Category Archives: Church planting

Church planting, Life in general, LifeSpring Church

Four Weddings and a Funeral

WeddingLast November I met a pastor from Chicago’s Willow Creek Church.  We were both at a conference in Seattle.  He told me about a project he had started called “Wedding Pastors USA dot org.”  He also invited me to put my own page up on the site.

The impetus for Wedding Pastors is that many pastors are unwilling to do weddings for people who are not members of their own church.  Therefore Wedding Pastors offers this service to people who would like to have a pastor help them through this important moment.  I now have a page at that website, and people looking for a pastor in the Merced area can find me.

Continue reading Four Weddings and a Funeral →

Church planting

Ask, Seek, Click

1 Comment

I just discovered an excellent web site in Cutting Edge, the quarterly church planting magazine of the Vineyard.  The site is the creation of the New York City Vineyard Church, and it was designed specifically for people of diverse background and belief in NYC.

The site features short video clips from members of the NYC church talking about their faith journey.  It is interesting and compelling.

The site was originally designed to invite visitors to a dinner.  They had 220 people who showed up after seeing the web site.  Only 70 were members of the NYC church, and the rest were people from all over the social and religious spectrum.

The dinner is over now, so the site serves to let visitors listen to real people talk about their faith.  It is well worth visiting and very inspiring.

Tags:
Church planting, LifeSpring Church

Divine Ignorance

PeopleWhen I went through church planters “boot camp” everything was pretty theoretical.  In some ways it was like reading the travel books Bev and I used to prepare for a European trip.  It wasn’t until our feet were on Parisian streets that we really understood how it all worked.

Before we moved we were warned by other church planters that people would try to hijack the mission.  We were told they would see a small, new church as an opportunity to bring their own agenda.  I filed that away for future reference.

Continue reading Divine Ignorance →

Church planting, Life in general

Busy morning

IMG_2293The alarm went off at 5:30 this morning.  Considering it is Saturday, that is obscene.  Saturday is my one sleep-in day.  But I didn’t have any seconds to spare.

After showering I sat down with breakfast and my remarks for 10:00.  I ate breakfast and did some last minute editing.  It wasn’t a big deal, but I still needed to make sure everything was copasetic.  Done.

My first appointment was at the Junior Olympics.  Our Kiwanis club staffs the concession booth and provides manpower for the various events.  I couldn’t stay the whole morning because of another event.

It was the second year in a row that I had to leave early.  Since our club is small, I felt bad leaving early, but it was unavoidable.  Times like this remind me of how important even one person is.

At 10:00 I had to be at the SPCA Dog Walk.  It’s an annual fundraiser for their shelter which is a no-kill shelter.  I welcome such opportunities because they give me contact with lots of people.  I also like Roy and Karyn Johnson who run the shelter.

One of the things that I’ve enjoyed about this church plant is that I get to work at creating community contacts.  Too often churches quit doing this as they mature and retreat to private campuses.

I hated getting up at 5:30, but I loved being able to mix with so many people.

Church planting, Life in general, People

Convergence

ConvergenceA friend of mine contacted me last week.  We have not seen each other for years.  The e-mail said, “It appears that you and I have arrived at similar places.”

I’d call what he was describing a “philosophical six degrees of separation.”  Even though people may be separated by miles and time, they often find that that are linked together by lessons learned, conclusions drawn, and decisions made.  Convergence that transcends miles.

Our proximity in spite of distance is not unusual.  Others are having similar experiences.  Common to all is a basic cynicism that existing church culture cannot be changed and a belief that to reach the world with the gospel requires leaving traditional church organization and going “outside.”

He described his situation and resulting frustrations.  I must say, I found it odd to be sitting outside that context.  Even though I spent years in it, his context now seems like a distant memory to me.  Like recalling a house I used to live in as a child or a place once traveled to.

I hope he has the courage to make needed changes.  It is risky business, to be sure, but it is also the path to a more joyful life.

 

Tags:
Church planting, Missional

Sharing the kindness of Jesus

VOMBev receives Voice of the Martyrs every month.  VOM is a publication about the religious persecution of Christians around the world.  The May 2007 issue has a large article about the plight of Malaysians wanting to become disciples of Jesus.

Native Malaysians are considered to be Islamic by virture of their nationality.  It is not permitted for a native Malay to be anything other than Muslim.  Furthermore, churches that permit Malays to attend are subject to persecution, seizure of their property, etc.

So no matter how badly you may want to become a Christian it is extremely difficult and dangerous to do so.  You may even be asked not to come to church by its members.

One of the Malay Christians named “Dian” described the approach that Christians have to take toward toward seekers.

‘Although it is risky, we share the kindness of Jesus with waitresses in restaurants and in villages…We pray for hurting people.  We do not argue about the Koran or the Bible.  Religious debates never saved anybody.  In our young days of ministry, we made enemies trying to be smart with our Christian knowledge and bring them down.  That is a waste of God’s time.

Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship between us and God.  Every opportunity is a divine moment.  You must not be self-centered but live for other people and care for them.  Muslims are coming to Jesus.

Dian’s strategy is wise and insightful.  No one appreciates a debate, and being a Christian is primarily a relationship and not a religious affiliation.

Church planting, Life in general, LifeSpring Church

Eucharist

EucharistAdam did the “table talk” Sunday.  The table talk is the brief talk that is done just before we have the Lord’s Supper.  LifeSpring observes the Lord’s Supper weekly.

Some people call it Eucharist.  It is a symbolic meal consisting of a symbolic piece of bread and a small cup of wine or grape juice.  It is meant to cause reflection on the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Continue reading Eucharist →

Church planting, Life in general, Missional

6:45 AM

I try to get to Playhouse Merced at 6:45 AM in order to get everything set up for our Sunday worship.  This normally includes putting out signage, turning on the lights, unpacking the car, and rehearsing the morning sermon.

There’s not much going on at 6:45 AM on Sunday.  Traffic lights are mostly green, and those that aren’t usually only take a few seconds to change from red to green.  Starbucks has a regular clientele, but aside from that, not many people are walking around.

Continue reading 6:45 AM →

Church planting, LifeSpring Church

Conversation

I’ve had a very busy day.  It began with an 8:30 meeting.  A city official brought together a group of pastors to talk about faith-based initiatives and how churches could help the city.  It was a good meeting, and it was also heartening to hear a public official talking about the role of faith in the city without seeing it as a threat.

Later in the day I met a person who introduced herself and asked me who I was.  “I’ve seen you a Starbucks,” she said.  I explained that I was a church planter and that I officed in Starbucks.

Continue reading Conversation →