Teri, Taylor, Tallie and I want to thank you for last Sunday. We were absolutely blown away by the outpouring of love and affection that we felt from you, our church family. We feel as if we are the most blessed pastor's family in all the world to be a part of such a wonderful Fellowship of Grace- and that is what you have been to us these past five years.
Of course, the entire weekend was planned behind my back- which makes me a little nervous now that I think about it- and was a complete surprise. We were expecting a congratulations and a thank you and a "we love you!" but nothing like what you gave to us. I truly wish that every pastor could feel such love and support from His church.
Thank you for our generous and wonderful gifts. The picture frame and portrait will be a part of our lives from this time on- and we will always remember the circumstances of this beautiful gift. Thank you for thinking of my children, and for making the day special for them. I am most grateful as a pastor and as a father, that my children are surrounded by such a spiritually mature and loving congregation. They have only felt your love and your joy and your strength and excellent example of how a church should love their pastor's family- my children's experience as "PK"s has been nothing but positive and uplifting- they have grown to love their church and to understand what true Christian love looks like. For that Teri and I are eternally grateful.
And thank you for the monetary gift. Teri and I have decided that we will set it aside and use it next summer to help pay for a family mission trip to the Middle East. This will allow us to spend some very important and quality family time together the summer after Taylor graduates from High School. We are so blessed to have this opportunity.
Thank you for your continual encouragement, grace and steadfast love. Thank you for the grace you have shown in allowing me to be myself and to make mistakes and find my way while gaining my bearings during a time of transition. Thank you for your love and maturity that has allowed us to see together what God is calling us toward even as we have experienced the awkwardness of trying to figure each other out.
What a joy it is to be your pastor!
I am very excited about what God will do as we journey together from this moment on. Truly, in many ways I believe we are just now starting this journey. And I am as excited to see what our future holds as I am confident in the One who holds our future!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
thoughts on five years
This Sunday Teri, the kids and I will celebrate our 5th anniversary at Council Road.
Hard to believe.
In some ways it seems like it was only yesterday that we stood before the church and accepted the call. In some ways it seems like it has been a lifetime!
There are days when I feel like I have been here my whole life- and there are others that I think I have only just begun.
Allow me to reflect on that.
Our family has developed friendships these past five years that seem as if we have had for many many years. We have renewed old friendships. We are continually making new friends.
In the sense that our relationships here are perhaps deeper than anywhere we have been it does seem strange that we have ONLY been here five years.
There are many many people in our lives today that I can't imagine ever not having.
But in another sense it does indeed seem like we have just begun.
I have been thinking this week about our journey together over these past few years and have thought about the road we have traveled. Here are a few thoughts:
1. I am grateful for every moment I have been pastor of CRBC- the good and the not so good- the fun and the gut wrenching- the times that have seemed so easy and the times it has seemed like we were pedaling uphill against the wind- I would not trade for one minute of it.
The truth is, if it were not for the good AND the difficult times we have had we would not know the full extent of the goodness and grace of God and how He calls us moves us along and providentially uses all things for His glory.
These past five years have been an incredible learning experience. I have gained invaluable knowledge about the church and the church has learned much about my leadership and passion. The result is that after five years we have come to what I believe is a calm assurance that God has brought us together for a wonderful mission purpose.
It hasn't always been easy. I came from a church I dearly loved and had been with from it's beginnings. I knew every member intimately and was the only pastor most of them had known. It was extremely difficult to rip myself away from that community of believers and come to a more established church with rich tradition and a significantly larger membership and history of great pastors. I was grieving the loss of my last church and CRBC was grieving the loss of a dearly loved pastor.
It took some time to get used to each other. But after five years we have settled into a great place- a place of understanding and trust and deep affection.
2. In some ways I think we are only just beginning.
The adage in ministry is that a pastor doesn't really get started until he has been around about five years. I think that has especially been true of us.
Five years ago I began to introduce new language. Today, words like celebration, connection, community and cause are normative. We have embraced an understanding of what it means to be missional, to understand that every member is a missionary and that we all have our own mission field. We are continually reinforcing our essential doctrines.
Although these are objectives that we have embraced- I do believe we are just starting in many ways.
We still have a long way to go. But I believe the difficult work of transition and scaling the learning curve is now behind us.
3. There are things that I believe I can lead us to now after five years that I was not able to accomplish before now.
As an example, I think it is now time for us to establish a church covenant that reflects our values. Our current bylaws do not include a covenant.
One of the basic values of Baptist ecclesiology is a commitment to membership around a agreed upon covenant. Over the past five years we have begun to lay the groundwork for this. We have developed a better understanding of our mission, what it means to be on a journey together and what we consider to be the most essential doctrines that shape our lives and commitment as we live life together.
I would like for us to begin work to clarify and formalize these values into a covenant that will strengthen our understanding and commitment to membership.
Last week the SBC passed a resolution encouraging churches to clean up their membership roles and to make a fresh commitment to "regenerate" membership. I believe this is good impetus for us a congregation to learn together what that might look like for us. We have people on our church role who the CIA and Jack Bauer couldn't find. We have people on our roles who are technically members but who are not committed to membership.
We need to remedy that. It will make us a stronger church and establish a healthier approach to every aspect of church life.
I would like to see us utilize a Baptist catechism as a benchmark for teaching our children and guiding us in our discipleship ministries.
I see us becoming more of a church planting church. In the past year, we have planted three churches and we have plans for three more in the next year. I can see us training leaders and pastors and encouraging other churches to start churches. I am very excited about our partnership with organizations like the BGCO and NAMB and Vision 360 to continue to encourage church planting movements.
I also see us becoming more intentional in our overseas initiatives. I would like to see us take a more direct approach to partnering with our missionaries who are attached to our church. I want to see us continue to expand the orphanage we have helped start in Motipur India. I want us to send even more people on short term mission trips, understanding that the more people get on the field, the more we will become a church with a global big Kingdom passion.
I can see us becoming more a church of different cultures. In addition to our two different morning worship services that meet in our big room, we have become a church of different congregations reaching into many different cultures around the city. We have ministries that reach into urban culture with The Bridge, one that targets Hispanic culture with our Espanol worship, one that targets people in need of recovery in Celebrate Recovery, we have a congregation that meets at the truck stop, a congregation that meets downtown and we are now organizing a church plant that will target Asian Indians.
This year our debt for the CUBE will fall below 1 million dollars. I think we are fully capable of paying off this debt in just one year if we pull together. With our church debt free we can focus more of our resources toward our mission causes. I would like to see us accomplish this.
4. I can see that what God has started in us is beginning to take shape in exciting ways.
We have become more missional. We have grasped the values of biblical community and a commitment to His word and disciple making. God is giving us a big Kingdom vision.
It is good for us to celebrate what He has done these past five years.
Even better for us to role up our sleeve and look excitedly to our future!
Hard to believe.
In some ways it seems like it was only yesterday that we stood before the church and accepted the call. In some ways it seems like it has been a lifetime!
There are days when I feel like I have been here my whole life- and there are others that I think I have only just begun.
Allow me to reflect on that.
Our family has developed friendships these past five years that seem as if we have had for many many years. We have renewed old friendships. We are continually making new friends.
In the sense that our relationships here are perhaps deeper than anywhere we have been it does seem strange that we have ONLY been here five years.
There are many many people in our lives today that I can't imagine ever not having.
But in another sense it does indeed seem like we have just begun.
I have been thinking this week about our journey together over these past few years and have thought about the road we have traveled. Here are a few thoughts:
1. I am grateful for every moment I have been pastor of CRBC- the good and the not so good- the fun and the gut wrenching- the times that have seemed so easy and the times it has seemed like we were pedaling uphill against the wind- I would not trade for one minute of it.
The truth is, if it were not for the good AND the difficult times we have had we would not know the full extent of the goodness and grace of God and how He calls us moves us along and providentially uses all things for His glory.
These past five years have been an incredible learning experience. I have gained invaluable knowledge about the church and the church has learned much about my leadership and passion. The result is that after five years we have come to what I believe is a calm assurance that God has brought us together for a wonderful mission purpose.
It hasn't always been easy. I came from a church I dearly loved and had been with from it's beginnings. I knew every member intimately and was the only pastor most of them had known. It was extremely difficult to rip myself away from that community of believers and come to a more established church with rich tradition and a significantly larger membership and history of great pastors. I was grieving the loss of my last church and CRBC was grieving the loss of a dearly loved pastor.
It took some time to get used to each other. But after five years we have settled into a great place- a place of understanding and trust and deep affection.
2. In some ways I think we are only just beginning.
The adage in ministry is that a pastor doesn't really get started until he has been around about five years. I think that has especially been true of us.
Five years ago I began to introduce new language. Today, words like celebration, connection, community and cause are normative. We have embraced an understanding of what it means to be missional, to understand that every member is a missionary and that we all have our own mission field. We are continually reinforcing our essential doctrines.
Although these are objectives that we have embraced- I do believe we are just starting in many ways.
We still have a long way to go. But I believe the difficult work of transition and scaling the learning curve is now behind us.
3. There are things that I believe I can lead us to now after five years that I was not able to accomplish before now.
As an example, I think it is now time for us to establish a church covenant that reflects our values. Our current bylaws do not include a covenant.
One of the basic values of Baptist ecclesiology is a commitment to membership around a agreed upon covenant. Over the past five years we have begun to lay the groundwork for this. We have developed a better understanding of our mission, what it means to be on a journey together and what we consider to be the most essential doctrines that shape our lives and commitment as we live life together.
I would like for us to begin work to clarify and formalize these values into a covenant that will strengthen our understanding and commitment to membership.
Last week the SBC passed a resolution encouraging churches to clean up their membership roles and to make a fresh commitment to "regenerate" membership. I believe this is good impetus for us a congregation to learn together what that might look like for us. We have people on our church role who the CIA and Jack Bauer couldn't find. We have people on our roles who are technically members but who are not committed to membership.
We need to remedy that. It will make us a stronger church and establish a healthier approach to every aspect of church life.
I would like to see us utilize a Baptist catechism as a benchmark for teaching our children and guiding us in our discipleship ministries.
I see us becoming more of a church planting church. In the past year, we have planted three churches and we have plans for three more in the next year. I can see us training leaders and pastors and encouraging other churches to start churches. I am very excited about our partnership with organizations like the BGCO and NAMB and Vision 360 to continue to encourage church planting movements.
I also see us becoming more intentional in our overseas initiatives. I would like to see us take a more direct approach to partnering with our missionaries who are attached to our church. I want to see us continue to expand the orphanage we have helped start in Motipur India. I want us to send even more people on short term mission trips, understanding that the more people get on the field, the more we will become a church with a global big Kingdom passion.
I can see us becoming more a church of different cultures. In addition to our two different morning worship services that meet in our big room, we have become a church of different congregations reaching into many different cultures around the city. We have ministries that reach into urban culture with The Bridge, one that targets Hispanic culture with our Espanol worship, one that targets people in need of recovery in Celebrate Recovery, we have a congregation that meets at the truck stop, a congregation that meets downtown and we are now organizing a church plant that will target Asian Indians.
This year our debt for the CUBE will fall below 1 million dollars. I think we are fully capable of paying off this debt in just one year if we pull together. With our church debt free we can focus more of our resources toward our mission causes. I would like to see us accomplish this.
4. I can see that what God has started in us is beginning to take shape in exciting ways.
We have become more missional. We have grasped the values of biblical community and a commitment to His word and disciple making. God is giving us a big Kingdom vision.
It is good for us to celebrate what He has done these past five years.
Even better for us to role up our sleeve and look excitedly to our future!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
convention
This past week the Southern Baptist Convention was in it's annual existence. By that I mean the SBC is only actually in existence for a few days a year when local church "messengers" meet in annual session. As Southern Baptists, we are not a denomination or ecclesiastical hierarchy, we are a body of cooperating churches that meet once a year to empower our various entities to carry out their work under the authority of our local churches. In the SBC, the local church is the only real authority. Our entities do not rule us- they are instead the servants of the local churches. That's how it's supposed to work anyway.
Although there were some very significant things that happened at the convention, like the election of Johnny Hunt on the first ballot, who in a BP interview a few weeks ago revealed that he is not in favor of the recently enacted IMB policies (guidelines) on baptism and private prayer language.
I think the most significant news coming out of the convention this year was this resolution on membership:
Although there were some very significant things that happened at the convention, like the election of Johnny Hunt on the first ballot, who in a BP interview a few weeks ago revealed that he is not in favor of the recently enacted IMB policies (guidelines) on baptism and private prayer language.
I think the most significant news coming out of the convention this year was this resolution on membership:
"WHEREAS, The ideal of a regenerate church membership has long been and remains a cherished Baptist principle, with Article VI of the Baptist Faith and Message describing the church as a “local congregation of baptized believers”; and
WHEREAS, A New Testament church is composed only of those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, the local church’s only Lord, by grace through faith (John 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9), which church practices believers’ only baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:16-20), and the Lord’s supper (Matthew 26:26-30); and
WHEREAS, Local associations, state conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention compile statistics reported by the churches to make decisions for the future; and
WHEREAS, the 2007 Southern Baptist Convention annual Church Profiles indicate that there are 16,266,920 members in Southern Baptist churches; and
WHEREAS, Those same profiles indicate that only 6,148,868 of those members attend a primary worship service of their church in a typical week; and
WHEREAS, The Scriptures admonish us to exercise church discipline as we seek to restore any professed brother or sister in Christ who has strayed from the truth and is in sin (Matthew 18:15-35; Galatians 6:1); and now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis,
RESOLVED, That we humbly urge our churches to maintain accurate membership rolls for the purpose of fostering ministry and accountability among all members of the congregation; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention to repent of the failure among us to live up to our professed commitment to regenerate church membership and any failure to obey Jesus Christ in the practice of lovingly correcting wayward church members (Matthew 18:15-18); and be it further
RESOLVED, That we humbly encourage denominational servants to support and encourage churches that seek to recover and implement our Savior’s teachings on church discipline, even if such efforts result in the reduction in the number of members that are reported in those churches, and be it finally
RESOLVED, That we humbly urge the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention and their pastors to implement a plan to minister to, counsel, and restore wayward church members based upon the commands and principles given in Scripture (Matthew 18:15-35; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20)."
The motion passed with a sizable majority.
Friday, June 6, 2008
justin
On June 2, 2002 a young man in our church by the name of Justin Sullivan was named High School baseball player of the year by the Daily Oklahoman. But what the members of our congregation knew about Justin was something that ran much deeper than his recognition as an athlete or mere athletic skill.
Justin was a young man who was passionate about his faith. He had a walk with Christ that was emphatic and disciplined. He shared his faith with others. He was humble and gracious. He was heavily involved in the youth group even though baseball took a great deal of his time. He studied his Bible. He kept a daily journal and logged his spiritual growth.
Chris Wall, our youth pastor at the time and now one of our lead pastors said that he believed Justin would one day be a pro player who would have significant impact on the sport of baseball for the cause of Christ.
But the following day on June 3, Justin was tragically killed on Hefner Parkway when a semi tractor trailer tire dislodged from a truck bed and collided with his car.
It was one of the most devastating weeks in the life of our church.
When a life so full of promise is taken away from us, it is impossible get over. The grief of his loss is close to surface even today. Until we get to eternity some day and can see clearly we will never fully understand something this tragic. We naturally have many questions on this side of the veil that will not be answered.
But although we don't have all the answers, last Sunday we saw one of the answers.
Last Sunday we commissioned a baseball team to do ministry and missions throughout the central U.S. utilizing Justin's life and testimony as a model and inspiration.
As many of you know, Chris Wall took Justin's prayer journal and wrote a book with it. The book is an 8 week discipleship course designed especially for baseball players and utilizes many of the daily quotations from Justin's journal.
The book has become so popular it is now in it's third printing.
All of the proceeds of the book are supporting a competitive High School baseball team that has been put together for the purpose of leading baseball clinics and spreading the gospel of Christ.
The head coach of the team is Lee Tunnel. Lee and his family first came to our church the week that Justin was killed. He was especially drawn to Justin's story because of his own passion for ministry and his love for baseball.
Lee was the pitching coach for the Oklahoma City Redhawks and former pro baseball pitcher (He pitched in the 82 World Series with the Cardinals). When Lee was about Justin's age, he surrendered into the ministry, but three weeks later was drafted into professional baseball. He played and coached in baseball for many years but always had in the back of his mind that he would go into full time ministry at some point in his life.
Earlier this year Lee and Chris Wall began to plan together for the convergence of Lee's ministry passion and for what God was doing through the new book about Justin's life. The result is a baseball ministry that has a unique missions platform.
This past weekend the team lead their first clinic. At the end of the day, 10 young people and 4 parents came to know Christ.
Last Tuesday they played their first game.
Chris Wall called me just minutes before the game started and said, "do you know what today is?"
"Tell me", I said.
"Today is the day 6 years ago that Justin was killed". He said.
"Did you plan it that way?", I asked.
"No, we didn't." Chris said.
"But just think, God in His providence worked this out for us. It is six years almost to the very moment that Justin was taken from us that we launch this new ministry and this team starts playing baseball."
"God is good." I said.
God is good all the time.
Even when we don't have all the answers.
For more information about the baseball ministry or to purchase the book , "A Life Worth Following, click here.
Justin was a young man who was passionate about his faith. He had a walk with Christ that was emphatic and disciplined. He shared his faith with others. He was humble and gracious. He was heavily involved in the youth group even though baseball took a great deal of his time. He studied his Bible. He kept a daily journal and logged his spiritual growth.
Chris Wall, our youth pastor at the time and now one of our lead pastors said that he believed Justin would one day be a pro player who would have significant impact on the sport of baseball for the cause of Christ.
But the following day on June 3, Justin was tragically killed on Hefner Parkway when a semi tractor trailer tire dislodged from a truck bed and collided with his car.
It was one of the most devastating weeks in the life of our church.
When a life so full of promise is taken away from us, it is impossible get over. The grief of his loss is close to surface even today. Until we get to eternity some day and can see clearly we will never fully understand something this tragic. We naturally have many questions on this side of the veil that will not be answered.
But although we don't have all the answers, last Sunday we saw one of the answers.
Last Sunday we commissioned a baseball team to do ministry and missions throughout the central U.S. utilizing Justin's life and testimony as a model and inspiration.
As many of you know, Chris Wall took Justin's prayer journal and wrote a book with it. The book is an 8 week discipleship course designed especially for baseball players and utilizes many of the daily quotations from Justin's journal.
The book has become so popular it is now in it's third printing.
All of the proceeds of the book are supporting a competitive High School baseball team that has been put together for the purpose of leading baseball clinics and spreading the gospel of Christ.
The head coach of the team is Lee Tunnel. Lee and his family first came to our church the week that Justin was killed. He was especially drawn to Justin's story because of his own passion for ministry and his love for baseball.
Lee was the pitching coach for the Oklahoma City Redhawks and former pro baseball pitcher (He pitched in the 82 World Series with the Cardinals). When Lee was about Justin's age, he surrendered into the ministry, but three weeks later was drafted into professional baseball. He played and coached in baseball for many years but always had in the back of his mind that he would go into full time ministry at some point in his life.
Earlier this year Lee and Chris Wall began to plan together for the convergence of Lee's ministry passion and for what God was doing through the new book about Justin's life. The result is a baseball ministry that has a unique missions platform.
This past weekend the team lead their first clinic. At the end of the day, 10 young people and 4 parents came to know Christ.
Last Tuesday they played their first game.
Chris Wall called me just minutes before the game started and said, "do you know what today is?"
"Tell me", I said.
"Today is the day 6 years ago that Justin was killed". He said.
"Did you plan it that way?", I asked.
"No, we didn't." Chris said.
"But just think, God in His providence worked this out for us. It is six years almost to the very moment that Justin was taken from us that we launch this new ministry and this team starts playing baseball."
"God is good." I said.
God is good all the time.
Even when we don't have all the answers.
For more information about the baseball ministry or to purchase the book , "A Life Worth Following, click here.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
pain
Last week the five year old daughter of Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman was tragically killed in an accident at their home in Franklin Tennessee. Mary Ann was the youngest of the their six children and their third adopted child from China. As many of you know, the Chapman's have been passionate about adoption and have created an organization that helps defray the tremendous expense of overseas adoption. In many ways this hits our church family close to home, as many of our own families have adopted from China and in other parts of the world and have partnered with the Chapman organization.
This is the kind of tragedy that rips at the heart. Anyone who has heard Steven Curtis Chapman talk about his family and especially his passion for adoption knows how devastating this must be for them. We are praying for the Chapman family during this time of terrible loss and heartbreak.
There are inevitable questions. How could this happen to a family that has given so much? Where is God in this kind of tragedy? Why do bad things happen to such good people?
Of course, there are no words anyone could say that provide complete perspective at a time like this. One never gets over the loss of a child. Some answers we just won't get this side of eternity.
But I do think it is important remind ourselves of a few very important Biblical truths:
1. Just because you are a believer, it does not mean you will not suffer. The Bible teaches that the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous. The promise of salvation and redemption is not a promise of a pain free life. To the contrary, very often people who serve God with great fervor and passion suffer with what seems like disproportionate intensity. Abraham suffered, Isaac suffered, Jacob suffered, Joseph suffered, Naomi lost everything, Ruth was displaced, Sarah was barren, Hagar was cast out and rejected. The apostles (save John) were all martyred, Paul the apostle begged God to take his "thorn" away, but God taught him that through his weakness he is made strong. You would be hard pressed to find a single champion in the Bible who did not suffer. Additionally, no one suffered like Christ. (Hebrews 11:39-40)
2. Because of the suffering of Christ, we know that God identifies with us in our tragedy. Only in Christianity do you have a God who says "I've been there". (Philippians 2:5-8). In fact, the Bible teaches us that although tragedy in our life breaks the heart of God (remember Jesus weeping for Mary and Martha), God can use the tragedy in our life in way we can't imagine. (Romans 8:28)
3. This life is not all there is. The Bible teaches this life is like a vapor of smoke- it is here and it is gone (James 4:14). It is only through the perspective of eternity and the reality of the risen Lord that we are able to make sense of evil and suffering in this life.
Think of it this way- because of the resurrection of Christ, we are able to say,
"bring it on death, bring it on suffering, the lower you lay me, the higher He'll raise me!"
We have much to learn from His suffering. Because He will have His wounds in a perfect Heaven, it must mean that God will use whatever suffering we have in this life to intensify our joy in the next. Whatever loss we feel in this life, will only multiply the sense of joy and gain in the life to come. (Romans 8:18-21)
My favorite quote from C.S. Lewis:
"I believe our first words in heaven will be,
'Ah haw!'
'Now I understand.'"
This is the kind of tragedy that rips at the heart. Anyone who has heard Steven Curtis Chapman talk about his family and especially his passion for adoption knows how devastating this must be for them. We are praying for the Chapman family during this time of terrible loss and heartbreak.
There are inevitable questions. How could this happen to a family that has given so much? Where is God in this kind of tragedy? Why do bad things happen to such good people?
Of course, there are no words anyone could say that provide complete perspective at a time like this. One never gets over the loss of a child. Some answers we just won't get this side of eternity.
But I do think it is important remind ourselves of a few very important Biblical truths:
1. Just because you are a believer, it does not mean you will not suffer. The Bible teaches that the rain falls on the righteous and the unrighteous. The promise of salvation and redemption is not a promise of a pain free life. To the contrary, very often people who serve God with great fervor and passion suffer with what seems like disproportionate intensity. Abraham suffered, Isaac suffered, Jacob suffered, Joseph suffered, Naomi lost everything, Ruth was displaced, Sarah was barren, Hagar was cast out and rejected. The apostles (save John) were all martyred, Paul the apostle begged God to take his "thorn" away, but God taught him that through his weakness he is made strong. You would be hard pressed to find a single champion in the Bible who did not suffer. Additionally, no one suffered like Christ. (Hebrews 11:39-40)
2. Because of the suffering of Christ, we know that God identifies with us in our tragedy. Only in Christianity do you have a God who says "I've been there". (Philippians 2:5-8). In fact, the Bible teaches us that although tragedy in our life breaks the heart of God (remember Jesus weeping for Mary and Martha), God can use the tragedy in our life in way we can't imagine. (Romans 8:28)
3. This life is not all there is. The Bible teaches this life is like a vapor of smoke- it is here and it is gone (James 4:14). It is only through the perspective of eternity and the reality of the risen Lord that we are able to make sense of evil and suffering in this life.
Think of it this way- because of the resurrection of Christ, we are able to say,
"bring it on death, bring it on suffering, the lower you lay me, the higher He'll raise me!"
We have much to learn from His suffering. Because He will have His wounds in a perfect Heaven, it must mean that God will use whatever suffering we have in this life to intensify our joy in the next. Whatever loss we feel in this life, will only multiply the sense of joy and gain in the life to come. (Romans 8:18-21)
My favorite quote from C.S. Lewis:
"I believe our first words in heaven will be,
'Ah haw!'
'Now I understand.'"
Thursday, May 15, 2008
how missional works
There are some within the missiological community who argue that there is a distinction between "missions" and "evangelism". The thinking here is that when one uses the term "missions" it most certainly is within the context of a call into the unreached parts of the earth. The point is that those places around the earth that already have a functioning church reproducing itself are in affect not part of the mission. If you are in a country that has a reproducing church movement and you are committed to spreading the gospel then you are not doing missions, you are doing evangelism- the thinking goes.
So call it evangelism, but please don't confuse the point and call it missions or "missional".
While I understand the point and deeply appreciate the necessity of focusing especially on those parts of the earth that have yet to be reached, I am not as reluctant to call what we do in North American culture as we engage an increasingly "post-Christian" environment with the meaning and message of the gospel a "missional" approach.
My rationale:
1. I do not see a distinction between the call of every believer/disciple to engage the world they work, play, live in and the call of a missionary to cross over into a different culture for the purpose of engaging that unreached people group with the gospel. I think the overuse of the term "call" is regretful. I see that we are all called. I see that the great commission was given to all of His disciples. I see that if we come to believe that there are a select few who are called out for the purpose of missions we are in danger of excusing ourselves from the very thing our Lord has called all of us to do.
2. North America is now the third largest mission field on the planet. As Ed Stetzer puts it in "The Missional Code": North America is a missions context, not because people are less Christian than they once were (although that is true), but because God “sent” us to North America. It is a mission field because God sent us here as missionaries. However, we are missing a clear reality if we do not recognize that this a harder mission field than it once was. Historically, the Christian church was the first choice of spiritually minded North Americans – today, it often does not make the top ten list. Years ago, when people looked for spiritual answers they looked to the church. Now, many look to anybody and anything but us. The fact that historically the U.S. has been heavily influenced by Christianity does not change the current reality we face. Increasingly the people we encounter each day are antagonistic to the gospel, but no less a people group who are loved by God and therefore a focus of our mission. A lost person in Bethany Oklahoma is no less lost than an unredeemed person in Showbach Jordan.
3. To say that we seek to be missional includes both our global and local emphasis. Click here for a terrific analysis of the difference between a church with an evangelistic emphasis and a missoinal church. Our understanding of a missional strategy in unreached parts of the world informs and invigorates our missional approach in a post-Christian North American culture.
4. When we say that we seek to become a church in which every member considers himself or herself a missionary we are simply saying that the natural outcome of a life in Christ is a pull into a life of purpose and mission. "As the Father has sent me so send I you.." (John 20:21) , has direct and undeniable meaning to every believer. The incarnation of Christ was the ultimate example of contextualizing. He is our prototype in this sense. He came into our context for the purpose of the gospel. So if we are sent out as he was sent out, we also have a strategic mission. Our meaning and purpose as believers is to make the Word flesh in our own context. The more our life is given away the more we gain life.
As this approach becomes more and more clear to me- I see that some of the most significant missional activity going on in our church is outside the property lines of our campus on 30th and Council. I see a businessman who recently raised over 100,000 dollars for our orphanage in Motipur; I see a physician in our church who is feeding 300 kids in Rawanda a week; I see a couple in our church who are giving their lives for physically and sexually abused girls who have no place to turn; I see a young couple who lead a world wide medical missions ministry; I see a Connection Class that has adopted Cambodia; I see a retired business executive who has pioneered a way for missionaries to find a platform to reach some of the most unreached people groups in the Middle East by setting up an interactive internet program; I see a group of coaches who are taking a competitive team of young baseball players to not just play baseball this summer but to go overseas for the purpose of missions; I see a retired school teacher who has begun a ministry to people living on the streets.
Everywhere I look I see that increasingly our membership understands that God has placed each of us strategically in a mission field for the purpose of the gospel. I see that we are grasping the biblical truth that the church is to be populated with people who see themselves as on mission. We are a church of missionaries, not a church of consumers.
That is how missional works.
So call it evangelism, but please don't confuse the point and call it missions or "missional".
While I understand the point and deeply appreciate the necessity of focusing especially on those parts of the earth that have yet to be reached, I am not as reluctant to call what we do in North American culture as we engage an increasingly "post-Christian" environment with the meaning and message of the gospel a "missional" approach.
My rationale:
1. I do not see a distinction between the call of every believer/disciple to engage the world they work, play, live in and the call of a missionary to cross over into a different culture for the purpose of engaging that unreached people group with the gospel. I think the overuse of the term "call" is regretful. I see that we are all called. I see that the great commission was given to all of His disciples. I see that if we come to believe that there are a select few who are called out for the purpose of missions we are in danger of excusing ourselves from the very thing our Lord has called all of us to do.
2. North America is now the third largest mission field on the planet. As Ed Stetzer puts it in "The Missional Code": North America is a missions context, not because people are less Christian than they once were (although that is true), but because God “sent” us to North America. It is a mission field because God sent us here as missionaries. However, we are missing a clear reality if we do not recognize that this a harder mission field than it once was. Historically, the Christian church was the first choice of spiritually minded North Americans – today, it often does not make the top ten list. Years ago, when people looked for spiritual answers they looked to the church. Now, many look to anybody and anything but us. The fact that historically the U.S. has been heavily influenced by Christianity does not change the current reality we face. Increasingly the people we encounter each day are antagonistic to the gospel, but no less a people group who are loved by God and therefore a focus of our mission. A lost person in Bethany Oklahoma is no less lost than an unredeemed person in Showbach Jordan.
3. To say that we seek to be missional includes both our global and local emphasis. Click here for a terrific analysis of the difference between a church with an evangelistic emphasis and a missoinal church. Our understanding of a missional strategy in unreached parts of the world informs and invigorates our missional approach in a post-Christian North American culture.
4. When we say that we seek to become a church in which every member considers himself or herself a missionary we are simply saying that the natural outcome of a life in Christ is a pull into a life of purpose and mission. "As the Father has sent me so send I you.." (John 20:21) , has direct and undeniable meaning to every believer. The incarnation of Christ was the ultimate example of contextualizing. He is our prototype in this sense. He came into our context for the purpose of the gospel. So if we are sent out as he was sent out, we also have a strategic mission. Our meaning and purpose as believers is to make the Word flesh in our own context. The more our life is given away the more we gain life.
As this approach becomes more and more clear to me- I see that some of the most significant missional activity going on in our church is outside the property lines of our campus on 30th and Council. I see a businessman who recently raised over 100,000 dollars for our orphanage in Motipur; I see a physician in our church who is feeding 300 kids in Rawanda a week; I see a couple in our church who are giving their lives for physically and sexually abused girls who have no place to turn; I see a young couple who lead a world wide medical missions ministry; I see a Connection Class that has adopted Cambodia; I see a retired business executive who has pioneered a way for missionaries to find a platform to reach some of the most unreached people groups in the Middle East by setting up an interactive internet program; I see a group of coaches who are taking a competitive team of young baseball players to not just play baseball this summer but to go overseas for the purpose of missions; I see a retired school teacher who has begun a ministry to people living on the streets.
Everywhere I look I see that increasingly our membership understands that God has placed each of us strategically in a mission field for the purpose of the gospel. I see that we are grasping the biblical truth that the church is to be populated with people who see themselves as on mission. We are a church of missionaries, not a church of consumers.
That is how missional works.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
bob roberts
I enjoyed lunch today with Bob Roberts, pastor of Northwood Church in North Richland Hills Texas, and author of the books "Transformation" and "Glocalization". Bob's church has planted over 100 churches around the world and actively plants dozens of churches a year. His ministry and global vision is a refreshing and invigorating model for the future of missional churches. He was in Oklahoma City to help cast a vision for "Vision 360", which is a growing movement of like-minded pastors and businessmen around the country who are joining together for the purpose of planting churches worldwide. Bob is a fellow Southern Baptist who sees beyond the "Baptist Bubble" into global Kingdom work and understands the importance of not just planting churches, but planting Kingdom minded churches. There are few people in the world who know more about church planting than Bob Roberts. Bob and I agreed that we need to get together more often. I will look forward to our continued friendship. Here are a few things that stood out for me in our conversation:
1. There is no such thing as a "church planting movement". There is a Jesus movement that results in church planting.
2. If your church plants just 3 churches a year, it is one of the top church planting churches in the U.S.
3. The Chinese church has much to teach the American church about church planting and the spread of the gospel. There is no church growth movement in America. It is happening in China.
4. It is essential that a church become a "Kingdom" church- that is to say a church that plants churches in other cultures.
5. It is more important for a church to operate out of a model where all cultures and ethnic groups build something together around the same vision and values than it is to have a "multi-cultural" church. We should not be defined by our differences.
6. To try to "redefine" the church is a waste of time. The identity of the ethos of the church is secondary to the gospel. Regardless of what "kind" of church it is, the crucial issue is how disciples are made and what kind of vision you have for the Kingdom. Just stick to the basics of disciple-making and Kingdom growth and don't obsess over style.
7. One of the keys to reaching the Muslim world for Christ will be Palestinian Christians. When you actually go to the Middle East and you meet Arab believers and Muslims, you can see that Christianity will one day spring out of that land as it did 2000 years ago- but in a much different way.
8. When individual churches target particular people groups around the world, there is much more buy in and long term effect.
9. The message of the gospel has such power, it will overcome whatever stumbling blogs God's people tend to put in front of it.
10. Salvation belongs to the Lord. It does not come about by our manipulation or tactics. It comes about by His grace as a result of our faithfulness and obedience.
To all of this I can only say, "Amen!"
1. There is no such thing as a "church planting movement". There is a Jesus movement that results in church planting.
2. If your church plants just 3 churches a year, it is one of the top church planting churches in the U.S.
3. The Chinese church has much to teach the American church about church planting and the spread of the gospel. There is no church growth movement in America. It is happening in China.
4. It is essential that a church become a "Kingdom" church- that is to say a church that plants churches in other cultures.
5. It is more important for a church to operate out of a model where all cultures and ethnic groups build something together around the same vision and values than it is to have a "multi-cultural" church. We should not be defined by our differences.
6. To try to "redefine" the church is a waste of time. The identity of the ethos of the church is secondary to the gospel. Regardless of what "kind" of church it is, the crucial issue is how disciples are made and what kind of vision you have for the Kingdom. Just stick to the basics of disciple-making and Kingdom growth and don't obsess over style.
7. One of the keys to reaching the Muslim world for Christ will be Palestinian Christians. When you actually go to the Middle East and you meet Arab believers and Muslims, you can see that Christianity will one day spring out of that land as it did 2000 years ago- but in a much different way.
8. When individual churches target particular people groups around the world, there is much more buy in and long term effect.
9. The message of the gospel has such power, it will overcome whatever stumbling blogs God's people tend to put in front of it.
10. Salvation belongs to the Lord. It does not come about by our manipulation or tactics. It comes about by His grace as a result of our faithfulness and obedience.
To all of this I can only say, "Amen!"
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