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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…

Elliot’s Story

November 7, 2012 in Mosaic, Stories, The Church, Videos with 4 Comments

Now that election season is over, I am excited to be able to move on, begin to like my friends again, and engage in conversations of less political nature. And there are few things I enjoy talking about more than Jesus at work in the lives of people through his church.

Meet Elliot.

I met Elliot for the first about a year ago. It was on a chilly fall day last October-ish that I received a Facebook message from a name I didn’t recognize. “Hey, I hear you’re the pastor who hangs out with atheists.” I laughed out loud, spraying coffee all over my desk. (To date, I count it one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received as a pastor.) He said, “My name is Elliot. I’m an atheist. Can we get coffee?”  Continue Reading…

25 Things I Love About My Church

October 22, 2012 in comic relief, Jesus, Mosaic, pastor, Reflection, Religion, The Church with 6 Comments

Yesterday we started a new series at Mosaic that I am really excited about entitled, “I Love My Church.” As I have been getting ready for it, it has been so refreshing and energizing to dig into the book of Acts and remember how the church began and what it is meant to be: not an institution, but a movement of God’s grace in and through his people.

It can be easy to get negative on church, can’t it? I pastor a community that is full of people who bear the scars of organized religion and religious leaders who at times did awful things in the name of Jesus. I, too, bear those scars. Perhaps if you’re like me, you can find yourself at times fixating on the things you feel are wrong or frustrating or things you wish were different about your church. I fear this is one of the subtle ways that our heart is drawn away from The One who loved and died for his church.

This negativity can be all too natural for a generation that struggles with cynicism and is increasingly skeptical of institutions, whether they be corporate, political, religious or otherwise. And so I think the challenge for us is this: Jesus loves his church, warts and all. He willingly died for her, in spite of all her imperfections and perpetual unfaithfulness. And he calls us to love her as well.

So one of the things I did this week as a discipline of reflection and thankfulness was sit down and list some of the things I LOVE about my church. Even I was surprised at how easy this was. In just 5 short minutes, I had filled an entire page with things I love about the community of Mosaic. (By the way, I can’t tell you what this did for my heart.) It was so fun to reflect on the beautiful mess that is Jesus’ church and all that I have to be thankful for. I would really encourage you to carve out some time to sit down and do the same!

25 Things I Love About My Church

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…

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…

God at Work: What I’m Learning

August 8, 2011 in Mosaic, Reflection, risk, Stories, The Church with 9 Comments

Yesterday we wrapped up our summer series Practical Atheist at Mosaic. When we decided to do the series, I don’t think I knew exactly what I was getting myself into. I knew it’d involve some hard conversations and introspection along the way, but I had no idea just how gutting it would prove to be. Turns out that evaluating one’s life in light of the scriptures and facing our own hypocrisy can be a very painful process.

As I reflect on the last several weeks at Mosaic, I am struck by a seeming oddity. One could argue that undertaking such a challenging and potentially offensive series just a few months after launch was a risk for us to take. A safer alternative might have been a character study on one of the many heroes of the faith, spending a few weeks in the book of Ruth, or a topical series around something less offensive like courage, hope or dealing with baggage.

But here’s the thing: the more candidly we tackle the hard stuff, the more we are finding that people are responding with faith and obedience. Continue Reading…

New Mosaic Website!

January 17, 2011 in Church Planting, Creativity, Mosaic, Questions, The Church, Web/Tech with 4 Comments

NewsiteToday we launched the Mosaic Lincoln website! This may sound funny to say, but as a pastor, it is really easy for me to get website envy. You know what I'm talking about? I see websites like that of Mars Hill Church in Seattle or Elevation in Charlotte and I have repeatedly tell myself, "Thou shall not covet," "Thou shall not covet," "Thou shall not covet…"   

However, part of the beauty of church planting is that it forces you to discern between what is necessary and what is not right from the get-go. Without a super sized budget to get all of the things I might otherwise be tempted to spend money on, we are forced instead to get creative. And let me tell you, it is amazing what is possible when a group of people get prayerfully creative! 

I am proud of our new website! Not just because I think it is sharp, clean and immersed with helpful and engaging media, but because it was built almost entirely with free, online tools that are available to anyone, anywhere! Rather than dropping a lot of money on a website, we were forced to get creative. And thanks largely in part to the hard work and creativity of our Associate Pastor, Kevin, the result was a great website that hardly cost us anything out of pocket! I wonder what else would be possible if we resisted the urge to spend and instead, opted to get prayerfully creative in our lives and ministries!

Kingdom-Mindedness, or Lack Thereof

November 27, 2010 in Church Planting, Lincoln, Mosaic, The Church, TheMission with 3 Comments

I have been told that every great story involves great conflict. Ask any church planter and they will tell you that church planting involves its fair share of conflict. The conflict comes in many forms: discouragement, exhaustion, criticism (sadly, often from other Christians and even pastors who are threatened by what you are doing), missed opportunities, failed plans, unforeseen obstacles, wayward team members, and the one you can almost always count on: financial strain. 

The greatest conflict that I am finding myself having to deal with, however, is the hesitancy (or downright unwillingness) of local churches to step up and get involved in church planting, or at least not in a way that costs them anything significant. A word of blessing? Sure. A one time gift? Perhaps. Championing or adopting a new plant as your own in a way that may cost them people and ongoing support? Err, we'll pray about it. (Which, in case you didn't know, is Christianese for "Not on your life!!") 

It is dumbfounding how many pastors and churches will agree that church planting is both greatly important and deeply biblical, and yet how few are actively involved. Troubling is probably a better word for it. As we continue our search for a "sponsoring church," here is what I am finding: 

  • Everyone has a perfectly good reason for why they can't do it.  "Our giving is down," "Our attendance is less than it was last year at this time," "We are preparing to build a new building," "Our leadership can't afford another big risk that could potentially make them look bad," "We haven't done these sorts of things in the past"…the list goes on and on. No matter the size, budget, vision, demographics, denomination, geographical location, everyone has a reason why their current circumstances won't allow them to be actively involved in church planting.  
  • Everyone has a perfectly good reason why someone else should do it. "They are bigger than we are," "They've been around longer," "Their budget is bigger," "Their pastors get paid more," "They have more money in reserves," "They already have a value for church planting," "They have less debt than we do," "They have less financial obligations," "They aren't an established church fighting an established culture"…Sure pastor, perhaps Google would be a great potential sponsor for a church plant, but it's not their job, it's yours. The task and burden of church planting falls on local churches, not on outside organizations and networks. (By the way, I am all for interdenominational church planting networks, but they do not relieve churches of their duty to multiply and send out. Instead, like ARC, these org's should help churches fulfill their God-given responsibility, not avoid it.) But even pastors who agree tend to think "the church down the road" makes more sense to carry the load. 

To be honest, the implications of these two realities have us in a tight spot right now. It is a really tough place to be in. So when I write this, part of it is deeply personal. In seeking to understand it, my hope is to help other planters navigate some of these things, to encourage churches to reconsider their involvement or lack thereof in church planting, as well as to help myself lead Mosaic in such a way to never be so consumed with our own internal business that we fail to continually invest in the Kingdom work of church planting. 

Here are a few things I am learning:

  • Internally focused churches struggle. Practically speaking, if the focus of your church is the people who are already there, then you're destined to struggle the moment your members start dying or leaving. That'll probably be sooner than later. Biblically speaking, an internally focused church stands directly opposed to the mission to which they have been called. Perhaps worst of all, not only to internally focused churches struggle more than others, they struggle alone. 
  • You don't get credit for what you hope to do in the future. Your intentions for tomorrow may be honorable, but today that is all they are: intentions. You don't get a faith advance for your great plans. Instead, you are measured by what you do. Either you are generously investing in the Kingdom or you are not. Spoiler Alert: Perhaps you are not being entrusted with the more you keep praying for because you have yet to be faithful with what you currently have.
  • Next year things are not going to be easier. Breaking through the next growth barrier, achieving the next big goal, hitting the next milestone, etc is not going to be the thing that frees you to finally be generous any more than it is going to make your life and ministry simpler. It is always going to be a challenge. Accept it and make the hard decisions necessary to begin being generous now. Reality: If you keep thinking that you'll start investing in church planting "when…", it'll never happen. 
  • God blesses churches that invest in the Kingdom. Jesus didn't call his disciples to go build a church, He told them to expand the Kingdom. When established churches and leaders invest in the Kingdom through church planting, it is an act of selflessness. It takes a secure leader, one who cares more about seeing lives changed by the gospel than they do the success of their little "c" church to send people and resources out to something that doesn't directly benefit them. The pastors I have known who do this generously are not only some of the brightest and godliest men I know, but they also pastor some of the most influential and impact-ful churches in the country. I am coming to believe that there is a direct correlation between our faithfulness in furthering the Kingdom and how much influence God is willing to entrust us with.  

Day 5 Video: “Relevance”

September 24, 2010 in Communication, culture, Film, Mosaic, Religion, The Church, TheMission, Videos with 4 Comments

Day 5 – Relevance from Mosaic Lincoln on Vimeo.

This past week my good friend, Bryan Marine, and I set out to shoot today's 30in30 video in an old, abandoned church out west of Lincoln. We had to hike to get back to it, but it turned out to be well worth the effort. What we found was incredible. The place seemed almost untouched with its old pews, rotting organ missing half the keys, broken and twisted stain glass, and remnants of what was. It was almost hauntingly beautiful to step into something so hidden and so full of history. I thought Bryan did such an incredible job of capturing the experience that I just had to share it. Enjoy!

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