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…

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.

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!”

Why Student Ministers Make Good Church Planters

Yesterday, a student minister called me and expressed his interest in planting a church. He was hungry and interested, so we talked for a while. When I hung up the phone I was excited about the possibilities but I was a long way from being surprised. It happens to me virtually all the time.

A friend on staff with me here, Maina whose ministry is with student pastors, he and I laugh about it frequently. He prepares them and I recruit them. Actually, I often times don’t even have to recruit them; Maina just comes and tells me they want to talk to me about church planting.

Why? Student ministers make good church planters. That probably doesn’t surprise you, either, at least if you’ve thought about it before now. Some of the best and brightest over the years (Bill Hybels, Andy Stanley, Dan Kimball, to name just a few) served as student/youth pastors before they became church planters. It’s as natural a progression as day to night.

Here are some reasons that seem obvious to me:

They are innovative, out of the box thinkers. Student ministers embrace new paradigms, create new things, are always trying something new. Whether it’s an event or a process, they embrace the need to be creative (often “cool”), attract attention, engage people and share the Good News in unique, unconventional ways. It is this relevance to real life that connects with students in fresh ways; it is the same relevance that appeals to unchurched people in church plants.

They are doers. Student ministers are action-oriented, largely because their students are. Active lifestyles require getting out of the building and living among the people they are seeking to serve through incarnational means. They teach as much by modeling and in on-the-job ways, as they do in the classroom. This interaction with others in their world appeals to the students they reach and it affords them credibility as they seek to minister to them in Jesus’ name. The same is true of church planters, who are trying to intersect the lives of the unchurched in “the real world.”

They care a lot about people and especially those without Jesus. Student ministers are most often people who are passionate about people! They are usually extroverts and social-types who love to hang out with youth on their own terms. As a result they are often good listeners and can network newcomers into the fabric of community life that makes everyone involved feel comfortable. They advocate, encourage and nurture these young lives in ways that cause them to flourish; this brings immense satisfaction to the minister, too. They realize that students live in a world that is constantly engaging the lost and unchurched. Their hope is that they can equip them to see the needs and live a life that attracts others to Christ as well. The world of church planting requires people-loving leaders, too, since this element–the relational–is one of its greatest advantages in its early years over all other churches.

They believe in possibilities. They are risk-taking, faith-walking, potential-seeing individuals who are always living in the tension of the present and the future. They believe NOTHING is impossible with God, and they seek to pass on that kind of value and belief to those with whom they serve. They’re not afraid for an event to fail, if it was well-intentioned because they know that such failure is born of risk that is necessary to make the eventual difference in the lives of those they have yet to reach. This vision fuels their heart as they seek to follow Christ and brings others along with them. Just like planters they expect great things from God and are willing to attempt great things for God.

They love living in chaos…and making sense of it all. Student pastors are thrust into the world of teenagers…and that’s about as chaotic as it can possibly get! They thrive in that environment, find energy there that pulls them forward in ministry and enables them to help others find enough order and meaning to embrace the journey of life–all without sapping the fun and excitement out of it! That’s attractive in and of itself and encourages many to check out “this Jesus thing” for themselves. Church planters do the same, living in chaos while helping others find the adventure for which they were created. In fact, one great “chaos” experience feeds the next, and so on.

So I’m not surprised when student ministers expresss interest in church planting. In fact, I’ve come to expect it. In fact my personal experience tells me that experiential they are typically better prepared for it than seminary students who’ve never done youth work before.

Friday is for Friends & Family 04.03.09

Friday has rolled around again (can you believe we’re already in the fourth month of the year?) and that means it’s time for us to survey the scene elsewhere to see what’s been happening on the web. Let’s start this week with a final thought regarding what I posted last week about the Southern Baptist Convention and its future. Alvin Reid, who was referenced last week on this blog, posted an article that forecasts the future of the SBC. You can read about it here.

Multi-site Churches are a “hot topic” these days (I blogged on this back in July last year) and with that in mind, Ed Stetzer posted an interview on his blog this week done with Scott McConnell, author of a new book entitled Multi-Site Churches: Guidance for a Movement’s Next Generation. You can read that interview here.

What would make Dan Kimball want to cry? Kimball, who will be with us in Maryland on May 12, writes on his blog about a panel discussion with author Scot McKnight focused on the “e- words,” emerging and emergent. The content of the post and the accompanying video suggest an even more important “e-word” in reaching 20-somethings with the Gospel. That word is evangelism. You can click to Dan’s post here.

Who doesn’t have critics? I’ve certainly had my share and this week has been no exception. That’s why it was comforting and wise for me to read the words of business man and marketing expert Seth Godin on his blog a few days ago when he wrote “Ignore your Critics.” If you don’t know this blog, you should; it is filled with great insights and this article is no exception. What he said was both expected and a surprise. You can find out for yourself by reading it here.

The major league baseball season officially starts in just a few days! This weekend I’ll be posting my predictions for the coming year, especially as it pertains to my favorite team (in any sport), the Boston Red Sox. In the meantime, let me point you to the predictions of the entire Sports Illustrated magazine’s online sports-writing staff. You can find their predictions for the 2009 season here.

My children are big fans of the YouTube phenomenon “Ask a Ninja” (anybody else out there into this, too?). Add to that one of their favorite television shows, “Mythbusters,” and you get quite a combination of unpredictable humor and antics. Check it out below.

Podcast of the Week

This week’s highlighted podcast is with colleague and friend, Thom Thornton, whose primary focus in ministry is on evangelism. Hear or download his interview with me and the ways evangelism can be more integrative in the life of your church (plant) here.

Church Planting Website of the Week

Northstar has been a leader in our church planting efforts since I arrived here in 2001. Led by the very capable founding pastor Kevin Marsico, they have grown to impact their larger region and have world-wide Kingdom impact. You can view their website and see what Northstar is all about by clicking here.

Dan Kimball Coming to Town

Just a heads up for all of you out there who are interested: Dan Kimball, church planter, pastor, author, blogger and one of the leading voices among younger evangelicals in America, will be with us here in Columbia, Maryland, on Tuesday, May 12.  “A Day with Dan Kimball” will focus on what’s happening among emerging generations and why they are disappearing from our church.

During the day Dan will talk about “the emerging church” and discuss its developments, including the differences taking place within the movement (including why he personally no longer uses the term “emerging church). In addition, Dan will discuss how churches are viewing themselves as missional and what that means to the average pastor and church in terms of a variety of things, including leadership, evangelism, preaching, worship and even facilities.

Dan will speak a portion of the day addressing some of the concerns that the emerging culture in America has in regards to Christians in particular and the church in general. These criticisms includes perceptions that the church is judgmental, homophobic, anti-intellectual and oppressive of females. He will conclude with thoughts about what we as the church can do about it without compromising the Scripture or truth.

Dan serves as founding planter/pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, California. He has written a number of cutting edge books, including The Emerging Church, Emerging Worship and most recently, They Like Jesus but Not the Church. He is currently completing his Doctor of Ministry degree from George Fox Seminary. For more information about Dan, you can go to his own blog here.

The event is open to the public. The cost is $50 per person. To register or for more details about location, click here.

“Jesus is now following you”

That’s how the message began this morning, as I sat at my computer preparing for our staff meeting. We were getting ready to discuss Dan Kimball’s latest book “They Like Jesus but Not the Church,” in which he mentions early on how the Christian subculture has created its own “bubble” for virtually every area of life.  Little did I realize that a new area of my life was about to be invaded in that way!

So as I was putting the finishing touches on my remarks in regards to our meeting I posted a comment on my Twitter feed that we would be dialoguing about this topic. Lo and behold, within two minutes of that post going online I received a note, “Jesus is now following you on Twitter.” How ironic.

This somewhat humorous anecdote highlights a greater concern.  The message accompanying this note was that Jesus was “happy to be following [me...and] could I help tweet what Jesus would tweet?” Interesting, wouldn’t you say?

Now I’m all for living a life that would please Jesus, including my “tweets.” In point of fact, just about every day I post a Scripture reference from my own daily time with God. Certainly my ministry impacts most of what I share all day long too. But I do worry that, if not careful, we allow such things to pull us into a “Christian bubble” (Kimball’s phrase) rather than intersecting the world naturally, regularly.

Frankly, I think I should be more concerned that I’m following Jesus (on Twitter or elsewhere) than whether “Jesus is following me.” My allegiance, devotion and unconditional obedience ought to be His all the time, in everything I do, say, go, etc. Something inside me, though, (the Spirit?) tells me that He wouldn’t want me to be isolated and “away” from the world–in a bubble–but rather engaging, participating and following Jesus as I live my life, on Twitter or anywhere else.

So to Twitter and to everyone else I say, “I’m now following Jesus.”  How about you?

Updates

PlantLIFE: Principles and Practices in Church Planting is now available for online purchase at amazon.com and bn.com…it lists at $16.99, though you can purchase it for 10% off at bn.com…

Audio files of Dr. Ed Stetzer’s messages at the BCM/D Pastor’s Conference and Annual Meeting are now available for you, too.  You can go to the BCM/D Annual Meeting site for the audio files here and fill out a request form online and they’ll be sent to you at NO COST, compliments of my office…FYI, the Live Blogging I did last week for the Pastor’s Conference received the highest number of hits of any blog post I’ve ever done…

Scheduled to be with here to lead conferences and speak in 2009:  Nelson Searcy from Journey Church in New York City on March 17 (Launch: Church Planting training) and 18 (Evangelism and Stewardship training) and Dan Kimball on May 12 (Emerging Church and Why the Unchurched Don’t Like the Church)…put these dates on your calendar and plan to join us…registration information will be available soon.

Finally, I’ll have more information on church planting (including my newest podcast with Ed Stetzer), my family and a couple of humorous things, too, on this blog Friday, so check back then.