Churchese

What do the following words have in common: sanctification, narthex, doxology, hymn, acolyte, sermon, and introit? They are words that the vast majority of the North American population do not use or understand. They are among the many words familiar to pastors and members of mainline churches, that mean nothing to the sea of humanity around us who are unfamiliar with Jesus. They make up our unique language, which I call "churchese."

This upcoming Sunday is a special Sunday for Jesus followers, which also goes by a churchese name - Pentecost. This special day celebrates the sending of the Holy Spirit following the risen Jesus' return to God. (In the Christian Bible, see Acts 2:1-11.) Lots of signs and wonders happen in this story. There's a great sound like a mighty wind. Some kind of appearance of flame appears atop the heads of Jesus-followers. Unlettered Galileans speak of the mighty acts of God in languages they had not previously learned. The greatest miracle of Pentecost, though, is that people heard the mighty acts of God in a language they understood.

If we're serious about being obedient to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) we need to find ways to drop "churchese" and speak to people about Jesus in a language that makes sense to them.

Consider the following:

Look at the "churchese" words above. How would you define them to someone who has no knowledge of Jesus or the church? What are other "churchese" words that need definition or purging?

Try talking about your own faith in Jesus without using "churchese" words. Have someone else check you on this.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

The One Thing That Matters

I've been follower of Jesus for thirty-seven years. For thirty-one of those years I've been involved in full-time vocational ministry. I've enjoyed a lot of exciting and fulfilling dimensions of discipleship and ministry. I love preaching and I get to do it weekly. Teaching is a particularly joyful experience for me, and I've been involved in leading comprehensive, long-term Bible studies since 1987. I've had the chance to lead revivals and other evangelism-focused events in numerous places. I've been involved in countless faith-based mission projects throughout our state and nation. I've been a part of four church building programs. I've had the chance to serve in leadership positions for our denomination in our state, and I've been among those who have represented our state in regional-level denominational gatherings. I've been to the Holy Land, and many other places that have strengthened my faith. This is all by God's doing and not by my effort. I have been graced by God in more ways than I could ever deserve or imagine.

None of those things, though, come close to the most purposeful and fulfilling event in discipleship - participating with the Holy Spirit in introducing Jesus to someone who is living far from God. Followers of Jesus, there is nothing like it! All of us have differing roles to play in helping another person to see Jesus. Yet we all have something to contribute. There is a "rightness" about it that is like nothing else. If I had to make the choice between all I listed in the paragraph above and one chance to help another human being come face to face with the Son of the living God, I would take the latter in a heartbeat.

Sometimes I can get distracted and I allow myself to be distanced from this one thing that matters. This weekend God graced me with a reminder of the central purpose that is ours. So I'm kind of basking in thankfulness right now. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

The Next Frontier

I grew up a half a century ago, when mainline Christian denominations largely had little to no concept of fulfilling the Great Commission. We assumed that people would want to join churches, naturally. Those who wanted to do so could find their way to churches. We were unaware that a crippling decline was underway.

I the late seventies I awakened to the centrality of evangelism, along with thousands of others across mainline Christianity. For the next two decades many of us would work and struggle to put disciple-making closer to center stage in the midst of denominations that were confused about their primary purpose at best, and fractured over it at worst.

In these days, at least in my state, our denomination has taken bold steps toward making the main thing stay the main thing - making new disciples for Jesus. For me, it's something for which I've longed and prayed for nearly thirty years.

In this important trajectory, I see a new frontier opening. In my experience, even evangelicals have a basic presumption that isn't too far from the laid back attitude of mainline churches a half a century ago. We assume that people turning to God need to come to us. They need to make their way to our worship services. They need to come to our revivals and special services. They need to respond to our advertising, our signs, and our promotions. It's unintentional and subtle, but it communicates something powerful - If you need God, you need to come to us.

That's not the model I see in the testimony of the Christian Bible. Time and again, Jesus went to where people are; he didn't wait for them to come to him. Jesus-followers found ways to go to people living far from God; they didn't set up camp somewhere and wait for unreached people to take the initiative. That's what I see dynamic church fellowships doing. If you need God, we'll come to you. Jesus-followers spend more time outside their walls and structures than within. That's the next frontier for most of us.

Have a blessed and safe Memorial Day weekend. Remember the reason for the observance. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

The "One" in Honolulu

In my last post I talked about Tony Campolo, the energetic and sometimes controversial Christian evangelical sociologist, teacher, and speaker. In worship this weekend I'm going to share what I think is Tony's best story. Quite a while back he had occasion to be at a speaking engagement in Honolulu, Hawaii. Unable to sleep the first night there, Tony went to a lonely, run-down diner near his hotel. While there he overhead a conversation between some prostitutes from the streets of Honolulu. One of them announced that the next day was her birthday. Tony heard her mention that she had never had a birthday party. After they left the diner, Tony arranged with the diner owner to throw a party for this woman the next night. Long story short, the prostitutes surprise birthday party became an occasion for Tony to share his faith with folks living far from God, and for someone to see God's grace in action.

Jesus took a lot of flak for the people with whom he would hang out. Bad reputations, "you are known by the company you keep," etc. Jesus response was "...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who have no need of repentance." (Luke 15:7. Actually, if you have a Bible, all of Luke 15 is an important read.) Sound like Jesus would have let everything else go in order to show grace to the Honolulu prostitute.

Consider the following questions:

Given Luke 15:7, who is more important/urgent for God - those already in the Body of Christ, or those outside the Body? If you can't say "both," who is the number one priority?

What would you do to reach the one person living far from God? What would you give up?

What would a church that's fulfilling Luke 15:7 look like? How would we "rejoice over one"?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Tony Campolo - PG-13

This weekend I'm going to be talking about Dr. Tony Campolo during worship. (With any technological luck I'm going to show a brief video of Tony telling his best story.) A college professor, author, and lecturer, Tony is a colorful and vibrant follower of Jesus. He believes passionately in the saving and transforming power of Jesus the Christ. Tony is evangelical to the core. He steadfastly refuses to fit any preconceived mold, and receives regular criticism from both the right and the left. His faith leads him to believe that the gift of sexuality is for the covenant of a man and a woman in marriage, thus angering liberals. His faith leads him to oppose capital punishment, which angers conservatives. Tony doesn't care, as long as he is faithful to the Gospel and living his faith not just in word and speech, but in deed and in truth.

Tonight a friend reminded me of one of the great stories about Tony. (What follows is tame by current secular standards, but may be somewhat PG-13 for some ears and eyes.) Speaking to a Christian group in a big city somewhere, he expressed his dismay about the number of people within walking distance of the auditorium who were dying - physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually - even as he was speaking. Tony said, "And none of us give a sh** that they're dying." There was an audible collective gasp of shock in the crowd. Tony continued. "But the worst part," he said, "is that most of you are more upset about the fact that I said 'sh**' than you are upset about the people who are dying around us!"

That's Tony. Sometimes God's truth isn't pretty. More on Tony on Wednesday...I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Making Mistakes

As Jesus followers reconnect with our primary mission, making new disciples of Jesus the Christ, and as we find new ways to do that in a rapidly changing world, it seems that we have something working against us. Many of us, myself included, have a built in fear of making mistakes or admitting mistakes. Too often, if a certain program, ministry, new church start, worship service or whatever just isn't addressing the main thing (see first sentence), we just keep going with the program, ministry, new church, worship service or whatever. I guess we assume that a miracle will happen, and somehow doing the same thing in the same way will eventually produce different results. Too seldom do we say, "You know, this didn't work. Let's try something else."

Jesus is the same, now and forever. The ways new people are connected to Jesus change as history and culture changes. What worked in American churches in 1969 won't work in 2009. (What worked in 1999 won't work in 2009, as far as that goes!) To find out what will address the main thing (again, see the first sentence) we will need to try different things, many of which will not work. These "mistakes" are only "bad" if we fail to learn from them. I once heard of a denomination that started new congregations assuming that most of them wouldn't work. They figured for every five new church starts, one would survive. They decided, based on track record, that it was worth it to make mistakes 80% of the time to get to the one that would take hold, flourish, and make many new disciples for Jesus. That's a whole different church attitude toward making mistakes than most of us have.

What do you think? I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Eyes Off the Obstacles

I recently heard wise words from a colleague of mine. She shared an observation from kayak training. (I still want to get one! Other financial needs keep nibbling at the "kayak fund.") She said that the mistake some paddlers make is that of focusing their attention on the obstacles in the water. She noted that frequently a person in a kayak will get into fast, treacherous water on a river, see a downed tree or root wad ahead, visually focus on that, and eventually hit it. The thing to do, observed my friend in ministry, is to focus on the mainstream and the clear water pathway through the obstructions, not on the obstructions themselves.

Needless to say, that will translate to congregations of those who follow Jesus. Especially in churches that need transformation from inward focus to outward mission, some fellowships habitually and naturally see all the barriers to change and all the reasons to say, "We can't." They need to take their eyes off the obstacles and put their vision on the mission of making new disciples in general and the mission field that surrounds them in particular. They need to seek and see the previously unseen flows and pathways that will lead them to say, "We can do this."

This isn't a simplistic, self-comforting "focus-on-the-positive" thing. Any church can focus internally on what is "going well." ("Well, at least we have this beautiful sanctuary...At least our men's club dinners are good...At least we still have great choir music...") That's like saying, "We're going to hit that root wad, but at least we're in this great kayak!" The point is to look outward and forward. Rivers don't stand still. Neither does the calendar nor the needs of those around us who are living far from God.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river...still in a canoe, but still paddling!

Validation

Among other things, "validation" means "to grant official sanction by marking." Thousands of high school, college, and post-graduate students are about to receive diplomas, which are the "mark" of their completion of degree requirements. All of us who are drivers carry a small, laminated card that marks our validation as legal drivers. Sometimes when I visit large, downtown hospitals in major metropolitan areas, I can get my parking garage ticket stamped or "validated" so that I am granted free parking.

Sometimes without knowing it, people struggle with receiving validation from God. Some folks constantly strive to achieve it, never fully getting the sense that God has stamped "valid" on their lives. Others give up on it, and they seek to be satisfied by other validations - power, wealth, popularity, looks, sensation stimuli, etc. Both paths are futile.

Validation from God is granted. Many of us just may not know it. We need to acknowledge and receive what has already been done for us. Here's an early clue...The Galilean commercial fisherman Simon (nicknamed "Peter" or "The Rock" by Jesus) committed what he assumed was the worst possible invalidation. Having pledged to stand by Jesus and defend him to the death, Simon Peter denied even knowing him, and abandoned Jesus just before Jesus was executed. Yet with all of that, when the messenger at the empty tomb told the women to spread the news that Jesus was alive, he said, "But go and tell his disciples and Peter..." (Mark 16:7.) This declared that Simon Peter was restored and declared valid, not by earning it, but by the risen Jesus loving Peter and declaring him validated.

Consider these questions: Do you feel validated in the eyes of Jesus? Why or why not? How to we communicate what Peter experienced to those who do not feel validated before God?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

The Emmaus Road

Meeting Jesus isn't always a "one moment I didn't know him, and the next moment I did" situation. In many cases it's a series of events or a process, which only makes sense or seems congruous is retrospect. If you have a Bible, you'll find in Luke 24:13-35 a story about two men who travelled by foot with Jesus without knowing who he was. Following Jesus' death and resurrection, these two men, who had been Jesus-followers, were en route to a place called Emmaus, away from Jerusalem. Having heard reports that the executed Jesus was alive, for whatever reasons they apparently discounted those reports and just moved away from it all. They walk and talk with Jesus for quite some time. At the dinner table they recognize him, and only then to they look back and realize the indicators of his presence.

Consider these questions:

Has your faith journey been an "Emmaus road" experience? If so, what was it like? How was Jesus present to you before you even recognized he was with you? How do we help others take their on road to Emmaus?

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

I'm Not Going to Heaven Without You

Several folks from our gathering of Jesus-followers are experiencing a learning exercise called JUST WALK ACROSS THE ROOM. From Bill Hybels and Willow Creek Community Church, Just Walk Across the Room helps people to learn effective, relational ways to share faith in Jesus. In one of the videos, Bill Hybels talks about a friendship he had with a sailing buddy from a vacation community in Michigan. It was eight years from the time Bill met his friend Dave to the time that Dave committed his life to Jesus Christ. During that time Bill was careful to be genuine around Dave, to listen to the story of Dave's life journey, and to enjoy Dave's company. Bill didn't force faith down Dave's throat, but he watched carefully for the nudging of the Holy Spirit and opportunities to gently but clearly bring up questions of faith.

Bill Hybels said that he reached a point at which he was thinking about how much he valued his friendship with his sailing buddy Dave. Bill discovered that he cared enough about Dave that he couldn't stand the thought of heading into eternity without him. That's it...that's the right motivation for evangelism. We don't offer Christ to get more people into the pews. Nor do we do it just to boost numbers or increase offerings. We don't do evangelism just to get people in the category of "saved," then to walk off and leave them on their own. We do it because we come to care so much for them as people that we want the very best for them, which is a relationship with Jesus now and forever. That's exactly what God wants. Evangelism is born not of slick programs, revivals, commanding speakers, and the latest church growth seminar, as helpful as all those things may be. It is born of having the heart of God for another person.

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Less "Ought to Do" and More "Gonna Do"

There are many ways to measure health in a church. One measure of improving health in a congregation might be when people hear fewer "ought to do..." statements and more "gonna do..." statements.

Few churches have any shortage of "ought to do" conversations. The choir ought to do this, the pastor ought to do that, the finance committee ought to do the other thing. Pastors and staffs say that congregation members ought to do various things, but the people aren't given the training and equipping to do them, and, in some cases, aren't given the freedom to pursue the ministries to which they are called. Church members tell pastors and staffs what they ought to do, expecting paid leaders to do all the ministry for everyone. Sometimes church people make "ought to do" statements to ministry staffs because church folks don't know how to get involved in disciple-making ministry, and giving direction to the staff is the only way they know to signal the desire to activate. As long as pastors, ministry staffs, and church folks throw "ought to do" statements at each other, the atmosphere in churches remains adversarial and protective of turf. Worse, energy that should go outward toward making new disciples becomes drained on internal confusion.

Churches that are growing in health keep their eye on the prize - the mission of making followers of Jesus out of those who are living far from God. Paid leaders in churches partner with volunteers in exploring and enacting strategies to reach that prize. It's less a matter of pointing out what others in the venture "ought to do," and more a matter of each one of us realizing that for which the Holy Spirit has equipped each of us. Our energy then goes to what we each are "gonna do." We then help each other, encourage each other, guide each other, and celebrate each other, as we act on our own "gonna dos."

By the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, I see evidence of this in the congregation of which I am a part. Even in these post-Easter days, our church is involved in a gesture of God's grace toward our community that is involving dozens of our folks. From the originators of this ministry to the ones working out the smallest details of it, people didn't just say, "That's a good idea. Somebody ought to do that." Instead, many, many people said, "I'm gonna do that."

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.