Going, going, gone

“Many Southern Baptist churches are small groups of white people who are holding on [until] the end,” he said. “Not only have we not reached out to younger generations, but we have failed to reach out to other ethnic minorities who are all around us.” Rather than embracing a “whatever it takes” mentality to change and restore a local church to health, Page said, many pastors and churches have “chosen to die rather than change, and they are doing it."

from The Incredible Shrinking Church by Frank Page

Oswald Chambers on Christian Critics

The average Christian is the most piercingly critical individual known…The effect of Criticism is the dividing up of strengths of the one being criticized…Criticism serves to make you harsh, vindictive, and cruel, and leaves you with the soothing and flattering idea that you are somehow superior to others…The first thing God does is to give us a thorough spiritual cleaning. After that, there is no possibility of pride remaining in us.

Maybe the rise of judgmentalism is one other blind spot that can be laid at pride's front door?

So, It's Mother's Day AND Pentecost Sunday

I still remember Dr Jerry Oswalt in a preaching class I took many years ago at the Marietta Branch of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary commenting on preaching on holidays. "On Mother's Day, what text you choose to preach on doesn't matter. Just remember this cardinal rule - The sermon better be short and it better be about Mothers."

This year, Mother's Day also overlaps with Pentecost Sunday. Now, I am a Baptist, but I seem to recall that day being a pretty big day in the life of the church. Some even call it the "birthday of the church."

So with Dr Oswalt looking over my shoulder, and centuries of Christian tradition in silent witness... what to do?

We'll be giving a nod to Moms with a great video at the beginning of worship, then pressing on into the third "Blind Spots" sermon. Not sure what to do about pentecost, but then I'm probably the only one in the whole church who even knows it is this week.

She'll Fit Right In - A Glimpse of New Hope!

There are some times when I read the Bible and I just have to step back and go "wow!". Hebrews 11 is one of those places. If you begin reading it, you'll find a list of heroes there and descriptions of just what they did. It builds and builds, and each one leaves you wondering how in the world did those early believers stay true to God, given what they went through for Him. It ends with this:

We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—
38 the world didn't deserve them!— making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
39 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised.
40 God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours. Hebrews 11:37-40 The Message

"Making their way as best they could..." seemed to me to fit the life of Marie Rice. I only met her a couple of times, but the last time I did, she was suffering the effects of terminal cancer, and yet, she was alive in Christ. Her faith in her time of struggle was just amazing. Even in the last couple of days, as this life dimmed and the life promised her by Jesus came into focus, she kept reminding those around her of how good God is.

Her brother Larry and her husband John were sitting beside her bed and struggling with the thought of losing her to death. As believers do, they turned to God and John said to Larry, "all I can say is what a mighty God we serve."

At that moment, Marie, who they thought was in a coma, said "Then say it."

Marie passed away Tuesday. The family will gather tomorrow night for the viewing of her body, and Friday they'll meet and her pastor will put it all into context and help the family see their path in the days to come.

Friends, Marie knew where she was going. Like Paul, she was convinced.

38 I'm absolutely convinced that nothing— nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow,
39 high or low, thinkable or unthinkable— absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8:38,39 The Message

Now Marie is with those heroes you can read about in Hebrews 11.

And you know what?

She'll fit right in.

Grace and peace,

David

She'll Fit Right In

There are some times when I read the Bible and I just have to step back and go "wow!". Hebrews 11 is one of those places. If you begin reading it, you'll find a list of heroes there and descriptions of just what they did. It builds and builds, and each one leaves you wondering how in the world did those early believers stay true to God, given what they went through for Him. It ends with this:

We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—
38 the world didn't deserve them!— making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world.
39 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised.
40 God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours. Hebrews 11:37-40 The Message

"Making their way as best they could..." seemed to me to fit the life of Marie Rice. I only met her a couple of times, but the last time I did, she was suffering the effects of terminal cancer, and yet, she was alive in Christ. Her faith in her time of struggle was just amazing. Even in the last couple of days, as this life dimmed and the life promised her by Jesus came into focus, she kept reminding those around her of how good God is.

Her brother Larry and her husband John were sitting beside her bed and struggling with the thought of losing her to death. As believers do, they turned to God and John said to Larry, "all I can say is what a mighty God we serve."

At that moment, Marie, who they thought was in a coma, said "Then say it."

Marie passed away Tuesday. The family will gather tomorrow night for the viewing of her body, and Friday they'll meet and her pastor will put it all into context and help the family see their path in the days to come.

Friends, Marie knew where she was going. Like Paul, she was convinced.

38 I'm absolutely convinced that nothing— nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow,
39 high or low, thinkable or unthinkable— absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us. Romans 8:38,39 The Message

Now Marie is with those heroes you can read about in Hebrews 11.

And you know what?

She'll fit right in.

Grace and peace,

David

We Can't Fix It

Down through the years, maybe partially because I was educated and trained in marketing, partially because I'm a classic "fix it" male, but really, because I want to see people experience the joy of life in Jesus Christ, I've tried to discover what we can do to get people to come to New Hope.

We've done a lot of things down through the years. Over and over again the most effective means, as reflected by the answers to "how did you find New Hope?" have been:

1. A personal invitation - far and away the most effective
2. Our sign - amazing to me
3. Our website - more and more this is the first contact

None of the other efforts have really proven to be effective for us. I have to say that it has annoyed me - the marketer me - because it is so ingrained in me that if you just get the right message in front of the right people - they will come. But they haven't.

I was reading Darryl Dash's blog this morning (was pointed there by Milton Stanley), and he reported the findings of another church's survey.

MacDonald now pastors a church in downtown Toronto called Grace Toronto. The church recently asked community members to describe their objections against Christianity. They found that many didn't have objections; they just find Christianity irrelevant. Going to church doesn't even make the list of options for Sunday morning. The seeker approach assumes that people will attend church if its relevant. But many won't go to church no matter what we do.

Friends, we overestimate our impact and underestimate the power of our opposition.

No matter what we do, we can't fix the lack of interest a population of people in rebellion to God has in attending a church worship service. Nor can we awaken their hearts to God's love. That's way above our pay grade as my father used to say.

What we can do is be authentic followers of Jesus and be available to our neighbors during times when they are spiritually receptive to the message.

What we can do is push out past the doors of the church and move into the neighborhood to experience life with our neighbors.

What we can do is pray, pray, pray for the people around us to experience the grace of Jesus.

But we can't fix it.

On Mission

We're having a meeting tonight to check ourselves on whether our planned mission trip to Kentucky is indeed one of the things God would have us do this summer. I'm a firm believer in God's Holy Spirit speaking through His people. So when questions arose about the mission trip, we called out for people to pray and then to gather to see what the Spirit was saying.

It's so easy to plan. After a while you just drop into your routine - this is summer, must be time for VBS and a mission trip.

What is hard, really hard, is to stop and listen. And open yourself to God's searching Spirit. Why are you doing this? Whose glory do you seek? Are the people going prepared to do God's work wherever - are they doing it now?

"...the reason at the heart of each mission trip should be because Christ commanded his disciples to be servants, both to each other and to the world. He commanded the church to make disciples of all nations, in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. When we participate in short-term mission trips, we're doing our part to fulfill those commands.

If that isn't at the heart of our mission encounters and if those commands don't shape our planning, then we've missed the point. And if we miss the point, it's a safe bet that our kids will, too. We don't do short-term missions for the fun and excitement, or because everyone else is doing it, or because we're told we have to go. We go to serve and share.

Jesus' ministry was a living example of what the Church should do. When he healed people in the streets, he served. When he went from town to town, he served. When he fed the multitudes with a handful of fish and bread, he served. When he sent out his disciples two-by-two, he sent them to serve. At the Last Supper, he became a servant to his disciples by washing their feet.

Then there's the Great Commission. In Acts 1, before he ascended into heaven, Jesus ordered his disciples to go out into the world and be his witnesses. When we take our youth group on a mission trip, we're taking Jesus to the world. Our mission trips should not only be about serving but they must also be about sharing Jesus with those to whom we minister. The world is capable of bringing charity to those in need, but the world can't offer Jesus."

From Youth Specialties site - this article by Jeff Edmondson

So we need to make sure we are ready to go, THEN we decide where to go.

Jesus' ministry model seemed to set in motion a concentric circle of ministry action. Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and then the uttermost.

What could we do here this summer?

- 3 backyard Bible clubs (neighborhood outreaches)& a weekending block party at each
- 2-3 light construction projects (cleaning yards, painting, building a wheelchair ramp, siding and roof work on homes here)(I think our contacts with the Older Americans council will provide the names of folks we can help)
- 3 service opportunities (movies in the park, running sound, lights, concessions, baby stations)(This should come together by next weekend if we can get the city and the Heritage Museum in partnership)
- 1 concert in the park by the Wayfarers Bluegrass band after a cookout and baptisms
- supporting a World Changer's team in the area with food and water
- and probably a bunch more I can't even think of.

I'm going in praying that others are looking locally as well as to places farther away. We may well still go to KY this summer, or somewhere closer, but Valparaiso is our Jerusalem so it's here we need to put the most effort during the whole 52 weeks that make up a year.

Wow!

My love-hate relationship with NOBTS has gone on for many years now. I've loved the classroom instruction but had a running gun battle with the administration. It's been tough. So when I can find an opportunity to praise the work of NOBTS, I want to take it. Take a minute and read this report from the seminary's extension in the Mississippi State Prisons. NOBTS has had a pioneering effort in the Louisiana prisons and it appears Mississippi is going great too.

Our God is at work around us and if we just open our eyes, we will see Him and once again learn to stand in awe of Him and exclaim, "Wow."

Both are words we have experienced here at the NOBTS extension at Parchman. Since August of 2004 God has been changing lives in much the same way He chose to do at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. I will try to catch you up-to-date with all that has been happening during this year.

Let me share the WOW with you first. God is simply amazing. We now have an extension within our extension. The super-max facility known as unit 32, where four men lost their lives last summer and several others have been stabbed or brutally beaten, houses most of the lockdown inmates at Parchman. These inmates are "C" custody and are not allowed any contact with inmates of "B" or "A" custody. The students we have at our main campus located at unit 30 are all "B" or "A" custody. In October, we petitioned the state to allow us begin offering accredited courses at unit 32. The Department of Corrections agreed and we began with 15 students in January. Now that is worth a WOW and a Praise God, is it not?

Would you like another WOW? One of our 15 inmates at unit 32 was witnessing to an inmate on his tier. After a Monday night class, he was excited about what we had been discussing and decided to try to witness to this inmate again. Instead of listening to him, the inmate pulled a shank and attacked our student, cutting him 9 times: twice in the chest, four cuts on his head and three on his arms. Our student not only survived the attack but is back in class and has forgiven the other inmate for the attack. Our student's prison moniker is "Killer," and another inmate, a non-Christian, exclaimed, "Killer, Jesus really has changed you hasn't he!" He is a walking witness to God's ability to completely change an inmate from a killer to a martyr. Can you say WOW?

How about one more WOW? Since the first of this academic year in August 2007 our inmate-students have led over 1458 prayer meetings, 235 worship services and 3, 440 Bible studies with an average of 5 non inmate-students at each Bible study. Can you say Amen, Praise the Lord and WOW?

Can you stand one more little WOW? In the past academic year, our men have personally led 82 men to the saving knowledge of Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Friends, personally there is no greater reason for me to shout "Wow" and "Hallelujah" for what our great God is doing in this place.

With all of these "wows," there are still a few "uh-oh's" we have let slip from our lips this last year. There are some academic failures and inmates going on probation due to poor grades. We have lost a few students for disciplinary actions taken by the Department of Corrections. One inmate was lost to us because he was transferred to the Governor's Mansion. We have lost two who have been taken back to their counties of crime on court orders. These "uh-oh's" in no way diminish the things God is doing. I received a letter from an inmate at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in Pearl who had been led to Christ by one of the inmates who had been taken from our program on court order. God turned an "uh-oh" into a "Wow." God is so awesome!

We want to thank each of you who have stood with us these last 4 years. The eternal consequences of your support and encouragement will never be fully realized in this life. So the best we can do now is just sit back, watch God at work and humbly, but excitedly shout, "WOW!"

Dr. Johnny Bley, Director

Instead...

“The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me. This leads to deep humility and deep confidence at the same time. It undermines both swaggering and sniveling. I cannot feel superior to anyone, and yet I have nothing to prove to anyone. I do not think more of myself nor less of myself. Instead, I think of myself less.”

— Timothy Keller, The Reason For God, New York, NY: Dutton, 2008, p. 181.

Learning from Behind the Leaf

I read a TON of blogs every week from all sorts of people - big church guys, little church guys, planters, transitioners, traditional, contenporary worship, blended worship - the whole spectrum. You can learn a lot from people outside your frame of reference.

Michael at Behind the Leaf has consistently helped me and I suspect a lot of other people, get a glimpse deep inside what they do, how they do it, and more importantly - WHY.

His post today was so good I'm putting all of it here so I can go back and read it again and again. You need to be reading his blog if you seriously want to improve what you are doing to reach people for Christ. Not to copy, we need reality to reach real people - but to evaluate and learn something that might help you in what you do, how you do it, and to help you establish for yourself and for your church - why.

Thank you Michael, and may God continue to use you and your folks to reach those in N GA for Jesus.

Some Things I’ve Learned So Far
from Behind the Leaf by Michael

1. You don’t have to do it, but somebody does. Most church planters and pastors in churches like ours don’t really visit the hospitals or do counseling. I can’t tell you how many up and coming leaders that brag that they are too busy to do these things. But just because we’re not called or gifted to do them doesn’t mean they don’t need to be done. As our church has matured, I’ve come to realize that while I cannot do these things, I must make sure they get done. We need a system to meet these needs. I need to make sure I delegate and train someone.

2. Don’t use words, develop a language. What I am talking about is developing a culture. Creating “The Oak Leaf Way.” Every church has a culture – a setoff unwritten rules. Why not craft these and be intentional instead of just letting the wind blow. If there are words that I would hope would define us (like generosity), then I should work hard to create that as a part of our culture. When we celebrate communion, we need to work hard to do it in a style that fits our church. That’s developing a language.

3. God’s agenda is the only agenda that matters. People come to church for a bunch of different reasons and lots of people have their own agendas. We’re not about that…we are about God’s agenda and that’s it. Even as the lead pastor, I have to set my agenda and personal preferences aside in order to follow God. It’s great when those two things line up, but in the end, God’s desires are more important. This isn’t my church…it’s His.

4. Do it well or not at all. One of our core values is excellence, and we always come back to it. We’ve bitten off things that we had no business doing and it’s hurt us because we couldn’t do them well. Excellence is more than just money…it involves time, preparation, staff, energy, and communication. You can have the greatest program in the world, but you’re going to have to take time to communicate it. And you only have so much time to communicate. And when it comes to money, it doesn’t have to be expensive, but it can’t be cheap.

5. There’s no right way to do church, but over communicate your way. There are lots of churches from lots of molds, and all different style of churches are advancing the Kingdom. There’s no right way, but there is our way. It’s not right or wrong, but it’s how WE do it. We have to communicate this constantly. And I really do mean constantly. Every week, we work the mission, vision or purpose of the church into some kind of service element. It has to become our DNA.

6. Make the steps simple and easy. People want to do what you ask them, but too many times, we make it hard. Anytime we have a church-wide meeting, we have to provide childcare. It’s a headache and a bother, but with 28% of our Sunday morning attendance children, we have to make the step simple. And it’s tough for some people to go from a large worship service (anonymous) to a really small group (not anonymous), so we had to create a middle step.

7. Act a little bigger than you are. Not the size you currently are, but not five times bigger either. This is necessary for growth.

8. Like pastor like people. Hosea 4:9 is a great illustration of this. I realize that how I go, so go the people. If I’m not generous, then our church won’t be generous. If I don’t pray, then the church won’t pray. This literally scares the heck out of me.

9. A church service is not a church. What we do on Sunday morning is intentional. We want to reach people that don’t go to church. But our church’s influence is not limited to what happens on Sunday morning. It may be the front door, but a house has more than a door.

10. Evaluate ruthlessly. I watch and listen to myself teach. We tear things apart. Not because we want to be critical or negative, but because we want to keep getting better. In theology, this is called progressive sanctification. We have to keep becoming more and more like Christ.

New Hope @ Worship 050408

I half expected to find a bunch of people using canes and smelling of Icy Hot today after yesterday's grueling lawn skills competition, but we had a good crowd who seemed to move around just fine. Everyone was so pleased with the outcome, we started off with a head start toward worship in community.

My goal this week was to bring us around to the point of seeing our lives as reflections of Christ everywhere we are, and to see hypocrisy as brutal to any hope we have in relationship with God, with each other and to our witness for Jesus. Our hope then, is found in what our Great God gives us - His Word, His Spirit, and His community of believers called the Church.

So the worship through song reflected that:

Indescribable - "...and you love me the same, you are amazing God."
Offering - "...there is no shadow in Your presence."
True Worship Song - "I'm standing here because of who you are, and what you've done."
In Christ Alone - "...no power of hell... can ever snatch me from His hand."

"Come Just As You Are"

So that's the idea. God knows us. Who we are - really. And once we are His, He loves us no matter what. But He loves us too much to leave us enslaved by the chains of hypocrisy.

Blindspots - The Sequel
Here's a link to the church cloud site. Just click on the sermon audio "play" icon.

So we had a yard skills competition today

And some people thought the yard had gotten completely out of hand.

Others brought cool tools.

But by the end of our time up there today, everyone really needed this.





Or maybe this

Expelled

A bunch of the guys from church and I went to eat tonight and then to go and see the movie "Expelled" with Ben Stein. It was hard to know exactly what to expect, given that I've been reading opinions from both sides for several weeks.

Overall, I think it did exactly what Stein hoped it would do. It made you wonder why science isn't allowing scientists to pursue whatever line of inquiry they chose to follow, even if it leads toward a designer.

Lots of very bright people interviewed in the movie on both sides of the debate, and to their credit were civil in the most part. Richard Dawkins would be an exception, but he's just being who he is. I was prepared for Stein to move toward Nazi Germany as an expression of where logically Darwinism and the survival of the fittest leads. He did, but it wasn't overblown by any means. It just made sense.

Hey, I was headed into science once upon a time, still love to read some of the popular literature. But at some point, science runs out of steam. I have no problem believing in Jesus and enjoying what science can do. I hope that others will pick up Stein's challenge to follow where they want to go and not let the Darwin crowd stop them.

Just wondering

I've been reading Galatians this week in preparation for Sunday's message. Reading it and rereading it. Paul's passion for the believers in Galatia to not short themselves but receive all of the freedom the gospel brings just seems to leap off the pages for me. As is said in the South "He means that thing." (IOW it is a conviction at the root, not a preference that could shift with changing circumstances.)

For some reason my thoughts jumped to all those who fight to have the Ten Commandments posted in the public square.

Shouldn't we be asking for the sermon on the mount to be placed there, or at least the Beatitudes?

Or do I need to go back and read Galatians again?

Maybe I'll just play some music.

Even If No One Else Does

We were wandering through Romans chapter 8 tonight in Bible study, and for me - it was one of those nights. Now remember, my wife, who has heard almost every sermon I have ever preached, including some several times, has threatened to put "Rambling Man" as my ringtone. There's a rumor going around that at times, occasionally, I might tend, or seem to be, just that. A Rambling Man.

Well, I knew going in that the passage was going to be tough, because it has some of those words that cause the normal Baptist's ears to tingle - "foreknew" and "predestination." I studied ahead into Chapter 9, where the real fireworks begin, and was grateful that we'd only cover these few verses. Sure there were some words in there I needed to be careful in defining, but I was sure I'd handle it well.

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8 NIV

If you stray into the whole predestination argument from this passage, you've gone off course.

Well, that guy was me tonight.

And I was at times like the guy who is backing the car up and watching to make sure he doesn't hit the mailbox. In fact he is so intent on missing the mailbox that he gets fixated on the mailbox and winds up hitting it. Well, I didn't just back over it, I pulled up and did it about three times.

If confession is so good for the soul, why do I still feel bad? :)

I do so love the folks at New Hope. There's never been a more generous group of people when you are doing well, and never a more kind hearted group when you are struggling. But friends, let me back up one last time and see if I can deliver the goods.

What you need to know about this passage is this.

Even if you don't believe you can become more like Jesus, even if you can't see any way the old you will ever fade away, even if your family and friends don't believe this Christianity deal is anything more than a passing fad with you and that you will fail...

Even if no one else believes in you...

God does.

In fact, He can already see you changing, already picture you becoming more like Jesus.

"...those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son..."

He knows you can do it. And he's planning on your seeing it through - walking with Him, relying on His Holy Spirit to guide and direct your paths while he is working everything together for your good.

See the thing is - He's planning a BIG family reunion.

"...that he (meaning Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brothers."

That's us folks. We're part of those many brothers who God knew would be reborn in Jesus Christ. We're part of the people from every nation who will gather around the throne having been made pure through the blood of the Lamb. That's us! We win!!!!!!

So we shouldn't end this passage doing anything but praising God.

Because God will see us through to completion through the power of His Holy Spirit.

God believes in you, beloved. Even if no one else does.

Grace and peace,

David

--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.churchcloud.com/new-hope-valp/

Representing... Jesus

Back in the day, I was a Sales Representative for a Fortune 50 company. I had a territory to manage that was filled with outlets for the products of my company, and prospects who were not outlets yet. My mission was to help those who were already selling our products sell more, as well as to help those who weren't selling them now, become outlets.

To do the former meant I had to learn their business goals, values, and how they carried those out, so that the marketing plans I devised were consistent with them, and would aid them in achieving a greater return on their investment.

With those who did not carry our products, I likewise had to meet them and seek to learn what their goals and values were, how they carried those out, and then devise a presentation that would help them see how our products would help them get there.

Existing customers were easier to handle, because of a shared history, common knowledge, and established trust. Prospects had to be convinced of your passion and determination to help them, as well - and this is key - your integrity overall. For if you weren't trustworthy, then nothing you said could be trusted either.

On the first day I went to work for this company, they told me, "You are (company name)." We will train you, support you, encourage you, and work on our end to develop products that are superior in meeting your customer's needs. But we cannot to the work for you that only you can do. We cannot build trust with outsiders and insiders. Only you can do that.

If you follow our guidance, adhere to our standards of conduct, and represent us with integrity, we will always be there for you. But the moment you lose your integrity whether in your personal life or corporate life, you are no longer of use to us and will be terminated as an employee. As long as you work for us, wherever you go, you are (company name) ."

Here's where I'm going with this.

Why do we as Christians think we can choose NOT to represent Jesus at our convenience?

One of the reasons I have heard for taking youth on mission trips is "they will be able to understand what it means to be all out for Jesus there."

There's no distinction between "there" and "here". "Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it for the glory of God" seems to cover everywhere, at every time, in every situation.

We represent Jesus. How are we doing with that?

Local Culture and the Church

From an interview:

I believe the church works with three cultures. It works with a national culture such as the boomer, buster or builder generations. It also works with its own unique church culture. Finally, the church works with the local culture. Whether it's a Lutheran culture of Minnesota, a Southern Baptist culture of Atlanta, or an ungodly pagan culture of San Francisco, every church has its own local culture.

I'm convinced understanding your local culture is more important than knowing about your national culture. I'm working in Northern California, which includes churches in Marin County, Napa County, Vallejo, and churches down in the San Joaquin Valley. Those local cultures are as different as night and day. What attracts some people in one culture turns off other people in a different culture. I find that most pastors and churches have no understanding of the local culture in which they live.

In terms of exegeting culture, how does this impact the way you actually go about preaching a sermon?

I tell stories of how we're going to touch our world; specifically the world in which the church finds itself. I want to make clear that what we may be doing here in Minneapolis is only going to work in Minneapolis, and here's why. You can walk up to an atheist on the street in Minneapolis and ask, "What religion are you?" and they're going to tell you, "Lutheran," because it's almost an ethnic thing. That's one of the reasons why we're going to have a traditional service.

Suppose you carry this over to communicating vision in Minneapolis. While preaching about worship and music I'd remind people that we're doing a traditional service not because people here like to sing the old hymns, but because we want to reach un-churched Lutherans. This is Paul saying when I'm with the Jews I'm like a Jew, and when I'm with the Lutherans I'm like a Lutheran.

I want people to know that whether it's the issue of worship, music, the way we do outreach, or why we're communicating the vision we do, its determined not only by boomers, busters and builders, but also by local cultural issues.

Paul Borden HT: John Mark Ministries

Really good article on a lot of issues confronting the local church and its pastors. Read it all.

How would an outlook like that of Borden's affect what we do here at New Hope? Or what you do where you work for Jesus?

"Get me my religion!"

I just had to share this. I especially like the "supernatural size it" comment.



HT: Monday Morning Insight

Okay, after further review, here's what we should be serving people instead. Jesus.

Is next - Theology and Practice of Ministry

Tomorrow begins the new term at Rockbridge Seminary and one of the last core classes for me - Theology and Practice of Ministry.

The course is being taught by Dr. Randy Bennett, Director of Missions, Kern County Southern Baptist Association, Bakersfield, CA. He's well versed in the online educational experience as well as the bricks and mortar classroom, having taught at Golden Gate and at Midwestern. He's currently serving as an Interim in a church as well.

I'm looking forward to interacting with Dr. Bennett.

The course is designed to be: "An introduction to the purpose of ministry through the study of the biblical and theological basis for "every member ministry," the rise of clericalism in church history, the equipping church model vs. the dependency model, and the permission-giving church vs. the controlling church. Students will examine approaches to gift discovery and ministry matching."

Books should arrive this week and I'll get busy. That ticking noise you hear in the background is the time running out in my pursuit of this Masters. I'll have it in hand before Christmas, Lord willing.

The price of Admission

A couple of nights ago, I was looking for something to read that didn't have to do with the church, or theology. My life is so centered on New Hope and what God is doing and wants to do through all of us here, that I don't really read anything else. In years past I spent a lot of time bring drawn into the stories of Mark Twain's characters, William Faulkner's Mississippi, Steinbeck's California, and the military fiction of W.E.B. Griffin and Tom Clancy - and others, lots of others.

But as time has passed, I've spent more and more time in books about church.

Well, Tuesday I went out in the garage, where boxes of books still lie packed up from our move almost two years ago (the rest are in the attic or at church) and found "Flags of Our Fathers." I remembered reading it a while back and how it helped me understand a little bit of what my own father had gone through in that era.

So I picked it up and started reading again. The author is the son of one of the men forever immortalized as the "flag raisers" on the island of Iwo Jima. After his father's death, his family finds a couple of boxes in the closet with clippings about that event. They discover things they never knew about their father's courage and his relationship with the men he shared that "mountain top experience" with that day. Great book I highly recommend.

One of the men whose life he examines had come into military service the same way my father, who passed away a couple of years ago, did. When the war broke out, this individual was in an outfit called the Civilian Conservation Corps. The author explains how it was created to help men whose families were impoverished out of that hole called the Great Depression, and served as an intro to the rigors of Army life.

Here's what caught my attention. In order to participate in the program, that would lift your family out of poverty...

You had to admit you were poor.

That you were in need.

That was the price of admission, and I suspect there were some whose pride would have kept them from participation. My father and his family must have done that, or they wouldn't have gotten helped. I'm so thankful that they did. For my father's joining the CCC was their first step up from poverty - a poverty so bitter that decades later my father would point out certain weeds and explain to his boys that "those were all we had to eat." Times were hard, but hope was available - if you paid the price of admission, and swallowed your pride and said "I need help."

Funny how similar that organization is to this one - the Church.

I've been reading with interest Ed Stetzer's posts on the future of the SBC, as well as a few of the posts examining what the findings mean.

What has amazed me frankly are those who are rushing forward to claim that declining membership doesn't mean anything is wrong. There's so much wrong that for once I do not think any church growth guru can possibly design the next Lifeway program to help us pretend to fix it.

I'm reminded of one pastor's encounter with some Nob Hill socialite who was recounting a litany of woes. The pastor patiently hear her out and suggested that the woman needed to admit she needed help and call upon God.

"Has it come to that?", she is said to have replied.

Yes brothers and sisters, it has come to that.