The Steeple OR Starbucks?

I'm reading a book by Reggie McNeal right now and I love it! It is a scathing indictment of how we "do church" today. I don't love that we are indicted, but I do love that someone is pointing out that "doing" church and "being" the church have become two very different things. For example, in his book "The Present Future", McNeal writes, "The death of the church culture will not be the death of the church. The church Jesus founded is good; it is right. The church established by Jesus will survive until he returns. The imminent demise under discussion is the collapse of the unique culture in North America that has come to be called "church." This church culture has become confused with biblical Christianity, both inside the church and out. In reality, the church culture in North America is a vestige of the original movement, an institutional expression of religion that is in part a civil religion and in part a club where religious people can hang out with other people whose politics, worldview, and lifestyle match theirs. As he hung on the cross Jesus probably never thought the impact of his sacrifice would be reduced to an invitation for people to join and support an institution."

I love this stuff. I don't love it because I always agree. I love it because of the challenge. These words, McNeal's book and others like it are challenging the church today to be the church Jesus truly did envision as he hung on the cross. In so many ways, we are falling short and we need to hear the critique of those pushing us all to be more missional or outward focused. We will only be better off by praying and applying our way through the missional zingers being zung at the institutional church today.

On the other hand, it does seem like the missional movement would like nothing more than to tear down the walls of the "institutional" church. I could not agree more that some walls need to be torn down, but I strongly believe that there is still plenty of room for "church as we know it" today too. There is room for the "attractional model" in balance with the missional. We absolutely need both. The reason for this is the power of the fellowship.

There is real power (dunamis) in the fellowship. Yes, there is power in the fellowship at Starbucks as the missional movement rightly points out. Believers need to infiltrate the Starbucks' of the world for Jesus. It is God's Will! But we also need to be in our church buildings for Jesus as well. Yes, we even need to invite people there. The reason for this is that God is within those walls! Okay, okay, I know God is not ONLY there. He is in Starbucks too, of course. He was especially in that Vanilla Creme Frappachino I just slurped down last night! Praise God! Make no mistake though, when believers come together to worship, and praise, and rightly preach and teach the Word, God is in that fellowship in a powerful way. Guess what? If you invite someone into that fellowship, the one we're not supposed to give up (Heb. 10:25) even if it happens to be inside a brick building with a cross on top, something powerful will happen. Praise God for that too!

Paul had confidence in the power of the fellowship. I like to call it his ministry of presence. Paul knew there was power (dunamis) in the gospel (Rom. 1:16-17), but he also knew there was power in just his presence. Romans 1:11 says, "I long to see you that I may impart some spiritual gift to make you strong, that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." For Paul, it was powerful for him to just show up. He knew God's power was at work in the presence of believers meeting together. Sooooooo, it is our responsibility to invite the lost, the lonely, the afraid, fellow believers, seekers, and unbelievers into the fellowship of God. If we do, trust God, something powerful will happen there. I am pretty sure the bible says something about that.

It is my humble opinion that the death knell of the institutional church was rung a bit prematurely by the missional movement today (of which I am part of by the way). This church has been around for thousands of years. Rightly or wrongly, we humans built those walls to meet in. It is okay though. Whether it is the walls of the church or the walls of Starbucks, God is there, and He can handle it.

One Way To Find True North

How many times do we tell our kids to say, “thank you”. The number is infinite. We beat that drum equally as hard as our parents did to us. “Did you send those thank you notes yet?” I cannot remember how many times my Mom asked me that. It was usually because it was January or February. My birthday is in November.

I did not always like writing thank you notes. I tried that trick where you write the same thing over and over again. Just insert a new name each time, but don’t forget to get the gifts right! Regardless of how I managed to get it done, and no matter how long I put it off, I always felt so much better thanking the gift giver. It works the other way too. I try not to expect thanks for gifts I give, but when I get thanks, it feels really good. There is something that is just right about saying, “thank you”.

When was the last time you said, “thank you” to God? Have you tried that lately? Saying “thank you” to God is a form of praise. Did you know we were made to say “thank you” to God? It is how we’re wired. Paul says, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2). Paul also writes that God’s grace to us is designed to “cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:15). Jesus Himself repeatedly gave “thanks” to God throughout His life and ministry.

When you give thanks to God, it does something to you. Giving thanks is an unselfish act in a selfish world. Giving thanks points the compass of your heart and soul toward God. It helps you have the proper posture before God to receive His blessings and understand your purpose. Giving thanks helps you find your true north.

The Gospel According to U2

It was a profound experience. Really, it was like no other I have ever had. It was our first U2 concert! Jennifer and I took our "bigs", Emily and Jackson, to the outdoor concert in Raleigh, N.C. on October 3rd. We have pretty much raised all our kids on U2 and their lyrics all along. I will never forget Jackson in his car seat, as a little guy, raising his finger to the song, "Elevation". We have been raising our fingers to that song ever since.

Of course, leading up to the concert, we played all the music over and over. It all reached a fevered-pitch when I managed to snag a perfect, front-row, field-level spot for us to soak it in. Listening to all the music in that setting was pretty close to a "religious" experience. My low-key, laid back son, Jackson, was jumping up and down, hands raised, to the music. I was amazed and somehow filled with the powerful presence of Christ in a new and unique way, at least it was for me. I think it is because I simply recognized Jesus Christ in U2's music like I never had before. I mean, I knew that at least three band members were Christians, and I knew that Bono uses his music to communicate his faith, but the clarity of the gospel message in the music had never come through so clearly to me before.

The opening song in Raleigh is a new favorite of mine from their new album, No Line On the Horizon. It's called "Breathe". It seems to me to be really about the breathing room we discover along with the grace of God. When we find the grace of God, we really do not need anything else anymore:

"Every day I, die again and again and reborn Every day I, have to find the courage to walk down into the street, with arms out gotta’ love you can’t defeat neither down or out there's nothing you have that I need, I can breath Breathe now."

"I found grace and its all I’ve got And I can breathe out sing my out I found a place inside a sound I found grace and its all I’ve got and I can breathe, breath her."

There are plenty of other examples, but nothing is quite as clear as the song, "Grace". I praise God that such a clear and beautiful description of God's amazing grace has made it into the mainstream:

"Grace... She takes the blame. She covers the shame. Removes the stain. It could be her name"

"What once was hurt, what once was friction, what left a mark, no longer stings, because grace makes beauty, out of ugly things, grace makes beauty out of ugly things"

U2's music reminds me of Jesus' parables. Jesus used the parables on purpose, not to spell it out, but to come in the back door. The truth is, for most of us, we have got our front doors sealed shut. Too many scam artists have peddled lies to us for too many years. Everything is nailed down with the closed sign hanging. When you read Jesus' parables or listen to the music of U2 though, grace comes in the back door, and it is amazing.

Finding God In a Coffee Cup

I remember sitting in a rocking chair in Haiti about a year ago. I was there to attempt bringing home Eden Kristy. It was hot, as usual. I was on my third week of being there. I don't know how many useless trips to the embassy I had endured, flights through cypberspace or near desperate calls to government offices back home. Countless is probably a good number. All this after already trudging through 3 1/2 years worth of red tape, endless waiting and general misery. As I sat in that chair the helplessness of it all sunk deep down inside me like never before. I was truly mystified, befuddled, angry, and once again, pretty self-centered.

I did have my coffee though! Coffee equaled comfort at that time. I didn't have much comfort, but coffee did the trick every time. As I sat there, sure enough, another little orphan boy sprang for my attention. Don't get me wrong, I love kids, but I was there on a mission. I so wanted to swoop in, grab my kid, and swoop on home again as fast as possible. Enough is enough already! My patience for needy children had worn completely out. I found myself avoiding them as much as possible. But this kid wanted to play ball.

I decided to toss the ball with this little brat despite my growing aversion. At least it was something to do through the wait and the heat. I placed my coffee cup in the perfect out-of-the-way spot. It was protected. Only the hand of God could penetrate the maze of protective barriers I made sure was between the kid and me. We tossed a few times, and then I saw it. I saw a look of determination that impressed me. This three year old was going fire that ball over the balcony with all his might. I was excited to see what kind of velocity he could muster and that the game of catch would soon end. He reared back to throw and let loose. Well, he held on a bit too long. Somehow, the ball came back toward me under his arm, along the floor, around my leg, past the chair, off the wall and, you guessed it, into my coffee cup.

With my comfort spilled all over the floor, I had had enough. I was at the breaking point. I wanted to scream. But it was just then that I found God in the coffee cup. As I considered the odds of that kid managing such a direct hit, I realized something that saved my life that day. I realized that if something as amazing as that could happen, then anything could happen. God's peace trickled down over me and welled up within me. It was within an hour that I got the news it was time to go home. Eden's visa was finally approved.

Jimy is home now too. We've just celebrated a whole year with both our new kids. Maybe that is why I have been away for a while. Life has been a little bit hectic! Things are going great though. We are all adjusting, oh, and drinking lots of coffee! Thanks for all your prayers and support!

I Can Fix This

I love the story about the enthusiastic young plumber who took one look at Niagara Falls and said, "hmmm, I think I can fix this". Lately, I am pretty sure that is what I have been trying to do. I have been looking at the broken areas of my life, my family, my calling and saying, "I think I can fix this." The problem is, whatever fixing I have been up to on my own has been merely a quick fix. It's like fixing an airplane with duct tape. As great as duct tape is, if you try to fix an airplane with it, eventually that plane is gonna come down with a great crash. Maybe you can relate?

There's another story told by Brennan Manning in his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel, which I highly recommend. Manning credits the story to Morton Kelsey. In the story, a man on a journey comes to the edge of an abyss. As he wrestles with what to do next, he is amazed to notice a tightrope stretched across the abyss. Slowly but surely, he sees an acrobat creeping along on the tightrope pushing a wheelbarrow with another performer in it. When they finally reach solid ground, the acrobat smiled at the man's amazement. "Don't you think I can do that again?" he asked. The man replied, "Why yes, certainly I believe you can." The acrobat asked the man again to be sure the answer would be the same. When it was, he pointed to the wheelbarrow and said, "Good! Then get in and I will take you across."

Here's the thing. I don't want to fix my life with duct tape. I want to be fixed by the grace and power of my Lord. He is the only one I trust to push me along the tightrope of life in my own little wheelbarrow. I have discovered that when I struggle with where God has put me, I cannot patch that struggle up with duct tape. Instead, I have to patch it up with belief in the only one that can fix it from the inside out. As Paul says, "I have learned the secret of being content in whatever the circumstances... I can do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:11, 13). You could translate that a bit differently: "I can do all things through Him who pushes the wheelbarrow". It's scary, but better than duct tape.

To The World From A Forgotten Place

Praise God! I am in Port au Prince as I write to make arrangements to pick up Eden Kristy and bring her home. I'm still playing the waiting game, but we really are closer than ever. Upon arrival, I was profoundly reminded of how rough and poor this place is. Let's put it this way, none of your cars would survive here. I don't know how they do it. The people are beautiful and if you close your eyes, you feel like you are in a tropical paradise, but opening them brings you back to reality quickly. Anyway, pray for this to finally get finished. Jimy's stuff is moving along too. Hopefully we won't have to return to this place for a while. Actually, forget that. We need to. We desperately need to.

Gone Fishin'

I'll never forget that fishin' trip. I went to Canada with my dad and grandad when I was about 8 or 9 years old. It was great! I caught a bunch of Walleye. I remember catching more than everyone else, but that's probably just what they said to gullable young kid like me. You know fishin' stories - they grow and grow. I have always wanted to take my son on a trip just like that. The trip for me was a "forever memory" and I want my sons to have (at least) one with their father too. So I've gone fishin'. Jackson, my dad and I are heading to a secluded spot about 400 miles north of Toronto. We leave on Thursday, June 5 and return Saturday, June 14. Praise God for "forever memories"! I can't wait to see the fishin' story that will grow out of this!