community I've put together a more well-formed thesis than the so-called "manifesto" written below. I wanted to take the time to re-state the entirety of my thought processes so far, and also bring to your attention how exactly I want to get started. I'm excited about all this, hopefully you are too.
I've got several points here:
I think that society "at-large" sees a disconnect in Christians and Christianity today. I've explained it like this: If the church was actually embodying Christ on Earth the way it intends to, and the way it's expected to, there would be people out there saying "I don't agree with the religion of Jesus, but you have to admit that his followers accomplish great things." Instead, what we get (despite there being some truth to the "greatness" of the works of the Kingdom) is that most folks will tell you that they think Jesus has some great ideas, but that his followers are judgemental jerks.
I think that modern evangelicalism is faced with a huge problem in that the Church has lost nearly all of its intrigue, status, and attractiveness. Since Constantine, The Church has been, especially in the eyes of the outsider, an establishment and not a community. The Church is a brick and mortar building: a place you go to be with God.
Unfortunately, in modernity, and moreso (I guess) in post-modernity the Church is seen as place you go to be JUDGED by God's people, and--if that's any indication--by God Himself as well.
There's an obvious need here to transform the church into something that less resembles this unattractive "establishment," and more resembles the kind of community that Christianity was built upon prior to Constantine's legalization of the faith.
I'm very, very interested in the prospect of doing church differently. And not in the cliche way of doing it exactly the same but with rock music (though I say that with tongue firmly in cheek as I continue to attend, and love, a church body doing something approximating that).
What I am proposing, and I'll be very forthcoming in explaining that this isn't a new idea, or even my idea, is organically putting together a community of likeminded folks with the goal of living a Christian life together. We'll simply enjoy life, enjoy each other, enjoy our marriages and food and fun and all that God has provided us. We'll seek to grow together in maturity in Christ and we'll study His word.
This community will be constantly "on mission," helping out in our community and loving our neighbors and our world.
This community should be so attractive, and so powerfully changing lives both within the community and outside of it, that people will constantly take notice of it and desire to become a part of it. So we'll invite those folks along to live life with us, to do mission with us, and to enjoy life in Christ (maybe that should be capital "L" Life?).
This community will therefore turn evangelism on its head. Rather than "believing and then belonging", (or after an alter call, handing out Bibles and pamphlets welcoming folks to community and helping them with what they should do with their "new Christian faith,)" we will instead have a "belong then believe" approach where people will be free to join our community and do life with us and, we think, in so doing will see WHY we do life the way we do and come to believe the way we do. And, frankly, if they DON'T come to believe the way we do, they're probably still welcome to take part because a) there's always hope and b) we're going to need all the hands we can get to accomplish all the good we hope to accomplish for His glory.
So I guess this thing begins in a somewhat real way in the Fall of 2011 when Melissa and I expect to hand off leadership of our 707/CVC LifeGroup and will begin leading a curriculum based Bible study of some kind from our home in Cleveland Heights. More info on this will be forthcoming. But that day is still 10 months away, and intentionally so.
Obviously, though, planting a sign in our front yard that says "Missional/Incarnational Church Starting Here 2011" is the first step in becoming, not a community, but an institution. So the first step is actually in beginning to foster an intentional Christian community organically and naturally. This calls for inviting along all the friends we can, but also making new ones.
The first step for THAT is in an event Melissa and I are currently planning for January. Which is where this post began.
I've been in contact with a couple of local musicians and am intending to throw a house show at our home in Cleveland Heights. It will, hopefully, be a really big deal of a show and will pull in folks we know as well as folks we don't. In keeping with the missional aspect of this entire thing, the show's proceeds will benefit a local Cleveland Heights charity organization.
Watch this space for more information. After testing the waters a bit over how exciting an endeavor this is (people seem to think "VERY") and beginning to generate a bit of buzz, I need to now work on planning the thing in earnest. Once it's a bit more nailed down, I'll be posting more frequent updates on it and, y'know, INVITING FOLKS.
Thanks for taking the time.
God Bless.
P.S.- Want to get excited about all this, and get a (excuse the word considering their other publications) "primer" on this way of thinking? I still cannot recommend ENOUGH Hugh Halter & Matt Smay's The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series)
I've got several points here:
I think that society "at-large" sees a disconnect in Christians and Christianity today. I've explained it like this: If the church was actually embodying Christ on Earth the way it intends to, and the way it's expected to, there would be people out there saying "I don't agree with the religion of Jesus, but you have to admit that his followers accomplish great things." Instead, what we get (despite there being some truth to the "greatness" of the works of the Kingdom) is that most folks will tell you that they think Jesus has some great ideas, but that his followers are judgemental jerks.
I think that modern evangelicalism is faced with a huge problem in that the Church has lost nearly all of its intrigue, status, and attractiveness. Since Constantine, The Church has been, especially in the eyes of the outsider, an establishment and not a community. The Church is a brick and mortar building: a place you go to be with God.
Unfortunately, in modernity, and moreso (I guess) in post-modernity the Church is seen as place you go to be JUDGED by God's people, and--if that's any indication--by God Himself as well.
There's an obvious need here to transform the church into something that less resembles this unattractive "establishment," and more resembles the kind of community that Christianity was built upon prior to Constantine's legalization of the faith.
I'm very, very interested in the prospect of doing church differently. And not in the cliche way of doing it exactly the same but with rock music (though I say that with tongue firmly in cheek as I continue to attend, and love, a church body doing something approximating that).
What I am proposing, and I'll be very forthcoming in explaining that this isn't a new idea, or even my idea, is organically putting together a community of likeminded folks with the goal of living a Christian life together. We'll simply enjoy life, enjoy each other, enjoy our marriages and food and fun and all that God has provided us. We'll seek to grow together in maturity in Christ and we'll study His word.
This community will be constantly "on mission," helping out in our community and loving our neighbors and our world.
This community should be so attractive, and so powerfully changing lives both within the community and outside of it, that people will constantly take notice of it and desire to become a part of it. So we'll invite those folks along to live life with us, to do mission with us, and to enjoy life in Christ (maybe that should be capital "L" Life?).
This community will therefore turn evangelism on its head. Rather than "believing and then belonging", (or after an alter call, handing out Bibles and pamphlets welcoming folks to community and helping them with what they should do with their "new Christian faith,)" we will instead have a "belong then believe" approach where people will be free to join our community and do life with us and, we think, in so doing will see WHY we do life the way we do and come to believe the way we do. And, frankly, if they DON'T come to believe the way we do, they're probably still welcome to take part because a) there's always hope and b) we're going to need all the hands we can get to accomplish all the good we hope to accomplish for His glory.
So I guess this thing begins in a somewhat real way in the Fall of 2011 when Melissa and I expect to hand off leadership of our 707/CVC LifeGroup and will begin leading a curriculum based Bible study of some kind from our home in Cleveland Heights. More info on this will be forthcoming. But that day is still 10 months away, and intentionally so.
Obviously, though, planting a sign in our front yard that says "Missional/Incarnational Church Starting Here 2011" is the first step in becoming, not a community, but an institution. So the first step is actually in beginning to foster an intentional Christian community organically and naturally. This calls for inviting along all the friends we can, but also making new ones.
The first step for THAT is in an event Melissa and I are currently planning for January. Which is where this post began.
I've been in contact with a couple of local musicians and am intending to throw a house show at our home in Cleveland Heights. It will, hopefully, be a really big deal of a show and will pull in folks we know as well as folks we don't. In keeping with the missional aspect of this entire thing, the show's proceeds will benefit a local Cleveland Heights charity organization.
Watch this space for more information. After testing the waters a bit over how exciting an endeavor this is (people seem to think "VERY") and beginning to generate a bit of buzz, I need to now work on planning the thing in earnest. Once it's a bit more nailed down, I'll be posting more frequent updates on it and, y'know, INVITING FOLKS.
Thanks for taking the time.
God Bless.
P.S.- Want to get excited about all this, and get a (excuse the word considering their other publications) "primer" on this way of thinking? I still cannot recommend ENOUGH Hugh Halter & Matt Smay's The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community (Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Lord's "Supper"
Occasionally in the last two or so weeks I've found myself contemplating the act of communion as it exists for most of us today. I can't help but wonder if there isn't a way we could get more from this sacrament, and I've also been pondering whether or not it is at all what Christ had in mind.
Some background: One of the holy traditions (sacraments) in the Christian faith is that of communion. In remembrance of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, we eat bread and drink wine as He did, and as He instructed his followers to do. The bread represents his broken body, the wine represents his shed blood. (Gospel basics: He died in mankind's place so that the sins committed by mankind could be atoned for, despite mankind's inability to atone for these sins itself.) Here, though, is Luke's account of things:
Today churches act out this sacrament in various ways, and place differing levels of importance on both the act, and its elements. In my experience though, when my church takes communion it has never resembled the act performed by Jesus and his followers. The only similarity, even, is that we're eating things that are vague approximations of what Christ ate. (that is: oyster crackers, King's Hawaiian(tm) bread, pita, wafers of unknown origin/makeup, etc. and, invariably, non-alcoholic grape juice from the smallest vessel you can imagine)
Now I understand that Jesus and the twelve did not sit down to a table of bread and wine. They ate these things over the course of a meal made up of other things. Even so, I'm reasonably certain that they did not partake of these things the way that we do today. It was surely not a thimbleful of grape juice and a tiny wafer of bread each.
Furthermore, Jesus and the twelve were not partaking of this in the context of a church service at all. It was a passover meal, yes, but it was not something to be done after the sermon and before the closing song while the worship band plays. It was in an altogether more intimate, and less congregational atmosphere. It was thirteen guys around a table, and not a couple hundred sitting in rows (or worse, performing it casually on the way back to their chairs).
I wonder how much of the impact of this act we lose as a result of the way we perform it today. I'm saddened that I don't even have an answer to that question because I've NEVER performed it any other way.
How different would communion feel if we actually had a mouthful of bread. What if we each actually had a large piece, and it finishing it actually took a conscious effort. What I'm not saying is "what if we had so much bread that it was difficult to finish it all (though... what if?)" I'm saying: what if we actually received enough bread that if we swallowed it without chewing it we'd NOTICE? Imagine if we had a tall glass of grape juice, or even (gasp!) wine! How would communion change if it were actually taken around a table? If it were actually taken with, and after, a meal? How would it change if there were actually time to contemplate it while we were partaking, instead of in the moments before and then (ten seconds later) in the moments after?
I think it's a real shame that I have absolutely no idea what the answer to these questions are. I can hazard a guess, though. I'll bet it takes on a bit more depth. I bet it's a bit less forgettable and feels a lot less like empty ritual. I want to try this. Soon. Who's in?
Some background: One of the holy traditions (sacraments) in the Christian faith is that of communion. In remembrance of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection, we eat bread and drink wine as He did, and as He instructed his followers to do. The bread represents his broken body, the wine represents his shed blood. (Gospel basics: He died in mankind's place so that the sins committed by mankind could be atoned for, despite mankind's inability to atone for these sins itself.) Here, though, is Luke's account of things:
14And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. 15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves. 18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
Today churches act out this sacrament in various ways, and place differing levels of importance on both the act, and its elements. In my experience though, when my church takes communion it has never resembled the act performed by Jesus and his followers. The only similarity, even, is that we're eating things that are vague approximations of what Christ ate. (that is: oyster crackers, King's Hawaiian(tm) bread, pita, wafers of unknown origin/makeup, etc. and, invariably, non-alcoholic grape juice from the smallest vessel you can imagine)
Now I understand that Jesus and the twelve did not sit down to a table of bread and wine. They ate these things over the course of a meal made up of other things. Even so, I'm reasonably certain that they did not partake of these things the way that we do today. It was surely not a thimbleful of grape juice and a tiny wafer of bread each.
Furthermore, Jesus and the twelve were not partaking of this in the context of a church service at all. It was a passover meal, yes, but it was not something to be done after the sermon and before the closing song while the worship band plays. It was in an altogether more intimate, and less congregational atmosphere. It was thirteen guys around a table, and not a couple hundred sitting in rows (or worse, performing it casually on the way back to their chairs).
I wonder how much of the impact of this act we lose as a result of the way we perform it today. I'm saddened that I don't even have an answer to that question because I've NEVER performed it any other way.
How different would communion feel if we actually had a mouthful of bread. What if we each actually had a large piece, and it finishing it actually took a conscious effort. What I'm not saying is "what if we had so much bread that it was difficult to finish it all (though... what if?)" I'm saying: what if we actually received enough bread that if we swallowed it without chewing it we'd NOTICE? Imagine if we had a tall glass of grape juice, or even (gasp!) wine! How would communion change if it were actually taken around a table? If it were actually taken with, and after, a meal? How would it change if there were actually time to contemplate it while we were partaking, instead of in the moments before and then (ten seconds later) in the moments after?
I think it's a real shame that I have absolutely no idea what the answer to these questions are. I can hazard a guess, though. I'll bet it takes on a bit more depth. I bet it's a bit less forgettable and feels a lot less like empty ritual. I want to try this. Soon. Who's in?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Proximity
Right now I'm preparing for my weekly Community Group meeting, and something's sort of occurring to me. In a few minutes, Melissa and I will get in the car and make the 40-some minute drive down to Brecksville to lead our group.
Our group is comprised of people who are all otherwise free on Tuesday nights, but they come from Akron, Strongsville, Broadview Heights, Valley View, and Cleveland Heights. To give you an idea of that sprawl, it's a 45-50 minute drive from Cleveland Heights to Strongsville or from Akron to Cleveland Heights. It's about a half hour from Valley View to Strongsville. These distances, these drives, are not entirely insignificant. And they're indicative of one of the problems of the attractional church model.
========
Okay, back from group now. I'll continue:
My friend Andy Sikora has talked about this issue, but it really seemed to hit home for me today.
The last couple of weeks I've gone out with a friend from my church a couple of times. He lives less than 2 miles from me, it's been easy to do spur-of-the-moment get-togethers and we've had a great time.
In contrast, Andy, a close friend I met at the SAME church, lives in Berea. Google Maps puts us 42 minutes or 26.6 miles apart. Andy is a runner and has completed a couple marathons, but get real.
It's impossible for us to hang out spontaneously. It takes days of planning and usually one or both of us has to run the entire plan by our wives before we greenlight it. Additionally, Andy has never seen my house, and I've seen his exactly twice, this is not exactly a situation that lends itself to easily keeping each other accountable in matters of each others' households.
The beauty, then, of incarnational ministry is that by being intentional about our communities, and our neighbors, we can have these sorts of relationships with people who are actually nearby. We can do life with folks, and meet up with one another, with ease.
I love Andy, and we're not going to stop hanging out, but it seems that by doing church in an intensely LOCAL way we're doing ourselves a huge favor. Proximity, to borrow the word from my church's current sermon series, is not only important in terms of our relation to God, but also our relation to other believers.
I'm still just beginning to put together (mostly by reading, reading, reading, and reading) what an incarnational community is going to look like for me, but it will absolutely have to be a true community. I love the people in my 707 Community Group, but when I think about the fact that my schedule virtually prohibits me from spending time with them outside of our 90 minutes at Panera, I cannot help but feel that I'm doing a huge disservice to them. I don't want to create a church in which I'm too busy, or too inconveniently located, to be with the people who want to, or need to, be with me.
Our group is comprised of people who are all otherwise free on Tuesday nights, but they come from Akron, Strongsville, Broadview Heights, Valley View, and Cleveland Heights. To give you an idea of that sprawl, it's a 45-50 minute drive from Cleveland Heights to Strongsville or from Akron to Cleveland Heights. It's about a half hour from Valley View to Strongsville. These distances, these drives, are not entirely insignificant. And they're indicative of one of the problems of the attractional church model.
========
Okay, back from group now. I'll continue:
My friend Andy Sikora has talked about this issue, but it really seemed to hit home for me today.
The last couple of weeks I've gone out with a friend from my church a couple of times. He lives less than 2 miles from me, it's been easy to do spur-of-the-moment get-togethers and we've had a great time.
In contrast, Andy, a close friend I met at the SAME church, lives in Berea. Google Maps puts us 42 minutes or 26.6 miles apart. Andy is a runner and has completed a couple marathons, but get real.
It's impossible for us to hang out spontaneously. It takes days of planning and usually one or both of us has to run the entire plan by our wives before we greenlight it. Additionally, Andy has never seen my house, and I've seen his exactly twice, this is not exactly a situation that lends itself to easily keeping each other accountable in matters of each others' households.
The beauty, then, of incarnational ministry is that by being intentional about our communities, and our neighbors, we can have these sorts of relationships with people who are actually nearby. We can do life with folks, and meet up with one another, with ease.
I love Andy, and we're not going to stop hanging out, but it seems that by doing church in an intensely LOCAL way we're doing ourselves a huge favor. Proximity, to borrow the word from my church's current sermon series, is not only important in terms of our relation to God, but also our relation to other believers.
I'm still just beginning to put together (mostly by reading, reading, reading, and reading) what an incarnational community is going to look like for me, but it will absolutely have to be a true community. I love the people in my 707 Community Group, but when I think about the fact that my schedule virtually prohibits me from spending time with them outside of our 90 minutes at Panera, I cannot help but feel that I'm doing a huge disservice to them. I don't want to create a church in which I'm too busy, or too inconveniently located, to be with the people who want to, or need to, be with me.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Distracted Hearts
So last week as part of the Proximity Series at sevenoseven we talked about five conditions of the heart that prevent us from coming closer to God: The Diseased Heart, the Distracted Heart, the Damaged Heart, the Deceived Heart, and the Disbelieving Heart.
The idea of the distracted heart was one that really struck a chord with Melissa and I. Chad shared Isaiah 58:2 which reads:
Let's look at this another way: There are 613 commandments in the Jewish Law. The most popular, obviously, being a certain ten. But in Matthew 22 a group of Sadducees and Pharisees got together and tested Jesus on which one was, in his opinion, the greatest. He, with Deuteronomy 6:5 in mind, says in verse 37:
I wrote out the following prayer, highlighting the three main ways Jesus asks us to love God. I encourage you to look it over, and perhaps pray on this idea. It's what we'll be doing as a Leadership/Tech Team at sevenoseven tonight.
=======
Dear Heavenly Father,
We know how important it is that we love you with all of our being, yet it is easy to be distracted by the quick pace of life, its highs and lows, its distractions and burdens. Help us to live in a way that pleases You.
It is our prayer that we might love you with all of our hearts. Let us understand that all love comes from you, all joy from you, and that when we get caught up in the goodness of this community, and this life, let us remember with our whole hearts that all of this stems from you.
It is our prayer that we might love you with all of our souls. Let us in times of quiet or pain look towards your support. Let us on hard days and busy days look to you for guidance. You created this world, help us remember that there's nothing in it bigger than you.
It is our prayer that we might love you with all of our minds. Help us to discern right teaching from wrong, and to overcome our insecurities and doubts. From you comes all knowledge, we pray that you help us to learn what it is that you wish to teach us.
We ask for all these things in the name of your precious Son...
The idea of the distracted heart was one that really struck a chord with Melissa and I. Chad shared Isaiah 58:2 which reads:
Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.This was a description of a community that was succeeding in living a life aimed at Christ, and free of distraction.
Let's look at this another way: There are 613 commandments in the Jewish Law. The most popular, obviously, being a certain ten. But in Matthew 22 a group of Sadducees and Pharisees got together and tested Jesus on which one was, in his opinion, the greatest. He, with Deuteronomy 6:5 in mind, says in verse 37:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."It would seem that loving God without distraction, and with all of our being, is of the utmost importance to God. Jesus ranked it number 1 out of 613.
I wrote out the following prayer, highlighting the three main ways Jesus asks us to love God. I encourage you to look it over, and perhaps pray on this idea. It's what we'll be doing as a Leadership/Tech Team at sevenoseven tonight.
=======
Dear Heavenly Father,
We know how important it is that we love you with all of our being, yet it is easy to be distracted by the quick pace of life, its highs and lows, its distractions and burdens. Help us to live in a way that pleases You.
It is our prayer that we might love you with all of our hearts. Let us understand that all love comes from you, all joy from you, and that when we get caught up in the goodness of this community, and this life, let us remember with our whole hearts that all of this stems from you.
It is our prayer that we might love you with all of our souls. Let us in times of quiet or pain look towards your support. Let us on hard days and busy days look to you for guidance. You created this world, help us remember that there's nothing in it bigger than you.
It is our prayer that we might love you with all of our minds. Help us to discern right teaching from wrong, and to overcome our insecurities and doubts. From you comes all knowledge, we pray that you help us to learn what it is that you wish to teach us.
We ask for all these things in the name of your precious Son...
Saturday, October 16, 2010
3D Ministries
So a couple of weeks ago Andy Sikora (from Renew Communities) was telling me about 3D Ministries. An organization started by some of the same folks behind the incarnational revolution happening in Sheffield, UK. They've got a great video about what this new style of church is all about, and you can see it here. (Seriously, click that link and watch that video).
Additionally, they offer the ability to plug your church into their network for all kids of awesome support and education, which is something Andy is considering doing with Renew Communities. Before he decides, to, though, he's planning to head out to LA for their taster event. Information for that is on their site here and it looks like a pretty neat experience.
I bring this all up because he suggested I come along. Surely there'll be interesting things I can learn and apply in the Heights, and I just might want to plug MY organization (or whatever it turns out to be) into 3D Ministries down the road too.
What do you think?
Additionally, they offer the ability to plug your church into their network for all kids of awesome support and education, which is something Andy is considering doing with Renew Communities. Before he decides, to, though, he's planning to head out to LA for their taster event. Information for that is on their site here and it looks like a pretty neat experience.
I bring this all up because he suggested I come along. Surely there'll be interesting things I can learn and apply in the Heights, and I just might want to plug MY organization (or whatever it turns out to be) into 3D Ministries down the road too.
What do you think?
Check out renew communities
So, let's say you're interested in everything I'm talking about on this blog, but you live on the other side of town. Turns out you're actually still in pretty good shape. My good friend Andy Sikora is putting together a missionally minded community/church organization RIGHT NOW in Berea, Ohio.
Renew Communities is launching next spring (in time for Easter!) but you can get involved right now. Head over to Renew Communities' Blog. Andy was, until a couple weeks ago, the Lead Pastor and Teacher of sevenoseven, the young adults ministry of Cuyahoga Valley Church. But now he's doing THIS. I want to support him in any way that I can, and you should too.
Community is what this is all about. Connecting people is hugely important, so hopefully as time goes on I can tell you about some other people who are seeing great things happening like Andy is. Pray for Renew Communities, check out their site, and get involved if you live out there!
Renew Communities
Renew Communities is launching next spring (in time for Easter!) but you can get involved right now. Head over to Renew Communities' Blog. Andy was, until a couple weeks ago, the Lead Pastor and Teacher of sevenoseven, the young adults ministry of Cuyahoga Valley Church. But now he's doing THIS. I want to support him in any way that I can, and you should too.
Community is what this is all about. Connecting people is hugely important, so hopefully as time goes on I can tell you about some other people who are seeing great things happening like Andy is. Pray for Renew Communities, check out their site, and get involved if you live out there!
Renew Communities
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