The church-on-the-corner that’s been the bedrock of American Christianity since colonial days will cease to exist by 2062. These churches of 50 to 500 souls will become too expensive to staff and their aging buildings too difficult to maintain. These so-called “family churches” are already losing members to megachurches that offer superior preaching, music and programming. Pastors are shunning their pulpits, preferring to plant new congregations. In their place we will see: Megachurches will accelerate the establishment of satellite campuses. Some of these will have a physical building holding hundreds of worshippers, and some will be microchurches of less than 50 people. These churches will have little or no staff. Microchurches will be led by a layperson (or couple) and will meet in private homes or in rented spaces. These will not be “house churches” as we know them now, because they will be affiliates of… I predict that about 200 megachurches will come to dominate American Christianity by 2062. In the same way WalMart took over the mom-and-pop store, a handful of megachurches will absorb thousands of other congregations – including other megachurches. They’ll do it by planting satellite campuses in thousands of cities and towns in America, delivering their teaching and music via video. Just as there are Baptist churches in nearly every city in America today, in 2062 there will be satellite and microchurch affiliates in every city and town.
An interesting picture, one I'm not too sure about. The other interesting thing is an e-mail that I received over the weekend. One of the things that has surprised me since becoming a pastor is the number of unsolicited e-mails I get from people I don't know, who have never stepped foot in my church, telling me what we should or shouldn't be doing. These are not sales pitches to buy the newest biggest program, but are people just telling me what to do (or warm me about how I may be preaching heresy!). I received this from someone by the name of "Adrian":
As far as a better way to run Sunday morning services/church, I don't have the exact answer because I haven't lived to experience it, but I think one idea that might be more effective than just having preaching is to have separate topic/task-oriented groups going during the normal service time. One group could be teaching people how to play musical instruments and sharing worship ideas. Another group could have a team set up for going into the community and blessing people. Yet another group could be set aside for fellowship (and have food and/or games). And the pastor could have his own group to preach his sermon to. The concept behind this is that not everyone needs the same things at the same times, and in order to be more efficient and have the Kingdom flowing more effectively, we could adjust how things are run to meet more of the Body's needs. Some people work a lot and so aren't able to spend time with other Christians during the week, and so would benefit the most from having fellowship on Sunday morning. Some people are itching to minister in the community and only have Sunday free to be able to do so. Some people would benefit the most from learning skills that they could use to serve God in new ways. And, of course, some people enjoy and need spiritual messages and a Sunday sermon can help meet that need.
Adrian went on to explain that the basis for these ideas was from "science/research". His concern is simple:
...many people get passed over every Sunday morning because the message the pastor preaches is not what they need. While they can possibly glean something useful from it if they try hard enough, this ignores the bigger problem at hand: they shouldn't have to. It's like watching the same movie over and over and trying to get an incredibly different experience from it. While small details that may have been missed can be picked up, it would be much more beneficial to pop in a new movie to get a new experience to take in. A greater amount of ideas can be shared if more than one group/message is going during Sunday mornings.
So, is this the future of the church? What do you think? I've been thinking about this stuff for some time and I can see the church moving into both of these places. These suggestions would create extremely efficient church that can serve the wants and desires of the individuals within their congregations. But is that what the church is supposed to be? Makes me wonder if that is the kind of church that I want to be a part of. Turing the church into a WalMart where you get everything you want the way you want really doesn't do much for me. Let me know what you think. I'll post my thoughts later in the week.
I wanted to post something today about the election, but I think Tim Stafford said it best:
I am thankful for America… … where we don’t have Republican suicide bombers ramming explosive-laden trucks into Democratic campaign offices. … where mobs of young Democratic men did not surge into Republican neighborhoods burning houses and churches. … where Mitt Romney gave a gracious concession speech and pledged to pray for President Obama’s success. … where President Obama acknowledged the love for America that motivated all sides in the campaign, and praised the Romney family’s lifelong devotion to serving their country. …. where life goes on the day after the election almost exactly the way it went on the day before the election, only with fewer ads and no robo-calls.
That was how I started this log back on May 7, 2003. Hard to believe it's been nearly ten years. I started to read "blogs" a few years earlier. Cindy and I were preparing to plant a church and I was fascinated by some of the changes that were occurring the "emerging" church. Old models seemed to passing and new models were being tested. People were trying new things and they were blogging about it. I read Jordon Cooper, Andrew Jones, Jonny Baker and many more like them. These blogs weren't just about idle thoughts, they were stories from the front line. People would write about everything that they were trying - what was working, what wasn't and what God seemed to be doing. The pioneers were out attempting new stuff and writing about it.
It was in that environment that I started this blog. I wrote this on May 8, 2003:
I
thought I would start this blog to attempt to keep track of the
trials and tribulations in the planting of a church. I hope that in
time, this little bog will turn into God’s story of what he is
doing with us, as well as miscellaneous thoughts and ramblings on
what it means to be a Christ follower in the 21st century. Idle
thoughts about community, leadership, church and relationships are
sure to be plentiful.
And that was the goal.
Blogging has changed over the years. I follow nearly 100 church related blogs. Every morning I get up, do my quiet time, make coffee and then turn on my computer. I do a quick check of e-mail and facebook, then I go to Google Reader to see what is new. I've been doing this same routine for a decade and today it hit me, nothing is new.
Blogging has transformed into something ugly. Very few people are telling stories of what thy are trying any more. Instead, we either blog to build ourselves up or tear each other down. Most of my reading this morning either explained to me why the blogger had the greatest thing that I needed to join, buy, attend or vote for (usually in five easy steps) or why someone else thing was crap (that is putting it mildly.) The internet has become a dangerous place to think out loud lest someone label you a heretic or worse. I've seen it happen to some of the people I follow and I have experienced it to a lessor extent as well. Toe the line or else someone will beat you into submission - and the church (local and global) has suffered for it.
So here is what I'm going to propose. First, I'm going to clean up my reading list. I'm going to stop reading those who tear down and start reading those who are actually doing something. Secondly, I'm going to start being a bit more honest here. What am I doing, what is working, what isn't and most importantly, what does it mean in my life to be a follower of Christ in the 21st century. What do I have to do or change personally to do it. Thirdly, I'm going to try to not be a part of the problem. I will try to build up, not tear down. I will try to lower the volume of hateful criticism by not participating in it. I still will read, I still will review books and such, but I will attempt to do it showing the love of Christ in such a way that is not destructive to the body of Christ.
I don't know what this will look like and I don't know what the future will hold. I realize that in comparison to others, my little blog is insignificant. But as Junior Asparagus says: "little guys can do big things too." I'll end today with the same way I ended on May 8, 2003:
So
as the title of the blog goes, feel free to sit back and enjoy a cup
a joe with me while, with the help of the Holy Sprint, we stumble
through this thing called life. Enjoy!
I'm back. Since my last post, I've had numerous computer problems that have prevented me from actually blogging (plus, I'm lazy). It's been a season where anything that could go wrong computer wise (as well as other wise) would go wrong. Water and milk destroying two computers, a cracked laptop screen on another, flames shooting out of the back of yet another...needless to say, by the beginning of August, I no longer had a working computer at my disposal. So I did what any other poor church planter would do - I put a plea for help on facebook.
Cindy's dad heard the call and gave me an old laptop of his that had "issues". He said the screen was dimming so bad that he could no longer see it, so he went out and bought a new computer. The laptop was an old Dell Vostro 1000 with 1 gig internal and a 100 gig (aprox) hard drive. I turned it on, the screen was dim and I got numerous battery errors as the Windows XP logo came on. The dim screen was a software issue (cost $0). The battery errors were due to an out of date BIOS issue (updated BIOS cost $0). I cannibalized some of the broken computers to up my memory to 2 gigs and put Ubuntu 12.03 LTS on it (cost for memory and operating system $0). I discovered along the way that this thing has a 64 bit processor in it (AMD Athlon X2) and although Dell says it can only take 2 gigs, with the new 64 bit operating systems, many other users have put more in successfully (planing on upping it to 4 gigs in the near future).
So for a total cost of $0, I have a pretty decent computer - much better then the last one that was shooting flames out of the back of it. My excuse for not posting is now gone. Now we just need to see what I do next.
Two difficult weeks in a row. Two Sundays, back to back, when I begin to question why we are doing this. Two Sunday's when the attendance is barely 20. The tithe is down...way down. We are back in the red. I've got leaders speaking in code. I've got people explaining to me that "god" is telling them that they need to do their own thing and that thing does not include church. I've got bickering, nit picking and complaining. The church is bleeding and I'm not sure I know how to stop it.
Why oh why does God choose this Sunday to teach me about perseverance? Months ago I planned this summer series. It was going to be nice and light. James - how difficult can that be? Everything is going on around me and I have to preach on this:
Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
(James 5:7-11)
Cute - right? I wish I could say that I planned this - but no - this was a God thing (that is the problem with a book series - you never know what is going to be relevant and what isn't.)
So, what to do. I'm tired, I'm frustrated, I'm hurt. I did a ministry time with preserving through the difficult times and trusting God as the focus and thought "wow, I really need prayer for this!" But there was no one to pray.
I remember an old Dylan song - "Pressing on". That's my motto for now. But I'm tired and I need help. More later.....
Interesting article over at Practical Theology for Women. Wendy is discussing the popularity of the Twilight series and now the 50 Shades of Gray books. This quote really got me:
After 3 waves of feminism, countless laws, and much education, there
remain millions of women who'd run after the sulky vampire in their
fantasies, choosing to suck blood for the rest of their lives rather
than living in the light.
I was writing last month about the concept of a more masculine Christianity. One of the problems that I have with that concept is what I view as the embracing of the curse (something that I want to expand upon later.) Wendy seems to see this as well, but of course from the other side. It got me thinking about what exploitation looks like and how we just seem to think that it is a normal part of society. More on this later.
It's been a rough few weeks around here computer wise. It all started about two weeks ago. There was this cup of water - and then there was Cindy's computer - and then....well lets just say the two did not mix well. The water seemed to some how short out her keyboard and make her computer unusable. Luckily, I was able to get into the hard drive and recover most of her files. But the incident left us one computer short. Cindy does most of the administrative work for the church, so she needs a computer to do her thing. Like the good husband I am, I quickly created her a sign-on on my laptop and recreated her desktop on my computer. Problem solved, we will just share a computer.
Who am I kidding - share a computer in this day and age. I never realized how dependent I was on my computer. Yes, I know that I can do a lot on my smart phone but there was so much more that I needed a computer for (like blogging ;) ). I was going through withdrawal. I would just sit there - looking at her use my computer. Envying the time that she had with it - coveting it - desiring it. It made me batty (did I mention that it was my computer?) I needed to get my hands on a computer and soon!
I figured I had a couple of options. First, there was that old Dell that I rebuilt as a Linux box a few months ago. I could use that. Granted, it was slow and tended to get hung up every 30 minutes or so, but it was better then nothing. Just for e-mail and writing it should be fine. The problem was that I put it away somewhere after my last trip - and for the life of me I didn't remember where that was. I tore my desk area apart, I tore my room apart, I tore the place where I keep all my computer parts apart - no Dell!
It was about here that the shakes started......but wait, there was another solution. When I rebuilt all of the church computer I created a desktop Linux box. I could use that! It even had a lot of power as well. There was only one problem. It was set up in Emily's room and she was home from school and living in her room. I needed to create a place where I could set it up. So I convinced my wife that we needed to reorganize our family room / piano area / school room and create some "office space" for me. I quickly got to work and gutted the entire area. I created a nook for myself and set up the desktop. A mini office - I was beside myself. I booted up the computer and set everything up (e-mail, calendar, etc.). I went to bed extremely happy that night.
The next morning I woke up and went to my office. I pressed the power button on the computer and.....and.....and.....and.....it crashed. Something failed. It would not boot back up! Tears started welling up in my eyes. It was not fair. I went through all the stages of grief. I was in shock. This couldn't be happening. I hurt all over. What was I doing wrong? I got mad. I tried to make deals with God to get me a computer. And then I just gave up. I got depressed. I was disconnected from the world wide web. I felt alone. Finally, the weekend came. I grabbed my computer from my wife and wrote my sermon - complaining the entire time that we needed to figure something out long term. This was not going to work. But then on Saturday night, a miracle happened.
My Dell appeared! It wasn't much, but it was something. I booted it up and it worked (it's still working, I'm on it right now!) As I went to the home screen, I discovered that there was a new version of Mint available (Mint 13). I downloaded it and created a bootable DVD. Of course, it didn't work on the Dell (processor and video card are way too slow) but maybe it might work on the desktop downstairs. I put the DVD in (Mint 13 with the Cinnamon desktop) and miraculously - it booted up. I installed the new operating system and it works (BTW - I've only played with it for a few hours but I really like the Cinnamon desktop a lot).
I know that I am just buying time with the desktop. I realize that the hard drive is the issue and that I probably need to replace it (the sooner the better). But at least it seems to be working (along with my old notebook). So here is where I am as of today: Cindy is using my HP laptop. I figure as long as the Linux machines are working, I only need it to sync my iPod every week or so. I think I can do most of my writing and e-mail on the Dell Inspiron 600m laptop (running Linux Mint 12 LXDE) and the more complicated stuff on the Desktop (running Linux Mint 13 Cinnamon). I'll need to get used to using LibreOffice but that shouldn't be much of an issue. But what I really need to do is pray that everything stays up and running - and keep those cups of water far away!!!
I had a chance to catch a sneak peek of the new Darren Wilson film Father of Lights. This is the third film in his trilogy (Finger of God and Furious Love were the fist two) and in my opinion, the best. The film will be going out on tour over the summer. This will be an event that you do not want to miss. Check out this link for more details. Until then, here are two trailers for the film.
As I mentioned in my last post, I want to unpack some thoughts from the conversation that I had a few weeks back. The first thing that struck me was the differences in Jesus. My friend complained on how in the Vineyard, we keep talking (singing) about loving Jesus and intimacy with Jesus. He claimed that guys don't want that, they want the warrior Jesus. I found this both odd and indicative of who we have become in the church.
Genesis 1:26-27 talks about how God created us in his own image. "Then God said, "Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." N.T. Wright has an interesting perspective to the creation story. He looks at it as a temple narrative. The earth is God's temple and the creation days are the courts around the temple. In the center of most temples are an image of the god that the temple is worshiping. This image is to represent that particular god. We are placed in the center of this temple, as God's image bearers (I'm still taking time to process some of this, but this gives a lot more meaning to the parables of the talents. For more on this, see N.T. Wright's book "How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospel".) The key to this verse is that we were made into the image of God. Now we all know the rest of the story. By chapter 3 of Genesis, God's image bearers become corrupt and are thrown out of the garden. At this point, something interesting seems to happen. We no longer seem to be fully bearing the image of God. We need to be changed to bear his image (to be reborn). That seems to be a part of God's plan in the rest of the bible. To put things back in place so to speak. But for us, instead of being changed back into God's image, it seems that it is easier to change God into our image. We not only do this to God, but we tend do this to his son as well.
When someone speaks the name of Jesus, sometimes you need to ask which Jesus they are speaking about. There is a great film clip from "Talladega Nights" where Ricky Bobby is praying to "baby Jesus". The others around the table start complaining that there are other Jesus - that he wasn't just a baby. The best quote is when he friend describes Jesus in a tuxedo tee shirt because "I like to party, so I like my Jesus to party". How many of us do the same thing - creating a Jesus in our image?
"Your OK with me"
There is one thing that I have observed through out the years. Most of us are very insecure. We want to believe that we are ok - we want to be accepted. So we seek out people who are like us, who will accept us. This is the primary reason for the existence of gangs. They are a place of acceptance for those who are members of them. We take that same mentality, and place it on Jesus. We teach in the church that we are being "transformed into being more like Jesus". On the outside, we say "amen" but on the inside, we are secretly praying that Jesus likes some of the things that we like so that we don't have to change too much. We begin to justify things to ourselves and to others. And in the process, Jesus slowly changes and begins to look more like us and less like the Jesus of the Gospels.
The good, the bad, and the son of God?
That is the first problem that I had with my friend's comment. There is a picture of a warrior Jesus in scripture (Revelations) - but for the majority of the Gospels, there is a picture of a loving King. A King who tells us to follow him. A King who tells us to love our neighbors and our enemies. A King who tells us that we shouldn't worry about judging others, that he will deal with it in his own time. Focusing only on the warrior Jesus creates a Jesus that "wipes out thousands" (I have no idea where this Jesus is found in scripture - Revelations perhaps???) and justifies a gospel of judgement. I have seen this gospel at work. I have had it preached against me. And I don't like it's fruit.
Giving new meaning to "Jesus Saves"
Now, I know that I need to be careful. In pointing out the judgment, I can also be unjustly judging (oops, back to Genesis 3). My heart is not as pure as I would like to believe it is. But perhaps that is the thing that we all need to discover. Our hearts are not as pure as we imagine. Only Jesus can transform our hearts. Only Jesus can restore that image that we were supposed to have. But for us, we need to be aware that our default is to focus on the Jesus that looks like us. We need to remember that we are the ones being transformed - not him. That can be a scary place. But it is only in that place that we can fully experience everything that Jesus has for us. But are we really willing to go there?
I had coffee the other day with an ex-member of our church who moved across country a few years back to attend a major Christian college. He was back in town for a wedding and gave me a call. He is currently attending a satellite of a large, nationally known church based out of Seattle. Our conversation was pleasant, but then at the end he said something to me that didn't sit well. He was complaining that the church (universal) had become too feminine and that is why "guys" don't like coming to church. He then used the worship music that the Vineyard has put out as an example. "It's all about intimacy - loving Jesus and all that. Guy's don't want that, they want the warrior Jesus. That intimacy stuff is too feminine. The church needs to be more masculine - the way Jesus intended it to be!" (Sorry, I'm paraphrasing here, using my own words - I don't remember the direct quote but this was the gist of it.). This really caught me off guard - so much so that I didn't respond. Instead I smiled and said something like "oh, look at the time..." Normally, I'm able to blow this stuff off, but this time it just stuck with me.
One of the requirements of being in the Vineyard is that you've got to have thick skin. We've tended to take criticism from all sides and I've learned not to take much of it personally. But this one bothered me for another reason. There is an attitude that is running through parts of the church (universal) that really disturbs me (frightens me might be a better word). On the outside, it seems pretty harmless, but deep down there are roots that can tear us all apart and perhaps even move us away from Jesus.
There is too much running in my head for just one post. I want to spend some time and unpack this a bit. Before I post my thoughts, what are yours?
