THE Church

Above: A photo of author, Reggie McNeal.

Below: A guest post by pastorbuddy, Grant English.

I had the incredible honor of listening to Reggie talk yesterday. I’ve read his books, I’ve heard him multiple times – he never gets old. It’s like listening to Yoda…and he’s about that same height. My favorite quotes from yesterday.

Being missional starts with the understanding that Christianity is not a western philosophy but an encounter with the real person of Jesus.

I’m not here to help you do church better. I’m here to challenge you to BE the church FOR your community, not just IN your community.

The Church, not A church. When people say “a church” they reveal that they don’t get it. We are THE church. We church wherever we go.

Missional Church is a redundant term.

Missional is simply the people of God partnering with Him in His redemptive mission in the world. He is already at work, we are to be a people of blessing in that work.

The Church is a people of blessing. This mission predates the church because blessing is the character of God himself. See Genesis 12.

How can we practice being the church? Start asking “how can we be a people of blessing?” How can we bless at our jobs, schools, clubs, social circles, city, community?

Every church ought to have at least one school they have adopted. Showing up at a school once a year to paint the playground is NOT a partnership. Pray for those teachers, provide school supplies, ask them – “what do you need to help you overcome the obstacles that you are facing?”

The problems of our community first manifest themselves in our schools.

We aren’t the point. The Church isn’t the point. Thinking the point is the church is like thinking the airport is the point of travel. We go to places and the airport is the means to the ends. It’s a vital part of our journey but the journey isn’t about spending time in the airport. The Airport is a tool. Same for church – she is a connector to real LIFE and Kingdom.

One of the largest obstacles we face in the West is the Outsource Mindset. We outsource everything – car maintenance, lawn mowing, education and even spiritual formation. Program based churches feed this monster. What is needed is more people-development, more life on life, as we go, in the middle of life church.

Re

Re.  Not “regarding” or “concerning."

The prefix.  "Again, anew" or "back, backward."

Re is a good place to be.

Reborn in Christ.

Redeemed at the cost of his life.

Reflecting his glory.

Revived by the Holy Spirit.

Rekindled in passion.

Restored to right relationships.

Receiving gracious blessings.

Resurrection expectation ahead.

Re is a good place to be.

Yet.  Re can be not so good.

Repeating the same old sins.

Rejecting God’s Word.

Recalcitrant to authority.

Resisting the Holy Spirit.

Rebellious in the face of Sovereignty.

Refusing to surrender control.

Removed from Jesus' care.

Reduced to self-sufficiency.

Re like that.  Not so good.

As the church, those following Christ of any denomination in any location, we talk about & pray about revival.  We schedule dates for revival meetings.  But meetings & calendars do not make revival.  The Holy Spirit brings revival by visiting God’s people who are thoroughly surrendered to Him in a supernatural way.  Repentance from sin.  Release of hurts.  Return to Christ.  Relying on him.  Remaining in him.  These lead to revival.

What will you choose?

What will I choose?

To surrender & serve?

Or to rebel & run?

Pray for yourselves & others to be completely surrendered.  Be prepared for attacks against you, your family & your church family as you pray.  Attacks that will divide unity & distract focus from the real, deep work of God.

Yet.  Pray.  Seek.  Beseech.

Lord, send revival.

Let it begin with me.

Concrete Messages

A little more than 22 years ago on Indiana Avenue in the mill town of Monaca, Pennsylvania my uncle, Harry Kirchner, Jr. was remodeling the upstairs  bathroom.  He was about ready to tear the plaster from the lathe when he said to my cousin something like, "You never know what we might find in these walls.  You know my Pop."

Moments later amidst the falling plaster & breaking lathe he discovered a dusty wine bottle.  Emptied of wine.  Yet containing something more valuable.  The hand written note, "Nine at night & working in the bathroom.  Just finished this bottle.  Think of me if you can still read this whenever it is found.  Harry Kirchner."

My uncle & my cousin, tough guys both, cried.  A message within a wall over forty years.

Near 11 years ago on Whitman Avenue in woody southern Forth Worth, Texas hundreds were gathered at Wedgwood Baptist Church for a youth rally.  A deranged gunman opened fire, wounding seven, & killing seven people before taking his own life.  He exploded a homemade pipe bomb & fired off over 100 rounds from two handguns.

Beyond the human, spiritual healing there was the physical damage to the building.  Holes in walls filled.  Pews completely removed.  Carpet totally removed.  Yet before painting afresh & recarpeting, the Christ followers of Wedgwood wrote thousands of messages & Scripture & prayers on the drywall & concrete floors of the sanctuary.

Tears flowed as freely as the grace God that was bestowed.  Those messages on concrete.

This morning on South 59th Street in rolling Lincoln, Nebraska, with those remembrances in mind, I led my family to write a declaration.  We wrote on the concrete basement floor before the carpet was installed today.  "This basement is a testament to God's gracious provision.  The Householders.  August 11, 2010."  I traced the kid's right hands.  Wrote their age.  And we each signed our names.  With a  big, blue permanent marker.  We even took pictures.

Then, before leaving, just to make sure whoever found the message in years to come knew exactly what I meant I added the reference, "Psalm 37:4," just above our family name.

Home for lunch I met the installers.  One ran upstairs to get something.  The other called me by name.  "Aaron, I noticed you wrote Scripture on your floor.  Can you pray for me?"

Moments later we knelt on that newly padded floor & prayed together.  Tears flowing.  Scripture written beneath us.  A message on concrete.

Just as sure as that concrete is solid my message was: God is sovereign.

He put those experiences in my past.  He put that Scripture in my heart.  He put that man in my basement.  He knew.

There is no coincidence.  There is only providence.

That is a concrete message.

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:9

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.  Proverbs 19:21

Finished Furnished

What you see here is a dream come true.  (Some dreams change as you age, Friends, so gimme a break.)  This is a picture of our new basement bathroom.  So new the sticker is still on the toilet that had never been used & there is still clean-up & decorating to do.

Our basement - near five years in our imaginations, over four years in a savings account, near two years in pay-as-we-go construction -  is almost finished.  Can I get an, "amen"?

Carpet will be installed next week.  Got to paint the trim before then.  Paint the doors as soon as possible within the next weeks too.  I need that, "amen," again.

Yet, one problem.  Small one.  We've spent the savings we had to finish it so well, that we do not have enough left to fully furnish it.

I'm hearing a story.  A parable.  Jesus speaking.  Consider the cost before building a tower.  I know its a parable of discipleship, but its a building analogy & I've got building going on, Friends.  And there is a lesson for Christ following disciples in my post today too.  Back to my basement...

It is not fancy finish, but a good one.  Quality construction.  Materials that will last.  Surfaces that look nice & hopefully endure better.  We do have three rambunctious kids remember.

So, here we are at the place where we can say, "finished," and the basement built by faith is now challenging our flesh.  Good stewardship is being challenged by good salesmanship.  The challenge is our potential indebtedness in order that our fully finished basement might be a fully furnished basement.

It will be fully finished soon.  It sure would be nice if it was fully furnished too.

The furnishing are not upstairs already.  Upstairs is furnished.  Upstairs has none to spare.  These furnishing would be all new to us.  We are, as my wiser-than-the-average wife said, "basically furnishing a whole other house except for the kitchen" downstairs.  There's some sobering perspective for you.  Two complete bedrooms.  One larger than our master.  Plus a new den as large as our living room upstairs.

So we could do 12 or maybe 18 months "same as cash." One local furniture store has even "Gone Bananas" (their sale name) with 48 month financing.  We can get what we want now & pay along the way.  However, here we find another problem.  There is only so much cash in our monthly budget for all the that great "same as cash" stuff we'd like to have.

We got more ways to spend that we got means to pay.

(Terrible English, I know, but memorable I hope.)

As Americans we are regularly tempted to buy now & pay later.  It sounds good, but it is a temptation because we still have to pay & it may be for things we really don't need.

But Melanie & I are choosing faith, good stewardship, & prudent budgeting.  We won't have all the furniture we want right away, but we won't have the stress of paying for it either.

We pray that you'll join us in the practice of good, biblical stewardship.  While you are at it, feel free to stop by & join us for a seat on our unfurnished yet fully carpeted basement floor too.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you or forsake you."  Hebrews 13:5

Watching You

Lord, forgive my failures in Fatherhood. Make me into the father you desire & my children deserve. Give me strength to serve when I am tired. Give me courage to do right when it is tough. Give me restraint to hold my tongue & harness my actions when I am angry. Give me wisdom to discern their growing hearts. Let me love them, the three precious children you have entrusted to me, as sacrificially as you love me. Amen.