Missional with a Capital “M” – Part 3

As of 6:45 this morning Terry and I are back home in Western Pennsylvania. (Sigh)

As you progress in reading my comments, let me urge you to go to his blog and read his comments as well. Terry Timm is a great thinker who has a wonderful way with language when it comes to unraveling a lot of this stuff. I owe him a world of thanks for turning me on to this gathering.

This is where I must be to unpack the last few days. This was not a conference where we go to learn a new way to do things or learn some new methodology. These core discussions are much much deeper than mere methods.

Wednesday afternoon after one of the sessions on Synergy and the various types of leaders Terry and I were doing some discussing. Erwin was talking about the three basic types of leaders: catalytic leaders, corporate leaders and causal leaders. They had us unpack each of them with a Q & A with their staff folks in each of those arenas. There was good discussion regarding the need in each of these three arenas for leadership.

At one point in that discussion, Erwin made these statements in reference to his two staff members who were listening, nodding their heads and agreeing.

“The worst thing you can say to Eric (corporate leader) is, “Start this from scratch.”

“The worst thing you can say to David (causal leader) is, “Commit to this for life.”

I attempted to get in a question, but was unable to do so. The question was this, “What is the worst thing you can say to a catalytic leader?” When I mentioned that to Terry he said, “You are that sort of leader, what is the worst thing that can be said to you.”

My reply, “You can’t do that,” or “That is impossible.”

Those comments to me are not a road block. They present a challenge. Come hell or high water, it is an obstacle to overcome. It then makes me all the more incensed to do it, and unfortunately, if I am not careful, for many of the wrong reasons.

As Terry and I talked further, we began to realize that there are times when leaders may be a combination of one of these types and not fit into the exact areas. I am sure others realized that as well.

Okay enough for now. Here are a few more quotes:

“I turned to God thinking he was a fool for wanting me.” – McCall

“We must connect everything we do to the human story, so folks do not forget it is about people.” – Erwin

“We need more chaos and movement, not more organization.” – Erwin

“The Western Church has become at best an employment agency for those who like to study and at worst a movement of managers and administrators, but it is void of dreamers and visionaries.” - Erwin

“The common denominator of declining churches: ‘They have great fellowship.’” – Erwin

“Theologians say, ‘We think.’ Experientialists say, ‘We feel.’ What we need to do is to take ‘thinking’ add ‘feeling’ and combust it by adding ‘doing.' Then we really learn.” - Alex

“Many if not most of the folks in our churches are bulimic. You feed them on Sunday. They vomit on Sunday night. They starve themselves all week. Then come back next Sunday so they can gorge themselves again.” – Erwin

“If you are in a church and you are not affecting the Ethos of that congregation, regardless of the grief you may take, you are not the leader. The leader may very well be someone who is dead or gone.” – Erwin

“Part of spiritual leadership is creating a crisis for people that forces them to grow and address issues in their life.” – Erwin

I am just getting started here . . .

Missional with a Capital “M” – Part 2

It is Thursday morning. Origins and Ethos are over. My brain and my spirit are far from over. I have so much to process and decide how it fits into our faith community that the task could seem daunting if I were of that ilk. But those who know me, know I have a hard time visiting, much less living there.

I took notes at this conference unlike I have ever at any conference in the past. I am not really sure why, but I did. Maybe it was a God thing. I do like it when those happen.

In any event, what I did in addition to the “normal note taking” was to just write down quote after quote that spoke to me and made something really live. I gave some on the previous post. Well, for the next day or so I will give some more. If I put them all out here now, it would be like drinking from a fire hydrant, which is what I have been doing for three days.

Do not look for a particular order, I intentionally mixed them up. Why? Because I am just that way. I did start and end with two that really spoke to me.

“If you change what people believe, you are an apologist. If you change what they care about you are an apostle.” - Erwin

“You know what you care about by what you DO.” - Erwin

“Fellowship is what we do with each other to reach the world.” – Eric

“God is not trying to catch up to us. He slows down for us.” – David

“Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the absence of self.” – Erwin

Alex on Relevance:

“The first question is not, are we relevant to culture? It is are we relevant to Jesus Christ and who he is and his mission to the world?”

“The second question is, are we relevant to the future? If we build a church that we like but our kids hate in ten years, we have failed.”

“The third question is, are we relevant to the outsider? After all it is not about us. We have become very good at running programs but not so good at throwing parties.”

“God is not a fireplace to warm you, or a firework to entertain you, He is a consuming fire.” – David

“I am more committed to your character than I am to your talent.” – Erwin to Ricky

“We need to wake up to our dreams not wake up from our dreams.” – Ricky

“Sometimes a person’s talent is too heavy for their character.” – David & Eric

“It is not that teaching” the Bible in church “is not a good thing, it is just not enough.” – Erwin

“There are some things about God that will only be revealed in community.”

“We have a European, mostly Germanic, approach to communicating Scripture.” - Erwin

“When you love someone, you design and experience. It is not just about sharing the information.” – David

“We need to be serving others with others.” – Erwin, David, Ricky, Eric, Dana, etc. etc. etc. (Get the point?)

“If you are not living the word and serving, you are missing the point.” - Erwin

“Ingratitude is a toxin.” – Eric

Missional with a Capital “M” - Part 1

I will pick up the "presbyterian with a small "p" series in a week or so but for now . . .

I am writing this from Southern California. I would say “sunny” but it appears we brought the drear and rain with us from western Pennsylvania. The forecast is far better the remainder of the week. Otherwise Terry and I rented a convertible so we could open the top in the parking garage.

Okay, let me back up. I know I promised to write some more about the presbyterian church, and I will. But Terry Timm and I are attending the Origins and Ethos conference put on by Mosaic (the church where Erwin McManus the author of Unstoppable Force is the Lead Pastor.) It is an absolute creative haven. I have two more days of this and I am eating it up. So I will try to share some of what is taking place with you while I am here.

Considering I did not sleep well (I never do the first night in a new bed) and we had capped a long day of travel to get here, I needed something to connect me to God quickly this morning. I know I should do that on my own, but it was not going to happen.

This morning before the opening session they opened with some percussion played on garbage cans that brought back memories for me. At the opening session the band kicked in to a driving song about human need and God. It was at around 100 decibels in the room and my eyes were filled with tears. I honestly do not recall the last time I fully worshipped while singing in a worship gathering, at least on this level. It may have been at my farewell night 2-1/2 years ago at my former church or at another convention in San Diego about 4 years ago. For me to worship during singing it usually requires a strong driving lead guitar, a bass rift that thumps your chest, drums that engage the heart, and vocals sung with reckless passion. This band did all of that. I stood there alternating between clapping, jumping, and raising my hands while tears filled my eyes. And that was just the opening three songs.

This entire gathering is built on how to be the church in missional fashion the way Christ intended it. Here are some miscellaneous comments that I put in my notes:

“How do we become what Jesus was imagining when He was on the cross?” – Erwin

“Look at what we are doing and ask, ‘Is this worth the death of God?’” – Erwin

“Most Christians are self absorbed and all consuming narcissist, not servant oriented and outward focused.” – Erwin

“Do we wish to do the right thing . . . even if it means losing people?” – Erwin

“As a leader are you always unsatisfied?” – Erwin

“Mission is not what the church does . . . it is why the church exists.” - Alex

“The question is not. ‘Can we just . . .,’ it is ‘We must . . ..’” - Alex

“Everything is calling to us to move, to momentum, to live beyond ourselves.” – Alex

“Most Christian discipleship has been reduced to Buddhism. We are getting rid of the large sins in our lives, and then moving on to the smaller one until we have no sin. That my friends, is the gist of Buddhism. It is about nothingness . . . nihilism. Reincarnation is not a blessing, it is a curse that traps you in its cycle until you can end up at nothing.” – Erwin

“God created us to create.” – Erwin

“What is the ½ step we can take that will get us in the direction we want to go?” – Erwin

“God is not limited by your intelligence or your ability; He is limited by your dreams.” – Erwin

“We have to create a context where people can fail gloriously.” - Erwin

More to come. As TT says, “Stay connected . . .”

My Love-Hate Relationship Being a “Presby”: Part 1: presbyterian with a little “p”

As a pastor when I am talking to folks about our worshipping community, I get a lot of questions as you would expect. One that I get quite often is “What denomination are you affiliated with?” Well, the language may not be exactly that, but the gist is the same. I usually answer with, “We are presbyterian . . . with a small ‘p.’” That always gets a smile from folks who seemingly know what I mean.

Everyone who does not have their head located on the wrong end of their anatomy knows that folks today, by and large, do not make a church decision based upon the signage out front. That alone may not seem too unique, but we have to remember it is a radical shift from not too many years back, when you automatically looked for the label on the sign. I am not saying it does not matter any more, but it is nowhere near the issue it once was. And in almost every case, it is just not the deciding factor. I have a church full of people who come from every almost every background, and they still choose us. Many of us find the label quite often to be a deterrent as much as a draw. So in our case, we hide it as much as we can. That, however, is a comment for another time.

I am not the first, nor will I be the last to say we appear to be moving into a post-denominational age. I am also not the first, nor the last, to recognize that some alliances are still going to form as like minded folks attempt to serve together and support one another. But in increasing numbers we are finding those alliances in places other than our denomination.

I would love to take a trip like the one in Back to the Future 2 and 3 when they went 30 years into the future. I would like to see if denominations survive. My guess is they will in some form. But I would be utterly shocked if they looked, smelled, or tasted anything at all like denominations do today.

So when folks ask what my connections are, unless pushed, I may increasingly say, “Jesus.”

Next Up: Getting Inside the Mind of a Bureaucrat

Welcome Back . . . Maybe Not

Just to clear up any misunderstanding, I have not died. There was no assasination. I have had several attempts on my life, but they have all failed . . . JUST KIDDING!

My apologies to folks who come here to read what is on my mind. Well . . . as of late you must be thinking the answer is . . . well . . . nothing. You are close.

In truth, I have allowed the busyness of a new church to crowd out something I enjoy doing . . . writing. I hereby confess in public this grievous sin. I promise to get back on track with my two to four posts per week . . . this week.

I am finishing up the touches on my take on the upcoming PC(USA) General Assembly. It will be posted over this week. If what I write gets out, I may be brought up on charges by our Committee on Ministry for denominational heresy. Let's see, Huss, Luther . . . does not follow does it?

As my close friend TT says, "stay connected," for just like Arnold, "I'll be back!"