Re-Creation

Changes . . .

2008-04-12T14:42:00.002-05:00

A good friend called recently and reported that she kept up with my life via my blog. Then she noted that I hadn’t written much lately. Well, I must confess the usual busyness at the Clontz household has reached a new level. With Steven graduating in May, we have almost weekly trips to Auburn (yes, Steven we know we don’t HAVE to come, but we want to come!), then there is all the work involved with preparing to leave Trinity and the much anticipated work of getting to know my new congregation and new community, add to that the normal end of school events and regular duties and well . . . if I find time to update one of the two blogs each week I’m lucky!

So I’ve made a decision to consolidate the two blogs. I don’t see any reason why we can’t discuss reaching the un-churched and the younger generations on my personal blog. Plus it will soon be time for me to pass the torch on any specific plans at Trinity. So starting today, I will cease to update Re-Creation (although if anyone at Trinity would like to continue it, I’ll be glad to turn it over to you!). But I do intend to get back to weekly updates on all I’ve been reading plus update those who care about life at the Clontz house (next week is prom and I promise pictures!).

By the way, does anyone know an easy way to copy the posts from Re-creation and incorporate them into Comfortable Being Uncomfortable?

Quiz results

2008-03-24T16:48:00.003-05:00

Just to put the quiz in perspective, here is Scott McKnight's summary of the scores:
If you score 52 or less, you tend toward a conservative interpretation of scripture. "The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it." summarizes the general conservative approach.

If you score between 53 and 65, he considers you to have a moderate view of scripture. Note this is his narrowest category with only a 12 point range. And as he points out, often conservatives will have a liberal view on one issue and a conservative view on something else resulting in a moderate score. In general moderates have a flexible understanding of the Bible. Interestingly, Scott McKnight scored a 62.

If you score between 66 or higher, you tend toward a progressive view of scripture. Progressives view the Bible as culturally-conditioned and historically shaped but they still believe that it is God's word for today. I scored as a progressive at 69, which means I probably have more in common with a conservative who scores 52 than a progressive who scores 85.

Just for fun, here are some scores that have been shared with Christianity Today:

Dan Kimball (pastor Vintage Faith Church, author of They Like Jesus But Not The Church) 62
John Ortberg (pastor Menlo Park Presbyterian and author) 68

How do you interpret the BIble?

2008-03-20T15:16:00.002-05:00

Well, it has been a busy month! And I apologize that I've been negligant in updating both of my blogs. But here is something to get us thinking.

In the last issue of Leadership Magazine, Scott McKnight offered up a simple "Hermeneutics Quiz" that categorizes people's approaches to the Bible as Conservative, Moderate, and Progressive. For those of you who are wondering what "hermeneutics" means, it simply is a fancy word for how you interpret the Bible.

Granted, I'm not much on labels (as my friend, Trav, will tell you) but I found it interesting to compare my score with others whose books I've been reading lately.

Personally, I scored on the low end of progressive, a mere 1 point more progressive than John Ortberg. So, check it out and let me know how you score.

How is your soul?

2008-02-29T10:25:00.000-06:00

Every now and then my friend, Pat, sends me an e-mail that simply says, “How is your soul?” For seven years or so now, she is the only person who asks me that question. One of the reasons that question is central to our friendship is that we met when we were the only two who signed up for a covenant discipleship group at a particular time and Pat insisted that Wesley’s historical question for the class meetings be a part of our meetings.

John Ortberg discussed the question when he spoke to us yesterday morning. He said that at some point in his life someone had convinced him that the question “How is your soul?” was actually code for “How often are you having your private devotional time?” Of course, that is actually a very different question! You can religiously make time for morning prayer and scripture reading and have a very sick or impoverished soul. That is why Covenant Discipleship groups not only hold one another accountable for private devotion but also for corporate worship, acts of mercy and compassion, and acts of justice.

However, the question is much more comprehensive than checking off a list of activities that we have participated in. For years, I have answered it based on my emotions on a particular day—How close or far do I feel from God today? But Ortberg gave me a better way of answering the question.

Ortberg suggested that we look within and ask ourselves: Am I easily irritated? Am I discouraged? Am I stressed? Burned out? Fatiqued? Tempted? Do I need to hype what I’m doing or thinking? Does my life or ministry need a bit of spin?

All these are good indicators that things are not well with our soul, because when it is well with our soul we can: let go, bear burdens, resist temptation, relax, sleep, and hope.

So—how is your soul?

NPC--Day 3

2008-02-28T19:40:00.002-06:00

The preaching continues to get better and better. Not to take anything away from Dr. McNeal last night, but John Ortberg was wonderful this morning. I only say it was better because it was aimed toward those of us at the conference—What do we need to be able to (not just survive but) thrive in ministry? I suspect we all needed to hear what he had to say.

I was also interested in watching him preach. As some of you know, I’ve been struggling with whether or not I think preaching without notes is a good idea. And here was the most effective preacher (so far) and sure enough—he had his notes.

I went to the seminar on experiential worship this morning. I was really impressed with what he shared and am coming home with lots of ideas. What I’m struggling with right now is that tomorrow morning he will continue with practical “how to’s” and I was planning on hearing Jim Wallis. This is going to be a hard choice!!!

Tonight and tomorrow morning, we will hear from Bishop NT Wright. I’m really excited to hear what he has to say.

Well, back to downloading MP3 files of seminars that I want to hear again and those I didn’t get to attend.

NPC – Day 2

2008-02-28T19:27:00.002-06:00

I’ve got so much swirling around in my head now that I think I’ll just summarize the second day of the conference.

So far the General Sessions have been most notable for the wonderful worship through music and some really funny comedians. Until last night, most of the speakers didn’t really touch me. The second speaker, Bishop John Rucyahana from Rwanda was passionate and authentic, but his accent was so thick that he was difficult to hear. And, then as many of you know, I have a huge bias that keeps me from hearing some preachers—when they raise their voices (especially when they are male)—I have a tendency to tune out and I have to force myself to continue listening. I’m pretty good at that, but his accent made it all the more difficult. Then yesterday morning, the speaker was Chuck Colson. He made some good points (and he didn’t yell!), but he spoke on the importance of doctrine—his doctrine—and while I agreed with him on his points of doctrine I disagreed strongly with what those doctrines look like when you apply them to every day life. And he seemed a very strange (and thanks to Phyllis Tickle I can now say perhaps an important) speaker at a conference that is otherwise featuring progressive/emerging voices.

Yesterday afternoon, I had the opportunity to briefly hear from Shane Claiborne about “Jesus for President.” My son, Steven, commented that he didn’t know Jesus was running and if he was he’d vote for him. However, Claiborne’s message was not that we should vote for Jesus but that we need to have our political imagination kick-started and start looking at the role of the church in making some of the changes that we have often looked to the government to make. Tomorrow I’ll get to hear from Jim Wallis and I’m sure I’ll get a different view from both Colson and Claiborne!

I choose to go to Phyllis Tickle and Tony Jones’ seminar on the Great Emergence. Tony wrote a blog entry about hearing some of the same info last fall. I’ll save my thoughts for later, but suffice it to say that it was exciting, scary, and informative.

The evening preacher was Brenda Salter McNeil who was fantastic. She preached on “The Need for a Credible Witness” using the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. How I wish I could preach like the African-American preachers!! Of course, I’m not too sure how much Trinity would appreciate it if I did!

One final note about Wednesday. I took a break and visited the prayer chapel yesterday afternoon. For a Martha like me, it was a wonderful experience. They had a large number of prayer stations set up that allowed me not only to pray but to DO something. I’m one of those people who can need activity to center themselves, so I appreciate labyrinths as well as prayer centers because they allow my body to do something while my brain settles down. Thank you to the wonderful Mary who appreciated Martha’s need to do something with her body!

What 20-somethings want . . .

2008-02-28T09:20:00.004-06:00

This is a new age and 20-somethings look at the church and it does at times seem like a relic of a past age. For the church to be compelling for them, we are missing a few essential attributes (at least if we take the Gospel seriously):

First, they want diversity in the church. And this diversity is not just an issue of race and gender but also of economics, family makeup, and disabilities. This generation knows nothing of segregation. They grew up with the Crosby’s and Fresh Prince of Bel Air. They learned to count in English and Spanish from Maria and friends on Sesame Street. They went to school with blacks and Asians and they were mainstreamed with children with mild to severe disabilities. Then they hear the stories of Jesus and see how he gathered a very diverse group around him and they wonder why Sunday morning worship gatherings are so monocultural.

Second, they want authenticity. About the time this generation was being born, Betty Ford shocked the nation by admitting to an addiction—then talking about breast cancer. From this they learned that you can be bravely authentic. But then they lived through Bill Clinton’s lie, Swaggart and other’s public downfalls, and the Catholic priest scandal and they long for someone to tell them the truth. And they listen to our worship services and look at our pasted on smiles and wonder why people in the church aren’t willing to honestly address the issues they are struggling with.

It’s a stinging indictment--one that is usually answered with excuses. But I believe that its time to quit making excuses and spend some time listening to their voices and then working to make a difference.

Twentysomethings

2008-02-27T09:25:00.004-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, I attended a session on “Conquering the Quarter-Life Crisis: Helping the Next Generation Fall in Love and Stay in Love with Jesus.” The presenters were two twenty-something young women who were very passionate about Jesus and the need for the church to reach out to young people.

Margaret Feinberg shared what she had discovered while writing a book called (appropriately enough) “Twentysomethings.” She pointed out that Twentysomethings are experiencing some major demographic shifts that have not only a great impact on their lives but also on their culture.

1. They are getting married later. Since 1970, the average age of marriage has shifted from 20-24 for women and from 22-27 for men. Young people are leaving college and entering the work force in great debt and without partners.

(On a side note—she pointed out the changes in the size of the average new home and the impact larger homes have on our culture. For instance, if you have four people living in a 1400 square foot home, you are constantly bumping into each other—essentially forced to spend time together. In a 3000 square foot house, everyone has their separate spaces. And then, of course, there is the much higher debt associated with the larger home! Makes you wonder about the impact of larger homes on our entire culture.)

2. They are in greater debt. The average college graduate leaves school owing $18,000 in student loans and $4000 in credit card debt. Imagine being 21 and starting your career owing $22,000 right off the bat!

3. They are on the move. 45% of Americans between the ages of 24 and 35 plan to move in the next two years. And the median stay in a job is 1.3 years!

4. And they are lonely and looking for authentic relationships. While they seem busy, they are searching for real relationships—not just romantic—but friendship and support from people who genuinely care.

All this leads to a couple of observations from her:

Ministry with 20somethings requires a tender heart. Because they are highly mobile they are only there for a season, but they need our love and support for the time they are with us.

Ministry with 20somethings requires a team approach. The more relationships the better and they truly are looking for more experienced adults to mentor them—but they are a bit afraid of us so we have to reach out to them.

You can’t simply build it for them and expect them to come. We have to build relationships perhaps as slowly as one person at a time.

Ministry with 20somethings should be judged not by how many people but by how deep the relationships go!

Finally -- The way to a 20something's heart

FOOD--and free food is even better. Those between 24 and 35 only average 5 homecooked meals a week (hey that sounds better than at my house!). And the addition of something as simple as chips and coke transforms a Bible study into a party.

Media--Use media well and appropriately (they aren't impressed with using just because you can) to touch their hearts.

TIME -- and the most important times are 1) when they first visit, 2) birthdays, and 3) when they leave.

Dan Kimball – continued

2008-02-27T09:06:00.001-06:00

The second three hours of the seminar with Dan Kimball focuses on common perceptions of the church and of Christians by those outside of it and things that might draw them into a church. Most of this came straight from his book, but we had the opportunity to discuss it. Most of what Dan Kimball wrote came from his own experience in talking with those outside the church, but since his book came out lots of studies have been published which support his conclusions. So while I’ve posted these before, it doesn’t hurt to refresh:

So here are some common perceptions of the church (and yes they hurt—some because they are true and others because they are not!):

1) The church is organized religion with a right-wing political agenda
2) Christians are judgmental and negative
3) the church is male-dominated and oppresses females
4) Christians are homophobic
5) The church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong
6) The church is full of fundamentalists who take all parts of the Bible literally

Nonetheless, these people are generally positive about Jesus (at least from what they know of him) and say they would be open to attending/visiting a church IF:
1) not only a lecture but a discussion
2) respect my intelligence
3) weren’t only about the church building
4) less programmed and allowed time to think and pray
5) a more loving place
6) the church cared for the poor and the environment
7) taught more about Jesus

Come to think of it—those are pretty stinging judgments on the church also! Shouldn’t we be all of those things!

Why we should care . . .

2008-02-26T09:07:00.003-06:00

Last night’s session with Dan Kimball concentrated on why we should care that we have a new generation that likes Jesus but not the church. Granted I already know why we should care, but he helped me think through the way I talk to others about the need to speak in new ways to a new generation who is much more skeptical of the church than ever before. Not that their questions are actually new, but we now have a culture that allows, perhaps even encourages, them to ask.

It’s been a little while since I read Kimball’s book and in the meantime I had conveniently forgotten the most challenging part of the book, which comes near the beginning and came near the beginning of his presentation last night. We Christians (and especially pastors!) have allowed ourselves to become encased in a Christian sub-culture bubble. We have limited contact with those outside the church. Now I can justify that by saying that my job is to train lay folk who are “out in the world” and interacting daily with those outside the church. But that is a cop out.

Kimball took a hard look at his schedule and his way of doing business and changed so that he had regular contact with those outside the church. And while I think his way of doing this (working on sermons at coffee houses and such) works much better for an extrovert than an introvert like me, it still should challenge me to think about how to increase my interaction (note this is conversation—fellowship—not attempts to convert).

Essentially, he is calling the church to recognize that we are now missionaries in our communities and we need to act like missionaries.

We need to know their culture rather than creating our own “shrink wrapped Jesus” world (thanks Carmen Deedy!).
We need to go to them rather than waiting on them to come to us.
We need to speak their language.
We need to develop relationships and care for their needs—both spiritual and otherwise.
We need to pray for them—not just that they find Jesus—but about their jobs, their families, their struggles, their successes. We need to really care for them.

His challenge to us was to think of some people outside the church (and it doesn’t count if they are immediate family!) and to start praying for them. Invite them to join in your social activities so you can develop relationships with them—not for the ulterior motive of converting them or getting them to up our attendance numbers—because Jesus loves them! Let me know if you take him up on the challenge!!!

On a side note, Zondervan gave all of us attending Kimball’s session a copy of The “They Like Jesus But Not the Church” curriculum (leaders guide, student book and DVD) and Kimball gave us a copy of his PowerPoint. So who wants to join me in unpacking all this?!

Finally, here is a thought to mull over today. We have an emerging generation of folks who like Jesus but aren’t too sure about the church or Christians. Yet as Kimball reminded us last night “You can’t really like Jesus and not the Church because the Church is his bride!” A messed up, broken and sometimes confused bride—but his bride nonetheless (my comment not Kimball’s). How can we as a church do a better job of looking like a fitting bride for Christ?

National Pastors Convention

2008-02-25T19:01:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm here! The weather is warm and beautiful and now I'm keeping myself busy until my first session with Dan Kimball.

I guess I knew this was a big event but I really didn't realize the size and scope of everything. And they have this wonderful HUGE bookstore and everything is 50% off -- pray for me to have wisdom in my purchases (not too mention San Diego's largest mall is in the back of the hotel!).

This afternoon I had time to somewhat plan out the seminars that I plan to attend. So here is my tentative plan:
Tonight and tomorrow morning : Dan Kimball -- They Like Jesus But Not the Church
Tomorrow afternoon: Conquering the Quarter life crisis: helping the Next Generation Fall in Love and Stay in Love with Jesus
Wednesday afternoon: The Great Emergence: The Church's 500-year Rummage Sale -- Tony Jones and Phyllis Tickle
Thursday morning: Experiencing God in Worship
Friday morning: The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America -- Jim Wallis

In addition to this wonderful list of General Session Speakers: Erwin McManus, Chuck Colson, NT Wright, John Ortberg among others. Music by Ken Medema and House of Blues Sunday Choir.

All in all . . .I'm excited. My biggest regret is that I am here alone and I have no one to bounce ideas around with!

I am so thankful for those who made this trip possible!!!

Reading Recap for the Week of Feb. 22

2008-02-22T16:01:00.003-06:00

What a shame that often the people who need the church the most are the ones who feel the least welcome. Check out Karen’s reflections on being bi-polar in the church.

Over at Tribal Church, Lisa reflects on being the representative for her generation on various focus groups and the need to have young adults actively involved in leadership.

The New York Times has an interesting article on the importance of play and National Public Radio also focused in on the important life skills children learn through play. Have we limited our children by pre-programming their every move? And what does that say about worship and Bible study as we know it?

Relevant Magazine lists five of the up and coming Indy musical artists. And I’m proud to say I have two CDs by number 5 (What Made Milwaukee Famous) because I had the privilege of hearing them when I was in Seattle last spring.

What can we learn from the home church movement? And how can we make worship more “organic”?

Bishop Willimon writes a letter to the Mainline Church. (Beware this letter stings!) And John Ortenberg writes a letter to Seeker Churches.

You know me, I love to make the oldline new. If you will stick with me, I shall give you a future, new wineskins, and all that. I am Lord of Life, not death. I shall move you from mordant decline to life. I've still got plans for you. You'll be smaller, but small can be good. Ask the Mennonites. You will no longer be in charge of the nation, if you ever were. Remember, the national church thing was your idea of church, not mine. Get back to the basics like worship, service, and witness. Don't mourn the downsizing of your bureaucracy. You were once good at mission. Now that much of North America has never heard of me, it's about time to start thinking of yourselves as missionaries.

Taylor Burton-Edwards continues to call the United Methodist Church to return to its mDNA (missional DNA) by setting standards of accountability for clergy and lay.

At Relevant Magazine, John Scott reminds us of our responsibility to visit the prisons and gives some great ways for those in the church to support those who are incarcerated.

On Monday, I fly out to San Diego for the National Pastors Convention, where I will hear from Dan Kimble about They Like Jesus But Not The Church, as well as Phyllis Tickle, NT Wright, Shane Claibourne, Erwin McManus, Calvin Miller, John Ortberg, and Jim Wallis! I hope to blog each day on what I hear.

Reading Recap

2008-02-15T11:22:00.002-06:00

Here are some of the articles that caught my attention over the last few weeks:

A pastor in California shares his perspective on the Gospel and illegal immigration.

My favorite preaching professor shares her unique and insightful perspective on lectionary readings and current events at Bleeding Heart Liberal.

Rick Warren meets Stephen Colbert -- need I say more. Check out Rick Warren's definition of fundamentalists. But my favorite line related to Colbert being created in God's image.

Over at the Ooze, Aaron Plum "breaks it off" with the American Dream and Darin Hufford reflects on the Bible and the irony of Bible Believing Churches.

At Theolog, Sarah Howell reflects on the role of doubt in our faith.

With the primaries in full swing, lots of folks are reflecting on how politicians use the God Strategy , the role of millenials in this election cycle, and undecided Christian voters.

Finally, at Relevant.org, you will find interesting reflections on "cafeteria" religion , worship, and Palestinian Christians.

Post-Modernism

2008-02-06T07:42:00.001-06:00

A new definition . . .

Lent

2008-02-04T20:12:00.000-06:00

Not sure what kind of Lenten Discipline to take up? Check out ibclent.com

It is so cool to watch people discover the beauty of the church year for the first time!

Weekly Recap

2008-02-03T19:45:00.001-06:00

Here are the highlights of the last two weeks in generational and worship news:

We've talked a lot about how non-Christians view those of us within the church. Perhaps even more disturbing is the view held by young Christians!

Erwin McManus says the reason churches are dying is that we are self-centered!

Over at Reclaiming the Mission, they have a very interesting discussion of postmodernity and how it affects how we talk to a new generation about our faith.

Over at Relevant Magazine, a plea for us to re-think our worldview. Which makes me wonder about the so-called Christian worldview as defined by Barna and others.

The next generation's worldview appears to be making a difference in how they vote even among evanglicals and among Latinos.

Weekly Re-cap--January 20

2008-01-21T09:50:00.000-06:00

This week was a great week for exploring generational issues in worship and otherwise! Check these out:

The New York Times has an interesting article asking whether the younger generation is more narcissistic than others. Generation Me vs You Revisited gives arguments that both support and detract from this hypothesis. What do you think?

What do you think about plasma screens in church bathrooms? Good practice? Too commercial? And is this a generational issue?

What can churches learn from American Idol? Collide magazine muses on the use of technology in church.

Over at Emerging UMC, Taylor Burton-Edwards continues to ponder the future of the UMC. This time he is exploring the "Seven Vision Pathways" established by the Council of Bishops.

What insight does Sweeney Todd give us into our lives today? Check out an interesting article from Beliefnet about how the character of Sweeney Todd tells us something about the sinful nature of humans.

How do we reach the younger generation? Carol Howard Merritt at Tribal Church suggests the secret is not marketing but storytelling.

What about liturgy? The boomers wanted to boot it, but it appears that younger generations are actually seeking it! Check out "Reviving the Liturgy" at Relevant.com.

Also over at Relevant is a powerful article (Indie-Rock Attitude) asking young adults to evaluate their attitudes toward others with different opinions and tastes than them. But I think this is something for all of us to spend some prayerful time considering!!

A related article calls on church leaders to look beyond people's preferences to reach more than one generation. Alban Institute has an article that challenges us to think intergenerationally! "'Intergenerational' as a Way of Seeing" calls on us to think about the purpose of worship first while bringing people with different preferences around a table to discuss worship.

Leaders must look at worship and other congregational practices from the perspective of purpose rather than preference. rather than asking how most people like a particular practice, leaders must learn how to explore how choosing a practice will most faithfully fulfill the purposes of the congregation.

And a final note related to preferences is an interesting little article from the Chicago Tribune reporting the results of studies that maintain that human beings are poor predictors of what's likely to make them happy.

[Harvard psychologist Daniel] Gilbert argues that our inability to make accurate predictions about what will make us happy stems from thought processes that people are more or less stuck with -- or minds are designed to see the world as it is right now, rather than from the point of view of the people we are going to become.

What do non-Christians think of the church? This is a recurring and important question for us to explore if we want to fulfill the great commission. According to a recent survey by Lifeway, they don't think much of us. And USA Today picked up on their scepticism of the church as an institution and Christians in general.

Why Emerging Churches are looking to the ancient practices of Christians

2008-01-15T07:48:00.000-06:00

For it is sometimes by looking at the past that the present amends its dead soul, and there dawns a hope that the future will be born with new vitality.
Calvin Miller The Path of Celtic Prayer

Weekly Recap January 13

2008-01-13T21:14:00.001-06:00

Well, the holidays are over and I'm back from my trip to New York, so it is time to get back to my normal routine. I apologize for not posting more over the past few weeks, but the majority of my reading over the past few weeks was pure fun (I highly recommend The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns).

But here are some of the articles that I found interesting over the past few weeks:

Leonard Sweet will be writing a series of articles on "The Top Ten Paradoxes That Will Rule the Future" over at Next-Wave Ezine. In this month's article, he lists the 10 paradoxes that he will explore in the next few months. They are:

1) Do little large.
2) To move up, move down.
3) Learn to fail so you can succeed.
4) Your only control is in being out of control.
5) It's more important to know what you don't know than what you know.
6) The more you think out-of-the-box, the more you need well-built boxes to think.
7) A graying globe requires greening.
8) Only locavores can globalize.
9) When fast replaces vast, go slowly with the holy.
10) Moore's Law makes Murphy's Law all the more relevant.

Over at Out of Ur, there is an interesting reflection on being a young pastor that begins with a very provocative title, Disarming the Boomers, and statement:

Let’s be honest. The distance between the Boomers and Busters isn’t just a generation gap—it’s a generation gorge. The cultural, technological, and philosophical shifts that have occurred in recent decades have given these two generations fundamentally different perspectives. Although some younger pastors have abandoned the Boomer church to launch their own communities, there are many struggling to serve side by side with the older generation.

Over at Emergent Village, Shawn Landres of Synagogue 3000 (a Jewish group with similiar goals to Emergent Village) on what Jewish reformers can learn from the Emerging Church Movement and the questions that yet remain to be answered concerning the movement.

And the Alban Institute has a great article that summarizes the seven elements of worship that characterize Christian worship regardless of style. This is a great baseline for evaluating what we do in worship.

Of course, the biggest news in generational issues over the past few weeks has been the record number of younger voters in Iowa and New Hampshire and their impact on the elections. A side issue has been the generation gap among women voters with older feminists voting for Clinton and younger ones leaning toward Obama. The whole issue came alive for me as I stood in line for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and listened to a trio of twenty-somethings discuss the election. They obviously were leaning toward Obama but my favorite commment came when one of them declared, "I'm not voting for the old Southern white guy--what's his name? Edwards? Yeah, that's him!" (And I thought Edwards was a young Southern white guy--at least compared to Huckabee, Bush, et. al.)

God Doesn't Do "Waste"

2008-01-03T10:23:00.001-06:00

In a society where we think of so many things as disposable, where we expect to be constantly discarding last year's gadget and replacing it with this year's model - do we end up tempted to think of people and relationships as disposable? ... If we live in a context where we construct everything from computers to buildings to relationships on the assumption that they'll need to be replaced before long, what have we lost? ... God is involved in building to last … God doesn't give up on the material of human lives ... and God asks us to approach one another and our physical world with the same commitment ... God doesn't do 'waste' ... Rowan Williams

Check out this New Year's message from Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Be sure and give it a few moments because what starts and ends as an encouragement to recycle is really about something much more important.

Weekly recap

2007-12-31T10:49:00.000-06:00

Well, it has been a quiet week in the blogosphere. The best blogs I read this week reflected on the incarnation and what it means for us today--which doesn't change from generation to generation--and the top whatevers of the year. But here are a few things that caught my eye this past week.

If you are unfamiliar with the Advent Conspiracy, listen to this interview from NPR.

Bishop Willimon also has an interesting reflection on the incarnation that especially speaks to those who get frustrated with the church.

Over at Jesus Creed, Scott McKnight is beginning a review of the book, "God's Rivals: Why Has God Allowed Different Religions" McKnight does a fantastic job of reviewing books chapter by chapter and adds his insights and opinions. I don't always agree, but he always makes me think.

Over at Out of Ur (a blog sponsored by Leadership Journal), they've shared their top ten blog posts of 2007.

Finally, a wonderful article from Rueters on the popularity of libraries among Generation Y (or Millenials or whatever you want to call them). Leads us to ask--What do we do with a generation that loves the very things the generations before them sought to replace--libraries, traditional elements of worship, fellowship groups?

This week's recap

2007-12-22T14:49:00.000-06:00

It has been a busy week at the Clontz house and at Trinty, so imagine my surprise when I looked at the calendar and realized it was Saturday--again! But here are some of the articles that have caught my attention this week.

Over at Emerging UMC, Taylor Burton-Edwards has been blogging about some recent comments by Lovett Weems regarding the missional future of United Methodism. I thought this week's reflection regarding the whether or not the church needs to change in order to reach younger people and a new generation to be particularly challenging. He basically means we have to go back to our roots to meet the challenges of the future.

As usual, nothing I think about it terribly cutting edge. This week both US News and World Report and Time magazine addressed some of the issues, I have been exploring in this blog. If you don't have a subscription to either, check out US News and World Reports articles on "A Return to Tradition" and "Mixing Jesus with Java." And then surf on over to Time to read "The Hipper Than Thou Pastor" (i.e., Rob Bell).

For those who are interested in reading more about the different generations and how they impact the world, the Harvard Business Review has an excellent article that is somewhat summarized over at Tribal Church in her articles Futurama and Futurama II. Their premise is not only does each generation have a different take on the world, but that there are four different archetypes that rotate througout history in a predicatable pattern. Really fascinating stuff by the authors of the Fourth Turning. I found the Harvard Business Review article worth the cost of the download and I recommend it to anyone who teaches, employs or works with folks of any age and wonders why the different age groups approach things differently.

Thoughts for the week

2007-12-15T09:07:00.000-06:00

As I've often told people, I am awful at naming things. But since I read so many interesting articles in a week, I thought I would follow the example of the Mental Floss blog (which does this daily) and the Jesus Creed blog and provide a weekly summary of some of (what I consider) the best of the articles I've been reading. I've been placing most of them in my shared items folder, but this way I can make a comment or two. So here it goes (and if you have a wonderful title for this--please feel free to share!)

Whatever! Over at The Ooze, Tony explores our culture of apathy and how to combat it with a culture of anticipation. Seems appropriate for the Advent Season.

Into this Darkest Hour A beautiful poem by Madeliene L'Engle and Luci Shaw that seems so very appropriate for this Christmas season.

Signs of the Times -- Carol at Tribal Church reflects on one of my pet peeves--church signs.

EGens Scott at Jesus Creed summarizes characteristics of the 20 something generation that the church should address. And I love his new name for them "The Emerging Generation" or EGens.

Over at Theolog, we are asked to consider "How Comfortable is Our Religion?"

In the Journal of Lutheran Ethics, they explore the Andrew Greeley Principle which states that whatever the church neglects or downgrades a particular doctrine or practice, the culture will reinvent it in secular form within 20 years. Don't let the words journal, Lutheran, or Ethics scare you, this is a wonderful article that should challenge our thinking regarding worship and spiritual formation.

Donn at Jibstay reflects on Winthrow's book "After the Baby Boomers, a New York Times article about the "Odyssey Generation," as well as other articles and books about the change in the way the new generation is coming to adulthood and how that raises some significant questions for the church. I especially love his description of an emerging adult.

Finally, check out our Bishop's reflection on the incarnation.

Trinity Worship Survey

2007-12-11T17:12:00.000-06:00

We are in the process of evaluating worship at Trinity. Your thoughts and experiences are important to us as we evaluate what we are doing well and the areas where we could improve. The survey will take about 25 minutes to complete. Please think about the worship service that you attend most regularly as you respond. Thank you so much for your time and prayerful thought.

Worship Essential #4: Interaction—Participating in a Relationship with God and Others

2007-12-11T17:03:00.000-06:00

(Let me apologize for taking so long to finish this section. It’s been a bit busy around here.)

It would be ridiculous to think we could love our children just by thinking loving thoughts. True parental love is expressed in daily interactions: cleaning up spills, helping with homework, steadying wobbly bikes, pushing swings, participating in umpteen “knock-knock” jokes, reading stories, giving hugs, bandaging knees, and yes, saying “I love you.” Yet, more and more, we are satisfied with a lazy, armchair worship that only thinks loving thoughts.

In this last part of the chapter, Morgenthaler points out the importance of interacting both vertically with God and horizontally with each other. In scripture, worship is always described as a verb—an action. Yet, in our culture, much of what passes for worship is extremely passive. But not only do our actions show the depth of our feelings (as in the above example of a parent) but our actions also open us up to God and to others.

So Morgenthaler suggests worship planners ask themselves these six questions every time they plan worship:
1. What is the one thing people can do for themselves this week that we as a worship staff typically do for them?
2. In what small way can we encourage people to externalize what they feel internally?
3. What can we do to begin redistributing the “active worship space” so that worship becomes more of a “whole room” versus a “platform” activity?
4. As a worship staff, what is the one thing we can do this week to become more “invisible”?
5. What combination of the arts can we try that will involve as many of the senses as possible?
6. What kind of interactive “twist” can we put on a standard worship activity (Scripture reading, prayer, etc.)?

So—where in your particular worship service, do you see the opportunity for more interaction of the congregation with God and with others?

The Word became flesh

2007-12-11T16:31:00.000-06:00

Bishop Willimon's words often inspire and challenge me. His letter this week struck a strong chord in my heart, so I couldn't wait to share it with others. So here it is:

The Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:1-14.

When I was new, people sometimes asked, “What has been your biggest challenge as a baby bishop?” They think I’m going to say, “Moving from an intellectual to a nonintellectual environment,” or “Having to work harder than I did as a professor,” something like that.

I’ve come to say that the most difficult part of being a bishop is to have to live, on a daily basis, in that great gap between who Jesus is (a marginalized, fanatical, Jewish prophet who was the God we didn’t expect) and what the church is (a rather sedate, rule-driven group of people who just want to be left alone so we can be “spiritual”). Jesus’ Body, the church, is the greatest challenge in following Jesus.

“I could believe in Jesus,” declared the poet, Shelley, “if only he did not drag behind him his leprous bride, the church.”

One of last year’s most popular church books was entitled, Leaving Church. Oh to rise above the muck and the mire of the corporeal and the ecclesiastical so that we can be free to descend ever more deeply into the subjective and the personal.

We’re in Advent, that time in the church year when we attempt to prepare for the shock of the Incarnation, the shock that God Almighty refused to stay above us but got down and dirty with us, in the flesh, moved in with us. Jesus Christ, Lord of Lords, has chosen to be a people, a family, this people, this church.

Bonhoeffer, before he went willingly to be hanged by the Nazis was forced by God unwillingly to hang out in the church. There he discovered the power of a God incarnate. Bonhoeffer, put it this way:

A truth, a doctrine, or a religion need no space for themselves. They are disembodied entities. They are heard, learnt, and apprehended, and that is all. But the incarnate son of God needs not only ears or hearts, but living [people] who will follow him. That is why he called his disciples into a literal, bodily following, and thus made his fellowship with them a visible reality Having been called they could no longer remain in obscurity, they were the light that must shine, the city on the hill which must be seen.

In my own life, the church that previously had been relegated to the margins of the university as a “sometimes helpful spiritual influence,” has now assumed a large place. As a bishop the church has for me, in Bonhoeffer’s words, “taken up room”. It’s a “Treasure in earthen vessels,” (2 Cor. 4:5-7) yes, but it is also for me the sprawling, cracked earthen vessel that takes so much of my time there’s precious little room left for the treasure.

To be a lay or ordained leader of the church is to be called to care for the visibility of the church, the corporeal mass, the machinery. This task is particularly trying in age in the grip of anti-institutionalism and solipsistic spirituality.

Jerome Burce calls our age that of “spiritual agnosticism” (Marcus Borg and the so-called “Progressive Christians”) in which “The Fundamental truth claim of our culture with respect to matters spiritual is that we cannot know about them with anything approaching sufficient certainty to command the allegiance or shape the conduct or, least of all, correct the spiritual and/or moral opinions of another.”

Flee the Body in order to ascend to some disincarnate spiritual realm. Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” last year was, “You” - we have lost interest in anything but us.

Professor Bart Ehrmann, professor at the University of North Carolina, wrote a bestselling book, Misquoting Jesus. Surprise, there are all sort of stenographic errors in scripture, errors of transcription and questionable renderings of what the Jesus Seminar says Jesus said. So Ehrmann ends his book asking present day Christians (Ehrmann was a fundamentalist as a kid and appears not quite to have grown out of it), “Do you really want to put your trust in a flawed, thoroughly human book like the Bible?”

Well Bart, just where on earth would we put our trust? We actually believe that God became flesh, took on our flawed, thoroughly human corporeal nature. So if we’re going to put our trust in God, it will have to be in this God, it will have to be here, now, the same God who has condescended to take up room among us as the United Methodist Church. When we put our trust in the “thoroughly human” we actually believe we’re putting our trust in God who loved us enough to become human.

We can’t love Jesus without loving his body. It is a crucified body, to be sure, in bad shape, statistically speaking, but a body all the more in need of a loving caress.

We are those called, at this time in the history of Christendom, to worry about what constitutes a church, to be a sign of the visible unity of the church, to keep encouraging members of the body to honor one another, and sometimes even to promise a dead, decadent body nothing less than resurrection. An embodied, incarnate Christ sanctifies our mundane ecclesiastical body work as his. The church is Christ’s way of taking up room in his still being redeemed world.

The night I was ordained, a bishop laid hands on my head, repeating the ancient words of the Ordinal, “Never forget that the ones to whom you are called to minister are the ones for whom he died.” There I was, wondering, “Will the church appreciate my superior training? Will I get an all-electric parsonage?”

And there was the church, once again forcing me to be a Chalcedonian Christian, once again forcing me to believe in the blessed Incarnation, once again telling me, “The often disheartening, sometimes disappointing ones I’m making you fortunate enough to serve, are the ones for whom I died. This is my idea of salvation. Don’t mess it up.”

Oh the challenge of believing the Incarnation!
Will Willimon

Raising Smart Christians

2007-11-30T11:23:00.000-06:00

If you pay any attention to my list of recommended articles to the right, you may have noticed that one of these things is not like the others. Today, I read an interesting article on “Raising Smart Kids” from Scientific American. I’m not real sure why I read it. At 21, 17 and nearly 16, my kids are fairly well “shaped. I’ve probably done all the good or ill I can do in raising them—at least in terms of how “smart” they are. But I was curious—and I will be a grandmother some day and it is always helpful to have lots of “Wise” advice to force upon my children ;-D However, as I read the article, I realized that it has something to say to us about how we raise disciples of Christ in the Church today

As I’ve stated in early entries, Millennials have been our most “over-watched” generation. Everything they have ever done has been documented—they have truly not only been there, but they actually do have the video and the t-shirt for just about every event in their lives. They were awarded trophies simply for showing up. We measured their intelligence at a young age and assured them that they were not only special but they were Lake Woebegone children—above average—simply because they had been born.

The main point of this article is that when we raise our children to think they are inherently smart, they fail to excel when faced with challenges. The author maintains this is not only true of academic challenges but also social, work and even family challenges. The reason is that they think that struggle or failure is a sign that they are not truly smart. As a result, they are unwilling to admit failure or respond to constructive criticism because that would be admitting that they aren’t smart enough. Or they simply give up. So the answer to raising smart kids is not to teach them that they are smart because they have a high IQ, but to teach them that they are smart when they work hard to learn and to achieve.

Our society worships talent, and many people assume that possessing superior intelligence or ability—along with confidence in that ability—is a recipe for success. In fact, however, more than 30 years of scientific investigation suggests that an overemphasis on intellect or talent leaves people vulnerable to failure, fearful of challenges and unwilling to remedy their shortcomings. . . . Praising children’s innate abilities . . . reinforces this mind-set, which can also prevent young athletes or people in the workforce and even marriages from living up to their potential. On the other hand, our studies show that teaching people to have a “growth mind-set,” which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, helps make them into high achievers in school and in life. --Carol Dweck

What does this have to do with the church and reaching 20-somethings? Well, it raises a couple of questions to me: How do we talk to this generation about grace when in fact they expect it as their due? Will they really respond to a message that simply repeats “You are special—a beloved child of God”? Won’t they just hear this as an affirmation of what they have been told all their life and will it simply play into the notion that if things go wrong something is horribly amiss within them!

In “Googling God," the author says that Millenials test the truth of something by how well they can measure up to it. Well, what happens when they measure themselves up against the standard of “Be ye perfect”? So how do we talk to them about grace when they fall short of the mark? How do we teach them to enter into the honest, critical self-examination that is required of the on-going Christian life?

For me, this means a return to good old fashion Wesleyan theology. Discipleship is hard work! And while that work is a response to salvation and not the means of obtaining it, we need to teach this generation that hard work and perseverance are a vital part of our faith. We need to proclaim not only that they are saved by grace but also that they are called to a committed discipleship of Jesus Christ. If we miss this message of commitment, study, growth and service, I think we will do them a disservice!

Worship Essential 3: Vulnerability—Opening Up To God

2007-11-29T12:05:00.000-06:00

People have a great need to be real in worship. They need worship to deal with the reality of the messiness of their lives—the brokenness, the sin, the pain, the doubts, the temptations. If we insist that our worship should always be “happy clappy,” then we deny the reality of many people’s lives. True worship will have joyful, Easter moments, but it also must have Good Friday moments where we face our brokenness, die to things so that we can experience Easter resurrection. Therefore, Morgenthaller insists worship must be:

Sinner-Friendly – just as we seek to make church a comfortable place for the un-churched, we must also seek to make our worship a place where sinners know they are welcome. In fact, we need to be able to admit that they are welcome because they we too are, in fact, broken sinners.
A Place to Lament – Scripture makes it clear that lament is a part of what it means to be in relationship with God. Take a glimpse at the psalms and you’ll see that the psalmist regularly cry out to God about their pain, their fears, their anger. Lament should be a regular part of our worship because we do live in a broken, hurting world.

To resist or forbid lament is un-Christian, dishonest and unhealthy. The dark powers of secrets, of shame, of pretending, are dispelled by the act of lament . . . [and] God is identified as our sole, hope, life’s ultimate power . . . . The lament trusts God’s unconditional love and mercy to accept and handle the truth about [us], no matter what . . . . Through [it] God is invited, and He surely comes to save. – Mark Hiiva

A Place for Reality Checks—Worship should provide the opportunity for self-examination. This was an iatrical part of worship in the Roman Catholic tradition and should be retrieved by us. Where else than in church, should we be called to look at our lives, acknowledge our sins, ask forgiveness and then, of course, receive it!
Worship must be a place and time where we can get real with God!

Worship Essential 2: Knowledge – Worship Centered on Christ

2007-11-24T17:34:00.000-06:00

Knowing who it is we worship is the second essential for real worship. We cannot have a relationship with a God we don’t know.

Christian worship focuses on the life-giving active Word of God—Jesus Christ. Worship which focuses on the God of Hebrew Scriptures or the action of the Holy Spirit while skipping over the revelation of God in Christ misses the point of Christian worship. This is an issue of the content of our worship. We can in fact plan a service that is moving and educational, but if it doesn’t point toward God as revealed in Christ then we’ve failed.

This is challenging because much of what passes for worship doesn’t meet this test. In fact, Morgenthaller says: “It is the ultimate irony that there is so little of Jesus Christ and the Gospel in evangelical worship today.” She points to trends toward “cookbook Christianity” where the worship service is a way of presenting 4 steps to a disciplined life or 5 ways to make your marriage work or other such step-by-step instructive sermons. While these are well-meaning and even grounded in Scripture what they often fail to do what Christian worship must do—point to Jesus Christ.

For worship planners, this is where she wants us to be careful in planning “thematic” worship. Is the theme of the worship is “how to handle conflict” (such as I recently preached) we need to make sure that the service does not stay so focused on good advice that it doesn’t proclaim what Jesus has done for us. The purpose of worship is not to teach us how to handle conflict but rather to place us in the presence of God and allow us to respond to God’s presence.

[New Testament worship was] a response to the gospel . . . the living, dying, and rising of Jesus; the forgiveness of sins that comes from the work of Christ; and the ultimate overthrow of evil that results from the Christ-event. – Robert Webber

She challenges us to remember that neither well-articulated sermons nor high quality music and drama or even sermon notes to take home and ponder give power for salvation. Rather it is on the Gospel (the living, dying and rising of Jesus) that has the power for salvation! If we lose focus on that simple fact, then we have lost it all.

Let me close with what I think is her most powerful paragraph in this section (and in the book so far):

Think for a moment about the service you are planning for this week. Will Melinda’s neighbor who has been abusing her kids be able to differentiate your God from the ones on the “Psychic Network” shows she watches? Will she know what to do with her self-hate and guilt after experiencing an hour of “possibility Christianity” and a message entitled “If You Can Think It, God Can Do It”? Or picture young Joey, the crack addict. Will he be motivated by this week’s riveting reiteration of pull-yourself-up-by-the bootstraps morality, “Developing Self-Control”? Consider Cheryl, caught up in a series of adulterous affairs. Will she intersect with God’s love for her and find the power to break free from her chain of self-destruction if all she connects with is a hot worship band and an impressive video? Finally, what about Don, grieving about last night’s fight with his son? Will he see any Christians doing a gut-level reality check with God, coming to the foot of the cross for help and mercy and hope? Will he hear the message, “It’s okay to be hurting, okay to have doubts, okay to cry out to God from the depths of your pain”? Or will he go away convinced that Christianity is only for people who have nice smiles and have somehow managed to get their act together?

As I read that paragraph, I saw faces—very real faces— of people that sit in our pews and seats every Sunday: some are struggling with drug addictions; some with guilt over an extramarital affair; some grieving the breakup of their family; some celebrating the end of a destructive relationship; some struggling with sexual identity; and other simply struggling to accept that someone—even God—could love them. There are single parents, sandwiched sons and daughters raising teenagers and caring for elderly parents, unwed pregnant women; couples ready to split and tearing each other apart in the meantime; teenagers trying to figure out who they are; adults trying to figure out who they are; couples looking for a place to marry where they won’t be judged; refugees from other Christian traditions where they never seemed to have it together enough to belong, and so many others sitting in our church on Sundays. And the question for us is: How can we offer them Christ?

Worship Essential 1: Nearness—a Sense of God’s Presence

2007-11-24T15:10:00.000-06:00

In corporate worship, God desires to remove our blindfolds and give us an extraordinary, breathtaking glimpse of divine radiance.

Jesus promised to be with us always. And we do believe that God is always present even in those moments when we feel like God is absent. There truly is no God-forsaken place! (See Romans 8 –neither death nor life nor things present nor things to come nor anything else in all creation can separate from the love of God in Christ.)

However, we also believe that God promises to be present in a special and unique way in our worship. Jesus indicates this in Matthew when he says that where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there. Hebrew Scripture talks of special places where God’s glory dwells and is especially present. And Christian experience has also indicated that there are times and places where God feels especially present. Celtic Christians refer to those places as “thin places” where the gap between heaven and earth seems to shrink. Worship (at least true worship) is one of those thin times and places. In fact, without a sense of God’s presence, worship is not worship!

God’s nearness is not something we “bring down,” “whip up,” or otherwise manipulate. God’s presence is always something we “come into.”

So the question for those of us who plan worship is: Who’s responsible for ensuring God’s presence? Okay—I realize even in the phrasing of that sentence I was being sarcastic. God’s presence is assured; our task is to create an environment where God’s presence can be experienced. So what creates that environment?

First, the presence of the Word – all things in worship point to God as revealed in Jesus including Scripture. We can read the Bible and give suggestions for better and moral living yet still fail to invoke the presence of God’s living and active Word.

Second, our heartfelt praise--Morgenthaller maintains the first responsibility of those leading and planning worship is to be worshippers themselves! She makes a scary suggestion that the quality of our worship makes a difference in how God is revealed to the congregation! This is why I feel privileged to be in ministry with worship participants who truly do worship! I love the moment before the service when we gather for prayer. I used to worry that it was too “clique-ish” for us to huddle together before the service, but I know understand it to be a statement to the congregation that we do know that we must begin with prayer and a call to God to work through us before we can begin. It’s like a band taking a moment to tune up before a concert. This moment of prayer is the most important tuning of our instruments that we can ever do!

However, she leaves off the responsibility at that point. Perhaps because she is addressing worship leaders, pastors, and worship planners, she doesn’t go into the responsibility of the congregation—which by and large is out of our control. However, I know that part of entering into God’s presence is being receptive to it. As a lay person, I discovered that I experienced more in worship when I prepared myself for it. For instance, if I laid out the clothes and shoes on Saturday night rather than scrounging on Sunday morning, I was less stressed when I entered worship. Or when I read the scripture and ponder it before hearing the sermon. Most importantly, when I began to come to worship expecting to hear God’s voice instead of expecting someone to make God present for me, I began to experience God in every service no matter the quality of the music or the preaching! I share this observation not because it lets us worship planners off the hook, but because it frees up the worshipper to experience God even when we miss the mark!

God may indeed be waiting to reveal himself, but God is also waiting for us to draw near. C.S. Lewis

Worship Evangelism – Chapter 5 – Worship Essentials

2007-11-24T14:38:00.000-06:00

(Sorry for the break in summarizing this book!)

The question for this chapter is: What does it take for something to “happen” in worship? The answer is simply a relationship with God. For it to be Christian worship, we are talking about a relationship with God as revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Essentially for something to happen in worship, we must be about the simple task of offering them Christ. Come to think of it—that at the core of the movement that John Wesley began. We should be really good at it. But we struggle.

Morgenthaller suggests that all relationships are based on four essentials and those essentials must be present in our worship.
Essential 1 – Nearness – a sense of God’s presence
Essential 2 – Knowledge – our worship must be centered on Christ—the ultimate revelation of God
Essential 3—Vulnerability – Opening up to God
Essential 4 – Interaction – Participating in a Relationship with God and others

I’ll take each essential separately as we explore what each means for our understanding of worship.

What's working well with young adult ministry?

2007-11-15T10:01:00.000-06:00

According to "Googling for God," these are things that are working well in reaching young adults.
1. Ministry which takes advantage of the “Moments of Return” (e.g., weddings, baptisms, sickness, deaths, and life changes). We are already at work on some of these. We have recently changed the wedding policy to allow weddings of non-church members at Trinity and we are working on establishing a support/play group for single moms and their children. (Please let me know anyone you know of that we should invite to this!)
2. Ministry which has a “digital spirit.” We need an internet presence—the question is what kind?
3. Ministry which is open to dialogue. I recently asked my 21 year old son what his friends would want from a service and he said an opportunity to dialogue. He loved his experience at Renown because it allowed that opportunity. I think this is an essential piece to any new service.
4. Ministry which is rooted in both mystery and tradition. What must these young folks think when they walk into the New Room which is almost devoid of mystery and symbolism? What can we do to better advertise Taize which has both of these elements? Or how can we incorporate it into a service with other types of elements.
5. Ministry which has a mission element. Despite the 60 minutes segment I mentioned in the last post, these folks have a stronger sense of concern for the least, the last and the lost than my generation.
6. Ministry which provides life-giving community.

Can you think of anyting else?

iPods, Flipflops and CEOs

2007-11-15T09:27:00.000-06:00

Phil Wright sent me a link to a really interesting video clip from last week's "60 Minutes" about issues of incorporating Millennials into the work place. He thought it might be helpful as we think about reaching this same generation for Christ and I think he is right. (It is also helpful to read some of the comments to the clip.) But it did bring several questions to my mind and I'd love your thoughts:
o Are the generalizations put forward by this segment true for all Millennials? One thing that struck me was that all of the young folks in this segment were upper middle class and highly education. What about the Millennials in our congregation who are working a couple of jobs, going to school, and managing a household?
o Are some of the “problems” mentioned here really problems? Dress? Flexibility? Priorities?
What are your thoughts?

Spiritual types of Young People

2007-11-12T20:35:00.000-06:00

Despite the generation gap between Gen Xers and Millennials, they can be divided into seven different spiritual types. They are:
Eclipsed—These young people appear to have no interest in spiritual matters or religion. It isn’t that they haven’t had spiritual experiences but they are so busy with other things that they aren’t concerned with pursing spirituality or religion. The key to reaching this group is taking advantage of “moments of return”: funerals, baptisms, marriages.
Private—These young people are intentional about pursuing spirituality but they are have little use for outward display or public ritual. Many of these people are simply introverted. But they also tend to have had one of two different negative experiences: a boring, staid experience with little opportunity for social interaction or a service that lacks quiet mystery and opportunity for contemplation. What is needed to reach these young people are services that provide “a strong opportunity for contemplation and mystery in both preaching and ritual as well as a strong sense of welcome and hospitality that does not detract from the mystical aspects of ritual.”
Ecumenical—a growing number of young adults see no sense in the divisions within Christianity and that one group is as good as another. This is especially true among the unchurched young adults. However, among churched young adults there is a growing sense of certitude about their faith, traditions and doctrine and when these ecumenically-minded young adults run up against the others they are not accepted and even judged.
Evangelical—in this case, the author uses this term in a different way than I would define it. For him (or in Catholic circles?) this appears to be more an issue of style than content. These young people want to use all their senses in prayer and worship. They like vibrant Christian rock music, emotional preaching, and rigid commitment to the group. They are looking for something solid to grab on to and tend toward fundamentalism.
Sacramental—These young people find meaning in the sacraments of the church. Obviously, these tend to be “churched” young adults because that is where the sacraments are located. (Note we are not talking here about people who find God’s presence in everyday places and events but those which find great meaning in Holy Communion and Baptism as well as confession and corporate prayer.) This is a significant minority.
Prophetic—These young people prefer to go against the grain of the status quo. They see Jesus as an important example of how to live and how to treat others. They understand the model of Christ to be a model of service and have little interest in aspects of Christianity that move beyond that idea.
Communal—These are the extroverts. They want to pray but not alone! They are looking for fellowship groups, retreats and faith sharing.

Googling God

2007-11-12T18:52:00.000-06:00

I've just started reading the book "Googling God: The Religious Landscape of People in their 20s and 30s." I didn't realize when I ordered it off Amazon that it focuses on Roman Catholicism. However, it is an easy read and I think it brings up some interesting observations.

First, the author sets out to help us identify young adults. I love the subtitle of the chapter, "Would you know a young adult if you fell over one in the aisle?" Of course, it is easy enough to spot a young person, but one of the things the author points out is that they are a very diverse group. It is very hard to make assumptions about them individually based on their generation. However, there are also marked differences in the worldview of Gen Xers and Post-Millennials.

Okay, so let's begin by defining the generations. According to sociologists, Jackson W. Carroll and Wade Clark Roof: "a generation's identity is, to a considerable extent, a narrative construct as people age and look back upon and interpret their experiences." So what most defines the generations is the events that they lived through. Most of us know that about Baby Boomers. These are the folks born following WWII -- roughly from 1945 to 1964. The events that define their attitudes are Vietnam, Kent State, Watergate. No wonder we boomers are largely a rather skeptical bunch. Millennials were born following 1980 and the events which define them are 9/11, Columbine, the Indian Tsunami, Katrina, and Virginia Tech. Gen Xers on the other hand lack a strong identity. They did experience the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Iranian hostage situation, and Tianiman Square, but those were all distant events that didn't change their view of the world.

Now that we have defined them, the author points out characteristics that studies have shown apply to the Gen Xers and the Millennials:

Gen X
• Share skepticism for institutions and authority figures with the Boomers although they tend to be more apathetic than Boomers about this skepticism.
• Seek communal and nurturing relationships
• Don’t have a deep need for intellectual certitude
• Experience is at the crux of how they make meaning of the world
• Want a religion that challenges them spiritual to become more involved in the lives of others
• Tenets of faith are tested through critical reasoning and every tenet is put to the test
• Articulate spiritual experiences well but have a harder time articulating facts surrounding their traditions

Millennials
• The world is full of uncertainty so they seek things they can depend on, things that have stood the test of time, things they regard as true, and things that are greater than themselves
• Share a lot in common with Pre-Boomers (the Greatest Generation)
• Long for certitude and a God who orders everything and makes sense of the world
• “the most watched over generation in history”
• Accept authority figures as trustworthy and believe rules are good
• Respond to preaching that instructs because they want quick answers
• Need relief from the saturation of the media
• Need a place of quiet mystery and reflection
• But they will participate in communal activities that discuss individual salvation and with strong symbols of religiosity
• Tenets of faith are tested by whether or not a person can measure up to them
• Believe in absolute truth
• Can articulate their beliefs but have no idea why they believe it
• Need (and open to) mentoring by older more experienced adults

Both
• Appreciate the mystical sense of the Divine
• Seek a theology that is contemplative and demanding

How embarrasing!!!

2007-11-12T17:45:00.000-06:00

What can possibly seem so incongrious as a blog discussing hospitality and openess to everyone that only allow "registered users" to post! I honestly don't know how the defaults got messed up on my blogs. I've corrected the problem on all of them and now anyone can post a comment. You don't have to be a registered user and you can post anonymously.

So please, feel free to comment!

Worship Evangelism -- Chapter 4 -- Worship Evangelism: The Reasons

2007-11-12T17:26:00.000-06:00

I confess I have found this chapter rather tedious. The reason? The thrust of the chapter is to convince people that worship should be open to everyone: both seekers and believers alike. My firm belief in the beauty and power of God's prevenient grace (the grace at work in our lives even before we believe)makes the idea of different events for seekers and believers seem ridiculous. However, she does share some thoughts on defining worship and evangelism in some helpful ways.

Worshippers, don't just enjoy God's wonderful presence for yourselves. Call others to join you there through faith in Christ. And those of you who want to see the world come to Christ, don't just call men and women to believe, call them to worship. --Gerrit Gustafson

We need to be creating an atmosphere of unparalleled welcome and acceptance in our places of worship. It should not matter what kind of religious credentials people have, what their income is, how they look, or where they spent Saturday night. God meets people where they are. And that means our churches should be public, not private, space.

In worship that witnesses, God's truth and the uniqueness of Christ are communicated primarily through the worshippers and the acts of worship and only secondarily through the sermon . . . .

And if that is true (and I believe it is true), how would our worship services differ from their current format?

What is worship evangelism? Gerrit Gusafson defines it in two profound but simple phrases: "wholehearted worshipers calling the whole world to the whole hearted worship of God . . .[and] the fusion of the power of God's presence with the power of the gospel."

Please help me by praying for a core group of wholehearted worshippers to help start this new service.

Missional Versus Attractional

2007-11-12T11:49:00.000-06:00

In my shared items list, you will find two articles discussing ways of measuring the effectiveness of a church. Most of the article is more appropriate to applying to Trinty as a whole than just to a single ministry (or worship service) within it. But I was struck by one of his comments that I think speaks to the overall goal in all that we do.

There ought to be a visible impact crater around every congregation. The community around the building, and the people around the people of the congregation ought to be different and getting better in measurable ways because you are who you are and where you are.

What kind of crater is Trinty currently making in our community? And what kind of crater should a new service make?

The "C" Bomb

2007-11-03T07:51:00.000-05:00

Check out the above article from The Ooze to read more of this article. But these lines seem to summarize the article for me:

We have the A-bomb, the F-bomb, and whether we like it or not, we now have the “C-bomb.” The term “C-bomb” refers to Christians, Christianity and the Church. This is not my opinion. It is an empirically verifiable fact, as evidenced by the research conducted over the past several years by the Barna Group. . . .The reality is the C-bomb is not being stored in some underground bunker. The C-bomb has detonated in our midst! What shall we do? Walk around in stunned silence? Continue to deny that we are the walking wounded as others avoid us? Are we going to pick up the pieces and rebuild a remnant of the memory of more of the same? something that doesn’t produce the results that bring glory to our Lord and Savior by focusing on more of the same or will be become capable of coming together in a new revolution of hope:
“A revolution of hope is not just a matter of reading a book or hearing an inspiring sermon. True, a book or sermon or personal encounter may be a vehicle through which hope wins our hearts. But a revolution of hope makes radical demands of us. It requires us to learn new skills and habits and capacities: the skills of a new way of thinking, the capacities of a new way of living….it is a new way of life that changes everything.” – Brian McLaren, Everything Must Change – Jesus, Global Crises and a Revolution of Hope. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, TN Copyright © 2007 by Brian D. McLaren. P. 283.

As we prepare for this new service, what changes do we need to make in our lives, in how we "do" both church and worship to defuse the C-Bomb in our midst?

Furthermore, is the C-Bomb as much of a threat in the Bible Belt of the U.S. as other areas? Do we still have some authority with folks?

Worship Evangelism -- Chapter 3 Yesterday's Gone -- Challenges!

2007-11-02T09:35:00.000-05:00

Challenge One -- Getting out of the way

A lot of business must be going on between people and God that we don't produce or control. We are responsible to create the worship environment, and beyond that to give people permission to interact with God according to His work in their own hearts. Chuck Smith, Jr.

Challenge Two -- Keeping a Biblical Worldview

The world represented in Scripture is an open and dynamic world, far removed from the distorted, closed system of the Enlightenment. But it is also a world that is rooted in theological fact.

Worship Evangelism -- Chapter 3 Yesterday's Gone

2007-11-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

It is time to seize the moment and give people good reasons for coming back to church. It is time to offer real worship experiences in the dynamic, life-altering package of spirit and truth. It is time to get out of the way and allow people to make whole-person contact with the God behind all the wonder and mystery. Third-millennial America is hungry for what the church has to offer; we just need to make sure we are offering it.

It somehow seemed appropriate to begin the summary of this chapter with her final paragraph which challenges us to reflect on: What is the purpose of the church and worship? What are the needs of Third-millennial America? How can we both address these needs and get out of the way? What constitutes a "dynamic, life-altering package of spirit and truth"?

This chapter begins by challenging our assumptions about the un-churched. In the early days of seeker services, the assumption was that people weren't interested in God, or mystery, or symbols, or tradition. And while that may have been true in the 80s (and I think she maintains it never was true), it is not true today. So in response to that assumption, she makes the following points:
1. People today are very interested in "spirituality" but this tends to be an individualized pursuit disconnected from what they consider "religion." (Tony Akers has a wonderful description of the difference between spirituality and discipleship on his blog -- Check it out!)
2. The un-churched are skeptical of the church -- especially the evangelical church.
3. As the title of a recent book reminds us: "They like Jesus but not the Church." They like Christ but not Christians. Actually this isn't quite right. They like the idea of Jesus and they like his teachings, but they aren't too sure we (Christians) live as Jesus taught.

[George] Barna asserts, "The unchurched don't have a problem with God so much as they have a problem with God's religious franchises--the church." In other words, it is us, God's representatives, who are the main barriers to seekers' church attendance. We are the problem, not God or even the idea of God.

Most [unchurched], however want to do more than just "investigate the claims of Christ"; they want to meet Christ in us and the Christ in our services.

4. Atheism is out. (Now she wrote this before the recent onslaught of books by atheists or the filming of the Golden Compass, but honestly I still think they are hollering so loudly because they are losing the battle.) One of the reasons, atheism is losing ground is that whenever times are risky and anxious, people discover they NEED to believe in something beyond them.

In the book Megatrends 2000, (written obviously before the year 2000!) the authors predicted, "When people are buffeted by change,the need for spiritual belief intensifies . . . .The worship of science and the rational to a great extent has been thrown over for a religious revival that specifically values the emotional and the nonrational. We have watched the ideal of progress give way to the return of faith. As the symbolic year 2000 approaches humanity is not abandoning science, but through religious revival, we are reaffirming the spiritual in what is now a more balanced quest to better our lives and those of our neighbor."

5. Spirituality in the 90s (and now in the new millennium) is somewhat of a all you can eat cafeteria affair. People read books, surf the internet, and talk to their friends, then they pick and choose what they want to believe.

Jim Peterson notes this kind of feast is "especially attractive to America's unchurched generation." He claims, "Many are finding they cannot live on secularization and have begun to search for a religious experience that neither established religions nor science has been able to provide."

6. They want to EXPERIENCE God--not just talk about God!

If you talk religion to us, we expect to receive a spiritual experience of the living God. We want, as a generation, to move beyond philosophical discussions of religions to the actual experience of God in our lives.

What is interesting about the quote above is that it comes from a Baby Boomer!
7. We are dealing with a new world view. The assumptions of the Enlightenment are being questioned and found lacking. Science no longer seems to hold the answer to our problems. We are distrustful of institutions to solve our problems. And maybe we are finally coming to realize that we can't save ourselves let alone our world. And even what we know from science has changed and opens up the possibility that there is something else at work in the world.

The old idea of an unchanged and static universe has been replaced by the notion of a dynamic and expanding universe, a universe that had to have a beginning, will have an ending, and more than likely has a creator. Robert Webber

For science may never answer why the generative laws are what they are--nor how they were created. Newsweek

8. Have I mentioned that the unchurch want an experience of God not just talk of God?! George Barna again! says:

Countless Americans have rejected Christianity because they wanted to grow in spirituality, but were taught about spirituality.

Willow Creek Repents

2007-10-30T07:09:00.000-05:00

Given the fact that we are exploring the Morgenthaller's claims in Worship Evangelism, I was struck by the news out of Willow Creek that they are reevaluating how they do ministry to seekers. In a response to this article, Greg Hawkins points out that the issues they have discovered are not limited to Willow Creek nor has Willow Creek given up its evangelistic focus on the unchurched. Instead they are simply (actually not so simply) reevaluating what needs to be done to truly move people into a committed relationship with Jesus Christ.

Worship Evangelism--Longing For God Part Two

2007-10-27T16:30:00.000-05:00

The Downside of Seeker Services

Downside #1 -- Worship Deprioritization
The old model of seeker service emphasized provided an introduction to Christianity. Traditional church language and symbols were left out of the service and the messages stayed on a pretty introductory level. The idea was that once people came to know Jesus they would move to a "real" worship service. (Places such as Willow Creek have always distinguished between their seeker services and their worship services. The difference between the two not being a matter of style (traditional vs contemporary) but of content.) But what they found was that people found a home in the event through which they entered the church and they tended not to move. The result was large numbers of Christian infants who were not being challenged to grow in their discipleship.

Christian maturity and long-term commitment to outreach are ultimately dependent on the worship life of the congregation. What is gained in the short term may ultimately be forfeited when worship is allowed to slip into a number-two or lower position.

Downside #2: Seeker Events Equal Worship

. . . Christian worship is not only offering all that we are to a Holy God (spirit). It is an intentional response of praise, thanksgiving, and adoration to The God, the One revealed in the Word, made known and accessible to us in Jesus Christ and witnessed in our hearts through the Holy Spirit (truth).

Worship is not education or introduction but rather it is "God's service (to us) and our service to God." True worship requires a way in which we can respond to the love that God has given to us. In fact, the three terms most often used for worship in Scripture all indicate that we must DO something in order to worship: shachah (to bow down, to do homage); proskuneo (to kiss toward); and latreuo (to service, minister.

The fact is, great musical performances, thought-provoking drama, toucing testimonies, relevant messages, and apologetics about God and faith are wonderful tools God can use to touch the seeker's mind and heart. Notice, however, that their operation does not hinge on any sort of movement or response from those in attendance. . . Spectator worship has always been and will always be an oxymoron.

According to Morgenthaller the litmus test for worship is transformation--when people worship they are transformed both internally and externally and that only happens when our worship costs us something meaningful and valuable.
And finally she points out that only worshippers can lead in worship! That means those of us leading worship and even those who participate in worship through music leadership or even those who wil assist in the start of this new service by being present to create a critical mass must be worshippers ourselves!

Let me know who you are!

2007-10-25T08:31:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone,
I have just added a guest book to this page. I would love to know who is reading this blog and who has an interest in reaching new folks at Trinity. So let me know who you are! And remember to please share this with anyone who has a passion for helping with this ministry!

Your assignment . . . should you choose to accept it.

2007-10-10T09:28:00.000-05:00

For the next two weeks, I want to challenge you to pray about how we can reach out at Trinity. Pray about the names of those we would want to invite to participate in this ministry--whether as part of the leadership or simply to attend. Invite folks to read and comment on this blog. But most importantly, simply pray for God's guidance in what we do and how we do it so that we can truly make a difference for Christ in our community and in a new generation!

Worship Evangelism—Longing for God -- Part One

2007-10-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

(This is so good that I broke it into more than one entry although part two may have to wait until I get back from Israel.)

In Chapter 2 of Worship Evangelism, we explore how to retrieve Biblical Worship. She suggests three steps:

Step 1 – Worshipping God Instead of Ourselves
As Charles said today, worship is what we are made for and Biblical worship is all about God. Furthermore, Christian worship is all about God as revealed in Christ. Worship, therefore, is not about felt needs but about our true need for God and to worship.
Step 2 – Making Worship Number One
Using David as our guide for what a life of worship looks like (yes—even with his very obvious failings), Morgenthaler points out that reading the Psalms we discover the following characteristics of David’s worship life.
• David’s kind of worship is a life.

‘Although it is a life weekly punctuated by the corporate evens we typically call “worship,” David’s kind of worship begins outside the sanctuary in the context of a daily walk with God.’

• David’s kind of worship is uncompromising. His worship is whole hearted and lavish.
• David’s kind of worship witnesses. His worship was very public.
• Worship was, unequivocally, number one in David’s life. Therefore, she suggests that the purpose of evangelism is to produce more and better worshippers. She quotes Joseph Carroll in his book How To Worship Jesus Christ as saying

Have you ever noticed in the Pauline Epistles that Paul never urges Christians to witness nor has he anything to say about foreign missions? Nothing! How interesting! If you have to constantly be telling people to witness, something is wrong with them. . . . What is Paul always doing? He is consistently bringing you to Christ and leaving you with Christ. When Christ is central in the heart of the man, what does the man want to do? He wants to tell others about Jesus, and he will do so effectively.

She then goes on to quote Christian ethicist Gustafson who said, “If God himself becomes our goal—even above evangelism—we will become better evangelists.” Therefore, she says:

When God and the worship of God are first in the life of a church, growth will follow.

Step 3 – Defining Worship
One of our problems is that Christians don’t have a good idea of what biblical worship actually is. While she points this out in her book, I must share that this is a common theme in much of the research about worship. In fact, most American Protestant Christians have a tendency to do one of two things: Either we equate worship with preaching or we equate it with the music (this is in traditions where they speak of having a time of worship then a time of teaching as if they are different things). She then quotes Paul Anderson who says:

We have so elevated the pulpit . . . that we have created stiff-necked people who think they have worshiped if they took good sermon notes.

What do 20 somethings think?

2007-10-06T07:57:00.000-05:00

Okay--if you are twenty-something--I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on worship that touches not only your heart but your friends. If you go to church regularly, why? If you don't, what would draw you back on a regular basis?
(and for those of us over thirty--please introduce your 20 something friends to this blog and ask them to help us out!)

Key to reaching 20 somethings?

2007-10-06T07:43:00.000-05:00

Check out this interesting article written by a 20 something about reaching his generation and be sure to read the comments to the post. Here are some of the comments that I found most thought-provoking:

I talked to a handful of 20somethings who dropped out of church for a few years and are now back and engaged. When I asked them about the worship style of our church (we’re a mix between blended and traditional), the answers were all different. Most of them indicated that they would rather we sing less and get to the preaching quicker. “That’s what we’re there for,” said one. Others mentioned how much they loved the organ. A couple mentioned that the “hymns” could be hard sometimes, but that they wanted to learn them anyway, as they felt they were important.

Even funnier is the mindset among the Boomer generation that if we were to start using the organ and singing hymns again that all the young people would leave. The Boomer generation is making the same mistake that their parents did, thinking that what attracted them to church is what will attract their kids. Sorry. It isn’t happening.

It’s easy to update musical style and think that this is the “sacrifice” it takes to reach the younger crowd. It’s much harder to actually invest in the relationships and serious Bible teaching that are actually more effective in reaching the 20somethings.

And from the comments to his blog:

When we focus on worship style, we miss both worship and God. When we focus on God, we can’t help but worship.

i would say that this is pretty dead on. being “contemporary” is so uncontemporary, and following closely behind is the irrelevence of being “relevant”. The one drawing factor I see for 20 somethings in church is honesty, and a super produced contemporary service is not delivering that, at least in image. if we got rid of every dynamic media and production feature, i doubt we would lose anyone, save those who are there to be entertained, and we need their seat anyways. what we have been sold as “an enhancement to your worship experience” is most often the brainchild of some guy at a worship corporation designed to eek out a few more shekels from the faithful. if every hour spent strategizing on how to impress people with our churches was spent on our knees in prayer, revival would already be here. ouch. i better go pray now.

i agree up to a point. i think the people that are wanting to sing less are possibly taking a jab at the music in a roundabout way. and i think that style doesn’t matter to 20 somethings in the church who’ve grown up in the church. for an unchurched person, most church music is considered boring and dated. an electric guitar is probaly far more asthetically appealing than an organ to someone who’s never set foot inside a church before. either way though, you’re completely right about when you focus on God, you can’t help but worship

I’m not sure I can place much credence in your observations, in as much as they are based largely upon anecdotal evidence.
For every one comment of music irrelevance you encountered, I’ll bet I have found two that indicated the music was, in fact, central to their return/rededication to the church.

Worship should be a mutual connection with God and people. Seen this way a music time is VERY relationship focused as it encourages a community experience. A music time in church can be twenty times more powerful than the community experience you find at a concert. This translates to simplistic arrangements that are easy to sing with. This means it can’t be in too high of a key that intimidates, contains minimal harmonies, and a consistent beat so one can clap if they are uncomfortable singing. Done this way the focus is on community building not on music.

recently heard an interesting take on why many 20somethings disappear from church (and some return in their 30s). Churches are creating this rock n roll, high energy, small group, not many adults, setting in youth (middle school/high school). When the kids get out of high school, they can no longer relate to “Big Church”. So they feel like they have no where to go, and they leave.

FAMILIES need to be together in church, crying babies, squirming seventh graders…the whole group. There isn’t community in church when we continue to adhere to a model of segregating our children from “big church” (what a term, eh?)

What Post-Christians Wish The Church was like

2007-10-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

Another post from April . . .

I wish church was not just a sermon but a discussion.
They would love to be able to participate and ask questions.
I wish the Church sometimes met outside the church building.
Can’t you worship in a coffee house, a home, a dance studio?
I wish church was less programmed and allowed time to think and pray.
They long for more time to quiet themselves and pray meditatively.
I wish the church was a loving place.
Post-Christians believe that folks in the church love one another and perhaps others that are like them but they do not love those who have different beliefs or lifestyles.
I wish the Church taught more about Jesus.
Post-Christians like Jesus or at least they like what they think they know about Jesus and they would like to learn more. And they would like it if the Church acted more like Jesus taught!
I wish someone would ask me to be a part of a church.
They want an invitation from someone they trust who they believe accepts them and loves them as they are.

Outreach magazine

Are we at Trinity the kind of church they are looking for? If so, how do we reach out? If not, how should we change?

What Post-Moderns think of the church

2007-10-02T15:22:00.000-05:00

Here is something I wrote for the C&C blog back in March . . .

In an article in this month’s Outreach magazine, pastor Dan Kimball, lists some of the comments he has heard from non-Christians about common perceptions of the church and what they wish the church was like. Most of the people he spoke to were in their 20s and 30s and while some had grown up in the church some had no experience in the church. Six most common perceptions of the church:

The Church is an organized religion with a political agenda. In other words, don’t come if you aren’t Republican!
The Church is judgmental and negative. To outsiders, the Church appears to focus on what we are against more than what we are for.
The Church is dominated by males and oppresses females.
The Church is homophobic.
The Church arrogantly claims all other religions are wrong.Post-moderns are willing to talk to us about Christ and the Bible, but first we have to take their beliefs and the beliefs of others seriously and respectfully.
The Church is full of fundamentalists who take the whole Bible literally. In other words, don’t come if you believe in evolution or have any questions or concerns about portions of the Bible.

What do you think? Are their perceptions correct? How can we correct misconceptions?

Un-Christian?

2007-09-30T18:36:00.000-05:00

The Barna Group has a new study out that delves into the attitudes of "outsiders" (those who not define themselves as Christians) and Christians between the ages of 16-29. None of the results were too surprising to me and they echo the themes in "They Like Jesus but Not the Church" (and I will post the article I wrote for my personal blog later), but one of the most surprising things they discovered was that even Christian youth and young adults agree with the "outsiders" that the biggest problem with Christians is that we act un-Christian!

I hope you will take a few moments to read through the article and then help us think through what it means as a Christian church to reach out to people who do not trust us even when they are open to our message.

Worship Evangelism—Time to Get Real

2007-09-29T11:27:00.000-05:00

“Perhaps the most common complaint was that worship services were boring. It was not just that these gatherings were not interesting; they were not worshipful. They did little to help people meet God. However, I did not hear this as a call for more entertainment, but for more participation.”
William Hendricks, Exit Interviews: Revealing Stories of Why People Are Leaving the Church

“I don’t think numbers and numerical growth are most important. What I see the Scriptures telling us is that a successful church is where people’s lives are being transformed and becoming more Christ-like. You’ll never get a quality ministry by focusing on quantity first. Quality must precede quantity.”
George Barna

One of the questions addressed in the first chapter is “What is “real” worship?” One of the problems with worship throughout the years and especially in the last few decades of our entertainment driven culture is a lack of knowledge on the true purpose of worship.

Now I opened this blog (and have even subtitled it) by stating that we are reaching out to a particular group, but before we can determine how to shape worship for this group we have to determine what it is we are shaping. Now I have some ideas, but I’d love to hear yours first. How would you define “real” worship?

Worship Evangelism

2007-09-29T11:08:00.000-05:00

As I’ve returned to Worship Evangelism after setting the book aside for a few years, I am aware of a couple of things. First, a lot has changed since the early/mid 90s. Even Sally Morgenthaller is backing off some of her premises (see the article to the right Worship as Evangelism) because she feels that the idea that we evangelize through worship was used as an excuse to avoid getting out in the world and making a difference for Christ. Second, reading this book now after nearly two years of working closely with the C&C service, I see her predicting many of the challenges we have faced (and are facing) since 2001 in that service. And finally, I still think her theological reflections on worship are still very, very valid.

I hope that you will take the time to get a copy of her book and read it. But I do plan to share some of what I feel are the highlights of her book—especially those that relate to what we should seek to do in any service and especially what I pray we would do in this new service.

So come join me in this journey and please feel free to share your thoughts, questions, ideas, etc.!

Open Invitation

2007-09-28T23:18:00.000-05:00

To everyone who visits this site! You have an open invitation to share your thoughts, ideas, and passions.

Re-Creation

2007-09-27T15:12:00.000-05:00

Okay--so far no takers on a name for the service. So I thought I would start the creative juices flowing with a reflection on the name I choose for this blog: "Re-creation"
Re-Creation -- to create anew or again. We use the word to mean have fun, amuse ourselves, play team sports or video games. But at the heart of all this fun is the importance of taking time away from work to allow God to re-create us. This is what Sabbath should do -- it should allow a space for God to continue God's creative work within us.
As I think about a new service at Trinity to reach 20-somethings or simply other people that our traditional and contemporary services don't reach, I believe we are talking about an opportunity for God to re-create how we do worship at Trinity. But not only that, my prayer is that whatever we do will allow a place for God to resurrect/re-create lives through worship, study, and service. And finally, (and this came out of a discussion about the service with Brad) I think this service should have a good dose of fun involved with it. Now I don't mean it will be a spectator sport but rather a community that works, plays and worships together--a family and let's face it the family that plays and prays together is the family that stays together.
Now I don't know if this should be our name, but it surely reflects my thinking about what we need to do with this service.
What do you think?

Service Name

2007-09-21T11:50:00.000-05:00

Well maybe this isn't the first thing that needs to be done, but I thought it would be a fun place to start. Here is my vision for the service--"A place where twenty-somethings can come together to experience God and grow as disciples of Christ while making a difference in the world." Probably too long for a real vision statement but this gives you an idea.

Any ideas on names for this endeavor? Remember we want the service to be authentic, intimate, fun and challenging. Any ideas on how to communicate this idea to others?

Welcome to the New Blog

2007-09-21T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! This is my newest blog where we will have a place to brainstorm and discuss a new service for Trinity. Initially, I am inviting a few people that will be part of the leadership team to comment but you are welcome to invite anyone with a passion for reaching the un-churched and most especially those between 20 and 30.

To open things up and to get us all operating with some common assumptions, I've asked you to reach Worship Evangelism by Sally Morgenthaller. This is a great book which gives us a theological grounding for what we do in worship while also giving some practical tips for reaching a new generation.

In addition, I will share articles and summmaries of books that will be helpful as we plan this new service. But I also want this to be a place where we can share ideas and brainstorm.

So welcome to Re-creation--it is my prayer that the result of this discussion will be a new service that is authentic, intimate, powerful, and fun.

So let's get started . . . .