Whew, summer flew by - and this morning I woke up to what is, in my estimation, the perfect weather: cool, upper-50's, a bit sunny, brisk... all the good things about Fall. The only downside is the realization that soon the leaves will fall and demand that someone move them around the yard.

Imago Dei

So, as part of my teaching series on environmentalism and the Church, I've become completely inspired and a little overwhelmed by the interaction between God and, well... God. In the beginning, after creation (small "c" intentional) has been formed and everything seems to be running smoothly, God says, "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature..."

Imago Dei - image of God

Humans are created - and the breath of God, the image of God, is given to them.

Then they are brought into relationship with God.
Then they are given responsibility to obey God.
Then they are given authority to govern on behalf of God.

I had a discussion this morning with some friends who are at an intersection in their lives, debating whether or not pursuing a relationship with Jesus is worth the commitment, debating what would motivate them to make such a commitment anyway.

We're reading the Gospel of Mark, looking firsthand at the actions, words and teachings of Jesus Christ. Letting him speak into our lives. I'm praying they'll hear the ancient/present/future call of Christ - "come and follow me." We discussed the legalism and ritualism of the Christian Institution in light of the simple life and teachings of Jesus, and during this I was reminded that Jesus came not to organize and institutionalize us, but to restore within us God's image - the perfect, incorruptible, holy, transforming image of God, reflecting his nature, character and attributes.

What's the problem with the world today? Well, sin, obviously, but in a different sense... not sin that makes God angry because of our disobedience, but sin that breaks God's heart because our image is deformed, tainted and dying. Jesus wasn't just establishing new rules to make God happy (i.e. most other religions) - he was literally creating a new way back to God.

Back to the being the Creation of God.
Backing to being in relationship with God.
Back to bearing the responsibility from God.
Back to governing on behalf of God.
Back to living and walking and talking and being with God.
Back to imago dei.

Family Fun Day

Getting ready to head out in a couple hours to go meet up with some friends and take the family to Canobie Lake Park.
I think it's funny; we've spent the past 3 weeks covered in rain and on our first sunny, warm summer-is-actually-here kind of day, we are heading to a place that features... water parks.

I'm looking forward to it though... as much as I love the cool, grey rainy days we've been having, there's something about the sun that just changes everything. I could pass on the accompanying heat, though.

Off to go play...

Baptism

It's Tuesday and I'm sitting in my office, reflecting on last Sunday's baptism service, developing this Sunday's service and being generally overwhelmed by grace... God is good, indeed.

We had such a powerful baptism service! It was incredible to hear the testimonies and faith-stories of those receiving baptism; I think there were a couple of people who had been categorized and boxed in due to other's impressions and judgments who were finally set free. "Your life up to this point is now put to death; rise in the new life of Christ."

What would happen if we were to live out our baptism daily?

Contemporary Worship Conference

Just wrapping up my last minute thoughts, ideas and other prep work before tomorrow's workshop. The conference itself is geared toward helping traditional churches understand and implement elements of modern/missional/emerging worship.

I'm teaching two workshop tracks: "Sharing the Vision, Plan & Production for Modern Worship" and "Creating Worship Environments in Your Church." Both are "pastor tracks" aimed at helping pastors with the often difficult task of transitioning not just service elements, but entire church/community culture.

Throughout my prep, a couple of ideas continue to come back to me; I'm not even sure of their origin. Maybe snippets of a book I read, or some phrase spoken at another workshop that I attended. Can't remember. But they've stuck with me, in part due to the thoughts and questions that come to my mind, and also due to the truth they contain. So I 'll share them with you, and my apologies to the originator for forgetting who you are (but, chances are you have no idea who I am, either, so in some warped kind of way, I guess we're even.)

:: With each generation, the church renews language and patterns for worship ::

:: The Bible shapes our patterns and actions in worship, drawing us into God's saving story ::

Enjoy the weekend, come check out the conference and I'll share some notes, thoughts and more after it's all over.

Church of Nomads, pt.1

It's Friday, and we're two days away from rejoining the portable-church world - and I am loving it.

Seriously... I really am.

I woke up Monday morning and for the first time in years didn't start worrying about how the rent would be paid... or how the utility bill would be paid... or how (insert random payable here) would be paid.

I simply didn't worry. I just woke up and began to think about what would come next in my day.

Most importantly, I began to think about how I could use this entire day to meet people, hear their stories and see what opportunities would arise through our connections.

I felt all missional inside :)

I think the greatest mistake we can make is allowing comfort and security to dictate our decisions and destiny. There is something inherently dangerous about following Jesus; there is no safety in surrender.

I've been struck by how incredibly risk-laden this venture has become, when every decision we make will be recorded and remembered and reviewed. I was shaken to realize that I will go down in some people's minds as the pastor "who lost the church building." But I was slightly reassured to think that for the majority of our community, at least for the moment, I am the pastor who believes so much in our God-given vision and mission that I am willing to give up our church home - along with all the security and safety that it offers - in order to pursue the infinitely more dangerous, more rewarding, path of Jesus.

Welcome to NewSong, a church for nomads. We are not wandering or aimless, we are simply, continually, moving in the direction we must go.

Sidestep to Iowa

Sitting in my sister's living room, watching my kiddo's watch "Ice Age" for the third time, and just thinking about how good it all is... we've had a blast here in Iowa with our family.

I'm planning to pop into my old hometown today, which for me, is always a surreal feeling. Vinton is one of those towns that just never seems to change, no matter what changes around it. And the people who live there seem to follow suit. In fact, my little sister (while going through my yearbook looking for embarrassing pictures of my youth) informed me that one of my good friends from those days is still working the same job that she got in high school. It was one thing to pop into the grocery store to see her back then - now, crossing 10 years and 6 states would just seem awkward.

But I would like to catch up with an old friend or two; I'd love to hear their stories and get a chance to tell them mine. To see change.

Testify, my friends.

Catching up

Alright, I'm officially behind on my blogging, but bear with me - I'm still a rookie at this.

Catch up:

1. Exponential Conference in Orlando: Amazing. Flat out incredible. A conference designed for missional church planters and strategists with the benefit of some excellent speakers, workshops and resources. Glad to have gone, thanks to Chuck Frank and the CGGC for making it happen.

2. CGGC Annual Pastor's Conference: Very good; not quite Exponential good, but hey, who's comparing? Great speaker this year. Personal highlight: receiving ordination with Churches of God.

Back home after 2 weeks of conferences

Well, I'm back home after being on the road for the past couple of weeks. Updating soon.

Alright, the main session with Craig Groeschel was so incredible that I'm jumping my scheduled track in order to hear him again. Stay tuned.

Exponential Conference - Day 3

Listening to Marc Choi [in2 church, nyc] speak on the art of movement.

His challenge - powerful church movements are grounded in the basics:

• daily prayer and devotion to God's Word
• one-to-one discipleship and spiritual formation
• weekly small group community
• gathering together for worship

I have to admit, I'm challenged by this in our church - it's not that we don't do these things, but I'm not sure that we do them effectively. But it's never too late to start....

Listening to Erwin McManus talk about the art of movement... fantastic.

Just wrapping up my first day at the Exponential Conference here in Orlando!

I gotta tell you, I'm absolutely loving the weather (sunny, mid-70's) but even more importantly, I'm inspired and excited by some of the new ideas being shared here.

Today I got a chance to hear Mark Batterson speak on Creative Communication (if you haven't heard of Mark, grab a copy of "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. Very cool stuff.) and walked away with some excellent ideas and strategies that I can't wait to share with our ministry teams.