I'm finally back home after spending the month of June away. Here are just a few of my general impressions, having interacted with leaders from all over the country and even around the world: first, "successful" ministry is really rather simple in its approach, that is, for all of our meetings and strategy sessions, nothing replaces gathering a few disciples around to pour your life into and make a difference (kind of like Jesus did!); second, ministry is not something we do, but is an expression of who we are as we genuinely incarnate ourselves into the lives of others; and, third, from having a broad view of the ecumenical church, it seems to me that we are just downright spiritually spoiled and often act like brats. While grinding poverty, horrific circumstances, and oppression occur daily among many believers, we complain about every little thing we don't like in the church.
My prayer is that the heart of God would become the reality of our lives. Pray for me, that college students would know Jesus and know God's grace through our ministry. May the fellowship of the Spirit be with you!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
A Tale of Two Churches
Last Sunday I visited two churches on the same Sunday morning. The first church I attended was rather "traditional." The architecture of the building was splendid and immediately gave me a sense of the sovereignty and majesty of God. The sanctuary had a capacity of about four to five hundred, and it was full. It was evident to me, as the service began, that the congregation had a strong sense of community and deeply cared for one another. Moreover, as the liturgy unfolded, there seemed to be a clear connection with the worldwide church and an understanding of its historic character as a Reformation body. Yet, through all this it lacked one thing: relevance. It was just plain boring. Despite the fact that it recognized and affirmed the confessions and creeds of the church, they were presented as wooden and disconnected from contemporary experience as if they were some sort of relics on display in a museum. The gentleman sitting next to me simply fell asleep, and for good reason.
Upon leaving this church, from which I sat and looked at my watch most of the service, I drove ten minutes to another church. This was a large non-denominational church with several thousand persons and multiple services. The church clearly existed to remedy the ills of the congregation from which I had just come. The service was simple and straightforward: 45 minutes of singing, and 45 minutes of preaching. Ironically, some of the same hymns I had just sung at the previous church I now stood and sang with a different kind of arrangement and enthusiasm. The preaching was biblically solid and hit me directly where I operate in my day to day spiritual life. There was, however, something missing: the historic creeds and confessions of the church. In the absence of these, I had the sense that the church was somehow adrift with no historical moorings to hold it. The building I entered was nothing more than a warehouse full of people which could not be distinguished from any run of the mill conference I had ever attended, or any concert I had seen. It appeared that in its zeal to distance itself from the musty nature of traditionalism, the church had thrown the baby out with the bathwater. A vast collection of people seemed utterly disconnected from both each other and from history altogether with no real guidance other than the practical.
I tell this tale, not to exhaust you in reading, but to posit: why does it seem that these two kinds of churches are mutually exclusive of each other? In looking for a church, and connecting with a local body of believers, we ought to be able to retain what is good in both churches. It is my prayer that Bridgeway college students will experience church both as a place of relevance and enthusiasm, while maintaining a solid rootedness to our rich history and faithfulness to scripture. Let us worship in both spirit, and in truth.
Upon leaving this church, from which I sat and looked at my watch most of the service, I drove ten minutes to another church. This was a large non-denominational church with several thousand persons and multiple services. The church clearly existed to remedy the ills of the congregation from which I had just come. The service was simple and straightforward: 45 minutes of singing, and 45 minutes of preaching. Ironically, some of the same hymns I had just sung at the previous church I now stood and sang with a different kind of arrangement and enthusiasm. The preaching was biblically solid and hit me directly where I operate in my day to day spiritual life. There was, however, something missing: the historic creeds and confessions of the church. In the absence of these, I had the sense that the church was somehow adrift with no historical moorings to hold it. The building I entered was nothing more than a warehouse full of people which could not be distinguished from any run of the mill conference I had ever attended, or any concert I had seen. It appeared that in its zeal to distance itself from the musty nature of traditionalism, the church had thrown the baby out with the bathwater. A vast collection of people seemed utterly disconnected from both each other and from history altogether with no real guidance other than the practical.
I tell this tale, not to exhaust you in reading, but to posit: why does it seem that these two kinds of churches are mutually exclusive of each other? In looking for a church, and connecting with a local body of believers, we ought to be able to retain what is good in both churches. It is my prayer that Bridgeway college students will experience church both as a place of relevance and enthusiasm, while maintaining a solid rootedness to our rich history and faithfulness to scripture. Let us worship in both spirit, and in truth.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Where Are We Going in Ministry?
What exactly is the direction we ought to be taking in the Christian life? How do we know when we are on the right path? At Bridgeway Church, we are all about connections - with Christ, each other, and the world. Is there a measurement for this?
Here is a “take” on measuring connection. Article 29 of the Belgic Confession of 1566 states that we recognize the distinguishing marks of Christians “namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him.”
I would say this is the outcome we want to see with students.
It seems to me that the true evidence, from a historical perspective of the church, whether students are heading in the direction is if they have a posture of humility toward the preaching of the Word, the practicing of the sacraments, and obedience to church discipline (I’m not talking about punishment here, but having a submissive attitude of accepting spiritual practices that will foster Christian maturity, e.g. prayer, fasting, and giving). These, then, are the appropriate measurements of genuine Christianity. The evaluative grid is one that seeks to understand if individual believers are vested in the outward forms from deep inner conviction. The end of this is a changed life, which becomes evident to all. May it be so!
Here is a “take” on measuring connection. Article 29 of the Belgic Confession of 1566 states that we recognize the distinguishing marks of Christians “namely by faith, and by their fleeing from sin and pursuing righteousness, once they have received the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ. They love the true God and their neighbors, without turning to the right or left, and they crucify the flesh and its works. Though great weakness remains in them, they fight against it by the Spirit all the days of their lives, appealing constantly to the blood, suffering, death, and obedience of the Lord Jesus, in whom they have forgiveness of their sins, through faith in him.”
I would say this is the outcome we want to see with students.
It seems to me that the true evidence, from a historical perspective of the church, whether students are heading in the direction is if they have a posture of humility toward the preaching of the Word, the practicing of the sacraments, and obedience to church discipline (I’m not talking about punishment here, but having a submissive attitude of accepting spiritual practices that will foster Christian maturity, e.g. prayer, fasting, and giving). These, then, are the appropriate measurements of genuine Christianity. The evaluative grid is one that seeks to understand if individual believers are vested in the outward forms from deep inner conviction. The end of this is a changed life, which becomes evident to all. May it be so!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Relationships
I am away from my family for the entire month, and have a renewed appreciation for why college students are such relational creatures. In the absence of the family that others may take for granted, they are pretty much on their own developing friendships and connections that become vital to their lives.
This is why the church is so important. Historically, the church has been defined as "the continuing presence of Christ in the world." First, then, it is necessary to be connected in close relationship with Jesus. Second, out of this flows the connections and relationships with others that are needed in the Body of Christ. Thus, in a day when ministry has become some sort of science to dissect and understand, we need to recover the simplicity of cultivating relationships and plowing into people's lives as far as we can. Proclamation of the gospel, biblically, is not only a verbal activity done from afar, but is highly relational and is deeply invested communicating Christ through myself using the means of grace and the Spirit.
Yeah, I'm missing my family big time. But there are lonely people all around us, many of them students, who need a relational incarnation from another in close relationship. This is the stuff of true discipleship, and the basic activity for which we need to recapture to see lives changed.
This is why the church is so important. Historically, the church has been defined as "the continuing presence of Christ in the world." First, then, it is necessary to be connected in close relationship with Jesus. Second, out of this flows the connections and relationships with others that are needed in the Body of Christ. Thus, in a day when ministry has become some sort of science to dissect and understand, we need to recover the simplicity of cultivating relationships and plowing into people's lives as far as we can. Proclamation of the gospel, biblically, is not only a verbal activity done from afar, but is highly relational and is deeply invested communicating Christ through myself using the means of grace and the Spirit.
Yeah, I'm missing my family big time. But there are lonely people all around us, many of them students, who need a relational incarnation from another in close relationship. This is the stuff of true discipleship, and the basic activity for which we need to recapture to see lives changed.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
God is Huge!
I have spent the last week and a half on Lake Michigan. It has been several years since I've hung out on the beach, so to see how big the lake is again keeps me reminded that God communicates who He is through creation. I am continually confronted with the immensity of God and the smallness of my own problems. Thanks to all who are praying for me. May the Lord of the earth reveal his huge-ness to you, as well!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A Son's Lament
A very biblical thing to do is to practice lament in situations of hurt or loss. The following is a lament I wrote today in response to the death of my Dad:
I praise You, Father God, for intervening in my life and adopting me as Your own and becoming for me the father I never had.
My Dad is gone, he is dead, and with his passing is the death of a relationship that could have been, but never was. I feel like a child who did not grow up because his Dad was emotionally distant, and did not give support, guidance, and the connection I so desparately needed, who in his last words on earth said to me, "I cannot talk about it."
Yet, in the pain of my father-wound, I place my trust in my heavenly Father to do for me what I cannot do for myself, and to enter into deep relation with me as the ultimate father of grace, mercy, and unending love for his son.
May You heal me, O God, and give me the wisdom, the courage, and the power to navigate this depraved world in the absence of my own flesh and blood. Would You help me to be a father to my own children as You have been a father to me. May You use Your church as my family.
You are not called "Father" for nothing, for what human father would give his son a snake when he asks for bread. I know that Your plans and direction for me are good.
I sit in patience, for You will make me the man you want me to be. I praise Your name, which is Father, for you have turned my mourning into joy, and my despair into gladness. Amen.
I praise You, Father God, for intervening in my life and adopting me as Your own and becoming for me the father I never had.
My Dad is gone, he is dead, and with his passing is the death of a relationship that could have been, but never was. I feel like a child who did not grow up because his Dad was emotionally distant, and did not give support, guidance, and the connection I so desparately needed, who in his last words on earth said to me, "I cannot talk about it."
Yet, in the pain of my father-wound, I place my trust in my heavenly Father to do for me what I cannot do for myself, and to enter into deep relation with me as the ultimate father of grace, mercy, and unending love for his son.
May You heal me, O God, and give me the wisdom, the courage, and the power to navigate this depraved world in the absence of my own flesh and blood. Would You help me to be a father to my own children as You have been a father to me. May You use Your church as my family.
You are not called "Father" for nothing, for what human father would give his son a snake when he asks for bread. I know that Your plans and direction for me are good.
I sit in patience, for You will make me the man you want me to be. I praise Your name, which is Father, for you have turned my mourning into joy, and my despair into gladness. Amen.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Hospitality
I am here at Camp Geneva, and the food is incredible. The hospitality I have experienced is second to none. I have already eaten more in two days than I did all last week. Maybe you would call me a glutton. If so, I am in good company since the Pharisees labeled Jesus as a glutton and a drunkard.
A simple observation of Jesus is that he gained this reputation as a friend of sinners through continually eating and drinking with them. In the ancient world, having a meal with someone was more than simple eating; it was a spiritual activity that communicated care and acceptance. So much did Jesus do this that it seemed to the religious establishment that he was out of control with his appetites.
What kind and degree of practicing hospitality would it take for us to be identified with Jesus himself as a glutton and a friend of sinners? If we truly seek to follow in the Master's footsteps, then incarnating ourselves in the lives of sinners through table fellowship is a must activity.
No one likes a good meal quite like a poor college student. Reaching out to them in this hospitality of love is the Jesus way.
A simple observation of Jesus is that he gained this reputation as a friend of sinners through continually eating and drinking with them. In the ancient world, having a meal with someone was more than simple eating; it was a spiritual activity that communicated care and acceptance. So much did Jesus do this that it seemed to the religious establishment that he was out of control with his appetites.
What kind and degree of practicing hospitality would it take for us to be identified with Jesus himself as a glutton and a friend of sinners? If we truly seek to follow in the Master's footsteps, then incarnating ourselves in the lives of sinners through table fellowship is a must activity.
No one likes a good meal quite like a poor college student. Reaching out to them in this hospitality of love is the Jesus way.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Solution-Focused Therapy
One of the many things I am learning this week on the shores of Lake Michigan is solution-focused therapy. The basic idea, as a counselor, is to not be the problem solver and fix the person or the situation, but to help the counselee build their own solutions and see the hope and resources they have to deal with their circumstance. It is easy to slip into overfunctioning and do the work for another that they should be doing themselves.
Here is one technique to spur the process along and be a facilitator in helping: this is called the miracle question. Suppose while you sleep tonight, a miracle occurred. You don't know it because you were sleeping, but miraculously your problem has been removed. When you wake up in the morning, how do you know the miracle occurred? What is different now? How have you changed? This is an exercise is using imagination to think through what I might do that could create the changes I want.
Well, that's my tidbit for today. Thanks for you prayers in my time away. Sweet dreams!
Here is one technique to spur the process along and be a facilitator in helping: this is called the miracle question. Suppose while you sleep tonight, a miracle occurred. You don't know it because you were sleeping, but miraculously your problem has been removed. When you wake up in the morning, how do you know the miracle occurred? What is different now? How have you changed? This is an exercise is using imagination to think through what I might do that could create the changes I want.
Well, that's my tidbit for today. Thanks for you prayers in my time away. Sweet dreams!
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