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Smaller or Sent Out?

August 11, 2021 / / 0 Comments

There’s an interesting shift happening in the landscape of the church today. Interesting in what has felt to be a very disturbing way. Interesting in a way that is scaring leadership of many mainline denominations. Interesting in a way that appears to be, by all outward appearances, the great shrinking of the institutional church. But I am curious.

Is the church decreasing or is it decentralizing?

The shift for churches to an online presence throughout the pandemic has drawn many would-be church goers to stick around at home and watch from a distance. While there are some issues here that we can go into at a later point, we need to resist the urge as pastors to jump to the negative on this one.

Is this a hurdle or an opportunity?

The short answer is yes! This is a hurdle in the sense that many of those who are not joining in the worship experience in person are missing out on some massively beneficial aspects of what the church is supposed to be. They’re missing the family connection when they join worship together with other believers. They’re missing out in many cases on participation in communion as a body of Christ. They’re missing out on the realization that they are part of something significantly larger than themselves.

But it is also a wildly exciting opportunity if we just take time to engage the possibilities. Through the pandemic, as many churches shifted to online worship or made their current online options more robust, the increase in those who participated in some form of worship engagement was astronomical! The church I serve saw an online engagement that was 200% or more higher than our normal Sunday attendance pre-pandemic.

Additionally, now that we are online many of our members who were unable to attend for a variety of reasons from health to mobility to job requirements all have the chance to participate in worship.

So what would happen if we looked at the shift that’s happening as an opportunity? How can we empower and equip these members of our churches to be missionaries in their communities when they’re not at church? Newsflash but when the church first got rolling in the New Testament they didn’t have brick and mortar buildings or programs out the wazoo. They had people to love and hold accountable. They met in homes and in neighborhood settings.

A word of caution to you pastor type people. Don’t lower the quality of your online option to make people come back to in person gatherings. I’ve heard that and it makes me sick to my stomach. How underhanded is that really!?

A word of caution to those of you not willing to engage in worship in person. The longer you’re gone from in person gatherings with your church family, the harder it will be to get back with them. You’ll find any excuse in the book not to come, and we’re already seeing it.

Love one another well. Serve one another without expectation of repayment or without a what’s in it for me attitude. Just be the church (the people of God) for goodness sake and watch what God will do when his people are faithful to his call on their lives!

The church is not shrinking. It’s moving to places we never let it go before and it is terrifyingly exciting! We’re witnessing the great decentralization of church away from institutional into incarnational.

A needed reform

July 27, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Reform seems to be the latest craze in our culture. There have been cries from every corner of society calling for a reform of how we do what we do. We’ve largely been doing life the same way for years, decades even! It seems we’ve been living by the old adage that states if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. But what happens when the system is broken and we don’t realize it? What happens when we’ve missed the boat and don’t even know that we’re standing on a bridge that doesn’t really have a purpose anymore?

Now I’m not going to tackle all of the societal things that need fixing, because that would be pointless, too time consuming, and honestly likely divisive. But I would like to take a look at one part of culture and be honest about where some change is needed and why. Some of you are going to agree and others will disagree, and frankly that’s your right.

My grandfather used to say that our world is going to hell in a hand basket and his self prescribed fix was to go back to a better time. He thought that our best times were behind us. He thought that the previous way of doing things was the only way to do things. It seems that many in our world have a very similar approach. We either cling to the way they were or the way they are and aren’t willing to see life for what it could be.

This post is intended to spur some thought and conversation with you and those around you about who we are and who we’re called to be. Because I truly believe that by and large we are not living the lives we’ve been called to live.

In my estimation the institutional church is doing this very thing – clinging to a way of doing things that is largely ineffective because it was designed for a different time. Now before you get your pants in a bunch and go all he’s a heretic on me, read on and I’ll try to explain.

What I’m NOT saying

I know that some of you have formed your opinions already because you heard something that I didn’t say, so let me clear that one up right now. I did NOT say we need to change the message. The message is the only thing we know is right. If we’re teaching the message of the bible, then we’re standing on solid footing. I’m not saying that we need to bail on all of our traditions and deny our past. That would be just as dangerous as trying to erase history because we don’t like what it said or represented. We’ll just end up falling back into old habits if we do that.

The Problem

So the problem, as I see it, is that we’re clinging to systems and ways of doing things that fit a time that no longer exists. We’re living as though the Blue Laws still exist. For those of you unaware of Blue Laws, it was when many activities and businesses were not allowed to be opened on Sundays. Basically, church was the only thing to do on Sundays which is why nearly all of church activities happen on Sundays even to this day!

But that’s just not the case anymore. Hardly anything is closed on Sundays, yet Sunday is the day when most of our work and service happens in the church. What’s worse is the church is grinding her teeth complaining that culture is moving away from what we have to offer. We grumble that we need to go back to a simpler time when Sundays were sacred. What if Sunday isn’t the problem or the answer? What if this whole idea of a day of rest isn’t tied to Sunday or even Saturday but tied to whatever day you can find to rest on a regular basis?

It’s not just the day of the week that we struggle with either. We have largely been clinging to methods of learning and teaching that are quite old school. Much of our Sunday programming revolves around lecturing at a learner. But is this the best approach? Is this even a biblical approach?

Finally, our focus has moved from mission to maintenance. I’m part of a church body that in my mind has a great foundation of belief. I willingly ascribe to this identity of what I believe and how it impacts my understanding of life. But what happens when the confessional identity becomes the point over the mission of the kingdom? What happens when making people look like us becomes more important that helping people see the reality of who Jesus is? What happens when, as a church body, we’re more concerned with butts in seats in our membership classes than lives transformed by the gospel as individuals connect with one another on mission in their daily lives?

What happens? Simple – the institution gets off course and loses ground. The message gets disregarded because it doesn’t match up to the new perceived mission of self preservation.

I have to be honest here I’m getting a bit frustrated as I look into the world and hear well meaning Christians talk about the church as if the church is there to serve her members. Since when is the church about those on the inside? Since when did the church lose her identity like this? If you’re part of a church and you’re concerned more about what you gain from it personally than you are taking the truths learned into the world and sharing them those around you, then perhaps a reformation is needed in you as well.

The Reformation that happened in the 1500s was about reforming the people’s mindset of being part of the church. The reformation that’s needed today is about reforming the church’s mindset on what it means to be on mission. If you wnat to know what the chruch should be about, then read Jesus’ own words. I came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:10) Then in John 14 Jesus says, the things I do you also shall do. If we’re supposed to be about what Jesus was about, and Jesus was about seeking those far from God and introducing them to God, then why do we care more about introducing them to church than to Jesus?

The church doesn’t save people. The church SHOULD be pointing people to the only source of salvation, namely Jesus. While there is only one way to the Father and that’s through Jesus, the institutional church that’s bent on membership more than mission isn’t the only way to Jesus.

It’s time for a reformation. Not in someone else. Not in someone else’s church tradition. The reformation needs to start in you and in me.

Say I Won’t

May 3, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Autopilot. It’s how most of us go through our lives. We get up and go through the same humdrum routine day in and day out. But there has to be more. There has to be more than just cruising through life, trapped in the prison of someone else’s dream.

We fall into autopilot when we seek something big and nothing happens. We nestle into autopilot when we compare our lives to those of someone else and feel we’ll never match up. We get stuck in autopilot when depression hits us and we just want to sleep life away.

There has to be a better way.

Today’s Music Monday is by MercyMe and it’s titled Say I Won’t. It’s a song that fights against the evils in our individual lives. The evils of what others say about us or how they treat us. The evils of being told we’re not good enough or that we’re a failure. The evils that tell us we’d be better off if we just threw in the towel and quit. And the message to all of these is I’m going to press on.

I’m going to rise above all of these. Not because I have it all together or even because I think I’m the best. I’m going to push through not because I have the strength or because I even believe I’m enough. I can do all of this because God says I’m enough. So I’m going to run and I’m going to fly.

Say I won’t. I dare you.

The message of this song is soft yet powerful. It’s a try me kind of message. Today I want you to stand in the confidence that the world can’t stop you. The people in your corner or opposed to you can’t hold you back. You will run. You will fly. You will succeed. I dare anyone to stop you when you have Jesus inside you.

Interruption or Disruption

March 2, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Ok so let me just throw this out there. I am 100% totally and completely over what covid has done to the lives of so many people. We’ve all been impacted by either the virus or the way it was handled. Some have tragically lost their lives due to complications of the illness. Others were slowed down for a time because they got it. Still others lost jobs, homes, loved ones, livelihoods, and the ability to just function in normal life.

I’ve heard so many times I want things to go back to normal. But do we really? I mean do we really want life to just magically snap back into place like a rubber band after being stretched. If we really just one day snap back to life as it was in 2019, what was the purpose of all of the struggle of 2020? If we just go back to the glory days of the past, then we essentially wasted what looks to be close to two years of our lives. No one wants to waste their life away!

So I want to encourage you to see this portion of life not simply as an interruption to your normal routine but as a disruption to the flow of how things were. An interruption is temporary and allows things to return to how they were previously. It’s like a blip on a radar then it’s gone. A disruption is a roadblock that forces us to take a different path. Sometimes a disruption can be negative but other times it can breathe new life into a situation.

Are there things about this whole new way of living that aren’t convenient or even good for that matter? Absolutely! Masks and distance are not how God created us. We were created to live in community. So much of communication is nonverbal and masks completely mess that up! I’ve had to repeat myself more times than I care to admit because someone can’t hear my clearly through a mask. Distance is not healthy either. Isolation easily leads to depression and can be deadly. The suicide rates are skyrocketing not just in our country but around the world.

I guess when we look at this way of living as an interruption we just want to get it over and go back to our comfort zone. But that’s just a tad selfish if you ask me. If our lives are more about what make us comfortable than what makes life better for others, then we have our priorities all screwed up.

But if we look at the past year or so as a disruption, we’re allowed to look back and learn form the past so that we can be more intentional moving forward. Intentional. That’s a power word. The focus of intentionality is that we live our lives with an intended purpose. Going back to the way things were means our purpose was already fulfilled, but that’s just not true. Living for the past gets us nowhere and it’s exhausting.

Do you find yourself more anxious, upset, tired or irritable than normal? Chances are you’re longing for the past. You’re trying to run down the up escalator. It’s exhausting to try to fight every day for something over which you have no control. Don’t give up. But change perspective. Be intentional about your day. Look at the person you are called to be. Chances are the disruptions of the past 12 months have very little impact on the person God created you to be. It’s time to pivot and make the necessary adjustments to serve those around you best.

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins says that the greatest enemy of great is good. We settle for good all the time. Good isn’t bad. It’s good afterall. But is there something better than good waiting right around the corner? Is the good thing of yesterday that we want back, keeping us from the great thing we can experience tomorrow?

I’ve done a lot of thinking about this lately. As a pastor I look at what this disruption has brought about. I’ve met so many new people through this time that I never would have met had we not been in this mess. I’ve connected with new faces at church. I’ve had conversations with people at the gym that I’ve never talked to before. We’ve expanded our reach albeit virtually to many more than we ever would have. The way we were doing things before was good. I do miss seeing some of the people around church that we haven’t seen in months. And one day I hope they’re back again!

But I also see the countless opportunities that God has given me by making me slow down and spend more intentional time with family. Reorganize my calendar to better reflect my priorities. Value the expressions on people’s faces that I often took for granted. There are so many great things that I have learned through this pandemic by just changing perspective.

So while I want some things to change, I don’t want them to go back to normal because normal isn’t the life we’re supposed to life!

Is This Significant?

November 11, 2020 / / 0 Comments
Pisces: misunderstood genius! | Neon signs, Neon words, Neon quotes

What a year 2020 has become! I don’t know if anyone could have predicted the dumpster fire that this year has turned out to be. It sure doesn’t seem like anything is as it should be right now. But is any of this significant?

Over the past few days I’ve been looking back on what all has occurred throughout this monumental and earth shifting year. One thing that seems to keep coming back over and over again in my mind is one of the restrictions that many of our cities and states have implemented. Heck even the CDC has said this.

If you remember back to April and May of this year perhaps you’ll recall that we were all told to limit our gatherings to no more than 10 people. I think the reasoning was to limit the potential for spread of Covid and to make it easier to track back who all you’ve been with recently. At least that’s what I have understood from it all, and I didn’t think twice about it.

But recently I’ve heard a few different references to the number 10 and how it applies to the church and it’s got me thinking…is this significant? Is there a misunderstood genius behind all of this?

Now I’m not going to go all numerology on you or anything like that but let’s look at the history of the number 10 and why it might be significant here. In the Bible and in ancient Jewish tradition, the people were to come together to establish a synagogue or gathering of worshippers in a localized place. Well, enter what might be the significant part…

You had to have a minimum of, yep you guessed it, 10 people to constitute a synagogue. So what in the world might this mean?

Some might say that this is some demonic force trying to prevent God’s people from gathering in a mass numbers. While this could be? I’m not really sure that I buy that one. I don’t buy it because we’re still able to meet, albeit virtually but we’re still able to gather in many informal settings and the word is still able to be preached. Could the Devil be up to something? Of course he is! When isn’t he? But I think there might be another, and potentially more transforming thing happening here.

The ten mandate is still the case for some people. Much of the country has excluded places of worship from this mandate, but it does still apply in various locations to this day. But the number limitation holds for gatherings of people for many other purposes too. Enter the conspiracy theory portion of this post – don’t worry this is a positive conspiracy theory if that’s such a thing?

What if God was in control all along? Yeah I know he is but stick with me here. What if God was taking this whole pandemic craziness thing and using it as a way to allow some of our churches to stay within the guidelines while still doing, being and even growing the church?

Think about it – you can’t come to the church either because it’s not allowed based on this rule or because you’re just not comfortable in groups that large. But are you able and willing to be in a smaller group with a more controlled atmosphere? Could you gather and form your own grouping of say 10 people?

Ten doesn’t seem like that many, but God even said that for the sake of 10 faithful he would have delivered all of Sodom and Gomorrah. Whoa there’s that number again!

Could God be up to something? Are you unable to get back in your in-person worship space due to restrictions or comfort level? Are you willing to be one of 10? I think this is massively significant and something we need to be taking full advantage of in this weird and wild ride we call 2020. Want to be a group of 10…hit me up and we’ll see how we can resource you.

Who would have thought that something as simple as the number 10 could actually help?

Ok friends those are today’s random ramblings.

Are Taxes Bad?

October 22, 2020 / / 0 Comments

In the church we’re called to live within two realities. It’s even been called by some living in two kingdoms. If we’re truly honest, we’ll admit that it can be a real struggle trying to balance the promises of the bible with the reality of what this world has to offer.

In the message below we’ll deal with one of the struggles the followers of God had in the Bible. The issue was all about taxes. Is it ok to pay taxes or does this in some way break a commandment? And behind their question rests a deeper truth that we’ll hit on as well.

If you’re not into listening to podcasts or don’t have the 20 minutes it will take to listen, then here’s the quick abbreviated version of the message.

The leaders of the church of Jesus’ day didn’t like that he was so different than what they expected, so they tried everything they could to trap him. The question they posed was is it ok to pay taxes or is that somehow breaking a command of God?

Here’s the deal. Taxes in Jesus’ day were a little different from today. They paid something called a census tax. Basically it was a tax on the living and it equaled a day’s wages. This tax was paid with a special coin that had the image of Caesar stamped on it. And this is where the problem lies.

The Caesar’s of this time knew they were earthly rulers, but they also had this weird idea that they were something more than mere mortal kings. They thought they were in some way to be treated as mini-gods. So when the leaders asked Jesus if it was ok to pay taxes the Jews were wrestling with the idea of taxes somehow being like an offering in church. They thought that by giving taxes they were worshiping the king of Rome as if he was a god.

Jesus answers their question with another question, which is his typical method. Who’s image is on the coin? Now of course he knew but he was getting at a much deeper point. Give back to Caesar what is rightfully his and then give God what is rightfully God’s.

In other words, since Caesar is on the coin, then pay your taxes because it’s Caesar’s anyway. But your life, praise, worship and adoration belongs to God because he’s the giver of every good and perfect gift.

There you have it the short version is pay taxes but don’t worship the government. There’s a whole lot more to this but you can listen to the audio for the rest.

It’s Really Not That Hard

August 19, 2020 / / 0 Comments

As a pastor I have to frequently evaluate what we’re doing, why we’re doing it, and how we’re doing it. The idea is to make sure we’re on track and that we’re being as effective as we possibly can be. But one thing I’ve realized over and over again is that we make life too hard. We have made the gospel far too difficult and have complicated the faith scenario immensely.

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Take Me Back (Church)

May 11, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Well this is the second time I’ve used this song but it has special meaning for me today. You see yesterday we came back to church. We’ve been waiting for this day for weeks. Being displaced from something that is so important and so life changing is no fun. Being told you can’t do something that’s great for you because of a fear of something bad for you lurking in the shadows is a terrifying thing!

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