That’s right! After 6 lonnnnng months of seeking God’s direction for our family, we have accepted a position at Glenville Church in Wichita, KS. Starting August 24th, I will be the Pastor of Worship Arts there and will work with a creative team to lead our church in fresh, relevant and meaningful worship using a variety of expressions. We are very excited to be getting involved with a very forward looking church that is not afraid to do things that others are not doing so they can reach people that others are not reaching. Needless to say, we have a lot of work to do to even get there (full time with the family). We need to sell our house first, and then the rest will come. Our God is a big God, and know He can do more than we could ever ask or think. He has done that by allowing us this opportunity, and I know He will do that in the details of getting us there. Please keep us in your prayers as we make this transition. The kids are excited, but will certainly miss there friends. I will post as often as I can through this transition.
We're Moving!
Resisting or Embracing Change?
I stumbled across a quote a couple weeks ago at Jonathan Herron’s blog that just keeps playing itself in my mind. Here is the quote, and the author of it:
“The greatest opposition to what God is doing today comes from those who were on the cutting edge of what God was doing yesterday.”
- R.T. Kendall, pastor of Westminster Chapel
Is saddens me (and ticks me off at the same time) to know that there are people who think that God stopped allowing His kids to be creative in 1950, 1960 or 1970. That somehow God looked down in 1970 and said, “Ahh, they have arrived. This is the ultimate Christian experience, and it should remain like this from now until Jesus comes.”
Can you imagine that? Can you understand that? If so, try and explain it to me if you would, because I sure can’t understand it. So many people are so used to their “Churchianity” that they forget that life is all about Christ, not their version of the Bible, their preference of music or their style of dress. Jesus said that we have the opportunity to live an abundant life that comes from living for Him. I think it is time we get our eyes off of what used to be and start focusing on what should be.
I am glad that things change. Not just change for change sake. But I like air conditioning, and riding to church in a car as opposed to a horse. I like many of the changes that we see in the church today. Are all changes good? No.
As you read the Bible, you do not find God doing the same thing over and over again as He dealt with His people. You do not see Jesus doing the same miracles over and over again. He did things different. Sometimes in a radical way. A way that ticked the religious leaders off. I think that is cool and sad at the same time. Cool because Jesus was certain that God was not working the same way He did with Moses and Abraham and others in the Old Testament. It is sad because Jesus told these so-called religious leaders that by holding on to their traditions and preaching those traditions the same as being God’s law, they had made the Word of God of no affect. That is what scares me about churches today. They are so in tune to tradition, that the Word of God has no affect when it is actually preached. God, please do not let me ever get to that point!
God changed His methods. Jesus changed His methods. But the message was always the same. God loves us, and wants a relationship with us. That message will never change, nor should it.
Pop Goes The Church
Finished reading this book last week. It is absolutely a must read for any church or individual that is trying to use today’s culture to reach today’s culture. I grew up in a very conservative church background, so as I read this book, I recognized a lot of things that I grew up doing and thinking just because that it the way it had always been done, and that was what the “church” expected of those that attended.
Funny thing is, those are the things that are driving people away from the church today. Dan Kimball has written a book entitled, They Like Jesus But Not The Church in which he discusses the fact that people out there today are still seeking God and Jesus. They still are seeking for truth. They are just not seeking it in the church because most have become irrelevant, inward focused, and are seen as being disingenuous.
Pop Goes The Church boldly proclaims that churches need to not only be aware of the culture around them, but they need to utilize pop culture in their efforts to reach those outside of the church. Tim Stevens gives practical advice on how to do this in a Biblical and Christ honoring way, and also gives answers to the skeptics that will no doubt be critical of the concept. (Imagine that, Christians being critical!)
Anyways, that is enough for now. I will try to highlight some different things in the book that speak to me as I read it again. This is in my top three for the year so far. In no particular order, you need to read these three books:
1. Unchristian – Probably should be required reading for all Christians… after they start reading their Bibles of course
2. They Like Jesus But Not The Church – A lot of great stuff in this book. It is very similar to Unchristian, so read a book or two in between these two.
3. Pop Goes The Church – A great book to read between the other two. Also a great book to help start you thinking about how to break out of the mold that churches have been in that keeps them ineffective.
Ok, so there is my list. What have you been reading lately?
