Participation in what?

I recently watched Greg Hawkins video introducing the "Reveal" study they have done at Willow Creek (http://revealnow.com/story.asp?storyid=48). In it he says:

"Participation is a big deal. We believe the more people participating in these sets of activities, with high levels of frequency, it will produce disciples of Christ."

What Hawkins is saying is that if people will have regular participation in weekned worship, classes, small groups and other activities they will become disciples. If there are large amounts of people participating in church activities, then spiritual growth is happening.

What their research has found is that numbers of people participating in church activities does not necessarily equal spiritual growth. What it does is takes people to a certain point in their spiritual growth where they become stalled and want to leave the church.

I believe that Hawkins is right in saying that "Participation is a big deal" for spiritual growth. The major factor is not in the particiaption, but in what people are participating in. Real spiritual growth and transformation happens when people participate in the kingdom. When people are able to live out their faith as authentic Christ follwers, real spiritual growth begins to happen.

Jesus led his disciples to a point of particiapting in the kingdom. When they reached that level of participation they began to grow into authentic Christ followers. Jesus also told his disciples to "Go and make disciples . . . teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Simple Church, by Thom Rainer talks about developing a process of discipleship. Jim Putnam at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho has seen a church grow, as disciples begin to participate in the disciple-making process.

The attractional church has done a good job of growing big churches, but participating in kingdom work (making disciples, serving people and giving to the poor) builds healthy missional churches that allow people to grow in their faith.

So as church leaders we need to provide opportunities for people to particpate in kingdom work. And as Christ follwers we need to begin to live out our faith in authentic ways that honor God.

What are you participating in today that could change someones life for eternity?

None of us are Perfect

I have the privilege to meet every other week with a friend of mine at a local cafe. If you know me, I don't do coffee. I have found that I like a carmel latte with sugar free syrup and skim milk, no whip cream. Occasionally, I will get a blend of the day staight in a pursuit to aquire a taste for good coffee (if there is such a thing).

Anyway, we are studying the Old Testament together. We have started in Genesis, looking at God from a relational point of view. We have looked at how God created man to have a relationship with Him. Even when we mess up, God is intentional about sustaining a relationship with us.

God kicks Adam and Eve out of the garden for disobeying Him. He punishes them, then in a redeeming way makes clothes for them so they would not be ashamed of their nakedness.

Cain kills Abel. God punishes him saying that he is going to be a restless wanderer. Cain is fearful that people will kill him as he wanders on the earth. In a redeeming way, God places a mark on Cain so that no one who finds him will kill him. If they do, they suffer the vengeance of God. God protects Cain.

But the one that impressd me the most comes out of Genesis 6:3 (maybe because it has a direct effect on me), "My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." Up until Tuesday morning I had been interpreting this passage wrong--nobody is perfect. My friend John pointed out that God was so intentional about sustaining a relationship with man, that he was giving them one hundred and twenty years to get it right.

God's intention was to eliminate his creation from the earth, once and for all. But he decided to wait one hundred and twenty years. As the hundred and twenty years drew closer, he found Noah who "walked with God." Again his redeeming quality is revealed through Noah. He told him to build an enormousboat in the middle of nowhere so that Noah's family could be saved from his wrath.

Within the first 9 chapters of Genesis we see a God who wants to restore imperfect people. We see a God who wants more than anything for man to be in a relationship with Him.

Thank goodness none of us are perfect, because it is in our imperfections that we see how important we really are to God.

What's your game?

I do not play a lot of golf and I don't go to a a lot of movies. I normally see a movie later than it's release on T.V. Saturday night I started watching "The Legend of Bagger Vance." It was getting late and I knew I had to preach the next day so I DVR'ed the rest of the movie. I love DVR!

Sunday afternoon I sat down and wathced the rest of the moive. Rannulph Junah hits a ball into the woods. He comes to a crossroads in the game he is playing and wants to quit. He wants to go back to his old ways. Bagger Vance approaches Junah to encourage him to keep on going. Bagger Vance says, "What I am talking about is a game. A game that can't be won-- only played." Isn't that a great definition about life. Life is a game that can't be won-- only played.

Bagger Vance then hands him a club and says, "Now play the game-- your game. The one only you was meant to play. The one that was given ya when you came into this world." We all were given a game to play. We were all created by God to do something special in His kingdom. What we need to do is discover the game we were given to play when we came into this world. Once we discover this game we play.

The statements Bagger Vance makes in the movie reminds me of what Paul wrote in the Bible. He said, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:24

I do not know about you, but I want to play the game God gave me to play. I do not want to get to the end of my life, look back and think, "I never played the game." Instead, I watched and read about others that played the game they were meant to play.

God has given you and me a game. What's your game?

Play the game!

Great Quote

I am reading "The Irresistable Revolution" by Shane Claiborne, I just read this quote and had to post it:

"I had a college professor who said, 'All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe.'"

Enough said.

Blue Eyed Jesus

Alright, I have this picture of Jesus in my office that sits on the top of my bookshelf. It's old and it is made out of velvet. It is a profile of Jesus looking toward heaven, but there are some characteristics that almost make me laugh. First, Jesus has flowing blond hair. Hair that looks like he had just run a brush through it about a hundred times. It makes me think of watching Marcia Brady sit in her room brushing her hair over and over again.

The second characteristic in my velvet Jesus (I hesitate to call it that because I do not want people to think I got this concept from Rob Bell and his book "Velvet Elvis." I am talking about the King of Kings here) is that he has blue eyes. I mean these eyes are bright blue. You can not miss them.

Here is the problem. Jesus, being Jewish, would not have blond hair and blue eyes. Someone has taken the liberty to create Jesus the way they see Him, not the way He really appeared. This picture drives me nuts! I know, you are wondering why I have it in my office. The reason I keep it in my office is for it to be a constant reminder to let Jesus be Jesus.

I am sometimes like this artist who gave Jesus blue eyes. Sometimes I follow Jesus based on how I think He should be, not how he really is. I paint my own mental picture of Him and then live by that, only to see the picture I have painted is the opposite of what Jesus is like.

The picture has become a constant reminder to be true to the character of Jesus. Actually, I am growing quite fond of my blue eyed Jesus because the more I focus on the character of Jesus, the more I am attracted to Him as the redeemer, and the physical characteristics just don't matter.

Thinking Like a Missional Church

I hate words that come up in the Christian Community that make us feel like we are really doing kingdom work. But I can not stop thiniking about it! Instead of using this word, the modern church needs to become this word. If we are really going to be effective in reaching lost people (people who are going to hell) we need to take seriously the mission God has given us as the church.

So what does that mean?

It means the church focuses more on discipleship than membership.
It means the church focuses more on sending the church out than bringing people in.
It means the church focuses more on authentic community than affinity.
It means the church focuses more on the Spirit's direction than personal incentive.
It means the church focuses more on giving to the poor than ignoring the poor.
It means the church focuses more on presnting the Gospel than branding the itself.

God took the mission seriously and it cost Him his Son. Jesus took the mission seriously and it cost Him the presence of His Father. It is time, we as the bride (the church) take seriously the mission of the King.

We need to begin to think like a Missional Church. There's that word again-- "Missional." Let's stop using it and become it, then we will begin to see the world change.

Let's Go Cavs

As a Cavs season ticket holder, we were invited to attend a "Chalk Talk" with Danny Ferry. For those who do not know, Danny Ferry is the General Manager of the Cleveland Cavaliers. After he gave his State of the Team Address, he took questions from season tickets holders. It was very similar to a congregational meeting. Some asked legitimate questions about the future of the team, others gave comentary on how they would run the team and others were very encouraging to Danny about his leadership.

I just want to point out a few things I observed from Danny Ferry's leadership style at this event.

1. He was very focused on the mission. He stated the mission of the Cavs is to win a NBA Title. He never let any question get him off track from building a winning team. All his answers were consistent with the mission of the Cleveland Cavaliers and answered with confidence. Even when there were opinions from fans that may differ from his, Danny Ferry never lost the focus of the mission.

2. In sticking with the mission, he was very clear that any future move would be to get players that fit. Even if there was a really good player available, that player would have to fit the style of the team.

3. The style of the team is built around its strengths. The strength of the Cavaliers is Lebron James. The offense revolves around what Lebron James is able to do with the ball.

This is something every Christ Follower can apply to life in the kingdom. We have a mission from our King to reach lost people. If we want to win, we should stay focused on that mission. Part of being focused on the mission means we only do things that fit with accomplishing the mission. Finally, we use our strengths (the gifts and talents God gives us) to accomplish His mission.

The night ended with the Cavs beating the Boston Celtics--one step closer to the mission.

Go Cavs!