"You're a prophet and a dreamer" - translated, "There is a label that explains your behavior- that makes sense of why you'd want to leave our club- that frees us from examining the system we continue to prop up"
Here is an interview with someone who gets it and holds it with grace and humility. The contrast is striking.
What's Next for Francis Chan? A Conversation with Mark Driscoll and Joshua Harris from Ben Peays on Vimeo.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Thursday, October 07, 2010
A little Thursday am Wimber (fb)
I was recently asked to list my "heroes, from the past or today, who you most admire and desire to emulate." The late John Wimber made the short list. I never met him but I love him - love how he loved the Church - how he made people feel empowered and encouraged- all the people. I love how his humble and obedient heart freed others to take risks. He was a rock n roller turned Jesus freak. A revivalist who was the catalytic figure in worldwide revival in the late 80's and early 90's - most Americans have never heard of him, most Brits have and consider him a spiritual father of their movement. He made life with Jesus simple, fun and full of power.
A few zingers from the intro of Everyone Gets to Play - the second compilation of John Wimber writings. Just started this morning- the type of book best read devotionally - sipped not gulped- so I look forward to some pearls over the next few weeks.
"I can either get a tent and have a huge revival where I can do this by myself, or I can release it to the people, and equip them to play." - Wimber
"I had good teaching, but John Wimber and company had good fruit" - Bill Johnson
"John came with his ministry and left it with us" - David Pytches
"I realized that sometimes there is no way to explain obedience and sacrifice to God to those who do not see the Pearl." - Wimber
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
What really changes things? (fb)
Do things need to change? What things? …poverty? Racism? Systemic injustice? Ugly buildings? Vulnerable communities? The availability of Orange Julius? What really changes things? Government? Getting better at getting more people to come to more meetings? Political leaders? Grassroots movements? Ideas? Technology? Love?
Just returned from a few days in NYC spending time with guys in business, church, and non-profit who dream of transformed cities- guys who think lots about what really changes things. And it’s so fun to be with people like that – people who don’t just think about it but are doing things about it. They are doing amazing things in their worlds.
A couple of editorial thoughts upon reflection…
First, the structures that are in place are massively inadequate to sustain real change. What do you mean? Well…like….what we call “church” for the most part wouldn’t know what to do if tens of thousands suddenly said Yes. But the same is true for all of our structures – banking, health care, education, government – most of our institutions are totally incompatible with the change we long for and we should keep working like dogs to change those things.
Second, the only thing that will change cities is…one man, one woman who has an encounter with God. An encounter where the immense power of God and his outrageous compassion become real in a way that that man or woman feels as if they might be alive for the first time- becomes so real that they can’t help but gather a few other hungry hearts – hearts who are overjoyed at the simplicity of listening and responding to a voice that, once so far away, is suddenly so near.
My hand is to the plow of structure, my heart aches for more hungry hearts- for my own heart to be more and more desperate for more and more of God’s presence.
But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29
If you want it here it is come and get it - Paul McCartney
Sunday, August 01, 2010
Fresh wind for our movement (fb)
I am proud to be a part of a world-wide movement that traces its roots back thousands of years. I joined in high school, but had watched with curiosity and attraction for years. Having no sense of the movement's history I couldn't have understood that I got connected at the beginning of a major downturn in our movement's popularity- at least in America. The fact is that our movement has mostly fallen off of the radar of relevancy in our culture.
Prior to the 1940's the movement was primarily about professionals or the wealthy - but three things combined to create an explosion - making it accessible and desirable for millions of Americans. First, a picture. In 1953 Time magazine profiled John F. and Jackie Kennedy sailing small boats off sandy beaches off of Cape Cod. The images told a story that included sailing in a life of romance, leadership, family, and citizenship. The demand for sailing caused small communities of sailors to begin organizing. These clubs were member owned and managed and existed to connect families with the opportunity to use free time sailing together. The third factor was technological- in 1943 the Owens Corning company developed fiberglass, making boats both durable and affordable. When Todd Little and I became 50-50 partners on a 16 foot Sidewinder racing sloop there were 10 million middle-class Americans that were part of this movement called "sailing." In the last decade participation in sailing has declined by 40%. Why?
First, the clubs built expensive water-front club houses during the boom years. They began to hire staff, develop programs, include restaurants and bars, and generally forgot the core principle that they started with - "make it possible for people to sail." The clubs that are currently thriving have no paid staff, still share resources, are intergenerational, and require that everyone give some of their free time for the sake of the club. Todd and I got the guts to buy our boat because of a club at Lake Hefner that offered hourly rentals.
Second, sailing became dominated by professionals and lost its connection to family life. "The organic vitality of an activity can be measured by a ratio of amateurs to professionals active in it...when too many pros tax too few amateurs, some amateurs will start to wonder why they are in it." In 2008, five percent of sailors were paid for it in some fashion. Compare that with music, where one in 300 musicians are paid. The pro/amateur imbalance means that sailing has become a "crutch for some and a whim for others" rather than a lifestyle of the devoted.
Stacy and I bought "Dixie"- a 23' cruiser with a cabin- when our kids were four and six. Sailing for us was about family and friends sharing experiences together. It was a place of prayer, mentoring, laughter, and adventure. It wasn't easy, but it was so worth it.
Third, sailing isn't simple - it is both art and science - quite complicated- the kind of thing that requires a lifetime commitment. In the last 20 years our culture has abandoned "lifetime pursuits" in favor of paid entertainment in small time increments. It is much easier to pay for a two hour movie than to head to a lake, rig a boat, read the wind, face a new challenge then take it all down and put it away.
Fourth, related to the former point, families aren't sailing together and the sailing industry promotes a generational disconnect. "Find a culture where kids and adults are segregated and you'll find a culture on life support." The decline of sailing in the last 20 years is directly correlated to the rise of kids "programs." We have taught a generation that sailing is primarily something to be done for kids, by kids, as kids in summer programs. It is something to grow out of, not grow in to.
Finally, the focus on competition has brought division in sailing. The professionals promoted sailing as a sport to compete in rather than a pastime to enjoy. It is much easier to sell things to people who believe they need the latest and greatest, lightest and fastest. The emphasis on racing created massive division among sailors competing to promote their race, their rules, their events, their class of boats as THE standard. Each group has their own organizations, rules, publications, heroes and gurus. For the average Joe that might be interested in sailing- this all seems like one big complicated mess.
What can we do about it? What would it take for sailing to again become a lifestyle about shared adventure?
"Sailboats are flatly not family friendly in the popular sense. On sailboats people argue, swear, and shout. On sailboats, people fear, cry and celebrate. On sailboats people fart, burp and vomit. All out in the open. But on sailboats, people, even children, learn to trust and understand each other, even when mistakes are made or common-sense lines are crossed...When sailing finally includes whole families and their networks, then sailing will gain in popularity again because it will matter again."
1. Focus on mentoring
Real sailors are passionate about an idea: "that sailing is a better way to live than not sailing." "...it is very difficult to spread one's passion into a pastime for the masses. In fact, avidity usually develops one on one, or one to a few." Mentors carry "authentic, contagious enthusiasm" for sailing- they are the key to its reemergence as a viable "Life Pastime" in the next generation. "Mentoring en-masse is inevitably inauthentic. And it fails when mentoring is confused with a place, a curriculum, philanthropy or a social program by well-meaning organizers." Mentors are motivated by progress in their apprentices. They don't waste time on just anyone- they look for apprentices willing to "commit, recommit, and recommit again even if it hurts." "This can only happen in small groups of the same people over substantial time...everyone must participate."
2. Raise the bar
"If sailors hope that sailing will survive and grow, they won't try to convince others that it is easy. They will rightly call sailing what it is: difficult, time-consuming, evolving, sometimes risky and always worth it."
3. Connect it to community, including women and girls
"Today, for every seven sailors on a boat, only one is a woman and almost none of these are active mothers." Sailing has traditionally been the pastime of men and boys. For sailing to begin growing again it must be about community, connecting families and generations to a shared lifestyle. This requires a community commitment to create "overlapping free time" to spend together.
4. Refocus sailing organizations around simple things-
"Define "family friendly" not as something sanitized or segregated, but as a thing purposely built for active family use."
Help mentors find apprentices and vice-versa
Focus everything around the idea of spreading a passion for sailing to as many as possible
Finally- some things to avoid:
1. "Don't focus on making entry easy; instead create open access and let the benefits pull those who choose to participate."
2. "Don't encourage sailing, or for that matter any Life Pastime, to be a spectator sport. It's bad for sailing and for spectators."
3. "Never outsorce leadership. Leaders are a product of time invested and shared experiences. So invest time and share experiences among leaders and potential leaders."
4. "Don't think that schools or programs or clubs and do what parents and/or mentor should do.
5. "Never separate families and friends."
6. "Never limit access to the water or deny someone time on a sailboat."
I recently finished reading Nicholas D. Hayes' Saving Sailing - all of the quotes and most of these ideas are direct lifts from that book. If you, like me, are a student of leadership and community you should read this book.
I am a part of another movement that has declined with eery parallels to sailing in recent decades. I love sailing, the other movement is my Eternal Past Time- why has it declined and what will it take to see it revived in America? - re-read the above with your Church glasses on - and be of good cheer - the breeze really is freshening from the east!
Prior to the 1940's the movement was primarily about professionals or the wealthy - but three things combined to create an explosion - making it accessible and desirable for millions of Americans. First, a picture. In 1953 Time magazine profiled John F. and Jackie Kennedy sailing small boats off sandy beaches off of Cape Cod. The images told a story that included sailing in a life of romance, leadership, family, and citizenship. The demand for sailing caused small communities of sailors to begin organizing. These clubs were member owned and managed and existed to connect families with the opportunity to use free time sailing together. The third factor was technological- in 1943 the Owens Corning company developed fiberglass, making boats both durable and affordable. When Todd Little and I became 50-50 partners on a 16 foot Sidewinder racing sloop there were 10 million middle-class Americans that were part of this movement called "sailing." In the last decade participation in sailing has declined by 40%. Why?First, the clubs built expensive water-front club houses during the boom years. They began to hire staff, develop programs, include restaurants and bars, and generally forgot the core principle that they started with - "make it possible for people to sail." The clubs that are currently thriving have no paid staff, still share resources, are intergenerational, and require that everyone give some of their free time for the sake of the club. Todd and I got the guts to buy our boat because of a club at Lake Hefner that offered hourly rentals.
 |
| The "partners" tuning up Chastity in the driveway |
Stacy and I bought "Dixie"- a 23' cruiser with a cabin- when our kids were four and six. Sailing for us was about family and friends sharing experiences together. It was a place of prayer, mentoring, laughter, and adventure. It wasn't easy, but it was so worth it.
Third, sailing isn't simple - it is both art and science - quite complicated- the kind of thing that requires a lifetime commitment. In the last 20 years our culture has abandoned "lifetime pursuits" in favor of paid entertainment in small time increments. It is much easier to pay for a two hour movie than to head to a lake, rig a boat, read the wind, face a new challenge then take it all down and put it away.
Fourth, related to the former point, families aren't sailing together and the sailing industry promotes a generational disconnect. "Find a culture where kids and adults are segregated and you'll find a culture on life support." The decline of sailing in the last 20 years is directly correlated to the rise of kids "programs." We have taught a generation that sailing is primarily something to be done for kids, by kids, as kids in summer programs. It is something to grow out of, not grow in to.
Finally, the focus on competition has brought division in sailing. The professionals promoted sailing as a sport to compete in rather than a pastime to enjoy. It is much easier to sell things to people who believe they need the latest and greatest, lightest and fastest. The emphasis on racing created massive division among sailors competing to promote their race, their rules, their events, their class of boats as THE standard. Each group has their own organizations, rules, publications, heroes and gurus. For the average Joe that might be interested in sailing- this all seems like one big complicated mess.
What can we do about it? What would it take for sailing to again become a lifestyle about shared adventure?
"Sailboats are flatly not family friendly in the popular sense. On sailboats people argue, swear, and shout. On sailboats, people fear, cry and celebrate. On sailboats people fart, burp and vomit. All out in the open. But on sailboats, people, even children, learn to trust and understand each other, even when mistakes are made or common-sense lines are crossed...When sailing finally includes whole families and their networks, then sailing will gain in popularity again because it will matter again."
1. Focus on mentoring
 |
| Jake about to take the helm as we motor out of Lake Hefner's East Bay |
2. Raise the bar
"If sailors hope that sailing will survive and grow, they won't try to convince others that it is easy. They will rightly call sailing what it is: difficult, time-consuming, evolving, sometimes risky and always worth it."
3. Connect it to community, including women and girls
 |
| Em chillin' on Dixie |
4. Refocus sailing organizations around simple things-
"Define "family friendly" not as something sanitized or segregated, but as a thing purposely built for active family use."
Help mentors find apprentices and vice-versa
Focus everything around the idea of spreading a passion for sailing to as many as possible
 |
| Dad and Jake on Eufaula. "I'll drive, you trim sails" |
Finally- some things to avoid:
1. "Don't focus on making entry easy; instead create open access and let the benefits pull those who choose to participate."
2. "Don't encourage sailing, or for that matter any Life Pastime, to be a spectator sport. It's bad for sailing and for spectators."
3. "Never outsorce leadership. Leaders are a product of time invested and shared experiences. So invest time and share experiences among leaders and potential leaders."
4. "Don't think that schools or programs or clubs and do what parents and/or mentor should do.
5. "Never separate families and friends."
6. "Never limit access to the water or deny someone time on a sailboat."
I recently finished reading Nicholas D. Hayes' Saving Sailing - all of the quotes and most of these ideas are direct lifts from that book. If you, like me, are a student of leadership and community you should read this book.
I am a part of another movement that has declined with eery parallels to sailing in recent decades. I love sailing, the other movement is my Eternal Past Time- why has it declined and what will it take to see it revived in America? - re-read the above with your Church glasses on - and be of good cheer - the breeze really is freshening from the east!
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
The Help (fb)
"It's time Minny, do you hear me? You are free."
Finally finished this beautiful novel by Kathryn Stockett- The Help. It is the story of a group of young white girls and the black women who raised them and are raising their babies. It is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60's. Some thoughts:Read it this summer on vacation- yeah it will break your heart but you'll also laugh a lot
More help for those that still don't understand why "they" can't just get over "it"- I mean that sincerely
Why so many recent books and movies about the courage, beauty, and forgiving hearts of black women in the face of racial, political, gender, and economic injustice? God's up to something.
I was inspired by Skeeter's courage and willingness to "see"- to really see
The beauty and dignity of "house work"
Minny, Mr. Johnny and Miss Celia are a beautiful, redeeming story within a story- all three rise above their times
Stories, even fictional stories, about people that are different than us open our hearts to love all people more deeply, more genuinely, more like Jesus loves people. It's good for a white man in 2010 Oklahoma to see into the joy and pain of two classes of women in Jackson, Mississippi in the 60's.
Race is THE issue of our times. If you are looking for "Kingdom come" then put a hand on this plow- books like this help. Also- watch the upcoming World Cup - it will be globalization's coming out party and racial tension will be ever-present if you're paying attention.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Classic in the best way (fb)
Why? Because, throughout their heritage, there are two things they value.
1. The autonomy of the local church. They have always been an entrepreneurial movement that values practice over posturing. They are the NASCAR, git r done denomination. Do they have bureaucracy and institutions?- of course, but... there is a pilot light still burning that values a decentralized movement united by one thing...
2. The one thing... a commitment to mission. This is the thing that unites them. If it connects people to God- they're in. They aren't defined (much to the average SB denominational leader's chagrin and they would never admit it) by their theology or doctrine. Name me an SB theologian- Millard Erickson- ok that's one, but you won't find many. On the other hand, you'll find lots of Presbyterian, Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist scholars - how are those guys doing?
No- at the end of the day- despite all of their perceived and real crumudgeon-like behavior - the SB's keep coming back to the right question. "How do we proclaim Good News in this place and in this time?"
Monday, April 05, 2010
Something to grieve, something to own (fb)
Something significant happened in the family called Church last week- maybe you missed it. Early last week John Piper announced that he is taking "an eight-month leave of absence to address unspecified "sins" that have "taken a toll" on his marriage." (http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2010/03/author-piper-takes-leave-to-ta.php) John Piper happens to be my favorite modern preacher and teacher. Back when he started Desiring God Ministries I was on a first name basis with The person that you called to order preaching "tapes." Until a few years ago I read everything he wrote- including his exposition of Romans 9! I just love this guy so it's understandable that this would be huge news for me. But here is why I think it's huge news for "you" and especially for "us."
The Western church, especially the American church, has embraced a structure that is found nowhere in the New Testament, burns out leaders, and generally hinders the mission for which this family was gathered. I don't know the "sins" to which Piper refers to but I know this. John Piper walking away from everything for 8 months is a radical step to address radical problems. This is not a guy who is just tired. He doesn't just need a sabbatical - he's had lots of those through the years- mostly used for writing. Fortunately his problems will likely not disqualify him for future leadership in the Church. But over the last few years I've watched several high profile Christian leaders and several low-profile leaders fall under the weight of a system that is not sustainable. Specifically, I talked to a couple of guys a year over the past ten years that needed to do what Piper is doing- step away- but wouldn't, couldn't.
When I was in seminary, the statistic quoted was that the average length of time in vocational ministry for seminary grads was 7 years. I'll bet that number is less now. The typical senior pastor is relationally isolated - meaning they have no close friends to share heart-level intimacy with. Most are also relationally isolated from their wives and families- who often resent continually playing second fiddle to the "church family." I've never met a senior pastor who didn't say that wife and family are "first" - neither have I ever met one that was at peace with the way that value practically is worked out in the rhythm of life. The senior pastor carries the weight of maintaining balance in a "provider-client" system that rewards an incremental increase in maintaining the status quo. Every social invitation becomes a "should," every request for meeting is accompanied with fear. Mostly fear of inadequacy- inadequate to give that perfect word of wisdom, encouragement, counsel, or affirmation that is expected. Each time the senior leader rises to proclaim God's word it is with the knowledge that the performance will be judged in every car and at every lunch table. Our senior leaders are the brand, they are the franchise, a part of our identity. In an adolescent culture obsessed with the next hit, they are Christendom's rock stars. In short, the senior pastor is asked to be Prophet, Priest, and King...Apostle, Pastor, Teacher, and Evangelist. But why does that matter?
It matters first because my bible tells me that in Christ we are one- we are connected, we share the same spiritual dna, everything that a brother or sister does affects all of the brothers and sisters. If John Piper is hurting I'm hurting. If Ted Haggard flames out...we flame out! It's not "him" it's "us." We are a covenant people - one in Christ and one with each other. We are a body, a house, an army, a temple, a bride. We are watching our leaders walk up onto a stage as a lamb to the slaughter, then we turn our eyes as they fall away. We wish them well, pray for them, say what a shame it is, point out their flaws, then prop up the next guy.
It matters also because my bible tells me that leadership in the church is not connected to titles but to discipling people. It is to be done by a diverse group of amateurs that are radically dependent on the Holy Spirit for ... everything. There is not one description of Church in the new testament that looks anything like what we call "church." You won't find one senior pastor in the new testament. What you find is groups of people in cities, in community with one another, radically committed to love their city towards Jesus and His Kingdom. They meet in small groups a lot more often than they meet in large groups. The one description of a gathering that we are given in the bible shows a group of people waiting on the Holy Spirit- one has a word, another a song, another a prayer- everyone gets to play- everyone has to play. Church is the lifestyle of a community on mission together, not a place you go or a meeting to attend. If you go to a place or attend a meeting it should be for the purpose of equipping and encouraging you to live the lifestyle, or... it should be a worship and prayer throwdown for the ages that serves as a tangible expression of who we are and who God is.
So what do we do about it? Radical problems require radical solutions. Senior pastors will continue to fall under the weight of "ministry" unless the body "be's" the body by taking that weight onto itself. That will require:
- a fresh dose of grace- where we begin to grasp in our hearts how loved we are and how free we are
- a fresh vision of Kingdom transformation- a heart cry to see our friends, families, cities, and nations loved toward a reflection of "on earth as it is in heaven"
- a biblical view of Church and church leadership- an army of amateurs committed to encourage one another to go for it in every sphere of culture
- a dependence on the Holy Spirit that we have not experienced in this country since the frontier revivals- we probably will have to be taught by African, Indian, Asian and Latin American brothers and sisters
- a structure that empowers Church as a lifestyle and makes "church as a meeting" a thing of the past
Where can we start? The local church community that my family is connected to is taking radical steps in the right direction- steps that don't feel radical to most people- which means people are much more willing to embrace change. Here are a few of these steps that we are embracing:
1. Multiple preachers and teachers- there is no one that is the visible senior leader
2. Paid staff are all part time, bi-vocational leaders - this keeps people grounded in real-life and also makes it impossible to load them down with burdens that should be carried by us all
3. The weekly gathering is appropriately de-emphasized and life-together outside of the weekly meeting is celebrated
4. The theology of the Kingdom is preached again, and again, and again, and again...
5. There is almost an "open source" sense of place and mission in regards to the Church in our city, it's mission, and our necessary connection to all of our brothers and sisters in the city, regardless of their label
So let's pray for John and Noel Piper- let's fight for and with them. And let's listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Church- taking ownership for our own contribution to the repeated crash and burn of our leaders. Everyone gets to play, everyone has to play. Finally, we know the end of the story and are full of faith - the Bride will be the beautiful, world-changing girl she was made to be and all the created of all time will marvel at her glory.
The Western church, especially the American church, has embraced a structure that is found nowhere in the New Testament, burns out leaders, and generally hinders the mission for which this family was gathered. I don't know the "sins" to which Piper refers to but I know this. John Piper walking away from everything for 8 months is a radical step to address radical problems. This is not a guy who is just tired. He doesn't just need a sabbatical - he's had lots of those through the years- mostly used for writing. Fortunately his problems will likely not disqualify him for future leadership in the Church. But over the last few years I've watched several high profile Christian leaders and several low-profile leaders fall under the weight of a system that is not sustainable. Specifically, I talked to a couple of guys a year over the past ten years that needed to do what Piper is doing- step away- but wouldn't, couldn't.
When I was in seminary, the statistic quoted was that the average length of time in vocational ministry for seminary grads was 7 years. I'll bet that number is less now. The typical senior pastor is relationally isolated - meaning they have no close friends to share heart-level intimacy with. Most are also relationally isolated from their wives and families- who often resent continually playing second fiddle to the "church family." I've never met a senior pastor who didn't say that wife and family are "first" - neither have I ever met one that was at peace with the way that value practically is worked out in the rhythm of life. The senior pastor carries the weight of maintaining balance in a "provider-client" system that rewards an incremental increase in maintaining the status quo. Every social invitation becomes a "should," every request for meeting is accompanied with fear. Mostly fear of inadequacy- inadequate to give that perfect word of wisdom, encouragement, counsel, or affirmation that is expected. Each time the senior leader rises to proclaim God's word it is with the knowledge that the performance will be judged in every car and at every lunch table. Our senior leaders are the brand, they are the franchise, a part of our identity. In an adolescent culture obsessed with the next hit, they are Christendom's rock stars. In short, the senior pastor is asked to be Prophet, Priest, and King...Apostle, Pastor, Teacher, and Evangelist. But why does that matter?
It matters first because my bible tells me that in Christ we are one- we are connected, we share the same spiritual dna, everything that a brother or sister does affects all of the brothers and sisters. If John Piper is hurting I'm hurting. If Ted Haggard flames out...we flame out! It's not "him" it's "us." We are a covenant people - one in Christ and one with each other. We are a body, a house, an army, a temple, a bride. We are watching our leaders walk up onto a stage as a lamb to the slaughter, then we turn our eyes as they fall away. We wish them well, pray for them, say what a shame it is, point out their flaws, then prop up the next guy.
It matters also because my bible tells me that leadership in the church is not connected to titles but to discipling people. It is to be done by a diverse group of amateurs that are radically dependent on the Holy Spirit for ... everything. There is not one description of Church in the new testament that looks anything like what we call "church." You won't find one senior pastor in the new testament. What you find is groups of people in cities, in community with one another, radically committed to love their city towards Jesus and His Kingdom. They meet in small groups a lot more often than they meet in large groups. The one description of a gathering that we are given in the bible shows a group of people waiting on the Holy Spirit- one has a word, another a song, another a prayer- everyone gets to play- everyone has to play. Church is the lifestyle of a community on mission together, not a place you go or a meeting to attend. If you go to a place or attend a meeting it should be for the purpose of equipping and encouraging you to live the lifestyle, or... it should be a worship and prayer throwdown for the ages that serves as a tangible expression of who we are and who God is.
So what do we do about it? Radical problems require radical solutions. Senior pastors will continue to fall under the weight of "ministry" unless the body "be's" the body by taking that weight onto itself. That will require:
- a fresh dose of grace- where we begin to grasp in our hearts how loved we are and how free we are
- a fresh vision of Kingdom transformation- a heart cry to see our friends, families, cities, and nations loved toward a reflection of "on earth as it is in heaven"
- a biblical view of Church and church leadership- an army of amateurs committed to encourage one another to go for it in every sphere of culture
- a dependence on the Holy Spirit that we have not experienced in this country since the frontier revivals- we probably will have to be taught by African, Indian, Asian and Latin American brothers and sisters
- a structure that empowers Church as a lifestyle and makes "church as a meeting" a thing of the past
Where can we start? The local church community that my family is connected to is taking radical steps in the right direction- steps that don't feel radical to most people- which means people are much more willing to embrace change. Here are a few of these steps that we are embracing:
1. Multiple preachers and teachers- there is no one that is the visible senior leader
2. Paid staff are all part time, bi-vocational leaders - this keeps people grounded in real-life and also makes it impossible to load them down with burdens that should be carried by us all
3. The weekly gathering is appropriately de-emphasized and life-together outside of the weekly meeting is celebrated
4. The theology of the Kingdom is preached again, and again, and again, and again...
5. There is almost an "open source" sense of place and mission in regards to the Church in our city, it's mission, and our necessary connection to all of our brothers and sisters in the city, regardless of their label
So let's pray for John and Noel Piper- let's fight for and with them. And let's listen to what the Spirit is saying to the Church- taking ownership for our own contribution to the repeated crash and burn of our leaders. Everyone gets to play, everyone has to play. Finally, we know the end of the story and are full of faith - the Bride will be the beautiful, world-changing girl she was made to be and all the created of all time will marvel at her glory.
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