Category Archives: Posts That Even Make Me Mad

Is There Just Too Much on the Jesus Sandwich?

Posted on by
5

Yesterday I went over to my buddy Jeremy’s place to help put in a fence…I got in a conversation with one of his neighbor’s friends who had recently started going back to a church because of his kids. As the conversation went on we started talking about the Church. I was asking his thoughts about his new church experience and stuff. He was saying he grew up Methodist, so the new rock music at church was quite different. His wife still did not attend as she ‘didn’t have any experience with the Church as a kid’…i.e. there was nothing to return to, because she had never been. He asked me my thoughts on ‘contemporary’ church…this is where is gets a little tricky. Because on one hand, I didn’t want in the least bit to discourage him from going to his new church, yet on the other hand, I wanted to be honest. 

So, I told him that I thought that church’s efforts to be more relevant to culture via music and style were great. However, my fear is that we as church leadership are only creating a tastier religious culture for the churched to consume. I have this creepy feeling that we are replicating the sickness of consumerism from our culture in the Church. ‘I’m not being fed. The teaching isn’t my style. The kids ministry doesn’t do enough. The music is to loud. The room is too dark. The room is too big. I don’t like the color of the pastor’s shirts. I have to park so far away.’ … and even…’I am so fed at my church. I love the pastor’s wardrobe. I am only asked to give 10% of my income at my church. I love the dark and more spiritual feel of the auditorium.’ … these are the cries of people who have become connoisseurs of the Bride of Jesus. And sometimes all we do as leaders is refine their palates. But don’t worry…I didn’t go into that detail with this guy…I instead tried to offer the positive (and less prophet sounding) answer…

I told him, that I think that all of the new things that we are trying are good and express a good heart and good intentions, but I felt like so often we add too much ‘mustard and mayonnaise’ to a simple Jesus sandwich…and never taste the real meat. Call me crazy, but I told this guy that Jesus teachings were very simple, but would take a lifetime of devotion: Love God with your heart, mind, and soul…And love your neighbor as yourself. Trust that Jesus was who He said he was and follow Him. It’s that simple. 

The ‘good church-leader’ in me balked. Inside I heard a voice say, “But be sure and add in all the stuff about going to church!…oh and tithing…oh and doing a quiet time…oh and serving in the kids ministry…gotta get that in too! Quick, make sure he knows right away everything that he’s supposed to do or you’re not doing your job!” But I stopped with Jesus. I stopped where He stopped. I believe that Jesus is THE message and that in Him we are guided by the Spirit in God’s timing to maturity. I wanted this guy to hear clearly my belief in the simple message of Jesus, the most simple/dangerous/costly/attainable message in history. 

I could have talked all about being missional, being incarnational, being relevant, being worshipful…but instead I walked away from the conversation certain that I had done my Lord right, by putting Him at the forefront, in the center of all things, and as the most important thing. My prayer is that we as followers of the Way would come to believe that Jesus is the way, He is our salvation, and we can trust Him for guidance. I believe that as we live as Jesus lived, a light, an offering, one poured out, touching the ugly, restoring the shamed…He will orchestrate koinonia…true ‘fellowship’…around us…and that is the Church. The earthly manifestation of God’s good intentions for the world. 

How to Kill a Movement Part 2

Posted on by
Reply

How to Kill a Movement Part 2:  Demand Conformity in Methodology

When driving in your car, have you ever thought how many different ways there are to get to the place you are going? Sometimes I sit in my car nearly paralyzed because I’m strategizing the best way to get from point A to B. Sometimes I take off in the direction I think will be the fastest just to get stuck in traffic. Or other times it’ll end up taking way longer than I thought. But if I just keep on driving, I get there eventually.

Movement thinking is a lot like this…and so is the art of church planting. There are many ways to get to the same place. There are many ways to make a difference in the Kingdom. When we begin to believe that there is only one right way, we fool ourselves, especially when we are the author of THE way. There may be the fastest way under certain given circumstances, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way for all of time. 

 

So, if you want to kill a movement, here are some ideas to building conformity that will help you on your way to nowhere:

1. Control the big box.

Trusting other leaders is the last thing you want to do. This will show them that you believe that God speaks to them…meaning not only you. So, if you start letting some people think outside of the big box you run the risk of losing all control. You don’t want that. You want to give people smaller boxes to think outside of, while you control the big box. He who controls the big box wins the battle of conformity. 

 

2. Make sure everybody knows the right way 

Forget the idea of values. Values schmalues. Rules are what you want. You want people to know clearly there is a right way and wrong way. And you want people to look to your rules to know what the difference is. You need to know what the right way is…but don’t be clear what that is because it’s fun to watch people squirm trying to figure it out. They just need to know that you know. And you are watching. Period.

 

3. Lastly, and most importantly, never admit failure.

In order for people to continue to trust your ways, you can never admit anything remotely close to failure. People can not lose faith in the system. There should be no room ever given to doubt the Master Plan. Even if you feel like the world is falling down around you…smile, use lots of Christian sounding words, and stick to the Master Plan. (I even recommend calling this the ‘Master’s Plan’ as that makes it sound cleverly spiritual.) Never, ever, ever do anything to make somebody think that there needs to be a solution, because, of course, there was never a problem with the Master Plan. Remember, smile…a lot. If somebody is not really looking, it can go a long way.

 

Ugh…Even though I laughed out loud typing this, I now feel sick as this goes against every fiber in my being. I really, really hope nobody read this and thought I was serious! 

 

The ‘gospel of spending’

Posted on by
1

Here is a link to a BBC article entitled: US Consumer Mood at 26-Year Low

When I first read the title, I thought to myself, “Oh, that’s good” because I generally frown on (my own) consumerism…and it’s good to know that the rest of the US is trying to quit too! Unfortunately, the tone of the article was not as I expected. And I read a quote that pretty much sums up my frustration with our culture and why we (I) have an insatiable appetite for consuming nothing and everything. 

 

With consumer sentiment hit further by high food and fuel prices, it is starting to hit retail spending, which is the main bedrock of the US economy.

 

Retail spending is the bedrock of our economy. Retail spending is the bedrock of our economy??? Shopping? It’s no wonder why a new shopping mall is the center of every suburban sprawl neighborhood! It’s no wonder why so many resources are are spent to understand what and how we consume. It’s no wonder that we are being brainwashed into believing that ‘stuff’ will adequately define us and give us meaning! The success of our economy is based upon whether or not we consume…who cares what we consume, as long as we consume something! Who cares if younger and younger youth get ear deep in personal debt to consume, as long as we consume something! Who cares if the message that our kids learn is to spend and spend…it makes the world go ’round. I get grossed out thinking about this. 

 

I understand that goods and services must be traded in order for an economy to grow and be successful. But it is the way in which the ‘gospel of spending’ is preached…or is infused…that bothers me so much. 

 

All the while, our resources, energy, lives, and the environment are spent in order to keep the economy of spending alive and kicking. Unfortunately, this is going to be a post where I rant and rave, but offer no solutions! If you want to watch something interesting check out this video:

The Story of Stuff

I like coffee but…

Posted on by
2

I am a coffee addict. I can admit it. But this is just going too far. 

Click here to read the link first…

and then read the rest. 

Top 5 reasons not to drink this:

5. I can gaurantee Stumptown Coffee right here the PD of X is better.

4. The ‘cat’ (or whatever the heck that thing is) most likely steals all the good caffeine.

3. It’s 100 bucks a shot! 

2. It’s basically drinking poop…c’mon. That’s just not right. 

1. It’s rumored to taste a lot like Starbucks. 

How to Kill a Movement Series: Require education for the leadership

Posted on by
2

A while ago (a really long while ago), I talked about doing a series of posts on a list that I had found on another blog. Honestly, I’ve not had the extra brain energy to put into this, and I am finally back to thinking on this level again. Well, we’ll see after this post! 

Over the next few weeks I’m going to be unpacking my thoughts on the list called How to Kill a Movement. Here’s the list if you want to look at it the whole thing. 

If you want to kill a movement the first thing you should do is require education for the leadership. 

Leadership is one of the most crucial issues when thinking on a movement level. I’m not one of those guys who thinks that everything rises and falls on leaders, but I do think that leaders play a significant role in developing a movement’s culture, ideals, values, and vision. Having the right people in the right places is absolutely critical in maintaining a movement dynamic. 

I believe that leadership habits can be learned and that one can be taught how to lead. But ultimately, leadership (meaning influence) is a gift from God that we are called to be stewards of. The way I see it, if somebody has been given Kingdom influence it is a gift from God, there is no need for them to have to have a certificate or a degree to validate their influence. I do believe that education is good…I believe that it reveals commitment, it can challenge thinking, and it can provide good mentoring. I just don’t think that it is the stamp of approval for a leader. I have observed that there is a clear difference between true spiritual authority and simple hierarchy. Education does not produce spiritual authority, wisdom, or influence; only God does. And this in only revealed by the fruit it produces. It’s not revealed in strategy. Nor organized teaching. Nor the appearance of ministry…only by it’s fruit. Requiring a leader to go through formal education runs the risk of burning out their passion by weighing it down with specialized vocabulary, methods, and strategies that may even detract from them being truly incarnational leaders. This could be compared to making a Masai leader go to seminary just to return to the bush wearing a suit, making people sit in pews, and sing hymns.

Here are some thoughts about what I think movement leadership needs to be…since formal education is not one of them.

Movement leadership needs to be held with open hands

Life always comes with change. And with every change in seasons comes new challenges and needs. Leadership within a movement needs to be seen as a gift that God temporarily lets us borrow to be used as He sees fit. We must hold onto this gift loosely knowing that it is not ours…and that we are ultimately valuable to God because of Jesus, not because of our giftedness. Our identify comes from within, not from without. I get a picture of golf clubs in my head…on some shots God may need a driver, yet on others, a pitching wedge. Just because God can crush His driver 7,000 yards doesn’t mean He has to do it every shot! There is a time and a season for every leader…our job is to be as faithful as possible for the places and seasons God has put us in…all the while knowing that the season we are in could just be prep for the next thing God has around the bend! 

Movement leadership needs to be empowering

The best leaders understand that their true ministry is to equip those around them. This is especially true when wanting to start a movement. People from within the movement need to know that they are believed in. That they are gifted. Basically, they need to know that they have what it takes. The fundamental role of a leader is to provoke people into seeing themselves the way God does. The best type of movement leadership is birthed from the inside out. Yes, recruiting leaders is good too, but I would take a leader who is developed from the inside over a ‘top recruit’ any day…even if the recruit looked better on paper! But in order for leaders to emerge and see themselves as influencers they must be empowered. This won’t look the same way in every situation (it shouldn’t be a cookie cutter thing anyway), but the value of empowering developing leaders is must for any movement to succeed. 

Movement leadership needs to pass on core transferable values and get rid of the other nonsense

The big picture of movement thinking is long-term reproduction and sustainability. It’s worth noting that it is extremely important to pass on the right things and not treat unnecessary, or overly specified things, as fundamental. I think that that key is to reduce what we want to see multiplied to the core values and allow the values to multiply (not mimic) themselves into new expressions. These new traits and practices will become incarnational expressions of the new environment, not simply carbon copies of the original.

Movement leadership ultimately needs to trust that God is in control

If we’re being honest…we prefer predictability to trust. At least I do most of the time! But when it comes to movements, we have to be willing to risk…risk failure, risk resources, and even risk people with people. We are never never going to survive unless we get a little crazy…wait, that sounds like Seal doesn’t it? But we have to trust that God is going to meet crazy with provision and/or grace! Following the Spirit is an unpredictable journey that leads us into danger and even chaos. But this is the space where faith is born. 

I think that’s enough on this one…but two last thoughts:

1. Jesus never went to any formal training that we know of…he was a carpenter from a hick town.

-and-

2. “Your mom goes to college” – Kip Dynamite 


Yeah for the Rich and Famous!

Posted on by
2

I was just reading this article on BBC and there was a stat toward the bottom that caught my attention. It said:

In the US, 1% of the population control almost 40% of wealth

Now, I’m no economist, but this just seems a bit out of proportion. There is something about the way that the middle-class adores celebrity…therefore fuels and funds celebrity…that seems odd. The TV was on at our place tonight and ‘Entertainment Tonight’ was on. I was amazed how this show seems like an obvious worship of celebrity and a promotion to ‘us’ of how we can really learn a lot from famous people. Because for some reason famous peoples’ obesity or drug-addiction is more horrific and shocking…and the subsequent recovery…is more glamorous. I just wanted sit back and say, “Yeah, for her that she was able to get gastro-intestinal bypass surgery…I’m so happy that she has a new Christmas CD coming out.” I don’t think we do anybody any favors by elevating others’ to idol status.

I also found it so coincidental that this story of a D-list celebrity is talked about just as her new CD is hitting stores…Earth to us, People…we are being inundated with marketing, and they are good, and they are winning.