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.