Weeds or Flowers

Went biking with some friends the other day and we found ourselves surrounded by a prairie filled with a variety of wildflowers, grasses, a deer and a few chipmunks. I commented the beauty of the orange and yellow flowers sprinkled throughout the tall grasses. But my friend said, well those are just weeds.

Why do we call something so beautiful a weed?

Is it only because man has judged that they are not worthy of our manicured landscaping? Or that they are less worthy than any other plant? How often are people classified as ‘weeds’…less worthy, or worse yet, even unworthy of love or compassion. Homeless, widow, handicap, poverty, addicted, race, geography, beliefs…all these, and more, are used to label and create distance between people.

God does not create ‘weeds’, just flowers.

We need to see people through the eyes of their beloved, through the eyes of our God… each person as beautiful, created in His image.

Babel – Start a Conversation in 45 Languages!

Team Digerati at LifeChurch.tv is always thinking ahead with new ideas and using new technologies, all to reach out and build the Kingdom. Their newest project, babelwith.me, makes online chatting with a global audience as easy as entering your name and choosing a language (45 to pick from).

This tool is priceless as online ministry continues to scramble to meet the trends of an online generation. Best of all, babelwith.me is available for free. Thinking of beginning an online service or ministry? Then checking out this new tool is a must!  Just go to babelwith.me and invite a few friends. Simple!

Inviting twitter and facebook friends is a nice built-in feature! Follow babelwith.me on twitter for the latest news.

Way to go Team Digerati!!

Introduction to Social Media

Here’s a quick Intro to Social Media slideshow. While it is missing the speaker’s narrative, it’s fairly easy to grasp the content.

Introduction to Social Media

View more Microsoft Word documents from Kelsey Ruger.

While most of these are business-oriented, much of the information can be valuable to churches too.

If you liked this slideshow on Social Media, check out this site.

From Eternity to Here (Book Review)

Pagan Christianity had us reflecting on church practices and how many were derived from the secular world. Once again, in From Eternity to Here, Frank Viola makes us stop and think about the validity of our modern expression of church. I think we are drawn into the discussion from a nagging sense that the modern-day American church lacks the passion, vitality, or spontaneity of the Acts 2 church.

While  I can’t say I agree with all of Viola’s assertions, I strongly resonate with some. For instance, I love the picture he paints of God’s love for us. “...So take heart: You are someone that God ’so loves.’ He has drawn you to Himself….in the moment when you feel the most unworthy, you are the most welcome.” I also agree with Viola’s emphasis on the church as the body of Christ as opposed to a religious structure bound by man-made limitations. “…there is a habitat that is native to our species as Christians. It’s called the ekklesia. And it is commonly translated ‘church’ in your New Testament. Ekklesia is not a building. It’s not a denomination. It’s not a church service…It’s a local gathering of God’s people who live as community and who assemble together regularly.”

“The church is called to gather together regularly to display God’s life through the ministry of every believer.” Agreed, but as soon as you begin to describe the how, you have once again resorted to man-made limitations. Maybe we need to revisit those churches from Acts. Those churches we all seem bent on reproducing today. What happened to them? Were they really as perfect as we think?  I’m not suggesting they were/were not perfect, but I do think that the best expression of individual churches today would be the one God is dictating to those He has called to lead them. As the body of Christ-at-large, there are great things happening! There is a greater sense of belonging across denominations, distance, generations and preferences.

I recommend reading this book if you want to be reminded of how much God loves and pursues you, and challenged to re-evaluate the practices you engage in both personally, in your church, and as the body of Christ-at-large. Thanks to Frank Viola for always challenging us to think about who we are in Christ, and how that is expressed in our lives and in our churches.

OTHER BLOGS PARTICIPATING IN THE “FROM ETERNITY TO HERE” BLOG CIRCUIT

Today (June 9th), the following blogs are discussing Frank Viola’s new bestselling book “From Eternity to Here” (David C. Cook, 2009). The book just hit the May CBA Bestseller List. Some are posting Q & A with Frank; others are posting full reviews of the book. To read more reviews and order a copy at a 33% discount, go to Amazon.com

For more resources, such as downloadable audios, the free Discussion Guide, the Facebook Group page, etc. go to the official website: FromEternitytoHere.org

Enjoy the reviews and the Q and A:
—–
Out of Ur – http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2009/05/viola.html
Shapevine – www.Shapevine.com (June newsletter)
Brian Eberly – http://www.brianeberly.com
DashHouse.com – http://www.DashHouse.com/
Greg Boyd – http://www.gregboyd.org/blog/
Vision Advance – http://vision2advance.blogspot.com/
David Flowers – http://ddflowers.wordpress.com
Kingdom Grace – http://kingdomgrace.wordpress.com
Captain’s Blog – http://www.captainestes.blogspot.com/
Christine Sine – http://godspace.wordpress.com
Darin Hufford – The Free Believers Network – www.freebelievers.com
Zoecarnate – http://zoecarnate.wordpress.com
Church Planting Novice – www.churchplantingnovice.wordpress.com
Staying Focused – http://kimmartinezstayingfocused.wordpress.com/
Take Your Vitamin Z – www.takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com
Jeff Goins – http://jeffgoins.myadventures.org
Bunny Trails – http://bunny-trails.blogspot.com
Matt Cleaver – http://mattcleaver.com
Jason T. Berggren – http://blog.jasonberggren.com/
Simple Church – http://www.simplechurchjournal.com/
Emerging from Montana – http://wordofmouthministries.blogspot.com/
Parable Life – http://www.theparablelife.blogspot.com
Oikos Australia – http://www.oikos.org.au/blog/
West Coast Witness – www.WestCoastWitness.com
Keith Giles – http://www.Keith.Giles.com
Consuming Worship — http://www.consumingworship.org
Tasha Via – www.tashavia.blogspot.com
Andrew Courtright – www.andrewcourtright.blogspot.com
ShowMeTheMooneys! – http://www.showmethemooneys.com/
Leaving Salem, Blog of Ronnie McBrayer – http://leavingsalem.wordpress.com/
Jason Coker – pastoralia.missionaltribe.org
From Knowledge to Wisdom – http://isthistheway.typepad.com/
Home Brewed Christianity – http://www.homebrewedchristianity.com
Dispossessed – http://kblog.kevinjbowman.com
Dandelion Seeds – http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Dandelionseeds
David Brodsky’s Blog- “Flip the tape Deck” – http://flipthetapedeck.blogspot.com/
Chaordic Journey – http://jeffrhodes.wordpress.com
Renee Martin – http://www.reneemartinmusic.com/profiles/blog/list
Bob Kuhn – http://organicchurchnola.wordpress.com/
Living with Freaks: www.livingwithfreaks.com
Real Worship – http://therealworshipleader.com
Fervent Worship – http://ferventworship.blogspot.com
Julie Ferwerda Blog – www.JulieFerwerda.com /  www.OneMillionArrows.com
What’s With Christina?! – http://w2christina.blogspot.com
Irreligious Canuck – http://www.irreligiouscanuck.com
This day on the journey – http://guychmieleski.blogspot.com
Live and Move: Thoughts on Authentic Christianity – http://liveandmove.blogspot.com/
Spiritual Journey With God – http://www.elvineve.blogspot.com/

Dries Conje – http://www.echurch.co.za / http://www.thejesusfeed.com / http://www.bookdisciple.com.
Journey with Others – http://journeywithothers.blogspot.com
On Now to the Third Level – www.080808onnowto.blogspot.com
Christine Moers – www.welcometomybrain.net
Breaking Point – http://marybethstockdale.wordpress.com
Hand to the Plough – http://www.handtotheplough.com.au
Jon Reid – http://jonreid.blogs.com/oneanother/welcome-pilgrim.html
Weblight – www.blog.worldwidewebservices.se
D. L. Webster – http://gzmproductions.com/dlwebster
Searching for the Whole-Hearted Life – wholeheartedlife.blogspot.com

Small Groups and Social Media

Are you a group leader who connects with members through the week on facebook? Are you a group director that has established a facebook group for your coaching team? Do you have a group twitter or blog? Does your group connect through online bible applications like YouVersion?  Are you a group that has created a ning page?  If you have other ideas… the rest of us small group leaders would love to hear them. Maybe you know of someone else who’s using Social Media to enhance their ministry? Please have them share their thoughts with us as well.

Just enter in the comments below. This can be an amazing resource for small group ministries!

Circles of Influence

For the past two weeks, my online group has reached out, and prayed for, twitter followers and facebook friends during our regular meeting time…inspired by our leader, Tony Steward, and this missional challenge from LifeChurch’s ChurchOnline.  We individually posted on both forums that we would pray for anyone who gave us a prayer request over the next 30 minutes. We responded to all requests by praying right then online.  We typically found that twitter followers responded to our tweets with their prayer request in a Direct Message. On facebook, we found we had more success initiating individual chats with online friends and offering prayer. From time to time we came back to our TokBox room (where our group meets) to share how things were going. We pretty much typed our fingers off lifting folks in prayer, and went closer to an hour than our intended 1/2 hour because it was so inspiring!

As much as I enjoyed, and was inspired by, this mission, it caused me to think about my circle of influence on these two sites. Please don’t get me wrong, I love praying for those who are in ministry and those who are following Christ. But wouldn’t it be powerful if I was offering prayer to an unbeliever? Or to someone wondering how people live out their love for Christ? Most people, unbelievers included, are open to being prayed for.

Church leaders, as we look to using Social Media as a means of communicating, connecting, and reaching out, lets remember to embrace (follow/friend) those who may not hold our same beliefs. Search out and accept people from all walks and beliefs. In fact, maybe it’s time to reconsider your circle of influence both on and offline.

THE SHOW

Leadership Network launches “THE SHOW”.

Tuesdays, beginning May 5 at 4pm Eastern.

This week’s special guest, Dino Rizzo!

15 minutes videocast followed by live Q & A with the guest speaker. This is a great opportunity to hear from, and interact with, great minds in church leadership.

RSVP and find out who else is coming.

Exponential Conference 09 – Matt Chandler on Making Disciples

Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor of The Village Church, Highland Village, TX, led a great session on The Leader’s Capacity to Make Disciples.

Matt 28:16 Teaching them to OBEY, OBSERVE all that I commanded. Chandler contends that these were followers, not converts. They were actively following Christ. Today’s churches lack a system to hold the people of faith accountable to following the Lord.  We need to adopt a “disciple and send” mentality, rather than the “convert and retain” that we ue.

While many churches keep people busy going to things, empirical data doesn’t show disciples being made. Below are what Chandler feels are the two models of discipleship that exist.

Mechanical/Linear Model

Usually in a classroom with a given timeframe.
Programs quickly become sacred
Stop measuring whether people are discipled, tend to just count the # going through the program

Pros

• No better/easier way to disseminate info
• Has historical success
• Tons of resources/curriculum (Google Christian lit)
• Easy to measure success
• Easy to motivate people to join and participate
• Lends itself to strong, historic, orthodox theology

Cons

• Hard to sustain
• Starts Big; Dies out quickly
• Can lead to coldness
• Lends itself to a type of person
• Mechanical, linear type A people
• Can lead to the ‘theology police’
• Can lead to arrogance and stupidity

Organic Relationship Model

Discipleship happens through relationships; less structured

Pros

• Produces belonging; built relationally
• Tends to appeal to a broader personality types
• Most people not linear

Cons

• Organically we’re sinful – maturity doesn’t just ‘happen’; arrogance to youth
• Huge schism between generations on models

Try to strike a balance between Mechanical and Organic

1.   The air that your church breathes must be the air that celebrates transformation and change

• Regular testimonies – but include every stage, even unbelievers People will be able to better relate and not feel unworthy
• Teaches maturity, growth, movement of ALL stages
• Hope comes from showing struggle w/faith

2.    Need on/off ramps

• Seasons of whole church study in groups followed by less structured opportunities

3.    Keep flexible

• Keep only the mission end goal sacred!

4.    Needs to be a relational aspect to everything, even the mechanical

• Home groups
• Teach application by asking the How? and When? questions.

Francis Chan at Exponential 09 Conference

Loved the Exponential Conference 09 schedule, easing in and out with a half day, packing the full day right in the middle. We were not numb when it came time for the last, and in my opinion, best speaker of the conference, Francis Chan, Pastor of Cornerstone Church, Simi Valley, CA, and author of “Crazy Love”. Of course this epic intro would have jump-started anyone’s heart.

Animated, passionate, and real, Chan pulls no punches sharing how he feels about the state of the American church and our lack of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Chan says he dislikes reading the book of Acts because our modern day church doesn’t look like that.  “But it’s a different time, different culture, the Holy Spirit is tired…”  But Chan points out what we all know, the Holy Spirit doesn’t change. So what changed?

He reminds us that in Acts 4:13 when they saw boldness of Peter and John, they were ASTONISHED.  Are we bold?  We have tons more education today, but lack boldness. “We’re raising terrified people,” says Chan. Let’s not forget that He who is in you is greater than the world.

Chan reminds us from James 5:17 that Elijah is a man just like us, and asks “Why do we live in the flesh, when it’s the spirit that gives life?”  We need to re-engage the Holy Spirit and believe the fire of heaven came down and changed our lives.

Chan also relates the church is not great at acting like a family. He goes so far as to say, “Gangs are a better picture of families than the body of Christ.”  Ouch! And true.  If someone with no church experience read the book of Acts and decided to come to your church to experience the love, giving to those in need, and sharing all things in common, would they find that?  “When’s the last time someone left your service and said, “Your Jesus is the real deal”?

With his disarming smile, we just have to love Chan as he convicts and really challenges us. He closed his session calling all church planters forward to be anointed with oil and prayed on.  Here’s a picture from Dave Ferguson’s post on the prayer time. I have never seen such raw emotion at a conference of this size…it’s exactly what we needed. Thank you Francis.

Exponential Conference 09 – Erwin McManus

Erwin McManus

“The Art of Movements”
Exponential 2009 officially kicked of today with rousing worship and the inspiring Mosaic dancers. Throw in some witty banter and video by Eric Bramlett and the stage was set for Erwin McManus.  I am blown away how McManus can call us out one minute, and have us doubled over laughing the next.  Overall, McManus wants us to consider the spaces we inhale as we plant a church.

• Create a space for others – a place where people different from us feel welcome

Mosaic offers a 10-minute party after services where only non-Christians are welcome.

“Atheists need community too, I can be an Atheist and belong to Mosaic? Yes!”
“Be a ‘City of Others’. Need to do this first space WELL”

McManus calls it a dream come true when he discovers the attender who invited an atheist to the service was a Scientologist.

• Create a space in the Marketplace – where everyday life happens.

“Which space are we owning, engaging, permeating with our presence?”
“Cant say I’m a pastor, it’s like saying I’m a cannibal, wanna have lunch?”
“They just don’t know who they can trust to have a conversation with”
“The Marketplace doesn’t need a watered down gospel, they need a gospel that makes sense”

• Create a space where you can’t go unless you’re invited – you must earn the right to be invited in.

“Jesus is looking for men women who will live their lives with intense courage and sacrifice.”
“Stop trying to be popular in the Christian world start, doing something that matters.”

That means you need to invest time and energy into relationships to earn the right to speak the truth.