Three Essential Relationships

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I wrote this blog for Crossroads Community Church, where I will be serving come January. I thought it would be appropriate here.

At the end of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus spoke what has come to be known as the Great Commission. Jesus began by telling his disciples that all authority was his (Matthew 28:18). He concluded by assuring them that he would be with them always (Matthew 28:20). Sandwiched between these two awesome realities lies the Great Commission. Jesus said this: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them all things that I commanded you.” There’s quite a bit packed into Jesus’ statement, so let’s break it down into bite-sized pieces. There are four main verbs in this commission. Go, make disciples, baptizing and teaching. In the original Greek, one of these verbs is an imperative, meaning it’s essential, you must do it. The other three are subordinate clauses to that imperative. Can you guess which the imperative is? I’m sure you guessed correctly. The imperative is to make disciples. We make disciples by going, whether across the sea or across the street, and by baptizing and teaching. Jesus is telling us that his church is meant to be first and foremost a disciple-making body. A disciple is a learner. We are called to be disciples of Jesus and our relationships within the body of Christ should be geared so that all of us learn more and more about and from Jesus. It is with this truth in mind that we created the Paul, Barnabas and Timothy model of mentoring. Let me explain it to you.

Each of these well-known New Testament figures represents a type of a relationship that is essential in the discipleship process. And much like the Five Hour Foundation, discipleship is foundational to our growth in faith. Each of these three characters is important to nurture and mature us as followers of Jesus. That’s why you will continue to hear us encourage you to cultivate, as foundational for your life and for the Crossroads community, these types of relationships.

What do these three relationships look like?

Paul was, of course, the great apostle to the Gentiles. A former persecutor of the church, Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the Damascus Road and changed his life forever. Paul’s missionary journeys are detailed in the Book of Acts. And Paul’s letters to the churches he founded, as well to his ministry companions, take up nearly one-third of our New Testaments. Paul is a classic mentor. He poured his life into people. Paul was a spiritual father to many believers, and he once called Timothy a ‘son in the faith.’ Each one of us needs a spiritual mentor in our life, like Timothy had in Paul. We all need someone who is older, wiser, more experienced and deeper in the things of Christ. We all need to be poured into by another brother or sister. Their influence can range from scriptural studies and encouragements, to working through hard times in our marriage or with our kids. In many ways, this is what Pastor Bill’s nxtSTP ministry is about. God’s vision for that ministry is to engage the Boomers and beyond to invest in the future. That is also why your pastoral staff and leaders are here. We all need to be poured into like the apostle Paul did. So ask yourself, “Do I have a Paul in my life?”

Barnabas was a companion of Paul on his first missionary journey after Pentecost. Paul and Barnabas were peers, and sent out from the same church ministry in Acts 13. They walked through life and served God together. They were friends and without a doubt, they were mutually edified by each other. When Jesus sent out his disciples in the Gospels, he sent them out two by two. It is commonly explained that Jesus knew they needed fellowship and protection. He wanted his disciples to have fellowship because he knew that they were created for relationships. In the same way, we need to be able to share our lives with others in friendship. Jesus also wanted to his disciples to be protected, because life could be treacherous. It’s the same for us. When we are alone, we are more vulnerable in so many ways, but when we are in relationship, someone has our back. We can count on them. So Jesus sent his disciples out two by two, and this is exactly what we mean by the Barnabas model of mentoring. Not only do we need a Paul, someone who will pour into us, but we also need a Barnabas, with whom we will walk through this life of faith. A Barnabas is our spiritual peer, a friend in the faith, someone we co-labor with and someone who will be a source of fellowship and protection. They will encourage us in the faith, and we will do the same for them. We all need someone who knows us with more regularity and depth then our Paul. So ask yourself, “Do I have a Barnabas in my life?”

Timothy was, as I already explained, Paul’s son in the faith. Timothy was considerably younger than Paul. Yet Paul made a substantial investment in Timothy. Although young, God was using Timothy mightily in the pastoral ministry. Timothy was the recipient of mentoring at the hands of Paul and it paid eternal dividends. So not only do we need a Paul in our lives to pour into us, not only do we need a Barnabas to walk alongside us, we all need a Timothy as well. We all need to be pouring into someone for their benefit and growth. Take a minute and think back on the individuals that we have discipled. Whether we have been a Christian for thirty years or for thirty minutes, there is always someone who will be blessed by our spiritual investment in their lives. And not only will they be blessed, but everyone who they reach out to will also be! In the more modern vernacular, this is our spiritual ‘paying it forward.’ As we have been blessed by our “Paul’ and encouraged by our “Barnabas,” we then seek out someone we can bless as we have been blessed, our own personal Timothy’s that we can pour into as a Paul. So ask yourself, “Do I have a Timothy in my life?”

So there you have it! Now you understand our Paul, Barnabas and Timothy model of mentoring and discipling. Brothers and sisters, can you imagine if every person in our entire family of faith endeavored to have, as a starting point, these three relationships? Can you imagine how much growth would take place? Jesus wants his church to be a disciple-making body, so I encourage you to pray about your Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy relationships today. God will surely meet you as you pray about this concept, step out in faith, and seek these people out. And the impact will be amazing!

CONTEXTUALIZATION

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“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…No one has seen God at any time.  The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”[1] – John the Baptizer speaking of Jesus

 

“Ritualism is nothing more than a rut, and the only difference between a rut and a grave is the length and depth.”[2] – Chuck Smith

 

 

Something that has always existed in the Calvary Chapel Movement is the practice of what is known as contextualization.  The basic idea behind contextualization is allowing people and churches to express devotion to the core non-negotiable elements of Christianity in ways that are natural to their cultural background.

 

Contextualization and Calvary Chapel

Calvary Chapel did this during the Jesus Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s.  At a time when most people wore suits to church and sang only hymns in their services, Calvary Chapel allowed the thousands of hippie kids who were coming to Christ to come to Jesus and the church just as they were.  Pastor Chuck wouldn’t allow the kids to feel as if they had to take a shower, put on a suit, and start learning hymns if they wanted to follow Jesus.  Instead, he allowed them to come into Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in their bare-feet, dirty clothes, and eclectic styles.  They let the kids express their love for Jesus in new songs they were writing in different musical styles than the old hymns that churched people were used to singing.

 

Whether people were calling what Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel were doing “contextualization” or not, that is exactly what it was.  The hippies came from a different culture, and as they came to Jesus they weren’t forced to adopt the culture of established Christianity in its forms and traditions.  They were allowed to let their new love for Jesus and commitment to Him be expressed in forms and styles appropriate to their own culture, and this openness provided many more open doors for sharing the gospel with the hippies.

 

The Biblical Example

Many people don’t realize that Jesus Christ contextualized His ministry.  Jesus was a cross-cultural missionary.  He came from the kingdom and culture of heaven to a specific kingdom and culture on earth.  Jesus came to a specific place, at a specific time in history.  He ate the food of the culture He was in.  He attended the festivals and observed the customs of the culture in which He lived.  He spoke the language of the people of the day.  As He taught the truth of God He used illustrations and parables with which the people He was ministering to could relate and understand.[3]

 

Paul would carry on the great missionary example set by Jesus as he practiced contextualization as well.  When he knew he was going to be traveling through and preaching the gospel in an area where many Jews lived he actually went so far as to have his pastoral assistant Timothy circumcised, even though the poor dude was nearly thirty years old at the time![4]  Why? We know from books like Galatians that it had nothing to do with Paul believing circumcision had anything to do with one’s salvation.  Paul was contextualizing.  This was the level of Paul and Timothy’s missional commitment.  They were removing an amoral barrier to communication that would exist between them and their Jewish audience so that the people would give an ear to the gospel they preached.  He and Timothy were willing to lay down their rights in amoral areas to win a listening ear with lost people and we should be willing to do the same.

 

Personal Story

When I was pastoring a church in Idaho a group of us used to go to the local nursing home and do ministry once a month.  We would usually sing some hymns and then give a simple gospel message.  I remember on one occasion as I began to open in prayer a Mormon woman in her seventies yelled out, “Hey! You better fold your arms!”  What was the problem?  In LDS culture it is a sign of reverence to fold your arms and bow your head when you pray.  She didn’t want me praying irreverently in her presence and so she wasn’t going to let me go on with the meeting until I folded my arms.

 

So what did I do? I folded my arms!  I didn’t do it because I had to, but because I wanted to.  I know Jesus didn’t care whether or not I folded my arms, lifted my hands, or laid on the ground when I pray to Him.  So it didn’t bother me one bit to fold my arms.  But it would have bothered this woman greatly if I didn’t, and she wouldn’t have tuned her ear to one word I had to say from that moment on.  So, the meeting when on, I preached the gospel, and about a month later through a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit that same woman got saved!  Sensitivity and flexibility to cultural issues matters greatly at times.

 

No Compromise

Inevitably when the subject of contextualization comes up people pull the compromise card.  They say you want to water down the gospel and the teaching of the Word with all this contextualization business.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  Expressing his commitment to contextualization Paul said,

 

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak.  I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.  Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”[5]

 

Now, notice that Paul didn’t merely say he didn’t do certain cultural things to win a listening ear with lost people.  He said he became certain things to win a listening ear with lost people.  He temporarily adopted cultural and even religious practices that were amoral for the purpose of removing barriers to people hearing him out in regard to the gospel.  Paul’s flexibility in this enabled lost people to hear the Word preached and become saved through faith in Jesus.  But it started with Paul contextualizing so as to win an ear with the lost.

 

So what does this have to do with compromise? The same man who wrote this in his passion for contextualization also wrote, “even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”[6]  Was Paul into contextualization? Yes.  Was he into compromise? NO!  Contextualization is about having flexibility in forms and methods, not the message of the Bible.  As church planters we need to work to practice contextualization in our methods and yet remain unyielding in our no-compromise commitment to preaching the unadulterated truth of the gospel specifically, and the rest of the Bible generally.

 

What a Culture is Vs. What it is Becoming

Sometimes the best way to contextualize is to become the opposite of what a culture has historically been.  This is something I’ve learned while doing ministry in Idaho and Utah.  Utah is a predominantly Mormon state.  That being the case, most people think going to church includes wearing collard white shirts, dresses, singing songs that are at least sixty years old, sitting through a boring two or three hour weekend service, drinking water for communion, and trying not to fall asleep as you struggle through the predictable monotony every week.

 

Some might be tempted to think that contextualizing to reach people in Utah must mean designing your church services to be like what I’ve described above so that Mormon people will feel comfortable in your service, and therefore be able to hear the gospel.  To be sure, this might be a good thing to consider in some cases.  But I have found the opposite to be the case at Refuge Church.  What we have discovered as we’ve done church in a more casual and free way is that it is a breath of fresh air to people who have grown up in a very formal church environment.  People love that church is just about normal people who don’t have it all together getting together informally to worship a Savior who truly does have it all together.

 

So the point is this: Practicing good contextualization doesn’t always mean exactly conforming to the predominant norms in a culture.  Sometimes people who have grown up under one style of church or in one kind of spiritual environment are actually longing for something different than what they’ve known.  So again, it all comes back to being flexible with forms and uncompromising with content.  All you can do is pray, know your culture, and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  He will never steer you wrong in how to reach the people in your context.

 

The Dependable Path of Authenticity

The last thing I want to mention on the issue of contextualization is the issue of authenticity.  Frankly, sometimes in an effort to contextualize guys end up changing so much about themselves and their church that they really just come off as being fake.  I know a pastor who was a successful business man before entering the ministry.  Due to his background he was a wealthy guy, so he tended to dress really nice and keep a clean-cut appearance.  As a pastor he started out dressing and behaving in the same way he did while working as a business man for almost twenty years. But one day he began to change.  In an effort to be relevant he grew a goatee, started wearing baggy clothes, and got a new hair-style.  The result was that the young people he was hoping to reach with the gospel through his extreme makeover became his biggest critics.  They thought he was inauthentic and felt like he was trying to sell them something rather than be real about what he truly believed.

 

Personal Story

Authenticity is always the strongest course of action.  Again, I learned this pastoring in the small rural town of Salmon, Idaho.  As a city kid who grew up playing in punk rock and metal bands and living a vegan straightedge lifestyle, a rural Idaho rancher town like Salmon is the last place I would’ve ever thought God could use me to reach people.

 

My wife and I moved to Salmon in 2006 and were immediately beat down with culture shock.  I’ll never forget going to Cowboy Church the first week we lived in Salmon.  It was definitely a church service like I had never experienced before!  The congregation sat in stands used in the horse and mule auction, the band played on the back of a flatbed trailer leading the people in Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb, while cowboys road real horses into the arena waving the American and “Christian” flags.  The preacher yelled a lot and looked like he’d just come from a ride on a bull at a rodeo.  All me and my could do was sit back in awe, and wonder what minister of Satan had deceived us into moving to such a place that was so incredibly different from us culturally.

 

As I struggled a bit with how God could use me to reach a place that was so different than anything I had come from or appreciated culturally, the Lord told me just to be myself and teach His Word.  That’s what I did.  And you know what, over time those cowboys, hunters, farmers, ranchers, loggers, and tough down-home people we served in that community welcomed us with open arms.  It didn’t matter that they fished on icy rivers and killed bears and all I wanted to do was listen to metal, watch movies, and read books.  The people saw belief and passion in the message that was preached.  They heard the teaching of God’s Word instead of motivational speeches and pithy comments from the pulpit.  They respected authenticity and the uncompromising teaching of the truth.  Sure, we did some things to accommodate the culture.  But more than anything it was authenticity that went a long way in reaching a culture different than my own.

 

Exhortation

Consider your context.  What are some cultural things you may need to adapt or challenge to get an ear with lost people in your context who need to hear the uncompromised gospel?  Prayerfully let the Holy Spirit guide you as you answer that question.  And as He does, be you, be authentic, and by all means preach the Bible!  Preach the everlasting gospel!

 

[1] John 1:14a & 1:18 NKJV

[2] Smith, Chuck. Calvary Chapel Distinctives. Page 101.

[3] Matthew 13:13

[4] Acts 16:1-5

[5] 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 NKJV

[6] Galatians 1:8 NKJV

Stewardship

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“…and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit…Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit…By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples…These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

There is much to be said about a tree that produces a lot of really good fruit on a regular basis. There can be a lot of attachment to a tree that produces a lot of excellent fruit. There is something incredible to me personally about a tree of grove of trees that are laden with ripe, sweet fruit. My parents use to have these 8 or 9 Tangelo trees that produced the sweetest and juiciest Tangelos I have ever eaten in my entire life. Plums straight off of the tree are something to be experienced. I have a white nectarine tree that has some of the sweetest fruit I’ve had in years. A Mexican-Lime tree, a lemon, 4 avacado trees, navel orange, a neighbors plum, the other neighbors 3 Loquat trees, a dwarf Fuji and dwarf Ein-shemer apple, and two grapevines I planted 3-4 years ago. I LOVE fruit off the tree. I love produce straight from the ground. When I bite into a fresh picked piece of fruit from the tree, glancing the blue sky dotted with a cloud or two, feel the breeze of my face, hear my kids laughing, and plop down on the green grass to enjoy what I hold in my hand…I cannot help thinking about the goodness of God and how His care and desire in displaying Himself to me is so far beyond what I could ever even begin to deserve. Many times tears will fill my eyes because of God’s overpowering display of affection overwhelms me. And there are so many that are on the earth today that can’t even begin to imagine having an experience like the one I am describing because they have been born into a life of forced slavery, or prostitution, or are born without a sense of smell, or they must be fed through a feeding tube their entire lives, or they are born into the Dalit caste in India, or they beg their entire lives being rejected by the family around them. Squalor and filth is their green grass. Coal streaked stonework is their blue sky spotted with clouds. The blast of a furnace is their breeze on the cheek. The harsh and crude voice of their boss is the only laughter of children they will ever hear…

And sometimes I do ask the “why” question.
Why was I born here now? Why am I where I am in life today? How am I supposed to live in such a way in this place in this time with what God has given me?

The only satisfactory answer I have ever come up with is this…Stewardship.

I have prayed in the past that God would bless me with the best that I might bless others with the best. I want to be like my heavenly Father. He has gone above and beyond with what He is allowing me to steward. He has blessed me in this day with the wife I have, the children I have, the church I am a part of, my finances, my home, my health…and He wants me to steward them.

God has placed many of us in leadership positions of fellowships of men and women, boys and girls, seniors and babies, missionaries and ushers, equipping and pruning. And we will all stand before the Lord Jesus Christ one day soon (sooner than we think) and give an account of our stewardship, every aspect of it. And there can be a real fear or hesitancy in exercising stewardship in some areas for a whole host of reasons.

Jesus tells the parables of the good and faithful stewards who started off with some money and gained more as they put it to use…and they were blessed by the Lord. One kept what was given to him in a “safe place” and gave it back when he was called to give account. Now, I will say this to his credit, he didn’t lose any of what was given to him. He kept it safe and sound, probably checked in on it regularly to make sure it was still there. The picture pops into my head of a lot of evangelical Christianity today. Men are holding on to what has been given to them, they are diligent to check in on a regular basis to see that none of what has been handed to them is lost, keeping everything safe and sound set against the Day when must give account. But Jesus called this servant, this steward wicked, lazy. Why? Because he did not put to use what was given to him.

Let me focus in on one aspect I have previously mentioned. To gain more, to bear more, especially as it pertains to fruit trees, there must be regular pruning at the appropriate times and seasons. For if you do, you will, no doubt, reap a Harvest of produce at the appropriate season. Things will not look the same for awhile. Things will take a new direction in certain areas of ministry and relationships. But to get to that place of growth and bearing more fruit, what must be done? I must be willing to prune the already fruit bearing branches that have been there for so long. And to us and our impatient nature, we are overwrought at the mere mention of ‘pruning’ something that has been the awhile. “People are used to it being that way”, “we’ve always done it like that”, “what would dear old _______ do if we changed that?” what if the people leave, what if others think I’m just trying to be hip with the latest trends and statistics? What will the guys at the conference say? What will the board say? What if someone flips out on me again because of another change? What if, what if, what if?

Yes, Jesus says that the Father is the vine dresser and He prunes…but the steward in the parable is the one who goes and and in wisdom puts to use what was given to him and his “crop”, if you will, increased double. There was some pruning going on in there somewhere during the interim.

Don’t let the fear of the unknown, your budget (or lack of one), keep you from producing the kind of fruit that brings tears to your eyes it’s so good…and causes people that taste and see that God is too good to them, too. What kind of a price tag can you put on that kind of “fruit”. This kind of fruit will fill your heart and mind and you will spill over with a joy that is impossible to contain at the goodness, the sweetness, the provision of God Almighty…all I order that you might share this with others that the Lord brings you, that they might go out and tell others and share with others their lives and what God has given them, and that this process would continue until we see Jesus face to face.

Tapping Unlimited Potential

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There has been a lot written about the up and coming Millennial generation. Miles wrote an eye opening post last week that is a must read. I would like to introduce you to a generation that has unlimited potential in the church, the Empty Nesters. Sure we know them as Baby Boomers or even as Framers but there is a group of people out there that aren’t ready for the Lazy Boy recliner or the forty-foot Winnebago just yet. They are couples who are done raising their children, and most likely their grandchildren, and are still unsettled. They want to do something significant with their lives and are finding that meaning in the church.

Our situation may be unique but we have a ton of people who are finishing up their second retirement (20 years in the military and now 20 as a civil servant) and are still under sixty. They have the time to devote to worthy causes. In our church we have had empty nesters do our bookkeeping, lead our food ministry, head up our hospitality, and lead numerous small groups. Almost all of them were dynamic influencers in the marketplace and were very successful in their careers and now they want to direct all of that experience and energy towards their faith in Christ and do it through the church.

This is a potential gold mine for the church. Not only do they have the time to devote to serving but also come with the maturity necessary to serve. They usually aren’t looking for the limelight and don’t need the financial incentive to do the job. What better gold mine to tap into than one that has time, experience, and comes at the best price… Free!

There are a few things that you need to prepare for. First is that this group is very comfortable working on their own. They like the autonomy and don’t like to be micromanaged. They will seek your feedback and input when they need it but usually like to be left alone. They also like to do things around their own schedule. Many of them golf, are involved in civic duties, or need to watch a grandchild and so they need to be able to do what they do on their schedule. Give them that freedom.

If your church can tap into this unlimited resource you will have a volunteer force that is unmatched in size and ability. Free from the constraints of raising a family and usually financially more stable than a Millennial (once again read Miles post) they are group that is hungry to do something meaningful with their life. Like the old adage goes: “Many have climbed the ladder to success only to find that the ladder was leaning against the wrong building.” This group is ready to pour their energies into the right work so tap into them.

Patter vs. Style (or: Cheap Knock-Offs)

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We’re smart enough to know that we shouldn’t style ourselves after the more popular preachers, but not wise enough to follow our own counsel!  It is one thing to pattern yourself after someone you admire and something else to slavishly copy their style.  Calvary Chapel has a pattern of ministry bequeathed to us by Pastor Chuck Smith.  It is one thing to follow the pattern of ministry we see in Chuck, it’s another thing to slavishly copy his style of ministry. 

Look at the pattern of Pastor Chuck’s preaching – verse by verse, informational, devotional, Christ-centered, applicational, conversational preaching.  I have noticed that the movement as a whole seeks to follow this pattern of preaching, and I have noticed that many seek to copy Chuck’s style of preaching.  Chuck has a voice, a mood, a cadence, a ponderousness that is uniquely his own.  Something that is unique cannot be copied.  We can imitate Chuck’s pattern of ministry, but we can’t copy his style of ministry – but many still try.  And in trying to copy Chuck, they are slow to develop their own unique style. 

Many imitate the pattern of Pastor Chuck, but have a style all their own.  We can see in Bob Coy, Jon Courson, Raul Ries, Mike McIntosh, etc., the pattern of Pastor Chuck, but each has their own unique style.  You can follow the pattern these men follow, but the style has to be all you.  That’s probably what scares you!  You’ve never allowed yourself to be you.  I know that hindered me for years – and it still does at times.

I am enjoying a new liberty in the pulpit as I distance myself from the style of others.  I am allowing Tim to be Tim.  As I try to be someone else, I am quenching the Holy Spirit for I am distancing myself from what God made me to be.  Tim, set on fire by the Holy Spirit, is what the people need.  They don’t need me to channel Jon Courson or Pastor Chuck.  Learning effective techniques of communication is one thing – copying style is another.  The power of the Holy Spirit isn’t released by sitting on a stool, or by standing in one place, or by walking around.  The power of the Holy Spirit isn’t released by trying to strike a certain mood or by getting into some kind of rhythm.  The Holy Spirit is released as you yield yourself to the Lord and He flows through you the way that He created you.

If you’re humorous, be humorous.

If you’re slow with humor, don’t do it.  Is there anything more awkward than a serious preacher trying to use humor?  It’s downright embarrassing.

If you’re not a passionate type like John Piper, don’t get yourself worked up.  Artificial passion comes off like cold frenzy.  Sincerity doesn’t need an intense passion in order to be felt.  There is a quiet passion that flows from some.

If you’re over 35, don’t use the word ‘chillaxin.’  Yell

Those who attend Calvary Chapel Fremont from other Calvary Chapels will be comforted that the church I serve follows the expositional pattern of the Calvarys, but they will be refreshed by my style as I am filled w/ the Spirit and communicate the truth of God’s Word in the power of the Spirit.

Be you in the pulpit.  Find your own unique voice and style.  The church you serve doesn’t need a cheap knock-off.  They need you, filled with the Holy Spirit, bringing the Word.

Leave Only Footprints

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I grew up hiking in the backwoods of South Lake Tahoe.  One of the first rules I learned about hiking was “To leave only footprints.”  The second rule grew from the first, “Leave the the campsite better than you found it.”  You may be thinking, “Okay, great.  What does this have to do with church anything?”

A few weeks ago I, or we the church, had to send of a very involved family away.  This family has been a HUGE blessing to me through the restarting journey.  They brought a depth of spirituality and service that was lacking early on.  Loosing families are painful, but some are more painful than others.  This was a painful one that came with joy.  Nothing bad happened, God moves people in and out through a variety of circumstances.  My time with this family was up and they moved on to another city to open a new chapter in their lives.

On their last Sunday, I brought them to the front of the church to love on them through having people share about how God used them in their lives and to pray for them as we sent them out to their new home and church.  In my comments I said to them, “I hope I left you better than I found you.  You know, like camping.”  It got a good chuckle, but they assured me that I had.  In this moment I learned a valuable lesson.

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,  shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness;  nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. (1 Peter 5:1-4, NASB)

“…for the keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.” (Hebrews 13:17b, NASB)

People that we shepherd come and go throughout our ministries–it is inevitable.  When a person shows up at church, or calls you on the phone, or zaps you an email, you don’t know how much time God will give you to shepherd them.  He may give you days or years you never know how long you have with that person.  But from the above passages, it is a sober reminder that we as shepherds will give an account for the impact we had on the lives of those we shepherd.  I want people to leave their encounter with me walking closer to God than before we met.

The more I consider this post, I realize this is more of a prayer to be prayed.  There are times when managing my own life and family seems daunting, let alone being responsible for so many others that God has entrusted to my care.  My prayer is that God would enable me, and those who shepherd a flock of people, to shepherd the flock in a way that leaves them walking closer to Him–whether we have one contact or many alongside them.

 

Lessons from Pastoring Two Churches

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As many of you may already know, I have recently begun transitioning myself out of the two churches that I pastor. God has called us to take a step of faith and head up to Southern Washington for our next assignment. But I wanted to take some time and reflect on my experience of pastoring two churches. Experience is an awesome teacher.

To set the stage, (Calvary North Bay was planted in 2007 with one other family. CNB resides in Mill Valley, California which is one of the least churched (statistically) and most affluent communities in one of the most least churched and affluent counties in the country (Marin County). Marin County rests between San Francisco and the Napa Valley. Very quickly after we started the fellowship, we had people coming to the church from San Francisco. It was a short drive over the bridge to Mill Valley. They would often bring their friends for a visit. It was an almost universal, “We love this church. Too bad it isn’t in the city.” That began our process that culminated with the launching of Calvary San Francisco in July of 2010. We did a 9 am service in Mill Valley and then an 11:15 am service in the Marina district of San Francisco. Each church was it’s own corporation, with its own staff, resources and accounting. We did this primarily because we knew that, at some point, each church would need its own pastor.

So let’s get to the lessons. But before I do, I should say up front that in hindsight, the hand of God was all over this. I do not have a single regret about it. The Lord’s plan was to put new churches in both Mill Valley and San Francisco. I rejoice in that. But I learned a lot on the way.

1. Pastoring two churches is ecclesiastical polygamy

Very quickly into my time pastoring the two churches did I realize that it was like being married to two wives. Polygamy has a certain impact on a husband. It has other impact on the wives. For the husband, his attention and affection is divided. It is hard to try and navigate the needs of two different congregations. But for the wives it is the reality that you never have your husband for your own. There is always a ‘sharing’ involved. For the church in Mill Valley, they had been used to having me all to themselves so splitting me was a change for them. For the church in the city, they were never used to me alone, only to having me shared. They were used to the divided attention. From both angles, it was not something that was healthy long term.

2. Pastoring two churches should be seen as a sprint portion of a marathon of ministry

The apostle Paul spoke often of our Christian lives as a race. We need to run that race to win the prize. In that way, we are all marathon runners for the glory of God. In stepping out to plant the church in San Francisco, I realized very quickly that I was entering a ‘sprint’ portion of my race. Sprints are necessary parts of running any race. But in reality, you can only sprint for so long. If you watch short term sprint racers, you see that they are going very fast and at the end of the race, they are winded. You can sprint for a short time only. Too many ministers (including me) fail to realize that ministry is a marathon. There will be seasons of sprinting. But it can only be a season.

3. Multi-siting is more strategic than pastoring two distinct churches

I know that there is a lot of hub-bub about multi-siting churches, with both strong advocates and detractors. Rather than weigh in on that fracas, I did learn that it is way more strategic to multi-site than to pastor two churches. If you multi-site, there is one cohesive vision, staff, direction and congregation (although meeting in multiple places). The pastor can do one midweek service rather than two. The pastor has only one set of volunteers and staff to pour into. You can do more things together. Plus there is one church identity with a multi-site church as opposed to two identities. When we did things together as churches, there was always a negotiation of where to hold something. So, in my mind, the unity of one church in multiple locations (an oxymoron, I know) is more strategic then two churches in two locations.

4. We need to continue to raise up pastors and leaders

Finally, I had a strong reinforcement of the need to continue to raise up pastors, leaders and church planters. There are such needs for rigorously biblical, Spirit filled, saint loving pastors all over the world. We have always said that we would love to see ten new churches in Marin and thirty new churches in San Francisco. That’s forty pastors needed (and just in about a 20 mile radius)! We need to continue to pour into the next generation and sent these folks out into God’s harvest field. The field is ripe for harvest and still the laborers are few!

How to Wake the Dead

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“…You shall be Witnesses to Me…”[1] – Jesus  


“If you are a Calvary Chapel pastor or in teaching leadership, chances are you are concerned about the death of biblical truth in our culture and within our churches…As a pastor or teacher, you have the privilege of expositing and expounding God’s truth to your community.”[2] – Chuck Smith

Speaking of the biblical gospel in a letter written to a group of believers living in Rome during the first century, the Apostle Paul said it is, “The power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…”[3]  That is a brilliant statement of truth!  The word gospel literally means good news.  The message of the biblical gospel is that even though human beings are spiritual criminals who are evil from the core of their being, God still loves them.  It tells us that though all humans have broken God’s law and heart at the level of behavior, desire, and imagination, God has chosen to freely provide a way for us to be totally forgiven for our crimes.  He has made a way for us to know and enjoy Him forever in personal relationship.  We have a way to be viewed by God as perfect and righteous even though we know deep down we could never be those things practically speaking, from the inside out.

 

The Rescue Mission of Rescue Missions

How in the world could these things be possible?  Only through the life, death, and resurrection Jesus Christ accomplished on our behalf some 2,000 years ago.  The core of the good news of the gospel is that the infinite, totally adequate, self-sufficient, self-existent Holy God of the universe came to earth to reach out to humanity when we had no way of reaching up to Him in an effective way.  This was the greatest rescue mission the world has ever seen, or will ever see. He came and was born to a young virgin girl named Mary becoming not only God, but also 100% human.  He proceeded to live a life of perfect obedience to the law of God in behavior, desire, and imagination on behalf of every sinful human being.  He died the death that every person who has ever lived deserves to die on a roman cross as a substitute for all people.  There He took the full force of the wrath of God that we deserve to experience as spiritual criminals.  He rose from the dead conquering the power of Satan, sin, demons, and death on behalf of all.  He now offers us forgiveness for our sins and restoration to relationship with Him if we will simply believe in this great message of His love.  This God, who came from heaven to earth to do for us all that we could never do for ourselves, is the God-man, Jesus Christ!  This is His gospel.

The Fundamental Goal of Church Planting

The basic tenets of that message inherently carry the power of God to bring the person who accepts them from spiritual death to an experience of spiritual life if they are embraced with the heart.  It is that message that Jesus has commanded His people to proclaim boldly and without shame or fear in all the earth.  The fundamental goal of planting local churches is to establish strategic centers for the preaching, spreading, and advancement of the gospel in the world for the glory of the gracious Christ.  A church should not be planted but with the goal of functioning as an effective tool for spreading the message of Jesus in the world.  If a gathering, organization, or any so-called Christian entity exists without the express purpose of spreading the powerful gospel, it is not a church.  It is not representative of the church.

 

We need churches like the first century church in Thessalonica.  Paul commended that local church as being a community of believers who were on fire for spreading the gospel they had received.

“And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe.  For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place.  Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.  For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”[4]

 

The community of believers at Thessalonica didn’t simply receive the gospel, get saved, and sit around playing church and enjoying their relationship with Jesus as they watched the rest of the world go to hell.  On the contrary, they became a center for missional gospel proclamation.  The gospel was sounding forth from the mouths of people who had their hearts changed by it’s power.  The joy over their salvation implanted into their hearts by the Holy Spirit who now indwelled them caused an overflow of gospel preaching and gospel living that brought many more people into the kingdom.

 

Every church planter’s goal should be that God would establish a church through him that is like the church in Thessalonica.  Their dream should be that of a group of people being saved by Jesus through gospel preaching who become so passionate about the gospel of the God who saved them that they spread it everywhere they can.  This is the New Testament picture of a mature and gospel-planted church.  This is the kind of church I pray for, and work toward by God’s grace.

 

The Command

Planting churches through gospel preaching is not merely one permissible option for church planting strategies among many.   It is church planting as God has commanded it to be done.

 

I know by experience that there is intense pressure from within and from without for church planters to get clever with their preaching.  You see some guys who have flashy churches, major resources, tons of money, and yet the weakest sermons in regard to biblical content.  After a while you might start to wonder if just teaching the Bible simply isn’t enough.  So you start softening a truth here, glossing over a doctrine there, and all in the name of reaching people.

 

Over against this kind of thinking is the teaching of the Holy Spirit in the Bible:

“And I, brethren, when I came to you did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God.  For U determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.  And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”[5]

 

Now when it comes to preaching there are generally two extremes that should be avoided at all costs.  Some think that using technology, media, props, and even illustrations to effectively communicate the gospel is carnal and unfaithful.  These people confuse flexibility in methods with compromising the integrity of the message.  Jesus Himself was a master illustrator who used the familiar pictures and experiences in the environment and technology around Him to communicate God’s timeless truths in timely ways to His hearers.

 

Still others are so focused on methods and strategic communication that they sometimes fail to actually present the simple content of the gospel faithfully.  The pure message of the Bible gets twisted or lost in all the wrappings.  These people seem to forget that while good missionaries are culturally sensitive and utilize practical tools and technology to communicate the gospel, the methods and techniques are not what God has promised to bless with His power.  The simple gospel message is what God blesses with the accompanying power of the Holy Spirit to bring people from spiritual death to life.  I once heard Francis Chan ask a group of Bible teachers, “Do you want to be a good communicator, or a powerful communicator?”  We would do well to ask ourselves that question.

 

The Choice is Ours

So, every church planter has to decide where he will fit.  Will you focus on methods to the exclusion of the message like many seeker sensitive and liberal churches do today?  Will you be a fundamentalist and preach the Bible but ignore the cultural communication stumbling blocks that get in the way of the people who hear you receiving the gospel?  Or will you be in the missional middle and preach the simple gospel faithfully while being sensitive to the cultural hang-ups of the ears who hear you?

If you are all method in your ministry I would challenge you to get back to the real source of power which is the simple gospel.  You can have nothing but the power of the Holy Spirit and the pure message of the gospel in your heart, and you will have all you need to plant a church.  That is all that the first church planters had and they did well to say the least.  I would encourage you to read Acts two and pray over the topics we’ve covered so far in this post right now asking God to show you if and where your heart is out of step with His on the gospel.

 

How to Reach Young People

Something that always concerns church planters is how they are going to reach young people for Jesus.  Many leaders are convinced that kids need to be entertained and have all sorts of extra wrappings encapsulating the gospel and the teaching of the Word for them to plug into churches.  I believe this is a lie from hell intended to get Bible teachers side-tracked.

 

I was as liberal and post-modern as they come when it came to my view of truth before Jesus saved me.  I can vividly remember personally saying many of the things that pastors often quote in their sermons as depicting the epitome of the post-modern mindset.  I would give people the, “what’s true for you is true for you, and what’s true for me is true for me,” line all the time.  And I believed that with all my heart.

 

But one life-changing day the Holy Spirit shot the truth of God into my mind like a bullet.  I couldn’t defend myself against it.  I couldn’t force it out.  He convicted me of my sin and drew me to seek God.  I found myself reading the Bible at home strangely desiring to figure out it’s teachings, something I had never desired to do before.  I remember that as I read I realized that what this book said was true of my heart was undeniable based on my human experience.  I knew it was right when it told me I couldn’t help wanting and doing things that I knew deep down were things I shouldn’t do or want to do.  I knew it was right when it told me I couldn’t make myself do or want to do things that I knew deep down I should want to do and practice.  I knew my heart was captive with the chains of sin it described.  This was my journey to becoming born again through reading the written Word.

 

After I got saved I developed an appetite for the Word like newborn babies desire milk.  I could understand the Bible where I hadn’t been able to before, and I wanted to learn God’s Word.  I found a Bible teaching church and began to soak up what I was hearing.  And the funny thing looking back is that the church I attended was about the least cool place I’d ever been from my previous cultural perspective.  The “new music” we sang were worship choruses from the 1970’s, the décor of the church looked like it was supplied by my grandmother, the pastor preached in a full suit, and the only visual images in the service were these poorly done and horridly distracting landscape scenes that would appear at random behind the lyrics on the projection screen.  You know what kept an artsy former metal and punk rock musician/social activist coming to such a lame place?  I knew I was getting stronger in the spirit through the unadulterated preaching of God’s Word!

 

Many of my friends have been saved from similar backgrounds to mine and have the same kind of stories to tell.  And as I meet lots of young people who come to the church I pastor and hear them talk about why they are with us, it isn’t the cool lighting, awesome band, or the fact that I listen to the music they do that keeps them coming; it’s the often blunt, sometimes offensive, always present preaching of gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of God!

 

If you’re an older church planter or pastor trying to reach a younger generation, my encouragement to you would be to stick with the thing that God has chosen to bless with His power, and preach the gospel!  Teach the Bible!  Sure, you can draw a crowd with all sorts of things.  But the only thing that will change people, the only thing that will grip them at the core of their very being, is God’s Word.

 

Conclusion

The preaching of the gospel is what Jesus has chosen to build His church.  Preaching the simple gospel isn’t merely an optional way to do the work of church planting, but the only way.  Utilizing different methods to communicate the gospel is fine and can even be good missionary strategy, but methods must never get in the way of communicating the simple gospel message in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we want to wake the dead gospel proclamation is a non-negotiable.

 

Note- The above is an excerpt taken from “The Spirit-led Mission” by Kellen Criswell

[1] Acts 1:8b NKJV

[2] Smith, Chuck. Line Upon Line. Page 12.

[3] Romans 1:16 NKJV

[4] 1 Thessalonians 1:10 NKJV

[5] 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 NKJV

“Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?”

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“…as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples.”
Matthew 9:10
A couple weeks ago I had wanted to sit down and just read through the Gospel according to Matthew in one or two sittings…fat chance. I am in chapter 9 this morning. But there is a reason why.
I have always seen the practical aspects of the life and teaching of Christ in the Gospels, but not like I am seeing it now. I have been literally overwhelmed at the profound practical application of the teachings and examples of Jesus in his instruction to His disciples, in word and in deed.
Matthew’s account of Jesus calling him to follow Him has been standing out to me the last couple of days. Jesus calls Matthew to follow Him, and where does Jesus go? To Matthew’s house. And what does Jesus do? He eats dinner there with all of His disciples and with Matthew. And what is the result of Jesus and His disciples having dinner with Matthew in his home? A bunch of other tax collectors and “sinners” end up coming over to hang out with Matthew…but this wasn’t new…it was Jesus and the disciples of Jesus that they wanted to see. This was new.
And it bothered the religious establishment. The question came, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
One of the thoughts I have been having is, “Do I do this?” or am I just inviting those to my house who can repay me by doing the same?
“When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:12-14
Jesus then tells the parable about the Great Supper. The religious make excuses as to why they cannot attend and the result is that they are left outside. Another thing we see is that there is plenty of room at the King’s Table. “Do I believe this?” Is my life showing that I know there to be more than enough room for others to find their seat at the Master’s table? “Am I doing this?” if I believe it, my actions (my life) prove it. Not my sermons or my expositions or philosophies or my ideologies or my vision or my exhortations…but my very actions will show if I know His word to be true.
And following Jesus to “sup” with “sinners” will lead to an opportunity to be real, approachable, available and then afford us a believable and tangible platform to share the truth that God desires to fellowship with them and also the open invitation to find the seat that has been prepared for them at the King’s table.
“But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

A different APPROACH for recruiting children’s ministry leaders.

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I have the need to be brief.  It’s been a crazy week with some refugee high school boys having serious conflict with a Hispanic gang at two of the public high schools here in Phoenix.  I’ve been interacting with the Phoenix Police, an apartment manager, some leaders from a Burmese Karen Christian church and others.  The police are convinced a major retaliation will take place against one or more of the Burmese kids.  AND, I have to fly out tomorrow morning to California for the birth of my grand daughter, the third child of my oldest daughter and our 5th grand child.  Please keep the gang situation in prayer.  It’s a bit dicey from a number of angles.

A conversation with a young pastor the other day made me realize that my solution for recruiting children’s ministry teachers/leaders is much more unorthodox than I realize.  Here’s my personal history and why I APPROACH this subject so differently:

1.  When I went on staff as the assistant pastor of my church in late 1985, I stepped into the responsibility of managing the children’s ministry.  This meant that I had the job of setting up the schedule, selecting the curriculum, recruiting the teachers/leaders, evaluating those that volunteered, and then training them for service with the children.

2.  Having been raised Catholic, the whole idea of a separate ministry for children during the church service was completely foreign to me until I attended a “born-again” church the first time.  From that first service I attended until the day I became responsible for the children’s ministry of my church four and a half years later, there was one blurb that took up space in every bulletin every Sunday morning that whole time.  It was the blurb that communicated the great need….no, the great OPPORTUNITY that existed in the children’s ministry for servants!  Based on that week-in, week-out, year-in, year-out, perpetual blurb, it was obviously an aspect of the local church that not many people were actually interested in helping with.  It was obvious to me in the various churches that I attended that there were way more than enough people sitting in the services to cover the amount of children that needed to be taught.

3.  When Jesus grabbed my life, I surrendered to Him and joyfully sought to serve Him in any capacity He’d have for me and I was willing to meet whatever need He brought into my path.  The more I understood His Word, looked at the examples of the lives of the people recorded in His Word, and heard other believers talk in awe about some great Christian from history, the common thread was their willingness to serve and the fact that they actually did serve.

4.  Because of these things, I never understood why every church could never seem to find enough people to serve children.  Even with the obvious need laid out so clearly each week, I found it strange that there was a constant famine of teachers/leaders in the area of children’s ministry.  What really bugged me was the fact that I knew most of the people attending those services and if you asked any of them, they would all describe themselves as “servants” of the Lord Jesus Christ.  So apparently, the Lord Jesus Christ didn’t really care about ministry to children or else He surely would order His servants to serve there and they would joyfully do so. Especially they all proclaimed themselves His servants, right?

5.  Now that I was face to face with needing to find servants of Jesus that actually were willing to serve Jesus in a ministry that was was obviously close to His heart, I knew I had an uphill battle.  How do you get people that claim to be servants of Jesus to actually serve Him by serving children?  Obviously, sharing the need and waiting for them to respond–to volunteer, wasn’t working.  In fact, my first few weeks in that role, I had a couple of people volunteer that it was obvious really weren’t cut out for children’s ministry for one reason or another.  And I had to tell them that.  And one of them asked me why we were always asking for volunteers and then when somebody does volunteer, they get rejected.

I knew something was radically wrong with this picture, and from a number of different angles.

6.  After talking with 5 or 6 children’s ministry directors from other churches during my first few weeks in my new role, my thinking was provoked by one of the people I talked to.  As I thought and prayed about this ongoing, apparently insatiable need, the Lord led me to view things from a different perspective and thus to make a change in how we were doing things in this area.

7.  So, I changed my children’s ministry teacher/leader recruitment APPROACH.  I figured since all of these people claimed to be servants of Jesus, I would observe which ones came early to the service and then stood around talking after the service.  I especially zeroed in on those who had their own kids, but I also began observing those who would be talking and when other people’s kids came near by, began interacting with them and so forth….and did so joyfully.

8.  Then I stopped putting a blurb in the bulletin, and started APPROACHING those that I’d been observing.  I would tell them that I’ve seen their faithfulness in attending the church, their willingness to be early and not just head for the parking lot when the service was over.  I told them that I’ve seen them interact with their own kids or other people’s kids, and that I thought they might have a gift with children that God could use.  I told them of the needs in our children’s ministry and since they were obviously a servant of the Lord Jesus, that I would appreciate it if they would begin praying about serving Jesus by serving in the children’s ministry of our church–which always has a great need.  I gave them a brief overview of it would require of them to take this step and then I told them I’d get back with them in two weeks to see what God had shown them.

9.  The response to this APPROACH was amazing.  Literally 80 percent of those I APPROACHED responded positively and went through the process necessary to become a part of the children’s ministy, (application, interview, training, etc.)  I asked them for a 6 month commitment and told them we would see how they felt about things at the end of that time.  I also changed the schedule so that it was a 3 weeks on and one week off, or a one week on and 3 weeks off commitment for a 6 month period.  Many of them chose to start by being the once a month person, but quite a few chose the 3 weeks on commitment.

10.  In the churches I’ve senior pastored since then, our bulletin has been children’s ministry blurb-less.

So, my APPROACH to finding children’s ministry teachers/leaders is to basically APPROACH self-proclaimed servants of Jesus personally and see if they actually mean what they say.