I just got done attending service at my home church, Community Christian Church in Naperville, IL (Community). My family and I have been “on mission” with Community for more than 20 years now. It has been a great journey so far and I am excited about where the journey is heading in the future.   

 

In the latest service, the message was the third in a series on “directions”. This theme for this message was “outward” – putting the needs of of others before the needs of your own. The primary Biblical text was from John 13 – Jesus washing the disciples feet.

 

As is usually the case, I found myself significantly challenged spiritually and practically. We were admonished to make serving others a priority in our lives – in our families, with our friends, in our workplaces, our church, and in our communities both locally and globally.

 

We had just recently finished up our annual “Celebration Generosity” where we as a church gave away an entire week’s offering to four outreach organizations that are changing the world through serving others. Over the last several years, we at Community have given away millions of dollars to these four teams.

 

This last Sunday (Oct 26, 2014), the 13 campuses of Community sponsored more than 400 children in the programs of Compassion International. During the weekend services, we got to hear live personal stories from two graduates of the program. A lady named Kiwi from the Philippines shared her story at the main service Sunday morning; and, a young man named Jey from Kenya shared his story at the evening Student Community service. The stories were incredibly inspiring. It is amazing how such a seemingly small effort on our part can make such a huge difference in the life of a suffering child with no hope.

 

Sitting in the auditorium that morning, I realized that I was surrounded by some long-time followers of Jesus, those who are still figuring out who Jesus is, and everyone in between. I was struck by the multi-faceted impact that was happening in that one-hour service. So many different people were being impacted in so many different ways – all of which will all lead to so many different and significant outcomes to bring God’s love up close and personal to those around us.

 

All of this got me thinking about the internal and external criticism sometimes levied against Christian churches. While I cannot speak for most churches, I can definitely speak about my 20 years of experience at Community. From my participation and observation of the last 20 plus years, I have come to these conclusion about my Christian church – Community:

 

• The weekend “seeker friendly” services
  • Challenge me spiritually and practically week in and week out
  • Bring in hundreds if not thousands of people every year from the community who are genuinely seeking to understand God better
• The local instantiation of this particular local church institution:
  • Envisions, equips and mobilizes community transformation at local, regional and international levels
  • Actively engages and challenges it’s people to grow and develop in their spiritual faith and community-impacting servant-leadership.
  • Substantially impacts the youth – toddlers, elementary, jr high and high school students from the church body and the surrounding local communities.
  • Provides a brick and mortar “third place” structure to support many individual, group and community development meetings, gatherings and projects.
  • Provides a conduit for channeling resources of time, expertise and money to local, regional and community non-profits, NGOs, and outreach-focused organizations.

 

• The formal church staff
  • Models vulnerability, transparency and accountability on an ongoing basis.

 

The idea of church that is “seeker friendly” is still very relevant. As it turns out, there are still many people outside the church who identify “church” as a place to seek after God. My local church, provides highly visible and engaging physical spaces as well as attractive and safe environments to get to know God in a more personal way.

 

This is the secret sauce of the “seeker friendly” church. As people live life and wish to experience God to a greater extent, the cultural programming inside of them recognizes “church” as a legitimate vehicle to get them there. Community Christian steps up to the plate and creates an incredibly effective, welcoming environment for people to take those first few steps back to God.

 

The job of the church (small c) – the institution, the building, the staff – is to attract, engage, envision, equip and mobilize “The Church” (big C) – which is everyone who is following Jesus.

 

The job of “The Church” (big C) is to “be on mission” helping people find their way back to God and discipling everyone. That is big C Church’s job to actually do and carry out – not “little c” church’s.

 

One does not have to look too hard to find “little c” churches that have significant issues with the senior staff, the messaging, the services, etc. There is no doubt about that.

 

However, there are many “little c” churches that totally rock! That are doing the right things, for the right reasons. That are advancing the sacrificial love of God in their local and global communities.

 

Community is one of those “little c” churches that is rocking their mission; that is getting it done consistently well – and getting better at it.

 

In “little c” churches that rock, that are getting their mission done, the onus for exponential world change falls on the “big C” Church – you and me – the followers of Jesus. The so-called “lay people.” The “big C” Church is often the limiting factor in “little c” churches that rock. Here are some examples:

 

Every week Community puts dozens of people who are actively seeking a relationship with God in close proximity with the people of the “big C” Church. The pastor’s job is not to form discipling relationships with every one of the new people seeking God that show up on a weekly basis. That’s our job as the “big C” Church. And yet, many “big C” Church folk (Churchers) would rather hang out with their close friends whom they are comfortable with than talk to “strangers.” Many of us “big C” Churchers would rather get home to watch the Bears game. As a small example, I personally know where the side doors are so I can get out of church fast and limit the amount of interaction I have do with people. How lame is that!?

 

Every week Community provides numerous opportunities to develop spiritually with other followers of Jesus. Many of us “big C” Churchers would rather make small talk, see a movie or some other entertainment based activity so we can avoid difficult and challenging personal conversations. It’s too taxing emotionally and mentally to be intentionally about growing spiritually most of the time.

 

Every week Community provides opportunity to serve other people in our local and global communities as we “reach out”. Many of us “big C” Churchers have way too many other priorities – especially for the relationally/time intensive opportunities for outreach. Instead of going deep, let’s pack some food for an hour, or hand  out some Christmas gifts for an a couple hours and broom-out without having to get into any uncomfortable relational discussions. Let me be clear: the problem here isn’t packing food or distributing Christmas gifts…the problem here is the lack of the same level of participation in the more relationally difficult and personally “costly” outreach efforts.

 

The “little c” church exists to attract, engage, envision, equip and mobilize – people. The people who attend the “little c” church have the ultimate onus for the world-changing impact of spreading the sacrificial love of Jesus in our communities. If “we” as the community within Community Christian Church do not do what we are supposed to do, the “mission” suffers. Not for lack of mobilization and equipping, but for lack of effort, desire, discipline and heart – in the “big C” Church.

 

My church rocks! I believe it’s one of the best in the world at attracting, engaging, equipping and mobilizing. The ultimate impact of the mobilization is simply the product of the impact of each and every one of the “big C” Churchers being mobilized. If 30% of us suck, then you’re going to get 30% less impact. Period.

 

Our individual character as members of the “big C” Church, can also be referred to as our “missional character.” Our individual and collective “missional character” as the “big C” Church is the lynchpin for impact when we are part of an already rocking “little c” church like Community Christian.

 

You will never hear me say things like, “I’m not being fed” Instead you will likely hear me say, “The food is great. I need to stop eating and start exercising more!”

 

Let’s be intentional and effective and relentless in developing our individual “missional character”!!

 

 

As soon as we open our eyes every morning, what we want most is to matter, to live a life (and to do work) that has meaning. – Bernadette Jiwa from her latest book, “Difference”

 

Can you relate to that? I know I do. I want to have an abundant life that is full of meaning, adventure, passion, love and making a difference. 

 

Deep down inside, I know that I am falling short of the fullest, over-flowing abundant life that I can possibly have. Many people would point to differences I have made, some maybe even are able to articulate difference I have personally made in their own lives. I am grateful for that, and feel that is a big part of why I am here.

 

However, the truth I feel deep in my gut, is that there is more. I am not taking hold of all that my life should be.

 

That frustrates me. Can you resonate with that? Do you sometimes think that your life should feel different? Have more abundance than it has, even if it is only a little more – or a lot more?

 

Maybe what frustrates me most is that, as a follower of Jesus, I believe that I already have been created with everything I need to live that fully abundant life. Ephesians 2:10 says that me, you, all of us, have been created as UNIQUE MASTERPIECES of God, with special, unique GOOD WORKS – not just abstract gifts that we can try to measure and compare – but real, actual works of goodness that we have been uniquely created to DO.

 

If I was created a unique masterpiece, and I have the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Holy Spirit presence of the Living God residing inside of my heart and soul, – that even a mustard seed’s worth of access to that could move mountains – why do I feel lacking in abundance at times?

 

I think that is a very important questions to ask. I have been asking that question since being challenged by God on the first trip I took to the Philippines to serve abandoned abused and dangerously neglected children living on the streets.

 

In order for me to UNLEASH THE MASTERPIECE of God in those precious street kids who live on the other side of the world, I need to first, unleash it in myself. I cannot effectively give what I do not already have. I need to be a product of the product.

 

My wife is the single most important human being in the world to me – and, how effective am I at helping her unleash the unique masterpiece that God created her to be? I have four biological children, and I have very special adopted kids that I love like my own – how am I doing at helping them UNLEASH THE MASTERPIECE within? Shouldn’t it start first at home?

 

I have been working with other people’s kids for years in student ministries, coaching sports teams, etc. What about in those contexts? How am I doing at unleashing in those arenas?

What God was telling me in 2006 in on the streets of the Philippines was that I need integrity of message to be successful. If my heart is truly broken for street kids – I need to be overflowing with MASTERPIECE that is abundant in my life and the lives of those closest to me.

 

What I have learned over the past 8 years since then is that is a very difficult thing to do at all, let alone to do well – and to do in a reliable, predictable and repeatable way. Becoming a Masterpiece, and helping those closest to me become masterpieces, is the only way to create a movement of UNLEASHED MASTERPIECES.

 

I have come to find that fully unleashing my masterpiece, and anyone’s, takes an entire lifetime. Your masterpiece, my masterpiece, IS MY LIFE, your life, our lives. It is the culmination of (hopefully) many masterpiece decades, made up of masterpiece years, made of masterpiece months, weeks, days, hours minutes and seconds.

 

I have narrowed the question down to how do I live this CURRENT DAY as a MASTERPIECE, and how do I encourage others around me to do the same? How do I best set the stage for tomorrow’s masterpiece?

 

It is complex, unique, is filled with ups, downs, failures, hope, despair, laughing, crying, joy and pain. It requires intentional relationships, intentional effort, time and money. It’s a journey, not a destination.

 

I like this quote by Brene Brown – “It’s so scary to show up. It feels dangerous to be seen, it’s terrifying. But it is not as scary, dangerous or terrifying as getting to the end of our lives and thinking—what if I would have shown up? What would have been different?”

 

I would like to modify that quote a bit. What if I get to the end of this DAY, or this HOUR, without having “shown up”? What would have been different? Having missed the good works I was created to do this day? This hour?

 

I had a realization recently about discipleship, or mentoring. I used to think discipleship was all about making a difference in someone else’s life. Investing in them. Transferring wisdom and experience, helping through difficult times, celebrating the wins and grieving the losses. 

To some extent, all of that is part of discipleship. However, there are much larger aspects that I am becoming aware of. They were right there all the time, I just never really saw them or considered them.

I thought that my success in discipling/mentoring others would be measured by the day the person I mentored was able to share publicly something along these lines,

“I remember when (my dad, my boss, my co-worker, my friend, my neighbor, this random stranger) said these words to me (fill in the blank with wisdom), or shared this experience (fill in the blank) or modelled this principle (fill in the blank)…and here is how my life is different because of it.”

While that might seem prideful, it really was never intended to be. I am the product of many people investing in me over my lifetime. I simply want to return the favor.

Lately, I am measuring the fruits of my discipleship and/or mentoring efforts a little differently. That measurement is starting to look something like this – When I see someone I have been investing in saying something awesome, doing something awesome, or being something awesome, and I can’t quite figure out where it came from. Was it me? Was it them? Was it someone else? Was it God in them?

When the lines are blurred; when I can’t really figure out the root cause, that is when I really see the fruit of my investment. Because it is all of those (me, them, someone else, God), and only one of those that made the difference. It is ultimately God within them, within me, within their other mentors, that is getting the job done.

I am also beginning to see fruit in failure. If the people that Jesus discipled 24×7 made mistakes like crazy, I should expect the same. I am not a better mentor than Jesus. Jesus had the vision to see that a successful life is built from bricks not only made of successes, but of failures as well. Each brick of failure cemented in with the proper mortar makes the structure bigger, stronger and able to withstand more pressure.

If what I believe about the Bible, and about callings, and about how God wired up the universe is true, then discipleship should look blurry. Not only blurry  from the perspective of whose investment has made the difference, but also blurry in terms of who is the mentor and who is the mentee.

My interpretation of scripture, and the nature of God tells me that we are really all mentees under one mentor. We are all being discipled by the one. It’s an iron sharpening iron process. When I give, I also receive. It is how God wired up the universe to be. The more I give, the more I receive. The more I sow, the more I reap. Seems simple, but at the same time it is very profound.

Have you ever seen a post like this –  “What is 2 + 5 * 0 + 7 * 3 – 10? (a) 11 (b) 39 (c) 13 (d) 18”   

These questions are designed to test your understanding of the order of operations for simple math problems. Most everyone knows how to multiply, divide, add and subtract. Far fewer people who have the correct understanding of the order of operations for simple math problems.

The minor tragedy is that you can know how to do the individual pieces of the problem correctly, but if you don’t get the order of operations right, you will get the wrong answer.

I learned order of operations with a simple mnemonic that goes as follows, “My Dear Aunt Sally,” and the expanded version, “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.” This simple phrase reminds one of the correct order of operations – P-E-M-D-A-S – first Parentheses, then Exponents (like squared, etc), Multiplication, Division, Addition and lastly, Subtraction.

So, applying that little mnemonic to the above simple math problem you get

2 + (5*0) + (7*3) – 10

= 2 + 0 + 21 – 10

= 23 -10

= 13

 

Without the correct understanding of the order in which you solve the equation, you will likely not get the right answer to even a very simple problem like the one above, forget about one’s that are more complex. You may accidently get the right answer with simpler problems, but you will never be consistent with the easy ones, and you will rarely succeed with the more difficult problems.

I have found that getting the right answer when it comes to things spiritual works mostly the same way. If you don’t get the spiritual order of operations right, you may accidently succeed with the simpler problems in life, but you will never be consistent with the easy problems, and you will rarely succeed with the more difficult problems and issues life throws at you.

 

After decades of struggles and failures, here is what I have found works best for me:

• Internal spiritual life first, then express it externally

Like Jesus said, nothing you eat can defile you, only what comes from inside your heart can defile you. That is the source of either blessings or curses. If my inside isn’t right, I am operating in fake it til you make it mode. That never works long-term for me. It might work for a while, but when the storms come, or fatigue, or both, I will come crashing down, and normally take a few people with me.

I need to listen for what God is saying to me by reflecting on his word daily. I need to have conversations with him about myself, those I care about, those I don’t like or understand, those I don’t know, and those I hate. When I am right inside, I am so much better at being right on the outside.

 

• Faith first, then works

James is famous for saying, faith without works is dead. This is absolutely true. If you read it properly, it implies that faith comes first, and that the best works come as an expression of internal faith.

It’s kind of like the Sears (excuse me, Willis) Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge. You can’t directly see the deep foundational moorings of either one, but you can indirectly see the expression of them in the rock-solid stability and longevity of both.

Faith is the foundation for enduring good works. One of the reasons why following Jesus is so difficult is because you don’t get partial credit. Doing the right things, for the wrong reasons, is still wrong. It’s not that Jesus is looking for any excuse to smack us down, it is because he wants us to be successful over the long-term.

 

• Significant-other first, then kids, close friends, acquaintances, then everyone else

Many of us know people personally, who are heroes in the public eye, and fail at home with those they should love and care about the most. The news is littered with stories of the broken legacies left behind by leaders in all walks of life, who failed where it counts the most, at home.

Success at home is less about the will and desire to be a good spouse, parent and/or child, and more about the relentless pursuit of accurate feedback and accountability.

I don’t think I have ever met anyone that walks down the aisle with the determined intent to fail in their marriage. I don’t know anyone who holds their newborn in their arms and is determined to screw them up and/or abandon them.

Our desire to live right at home is often times the very thing that blinds us to our areas of weakness. We want to do well and we are afraid to ask the tough questions, and be held accountable to the answers.

The pressures of life provide constant force to that continually tries to knock us off course, and only the relentless pursuit of honest feedback and accountability will lead to a successful finish.

Anytime I have taken a sabbatical from more casual communities like church, small group, hanging out with friends, etc., to focus on those closest to me, I have ended up getting even more weird. I have found that for me, I need to do all of it, in the right order, to be successful.

As I reflect back on my 46 year journey through life so far, my failures come much more often from getting the order wrong, than from not being able to do any one of the things right. What has your experience been? So what?

I celebrate Halloween to:

• hang out with family and friends,

• see my nieces, nephews and other kids dressed up in cute costumes

• eat candy

• wear my cowboy hat

• experience communitas (I call it Halloween-itas)

To those who believe that celebrating Halloween is “evil” or, akin to worshipping the devil, or similar nonsense, I have two words for you: Christmas, Easter. Or, to make it simple, we can combine it into one word, “Creaster.”

 

If you are against the celebration of Halloween because of its pagan roots and salacious rituals, and you wish to have any kind of integrity, you must oppose Christmas and Easter with equal, if not more fervent vehemence and vigor. Here’s why:

 

Some Noteworthy Pagan Aspects of the Celebration of Christmas:

• Sorry, Jesus was likely not born on December 25

• Tradition is rooted in the feast of the God Saturn, called Saturnalia

• This feast involved sacrifice to the God Saturn in the temple of Saturn by the priests of Saturn

• This feast involved various kinds of pagan revelries (use your imagination)

• Common Christmas things found in the average home of a Halloween-hater and most other Christians:

  • Christmas Tree

    • Symbolizes the rebirth of Nimrod in Babylonian traditions

    • Decorated with red berries during the feast of Saturnalia

    • Worshipped by Druids

  • Holly

    • In pagan cultures they were offered to the fairy people of the forests as refuge from the harsh winter weather

    • During the feast of Saturnalia, they were exchanged as a symbol of friendship and fertility

  • Mistletoe

    • Yeah. Think about it. Pagan rituals included lots of drunken orgies.

 

Some Noteworthy Pagan Aspects of the Celebration of Easter

• Sorry, Jesus likely did not really raise from the dead on Easter Sunday

• Tradition is rooted in the feast of the fertility goddess Ishtar

• Ishtar also goes by Astarte, Aphrodite, Artemis, etc

• The goddess Asherah, in reference to the Asherah poles in the Old Testament, is likely Ishtar’s sister (or is she?)

• Ishtar was also the goddess of sexuality and as such, is typically depicted nekkid

• The celebration of a feast to a fertility and sexuality goddess typically ended up in what could be generally called drunken orgies

• Easter eggs come derive from the Egyptian celebration of Shemu, which is the season of harvest and rebirth, where they wrote their wishes on painted eggs and put them on windows and trees to receive the blessings of the first rays of the morning light produced by sun god Ra.

• Of course eggs are also representative of fertility

• Easter Bunny – What are bunnies known for? Yeah. Fertility.

 

How/why did this Happen?

• Instead of trying to stop pagan practices, why not Christianize them?

  • Change their meaning

  • Soften the pagan practices

  • Make the pagan festival “holy”

  • Common practice during the Crusades

 

Why Celebrate any Pagan Feast Days/Holidays?

 

• Because, that is not what we’re celebrating!!

• At least, that is not what I am celebrating…

 

When I celebrate Christmas, I am celebrating Jesus’ birth, not making sacrifices to the pagan god Saturnalia. Reality is, I don’t even believe the god Saturn is a real being, believe it or not. Similarly, I decorate Christmas trees in my home as a family tradition – not because I am a druid that worships trees. True story.

 

I celebrate Easter because it marks, in my tradition, the central most important event in the Christian faith – The resurrection of Jesus. I am not celebrating the goddess Ishtar. In fact, believe it or not, I do not believe she is a real being, so, why would I worship her? I like easter eggs because it’s a fun family tradition, and I especially like Reese’s peanut butter eggs and Cadbury eggs. Yum!

 

And, yeah, I celebrate Halloween because it’s a fun tradition. It’s fun to get dressed up. Here’s a news flash, I have not, do not, and will not ever worship the devil, or demons, or anything but Yahweh/Jehovah, the one true God, and only God I believe in.

 

Putting on a mask, or costume, on the outside of your body does not defile you. Fortunately, my daily Bible reading included this quotation from Jesus, “All of you listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart.”

 

And then he added, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” – Mark 7:14-22

 

So, if you choose to celebrate halloween by dressing like a pilgrim and burning Harry Potter books go right ahead. I suggest you also burn Christmas trees and Easter bunnies though, to be consistent.

I am choosing to celebrate Halloween. You are all invited to hang out at Chipotle or Chilis or wherever we end up hanging out tonight! I’ll be the one wearing the black cowboy hat!