Our Wedding

Our big day has come and gone. We planned it to be simple and small so we could enjoy the day instead of the stress of the big wedding. From what we were told, everyone enjoyed the day. Go HERE to see pics.

"The New Christians" Road Trip with Trucker Frank-Episode 1

I would love to spent some time with Truker Frank. He seems my kind of guy.

eSnips

For years I have wanted a place to store and share the worship songs that I have used over the year. After checking out the blog of Johnny Scott of CIY Believe I found a free way to share documents. Go HERE to check it out. I hope this will help a few up and coming worship leaders.

Possible Reasons Why You’re Not Emergent

Few will understand this but there are a few of you church workers that will find this hilarious. Missio Dei listed the Top 50 Possible Reasons Why You’re Not Emergent. Check the whole list HERE. Here is my top ten.

49. My mother will disown me.

46. I don’t like Rob Bell’s hair.

42. Mark Driscoll told me I couldn’t.

33. Tony Jones went to Princeton Theological Seminary…that liberal.

24. I’m allergic to candles.

22. Brian McLaren’s books are not theologically correct. I’m not sure why, I just know they are.

20. The orthodoxy police will bust me.

14. I prefer Joel Osteen.

11. I refuse to switch to Apple

6. Hell fire and brimstone works just fine, thank you.

Makes You Think

(ht IAmJoshBrown via Melissa Bill)

Tax Day

I'm proud of myself. My taxes where finished a day early.

Pic of the Week

Jesus On American Idol

Tuesday night, about three till (?) I was flipping the channels when a familiar tune caused me to stop my channel surfing. I could hardly believe it. The very popular but very Christian and very worship song “Shout to the Lord” was sung on freak’n American Idol! I watched in disbelief. How could this be? I didn’t hear the name Jesus in the song, so I was both suspect and proud at the same time. (They sang “Jesus” on Thursday performance.)

Two thoughts crossed my mind as I watched the performance:

First, in the spirit of Dan Kimball, culture is very interested in Jesus. Culture, as a whole, is very welcoming to the historic person of Jesus. They are not offended by his teachings. I think this performance on American Idol, the nation’s #1 show, is a small example of how pop-culture is open to Jesus. Very good news!

Secondly, however, making Jesus popular is not really the point. I was reminded of the Roman Emperor Constantine who made Jesus very popular in the 4th century. He made Christianity a world force…a good thing. But he also made Christianity look more like the pagan culture than the example we find in the New Testament…a bad thing. So while I was pumped that a very talented group of American Idol constants sang a worship song I am also cautious not to make too much out of this event.

What do you think?

Shift '08

Out of Ur has been posting some interesting sessions from Shift, a youth worker’s convention at Willow Creek. They've had some big names give presentations: Dan Kimball, Kara Powell, Mark Yaconelli, Shane Claiborne, Brain McLaren and more. I would have loved to been there. Click on one of the names above to read a short summary of thier teaching. Important stuff for anyone doing Kingdom work with youth.

What A Piano?

I have a piano that needs a new home. It belonged to my grandmother then took it as favor for my sister. She has moved to the West Coast and has granted permision to get rid of it. We would like to keep it in the family but the offer is good to anyone.

Pagan Christianity?

I just finished reading the joint work of Frank Viola and Gorge Barna titled Pagan Christianity?: Exploring The Roots of Our Church Practices. I highly recommend this book to every Christian (paid minister, church leaders, old ladies…everyone). This book uses Church history to prove the modern practices of today’s Church have been greatly influenced by pagan culture. As a result, it also points to the troubling reality that the teachings of the New Testament have been marginalized for the last two millennia. No one “does church” by the book.

As a person who has been suspect of traditional Christianity for some time, Pagan Christianity is another indication that Christianity is radically changing (for the better in my opinion). Viola’s work explores the origins of some of the foundational practices of the Christian faith that are seldom questioned. This practices include(and also serve as the chapter titles): the church building, the order of worship, the sermon, the pastor, the Sunday morning costumes, ministers of music, tithing & clergy salaries, baptism & the Lord’s Supper, Christian education, and finally, reproaching the New Testament.

This book will scare some; for others it will provide hope for the future. I found this book very eye opening and helpful in so many ways. To say this book was timely (with the uncertainty of my professional future) would be a great understatement.

Order HERE if you are interested (and be sure to read the bood reviews - some praise it while others find it useless). Drop a comment. I would love to hear what you think.

Bible Reading

(ht NakedPastor)

A Great Cabin in the Smokys

A few weeks ago I took a small group of students to the Smoky Mts. My former youth minister, Tim Wingfield, has a wonderful cabin located between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN. It has a king and queen size bed, pull out couch, fully functional kitchen, hot tub, and cable T.V. for the very reasonable price of $100 per night plus tax. I am hopping to take Rae sometime this summer. I told Tim I would post a link on my blog so click HERE to check out the cabin’s website. Feel free to contact Tim if your interested in staying there.

Still Moving

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged. There hasn’t been much to write about. I’ve been moving my stuff into Rae’s house. Things are moving slowing but we are making progress. The both of us are getting ride of a lot of junk. I find it a rewarding experience to get ride of the stuff that clutters up life. I guess it’s the backpacker in me that says if you don’t need then don’t bring it. If I haven’t used it in a year… then it’s gone. I have a lot of stuff to give away. If it’s not out of my house by the end of the month I will place it outside next the edge of the street. Experience tells me that things disappear fairly fast when that happens.

Started the Move

I began to move my stuff into Rae and Emily’s house over my lunch break. The wedding is 23 days away and I would like to have all of my stuff moved in by then. Most of the stuff in my house is things I do not need so I will be getting rid of a lot of stuff. If anyone needs dishes, future, a desk, or anything at all – there is a good chance I’ll give it to you.

#421

(ht to The Ongoing Adventures)

Check it Out.

The evidence is every where. The face of Christianity is changing. Click HERE to read an interesting article from the Indianapolis Star. It can even be seen in our military. Read HERE.

Dispatch #15 - #20

Dispatch #15: Emergents hold to a hope-filled eschatology: it was good news when Jesus came the first time, and it will be good news when he returns.

Dispatch #16: Emergents believe that church should function more like an open-source network and less like a hierarchy or a bureaucracy.

Dispatch #17: Emegrents start new churches to save their own faith, not necessarily as an outreach strategy.

Dispatch #18: Emergents firmly hold that God’s spirit- not their own efforts – is responsible for good in the world. The human task is to cooperate with God in what God is already doing.

Dispatch #19: Emergents downplay – or outright reject- the differences between clergy and laity.

Finial Dispatch #20: Emergents believe that church should be just as beautiful and messy as life.

Obama Speech: 'A More Perfect Union'

I doubt if I for Obama but if he gets into the White House, I fail to see how our countrty will not benfit because of this man's leadership.

Dispatch #12 thru #14

Dispatch #12: Emergents embrace the whole Bible, the glory and the patho.

Dispatch #13: Emergents believe that truth, like God, cannot be definitively articulated by finite human beings.

Dispatch #14: Emergents embrace paradox, especially those that are core component of the Christian story.

Joe & Melissa Wisely

My new friend Joe Wisely and his wife Melissa are starting the Appalachian Trail today. To keep tabs on their hike go HERE on a weekly basis. Help them out by sponsoring their hike by downloading their PDF.

Dispatch #9 thru #11

Dispatch #9: The emergent movement is robustly theological; the conviction is that theology and practice are inextricably related, and each invariably informs the others.

Dispatch #10: Emergents believe that theology is local, conversational, and temporary. To be faithful to the theological giants of the past, emergents endeavor to continue their theological dialogue.

Dispatch #11: Emergents believe that awareness of our relative position – to God, to one another, and relativistic apathy (absence or suppression of passion, emotion, or excitement.)

Dispatch #3 thru #8

Dispatch #3: The gospel is like lava; no matter how much crust has formed over it, it will always find a weak point and burst through.

Dispatch #4: The emergent phenomenon began it the late 1990s when a group of Christian leaders began a conversation about how postmodernism was affecting faith.

Dispatch #5: The emergent movement is not exclusively North America; it is growing around the globe.

Dispatch #6: Emergents see God’s activity in all aspects of culture and reject the sacred-secular divide.

Dispatch #7: Emergents believe that an envelope of friendship and reconciliation must surround all debates about doctrine and dogma.

Dispatch #8: Emergents find the biblical call to community more compelling than the democratic call to individual rights. The challenge lies in being faithful to both ideals.

Dispatch #1 & #2

Dispatch #1 – Emergents find little important in the discrete differences between the various flavors of Christianity. Instead, they practice a generous orthodoxy that appreciates the contributions of all Christian movements.

Dispatch #2 – Emergents reject the politics and theologies of left versus right. Seeing both sides as a remnant of modernity, they look forward to a more complex reality.

The New Christians

My copy of The New Christian: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier by Tony Jones came in. I have already read the first chapter online in a free PDF format. I’m unsure how much I should write about my own thoughts and feelings about this book but I do feel it's worth quoting Jones’ dispatches of Emergent Christianity. So I will have a series of post simple titled "Dispatch." I do this for my own sake and for those of you secretly reading (and from what I been told)…secretly talking about the content of this blog. (Leave a comment…share ideas…ask questions…openly talk! What’s the worst that could happen?)

Pic of the Week

(ht to My Lord and My Blog)

A Good Day

A few blog worthy events took place today.

1. E.B. had an indoor track meet today a Purdue University. 35 high schools were represented from nearly every corner of the state, one of which was my home school of Ben Davis. Track & Field is pretty chaotic on a normal day but things ran very smoothly. I have no idea who won or lost but it was enjoyable to watch.

2. As I attended the indoor meet I began to think about how athletics effects youth ministry. This image appeared in my mind.
(ht to Swerve)
This diagram could be true of anything in life. There comes a point when excellences is not worth the time or money.

3. Rae and I had dinner with my parent. We went to the TX Roadhouse. It was our first meal together since Rae and I announced our engagement. I asked Mom to help with a few things with the wedding so she had a few question. I asked Dad to perform the ceremony so he had a few questions of his own. It was a very enjoyable and encouraging time.

Spring Is Come'n

A bird woke me up this morning. I saw my first Robin. Spring is on it's way.

Thanks

Friends must have been praying for me last night. The kids seemed to take the news of my resignation well at last night’s youth meeting. Actually, it’s probably too soon to know if or what impact it had on the kids. Students are prone to hide pain when first reacting to bad news. This news will impact a few of the students, will be of no consequence to most, and might be welcomed news to some. I am please how I conducted myself. I broke the news in a light hearted manner and was able to hold back a few tears. Your prayers made the difference.

Wow!

A Native American man of our community just walked into my office. He had a few questions to ask about the Bible, had a few things to share, and then quoted the whole book of James to me from MEMORY! The Spirit moved and I was blessed.

Big Events

First of all, let me say that God is amazing. The night I read my resignation letter to the board of my church, Marko directed me to a new blog called “Once a Youth Pastor….” It was a great comfort.

Second, anyone involved in youth minister at all should read “Once a Youth Pastor…’s” three part series on big events. Click HERE for part one, HERE for part two, HERE for part three. I’ve been thinking about some of this stuff for years but there are some new ideas I’ve never thought of. Important stuff.

A Resignation, “Who Farted,” and Fish and Chips

As I wrote a few days ago, two major things have recently happened that will alter the direction of my life. I announced my engagement to Rae. Now it is time to share the second major event with the few of my online readers.

The time has come for me to resign from my position as the youth minister of the First Christian Church. There is so much “stuff” for me to mentally process. My future career path is uncertain. But my faith is on Solid Rock, as freshman Austin P. recently preached. I’ll be fine.

But now for the hard part. How to tell my students of this news? As I rehearse this talk in my mind, there is so much I want to say but know I can’t. So I pray that God will provide the right words at our next youth meeting. I want to provide hope for the future and a peace for today.

Growing up, one of my youth ministers resigning from his position. He told us on the floor of his living room during one of our youth meetings that he was leaving to become a Sr. Minister of another church. He started to cry. I thought he was chump. I really wasn’t affected by his move. There is a part of me that hopes my students will react the same way: “No big deal. Life goes on. Who farted?”

My last day on staff will be Sunday June 1. If there is a positive angle to this news it’s that I will remain in this community for a significant amount of time. There are a few things I am looking forward to after June 1.
• I am going to attend a worship service of the Apostolic Christian Church just because I want to.
• I get to preview other expressions of the Christian faith (I get to go to other churches outside of Christian Church/Church of Christ).
• I apologize if this offends you but I’m going up to the town bar and order me a basket of fish and chips (thought I’ve been told the place has taken a dive since I’ve arrived in Francesville and I might die from walking in). Maybe Rae and I should have a wedding reception there. Just kidding.

I wound appreciate your prayers these next few days. Pray extra hard on Wednesday night between 6:00 and 8:00 as I tell the students.

I doubt if I will ever directly write about this event on this blog ever again. If you have any questions, I can’t promise I will be completely honest but I will do my best to bring some understanding to this situation.

BIG NEWS!

What a week! Two major things have happened that will change the course of my life forever. One of these events, which I consider to be secondary in comparison, will be announced sometime in the future. The BIG news, however, can finally be announced.

I AM GETTING MARRIED!

After three years of dating Rae Boehning, we have agreed that now is the time to officially start our lives together. Words can not express how thankful and unworthy I feel that this wonderful woman would settle on a chump like me. But I have either fooled her or won her heart over because she will soon be my bride.

The wedding date will be April 26 at my home church of Fleming Garden Christian in Indianapolis. My father will conduct the ceremony. It is my heart’s desire to have a large wedding where all of my wonderful family and great friends could share in this special day. But after looking at our future plans (a step-daughter soon going to college, one of us continuing our education, and perhaps adoption) we realized the best thing to do was to invest in our long term plans and forego a large wedding (which would have been a whole lot of fun). So I hope that my friends and family who read this will understand why we have chosen to have a very small wedding with only our immediate families present.

Here are just a few details about our wedding. First, my sister is flying in from freaking Seattle, WA to attend. I did not expect her to come on such short notice but she has booked a flight and I am very humbled by her great sacrifice to be here. Second, both Rae and I are wearing denim in our wedding. Rae is wearing a blue jean jacket over a white skirt and I am wearing a pair of blue jeans pants with a sports jacket and a tie. Believe or not, I spent more money on my apparel than she did on hers. How do you like that?

A Marko Quote (from a Veteran Youth Worker)

“Let’s be honest: working with teenagers, no matter how much you love them and are called to this ministry, is cause for fear. They’re a messy lot. The work is never done. The needs are never fully met. The demands and expectations of youth ministry pull in every direction, often in opposition with one another. If you live into this calling, sooner or later, you’ll get hurt; you’ll get ignored; you’ll be misunderstood; you’ll be blamed; you’ll be misrepresented; and you’ll screw up. But, be not afraid.”

(ht Marko)

30 Hour Famine Wrap Up

We are within the last 30 minutes of our 30 Hour Famine. Eight students have stayed for the duration of the lock-in. Others promised to complete the fast at home. Money is still coming in but $1,200 has been collected for World Vision. That makes this whole event worth it. Student’s getting out of their comfort zone by collect money and fasting for 30 hours. It goes to show what students can accomplish when adults give them a little space to do it. At the moment, we are gathered around the youth lounge simply talking about random stuff. I wish you get students to open up like this during 90 minutes of youth meetings but it simply does not happen.

"Why Are You Asking Me?"

I am a person that asks many questions. My sixth grade teacher saw this quality in me and encouraged me to keep asking. God made me this way. I can’t help it. One of the questions that I have asked of late is why do we (a church tradition that clams to be of the Word) have so many beliefs (therefore practices) that are outside of the Scripture? We claim to be one thing but our actions at times speak otherwise.

I was listening to a sermon of Dr. David Eubanks, former president of JBC (click HERE to listen). His sermon was entitled, “Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation?” At the front of his sermon he confessed,

“One of the early mottos of (our movement) was, “We speak where the Scriptures speak and we are silent where the Scriptures are silent.” Now I have to say to you in all honesty we have not always observed that motto and certainly no one has observed it perfectly. It’s a wonderful motto…but it is our goal.”

My question was put as ease after hearing these words. Dr. Eubanks, an icon in my Christian tradition, changed the parameters of my concern. It’s not that we are a people of the Word (present tense); rather, we are people that strive to be a people of the Word (future tense).

By the way, his sermon on baptism is worth listening to. It wasn’t what I expected this Christian Church icon to stay. For some reason I was pleasantly surprised. I’ll give you the answer to his question/sermon tile, “Why are you asking me? Ask Paul. Ask Peter. Ask Jesus. Let God be God.”

David Crowder Challenge

David Crowder's blog has been blow'n up on my Christian blog list. A few took a challenge of his so I took it was well. Hit “shuffle" on your iPod and list the first ten songs. No cheating.

1. Where to Begin by My Morning Jacket of Elizabethtown (Sound Track)
2. Drew’s Theme by Nancy Willson of Elizabethtown (Sound Track)
3. Just a Friend by Biz Markie of The Biz Never Sleeps
4. Zapata by Nancy Wilson of Elizabethtown (Sound Track)
5. Don’t Want to Grieve You by Vineyard: Holy
6. Holes to Heaven by Jack Johnson of On and On
7. Surrender by Vineyard: Beautiful
8. The Friend I Never Met by Andy McKee of Dreamcatcher
9. River Drive by Nancy Wilson of Elizabethtown (Sound Track)
10. Twenty Four by Swithfoot of The Beautiful Letdown

#3 is a tad embarrassing to let people know about my music selection but the rap has a powerful and timeless truth: never talk to a girl who says she just has a friend.

JBC Homecoming (cont.)

I made it back for JBC Homecoming. Having racked over 1,200 miles on my truck this week, I’m a little tired...from all the driving. On the way home I went out my way to meet some new friends at the Central Christian Church in Huntingburg, IN. I seldom go to that part of the state so I enjoyed exploring a new portion of Indiana. I made my way up through Bloomington then head to my Mom and Dad's new place in Hendricks County. It was my first time spending the night at their new home. Today I went to Dad and Brock’s worksite at the home of Fred and Heidi B., a very important couple in the life of the Fleming Garden C.C. and the French family. It was good to see them. Then I made my way to the upper east side of Indy to join Rae and her family for dinner at Bravo...an Italian joint. Good food and good company. Every one went shopping but I went home. Pick up Duke. Now I’m at home. Good day.

P.S. Duke stinks and needs a bath

JBC Homecoming

The first night of JBC’s Homecoming has come and gone. It is good to be back on campus and it is good to be back in East Tennessee. On the way down I stopped at the Museum of Appalachia only for it to be closing. Having driven past the musem’s road signs for 15 years I thought to stop to see what it was about and judge if students would like walking through it. I’m coming back down with a group of students next month.

Last night’s homecoming session went very well. I was somewhat surprised by the amount of contemporary worship music. The homecoming crowd is on the traditional side. Jeff Walling gave a very impactful message. Using Luke’s account of Jesus being anointed by the sinful woman (Luke 7:36ff)l, Walling spoke about passion; the passion of being right verse the passion of falling before Christ. Very good message

I’m staying with some college friends. They rented a very spacious cabin about 30 minutes away for the college. We played a game of Monopoly before going to bed. I lost.

Picture of the Week

Is this for real?

I'm A Bad Boyfriend

Shhhh…don’t tell anyone. Today, on Valentines Day, I spent more money on my dog than my girlfriend. Close to 5X the amount to be more accurate. My dog ran away last week. Luckily, he was found after been missing for seven days. Today I had him “fixed.” He also needed his shots up-to-date and heart worm medicine. With all the poverty in the world, I’m ashamed for spending so much money on my mutt dog. The irony is that my girlfriend was the one that found my dog. I’m a bad boyfriend.

Reveal: Section 4

The fourth section of Reveal asks the question “So What Can You Do Now?” For the team at Willow Creek, it lead them to a new vision and strategy. They stated three things they changed but recognized it was not changed for every church. Then they stated three practical steps that every church could take.

1. Ask More Than “How Many” – The question of “How many” is a good start b/c it tells us what attracts people to the church program. “How many” is a superficial question that doesn't scratche the service of spiritual growth? The two questions to ask after “how many”? is…
• “How did this event help people grow?”
• “Which segment (levels of spiritual maturity)of people was this event intended to help, and did it actually help them?”

2. Go Beyond “How Are You” – Personally, I find it very difficult to get past this question on Sunday morning. It saddens me to think of the Christians that only reach this level of fellowship by only being Sunday participates. However we get past this stage we need these recommend question…
• How is your relationship with God?
• What’s helping you grow spiritually these days?
• What ministry is making a difference in your life? How?
• What could the church do differently that would help you grow more?

“What do you do with what you hear? Resist the urge to be defensive if people say things that are hard to hear. Instead, listen intently. Afterward, reflect on what you heard; let it sink in. If you hear the same things over and over again, chances based on what you hear regularly over time.”

3. Ask “How Does That Help Someone Grow?” - Reflection after an event is one of my weakness.

Each ministry program should ask, “How does that help someone grow?” The key word is “does” and not “should.” Ministry leaders have a way of creating programs then assume the desired result took place when it actually does not.

Reveal: Section 3b

“The decline of the church’s influence as people mature spiritually suggests that the church may have put too much emphasis on the spiritual equivalent of diaper-changing and homework-helping stage of care. Much like parents, the church may need to shift its relationship with it’s maturing disciples into something different in order to maintain an appropriate level of influence and provide the support they need” (p. 55).

A few things come to mind:
• Christian Education has just taken on a new responsibility. Equip the saints to equip themselves.
• Christian Education has just been relieved of some of it’s duties. Sunday school no longer needs life long participates. The most mature in Christ do not need to come! (What a relief!)
• Christian Education should be about equipping people with spiritual skills not just providing spiritual information. Curriculum is not the answer. Spiritual practices are.

Diaper-changing…what a great image.

Reveal: Section 3

A working definition of “spiritual growth” was needed so the Reveal team came up with “An increasing love for God and for other people.”

Then they came up with three hypotheses about spiritual growth:
1. There is a migration path for spiritual growth based on church activities.
2. The most effective evangelism tool is a spiritual conversation.
3. Spiritual relationships are a key driver of spiritual growth.

Before stating what their research found they stated three things that were NOT found.
1. Gender does not impact spiritual growth in any significant way. (There was a female bias because more females participate in programs but the differences between males and females were small)
2. Age does not appear to have a significant impact on spiritual growth.
3. The pattern of spiritual growth does not differ significantly by church. (No doubt the churches surveyed were large in size but I believe that the path of spiritual maturity looks the same regardless of the size of a church. This survive has implications on every church!)

Here’s what they found:

1. Involvement in church activities does not predict or drive long-term spiritual growth. But there is a “spiritual continuum” that is very predictive and powerful. An increasing level of activities did not predict an increasing love for God.




As people grow in their relationship with Christ their spiritual behavior will increase.

2. Spiritual growth is all about increasing relational closeness to Christ. (Spritiaul growth in not about program participation.)

3. The Church is most important in the early stages of spiritual growth. It’s role then shifts from being the primary influence to a secondary influence. I found this insightful. Church programming only has so much to offer. When a participant has maxed out a program’s usefulness they naturally move on to other things. This could be an explanation why 10th – 12th graders tend to drop out of youth groups (though I think it has more to do with social needs instead of spiritual). Maybe this is why adult Sunday School “appears” to be struggling all over the nation. Instead of making Sunday School attendance a goal, maybe we should be equipping people to “feed” themselves. Therefore, the goal of Sunday school could be to teach self feeding skills to growing Christians. Adult Sunday school could have a graduation and once graduated they no longer need to come back. (That's a new though.)

4. Personal spiritual practices are the building blocks for a Christ-centered life. The church plays an important role in the early stages of these practices, but as people grow the church’s role naturally begin to play less of a role.

5. A church’s most active evangelists, volunteers, and donors come from the most spiritually advanced segments.

6. More than 25 percent of those surveyed described themselves as spiritually “stalled” or dissatisfied” with the role of the church in their spiritual growth. A “stalled” person says, “I believe in Christ, but I haven’t grown much lately.” A “dissatisfied” person says, “My faith is central to my life and I’m trying to grow, but my church is letting me down.” This may shed light on the fact that churches are not equipping people to feed themselves. These dissatisfied participates assume it is the church’s responsibility thus deflecting responsibility to themselves. No wonder so many wonderful Christians are grumpy.

Good to Know

33%

(ht to Marko)

Reveal: Section 2

Hawkins and his team organized their work around three “simple but profound” questions.
1. Where are we? – to define our current reality
2. What do we see? – to have a clear vision
3. How do we get there? - to form an action plan

The first question, “Where are we?” defined the current reality of their church. This is the formula they came up with to measure the heart.

Attitude + Behavior = Christians with unique needs (or unmet needs)

o Attitude – How people feel determines how they react. The research team looked at emotions and motivations.
o Behavior – What people do because of their faith. (e.g. serving at church, bible study, attend services, small group, prayer, solitude, and internet use in spiritual life.)
o Christian – Not all are at the same spiritual level. The research team divided the “segment” of Christians into four groups – Exploring Christianity, Growing in Christ, Close to Christ, & Christ Centered.
o Needs – What is needed (or not being done) to advance their spiritual growth.

This is what has grabbed me personally – before we can talk about vision (what we see) and before we can talk about programs (how we get there) we need to understand who we are as God’s people. We need an understanding of the our heart before we can do anything else. My experience has lead me to believe that too many assumptions have made about the heart, despite the fact that programs have been created and managed with church resources. “Build it and they will come” or rather, “Do stuff and people’s hearts will be changed” is an assumption I've been growing out of for some time. Reveal has helped me understand why I can no longer assume.

Reveal Section 1

For as long as I been involved in a local church, success has been gauged by the numbers. The assumption goes – the more people that are present in a church program the greater the impact. Greg L. Hawkins put it another way,

“Does increased attendance in ministry programs automatically equate to spiritual growth? To be brutally honest; it does not….Attendance numbers help determine if people like what you are doing. ”

Figures only tell a part of the story. Instead of gauging the effectiveness of a church program with numbers, Hawkins suggest we need to gauge the heart of participates.

Reveal - Intro

I have long believed that we church leaders (not just at FCC) pay too much attention to numbers. Reveal opened with this very issue. “For as long as anyone can remember, the only question we knew to ask about the church was, ‘How many?’”
• Decisions for Christ?
• Baptisms?
• Members?
• Attend each weekend?
• Tithe?
• Are in small groups?
• Actively serve?
It went on to say, “’But how many?’ – by itself – doesn’t completely address what the church is called to do. That question is a good start, but it measures only what we see. When it comes to spiritual growth, we need to be able to measure the unseen. We need a glimpse of people's attitudes, thoughts and feelings. We need words that reveal the heart of each person. We want o know what moves them at the deepest levels.”

Reveal

It is the result of a project from a study of churches of the Willow Creek Association. A few weeks ago I read a blog post that referenced this work. The head line read “Willow Creek Repents.” The basic idea was that not every church program creates the desired results. Dispit the fact that Willow is the mother of all mega churches, the content of this work has implication for every church – big or small. I read the short book today. It spoke to me and I am wrestling if any actions should be taken. I’ll write a few blog entries on what I found.

Basketball

Through a series of events I was invited to the Bethel Bible Church for a round of basketball. It's been years since I've played a game a ball. My shooting ratio was 2 out of 21 but my over all goal was not die as a result of my effort. It was a good time and I will likely go back for exercise and to meet new people from the eastside of the county. Ed the Barber was there. He said on a few occasions, "It's better than sitting at home." I would have to agree.

Try This

(ht Wade's World)

I Want This Guy Playing At My Wedding

(ht Scot McKnight)

Center For Congregations Presentations

Here are the presentations that Doug Pagitt shared at Thursday's C4C meeting.
* Session 1
* Session 2
(They are not currently working but check back in a few days.)

Another Trip to Camp

I made another trip to Rainbow Christian Camp to attend a Wilderness / Spring Break Camp meeting. Though a spring break trip does not look likley, a summer trip may be possiable. I shall have to wait and see. On my way home I took this picture. It's the most rediculous tombstone I think a person in Indiana could ever get.

Mr. Deity and the Evil

This video was shown yesterday at the Center of Congerations meeting.

A Day with Doug Pagitt

I was reading Doug Pagitt’s blog two days ago where it mentioned an event in my hometown of Indianapolis. An Indiana based group know as The Center of Congregations, supported by the Lilly Endowment and unknown to me at the time, hosted a one day seminar. The cost was just $30 which included a free book and provided a lunch so I went for it. I’m glad I did. “Rich,” is the word that would describe my day.

Here a few random quotes that grabbed me from Pagitt’s presentation…

• “There is no privileged time in history for the Gospel. Change is a reality of all history.”

• “The pew might not be full but the leadership positions might be.”

• “Churches don’t discipline people. People discipline the Church…by not showing up.”

On a side note that had nothing to the educational component of the day, I was blown away by the number of ministry connections I had with the other attendees. Starting with some people at my table; Jim Teller, a former minister at the Vineyard church in Bloomington, likely the same church my friend Lucas once lead worship at. Then there was a Mrs. N. Cooper that had a family connection with the Hooker family in the community of Francesville. I ran into a youth minister, Kevin, which I meet at an ICYC meeting. I meet a minister named Rick form Martinsville that had connections to AICM. He pointed out another guy named Terry who is a board member at AICM (one of my elders is also a board member). Finally, a presenter a the ’06 Core of YS was present. I honestly thought I would know no one at this event. It was refreshing to see our paths connect.

A lot was said today. I'll likely be thinking and blogging about some of the things I walked away with. It was a great day.

A Trip to Camp

A few weeks ago I received an e-invitation from the staff at Rainbow Christian Camp. Area ministers from supporting churches where invited to a late Holiday Dinner. Having been some time since I’ve been at camp I felt that it would be fruitful for me to attend. Last night was the dinner and the 90+ minute trip to Converse was well worth it.

The highlight of the night was meeting Joe Wisley. Joe is the brand new Director of Programming for the camp. As apart of his ministry, Joe and his wife Melissa are set to hike the Appalachian Trail starting in March. Their goal is to raise $50,000 to raise support for their new ministry and to fund a high ropes project for the camp. As we talked, it dawned upon me that Joe was the speaker at last year’s Spring Retreat on the campus of JBC. He made quite the impression on my students, particularly the girls (he talked very fondly of his “beautiful wife” and our girls feel apart.) I’ll be keeping track of his AT journey on his blog (once it's running) and I hope to work with him in the future.

Another highlight was the after dinner talk. Bruce Cameron talked about the importance of a sabbatical rest. He shared that the pressures of being the camp director almost caused him to quit him ministry. After taking three months away from camp and pursing God in other areas, Bruce learned the importance of getting away to reconnected with God. So convinced that his staff needed this same rest, he wrote into the contract of every camp employee to spend one hour a day, one day a month, one week a year to connect with God. This idea may seem a little radical for some local churches but it is increasingly becoming more accepted as a legitimate and needed experience for ministers. Years ago I asked my leaders if I could take a day off once amount to share in that same experience. They gave me the thumbs up but I have yet to take them up on their offer.

Another nugget of information I learned was that Rainbow now has paintball capability. It’s on! I’m taking a group in April or May.

Tony Dungy

As a fan of the Colts, I was hoping Tony Dungy would remain the head coach. As a Christian, I was hopping he would resign. His very public message of putting family first doesn’t’ seem to match with his actions. His family moved for “private reasons” back to Tampa, FL. After a week of prayer and family input, Tony Dungy will remain the head coach of the Colts with his family a 1,000 miles away. I’m still proud that the Colts have a Christian guy as the head coach. He’s great of the community and NFL. But I think his message has been slightly tampered.

Bob Kravitz of The Star had some interesting things to say. Read HERE.

Excellence (Part 4 of 4)

Continuing in excellence, I refer to Paul’s writing in I Corinthians 13. Paul writes,

And now I will show you the most excellent way. 1Co 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 1Co 13:2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1Co 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Clearly, Paul’s most “excellent way” is love. Maybe it would be helpful to temporarily adjust Paul words as he continues writing. Since love is the excellent way, let’s replace “love” with “excellence”.
• Excellence is patient (vs. 4)
• Excellence is kind (vs. 4)
• Excellence does not envy (vs. 4)
• Excellence does not boast (vs. 4)
• Excellence is not proud (vs. 4)
• Excellence is not rude (vs. 5)
• Excellence is not self-seeking (vs. 5)
• Excellence is not easily angered (vs. 5)
• Excellence keeps no record of wrong (vs. 5)
• Excellence does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth (vs. 6)
• Excellence always protects (vs. 7)
• Excellence always trusts (vs. 7)
• Excellence always hopes (vs. 7)
• Excellence always perseveres (vs. 7)

That puts a slightly different spin on things. It’s not really the same definition of excellence that I’ve heard during high school graduation ceremonies or the even in the ministry articles, seminars, books, or teachings. I think its clear; we need to monitor the way we understand and pursue excellence. Are we using the Kingdom’s version or a hybrid of American culture with a splash of traditional Christianity?

Excellence (Part 3 of 4)

Titus 3:1-11 was the first text I studied for Sunday’s teaching. It had some great things to say about excellence. I actually thought I would use the text in my message but Mary and Marthar’s example simply worked better. You may want to pause to read Titus 3:1-11 HERE (sorry, the link uses the KJV).

To find out what Paul’s “things that are excellent” you have to read the text somewhat backwards. Paul writes…
• "...Stress these things, so that those who trust in God will devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” (vs. 8)
• Paul was shown the excellent way “when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared [to Him]” (vs. 4-7)
• Paul admitted that before the “appearance” of God, he did not know what “excellent” was (vs. 3)
•“These things [that are excellent]” are...
- Be subject to the rulers and authorities...of the community (vs. 1)
- To be obedient...to those authorities in the community(vs. 1)
- To be ready to do what is good...in the community (vs. 1)
- To slander no one...in the community (vs. 2)
- To be peaceable...within the community (vs. 2)
- To be considerate...within the community (vs. 2)
- To show humility toward all men/women...within the community (vs. 2)

I interjected “in the community” on my own free will because Paul is not excluding “things that are excellent” to the Church. The context of his list is the governing authorities...who govern the community...therefore Paul told Titus to stress excellence in living in a local community.

As a minister, I know that I need to be a greater presence in our community. I simply spend too much time in the office. But as I look at our church, I see many people doing excellent things (Fall Festival, Volunteer Fire Dept., and Cub & Boy Scouts just to name a few). With that being said, I’m sure there are ways we can be more excellent to our community of Puski county and neighboring White, Jasper, and even Stark counties.

Looking over Paul’s list of excellence...
1. What are your areas of excellence that you should improve upon in your community?
2. How could FCC be more excellent in our surrounding community?

Excellence (Part 2 of 4)

(Be sure to read Part One first.)

Daniel Schantz’s article “Recovering from Excellence” in the Christian Standard provided great insight for my personal understanding of Biblical excellence. Read his whole article HERE. In last Sunday’s teaching I used Schantz’s six sublet dangers of excellence. Here are his alternatives to excellence.

1. Efficiency – “Instead of aiming for excellence, we should aim to be efficient. You can be excellent, and still not be efficien....People with average ability can be efficient, even if they are not capable of excellence. I remind my students (he’s a professor at Central Christian College of the Bible) that, ‘You don’t have to get straight A's to get a diploma or a good job.’ Indeed, some of my most brilliant students have made a mess of their lives, and some of the average students are productive for a lifetime."

2. Patience - "It’s OK to have high goals, as long as I don’t expect to reach them by Easter. Just because the church down the road doubled in attendance in six months does not mean we can do the same. Every situation is different and requires a different schedule of progress. I’m always suspicious of rapid growth. The only thing that grows fast in my garden is weeds. Growing too fast does not allow time for people to adjust to the growth, and the result often is conflict and confusion."

3. Inclusion - "Instead of highlighting superstars, we need to find ways to include people of average gifts and intelligence. No, that doesn’t mean we have to give Charlie Croak the lead solo in the Christmas musical. Nor does it mean we have to tolerate lazy, sloppy preaching. Yet, some of the most beautiful singing I ever heard came from average singers whose heart overshadowed their technique. And it’s possible for an ordinary preacher to have a growing church because he has the sense to preach the Truth instead of Web jokes."

I know these alternatives used “the ministry” to flesh out the point but these alternatives are great for life as well.

Leave a comment. How can efficiencey, patience, and inclusion replace “excellence” in your home, work, or social life? Leave a comment and log on tomorrow for more insights on Biblical excellence.

Excellence (Part 1 of 4)

This past Sunday I said the pursuit of “excellence” can present sublet dangers to us. With over ten years of training and ministry experience under my belt, I have come to understand that our perceptions of “excellence” do not always line up with scripture. This past month I read a great article in The Christian Standard entitled “Recovering from Excellence” by Daniel Schantz. Click HERE to read it. His insights along with my long time concern provided the motivation to prepare a teaching on Biblical excellence.

Using Paul’s advice to the Colossians, “What ever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,” (Colossians 3:23), I warned that we shouldn’t assume God wants us to do something just because we worked hard at doing it. Our “excellent” effort may have been for not. Using Martha’s example (Luke 10:38-42), we saw her hard working effort to provide Jesus with an “excellent” visit were misguided. She missed the point of Jesus' visit.

The thrust of my teaching was for hard working Christians to ask themselves the difficult question, “Are my life’s efforts like the Christ focused Mary or like the distracted Martha?” I had to use all my time on Sunday to set up this question, therefore, I did not actually state what it meant to be an “excellent Christian.” That would have made a great three part sermon series but I’ll have to settle on a blog series. I hope you keep reading.

Extra: If you are reading this, chances are, you listened to Sunday’s teaching and/or read about it in the last edition of The Currier (and if you did neither I am glad you are here anyway.) I’m going out on a limb here to assume that you’re not much of a blog reader. That’s alright...I just started. May I recommend something to you? Click on the word “comment” just below this entry and leave a comment of your own. I would love for others to read your insights. Keep you comments brief and to the point. Feel free to disagree with what I have said...but be nice about it. Thanks.

The second test from my cell phone.

This is a test.

Word of the Day

"Self-indulgent" - Read it in an article about the declining American Church. Read HERE.

(HT to CatalystSpace blog)

"Look at My Gay Porn"

The wife of the chairmen of the elders at my church called me at the office in a calm manner but with a grave concern. After reading my article in the church paper, which had a link to this blog, she attempted to check it out. She said, “Chad…I went to your blog…I’m looking at gay porn and things-to-keep-in-mind-for-hunting-08.”

My first thought was, “Oh no…I made a typo in the church paper now hundreds of people in my church are looking a gay porn because of me.” So I told her I would call her back. I looked up the church paper to found no error. (What a relief!) I called her back to tell her things on my end checked out but I was coming to her house to see what was on her end.

She welcomed me into her house by saying, “Come on in Chad and look at my gay porn.” (LOL) I sat at her computer and this is what I found. Instead of entering my blog URL in the URL field she entered it in the Google search field on the toolbar. A Google search of chadfrench.blogspot.com appeared and listed: 1. A link to my blog. 2. A link to my Youtube channel 3. A link to an unknown educational site and 4. A link to a GAY PORN STAR NAMED CHAD HUNT! Google has connected a blog entry I published on Dec. 3 about deer hunting with gay porn star Chad Hunt.

Funny stuff.

Birth Control

I’ve never heard a sermon on birth control…until today. My blog reading directed me to the teaching of Mark Driscroll. His church is in Seattle, in my mind the capital of “progressive culture” (in the U.S.), and a congregation of young progressive Christians. Had I read a manuscript of his teaching to my congregation on a Sunday morning I would have likely been fired (you’ll have to listen to know what I mean) but it’s a teaching I wish every Christian young adult and late teenager would learn.

His teaching was one hour and eleven minutes long! I’m not going to describe the whole talk but one section grabbed my attention. To combat the notion that birth control is sinful (a notion a good many of Christian have), birth control can be a matter of stewardship. Four examples are…

• A victim of rape, who already has a child, needs time to get help and work out her traumatic experience. Would it be alright to delay her fertility in order to heal emotionally?

• A man marries a woman with rebellious teenage kids. Before having children of his own, he feels that it best to pour Christ’s love into his stepchildren before they leave the home. Would it be alright to delay his fertility to better connect with the children already in his home?

• A father, the sole provider of his family, wakes up with a disabling disease and now the stay-at-home mom needs to work in order to provide for the family. Would it be alright to prevent his fertility so she can provide for the family?

• During the delivery of her bay, a woman tore so badly that her organs were falling out of her body. Would it be alright for her to delay her fertility until she has healed?

In regard to these situations, Discroll (as well as myself) agree that these are God honoring ways to use birth control. These examples are not about being selfish or even related to sin…its about being good stewards of what God has already given.

If you want to listen to the whole teaching then go to the religious and spiritually section of iTunes/podcast and download it or watch it HERE (I’m sure it will not be posted for very long but if you catch it in time go to 01.06.08 Religious Saves #9.) I would love to know what you think.

Proverbs 26:11

"As a dog returns to its vomit,so a fool repeats his folly."

Area Flooding

A friend sent me some pics of the flooding down in White County. (That's the county south of me.) Give a quick prayer for those that are effected.

Christian Students and Homosexuality

I spend most of yesterday studying the subject of homosexuality. I’m planning a three week teaching series on the subject for Wednesday Night Youth Meetings. This might be the most difficult subject I have ever navigated in my teaching. It is difficult because there may be gay students listening to my talks and I want to provide more hope than condemnation. My hope is to lay a foundation of compassion and convection; compassion for those that struggle and convection that scripture, therefore God, can not endorse homosexuality. The catch phrase I created is, “God loves homosexuals but they can not be fully bless by God.” (I’m not completely sold on that…it’s not very catchy…but that’s what I have so far). I’ve referred to many resources about the subject. The internet is loaded with pro-gay Christian theology. The resources I have been using are more emerging in theology that express compassion over the need to be right. These resources include Speaking My Mind by Tony Campolo, Helping the Struggling Adolescent by Dr. Les Parrott III, the 11/11/06 podcast taught by friend Todd Burkholder of the Purdue Christian Campus House, the 10/9/06 teaching taught by Greg Pinkner of the Fellowship Evangelical Free Church in Knoxville, TN, and above all else…the Bible. Any insight or other suggested resources would be greatly appreciated.

Winter Worship

 

These pictures were used as worship backgrounds. I took these the day after my "rabbit hunt" that I blogged about earlier. Click HERE to see the rest of my winter pictures.

Political Talk

I just used the Candidate Calculator. It tells me that my political positions line up with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee at 90%. Before Iowa, I was leaning toward Big Fred Thompson but I doubt if he will be in the race during the Indiana primary. But in the long run...Jesus wins every time.

On a couple other political fronts

1. Saturday I listened to an awesome lecture given by Tony Jones. He said, "It's an absolute sin for a Christian to register as a Democrat or a Republican." While I'm not willing to call it sin, I have been thinking about declaring myself as an independent...despite the fact I typically vote Republican on the State and National levels.

2. As few weeks ago Scott McKnight started a e-conversation about the presidential race. It surprised how the Democrat supporters out numbered the Republican. I wonder if the "emergent church" is made up of more Democrates than Republican?

A Thanksgiving Pic

My sister-in-law just sent me this family pic taken at Thanksgiving. It's a little dated but I thought it was blog worthy. Thanks Jamie for sending it to me. (From left to right: Brock, Angie, Mya, Aunt Betty, myself, and Dad is in background.)

Illustration of the Power and Joy of Partnership

(ht to MyLordandMyBlog)

My Blog Is Worth

My blog is worth $564.54.
How much is your blog worth?

One of my favorite blogs used an online tool to gauge the worth of his blog...$78,000. So I took the quiz...I have alot of work to do.

Guns and Youth MInistry

Guns & Youth Ministry: I never thought my job as a youth minister would bring these two things together but today it did. Logan, a student of mine, and I went rabbit hunting today. He said it was just ten degrees and I believe him. It was cold and it was windy. For those of you that believe hunting is silly or immoral then you will be happy to know that our hunt came up empty. We didn’t even see one furry bunny to shot at. We did, however, see a heard of deer and some amazing scenery. Three inches of snow was on every branch on ever tree. We both agreed it was beautiful. We found a snow drift to make two snow chairs. We sat for ten to fifteen minutes and simply talked. After making our way to the house, he invited me in for a cup of hot-chocolate. It was a great way to spend a cold afternoon with a great student. Thanks Logan for the hunt, conversation, and the hot-chocolate. The highlight was Logan saying, "I can't believe I'm hunting with my youth minister." I laughed and told him I was thinking the same thing.

Dan Kimball posted this pic on his blog. It was to funny not to post it on mine.