Planting Sexy Churches

[Before you read, please know that I'm not attacking a church model.  We need all types of churches to reach all types of people.  But I am challenging a certain mindset among some church planters and leaders. Should you disagree, leave a comment and let's reason this out biblically. Thank you.]

Luke 15 is hands down one of my favorite sections in all of Scripture.  If you recall, Jesus is “caught” by the Pharisees getting his grub on with sinners and tax collectors.  Oh, the scandal! As they criticize him for the company he keeps, Jesus hits back with three stories that reveal his heart as he talked about a lost son, a lost coin, and a lost sheep.

In the parable of the lost sheep, you’ll see the shepherd leave the ninety-nine sheep to go find the one that is lost. When he finds it he throws it over his shoulders, carries it back, and throws a party.  Something valuable was missing and now is found.  Then Jesus tells us that in the same way, Heaven celebrates over one sinner (like you and me) turns a one-eighty than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need to.

There are many layers to this passage but when I read it I can’t help but think about church planting and how there is a easy way and the right way to build churches.

The easy way is to start a sexy church for the ninety-nine.  All you have to do is be more attractive than other churches in your area.  Soon enough, you’ll have lots of Christians from other churches joining.  You’ll grow quickly and be heralded as the next big thing in church planting world.  Blogs subscribers, Twitter followers, and speaking invitations will come.  Success for your church is breaking attendance records and your mission is to keep that attendance chart rising.  Congratulations Mr. Church Planter, you are an excellent event planner and your sexy church can put on a great show.  At least until something sexier comes along.

Hear my heart- I’m all for inviting environments and I do believe numbers matter. I want as many as possible to follow Jesus.  I’m just wondering which numbers matter most. The ninety-nine or the one?

All churches agree that Jesus should be at the center of any healthy church.  He is the object of worship.  He is the way, the truth, and the life.  We love Jesus and want to do what he says and be more like him.

I find it interesting that God could have entered human history as a sexy beast, but he didn’t according to Isaiah 52:2.  I suppose if Jesus was incredibly good-looking, people could have said his disciples followed him because of his movie-star looks.  But that wasn’t the case. Instead, people were drawn to Jesus because he was Jesus.  People were added daily to the early church because Jesus is Jesus.  Today, people are still compelled to Jesus because he is still Jesus.

If Jesus is right (and he is), then the right way to start a church is to share his heart for the one who’s lost.  And if Luke 15 is any indication, we don’t wait for them to find us.  We go find them!

If our churches are like Jesus, we don’t prepare a fancy table for the ninety-nine.  We go and sit at the table of the one(s). The point isn’t for the ninety-nine to come to our sexy church show, it’s for the one to come to Jesus.

As many as possible.

And we can party like mad when they do!

Tags: attractional church, Church, Church Planting, missional church

3 Things I Don’t Dig About My MacBook

A couple of weeks ago I got my new MacBook and it’s awesome.  At this point, I don’t see myself going back to PC’s.  Getting a Mac is kinda like joining a secret society.  When I bust it out in public people randomly come up and talk to me about it and I get more glances than a hot chick in an all-male prison.

While it’s a sexy tool- and the list of pro’s is very long- it’s not perfect.  There are a few things I don’t like:

1) Eject - I use an external hard drive for my iTunes collections and I wish I could just plug in the USB when I need it and just unplug it.  If I unplug it I get a message telling me I did a bad thing and next time to go to the icon, right-click, and eject it first.  It’s annoying.

2) No SD card slot - Transferring pictures from my digital camera now requires a cord when I used to just pull he card out of the slot.  I thought Apple wanted less cords….?

3) Adapters - To connect to a projector, I have to purchase a seperate adapter.   I understand why they would leave out the output from the design of the Macbook, but they could have thrown an adapter in for the inconvinience.

What do you like/dislike about Mac’s?

Tags: apple, computers, laptops, mac, macbook, pc

Project Church Reflections (video)

Some reflections following Saturday night’s gathering at Project Church.

(RSS readers: Click here to view the video)

Tags: Church, Church Planting, missional church, project church, video

Twitter Me This

Do you Twitter?  It’s a pretty cool site that allows for real-time micro-blogging about what’s going on in your day or in your brain (scary).  I know it seems silly but it can be a great touch base point for friends and family. You can update with your cell phone or computer.  Very nifty.

Here are the last 5 tweets (twitter posts) I had in the last 24 hours.

1. Just killed a spider with a hammer. That’s how I roll.
2. Rapid City: Walk into Starbucks- sun shining. (5 minutes later) Walk out of Starbucks. Snow blowing sideways.
3. Celebrating my brother’s 22nd birthday tonight!
4. TED is working on a religious project centered around The Golden Rule http://charterforcompassion.com Kinda creepy.
5. I just have to say that it annoys me when National Geographic channel calls themselves Nat Geo.

If want to discover more about twitter, watch this brief video and then join the fun at Twitter.com.  If you do, look me up.

Tags: blogging, tweets, twitter

Misunderstanding Missional Church

I know for some, the missional church seems like the trend du-jour.  As I read through articles, blogs, and books, I’m noticing that there are strong opinions about the missional church from many church leaders.  And while I don’t pretend to speak for every missional leader, I would like to address a handful of these common misperceptions.

The missional church is a new idea
Perhaps the word, “missional” is a recent discovery to our vernacular, but it’s been around for a while (since the 1800’s).  However, the command to “Go and make disciples…” has been around for a couple of thousand years.  And the missio dei, the mission of God, has been around since the fall of humanity.   It’s not a new idea.  It’s a return to an ancient call to be the church Jesus had in mind. No trend here, just obedience.

The missional church believes gathering for worship is unnecessary
The misunderstanding here is the shift in thinking, “it’s all about Sunday” to “it’s all about everyday including Sundays.”  A church that doesn’t worship Jesus is no church at all.  But let’s not limit worship to an hour a week.  That kind of dualistic thinking and lifestyle is a dangerous pool to swim in and doesn’t mesh with Scripture.  The truth is missional churches do worship Jesus by assembling together- it just doesn’t end there.

The missional church is about raking leaves and hanging out in homes
Well…actually…that’s true.  But it’s incomplete.  The missional church intends to advance the gospel abeit through public gatherings, house parties, loving thy neighbor, serving their city, or having coffee with a friend. Whatever it takes to love God and others.  Missional church doesn’t need a leaf-raking church program to help the elderly couple across the street.  They just do it.

The missional church isn’t attractional
Imagination flows heavy in missional church. So does creativity. I’m not sure where the idea came from that missional church can’t (or won’t) have compelling environments.  Perhaps the notion came from the correct rejection of reducing the church to being a big show or a building.  Maybe it has something to do with replacing language like “we go to church” with “we are the church.”  Nonetheless, missional church believes the most attractive environments are created when they are filled with compelling people.

The missional church isn’t concerned about church growth
Any missional church that doesn’t intend “to go and make disciples…” isn’t missional.  Any missional church that intends to be a holy huddle (i.e. us 4 no more) isn’t missional.  Actually, the opposite is true. All missional churches want to reach people far from God.  As many as possible.  And if that’s happening, the Church will grow.  You can’t make disciples without people believing in Jesus in the first place.  But with missional church, it doesn’t end there.   Missional church is about two things: first steps and next steps.   Getting thousands to an event isn’t church growth (concerts can do that), but making thousands of disciples is.  That’s what missional church is committed to.

The missional church is a church model
Cookie cutter approaches are rare in missional church.  What works in one city, may not work in another.  True missional churches know their context.  They’ve studied their culture and the rhythms of the people in their city.  They look at the streams of people who aren’t connected to Jesus (or a church) and ask, “How can we meet them where they are?”   The answer to that question will result is various methods, approaches, and styles.  And the missional church has to continually pay attention to the ever-changing rapids of their culture- which means their methods will change as well.  That said, my hope is that missional churches not just change with culture- but that we change culture.  That’s our challenge.

If you’re a church leader, you may have noticed that some of this describes your church.  Congratulations, you might be missional. The question is whether it’s by accident or intention.

You see, missional churches are simply biblical churches.  The ones who “go and make disciples…”  The ones who are centered on Jesus.  The ones who love God and love people.   The ones who are sent on mission by Jesus to reach the whole world with the greatest news to ever hit the planet- the gospel of Jesus Christ. That should be the mission of all biblical churches regardless of how we’re labeled.

That’s what being missional is all about.

One Church, Under Jesus,

Jason

Tags: attractional church, Church, Jesus, missional, missional church

A Sign of Division

I saw a dude holding a sign this morning that said, “Vote McCain, not Hussein” and it disappointed me. On the day of the most historic election in our lifetime, that sign was itself a sign of division.

Regardless of how this election turns out, my hope and prayer is that we be unified. That we not look at either candidate as the anti-Christ or the messiah, but as imperfect men who will lead our country during a critical time in our nation’s history.  That we all would pray for them to have wisdom, courage, compassion, humility, and strength to lead us well.

As for today’s election, remember these three things.
1) Vote your conscience 2) Pray for God’s will, 3) Remember that Christ is still on his throne.

And should things not go so well in the next four years, be thankful that we get to vote again. Yay democracy!

Oh, and don’t forget to go to Starbucks, tell them you voted, and get your free cup of coffee.

Tags: Barack Obama, Election, john mccain, politics, president

The Story So Far

It’s been almost two months since we kicked-off gatherings for Project Church and the question I’m asked most is, “How are things with Project Church?”

Overall, I’m pumped about Project Church.  It’s humbling to be a part of something special.   We set out to be a church for people who don’t dig church (at least church as usual).  And week by week we’ve had explorers join us and some even come back.  All the while we’ve been true to the Gospel.  That’s what we wanted to do.  Be big on Jesus, big on people, and for us all to live the lives we are meant to live.  I’ve definitely been blessed and have had some profound high’s.

I’ve also felt the low’s.  And since one of our values at Project Church is authenticity, I’m going to share some of them with you.

My heart breaks more now than it used to
I want so badly for people (and myself) to live full lives by following Jesus and it breaks me to see us choose otherwise.  I truly love my church and have quickly seen the need for prayer and have had the fuel for loving yet strong teaching.  This weight isn’t a bad thing but it’s a reality that I live with because I want to see people live the lives they were meant to live.

I take things more personal
Not saying it’s right or wrong, but I’ve definitely been bummed when people don’t return to our gatherings.  Not so much the churchy people, but the ones who really need a church like ours. I don’t want to lose missed opportunities and I think we have. And when our strongest supporters can’t be there, I find it’s not quite the same.  There’s something about their support that really encourages me.

Momma said there would be days like this
Pretty much all of the things I’ve been told I would experience as a church planter have come true.  The week we had a $2 total offering followed by a $0 offering was tough. Especially with a $750 rent payment to the coffee shop.  Thankfully, God provided.  I’m also getting used to criticism. Not a week goes by that I don’t hear of some false rumor about me and my church by other Christians.  That really ticks me off and is often followed by discouragement.  Thankfully, my wife is there to cool me off and stand by my side.  I’m learning to deal with it, but again, it’s not easy.

But don’t feel sorry for me.

The truth is I love starting and leading this church.  I’m so blessed to not just have a calling but am able to live it.   Seeing the person who crossed the line from explorer of Jesus to follower of Jesus makes it all worthwhile.  Seeing people step into a church gathering who never would otherwise makes it all worthwhile. Watching people grow into the people God meant them to be makes it all worthwhile. The growth I’m experiencing personally makes it all worthwhile.  And knowing that I’m part of something much bigger than me makes it all worthwhile.

If you’re leading another church (or preparing to) please know that you’re not alone in this.

If you’re a part of another church, please pray for your pastors and do whatever you can to help and encourage them.

If you’re a part of Project Church, I love you and am so thankful that you’re a part of this with me.  God’s called us to reach a community and become a community.  We need you to help make Project Church the church Jesus had in mind.

The story of Project Church is just beginning…

Tags: Church, Church Planting, project church

If Grace Is True…

If grace is true it changes everything.

If grace is true it changes me.

If grace is true then going the extra mile is the norm.

If grace is true then my tips are more than the waitress deserves.

If grace is true it means I will forgive all those who hurt me.

If grace is true then I would give my full attention to each person I come across today.

If grace is true then I wouldn’t withold my encouragement to another.

if grace is true then I wouldn’t try to avoid certain people.

If grace is true then I would accept every Facebook friend request that another human sends me.

If grace is true then I will seek to give more and spend less.

If grace is true then I will give that homeless guy downtown a few bucks even if I think he’d spend it on alcohol.

If grace is true then I would treat people who love me the same as people who don’t.

If grace is true then I wouldn’t cut people off in traffic or hurry and beat someone else for a parking spot.

If grace is true then I would not play favorites.

If grace is true then I don’t believe in just second chances but a million chances.

If grace is true then Christ gets 100% of me and nothing less.

If grace is true hope always remains.

How has grace changed you?

Tags: grace

Leading Forward

Remember that epic scene from the film ‘Braveheart’ when William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson), with his face painted like a college football fan, inspired his men with these words?

“Fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live…at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take…OUR FREEDOM”

Now imagine him riding off to safety while those men went and fought for freedom.

Not the same story is it?

Instead, he led the charge against their adversaries and laid it all out there. Inspiring men with more than his words- but with his own life.

He led from out front- not up top.

This is leading forward and that’s how I want to lead.

How often do we see leaders who can make a good speech (or sermon) and then step back as people enter into the fight of their lives?  Meanwhile the leader returns to the safety of their throne called the office chair or La-Z-Boy.

Top-down leadership is all about “have to’s” and fueled with fear.
“Do this or something bad will happen to you.”

Out-front leadership is all about “get to’s” and ignited with inspiration.
“Do this and something bad may or may not happen, but it will be worth it.”

Big difference, huh?

Which type of leader do you want to follow?

What kind of leader are you?

Tags: Leadership