Layla, Day #1

The memory card on my phone is goofed up, so I can’t post any pics. But I’m sure I’ll be able to post some once we get home.

Layla was born yesterday at 10:06 AM. She weighed in at 7 lbs., 9.5 oz. She was 20 inches long. She has a head full of inch long brown hair, has blue eyes, and two big dimples (just like her oldest sister).
She was groggy most of the day. It took her awhile to wake up and eat, but she did. She’s very laid back, unlike our middle daughter, who came out of the womb screaming bloody murder. She seems very happy and content. We’re overjoyed that she’s here.

Laura’s going fine. Thus far, she’s experienced none of the complications she had with Madalyn. We slept from about 2:30 – 5:00, so we’re dragging a bit (we’ll get enough sleep when we’re dead), but since this is baby #3 we’re old pros at this.

I’ll post more soon. For now please continue to pray for Mom and baby.

Layla… Got Me Up at 5:00 AM

Today’s the big day.  It’s 6:00 as I write this, and we’re headed to the hospital in an hour.  I’ll update as I can via Twitter (which will also update my Facebook page).  If I can figure it out, I might post some pics on the blog later today via an email post (I heart email posting!).

Please continue to pray for us.  Layla is scheduled for extraction at around 9:30.  More later…

It’s Baby Time

On Monday, we’ll be in the hospital extracting daughter #3 out of mommy’s belly.  I’ll be out of commission from work all next week, and will likely not blog much (maybe toward the end of the week).  So please pray for us, especially for Laura as this is also her third C-Section.  She had some complications with Madalyn (we think they were pain medication related–she was given too much), so we’re praying for this one to go much more smoothly.

See you soon.  Maybe I’ll bring some pics.

“Sorry, Your Honor. My Client is Guilty Because We Ruined the Witness…” (Part 3)

Yesterday, my buddy Justin left the following comment on what his church has been doing.  I think they’re right on target:

One of the best things our church plant has done is, for the past two years we have, EVERY sunday night gone to a bar right here in our community.  We go at 10 for open mic and stay till about 1.  It started off being me and Jason (the other pastor) and now its about 15 people every week.  We are always there, they know who we are and what we do, but we have never once asked anyone to come to church or once said anything about Jesus.  We drink a lot and we tip well.  After a year of doing this, people started asking us about the church all the time and now we have people coming to church to find Jesus not because we asked them, but because they saw us being who we are in Christ in the real world.  It’s a good thing if you can do it.   It’s not for everyone certainly, and you can’t do it as a “project” or to create some sort of fake relationships or environment.  You just have to go, and be. And drinking is definitely not a must, but it is something where people see you in the light of Christianity and it makes them rethink what they thought about Christians.

These are simply Christians going into a dark place and being light.  It took time, but they built relationships with people there, which lead to opportunities to verbalize faith and have people come check out another aspect of their church community.  They didn’t ruin their witness.  In fact, they have enhanced it by, as Justin said, “being Christ in the real world.”

What do you think?

“Sorry, Your Honor. My Client is Guilty Because We Ruined the Witness…” (Part 2)

“You shouldn’t drink because you’ll ruin your witness.”

Or drink.  Or dip.  Or go to a place that serves alcohol (especially a bar).  Or cuss (which is another post for another time).

For years, I heard the older Christians in my church talk about Christians shouldn’t do certain things because they might “ruin their witness.”  Like I wrote yesterday, that just sounds weird.  Tony Soprano just got off racketeering charges because he ordered his thugs to ruin the witness.

To ruin one’s witness means that a Christian may possibly hinder their efforts to share Jesus with others if they engage in certain activities.  And in the American church (especially in the fundamentalist and holiness lines), those behaviors almost always include alcohol or tobacco.  If we drink or smoke, we might hinder people from coming to know Jesus.

I have a problem with that logic because Jesus doesn’t fit into it.

In the gospels, we see Jesus hanging out in drinking places with drinking people (Matthew’s party comes to mind).  Jesus himself said that he came eating and drinking (and he wasn’t talking about pasteurized grape juice, which wasn’t invented until after the American Civil War).  Jesus hung out with people with not-so-stellar reputations.  Sinners flocked to Jesus.  And yet, He did not sin.  He was the light in their darkness.  He simply showed up and showed them divine love personified.  By doing this, Jesus did ruin his witness with the religious people. The Pharisees, Sadduccees, scribes, and lawyers couldn’t stand Him because of what He did and who He hung out with.  Jesus wasn’t worried about ruining his witness with those who needed him most.  Although it undoubtedly saddened Him, He didn’t let his reputation with the religious stop Him from His mission.

Whether we’re conscious of it or not, those of us who use that logic are likely more afraid of soiling our reputation with our religious friends than we are about “ruining our witness” with those who need Jesus most.  We can’t be caught dead in a bar making friends with the patrons and staff–what will the people at church think?  This is something we must work to get past, because it is in such places that the harvest exists (as well as in our workplaces, neighborhoods, etc.).

Obviously, there are behaviors that we cannot engage in because they will ruin our witness… because they are sinful.  Guys, going to the strip club to “witness” isn’t a good idea at all.  Leave that to the ladies who’ve found Jesus and come out of that lifestyle.  I’m speaking of activities that are not clearly defined in Scripture, activities that we have freedom in.  And let’s be totally honest:  drinking in moderation is not condemned anywhere in Scripture.  Only drunkenness is.  There is even less–in fact, nothing–concerning smoking.  I’m not saying those who chose not to drink and wish others wouldn’t either are wrong.  I simply think the “ruining our witness” logic doesn’t fly.

I currently go to a local pub to watch Monday Night Football with several friends.  The point, for me, isn’t the football.  It’s hanging out and developing friendships, and establishing a presence in this place where people like to gather.  And waiting to see what God has in store for this place.

Let’s be brutally honest.  Churches that are reaching unchurched people are very few and far between.  They’re spending a lot of time, effort, and money to make their churches relevant places for people who don’t know Jesus to come and find out about Him.  But if we’re not willing to follow Jesus’ footsteps and be light in dark places–and we can do it without sinning, as He did–then a lot of our effort may be wasted.  And pockets of our population will never get to know Him.

As author Neil Cole puts it, “If you want to reach those far from Christ, you need to sit in the smoking section.”

What are your thoughts?

“Sorry, Your Honor. My Client is Guilty Because We Ruined the Witness…” (Part 1)

My buddy Dave recently did some sermon research on Facebook, simply asking a question about whether Christians should drink or not (by the way, dude, you need to revive your blog!).  Most of the responses are what I’ve heard for years, and most people who answered said (correctly) that drinking in moderation was OK.  Of those who answered that way, some did so.  Others said it was fine for others to do, but they’ve chosen not to drink.  There was one answer from the no-alcohol people, however, that got me thinking.  It’s the answer that I heard most in my youth in my church (where alcohol was considered the devil’s brew).

“You shouldn’t drink because you’ll ruin your witness.”

To be honest, this is one of the strangest sounding phrases I’ve ever heard.  Yes, Christians, I know what it means.  But that phrase, at first glance, sounds like you’ve roughed up the only person who can shed light on the mob boss during his trial.  And you did it through your own consumption of beer.  Somehow, the alcohol processed through your liver and goofed up the only person whose testimony on the stand could bring a conviction.  Weird!

If you’re reading this and you’re not “in the know”, when a Christian (and it’s usually someone that’s been a Christian for awhile) says this, they mean that drinking (or other such activity, such as smoking or going to a bar) will damage their efforts to share Jesus with people who aren’t Christians.

So tell me.  What do you think of this reasoning?  I’ll let you know what I think tomorrow…

Monday Mind Dump

It’s been a really long time since I’ve done one of these.  I feel like I need to declutter the ol’ noggin.

1. I really love my job.  Hospice is totally intense and emotionally gut wrenching.  And I’ve loved every minute of it.
2. If you’re in professional ministry, don’t whine about your job.  You get paid to do what you do and most of you can set your own schedule.
3. Heard a pretty good sermon on the church’s problem with sexual sin yesterday.  The church is way too quiet on that issue.
4. A football team that starts its season playing an unprecedented six straight winless teams should not be 2-4.  I don’t care that other teams have fewer wins.  The Washington Redskins are the worst team in professional football.  And I couldn’t be happier (sorry, ‘Skins fans… well, not really).
5. Six interceptions and several dumb penalties have prevented my beloved Bears from going 5-0.  They’re now 3-2.  But they’ve been in every game.  Cutler looks pretty decent at QB… when he isn’t throwing INT’s.  First year with a new team and new receivers–they should be really good next year.  There’ is, however, still time to put together a good run, and the schedule is favorable.
6. Relationship building takes a long time, and is totally worth the effort.
7. I have the greatest wife in the history of planet earth.  Love ya, babe!
8. Love me some Monday Night Football at O’Cool’s.  Ned and Trevor are really cool guys.  They look like Paul Bunyan and his brother.  Since Paul Bunyan didn’t have a brother, I’ll name him Jim Bunyan.  Or Foot Bunyan.
9. The Browns are some of the coolest people we’ve ever met.
10. Tonight’s MNF game will be my last for a few weeks.  Next Monday, I’ll become a dad for the third time.
11. Holy crap, my third kid makes her appearance in a week!
12. Numbers is a really frustrating book of the Bible, both for its content (how stupid were those people?!?) and for it’s length (30+ LONG chapters).
13. I don’t like getting up before the sun gets up.  I think the sun is really lazy this time of year.  He doesn’t want to get out of bed in the morning because it’s chilly.
14. I need a good Flash video converter–one that’ll convert flash video to .avi or .mpeg formats.  And it needs to be free.  And I need it really soon.
15. But what I need right now is to go brush my teeth and head to work.

Rock ‘n Roll Church (Part 4)

This week I’ve posted about the similarities between many churches’ Sunday event and a great rock show.  While I’m not saying that incorporating a good band, having a good preacher, utilizing a great volunteer base, and having a creative production are wrong, I (and many others) think this approach feeds a consumer mentality.

Think about it.  Of the thousands in attendance at the Stone Temple Pilots show in Portsmouth last Friday, I’m willing to be very few of them would go see a Kanye West show (anybody with brains would avoid a Kanye West show).  We don’t fork out our hard earned bucks to see bands or movies that we don’t like.  In the same way, church goers will find the best “Sunday show” that fits them.  The church that has the best music, or the most dynamic preacher, or the best children’s ministry will be the one they attend.  All of this reinforces the consumer mentality that we’re force fed every day.  We’ve become church consumers.

Those of you who know me know that we’re in the simple/organic/house church stream.  I’m convinced it makes better disciples quicker, and has much greater potential for exponential multiplication.  It’s totally relationship oriented, and costs no money.  Best of all, it is easier to develop the rhythm of kingdom life because you don’t have that one weekly spectacle.  But if you’re convinced that you’re supposed to plant or be a part of a traditionally structured church, here are some thoughts on how to fight the consumer mentality and make church more of a lifestyle instead of an event:

1. Start with small groups, making the Sunday gathering secondary. This is very hard to do, but I think it is possible.  So often, church planters start with small groups, but the launch of the Sunday event is always seen as the “birthday” of the church.  If planters and their teams work hard to establish the small group culture first and almost downplay the importance of the Sunday event, it may go a long way to helping churches see small groups as their main priority (and let’s face it–small groups produce better disciples, if they’re done right, then Sunday morning events ever do).
2. Fund the small groups more than the Sunday gathering. I know, yeah right.  Rent/mortgage, salaries, equipment cost big bucks.  Maybe it’s time to rethink this.  Most guys I know say small groups are the most important part of their church, but how big a percentage of the offering goes to small groups?  Very little, if any (I know from experience).  Fund conference trips for your leaders/apprentices, a retreat, money for serving the community, etc.  If small groups really are the most important thing, then put your money where your mouth is.
3. Make Sundays about equipping. Instead of investing so much time and effort replicating an event that’s focused on producing an emotional high (I might get in trouble for that one…), make your Sunday gathering about equipping your people.  Instead of self-help sermon series (and that’s what most modern preaching has become), maybe we need to spend time equipping our people to do the work of ministry.  Spend time in “break out groups” after a time of teaching.  Eat a meal together while you’re at it.  Spend more time on stuff like that than your latest YouTube video.
4. If you must have a band (and I’m sure you probably must), make sure they’re not a “tribute band.” A great majority of church bands are tribute bands to well known Christian artists.  You’ll hear a lot of Chris Tomlin, Hillsong, David Crowder, Jeremy Camp, etc. at churches around the country every Sunday.  If you really want to be culturally relevant, you need the church to come up out of the culture.  That means your band should be encouraged, not to cover songs (although some of that is certainly fine), but to write new songs that glorify God and reflect the culture you’re in.  If that means some urban R&B, or country, or polka (even if you personally hate it), then that’s what it means.
5. Create a rhythm of kingdom life. Downplay the “if you have to choose something, choose Sunday mornings” mentality.  Raise the standards for your people.  Insist they hang out together during the week.  Insist they get to know people that don’t know Jesus (which means they may have to sit in the smoking section and go to the bar for Monday Night Football).  Church is a lifestyle to be lived, not an event.  Therefore, we must follow the Spirit’s lead, not our own plans, to structure our churches in that way.

How else can we fight the consumer mentality and make church more of a lifestyle and not an event?

Rock ‘n Roll Church (Part 3)

Yesterday’s post looked at the basic elements of a great rock concert and then asked the question, “What (in the eyes and minds of many church planters and attenders) makes for a great church?”  My experience and observation (and they may be wrong) lead me to believe that, in the 21st century USA, most church planters and church attenders think a great church has:

1. A great band. Recruitment of talented musicians is a must, especially musicians that can emulate popular Christian artists, and maybe U2.  Music, after all, is the essence of crowd worship.
2. A great frontman. While not part of the band, the frontman of the church–the preacher, pastor, talker, communicator, whatever–is the face of the church.  Without him, the entire ship would sink.  The most important part of the church event (that phrase will come up later) is the sermon, message, talk, whatever.  The entire event builds to this particular individual and his oratory (never thought I’d get to use that word).
3. A great support team. Sound techs, greeters, children’s area, refreshments, parking lot attendants, and the list goes on and on.  A great church evidently needs a large group of volunteers to make sure the event runs smoothly.
4. A great production. Video production, stage design specifically themed around the oratorical series of the frontman.  In big churches with big budgets, these are coming close to Hollywood quality productions.  They keep the event fresh, engaging, and relevant (because relevancy is most important).

Eerily similar to a great rock show.  The difference is that communion at a rock show consists of nachos and beer while church has bread and juice (sometimes wine), and the frontman talks about struggles with sex, drugs, and life while the frontman at a church talks about how following Jesus will help you overcome sex, drugs, and have a good life.

A very conservative estimate is that on ticket sales alone, $150,000 was made at the STP concert (it was much higher when you factor in fees, merchandise, and food/beer sales).  Every Sunday, people pay “for their ticket to the show” in churches where the event looks like a rock concert.  All of the above elements reveal that we see church as an event and not as a lifestyle to be lived.  Don’t believe it?  Follow the money.  Most of the money made and spent by churches goes into the Sunday event.  There are some churches who give away more than they spend on themselves, but they are the exception.  Most of the money spent by churches goes into a 60 – 90 minute service and the facilities they meet in.  Each week, the cycle continues.

Maybe I’m being over sarcastic or disillusioned.  But I’ve been there.  I’ve done rock ‘n roll church.  I’m not denying that many people have come to know Jesus through this.  I’m just wondering if there’s a better way.

Because church isn’t about a showy event.  It’s a lifestyle to be lived.  More on that tomorrow.

Rock ‘n Roll Church (Part 2)

Before I get too far into this series, I want to clarify something from the start:  I’m not saying what many churches are doing is necessarily wrong.  I do think we need to spend the time really digging into the reasons why we do it.

What makes for a great rock show?  Let’s see…

1. A great band. There are some bands that record well, but don’t translate live.  They obviously have a great producer in the studio, but they can’t replicate the dozens of takes in the studio live in one take on stage.
2. A great band with a great frontman. A band’s singer is usually the face of the group.  The better he can work a crowd, the better the performance, which can translate into a skyrocketing reputation for the band, which can lead to greater ticket and CD sales/iTunes downloads.
3. A great support team. From the equipment guys to guitar/drum techs to the sound guys, all of the background people are just as important as the band.  Without them, the band (no matter how good) will sound like crap.
4. A great production. U2 is known globally for the spectacle of their concerts.  Most people I know who went to a U2 concert this year commented more about the stage production (the audio/visual stuff) than they did the actual music.  STP’s stage production was really cool.  It wasn’t over done, and the focus was still on the music.  But it was definitely orchestrated.  A lot of time, thought, and effort was put into that show.

What (in the eyes and minds of many church planters and attenders) makes for a great church?  You figure it out.  If you need any help, I’ll give you some hints tomorrow.