The Hand-Off

Last week, I was reading in Acts 6 when complaints began to arise among the believers in the early church in Jerusalem. The problem was that the Greek speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily food service. The Twelve called a meeting and said, "It isn't right for us to set aside proclamation of God's word in order to serve tables." So seven well-respected men were chosen from the early believers who were well respectd and who would foucs on the daily food distribution so that that no one was being left out. This left the Twelve the freedom to focus on prayer and the proclammation of the word.

This is the struggle of a small or maintenence church. Most of the ministries revolve around the pastor. This is usually a result of the pastor not being able to let go- or of a consumeristic mindset of the congregation rather than a service/ministry mindset. Often it is the combination of the two. Reading the passage, I'm struck by the Twelve being able to focus on what they were best equipped to do- pray and proclaim the word. The food service was a ministry that others could do.

I went to a Catalyst Oneday event in Baltimore a few years back. I remember Craig Groeschel's words about delegation. He encouraged the crowd of pastors/leaders/worship leaders/youth pastors/and hipsters who love Jesus that we should delegate everything that only we can do. Groeschel said that there are only four things that only I can do. They are...

1. Be the best husbad I can be to my wife: If not, someone else will fill that void
2. Be the best father I can be to my children: If not, someone or something will take my place
3. Takes care of my body. It's the only one I will get and only I can decide to treat it right.
4. Take care of my spiritual life. No one can get up and pray for me- or study my Bible.

If we are equipping and releasing people in ministry- then we afford ourselves the space to work on that which only we can control. By delegating, we grow the faith of the people around us while growing our own faith. As 2012 begins to move forward, I want to equip others to share in ministry with me, to call men and women to minister in their passion so that I might be able to do the same. I want to hand-off important parts of ministry so that I can serve out of my passions and strengths for a great impact for the kingdom.

What are some things that you can delegate in 2012? Re-read the list above, which of the four areas have you been neglecting? How will you grow those areas in 2012?

2012 Reading Plan

One of the great joys that I have in being in ministry in a larger town (at least larger than my previous location) is connecting with our pastors, leaders, and Christians who are pursuing a life with God.  I've been wanting to get back on the blogging horse for awhile, but haven't done it.  Thanks to a blog post and conversation with Paul Bowman- I have the inspiration for a post and hopefully the catalyst for more regular blogging.

So here are some of the books that I plan on reading in 2012 and a brief explanation of why.

American Saint: Francis Asbury and the Methodist:  It's a biography of one of the most important leaders of American Methodism.  It is said that he rode over 30,000 miles on horseback- and that more people recognized Francis Asbury than Thomas Jefferson in his day. Why do I want to read this?  Well, I did attend Asbury College (his namesake) and I am a Methodist Pastor.  But above all, Methodism was a dynamic movement during and after Asbury's time- which may come as a surprise for those accustomed to the institution called The United Methodist Church.  Here's praying that we can, through the Holy Spirit, regain the movement!

The Pastor: A Memoir, by Eugene Peterson:  I can remember when The Message came out in sections back in the 1990's as a teenager.  The advertisements made me want to read The Message- and I wasn't disappointed as it has brought fresh insight on my spiritual journey- as well as Peterson's many other books.

For Calvinism and Against Calvinism   This is certainly an era where New Calvinism is active in our culture.  From the Passion Movement, artist like Lecrae, and the influence of pastors such as John Piper, Calvinism has been making a resurgence.  The problem is- I'm not a Calvinist!  Growing up in the Methodist Church- I have a Wesleyan-Arminian background and find parts of Calvinism troubling.  But I want to read both books to have a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Calvinism.

Arminian Theology:  Myths and Realities:  This piggy-backs off the previous books as I want to better understand my theological heritage.  I commented to a friend earlier about how muddied theologically we become as we begin to listen to podcast of various pastor's of a variety of theological strains.  Part of the challenge for us as pastors, leaders, and Christians will be to coherently know what we believe.

Last Supper and Lord's Supper, by I. Howard Marshall:  I am currently a Provisional Elder in The United Methodist Church.  Before now and next November, I have to write and teach a four week Bible study on communion/eucharist/Lord's supper.  Having already done some research, this is on my list and I have begun to read as I prepare a study for our congregation.

There are several other books on discipleship and church leadership that I want to read in the coming months, but I don't have the titles here.  Of course, there is the temptation that some book will come out in the meantime and work its way onto my list.

What are you planning on reading in 2012?

Why I Love VBS...

Hope United Methodist Church, where I pastor, just finished a four day Vacation Bible School last night.  We had a great time!  There is a lot of planning and work that goes into VBS. Ask any director/co-director and they will tell you how much time and prayer that goes into the week.  Inevitably, there comes a point in the planning (usually the week, or day before the start date) where the stress builds and you are led to wonder "Is all this work and preparation really necessary for VBS?"  Of course, in my experience, those feelings quickly go away once VBS starts and the music begins to play and you can see the joy on the children's faces as they worship God.

Here is why I love VBS:

1.  The Memories: I grew up in the church, and as a kid, my parents took us to several VBS programs at area churches.  I remember playing kickball for recreation at North Salem United Methodist Church and VBS in the basement of Hadley Presbyterian Church. (By the way, I went back to Hadley Presbyterian Church this past year for my grandfather's funeral, the children's classroom looked exactly the same as it did 28 years ago! Even the same crayon bins!)  I don't remember very many themes or songs- but I remember caring people who showed me that God loved me and that Jesus can change my life!

2.  The Kids:  I'm a former youth pastor- and I love being with kids of all ages.  I love seeing them have fun.  And most of all, I love seeing them worship God!  Our children are such a valuable resource, and we need to treat them as the treasures and masterpieces they are (Trust me, we've had a few pieces of work at VBS!). Our mission or task as a church is to make disciples.  What better time to do that than childhood?  Children can begin developing practices and habits of disciples at an early age- and it is our responsibility to train them!

3.  The Adults:  We had incredible adult leadership this year. As I walked around each station, there were several times when I thought about how talented and gifted our adults are.  It is exciting to see adult serving where their passion is!  It truly makes a difference.  I'm sure that our leaders are tired after the week, but as we look back, there were seeds planted at VBS that will need to be cultivated and cared for- and that over time will grow and bloom into something truly beautiful.  Our adults, whether they were taking pictures, handling registration, serving snack, or leading a station was planting the seeds of God's love every time we loved on a kid.

A lot of time and resources go into a week of Bible School.  As a pastor, I think VBS is worth every penny and hour spend because of the seeds of faith that we plant.  When a child is baptized in our churches, the congregation makes a vow or covenant with the family of the baptized child that as a church, we will provide everything possible to ensure that the child is raised to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  This is a high and Holy calling for every church and every Christian who has made that covenant to fulfill.

What is your favorite Bible School memory or story?  Did your VBS use puppets- did you love them or were you terrified of them? 

6 Improvements for the 2011 Peninsula-Delaware Annual Conference

Before beginning, I need to give credit to Josh Hale as he made a similar post regarding the Texas Annual Conference (Read post here).  His thoughts have helped to formalize some of my own thoughts in thinking about the Pen-Del 2010 Conference. 

This is my third year attending annual conference- and I had the most fun this year out of any.  This is likely due to being a little better connected to other pastors and laity who were there.  There is a bit of a learning curve for navigating through the ins and outs of annual conference (like how to beat everyone to the cafeteria!)

1.  Think Through our Worship Experiences:  This was one of the biggest complainst I heard from other clergy.  During our Celebration of Ministry, it was an hour or so of standing and sitting.  There was no continuity.  Rather than interspersing songs throughout the service- an extended opening and closing set would have flowed better. 

Our Ordination Service is another matter.  There is no better place to sing the hymns of the faith than with a gathering of clergy.  They sing like they mean it (hopefully we do!)!  Ordination was upstaged by songs that the clergy did not know.  There was much murmering where I was sitting during the songs as we mumbled our way through the lines. Once the candidates were ordained, we were to sing a verse or two from a song- but because it was one that very few knew- we just started clapping again. 

2.  Laptop Bar:  I have to give credit to Josh Hale for this one!  I was thankful there was wifi in the Fitzgerald Center as it made it easier to check email and tweet during the conference.  I had hoped to do some more posting about conference, but my laptop battery is not great.  There was no where to charge or plug in your laptop in the Fitzgerald Center.  Having a place to use the laptops and charge them would have been great for those of us who want to get information out- and who take notes and process that informaton electronically.

3. Has Anyone Heard of Twitter?  I counted only 3 people regularly using the pdcon hashtag during conference. 2 clergy and one lay member(there were 2 others who used it once or twice, bringing the total up to 5).  Really? 5 people who use Twitter during conference?  Are we that far behind as a conference and in our churches in using social media to connect with our congregations and with each other?  At Conference, Bishop Peggy Johnson said that churches need to utilze all the technological tools of the 21st century to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It looks like we have a ways to go for that!  Maybe for 2011, we can double or triple the number of clergy/laity using Twitter and other means to connect.  (Thanks to Rick Vance for distributing the Pen-Del hastag...you can follow Rick at @pendelconferenc)

4. Young Clergy Gathering/Networking:  My wife, Andrea, had to stay home for conference this year.  So when it ended each night, I stood there wondering what I was going to do for the next three hours until I would fall asleep.  There are not too many of us "young clergy" under 40 in the conference...but we should be connecting more than we are.  I will personally take it upon myself to be more proactive in this area next year.  It would have been great to go get something to eat some place after evening worship.

5.  Modeling New Ministry Tools:  Ok, so this is just a different name for Josh Hale's "Social Media Training Session."  In light of the Bishop's pronouncment of how churches and leaders should use social media to spread the gospel, it would probably help many people to know what Twitter is and how to use it (especially in light of how few people use it in our conference).  But we also have to have leaders who use it.  I looked around twitter some and not one of our District Superintendents or Bishop uses Twitter from what I could research.  Our conference facebook page hasn't had a post in almost a year!  As for blogs...well, you probably get the picture. 

6.  Streaming Video:  We already have cameras putting video up on the screens...couldn't we screen Conference for those back home who are interested in what goes on..whether business or worship.  If we are concerned that no one will be interested...what does that say about what we do at Annual Conference?

I could probably bring up some other improvements for next year, but this is a good starting place.  It will be 2011 next year and our Annual Conference still looks too much like 1985 (at best).  As I hope to have a long ministry in the conference, I look forward to the changes that will take place in the future as we gather to worship, to support one another, and to do the business of the church.

Mighty In Prayer

I think it was Dr. Budd at Asbury College that first introduced me to E.M. Bounds.  Each class, Dr. Budd would read a selection from one of Bounds books on prayer- which he wrote at least eight.  Bounds was known for getting up everyday at 4:00 a.m. to study the Bible, pray, and write.  I've had a collection of Bounds books for awhile and thought I would begin reading them again as part of my own personal study time.

Let me make a confession here...I am terrible at prayer. 

I don't know what it is, but I have a hard time spending an extended period of time in prayer.  My mind wanders.  I want to get up and move around.  But I have been working on it the last several months to become more disciplined at it.

In the book, Power Through Prayer, Bounds writes something that is incredibly important.  Many church leaders flock to conferences on church growth, read books on church growth, or want to keep up with the latest trends for growth and communicating the gospel.  To an extent, that describes me.  I want to learn new ways to effectively communicate the gospel.  But list to these words...

"What the church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men [leaders] whom the Holy Spirit can use- men [leaders] of prayer, men [leaders] mighty in prayer."

I am sure that in my ministry, I have sacrificed prayer in pursuit of a quicker method or a more efficient way.  I am guilty of trying to learn something new rather than coming before the throne of God in prayer.  Now, there is nothing wrong with new methods- but I think Bounds is correct, the church needs leaders who are mighty in prayer.  Leaders to whom the Holy Spirit can mold and shape to have a powerful influence for the kingdom.

As we turn towars 2010, let us cultivate a deep, vibrant prayer life.  Whether we are called to minister in the Church, our offices, our families, or our schools, let us seek to become mighty in prayer.

Going Beyond Discipleship

In our weekly staff meeting this past Monday, one of our staff people raised an interesting question.  She asked why we are so caught up in Discipleship but not in making Apostles.  A disciple, according to the HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, is a learner, an apprentice, a pupil.  An apostle is someone "who has been sent out," a person commissioned to transmit a message.  I'm not writing to debate whether or not there should be an official office of the church called Apostle, but rather how do we get people from being learners to leaders?

When one examines the Gospels, we see the various accounts of the disciples.  They followed Jesus around for three years.  The disciples learned by watching, observing, sitting at Jesus' feet, and by doing.  The disciples were prone to mistakes and misunderstanding what Jesus was talking about.  But then something happened.  When we leave the Gospels and come to the book of Acts, the disciples are filled with the Spirit and begin carrying on the ministry of Jesus.  They have become Apostles.  They have graduated their internship and commissioned to move out from Jerusalem to Judea and the ends of the earth.  They face persecution where they previously fled (when Jesus was arrested).  They are now even willing to die for their faith.  These uneducated men have moved from disciples to apostles- from learners to leaders of a movement that is alive and well today.

I'm guessing that our church is like many churches around the country and world.  We value discipleship.  We value growing in our relationship with God.  We value learning.  We value learning so much that many who are in our pews have no desire to move out into leadership.  Our church, like many other churches, offers a large selection of Bible Studies and small groups to help our members grow in their faith. Yet I think there is sometimes still a struggle to put our faith into action...to move from the classroom and into the world. 

How can the church move members from being learners to leaders?  It takes an intentional effort to disciple in a systematic way.  Just as Jesus gathered 12 men around him, I believe that one of the roles of the pastor is that of a mentor who should gather people around them to encourage them in their faith and help them move from learners to leaders.  When the time is right, those the pastor mentor will disciple a new group of learners with the hope of developing a group of Christians who will get caught up in the movement of Jesus Christ.

Does your church wrestle with moving from learners to leaders?  How does your church approach discipleship?  What are you doing to intentionally move from learner to leader?  Talk it out below!

This Is Only A Test

Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, we were on the eastern most edge of the famed "Tornado Alley."  Each spring, in school, we went through tornado drills and were reminded of the dangers of severe weather.  In 1985, there was a huge tornado outbreak in our area with 26 of tornadoes throughout Western Pennsylvania.  The tornado that hit Atlantic, PA was an F-4 and was about five-ten miles from our home.  It was certainly an unnerving day.  Because tornadoes were frequent enough, we learned the signs of bad weather.  I began to learn to see thunderheads forming off in the distant and know that later that evening we would have a storm somewhere in the area.

John wrote something simliar to his church in 1 John.  There had been false teachers throughout the area, and because of that a storm was brewing as his church was facing a split because of these "anti-christ."  Here in 1 John 4:1-3, John encourages his congregation to be aware of the signs of a false teacher.  He writes:   

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,  but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

                                                                                                        1 John 4:1-3 (TNIV)

John is writing to his church who is in the midst of a division that has been caused by some "antichrist" or false prophets who are teaching something other than what John has seen, heard, experienced and then taught this early Christian community.  He encourages them to test every spirit and that every Spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and is from God.  John encourages his congregation that they must keep in mind what they know about Jesus.  Jesus is God-in-Flesh and anything contrary is a false teaching.

In recent history, the Nazi Party used scripture to back the idea of Arayan supremecy.  The Ku Klux Klan uses Scripture to support their hatred and bigotry towards African-Americans.  We only have to turn the TV on to hear various teachings that claim to be Christian- some are various TV preachers and others are like Oprah who people listen to more than that Word of God. 

It is a struggle that, as a Pastor, that we have lost our knowledge of God's Word.  It is our anchor that helps to give us assurance in the storms that we face in faith and in life.  We live in a biblically illiterate society- and the Church must wrestle with the best ways to teach this members how to read God's word for themselves and to be able to "test the spirits" of all the teaching we receive- whether from the pulpit, television, or a book.  It is a little disheartening to me that many of our "Bible Studies" have become book studies by Christian celebrity authors where the Bible is never even opened up.  For the Church to move in power, we must ground all we do on God's Word.

How is your church teaching/studying God's Word?  Do you have Bible studies or Book Studies? 

Young Clergy and the United Methodist Church

I've been meaning to write this post for about a week, but seminary just started back up and I've been watching Abbie all week since our daycare is closed. So here we go...

I followed a link from the United Methodist Young Clergy page to a study done by the Lewis Center at Wesley Theological Seminary regarding the number of young clergy (under 35) in the United Methodist Church. (You can find the report here) The statistics are rather disheartening as someone who is in the ordination process in the UMC. This particular study tracked Elders (and those commissioned yet in their probationary/provisional period) under 35 and gave a break down of each conference. Let me give you some of the statistics from the report- with some thoughts afterwards.

According to the report...

• 5.21% of Elders are under the age of 35. This is a decrease of almost 10% since 1985 (15.06%).
• As of 2008, there were 910 Elders under 35. In 1985, that number was 3219.
• In 2007, there were 40,100,000 young adults age 25-24, with only 876 Elders in that same age range...a ration of 1 Elder for every 45,000 Young Adult.
• In 2006, there were 26,083 Pastoral charges and 881 Elders under 35. A ratio of 1 Elder under 35 for every 30 churches.
• In my conference (Peninsula-Delaware), as of 2008 there were 2 Elders under the age of 35, comprising of 1.08% of our ordained/commissioned clergy. (I believe that number went up to 4 for 2009)

The report list some other denominations statistics for ordained clergy under 35 and the Methodist Church is not alone in this. Only two denominations report that more than 10% of their ordained clergy is under 35 (Church of the Nazerene, Reformed Judaism).

Linked to this issue, I believe, is our feeble attempt at reaching out to college age/young adults in meaningful ways and inviting them to be apart of the Kingdom of God. I've heard it said that a pastor can generally connect with people 10-15 years older and younger than themselves. That could be true as the average age of our ordained Elders is 52- many may have difficulty connecting culturally, relationally with those younger than 35.

So what can we do?

1. More Young Clergy: To this I will say yes, and no. On the yes side- The United Methodist Church (and the Christian Church as a whole) needs more young clergy to help effectively share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world around them. People need to hear this Gospel from their peers- and most importantly, see it lived out from someone their age that they can relate too. Having more young clergy in pulpits and in leadership can be inviting to a young adult who is exploring his/her faith.
   
   Certainly seminary takes time to go through- but the entire length of the ordination process is too long. I started at 26 and will be lucky to be ordained by the time I am 35. Many young pastors are burnt out on the process and by their poor placements in charges that are not willing to allow creativity and passion to be evident.
   
2. On the "no" side of this answer- it takes much more than having younger clergy to reach a world who are thirsting for the living waters of Christ. I have heard (in my annual conference and on blogs/websites) that more young clergy is the way to solve our lack of young adults persuing their faith in the church. It's brought up like a cure-all. This is false thinking. As a denominational level, I feel that we are very much stuck in the 1980's or 1990's in our thinking (maybe in earlier than that). We have failed to keep up with the cultural changes that have taken place.
   
   Since our newest slogan is ReThink Church- we must be willing to really rethink how we go about our ministries. I fear that this is just a catching tagline that the UM marketing department has developed rather than the heart of our leaders in our General and Annual Conferences. In my own conference, I have seen very little dialouge on what it means to rethink church as clergy.
   
   If we were able to Rethink Church; If we were able to live Church as a verb- people (including Young Adults) would be attracted. It happened in Acts when the Holy Spirit came upon those gathered in the Upper Room. They lived life differently and people noticed and wanted to join in because of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. If that was the case today- we would see more people of all ages seeking to live out their faith, and in turn, have more people (of all ages) desiring to serve God through (but not limited to) ordained ministry.

I pray for myself and my brothers and sisters who are pursuing ordination that we would not lose our passion. That we would have the strength and courage to rock the boat, to go against the flow, and to seek to allow God to work through us in ways that we could never imagine.

Back from the Survivor Retreat

I had the priviledge of sharing with Atlantic Avenue Church of the United Brethren's youth ministry this past weekend for their Survivor Retreat. Pastor Dustin Staples and his wife Ashley are good friends of mine, and it was great to share ministry together with them. The group was about 30 kids plus adults (probably close to 50 there total), with students ranging from 7th grade to seniors.

The Survior Retreat is based off of the Reality TV show. When we arrived, the students were split into three tribes and competed in various challenges throughout the weekend. It was great to see some of the older kids working so well with the younger students. It makes for a good first retreat experience when you get included in the activities.

I spoke each night in the evenings around a camp fire. Not a little fire, a big roaring fire. I spoke on 1 Peter 2:11 which says, "Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires which war against your soul." We examined the life of Daniel and how he lived as an exile, yet lived differently than the culture. We looked at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and other teaches to see that Christians should live lives that will be counter cultural. Some examples were to pray for your enemies; turn the other cheek; and caring for the poor, hungry, and naked. And we concluded the retreat by looking at Esther, another Exile, who was placed in the King's palace for such a time as this. The students were challenged to consider all the places where the move and live and how God has placed them there for a purpose.

Now that I'm back home and getting ready for school to begin, I am hopeful that I will be able to post more frequently and thoughtfully in the coming months!

Reflections on Calling-

When I was 10 years old, I attended a church camp at Seneca Hills near Franklin, PA. The speaker that year was a missionary by the name of Hudson Hess. I can't remember a thing about what he spoke about, only that I was riveted by his experiences of putting his faith fully in God. On Thursday of that week, he gave an invitation to 10, 11, and 12 year old students who might feel that God was calling them into ministry. I went forward.

I thought that God was calling me to be a missionary. I read every book I could about missions. As a teenager, I realized the impact my pastor had in my life. I felt that God was calling me to youth ministry- which is where I served for my first 5-6 years out of college. During that time, God was allowing me to spread my wings within my church setting and take leadership on a larger scale. From designing and leading worship gatherings, to preaching, to leading mission trips- there was fruit on a bigger scale than youth ministry. With that, I entered the Candidacy Process for the United Methodist Church.

I've now been appointed as a Student Pastor (almost through seminary!) at Avenue Church in Milford, Delaware for the last 3 years. This is the same church I did youth ministry in, so I have been here a little over 9 years. While here, I have seen the many joys and frustrations of following your calling. Let me list a few.

Joys:

• It is so exciting to get to do something that God has laid on your heart and that you are passionate about. It is even more exciting when that passion yields fruit in your life and the lives of others.
• There is great opportunity for the harvest and is a joy to be a part of that harvest.
• There are people you meet along the way who inspire and encourage you. I have met some friends through this process that will be friends for a lifetime.

Frustrations:

• The process of being ordained in the UMC is so long. I see other friends in other denominations given awesome leadership opportunities at a much younger age while I have to work through the process. I began the ordination process at 26 and might be able to be ordained before 35. (I'm 30 right now.)
• Our conference in more rural and less open to innovation and new ideas. I don't feel our conference knows how to utilize their young clergy.
• Again, speaking for my experience only, the older clergy have not been real welcoming.
• In an associate position, it is difficult to try out new ideas that the senior pastor is not on board with- which can sometimes stifle creativity.

That said, I am committed to God and to my call. I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead of me in ministry and I know that there is joy in the journey.

Beyond A Bumper Sticker Faith

I've been working on a new sermon series this week called Beyond a Bumper Sticker Faith. The series will take place this Fall or sometime in the winter. What I want to do is take a look at some of the sayings that Christians put on the back of their cars or wear on their T-shirts and discuss whether or not that is an accurate portrayal of Christianity. In most cases, our pithy bumper stickers and t-shirts give an inaccurate view of our faith. They are more like half-truths while some are near heresies.

I don't know if this will be a 4, 5, or 6 week series. I'm still working on the details. But here are some examples that I would like to tackle for the series.

1. God is My Co-Pilot: I really can't stand this bumper sticker. Let's face it, God asks for our total surrender. Galatians 2:20 calls us to be crucified so Christ can live through us. God was our whole lives. We are not Co-pilots with God. God should be in the pilot's/captain chair all by Godself.
2. Christians Are Perfect- Just Forgiven: Certainly there is some sense of truth in this bumper sticker. We are forgiven. Yet many times we fall into what Bonhoffer called "cheap grace" where we are forgiven but nothing really changes. The world sees us claiming to be Christian, yet living worldly because there has been no significant change in our life. God desire is for us to pursue holiness as God is holy. This does not mean we are perfect. It means that we are striving each day to be more Christlike in our words, actions, and deeds.

Those are some examples of where the series is going.

I need your help: What are some of your favorite (or least favorite, depending on how you look at it.) Christian slogans, bumper stickers, or T-shirts? Talk it out in the comment section.

Book Review: Simple Spirituality

One of the most recent books that I've read is Simple Spirituality by Christopher Heuertz. Heurtz is the International Director of Word Made Flesh, which is a community who ministers to the poorest of the poor around the world. I really looked forward reading this book as Andrea went with WMF to India and I have had friends serving in India, Brazil, Peru, Romania, and Sierra Leonne through WMF. The book did not disappoint as I have read it twice in recent weeks.

The books is organized by WMF's five Lifestyle Celebrations; Humility, Community, Simplicity, Submission, and Brokeness. As Heuertz writes in the introduction, "As I pray for the grace to live into a spirituality that embodies these simple commitments, I invite you to join me." These Lifestyle Celebrations are central to WMF and their commitments and mission to serve the poorest of the poor. It would do good to do a quick synopsis of each from the book

Humility
"Humility affirms our need for God." Heuertz goes on to write, "Humility is not a means to an end. Rather humility is the door through which we must enter to be welcomed into God's presence." How often do we allow pride to get into our way of seeing God and seeing our desperate need for God. The only remedy for our pride is humility that bows before God.

Community
Community is that which provides orientation and clarification for our identity. Our identity is not found in what we do or what we own- our identity is found in community with God and with others. The book challenged me to be willing to step into other people's community rather than expecting them to come into mine...to try to view the world through a different lens.

Simplicity
Here in the Western world, much of our value and worth is ascribed by our paycheck, possessions and neighborhood. When we live simply, we live without extravagence and with an eye and heart to our neighbors. Heuertz writes, "We want to make the issue about what we give, but in truth the issue is about what we keep." Are we engaged in a lifestyle that frees us to give? Or are we trapped in a cycle where we strive to accumulate more and more possessions?

Submission
"Submission is giving up oneself to the power of another." When we submit to God, we give up our desires and wishes and allow God's desires and plans to shape us. Submission is realizes that our lives are not our own- our lives belong to God and that we must seek each day to submit our lives to God.

Brokeness
"Brokenness is different- a voluntary surrender to God's will over our own will...brokenness is open even to the grace in pain." Brokenness is proactive rather than reactive.

Certainly the review above could be more in depth. But you'll just have to read the book in order to get more. This was just to whet your appetite.

Heuertz does a great job of weaving personal experience to convey the points that he is making. Some of the stories are light hearted while many of them are a gut wrenching reminder of how the majority world lives.

One critique, and I don't know if it is a major one. Heuertz speaks a lot of seeing Jesus in the poor. That is certainly true, but it is not the only place where we can see Jesus. Each of us is made in the image of God, and thus we can see God work in and through us in the way we live our lives. Heuertz's emphasis on this certainly ties in with WMF's mission to reach the poorest of the poor. It's not major...there is another side to where we see God in our world today. The poor may be our most visible reminder, though.

I'm interested in your thoughts...have you read the book? What's your take?

Preparing for Guatemala

I leave on Saturday to lead a team from our church to Guatemala for a week long trip. We'll be working with Lauren Pupchik from MissionImpact. While there, we'll have the opportunity to teach a Bible story and shine Jesus to the children there. It will also be a great opportunity for us to have our worldview enlarged to what God is doing in Guatemala. It's going to be a great trip, but it will be tough leaving- since Andrea and Abbie are not able to participate on the trip. This was supposed to be Abbie's first international trip, but since Andrea could not go because of some snow days, they are all going to stay home.

One of the exciting things about our trip is that we have a mom and 2 of her children going on the trip with us. (Dad and the son are staying home). The girls are elementary age. What an amazing opportunity for them to experience what God is doing around the world. I am sure that there won't be many people who can say the same thing when they get back to school in August.

I hope to write again before we leave. I may be able to do an update from Guatemala as well- which would be pretty sweet. Please keep us and our families in your prayers as we get ready to leave on Saturday! Grace and Peace.

Ministry in the Third Places

Ministry "happens" in many places. I've found that they happen outside of the church most frequently- which makes sense because most people don't spend a ton of time in the "Church" building. In Michael Frost's book, Exiles, he talks about the importance of doing ministry in the "Third Places." (He actually cites some other people like sociologist Ray Oldenburg who coined the phrase). The idea of a "Third Place" presupposes a First and Second Place. 1st places are our homes. 2nd places are our workplaces- where we spend the majority of our time. 3rd places are environments like coffee shops, cafes, bars, pubs, the gym, etc. They are the places where people meet to develop friendships, discuss issues/politics, and to interact with one another.

Starbucks is, perhaps, the most well-known 3rd place in our culture today...or at least one that is universally known as a 3rd place. Starbucks has gone to great lengths to create a space where conversation can happen. A place where people can connect with each other. Starbucks and other places have become places where real intimacy can occur.

For mission-minded Christians, it is important to build relationships in 3rd places. First, not everyone goes to church to explore their faith, but they're willing to talk about it in a 3rd place. Second, we are to take to gospel to all the world. We cannot subscribe to a bunker mentality that keeps us entrenched in the church and separate from the world. Dan Kimball, in his book "The Like Jesus But Not The Church" really stresses the importance for Pastors and Christians to get outside of the church or the Christian bubble to meet those who are not Christians in order to build relationships that ultimately point to Christ. Unfortunately, many I know many Christian leaders who struggle to get out of the church (out of the bubble) to begin to minister in these 3rd places. We've become so caught up doing the work of the church that we've failed to do the Work God's called us to.

There is a great 3rd place here in Milford called Dolce. It's a small coffeshop that makes the best pastries and has a wonderful atmosphere. This year, I've been intentional about consistently being present in this 3rd place to build relationships with those who work there and the patrons. It's been awesome how conversation opens up to faith and how it can be discussed in a non-threatening way. Honestly, this doesn't surprise me, but it encourages me and my efforts to get out of the office and into places to build relationships that point to Christ. For the Church to truly live up to it's calling, It must see itself less as a building or a schedule of ministries and see itself as an living organism that grows, responds, reacts, and interacts with others around it.

Do I always make it out of the office? Sadly no. But each opportunity is a way to reach out to the community around me.

Happy Valentine's Day

First off, we want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's. Abbie dressed up for the day in all red. She wears red a lot better than I do. I can't stand wearing red. When I was in Little League, we had red uniforms that I dreaded wearing. Just a random thought.

I met this afternoon with our District Committee on Ministry (DCOM). This once a year meeting is part of the Candidacy Process to become ordained in the Methodist Church. The meeting went really well. They liked my written work and the sermon I turned in. This committe generally is very affirming as candidates pursue their calling to ministry. Once I am done with seminary, I will appear several times before the Board of Ordained Ministries (BOOM). They tend to be a little more critical and really turn the screws on theological and social issues. The make-up of that committee will largely determine how hard they are on candidates.

At this point in my candidacy process, I know I am called to ministry. I know I am supposed to be in seminary. What I don't know is if I am to focus on youth/young adult ministry or go into the 'whole church' ministry of being a senior pastor/ordained elder. Honestly, I like the idea of becoming fully ordained as an elder. What scares me is being put in a small country church where I am unable to fully spread my wings and develop ministries that I am passionate about. That may be my biggest hang-up about this whole process (that and the fact that it will take me close to 7 years to become ordained.)

Overall, it was a good meeting. Now I have to get through the Comedy Club event and youth rally that I am running this weekend. Once I get through that, I will be able to focus more fully on family and school.