More about Wednesday night...

I promised a blog about Wednesday night's gathering, where we watched Session One of "The Present Future", led by Reggie McNeal. Though we didn't have as much time to discuss the DVD due to time constraints, I think we all felt that Reggie's analysis of the generational divides was pretty much spot-on. Though it's clear that the "dividing lines" are not exact(we all know people who may be categorized in one way, but clearly think/live another way), it was, generally speaking, pretty accurate. And I think we all could visualize people who really fit the mold of the generations that Reggie was dissecting.

Here are some general thoughts I had on the session, some new and some that we discussed on Wednesday night.

-It is clear that most of our churches, at least those of which I've been a part, are dominated in leadership by Builders/Boomers. And there has been a slow, steady transition of leadership from Builders to Boomers over the past decade or two, as a trust level has been built there. In other words, I think the Builders started to sense that Boomers weren't gonna turn everything in the church on its head, and would try to maintain what Builders had set into place, while improving on it by adding programs/elements.

The problem, in my opinion, is that now, it is becoming more and more clear that another shift in strategy/leadership has to occur, but the BB's(builders/boomers) are nowhere CLOSE to bringing X'ers on board to lead the church into the new millennium. X'ers realize that the church MUST shift in its structure, vision, and methods to reach a changing culture. But there is just not that trust level from BB's to X'ers. That's one reason that so many X'ers are seeking new ways to "be the church"....because it doesn't appear that institutional churches will be changing anytime soon.

As Reggie stated, for BB's, changing methods and structures would almost be like an admission of failure. X'ers, in general, are more comfortable with change, and will make adjustments if things aren't going well. Stubbornness is not as prevalent in newer generations. It's not failure to admit that older structures aren't efficient for reaching newer generations. In fact, it shows wisdom, and it shows that a church cares more for the unchurched than it cares for maintaining programs/structures that only cater to the flock.

Again, these are generalizations, but I think in the big picture, they prove to be true.

-Every generation has to be careful not to dismiss another. I'm an X-er, through and through, and there have been times when I've banged my head against a wall wondering why previous generations just don't "get it", or why they try to dismiss the ideas of X'ers. I realize now that it's just a major difference in worldviews. BB's can't wrap their minds around some of the new ways of thinking, just like X-ers can't always wrap their minds around older structures.

But that can lead to a dismissal of values, and that's bad, too. For example, those whose "heart worship"(as Reggie called it) is strictly contemporary stuff might not only prefer newer worship music, they may dismiss hymns altogether as having no value. But hymns have been a powerful outlet of ministry and worship for hundreds of years, and they are the "heart worship" for millions of people. Dismissing hymns as having no value would be just as wrong as dismissing contemporary music as having no value.

I think what X'ers(and milennials) are realizing is that "the church" as I've categorized it, can no longer think that it can reach everyone in its current state. Newer generations just will not invest in church that doesn't connect with them in a real way, and they're having trouble finding churches that do. Meanwhile, established churches are still trying to be all things to all people by adding programs/events/structures, not realizing(or not admitting) that newer generations actually prefer(by and large) a SIMPLER church, scaled back, stripped down, focused on "being" church and not "doing" church.

Still, my temptation is to dismiss established churches with older structures...but they obviously serve a place in the kingdom, and they're obviously reaching people, and meeting people's needs. It's just not my thing anymore. But to say that they're no longer valuable would be like saying that God can't use them anymore to reach people, and that's wrong.

So while we face resistance to what God has called us to do, even from fellow Christians, let's remember that they're coming from a completely different frame of reference. The world is changing, and we need to change along with it. Not the message, of course, but the methods and the mediums.

Enough for now. Discuss.

Apparently you don't go through Harrodsburg...

...to get to Campbellsville. Last Thursday night, I was scheduled to speak to a group at Campbellsville University. I left plenty early, and even had time to stop for gas/dinner along the way in Harrodsburg.

About 90 minutes into my trip, I realized that I wasn't on the way to Campbellsville. Instead, I was on the bypass in Danville. I called to find out how to get from Danville to Campbellsville, realizing I'd made a mistake. I thought it might add 30 minutes to my trip, and I could still arrive in time to speak.

I was wrong. It would take another hour, at the the very least. I had really blown it, and I had to cancel out at the last minute. It was frustrating, but more than that, it was embarrassing. As a youth pastor, I occasionally had someone cancel out on me at the last minute, and I know how frustrating it can be. So for me to do it was pretty bad.

As I made my way back to Versailles, I tried to figure out where I made my mistake(s). There were several, actually, but the worst one was the first one. I took the wrong exit, only 10 minutes into the trip. From that point on, I had no idea that I was on a road to nowhere. I was busy alternating between listening to sports talk radio and practicing my talk for the night. But the whole time, I was going in the wrong direction, all because of the mistake I made at the very beginning.

There's a lesson to be learned from this experience for our church plant. The selfish part of me wants to get the ball REALLY rolling, open it to the public, launch sooner rather than later. I'm excited to get started and see where God takes us.

But I also know(and this has been affirmed by others) that this is a CRUCIAL time in the life of the new church. There will never be another time like this in the life of the church, where the foundation is laid and the course is set. The decisions made over the next weeks and months will determine our direction, so it is imperative that we prayerfully seek wisdom, and not move ahead of the pace God has set for us.

That's why I'm so excited about going through "The Present Future", by Reggie McNeal. It puts on paper what many of us have been feeling in our hearts and heads about the future and direction of the church, and our church in particular. I think it will be a great launching pad into the future.

Reading this book...prayerfully considering a name...deciding how/when to launch...taking care of "red tape" that every new church has to deal with...looking for ways to engage the community...all of these are important steps we'll be dealing with over the next several months. It's important to make sure that we're following God's leading and not pushing at our own pace. Because, as I learned last week, mistakes made at the beginning can set you WAY off course over the long haul.

We'll plan on reading Chapter One of the book in advance of Wednesday night, and watch the corresponding clip from the DVD.

Homework assignment

Our fiesta last night was muy bueno! We added someone to our staff as PR Director and Coordinator of Prison Ministries! Her mother was very excited to hear that convicts are "cool".

Remember that we'll meet again on Wednesday the 11th at 6:30 p.m. at our North campus. Everyone can just bring a snack to share.

Passages for next time...

Acts 9:31
Acts 11:22-26
Acts 13:49-52
Acts 16:6-10
Acts 17:16-34

See you then....

"Egg"-cellent Start

As Todd has mentioned, our core group had been reading through the book of Luke. Even though many of us have read Luke many times before, it seems that God has opened our eyes as though it is our first time reading the words. As we have read about Jesus' ministry, I personally have learned that Jesus desires that we, as His followers, be a people that are involved in our community. Jesus did not sit at the synagogue and operate programs to attract people to himself. Jesus went. He was out in His community. He knew people and people knew Him. He was aware of the needs of the people around Him.

I have been challenged as I read Luke that I have failed in this area for most of my life. There have been periods of time that I have been out trying to know the needs and ministering to the people around me, but those times have been concentrated efforts while on a mission trip. During my journey through Luke, I have been convicted and convinced that Jesus desires that His followers be involved in their community. He desires that I look around me, where I live, and find those to whom I can minister. But most importantly, He desires me to live life with the people around me. I have been convinced that Jesus does not want me to hold up inside of a church but to get out, live life, and have relationships with those around me.

I have said all of this to introduce you to my first efforts. Our core group decided that we wanted to get to know people around us. We hosted our first "outreach effort" in our neighborhood through an Easter Egg Hunt. We were praying for good weather so our neighbors would come out and join us, and God provided sun. We also were praying that God would bless our efforts and provide neighbors to find the eggs that we hid. He did. We had ten-fold our children's ministry of 4. That means that God answered our prayers and over 40 people were in attendance. It was so much fun. We all had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to our neighbors. We had the opportunity to live life with them by watching our kids run through the grass to find eggs. We had a chance to build relationships.

What an excellent start to trying to be more like Christ. What an excellent start to becoming more involved in our community. Now at least more people are familiar with us and we with them. If you are joining us in prayer for this effort please pray for future opportunities to interact with our community. I am excited and can't wait to see how else God will bless our efforts. May we and our baby church be pleasing to Him. And may we never just "do church" but may we always "live church".