Fridays are for Friends & Family 05.29.09

This week’s rushed by and we sit again at the precipice of the weekend. Where did the last few days go? So much has happened, we’d better get right to it.

A more nervous, and certainly more well-known, Susan Boyle is back in the news, with her Semi-Final round performance at Britain’s Got Talent. While perhaps not as good as before, and certainly not as surprising, it’s not everyday you see all three judges (including Simon Cowell) give a standing ovation to a contestant. (The “video” below is only a screenshot, since the actual video is not permitted to be embedded. You can watch it though by clicking on this link though.)

The new Television schedule is out for Fall 2009! Check this link at USA Today to see the entire schedule, listed by day of the week. Some of your favorites are missing (the series either ended OR it doesn’t return until spring), but one of my favorites, Chuck, has been “rescued” by fans and will be back on Wednesdays (though inexplicably it’s not found in the schedule listed above). Read this article to see the role the Subway restaurant chain played in rescuing the show and how that might factor into next year’s season.

My son and I saw Star Trek this week and as a longtime “trekkie” I was impressed…with almost all of the movie. There was only one “relationship” that didn’t seem to “ring true” to me personally. What do the rest of you trekkies think about the movie? The final trailer to the movie can be seen by clicking on the link here; a screenshot is below.

On a more serious note, the Baptist twenty-one website has been publishing a series of articles about the younger generation of Southern Baptists in our nation today. Called by the author “3rd Generation” Southern Baptists, guest blogger and professor Steven McKinion recently posted a third article on misconceptions about these young ministry leaders that you can read here. The previous articles are linked here too: part one and also part two.

This week’s highlighted podcast is one that I did with my wife in the early days of our interviews. We talk to church planters about how church planting affects their wives and family life, with a desire for them to know how to protect and prioritize their loved ones. You can listen to or download it by clicking here.

Our church planting website of the week is Pathways in Forest Hill, Maryland. Pastor Stan Graham has established a young, exciting community of believers who are making a difference for Jesus in the Bel Air, Maryland, area. You can go to their website by clicking here.

Finally, I leave you today with a quick little video of author-pastor-speaker Steve Sjogren, yes, he of “acts of kindness” fame, demonstrating his talent on the accordion.  Until next week…

Seven Reasons Why People Will Attend Your Church Plant

Church planters are all about “reaching” people with the Gospel. So, because new churches are the most effective way to share the love of Christ AND disciple new believers as God intended, planters do everything they can to get their new community of faith off the ground and running. Momentum builds as the community grows, but the challenge for many planters (save perhaps those who have been “hived” off of a parent congregation) is to get the group started. How and why they will come to be a part of the family of followers is the challenge that must be met.

With that in mind, let me suggest seven reasons that I believe people–especially people without Jesus–will come to your new church plant in its fledgling days. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, but simply what my experience has taught me about the subject. I am however suggesting that the items at the top of the list are more important than those at the bottom, though not necessarily in a specific order.

Relationships. There is no doubt in my mind that the number one reason new churches reach people is relationships. Obviously this is a challenge for a “parachute drop” planter; he will have to start from scratch in building friendships with those around him. But build them, he must! Study after study show that the major advantage a new church (and small churches) have over older, bigger congregations is that they are relationally-driven in their congregational life. To minimize or bypass this reason would be a fatal mistake for any church planter.

You. Like it or not, you, church planter, are the face of this new church you are starting. You embody and personify everything that the new church stands for. Because many people are unable to deal with the abstract (like vision, which we’ll come to in a minute), you become the concrete reality–in the absence of a building–representing the church and its future. Your strengths and your weaknesses are magnified many times over during these early days. So take stock of who you are and how you represent Christ and yourself, since it has much impact on those you will–or will not–reach.

Vision. Younger people in particular will be drawn to your vision of a preferable future because, and this is important, it not only includes but NEEDS them. Your focus and determination, you passion and make-a-difference attitude will attract those who want to do the same. Many churches have lost this, and with it the “difference-makers” in life. But new churches almost to a fault lead from this and when people see it in the leaders, they will often follow and then own the vision themselves. But please note: the vision to start a big church that reaches lots of people excites no one but you; others are caught up in a vision of transformation in making their world a better place for all to experience.

Spiritual Hunger. There is no discounting the fact that the Spirit of God is working on the hearts of men and women around you. The fact that God is inviting you to join Him in the planting of this new church is evidence of that. In all likelihood you are planting where you are because there is a perceived need and potential receptivity to the Gospel. That translates into hearts and lives that God has been preparing for the Gospel message. Some will be drawn to your new church for no other reason than the spiritual condition of their lives and the recognized need they have. This is why you exist, so be keenly sensitive to this reality when it confronts you face to face.

Curiosity. New churches, like other new things, attract the curious. Among those who attend for this reason are both well-wishers and nay-sayers. Both groups are trying to learn about you and satisfy their interest in knowing. Neither group is big on commitment, at least in this early stage, but an inviting openness to join and experience at their own pace can turn these people into regular participants over time. And if your experience is “different” and “interesting” they may stay long enough to get connected. However, most who come out of curiosity won’t hang around that long. Count on it.

Location. What do real estate agents say? You get the drift. Where you meet says a lot about who you will reach. For example, if you want to reach churched (culture) people, then meet in a church building. If you want to reach those uncomfortable with “church” as they have known it, then meet in a movie theater or a school. The location of the facility in a certain part of town will attract or repel some people from your new congregation, so think about your focus group (those you’re there to reach) and make sure it doesn’t put up an unnecessary barrier for them in choosing to participate in your new church fellowship.

Name. Yes, like it or not your church name will attract or detract from whether people come to your new church or not. Names represent identity, so people will filter who they are through the name of your new congregation. If it doesn’t connect with their identity or on the other hand if it suggests something they’re not, then they are sure to stay away. On the other hand if its speaks to any of the other reasons listed above, it may give you and your new church an opportunity to share the love of Christ with them, too.

Monday Morning Rewind: Crossing Barriers with the Gospel

This is Memorial Day. We give thanks to God for those who made the ultimate sacrifice to preserve our freedom. These men and women we honor today traversed geography, ethnicity and apathy among other things to ensure this reality for us today.

The church should learn from these brave men and women. They believed in something and investing their life in making it happen, for others as well as self. We too must be bold about what/who we believe in (Jesus Christ) and thus, be willing to overcome any barriers that might keep us from sharing the Gospel with others, especially those “not like us.”

This message from Acts 10:1-43 is the fourth in a series of messages based on the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8, “…you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” This week we focused on the “Samarias” in our world–places and people who are different from us.

In Acts 8-10 the early church began to understand how Jesus wanted them to take the Gospel to the literal Samaria, north of Judea and south of Galilee. The Samaritans lived here. These “half brothers” descended from the intermarriage of Israelites outside their people after the exile of the nation in 722 BC.  They had adapted the Scriptures to their liking (accepting only the first five books of the Old Testament) and established Mt. Gerazim as the place of worship (rather than Jerusalem). They were despised by the people of Jesus’ day and treated with prejudice and disrespect.

But the early church saw God start to work in their midst, first through Phillip in a revival at the main city of Samaria. Peter had evidenced this first hand, along with John. So, when he received a vision from the Lord that taught him “Do not call unclean what I have called clean,” he connected its message to the invitation from Cornelius to come and share words from God with him.

What barriers did Peter have to cross in order to share the Gospel? There are many, but I have chosen to consolidate them into three.

First, he had to cross the barrier of geography (vv. 24-25a). Peter was in Joppa of Judea when he received the vision and the invitation to come see Cornelius, who was in Caesarea to the north, by the sea. The distance is about 32 miles by foot and would have taken over a day to travel. Peter’s history would seem to have made him hesitate to travel with these “unclean” men. Moreover, he was heading right into the “teeth” of the Roman government, those who had given their approval to the death of Jesus, since Caesarea was their capital in the province. But instead of hesitating, Peter was willing and the next morning they started out on their journey. The apostle had learned that the life of faith in following Jesus meant leaving his comfort zone to reach others with the Gospel.  (How many times are we unwilling just to cross the street to share the Good News with someone?)

Second, Peter had to cross the “difference” barriers (v. 1) . Cornelius was a Gentile. He was a military leader. He was probably well educated and well off financially. He was from the oppressors and enemies of Judah, the Romans. His first language was likely Latin. Peter was none of these things. Any one of them could have become an excuse for the apostle to say “let someone else” talk to him, or “he’s not like me; we have nothing in common,” but he didn’t. And he didn’t let prejudices, stereotypes or perceptions get in the way either. Instead, he had realized that if God was granting him the opportunity to intersect this man’s life, then God would provide what he needed to deal with the differences he noted. Ultimately, Peter knew the differences were outweighed by the commonality that all men and women share…the search for meaning, the struggle with sin and the look for a God who could deal with both.

Finally, Peter had to cross the biggest barrier for all of us: the barrier of apathy and indifference (v. 29). This is the barrier that ultimately stops most of us, but for Peter he indicated that he “came without raising any objection.”  This is amazing, considering the amount and difficulty of conflict that peers and religion would place upon him. Surely he realized this; he had seen it in his world many times. But there was something more compelling, more motivating in Peter’s life than safety and religious systems. It was the reality that the Good News of Jesus Christ was for every person, no matter what their life experience has been. So Peter was once again “a witness of all these things” (v. 39) and eager to take advantage of the opportunity presented by God to tell another what Christ had done. He proclaimed to Cornelius and to everyone with him (and us today) that “EVERYONE who believes in HIM receives forgiveness of sins through His Name” (v. 43).

Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of the will. Do you and I care enough to show the love of Christ with all people, no matter how different from us they may be? I pray with all my heart that we do.

Friday is for Friends & Family 05.22.09

Well, it’s Friday again (aren’t you glad; I sure am!) and that means it’s time to connect with some other things online. This week has been dominated by the end of American Idol, season 8, with the announcement that Kris Allen had won this year’s contest. For those of you who don’t know “who” Kris Allen is, his ministry experience includes worship leadership at New Life Church in Maumelle, Arkansas, campus ministry at the University of Central Arkansas and mission trips around the world, including Spain, Morocco, Thailand, Mozambique and South Africa. You can read more about him and his ministry by clicking here. And below, there is a video of Kris leading worship in his church that has been making the rounds on YouTube. Check it out, too.

Danny Gokey also made the final three and he, too, has been actively involved in Christian ministry through his church, Faith Builders International Ministries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  His wife died tragically during heart surgery only a year ago, but Danny has remained steadfast in his faith. You can read about his experience here.

In addition, this week saw the conclusion to one of my favorite television shows, 24. Jack Bauer saves the day again, and this time with some sensitivity and soul-searching not characteristically seen in the world’s favorite counter-terrorist. His presence this year has evoked lively dialogue about the issue of torture, a hot topic in our current world. Click here to read an article about this from Associated Press. Christianity Today has also posted a few thoughts for teenagers in regards to the show. Click here to read those. Here’s an article (apparently written in 2006) suggesting why the American church “needs” Jack Bauer. And finally, here’s a click to a Bible Study discussion guide (for a price) that is based on the show “24″ over the first five seasons.

My daughter Sarah, who is a student of journalism (including photojournalism) in Vancouver, Canada, was recently contacted by Schmap, a tourist service, about publishing this one of her photos in their 2009 Vancouver Guide.  You can check out this picture and her entire photostream at Flickr by clicking here.

Finally, after last week’s visit from well-known hair afficionodo, Dan Kimball, my friend David Phillips has given me the opportunity to “see” what I’d look like with a “Dan-do.” Uh, thanks Dave…but no thanks. (Does anybody else think I look more like that Big Boy statue at the restaurant chain than Dan Kimball? Yikes.) Though my hair is thinning and may some day be gone, I think I’m better off leaving the high-rise hair to Mr. Kimball.

Until next time, everybody have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend…

Monday Morning Rewind: The World at our Doorstep

Perhaps never in the history of our country has it been more true that the world has come to America. We are a mosaic of peoples from countless nations and tribes around the globe. Recent statistics suggest at least 11.5% of the population is foreign-born. Add to that a total of a half-million international students and 22 million foreign tourists each year and you begin to realize that our nation is the gateway to the world.

The apostle Paul understood the importance of the opportunity to touch the lives of those from around “the world.” He strategically traveled to cities on trade routes, to those with political, economic and spiritual influence. Why? Because immigrants, travelers and tourists passed through such places. If the Gospel impacted their lives, they would take it with them, wherever else they went.

In 2 Corinthians 9:12-15 Paul concludes a section of teaching about the need for generosity in helping the church in Jerusalem. He used the Macedonian church as an example of one who had followed through on their similar commitment and challenged the Corinthian church to do the same. Paul points out that if we are going to reach the world at our doorstep, we each have to do our part. In these few verses he suggests three things that each one of us can do.

First, he tells us we can pray (12, 14). He reminds the Corinthians that the prayers of the Jerusalem church will go out to them because of the difference their participation can make. In so doing, he challenges them to be the same kind of pray-ers…passionate, zealous, grateful. Their prayers, and our, need to be just as heart-felt, just as affectionate, just as thankful for what God has done and still desires to do through us. Our prayers need to be more “other-centered,” more intercessory…more concerned about the lost and unreached than just about our own needs and concerns. This is one of the marks of spiritual maturity and it signals our desire to be used in reaching the world at our doorstep.

Second, we can give (13). The Corinthian church is reminded that giving comes from a generous heart; a spirit which recognizes God’s grace in giving us what we don’t deserve, including ultimately His Son (15). This same generosity is to characterize our lives as His children, knowing that God who gives all good gifts never runs out of resources with which He can assist us. We are called to be a blessing to others! So when we can be generous with our money, our resources, or maybe more importantly our time, we need to offer it for Kingdom purposes. Rest assured, when we do God will take care of us (Matthew 6:33). The question really is: what have you done for someone else today, or any day?

Finally, we can “confess” (13). The word is used to declare, announce or proclaim our agreement with God about his Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a public confession, not a private one. It is a confession that elicits a response based on our obedience. It is a confession that takes place as we share with others the hope that is within us. It is a confession that is seen also in the demonstration of our lives, as we serve others so that they too can experience the love of Christ, which motivates us to live life to the fullest.

Annie Armstrong (1850-1938) was one of the early pioneers in our faith tradition that saw the way that each of us could do our part to reach the world at our doorstep. She even realized why this opportunity had come our way. At one point she wrote the following:

Men and means were not forthcoming fast enough for the great work of foreign missions, so God turned the stream this way and sent great masses of the unevangelized to come in contact with Christians.

As a result, she poured her life into praying, giving and confessing the Gospel of Christ as she had opportunity. The legacy of her life continues to affect and impact us today.

So I remind us again: the world is outside our door…it’s all around us today. Take a look. Pray for them with passion and thanksgiving. Give generously to bless them with your life and resources. Confess before them your love for God by serving them and sharing the Good News when you can.

What will our legacy be?

Friday is for Follow-Up

This week was an amazing one! So many experiences, topped by the conference we hosted for Dan Kimball. Many of you were there and participated with us in learning much about the culture, evangelism and how to be the church as we were intended to be. If you have not read his most recent book, They Like Jesus but Not the Church, I would encourage you to pick it up, as it will help you go deeper in understanding these issues and possible responses to them. Click here to read a book review that my colleague, blogger and fellow attendee Ryan Weaver, recently posted on his site.

Dan also showed this video during our time together on Tuesday. It’s a thought-provoking look at how fast our world is changing. Check it out.

Dan also mentioned Origins Project. This network/community is in its fledgling stage, so you can get in on the ground floor if you so desire. Dan and Erwin McManus are the primary founders behind it and a number of others, including Mark Batterson and Rick McKinley are also involved. It’s purpose is to keep the main thing the main thing: that is, evangelism. You can find out more about it or register by clicking here.

After the conference was over, Dan and I headed down to my office to tape the most recent edition of the “Moving at the Speed of God” podcast about culture, his book, the Origins Project…and his hair! You can listen to it or download it here. It will also be up on iTunes in the next day or two.

My thanks and the thanks of my organization, the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, go out to Dan and his lovely family for their graciousness, friendship and passion for Jesus and life…and for sharing these things with us.

Are you a BCM/D Church Planter?

If you are, then this message is for you!

I don’t want you to miss out on one of the most important learning opportunities of the year so I will cover the full $50 price for you to join us tomorrow at “A Day with Dan Kimball” in Columbia, Maryland, from 9:00am-3:30pm.

Here are the conditions:

1. You have to come for the conference tomorrow in person.

2. I can only pay for you (not a spouse or lay leader).

3. You have to stay for the whole event.

4. You have to have started with our organization no earlier than 2004.

5. And this is important: You have to write me back a comment to this blog post that says you plan to attend and take advantage of this offer.

FYI: IF YOU’VE ALREADY REGISTERED and you fit the description I just gave, I will refund your money too, if you write me a comment in response to this too.

AND if you are in the “pipeline” for assessment with our organization (meaning you’ve already begun the process), whether or not you’re already registered, I’LL PAY YOUR BILL TOO (OR REFUND YOUR MONEY) if you also respond with a comment to this post.

I’m in a generous spirit, so don’t let me keep my money…write me now and see me here in Columbia tomorrow.

Monday Morning Rewind: The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Yesterday we celebrated Mother’s Day. Consequently, in my message I focused on the life of Eunice (and her mother Lois), whose son, Timothy, is more well-known in the Scriptures to most of us. They are referenced in 2 Timothy 1:5 by author and colleague, the apostle Paul, as he encourages and mentors Timothy in the work he is doing at the church in Ephesus. Paul acknowledged that Eunice and Lois passed on to Timothy some things of great impact, which have helped shape his life.

What were these things that impacted his life, that of Paul and even you and me today? First was their sincere faith. Paul remarked that Timothy’s faith was genuine, real, authentic. This faith was first evidenced in his grandmother, Lois, so Paul says, and also in his mother Eunice. It was something that was indicative of their lives, because it was a verb…an action word. They lived it out, even in the experience of releasing young Timothy to accompany Paul on his missionary journeys. Can you imagine how a parent would have felt about that? But Mom and Grandmom we are told trusted God and He took care of the rest.

Second, they passed on their knowledge of the Holy Scriptures to young Timothy (3:14-15). From infancy they had made it a point to teach him God’s Word; they didn’t depend on the synagogue or the church to take their place with this responsibility. They made it a priority in their life as family. The kind of knowledge they passed on suggests a “street-smart”, common sense knowledge: not just book or head knowledge. They had lived it out and applied this knowledge, finding it to be true. They had experienced the transforming power of God’s Word and wanted Timothy to “know” that too.

Finally, their lives were ultimate examples of how Christ-followers are to live out the realities of life. This passing from one generation to the next generation to the next generation demonstrates the power of legacy, “from the first to now.” They had left a pattern of how to live out the Christ-life for Timothy to follow. Paul shows that the power of that example had influenced, not just their family member, but even him (and us) by the commitment, love and service they showed. That’s influence at its best. and in point of fact, that influence may just be the greatest gift you can give to others you know and love. It’s the gift that just keeps on giving.

John Maxwell has written that in North America today any person who lives a full, average life span will influence a minimum of 10,000 during their lifetime…no matter how introverted or unassuming their life may be. If that is the case, then all of us, like mother Eunice and grandmother Lois of old, need to see the impact on the multitude of people our life can make, around us in the world today as well as in the generations to come.

Saturday is for Dan Kimball’s Hair, Friends & Family

Well, I wasn’t able to post this yesterday as intended, so I’m going ahead and pretending that today is Friday…only better! And since Dan Kimball is coming to be with us here in Columbia, Maryland next Tuesday, I thought I’d start with a focus on him.

Ever seen anyone get their hair cut in a church service? Well, Dan Kimball has done that and in fact, he posted an article about it on his own blog this week. Click here to read it. If you know anything at all about Dan, you probably know that his “hair” is kind of “a signature” item in his personna (my opinion, not necessarily his). But he has also used haircuts, among other things, to share his faith in Christ with unchurched and unreached people.

Dan’s student colleague and common friend, David Phillips, has posted several items about Dan on his blog over the years. In fact, David and Ed Stetzer have had some fun at Dan’s expense, too. Here’s a picture David created to envision Ed with Dan’s haircut. You can read Dan’s blog where he calls Ed out by clicking here. Hmmm, I’m not so sure rockabilly hair works for you, Ed.

In weightier issues, Stetzer chimed in on multisite churches this week in a significant way. As Ed points out “everybody’s talking about multisite these days.” You can see what Ed thinks, along with Alan Hirsch, and numerous commenters, by clicking here.

On other matters, Joel Rainey, author of Planting Churches in the Real World, posted an interesting item on his blog this week. He declares he’s figured out the “One Vice Guaranteed to Kill a New Church.” You can read about it here.

My wife, Joye, posted a new item on her blog this week about our children and a vacation trip we made to the Magic House in St. Louis. It delves into the issues of truth and shadow in life. Check it out here.

And finally, since it is Mother’s Day weekend, here’s a YouTube video about mothers that I have enjoyed. I hope you do too. Until next week…

Dan Kimball: Thoughts on Church & Culture

Dan Kimball, founding pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California, and author of several books including They Like Jesus but Not the Church, will be here in Columbia, Maryland on Tuesday, May 12. “A Day with Dan Kimball” is planned to be an interactive seminar with the author and pastor, in which he shares with us some of what he’s learned about the cultural scene in our world today and how it impacts church as we know it (or it should be). He’ll also dialogue with us about why so many people have strongly adverse reactions to the church even though they are favorable about Jesus Himself. You can still register for that event by clicking here. Details about time, address, cost and agenda are at the site.

So with that in mind, I posed a few questions to Dan about the framework for our learning time together.

David: Thanks, Dan, for your willingness to share a few of your thoughts about church and culture with us. Let’s start with the church. When you think of “the church as Jesus intended it,” how do you describe or picture it?

Dan: When you see calling His disciples, He called them immediately into mission. He said to them “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of people”. When Jesus said His last recorded words to  His disciples it was about mission “Go make disciples” and “you will be My witnesses”. So when Jesus told His disciples about the church he would build through them – it was about them being on mission. The church is to be a community on mission. The church is to be bringing the good news to people of who Jesus is, about salvation, about the joy and abundant life He brings, and about how people then are brought into this mission as they follow Him. The church is the body of Jesus sent into a broken and hurting world to help. To help people in need get tangible physical and emotional needs and for justice in the name of Jesus to occur. I am rambling now, but a short answer would be the church as Jesus intended would be a church full of love, grace and hope on mission.

David: Unfortunately, all too often that’s not the way it “really is,” or at least the way those outside the church see it. Why the disconnect, in your opinion?

Dan: I think the church slowly lost sight of our place in the world. We isolated ourselves in what I describe as the Christian sub-culture or bubble. So we turned “mission” into what is often strange evangelism programs or methods. So we would escape our sub-culture in spurts to “evangelize” and the return to our Christian bubble. I think what happens then is that the world around us doesn’t get to know us as human beings and as friends. I just read in a book that only 51% of people say they don’t know any evangelical Christians, even casually. So the ones so many do know are when we are out proselytizing in generally ineffective methods of the past. They only know us through when we “evangelize” and in today’s world our evangelistic methods are not as effective as they used to be. Or they know us through when the media covers some bad thing some Christian leader did. So Christianity is defined by media, the loudest voices out there and our evangelistic methods.

David: Share with us your thoughts on culture…it is good, bad, indifferent, etc. What would you say about it and how we as the church should view it?

Dan: Culture is the world we live in. Like anything, it has good things and bad things as part of it. Jesus told us to be in the world. We should not endorse sin or evil and need to be careful we do not compromise Scripture being in the world. But I see culture as people. People whom God loves. People whom Jesus died for. So we need to be students of culture. Not obsessed with it, but at least understanding the world we live in. I find it fascinating that Christians who go on the mission overseas of course study the culture they go into. But here in the USA we don’t do that for the culture we live in. I think we need to step back and take a look at our culture like an anthropologist or missionary coming into our culture would.

David: With that in mind, how do we as the church engage culture appropriately to demonstrate and exhibit the love of Christ in a transforming, redeeming way?

Dan: This sounds so simplistic, but to me it is about relationships and trust. If Christians would only be friends with those outside the faith – that is what I mean. Most of the time we only do that when we see people as targets. Or if they don’t respond to a gospel presentation we move on. But the simple answer is simply being friends with those outside the church so people have trust built and don’t think we are all the often creepy, irrelevant, backwards thinking people many do think when they think about Christians. I also believe that our churches need to be expressions of our local culture. Not jumping on trends by any means, or compromising Scripture. But in the early church, they were expressions of their neighborhoods. We have created these strange sub-cultural communities that are not speaking to those outside. I will be explaining more about this when I am there with you.

David: Why is this so important for the church to address?

Dan: Because the statistics are showing we are losing generations right now from our churches. It isn’t just about losing a generation, it is about them not understanding and knowing the saving grace of Jesus and what that means to their life in this life and in the life to come. It should strike an urgency in our hearts as we scan our churches and see them growing older and older and not as many younger people in them anymore.

David: Finally, in your opinion, if churches are ready to make the changes necessary to engage culture as they should, what’s the number one issue or area that they need to address in our world today that potentially can make the biggest impact for the Kingdom?

Dan: For Christians to not just read about what Jesus taught about – but to actually live it and take risks and be on mission for Him. But it takes church leadership to set the culture for that. And this is what I will be speaking on next week when we are together and give examples of churches who are doing this. So I will be raising some uncomfortable questions and maybe even make some feel uneasy – but then I will give hope and tell of stories how local churches all across America are making changes and seeing new generations come to know Jesus as Savior and then joining in on the mission for Jesus. There are so many wonderful things happening now in places. So I hope to be a voice that raises the challenges we face, but points to a hopeful future. I look forward to being there with you!

If you have a question for Dan or want his reaction to a thought you have on this subject, send it to me in the comments section and we’ll have Dan answer it at the conference that day.

Here’s hoping I see you here in Columbia, Maryland, next Tuesday, May 12 for “A Day with Dan Kimball!”