Review and Some Discussion Questions for "I Am A Church Member" by Thom Rainer

I recently listened to an interview in with Thom Rainer shared how surprised he has been by the response to his little book, "I Am A Church Member."  We recently purchased a full box of them and included them in a three week discussion in our small groups.  The response was great!

In this book, Rainer attempts to move from a consumer-oriented view of church membership to a missional orientation.  In other words, being a church member is not about what you get from it (the privileges of membership) but is about what you are able, and expected to give.  As I read the short book, I heard and felt the pain of pastors of decades past who bear the scars from controlling, selfish, and down-right sinful church members demanding to get their way in their church.  Coming from congregational ecclesiology that is often idolized by Southern Baptists, Thom is the guy to write this book!  (Although pastors from any ecclesiology can resonate with his words.

I love Rainer's description of the church as NOT a cruise ship.  (His story about the transition from ocean liners offering practical transportation to luxurious cruise ships offering indulgence.)  Rainer demonstrates that he is in touch with the struggles between pastors and church leaders to keep the mission of the church at the forefront of our minds.

The only negative feedback I have read about this work is that the tone is sometimes harsh and demanding.  Yes, his words are strong.  I wonder if this critique stems from viewing Rainer as a pastor/leader who is vying for the power in the church.  This book might be better received if written from a lay-person.  Regardless, I have heard so many church-loving/serving non-clergy folks praise this book as the book that needs to be read by every church member.

The negative feedback I would add is that the study questions at the end of each chapter are, well, terrible.  Some of them are "duh" questions (in which the answer is so obvious).  The others ask the reader to find several passages in the Bible that support a main point in the chapter.  I am glad they are labeled "study" questions, since they are not "discussion" questions at all.  With the widespread influence of this book, I am surprised that I could not find good group discussion questions anywhere!

So, if it is helpful to anyone, I offer to the world the discussion questions we used in our groups.  There are only a few per chapter, but they seemed to work with our groups.

Feel free to download, edit and use these discussion questions.  If you like them, please leave a comment and let me know if they are helpful!

Discussion Questions set 1

I Am a Church Member - LIFE Groups Week 1

Discussion Questions set 2

I Am a Church Member - LIFE Groups Week 2

Discussion Questions set 3

I Am a Church Member - LIFE Groups Week 3

Jesus, Christmas and Politics

Earlier this week I was privileged to be invited to the Cass County Conservatives Christmas gathering.  This gathering of local politicians and supporters includes some of my friends in town.  In addition to praying the invocation and blessing the meal, they asked me to share a few words about the real meaning of Christmas.  Below are my thoughts.  I hope they will bless you in some way (or at least make you think.)

I have to admit that I am a Christmas junkie.  And not for the reasons that you might assume when you first hear that I am a pastor.  I just love the season!  I love fresh baked cookies that seem to only find their ways out of recipe books in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I love the aroma of evergreen and the beauty of green and reds around the house and halls.  Our ornament box contains several that I colored and pasted in elementary school. I even enjoy a good fruitcake  and really enjoy egg nog (minus the rum).  And the music.  Whether hymns, carols or merely songs about snow and sleds.  Some of you might remember Singing along with Mitch Miller and the Gang.  I grew up listening to his Chrismtas record – and now I play the CD every year!

But deep down, and all around, we know there is something more, something deeper, to this season than cookies, greenery and merriment. We discover our deep-seated values.  We find what is most important…what drives us.

If what brings us together tonight is the word, “conservative” let’s think for a moment what that implies.  What exactly are we trying to conserve?  It is our deep-seated values that we long to share with others.  The values that are not personal, but that we believe ought to be shared by neighbors and fellow-citizens.  We value family, especially the importance of the household, or nuclear, family.  We don’t want to see the definition of family changed, as we recognize the importance of a mother and father together raising children in a safe, loving home. And at this Christmas season, we long for family to expand beyond our own four walls as we travel great distances to be with those who are also family.

Our value of freedom also arises during this season.  As we wish for peace, I think specifically of Norman Rockwell’s famous “freedom from fear” painting, featuring a mother and father tucking in their 2 young sons, who sleep peacefully, blissfully unaware of the pain, hurt and fear that others their age around the world face as they lay heads on pillows.

But Christmas is even deeper than the values of family and freedom, as important as those are.  And we are wise, in our increasingly secular culture, to remind each other of the most important element of Christmas, as my son says as he looks into our tabletop nativity set – the little Lord Jesus.  Christmas is about Jesus.  We know and we say it, “Jesus is the reason for the season.”  But what does that really mean?  I fear that for many, the real reason for the season is merely an emotional reaction to a cuddly baby boy born to a carpenter and his young wife.  Who doesn’t love babies?  Others are quick to fast-forward to this baby’s adult teachings and influence.  But could there be more to Christmas than a baby or a pre-requisite to adulthood?  What does the manger say to a group gathered around influencing politics and culture with conservative values?  Can I suggest three ways that we might consider this season, of what is implied by the meaning of Christmas?

1. God is interested in politics.   Contrary to the philosophers of the 18^th century, God is not merely watching the affairs of earth from a disconnected and safe distance.  God is active and involved. He cares.  He hurts with victims and is angered by perpetrators.  AT Christmas, we see God entering humanity, getting his hands dirty, and confronting social and political abuses.  He speaks the truth to Kings and Governors.  God cares about peace and justice, right and wrong, society and government.  And he got involved!  We like this.  In this respect, we feel like we are doing God’s work as we also get involved in politics.  But the next two might challenge us. 
2.  God engaged politics from a highly unlikely position.  If we had positioned Jesus for influence, we would have birthed him in Rome. If necessary, Jerusalem.  But not the tiny village of Bethlehem, and definitely not a stable.  We would have chosen powerful Roman parents, maybe a wealthy Jewish family, but not a poor carpenter. We would have directed the angels to announce his birth to the town elders, not shepherds.  We would have chosen senator-material disciples, not fishermen. 
3. Jesus changed the world through a position of weakness, by giving his own life away.  We tend to value strength, and when absolutely necessary, the taking of life.   But in Jesus, we find a consistent theme.  From a humble birth, to a quiet upbringing, even his teachings promoted giving.  We influence more by serving than by being served, by giving more than receiving.  When we give our lives away, we find gain a life better than we could imagine.  We do not “Lord our influence over others,” which is the Gentile way.  And we see this as the Son of God gave up the comfort of heaven for the discomfort of earth, serving and giving all along the way, even until he breathed his last, on our behalf. 

Christmas changed everything. It really is the most wonderful time of the year.  It is God with us.  It brings life into focus and reminds us of the greatest values worth conserving.  May your Christmas indeed be blessed as you value what is most important!

What is Your Life Mission - One Person's story

During the month of September, we are asking ourselves the important question of, "What is My Life Mission?"  This question has generated a lot of interest and hopefully a lot of God-seeking prayer!

Last Sunday I shared a great video of one person's sense of God's mission for her.  We experienced some technology challenges in our 9 AM service, so if you missed it, or if you just want to see it again, here it is:

Thank You For the Break From Preaching

To My Friends at New Vision Church:

You might be wondering why I thought I needed to take six weeks off from preaching during June and July.  (After all, a pastor only works like one day per week, right?)  First, we have so many good preachers in our congregation (as you have discovered), and I have wanted to give them opportunities to preach, and this series seemed like a good way to do it.  I hope you have enjoyed hearing so many voices and perspectives.

During these weeks, I have not just been sitting by, doing nothing.  The break from weekly preaching allowed me to give extra attention to a few activities:

• I completed a training course on church planting, including certification as a trainer for the course.  I started the course a couple of years ago but was not able to finish it due to ministry responsibilities here at New Vision. (See below for the rest of this story)
• I organized and led the men's spiritual deepening camp out. This is a favorite annual tradition for me, and I was privileged to lead it again!
• In early June, I participated in three days of intensive adult curriculum planning for Nazarene Publishing House.  I had the opportunity to sit around a table with world-class Bible scholars, talking about how to plan lessons for Sunday School teachers to lead studies of the books of Jeremiah, Ephesians and Philippians.  I so much enjoyed the intellectual stimulation of discussing the Bible with scholars and preachers!
• I also wrote an essay that will hopefully be included in a book on the theology of holiness.  A colleague and friend from college is working on a collection of essays that share how young leaders view holiness, which is the special-emphasis of the Church of the Nazarene.  I submitted an essay on the topic of how we need to teach about holiness in terms of both love and behavior.  I will let you know if and when it gets published. (No, I won't earn any royalties on it)
• If there is ever a time to get a short break from preaching, it is during the month of June.  During our June board meeting, we set the church operating budget for the next fiscal year.  This requires a lot of research and planning.  I also have to submit our church's annual report of attendance, finances, and other statistics by July 15th.  Let's just say that June is a paperwork-heavy month.
• I was able to lead the song-worship for our congregation on two Sundays, and it was a lot of fun!  It was good to pick up a guitar again and sing loud!
• In July, during the week before VBS, I was privileged to co-teach the Churches Planting Churches seminar to a group of pastors interested in leading their churches to start new churches.  It was so inspiring to hear how God is moving in the hearts of pastors - and to hear their God-given visions!
• Finally, I have also given a lot of time and thought to planning the preaching and LIFE Groups emphases for the next year.  I am excited about the upcoming message series. We will look at improving our relationships, deepening our faith, understanding the Bible better, and developing a sense of our life's mission.  This fall, I plan to teach an outreach-oriented series on the subject of forgiveness.  Our LIFE Groups will look at several different topics that will also generally relate to the Sunday messages.  Let me know if you would like a sneak peek and I will show you what I have planned.  I would love to hear your feedback.

Finally, thank you for the short break from preaching every Sunday.  While I love to preach God's Word, sometimes my creative juices just don't want to flow.  I tell my friends that in ministry there are no late papers - Sunday morning comes around every week at the same time.  These few weeks without preaching responsibilities have allowed me to rejuvinate a sense of creativity!  I am looking forward to preaching in July!

Again, thank you!  Nu-Vees are the best!

What is the Purpose of Freedom?

Yesterday, on the celebration of the birthday of our great nation, I took a few minutes to read the Declaration of Independence.  It was a bold declaration of the dissolution of all ties between the American colonies and the British Empire.  The underlying theme?  Freedom.  The Constitution that followed, including the attending Bill of Rights, underscore the theme.  We Americans love our freedom.  America... "where at least I know I am free..." right?

We thank God for freedom. As we should.  We thank veterans for sacrificing to secure and maintain our freedom.  As we should.  And every year on the fourth day of July, we stop, celebrate, remember, feast, and blow stuff up.  As we should.

But what should we do about our freedom on the other 364 days of the year?

Evangelical Christians celebrated with extra-wide smiles this week as the Supreme Court upheld our cherished freedom apply to our religious beliefs to all of life, including our businesses.  But how will we use our freedoms?

If we thank God for our political, economic and religious freedoms, maybe we should ask him what he wants us to do with them! Then again, maybe he has already told us.  In the short letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul argues that the Christian life is one of freedom, not rules.  But after Paul made a great case for spiritual freedom, he warned his friends against the human tendency to  use freedom for selfish purposes.  He writes, "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love."  (Galatians 5:13 (NIV)) I realize, of course, that he is not speaking of the political freedoms guaranteed by the documents written by Benjamin Franklin and friends.  But the warning aptly applies.  There is great temptation to abuse any kind of freedom, to use it for our own self-indulgent purposes.

In the light of the Supreme Court's ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, we Christians have a choice.  We can use our freedom to keep more for ourselves or to give more to others.  We can use our freedom to blast our opinions or to speak speak more often about Jesus.  We can use our freedom to serve others or to serve ourselves.  We can raise our standard of living, or help others to raise theirs. What if the world around us saw us leveraging our freedom for the benefit of others?  What if we could re-shape the American dream from "freedom to get more" to "freedom to give more?"

By the way, this theme is found throughout the Bible.  When God blesses, he expects us to share the blessings.  Unshared blessings quickly dry up.  When the Israelites wondered what happened to the blessings of God, he sent prophets.  One prophet observed their self-indulgent lifestyles, evidenced by furniture upgrades, wine, fine cuisine and fancy lotion, and then he prophesied exile - the ultimate loss of freedom.  (Check out Amos 6:1-7)

The purpose of freedom is to serve others humbly in love.  Having celebrated our freedom, how should we live?  Serve.  Give.  Go. Worship.  (By the way, Jesus told us numerous times that this kind of live is also the most enjoyable.)

Leadership, Humility & Brokenness: A Tale of Three Kings

Leadership.  We love it and we hate it.  The feelings that rise in our souls when we hear the word are usually the responses to our experiences - good or bad.  We cringe as we think of bad leaders who manipulated, berated, or abused us.  We smile as we remember the leaders who inspired us to be and do more than we ever thought possible.  Unfortunately, bad memories linger longer and deeper than the good ones, so for many people, leadership is a necessary evil.  We often take the phrase, "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and expand it to just, "power always corrupts."  But maybe not.

In "A Tale of Three Kings" pastor and author Gene Edwards shares the story of David, the shepherd-King of Israel, and shows his response to both Saul and to his son Absalom.  His theme is clear - David did not grasp for power, he did not fight to get power, nor to retain power.  He trusted that God is ultimately in control and gives and takes power away to whom, from whom, and whenever he wants it.

This is my second time to read this good book.  I recently lead a men's campout/retreat and this was the required prerequisite reading.  Needless to say, this got the guys talking because it touches on so many tender spots in the male psyche:  painful memories, desire for revenge/justice, our call to leadership, and our longing for significance.

The books talks a lot about the pain we endure at the hands of others (especially bad/abusive leaders).  The author suggests that while pain is not good, it is useful in that God uses our painful situations to break us down in order to be completely dependent on him.  He even goes so far as to say, "God did not have-but wanted to have-men and women who would live in pain.  God wanted a broken vessel."  While I think the second sentence is true - I am not sure that God wants us to live in pain.  It does seem like most of us are not broken and humble without some pain.

The books talks a lot about our desire for revenge when we have been wronged, attacked or abused.  The example described is Saul's habit of throwing spears at David.  The author reminds us that David could have pulled the spear out of the wall and thrown it right back at Saul - revenge - and that he would have been justified at doing so.  But- and here is a great insight - by doing so, he would have put himself in the "order" or way-of-doing-things of Saul.  This is a great reminder that while we can call it "justice," it is really more like revenge when we are seeking it on our own behalf. 

The books also deals with our desire for leadership.   We rightly desire to lead and to influence - but the author asks us if our prayers for influence come from truly good motives - and to examine our real motives for power and control.

This book is a great read for anyone who finds themselves in a position of leadership or authority.  For the one who has been called or somehow thrust into a position of leadership, this is important to read.  For the one who enjoys leading and influencing, this is a good reminder and opportunity to examine one's true motives.  For the person who resists the call to leadership, this book presents a positive vision for leadership that is centered on character not charisma. 

From a formal theological perspective, there are a couple of things to know going into the book.  As I read it, I kept thinking, "this author comes from the Baptist/Reformed tradition, but has strong pietist/revivalist tendencies!"  This combination of influences is not common.  I saw the Baptist/Reformed theological influence throughout the book as the author suggested that David didn't seek power or resist his son's rebellion because he just believed that God was Sovereignly pulling the strings. The pietist influence came through as he exalted weakness, suffering, praying more and doing less, etc.  They Wesleyan/Arminiam reader will merely have to say, "I can't agree with how far he pushes God's sovereignty," but will appreciate the pietist influence!  It would be foolish to dismiss the book because of a differing view on the extent of God's sovereignty! 

There are points at which the convergence of these 2 influences almost goes too far, but the reader must understand the narrow purpose of this book.  (Because of the author's strong statements, it can be easy to misunderstand his purpose).  The author is not suggesting that Christians should never resist or fight against evil!  He is not suggesting a passive spirituality that is all prayer and no action!  A short reading of the life of David easily refutes it.  The author is only attempting to speak to our desire for personal power and personal ambition!  And when this limited scope is kept in mind, we discover a message that we all need to hear!

The greatest take-away for me was the reminder to guard my heart.  I wonder if so many fallen religious leaders just became so busy, stressed, and overloaded with decisions and meetings, that they lost their way.  At one point, the author suggested that those who lead by way of "rules" and by reminding everyone around them about their authority, are not really leading.  Leading by way of rules and position is the easy way out, the cop-out.  But sometimes I just get too weary from meetings, making decisions, answering emails, and returning phone calls, and I default to the easy way out.  And I can imagine that years of that results in burnout and failure.  I am reminded to guard my heart, and regularly seek God, asking him to reveal to me my true motives, and to correct in me any impure motives.

"Gathered and Scattered" is too Simplistic

"Gathered & Scattered"

Gathered:  When the church comes together for worship, teaching, fellowship, sacraments, etc.

Scattered:  When the church departs the gathering, proceeding into the world for mission. evangelism, justice etc.

What is the church called to do?  The answer is easy: BOTH

This sounds nice.  It is nice.  It is a simple couplet, easy to remember.

But it is too simplistic. 

We often assume that our "scattering" is an individualistic endeavor to merely be Jesus wherever else we do life.  Or, in an attempt to combat individualism, we sit around tables with Bibles and beers (or coffee, if we are holiness folk), with other Christians and call in community, but in a spiritually neutral location so we can call it missional.  Assuming that our being will rub off on others, we conveniently excuse our lack of doing.


Here is the problem - it only lasts one generation.  Where is the multiplication?  In order for the cause of Christ and the Kingdom of Christ to last for more than a generation, there must be multiplication of disciples and of the gatherings of the disciples.  Yes, this includes the multiplication of organizations and institutions, but only as necessary to support the multiplication of disciples.
What if, instead of merely scattering to our workplaces, neighborhoods, and places of need, we scattered as teams, with the purpose and intent to re-gather in smaller groupings, in these other places of work, neighborhood, or need, not for more fellowship, but to intentionally invite others to gather as inquirers, seekers and disciples?

It is just not as simple as "gather and scatter."  There must be more.  We must envision and plan with an end in mind that includes multiplication "to the ends of the earth."  Then and only then are we faithful to the mission of Jesus.

"Fasting" by Jentezen Franklin is a great primer on the subject!

As I have previously written, God is leading me on a journey through the spiritual discipline of fasting.  As I have experimented with various ways of fasting, times to fast, etc., I have read some of the subject.  Recently, I felt it was time to lead our congregation in the practice of fasting as well, teaching our members to fast privately, as well as corporately.  I discovered, though, that there are very few effective resources designed to teach fasting to groups.  Since we use video-based teaching series in our small groups, I was amazed at the lack of resources on video for any group setting.  When I found one decent video-based study, I hoped it would be good!  It was.

Jentezen Franklin is a pentecostal preacher in Georgia.  He regularly leads his churches in fasts of twenty-one days at the beginning of every year.  Through his television ministry, he has encouraged thousands to follow.  A few years ago he published a hard-cover book, journal, study guide and DVD for those who follow him at a distance.  I purchased a copy of each and was pleasantly surprised.

I have been trained to be wary of pentecostal preachers.  I have been warned of their tendency towards emotionalism, to putting too much emphasis on speaking in tongues, and especially their current abuse of God's blessings, especially in the area of desiring prosperity (sometimes more than God himself).  Of course, wisdom reminds us that the headlines only tell about the most radical in any group, those who over-emphasize any teaching to the point of abuse.  Franklin, however, is a gem in the pentecostal tradition.  If you are wondering what fasting is all about, read his book!  You can get it here. "Fasting" is a book for those who want to know more about fasting, but are weary of radicalism from either end of the spectrum.

I appreciate that Franklin comes from the old revivalist tradition within pentecostalism.  He teaches that fasting is a door to a deeper relationship with God.  He emphasizing seeking the Giver of gifts and blessings more than the gifts and blessings themselves.  His sections on the sanctification of one's life by way of consecrating everything to Christ would make many Nazarene preachers proud!

While reading a description of the book, you might be thinking that at 237 pages it will be a little too technical.  It is not.  It is a small book, comprised of 17 short chapters.  Check it out!  You will learn a few things about fasting and you will be encouraged to try it out!

Dispelling the "We Can't Change Until Everyone is On Board" Myth

I heard it all the time.  "We need to make some changes at our church, but we can't do it until everyone is on board..."  Really?

I understand the intention of the person saying it.  Whether a pastor or a strong lay leader, we don't want to force our ideas on others.  We don't want to lead as a dictator.  We really don't like, "my-way-or-the-highway," leaders and don't want to be one of them.  We have also heard about building consensus.  So, we work to build consensus...but then, what?

Here is the problem with waiting until everyone is on board: there is too much power in one person's hands.  It allows one person, or a very small handful of people to become passive dictators!  Moreover, as I was reminded by a recent article, most people are late adopters, and they won't buy into an idea until it has already succeeded!

So what is a leader to do?  Gently push for change, and try new ideas on an experimental basis with those who are willing to try.  In other words, form a test group.  Here is how pastor and leadership expert Larry Osborne suggests going about it:  "I've found that most boards and congregations will let us try something long before they'll sign off as fully supporting something that is brand new or untested...most people are happy to let us try something as long as they don't have to support it or pay for it.  Frankly, there are very few true innovations that require broad buy-in to launch.  Most can be launched at the fringe of your ministry with minimal support.  Simply count the "yes" votes and start with those who like the idea.  It it's successful, everyone will jump aboard soon enough.  If it's not, you'll be able to bail out or make any necessary midcourse corrections without losing all of your leadership chips."  (Outreach Magazine, January/February 2014, page 70)

Do you hear the humility here?  After all, my great idea might not be all that great! But testing it with a group of supporters is a great way to try it and make corrections.  Maybe that humility will be all the others need to give it a try.

I wish I had listened to this advice nine years ago.  I was working with a team to Re-Focus our ministries and we concluded that we needed to completely re-vamp our discipleship program (which included one adult Sunday School class, a weekly prayer meeting, and occasional small groups) into a full-fledged small group program with no prayer meeting or adult Sunday School class.  The idea blew up and a bunch of people left the church.  Looking back, I would have been wise to launch the group program with just 2 groups of interested people, and allow the other groups to continue to meet.

So how many people do we need on board to make change?  Only enough folks to experiment with the change, and then take it from there!

Samson Was Lonely - And It Killed Him

Last Sunday I preached on Samson - as in the Old Testament character who was a mix of Superman's strength, G.I. Joe's military prowess, the Incredible Hulk's rage, and Fabio's hair.  The sermon was a bit long, and a few parts hit the cutting room floor and were not picked up again.  But I can't stop thinking about this one element:  Samson Was Lonely!

Leadership consultants (in both the church and business worlds) teach the same truth - Leadership is lonely!  As one progresses up the "ladder" there are fewer and fewer people to answer to and go to for advice until, at the top, it feels like there is no one.  And with greater responsibility comes fewer options.  Leadership is lonely!  You think I'm kidding - here is one of many articles.

When I look at the life of Samson, and especially his pitfalls, it seems obvious that he was a lonely guy.  Okay, I realize that the Bible never says it specifically, but it really is not difficult to see.  Most people took the Nazarite vow for a limited time - Samson lived the vow for a lifetime.  Which means that most of his friends saw him as some kind of religious extremist.  I can begin to relate to that.  Sometimes I purposely do not tell people that I am a pastor because I know that as soon as I do, they will get all weird around me, like they aren't good enough to be around me (which just feels like I don't "fit in.").  How do you think it felt for Samson?  He probably had no friends.

Samson couldn't even find a girlfriend among his own people.  I know the Bible tells us that God was working to get Samson "in" with the Philistines, but still - Samson didn't know that - he just wanted a wife and couldn't find one.  When he got married, he didn't even have friends to join him as his groomsmen, but was given 30 "friends."  Later, after that whole wedding fiasco, we find him visiting a prostitute.  What kind of men visit prostitutes?  Lonely ones.  Finally, he gives away the secret of his strength to the gold-digging Delilah.  I wonder if he saw it coming, or if he ignored the giant-red-flags-with-blinking-lights because he just wanted to feel loved by someone.

Yep- Samson was lonely.  And like so many lonely leaders, he compromise his integrity and lost all credibility and influence.

If you are a leader and you are feeling a bit lonely, welcome to the club.  But you can't stay lonely for long.  Or at least you must pro-actively work to address it.  In addition to the one above, here are a few articles that can help.

7 Ways to Help Prevent Leadership Loneliness Lonely and Dangerous
It's Time To Acknowledge CEO Loneliness

The suggestions are not genius, though.  We already know them.  We already want them.   We just think we are too busy.  We think we can't make the time.  But maybe we should ask those who have gone before us and never made the time...until they really lost everything and everyone with a few bad decisions.

I keep thinking that Samson could have been so much more of an influence.  He could have lead his people for forty years, not just twenty.  He could have lead them back to God, not just to temporary reprieve from Philistine invasion. 

Oh, what might have been, had loneliness not taken its toll.

My Fasting Experience - Longing to Eat What Fell From the Rich Man's Table

On the eighteenth day of my twenty-one day fast, I served as a WatchDOG at Olivia's school. This wonderful program invites dads to serve for a day at their child's school. We help car riders unload and get into school.  We push swings at recess.  We review flash cards with students who are struggling.  We open six to seven hundred milk cartons, yogurt containers and Lunchables lids.  It is a great program!  It also gives dads a new appreciation for teachers! I usually enjoy my days at the school serving as WatchDOG.  However, when I signed up in January for a Wednesday in April, I didn't know I would be fasting, living life at 50-75% speed.  The kindergarteners on the playground didn't expect that either.

Recess was a bit rough, but I made it.  Two hours of lunchroom help, however, did me in.  At the end of lunch, with a few hours left in the school day, I had to give in and go home.  I just couldn't do it.

But that is not the purpose of this post.  The cafeteria crisis was deeper.  I have written earlier that after even one day of fasting, the hunger pains go away.  If you have experimented with fasting, you really must try a multi-day fast sometime. It is not has tortuous as you have imagined - the hunger pains really do go away!  But by day 18, having lost more than twenty pounds, I was getting hungry.  And desire for food increased in the presence of it!  The hot lunch options for the day included a hot dog or roasted chicken.  You can imagine which option most of the kids selected.  It was so hard to open container after container.  I just wanted a bite.  Near the end of each class's lunchtime, the students walk to the end of the table and dump their styrofoam trays, sporks and uneaten leftovers. I found myself longing for a leftover.  Gross, I know, but hey, I was hungry and there was food!

No, this is not a post on how Americans waste too much food, or a critique of school lunch programs.  If you want that, write your own blog post on the topic.

Here is the takeaway from my lunchroom longings:  I wondered how many hungry children in developing nations or in overcrowded cities walk past electronics stores and stare at televisions in the windows showing first world citizens eating cheeseburgers, hot dogs, cake and specialty coffees. As   gaze at life in a distant world, do they long for just a bite of food, of any food, but get no nourishment, neither from their own family or government, or from the families they see feasting around the world?  Do they, like the beggar Lazarus who lived outside the gates of the unnamed rich man, long to eat even the scraps that fall from our tables?  That story in Luke 16 scares me.  You see, I am a one-percenter, globally speaking.  And most likely so are you.  So are all of the campers who "occupied" Wall Street a few summers ago. 

When I am not fasting, I am feasting, and most likely so are you.  If "overeating" is the consumption of more calories than are needed to maintain healthy BMI, then I am guilty.  How can I regularly feast/overeat in good conscience while others are starving?  The parable of the rich man and Lazarus scares me.  Just sayin...

A second image raced through my mind as I stood in the cafeteria watching fifty gallon trash liners fill with leftovers and utensils.  I wonder how much of our processed food is packaged in foreign companies by underage workers earning pennies an hour, working seven days a week from dawn till dusk, sharing what they earn with their families but remaining hungry?  I have no research, so the answer might be zero.  But it might be in the thousands, too.  And as they watch my future snack food fall into one hundred calorie packages, and as they load trucks headed for my grocery store, do they long to sneak a bite to fill their stomachs, but stop short because they know the dreadful consequences?

I hesitated to write this for three weeks because I wanted to present viable solutions.   I wish I had answers. To say, "just give more money to the poor," is an easy, vague cop-out.  We all tried once to take up our mom's threat to send our vegetables to starving kids in China, but she never did ship that box, did she?  But somehow we must connect our personal eating habits to giving, to make it real, and more than a mere impersonal monetary donation.  I did have the idea that maybe whenever we eat out we should commit to giving a donation equal to the amount of our bill to a ministry that is feeding the starving.

Do you have ideas?  How can we truly share our food with those who are hungry and have no means to obtain it themselves?

Viktor Frankl's "A Man's Search For Meaning"

In preparation for this Sunday's message, I pulled a book from my shelves.  I purchased Man's Search For Meaning while a student at seminary.  Those days were filled with books I had to read, leaving little time or energy for the books I wanted to read.  I am now trying to fill my time with the latter...

I remember hearing about and reading excerpts of Viktor Frankl in both philosophy and theology classes.  I repeatedly heard that Frankl discovered that concentration camp inmates who lost hope quickly lost their lives, while those who retained hope often retained their lives! This concise, but insightful, work on the subject of meaning, suffering, and hope just cannot be ignored.  I concur with one reviewer - I could barely put it down.

I read this short work in order to hear Frankl's perspective on the necessity of hope. Interestingly, he rarely use the word itself.  Rather, he focused on the subject (as the title suggests) of finding meaning.  Frankl pushes existentialist philosophy beyond the mere acceptance of the reality of suffering to the discovery and acceptance of the meaning of suffering.  He regularly quotes Friedrich Nietzsche, "He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how."

The value of Frankl's work is his firsthand description of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, coupled with his professional training and experience as a psychiatrist before and after his imprisonment.  He recognizes the limits of his personal experience, but also makes the most of his experiences.  He writes of what he witnessed in others and in himself.

Frankl's thesis is to show the various ways that prisoners found meaning in the midst of and in thedoes life have meaning right here, right now, or is it now meaningless? He writes, "It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future."  A few pages later, he writes of the consequences of failing to see a future: "The prisoner who had lost faith in the future - his future - was doomed."
experience of sufferings that included starvation, beatings, and the constant threat of death by extermination.  Frankl discovered that the central question asked by the prisoners was,

Frankl's genius, however, was not a simplistic solution of "well just find meaning..."  He pushes further.  He suggests that a person must hold on to the future (as something to look towards), find meaning in the present (as something to live for today), but also to take responsibility for his life's meaning.  Genius!  He writes, "we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us...Our answer [to the question of the meaning of life] must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct.  Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks to which it constantly sets for each individual."  I think he is right on!  Too often we want to think about the meaning of life and then expect it to "just happen."  But the real heroes are those translate meaning into action!  Frankl even prophetically warns against societies who promote reflection without action!  Frankl also acutely noticed that a person's "meaning in life" is not vague and grand, but is specific and related to the time and place at hand.  In other words, our meaning in life can and does change - and so in every place and situation, we must ask ourselves what our meaning is here and now. Genius!

This idea is expanded upon in the second half of the updated edition which I read (published in 1963).  In this edition, Frankl adds a brief introduction to his therapeutic method, that which he calls logotherapy (a method to help patients discover and activate meaning in life).  He describes his method the "third school of Viennese therapy" (following Freud and Adler).  Frankl clearly, but gently, challenges a few of their ideas which continue dominate.  First, I appreciate his challenge of the human need for "homeostasis."  Frankl suggests that humans need tension, challenge, and "the struggle and striving of some goal worthy of him."  He suggests that expectation or demand for homeostasis results in a sense of meaninglessness.

Finally, and I think this is a great observation that applies especially to my own field of strategic, missional evangelism and outreach, is Frankl's teaching that we only experience meaning when we are others-oriented and world-oriented, not self-oriented.  He writes, "by declaring that man is a responsible creature and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be found in the world rather than within man or his own psyche...By the same token, the real aim of human existence cannot be found in what is called self-actualization.  Human existence is essentially self-transcendence rather than self-actualization...In other words, self-actualization cannot be attained if it is made an end in itself, but only as a side effect of self transcendence."  In other words, we need to stop thinking about ourselves so much, and as we think more about others and the world around us, we will find ourselves happier and fulfilled!

I now know why Viktor Frankl's short work is so highly regarded.  It is moving, challenging, and deeply personal.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!

My Fasting Experience - Back In the Land of the Eating

I woke up this morning ready to eat.  To be honest, last night was one of the toughest of this fast.  I shopped for juices, fruits, vegetables, and yogurt to help me ease back into normal eating. (Okay, I also bought a few other treats that I am looking forward to eating after my digestive system is up and running again after its vacation.  Have you seen the recipe for Bacon Caramel Salted Brownies?  I am so making them...in a couple of weeks.)  But last night was rough.  I was really tired and my stomach really hurt.  I was looking forward to watermelon and apple juice this morning.

Yes, the watermelon tasted great!  So sweet and luscious.  The apple juice was strong, but wonderful!  I showered, dressed, watched the kids find a few eggs and dive into their Easter baskets, and we opened the final resurrection egg.  Then I went upstairs to pack my bag for the day.  I grabbed my journal and Bible and stuffed them.

That is when it hit me.  For the last 21 days I have forgone food and drink in order to give more attention to God, his Word, and prayer.  But now what?  It seemed so anti-climactic.  Kind of like the day after a big birthday when life goes back to normal.  Honestly, I wanted to keep fasting.  Fasting has become my way of life for three weeks, and I am going to miss it.  I am especially going to miss what I have learned!

I know that fasting is not a long-term lifestyle.  Even Jesus resumed eating after forty days.  Now I need to come to terms with the reality that it is really not about fasting, but about the experiences gained and the lessons learned.  I have refocused my passion for God and for people who don't know Jesus.  I have refocused my top priorities, remembering again which things really aren't all that important.  I have developed again the habit of a daily quiet time with God that I don't want to lose!  Fortunately, I can continue in these things whether fasting or feasting.

My prayer, and how I ask you to pray for me, is that I would continue on this refocused, refined, re-defined path.

My Fasting Experience - Week 3 - Communion Really is a Feast

I have to admit that I am not really a sacramentarian. I just don't get it.  I appreciate the sacraments as signs that point to spiritual reality.  They are outward symbols of inward grace.  I believe that baptism and the Lord's supper are means of grace.  But my experiences of the Lord's Supper are not as "powerful" as the experiences of many of my friends.  Maybe it is because I am so analytical.  My most meaningful experiences with God usually occur in moments of intellectual awakening to new ideas or concepts, most often discovered in study of the Bible.

But tonight I experienced the Lord's Supper in a new way.  Tomorrow is the 21st day of my water-only fast, which I will break on Easter morning.  My body has digested no food for 3 weeks, and the only liquid I have tasted other than water is a 12 ounce bottle of green tea that I drank in sips last week to help with heartburn.

This evening, as we remembered the suffering and death of Jesus during our Good Friday service, we celebrated the Lord's Supper.  Even though I am fasting, I planned to fully participate in communion.  As I broke the bread during the institution of the ritual, I longed for a big bite of the carb-laden doughy goodness that we call bread.  I considered a mouthful, but the celebration of communion is only intended for a small bite of bread and a mere sip of juice.  What happened next was completely unexpected.  As I stood behind the table, waiting for our servers to give the elements to everyone in the room, God spoke to me.  "If this was all you ever had, would it be enough?"

In other words, he was asking, "I am enough for you?"

Throughout this fast, I have been regularly reminded of the words of Jesus, spoken while he was fasting.  Resisting the temptation to use his power to fill his empty stomach, he said, "Man does not live on bread along, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."  (Matthew 4:4, (quoting Deuteronomy 8:3))


Am I enough for you, or do you need food to make life enjoyable and meaningful?

As I invited the congregation to take and eat, I ate a small piece of bread.  With my senses heightened and taste buds cleansed from the extended fast, I enjoyed a morsel of bread like never before.  It was rich, salty, and delicious.  As I invited the congregation to drink in remembrance, the juice never tasted so good, full and filling.  A bite and a sip were enough...tastes that lingered and lasted.  I don't need steak and eggs, bacon and coffee and a sweet roll.  I need Jesus and his grace.

It was more than food, more than just pleasure for the palate.  It was food for the soul.  Yes, Jesus is enough for me.

Like the old song says,
     Hallelujah! I have found Him
     Whom my soul so long has craved!
     Jesus satisfies my longings;
     Through His life I now am saved.

One of my prayers as I break this fast is that instead of chasing the delicacy of the sweet and savory, I will allow Jesus to be the pleasure and comfort for my soul.

Source For the Hymn: http://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/325#ixzz2zIYBpdMU

My Fasting Experience - Week 2 - The Paradox of Strength

My original plan was to fast for 21 days, then break the fast a few days before Easter so that I could operate at full strength on our biggest day of the year.  Unfortunately, I realized too late that I started late and in order to fast for an entire 21 days, I would have to break the fast on Easter morning.  Ugh!  That would be like a quarterback showing up to the Superbowl not having eaten in a week! For a preacher, Easter calls for protein, calories and caffeine! So I decided to fast for only 20 days in order to get one day of recovery before Easter.  Until this week...

The second week fasting went remarkably well.  I felt no hunger pains, and the heartburn and stomach pain was minimal.  By the end of the second week, though, I started to consider how and when I would break the fast.  From what I am reading, how you break an extended fast is just as significant as the fast itself!  Having digested no food for three weeks, I will need to take it slow.  In my research, I am finding that it takes 4-5 days to resume eating normal food.  I have a plan and will stick to it.

Last Sunday was not easy.  Preaching twice was extra hard - I just didn't have the energy to project my voice and to be as animated as usual.  However, at the end of the service, so many people shared that it was a powerful message and that God really spoke to them.  One guy in his twenties came up to me with tears in his eyes telling me how he really heard from God!  Then, to cap it all off, a friend whom I trust very much told me that I preached differently....his words were "slower" and "more deliberate."  While I felt very weak, people were hearing from God like never before.

The apostle Paul tells about a spiritual encounter that left him in awe and how, in order to keep him from becoming conceited, God allowed him to struggle with what he called a "thorn in the flesh."  While we don't know exactly what it was, this "thorn" was a source of frustration, pain, and weakness for Paul.  He didn't like it.  But he grew from the experience. In 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, he wrote this:

 "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I like this, but I don't like it.  I like to be strong, not weak.  As I look forward to Easter, I want to be strong!  I get to meet a lot of new people.  I will have the privilege to baptize eight Jesus-followers!  I get to share the good news of Jesus and invite people to make a life-long commitment to follow him!  I want to be strong, and "on my game!"  But I want God's power more than I want my own strength.  And if I can somehow experience God's "perfect power," then I am willing to be weak.

So, I will fast for the full 21 days and break the fast on Easter morning.  Then I will carefully follow my post-fast plan.  And I will pray like crazy that God's power will work in people's lives like never before.

My Fasting Experience - week 1

It seems like fasting is something that is largely ignored and not practiced in our American Christianity.  But I think it is time we give it some attention.

To this end, I recently lead our church through a five week Fasting Learning Experience.  We viewed the teaching series produced by Jentezen Franklin, pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia.  Jentezen is a revivalist pentecostal preacher who focuses more on the seeking the Lord than seeking his gifts and blessings.  He regularly fasts and leads his church through periods of prayer and fasting.  Specifically, he leads his church to fast for 21 days at the beginning of every calendar year.

After leading our congregation through five weeks of learning and practicing fasting anywhere from one meal to two full days, I felt lead to engage in a 21 day, water-only fast leading up to Easter.  I started a bit late, so it will end up lasting only 20 days, but it has been quite the experience.

When people first hear about such a radical concept, they immediately ask if I am starving.  Honestly, I am not.  They say that the hunger pains go away after a few days of fasting - and they are right! (thank the Lord!)  Yesterday I went almost all day with no hunger pain.  I do drink lots of water, and I have committed to drinking fruit and vegetables juices if I get weak.

An interesting thought occurred to me last week, about three days into the fast.  I was at a church meeting with our small group leaders, and I realized that while I was not physically hungry, I had a strong desire to eat.  My stomach was not growling, nor was I feeling weak.  But I wanted some food.  While there was no physical desire, I experienced tremendous mental and emotional desire for food.

I really enjoy food!  I like the various tastes of marbled steak, juicy strawberries, hot coffee, BBQ chips, burritos with salsa, bread of any kind slathered with butter, sweet and creamy desserts, and, well, pretty much everything.  It is enjoyable to taste food!  And it feels good to have a full stomach and then to rest and maybe take a quick nap.   Food is comforting!  So you could say that I enjoy both the experience and the effects of eating!  When I think about food, I don't know that I desire the food itself, as much as I desire the pleasure and comfort I get from it!

I think this is one reason fasting is so helpful.  It refocuses our desires.  When Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread, it was a very real temptation.  Having fasted for 40 days, he was no doubt hungry!  But in resisting the temptation he said, "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4)  I do not want my life to center on eating.  I do not want to find pleasure and comfort in food.  I want to find pleasure and comfort in the God who created the food.  I do not want to live on food.  I want to live on the words of God!  Yes, food is necessary for the human body, but if my body is well nourished and my soul is starving, I am not really living.

So in these few weeks of fasting, I am praying that God will teach me how to feed on his word and to find comfort, pleasure and purpose in him.  I am praying that he will refocus my desire, so that I desire him first and food second.

Apprentice Field Guide - good stuff for learning how to mentor a ministry apprentice

After reading Jon Ferguson's book Exponential, I knew that I wanted to learn more.  The Ferguson brothers richly blend  personal discipleship with systemic discipleship.  That is, they are not just engaging in one-on-one discipleship, which always creates bottlenecks and is difficult to do on a larger scale. At the same time, they are not just church systems thinkers who attempt to disciple by program (which also doesn't work).  It seems that the key to maintaining this balance between personal and systemic ministry is their process of leadership development.  They develop leaders of programs by personal contact - and to which they give the term, apprenticing. 

Christian Community Church is by no means the first to use the term apprentice.  They know that.  But they have interestingly appropriated it to Christian discipleship and leadership development.  And I think this is a  key theory.  In the church world we have typically used the term "discipleship" to describe a process/plan of spiritual growth.  We also use the phrase, "spiritual formation."  In many circles, though, both of those terms describe a process that is all about "me and Jesus" and rarely results in reaching out to others or purposely developing as a leader.  With this in mind, the Fergusons and the folks at Community Christian refer to Peter, James and John as apprentices of Jesus - the guys who were bound to Jesus for the purpose of carrying on his work.  We then are called to become apprentices as well - carrying on the work of Jesus in our culture. 

This is genius!  It is action-oriented.  It expects reproduction and multiplication!  It acknowledges a need for the classic spiritual disciplines taught in spiritual formation- but not for merely personal reasons!  It is also highly relational!  To be honest, I have struggled to know how to develop leaders.  This is giving me some hope - and so I am giving a lot of energy this year to learning and practicing the development of ministry leaders.

Okay, enough for the philosophy of it all - the real help of this book is the practical help of how to identify, ask, mentor and release an apprentice.  Their list of must-have traits of a possible apprentice leader are great and very helpful.  I love the "parking lot test" for relational intelligence - when I see their car pull into the parking lot, am I excited to see them or do I hope to avoid them?"  Very interesting....

For me, the most helpful chapter discussed how to "make the ask," - that is, how to get someone on board to become an apprentice.  The authors remind us to "never say no for someone.  We must allow God to work in their lives.  We cannot have an apprentice if we do not ask.  It's up to us to present the opportunity, and up to God to work in them from there."  I need constant reminder of that.  I am too quick to say, "they are already so busy..."  Who knows how God has already been moving in their hearts?  Further, though, was their teaching to ask the person to pray about it, think about it, and get back to you, and then to pursue them.  Their approach of using ICNU, or "I see in you....the qualities of leadership....a love for kids....a heart for prayer....."  Genius!

This book has been very helpful for me as I explore this concept of developing leaders through apprenticeships - I will keep it on hand!

If you want to order a copy of this book, you can buy it here from Lulu.

I also just found an electronic copy available for free here:  http://242community.com/apprentice-field-guide