The question is not, ”What will we do to keep ourselves from going extinct?”

The question is, “What will we do to show people what God is like?”

The first question is driven by fear.  The second by love.

Leaders motivated by fear are not the people you want working alongside you anyway. They may reach out to the community with you, but they will do it in a way that puts their own interests above the interests of the ones you’re reaching, and that is not Christlike.  That spirit is contagious.

Instead, appeal to people’s desire to show real love to the world.  It has been said that in all of our hearts is a God-shaped hole only God can fill.  We were made to be in relationship with our Creator.  We also were made to love like He does… wildly… sacrificially.  Find the folks who want to show the world what God is like by showing crazy love to their families and the hurting people in their community.  Then see what happens.  You can start by modeling crazy love yourself.  You may get fewer folks to join you in the beginning, but this spirit is contagious, too.  God’s kingdom grows from small beginnings and selfless acts of love.

Have you been asked to support church planting because of what it will do for your church or denomination (or your non-denomination as the case may be)?  I used to give these well-intended presentations, but now I’m skeptical.  They go something like this: “Our brand of church is in a state of decline compared to other denominations and the U.S. population growth rate. If we don’t do something, our brand is liable to become obsolete!  We’ll lose our identity.  Let’s not lose our slice of the Churched Population Pie. We need to reach more people to keep our brand of church from going extinct.  The way to do this is by starting more of our kind of churches!  We’ll get to know our neighbors and meet their felt needs.  They’ll see how caring we are and our brand of church will become more attractive.  When they come to our newly planted churches, we’ll win them to Jesus.  Imagine it.  Lost people will be saved, and our brand of church will stay relevant in the 21st century.  That’s why we need to plant churches!”

I get it, but then I don’t get it.  Really, why do we need to keep our slice of the pie?  Why focus our energies on preserving our brand of church?  Jesus Christ said the church he builds will not be stopped (Matthew 16:18).  He didn’t make this promise for your brand of church.  The Church will live on, but maybe church brands, denominations and non-denominations have life cycles.   

But even if your and my brands of church are here to stay, is preserving them really the goal of joining God in mission?  Our “bigger slice of the pie” presentations have emphasized a self-serving reason for Christians to engage their communities, and I think this will come back to haunt us.   Your community desperately needs you to show them the Selfless Savior, not the Self-Preserving Church.  So you want to introduce lost and broken people to the person and hope of Christ.  In the process, God may ask you to give up traditions dear to your heart to show His kind of love to your community.  Jesus’ teachings were full of ironies.  Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and the humble will be exalted.  The last shall be first and the first shall be last.  Holding onto life leads to death, and dying to oneself leads to life.  For those of us who have grown attached to our ways of doing church, maybe the way to hold onto our church identity is to let go of it.  To borrow another analogy from Jesus Christ, you may be required to let the kernel of wheat fall to the ground and die so that new life can sprout where you are (John 12).  Are you willing to let go of finding your identity inyour church brand and find it in Christ alone?  What wouldn’t you give up so that others could know Him, too?

Go ahead, form new communities of faith, but do it out of sacrificial love.  And spur others on to do the same.  Live this way because you have wild love for God and people, not because church planting could preserve our brand of church and make us successful.  You are preaching Christ and him crucified, not your way of doing church.  The road to becoming a risk-taking, outward-focused church is not paved with self-preservation.

I got up at 5:30 to read some of the Psalms, did my at-home physical therapy exercises (my old back injury and sciatica are acting up again), prayed with my sons, kissed my wife, and at 6:40am rode the bus to work so I can support my amazing wife and those precious little boys.

It felt so good to be on the bus to work.  After months of job-hunting, I appreciate more fully that I have a job while so many don’t.  And that the kind of job I have allows me to make a difference in the lives of families who are jobless and at risk of homelessness.

7:30am Start work.  While at work, I met another case worker who is starting home-based churches, referred to me by my supervisor.  Very cool!

5:30pm go home.  After work, I enjoyed some quiet (as quiet as the city gets) time with God on the bus ride home.  I intentionally skipped the second bus so I could add 15 minutes to my walk home (this was painful but I knew the exercise would do my sore back and leg some good).

6:30pm arrive home. Nothing tops the experience of coming home, walking through the door and being greeted emphatically by my three hyper boys with their tight, tight hugs and pretend stabs to my gut with their pirate swords.  They told me all about their first day at their new school.  The long version was so cute but too long to share here.  The short version: They were blessed with a fun and smooth first day (thank you, Lord!).  My beautiful wife also greeted me with a kiss and homemade tamales (made by our neighbor who is selling tamales to make a few extra bucks).  As planned, our family ate dinner with two of Meredith’s former co-workers who brought donuts for dessert, which thoroughly pleased our boys.  Meredith’s friends love to play with our boys, and our boys love to play with them.  So it was one of those social gatherings that you can feel good about as a dad because you know you didn’t leave your kids out of all the fun.

8pm open God’s Word.  These two young women, who are very, very turned off by religion but opening up to the person of Jesus Christ,  stayed for a Discovery Bible Discussion (aka Discovery Bible Study) after we put the boys to bed.  Just before we began, though, my son Isaiah prayed all on his own for Meri’s friends and the time we would be spending reading the Bible together, which was awesome.  If I’m not mistaken, this was our fourth time to explore God’s Word together with these two friends.  It is exciting to watch them discovering what God is like and opening up to Him.  It was also fun to hear one of these young women pray aloud to God, to hear her voicing her faith in God to the rest of us, and to observe her taking on the responsibility of facilitating the Discovery Bible Discussion.  It also was wonderful to hear the both of them identifying people in their lives with whom they will share what they’re learning about God.

10:30pm Time to unwind.  It was a late night so I’ll have to make up for it later with some rest.  But I couldn’t just go right to bed after our guests left.  I needed some additional time to unwind because, unlike my wife who usually gets reenergized by being around people, I typically need some alone time to recharge.  So I’m thankful my wife graciously allowed me some down time to check my favorite blog feeds, read Obama’s speech on health care, and spend some “just me and God time” in prayer.

Now, it’s time for bed.  Thank you, Lord, for a good full day. I’m sure tomorrow will be quite different and still very full and good.

I wanted to share my news with you right away that I just got a job today!  Beginning September 1^st, I will be working as a case worker for a local organization to prevent homelessness.   I’m so excited!   Meri and I are thankful to God and to you guys for supporting us with prayer and encouragement!  I want to tell you a little about my job.  In my new position I will be serving some of our society’s social lepers – homeless families and those living on the verge of homelessness.  Some of these families may be chronically homeless, but my position will focus in particular on helping those who are “newly homeless” or about to become homeless due to the state of our economy and/or a crisis in their family.  I will be helping these moms and dads to find housing and jobs and get back on their feet again.  The new job is going to bless my family and our continued missionary efforts in Los Angeles in more ways than one.  I will make enough salary with this position to provide for my family, including benefits.  I’ll get to make a difference in the lives of struggling families on the job, and I will have time in the evenings and weekends to devote to my family and build spiritually influential relationships in the community.  My family will get to model for others what it means to be “missionaries as a way of life,” which means a lot to us.  I can ’safely’ answer the question, “What do you do for a living?” when meeting people who are turned off by clergy, church and religion.  The list goes on…  Thank you for all your prayers and expressions of love for us, our friends we do life with, and God’s missing ones in LA.  

Today I interviewed for a teaching position at an alternative high school that specializes in what the LA Times calls the “throwaway” kids – gangsters, teenage mothers, juvenile camp returnees, pot heads, you name it. This is a last resort school – they’ve been kicked out of their other schools, they have no other options.

As part of the interview process they had me go in the classroom and teach a Math lesson to the students. I was told by my interviewer that my lesson went really well, but I have to say teaching them was tough. I definitely would have my work cut out for me, and yet it reminds me so much of kids I’ve worked with over the past 13 years. I don’t know if I’ll end up working there or not, but I can see myself doing this kind of thing. 

In the class were 9th through 12th graders in one room. Most of them have a 3rd to 5th grade reading level. They don’t understand algebra and geometry because they never learned their times tables and fractions. They made constant chatter and inappropriate comments. A few teenagers kept falling asleep. One girl walked out of the classroom and never came back. 

As you learn their stories you realize these kids have been through so much prior to arriving at this school.  And the school, which is designed to intervene, got off to a shakey start.  The assistant principal told me they haven’t had the continuity of steady teachers in their classes, just one substitute teacher after another. Throughout my lesson the kids kept asking me, “How come our last teacher didn’t tell us he wasn’t coming back? Are you gonna come back again? Are you gonna stay with us?”

+++++

Last week I had my second interview for a position as a case worker at a local organization. If hired, I would be working with another type of social leper in our society – homeless families and those living on the verge of homelessness.  I would get to assist them in moving toward lives of wellness and autonomy, providing them with home-based case management in the context of a relationship.  By forming and nurturing community partnerships, I would help these families to find affordable, permanent housing and jobs, get access to community services, and develop and implement short and long range Action Plans. Along the way I would teach them life skills as needed, advocate for them, mediate conflicts and help them to establish effective relationships with their new landlords and employers, etc.  Like the teaching job, this case worker thing is right up my alley!

+++++

We’ll see what God does with this!

Please pray that I get a job soon that blesses my family and God’s mission.  I know some of you are hurting financially, and your futures are uncertain, too.  I prayed for you this evening.

“More than right answers God is looking for deep trust in Him.”

It reminds me of Jesus’ tense encounters with the Pharisees. 

And it reminds me of the reasons for the rise and fall of King Asa in scripture (2 Chronicles 14-16).  Powerful story.

“For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

These women and men assumed that people who follow Jesus pray.  It is not the only thing that defines discipleship to Jesus, but it is one of the essentials. 

Lord, teach us to pray. 

Christ delivered me from religion of fear and shame to freely follow Him without having to be “religious”
(in the awful sense that this word has come to mean).

Christ delivered me from from always needing to have people’s approval to be okay with being different. 
(I admit it.  My theme song is the “Island of Misfit Toys” from Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.)

Christ delivered me from being a door-slammer when I’m angry to being a reconciler. 
(Ask my family about how I’ve grown at this.)

Christ delivered me from fearing or looking down on people who are different from me to live a life of befriending and learning from other cultures, classes and ethnic groups. 

Christ delivered me from sabatoging relationships whenever I fear rejection to be capable of giving and receiving real friendship. 
(There is nothing so sweet.)

Jesus Christ delivered me from and to a lot of things.  I could keep going!

Christ has delivered me from my own hell ON EARTH (see yesterday’s post) to eternal life in his kingdom – this new kind of life has ALREADY BEGUN!!

Christ delivered me from being a prisoner to habitual sins to spend my life on worthwhile things that are going to still matter a hundred years from now.  Generational cycles of addictive behavior stopped with me and I am not passing them on to my kids!   THANK YOU, GOD, MY FAMILY IS FREE!!!

Christ delivered me from power plays, unhealthy eating, and lust (and subsequent self-loathing) to cope well with fear and disappointment and have joy.  Why would I go back? 

Christ delivered me from avoiding trying new things simply because I might fail to trying new things even though I sometimes fall flat on my face.  A life without regret is so much better!

Christ delivered me from needing to impress others with my success to focus on being faithful because I find my worth and citizenship in heaven, not in job, accomplishments, ministry results, or social standing in church.

Christ delivered me from a lack of confidence that paralyzed me to assert my own ideas and be the leader I’m meant to be.

Yeah, I know.  I don’t do any of these perfectly.  (Who does?)  But I have a power within me now – it wasn’t there before – to live this new kind of life.  I’ve tasted this life and it is SO GOOD!  I could not live it without Him!  And look what He’s doing for others!  He is truly wonderful, our God!

What is your deliverance story?  What did God deliver you from and what did he deliver you to?  (see yesterday’s post on From/To Deliverance)

I’ll go first.  Then you can briefly share one of your stories in the comments, if you like. 

Jesus Christ has delivered me from and to many things.  One of the BIG ones is this:  He delivered me from my own personal hell on earth – the condition of not forgiving my father.  And the condition he delivered me to?  Well, let’s just say my religion could not have produced something this good! 

Bitterness had been slowly eating away at my soul since my father left our family when I was ten years old.   When I grew older I told some folks I no longer was angry because that is what good Christians are supposed to say.  Who was I kidding?  It wasn’t until I was in college when my then-girlfriend Meredith (who later became my wife) challenged me: “You still haven’t released this.”   With her by my side, I cried a lot that year.  Sobbed is more like it.  Now that I was out of the house and somewhat on my own, I allowed myself to feel the pain of being that ten year old boy after all those years.  Shaking a fist at God, it was one of the most difficult times of spiritual doubt I have been through.  One night I finally released it all on God, and in the process I discovered my Father who had been there for every important and seemingly insignificant moment of my life, and I turned to Him.  Like the shriveled heart that suddenly grew ten times its size in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, something began to happen inside of me.  I suddenly felt… free.  Really free.  For a couple of weeks I even felt like I was weightless and walking on air.  I began to write songs and poems about and to this Father.  I was so free that when I saw my biological father for the first time since his departure I was not “shaken.”  I was in my late twenties, married, with my first son.  There he was, the man I got my eyes from, sitting across from me in that little Denny’s restaurant on Sunset Blvd and Gower St., apologizing for all the things he had done and not done for the family.  I was able to say to him, “If you had come back into my life a few years ago I might have carried out one of my revenge fantasies on you.  But the Lord did what I couldn’t do.  He freed me and I forgive you.”  This time I meant it.  And enough years have gone by now to prove it.  God didn’t just deliver me from being stuck in unforgiveness and anger.  He delivered me to confidently love and reconcile with my father.  It was a strange and beautiful reunion.  There, in an unexpected place, was joy.  Yet the story didn’t end there.  God delivered me to a neighborhood in Los Angeles where I get to bless fatherless and neglected children as well as fathers who have abandoned or neglected their children (something I previously would not have permitted myself to do).  Not only that, he delivered me to raise three boys of my own!  I get to be a daddy.  Yes, I have scars, who doesn’t?  Look what God did in me and is doing through me!  I could not have been like this on my own.  It’s the One who made me reinventing me!  I am now free to experience a sense of worth and joy, and to be a blessing to others, thanks to the Spirit of Jesus Christ living in me! 

Okay, your turn!

What is something he delivered you FROM and what is something he delivered you TO?