Rethinking Community…

I’ve had a blessed life.  I have had the privilege of going to church for all 25 years of my life and being a full out Christ follower for 17 of those years.  I grew up in the church, served in the church and now am a full-time pastor at a church.

Growing up I loved the inner-workings of the church.  I loved the way things came together in different ministries.  I loved the hard work that it took to make an impact on somebody’s life through an event, etc.

But I must say, while I don’t discredit any of those years, there are some things that were ingrained in my head as I was growing up that I feel like I’m realizing now are not as true as I thought they once were.

Before I ramble on too much, let me share with you what my mind has been wandering through lately.  That is the aspect of community.  For so long I’ve been fed that community is communing with others at church, at small group, or a Bible Study.  I believe these are all true.  I believe that these are great ways to build community. 

However, I’ve been fed in the past that this is the best and only ways to create community among other believers.  My mind has changed and I totally disagree with that.

Those areas of community listed above are great, but I find more and more the times where I build community with those in my church and in my student ministry are outside the confines of structured church activity.  Now, please understand, I’m not pushing church, small groups, and bible studies by the wayside, but I think we should re-think community.

When we look at Scripture, yes, Jesus goes to the synagogue and yes, he’s building relationships through his teachings, but what about the times he just chilled with people at their house?  What about the countless interactions he had with people while just walking to His next destination?

I don’t know what you think, but these thoughts have been rolling around in my mind constantly lately.

His, Not Mine…

So, lately, I’ve realized that I need a lot of help in the “spiritual” department.  Now I know we all need help, but in my personal life and what I’m journeying on right now, I need a lot of help.  So I decided to pick up and read A.W. Tozer’s book “The Pursuit of God“.  I know it’s a short read, but I’m trying to go slow, dive in and swim a little while if you catch my drift.

The title for the 2nd chapter caught my eye, “The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing”. Tozer’s base Scripture for this chapter is Matthew 16:24-25 (…”take up his cross and follow me…”).

While reading through this chapter and roaming through Scripture, I’ve come a mindset that I thought I used to have, but somewhere along the line lost it.  That mindset is:

What’s mine is actually HIS!

Now I don’t claim to be a spiritual expert.  I’m just a guy on a spiritual journey trying to stay as close to my Heavenly Father as possible.  But when I read those verses in Matthew and realize Adam and Eve did not have any possessions in the garden except what God provided, I realize that my mindset has been altered.

If we go on through life thinking that our possessions are just ours, we’ve missed the point.  If we think our money, cars, house, collectibles, etc. are just ours and don’t look at the big picture, we lose sight of God.

So I challenge you as I challenge myself in life to understand that the possessions that you own are not yours, they are His!  He has provided for you in a way that you and your possessions are His.

And I believe that when we come to this realization, it will change our lives.

Just something to chew on!

Francis Does It Again…

Is there one person in your “ministry life” that you continue to follow?  Is there that one person that really messes with you mind and makes you think ALL the time?  Is there a leader that stretches you not only mentally, but spiritually every time you hear or read about them?

Francis Chan is that person for me.

I recently read an article from him entitled “Public Passion vs. Private Devotion” from the Catalyst E-Newsletter.  Let me just share with you a snip it from the article:

“Leaders make the greatest hypocrites because of their ability to persuade and deceive. Rarely is there a pastor whose character exceeds his reputation. If I were to ask those closest to you about your relationship with God, what would they say? If I were to ask God the same question, what would He say?”

Wow!  Sometime I “hate” Chan because I feel like he really hits the nail on the head.  I am not implying that this article is for anyone specifically, but I sit here and ponder this question and wonder what the answer would be.  I am my toughest critic, but I can probably say that the answers wouldn’t be very good.

Think about that quote.  Think about those questions.  What do you think about this?

“The Buried Life”. Good Concept?

To try and stay culturally relevant to my students, I often take a night or two and watch some interesting shows.  Last night was the premiere of a show that I was looking forward to.  What I found was a great concept, but a disappointing first episode.

The Buried Life is a show on MTV on Monday nights at 10PM.  It’s about 4 young adults that hop on an RV and fulfill things that they want to do before they die.  But it doesn’t stop there.  Every time they cross something off of the list they had, they helped a person fulfill one of their “bucket list” dreams as well.

So, the downer of last night was that the guys themselves wanted to crash a Playboy Party, which I think they succeeded.  The cool part was what they did for another person.

The one day one of the guys ran into a guy on the street who turned out to be a teacher.  Supposedly, a computer had recently broken and was no longer in use.  So these guys took one night and did some street performance with guitar playing and break dancing, came up with the money, and bought the school a brand new Apple computer.

I personally think the show is a great concept.  I don’t know what the rest of the season will hold.  I’m assuming they used the Playboy party as a spring board to launch the show as we all know, but disagree with, that sex sells.

I’m interested in continuing to watch it and see how what these guys do affects other people.  Maybe we can rip a page out of their journey to start something in our communities, nation, or world?

CPWofP, Part 4 – Tim Grandstaff, Genesis Church

Today is the last day for my Church Planter’s Week of Prayer.  I recently saw this guys plant through another Pastor’s blog, checked it out and was instantly hooked.

Tim Grandstaff is starting Genesis Church in Orlando, Florida on JANUARY 24!!!  That’s so soon!  He has a heart for the city of Orlando as explained in the video on the opening page of their website.

So, let’s pray for Tim and the church!

• Pray for the launch on January 24th that it would go well!
• Pray for Tim in the upcoming days as he puts final touches on the launch.
• Pray for the people of Orlando that they may be ready for what is to hit them through Genesis Church.
• Pray for the launch team as they also prepare and set up for the first service.
• Pray for any financial or practical needs still needed for the launch or the near future.

I can’t wait to see what Tim and his staff do in Orlando!  I’m looking forward to following the church and hopefully, maybe, someday, go visit!

CPWofP, Part 3 – Jarrett Stevens, Soul City Church

Today and tomorrow I want to pray for two guys and their endeavors that I don’t know personally.  Today I want to pray for Jarrett Stevens and Soul City Church.

I got the privilege to meet Jarrett at a conference way back when I was in 12th grade and he was still at Willow doing Axis, the Young Adult Program.

Today he and his wife have embarked on an incredible adventure, church planting.  This church has not launched yet, but is probably the blog buzz of a lot of peoples online blogs.

Jarrett has a vision for the city of Chicago.  I wish I could share it all with you on here because it is so exciting, but the purpose of this week is prayer!  Check out Soul City’s website to check out, listen, and watch the vision of this church unfold.

Here are some things you can pray for:

• Pray for Jarrett and Jeanne as they continue to unfold the vision God has given them for Soul City Church.
• Pray for the Serving Opportunity that they are going to do this month according to the church time line.
• Pray for the Small Gatherings and Small Groups that are meeting currently that they will grasp the vision and be a part of this church.
• Pray for financial support so that the church can be launched with the least amount of debt possible!
• Pray for those in the surrounding area where the church will be located that God will stir up something in their hearts that they cannot explain.

CPWofP, Part 2 – Mark Flood, 422 Corridor

As was stated yesterday, church plants have different phases.  Another good friend of mine is in the very beginning stages of planting a church.

Mark Flood had been on staff at Penn Valley Church for a few years as Youth Director.  When we talked, I could sense that Mark had a passion for church planting and it was only a matter of time before he went on this journey.

As stated, Mark is in the very beginning stages and is excited and nervous all at the same time for what lies ahead.  He is planning to launch the first part of the church, 4 house churches, in the Greater Philadelphia area along Route 422 which includes the towns of Royersford, Phoneixville, Collegeville, and Limerick in September of 2010.

Please pray…

• For God’s guidance and provision for Mark as he embarks on this awesome journey.
• For the hearts  of the people in these 4 towns to be open to what is coming there way.
• For the communities/towns themselves and the surrounding ones as well that they would be open to this church.
• For Mark that God would give him strength and endurance through this time of decision-making, praying, and discerning God’s will for the church.

Mark is going to be keep a blog that you can follow as the church continues to be molded and shaped into what God wants it to be.  You can follow this blog here.

Elk Creek Church – Mike Silliman, Pastor

In Church Planting there are many phases.  Today I want to start off with a really good friend of mine to kick off our Church Planter’s Week of Prayer.

Mike Silliman is the Pastor of Elk Creek Church in Oxford, PA.  Mike is a great man of God and started Elk Creek in the Spring of 2006 in his living room.  On September 23, 2007 Elk Creek had its official launch.   The vision Mike gave God for His church is “to be a catalyst for life change through the message of Jesus Christ”.

After talking with Mike he shared with me a few of his prayer requests:

• Starting in 2010 (right now), Elk Creek Church is starting to be self-supported financially.  Please pray that God would provide during these tough economic times.
• Mike is currently working through a vision series and will give an invitation to become a “Vision Carrier”.  Pray that people would be so excited about Elk Creek that they would be a participant through carrying out the vision.
• Pray that more people would be committed to the vision so that more people would come to know Christ as Savior.
• Pray for an upcoming event, the Helicopter Egg Drop, where thousands of people from the community come out.  Pray for great interactions.
• Pray that God would raise up leaders at Elk Creek so they can multiply their influence.

I trust that all of you reading this will take a few minutes out of your day to pray for Mike and his ministry in Oxford as we start this Church Planters Week of Prayer.

I have a special place in my heart for church planters.  I have nothing against Pastors in established churches, but I hope that someday, if God allows, that I could plant another church.

Another church?

Yes.  In 2004 I prayed really hard and sought after God to seek his leading and he gave me the opportunity to do something incredible.  I got to work with my mentor, Dan Houck, to help start The Table Community Church in Lancaster, PA.  I know the joys, frustrations, successes and failures of church planting from scratch.

I believe this is why I have a special place in my heart for Church Planters.  So, I decided to do a series of blog posts next week entitled “Church Planters Week of Prayer”.  While that is a little misleading, starting on Monday, January 11 through January 14, I will be highlighting 4 different church planters.   Two of them I know personally, the other two I love following and seeing what they are doing.

Please join me in this adventure as we prayer for those planting churches in the United States!

What God Is Teaching Me…

To be completely honest and transparent, life is rough right now.  No need to go into details, but it sure does seem like “the enemy” has an upper hand for some reason even though I know he really doesn’t.

God has been teaching me a lot and it didn’t click until this morning.  God is teaching me something that I never wanted to be taught.  You may know what I’m talking about…patience.

I’m reading in my devotions about Israel struggling to reach the Promised Land.  Now, I understand they had sinned a great deal by worshipping false idols, sexual immorality, etc., but I sin too.  I see that God is teaching them patience as well even though they don’t like it either.

The many things in life right now I would like resolved or fixed right now.  Unfortunately or fortunately, God doesn’t work that way.  He works in His timing.

Being open and transparent again, being patient sucks.  I’m not good at it and probably never will be.  But God is working on me and I can’t wait to see the light at the end of the tunnel!