Need something to provoke you this weekend?
Looking for something besides “Dateline: NBC” and a rerun of “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ tonight?
Read this blog post by Donald Miller.
What story do you believe?
What If Jesus Were Attacked By A Polar Bear? May 24, 2009
We all have questions. Some seem a bit more…well, creative…than others. Still, it is our nature to wonder why, to push back, to look for answers.
What are some of your questions? Particularly when it comes to religion, and Jesus, and God and creation and the church? What are you thinking about?
Thanks to Tim Stevens for the video link…
Let Your Name Be Lifted Higher April 27, 2009
In light of everything we are experiencing and the way we see God moving in our community in recent weeks, it’s important to remember some important things.
God is stronger.
Christ is risen.
You are saved.
There is hope.
There is a way out.
This song has gripped me since last night. I know it is a message we need to hear, a song we need to sing.
There is Love that came for us
Humbled to a sinner’s cross
You broke my shame and sinfulness
You rose again victorious
Humbled to a sinner’s cross
You broke my shame and sinfulness
You rose again victorious
Faithfulness none can deny
Through the storm and through the fire
There is truth that sets me free
Jesus Christ who lives in me
You are stronger
Sin is broken
You have saved me
It is written
Christ is risen
Jesus You are Lord of all
No beginning and no end
You’re my hope and my defense
You came to seek and save the lost
You paid it all upon the cross
After Easter… April 21, 2009
Wondering how you’re feeling this week…
It’s Tuesday, a little over a week past Easter. Spring break is a mere memory, and the drudgery of routine has returned. You’re counting down the days until the end of school; you’re holding out hope for a change in your circumstance; you’re grinding your teeth through the patience required of you in these days.
You’re waiting. Existing.
Remember this, as you wait.
Doing Church The Way God Called Us To Do It April 18, 2009
Home. Sitting in Panera waiting on results from a local show choir competition. Here, engaged, but not really here….
Feeling convicted about my “Dear 21st Century Church” post. Seems like I either didn’t explain myself very well or there was something bitter running through the entire thing experience that leached through. In spite of three edits, I didn’t see it. Still not sure what it is.
I don’t want to offend or be a stumbling block. I took the post down.
And then I read this today, from Perry Noble’s blog, which is far more powerful than anything I could ever dream up to say about any other church experience.
“One of the things that I always teach here at NewSpring Church is that we do not have the corner on the market when it comes to a movement of God. We aren’t doing church “the right way.” We aren’t doing church a better way. We are doing church the way God called us to do it…and if another church is doing what God has called them to do and people are being reached, lives are being changed, sin is being repented of, the excluded are being included, teenagers are discovering their potential in Christ, marriages are being restored and children are learning about Jesus and so on…who in the world would want to criticize that? (Answer – satan…just in case you were curious!)” – Perry Noble
Let’s just leave it at that, shall we?
I’m sorry.
Sunday Setlist 4.5.09 Unity Service April 6, 2009
Last summer, a young man in our community was murdered. Teen-aged sensibilities, cars, drugs, insults and guns; a devastating combination.
The boy who lost his life was black. The kids who shot the guns were white.
During the trial a few weeks ago, tensions were high. Folks were looking for justice, for answers. Tension that has simmered below the surface of the friendly faces in the community began to erupt. The subsequent jury verdict of involuntary manslaughter caused a great deal of grief for those who felt it unfair, unjust and biased against the African American community. There were peaceful protests and marches and a lot of media coverage. The hot story for the media was, of course, the racial tension simmering in Powhatan county.
Not long after, some idiot planted KuKluxKlan literature throughout the county – surreptitiously, of course; stuck in mailboxes and yards, inviting folks to join their organization.
(Excuse me while I throw up in my mouth, just a little.)
Several pastors got together last week to talk about what the local church community could and should do. The silence thus far had been deafening; and so, plans were made, and in four short days, we organized a community Unity Service. And new relationships were formed.
Last night, after worshiping in our own churches on Sunday morning (still, the most segregated place in our community), we came together. Since we currently worship at the high school, which was to be the host site (thanks to the generosity of the Powhatan School Board), PCC was very involved in most of the practical aspects of the gathering.
We threw out an “all-call” for anyone who wanted to sing in the community choir, and scheduled a 4:00 rehearsal. We had no idea what to expect, but we’d put together a few song ideas and decided that we’d do what God’s artists do – we’d create something.
We ended up with about 75 folks in the community choir – with huge diversity. Black, white, Baptist, Pentacostal, Mennonite – it was a jumbled mess of humanity. And, oh, did we sing…..
I’ve never witnessed anything like this in my life. We sang loudly and it was glorious, all those voices. From the stage, we looked out over a crowd that represented every color, tons of churches – and many folks with no church affiliation, who just came in search of peace and unity. We estimate that around 900 folks were in the room last night, and it was an incredible surge of energy and positive power, reflecting the incredible depth of strength God provides when we humble ourselves to one another, submit to Him and just get together with one simple purpose: to say that we are His people.
We got news coverage, and it was positive. The reports did not flash back or focus on the negative – they showed a community commited to grasping hands and declaring that things could and should and would be different.
At the end of the service, all the area pastors were called onto the stage. Representing black and white churches, all of whom worship and minister in different styles, our leaders stood together to demonstrate something far beyond anything we could have manufactured. I still have no words for what I witnessed.
But I’ll tell you that what I heard was more magical and beautiful than any music I’ve ever created. The simple sound of voices singing together - minimal rehearsal, no assignment of parts, just instructions to sing – it was. absolutely. stunning.
I’m thinking that an eternity of worship doesn’t sound too bad.
On the practical side, here’s the way the service went:
You Are Good – Most contemporary chuches know this tune. We rocked the house. It was a GREAT declaration of the goodness of God, and an incredible way to launch the service.
At the Foot of the Cross (Greg Ferguson/Willow Creek) – This song has always been a challenge (for me) in it’s format. There’s something about it that has never quite held together in a way that’s comfortable. But the message in the lyric is brilliant and was a perfect fit for the night.
Five pastors then spoke, each on a different topic: Love, Forgiveness, Wisdom, Comfort and Unity. They each had five minutes – and of course they each went over, just a bit. Hello – they are pastors! But it was worth it. Each speaker was followed by another pastor representing a different church or race, whose role it was to pray. Beautiful stuff.
We showed A Thousand Questions, a film from Willow Creek that is absolutely stellar in quality and content. If you haven’t seen this, you should. If you haven’t used it, you should. (You can purchase the dvd from the WillowCreekAssociation.)
As the video ended, we asked folks in the room to gather round for prayer – to find somebody of another race, from another church, and pray together. And the choir began to sing I Need You To Survive, directed by the amazing Aleisha from Little Zion Baptist Church. We moved into a creative version of Jesus Never Fails, with a call and answer from the choir that was stunning and so powerful – and rich for me, because I was able to just stand in the choir and sing.
We closed with Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) and I swear, I felt the heavens break open and the angels sing with us.
What a night. There’s little more to say, but my heart is full and will never be the same.
Read one pastor’s perspective on the night here.
Catch some of the media coverage here.
And here’s A Thousand Questions. Go buy this vid and show it to your church.
Perry Noble At Unleash March 16, 2009
Here’s the link to the main teaching sessions from the Unleash Conference that we attended last week. Give yourself some time and watch it. It’s as important as your Sunday morning attendance.
Be forewarned: Perry Noble doesn’t pull any punches. But be advised: this man loves Jesus and has committed his life to serve him and lead others to the cross.
Enjoy – and let me know what you think.
You can see both sessions on Tony Morgan’s blog. Check it out!
When Jesus Wraps This All Up December 6, 2008
I have a friend who struggles with depression. I have learned much in the process of walking beside her as she deals with the challenges of a medical condition that impacts her from every angle: relationships, attitudes, productivity, self-worth, faith, sleep, energy.
Today I received an email from her, in which she shared part of an outpouring of gratitude to God for the lessons learned through this struggle. She’s in a good place in this season, where she’s recovering energy and feeling productive and focused.
I have been humbled to realize how much more there is to consider as I interact with people. There were many times of interaction with my friend when I had no idea of the internal struggle she faced. It disturbs me to know that I’m often so caught up in my own junk that I don’t stop to consider – really consider, with more than just a cursory “how ya doin’?” – how somebody else is feeling.
The more open and honest we are with one another, the more God is able to refine us, to help us arm ourselves with the same attitude as Christ. My friend wrote:
“Thank you, Lord. The pain of what I’ve been through has been indescribable. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. I wouldn’t want to go through it again. And it’s not completely over yet. But I’m enough on this side of it to begin to understand how You are using it…how You are shaping me through it.”
And as I read through 1 Peter this morning, I was struck by one of my favorite passages, in which Peter writes about the awesome inheritance, new birth and hope we have because of Jesus’ resurrection – “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you”. I continued reading, and then turned to The Message to gain another perspective. I was struck by the power of these words, as I considered what my friend has been through, how she is fighting to grasp the reality of how God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Here’s what Peterson gave us:
“I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.”
I pray today for eyes that see, for ears that hear truth as I interact with others day to day. And I pray that I will continually keep in mind that “aggravation of every kind” – in my life and others’ – is the catalyst for a process that ultimately results in a display of God’s victory.
*Want some encouragement in your own struggles? Check out 1 Peter 1.3-9. Read it in the NIV, and then check it out in The Message. If you don’t have a copy, try Bible Gateway.
God Is A God Of New November 14, 2008
Our community is full of people who have tasted the freedom that comes with God’s love and decided to follow Him; sometimes tentatively, sometimes with wild abandon. Regardless of how your relationship with Christ is growing and forming, many of us still struggle with things we wish we’d done differently.
Wanting to be better.
Wanting to achieve some sort of status in the perceived hierarchy of “Good Christian Behavior”.
We try to get better. And we find ourselves frustrated by our inability to improve.
Some of us are making great strides in this area, working through difficult issues, asking ourselves hard questions, humbling ourselves enough to hear the answers, finding healing and forgiveness. And then turning around to share it with others.
Some of us still wander in the darkness far too often.
Jon Acuff writes an often funny, often sarcastic blog. Recently he posted about his struggle to try and fix himself.It’s powerful.
It’ll make you think.
It might change the entire direction of your relationship with Jesus.
Go read here. And let me know what you think.
What I’m Reading Right Now September 30, 2008
Craig Groeschel leads Lifechurch.tv, a church that is dedicated to being a reproducing, multi-site organization (“one church, multiple locations”). Craig spoke at the 2008 Leadership Summit and gave a stirring, exhilirating and truth-filled talk that continues to resonate in my heart.
He spoke about the (almost) indefinable, elusive “it” that marks the unexplainable attraction to something or someone. In this context, Groeschel talks about the life-changing power of a church that has “it”.
It is fascinating, this concept of the God of the universe – almighty, all-powerful, omnipresent, creator of all things being reduced to a boring, unapproachable, politicized head of an institution found on street corners and interstates all over this country. But, sadly, it is happening. All too often, the Jesus that we love is boxed up and set aside as completely irrelevant and unnecessary. Too much passion – for Jesus, for people outside the walls of the church, for the hurting and disenfranchised – is frowned upon, and not just by those outside the walls, but sometimes by those within.
Jan is asking questions about this on her always-fascinating blog. I am learning from the questions she posits, from the fact that I have no easy answers. Others are praying and pushing and opening dialogue and moving their feet to declare the truth about incredible, exciting, transformative faith found in Jesus. These are exciting times.
I love the church, and I love Jesus, and I am really digging this book. Groeschel is an engaging, honest writer. His stories will give you great insight and make you laugh, and the challenges that unfold just might change your world.
And just might change your church.
