Church

Links Matter

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A few links...

John Piper has written a manuscript responding to N.T. Wright's view of justification.  Who knows if/when we will see it since he is seeking the thoughts of others on it, but the conversation at Justin Taylor's blog about it is already interesting.  Piper wrote this on his summer sabbatical at Cambridge.

Brian Spears writes on the 10 things you'll learn by visiting other churches.  Always helpful for those of us who too rarely get to visit other churches.

The Church Planting Resources site is looking good, and is now considered to be 83% sexier (according to Drew Goodmanson).  It's a site for "free exchange of information to help build the Kingdom and ultimately spread the gospel." 

Comback Churches has some good stuff from Ed Stetzer, including his "Stirring the Waters" articles.

And have I mentioned before the PeopleGroups website?  Some good, basic demographic stuff for you.

Core Values

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I'm preaching through a series on Core Values for my church.  We have five: Truth, Beauty, Redemption, Community, & Mission.  This Sunday the Core Value is community. 

The series has been phenomenal, for me as the pastor-teacher and for the congregation.  It's been a great discipline to derive some values for our church in our context, prepare the messages, and watch our people respond.  The response has been exciting.

This has been a more difficult series in some ways for me.  I typically preach through books of the Bible, so this is harder work.  I also realize that once I define the values they are considered defined.  I feel obligated to be comprehensive yet simple.

One thing I have done is to not only apply the values so we know how we live them out, but also to have one significant and challenging application each week.  I want our people to respond concretely to each value. 

So, for example, the first Core Value was truth.  For our concrete application we took an offering for Bibles that we could buy in bulk and have for giving to friends, relatives, co-workers and neighbors.  If we value truth, let's get the Word out!  The offering allowed us to buy 120 ESV Bibles (Outreach Edition, both OT and NT).  It's fun to watch our church respond and see something tangible happen because of it.  The Bibles arrived early this week.

This week as I prepare to talk about community, I've realized how helpful it is for our community of believers to think through what we value together.  God is doing some great things.

Going Big

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Go_bigI'm reading a book by Bill Easum and Bil Cornelius called Go Big: Lead Your Church to Explosive Growth and finding it a very helpful, practical pastoral resource.  Easum is the VP of Easum, Bandy and Associates and Cornelius is the pastor of Bay Area Fellowship.

A few quotes...

Lead pastor, if your church is not growing, you are the stopping point.  If your church is growing, you are the catalyst.  It's that simple. (p. 9)

When God wanted to change your part of the world, he placed you there for such a time as this.  We hate to tell you this, but you're it.  Start taking responsibility for what God wants you to do with your life. (p. 10)

Knowing everybody is not the definition of a healthy church.  In fact, it may be the definition of an unhealthy church. (p. 68)

Visitor Giveaways

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AndyI've been wondering if it would be good to have a giveaway book for visitors on Sunday.  I really like the idea.  One of the few books that seemed to fit the category of a short, inexpensive, good book for visitors is Andy Stanley's How Good is Good Enough?.  I hadn't read Stanley's little (94 pages) book yet, so I picked it up last night and read it.  I was pleased.

I think it's a good book especially for churches in areas where nearly everyone is a "Christian" but few really know Christ.  It has just enough logic and reason arguments to fulfill that need in logical thinkers.  It has enough story and illustration to keep it moving and engaging.  It has a nice flow and argument and closes with Christ.

Have you read Stanley's book and what do you think about it?  Know of other books that would be good as giveaways to church visitors?

Reform & Resurge: Chandler

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Chandler_1What are you doing right now?  Whatever it is, it's not important.  Stop it. 

Now, go and listen to Matt Chandler's message from Reform & Resurge called Gravity: The Weight of Pastoring and the Knowledge of Christ (video).  One of the most important and helpful messages I've ever heard.  It sparked a very sober discussion with my buddies in Seattle, and I hope the trend continues. 

Matt Chandler is the pastor of The Village Church in Highland Village, Texas.

UPDATE: I just finished listening to the message from Matt Chandler again and I almost broke down.  It's directed toward pastors and people in ministry, but it's relevant to you no matter who you are.  I'm working hard to not get too dramatic, but please, seriously, listen as soon as you can.  It just may save your life, or your marriage, or your church or ministry.

Acts29 Boot Camp: San Diego

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I want to encourage any of you who are interested in planting a church, replanting/renewing a church, or just learning to be a better pastor or church leader to attend the Acts29 Boot Camp in San Diego.  There will be some really good guys speaking there including David Fairchild, Scott Thomas and Daniel Montgomery.  It's at Kaleo Church where my friend Drew Goodmanson is an elder.

My Acts29 Boot Camp experience was in Dallas last fall.  It sparked much conviction about my calling and direction in ministry.  It was also life-changing for my wife.  I highly recommend it.

Sacred Space Ministry

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Imago Dei in Portland, where Rick McKinley is pastor, has started something called Sacred Space.  From the Sacred Space website...

sacred space is an urban renewal project spearheaded by Imago Dei Community.

sacred space emblemLast fall, nearly two hundred people got together on a sunny September day with a vision. The team descended upon St. Francis Park in SE Portland to serve in an amazing renovation project with over $5,000 in resources raised. The park was transformed from a blighted area into sacred space.

After a year of dreaming, praying, and planning, our vision has grown.

And it’s still growing.

On August 12, we expect one thousand people will come together to bring restoration, resurrection, and renewal to about fifty spots around Portland, Oregon.

With shovels and rakes, hammers and nails, hard work, healing, and laughter.

We’d love for you to be a part of it.  Look for signup information soon.

the idea

plantSacred Space is about recalling our duty to preserve creation by reclaiming harmony with God’s Kingdom: the way things should be. We are committed to a missional journey of actively repairing the broken places all around us, partnering with God to restore our divinely-created habitat.

We want to engage the city in this process of regeneration, planting seeds of hope and nurturing the faith that we can make life better together. We believe that God invites people from all beliefs into this progressive movement. As we combine our talents we experience authentic community rich in meaning, truth, beauty and worship.

Me, Joe, and Andy Stanley

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Joe Thorn and I faced a 16 hour road trip back home from Greensboro, NC.  What would we do? 

Would we listen to Rush Limbaugh on the radio?  Would we debate the ancient-future longevity of the shofar?  Would we sleep?  Would we (again) loop the CD of Wolfmother or Espers over and over?  Would we grow tired of SBC politics and go mad???

None of the above.  Since I was the designated driver for the whole trip (not because Joe is a winebibber, but because I get carsick if I don't drive), Joe read aloud Seven Practices for Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley (and others).  He read on and off for the whole trip and finished the book about 5 miles from his house.

It was a very helpful & practical read for both of us as we think through the issues and problems and possibilities we face in our local churches.

A New Kind of Urban Christian

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Tim Keller's article from Christianity Today is up: "A New Kind of Urban Christian."  A must read if you are urban or not.  I've also added it to my Keller resource page.

(HT: Justin Taylor, who emailed me in order to shame me since he found it first)

A few blurbs...

Once in cities, Christians should be a dynamic counterculture. It is not enough for Christians to simply live as individuals in the city. They must live as a particular kind of community. Jesus told his disciples that they were "a city on a hill" that showed God's glory to the world (Matt. 5:14-16). Christians are called to be an alternate city within every earthly city, an alternate human culture within every human culture, to show how sex, money, and power can be used in nondestructive ways.

[...]

This is the only kind of cultural engagement that will not corrupt us and conform us to the world's pattern of life. If Christians go to urban centers simply to acquire power, they will never achieve cultural influence and change that is deep, lasting, and embraced by the broader society. We must live in the city to serve all the peoples in it, not just our own tribe. We must lose our power to find our (true) power. Christianity will not be attractive enough to win influence except through sacrificial service to all people, regardless of their beliefs.

[...]

So we must neither just denounce the culture nor adopt it. We must sacrificially serve the common good, expecting to be constantly misunderstood and sometimes attacked. We must walk in the steps of the one who laid down his life for his opponents.