Bridge Church to Chiapas, Mexico
A team from our Church took off this AM bound for Mexico’s southern most state to work with missionaries & church planters, Sergio & Beth Matassa. Their work consists of raising up and training indigenous leaders among the Tzotzil Indians to plant churches in the 9,000 or so unreached, remote villages throughout Chiapas. Our team will go deep into the Lacandon Jungle to support the Church Planting movement there with free medical clinics, installing life-saving water filtration systems, and sharing the gospel via film and other means. Pray for our team. Chiapas is considered a Voice of Martyrs Restricted Nation (check out my personal picture that made it onto Voice of Martyrs cover in 2009) but much is needed to provide the gospel for many unreached peoples in Mexico’s southern most state.
Chiapas is a great place to invest people and other resources. You can learn more about partnering with the Matassa’s at their website gled.net. To partner with them on a Mission Trip check out there East-West Ministries page.
The Best Church IN the Community or The Best Church FOR the Community?
The Externally Focused Quest by Eric Swanson and Rick Rusaw is another thought provoking book about changing paradigms for
church and how we see it in North America. In their book The Externally Focused Church they asked the question, “If your church were to close its doors, would anyone in the community notice ?” In The Externally Focused Quest the deeper question is, “How can we be the best church FOR our community?” As opposed to the internal, competing for market share, religious goods and services approach of being the best church IN the community. Not that anyone of us church leaders would admit to this attitude or say it out loud, but our program driven, service oriented, competition driven economy has opened the door for this thinking in the church. A slight preposition change, can change our thinking drastically. The book is well-researched, offering real-life examples of churches making this shift and statistics about the changing culture around us. How do you make the shift in thinking?
- Choose the window seat, not the aisle seat. Be an aisle seat church, focusing on what’s outside not just inside.
- Practice weight training, not bodybuilding. Don’t just grow to show off your size and strength. Purpose to expand the potential for serving and transforming the community.
- Live in the kingdom story, not A church story. The church doesn’t exist for itself, but to demonstrate the kingdom. Maybe the highlight of the book is the charts that compare church thinking with kingdom thinking.
- The few send the many, not the many send the few. Sending the whole church, not just the staff or super Christians.
- Build wells, not walls. Partnering and collaborating with other churches, ministries, and organizations for the good of many.
- Create Paradigms, not programs. Programs begin and end. A paradigm is a pattern or model that create a movement.
- Innovation, not replication. Seeing the opportunities, not being satisfied with the status quo, attempting difficult things leads to creativity and innovation.
- It’s about the game, not the pre-game talk. What happens once the sermon is over is as important as the sermon itself.
- Church is more than just a worship center or a mini-seminary. Rather church is the visible and visceral expression of jesus living among a people.
- Service has always been the DNA of Christianity, but for most people, it is a recessive gene in the gene pool.
- Quoting a 2006 Tom Rainer study – “nearly 95% of the churches’ ministries were for members alone…many churches had no ministries for those outside the congregation.
- we don’t grow until we begin loving, serving, and giving ourselves to someone outside of friends and family.
- real spiritual growth occurs when the physical, relational, spiritual well-being of our neighbor is as important as our own.
- Quoting the Willow Creek Reveal study: “Church activity alone made no direct impact on a growing heart…a stunning discovery for us”
- Church people think about how to get people into the church; Kingdom people think about how to get the church into the world.
- For many Christ followers, service and ministry are sentiments but no values.
- Externally focused churches are churches whose effectiveness is not measured merely by attendance but also by the transformational effect they are having on the community around them.
- How will people, communities, relationships, and cities be different if God granted you the desire of your heart?
- we often want to be inspired more than we want to apply anything.
- Also, found this list about How to Measure Success in Church in the book as well.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t summon people to buy wood, prepare tools, distribute jobs, and organize the work – rather, teach people the yearning for the wide boundless ocean”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Faith in Action Sunday!
Every fifth Sunday Bridge Church, scatters instead of gathers, for what we call Faith in Action Sunday. This Sunday, May 29th will be our second FIA for 2011. Looking forward to worshipping through serving senior adults, elderly widows, single mothers, inmate families, families in ICU, public servants, multi-housing residents, families at local parks, and more this Sunday AM. As a Pastor, Faith in Action Sunday is a way to be intentional about disciple-making (Mark 3:14; James 1:21-23) and transforming the community (Matthew 5:13-16; John 1:14-16). Here’s a few other reasons why:
- Because following Jesus includes putting our faith in action (Luke 6:46-49)
- Because Christianity is about more than just attending worship services
- Because Jesus said “Go…” (Matthew 28:19-20)
- Because if we love God, we will love people “in actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18, 4:7-8)
- Because if we love God, we do what He says. (John 14:21, 23; 1 John 2:3-6)
- Because success is community transformation, not just a big organization.
- Because proclaiming and demonstrating God’s love go hand-in-hand. (Luke 9:2)
- Because there are needs in our community that are going unmet.
- Because God cares for the whole person. (James 2:15-18)
- Because God desires individuals to live in healthy communities and just societies. (Jeremiah 29:7)
- Because everyone can serve.
- Because people follow examples better than they follow instructions.
- Because God has a special heart for those who are poor and vulnerable. (Jeremiah 22:16)
- Because God’s people are to be an instrument of blessing to the world. (Genesis 12:2)
- Because disciples are shaped through serving, not just sitting.
- Because the church’s ministry should be incarnational. (John 1:14; 20:21)
- Because God empowers us to participate in ministry. (Ephesians 2:10)
- Because God created us for good works. (Ephesians 2:10)
- Because it’s joining God in what He’s doing in the world.
- Because it’s fun.
While even a Faith In Action Sunday can become a meaningless ritual or an isolated event, our desire is that giving away will become a part of the flow of peoples lives as it’s part of the flow of Bridge Church.
Here’s a sample list of projects for this Sunday’s FIA:
- Handicap Bars in bathrooms of a residence for an elderly stroke victim.
- Cool Sealing a roof for the residence of two elderly stroke victims.
- Trimming Trees and cleaning up around an area Mobile Home Park.
- Visiting, praying with, & delivering gift cards to families in ICU waiting rooms.
- Delivering kids movies that we’ve collected for area Pediatric Units.
- Clean small yard and trim bushes for disabled, single mom in our city.
- Projects for Families w/Small Children – Deliver Baked Goods to Fire Depts and Police Depts and pass out snacks at area parks.
- Projects for those who want to/need to stay off their feet – Stuff baby bottles for Crisis Pregnancy Center fund raiser, Write notes of encouragement to community leaders.
- FAMILY DAY Block Party @ our local jail. This will be a time to connect with families of inmates and recognize the men who have completed our 26-week Addiction Recovery Program called Project 180.
Let me know if you know of other potential projects or ideas for making a difference in our community.
For other Faith In Action Ideas and resources check out http://putyourfaithinaction.org/.
Clever Clarity
- On a Septic Tank Truck Sign: “We’re #1 in the #2 business.”
- At a Proctologist’s Office: “To expedite your visit, please back in.”
- On a Plumber’s Truck: “We repair what your husband fixed.”
- At a Tire Shop in Milwaukee: “Invite us to your next blowout.”
- On a Plastic Surgeon’s Office Door: “Let us pick your nose.”
- At a Towing Company: “We don’t charge an arm and a leg. We want tows.”
- In a Nonsmoking Area: “If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action.”
- On a Maternity Room door: “Push. Push. Push.”
Getting the Mission Right
Little story to help think through clarity on our target. Most churches hit their mark. Not always the one on the wall, but the one their values and rhythms communicate. Is it the right mission, the right target, the right mission?
In the great book On the Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church by Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson, Hirsch tells the story about a drill bit company that had achieved great success, even worldwide success, revolutionizing the industry with the tungsten-tipped drill bit. Over time the competition caught up and the company’s market share began to erode. The board of directors decided to get a new CEO to recover the company’s success. The CEO called for a crisis-conference to clarify the mission of the company. After a few days together the employees came back to the CEO with the decision that their mission was to make the best drill bits in the world. They all agreed this was an excellent purpose for the company. At this point, the new CEO said, “No! Your job is not to make the best drill bits in the world; rather it is to make the best holes in the world!” The company went on to innovate laser drilling and become the best hole-making company in the world.
What is your drill bit? What should be the real goal of your church or organization? In Christianity, it seems we focus so much attention on having great churches, and not enough on making great disciples? Has church become the mission, hindering disciple making?
Worth Reading: You See Bones, I See An Army by @FloydMcClung
A friend of mine sent me this book several months ago. It’s another refreshing look at church through the lens of simplicity. It is
a call for the church to get back to its apostolic roots. I love seeing the word apostolic used in its biblical sense. McClung defines it well. It’s also a call for a discipleship revolution. If you want to be reminded of the potent power of Christ’s church, pick up a copy of You See Bones, I See An Army by Floyd McClung. We’ll worth reading. Here’s a few of my favorite quotes:
- we spend so much time and energy thinking of ways to make the sacred hour on Sunday more attractive to saved people, rather than equipping saved people to take the church to the world.
- the more complicated we do church, the more difficult it is to reproduce.
- The church in the book of Acts functioned as a vibrant community, not a weekly meeting. They were a dynamic movement of small communities, spontaneously breaking out all over the city.
- The church that does not carry a passion to reach the world isolates people behind walls of cultural irrelevance.
- Apostolic leadership is God’s mechanism for mobilizing his people.
- Apostolic leadership yearns for the not yet.
- Apostolic leaders encourage holy dissatisfaction, risk taking, questioning, and experimenting.
- Church is not for us. It is for God and for the lost.
- The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving Jesus, loving those who love Jesus, and loving those who don’t know Jesus.
- We are called to invade the world, not escape from it.
- Church is people, ordinary people, living their lives for Jesus.
- the purpose of God for the church, to love as Jesus would if he were walking around in our bodies.
- Whatever the problem, whatever the need, God has placed within the church the resources necessary to respond.
- You can talk about being apostolic until you’re blue in the face, but if you don’t plant and reproduce churches, you’re not apostolic.
- If being an apostle means doing what Jesus did, it involves loneliness, persecution, and ultimately death.
- To be dedicated to Jesus is not first of all about being a missionary or pastor, but being intentional and obedient in making disciples.
- Apostolic people take the church to the world; they don’t wait for the world to come to the church.
- While others see what’s been done and are grateful, apostolic people see what has not been done and long for more.
- it is not the famous but the faithful who will receive big crowns in heaven.
- Spiritual authority can never be separated from the ability to influence people in nonmanipulative ways.
- The only thing you can take to heaven besides your own heart is the people you influence for God.
- church is who we are, not where you go.
- The church was not placed on this planet to entertain people for one hour a week. The church was created by God to be the ongoing presence of his Son Jesus with skin on.
- Too many people want the same amount of fruit the apostle Paul enjoyed without paying the price that Paul paid.
- There are too many overfed, undermotivated Christians hiding behind the excuse that God has not spoken to them.
- We are created by God to reproduce after our own kind. If we are proud and arrogant, we will produce the same fruit in others, and if we are humble and transparent, we will reproduce that as well.
- Programs don’t disciple people, building don’t disciple people. People disciple people.
- programs and strategies don’t make disciples. Great ideas don’t make disciples. Disciples make disciples.
Winning With People
- Who we are determines how we see others.
- The first person we must examine is ourselves.
- Hurting people hurt people and are more easily hurt by people.
- Never use a hammer to swat a fly off someone’s head.
- We can lift people up or take people down in life.
- The entire population of the world – with one minor exception – is made up of other people.
- Instead of putting others in their place, we must put ourselves in their place.
- Each person we meet has the potential to teach us something.
- People are interested in the person who is interested in them.
- Believing the best in people usually brings the best out of people.
- Caring for people should precede confronting people.
- Trust is the foundation of any relationship.
- Never let the situation mean more than the relationship.
- When Bob has a problem with everyone, Bob is usually the problem
- Being at ease with ourselves helps others be at ease with us.
- When preparing for battle, dig a hole big enough for a friend.
- All relationships need cultivation.
- Find the 1% we agree on and give it 100% of our effort.
- The journey with others is slower than the journey alone.
- The true test of relationships is not only how loyal we are when friends fail, but how happy we are when they succeed.
- We go to a higher level when we treat others better than they treat us.
- When we help others, we help ourselves.
- All things being equal, people will work with people they like. All things not being equal, people will work with people they like.
- Working together increases the odds of winning together.
- In Great relationships, the joy of being together should be enough.
My #Exponential Book Grab
One good thing about conferences and especially Exponential is the sponsors and vendors. Many of them with merchandise 40-60% off. And of course at Exponential most of the merchandise is in the form of books. Here’s a few of the books that I picked up at Exponential that I will be reading over the next few months:
- Journey’s to Significance: Charting a Leadership Course From the Life of Paul by Neil Cole
- On the Verge: A Journey Into the Apostolic Future of the Church by Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson
- For the City: Proclaiming and Living Out the Gospel by Darrin Patrick and Matt Carter
- 6 Word Lessons to Discover Missional Living: 100 6-word Lessons to Align Every Believer With the Mission of Jesus by David Devries
- Truth That Sticks: How to Communicate Velcroe Truth in a Teflon World Avery Willis and Mar k Snowden.
Not FOR God, but BY God’s Power
Language is important. I’ve been thinking lately of the language I use in relation to serving God. Often I say that I’m doing things FOR God, as if God needs me to get his work done.
“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.” Acts 17:24-25
God allows me to be part of what He’s doing. And even what I do for him, I do in the strength he provides.
“‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord” Zechariah 4:6
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you…” Psalm 84:5
“if anyone serves, [it should be] from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything” 1 Peter 4:11
When I find myself doing things FOR God, it’s sometimes been in my strength and to make myself feel good about what I can do. Because of what God has done and By God’s Power are proper motives and help keep God as the one glorified and worshiped.
Splitting hairs? Maybe. Just thinking.
Lane Corley 