Ok I’ll admit it; I’m a Tebow fan. Yup, despite all the hype, I’m in. Is he the best quarterback in the league? Probably not. Is he good enough to even be in the league at all? Some of his fans say yes even though they don’t know a thing about the game. On the other hand some of his critics say no even though Tim is better than other quarterbacks already in the NFL. If I had my pick, I’d trade him off to Dallas instead of NY. Then my favorite team would now have my favorite QB. Sorry Romo; nothing personal. Just business you know. But with the huge divergence in opinions on the guy, it would seem that there’s more to the story than just football. Even if he’s not that good now, he’s still early on in his game with time to improve. So why the fuss? The answer is obvious; he’s an “outspoken” Christ follower. Yes, there are other Christians in the NFL. But Tim seems to have taken the spotlight because of his starting in the 6th game of the 2011 season for the Broncos and winning while still living for and speaking out for Christ in a public way. That’s the rub that people don’t know how to handle. People ponder about how outspoken a Christian should live today. Some believe he ought to just keep it to himself as this is a “private” matter. Unfortunately those who believe and teach such things really don’t understand the essence of being a disciple of Christ at all. Actually, the actions and spoken message of Tim really illustrates for us the second part in this study of Ancient Evangelism. Read the rest of this entry »
Church Planting
Campus Concerns
Feb 1
I’m not a fan of the growing church campus movement. Yes, I know there is some value in these works and Deb is quick to remind me that there are indeed a lot of people getting connected to Christ through some of these campuses. I have a great friend that works with the campus model in my area. My brother; have mercy on his soul, attends one of these campus churches. Yes, there are people being saved and discipled at these campus churches. Yes, I know all the positive arguments for campuses. But I still just don’t like the idea. At its worst, I feel like campuses are more about Empire building than Kingdom expansion. I sense at times that much of this simply comes down to control issues. On my bad days I even want to liken the whole phenomena to the BORG from Star Trek. You know; assimilation of all worlds is the plan and resistance is Futile.
Before you get the idea that I’m just a scrooge, please know that my caution is not just emotional. Read the rest of this entry »
Church on Mission.
Jan 13
Have you seen this clip? It was made a couple of years ago. But I came across it again the other day while researching a church planting organization. Though the clip is not new, I believe it’s worth checking out again. Jeff Maguire did a fun job describing the authentic Kingdom life which he refers to as Missional living. The point being that authentic Christ followers are all called to live out the Kingdom of God in their own daily lives. Sharing the message and love of Christ is the call of every Christian and not merely the domain of the decorated. Remember, the CHURCH is not a building; but the people. So whatever your niche in the Kingdom, be sure to be “missional” about it today. Enjoy and implement!
Farming out the Gospel.
Oct 17
Help! My wife is taking over my website and blog. Ok, maybe not. But she is contributing her third installment today from her resent project in Costa Rica and Honduras this past month. In the post, Deb is actually reporting on a missionary family in Honduras that is engaging in a unique mission strategy. The Family is actually following the lead of a great pioneer missionary from the 19th century named William Carey. It was the strategy of Cary to live off the land in India and work with the people. In doing so, Cary became fluent in the native languages and thus translated the Bible in to these mother tongues. So thanks again to everyone who prayed for Deb’s work and enjoy the report! Read the rest of this entry »
Ancient Evangelism. Part I.
Aug 29
Discipleship and evangelism can be confusing subjects these days. The short and sweet is that a disciple is someone who is transformed by Jesus and follows after him. While discipleship is really a long process, it always begins with some form of evangelism. In essence, evangelism at its root is simply the ‘good news’ of what Christ did for all of us on the cross. One big dog theologian, Michael Green, noted that this conveyance of the good news is really a “sacred duty of every Christian.” Evangelism is a hot topic in Church Planting and in most Christian circles in general. There are unlimited strategies on the subject. They range from secretive social gospel thinking on one hand to the huge public mass meetings on the other. The results of each vary. But even the apparent success of any of them may end in failure unless there is real transformation. In addition, even successful strategies for reaching out in the past may honestly just not work today. One such example may be the success of the great Sunday School movements of the 20th century which are for the most part being replaced today by small groups. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently we had our first “Official” membership class at the Crossings and it was a lot of fun. It was just neat to see so many new and old faces excited about what God is doing in our own little part of the Kingdom. It was neat to see people stepping up to the plate in heartfelt commitment. Now I understand that in the greater body of Christ there’s been some debate as to what to do with Church membership. Some claim it is not a Biblical principle and others hold the opposite position and see it as a great practicality for our day. On my part I lean toward the second camp, so I’ve listed 7 reasons at the bottom of the post as to why we’ve gone with a formal membership at The Crossings. But I think the greatest reason why I fall on the side of a designated church membership for the located body of Christ actually comes from a true story from our time in the former Soviet Union. Read the rest of this entry »
My oldest son was reading an article the other day in the National Geographic about a city in Siberia which has exploded in growth over the past few decades due to its growing oil production. Because Debi and I lived in the former Soviet Union for two years after college, I’m always drawn to things happening in that part of the world. This article was particularly interesting as it seems that nothing ever really happens in Siberia, especially growth. But because of the natural resources and great leadership, this town which used to be not much more than wooden shacks 40 years ago has grown into a modern city of some 300,000 people. But the one thing that really ran through my head was, “Wow, someone needs to move there to plant a church.” If I were in another stage of my life, I would probably; (definitely) have looked into that possibility. But then it happened; the flesh fought back. Read the rest of this entry »
To Tell the Truth?
Nov 16
I got a link from a friend the other day to another church planter’s blog and in one of his recent posts he talked about what kind of church he’d like to be a part of. I’ve read a lot of similar things in the past and can see where this guy is coming from. He’s got a lot of good ideas and shares his heart well. But I have noticed something that’s missing a lot these days, especially with anything connected with post-modern, emerging, or emergent churches, and that’s the issue of doctrine. (Dan Kimball seems to be a great exception to this tendency) While I understand that doctrine by itself is dead, I get the feel that there are a lot of folks who are throwing out truth for the sake of emotion, relativism, and pragmatism. But what we find in the first church is that they “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” (Acts 2:42) In other words, they were concerned about truth and it seems that if we’re going to be authentic church today and not simply new clubs, then we have to seriously pursue the apostle’s teachings ourselves. In short, truth really does matter.
Looking Forward to Turbo!
Sep 29
I’m excited about attending an upcoming “Turbo” church planting event at NorthWood Church in Keller this Thursday. The lead presenter is a guy named Bob Robertswho has been used by God in a great way not only to plant NorthWood over 20 years ago, but to assist in and send out over a hundred planters. I’m looking forward to gleaning some more wisdom on the subject and exploring more into the future direction God is calling us to. One thing that I am convinced of is that we are going to be involved in church planting whether that’s doing another plant or leading an established church into this realm of service. Along those lines, I’ve been asked a few times if there’s really a need for such a thing, especially in an area like DFW which has “tons of churches”. I’ve always told folks asking that it’s a good question and then given them some things to chew on. Without too much research, here are just four reasons for planting that immediately come to mind. Read the rest of this entry »
