imagining how the church can reorient around mission

Sept 14th- 9 am-1:30 pm – Free lunch included – hit the barcode below to register

This event, hosted by the Pacific Northwest Movement (PNWM), is free and open to all Pastors and Christian leaders interested in what church planting would look like in a rapidly changing culture.

This is part 2 of Immanuel’s Theological Vision. You can find part 1 by clicking here.

We live in such a fragmented society. At this point, almost every element of society is responding as a victim. Everyone is slighted to one degree or another. Everyone is polarized. As a matter fact, in my 59 years, I have never seen a more volatile moment in our culture’s history. Here are a couple of examples.

The first one is a bit silly. A year ago I was watching football on TV and in the LSU game, the former Hall of Fame basketball player Karl Malone was in the stands. Apparently, his son plays for LSU. The picture they kept looping back to confirmed Malone was using a flip phone in the stands. Pretty innocuous, right? Not so in today’s age. As a result of him using a flip phone, the Internet went wild, accusing him of being an archaic buffoon. There was tweet after tweet and Facebook post after Facebook post talking about how ridiculous it was for him to use a flip phone. It got so intense that it could be called “crowd pounding.” Fortunately for Karl Malone, he probably could care less.

Another example is from my own life. It occurred during Pope Francis’ visits to the US. While I have no intention of converting to Catholicism, it is no secret that I have a serious man crush on Pope Francis. I think he is remarkable and have not been shy about sharing my admiration for him through my social media outlets. The sad part is, there’s a certain fundamentalist element of my history that is quite offended by me liking the pope,errrrr, “antichrist” I have had numerous people write me questioning my integrity as a Christian leader in showing my approval of Pope Francis’s trip. One even said, quoting from the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts that there will be many wolves coming among you, inferring that Pope Francis was one of the wolves that we should be aware of. Sheesh!

There are many other volatile issues where folks are separated such as racial tension, political angst and national cynicism.

Paul talks about this type of brokenness and estrangement in Ephesians 2. He talks about people being broken, separated, and estranged without God in the world. But he also goes on to say that Jesus himself is our peace and he has broken down every wall that separates us. In fact he goes on to say that God has created a new humanity. Everything that separates us from other humans; Jesus has provided a way for us to experience peace. God’s shalom. Paul even says that Christ does more than provide peace, he himself is our peace. This new humanity, Paul goes on to describe in the next chapter as the church.

So what does it look like? What does this new humanity look like?

Paul describes it for us.

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28

Paul says no more Jew or Gentile, which refers to ethnic separation. He says there is no more slave or free. In other words, no more economic elitism. He also says no more male or female, eradicating gender inequality. But Christ remedies each and all of those points of separation.

OK, this passage is the catalyst for my dream. It is that we would become a community of difference, a diverse community…wealthy and poor, men and women, married and single, from various racial backgrounds representing Christ in the world. See, the gospel doesn’t call us to give up our differences, but to subordinate them for the sake of the Kingdom of God.

Why? Because the church is to be as Lesslie Newbigin has said, a sign, foretaste, and instrument of the kingdom. John Durham uses a different word picture. He calls the people of God “…a display people.” Our community is to act and look like what the consummated kingdom is in reality. It is to show the world what the new creation is to look like. In a word we are to be new creation people.

German theologian, Gearhart Lofink wrote,

“It can only be that God begins in a small way, at one single place in the world. There must be a place, visible, tangible, where the salvation of the world can begin: that is, where the world becomes what it is supposed to be according to God’s plan. Beginning at that place, the new thing can spread abroad, but not through persuasion, not through indoctrination, not through violence. Everyone must have the opportunity to come and see. All must have the chance to behold and test this new thing. Then, if they want to, they can allow themselves to be drawn into the history of salvation that God is creating.”

I was speaking to someone this recently about our church community. They asked how it was going. My response was, “Well, we are not there yet, but Immanuel is emerging into God’s dream.” I can sense it; if you were a part, I think you could as well.

Peace,

r

From guest blogger, Holly Clark. Holly serves on the Leadership Team at Immanuel Church. 

————————————— read more

Over the last couple of months I’ve had the privilege of reading the book “Prodigal Christianity” with a group of my friends here in Spokane. All of them are good thinkers and we had a wonderful time processing the ideas by Dave Fitch and Geoff Holsclaw. 

The book is really an attempt to locate a way forward that is truly prodigal in today's Christianity, a third way if you will. A writing device the authors employed is a cyclical juxtaposition between a Neo-Reform perspective of Christianity (Piper, Keller, et al) and a more “Emergent” version (McLaren and Jones). Honestly, a device I am not entirely thrilled with and I would suspect the authors represented in the book probably were not wild about either. Nonetheless, while looking at both of these poled perspectives they seek to mine out an alternative way for the church to move forward in the undulating social challenges of Western society. read more

Years ago, I was having a weekly breakfast with a group of pastors who led downtown churches in my city (that is what pastors do, right? Eat!). One of them I became exceptionally fond of. He was nearing retirement and I found his insights particularly insightful. On one occasion, I asked him if he had any wisdom he’d like to pass on to me (I was one of the young ones then). He said if he were to do it all over again he’d sell the church buildings. Firm, resolute…unflinching…sell em all! He felt like they stole focus from the “main
thing” he was trying to accomplish.

That was years ago now and in my nearly 30 years of pastoring I have
heard his words echo in the back of my mind at many crossroads. In those years, I have rarely pastored a community with a “church building.” We’ve rented a few, but to truly occupy, none…until now. God has graciously seen fit to loan us one. I say graciously because it was not what we were looking for. We simply were seeking to embed our community in a specific location. For us, it was the north central part of Spokane. We all sensed this was where we were to put down roots.

Some people in the missional conversation eschew the idea of having
a building. It conjures up the “evil” word: Attractional. In some circles, it is viewed with the same derison as the name “Voldemort.” However, for us having a building (or being loaned one) gives us a taproot into a particular geographical area. In a word, it contextualizes this for us. It gives us a parish. I was talking with a friend of mine who has a small building in a very cool “niche” community here in our city. He was commenting about how helpful it is for them to have a building because it moves them into a “participant relationship” in the commercial area where they are. They’re looked upon as a group that is stable and permanent rather then remote and transient. They are seen as vested members of the community, rather than outsiders or intruders.

A quick aside – a building doesn’t provide success or failure per
say. The last church I pastored grew quite large, all while being in rented spaces. It really depends on what God is doing in your community.

We will guard against having our focus captured by having space (I know, you are thinking that is what everyone says), but for us at this time and place, a building gives an element of stability in a world of “rent the box” churches…and we are grateful.

r

Here is a Google Maps Screen shot of the building

Incarnating the Gospel

What does it mean to incarnate the Gospel? Observing God’s love toward humanity best captures the idea of incarnation. It is actualized by God taking on human flesh and lovingly drawing near to His creation. As a matter of fact, in John 1 it is articulated by verse 14, which says, “The Word became flesh and
made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and
only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Literally, it means God came near, even moving into the neighborhood.

As we plant Immanuel Church, one of the contouring values we have is seeking to dream of how we can incarnate the Gospel in a particular context. In our case, that is the north central area of Spokane, Washington (Click here for demographics of the area). It has become our parish if you will.

An Ecclesial (tricky word for “church”) Problem

One of the problems that the church faces in
America is Christians often envision their church involvement one directionally. By that I mean, people make decisions about where they should go based upon what they can get out of it. It is kind of like a
laundry list of items like:

• Whether we like the speaker (does he have nice hair…does he have any hair? :))
• Whether we like the worship style (or how accomplished the musicians are)
• Whether our kids are cared for the way we think they should be
• Whether the facility is comfortable
• Whether we feel at ease with the people who attend,
  etc.

Now, I am not saying the following to produce guilt of any kind, but allow
me to poke at those reasons a wee bit. Each of them, if we are honest, are
somewhat “me” centered.

An Alternative

While we may fairly debate the validity of each of those reasons for attending a church, if we believe that incarnation is important, it is also essential that we consider attending in a location that has some proximity to where we live. In a word, we MUST consider the missional aspect of where we attend.

A Challenge

Here’s a challenge as it relates to Immanuel here in Spokane – and it is two prong:

1. Join our Team – If you live in the North Central area of Spokane, will you consider joining our team of missionaries as we seek to genuinely display and declare the Gospel to this unique and under resourced part of our city. Some of you live in the very area we are attempting to reach, yet drive across numerous geographical zones to be a part of another community. That is fine if you clearly sense the Spirit’s call for you to do that, but if you have not considered the missional orientation of the church, take some time and do so. I am persuaded that your mission effectiveness would be enhanced by churching in the same area that you are living…and we certainly could use the
   partnership.
2. Relocate – If you feel called to be a part of Immanuel Church, would you consider relocating to the North Central? It’s called “re-neighboring.” I know, I know, that is really counter to how we Americans think, but if we really buy the idea that God’s mission in a context is a calling, we cannot easily dismiss the idea that living in the same area you worship is important. While it may not be imperative in a commuter city, it certainly is not outside of the purview of consideration. Alternatively, maybe if you live in the North Central area and go to a church outside of that area, you should mull over the idea of moving there.

If you are interested in helping in any way, just comment on this blog and I will get back to you promptly or email me at (Click here).

Living, investing and “embedding” in the same area you gather to worship is not a new idea. It has been a proven missiological concept for a very long time…it is as old as, well…the moment God took on flesh and moved into the neighborhood.

Peace y’all!

r

I awoke this morning
to two very different bits of news.

The first was on CNN
about another senseless and seemingly random murder…this time in my own city. We’ve finally made the top story on CNN. Unfortunately, it was for
reprehensible reasons. Two teens beat a World War II vet to death yesterday
not far from my home. An 88-year-old man! This is immediately on the heels of
the similar senseless shooting of an Australian youth living and going to
school in Oklahoma by 3 other teens, apparently because they were “bored.” Although,
there does seem to be some race motive behind that act. Many in Australian at
this point are measuring whether coming to the U.S. is a reasonable venture
because of fear of this type of violence. There is even gestures of a “Boycott”
of the U.S. read more

 When introducing yourself as a Christian you may sometimes be greeted in a strange manner. Some people assume that being Christian also means you are an extremist. This is because some of the only interactions they may have had with a “Christian” is someone yelling about God’s wrath, or picketing on a street corner. They think we all abide by some strict controlling cultist style life. However, we know this to be false. We must do our best to correct this misled view of our collective group of believers. Religious extremists, cultists, and
hate-mongering groups are destroying the good name of Christ, by standing behind it while they speak nothing of the love and grace of God.

One such group would be the Westboro Baptist Church, who interestingly enough has no association with the Baptist Church, nor should it even be considered a church. This particular gathering of beings is completely misled by their leader, and believe themselves to be spreading the word of God. This word, however, is that God hates pretty much everyone, that he is destroying and will continue to destroy the world and everyone who does not agree with him. The list of people the WBC claims God hates consists of: Homosexuals, Transsexuals, Military, Muslims, Obama, Police, Government, Immigrants, and many more.

While we would all very much enjoy to shut this group up permanently, our response to them must not be one of equal disprovable as they preach. That would be fueling their fire, as much as it pains me to say, we must react to them in a loving nature, kill them with
kindness, in order to prove them wrong.

Then
Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite
your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors;
if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and
you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:12-14)

             The great
eighteenth-century hymn writer and ex-slave trader John Newton marveled at the
far-reaching impact of these words spoken by Jesus in Luke. “One would almost
think this passage was not considered part of God’s word, nor has any part of
Jesus’ teaching been more neglected by his own people. I do not think it is unlawful
to entertain our friends” he says, “but if these words do not teach us that it
is in some respects out duty to give preference
to the poor, I am at a loss to understand them.” Looking at the current state
of the American church, one can’t help but wonder if the “luncheon or dinner”
Jesus was referring to could be what we call our church service today. We spend
so much time catering our churches to our friends, brothers, sisters, relatives
and neighbors, that we completely disregard those Jesus is calling to invite
join us in our “banquet.” read more

    Relationship. This is the word I keep coming back to the
more I learn about the true calling of the Church and the people of God.
Everything centers on the idea that to be a “city on a hill” we have to have
relationships with the people around us that will allow them to see what the
family of God looks like and what being a dedicated disciple of Christ really
means. And, yes, I love the idea of “doing life” with fellow Christians and
living in a way that shows what the gospel is about.

    BUT, I am terrified
at the idea of relational. I’m not kidding; I am not good at first impressions, holding coherent conversations, making
small talk, meeting new people, etc. Don’t get me wrong, God has given me a
heart for people and I love being around those whom I already know, but for
some reason God also made me a person that would rather stay in a corner than
engage others. So when I think about starting conversations with strangers and
putting myself out there with other Christians, it scares me. read more