Thursday, July 30, 2009

My 3

I showed a video many months ago that was recorded by Penn (of the Las Vegas magic act, Penn & Teller). Penn is a well known atheist and very antagonistic towards organized religion. However, in this video, he is describing a conversation with a man who gave him a Bible. Penn is surprisingly respectful and appreciative and seemingly touched by this man's gesture.

What I find surprising in the video is that Penn, again an atheist, says that he has NO respect for a person of faith who ISN'T willing to share that faith. He basically says, "If i were walking across the street and there were a truck bearing down on me that I didn't see, how much would you have to hate me to not try to save me from being killed by that truck." His point is that Christians who don't invite other people into connectedness with Jesus are, in his words, HATEFUL. Not just ambivalent. HATEFUL.

I've found myself praying the last few weeks that we, as a community of Christ followers, would LOVE our neighbor so much that we would do anything to invite them into the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

Here's my challenge: First, start praying that you would love people that much. That you would care about their souls that much. Then, ask God to put 3 people on your heart. 3 people that you know and who you don't think are connected to a community of worship. Then start praying for those 3 people. Start praying for chances to get to know them better and to be the presence of Christ in their lives. Pray for chances to tell them about how Jesus makes a difference in your life. And pray for God to draw those 3 to himself. And if you can't think of 3 friends who fit that category, then start praying that you would meet some new people because a full 1/3 of the population of Champaign-Urbana would classify themselves that way. Let's start praying and see what God does. What would happen if every member of our church took this challenge to heart? (And I'm not talking about what would happen for our church. I'm talking about what would happen in and for our city?)

If you send me an email with the names of your 3, I'll join you in praying for them (and for you).

What do you think?

Any takers?

Thursday, July 23, 2009

My friend Kelly linked to a blog by Erwin McManus.
Here's a quote from the blog and a link if you want to read it all: Mosaic
What is happening across the world and here at home is that there is an army of cross cultural missionaries who have become the new leaders of the church. Their calling isn’t to pastor churches that focus on the happiness of its members, but to mobilize the church for the purpose of fulfilling God’s mission of reconciling the world to himself. We used to send our missionaries out and it kept the mission a safe distance from us. Some how they broke back in and decided they were not going without us. At Mosaic we have no members, only missionaries. There is nothing to join except a community on a mission. We have little patience for self indulgent spirituality that insists on everything being about us.


I was at a seminar (at the Champaign Country Club of all places) and listened to a presenter who asked this question: What is keeping your church from reaching the next 100 people for Jesus Christ?

Certainly there are alot of answers to that question. But I think it starts with one thing: A passion for the lost. We are missing a compelling vision to reach those who aren't connected to Jesus Christ.

Don't miss the point here: This doesn't mean we don't do anything for ourselves. A part of our connecting people into the redeemed community of Christ is to actually have that community to connect them into. We are called to be a set apart, loving, self-less community of Christ followers. But the defining trait of that community is our MISSION of seeking to invite and draw others into that community of grace in Jesus Christ.

I'm convicted by this idea. In case you haven't noticed.

What is keeping us from reaching the next 100 people for Jesus Christ?
What would it look like for us to chase after them?

Comments are welcomed!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

One Car Wednesday (a day late...again)

So, I've biked into work twice this week. Woulda been 3 if not for rain.
And let me just say that Champaign is woefully lacking in bike friendly shoulder space on roads. I usually end up on the sidewalk because riding on the streets is not far removed from russian roulette.

Had an interesting experience on the way home today. Got caught at the traffic light on Kirby and Mattis. And there was this girl, also on a bike, sitting at the light as well. We're both riding on the same sidewalk. She was there first, so I obviously let her cross ahead of me.

Awkwardly, we are both going the same direction. And going about the same speed.

I begin to notice that she's looking back at me frequently. Not in a "he's kind of cute" kind of way, but in more of a "I think this guy might be stalking me" kind of way. As I'm trying to slow down and eliminate the freaky stalker vibe, she suddenly veers out into the road and crosses to the other side.

Which creates a whole new awkwardness. Now we are biking side by side on opposite sides of the street. And still going roughly the same speed.

At that point, all I can say is that instinct kicked in. It was like 2 cars at the stop light both revving their engines. I mean, there is just no way, NO WAY, I'm letting this girl beat me down the road. I kick it into low gear and crank it down the sidewalk for a full block. I'm fighting the temptation to look over and see how I'm doing. But finally I take a little peak. She's nowhere to be seen. She must have turned off on a side street almost immediately.

All I can say is, thank goodness, because one more block at that speed and I might've passed out.

All of which is to say you see a bike on the road and there isn't much shoulder, give em a brake. It might be your pastor!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

What if...

What if we dropped the label "Member" and instead went with "Missionaries"?

What do you see as the difference?

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Some nasty statistics from the PCUSA

So, our denomination recently released membership and giving statistics for 2008. It ain't pretty. As a denomination, we lost over 69,000 members last year. There are obviously a lot of things that go into that number. 34,000 members died. another 35,000 left when their churches left the denomination altogether. Most staggering to me is the fact that 104,000 who were removed from the rolls and appeared to not join another church. And our churches did add 100,000 new members. But the net result of all that was the biggest one year loss of membership in our denomination since 1983.

You can read the full report by clicking here: PCUSA Statistics

A friend of mine, Kelly Kannwischer (Presbyterian Global Fellowship), points out the bigger problem. The stated clerk of our denomination, in his report about the statistics, is asking all the wrong questions. He says that we need to strengthen our answers to these questions: "Why do I believe in God? Why do I go to church? Why do I go to that particular church?" And the implication is that if we can answer those questions, we'll be able to convince people to join our church.

Here's a response from Kelly regarding that perspective:
"the question for people in the postmodern world is not what is true but what is real. To be effective witnesses of the Gospel, it is not what we can posit or defend theologically (although that remains important). Rather, to be effective witnesses of the Gospel in today's culture requires authenticity, deep relationships, and sacrificial action for the sake of others."


Let's be really clear about something: It is absolutely critical that we know the Jesus we worship. It's desperately important for us to be able to articulate the good news about the grace of God given to us in Jesus Christ. We will always need to continue growing in our understanding and application of the scriptures for our lives.

But understanding by itself will never result in a world transformed by Jesus Christ. The question we need to be able to answer is this:

"Who is Jesus and how am I trying to be more like him?"

When we love our neighbor more than ourselves, our evangelism will be authentic and effective.
When we are as committed to healing our community as we are to our longstanding church programs, then our witness will be genuine and true.
When we start asking how we can be the body of Christ IN the world, how to be Christ-like for the sake of our neighbor, then we will at least be asking the right questions.

Any thoughts? Complaints? Questions?