Caught in the show

For all those who lead worship or participate in worship, check out this article. It has a great perspective for people on the stage AND people in the seats!

The Tangible Kingdom::part 1

I just finished reading a book that has really made me think about the church called The Tangible Kingdom. To all those working in a church, attending a church, or even been burned by church; I challenge you to read this book! Here are some selections that really impacted me throughout the first few chapters:

We have churches everywhere, but they smell musty, fussy, clubby, judgmental, mean, punishing, ungenerous, and are not compelling people to come or stay.

Christians must learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society. We must learn to build relational bridges that win a hearing.

Tension also comes when you know you can’t go back to present forms of church, but you don’t know what going forward will look like or what it will cost us in life, focus, family, or finances.

There are 2 primary camps of Christians: 1) “Jerusalem Christians”- those who see the person of Jesus through their traditions and the literal interpretation of doctrine, and 2) “Galilee Christians”- those who see the Christian message through the person of Jesus and the narratives about his life.

To move forward, we can’t keep everything we’ve always had. We have to pick what to take, what is absolutely necessary, and leave behind some things that have been important to us.

Wise leadership requires that you steward everyone well; pastor everyone well; be honest with where you want to go and try to express what the journey will feel like, what they won’t get to take if they go, and what it will cost them if they do. Then let people decide for themselves.

“Doing church different is like rearranging chairs on the Titanic.” We must realize that slight tweaks, new music, creative lighting, wearing hula shirts, shorts, and flip-flops won’t make doing church more attractive. Church must not be the goal of the gospel anymore… Church should be what ends up happening as a natural response to people wanting to follow us, be with us, and be like us as we are following the way of Christ.

Influence doesn’t happen by extracting ourselves from the world for the sake of our values, but by bringing our values into the culture.

“I got worms.”

I was recently reading about a king named Herod Agrippa. Probably not a name that comes up in casual conversation at the dinner table, but he was kind of a big deal. Herod’s rule was during the time when Jesus’ message was beginning to rapidly spread. Due to his deep Jewish roots, Herod wanted to do anything possible to destroy Christianity. This included having James (John’s brother) publicly killed by a sword and throwing Peter in prison to await his execution. But, things didn’t go as planned, as an angel led Peter out of his heavily guarded cell (Acts 12:6-18). This really ticked off Herod. When no one could find Peter after a while of searching, Herod interrogated the guards and then sentenced them all to death.

But, Herod’s anger didn’t end there. He decided to flex his authority against the lowly countries of Tyre and Sidon. Since they depended on Herod’s country for food, they had to brown nose their way back into his good graces. They were granted an appointment with Herod who donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and made an epic speech. Acts 12:22 says, “The people gave him a great ovation, shouting, ‘It’s the voice of a god, not of a man!’” This was a bad move. The next verse in Acts says:

Instantly, an angel of the Lord struck Herod with a sickness, because he accepted the people’s worship instead of giving the glory to God. So he was consumed with worms and died.

I’m sorry, but that is so……..awesome! I mean, God didn’t just kill him. But my man was consumed with worms. Maybe this is just my sick side, but I wonder what that looked like.

So here is the question for us:: Are we more concerned with worship and recognition for ourselves, than for giving glory and credit to God? Are we seeking recognition from people instead of doing things that God asks us and created us to do? If so……you got worms!

My Personality

I just took a personality assessment on AssessME.org. My primary trait came up as: Creator. The website gives the Creator this caption, “let me invent new and better ways to extend our ministry impact.” I like that! As I read to the bottom of the page, I came across something that made me say, “HECK YES!” I feel like this statement really defines my role in a church:

How Leadership Can Support You

If only more ministries would value the Creator personality instead of remaining risk-avoidant, the Church could accomplish so much more for the Kingdom of Christ. In fact, statements that infer a preference for “safe ministry” will likely turn off the Creator. If your ministry lacks Creator personalities, it is likely that the attitude and atmosphere of the ministry unconsciously communicates that Creators are not welcome.

A ministry can benefit greatly from Creators, but leaders must be willing to appreciate change and help their members appreciate these values as well. Otherwise, Creators can be vilified within the ministry as being responsible for changing the church others have grown to love. If this occurs, your ministry will likely lose this valuable and rare person to another ministry.

America a Christian Nation???

Our small group got into a discussion a few weeks ago that paralleled with a book I’m reading (The Tangible Kingdom- which is REALLY messing with me). We were discussing the school system’s new anti-bullying curriculum that also teaches tolerance of all different religions, sexual orientation, etc… The comment that made me start thinking was, “America was founded on Christian principles and beliefs. Just read the constitution.” I totally, 100% agree with that. But, are we still a Christian nation?

Tangible Kingdom, along with unChristian, provide unbelievable evidence and statistics that show America is definitely not a Christian nation anymore. Of course, you can turn on the TV or look around your community and see that to be true. How does that make you feel? Personally….I’m glad to see us coming to grips that we aren’t a “Christian” nation. For one reason, the label of “Christian” has become so deluded, misrepresented, and tainted over the years that it’s real identity has been lost. Many have done or said things under the “Christian” banner over the years that I think would have really ticked Jesus off!

Tom Clegg and Warren Bird said this:

“The inescapable conclusion is that we must throw out any notion that God is truly at the center of the church’s heart in North America. The shift in society’s view of the church has resulted in the marginalization of the church and the secularization of society. Christians must learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society. We must learn to build relational bridges that win a hearing.”

So what’s the answer? What are we supposed to do? I’m not totally sure. But, one thing is for sure: if we keep doing the same things, we are going to keep getting the same results. Maybe we’ve made church something it wasn’t supposed to be? Maybe we are now seeing the byproduct of the unchanging church structure or institution with an ever changing culture? Maybe God is calling us to something different, and maybe that something is actually found through returning. Hugh Halter says, “It’s not about success, size of buildings, budget, or ’salvations.’ It is about being faithful to live Christ’s alternative ways in the world again…It’s about the type of church that Jesus would go to, the type he died to give flight to.”

See what I meant? The Tangible Kingdom is really messing with me!