broken//stained//glass

Sunday Night Venue: Why it Can't be "My" Ministry

Already, people have referred to this as "my" venue...and I've interrupted them, correcting them on their use of language.

This is not my ministry.

Certainly, I've been hired to be the lead shepherd, servant, the main communicator, the vision caster. But it is not my ministry.

Why not? I will list ten (but certainly not all) reasons:

(1) Because its not about me to begin with. It's about God.
(2) Because it implies I am the expert.
(3) Because if its all about me, it looks, sounds and is arrogant.
(4) Because it implies I have it all figured out.
(5) Because it implies that I don't need any help and that people should just come and spectate.
(6) Because its so much more fun to do ministry together with others in life and because Sunday Night will be so much more fun when its done in a group rather than just simply me.
(7) Because we are all in a "royal priesthood" as Peter writes, and have a role to play and spiritual gifts to be used.
(8) Because I will get burned out, bitter and frustrated and you will get bored and annoyed with me when that happens.
(9) Because it would stunt your growth as a Christian and you would think God is a pretty two-dimensional God.
(10) Because being the church means serving together - and there is a biblical mandate that every single one of us has a vital part to play in the Body of Christ. I have a significant part to play, but so do you.

So, if I may make a request: in conversation please don't refer to it as "J.R.'s ministry."

Thank you.

Sunday Night Venue: Improvisation and Experiment

A poignant quote for this entire discussion about the Sunday Night Venue:

"A church which pitches its tents without constantly looking out for new horizons, which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its calling...We must play down our longing for certainty,  accept what is risking, live by improvisation and experiment."

-Hans Kung

Sunday Night Venue: Rhinos

On a recent post I described the difference between mapquest and hiking a mountain range.

But there's a better metaphor to use in regards to planning for the future of the Sunday Night Venue...and its not my metaphor.

Erwin McManus in his book The Barbarian Way talked about rhinos as a metaphor for the church. It's fitting for our situation.

Erwin took his kids to the San Diego zoo and learned about different and unique names given to specific groupings of animals [groups of lions are called a pride, fish is a school, cattle is a herd, birds are a flock, etc]. He said he found it fitting that a group of buzzards waiting around together to feast on leftover carnage is called a committee. Go figure...

He writes the following:

"But my favorite of all is the group designation for rhinos. You see, rhinos can run thirty miles an hour, which is pretty fast if you consider how much weight they're pulling...just one problem with the phenomenon. Rhinos can see only thirty feet in front of them. can you imagine something that large moving in concert as a group, plowing ahead at thirty miles an hour with no idea what's at thirty one feet? You would think that they would be far too timid to pick up full steam, that their inability to see far enough ahead would paralyze them to immobility. But with that horn pointing the way, rhinos run forwarrd full steam ahead without apprehension, which leads us to their name.

Rhinos moving together at full speed are known as a crash. Even when they're just hanging around enjoying the watershed, they're called a crash because of their potential. You've got to love that. I think that's what we're supposed to be. The church should be a crash. We should become an unstoppable force. We don't have to pretend to know the future. Who cares that we can see only thirty feet ahead? Whatever's thirty one feet ahead needs to care that we're coming and better get out of the way.

We need to move together as God's people and become the human version of the rhino crash. We may not be able to see what's at thrity one feet, but we don't have to be blind to what's right in front of us... The future is uncertain, but we need to move toward it with confidence. There's a future to be created, humanity to be liberated. we need to stop wasting our time and stop being afraid of what we cannot see and do not know. We need to move foward full force because of what we do know."

May we be a community of faith that is known for being a crash for the kingdom of God.

Sunday Night Venue: The Seven Deadly Words

I once heard Dallas Willard say, "The seven deadly sins of the Church are, 'We've never done it that way before.'"

We've never done it that way before.

When we say these words we rarely, if ever, mean them positively. It's meant to be a defense as to why we shouldn't do something new or different. To discourage us away from trying something out of the norm. I'd love to have a T-shirt made with the following on it:

"We've never done it that way before? And you say that like it's a bad thing."

What would it look like if we were willing to say these seven words as a way to encourage us to try something new?

For example:

"This idea we have; we've never done it that way before, but imagine what could happen by being innovative, creative and courageous by attempting to do it differently? Let's go for it."

Sunday Night Venue: Why Change?

In several conversations I have been asked, "This is neat and all, but why change?"

Before I answer that question here I want to touch briefly on some general thoughts on change.

1. Change is hard and makes people uncomfortable (including us at times).
2. Change is necessary. (Without it, we die).
2. Change will cost us something of ourselves.
4. Change is worth it.
5. More specifically, if the church is unwilling to change it will die. You may not like that statement, but it is completely true. Notice the amount of dying churches in this country who are unwilling to change - you can't tell me there isn't a correlation between the two.

We often think in the midst of change, especially in The Church, "What will be lost if this change is to happen?" or "What will it cost me?" This is a natural thing for us to ask, inherent in all human beings. But I think we need to be challenged to ask the question, "What could be gained by taking this risk, by stepping out, by trying something new?"

My challenge: Let's dream about what the future will look like by putting down our personal comfort and security for just a second enough to ask, "What could be gained by this change?" It's that sort of perspective that gives the journey purpose, direction and meaning. 

Books and Music update

It's been a while, but I finally updated the books I'm reading and music I'm listening to. Check out the left and right hand columns for your perusal if interested...

Any good book or music recommendations you've been enjoying lately? Let me know - leave a comment.

Sunday Night Venue: My (un)Official Job Description

I've written my (un)official job description for the next several months.

My job is to:

(a) vision cast
(b) manage people's expectations (including mine) appropriately.

If there is no vision casting this thing will flop.
If people have unhealthy, inaccurate or incorrect expectations of what they want/hope/desire/believe Sunday Night will look like people could feel disillusioned, frustrated, deceived, under-valued, etc. We need to hold our expectations and assumptions loosely (which is harder than you might think!).

I want to challenge you to think through this: What conscious or subconscious expectations and/or assumptions do you have about what Sunday night will look like?

Hold those loosely (including those expectations of what you have for me!).
Holding these loosely will keep your heart from becoming frustrated and disappointed.

Create a Caption Contest Winners

I'm here to announce the winners of the contest for this week. I laughed out loud on many of these...great job.[If you missed it, here was this week's picture and captions.]

Honorable mention: Dave

"In the hills of Georgia there is a proverbs that says, 'If you can't keep up with the Joneses, MOON 'EM!'"

The funny thing is that Dave is from Georgia [which makes me wonder if this proverb is actually true...]

Third place: Nicolas

"Brings a new meaning to 'Twig and Berries.'"

Second place: Matt Scully

"Harold, at first appauled, thought to himself, 'If you can't beat em, join em,' and went knocking on his neighbor's door (image not available)."

and First place goes to: Matt

"Alright already. I'll get the colonoscopy!"

This one made me almost fall out of my chair!

Great job...check back for future create a caption contests and more posts on information about the Sunday Night Venue.

Sunday Night Venue: Mapquest vs. A Mountain Range

Many have asked me, "So, what exactly is this new ministry going to look like?"

I answer confidently, "I'm not exactly sure, but I'm committed to figuring it out with others together."

I like to use the analogy of the difference between Mapquest directions and a hike over a beautiful mountain range. Most people want Mapquest directions on things like this new ministry, laying out exactly what is going to happen so there is no pain, no surprises, no turns in the road that aren't anticipated. If you're familiar with MapQuest you know that the directions that website offers is always too specific.

Go 67.3 miles north on Interstate 95.
Take exit 156 on right side of the highway for 0.7 miles.
Turn Right (heading East) on Mill Road for 3.2 miles
Turn Left (heading north) on Cunningham Lane for 0.7 miles

You get the point...

We're not into giving out MapQuest directions. Not because we don't want to, but because we don't have them. And if we did, we would just be leading people to a path of disappointment. And, most importantly, I am not sure the Holy Spirit ever works that way in the first place. When I read the book of Acts, its the complete opposite of that.

Participating in this new venture is like saying,

"You see that mountain range over there to the east? That's where we are going. We are not heading South or West or North - we know we need to go that direction to get to the mountain range. But there are a lot of paths we could take to get to the top of that range. Once to the top of that range, we may look out from the summit and see that we need to re-orient ourselves a bit more and head to the south for a while, but we'll figure that out once we get there."

I never would have been able to be comfortable without MapQuest directions a few years ago. I am not a person that has always enjoyed the journey ['let's just get to the destination as fast as we can!'] For whatever reason, God has given me a contentment to enjoy the process a lot more, especially with the Sunday Night Venue. I'm excited to tell people that we're heading to that mountain range. We can see the range, but we don't have a map with us explaining how we get to the top.

So, with that being said, would you consider joining us on the hike up the range?

Sunday Night Venue: An Introductory Explanation

Many of you know that Megan and I recently left our positions at Pierced in Colorado Springs, CO to come on staff at Calvary Church in Souderton, PA (just north of Philadelphia). I've been hired to pioneer new territory by creating something that currently does not exist: a Sunday Night gathering at Calvary Church that is creative, innovative, informal, participatory and committed to encountering the Living God. (For those of you who were involved at Pierced its intent is to be very similar). Yet, at the same time, we are not attempting to imitate anyone; we're intending to create something that does not exist in the entire region in and around Philadelphia.

Megan and I are excited and absolutely freaked out at the same time.

Calvary Church is beginning a shift in vision to a church of different venues at Calvary that speak to the herat language of people. Calvary has designated my specific venue to be the Sunday Night Venue. [We are in the process of naming the venue, so for the time being we will simply refer to this new ministry as "The Sunday Night Venue."]

The "launch date" of this new service is Sunday evening September 17, 2006 at Calvary. Much too much needs to happen between now and then.

But one of the main things that needs to happen that is extremely important to this new ministry will be to inform, vision cast, remind, communicate and then communicate some more. I've spent a lot of time the past three months considering how do lead change most effectively. What I hve found is that when leading change one must communicate the changes clearly, compellingly, often and in various ways, in various settings and through various media. Simply put, anytime someone is trying to lead change it is of utmost importance to (over)communicate what is happening, why it needs to be happening, when changes will occur and how change is being implemented.

So, with that being the task at hand for me in the next several months with this new venture, my blog will be committed to informing, reminding, visioncasting, correcting and communicating what Sunday night is all about. I don't have all the answers; I am no expert to launching new ministry. I don't know exactly what it will look like - it's a process that continues to unfold with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Most of the content throughout the remainder of the summer will be directed towards communicating the vision and direction of what we are attempting to do Sunday night. I want to encourage any  and all of you (especially those if you in the Eastern Pennsylvania area) to be reading this blog, leaving comments,asking probing questions and engaging in dialogue about the future of Sunday night. More than communicating the vision and direction on my end I need all people to be challenging me, dialoguing with me, encouraging me with these thoughts. (I invite all of you all who read this blog, not just those of you in and around the Souderton area, to enter into this dialaogue).

Certainly, we will have 'breaks' from Sunday Night Venue information. I want to include other posts -some serious, some funny - throughout the summer, but most of the content will be directed towards this new ministry in an attempt to lead change most effectively and to communicate the message of what and why we are doing this.

Check back every few days to read, ponder and ruminate over new ideas and values of this new venue. I invite you to be committed to prayer for us in this new venture - prayer for wisdom, creativity, courage and fresh insight, all with the intent of seeing God honored and people touched with the message of Jesus in the Eastern PA/Philadelphia region.