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Things I Am Learning (pt 2): Adaptability

February 10, 2013 in Articles, Church Planting, Jesus, Leadership, pastor, The Church with 4 Comments

It is 11:30am on Sunday morning. On a normal week at this time I’d be right in the middle of delivering the message to our 11am gathering. This week, however, I am sitting at home wishing I was with my church family and wondering how many people will show up at our gathering space this morning only to read a sign on the door saying we had to cancel services again at the last minute because of a conflict we only learned about Friday.

Such is church planting.

::CHURCH PLANTING & ADAPTABILITY::

Future church planter, you must develop the ability to be adaptable. It is a non-negotiable for church planting. You have to learn to flex at all times and in every direction. You have to be okay with switching directions at a moment’s notice. You have to be able to change the plan when it is least convenient. Continue Reading…

Atheist Church Launches in UK

January 11, 2013 in Articles, culture, Current Affairs, movements, Religion, The Church with 10 Comments

The Huffington Post ran a fascinating article a couple days ago about the launch of Britain’s first atheist church. Yes, you read that right. This past Sunday a couple hundred atheists gathered together in a former church turned performance space in London to gather as Britain’s first atheist church. They gathered together, sang some songs, spent some time reflecting, and even had a message. As you can about imagine, the event has sparked a lot of attention and has both the Christian community and the global atheist community grappling with how to appropriately respond.

I have to admit that a part of me loves that this is happening. Honestly, I would love to be able to visit sometime. Now that might throw some Christians for a loop who might feel uneasy about the idea of an atheist church. And I will admit it is much easier to look with fascination or amusement at something when it is happening on the other side of the Atlantic,

but let me share a few reasons I think this could be a good thing:

Continue Reading…

A Pastor’s Response to Healthcare Reform

June 29, 2012 in Articles, Current Affairs, Leadership, politics, Religion with 21 Comments

After this week’s Supreme Court decision to uphold Obama’s healthcare law and the ensuing reaction on social media, I thought it might helpful to repost this article I wrote on March 22, 2010 just after the health care bill originally passed. 

Like many Americans, I anxiously watched last night as Congress officially passed a bill that will overhaul the American health care system and cost an estimated $1 trillion dollars over the next ten years. As someone who is neither Republican nor Democrat, I found myself wrestling with a number of mixed feelings about this monumental event and naturally wondered what it might mean for my wife and I and our two girls in the future. I even wondered what it would mean for their kids someday.

I was unprepared, however, for the cyber onslaught that has since been unleashed by so many well intentioned, but justifiably angry republican Christians. I understand why many are upset. I share many of their concerns. But what struck me most was not their feelings of frustration or their disagreement with this huge decision that will directly affect most of our lives, but their use of spiritual and even Christian language to support and defend their political position.

That bothers me. Continue Reading…

Planting A Church: Things I’ve Learned (part 1)

June 21, 2012 in Articles, Church Planting, Leadership, Mosaic with 10 Comments

It wasn’t all that long ago that I was wrestling for the first time with this unshakable feeling that I was supposed to start a new church. I remember the swirling cocktail of emotions that came with it – the excitement and the fear, the hope and the anxiety, and the ever-present question of, “How on earth am I going to do this?”

During that season, I consumed every bit of information I could get my hands on. I read books, attended conferences, called up church planters, and combed the blogs of those who had succeeded and failed at what I was setting out to do. Every piece of input felt valuable during that season. And I am forever grateful to those who shared with me the things they had learned along the way.

A couple years into planting now myself, I too would like to pass on some of the things we learned in the early stages of starting Mosaic Lincoln. There is a special place in my heart for church planters. My hope in the series of posts to follow is simply to help in any way I can those who are considering starting a new church or ministry, as well as those who are already well on their way.

::VISION-CASTING & RECRUITING::

When we arrived in Lincoln in April of 2010, we had shared the vision of Mosaic with just one Lincoln couple. Continue Reading…

The Business God Is In

April 19, 2012 in Articles, encouragement, Jesus, love, Religion with 6 Comments

Lies. Lies. Lies.

I hear them often. How about you? They seep in through the cracks of my character when I am least expecting it. Surface in moments of insecurity and weakness. Whisper to me when I wander from grace and fixate instead on what I see in the mirror.

How easily we are betrayed into thinking God’s love for us has something to do with what we do or don’t do. How quickly we forget God’s unwarranted, unjustified, unrelenting, and scandalous love for an ever scandaling creation. How often are we tricked into thinking ourselves unlovable and miss out on God’s invitation to redeem even the most broken, shameful parts of ourselves to be used for good in a broken world.

What if that which you think disqualifies you is the very thing that God wants to redeem and use in the greatest way? Continue Reading…

Leaders Lead.

March 15, 2012 in Articles, Leadership with 0 Comments 

Photo RT:

If there’s one thing I know about leaders, it’s that leaders lead.

They don’t always do it purposefully. They don’t always do it actively. They don’t always do it well. But you put a leader into any context and given enough time, that leader will emerge as a leader. It is just a part of who they are.

Leaders have a gravitas to them that causes their peers to ascribe them influence. And this is part of the beauty of true leadership: it is contingent on the volunteered trust and followership of others. No position can demand this from others. A position might demand compliance (especially if their paycheck is dependent on that compliance), but a position can never demand the very best of someone – their passion, their creativity, their devotion. These things must be volunteered.  Continue Reading…

Some Things You Should Know About Your Pastor

December 13, 2011 in Articles, Church Planting, encouragement, Leadership, pastor, The Church with 5 Comments

Let’s admit it: at one point or another, we have all been critical of pastors. Sometimes it’s just too easy, isn’t it? Like the guy who insists on using antiquated language and five syllable words that haven’t been in common usage since Shakespeare, or his younger antithesis down the road who is always saying things like dude and bro in between Rolling Stone quotes. One is too hip. The other is not hip enough. Both, however, get criticized for where they land. Welcome to the life of a pastor.

It is a tall order to live up to the expectations that come with the title “Pastor,” especially with so many different opinions on what a pastor should be. I’d imagine if we took all the expectations of everyone in your church and inserted them into a job description for your pastor, it’d might read something like:

CHURCH SEEKING NEW SENIOR PASTOR. Must be highly visionary, administratively strong, theologically astute, culturally connected, strong in both interpersonal and public communication, seasoned counselor, proven track record of longevity and initiating new projects, general knowledge in marketing and good business practice, able to cast vision, raise funds, manage budgets, hire and fire, submit to authority, speak with authority, teach and preach, gifted in planning but highly adaptable, be passionate but not overbearing, strong and meek, funny but not too funny, faithful and careful, bold and calculated, not too conservative and not too liberal. Applications can be submitted to jennifer@theresnowayyoucansucceedatthis.com.
You get my point. Everyone (including you) has different expectations of how your pastor ought to be gifted and what he ought to be doing with it. And the truth is, he likely has days when he feels like he is falling short of all of them. If you don’t believe that to be true, consider these jarring statistics:
  • 80% of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role
  • 70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they first started in ministry
  • 70% of pastors constantly fight depression
  • 90% feel they’re inadequately trained to cope w/ work demands
  • 50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry tomorrow if they felt they had a viable alternative

Continue Reading…

“The Bible’s really not about you.” – Tim Keller

September 28, 2011 in Articles, Books, Church Planting, Jesus, Lincoln, Videos with 1 Comment

Confession: I love Tim Keller. (Ok, “man-crush” might be more accurate.) Tim Keller pastors Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, a traditional church in many ways, but one that under Keller’s leadership has planted hundreds of churches all over the world. As a gifted thinker, scholar, pastor and writer, Tim Keller is in a very real sense, a pastor to many pastors (myself included).

Below is a short video that I think you will will find typologically beautiful and personally challenging. Many of us who have spent any significant amount of time in the American Church have been taught to understand the gospel in a way that is all about us and our personal salvation. While that is important, we often miss God’s larger vision for the Kingdom and the part we are to play in ushering it in. This hugely influences the way we read the scriptures. If we’re not careful, we can begin to buy into the idea that somehow the bible is really about “me” and “you.” But as this video beautifully illustrates, the scriptures point the way to something far more beautiful than what we see in the mirror. Enjoy. Continue Reading…

Think Hard Before You Go to a Christian School

August 31, 2011 in Articles, Church Planting, school, seminary, The Church with 15 Comments

I used to work with high school students. Every fall as kids went back to school and seniors settled in to their new role atop the hallway pecking order, the issue was the same: “Where should I go to college?”

There were some, of course, who had known they would fulfill their dream of going to Georgetown since they were 10, and others who had planned on following in the Husker family footsteps for as long as they could remember, but for many, they had no idea. The pressure of choosing a school was significant, especially for those Christian students who thought there might be just one “right” choice that God desired for them, and many other wrong choices.

That was my story. As a student athlete, I knew that I wanted to compete at the highest level in a quality program. And yet, I also felt a strong sense that I would be serving in vocational ministry and thought going to a Christian school to get a ministry degree just made a lot more sense. Boy, was I wrong. Continue Reading…

Faith: There’s an App for that

June 29, 2011 in Articles, fatherhood, porn with 3 Comments

Today I want to continue the conversation we began a couple weeks ago about the big “P” word: pornography. Porn is a booming, multibillion dollar industry that continues to grow in both scope and accessibility with personal technology. It’s big money, and for scores of men and their families, it’s big trouble. Millions of men have fallen victim to addiction, with some sources suggesting as many as 90% of men struggling with pornography in some capacity.

Today I want to talk about kicking this addiction once and for all. The truth is, pornography is something you can subtley find your way into, but for men, it is not something you can subtley get out of. It needs to be rooted out with tenacity. No more pussy footing around. No more frolicking through the field of personal indulgement at the expense of your family and health. Dig your cleats in and resolve to do what it’ll take to finally become the man or woman you were created to be. Here are 4 practical steps to finally begin to move towards healing and freedom in this area: Continue Reading…

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