Thursday, September 30, 2010

ONE NIGHT











I was proud (in a good way) to watch 1,600 students crowd into our main auditorium last night to be part of ONE NIGHT PREMIERE - a spectacular outreach for students across our region.

It was led by Pastors Jon Brown (pictured above right - click to enlarge), Gabe Mills and Ben Korinek and supported by 200 of our volunteers. What amazing guys we have to lead our student spiritual life here.

Amazing give-a-ways -- a chance at $15,000 if you could sink 4 baskets from half-court within 25 seconds -- a car smash -- super-inflatables -- graffiti spraying on the side of a semi -- pizza, pizza, pizza -- celebrity look-a-like and best dressed contests on the red carpet outside (I got to be a judge) -- cutting edge videos -- story testimonies from students who have been changed by Christ -- hip-hop dancers and music -- great worship -- and a clear Gospel presentation where 100 students responded.

I love the way our leaders care for students and the passion they have to connect them to God.

It was a great night, evidenced by the scores of cars waiting in line a block away to pick up their students at the end of the evening.

And be blessed.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

ENGAGE

Guess what? God didn't place us on this big Earth just so we could start getting ready to leave it. He put us here to plant and reproduce gardens of His Kingdom throughout the world - re-claiming and transforming territory laid waste by the enemy of our souls.

Jesus set the stage for us on this. He called followers to Himself and established His church. They began to carry on the assignment and preach the same message He had preached. People all over the world are searching for the Kingdom, even though they don't know it. We who bear 'the name' bear the responsibility of engaging them in order to help them find it.

Engagement means involvement. It means to meet something head on - it means care about it - it means put your life and heart and soul into it. Popular society will never be changed, no matter how hard we pray, by those who refuse to engage it. It has been said that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Evil has held sway in the world for far too long. People need to know life has meaning and purpose. They need to know there is an alternative to the seemingly unending cycle of hatred, violence, cruelty and poverty. They need to be given a reason to hope.

That's our assignment. That's what engagement means. To infect the popular culture with the morals, values, ideas and standards of God's Kingdom. We need to promote the Kingdom in our jobs, in our businesses, in our families, in our neighborhoods, thru our investments and in our relationships, marriages and parenting. We must bring the Kingdom into every arena and facet of life. The world shamelessly promotes its culture. As Kingdom citizens, we need to be just as bold in promoting ours.

Engage.

And be blessed.

Monday, September 27, 2010

OLIVE


Today is the opening of the new Olive Garden Italian Restaurant here in Kenosha. I'm sure it will be packed full of people for the unforeseen future. Right location for that here - just 1/4 mile east of KFA.

I don't typically pump new restaurant openings in our city because this isn't a food critic blog - not that I couldn't be - but just to say it was a very cool opportunity yesterday for lunch to be part of their pre-opening. Joelene and I got to sit with some friends there and be served whatever we wanted - appetizers, salad, soup, entree & dessert - all on the house. They were 'practicing' on some guests prior to their grand opening, so we were the guinea pigs for that --- and it was all FREE.

Here's to a successful grand opening today just down the street.

And be blessed.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

RISK


I got a little unsafe this morning. Yeah, that's me up on a balance beam trying to deliver part of the message today. RISK.


Remember when you were a kid and - because your parents really LOVED you and had gone to some great lengths to HAVE you - and they didn’t want you DAMAGED - that they had all these HOUSE RULES so you wouldn’t hurt yourself?


SAFETY RULE #1 - ‘Don’t jump on your bed - you might fall off and crack your skull.’

SAFETY RULE #2 - ‘Don’t go swimming until 30 minutes after you eat or you might get a cramp and drown.’

SAFETY RULE #3 - ‘Don’t run with scissors. You could trip and poke an eye out.’

SAFETY RULE #4 - ‘Don’t run in the street or a car might come along and hit you.’

SAFETY RULE #5 - ‘Don’t play with your belly button or it might unravel and you’ll fly away like a balloon.’


There are safety rules in the church, too. Maybe they’re not taught formally, but they're practiced nonetheless:

SAFETY RULE #1 - ‘Church should be comfortable. Meet my needs, play it safe, and don’t get too risky with anything.’

SAFETY RULE #2 - ‘Don’t talk about CONTROVERSIAL issues. Don’t offend or upset anyone or make anybody mad.‘

SAFETY RULE #3 - ‘Don’t CHANGE anything. If it was good enough for our grandparents, it’s good enough for us.’


But when I look at the New Testament, there isn’t anything safe about that church. And maybe you’re saying right now, ‘Yeah ... a risky church ... that sounds awesome. I WANT that.’ But before you SAY that, know that there is an unseen side to being a risky church.


One of the unseen sides is that there is some pain involved sometimes. A lot of people come to God hoping to eliminate pain. But it’s a false illusion that if you come to Christ, everything’s going to be perfect 24/7. Jesus didn’t die on the cross just so we could have it comfy.

Another unseen side to the church is that it involves some loss. There are a lot of people at KFA who have said: ‘I miss some of the more traditional elements like we had at my former church - or like we used to have here years ago; I wish you had those here’ - or - ‘I wish we had those BACK.’


And actually - I know what you mean. I grew up in church and sometimes I feel the same. But there are some things I’m personally giving up because they don’t work quite as well in our present culture as they once did, even though I personally like some of those things ... even though I personally miss some of those things ... even though some of those things are still my preferences. I’m wiling to give them up for something I love even more ... and that is people far from God. It’s my loss for others' gain.


The Kingdom is about a little loss - it's about a little pain - it's about some self-sacrifice - it's about risk.


And be blessed.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

ACTION

Today was not only a beautiful day outside, it was also a great day to be part of the Kenosha Day of Action. Scores of us from KFA went out all over our city to do good works for organizations who needed help. I went to Hospice Alliance and spent a few hours with a team of about twenty, shoveling and spreading mulch all over their grounds.

This is at the heart of who Christ has called us to be -- servants who help those in need.

If you were part of this day with us, thank you for what you did for the Kingdom today.

And be blessed.

Friday, September 24, 2010

COORS


Joelene and I had the opportunity to attend the STORY conference in Chicago today (www.storychicago.com) put together by Ben Arment. There is a link to his blog in my BlogMania section here (www.benarment.com). Check him out.

It was a day of listening to some creative believers tell their personal stories of what Christ has done in their lives. We were blessed to hook up with our middle daughter and son-in-law, Allison & Darren, who had come from Minneapolis to take in the conference.

Afterwards, we headed to Gino's Pizza in downtown Chicago. Some waitresses came around to the booths encouraging customers to enter a free raffle (emphasis: FREE) to win an NFL football. All four of us filled out a slip. It was FREE.

A few minutes later they came back yelling my name. Evidently I had won, which is just strange, because quite honestly, I've never won anything in my life. So - as you can see from the picture - I am the proud owner of a new NFL football. The raffle was FREE.

Unfortunately, two minutes later - after dropping off the football in my arms - they came back with a pitcher of Coors Light Beer and placed it on our table. Apparently the raffle was sponsored by Coors Light. After a good laugh, we let them take the pitcher back where it came from - but I kept the football.

And be blessed.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

HAPPY

Facebook has revolutionized a lot, not the least of which is the ease with which people can give a heartfelt 'Happy Birthday' and quickly move on with life. I think it is amazing.

So it is with my own heartfelt thanks back to at least 222 of you, at the time of this blog posting, who took the time to tell me that today via Facebook:

Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very Very much appreciated.

That's 222 'verys,' by the way. Don't be like me and actually count them, OK?

And be blessed.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

ENEMY

To follow up from yesterday's blog -- as much as Heaven is not our top priority, the world is also not our enemy.

I heard someone say once that we live on this tri-legged stool as part of God's Kingdom: Not IN the world - yet OF the world and sent TO the world. Hmmm.

This is a big hangup for a lot of believers. In our quest for holiness, we end up having nothing to do with those far from God.

'I won't go into a room where people are smoking.' (I know - don't say it - you have allergies.)
'I can't be seen with you because your skirts are too short.'
'I don't hang with people who drink or cuss - they might rub off on me.'
And on and on and on.

We cannot engage the popular culture by escaping from it - nor can we hope to influence it by isolating ourselves from it. Jesus didn't.

Even worse, from the way some believers speak, you would think our number one job was to pronounce judgment on the world. No. Our job isn't judgment, but influence. When Jesus returns, He will judge.

Keep going. Sometimes we act as though we believe we're supposed to contend for the Gospel every single time the world comes out against it ... that every pronouncement by society requires a 'Christian' response. We assume the Kingdom of Heaven is looking for our help to defend it. Jesus never tried to 'keep up' with the Roman Empire. Why not? Because He knew there was no competition there. 'My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, My servants would fight to prevent My arrest ... My Kingdom is from another place.' (John 18:36)

But we can change the world - one life at a time - and we can be involved in the world - in redemptive activities.

Run for the school board so you can help monitor what kinds of textbooks come into the public school classroom.
Run for office - or at the very least - vote regularly.
Stay abreast of the news and current issues so you know what is going on - like your friends who are 'in the world' do.
Have conversations across the backyard fence.
Have a neighborhood picnic where you invite your neighbors to just have a cook out - get to know them.
Choose a 'secular' career that will get you into the mainstream of society where your influence can be greatest.
Get involved in local business and community leadership teams.
Get involved in entertainment
Get involved in law and medicine.

We cannot engage the culture by avoiding it; we must fill it with Kingdom people.

I'm done now. Something 'fun' tomorrow.

And be blessed.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

RELIGION

I think a lot of us imagine that we have an assignment from God that He never gave us. We need to be absolutely clear about what He's called us to do and not do ...

W. Cordero says: 'Despite what a lot of places teach, going to Heaven is not our top priority. Hopefully we'll get there sooner or later, but God didn't create the world to be empty.'

God didn't assign us to prepare others to go to heaven either. He told us to tell others about the Kingdom of Heaven (that has come to Earth) and then, once their hunger for that Kingdom had been stirred, to tell them how they can enter that Kingdom thru faith in Christ. Just getting people into heaven is so the wrong emphasis. Helping them enter the Kingdom of Heaven (while they're still here on Earth) is the right emphasis.

Creating a religion was never part of God's plan. Jesus never established one. Religion is man's creation, not God's. People get upset when you touch their religion. Some are willing to die for their religion. Throughout history, more wars have begun over religion than any other single cause. (That's not going to change as we go forward, by the way.)

Religions ar always fighting because they're not under the Kingdom ... baptism, church polity, which day is the true Lord's Day, the Holy Spirit, gifts, doctrine, theology, interpretation ...

But when Jesus came, He re-established the rule and government of His Father. Then He established His ekklesia - His church - to sustain and expand that government throughout the world. The Kingdom of Heaven (on Earth or above it) has never been about religion and never shall be -- it is about relationship - A King relating to His children and His children 'lifestyling' that out.

And be blessed.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

WAR







































































































Because I live on a one-acre wooded lot, I am getting an education on wildlife.

The varmints pictured are the ones I am at war with presently.

Chipmunks - digging under my driveway ... cute but annoyingly tenacious ...

Bats - sleeping under the outdoor eaves ... just plain nasty, though voracious for mosquitoes ...

Woodpeckers - enjoying the back porch wooden pillar ... like a jackhammer ...

Don't worry - none of them are actually INSIDE my house, but all around it, yeah. And they have plenty of company from the rest of God's living, breathing creations. I'm determined to win (but I'm open to tips) ...

Let the games begin. Bring it.

And be blessed.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

CHAIN

I know I talk about this a lot but it's only because it is one of those issues so intricately important to the future survival of the church. And an issue we so often stubbornly refuse to admit even exists.

A new form of congregational life is dragging believers kicking and screaming into the 21st century. We live in a time unlike any before it. It's not merely that things are changing. Change itself has changed. These changes have happened in such quantum leaps that they are nothing like past changes made in some kind of easy-to-follow evolution. They are changes that remove us almost totally from any previous context we have had.

Simply trying to do old chores faster or better or to adapt old forms to more complex situations will no longer produce the desired results. Just running harder and harder in this new ministry world will not work.

It's time to go forward, honoring the past, while not allowing it to chain us or hold us back.

And be blessed.

PLANTING

I'm sharing a synopsis of something I read on Tony Morgan's blog this morning (www.tonymorganlive.com):


He was writing about how impressed he was that the Assemblies of God, unlike so many other denominations out there, is still growing. One of the reasons he indicated that it is so is that the AG has a commitment to planting churches.


I have the opportunity to sit on General Superintendant George Wood's Cabinet (a group that only meets once or twice a year and discusses this topic - and to be fair, I have only been to one of the meetings so far) - but I am also privileged to be part of our Wisconsin / Northern Michigan AG Ministry Network's Church Planting Board (wow - that's a mouthful) --- and it is gratifying to see not only our National leaders, but our State leaders also pursuing with great passion this element of church planting.


From www.ag.org (News & Information): Adherents in the U.S. AG increased to 2,914,669 in 2009. Worldwide, the gain was 1.6 million members - to 63,090,251. The goal for 2010 is 300 new church plants with an ultimate goal of 500 per year. One hundred thirty-three have already been planted in 2009.


This, sadly, does not address the many churches who are also closing their doors (Whew! I'm glad the church isn't actually a building - though it sure doesn't hurt to have one).


Another warning signal was that conversions to Christ were actually down .1 percent. I'm thankful for what God is doing at KFA in these areas -- we are seeing new people come to Christ on a regular basis, if not almost weekly.


Let's keep praying together about when and where God will have KFA plant a church next.


And be blessed.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

DON

There are at least two approaches to doing church these days. Actually there are about 87 approaches, but two tend to rule ... attractional and incarnational. Many of the other 'brands' are simply kissing cousins to these two.

The attractional approach - admittedly - has some appeal, but in particular it is with those who already have some prior context of 'church.' Though it is difficult for some of us to do, we must accept that the growing post-everything culture must be wooed thru a more incarnational process.

Here are the basic differences:

ATTRACTIONAL
Searcher is invited to church
Searcher confesses belief in Christ
Searcher repeats a prayer
Searcher joins himself to the church
Searcher experiences discipleship in a classroom
Focus is on counting confessions
Believing enables searcher to belong

INCARNATIONAL
Searcher is invited to belong to the community
Searcher confesses some interest
Searcher experiences the Good News
Searches participates in community
Searcher experiences discipleship via mentoring and apprenticeship
Focus is on transformation
Belonging enables searcher to believe

Incarnational is about returning to something ancient, something tried, something true, something trustworthy. We need to dig up, recover and find again the life of the Kingdom and Jesus' community. It's not about success, size of buildings, budget, attendance or 'salvations.' It's about being faithful to live the alternative lifestyle of JESUS CHRIST in the world again.

I was reading a book the other day and the author told a story about a guy named Don he had randomly met at Starbucks. The guy was a non-practicing Catholic with a wife who hated God and demonized organized religion. The author asked the guy, 'So if Christianity was only about finding a group of people to live life with, who openly shared their search for God and allowed anyone, regardless of behavior, to sit at the table, and who collectively lived by faith to make the world a little more like Heaven, would you be interested?'

That sinner, Don, said: 'Hell, yes. Are there churches like that?'

Yes, Don. There are.

And be blessed.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

WORLD


Let me say from the outset - with all my heart - I love the church. I believe it is the hope of the world and I am dedicated to it.

However, if you are a Christian of any sort - liberal, conservative, mainline, evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, hand-clapper, non-clapper, pipe organ, keyboard or guitar - you recognize these present grinding, shifting, transitional times have shaken the church. It is unsettled, reeling, nervous, sometimes oblivious, and wondering when the shaking period will be over. Will it survive the changes?

For a number of reasons, the organized church in many places has become ingrown, tired, petty, crotchety and out of touch - or worse - manic and lunatic. As a result, many many have disengaged from religion, period.

I suppose there are plenty who are wishing right now that they could go back to the Old World with the church they remember. But others of us are eager to explore this exciting New World, to create new maps, to learn the new lay of the land, and to make a positive difference in it. Many of us believe the re-vitalization and re-configuration of the Christian church is the best strategy possible.

Because if we have a new world, we will need a new church - at least a new way of doing church. We don't need a new religion, but a new framework for our theology. We don't need a new Spirit, but a new spirituality. Not a new Christ, but a new Christian. Not a new denomimation, but a new kind of church in every denomination. Yet we must not underestimate either side of the equation - what must change as well as what must not.

I like this new world I see so far. Sometimes parts of it drive me insane, but I am optimistic. I wouldn't want to go back to the old world. The new world seems so full of opportunity, but perhaps I'm just naive and don't see that catastrophe lurks around the next bend. We'll find out eventually.

And be blessed.

Monday, September 13, 2010

AFRICAN


What an amazing moment - or set of moments - yesterday morning when the African Children's Choir - 13 young students from Uganda - came to visit KFA.

Thirteen fresh young faces attached to 13 very pliable and energetic bodies attached to 13 wonderfully beautiful spirits. Loved it.

And be blessed.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

LOVE

The message at KFA (www.kenoshafirst.com) today was about LOVE. When I GOOGLED it on the internet, I found 1.4 billion references - I’m not kidding -- and I read them all ... No, no. When I put the word 'love' in a search on ‘Amazon.com,’ there were 300,000 books that somehow related.


LOVE. It’s the MAIN THING.


If you are a Christ-follower, you are born of God and you love the way God loves. And if that’s true, then the opposite is also true; the one who does not love is not born of God - does not know God - because God is love.


So it’s simple. If you love, there is great evidence God is at work in your life - and if you don’t, then maybe there should be some concern that perhaps God is not at work in your life.


The idea is that Christians - by their very names - should be marked by love. That should be normal. And I wouldn’t need to blog and preach about this over and over if all our expressions and interactions were marked by love. And the reason the Bible says it so much and the reason I say it so much is because Christians are not always known as the most loving people on the planet and that should bother us a very great deal.


Alexander the Great rode into his war camp one day and saw an officer yelling at a young foot soldier. The foot soldier had evidently shown some cowardice and had run away at the last battle ... and the officer told Alexander he was giving the kid a good tongue-lashing because those actions were unworthy of a soldier in that great army. Alexander came over to the foot soldier and asked, “What’s your name, soldier?”

And the foot soldier said, “My name is Alexander ... the same as yours, sir.”

And incensed at that, Alexander the Great said, “Soldier, either change your ways or change your name.”


In other words, ‘I don’t want you identifying yourself with me in any way if you’re going to have that kind of behavior - because it’s a reflection on me.’ And that is something we, as followers of Christ, need to hear if we’re going to be shaped by the compelling love of a God who, at His very heart, is a missionary God.


And be blessed.