The How to of the Hook - Christmas

If you've read my earlier two posts (hook for humans) you may be thinking yeah, yeah, yeah I know that stuff. Jesus and His mission are the only real food for searching hungry hearts, but how do you actually draw someone in with the Gospel bait. In a word - Christmas. I'm not talking about some sort of cool Christmas outreach. I'm talking about the theology behind Christmas.

Christmas is a time when we celebrate when God took on human flesh so He could do several things, one of which, is hang out with humans. There's a story in the first chapter of the book of John that seems so insignificant. You may even wonder why it's there. It's (soon to be disciples of Jesus) John and Andrew. They've been hanging out with John the Baptist which incidentally had to be a weird ride. John tips them off that the whole reason he has been in ministry has just walked by in a robe and sandals.

John and Andrew abruptly start stalking Jesus until He gets the hibbee jibbees and turns around to inquire why they are intruding on His personal space. They are understandably nervous, having never met a Messiah before and they say to Jesus that they only want to see where He lives. His answer to them is to "Come and See."

Jesus is no idiot (a gross understatement I know). He knows what these guys are up to and could have gone into a red letter discourse that would have made your head spin, but He doesn't. He simply let's them come up close and personal. The scripture says they then spent the day with Him. Can you imagine? Spending the day with the Godman. We're hard pressed to find a regular old human who would be willing to spend the day with us much less want to. By the end of the day, Andrew is so stoked over his hang out time that he can't wait to go fishing for his brother Simon (soon to be Peter). Jesus has successfully begun to fish for men and did it through the ministry of hanging out.

When we came here to plant a church in 1999, we had been trained to market our vision for the start-up of a new church. The idea was to do a publicity blitz with slick post cards and news ads. It would cost thousands but was supposed to bring in a sizable crowd for our launch service. Before we could really get launched with this strategy, most of our start-up money was cut for one reason or another. Because of this, our "strategy" had to shift to the ministry of hanging out.

We set-up a table at Umass and met a few folks. Invited them to a start-up meeting and from there engaged in the ministry of hanging out. Some of those folks became Christians. Some, who were already Christians, grew immensely. All of them started doing the same in their own circles of influence. The result has been a church that has been planted in a place where most church plants have failed. While we've definitely spent money, it's been mostly on staff who spend lots of time cultivating relationships and encouraging others to do the same. Our biggest challenge is passing that vision on to each generation of MERCYhousers.

This hanging out ministry is so simple and yet so hard. It's simple because all you need is a living/growing/transforming relationship with Christ. You need not worry about having a huge storehouse of pat answers to spring on your unsuspecting victims at a moments notice. You only need Christlike love for the people you are hanging out with and your own story about walking with Christ.

It's hard because it takes a huge investment of time and energy and sometimes other resources as well. People are, well, messy, and there is no getting around it. It is so tempting (and yes it is a temptation to sin) to close the door on new relationships and hang out with only those who are safe and encouraging. Thank God Jesus didn't do that. He chose to risk and to be inconvenienced and give his whole day to a bunch of punks from Galilee. Come to think of it, gave His whole life to a bunch of punks from planet earth. Let's follow in His steps and do the same.

A Hook for Humans II

The other intriguing part (see earlier post for part I) of Jesus' invitation to his first followers is that it includes the opportunity to give one's life away to the mission of Jesus. This too rings strange in the ears of Christian consumers. Why would Jesus tell people He wanted them to do something for him before they've even decided they want to follow him in the first place. A couple of reasons come to mind.

As was stated in the earlier post, Jesus is good enough in and of himself to be followed no questions asked. The reason we are able to do this is because He has already shown that he can be trusted by going through the most humiliating, painful death imaginable before we said yes to anything. Whatever He asks of us will always pale in comparison to what He's already done for us - no questions asked.

But there is more to this invitation. Jesus knows that we are hard wired to be on a mission with God. From the very beginning, God and human beings are working alongside each other. When God creates Adam (6th day), the first thing Adam does is rest (7th day) but immediately after the one day rest God and Adam are on the job bright and early on Sunday morning - naming animals and tending the garden. God still sees our vocations in a similar light. Fishing for fish (or designing semi conductors or sweeping the floor) is a way to co labor with the Creator. We are wired to work with God.

Because of the fall of man, we've got an extra thing on our to do list that Adam and Eve didn't have back in Genesis 2. Those who have reconciled with God through Christ are not only on mission with God in whatever career they find themselves in at the moment, but they are also commissioned to be a fisher of humans. We get to ride shotgun with Christ as He continues to do the same kind of fishing that we see Him doing on that sandy beach in Galilee. It is one of the most exciting, challenging, stretching experiences that you will ever have and is one of the "hooks" that pulls you into a relationship with Jesus.

I'll talk more about what it means to fish for humans in the next post

The Hook for Humans

I've always found it interesting how Jesus gets his first followers. He doesn't invite them to a big meeting with free lattes or promise them 10 steps to a better life. He says "follow me and I will make you fishers of men". This seems strange in the age of consumer church. What is Jesus getting at by using such a "hook".

Two things. The first is that Jesus is good enough in and of himself to be followed. These first followers were certainly not following Jesus because they thought he was going to give them the easy life nor did Jesus represent that he was offering this. We find Jesus talking with a group of potential followers in the Gospel of Matthew. One of them declares with great emotion that he plans to follow Jesus wherever he goes. Jesus' quick reply is that he (Jesus) has no place to lay his head implying that the man should perhaps reconsider his decision to follow Jesus because of the unknown hardships he may end up facing. Another person pipes in and declares his need to take care of aging parents before fully following Jesus. Again, Jesus answers with a surprisingly harsh statement that the dead should be left to bury themselves.

Still people signed up to follow. They even signed up to die for him. Why did they do this? This is one of the proofs that Jesus was who he said he was. That people were willing to follow him with nothing to gain. This is an especially powerful argument when we see that many of these same followers continued to follow Jesus even after his crucifixion and did so to their own peril.

There have been many who have tried to explain this phenomenon away. Everything from grand conspiracy theories to group hallucinations. The fact remains that these followers of Jesus remained true to Christ and true to the message of his death, burial, and resurrection and did so without any promise of earthly health and wealth. Their encounter with Jesus, himself was all that it took.

Listen to this Apostle as he describes his encounter with Jesus: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ." (1John 1:1-3)

While a relationship with Jesus can definitely improve your life in a variety of ways, this is not why we are to follow Him. We follow Him because he is who he said he was. The Godman who came to rescue us from our sin and did so by dying and rising. This is also how we are to "fish for men." While I do think the church should incorporate some of the principles of our marketplace into it's "outreach", all we have to offer once people are in the door is Jesus himself. If that's not good enough they're going to have to go somewhere else.

Next week I'll talk about the other part of the hook - getting to become a fisher of people.

Prayer of Confession

Recently I got a really cool birthday gift from a great aunt of mine. They are A Man Called Peter and The Prayers of Peter Marshall. Peter Marshall was a pastor back in the 30's and 40's who was known for his amazing prayers. He was eventually asked to be the Senate Chaplain and served Republicans and Democrats alike. The books were originally owned by my great grandmother (Maude Clemons). She and my great grandfather (Thomas Lincoln Clemons) loved Jesus a lot and gave their whole lives in service to him.

Below is one of the prayers by Peter Marshall. It is a prayer of repentance that I plan to use this Sunday as a way to start the season of Advent. I've edited out the Thees and Thous to make it a little easier to read.

"Confession" by Peter Marshall O Lord, I come to you out of my great need. You have pledged your word that whosoever comes to You shall in no way be cast out.

I dare to pray something will happen to me in Your presence. Lord, I know I need to be changed! For the visions that once swept across the leaden skies of monotony, like white-winged gulls, have dimmed and faded, and I would see them again. Open my eyes.

Shame fills my heart as I remember the aspirations that I have breathed before You, the vows I made, the resolves that were born, the seedlings of consecration that were planted in my heart. I blush to remember the withering blight that touched them all – my failure, my shortcomings.

Lord, I confess before You that: I have had longings and nudges from You which I did not translate into action;

I have made decisions without consulting You, then have blamed You when things went wrong.

I have said that I trusted You, yet have not turned my affairs over to You.

I have been greedy for present delights and pleasures, unwilling to wait for those joys which time and discipline alone can give.

I have often sought the easy way, have consistently drawn back from the road that is hard.

I have been fond of giving myself to dreams of what I am going to do sometime, yet have been so slow in getting started to do them.

Forgive me for all the intentions that were born and somehow never lived. These, Lord Jesus, are sins, grievous in Your sight, grievous even in mine.

And now I claim Your promise to change me. Do You for me what I cannot do for myself. Lead me into a new tomorrow with a new spirit. Cleanse my heart, create within me new attitudes and new ideas, as only You can create them.

For these good gifts, I thank You, Lord. Amen.

The Marketing of God

MERCYhouse made the news this week, or should I say The Buzz (click for article). If you live here in the Pioneer Valley, you've probably seen newstands with "The Buzz" in big red letters. It's an entertainment/news monthly that has been around a couple of years.

I had a blast talking to their executive editor Greg Saulmon. He planted the newspaper from scratch as one of several target specific papers distributed by the Sunday Republican. He and his counterpart did something you don't often see these days - journalism. They actually did their homework and wrote a stellar article about church in the valley.

What gave them the idea for a story about church was seeing the oldest Congregational church in Springfield close its doors because of dwindling funds and membership. At the same time they were seeing (and hearing) advertisements for the new Vineyard Church plant in Northampton and the new MERCYhouse site also in Northampton. This got Greg to thinking, "What's the difference?"

Their hunch was that it was marketing. That newer, growing churches are using more modern means for getting "the word" out. To some degree, they found what they were looking for. Growing churches seem to have websites and advertising. More modern worship environments and loud music. Even those that they interviewed from dying churches disdainfully confirmed that growing churches were selling out to Madison Ave.

I'd say that relevant marketing and communications are more than some slick technique to keep the church growing. They reveal something deeper about the ancient message that the church has held to for 2000 years. Usually referred to as "The Gospel" which means good news, it's the story of how God became a human in order to reconcile human beings to himself. It is God's cosmic marketing strategy for getting His product (himself) to his customers (human beings).

God, who is all knowing, all powerful, and all present considers his potential target - human beings. He tries thunder and lightening at Mt Sinai, appears as a low lying cloud in the Jerusalem temple, he even sends out 100's of salesmen (aka prophets) all with little success. He then unveils his most brilliant marketing approach yet. He becomes a little Jewish zygote in the womb of an unwed mother in a backwater village called Nazareth.

The fusion of God's bend over backwards accomodation with his unchanging message of a need for humans to reconcile with God is not only the source of salvation for the church, but also the model for how they are to go about proclaiming this good news. As Jesus is readying the disciples for his earthly departure, He gives them these instructions, "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you."

As the church, our job is to continue to search for ways to communicate the ancient message of the gospel in ways that make sense to our culture. To dress it up in those neutral elements of the culture that serve as bridges to those who are seemingly far from God.

Life with Jesus is a Free Ride

This past weekend, almost 100 people joined up at MERCYhouse for the purpose of driving drunk people around for 2 nights from 10pm to 3am. It was our annual "Free Rides" event. We've done this for the past 8 years for the purpose of keeping intoxicated people off the road during one of the biggest party weekends of the year. It is always a great weekend with hundreds of rides given to hundreds of people - most of whom are Umass students.

Every year I'm always struck by a contrast. The contrast of the free ride that is given to hundreds with the actual cost that goes into the ride. Before the event even happens there is planning, postering, passing out thousands of little business cards with the free rides number on them. Then the night of the event, people give up their weekend and a lot of sleep in order to drive the vans and cover the dispatch center. The day after when everyone is more hung over from free rides than are the passengers, there is still the cleaning of vans and returning them to the rental company. Last year that included some vomit removal. Just when you think that the expense of free rides is over, the credit card bill arrives with about $2000 of charges for van rentals, gas, and publicity.

Now wait a minute, I thought these rides were free? They are, to those that take the ride, but for those who provide the ride it is at a high cost. It's one of the things I like about this service event. It's something that people really appreciate and it comes at a relatively high cost to MERCYhouse. It is representative of the gospel that we love and try to live.

When we become a Christian, we are essentially taking a free ride from Jesus. His rescue of us from our drunken sinfully selfish stupor is free to us but comes at an infinite cost to Him. This is the essence of the good news that has come into the world. There are three responses that people make to this offer of a free ride and only one is appropriate.

Some respond by not recognizing the value of the free gift and their need for it. They simply take it for granted, even trample all over it. One of the challenges of the free rides weekend is that we always have more people calling for rides than we can handle. That means we have to stop taking calls. Whenever we answer the phones and try to explain to people that we are too swamped to pick anyone else up, many of the callers (granted, they are drunk) cuss out our dispatchers and try to heap blame on them saying that we are now responsible for them driving drunk and killing themselves on the road.

There are many who respond to Jesus this way. Jesus has died for the sins of the world and anyone who wants to take this free gift of forgiveness can have it, the result of which is new life now lasting throughout all eternity. Many scoff at this great offer and instead shake their angry fists at God, shouting at him because he doesn't run the universe (aka their lives) like they want Him to.

Some respond to the free gift by trying to pay for it. Every year we have people that insist on paying for the ride. We say over and over, "This is free rides. There is no cost." Still, a few people every year insist on paying by throwing money into the van as they run off because they feel guilty for taking something for nothing. This may be the result of proper breeding but when it comes to the free ride that Jesus is offering, trying to earn his gift is a big mistake.

We can't fully take the free gift that Jesus is offering unless we admit that we a bankrupt and unable to offer Him anything that makes us worthy of the gift. So many of us respond to the good news of Jesus' free ride by trying to clean ourselves up and somehow earn the "free ride". This makes absolutely no sense because not only can we not pay for the ride, we need Jesus to clean up our vomit and forgive us for a couple of million relapses. Our seemingly noble act of trying to pay a little something actually disqualifies us from receiving the free gift as much or more than response #1.

Some respond to the free gift with gratitude. Most of the riders on the vans simply can't say thank you enough. They are aware that people are giving their weekends. Some even mention the cost for vans and gas. This is the response to Jesus' free gift of grace and forgiveness that He is looking for. An ever growing awareness of his infinite cost that propels us not to get a little part-time job to pay him back but to live in gratitude for the free gift. A free rides service by Jesus that we then mimic as we represent Christ to the world around us. This is life with Jesus - a "free" ride.

The Dunkin' Donuts Church

There have been some rumors being spread around MERCYhouse these days. Rumors that we're hoping and praying for a whole lot of churches to be planted and a whole lot of people to be in them. Last week someone told me "I heard MERCYhouse is going to plant 200 churches in 4 years". I knew at this point that we had a problem.

A good problem in fact. Imagine a church that gossips about church planting. Well imagine no more, MERCYhouse is such a church. It all started this summer with some brainstorming and prayer in the month of June. I was praying and so were others about the longer term dreams at MERCYhouse. Here are the beginnings of that vision.

Our prayer is that 10% of our immediate area would be reached for Christ by 2020. That's a total of about 10,000 people. If you haven't noticed, we live in an area with fewer Christians than some regions in China. 10% would be a major move of God in our area. So... we've got this God sized prayer request, now what.

Well, like most prayer requests, we have to consider if there are ways that we could cooperate with God in his work toward making this happen. Our answer? A church planting movement. If God is to reach into the hearts and lives of 10,000 people in our area, that means they are going to have to be gathered into a church in order to find Christ and find community. I don't think MERCYhouse has the parking for such a crowd. I also don't think people in the northeast are really into the whole mega church thing anyway.

Case in point - Dunkin' Donuts. I used to drink a few cups of their coffee every month two years ago. Now I drink multiple cups every week. What happened? Other than a growing addiction to caffeine, they erected one of their temples to the caffeine god practically in my backyard. I can walk there in 3 minutes. It's right next to my grocery store and my bank and the post office. Places I'd be going anyway.

So far we've got five DD stores in Amherst and Hadley alone and there are probably plans for more. You may wonder why they don't just put up a Dunkin' Donuts Supercenter on route 9 and be done with it. It's because they know that putting smaller stores in the crossroads of people's well worn paths is a better strategy for selling really good cups of coffee and stale donuts. So what's the point?

It illustrates one of the reasons we think a church planting movement is how we could best cooperate with God as He reaches into our valley. We could start a TV ministry, advertise on billboards, build a Jesus supercenter on route 9 and I think we might could grow to a whopping 500 people. It would be exciting but what would it really accomplish in the grand scheme of things.

Instead, our prayer is that we'd see 50 churches planted by the year 2020. If those churches grew to an average of MERCYhouse's size right now, we'd see 10,000 people reached for Christ and gathered into community. It will start slow but grow exponentially. Some churches will grow bigger others will stay smaller. Some won't make it and some will seem like the rock stars of the movement. The goal is not the "success" of individuals or churches but instead our cooperation with God's work here in the valley.

You'll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks and months. Begin (or continue) praying with us that God would awaken our valley and that we would be attentive to His invitation to get involved.

Banter from the Basement

Here it goes. I'm joining the more than 40,000 people starting a blog today. I'm calling it "Banter from the Basement" because I office out of my basement and am often doing my work there among the piled up laundry, boxes of assorted junk, and everything else we don't want the rest of the world to see. I'm also calling it this because in the church I lead, we want everyone to come to the basement as quickly as possible.

When we talk about the journey that we hope people take, we start with the front door which is usually a friend. That friend then brings the person to the foyer - that's Sunday morning. Then as quickly as we can, we invite them into the living room - that's house churches. Before you know it, we're encouraging them toward the kitchen - which is service somewhere in our church or in the community. The final destination? The basement. This is leadership. It's the place where we most live out the teaching of Jesus, "whoever wants to save his life will loose it".

It's down in the basement where the chores get done. Where all the stuff that no one sees happens. It's the destiny of every person who desires to be a Christian leader. There is certainly a public face to leadership, but much of what makes a person a leader is what happens in the darkest corners of one's character as well as the behind the scenes work of worship and service.

The purpose of this blog is to encourage people down the ladder. To speak to the issues that people in leadership face. To add appendices to the Sunday morning sermon that may help people to step down a few more notches. To ultimately contribute to the movement of personal growth and church planting that we hope continues to expand here in the happy valley.