I Want You To Grow Spiritually

So I decided to link some spiritual advice that I have been giving in the left hand column of this blog. These posts get a ton of hits. I'll have several more forthcoming. It all started with some people I knew who were having trouble connecting with God. They were Christians and had been for some time. But reading the Bible and praying became arduous and they felt some distance from God. They were painfully aware of that distance and really wanted to close the gap. They hungered for God. After seeking spiritual help from their clergymen he offered limited advice: "Be in the Word" -- read your Bible every day. Make sure you are having daily devotions. Spend more time praying. Serve God more in the local church. To paraphrase, he said, "Try harder. Press on through." That was it. Sometimes the spiritual life is not about trying harder at praying and reading the Bible. Through the centuries God has made Himself known through a variety of spiritual practices. Certainly praying and the reading of Scripture should never be neglected. But there are more practices that can propel us forward in Christian living, in becoming Christ-like, in holiness and in depth of intimacy with God. Some of you won't like my advice because it's too Catholic or too Pentecostal or too mystical or too whatever. But I really want you to grow deep in your love and relationship with God. I honestly do. Do something people. Don't just fall asleep in your faith. Pursue God with passion. PEACE

Celtic Daily Prayer

Welcome to the home of the Northumbria Community online For those of you interested in praying the Daily Office or in a fixed prayer way, the Northumbria Community has morning, midday and evening prayer and compline online. I linked them in side bar. Their daily office is very simple and easy to use. I hadn't been to their site in quite some time and it has been upgraded quite nicely.

Our Favorite Cussing Pastor Canceled

Baptist Press - Bott Radio blocks Driscoll, replaces segment mid-show - News with a Christian Perspective Mark Driscoll was recently canceled from a radio interview -- IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SHOW -- because they were worried about what he might say regarding sex. Driscoll delivered a sermon in Edinburgh where he expanded on the virtues of various kinds of sex based on biblical texts from Song of Songs. For those still thinking that Song of Songs is an allegory about Christ and the church Driscoll points out that the whole interpretation is very extremely weird and the sexual images are not helpful at all.

Former NFL RB / Evangelist

My Way - Sports News: Ex-NFL MVP Alexander Taking \"Tour for Jesus\" Shaun Alexander is still hoping to catch on and play at least part time running back for an NFL team in the 2009 season. Beyond that he's on tour taking his faith in Jesus to various places.

On My Way To CHIC 2009 : UNDONE

I'll be serving on the mental health services team for CHIC 2009 for all of next week. 6000+ high school students at University of Tennessee at Knoxville. What a great privilege to serve these students.

Did She Commit Heresy When Calling Out Heresy?

VirtueOnline: GC2009: TEC Presiding Bishop says individual salvation is "heresy," "idolatry" David Virtue is reporting: "In her (Katherine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church) opening address to the church's General Conference in California, Jefferts Schori said it was a "heresy" to believe that an individual can be saved through personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ acknowledged in a prayer of repentance." Read the rest. It's really quite remarkable. Just when you think it can't get weirder in the Episcopal Church. It does.

Orthodoxy Takes on Calvinism

The leader of the Orthodox Church in America, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Jonah recently outlined several items -- heresies -- that stand in the way of full communion between the the Anglicans and the Orthodox. One of the heresies is Calvinism. Read here for further info: Ethics Forum: Where Calvinism Errs.

Acts 3:1-10

Here is the text for tomorrow's sermon:

The Holy Observer

In a recent comment on the Land of the Ultra Rev, my friend SJAustin outed himself as a "Co-Founder" of The Holy Observer -- Christian Humor, Satire, Parody, News -- a rival to LarkNews. Just thought I would pimp him a little today ... boost his ego some.

Turkish TV gameshow looks to convert atheists | Entertainment | Reuters

Turkish TV gameshow looks to convert atheists | Entertainment | Reuters: " At first this article starts out like some crazy joke like Fr. Turner used to tell me: "ISTANBUL (Reuters) - What happens when you put a Muslim imam, a Christian priest, a rabbi and a Buddhist monk in a room with 10 atheists?" ... or something crazy from the Holy Observer. But, no, it's real. "Turkish television station Kanal T hopes the answer is a ratings success as it prepares to launch a game show where spiritual guides from the four faiths will seek to convert a group of non-believers." Look at the prizes you can win! "The prize for converts will be a pilgrimage to a holy site of their chosen religion -- Mecca for Muslims, the Vatican for Christians, Jerusalem for Jews and Tibet for Buddhists." Apparently the show is struggling to get off the ground because they can't find a willing Imam.

10 Mistakes I’ve Made (so far) as a Church Planter — Shaun in the City

I love church planting and am attempting to learn all I can about church planting. For those of you who have planted a church or participated in a church plant what are the mistakes you've made and seen made? Your comments would be most appreciated.

Have You Seen St. Paul Lately?

Pictured: The 'sensational' 1,600-year-old icon of St Paul found in a Roman tomb | Mail Online

Youth and Young Adult Ministry Has Never Been More Important

internetmonk.com: Michael Bell: How To Stop The Hemorrhaging: A Follow Up To The Pew Forum Data [please read] Recent data from the Pew Forum points to the importance of youth and young adult ministry. Boiled down: if the church doesn't reach or keep them by age 23, we likely won't. Michael Bell says, "Of those who were raised Protestant (Evangelical, Mainline, and Historical Black), and are now “unaffiliated with any religious group”, 85% left their childhood faith before the age of 24. Of those who were raised Catholic and were now unaffiliated, 79% left before the age of 24. The same holds true for those coming back the other way. Of those raised unaffiliated, but who are now affiliated with a religious group, 72% left the ranks of the unaffiliated before the age of 24." Churches used to say, if we don't get them by graduation we won't have them. Then it was, if it was not by grade 10, we'll have little chance because their lives become so busy. Then it was, if not by Junior High. Recently I've heard some say it's now by fifth grade. A lot of the problem in youth ministry these days is the parents failure to personally disciple their children and failure to prioritize youth ministry in their child's life. Churches training parents to be the primary spiritual directors of their children has never been more important.

The Alcohol Debate Continues

Trouble Brewing | LeadershipJournal.net Leadership Journal has a good, balanced article on the current debate regarding the use of alcohol by Christians. Bottom line the debate is: One group says we have liberty and freedom in Christ to responsibly consume alcohol. Jesus made wine. The other group says, you do have freedom but it's in your personal best interest and the best use of your personal influence to abstain.

List of Prayers at St. Clare's

For those of you who like prayer book prayers, there is a tidy list at Mission St. Clare's: Prayers. And of course you can find the Daily Office there in both Español and English. "Gracious Father, we pray for your holy Catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in any thing it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen."

Rick Warren Addresses the new Anglican Church in North America

Love this quote from Rick Warren (at the 17:00 mark of the video, "If God has called you to serve in a local church, as a parish priest, lay leader, or in any other capacity, or whatever, don't you ever step down to become the President of the United States or anything else for that matter."

The Birth of a New North American Anglicanism

ACNA | The Anglican Church of North America This is a monumental week in Anglican Communion, and for that matter, in church history. For over 200 years the Episcopal Church in the US has been the only form of Anglicanism officially recognized by the Church of England and the See of Canterbury. It remains so. However, a greater portion of the Anglican Communion now recognizes the brand new Anglican Church in North America which was born this week and holds little regard for the Archbishop of Canterbury's recognition. Check out VirtueOnline and ACNA for up to the minute news and schedules. The ACNA site also has a live video feed. You can watch: "Assembly Eucharist and Recognition of Archbishop. All are welcome to attend a festival Eucharist at Christ Church Plano. This service will include the installation and recognition of the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan as archbishop of The Anglican Church in North America."

Willow Creek's Leadership Summit for $99

In Brief: Covenanters Making News - Evangelical Covenant Church: "CHICAGO, IL (June 17, 2009) – The Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management has arranged a special registration rate of $99 for members of the Evangelical Covenant Church to attend the Willow Creek Association’s Leadership Summit on August 6-7. The rate is discounted more than $180. Covenanters should register online with the priority code AXELSON. The deadline is June 30. Leadership Summit 2009 will be held at Willow Creek Community Church in Barrington, Illinois. Tens of thousands of leaders also will participate in 140 satellite locations across North America. Covenant pastors Harvey Carey and David Gibbons will be among the main presenters. Other speakers include former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, journalist David Gergen, Tim Keller, and Wes Stafford. For more information and to register, click here. The Axelson Center is part of North Park University’s School of Business and Nonprofit Management."

More Church Planting Resources

CPM Training Resources The Church Planting Movement has a plethora of free videos and PDF's related to church planting.

If Pimping Your Liturgy Isn't Enough, Serve Beer

Last Monday I posted about the Church of England going seeker sensitive to be more "entertaining" and to "appeal to a younger generation." This week the Church of England gets more exciting: Beer, Bacon & Chocolate for Dads. No, this is not LarkNews. Church blesses fathers with beer - Telegraph "... the Rt Rev John Inge, the Bishop of Worcester, said that it could help churches to attract more men. He argued that the free beer was intended to be symbolic of "the generosity of God". .... "Posies of flowers are given to mums on Mothering Sunday and we wanted to give a laddish, blokeish gift to the men. A bottle of beer hits the mark. The whole of life is to be celebrated in church." .... '"Jesus created a lot more wine at a point in the party when some thought that there had already been enough drinking. He was all in favour of partying," the bishop said.'

Skipping Church On Sunday

Church Foregoes Sunday Service—Puts Feet to Its Faith - Evangelical Covenant Church Here's a great story about River Ridge Covenant Church in Lacey, WA who skipped church on Sunday and sent their people out to serve the community. They earned the respect of the community and received an acclamation of honor from the city for the tangible impact made in their community. They are also joining other churches who are skipping church on October 11 for the national Faith in Action Sunday. My church, Catalyst Church, and our friends at Missio Church skipped church one day and served some of the refugee population of Syracuse by helping them move and clean their homes. It was a fantastic day. I'm not exactly sure why it doesn't feel the same or get the same amount of participation when done on Saturday or other day. There's just something about skipping church to serve God in the community that is incredibly worshipful.

Free Breakfast Every Sunday ... No Strings Attached!

The Courageous Church in Atlanta does a free breakfast every Sunday. Great idea and great marketing with www.freebreakfastchurch.com. I love churches that do the free or really cheap meal outreach. I think it is exceedingly meaningful. Certainly it does feed hungry people but recently I have been stunned by how many people are just plain lonely and they are craving human contact. Church with a meal meets physical, spiritual and relational needs.

SURV-UH-LOO'-SHUN

Pastor Dino Rizzo of The Healing Place Church which is a multi-site mega church based out of Louisiana, has a book out: Servolution. I haven't read the book yet, but the supporting web site, [Healing Place Church / Servolution / Home], has some great servant evangelism materials and encouragement. The Healing Place has a live webcast on Sat & Sun.

Evangelical Covenant Church Planting Wiki

Church Planting Wiki The Evangelical Covenant Church has created a ChurchPlantingWiki with some great information for church planters. As many of you know, the ECC are experts in church planting. It's great they are making their resources freely available.

Free Web Servers For Everyone

Brad also posted: "Opera Unite is cutting out the middle man -- taking the next step beyond web 2.0. ~ link" With the advent of Opera Unite, your computer can become a web server -- extremely simply. (Though this has been possible with OS X for some time and it's actually not that difficult there.) There will be lots of applications for this in church life. It just became a lot easier to for a church to share files easily and cheaply (and Lord knows how important it is to do it cheaply! oi). And it does more: it has social networking capabilities by posting things on the "Fridge" (ie. Facebook status), chat in the Lounge, host a web site on the Web Server or access your media files from the Media Server. From what I've read it is not getting rave reviews yet but clearly it will give capabilities to churches, ministries and other non-profits that don't have the funds or technical savvy to use these web technologies. Free is good. Related: FREE WEB SITES FOR EVERYONE Why Buy When It's Free? Just a side note: Do you see where this is going? Years ago when Apple was putting video and audio spigots on their computer for everyday users people thought they were nuts. But they saw into the future where everyone was going to want to be their own TV or Radio station. Eventually we are heading toward everyone being their own full fledged media company, producing TV, radio, web and print, collaborating with others and with everyone having access to it wherever they want however they want to receive it. A completely wireless decentralization of digital data.

Important Reading

Beloved and brilliant friend Brad Boydston: Random linked to some important articles today on his blog. TRUST Firstly, he linked to a missiologist's article on the importance and hierarchy of trust. "Richard Lewis' latest lessonn on cross-cultural interaction -- "Hierarchy of Trust" ~ link" Missiologists think about trust. Imagine moving to a foreign land to begin a ministry to bring the Gospel to people of a different culture. You ask questions like "How do I relate to these people?", "How do I speak their language so they understand the Gospel?", "How do I present it in such a way they believe it?", or "How do I get them to trust me?", etc. You must understand their culture. I'm guessing, North American ministers think about this less and perhaps, do not overtly ask the question, "How do I get them to trust me?" But it's an important question whether you are a church planter or a going to serve an established church. Do they trust you? How is trust built? Who do they trust? Lewis' article elaborates on the theory of everyone having a hierarchy of trust, which essentially says that we all have a implicit or explicit ranking of sources of data in terms of trust. We have them individually and culturally. Lewis says, "All cultures have a hierarchy of trust, it’s just manifested in different forms. The key to building trust is to understand the trust structure." Again, you can think about macro-cultures of North America or the USA but also sub marco-cultures of the northeastern US or NY State, or break it down further and think about Upstate NY or specifically Central New York or even more focused the culture of Liverpool as opposed to Syracuse or Lyncourt. What are their trust structures? Here's a small example of the importance of understanding people's trust structures. I'm part of a church plant that meets in Syracuse city high school but I live in and am a product of suburban Liverpool. As an over generalization, people in the suburbs only go to the city of Syracuse to go to the Dome, the War Memorial, the OnCenter, one of the hospitals and perhaps the zoo or Armory Square. With few exceptions that's it. People of the suburbs generally don't trust the city as a safe place particularly a city high school. The chances of my church reaching into the suburbs is minimal because of trust issues. Missional leaders need to understand issues of trust in their context.

De-Baptism - Prison Fellowship

De-Baptism - Prison Fellowship Chuck Colson comments on the 100,000+ people in the UK who have downloaded certificates of "de-baptism". From the National Secular Society: “Liberate yourself from the Original Mumbo-Jumbo that liberated you from the Original Sin you never had.” Colson says, "The sad truth is that every time we think mankind has liberated itself from the dusty old notions of sin and evil, we discover how disastrously wrong we were."

Working With Gen Y

'Not Everyone Gets a Trophy' describes working with Generation Y employees - The Boston Globe Not Everyone Gets A Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y by Bruce Tulgan A new book out gives anecdotes and suggestions for mangers and businesses dealing with high maintenance Gen Y employees. Essentially, you have to parent them. Sounds like this could be a good read for those attempting to create church ministries to reach this generation and deal with them as staff members. According to the article, Gen Y would be between ages 19-31. I, of course, am the leading edge of the ever dysfunctional, slacker generation: Generation X. If Gen Y is more difficult to deal with than we are, Lord have mercy on us all.

Why are young people leaving the church?

I saw a convergence of news stories this week. WorldNetDaily reported on Ken Ham from Answer in Genesis, who commissioned a study about young people leaving the church and the subsequent publications as a result of the study: WorldNetDaily: Why are young people leaving the church? And David Virtue noted: The Southern Baptist Convention is Finally 'Throwing in the Towel' on Government Schools. While it used to be thought that college was negatively influencing many young people's faith because of it's liberal bias and anti-Christian positions, many are now perceiving those same influences coming from high school and junior high. And our students are leaving the church as the church fails to provide adequate faith formation experiences and information to counter the influences from elsewhere. Of course, Ken Ham wants to link it specifically to what churches teach on Genesis and creation. Regardless of the reasons, there does appear to be a growing alarm about people are leaving the church.

Wrecked

This morning I finished reading Never Silent: How Third World Missionaries Are Now Bringing the Gospel to the US by the Rt. Rev'd. Bishop Thad Barnum of the Anglican Mission in America. I'm stunned and wrecked by this book, pondering deeply my future in ministry. The book details the events that unfolded for one of the poorest countries in the world, Rwanda, to have their Anglican Church stand up to one of the richest churches in the world, The Episcopal Church in the US, and begin a reformation within worldwide Anglicanism. Anyone who reads of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and lack of the world's nations response is staggered. In a nation of 7.5 million people, nearly 800,000 murdered, mostly by machete, in about 100 days time. Many of those participating in the slaughter were church goers. As the world was largely silent and ignoring the slaughter, the Rwandans learned the importance of never being silent in the face of sin and never ignoring the cries for help by those being persecuted. As orthodox Anglicans were being marginalized in the US, God raised up these humble, courageous Rwandans to respond. Not only did they create a safe haven for persecuted Anglicans, they have subsequently created a mission movement, the Anglican Mission in America, that is planting a new church every three weeks. This book is not just for those interested in the story of the formation of the Anglican Mission in America and how Africans and Asians are sending missionaries to the US. Never Silent challenges every Christian to stand for Christ and to be willing to suffer and face great adversity for the sake of the Gospel. I cannot encourage you strongly enough to read this book.

Big Vision Church Planting Conference

Looks like an exciting church planting conference upcoming: Big Vision Church Planting Conference. Many of the presenters are from my tribe, the Evangelical Covenant Church.

So You're Looking to Pimp Your Liturgy? So is the C of E.

Church of England attempts to broaden appeal with songs by U2 and prayers for Google - Telegraph The Church of England is becoming seeker sensitive. In a seeming attempt to modernize their liturgy, make it more relevant and "appeal to a younger generation", the Church of England is toying with some seriously, way outside the box ideas. Prayers for major corporation CEO's by name, using YouTube videos, prayer stations and a blending of modern technology with ancient prayers. They still don't get it. Running television commercials and making their liturgy more "exciting" or "entertaining" really won't grow their church or stem the hemorrhaging of parishioners. While this is a bit of a sweeping generalization: Evangelical churches grow while churches that have abandoned the centrality of the Bible and salvation through Jesus Christ don't. It's not because one is better at marketing or more entertaining. It's not because they have a better plan or strategy. It's because they offer a true hope of a new life -- a life transformed -- through the power of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.