StretchyChurch has officially moved to WordPress! Why? Just because WordPress makes it a little easier to customize StretchyChurch.
So from now on, StretchyChurch will be located at www.stretchychurch.com. I'll probably be fine tuning it for the next several weeks, but everything is fully functional.
If you have a link to StretchyChurch using the old blogspot URL, I'd appreciate it if you could update that URL to reflect the change!
I'm looking forward to continuing what I've been doing as always--just with different software!
I’m reading a book right now called The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard, a philosophy professor at the University of Southern California and a Christian.
I gotta tell you, this book has been pushing me and challenging me theologically more than the past ten books I’ve read combined! And I’ll tell you why.
The Divine Conspiracy focuses largely on The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5 and 6. Most of the time, when we read these teachings of Jesus—teachings like: do not be angry, do not lust, do not swear an oath, love your enemies, etc., etc., etc.—when we read these, we assume that Jesus is giving us laws to obey. But Willard argues that these are not laws; these are illustrations of how a certain kind of person lives.
And what kind of person is this? A person whose life is completely submitted to God. A person who lives and breathes the life of God. A person whose feet are covered with the dust kicked up by Jesus’ feet because they are following so closely.
This kind of person does not simply obey a law that says “do not be angry with your brother or sister” (and, by the way, Jesus doesn’t exactly say this, but this is how we often understand Matthew 5:21-22). The kind of person that Jesus is talking about does not get angry or bitter because their life is filled with the love of God.
This kind of person does not simply obey a law that says “do not lust” (again, not exactly how Jesus put it). This kind of person will not objectify anyone sexually because they understand a person’s value the way God understands a person’s value.
This kind of person will not merely obey a law that says “do not swear.” This kind of person will be a person of integrity and honesty; a person who does not need to swear or promise or make an oath because this person always means what he or she says—and follows through.
I hope this makes sense. I’m still learning to grasp this way of reading Jesus’ words. And I’m struggling with this question: “Am I that kind of person? Or am I just trying to obey what I think are the rules?”
Let me end with these two paragraphs from The Divine Conspiracy:
Is it then hard to do the things with which Jesus illustrates the kingdom heart of love? Or the things Paul says love does? It is very hard indeed if you have not been substantially transformed in the depths of your being, in the intricacies of your thoughts, feelings, assurances, and dispositions, in such a way that you are permeated with love. Once that happens, then it is not hard. What would be hard would be to act the way you acted before.
When Jesus hung on the cross and prayed, “Father, forgive them because they do not understand what they are doing,” that was not hard for him. What would have been hard for him would have been to curse his enemies and spew forth vileness and evil upon everyone, God and the world…. He calls us to impart himself to us. He does not call us to do what he did, but to be as he was, permeated with love. Then the doing of what he did and said becomes the natural expression of who we are in him.
Mr. Deity - Our Interim Pastor told me about this one. Really funny! Not always the best theology, but still good for a laugh. There are ten episodes so far, and I'm including my favorite right here. To see the rest of the episodes, click here.
To follow up on my last post, let me ask the question that Steve asked in his comment: Is this what God wants from his church? That is, does God really want churches giving their money to gas stations so that people can save money on gas?
That's a really good question, and one that I've been wrestling with for the past hour or so (I was already in bed, but had to get my thoughts out in writing). In my last post, I say that it's "awesome" that a church would do something like this. Is it awesome, or should churches spend their money on more significant causes?
So, here's what I'm thinking....
Steve (I hope you don't mind that I'm quoting you, Steve) suggests that "we're playing up to our consumeristic mindset." That may be. Without a doubt, we live in a consumeristic society. I'll admit it--when I see cheap gas, I pull over and fill up!
But what on the one hand may seem like "playing up" might on the the other hand be a contextualization of the gospel.
I know, I know... I can hear a bunch of you already saying that this isn't quite the same thing as contextualization. Point taken.
But how does the church get people's attention in our culture? More specifically, how do we get the attention (I'm talking about positive attention) of suburban, middle-to-upper class people who think they don't really need anything? Well, heck... Do we even need to get their attention?!
Believe me, I'm sure there are billions of people who could be better served by $1500 than those in West Chester, Ohio. But can we say that this is something that God would not have us do?
We could also say that a church should never spend money decorating its worship space. Is it wrong to spend $1500 on a beautiful, decorative cross to enhance one's worship experience?
Y'know, I don't think God is utilitarian when it comes to money. I don't think he looks at money and thinks, "How should we use this to make the most impact on those who need it most?" And here's why I say this.
In John 12, we have the story of Jesus being anointed with perfume by his friend Mary (the sister of Lazarus, whom Jesus had just raised). She comes into the room, pours perfume on Jesus' feet, and then wipes his feet with her hair.
And this perfume wasn't the cheap stuff. How do we know? It was worth a year's wages! So, let's say it was worth $40,000--that's expensive perfume!
Here's how the conversation goes from this point:
But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages."...
"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."
Now, I'm not saying that donating money to a gas station is the same as anointing Jesus with perfume. And I'm not saying that Jesus doesn't care about the poor (I don't think that's the point of this passage).
What I'm saying is, Jesus doesn't think about money the same way we do. And I think each church (and each person) is responsible to hear God's leading in how they are being called to use the money God has given them. They may not be using the money the way we think they should, but lucky for them we won't be judging them on the Last Day!
No, I'm not talking about flatulence! I'm talking about plain old gasoline.
Last night I saw a news story on one of the local Cincinnati channels about a gas station where the price was only $2.07 per gallon. I was floored when I saw that because gas prices have been hovering at around $2.45 for the past week or so.
Here's what was so cool about this: the reason the price of gas was so low is because a local church donated $1500 to the gas station so that people in the community could save money! That's awesome! And while people were getting gas, church members were checking people's fluids, washing windows, etc.
What a great way for a church to bless its community--with no strings attached!
Click here to see one of the news stories that aired (you'll have to watch the commercial first; then the story will play). Check out the church's website here and the pastor's blog here.
I'm reading a book right now by Chuck Palahniuk called Haunted, a strange story about a bunch of writers who have gone on a retreat, only to find themselves locked in an old theater with no windows, limited food, and no way out.
Sounds kind of disturbing, doesn't it? Well, it is kind of disturbing. But then, Chuck Palahniuk is known for writing on disturbing subject matter--he's best knows for writing the book, Fight Club, on which the movie of the same title is based.
So, why am I reading this book? Because I like disturbing subject matter? Not really.
I'm reading Haunted (aside from the fact that's it's an engaging book) because I believe Chuck Palahniuk is a window into the world of our culture, especially the world of Generation X and younger. A world filled with despair and hopelessness. A world that is desperately searching for meaning beyond itself. A world that wants more to life than just wealth and good looks.
The book itself is made up of short stories "written by" the writers who are stuck in the old theater.
Last night, I read a story called The Nightmare Box, in which a young woman looks into an antique box called a Nightmare Box. The Box itself continously ticks (like a clock), and then at some random point stops ticking. When it stops ticking, the first person to look into the box sees something that drives that person to utter despair.
What is it that people see in the Nightmare Box? What could be that terrible, that awful, that horrifying?
By the end of the story, we learn what the Nightmare Box reveals:
It's something that goes beyond life-after-death. What's in the box is proof that what we call life isn't. Our world is a dream. Infinitely fake. A nightmare.
One look, Rand says, and your life--your preening and struggle and worry--it's all pointless....
All your problems and love affairs.
They're an illusion.
"What you see inside the box," Rand says, "is a glimpse of real reality."
I don't know about you, but I see truth in these words. When we understand "real reality" we discover that all our "preening and struggle and worry--it's all pointless."
But what's "real reality"? If we caught a glimpse of "real reality," would it really lead to despair? Or would it lead to hope?
I'm also reading another book right now, this one by Dallas Willard, called The Divine Conspiracy. In this book, Willard delves into the meaning of the Sermon on the Mount (or, as he calls it, the Discourse on the Hill).
In his chapter on the Beatitudes, Willard challenges the common notion that the Beatitudes are instructions on how to live. When Jesus says "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," Jesus isn't instructing us to be "poor in spirit." Jesus isn't saying it's a virtue to be "poor in spirit."
On the contrary, Jesus is saying that the "real reality" is that those who are "poor in spirit," those who are "spiritually bankrupt, deprived and deficient, the spiritual beggars, those without a wisp of 'religion'"--theirs is the kingdom of heaven!
Here's how Willard puts it:
Those poor in spirit are called "blessed" by Jesus, not because they are in a meritorious condition, but because, precisely in spite of and in the midst of their ever so deplorable condtion, the rule of the heavens has moved redemptively upon and through them by the grace of Christ. (italics Willard's)
See, that's "real reality"! Jesus has brought into the world a new "real reality." A reality in which the kingdom of heaven is here! Among us. With us. In Jesus.
We are living in the midst of the kingdom of heaven because Jesus has brought it near. And all can experience that "real reality" because of the grace of Jesus.
So here's the question: Would the Nightmare Box really lead a person to utter despair?
I don't think so. Not if it revealed the "real reality" that Jesus revealed.
The acting was bad. The story was bad. The effects were bad. The futuristic make-up was stupid. And the characters were silly (imagine Dolph Lundgren as a long-haired psycho-priest assasin called Preacher).
But it's always kinda fascinating to watch an older movie about the future. The movie came out in 1995 and is supposed to take place in 2021--which means that right now, in 2007, we're almost halfway there.
In 1995 the internet was still in its infancy--ok, maybe at its toddler stage. But clearly the world was changing dramatically. All of a sudden, you could get information about almost anything, anytime, as long as you were connected to the internet.
With all these changes, there was a growing fear that people would begin to suffer from information overload.
And that's the theme that Johnny Mnemonic picks up. In the movie, which has a film-noir, post-apocalyptic feel, half of the world's population is suffering from a plague called Nerve Attenuation Syndrome (I really have no idea what that means). Halfway through the movie, we discover that you get NAS from...well...from everything--from all the computers...and stuff.
What they're trying to say is "information overload."
And then there's Johnny (Keanu's character). Johnny is an information courier with a chip in his brain that can hold--are you ready for this--a whopping 80 GB of information! Wow! And with a little tweaking he somehow crams 320 GB onto his 80 GB chip. Not really sure how that works. I don't know about you, but I have a feeling that in 2021 we're not even gonna be dealing in gigabytes anymore; we'll be way into (or even beyond) the terrabyte age.
So, anyway... overloading the chip in his brain can be fatal after a few days, and Johnny spends the whole movie trying to get the info out of his head.
So, again, there's the theme of information overload.
Of course, in 2007, we now know that there's really no danger of information overload. I'm not even sure how it would be possible to be overloaded with information. All that can really happen is that, well, you know a lot of stuff.
Instead, what we have is complete freedom of information. It is a different world than it was in 1995, and way different than it was in 1985. But clearly, open access to information is something that we (the human race) have not only adapted to and embraced, but we love it!
And that's it!! Hope these notes were helpful. Certainly, they were at times controversial--and even I don't agree with everything. But I think you can always learn something, even when you don't agree 100%.
Ok... Part two of this section of my notes from the Launch Conference:
4. Baptism
Be able to answer these questions:
How do we make sure people understand the meaning and significance of baptism?
How do we capture our first baptism on video or with photography? How do we get the video or photos out to the entire church in the coming weeks?
How do we capture the stories and testimonies of those being baptized? How do we maximize these as celebrations of what God is doing in our church family?
How do we signify the event for those being baptized? Do we give them certificates? Framed personal photos? Group pictures?
How do we promote the next baptism at our first baptism?
5. Recordkeeping and Databases
Contact information on everyone who attends (name, address, phone numbers, e-mail address, spouse and kids' names)
Weekly Sunday attendance broken down by adults and children
Weekly offering amount
Number of volunteers on Sunday
Number of volunteers during the week
6. Basic Accounting
Offering collection, counting, and deposit
Check writing
Reimbursement processes
Salaries/paychecks
Regular reports (bank account, budget, etc.)
7. Corporate/Legal Structure
What's the minimum structure you must have 'by law'?
8. Leadership Development System
My personal plan (e.g., conferences, books, podcasts)
My plan for staff (e.g., read books together, DVDs)
My plan for volunteers (create a culture where there is an abundance of leaders)
These 8 systems are crucial! Everything else can wait 8-18 months! (including membership class and small groups)
First I want to give a quick shout out to Johnny and Jonathan, a couple of church planters in Independence, Kentucky. I had coffee with them at (where else?) Starbucks yesterday and had some great conversation with them. Check out their church, Fellowship of Mercy, here.
Anyway, I've been thinking about the whole "stretchychurch" concept lately. Turns out there are more than one way in which a church can be stretchy. It can be stretchy in that it is open to trying new forms of worship.
It can also be stretchy in that it welcomes all kinds of people. It recognizes that everyone is in need of the Savior. And it opens its doors to all of them.
As I was thinking about this, I was reminded of a really great song back in the 90's by a band called The Lost Dogs. The song is called "Breathe Deep (the Breath of God)."
As you read these lyrics, you might be asking, "So are they saying that all these things are good?" Of course not. They're saying that all of these people need to "breathe deep the breath of God."
Everyone--everyone!--needs to "breathe deep the breath of God."
I'm including a YouTube video. The video itself is actually terrible in terms of quality (don't even bother watching the video), but this is an easy way to include the song right here. The lyrics are below the video.
"Breathe Deep (the Breath of God)" music and lyrics by Terry Taylor
Politicians, morticians, Philistines, homophobes Skinheads, Dead heads, tax evaders, street kids Alcoholics, workaholics, wise guys, dim wits Blue collars, white collars, war mongers, peace nicks
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Suicidals, rock idols, shut-ins, drop outs Friendless, homeless, penniless and depressed Presidents, residents, foreigners and aliens Dissidents, feminists, xenophobes and chauvinists
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Evolutionists, creationists, perverts, slum lords Dead-beats, athletes, Protestants and Catholics Housewives, neophytes, pro-choice, pro-life Misogynists, monogamists, philanthropists, blacks and whites
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Police, obese, lawyers, and government Sex offenders, tax collectors, war vets, rejects Atheists, Scientists, racists, sadists Photographers, biographers, artists, pornographers
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
Gays and lesbians, demagogues and thespians The disabled, preachers, doctors and teachers Meat eaters, wife beaters, judges and jurys Long hair, no hair, everybody everywhere!
Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God Breathe deep, Breathe deep the Breath of God
I think I'm gonna have to divide this next section up into two bite-size chunks. So... this is the first chunk....
A church system is simply a strategic process that:
Saves You Stress Time Energy Money
Just as the skeletal system provides a framework for our bodies, initial church systems provide structure for a new church. When it comes to establishing healthy systems, you have an advantage in launching from scratch--you get to build the systems without being tied to any traditional ways of doing things.
Eight First Year Systems
1. The Sunday Service
Load In/Load Out System - setting up and tearing down Sunday morning equipment, etc.
Service Evaluation System - What was wrong? What was missing? What was confusing?
Sunday Staff/Volunteer System
Worship Planning/Preaching Calendar System - just keep "launching" with new series (to break a growth barrier); launch in February, at Easter, in September, at Advent, etc.
2. Evangelism and Assimilation 101
Be able to answer these questions:
How does someone explore or express a decision to follow Christ at our church?
What do we say, share or give to a person who is making a first-time decision to follow Christ?
How can we help the new Christian get plugged into our church?
How do we move someone from first-time guest to full-time member?
How do we know who is a first-time guest each Sunday? How do we collect his or her contact information?
Are we making our service easy for a first timer to attend? Does that person know where to enter, check in his or her kids, find the restroom, and so on?
How are we following up on first-time guests?
3. Website
Most church planters spend too much time on the website
Spend less time on the website and more time in the community
That said, here are some tips...
Do include:
Where your church meets
What time you meet
Directions to the church's location
What to expect at the service (how long, style, dress, etc.)
A little bit about you and any staff
A short history of the church
Don't include:
Too many pictures of the lead pastor
Too many pictures of the lead pastor's spouse
Music of any kind (you'll get people in trouble if they look at your website at work!)
"Under Construction" signs--just leave the area out until it's ready
Anything that takes a long time to load on a slower connection
Insider language that only seminary grads understand
First, I promise I'll finish the Launch Conference posts real soon. I feel bad that it's taken so long, but I promise it'll be done soon.
Now then... Last year I read a book called A.K.A. Lost by Jim Henderson, a book that questions the way evangelism has typically been done in the past 50 or so years. Jim Henderson also organized the Revolution Conference last fall that D.G. and I attended.
Aaron Klinefelter just informed me about a new book by Jim Henderson and Matt Caspar called Jim and Caspar Go to Church. The tag-line hints at the book's premise: A believer, an atheist, an unlikely friendship...
Here's the basic idea...
Jim Henderson is a Christian. Matt Caspar is an atheist. And together they visit 10 churches, including Willow Creek, Saddleback, The Potter's House, and other smaller churches. Then they offer their thoughts.
Sounds like a really interesting book to me!!
Here's the freebie.... Follow this link and you can read the first chapter of the book!
Ok, so this will confirm what some of you already know and others of you may have only suspected. As you can see in my profile, I clearly identify myself as a Star Wars Geek.
How much do I love Star Wars? So much that I waited in line on Hollywood Blvd. for weeks before the release of each prequel to see the movies at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood--in 1999, 2002, and 2005 (hard to believe it's been almost 2 years since Ep. 3!). For good or for bad, doing nerdy stuff like that in public draws media attention.
During the Episode 3 line, Jimmy Kimmel stopped by. I found this video on YouTube today. Hard to believe I got to be a nerd on national TV....
Yikes! It's been almost a week since my last post! To be honest, it has something with my Lent commitment this year, but I'll tell you more about that in a separate post.
For now, here is (at long last) the next section of my notes from The Launch Conference. This section is called Evangelism: Reaching People from Scratch. Here goes....
"Your target is not your market." --Jack Trout and Al Reis, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing
The only way to reach your market is to focus on your target.
My target determines my marketing.
Key Question: Who am I trying to reach?
My Target Determines My:
Marketing - make sure publicity is appropriate to your target
Music - the music you choose is the #1 defining characteristic of your church
First Service - where you meet, for example
Comeback Events
Entire Church
Four Questions to Focus my Evangelism Efforts
Who are the key population groups living in my area?
What population group is not being reached effectively?
What population group do I best relate to? (keep in mind that just because you have a heart for someone doesn't mean you can relate to them)
What is my unique "Sweet Spot"? (the intersection of those first three questions)
Three Evangelism Truths
People are more open to the gospel when they are in trouble.
People are more open to the gospel when they are in transition.
People are more open to the gospel when they are under tension.
Regarding "transition":
Moving, marriage, having kids, loss of a loved one, loss of a relationship, loss of a dream
What transitions are people experiencing in your area?
Five Ideas for Reaching People
Direct Marketing
Mission Teams (teams from other churches; e.g., to hang door hangers, to "prayer walk" or "prayer drive" an area)
Servant Evangelism (showing God's love in a practical way to the people in your city; e.g., handing out water, granola bars, etc. with invite cards)
Events (non-threatening, easy to enter events; atmosphere of Christian hospitality)
Sometimes I feel like I'm starting to get old. I just got back from our annual high school ski trip to Hidden Valley in Pennsylvania. And I am pooped!! I didn't used to get as tired on these things--but now I do....
But it was definitely a great time! And while I don't want to boast, I must admit that my snowboarding skills increased significantly!! Evidence: 1) I can now get off the ski lift without falling every time, and 2) I can ride down fast and straight without having to carve back and forth (I even outran a couple of buddies who were pursuing me with snowballs!).
Anyway, a great weekend! And a great time hanging out with our high schoolers, too!
I was planning to post something of substance tonight, but I think that'll have to wait till later...
(BTW... No, that pictures is not of me. Neither is it anyone I know...)
It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that has not only forced me to reflect on it, but which has made me really enjoy reflecting on it. Magnolia did just that for me.
To be totally honest, I didn't sit down and intentionally think about this movie, but I did keep coming back to the movie repeatedly over the course of the day. Yesterday I mentioned that the movie is about "speaking the truth, listening, not judging--and things happening for a reason." That's true, but the real focus of the movie is on that last part. Things happen for a reason. Stuff happens that may seem like coincidence, but can't simply be coincidence.
This is what the narrator says at the end of the movie (he also says something very similar in the beginning):
There are stories of coincidence and chance, and intersections and strange things told, and which is which and who only knows? And we generally say, "Well, if that was in a movie, I wouldn't believe it." Someone's so-and-so met someone else's so-and-so and so on. And it is in the humble opinion of this narrator that strange things happen all the time.
Magnolia follows about five different story lines, all of which the viewer eventually discovers are related to one another in some way, and which reach their climax at the same time.
As each story reaches its climax, something amazing happens. Something incredible. Something that is literally of biblical proportions.
I couldn't figure out why this thing happened in the movie. It didn't make sense. Until I had my "Aha!" moment in the middle of the day today. What happens is, I believe, intended to tell the audience, "God is involved in this."
I'm not gonna tell you what happens because it's such a seemingly nonsensical and almost silly surprise! But I'll tell you this. There's a game show scene where an audience member is holding up a sign with a Bible verse. Read that verse, and it'll give you a clue.
Anyway, it's a great movie! Check it out sometime.
StretchyChurch has officially moved to WordPress! Why? Just because WordPress makes it a little easier to customize StretchyChurch.
