random things

Here are a few random things:

-My 4 year old has a stuffed cat that she has named "Stupid Black Cat." Which is kinda funny, but what makes it even funnier is that that is completely white. I just think that's hysterical.

-had a 'perfect storm' of technology problems last week. The PC busted right at the same time the PDA was running out of batteries. By the time the PC was fixed, the PDA batteries were dead, and I had lost 1 months worth of updates. It's very annoying, but since I have no idea what was planned, I feel kinda free. Which is nice, even if it could turnout to be a pain later.

-last week we got a packet from the Women of the ELCA (ELCA is our denomination). It had 20 pieces of paper telling us about twenty different things. Twenty! I'm not sure what they were thinking, sending us all that, but my guess is that they weren't thinking at all. Don't get me wrong- all of it looks like good stuff. But it's a total information overload, and I just don't think the "throw it all against the wall and see what sticks" strategy works anymore, because I don't think anything sticks. I think it all falls in the trash, which is where this is gonna go.

-I have seen the future. Not surprisingly, it will be made by Microsoft. link

-we've had new folks come and enjoy the experience of worship each of the past two weeks. Pray for a third this Sunday! It was wonderful, it was exciting, and it happened in the summer! So, good for God, and good for The River.

I promise to post some more of my typical 'deep and meaningful' (or is it 'deep and full of it'?) stuff before too long.

Programs

I saw this, and it made me laugh out loud because I've been there (but without the fancy technology). I've tried to organize people so that the church could welcome and greet new people. Spent a lot of time on it, actually, so I know what it's like to sit there and see someone new and think "Where is that greeter?!?!"

But what I also remember is what happened when I invited a friend to my last church. She went quite a few times over a couple months, but ended up leaving because no one but the greeter said hello to her. And that makes sense. Why would anyone else say hello to her? That's what the greeters are for!

The Greeter program was created to compensate for the congregation being unfriendly to new people. This is the origin of many church programs. For instance, Sunday School teaches kids about God because parents don't. There's a long list of church programs that are created to make up for Christians not doing what they are supposed to do.

But what I've noticed is that the problem doesn't go away. An unfriendly congregation remains unfriendly whether there are greeters or not. What worked best at my last church was simply going up to members, one-on-one, and coaching and encouraging them to seek out new people and welcome them. That's what worked there, and that's why we aren't going to have programs in The River.

Our focus is on building people, not programs. Helping individuals to be disciples- to be followers of Jesus Christ. And I think that if we have a community full of disciples, we won't have to worry about greeting visitors or caring for the sick or teaching children faith, because folks will just do it. Not so the church can survive, or so it can grow, or any of that stuff. They'll do it because it's who they are. They'll do it because they can't not do it. They'll do it because they love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and they love their neighbors as themselves.

That's the vision for a church without programs, and we'll see what happens. It's an idea which has gotten some pretty funny looks, but those looks quickly fade from my memory. The one that doesn't is the face of my friend who came and went because we built programs instead of people. That one is burned into my memory.

People, not progams.
That's what the church of Jesus Christ is all about.

Him too?!

I was quite surprised to hear that Michael Savage is in the same boat many of us are- that he believes in God, even loves God, but just doesn't feel at home in a church.

I should preface all this by saying that I am not a fan of Savage. I listen to him for two reasons:
1. His station is the only talk radio I can get late at night while driving
2. He's so crazy, he's entertaining

I listen to other conservatives on the radio, but I think Michael Savage is a loon. Certifiable. Instead of writing a book called "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder," he should have been checked for one himself. But the fact is that he is as conservative as you can get, and he can't find a church that works for him! Conservatives are supposed to be in church- it's supposed to be part of being conservative. That's the stereotype, anyway: low taxes, family values, Sunday church, all that stuff is supposed to go hand-in-hand. So if you follow the stereotype (which is always dangerous), you would expect that if anyone would be in church, it would be him. But he's not. Why?

As he said in his broadcast, "Because when he's been in them, he doesn't feel anything."

Wow.

So even though you would expect him to be plugged in somewhere, The River is for Michael Savage. And even though I think he is a loon, The River is for Michael Savage. I doubt we'll ever see him, but he's the kind of person it was started for: people who feel God's presence every place but church. If Michael Savage walked in the door I would shake his hand and say "Welcome home," because The River isn't for just conservatives or just liberals. It isn't just for the good people. It isn't just for the people who are 'supposed' to be in church. Heck, it isn't even just for the sane.

The River is for anyone who wants a connection God and people to share the journey with, and doesn't have them now. That's it. None of the rest matters.

So, Mr. Savage, I invite you to come home. I invite you to wade deeper into the presence of God. I invite you to The River. Because it was started for people looking for God and community. It was created for you.

A glimpse of my own mortality

No, I don't mean 'something that reminded me that I'm gonna die someday.' I've seen enough death to be pretty aware of that all the time. But in this case, I mean the effect my mortality could have on The River. What happened is that Beth (my wife, and also a pastor) had to call in sick on a Sunday morning. We've both been pastors for about 6 years, and that was the first time either of us had had to call in sick on a Sunday. She was in terrible shape and was supposed to fill-in at a church in Alabama, and she literally would not have made it. She would have passed out while driving and wrecked. And even if she had made it there, she would have had to leave at some point during the worship because of the vile things going on with her body. She just could not have done it.

It was a fill-in gig, but it got me thinking "What if that had been me? What if I had been unable to lead worship at The River that day?" The answer, sadly, was that worship would have suffered quite a bit. So much so that I'm not sure it would have been even worth doing.

That's not the way things are supposed to be. The River is not about me, and it's supposed to be bigger than me. But right now, it is not. It is also supposed to be about more than Sunday, and to an extent it is, but mostly it is not. But that's a topic for another post. What struck me that day was that if I took ill, The River would essentially cease to function as it is today. And worst of all, if I got hit by a bus and died, it would likely stop altogether.

As I said at the beginning, my days are numbered. All of our days our numbered. It's only a matter time before I'm gone from The River, and from this world. And when I saw what happened to Beth, and thought about how it would effect The River, I realized that I have not done a great job of helping others take leadership and ownership. I need to do that better- to share the vision, share the responsibility, and put others in position to use their gifts to the glory of God and to grow God's Kingdom. Not just for the sake of The River, but for the sake of the world.

So it was a wakeup call, but in a good way, because as far as I know it's not time to punch my ticket just yet. I have time to do the work of equipping and training others to lead The River, and to do the work of ministry. It's a job I'm good at, it's a job I'm passionate about, and it's time to get cracking.

As long as I don't get sick, that is.