Happy Birthday, Sweet Susan...

The love of my life celebrated her birthday yesterday. To observe this momentous occasion, we're spending the weekend in Dallas having a blast!

I am so blessed to be married to my best friend. Happy Birthday, sweet Susan!

An Infamous Anniversary, Gustav & Fundraising Campaign...

As Hurricane Gustav continues to strengthen while positioning itself for entry into the Gulf of Mexico, I'd remind us that today (August 29) marks the infamous 3rd anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's making landfall at New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast. Pray for all who are in the potential path of Gustav.

My ministry partner, Stephen Corbett, and I are scheduled to spend several days in New Orleans in less than two weeks shooting video footage at Carrollton Avenue Church of Christ. This footage will become part of a DVD that will be used in support of a nation-wide fundraising campaign that SoHills will spearhead on behalf of Carrollton Avenue. More on this campaign later.

Bob...

I really liked this post from Perry Noble about his friend "Bob":

I have a friend who doesn’t know Jesus…I’ll call him “Bob", although Bob is not his name.

I first met Bob several years ago at the gym…and over time he and I began talking here and there for about five minutes at a time.

Let me be very clear…we have absolutely zero in common. He’s about 20-25 years older than me. He likes cats, he doesn’t sweat like me… you get the picture.

About a year or so ago I invited him to church…and he came! (it’s amazing what a personal invite will do!)

And then the next week–HE CAME BACK!

I think it would be safe to say that if Bob is in town–he doesn’t miss! EVER!

He always tells me when we talk about how much he enjoyed the service. AND…if he has questions he always asks.

One day I talked to him about his relationship with Jesus and he told me that he isn’t ready to make that decision…but, “I think I’m getting closer,” he always says.

There are weeks when we do not see each other…and then there are weeks when we see one another several times. He always smiles…and always tells me either, “I’ll see you this Sunday,” or, “I won’t be there this week…but I will make it the next.”

Bob doesn’t know Christ!

I’m glad he comes to church… but my prayer is that he ultimately will give his life to Jesus.

I pray for this often!

We are supposed to go to lunch in the next month or so.

Bob doesn’t know Jesus… but he needs to!

Here’s my question, “WHO IS THE ‘BOB’ IN YOUR LIFE?”

Who, in your life, needs Christ…but for some reason you have been unwilling to invite them to church… or even begin a conversation with them about Jesus?

Risk Takers & Risk Makers...

Found this post by Bobby Gruenewald to be intriguing:

One of the most common risks leaders face when making tough decisions is the risk of criticism and perception. When you step out and try something new, there are often many people just waiting to say, “You’re wrong,” “You’re crazy,” “It will never work,” and “You’re an idiot.” And if it doesn’t work, they are the same people who’ll say “I told you so,” and “I can’t trust you,” (even though they never did).

The irony is that risk takers need these people. They are the ones who actually make it risky. They make it challenging, and in many cases provide the motivation to push through. They are the risk makers.

As frustrated or angry as I can get at no-name, do-nothing critics… they make me a better leader. I need them.

How about you—what effect do critics have on you when you’re considering risks? Are there other areas of leadership where a negative ingredient can make a positive contribution?

I Know This To Be True...

Most churches in America are designed for an older demographic. In fact, the more-seasoned folks in many of these churches are sitting on committees telling the students and young adults how they can and can’t do ministry. The result? Younger people are leaving churches in droves.

Here’s what I know to be true. If the church is going to continue to reach new generations of people:

+ I have to be willing to provide leadership opportunities to people younger than me… and let them make mistakes.

+ I have to be willing to let younger folks lead me in worship… even when it’s not my favorite style of music.

+ I need to embrace new methods of ministry… even though it sometimes makes me uncomfortable.

+ I need to pray and encourage and finance the next generation church… and stop trying to make church a place that I like to attend.

It’s not about me. It’s about the people who desperately need to know the hope, love and forgiveness found only in Jesus.

For the ministry of the local church to remain effective, I need to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

The Church Is Full Of Hypocrites...

The church is full of hypocrites.

I've heard it, and you've heard it. The thought intimidates many Christians. Not just because people say it, but because we've seen it, too. It's hard to share Jesus when we believe the church doesn't show Jesus.

After all, they don't like us...right? A crowded bandwagon to jump on these days is the one that says the world is going to hell because of Christians. Our arrogance, legalism, and screwed-up-ness is constantly written about... often by us.

And it's true, at least partly. The unchurched aren't too excited about church. And they have concerns about Christians. But that shouldn't keep us from living and sharing Jesus.

Jesus they like. Us... well... not so much.

Our culture is a rebuke to us as Christ followers and, at the same time, a challenge. Is there something that causes our culture to like Jesus but reject the church?

Yes. It's us.

Obviously, it's more than that. And there is an important spiritual element here... only God can open people's eyes. But we have been a big part of the problem.

It seems to me that one of the big mistakes Christ followers have been making is separating the explanation of the Gospel from the demonstration of the Gospel. For too long, Christians have been sharing presentations and not explaining how faith makes a difference in daily life. Maybe that's what the world has rejected. People don't want to hear another presentation, or be seen as a prospect. They want to be somebody's friend, to see up close and personal the difference Jesus makes in a person's life.

People want a faith that is not just "tell," but "be" and "do." All three matter: "be," "do," and "tell."

Even though the unchurched have a confused view of God and a negative view of the church, the fact that they are overwhelmingly open to someone sharing about their faith should make us stop and think. Or maybe, it should make us go and tell. We believe religion is off-limits in polite conversation, but the vast majority of unchurched people say they would enjoy conversations about spiritual matters.

Even more important, an astonishing number of unchurched people say they have at least one close friend who considers himself or herself a Christian.

Look at it this way, we can stop searching for unchurched people to talk with about Jesus. We already know them, and they are open to talking with us. All we need to do is start the conversations. (I'm also thinking Christ followers need to revisit hospitality and friendship as part of the lived-out-ness of our faith. Starting with the people who serve us at restaurants, and ring us out at the cash register at the grocery store, or the mall.)

Christians don't have the home field advantage we once had, but people are open to listening, and God is still powerfully working... using people and churches to take Jesus to an increasingly confused world.

Non-Olympic Moments...

I've been inspired by the incredible abilities of the 2008 Beijing Olympians. Many of these Olympic athletes are so off-the-scale talented it's scary.

However, for every athlete who made their country's Olympic team... we know there are thousands of others who endeavored to do so, but just didn't make the grade. This clip is an ode to those athletes who tried, but couldn't quite clear the bar.

To The Crazy Ones...

The folks at Apple developed this video... but I'm thinking this clip says a mouth-full about all those who push the envelope, challenge the system, and frustrate the status quo.

The church needs more "crazy ones, misfits and rebels."

Today's Fave Olympic Pic...

I've had several favorite Beijing Olympic images. The picture above is my favorite today.

This picture was taken outside the Watercube. I'm liking this picture as a stunning capture of old and new China.

Daybreak/Refresh...

We'll be transitioning back to two Sunday morning worship assemblies at SoHills this Sunday, August 24. A change from the last several years will be that the two assemblies--Daybreak and Refresh--will be substantially different from each other based on the target population we're attempting to reach with each gathering.

Change can be frightening, and different makes some people uncomfortable, but the unchanging message of Jesus is where the real power lies... and our means of delivering that timeless message are limited only by our creativity.

And speaking of creativity... take a look at the two video promotional clips that SoHills' exceptionally talented media team developed for use in support of Daybreak and Refresh.

Word Clouds...

I'm having some fun playing with Wordle. Wordle is an on-line tool for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can even tweak your word clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes.

Above are two "Wordlets" I created by plugging in the URL for Conexus. Have some fun and give Wordle a try.

Do The Hokey Pokey...

The following was written by Matthew Paul Turner. His words made me smile, and think... and want to do the Hokey Pokey.

When I was in third grade, a substitute gym teacher announced to the class that, because of the rain, we weren't able to go outside. "But how about we do the Hokey Pokey in the gymnasium?" she asked.

Sadly, I’d never heard of the Hokey Pokey; that was because I lived in a hole or, as some called it, fundamentalism. Sure, most kids could perform the Hokey Pokey song and dance in their sleep by the time they reached third grade, but it sounded dirty to me. You see, my church and Christian school didn't allow frivolous activities such as dancing, so I couldn't remember a time I had ever felt free enough to "shake it all about."

"Everyone get in a circle!" yelled Ms. Hartman, who was obese and often smelled like her Pekingese, "Let’s do the Hokey Pokey!"

Ms. Hartman was an awful excuse for gym teacher—the poor soul wore moo moos—but everyone loved her because she let us break some of the school's less important rules when other teachers weren't looking.

"What’s the Hokey Pokey?" asked one of the kids, looking around the room with an expression that said I don't think we should do it.

"You don't know the Hokey Pokey?" asked Ms. Hartman, throwing up her arms in disbelief, "Are you kidding me?"

"Is it a game?” asked another kid.

"I think it's more like a song and dance."

"Oh, we're not allowed to dance," I said, not wanting to be caught leading any of my brothers and sisters in the Lord astray. "Dancing is sexual!"

"Sexual? That’s nonsense!" said Ms. Hartman, "You can do this dance! I'm sure even God does the Hokey Pokey once in a while. Form a circle!"

Following Ms. Hartman’s instructions, we nervously got in a circle. But most of us kept a watchful eye at the ceiling, fearful that lightening might strike because a teacher had just suggested that God moved his body to beats of music not made by angels.

As she began directing us through each of the steps, it became clear that, to our beloved overweight substitute teacher, putting your left foot in was much more than mere child's play. To her, this little song and dance seemed to be more like a manifesto—one that was a testament to how she tried to live her life and wanted us to live ours.

When one of the kids was half-heartedly doing the motions, scared that his or her parents would balk at such rebellion, Ms. Hartman went ballistic. "No. No. No! You do it like this!" she said, and then she'd jump in front of us and demonstrate how to do the move. But you could tell that, in addition to teaching us how to dance the Hokey Pokey, there was a part of her that was also teaching us how to live life.

"You have to put your all into it; don't half-heartedly do anything," she encouraged. "And don't fear looking foolish! Who cares what other people think? You have to be free!"

Ms. Hartman was free; she didn't seem to care that everything jiggled uncontrollably when she put her body in and took her body out. It didn't faze her that a couple of kids laughed. She also didn't care that teachers would once in a while talk about her behind her back. She wanted us to taste a little freedom, even if it was just for a thirty-five minute gym class and only the Hokey Pokey. But as fearful as I was to dance, by the end of the 35-minutes, I thought gym class was over much too quickly.

Recently, I've realized that, for much of my life, I haven't lived free. Oh, I've pretended to be free. But mostly, I've been locked up in fear or codependency or religiosity or guilt.

The freedom that I find truly beautiful is the kind that isn't defined by the expectations of others. It's the kind that allows us to ask questions, be fully human without feeling guilty, and get all-out angry once in a while. It's also the kind that lets you be you.

But sometimes that kind of freedom is difficult to attain, mostly because we can't attain it. Freedom comes as byproduct of living out of who we are, who we were created to be, and we can't manufacture that. We just have to do it. I've learned on more than one occasion that the freedom to experience God sometimes just comes by getting out and living life, by just putting my left foot in.

The Power of Story...

My ministry partner, Stephen Corbett, attended a conference a year or two ago and heard Donald Miller talk about the power of story. As Stephen recapped Miller's talk I was thoroughly intrigued, as I'm a big believer in stories and their power to communicate. I'm looking forward to the release next year of a book Miller is writing that deals with "letting story guide you."

I came across a post recently that captured quotes from a recent seminar at which Donald Miller taught. Here are some of the highlights:

+ Story in its most basic form: A character who wants something and is willing to overcome conflict in order to get it.

+ Narrative is the most powerful transformational tool there is. Story has the power to change peoples lives.

+ The Bible is full of stories.

+ If I were to play some sounds of a jackhammer, birds, and a truck backing up, you would say that is noise, not music. But if I were to play Beethoven, you would call that music. They are both noises, vibrations, but what is the difference? I have no idea.

+ There is a difference between random events and story. The mind engages stories, not random information. A story is music. Random information is noise.

+ Where there is a narrative, people can engage.

+ I am a character in a story that hasn't been written yet.

+ My friend said, "Life is meaningless." I said, "No, life is fine. Your life is meaningless." It's the story my friend was writing with his life that he didn't like.

+ Imagine a documentary film crew making a reality show about you. What would the theme of that show be?

+ In a good story, a hero can't think more of himself than he does of others. If he does, then he ceases being the hero.

+ A good test for your story is this: If you were to die, what would happen in the world?

+ God doesn't ever stop at the end of a story and give the moral of the story. He doesn't. He just tells another story.

+ I believe the main way we consume story is through engaging each other.

+ What would it be like for Christians to silently tell better stories through their lives?

Breakthrough Discovery...

I've just finished reading a recently published book by Greg Hawkins and Cally Parkinson titled Follow Me. The book is based on four years of research with 80,000 people in 200 churches. Follow Me makes for a challenging and insightful read.

My purpose in this post is not to review the book... instead, I want to highlight a finding that is documented in chapter five of Follow Me. Hawkins and Parkinson define what they describe as "two breakthrough discoveries." One of these breakthrough discoveries is: "The Bible is the most powerful catalyst for spiritual growth." Now, some of you are scratching your heads and thinking, "Breakthrough discovery? Is a study confirming the Bible as the most powerful asset to personal spiritual growth really a breakthrough?"

Stop reading this post and ask yourself, "Do I spend time on a regular basis reflecting on Scripture?"

Do you? Be honest with yourself.

According to the research on which Follow Me is based (200 churches, 80,000 people), the most influential spiritual practice at every stage of a person's spiritual growth is "reflection on Scripture." And let's be very clear with each other... "reflection on Scripture" involves a great deal more than listening to sermon on a Sunday morning, or getting a dose of the Bible in a class on Sunday or a Wednesday night.

I can personally testify that the most meaningful spiritual discipline in my life has been journaling while reading the Bible. I can also testify that my times of greatest spiritual struggle and dryness occur most often when I'm not consistent about my Bible reading and journaling.

How about you?

X-Ray Bus...

This x-ray photograph by Nick Veasey of a bus full of people was applied life-size to a New York bus.

Passengers gawked in amazement and many missed their bus. Numerous complaints caused the photo to be removed from the bus.

Let Out Your Nets...

I love the story in Luke 5:4-6 where Jesus tells Peter to let out his nets for a catch after a long night of fruitless fishing. Peter starts to reel-off excuses about his past fishing experience, but then drops his nets and pulls them up full of fish... to his complete amazement.

Many of us have invented a formula that goes something like this:

Try something + Fail repeatedly = Don't do it again

But God gives us a new equation that says:

Try something + Fail repeatedly = Do it again

My challenge for your Thursday is this: What dreams have you surrendered to the human formula? What net is God calling you to cast one more time?

Complex Churches...

My ministry team mates and I were talking yesterday about our on-going challenge to help make SoHills a less complex church.

Churches that are over-loaded with too many programs, a bushel of ministries, and a language of "insider" communication--are not growing churches. In fact, most complex churches repel guests and newcomers.

What suggestions do you have for making churches less complex?

Clarifying Questions...

The following questions have been useful to me in clarifying God's call on my life. I'll provide you possible answers for the first two questions... I'll leave the third one entirely up to you to answer.

What do you do? (Christ-follower)

Who do you work for? (God)

Is your life, work ethic, ambition any different than that of the people around you?

Bonus question: Are you leading a "compartmentalized" life?

Leadership Lessons...

I'm a student of leaders and leadership. Dave Ferguson recently posted some lessons on leadership that it took him a long time to learn. A couple of Dave's long-time in learning leadership lessons stood out to me:

Make It Fit On A Napkin
If it can’t be explained on a napkin it is too complicated. Make sure everything from your slogan, to your process for disciple-making to how you will create a movement can be explained on a napkin. If is simple and reproducible you can mobilize the masses.

Lead With A “Yes” And Ask “How” Later
If you want to lead in bringing about innovation learn to lead with a “yes” and not “how”. People are born with dreams from God and they want to make a difference. What they need most is a leader who will say “yes” when they ask for permission to give it a try.

Look For Number 4...

I smiled as I read the following post by Scott Williams, and then I found myself nodding in agreement with the great point he makes.

My family was having dinner one Saturday after church at Chili’s. At the time, my youngest son Jayden was four years old.

As we were finishing, Jayden said he needed to use the restroom. Jayden loudly announced to us (and to the tables around us) that he needed to “do number 4.”

My wife asked Jayden what number 4 was. His bold response: “Number 4 is diarrhea!”

Not only was the moment entertaining, but Jayden provided a valuable lesson. Many times as leaders, pastors, parents, and spouses we see situations as though only number ones and number twos are available.

In fact, there are many more variations. I often hear people say, “Well, that’s the way we do this or that,” or “We can’t do this or that.” Many times the number 4 option may be available.

In other words, look for that slight variation. That might be just different enough to make a “Big Difference.”

Some of the world’s best success stories are a result of people’s willingness to “take a number 4.”

Do you find it difficult to look for that number 4?

What Do You Want In A Church...

I'm intrigued with the way Granger Community Church communicates about itself. Here's a clip Granger produced in support of their current series "Change We Can Believe In."

Take two and a half minutes to watch this clip... and consider what it would be like to be part of a church like this.

Warning! R-U Ready...

I'm thinking every church building needs a sign like this out front.

In fact, this sign appears to be available.

Alice & The Cat Funeral...

One of my spiritual heroes is Alice Brown. Alice was talking and living "God's community front porch" before that became a defining aspect of SoHills' vision.

Alice shared a great story with me recently... a story too good to not repeat. For those of you who heard me tell the story at SoHills, read on for something you might have missed in the original telling...

Alice and two of her neighbors had "adopted" a stray cat who would visit their doorsteps from time to time. Adopted in this case meant the three neighbors provided the cat with food... as the stray resisted repeated offers of permanent lodging at the house two doors down from Alice's.

Fast forward to an early morning that found Alice at her breakfast table sipping coffee. Summoned by a knock at her front door, Alice greets her next door neighbor who is in a highly agitated state.

The neighbor, while attempting to calm herself by taking deep drags on a cigarette, motions toward the street and the lifeless body of the stray cat. "We've just got to get that cat out of street before (the third neighbor) sees it!" she panted out between puffs.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" asked Alice.

"Well... we'll just have to give the cat a proper burial. I've got my husband fetching a cardboard box. And as soon as he has the cat in the box, I'll have him dig a hole for the box under the tree in our backyard." (Which also served, she indicated, as the final resting place for a family dog).

Once the deed was done, and the cat was in the ground... the final phase of the next door neighbor's plan involved breaking the news of the cat's demise to the other neighbor, and holding a grave-side service for the stray. As her neighbor expressed it to Alice, "We'll have to say a prayer over the cat."

The plan moved forward without a hitch, and Alice had more than a sneaking suspicion that because she had been brought in as the "designated prayer." (Alice would be far too modest to say so, but her Christ-like example had not gone unnoticed by those who lived near her front porch.) As the three neighbors stood under the tree to pay their last respects to the recently departed cat, Alice clearly caught her next door neighbor giving her a "somebody needs to pray, and that means you" twitch of the head.

So, what does Alice do? Being the dear Christian she is, Alice promptly called on her next door neighbor to offer up a prayer on behalf of the dearly departed cat.

Clearly craving a cigarette, the neighbor said a graveside prayer for the stray. At the "amen," Alice brightly affirmed her neighbor by declaring, "See, you do know how to talk to your Lord!"

Like I said, Alice Brown is one of my spiritual heroes. She's not only teaching me how to grow as a God's community front porch person... Alice is showing me how to grow as a Jesus-follower.

Our Attention Spans...

I came across an interesting post recently on Kem Meyer's blog describing how our brains are "re-wiring" due to how we're using them. Below are some paraphrased excerpts from the post, along with some take-aways that reflect a blending of Kem's thoughts on the subject, along with mine:

+ The addictive nature of web browsing can leave you with an attention span of nine seconds - the same as a goldfish. Our attention span is affected by the way we do things...we can get into a habit of not concentrating.
+ Twitter reduces our thoughts to just 140 characters. The average length of the 12 billion online videos consumed by U.S. users in May? 2.7 minutes.
+ The more words you add to a page the more people skim it. Our short attention spans can’t handle long articles, and we end up just skipping to the bottom line.
+ Shorter blog posts or posts with bite-sized chunks of headlines, bullet points or images get more comments than posts with lengthy blocks of text.
+ Television, the Internet and other external stimuli has rewired our brains to make it harder to absorb information that doesn't come in bite-sized chunks. Our brains are ready to jump to the next stimuli before we've fully absorbed the first information chunk.

Individual take-aways:

Is it really that crucial that we get so much information, so quickly? It's okay to give ourselves permission to not be instantly updated, contacted, posted, tweeted on a 24/7 basis.

The Internet isn't making us dumb, it's making us different. It's not as simple as just unplugging to stay smart... it's about re-thinking how we supplement our knowledge. Where we used to create space to log-on to enhance our learning and social networks, now we need to create the space to log-off to do the same. Both have value.

SoHills take-aways:

From a communication perspective, we need to acknowledge that our brains process information differently today than they did just five years ago. SoHills must constantly evaluate its delivery methods to determine if we're presenting too much information to be absorbed.

Bloated content doesn't make a powerful impact. Again... this is a reality not because people are dumb, it's because we're bombarded with too much information.

An Insider's Look Inside My Head...

Have you ever laid awake at night and wondered what a typical email exchange between the members of SoHills' ministerial team looked like. (Probably not... but work with me.)

Below is the almost verbatim text of an email I sent to my ministry partners a few days ago.

How do you think they responded? How would you have responded?

Ministry team mates...
A wild and crazy idea has been rolling around my brain all afternoon and I decided (at the risk of officially becoming the weirdest person you know) to share it with you.

Here's my one ground rule for doing so... we don't reject the idea outright and collapse with bellyaching laughter... but we at least give the idea fair consideration, and then (if it seems appropriate) reject it and follow with bellyaching laughter.

The idea: What if next summer (2009) SoHills were to suspend all ministry activities with the exception of our Sunday worship assemblies and Home Gatherings, and our Sunday Bible classes?

There is a simple church method to the madness of what I propose.

I look forward to a lively discussion...

What Happened To Verse Three...

I was reminded by a fellow minister recently of a question that has long lurked in my brain: "What happened to verse 3?!" Let me explain...

Growing up in Churches of Christ as I did, it was not uncommon to hear the song leader (this was in an era prior to the invention of praise/worship leaders) announce the song we were about to sing ("Turn to number 728-B, that's number 728-B, seven-two-eight-B."), followed by this pronouncement: "We'll sing verses one, two and four."

There it was... occurring on an almost every Sunday (and Wednesday night) basis... a glaring reminder that something was not quite right with verse 3. My brain feverishly pondered what lay behind this regular omission of verse 3.

Did verse 3 contain some heretical sentiment that our lips must never utter?
Was there something in the song leaders' code that only required them to sing three verses of any song and, as a result, was verse 3 being consistently axed?
Perhaps it was felt an unreasonable stretch of the musical stamina of most churches to carry a song through four verses! (But how did one account for the often interminable singing of "Just As I Am"?! That would be number 103, that's number 103, one-zero-three. )

It became clear to me over time that even song book publishers were willing accessories to this crime of eliminating verse 3. This realization dawned on me the day my adolescent eyes were opened to the fact that an asterisk had been placed beside verse 3.

Knowing that an asterisk signaled one should glance around the page for a message in very tiny print, I searched and found these words: "This verse may be omitted due to the fact that we never liked it, and aren't really sure why we printed it in this song book in the first place." (I admit that may be a rough paraphrase of my recollection of what I glanced with my adolescent eyes... but you get the idea.)

Undeniably... there was a vast and wide conspiracy against verse 3.

To this day, I remain puzzled by the level of paranoia generated against verse 3. And I wonder what might have been... if we had, through all these years, been singing verse 3.

Alas, that's a question that can only be pondered, because verse 3 disappeared completely from our collective consciousness with the advent of PowerPoint. Still, I can't help wondering what a world with a little more of verse 3 might have looked like.

If God Took Away My Words...

Bobby Gruenewald posed the following questions recently in a blog post. I found them intriguing.

If God took away my words would my life keep speaking?
Would simply the way I live lead people to Christ?
My days are filled with words, but words are overrated.

How about you? What questions are you asking yourself?