It Takes A Church...

The Answer to Consumeristic Christianity? You'll be surprised.

"The problem with implicitly salesy evangelism is bad theology, not bad technique, and it requires more than a simple change in method. If you feel like a used-car salesman talking about Jesus, the solution to the perceived lack of authenticity isn't a smoother pitch—it's a renewal of the church. The potency of personal evangelism is, as it has always been, the simple and earnest retelling of what God has done in the lives of his people. Of course, this requires a community to back up our claims."

See the whole article "Jesus is Not a Brand" by Tyler Wigg-Stevenson

Flipping Presbyteries

Here is a snippet of presentation I made at the Los Ranchos Presbytery meeting framing up a different way of thinking about the kinds of meetings we have in "governing bodies".  This is part of the ongoing work of the LRP Odyssey Group.

Links to Some Friends Who are Living Out Their Callings...

One of the teenagers in my church has a website of her poetry...

Two of my colleagues are trying to change the world through a small business...

One of the young adults is in South Africa for two years serving with Acres of Love...

One of the young moms is also in South Africa right now.  She wrote these words on her site that are about as satisfying to a pastor's heart as anything:

This is not a vacation. This is a God assignment. Since I gave my life to Christ I have prayed unceasingly to be used by Him to help save the world and make a lasting impression in whatever place He wanted to use me. And of course, He has been so faithful to His word. I am being used by God, the creator of the universe to reach out to suffering orphans in South Africa, who by no fault of their own, are victims to the tragic AIDS pandemic. This is how God is at work to restore the world. He uses his faithful believers and followers to be His presence and action to a hurting people that need to experience his love and grace. Why me, there in South Africa? Why that cause? I don't know, I don't question. I just thank God for answering my prayers, for trusting me, for using me, for making my life purposeful. I am an example to my young daughters that when you surrender to the God that created you and He will raise you up to do great things in this world.

Thoughtful Contributions to our Denominational Dilemma

Once again, my pal, Mark Roberts is offering a thoughtful contribution to the ongoing discussion about issues related to the "house divided" that is the PCUSA. I heartily recommend Mark's two series:

Why Not Just Leave the PCUSA?

The PCUSA and Church Property

Mark will also be speaking at the Presbyterian Coalition Gathering at St. Andrew's Church Newport Beach on October 13-15

"A Traveling Salesman, Brad Pitt and The Big Question"

Die and Do Right, or "How to Survive by Dying..."

My most recent favorite book is Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why. It is a fascinating study on the internal capacities necessary for surviving crisis.  There are a whole host of amazing lessons that are applicable both to surviving the wilderness as well as the chaos of life.  (Many of the lessons of which can be found in an article at National Geographic Adventure here.)

A number of the principles that stood out to me resonated with words that have been ringing in my heart since the Spirit of Jesus called me to be one of his followers in the world.  And lately, as I have mused on issues around leading organizational change (especially within my own congregation and within the PCUSA denomination), I have found myself coming back to some of these thoughts again and again. So let me offer just three of the "survival principles" as Christian leadership principles for our denomination and our day--and see if they have any relevance to you in your particular contexts:

1. Survivors: "Deny Denial"  The tendency to believe that things are going to get better is universal.  Every year people die on Half Dome in Yosemite because they believe that the storm clouds overhead are going to pass "them" by.  That is, until lightning strikes...again. And that most wilderness accidents are a direct result of this denial: "A hiker in denial will continue walking even after losing the trail, assuming he’ll regain it eventually. He’ll press on—and become increasingly lost—even as doubt slowly creeps in."  Gonzales gives direct advice here:  "Learn to recognize your tendency to see things not as they are but how you wish them to be and you’ll be better able to avoid such crises." Part of my blogging on this page, leading in my church and working in our Presbytery has been marked by a renewed commitment to "deny denial".  (I hear echoes of John 8:23, do you?) I believe that the only way to move through the current crises in our church and in our world is through looking squarely at what leadership expert Jim Collins calls, "the brutal facts."  Which leads to...
2. "A good survivor says: 'I may die. I’ll probably die. But I’m going to keep going anyway.'  (Echoes of Matthew 16:25, huh?) Lately as I have been talking about our denomination, I have been writing and saying aloud what I have felt for years: With our deeply held competing world views, we very likely cannot survive as a denomination together.  I believe in my heart that it is only a matter of time until the PCUSA as we know it, reorganizes into a new entity of some kind.  I have no idea when, but it is inevitable to me.  But...that reality does not fill me with dread or despair, but freedom because of this third principle...
3. Survivors: "Do the Next Right Thing".  And this, maybe now more than ever, is the most important consideration.  What does it mean for us to "do the next right thing" in a situation where we are denying denial, squarely looking at the reality that our denomination is probably going to di, that many churches are dying and that  the Christendom culture that we have operated in for years has been dead (or on life support maybe) for decades?   What should we be doing besides cursing the darkness, waiting for the ship to go down, blaming one another, giving up or whistling in the dark?  To paraphrase that famous biblical question from Luke 3:10, "What shall we do?
   
   (Tolstoy once answered this question by declaring that he would "add his light to the sum of light in the world."  Which is a pretty good answer, I'd say.) 
   
   For me, doing the next right thing means fundamentally being obedient to Christ expressed specifically through: 

• Using the most respectful, honest language possible whenever there are deeply held competing values at stake.
• Thinking the best of those with whom I disagree and affirming whatever I possibly can.
• Listening, empathizing and  understanding
• Staying calm, connected and consistent to my convictions as possible.
• Being open to biblical correction. 
• In everything working to fulfill Jesus prayer, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
• And wherever I am, above all, "doing the next right thing" that is at hand.

As for the PCUSA, we may not "make it" as a denomination, but maybe the way we go about dying could be part of the new life that God wants to reveal to a dying world.

(P.S.  If anyone else wants to read the book or the article and comment on the other "survival lessons" that he raises--and apply them to whatever situation you find yourself--please do..it's a fascinating thought experiment with many leadership implications.)

Which Kind of Community?

In his most recent blog post, Fuller Theological Seminary President, Richard Mouw, offers some perspective on the struggle within many churches today regarding being "seeker sensitive" vs. "traditional".  Both Reformed and informed, Mouw draws upon the work of Robert Bellah for a better description and more insightful question: "Should we attempt to be communities of interest or communities of memory?" 

That is to say, which is more important: restructuring churches to appeal to the outsider who is searching for God and responding to the missional opportunities and challenges present in the culture or insuring that churches remained focused on the liturgical, doctrinal and sacramental elements that keeps the church anchored in it's core beliefs and practices?   

Mouw, drawing on John Calvin no less, answers (with characteristically Mouwian wisdom): We must focus on both. I won't restate what Mouw writes so well here, but I will make another point that I want to spend more time on in the days ahead:

If this is so, (as I believe it is) then once again, the challenge of church leadership is inherent in the complexity of serving a community with (supposedly) unchanging core convictions in an (absolutely) ever-changing world.  In the phrases of some leadership experts, the church must be both "built to last" and "built to change" at the same time.

Personally, these thoughts come out of an experience I am having of moderating a task force in our Presbytery that is working on restructuring the goals, and systems of our Presbytery to fulfill our long stated vision to be a "missional presbytery."  As my colleagues and I talk together about the inherent conflicts when deeply held "competing values" are at the core of a community, we find ourselves searching for ways to articulate and formulate a path for transformation of our Presbytery and our churches to better equipped to face the challenges of our changing culture without losing the "soul" of what makes a church, well, a church. 

Somewhere amidst the "both/and" of our ecclesial identity and the hard choices that we must face in expressing those identity markers for the sake of the world is our mission. 

And in my next post, I'll offer some thoughts that have been milling around in my head since I visited a big group of Maine Methodists last fall.

"Faith Yes, Church Maybe"

An article on the CT online site for Leadership Journal reports the findings after "more than 1,000 self-identified Christians 18 years of age and older were surveyed on their religious beliefs and practices."
The study reveals the wide diversity of self-identity amongst Christians brokenly down into 5 pretty evenly distributed groups which they labeled as "5 Kinds of Christians" (which seemed to me like a nice play on and slight critique of McClaren's idea of "A New Kind of Christian").   

While I would like to, in future posts, offer some responses and reflections about the diversity of Christians in our culture,  I will start with offering up CT's own synopsis of "three critical issues" that emerged:

• The local church is no longer considered the only outlet for spiritual growth.
• Churches must develop relational- and community-oriented outreach.
• Lay people have to be better equipped to be God's ambassadors.

There is no surprise in here for me.  Indeed, I see this as an opportunity for the church.  Even more, I just finished teaching a course for Fuller Theological Seminary called Contemporary Challenges and Evangelism and these issues emerged from our discussions with NON-Christians, too.

In the final segment of the class I posed this question to the future ministers seeking their Master's degrees to be better equipped to lead in churches:  How should we  respond to a world that says: "God is interesting, but the church is  irrelevant"? 

According to the study, the answer of at least 3/5ths of Christians today, is "But, of course. That is the way we Christians feel, too." 

So, what do we make of that? 

But before I offer up my own thoughts, I figured I would let this sit here to see what it stimulates in your own mind.

Tragedy, Perspective and Witness

Doris Stephens, the wife of our church's unofficial "pastor emeritus" came into the prayer room before the second service yesterday to tell me that Malibu Presbyterian Church had burned to the ground in the recent California fires.  Doris' daughter-in-law, Valerie is the sister of Malibu Presbyterian's Pastor, Greg Hughes.  Greg is a friend and colleague going back 15 years. I met his wife, Kay 20 years ago at Forest Home.  And about 12 years ago I was the speaker for Malibu Pres' family camp. When Malibu was looking for a new Senior Pastor some years back, I had the privilege of being a reference for Greg.

Yesterday in two of our three services we announced the loss of the church and prayed for them.  After the service, I sent an email to Greg with my prayers and support.  Greg's leadership in this tragedy is unmistakable.  As he told the LA Times, “We didn’t lose any members. We only lost a building. We’re going to regroup. We believe God will make something beautiful out of ashes.”

Indeed God will.  What some may not know is that  Malibu Presbyterian Church has often been in years past the center of relief efforts when fires and floods have hit Malibu.  This church is known for being a true Christian community that cares for it's larger community and no doubt they will do far more than simply look after themselves.  The Mayor of Los Angeles has already commended Greg and Kay and the church for being the center of support for others.

I commend you also to the blog by the Children's director at Malibu Presbyterian (where I got the picture above), another honest and faithful voice of witness in the middle of tragedy.

Greg, Kay and all of the Malibu Presbyterian Congregation, may the peace of Christ that passes all understanding be with you.

UPDATE:  Greg Hughes on Fox News last night when asked what his church is going to do: Well, you know, we're an Easter Faith people, so you know on Friday, it looked like things were bleak for Jesus, but we saw that Jesus rose again. And our church is a resurrection church. We'll gather again. We're going to regroup again...and we believe we'll be stronger as a result of this.

2nd Update.  Here is a video link to Greg speaking on CNN, including some pictures of what the church looked like before the fire.

Giving Up on Worship Evangelism

Sally Morgenthaler, author of the book Worship Evangelism, has given up on the notion.  In this article she despairs that her thoughtful book became an excuse for churches to develop an "if you build it they will come approach" to evangelism that has both failed in developing proper worship and truly effective authentic evangelism. Today, instead, she challenges leaders to separate worship from evangelism so that we can honor God in the first and live with and love our neighbors as the means to the second.

This article must have been heart-wrenching for her to write. As is evidenced in this quote about her own changing speaking ministry:

I began challenging leaders to give up their mythologies about how they were reaching the unchurched on Sunday morning. Yes, worship openly and unapologetically. Yes, worship well and deeply. (Which means singing songs that may include anger, sadness, and despair. Have we forgotten that David did this? Have we discarded the psalms?) But let our deepened, honest worship be the overflow of what God does through us beyond our walls.

Conference organizers were confused. They wondered what had happened to me. Where was the worship evangelism warrior? Where was the formula? Where was the pep talk for all those people who were convinced that trading in their traditional service for a contemporary upgrade would be the answer? I don't have to tell you this. The 100-year-old congregation that's down to 43 members and having a hard time paying the light bill doesn't want to be told that the "answer" is living life with the people in their neighborhoods. Relationships take time, and they need an attendance infusion now.

I understood their dilemma, and secretly, I wished I had a magic bullet. But I didn't. And I wasn't going to give them false hope. Some newfangled worship service wasn't going to save their church, and it wasn't going to build God's kingdom. It wasn't going to attract the strange neighbors who had moved into their communities or the generations they had managed\ to ignore for the last 39 years.