I wanted to give you all an update on the UPS experiment. I definitely have a new perspective on several things. First and foremost, no one should ever be allowed to order anything on-line again!!! Come on people, can't you just go to the store, make your purchase and take it to the person you bought it for?!?! (Of course I'm joking considering we just finished our Christmas shopping... the majority of which was done on amazon.com)
Second-- put your dog on a leash!!! Seriously people. I know your dog has "never done that before," "won't bite," and all the other things you say when he charges at me barking and growling and showing me his huge, large over-sized teeth. But come-on, lets just except that all dogs hate the elegant and fashionable UPS brown. They just do. So keep your dog on a leash and be realistic that if you're 110 pounds, a child, or an elderly person, you can't hold the dog back... you just can't.
All that aside, the UPS experiment has been really good. Kelli and I went into it expecting that it would be an exhausting, challenging 5 weeks and choosing to believe that we could do anything for that amount of time. And don't get me wrong, after working 11 hours day one I realized I could get aches and pains in and around muscles I never knew existed. But overall the hours have not been horrible, the job has been challenging but very doable. My driver has been doing the job for 24 years so I'm learning a lot. And it's really been an eye-opening reminder of what all of you that work in the "real-world" experience day in and day out.
I think high school was the last time I heard the "f-word" as many times as I've heard it over the last 2 weeks. The world needs Jesus. UPS needs Jesus. My driver needs Jesus and I know that so many of the people you work with day in and day out need Jesus.
I want to close with a challenge and a request:
1) The challenge is to persevere. I know I'm the last person in the world who should say this because I will go back to doing my "ministry" job when the Christmas season is over, but I want to encourage you to stick with your job in the world. You are light. You are hope. You are exactly what the people you work with need and you have the message they need to hear... the gospel. Hang in there and intentionally pursue the lost around you with the gospel.
2) The request is to pray for me as I seek to be that intentional light for my driver Tony. I'm praying big prayers. I'm praying for gospel opportunities. I'm praying that the Holy Spirit would move in his life. I'm praying that after 23 Christmas' with UPS, this would be the Christmas God uses to change his life forever!
Thanks for your prayers. Two and a half more weeks in brown!
Please also pray for The Pathway. We have been seeing growth and an influx of young families. It is exciting and we're praying that God continues to move. Please pray for Together: Christmas that will be happening on Christmas Eve. We're bringing all our Intentional Communities together for a big family dinner, reading the Christmas story and some caroling. Praying it will be a time of family, worship, celebration, fun and unity!
Monday, December 15, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
Adventures in Church Planting: The UPS Experiement
U.P.S.
Those 3 letters mark the beginning of a new experiment for our family and church. Today I start a seasonal job as a "driver helper." I told Jagen and Rylan I'm basically Santa's helper! Our attitude about this experiment? Gratitude. We're so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to do 3 things over the next 5 weeks:
1) Put something fresh and new on my resume in case I need to work another job part-time or full-time in the future.
2) Be proactive in our personal and church finances. I feel like so many lessons I've learned are a result of the pain and struggle of the planters that have gone before me. I've seen so many planters struggle financially and have to react to unexpected or unplanned budget shortfalls. My first week in Washington I helped a planter pack up and go back "home." I've seen planters search hard for jobs but find themselves unqualified for anything other than pastoral ministry. I've seen planters lose income, lose their homes and lose the church God called them to plant and pastor because of financial hardships. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be proactive in our approach to church & personal finances.
3) I'm thankful to be able to relate to the people I pastor in a new and fresh way. For the most part the people in our church work hard... really hard. They don't work typical 9-5 jobs. They balance two jobs. They make minimum wage. I can speak to them about the struggle, perseverance, hard work, doing everything for the Lord. But at the end of the day, being a pastor is not like what they do. It's harder in some ways. It's easier in some ways. But it's completely different. I'm thankful to have gone out and applied for a job, interviewed for that job, and I get to work that job. I get to balance 2 jobs, family, my own personal walk with Jesus, my own personal mission field.
At the end of the day, we're grateful for all the ways that God cares for our family. I'm thankful to be able to work physically and emotionally.
We're calling it an experiment for a reason. We don't really know what to expect. Please pray for us as I work long days and Kelli bears and even heavier load than normal with our home and kids. Pray that God uses this opportunity for his glory and ultimately to grow his kingdom over the long haul.
I'll keep you posted!
Those 3 letters mark the beginning of a new experiment for our family and church. Today I start a seasonal job as a "driver helper." I told Jagen and Rylan I'm basically Santa's helper! Our attitude about this experiment? Gratitude. We're so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to do 3 things over the next 5 weeks:
1) Put something fresh and new on my resume in case I need to work another job part-time or full-time in the future.
2) Be proactive in our personal and church finances. I feel like so many lessons I've learned are a result of the pain and struggle of the planters that have gone before me. I've seen so many planters struggle financially and have to react to unexpected or unplanned budget shortfalls. My first week in Washington I helped a planter pack up and go back "home." I've seen planters search hard for jobs but find themselves unqualified for anything other than pastoral ministry. I've seen planters lose income, lose their homes and lose the church God called them to plant and pastor because of financial hardships. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be proactive in our approach to church & personal finances.
3) I'm thankful to be able to relate to the people I pastor in a new and fresh way. For the most part the people in our church work hard... really hard. They don't work typical 9-5 jobs. They balance two jobs. They make minimum wage. I can speak to them about the struggle, perseverance, hard work, doing everything for the Lord. But at the end of the day, being a pastor is not like what they do. It's harder in some ways. It's easier in some ways. But it's completely different. I'm thankful to have gone out and applied for a job, interviewed for that job, and I get to work that job. I get to balance 2 jobs, family, my own personal walk with Jesus, my own personal mission field.
At the end of the day, we're grateful for all the ways that God cares for our family. I'm thankful to be able to work physically and emotionally.
We're calling it an experiment for a reason. We don't really know what to expect. Please pray for us as I work long days and Kelli bears and even heavier load than normal with our home and kids. Pray that God uses this opportunity for his glory and ultimately to grow his kingdom over the long haul.
I'll keep you posted!
Monday, November 17, 2014
Vision Accomplished... but definitely not finished!
I feel like there is a lot of conversation in the world in general and church planting circles in particular regarding vision and mission.
What is vision?
What is mission?
Are they the same?
Are they necessary?
I definitely don't have perfect answers to these questions, but I do of course have opinions and lessons learned. I read a book by Andy Stanley years ago called Visioneering that I highly recommend. It impacted me in a huge way as I approached casting and pursuing vision in the context of The Pathway church.
In his book, Stanley defines vision this way... Vision is the belief that something could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.
This definition has stuck in my mind over the years and has helped me with vision clarity, vision casting and most importantly it has helped me battle vision drift (not perfectly, but effectively).
In short... for me personally and The Pathway church as a whole... clear vision is helpful and non-negotiable. Even having a cheesy vision statement has helped us keep our eyes on the ball, work hard going after the same things... unity... and knowing when to adjust and when to celebrate.
The first part of this post is for celebrating. Specifically for celebrating God, his grace, his power and what he has accomplished in Tacoma, through The Pathway over the past 5 years. My hope is the second part of the post will help you know where The Pathway's going, how we believe we can get there and how you can pray for us moving forward.
Vision Accomplished. How can I make that statement? We're definitely not finished. Jesus hasn't come back yet. Our church is not financially self-sustaining. We haven't seen gospel saturation in Tacoma's 8 neighborhoods. There's so much more to do so how can I write, with a straight face, vision accomplished.
I think sometimes Christians get used to setting goals and casting lofty vision, assuming that it will never be accomplished. Well, for me, that's not the point of vision. Vision is something that we aim for. It's something that can be accomplished and that needs freshening and recasting over time. For churches and Christians, mission never changes. Our mission is to make disciples. We can state that in a million different ways, but that's our mission. Not because I said so, but because Jesus said so. He's God so I think we should do what he says!
The Pathway's vision statement over the past 5 years reads like this: We want to be a church with beautiful feet (Romans 10:14-15) committed to walking with our city down The Pathway of life by serving our communities intentionally, sharing the gospel with those we serve, showing people how to grow in Jesus and sending ordinary missionaries to start new Intentional Communities and new churches in Tacoma and beyond.
That statement has kept us focused for years. As I tried to seek God for the future of The Pathway, he clearly said, Vision accomplished.
By his grace we have become a church known for serving people and serving them well.
For God's glory alone we have seen a church birthed by sharing the gospel with people personally, passionately, clearly and regularly.
Although not perfectly, we've seen people learn how to grow in Jesus by living life with an Intentional Community and through one-on-one and small group discipleship relationships.
And, by God's working alone we have been able to send out numerous groups of people to birth new Intentional Communities, we sent our first 3 missionaries on a short term trip to South Africa in February and we were able to launch out Tommy Abbott to start The Way in Seattle's U-district.
Wow! In all of that there have been successes and failures, victories and defeats, joys and sorrows. But most importantly, God's kingdom has grown and his glory has been made known!
What now?
New vision... remember, we're not even close to finished!
I've prayed and prayed about the direction of our church. After talking with our leaders, getting input and feedback and most importantly after hearing from God through an extended time of silence and solitude... the Spirit has crafted a fresh vision.
If you're really interested I'd encourage you to listen to our 4 part vision series at www.thepathwaytacoma.com.
In short, here's what we believe could be and should be through The Pathway in Tacoma over the coming years.
Vision Statement:
The Pathway exists to reflect God’s glory and make disciples by becoming a reproducing church in 5 specific areas. We are committed to reproducing disciples, reproducing leaders, reproducing Intentional Communities, reproducing worship gatherings and reproducing churches in Tacoma, across the nation and throughout the world.
What is vision?
What is mission?
Are they the same?
Are they necessary?
I definitely don't have perfect answers to these questions, but I do of course have opinions and lessons learned. I read a book by Andy Stanley years ago called Visioneering that I highly recommend. It impacted me in a huge way as I approached casting and pursuing vision in the context of The Pathway church.
In his book, Stanley defines vision this way... Vision is the belief that something could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be.
This definition has stuck in my mind over the years and has helped me with vision clarity, vision casting and most importantly it has helped me battle vision drift (not perfectly, but effectively).
In short... for me personally and The Pathway church as a whole... clear vision is helpful and non-negotiable. Even having a cheesy vision statement has helped us keep our eyes on the ball, work hard going after the same things... unity... and knowing when to adjust and when to celebrate.
The first part of this post is for celebrating. Specifically for celebrating God, his grace, his power and what he has accomplished in Tacoma, through The Pathway over the past 5 years. My hope is the second part of the post will help you know where The Pathway's going, how we believe we can get there and how you can pray for us moving forward.
Vision Accomplished. How can I make that statement? We're definitely not finished. Jesus hasn't come back yet. Our church is not financially self-sustaining. We haven't seen gospel saturation in Tacoma's 8 neighborhoods. There's so much more to do so how can I write, with a straight face, vision accomplished.
I think sometimes Christians get used to setting goals and casting lofty vision, assuming that it will never be accomplished. Well, for me, that's not the point of vision. Vision is something that we aim for. It's something that can be accomplished and that needs freshening and recasting over time. For churches and Christians, mission never changes. Our mission is to make disciples. We can state that in a million different ways, but that's our mission. Not because I said so, but because Jesus said so. He's God so I think we should do what he says!
The Pathway's vision statement over the past 5 years reads like this: We want to be a church with beautiful feet (Romans 10:14-15) committed to walking with our city down The Pathway of life by serving our communities intentionally, sharing the gospel with those we serve, showing people how to grow in Jesus and sending ordinary missionaries to start new Intentional Communities and new churches in Tacoma and beyond.
That statement has kept us focused for years. As I tried to seek God for the future of The Pathway, he clearly said, Vision accomplished.
By his grace we have become a church known for serving people and serving them well.
For God's glory alone we have seen a church birthed by sharing the gospel with people personally, passionately, clearly and regularly.
Although not perfectly, we've seen people learn how to grow in Jesus by living life with an Intentional Community and through one-on-one and small group discipleship relationships.
And, by God's working alone we have been able to send out numerous groups of people to birth new Intentional Communities, we sent our first 3 missionaries on a short term trip to South Africa in February and we were able to launch out Tommy Abbott to start The Way in Seattle's U-district.
Wow! In all of that there have been successes and failures, victories and defeats, joys and sorrows. But most importantly, God's kingdom has grown and his glory has been made known!
What now?
New vision... remember, we're not even close to finished!
I've prayed and prayed about the direction of our church. After talking with our leaders, getting input and feedback and most importantly after hearing from God through an extended time of silence and solitude... the Spirit has crafted a fresh vision.
If you're really interested I'd encourage you to listen to our 4 part vision series at www.thepathwaytacoma.com.
In short, here's what we believe could be and should be through The Pathway in Tacoma over the coming years.
Vision Statement:
The Pathway exists to reflect God’s glory and make disciples by becoming a reproducing church in 5 specific areas. We are committed to reproducing disciples, reproducing leaders, reproducing Intentional Communities, reproducing worship gatherings and reproducing churches in Tacoma, across the nation and throughout the world.
Reproduction. That's the word we've been sharing with our church and it's what I hope will capture our hearts and minds over the coming years. It's what we believe could be and we are literally being fueled by the conviction that it should be. Our ultimate goal is to reflect God's glory and the way we believe we can best do that is to make reproduction our aim. If it's good and God glorifying we want to reproduce it.
But how?
Mission statement:
We exist to reflect God's glory by reproducing disciples through Intentional Community.
The mission is how we accomplish the vision. We believe we can accomplish our vision most effectively as we engage in and whole heartedly pursue Intentional Community.
Please pray for us and with us as we go hard after Reproduction as a means to reflecting God's glory to a city and a world who desperately needs Jesus!
Monday, October 20, 2014
5 years
I cannot believe that we have been planting The Pathway in Tacoma for 5 years now. Unbelievable. What an epic journey Jesus is continuing to take us on. It was actually 6 1/2 years ago that God called our family to help plant churches in the Pacific Northwest. How young and crazy we were! We came to Seattle for the first time in the fall of 2007 and by January of 2008 we had loaded up everything in our double-wide, jumped in the cab of our U-haul... me, Kelli and Addie (our then 2 year old pup) and began this incredible adventure.
No kids. No fear. And no clue what we were doing!
After a year and a half internship helping to plant Lifepointe Community Church in Snoqualmie, WA, we once again packed our things, this time just a 2 bed-room apartment worth of belongings, and headed south to Tacoma. We still had Addie (and still do), but this time there were 2 little babies in Kelli's big ole' tummy!
We thought we were being so smart, so on the ball, and so prepared by moving November 1st. After all, the twins weren't due until January! Can anyone say "naive?" Two weeks after spending our first night in Tacoma, Jagen and Rylan decided the womb was no place for them. Looking back, we had no idea how crazy things were. Kelli's water broke while we were spending the night at a friends apartment back in Snoqualmie. We made the 45 minute drive from Snoqualmie, to the hospital a mile from our house in Tacoma, not knowing that was where we would be spending the next 6 weeks of our lives! The kids were tiny, they were 9 weeks early, and we were just going with the flow.
We began our time in Tacoma with a vision. It was based on Roman's 10. In vs. 1 Paul writes... My hearts desire and my prayer to God is for their salvation. I just remember that verse being the anthem of my life. There was no denying that God brought us to Tacoma. There was no arguing that he had called us to plant The Pathway church. Everything in our hearts were beating for life change. We fully understood, and still understand, Paul's heart in writing that particular sentence. Everything in us wanted to see salvation for a city full of people that we did not know. Not just that we didn't know everyone in the city. We didn't know anyone in the city. But we loved them. We still do.
Later in Romans 10:13-15 Paul writes... Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in him in whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without someone preaching? How will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, how beautiful our the feet of those who bring the good news!
From this passage of Scripture flowed a vision statement that has carried us for 5 years.
We want to be a church with beautiful feet, committed to walking with our city down The Pathway of life by:
Serving our communities intentionally
Sharing the gospel with those we serve
Showing believers how to grow and
Sending ordinary missionaries to start new Intentional Communities
and new churches in Tacoma and beyond.
It's been amazing to see this vision become a reality. We've literally have learned to walk with our city through life, learning who they are, becoming a part of the city and learning what their needs, desires and beliefs truly are. We've served our tails off any and every way we know how. From meeting tangible needs, to throwing block parties, partnering with local non-profits and getting our hands dirty with our neighbors. We have seen a church grow with a passion and resolve to serve selflessly no matter how we are treated in return (Philippians 2).
We've grown tremendously in sharing the gospel. We've seen God change lives because of the hope of the gospel. We've seen the addicted find recovery. We've seen the recovered find purpose. We've seen the nominal Christian find intentional mission. We've seen the lonely and isolated individual find family in Christ. We've seen the gospel infiltrate our city, by God's grace, through the hands, feet and mouths of our church. Unbelievable.
We've seen believers grow. Sometimes I get so frustrated and feel like so much more should have happened by now. But when I step back, breathe, and get some perspective, I think... WOW! Look what you've done Lord. We've seen disciples make disciples. We've seen people who had never heard John 3:16 learn it, believe it and share it. We've seen people who did not know sex outside of marriage was less than God's best decide on their own to honor God through repentance and then marriage. We've seen folks who never thought they could lead or teach, lead and teach. We've seen so many people grow in so many different ways.
Make no mistake... all of this is by God's grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone!
We've even been amazed to see God allow us to raise up and send-out ordinary missionaries (by ordinary I mean folks just like you and just like me). We've launched new Intentional Communities in multiple neighborhoods committed to serving and sharing the gospel. We were even a part of launching a new church focusing on University students in Seattle called The Way. The church plant ended up not making it, but it was an incredible act of trust in the Lord on the part of all involved. Lessons were learned, faith was grown and you better believe we're not done planting churches. We were even able, by God's grace alone, to send 3 ordinary missionaries to South Africa last year to partner in sharing the gospel with a people who so desperately need good news!
It's been an amazing ride and it is so incredibly far from over.
We believe that God has accomplished the original vision he gave us for planting the gospel in Tacoma. We believe he's done that and we believe he can do so much more! We've learned, we've grown, our faith has been tested and our God has remained faithful. As I've prayed and sought God's direction over the last several months and really even the last year, one word has continued to come into my mind and heart as God has provided a fresh vision and a renewed passion. Its the word on the graphic at the top of this post... Reproduction.
This Friday and Saturday is our Leadership Retreat. Please pray for the leaders of The Pathway as we cast vision, ask questions, pray, dare to dream big and more importantly dare to put our faith in a God who does big things! Pray for unity, passion, direction and resolve to see Reproduction happen. Finally, please pray as we launch our vision series the first Sunday in November and cast this new, fresh, gospel-centered vision to our church. It will be an exciting time.
Please pray that people show up, bring family and friends, get excited, take action and begin to Reproduce for the glory of God!
I can only imagine (Ephesians 3:20), if the Lord has not yet returned, what we will be celebrating in October of 2019!
Monday, October 13, 2014
Margin for Unexpected Ministry
I'm trying to figure out the most effective way to give you a glimpse into my world today. I always feel like full disclosure is the best approach even if it occasionally means my blogs come across a bit choppy. Hopefully you agree.
First of all, I have been graced to be raised up as a church planter in what I believe to be one of the most exciting times of church planting in our nations history. There is a focus on church planting like never before. Part of that is because of the advancement of technology. Everywhere I turn there's something new to learn, read, watch or study. It's incredible. There is a deep well of tools and seasoned experience from which to draw from... and it can all be a bit overwhelming.
One of the things I've been struggling with over the last 6 months to a year is what can be best referred to as "pulling the trigger." It doesn't really matter what I need to pull the trigger on. It could be a small project, creating the most efficient to-do list, deciding who God is calling me to invest my life, time and energy into, or coming up with a strategy for the next phase in the life of our church. I get somewhat gun shy because I've read so many warnings, so many well-meaning planters and pastors sharing all the monumental mistakes they've made and so many experienced ministers telling me "exactly how to do this thing" or "exactly how not to do that thing." The trouble is, more often than not the "tried and true" advice of one person contradicts the "tried and true" advice of the next.
The result? I find myself over thinking everything and accomplish little to nothing. Not a good place to find yourself when pursuing the glory of God and the advancement of his mission in this world.
All that being said, there is something that I have heard everywhere, over and over, in different forms, but conveying the same basic wisdom from more pastors, leaders and church planters than I can count.
What's their advice? What's their challenge?
Retreat regularly.
Now that almost seems impossible for many of you. How on earth can you retreat on a regular basis? I believe many of us don't even know what a true retreat looks like. We feel like wherever we go we have to have something to do. We have to buy tickets, attend conferences, be entertained and we can't imagine escaping technology for even a few hours, much less a few days.
But for some reason, even in the relatively short time I've been in ministry, the advice has stuck with me. Maybe it's because I have a great wife who gently (most of the time) reminds me that when I pour myself out without filling myself up I will eventually burn myself out. Maybe it's because for every passionate and on fire pastor I meet I seem to meet 5 who are exhausted, overweight, bitter and burned out. Maybe it's because I've seen too many church planters burn the candle at both ends so to speak at the cost of their marriage, family or just as seriously, their joy.
Or maybe, just maybe, this lesson has stayed with me by the grace of God.
Whatever the reason, retreating, by myself, every year is something I have made a habit of. My bride is so amazing (most of you know that). This year we were coming off a particularly stressful and hectic season and I just didn't feel like it was the right time to leave. I told her I felt like I should cancel and she assured me that it was necessary for me to go... not just for me, not just for our family or our church... but for God to get the most glory out of what we are pursuing together as a family and a church. She sent me on my way and I'm so thankful she did.
I could tell you so many things that God did in those couple of nights away. He allowed me to read an incredible book called The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts by Sam Storms. I highly recommend it. He let me go for 2 runs... one on the beach. He let me sleep the entire night through... twice! He let me get healthy when I had been battling some pretty serious crud. He let me pray. He let me plan. He let me dream, dream again and then dream bigger. He let me write. He let me read and meditate on his Word. He granted me rest, peace, hope and joy. It was a sweet time.
But of all those wonderful things, there is one thing he taught me that stands out above the rest. It's not overly deep or profound, but it was an incredibly important message for me to hear. It went something like this: SLOW DOWN STUPID!
Such a simple message. Such a truthful message. I, like many of you I'm sure, tend to fill my plate too full. I try to save the world all by myself (I'm pretty sure there's a King named Jesus who has that covered by the way). I try to please everyone. I hate to say "no" to anyone. I like to have fun and do the things I enjoy, so I always make time for that. I get up early, I stay up late and somehow in the midst of it all I figure out how to procrastinate. I fall behind. I try to catch up. And before you know it I'm go 95 mph in 12 different directions spending the majority of my time on the things that matter the least.
What's the result? There's probably too many to list, but in short, I don't have time for people who don't know Jesus. I don't have time for divine appointments, for meeting needs, for praying for unexpected requests. I just end up with no margin in my life. And in reality, all the things I spend my time doing are farther from the heart of God than if I were just to make time to love a broken person.
So what am I going to do? It's pretty crazy. It's radical. It's almost unimaginable. I'm going to slow down! Seriously. I'm asking the Spirit of God to intervene in my life in a miraculous way. I'm asking him to give me the courage to make time for people. To trust him with the details, the to-do lists and the plans, and when there's a need... I want to meet it. When there's a request... I want to pray for it. When there's an unbeliever... I want to share Christ with them and when there's a brother or sister in Christ... I don't want to be too busy for them.
How is this possible you ask? My best conclusion is... it's not! That is, it's not, apart from the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. But thankfully, I have access to both of those. And you do too, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone!
In summary... Make sure you have margin in your life for unexpected ministry!
First of all, I have been graced to be raised up as a church planter in what I believe to be one of the most exciting times of church planting in our nations history. There is a focus on church planting like never before. Part of that is because of the advancement of technology. Everywhere I turn there's something new to learn, read, watch or study. It's incredible. There is a deep well of tools and seasoned experience from which to draw from... and it can all be a bit overwhelming.
One of the things I've been struggling with over the last 6 months to a year is what can be best referred to as "pulling the trigger." It doesn't really matter what I need to pull the trigger on. It could be a small project, creating the most efficient to-do list, deciding who God is calling me to invest my life, time and energy into, or coming up with a strategy for the next phase in the life of our church. I get somewhat gun shy because I've read so many warnings, so many well-meaning planters and pastors sharing all the monumental mistakes they've made and so many experienced ministers telling me "exactly how to do this thing" or "exactly how not to do that thing." The trouble is, more often than not the "tried and true" advice of one person contradicts the "tried and true" advice of the next.
The result? I find myself over thinking everything and accomplish little to nothing. Not a good place to find yourself when pursuing the glory of God and the advancement of his mission in this world.
All that being said, there is something that I have heard everywhere, over and over, in different forms, but conveying the same basic wisdom from more pastors, leaders and church planters than I can count.
What's their advice? What's their challenge?
Retreat regularly.
Now that almost seems impossible for many of you. How on earth can you retreat on a regular basis? I believe many of us don't even know what a true retreat looks like. We feel like wherever we go we have to have something to do. We have to buy tickets, attend conferences, be entertained and we can't imagine escaping technology for even a few hours, much less a few days.
But for some reason, even in the relatively short time I've been in ministry, the advice has stuck with me. Maybe it's because I have a great wife who gently (most of the time) reminds me that when I pour myself out without filling myself up I will eventually burn myself out. Maybe it's because for every passionate and on fire pastor I meet I seem to meet 5 who are exhausted, overweight, bitter and burned out. Maybe it's because I've seen too many church planters burn the candle at both ends so to speak at the cost of their marriage, family or just as seriously, their joy.
Or maybe, just maybe, this lesson has stayed with me by the grace of God.
Whatever the reason, retreating, by myself, every year is something I have made a habit of. My bride is so amazing (most of you know that). This year we were coming off a particularly stressful and hectic season and I just didn't feel like it was the right time to leave. I told her I felt like I should cancel and she assured me that it was necessary for me to go... not just for me, not just for our family or our church... but for God to get the most glory out of what we are pursuing together as a family and a church. She sent me on my way and I'm so thankful she did.
I could tell you so many things that God did in those couple of nights away. He allowed me to read an incredible book called The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts by Sam Storms. I highly recommend it. He let me go for 2 runs... one on the beach. He let me sleep the entire night through... twice! He let me get healthy when I had been battling some pretty serious crud. He let me pray. He let me plan. He let me dream, dream again and then dream bigger. He let me write. He let me read and meditate on his Word. He granted me rest, peace, hope and joy. It was a sweet time.
But of all those wonderful things, there is one thing he taught me that stands out above the rest. It's not overly deep or profound, but it was an incredibly important message for me to hear. It went something like this: SLOW DOWN STUPID!
Such a simple message. Such a truthful message. I, like many of you I'm sure, tend to fill my plate too full. I try to save the world all by myself (I'm pretty sure there's a King named Jesus who has that covered by the way). I try to please everyone. I hate to say "no" to anyone. I like to have fun and do the things I enjoy, so I always make time for that. I get up early, I stay up late and somehow in the midst of it all I figure out how to procrastinate. I fall behind. I try to catch up. And before you know it I'm go 95 mph in 12 different directions spending the majority of my time on the things that matter the least.
What's the result? There's probably too many to list, but in short, I don't have time for people who don't know Jesus. I don't have time for divine appointments, for meeting needs, for praying for unexpected requests. I just end up with no margin in my life. And in reality, all the things I spend my time doing are farther from the heart of God than if I were just to make time to love a broken person.
So what am I going to do? It's pretty crazy. It's radical. It's almost unimaginable. I'm going to slow down! Seriously. I'm asking the Spirit of God to intervene in my life in a miraculous way. I'm asking him to give me the courage to make time for people. To trust him with the details, the to-do lists and the plans, and when there's a need... I want to meet it. When there's a request... I want to pray for it. When there's an unbeliever... I want to share Christ with them and when there's a brother or sister in Christ... I don't want to be too busy for them.
How is this possible you ask? My best conclusion is... it's not! That is, it's not, apart from the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. But thankfully, I have access to both of those. And you do too, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone!
In summary... Make sure you have margin in your life for unexpected ministry!
Monday, September 15, 2014
Paradox of The Pathway
The Pathway has never really done things by the book.
In the world of church planting, it is commonly said that you will always reach people that look like you. Ha! I think we blew that possibility out of the water when we moved to Tacoma. From day one God drew us to people, and he drew people to us, who look absolutely nothing like us. From background and economic status to race and religious heritage (or lack thereof), God has connected us with a diverse bunch of people, very few of whom look like me or Kelli.
Growth. In "typical" church planting (whatever that means!), summers are always a difficult time. I'm sure that's true for established churches too. Rhythm's are broken. Vacations are taken. Attendance drops. Consistency wanes. Giving goes down. But of course, for The Pathway, that's never been the case. Summer has always been an incredible opportunity to embrace the patterns of summer and maximize the opportunity to do life with each other, engage new people and see people decide to make biblical community a part of their new routines. This summer has been no exception to that. We've seen doors open, the vibrancy of our gathering increase and more and more people connect to the community of believers.
The list could go on but for some reason I assumed that while we don't follow any other normal patterns of church planting, we would follow the pattern of renewed consistency and momentum heading into the fall.
WRONG!!!
What was I thinking?!?! Why would we do that by the book when we do nothing else by the book? The last 2 weeks have proven to be somewhat "slow," for lack of a better term. I think people are still clinging to what's left of summer. Getting kids back into school certainly drains parents and kids alike. Overall, our worship gathering has decreased in attendance rather than increased and from a cursory look at our Intentional Community gatherings, attendance is sparse as well.
All this to say... pray for consistency. Not just in the Sunday gathering, although I want people to long for and value that time, but also in community. Pray for people to consistently do life together, consistently make disciples (and become disciples), consistently serve, give, love and worship. Pray for people to see the need for disciple-makers, Intentional Community hosts and Intentional Community leaders. Pray that our church, starting with myself, would embrace the call of God on all of us to be missionaries for the gospel in our own world, our own neighborhood and even in our own homes.
We're learning to be the church together. We're learning the rhythm's of life together. It's messy and it's fun but it is never ever "typical!"
In the world of church planting, it is commonly said that you will always reach people that look like you. Ha! I think we blew that possibility out of the water when we moved to Tacoma. From day one God drew us to people, and he drew people to us, who look absolutely nothing like us. From background and economic status to race and religious heritage (or lack thereof), God has connected us with a diverse bunch of people, very few of whom look like me or Kelli.
Growth. In "typical" church planting (whatever that means!), summers are always a difficult time. I'm sure that's true for established churches too. Rhythm's are broken. Vacations are taken. Attendance drops. Consistency wanes. Giving goes down. But of course, for The Pathway, that's never been the case. Summer has always been an incredible opportunity to embrace the patterns of summer and maximize the opportunity to do life with each other, engage new people and see people decide to make biblical community a part of their new routines. This summer has been no exception to that. We've seen doors open, the vibrancy of our gathering increase and more and more people connect to the community of believers.
The list could go on but for some reason I assumed that while we don't follow any other normal patterns of church planting, we would follow the pattern of renewed consistency and momentum heading into the fall.
WRONG!!!
What was I thinking?!?! Why would we do that by the book when we do nothing else by the book? The last 2 weeks have proven to be somewhat "slow," for lack of a better term. I think people are still clinging to what's left of summer. Getting kids back into school certainly drains parents and kids alike. Overall, our worship gathering has decreased in attendance rather than increased and from a cursory look at our Intentional Community gatherings, attendance is sparse as well.
All this to say... pray for consistency. Not just in the Sunday gathering, although I want people to long for and value that time, but also in community. Pray for people to consistently do life together, consistently make disciples (and become disciples), consistently serve, give, love and worship. Pray for people to see the need for disciple-makers, Intentional Community hosts and Intentional Community leaders. Pray that our church, starting with myself, would embrace the call of God on all of us to be missionaries for the gospel in our own world, our own neighborhood and even in our own homes.
We're learning to be the church together. We're learning the rhythm's of life together. It's messy and it's fun but it is never ever "typical!"
Monday, September 8, 2014
One of those moments
I had one of those moments Sunday night. It was a good moment. It was a sweet moment. It was one of those moments where God reminds you that he is at work in big ways. He's at work in God-sized ways, doing God-sized things that for the most part I will never know about or comprehend.
I've shared on this blog before that 2014 is a year of focused and intentional congregational prayer for The Pathway. By God's grace he gave us a reminder at the end of last year that we are really good at working hard. We're really good at serving our communities, hosting block parties, moving people and meeting needs. But we're not so good (mainly because I've led poorly in this area) at slowing down and asking the God of the universe to move in power, to change lives and to see God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
We definitely don't have it all figured out, but the first Sunday of every month this year we've committed to coming together as a church to pray for the spiritual healing of our city. It's not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. At times it's down right frustrating and discouraging. Prayer is hard. For the most part we don't have a big turn-out. Overall our numbers have been decreasing as the year has progressed.
Sometimes it's hard to focus. We bring our twin 4 year olds with us. Try praying for an hour with 4 year olds! For us it really doesn't happen. We make it as long as we can (usually 30 minutes), praying together as a family for our friends and neighbors. Coaching our kids in what it means to pray, why it's a crucial part of life and the powerful affect it has. Then either myself or Kelli takes the kids home while the other parent stays and continues to pray.
One of the stations we have set-up at the concert of prayer is really just a row of poster boards. All year long we've been writing names on those poster boards. But they're not just names, they're souls. They're human lives who need to be radically changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. We write names every month and then we pray over those names. It doesn't matter if we know them or not, God knows them and is honored by our prayers for them.
Last night was when I experienced one of those moments. To be honest, my prayer time had not been incredibly deep and passionate. It was a struggle. But I made my way over to the poster boards as I do every month, kneeling next to them, and asking God to move in the lives of the people as I read their names in prayer. I began reading names and then I saw my own handwriting. The name of a man named Paul who our summer interns had met and served as they sought to saturate their apartment complex with the gospel.
I had attended a few of the intentional cook-outs our interns put together and that's where I met Paul. We struck up a conversation and I asked him for his phone number (one of the most awkward, yet absolutely crucial parts of missional living... asking another dude for his number). The interns continued to love on him and I reached out to him. I prayed for him, had lunch with him and God started to soften him and work in his life.
The reason it was one of those moments, is that as I came to Paul's name on the list, I looked over my shoulder and there was Paul, sitting at another station in the room, praying. Paul is still wrestling with God over many issues in his life, but God is moving. Paul is now a part of my Intentional Community and becoming a friend. God is moving in people's lives. Prayer works. Lets not ever forget that!
I've shared on this blog before that 2014 is a year of focused and intentional congregational prayer for The Pathway. By God's grace he gave us a reminder at the end of last year that we are really good at working hard. We're really good at serving our communities, hosting block parties, moving people and meeting needs. But we're not so good (mainly because I've led poorly in this area) at slowing down and asking the God of the universe to move in power, to change lives and to see God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
We definitely don't have it all figured out, but the first Sunday of every month this year we've committed to coming together as a church to pray for the spiritual healing of our city. It's not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. At times it's down right frustrating and discouraging. Prayer is hard. For the most part we don't have a big turn-out. Overall our numbers have been decreasing as the year has progressed.
Sometimes it's hard to focus. We bring our twin 4 year olds with us. Try praying for an hour with 4 year olds! For us it really doesn't happen. We make it as long as we can (usually 30 minutes), praying together as a family for our friends and neighbors. Coaching our kids in what it means to pray, why it's a crucial part of life and the powerful affect it has. Then either myself or Kelli takes the kids home while the other parent stays and continues to pray.
One of the stations we have set-up at the concert of prayer is really just a row of poster boards. All year long we've been writing names on those poster boards. But they're not just names, they're souls. They're human lives who need to be radically changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. We write names every month and then we pray over those names. It doesn't matter if we know them or not, God knows them and is honored by our prayers for them.
Last night was when I experienced one of those moments. To be honest, my prayer time had not been incredibly deep and passionate. It was a struggle. But I made my way over to the poster boards as I do every month, kneeling next to them, and asking God to move in the lives of the people as I read their names in prayer. I began reading names and then I saw my own handwriting. The name of a man named Paul who our summer interns had met and served as they sought to saturate their apartment complex with the gospel.
I had attended a few of the intentional cook-outs our interns put together and that's where I met Paul. We struck up a conversation and I asked him for his phone number (one of the most awkward, yet absolutely crucial parts of missional living... asking another dude for his number). The interns continued to love on him and I reached out to him. I prayed for him, had lunch with him and God started to soften him and work in his life.
The reason it was one of those moments, is that as I came to Paul's name on the list, I looked over my shoulder and there was Paul, sitting at another station in the room, praying. Paul is still wrestling with God over many issues in his life, but God is moving. Paul is now a part of my Intentional Community and becoming a friend. God is moving in people's lives. Prayer works. Lets not ever forget that!
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