Speaking of faith...literally

Here is an interesting blog with some strategies for how to talk about faith with your "neighbor" who doesn't share your faith.

click here to read it

Any thoughts?

Chickens...now I believe it

See it for yourself:
click for the chicken

Don't be a chicken.

Mesmerizing chickens

I'm not sure if I believe this, but I'm dying to try it.

So first, you take a piece of chalk and draw a line in your drive way. Easy enough.
Next you go out back to the hen house and grab a chicken. A bit harder.
Then you grab the chicken's head and hold him so that its beak is touching the line. Supposedly if you hold really tightly with its beak touching the ground staring at the line, then after a few minutes, if you let go, the chicken won't move. It just stands there, mesmerized, staring at the line.

Alan Hirsch uses that analogy to describe the effect that organizations can have on us. When we've spent so much time looking at things in a very particular way, it can leave us rather mesmerized. It becomes quite difficult to lift our head up and look around and realize that what we're doing is a bit silly and there's a world full of other possibilities out there.

May we take our eyes of the line and see what's possible.

A different look at "Monuments"

What was this ship made to do?

Mark and his family signed up for a one day cruise on an old sailing ship in the Mediterranean. They had read every book they could find on what it was like on these old ships. They had looked at countless websites and Internet images of the ship. They could hardly wait for their adventure.

Now in their reading, they had learned that the ship normally traveled through the sea on its gas powered motors. There simply was not enough wind. But the adventure company did what they could to give you a feel for what it was like on the giant ship. Once you were well out to sea, the captain would give the orders and they would unfurl all the sails. Then the crew would load all the passengers into the little dinghy and put around so that the passengers could see the ship in all its glory. Everyone would take dozens of pictures of the ship. I'm sure it would be beautiful to behold.

Mark and his family found themselves on board the mighty ship and they launched from the harbor. About an hour out to sea, right about the time that they were expecting the captain to tell them to head for the dinghy, they noticed that the wind was picking up. The captain started shouting orders to his crew. The deck hands started scrambling around untying lines, unfurling the sails, tying things down.

The wind continued to pick up and as Mark looked up, the sails sprang full and almost catapulted the giant ship forward. The waves raced by as the ship was set free to sail like it hadn't in years. This mighty vessel was finally doing what it was made to do.

Mark looked back and was amazed to see the change that had come over the captain. There was a look of intensity matched only by a sense of deep joy on his face.

This captain, and his crew, didn't train for the mundane task of tourist travel. Their gifting and their passion surely was never tapped by the repetitive work of putting on a good show for the paying customers. But suddenly the captain and crew found themselves doing the thing they were trained for. The ship and its crew, charging full speed ahead and loving every minute of it.

I fear that those magnificent cathedrals of Europe (and perhaps in the not so distant future - the expansive, and expensive church buildings of America) have become mighty ships that people put around and take pictures of. They have long since ceased to do what they were made to do.

What would it look like for the church to do what it was made to do?
What would it look like if the crew (note - that's YOU, not the staff) found themselves doing the work they were made to do?
What would it be like if participating in the life of the church gave us an intensity that was matched only by the deepest joy?

We were made to sail.

"May they see your good works and glorify the Father in heaven."

Monumental...

I came across a great quote today:

"We shape our church buildings. Then our church buildings shape us."

Believe it or not, I'm not going to say anything about that (just yet), but I'd love to hear what you think of that quote!

like growing vegetables in the dessert

Chuck talked at the Launch today about personal brokenness. We all have those moments of failure; those times when we do what we don't want to do and don't do the things we know we really ought to do. We all stand together in the same place: desperately needing Jesus to deal with our brokenness.

I think the average Christian spends a great deal of time pretending that the above isn't true.

I don't know. Maybe that's because of the reaction the average Christian gets if they ever show any sign of weakness within the walls of the average church.

Did you know that it's written in the book of James that we should confess our sins TO ONE ANOTHER, that we might be healed. I read that and I find it kind of funny that one of the core elements of our liturgy is the Confession of Sin (with the corresponding assurance of pardon). But James doesn't say to confess silently to God. He says, "to one another". Truthfully, James doesn't even say to confess your sins to a pastor.

Confess your sins to one another.

But why? I mean it's just so awkward. So uncomfortable. So painful. I went on a mission trip to Jamaica when I was in college. And I realized that I kept noticing how attractive all the college girls on the trip were. I mean I really kept noticing. So I did what any young and immature college Christian on a mission trip would do: I did what the Bible says. I confessed my sins to another. But not just to ANY other. Nope. I confessed to the whole group. And I named names. It went like this:

"Amy, I'm just so sorry. I've been looking at you like an object and not a person. And that's just so wrong. Please forgive me. And Sarah, I just haven't been able to take my eyes off you. That's just so wrong of me. God is really opening my eyes to see you as you really are. Lynn, I'm sorry I haven't really shown any attention to you at all, have I?"

Strangely, even after that remarkable demonstration of spiritual maturity and taking the Bible seriously, none of those girls would ever go out with me.

OK so back to the present.

My meandering point: James was right.

I have actually had several other experiences of being in an authentic confessing community (a small group of people who got together regularly for prayer and fellowship and who gave each other permission to be honest about our brokenness). And just as James promises, those really were places of healing and wholeness for me.

There really is something to this idea. Something remarkable happens when you look another person in the eye and admit your brokenness. I think it takes that kind of confession to actually admit it to yourself. And to God.

More than that, it's almost as if God's grace actually comes out of our mouths when we look someone in the eye who has confessed to us and we say, "you are forgiven." I love saying those words to the whole congregation. But every time I do it, I'm aware deep down that it would be so much more meaningful to each one of them, if that confession and prayer and that giving of forgiveness happened in an authentic and confessing small group.

Do you have a place like that?

Do you want one?

Let me know and I'll help you find one.

Top 10 "Take Homes" from the Leadership Summit

1. Have a Laser Sharp Focus.
Stop doing what others are doing and do what God has uniquely equipped you to do. Don’t try to do everything well. You won’t. Know, with precision clarity and focus, what it is you are called to do and to be. Then chase after that with all you have. Do less in order to do more! What are the things we need to STOP doing?

2. Pursue Excellence.
Love people thoughtfully, carefully, excellently, and rigorously. Say “no” to the Christian-adjusted scale of mediocrity. We are loving, working, and speaking on behalf of the king of kings. Love, work, and speak with all your heart and strength. Do it well. God deserves it.

3. Don’t get stuck in the visitor’s center.
Don’t go on the trip, but miss the adventure. That’s like going to a national park and spending 4 hours looking through the gift shop instead of hiking in and having the adventure. If my following doesn’t feel risky, I might want to check and see if I’m actually following. Jesus liberates us from the emptiness of safe faith. Don’t be content with comfortable cul-de-sac kind of faith.

4. Faith and Joy are inseperable.
Joy is a core value! The first thing to disappear when spiritual health declines is laughter and joy. The word “Joy” shows up in 241 different verses in the Bible (about the same as “Worship”). The joy of the lord is our strength. The harder it gets the more important that we have joy – for that is our strength. And when you stop and think about it, it’s pretty darn hilarious that God has put his stock in us goofy, bumbling, sell-outs. His plan is us. That’s funny stuff. How can we not laugh? A good many of us need to remind our faces about the joy we are supposed to have in our hearts.

5. Failure is not an option. It is a requirement.
It’s often the only way to find your way into God’s will. If you’re not failing, you’re not trying. Take a risk once in a while. “Take a flyer.”

6. Remove Barriers.
If we want people who are far from God to come to know God, we’ve got to remove the barriers that stand in the way. (And we’ve constructed an AWFUL lot of barriers). Note: We are not talking about the Gospel as a barrier. But we absolutely are talking about anything that people might experience that keeps them from feeling fully welcomed and accepted.

7. The #1 thing people say they want their church to do more of? CHALLENGE THEM.
Why are we afraid to ask people to sacrifice? Why are we afraid to set the bar high? Why are we afraid to challenge them? This contributes to the “Christian adjusted scale of mediocrity.”

8. Create motion for motion’s sake.
People will jump on board for a new thing in a way they won’t for a tweaked old thing. Doing something can create and sustain energy and momentum. Doing something helps keep people motivated and moving forward. Even if you only do it for a little while, even if it turns out not to be the right thing (see #5 above), doing something is often better than doing nothing.

9. Get the right people asking the right questions and you’ll get the right answers.
A primary task of leadership is to get the right people gathered at the table and to get them asking the right questions. A related point (from Colin Powell): “Reward top performers, remove non-performers.” This may seem like the opposite of grace. But it is actually about getting people in the right place. If I’m serving in a place that isn’t a good fit for me, I’m going to do poor work and I’m not going to enjoy it. Nobody benefits from that. (See #2 above).

10. Obstacles usually make great opportunities. The things that seem to create the most difficulty or tension might just point you to the great opportunities that God is presenting you.



Bonus: God has a plan to overthrow the problems of evil, injustice, and oppression. We are that plan. There is no other plan. (If justice is not your thing, then God is not your thing).

Do less to do more

Heard a great challenge this morning.
One of the most important decisions a church makes is deciding what it needs to STOP doing. What are we pouring our resources of time, money, and energy into that prevent us from being able to do the outrageous things God might be asking us to do?

To ask it another way, what are our sacred cows? What are the things that we hold sacred (because we've always done them, because they help in some way, because we can't imagine NOT doing them) that really aren't sacred? Because those sacred cows VERY often keep us from being able to reshift our focus and our effort towards the new things that God might be inviting us to attempt.

There is a growing body of research indicating that succesful churches have a LASER SHARP FOCUS. Let me define successful: It means successfully connecting people who are far from God with the embrace of Jesus. It means successfully growing people in maturity in their faith. It means successfully moving people along the journey of discipleship. It means equipping and releasing people to ministry in the world in the way God has called them.

Churches that are successfully doing those things are churches that have a laser sharp focus.

Here's the point. You don't have a laser sharp focus by trying to do everything.

So what do we need to stop doing in order to be able to live the BIG things God has in mind?

Timeless wisdom from one of the church fathers...

St. Augustine wrote: "The Church is a whore, but she is my mother."

Chew on that one for awhile.

Here's my take. The church falls way short of what it is called to be. Always. We can pretty much take a cold hard look at our selves in the mirror at any given moment and see some pretty rotten stuff.

But to quote a peaceable zealot: "the Church is an outpost of God's Kingdom, a continuation of the incarnation. If you don't love the Church, then you don't love the very body of the crucified and risen Lord."

So do you think Augustine is hinting at a love/hate relationship?

And what do you do with the whore? How do you treat her? What do you ask of her?

And if the church is a whore, does that make me a pimp?

Maybe I should explain the whole TWITTER thing...

So, I've had hundreds, maybe thousands of people ask for more regular blog updates. It's like they just can't get enough of me. And frankly, it's just tough to always find time for a good quality post.

It's a whole different story though if all you want is a quick one sentence update.

That's the point of TWITTER.

My Twitter account is a way for me to send out quick and short updates on what's going on.

As sort of a practice run at TWITTERING, I'll be sending in regular updates from the Willow Creek Leadership Summit this week. Starting on Thursday, you can find out what we're hearing and learning. Just click on the "follow me" link under Twitter on the right side of this page.

Let me know what you think.

Have you heard Jaron and Katherine's music?

Click here for a little foretaste of heaven. Or at least some really good music.

Jaron, when can we buy the album????

It's kind of like the opposite of the lottery...

So we talked about grace at the Launch yesterday. If you missed it, here it is in one simple sentence:

When you do a bunch of stuff thinking it will earn you favor in God's eyes, your good actions are really nothing more than a big pile of garbage, so why not quit trying to do that and just sit still in the knowledge that God loves you in spite of yourself, which means you are actually completely free to do good things, not because you "OUGHT TO", but because you want to, just as a way of saying thanks to God.

Simple as that.

One interesting point came up: it's possible to hear this conversation about GRACE and to think, "if even my best deeds are just worthless garbage to God, then why try?"

Fair enough. Interestingly, the entire 6th chapter of Romans is written to answer that very question. I'll just let you read that yourself.

But I ran across this great quote as I prepared for the sermon yesterday. The truest test of whether or not you are preaching the truth about grace is if some people misunderstand it and think they should can just keep on sinning.

Which reminds me of another great quote. I think this one was Martin Luther. He (or somebody like him) said, "if you're going to sin, sin boldly". I think his point was, don't minimize the depth of God's grace by pretending that your petty little sins won't need as much grace. Your little white lie is as bad as the grossest sin you can imagine. They both require nails in the hand of Jesus. So if you are going to sin, sin boldly so that you'll know how much it cost God to reconcile you to himself.

What do you think of that?

Scott Keeble is a Twit

I've jumped on the Twitter bandwagon.
There is a link on the right side. click on follow me if you want the inside scoop on what I'm doing or thinking about at any given moment.