I Finally Made it to Work...

What a morning! It started early - got up about 6:15 to work out. Worked out with my wife. All is well. We finished up and am running a tad late but still manageable. I forgot one of our kids was going to VBS. Still fine. She was up in plenty of time.

I took a shower and got dressed. Still good. I was trying to figure out what to make for breakfast. I was indecisive - probably took longer than I should have. Running a little later. I want to make my recovery drink which helps me not be so sore. Start making that. Still no breakfast made yet. I get distracted. My mother-in-law asks me to get something she bought out of my car (she's staying with us for a few days). Won't take long - I'll do that in a minute - after I fix my recovery drink and fix my breakfast. I notice the trash is full. I'm getting a little annoyed. I close up the trash and set it on the porch outside and replace the trash bag. Running a little later.

Okay, so I fix my recovery drink and put a couple of pancakes in the toaster oven and grab some yogurt. Running a little later.

My son tells me he has a poopy diaper. Okay - I'll take care of that while my pancakes warm up. My wife is getting ready so I thought I'd help out. My son says he's ready to get dressed, too. Okay, we'll take care of that. Change the poopy diaper and get the boy dressed. Check. Running a little later.

My breakfast is ready. I go eat my pancakes (w/ a little pb and syrup). Trying to hurry. I grab my yogurt and head to the car to get the case of water my mother-in-law bought as I'm trying to eat my yogurt. I bring it back in and set it on the table.

I come back in and notice our dog needs water. I ask my daughter to do it. She grabs a glass out of the dishwasher for that. She fills it up and goes to dump it. I clean my dishes and put them in the dishwasher. I'm at the sink when I hear "CRASH" and my daughter starts crying. She has dropped the glass and it shatters all over the kitchen floor. Great. Still, not really a big deal. Just annoyed that it had to happen right now. My wife sweeps it up while I run interference and grab the dog and put him outside so he doesn't cut himself on the glass. Meanwhile, my son starts to come in there and we're trying to tell him to go put on some shoes. Daughter is still crying. I check on her and tell her it's okay and make sure she doesn't have any glass in her sandals. Running even later.

I fix a water bottle for work and head out the door. Our dog has gotten in the trash. Aarrrghh. I go to get the dog. He runs. I pursue him. I tell him to sit. He sits (there's a first time for everything). I grab him and put him in "doggie" time-out ( a few minutes in our garage) so he doesn't mess anything else up. I grab the trash and take it to the dumpster. Running really late now!

On my way to my car I notice something on my shoe (can you see it coming?) As I'm walking to my car my wife says, "Molly spilled her milk - I'll get it later." Seriously? Could it be any more "Monday"? Oh yes, what's that on my sandal? It's dog poop. I stepped in dog poop chasing the dog. Great. Now I have to go change to different shoes, which also required me changing into jeans from shorts. I'm super late now, and really frustrated. I finally grabbed my water, told my son goodbye, and got to my car. Yes, my car started. Yes, I made it to work without another major or minor incident. Hopefully, that will be the last that Monday has to offer.

Man, I just need a few quiet minutes with some good worship music, so I can decompress.

A Church Without Walls, Part II

I often wonder what a church without walls looks like. One that is not consumed with or even tied to a building. I think we need to talk about this subject more - to make it a part of our DNA at our churches. Technically, the Church (the bride of Christ) IS a church without walls.

When Christ looks at the Church, I don't think he sees a building, programs, structures, institutions. I think he sees people. He sees a body that works together, struggles together, struggles to get it right, works to live under His authority and direction.

I think that there is a hunger, an awakening of people that have done the "church" thing and have been left wanting. They feel that there should be more than just attending a service for an hour a week, going home, and then doing it all over again the next week. There's more to living the Christian life than attending a service, going to an ABF or Sunday School, and giving an amount of time to serve other Christians. Those people are right.

It's about living a life of risk and purpose. It's about stepping out in faith, knowing that you have a mission and amazing news for all those around you. It's living, not according to my own agenda, but by someone else's agenda.

This life of a church without walls is a life of such freedom. Only, we seem to bind ourselves to programs, budgets, and staff (or the lack thereof). We need to free ourselves of those shackles and the perception that we can't do ministry without those things.

A church without walls means every person in the church takes responsibility for reaching out to his or her neighbors and neighborhood. We can no longer be dependent on church staff to do everything b/c church staff can't do it all - they never could. The purpose of church staff is to encourage and empower people to do the work of pastors, shepherds, teachers, building them up to a maturity in their faith and mission of Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:11-12)

It also requires us to be creative - to think outside the walls of the church and the boxes of ministry that we have created. It requires us to step into other's lives that are messy and not very neat and clean.

It requires risk but produces great reward. This type of mentality also asks a ton of questions and is okay without knowing all the answers. It's definitely an adventure and one I am continuing to pursue.

A Church Without Walls

In 2009, Hillsong United return with ‘… a_CROSS // the_EARTH::tear down the walls’ – featuring 10 brand new LIVE praise & worship songs + new recordings of ‘Desert Song’ & ‘Your Name High’, including such anthems as the title track ‘Tear Down the Walls’ & ‘You Hold Me Now’. So what would a church with no walls look like? It looks like justice… not ignoring poverty or hunger… or the person next to me on the subway. Where faith translates to praise, and all our inadequacies kneel down at the feet of the King…. Where my wants…my needs… my aims and my ambitions bow to His. Worship that is simple, plain, effective, fair, honest, righteous, moral and authentic… Worship that calls a cross the earth, leaving redemption in its wake. This is our latest project from Hillsong United… What God is doing in us, is our story… but what you choose to do with it.. is yours. This is our heart’s cry, our soul’s hope, and our certainty.

This is on the website for Hillsong United's newest album, "Tear Down the Walls". It's an amazing project. Not just becasue it's got kickin' music or great lyrics, but as you can read above, the heart of the album is more than just about making music. It's about making Christ known to the ends of the earth. It's about tearing down the walls that separate us. There is a heart for social justice and helping the poor and oppressed behind their ministry and vision.

God is moving in the hearts of these musicians and this church, and it is evident in their music. It's poignant, moving, and thought-provoking. This is definitely an inspired album and one that I just can't stop listening to!

What's Your Reputation?

When I was growing up, my dad always made me think about my actions and what others would think of what I did (which was good for the most part). I can't remember if there was a certain phrase he used, or if it was just something I noticed over time, and I definitely began at some point to rebel against the idea of it (sorry, dad, because you were the brunt of most of that rebellion). And, I really wasn't a rebellious teenager. I didn't drink, didn't go to wild parties, and was overall a pretty good kid. What I rebelled against was the idea that I should be concerned with what other people thought, and more specifically, that I should be overly concerned with my reputation. I rebelled more over freedom and independence.

Somehow, somewhere, those ideas of my dad stuck and I became overly concerned about what people thought. I don't think I ever agreed with the idea, but the choices I began to make reflected more that I agreed with my dad than not. Then, I swung the other way, not really caring what people thought and that began a fairly rebellious time in my life. Over time, I have turned a corner and begun to live more by what I believe and my convictions and balancing that with what I know now.

The older I get, the more I realize that I can't control what other people think or say about me. I can only control the things I do and how I respond to others. I am able to, I believe, choose what I would like to be known for. Whether people complain about it, or agree with it, is beyond my control, but by my actions I can choose to shape my reputation in the general direction that I would like it to go. People can know me as someone who works hard or someone who is generally lazy. I can be known as someone who cares for others or someone who manipulates those around me to get what I want. People can come to know me as "holier than thou" or a "friend of sinners".

There are certain things that I want to be known for. There are certain things that Jesus was known for and I'd love to be known for someone who loves Jesus and lives the life that He asked us to live. I want to be known as someone who loved and was constantly faithful to his wife. I want to be known as a great dad. I want to be known as someone who loved his community and made a difference. I want to be known as someone who was willing to risk for the sake of Christ and the Gospel - not afraid of failing, but willing to step out in faith no matter what the cost. Those are the kinds of things that I want to be known for, and I know that I can shape my life and my reputation in those directions as I choose and make decisions regarding my career, my family, and the way that I live my life.

Matt. 11:18
For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' 19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ' But wisdom is proved right by her actions."

I'm glad that God is the orchestrator of events and not me. If it had been up to me, my life would have turned out much differently. I would have made a lot of near-sighted and even some very stupid decisions (of course I made some of those anyway.)

However, I'd have never thought that I would be where I am and doing what I'm doing. God is doing some amazing things in my life and that of my family.

Church growth

A friend of mine sent me this article on church planting yesterday. It's by far one of the most exciting and challenging articles I've read in recent months. It challenges a lot of my perceptions and assumptions about church planting, church leadership, and my definition of "church".

God has really been stretching and growing me personally in so many ways and with so many of my assumptions where "church" and spiritual life and leadership are concerned.

It's also been helpful that I've been teaching a New Testament Survey class to several high schoolers at a local high school. It helps to contextualize the areas where God has been challenging me while I'm teaching others what the Bible says about those very things.

Click here for the article.

Questions to think about as and after you read this article:

1.) How would you define church? What are its core characteristics?

2.) How would you have answered this young couple's questions?

(i.e., Would you have discouraged them from continuing b/c they were not trained enough?)

3.) When is a church a church? How often should they meet?

Fusion 2009

This past Sunday, we had our first Fusion event.

The purpose of Fusion is to get college and young adult aged people into our different communities at Infuse. We had a great showing and awesome worship with Rob Attaway.

Our focus for this year centers around 2 words: gospel and community. Community seems to be over-used in a lot of circles today. We talk a lot about how to create it without really figuring out how to live it. The word "gospel" doesn't seem to get used enough. The reason we exist, the reason we gather as believers, the reason we worship is for the sake and the carrying on of the gospel.

Over the last couple of years, I have done a lot of thinking about my own life and the gospel. For too long, I have tried to fit the gospel into my life. I've tried to align the ideals and the challenges of the gospel with the way I see the world, and try to juggle it among the other things that I have suspended in the air.

I have come to realize that the question isn't (or shouldn't be), "How do I fit the Gospel into my life?", but "How can I fit my life into the Gospel?" How do I align myself in such a way with the Gospel that it gets lived out every day of my life?

It may seem just like semantics to some, but it is an important shift in the way we view the Gospel and our lives. Should I merely add Christianity to my life, or should it be the at the center, the core of who I am, defining my life, my purpose, and who I need to become.

One is a question of religion. The other is a question of lifestyle. How do we live the Gospel? We live it by making it the center of our lives and by placing ourselves in a community that doesn't allow us to forget that the Christian life, at the core, is about living the Gospel within the context of community.

More on gospel and community tomorrow...

1 Thess. 2:8
We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.