You Know What I Mean

This is a monologue I wrote in 2002. It is fictional to ME but very real to many...

Please feel free to pass it on to as many as you would like.

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LISTENING TO: "Leaving on a Mayday" by Anna Ternheim
READING: "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan

Challenge

Few phrases make a pastor cringe and fight the urge to cup their hands over their ears in a childish I-can't-hear-you motion. Some of these include:
"I'm not being fed here."
"Where is MY tithe being used?"
"We've never done it that way before."
"How far is 'too far'?"
"Was that you at the pub Friday night?"

One statement which has not particularly made me cringe but has had me really searching and thinking lately is the idea of "being challenged".

We like to say there are churches we don't go to because we aren't challenged.

We go to churches because we are challenged.

We want to listen to podcasts from speakers who challenge us and avoid books by authors who don't challenge us.

We say that we want to be challenged, but that is not true.

We say we want to go to places and people who can challenge us, but we lie.

Granted, we lie because we have re-defined (falsely) what "challenge" actually means. When we say want to be challenged, we mean we want someone to blow our minds. We want someone to communicate something in a way we have never thought about it before. We want to think of things more loftily than we had before.

We want to read books that really make us think, and in so doing, make us learn a lot.

We want these things, and we call it challenge, but we have misunderstood and forgotten the primary element to challenge.

Action!
Movement!
Application!

Challenge is a call to engage and change.

We do not want to be challenged. We want to learn more, maybe. We want to know more information, perhaps. We want to answer more questions correctly than someone else, probably.

But very few really want to be challenged, because being challenged means being called to engage and change. Very few of us want to change anything as most of us are too comfortable to engage.

Challenge has to do with whether or not you want to engage something enough to enact change in the way you live, act, or do. Challenge has to do with whether or not what you are reading, hearing, studying, or interacting with engages you to act.

Will my life be different? Will I live differently or am I just waiting for you to blow my mind?

Do I really want to be challenged, or do I really want to know more information than you?

I think of books we commonly call 'challenging' by guys like C.S. Lewis, NT Wright, Bonhoeffer, and I wonder if any of them, as brilliant as they may be, actually engaged me enough to change, act, and live differently.

I think of books by people like Shane Claiborne, SD Gordon, and Francis Chan; books I could read in a day or two but I was engaged to see choices I needed to make to really be more like Jesus.

I think of podcasts I've listened to that I once thought were great challenging sermons, but I cannot remember many that really rocked my life in a way which made me say, "I need to change some things."

The most challenging speakers, writers, and pastors are not necessarily the most profound.

This is because it is not their role to be challenging. It is not up to THEM for YOU to be challenged.

Being challenged is up to YOU! When presented with something, no matter how simple the presentation, its up to YOU to determine whether you will engage and change.

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READING: "The Search for God and Guinness" by Stephen Mansfield
LISTENING TO: "No One's First and You're Next" by Modest Mouse

Networks vs Neighborhoods

On many levels, the American Church is moving to the way of the "house church", and it has a great momentum to reach many people. We are seeing many Christians learn what it might look like to be followers of Christ as they love and serve their neighborhoods. We are seeing more and more large churches OF small groups instead of churches WITH small groups.

The outreach of the church is now being put in the hands of the church as opposed to the church leaders alone. Smaller groups and house churches are turning their eyes and hearts toward their neighborhoods in order to learn what the incarnational gospel might yield in comparison to the attraction gospel that has been the primary model utilized by the American Church to this point.

While this excites me to see where the American Church is moving the gospel, I fear it STILL misses the mark in reaching a college and young adult population. The move into neighborhoods will certainly serve to reach a postmodern, post-Christian society and culture, but let's not forget that post modernity and post-Christianity is NOT a generation.

This means while college students and young adults most often fall into the postmodern, post-Christian mindset, to reach a demographic I love and my heart breaks for, there is yet another reality to be mindful of.

College students and most young adults don't really have neighborhoods they live in for long. This is a pretty transient period of life where they live in different homes from month to month. This is a time of life lived in semesters as opposed to years. The rest of life is lived outside the house elsewhere. Home is where the couch is!

The sense of neighborhood is lost on the college student and young adult. So a house church mentality works well if your population has a house or spends any significant time in the house they have.

Now again, I love the house church model, and I think the American Church needs to continue moving in that direction for sure, bu my question, as a college pastor, is how do you move this model for a demographic without neighborhoods?

The answer lies in what college students and young adults DO have. Networks!

Thought the idea of a neighborhood may be lost, there is a strong sense of network in this demographic. We still frequent different areas such as coffee shops, bars, campuses, and clubs. These places have become different networks each person is connected to.

When you frequent those places, you become 'a regular'. Once I became a regular at Tupelo Coffee House, I started to recognize the other regulars. Once I began to recognize the other regulars, I began to notice them outside the coffee shop in other networks I am connected to. I recently recognized a Tupelo barista when I was walking around the monthly art walk downtown.

The whole interest of our networks is watching them overlap. "I didn't know you came here to this coffee shop!"

In order to begin really reaching the college and young adult population, we need to move from the neighborhoods to the networks. House churches need to be in coffee shops and bars and clubs and various other networks.

In a generation that has not yet settled down into neighborhoods, you have to be a neighbor in their networks.

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READING: "The Tangible Kingdom" by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay
LISTENING TO: "Sounds Like This" by Eric Hutchinson

Why I'm Never At My Desk

Christians in Nazi Germany were tempted to isolate themselves into their own separate society. They would create their own little refuge away from the chaos ensuing around them that must have felt and looked like the end of the Christian world. They looked to escape the society and culture around them so they could discuss among themselves the salvation story and the faith it brings.

I am not entirely sure the Christian church is much different here in 'free' America. We have set up a model not only similar, but in light of our freedom may be further isolated than that of the Christian Church in Nazi Germany.

There is no overlooking the way our society and culture is heading in a rapid fashion. There is no debating that we live NOW in a post-Christian, postmodern society and culture. There is no need to deny or fight it.

But is our post-Christian culture much different than the PRE-Christian world?

More importantly, how will we respond? More importantly still, how did Jesus respond when the world around him created enemies of God? Did Jesus gather together in a cluster of Christians that were safe for the whole family? Did Jesus go about spending all of his efforts and time to create his own little 'holy huddle' of safe Christians who were sure to agree with him? (even his disciples would one day abandon him)

It seemed Jesus was more intent on NOT secluding himself from society, culture, and enemies of God. You constantly saw Jesus in the midst of his enemies. I mean after all, that was what he came here to do. He had a mission to fulfill.

He did not spend his time behind the desk with all the religious people who were in agreement with him unless of course the 'religious' people were not in agreement with him; he spend time with them. Jesus was with and amidst his greatest enemies.

What's more, Jesus had a crazy way of bringing peace to the lives of those who were enemies of God.

What are we doing!!

Christians! What are we doing in our own little clusters? We are commanded with MISSIONAL LIVES!!!

What is missional about our indoor programs? What is missional about our Christian music and various other things we share?

How missional are our 'evangelical events' at which 98-99% of the attenders are already saved?

Why are we locking our pastors in their offices doing paper work and programs? (Granted, many pastors lock up themselves.)

Martin Luther said it bluntly and well:
"O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing, who would ever have been saved?"

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LISTENING TO: Disappointed by Candy (self-titled album)

Notes from "American Church in Crisis" Lecture

Wednesday night I went to a lecture from Dave Olsen, the author or "American Church in Crisis". Here are my notes from that evening. (I would be VERY INTERESTED in your thoughts.)

DECAY - every organic entity diminishes and decays over time --> decay is often necessary for new growth to occur and appear
17% of population attending church on a given weekend (9% at evangelical churches)
Weekend attendance has stayed virtually the same over the last 16 years --> but our population has grown by the same number --> churches are not keeping up with population growth
There are always new people coming into our sphere of influence.
Young people are the critical group to reach --> churches who cannot reach them will steadily decline
We are in a decaying trend, and if focus or change doesn't happen, the trend will continue.
Christian ministry will get more challenging every year into the foreseeable future, which means ministry has to be better each year
Asian and Hispanic population grown is HUGE in Sacramento county in the last 7 years
Lowest evangelical attendance counties in CA are all (1-10) bay area counties in NORTHERN California
HIGHEST evangelical attendance counties in California are almost all inland (3- Placer 5-Kern 6-Sacramento)
86% of your neighbors are NOT going to a Christian church --> but Sacramento shows a high receptivity to the gospel
A lot less established religion and more and more "American" religiosity

FOREVER BUILDING
the only way to figure out what works is to experiment...maybe fail, yes...but nothing happens if nothing is done
Two important questions your church should ask --> 1. Are we willing to pay the price of change? 2. Are we willing to create new pathways for the work of God to advance --> old pathways aren't working anymore
Why are older churches declining? (40% of established churches grow and 60% decline)
Will your church grow or decline this year?
If your church is old, it needs to think and act young.
Each year, your church grows a year older and loses its vitality if new choices are not being made to be, think, and act younger....EACH YEAR
SMALL (growing) churches have the advantage of intimacy --> LARGE mega churches have the advantage of ministry excellence --> MID-SIZED churches have to do BOTH better (connect pepople...do fewer things better)

RESTORATION
Decay happens without us doing anything --> Building takes energy and work --> Restoration happens divinely...it has to come from the Holy Spirit
With change comes loss --> with loss comes fear
Our culture is NOW (not becoming but IS): Post-Christian, Postmodern, and Multiethnic
The two important words for established churches: HEALTHY and MISSIONAL
We got used to talking about Jesus in a secondhand manner --> we have to begin talking about Jesus in a real, engaging, FIRSTHAND manner
Speak of Jesus in fresh alive ways of his words and his actions

I would be VERY INTERESTED in your thoughts. These are notes on the lecture; not entirely my personal thoughts.

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LISTENING TO: "...And The Summer Pool Party" by Pigeon John

Facebook Church

WARNING: By no means am I condoning this or saying it is possible. This post is one giant question open to hopeful conversation.

In a social networking culture, I wonder if it is possible to see church happen via Facebook. When I read through Acts 2:42-47; I wonder how possible it is to do these things on Facebook with its different applications, groups, video posts, etc.

How possible (or impossible), on Facebook, is it to:

- hear and study the apostles' teaching
- fellowship
- break bread
- pray
- to be together with other believers with everything in common
- sell our possessions and goods and give the proceeds to those in need
- meet together
- break bread and eat together
- praise God
- see God add to our number those who are being saved

So....???? What say you?

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LISTENING TO: "Deliverance" by Quietdrive

Generational Apostasy

This is a magazine article that was to be but will not...so before it disappears, I thought I'd post it here...

Hurtful church management caused a dissipation of the prominent ministry for college and young adults for which I was once on staff. My closest friends worked on staff with me, and they were dynamic ministry leaders. Upon the dissolve of the successful ministry, nearly all of them left never to reconnect again to a church body.

Granted, they had been burned badly by a poorly mishandled and hurtful process, but my heart breaks with the conversations to follow. There have been frequent references to their ‘reevaluation’ of the faith they have held for many years. These were the passionate and successful leaders for a demographic few churches understand how to reach.

Apostasy is at its most rampant in our culture today. Countless college students and young professionals walk away from their faith if they ever had it at all. Irrespective of our culture’s shift in this direction, we desire to live our life with others, but our desires are increasingly unmet in a culture, which grows more and more isolated.

With inclusive terminology, Hebrews 10:19-25 reminds us that Christians are NOT individuals; we are part of a community, a Church, a family, a group. We cannot be alone. We connect with God together. We hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.

The writer warns against apostasy, which is the deliberate departure from anything you have believed. Afraid they will walk away, he does not incite them to fight a solitary battle but a rallying hold to the hope they have always known.

The primary reason college students and young adults walk away from their faith is because they isolate themselves from the “us” of Hebrews and attempt to go it alone. We have to ask ourselves if it matters to us? This apostasy among college students is a result of our isolation.

What is more, we cannot allow people to isolate themselves. This has to mean more than talking to the lonesome person on a given Sunday. It means we recognize when someone has not been around for a while, and it concerns us. There is a constant ebb and flow to college and young adult ministry. You may float at about 60 people each night you gather, but you will generally see 1-5 first-time visitors each week. Are we concerned?

We are to ‘spur one another on’ and ‘not to give up meeting together as some are in the practice of doing’. The word ‘spur’ implies a sense of incitement and provoking. The challenge not to give up meeting together is not to forsake or abandon meeting together. The writer knows danger when he sees it, because when people walk away from connection with others, they almost inevitably walk away from faith.

The Church is in persecution in Hebrews, and these clusters of believers met together regularly exciting each other to keep hold of their faith and not to give up. Even in persecution they stood together to encourage one another to hold on to their faith. These were small groups, which grow more and more important in our church culture today, but they must begin to be recognized as utterly vital. It is time we begin recognizing the isolation of our culture for the critical faith pandemic it is. It cannot be okay to watch individuals isolate themselves from our communities, churches, and small groups.

Countless college students and young adults are walking away from their faith in your city because they are not connected to a group of people who care about them enough to spur them on, saying, “Please do not give up!”

My heart breaks at this reality, and it is my hope we would all begin to share this concern.



LISTENING TO: "Casually Smashed to Pieces" by The Six Parts Seven

Third Servant Church

The Church is full of third person servants. When you read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, you typically realize that everything we have been given is a gift. We should use those things to further the kingdom. We commonly think about our gifts, talents, abilities, and our money. We wonder what we could do to better use those gifts to further the kingdom of Christ. We commonly remember that we are called to be effective ministers of the gospel with the things we have been given, but there are other things we have been given than resources alone. Our God has given us hope, grace, mercy, and an outstanding love. We have been given these phenomenal gifts, and our common response to the parable is to think of our abilities, our talents, our money that, yes, IS God's. We tend to overlook other gifts like hope, mercy, grace, salvation, love. We have been entrusted with those as well, and the question is the same. What do we do with those gifts? When I look at those gifts, I see an American church nearly full of third servants. We have hoarded those things in ourselves. Every Sunday we come and bury those things in the field of our common services. We talk about those things with people who already believe what we believe. We have not taken many risks to invest those gifts for a larger return. It IS a risk to invest, but the first 2 servants take those risks and find blessing and return on those investments. They also come to see that there are so many opportunities to expand the kingdom with the gifts we have of hope, mercy, grace, love, salvation. The only way to expand the kingdom and become one of the first two servants is to take those things OUT of the burial ground of our walls and invest them in areas outside of our comfort. There are risks of fear, awkwardness, etc. But the return on those risks are incredible. LISTENING TO: "Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings" by Counting Crows

The only privilege is no privilege: why young adults are losing faith

Francis of Assisi was called to a few specific things, with one of which is something I have felt the touch of God on my life. It is recorded that Francis had heard God speak to him the words: "Francis, do you not see that my house is falling down? Repair it!" Upon that call, Francis began a lifestyle of poverty, charity, and acceptance. He had seen the house of God being torn down by its becoming rich and thus complacent. I found myself strongly connected with this part of Francis' life and calling. Granted, I still have a lot to learn from his lifestyle of poverty and relentless charity, but his specific call toward the church resonates within me. There is a similar moment in my life when God spoke into my life through another person at a moment, which would truly change my life from that moment forward. I had grown frustrated with the American Church for a slew of reasons. As I studied the gospels more, I saw less and less reflection of them in the realities of the Church today. Like many young adults today, I walked away from it. I had not lost my faith in Jesus Christ or my God. I had lost faith in his bride, the Church. I watched as the American Church became more complacent, incredibly unloving, disrespectful, and disgustingly rich. So with draining faith in the church, I left. I left for 4 and a half years of college while I was pursuing my ministry degree. I had not really figured out what I was doing getting a degree for a career in a place I had disowned. Regardless of having given up, God grabbed hold of me my 5th year of college through a statement from one person. "PC, don't you think if you are this passionate about these things, you are one who most needs to be a part of it?" There is a generation of people, many I speak with daily, who are losing faith in droves. A large majority of those are not losing faith in Jesus or their God of childhood. At the root of it is a loss of faith in the American Church, which has grown increasingly rich and privileged. Francis of Assisi once said that privilege implies power and powerlessness, haves and have nots, nobility and commoners, and that the only privilege was in in having no privileges. The Church has grown richer, more complacent, and entitled. They grow more indignant, disrespectful and horribly unloving. In that loss of faith, countless young adults are walking away. Here is my charge to all those who are walking away and giving up: Yes! The American Church is falling down. The bride of Jesus in America is dirty and broken... but is still his bride...worthy of love and it is a house in need of repair. Will you become a part of change or will you sit idly by as it continues to be torn down? -------------------- LISTENING TO: "Crane Wife" by The Decemberists