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We had another great Sunday! It was really nice weather-wise, we had good attendance, and one of our new folks said she had decided that Jubilee was going to be “her church!” Praise the Lord!
Worship was simply amazing – There was adoration, celebration, and conviction in an atmosphere of joyous freedom. Worship band, I get so emotional thinking about where we were just months ago – now you guys are a major component in the Kingdom work God has planned for this community!
In the first installment of “Taking It To the Streets,” we looked at the familiar story of the Good Samaritan – the man who took a detour that saved a life. When the lawyer approached Jesus to ask, “Who is my neighbor,” he came with prominence, recognition, and education under his belt. But Jesus showed him that it isn’t enough to know the right answers, we’ve got to do something with what you know…
Jesus tells a story to answer the lawyer’s question – A man on a journey has been attacked, beaten and left for dead by the side of the road… and the main character’s were a priest and a Levite – both ministry workers who crossed the street when they saw the man and kept on walking – and a Samaritan? - who stopped and helped the injured man. That hit Jesus’ listeners hard — As far as the Jews were concerned, the Samaritans were outcast, half-breed heretics… So why does Jesus make him the hero? I think He did it to show that God can use anybody… to show that help can come from anywhere… and to show that if a person is in need, they don’t really care who helps them.
The Samaritan took a risk, got personally involved, spent some time and some money to help the man in need – He put himself out to help someone else get through. That’s what we are called to do if we’re going to love our neighbor like we love ourselves.
The closing video Josh, Anya, and Chris put together was AMAZING! You have to see it! We will try to get it into a format we can post here on the blog and put up on YouTube…
October 19th is our Sunday of Service (not Sunday services) – and I shared a little about one of our projects, rebuilding a porch for a disabled man in the trailer park. I was surrounded by folks after the service who want to work on that project, but there are going to be many more to choose from. Whatever your skill level, there will be something you can do that morning.
Have a great week – and take your faith to the streets!
“Taking it to the Streets (Church has left the building)” a new series of messages that will challenge us to put our faith into action… To recognize and do something about the fact that a lot of people who are far from God are not going to darken the door of a church any time soon… To learn to live out the truth that “showing” Jesus is usually more life-changing than “talking about” Jesus… To understand that “church” is something we are before it’s something we join or a place that we go to…
The messages for this series include:
- “Taking the Detour” - the story of the Good Samaritan for today.
- “The Jesus Glasses” – learning to see people through the eyes of Jesus.
- “Little Acts – Big Impact” – small things done with love can change the world.
The final installment of the series will involve Service Sunday instead of Sunday services… You’ll have to be here to believe it!
I encourage everyone to be here for each message, and bring along your skeptical friends who think that “all the church wants is your money” or “the church doesn’t really care about people.” The Holy Spirit just might use these messages to change their minds and draw them closer to God!
Guest blogger – Anya Wolfe, youth minister, Jubilee Fellowship
(If anyone else on our team who went to Innovate would like to guest blog, just let me know.)
The redhead was extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to experience two days of Innovate 08. I spent two days in a place where thousands of people have made it their mission to “bring up there, down here.” I spent these two days with people from all over North America who are determined to change the world for good, and they are going to start in their corner.
There was a small group of people that attended the conference and happened to be from a little church in the middle of a couple of cornfields. Let me say this… If that little church didn’t want change, then they let the wrong 11 people get in a church van at 6:00 am on Thursday, September 18 and drive to Granger, IN. We came away with more than we could have anticipated and we had a blast along the way! We laughed and cried, and cried from laughing too hard : ). We were challenged, inspired and we were encouraged. Innovate 08 lasted a short two days, and yes it ended, but it started something else. I do believe that we have been “innovated.”
Good memories:
-Brother and the coffee stir stick he thought was a straw
-”She put her cold little hand down my pants!” This sounds bad, I know… but it really wasn’t
-Chris E and his big head
-Me and my insistence on ordering Kids Meals : )
-Pastor Scott and Josh at Famous Dave’s and the argument over toasted bread that led to a comment I will never forget!
-”Because you all are so much older than me!”
-The dream team that scared people
-Singing happy birthday to Billy Graham
-Countless stories that our speakers shared made us laugh
-Getting to talk to Steve Furtick and having Mark Beeson pray for our team
Session 5, part two: Innovate Impact – Steven Furtick, lead pastor, Elevation Church
(At every conference there are usually a couple of speakers who hit the grand slam – think T.D. Jakes at C3 in Dallas this year. While every speaker at Innovate was exciting and impactful, Steven Furtick provided something core and profound. It was another of those sessions that I sat and soaked in rather than take a lot of notes. I’m definitely watching for the videos on wiredchurches.com. Furtick’s message should be heard by every pastor and ministry leader.)
- When Samuel was sent by God to David’s house to anoint the next king, no one thought to invite David – he was “too young,” “just a shepherd,” etc.
- Even after being anointed future king, David continued to tend sheep and carry supplies back and forth from home to his brothers at the battle front – not exactly what would be expected of a king.
- There is always a process that takes place between God’s promise and the payoff.
- We tend to forget the promise and forfeit the payoff because we faint in the process.
- David was delivering food – cheese and bread – to his brothers at the battle, when he heard Goliath’s challenge and decided he was called to fight him.
- You can’t get the buy in you want from the people you need because you are under-challenging them – don’t ask them to help you, ask them to come change the world.
- Do not despise the day of small beginnings.
Session 6: Start Doing – Mark Beeson, senior pastor, Granger Communtiy Church
(This was definitely the other four-bagger of the conference. Mark is the real deal, and it was great to hear him challenge us one more time.)
- Whatever you’ve learned so far – just go do it!
- Be who God has called you to be – don’t try to be someone else
- We don’t reach more people because we aren’t grown up enough to handle them.
- King David got in trouble when the pressure was off – “At the time of year when kings go to war, David stayed home…”
- Those to whom the message is given have a responsibility to “translate” it for those who don’t get it…
- Every morning when I wake up it’s still 2008 – it’s not 1954 and never will be again. We are responsible to connect the truth of the Gospel with people today.
- Bring people onto the team who are going the same direction you are – same vision, mission, purpose.
- The clearer we are at communicating the “who” and the “what” – the more latitude we have on the “how.”
- Be so clear in communicating truth that people sense the need for immediate change.
God used this conference to confirm some of the direction our church is already moving, and to open my eyes to even greater things. I told our team going in that our purpose there was not to become “Granger South” or to copy what they were doing. We wanted to understand the philosophy and thought process that had lead them into the ministry they are doing, and work through a similar process in our community. I’m confident that in years to come, we will see our time at Innovate ‘08 as a major step forward into the Kingdom task God has called us to.
Session 4: Missional Moves – Rob Wegner, teaching pastor, Granger Community Church
- What is God’s plan to show the world that He is there and He is good? The church. There is no other plan.
- We must make “missional living” normal for followers of Christ.
- What is the gospel that Jesus preached?
- We’ve made it about getting out of trouble, getting to go to heaven
- True but incomplete
- The “gospel” or good news that Jesus proclaimed was this: The kingdom of God is near.
- We’ve made the gospel about what happens to us after we die, or an internalized, personal relationship.
- Jesus prayed, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”
- The Kingdom is that place, that society where God’s will breaks through and is done as it is in Heaven.
- Missional move: from saved souls to saved wholes. The gospel must impact every area of human life.
- The most powerful proclamation is demonstration – how is the church impacting poverty, illiteracy, etc.
- Missional move: from flashlight to laser focus.
- We’ve confused the Great Commission with the Great Commotion
- We should be deep and narrow, rather than wide and shallow
- Narrowing focus = increased impact
- Over 2800 people from Granger have been involved in ministry outside the church so far this year – nearly 50%
Session 5, part one: Innovation Impact – senior leadership team, Lifechurch.tv
(This was a panel discussion, and I didn’t take many notes. Doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy and value what they were saying – I just found the format made it hard for me to take notes in any orderly way. I did write down some important and thought provoking stuff, just not very much of it.)
- An organization is a reflection of it’s leadership.
- Leaders need to be self-aware, real, open to having other people speak into their lives.
- People naturally attribute other people’s behavior to their character, and naturally attribute their own behavior to their circumstances. [Scott says: The best single line to come out of this session... Awesome!]
- The difference between where you are and where God wants you to be is the pain you are unwilling to endure.
- Our capacity as leaders will be found at the limit of our ability to endure the pain.
Wow – what a week! Last Monday we had a funeral, and hosted the dinner for the family. Tuesday was spent at the hospital with a member who was having a medical procedure. Thursday and Friday, at the Innovate conference at Granger! Boils down to less than a full day at the office last week! I’m still tunneling out… I did some mass email dumps, unread of course, so if you haven’t heard back from me on something important, please shoot me another note.
Sunday was an terrific day! It’s always great to have first time guests. Worship was great – pointed us to God as always. Half of the worship band got to attend the Innovate conference, and they were excited and energized. I love their vision and look forward to what’s to come.
I made a gameday decision and shifted the start of the new “Taking It to the Streets” message series to next week. Instead, the message focused on “The Risk Takers.” Paul called Epaphroditus a “risk taker” in Philippians 2 – he used a gambling term that described someone who risked everything on one turn of the dice. We looked at the “Parabolani” – those men and women who put their lives at risk to save Carthage during the plagues of AD 252. We determined that NOTHING of significance or eternal consequence happens without risk being taken. We were challenged by the example of Israel’s prince, Jonathan and his armor bearer, who advanced by themselves against a garrison of Philistine soldiers, slaughtered 20 of them, and began a shaking that resulted in the routing of the Philistines by Israel.
We made a strong call to “risk it all” to reach the lost and unchurched – risk ridicule and misunderstanding… risk being thought of as “unspiritual” or not “churchy” enough… If we’re going to reach people who have never been reached, we’re going to have to do things that have never been done. And if we’re going to reach people who gave up on church a long time ago, we have to convince them that things are different now.
And that is very risky, but it’s worth it.
God is at work and on the move. Last week I shared with some folks that we are gathering on the cliff, preparing to jump… We’re waiting, we want as many as possible to be gathered there at that edge with us, but we cannot wait much longer. We were challenged last week to “stop talking… start doing.” It’s time.
Have a great week.
Session 3: Pop Goes the Church – Tim Stevens, executive pastor, Granger Community Church
- Two things are true: 1) The church is in decline. In many ways, the church gets in the way of the Gospel. the majority of people around us are unchurched/dechurched, and we are not reaching them. However, 2) Spiritual interest is on the rise. This is very evident in music, movies and on television.
- It is not time to give up on the church – the church can “leverage” culture, use it to speak to people where they are.
- John 1:14 in The Message: The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
- If Jesus came today, He would hang out with fringe people, the forgotten, and would be critical of entrenched religion. Jesus would be familiar with the culture of the day.
- In Paul’s address to the Areopagus in Athens, recorded in Acts 17, Paul quotes from two well known Greek poets – writers who would have been very well known to his listeners: Epimenides and Aratus. [Scott says: Paul was a big Epimenides fan - he also quotes him to Titus in Titus 1:12!] This was the equivalent of quoting a well known singer or songwriter in our day.
- Pop culture can be used to build a bridge into a thoroughly Biblical message. The universal themes in pop culture can open peoples eyes and pique their interest.
- Pop culture can be used to get people thinking and laughing. This helps them relax, gets them loose and more receptive.
- Why do we do use pop culture – so that hurting, needy people, people who wouldn’t otherwise give God’s truth a second thought, can get the help they need.
My editorial: A frequent criticism I hear about churches that are leveraging culture is that they are only doing it to be “cool” or “edgy” and with an “ain’t we something?” twinkle in their eye. I was struck by the total absence of such an attitude at Granger. After you’ve been around them for five minutes, you pick up on their passion for the lost and unchurched – a passion that fuels their commitment to use every available tool to reach them and help them. I found them to be humble and gracious, quick to point out that their approach was not the only way to “do church” or reach the lost.
More, later.
The theme for the Innovative Church conference this year was “Stop Talking – Start Doing.” For our team, this was exactly the right message at the right time.
Case in point: Tim Steven’s recent book, “Pop Goes the Church” opens the first chapter with this quote from D. Elton Trueblood: It is hard to exaggerate the degree to which the modern Church seems irrelevant to modern man. That quote is from “Company of the Committed,” which was published in 1961! That means we have been talking about relevance and the need for it for at least 50 years.
Innovate ‘08’s biggest value to me was confirming both the need and possibility of building bridges into the lives of the unsaved and unchurched.
In the next few posts, I will summarize some of the main sessions. I don’t take notes in “quotes,” so this is my interpretation and impression of what was said, not a verbatim transcript. Any confusion or lack of clarity is due to my note taking. (BTW, the videos of the main sessions should be up soon on wiredchurches.com.)
Session 1: Stop Talking – Mark Beeson, Senior Pastor, Granger Community Church
- We’ve had this conversation going on a long time – talking about solutions, but with no change. By and large, we have not kept pace with the growth and change going on around us.
- It’s time to stop talking about it and engage – start doing. We have lived too long in the “church bubble” and we’ve become disengaged. We haven’t felt the sting and pain of need.
- People are driving through life on a crash course – disaster lies ahead – and they don’t know it. But we do! We know the tree is in the road – but what will we do that will make a difference for them.
- We are urged to be “balanced.” But, balance is not dynamic – it’s static. There’s no progress in balance, only maintaining. We have to lean in, there is no ministry impact without it.
- Safety does not equal success.
Session 2: Brand Schizophrenia – Shawn Wood, teaching pastor, Seacoast Church
- “Stuff” is how we tell the Story – spoken, sung, digital, web, print, media, etc.
- We tend to let the stuff become the object of our affection – when the only reason we do stuff is Jesus… Stuff will not change lives – only Jesus can/will.
- Unless Jesus is our only motivation, we will fall victim to Brand Schizophrenia… We will try to manage our brand, and authenticity will leave the room.. We will try to perfect our brand, chasing excellence and improvement like an idol.
- We pursue better art, video, technology, and programs – we need to pursue God and who He created us to be in Jesus Christ.
- Why would anyone waste their time with a “hobby” like church – it would be the worst hobby imaginable. Life has to be about more.
- We are doing things God never created us to do and becoming something God never intended us to be.
- “brand” = the aftertaste left by an experience – a web site visit, a first time church visit, etc.
- Seacoast seeks to be a Spirit-filled, practical, non-spooky-yet-kind-of-mystical experience in multiple locations, on the cheap. (Scott says: I wanted to know way more about “on the cheap” but Shawn didn’t elaborate…)
- Don’t try to be someone else – Don’t chase or idolize excellence – be who you are and provide that which only you can provide.
Shawn’s recent book, “200 Pomegranates and an Audience of One,” comes highly recommended – two members of our group bought a copy and I’m going to read it when they’re done.
That was the morning main sessions for day one. More to come…
First off, I seriously intended to blog from the Innovate conference… No blame, I just chose to spend the breaks talking with our team about what we were seeing and experiencing, and chose to spend the evening with my wife rather than my computer.
By Monday, I should get around to a more complete report on the main sessions… But in a few words, it was awesome, challenging, inspirational, confirmatory, and eye-opening.
More to come.
Man, we are SUPER EXCITED about the Innovative Church conference at Granger Community Church! Eleven of us – 3 elders, 2 deacons, our youth pastors, and some spouses – will leave here early tomorrow to head up for the conference.
I’m excited to hear from Mark Beeson and other members of the Granger team, Steven Furtick, and the Lifechurch guys.
The most exciting thing to me, though, is that I won’t come back all pumped and overflowing with vision and enthusiasm BY MYSELF – I’ll have 10 others who will be pumped as well!
I will blog from there as much as I am able – a least a couple of daily summaries.
