i just received a phone call from a past student’s fiancé. here is the situation:

i have known this student for about 8 years. i used to teach his sunday school class when he was a wee little lad, then later taught him through his high school years. upon graduation this student began to make some poor decisions. the chiefest of which was moving in with his girlfriend and moving out of state (and lying to me about it when asked). now he is getting married to his girlfriend and has invited me to the wedding.

here’s the dilemma – do i attend the wedding? is my attendance at the wedding condoning his actions and behavior, or simply showing that i love him and will help him when difficulties arise (as i know difficulties will arise). part of me says, “don’t go” so that he knows that i am not in support of his decision, but then i wonder who he will call or where he will turn when things go south. the other part of me says, “attend, but let him know that you are there because you love him and will be there for him when things go awry.” i have not encountered this decision before, but i think i am leaning toward the latter.

yes, back to school. upon graduating high school i went through a school of ministry. me and 34 of my closest friends, all shacked up in a little a-frame house on the church property. we spent 6 weeks driving a school bus to honduras and back (the bus was forever known and the stinky twinkie after that trip), countless hours in a classroom being taught the bible, and every waking moment trying to not strangle our snoring bunkmates.

well, our church has started a weekly school of ministry as well. it is not quite as intense as the one i previously attended, but i see that it will bear fruit nonetheless. it is designed to cover the basics of what ministry is, what it entails, how it should be done, etc. these classes are kind of the 101 courses for more to be held in the future. they deal with the heart and motive behind ministry, more than the hands-on workings of ministry.

all that to say, it got me thinking last night. in fact, i got home and started discussing it with my wife some, as well. the thought that came to mind was this – how do we look at ministry? when i say, “the ministry”, what comes to mind? do you think of what takes place inside a building between the hours of 8am and noon on a sunday morning? maybe you think that’s too small-minded. after all, something happens at the church nearly every day of the week, so how could ministry be limited to sunday morning? instead, you associate ministry with the title you hold at your church; whether it be deacon, elder, pastor, overseer, children’s ministry volunteer, board member. but maybe that’s too easy. after all, that high school kid is a children’s ministry volunteer, and surely he isn’t in the ministry. ministry is for the elite, those that are hired on staff at church or a para-church organization. to be on staff – that’s the ministry. right? wrong!

i write this hoping that all who read this will know that the rhetoric in the paragraph above is designed to draw a resounding NO! from you. but i hope it challenges you to take a step back and look at the way you view ministry. i’m passionate about this, because i once thought that being on staff was the epitome of ministry. having the title of deacon, elder, pastor, or leader. let me tell you, that was wrong. don’t get me wrong, either, thinking that i’m saying your pastor, leader, or staff person is not involved in the ministry. they are. but so much ministry takes place outside the church building.

my wife and i have recently moved back into town after 5 years in the country. it’s been wonderful seeing ministry taking place in my neighborhood. in fact, i would venture to say it has rekindled my love for ministry. serving neighbors, encouraging friends, sharing with those that haven’t put faith in Christ, and living out my faith in front of them. that’s a ministry any believer can get involved in, regardless of title or position.

let me start this post out by telling you a little about my own personal church history. the year was 1985. the place was doran, minnesota. i was a cute, fat-faced boy, all of five years old. well, cute by my mom’s estimation at least. each week my mom would lay out my “sunday” clothes for church, which typically consisted of worn out payless shoes, tan slacks, a pink (yes, pink) shirt and pink (yes, pink again) tie. gotta love the 80′s right? having adorned ourselves with our sunday best, we would walk the block and a half down the gravel road to the small white wood-framed presbyterian church. it was the only church in our small town of 98 people, so if you were a church-goer, that is where you could be found on sunday morning. we would pass through the double doors and enter the building, situating ourselves in one of the terribly uncomfortable wooden pews. as a kid, i remember having the most difficult time napping in those pews. thankfully, my mom was always armed with pen and paper to keep me occupied. its a wonder i didn’t gain any artistic talent for all those hours spent.

as you may guess, i didn’t learn much in those earlier years of church. church was just the thing that you did on sunday morning. everybody dressed up and went through the motions, but it didn’t seem to have any impact on the rest of the week. in fact, just to help fill in the picture a little more clearly, the only business that could stay afloat in our little town was a tavern.

fast forward about 8 years…

my family had moved to central point, oregon, a small town just outside of medford. after the methodist church threw a party for the pastor which included a belly dancer and several kegs of beer, my parents decided it was time to look for a new church. none of us seemed to care about where too much, but my mom was determined to find us a “good church.” she had heard of a church in the small town of ruch, oregon, called applegate christian fellowship, and decided our family needed to give it a try. i remember our first sunday there.

though i had graduated from the pink tie and shirt of my boyhood, i was still in the habit of dressing my best for sunday morning. walking into the large sanctuary that morning, i remember being stunned. if i had been only a few years older, i probably would have forced my way out of the church and resisted ever going back. after all, people were wearing baseball hats, jeans, and even shorts! then the pastor. he sat on a stool with a bible in his hand. i was sure my mom had led us into some hippie cult, much like the rajneesh group in eastern oregon. but as the sunday service went on, i noticed other things, wonderful things, i had never seen in a church building before. people were singing. people were praying. people brought their bibles to church with them, and even opened them. people took notes of what was being taught. they even stayed after service to pray for each other. though things seemed so different on the outside, this seemed to me like a real church gathering. as the days and months ensued, i too began to relax my attire. i even wore a baseball cap one sunday!

but here’s the question: have we relaxed church too much? have i become too comfortable as the church gathers, forgetting what it is really all about? has it become more of a christian social, with many churches serving coffee, playing worship songs copying current musical trends, comfortable seating, and well-practiced powerpoint presentations?

just a question, but i’d like your input…

this is take two. i just deleted my first 200 words because i don’t think i was saying what i wanted to say. make sense? if not, hopefully the rest of this will.

i was blessed to have had some good conversations this weekend. i would say great conversations, but unfortunately they were cut short due to garage sale mayhem and the fact that kids don’t care about your grown-up conversation. ever notice that just about the time you’re really enjoying yourself, the kids start squawking?

anyways, both conversations were dealing with the same topic for the most part. “what was that topic”, you ask? church. i’m not sure why, but church seems to be a popular topic with me lately. i’d say 80% of the books i’ve been reading recently are dealing with ecclesiology in one way or another. whether it be small groups, discipleship, evangelism, or leadership development, my reading diet has definitely been a little on the starchy side. now while both conversations were dealing with church, they were both distinctly different. as such, i think i may try to get two posts out of this one topic.

my first conversation took place in the midst of the garage sale madness we had at our house on saturday. a good friend had texted me late the night before saying they were coming to town from portland to visit family and wanted to see us while in town. i invited them to come participate in the fun we were bound to have on saturday, so they did. thankfully, i was able to carve out about 15 minutes of uninterrupted conversation with my friend to catch up on life and ministry. he is involved in a college & young marrieds ministry in a foursquare church in portland. he shared some encouraging stories about what the Lord is accomplishing, but also shared some frustrations he is having currently. these frustrations seemed to center around the fact that discipleship was lacking in this particular ministry. people were coming to church, they were singing during worship, and they were sitting through bible study. but beyond that, there was not much happening in their life to stimulate spiritual growth. this launched us into a conversation about discipleship, and how that is best accomplished. does discipleship take place on a sunday morning? can discipleship take place on a sunday morning? can you be discipled in a crowd of hundreds, or does it need to be twelve or less (as with Jesus’ disciples)? what is the ideal setting for discipleship to take place? is discipleship even a responsibility of the church? what is involved in discipleship, and what does discipleship look like?

some of these questions may seem silly, but i believe they’re worth asking. i strongly believe that the focus of the church should be discipleship. unfortunately, i think it is oftentimes lacking, sometimes even absent from the church at large. we gather together so that we might grow together. following this growth, i believe evangelism will be a natural result. as we are discipled and grow in our understanding of God’s love for us, and the friendship of Jesus with us, the outcome will be God’s love pouring out of us and onto others around us. whether that be towards co-workers, schoolmates, friends, or family, evangelism will take place because our lives will be permeated with a daily walk with our Lord. those around us won’t be able to ignore it. but before any of that can take place, discipleship must first happen.

these are just a few of my thoughts regarding church and discipleship. it is not my aim here to answer all the questions, but to stimulate some thought on your part. having these thoughts stimulated, i hope you’ll take the time to post a comment regarding what you think regarding discipleship and the church. share a story about your discipleship experience. write your views on how the church can better accomplish discipleship. tell whether or not you think discipleship is even the aim of the church. your comments are welcomed.

Rogue River

i know it’s been quiet around here, but i think that means things are running deep right now. i’ll be back, though.

ever get carried away by summer? i know i do. just looking at the decline in my posts over the summer months, i begin to realize how summer can get me away from those things that i do so regularly during the other 9 months of the year. here in central oregon, they say we have winter and august, so when the weather is nice, take advantage.

summer distracts me in many different areas besides blogging, though, as well. for one, i’d say the number of books i’ve made it through in the last two months is quite measly. this isn’t all bad, though. there is more to life than blogging. summer months are best spent outside anyways, right? but this raises another question in my mind. has the beautiful summer weather pulled you away from things that really are important? i can give up reading books, but not my bible. i can give up blogging, but not praying. i can give up social networking, but not fellowship.

so, what’s your twenty? where are you? have you been on summer hiatus? if so, maybe it’s time for an eval. i’ll leave you with this:

Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

earlier today, christopher laurie died in a car accident in riverside, CA. please take a moment to pray for christopher’s wife and daughter, as well as greg and the rest of the family.

more info can be found here

you can also leave a comment on greg laurie’s blog by clicking here.

as a guy in his 20′s (late 20′s) who works at a church and spends much of his time with others in their 20′s and teens, it seems that i am continually being faced with this thing called the emergent movement. as time goes on i find that i don’t even need to go out looking for it, but it comes to me, standing directly in front of my face. what do i mean? i have sitting on my desk right now a paper written by a local pastor, calling into question use of words like ‘infallible’ and ‘inerrant’ when speaking of the Word of God. though this pastor and church refuse to take the title emergent, their actions seem to be speaking more clearly than their public words. then take last night for example.

i had heard a couple of weeks ago that the first presbyterian church in bend would be hosting some type of ‘emergent rally’, though no details were given to me at the time and i wasn’t sure exactly what the ‘rally’ would consist of. on monday i attended a memorial service at the first presbyterian church and it reminded me of this soon-coming event. before the memorial service began i popped my head into the church office to inquire about this event, and found out about the church basement roadshow. what is the church basement roadshow? to boil it down, it’s a book tour. but its most likely different than any book tour any of us have ever encountered.

first of all, the authors, doug pagitt, tony jones, and mark scandrette, are promoting books they have recently published, dealing with and promoting the emergent church. we’ll get to that in a moment. but the other thing that makes this unlike any other book tour is that they’re doing it in 1908 big tent revival fashion. yes, 100 years ago.

now let me say right here that i’m not a promoter for, nor am i an advocate of, the emergent movement. why did i go? as i mentioned, i spend a fair amount of time with the ‘postmoderns’ that this movement is geared towards. as a sort of shepherd to them, i think (or should i say i know) that i feel responsible for being aware of what is going on, what things are grabbing for their attention, and what snares and traps are laid in front of them. and yes, i believe the emergent movement is just the type of snare or trap that has the potential to entangle and trip up many people, stopping any forward momentum, and stunting any spiritual growth.

so back to the show. to be honest, i must say that it was entertaining. seeing these men in 1908 clothing, singing, dancing, speaking, was entertaining. i was surprised, however, by those in attendance. i know that the emergent movement is strongest in the younger generations, but there seemed to be a lack of that crowd at the show last night. what i saw instead were many grandparents of the postmoderns. i guess the first presbyterian church did a good job of internally promoting this event. i would venture to say that many of those in attendance have never heard the names of doug pagitt, tony jones, or mark scandrette before this event, and have no clue as to their belief and stance on theology, the doctrine of heaven and hell, and so on. as i was considering things said by these men last night, it made me think of times i have been subjected to general anesthesia. due to broken bones, cut tendons, dislocated joints, oral surgeries, and the like, i have had to undergo general anesthesia several times. each time it has been the same. the needle is inserted and…nothing. then the doctor asks me to count down from 10. so i begin. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, and then, out. if i make it to 6 it’s a miracle. you see, i don’t notice anything happening, i don’t feel the drugs going through my body, but something is happening. it’s taking effect. pretty soon, without me even being aware of what’s going on, i’m out like a light. many of the things said by these men last night were like anesthesia. they mentioned the name of Jesus quite a bit, they talked about loving each other (including our enemies), they talked about ‘living in the way of Jesus.’ i don’t have any problem whatsoever with any of those things. but mixed into their monologues and readings were plenty of new age terms and thinking. the sad thing, i believe, is most of those in attendance didn’t have a clue about the anesthesia that was being doled out through the authors. in fact, in the future they’ll be more numb to and more willing to accept the things these men are promoting.

all that to say – beware. the deceiver can disguise himself as an angel of light, certainly he can disguise himself as a 1908 revivalist preacher. do your research. don’t assume things. “test all things, hold fast what is good.” (1 thess. 5:21)

wow, i’m glad to be back home with my family. i was home all week while my wife and kids were away visiting grandparents in henderson, nv. on friday she flew into the medford int’l airport and, after a monthly youth outreach we do, i drove down to meet her in southern oregon. i arrived around 3am saturday morning, but that was just the start of a busy weekend.

i woke up saturday morning around 8am in order to have coffee with an old high school math teacher of mine. yes, he is a mentor to me. i’m not sure he even realizes it, but as years have gone by, he has always had encouraging words and direction for me in the midst of chaos. it all began my junior year of high school…

i grew up going to church, but never had a relationship with Jesus. it wasn’t until my junior year of high school that my math teacher called me on it. he asked me how my relationship to the Lord was, and what i needed to make it better. growing up in church, i knew the right answers, although i never did any of them. he called me on it, and we soon began a sunday afternoon bible study at dairy queen. our bible study never grew (there were usually 3 of us), and it only lasted for a few months. i don’t even remember what it was we were studying. but, this was just what i needed to begin walking with the Lord. i haven’t been perfect since then, or even close to, but i have been walking with the Lord since we started that small bible study. over the course of the years we still stay in contact and meet from time to time. so why do i write this today? hopefully to encourage you. yes, you.

who are you reaching out to? who are you pouring into? do you realize the impact you may be having on that individual. i’m sure that doug doesn’t think much about what he has done over the years. after all, he is just a math teacher (tongue in cheek). but he lives out his faith everywhere he goes, and he takes opportunity to share with and encourage others. so don’t despise the days of small things. who knows how great an impact those small things will have.

i’m blessed to be able to go down and share with the body at calvary chapel grants pass this weekend. i’m always blown away by the fact that anybody would listen to me, let alone call me and ask me to come and speak. God truly does use the foolish things, eh?

i’m working on outlining what i’ll share while down there. it’s a little out of the norm for me, as i’ll be sharing more of a presentation than a bible study. i’m hoping to saturate it with the word of God, though, and leave everyone with something more than just a good “speech.” part of my presentation will be the slideshow i put together after my trip there.

i’d better get back to it. i’ve got a limited amount of time to finish my prep, and i definitely don’t want to be “winging it” on saturday night and sunday morning.