Are We Really Ready for This?

In a letter to one of his missionaries, Jack Miller, a pastor and the founder of World Harvest Mission, discussed his desire to see the churches he wanted to plant grow in biblical character. Miller wanted to move beyond a small, human-sized vision to embrace a grand, God-sized mission, but he also understood the sacrifice required. Here is a portion of that letter that challenges me as I think about the new visions being formed by the various outreach bodies of my church. (The North he references here is Brownlow North, a Presbyterian leader who challenged his church about the lack of prayer and leadership development within the church.)

Our aim is to gain a bigger vision for what God can do in church planting and mobilizing leaders. As I believe you have put it, "I have been thinking too much about planting a single church, when I should also be thinking about how we can moblize and train our own missionaries and leaders to plant 200 churches..."

The rest of us share your vision, I do believe. But if North is right about us, then we have problems. It simply cannot happen unless we learn to pray better and train better--and also to think more clearly. We all have a heart burden to plant churches in the world's darkest places. But think for a moment. This requires sacrifice, suffering, endurance, even death on the part of American and national missionaries. Are we really ready for this?

I do believe that of ourselves we would never be ready. But in spite of our many weaknesses, I am persuaded we are moving in the right direction. The glory is all God's.

Three items draw my attention here and deeply humble me as a pastor.

1. We are right to seek the bigger vision of God. It is good for God's people to be so passionate for his glory that we want to see the Gospel proclaimed everywhere. We don't need to settle for what is currently working, or even for what seems possible. If God gives us a vision for what seems impossible, we should pursue it and assume the Holy Spirit will act in ways we cannot.

2. We will almost certainly underestimate the cost of God's bigger vision. That first point makes me feel good. This one doesn't. To press into God's bigger vision does not mean we will be safe or happy. All wars have casualties, and it was Jesus himself who said that those who lose their lives for his sake and the Gospel's will find eternal life. Sometimes we lose our lives metaphorically by obedience and sometimes we lose our lives physically by obedience. But make no mistake, all followers of Jesus lose their lives. And if we embrace a greater vision given to us by God, it will certainly come with greater personal sacrifice. Miller is right to ask, "Are we really ready for this?"

3. To achieve God's bigger vision, we need to pray, train, and even think better. If we are going to embrace a grand, God-sized vision for our ministry, and we know with it will come greater sacrifice, then we need to prepare spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically. If we are going to do greater things as a church, we need to pray more fervently and think through the plans with more clarity. I know that I have a tendency to assume I can do more work without exerting more effort; that somehow success will just "happen." But the fact is God calls his church to pray, work, and think hard. That's why he gave us a day to rest: he knows how hard we need to work to do our part in the Kingdom of God!

Contemporvant Worship

There's a new video getting a lot of attention around the web in evangelical circles. I'm not sure what to think of it. It's very funny. I love parody, especially when it's produced by those who are making fun of themselves (This was produced by North Point, a big church in Atlanta that looks just like this.) I'm 32, so I'm supposed to like this sort of service, and sometimes I do. Most of the time, though, I prefer a more contemplative form of worship that prizes Scripture reading, communion, corporate prayer, and lengthy expository preaching. But I see a place for sevices like this, and I think elements of these services should be incorporated into all church services. So I'm torn. Watch it and decide how it makes you feel.

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

You Give and Take Away...

How do you understand the trials of life? Do you explain them away? Do you believe there are certain aspects of reality over which God has no control? Or do you, like Job, James, Paul, Peter, and Jesus himself, give God the glory for everything, understanding that he is in full control?

The Story of Zac Smith from NewSpring Media on Vimeo.

Hudson Taylor on Leadership

In his book Spiritual Leadership, Oswald Sanders records a letter that the missionary Hudson Taylor sent to his secretary while serving in China. In the letter, Taylor outlined 6 areas he felt needed improvement within China Inland Mission, the organization he founded. The 6 points are pretty insightful for pastors, leaders at all levels within the church, and really for leaders anywhere.

I have listed them here in Taylor's words, followed by a brief description of each offered by Sanders.

Improve the character of the work
The leader must discover which departments are functioning below standards and remedy the defect.

Deepen the piety, devotion, and success of the workers
The spiritual health of the leadership group should be the top concern among higher echelon leadership.

Remove stones of stumbling, if possible
Friction among a team should be minimized. When problems are neglected, morale drops and performance decreases. If the problem has a remedy, it should be put into place at once.

Oil the wheels where they stick
Warm relationships among team members are vital. Some workers prefer to administer; others want to love people. Only the latter are leaders.

Amend whatever is defective
Creating problems is easy; solving them is difficult. The leader must face the problem realistically, and follow through until the solution is reached.

Supplement, as far as may be, what is lacking
Criticizing plans is easier than creating them. The leader must see the goal clearly, plan imaginatively, and employ tactics that lead to success. In this department there is always a short supply of people ready and qualified to perform.

In these points I see both my own weaknesses, strengths, and the weaknesses and strengths of the teams with which I work.

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo

If you're downtown tomorrow afternoon, be sure to check out the Cinco de May block party between King St. and the Square all along Main St. And be sure to stop by the King Street Church booth, which will be near the KSC Main St. office. It should be a really good time.

If you're wondering, Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the unlikely victory of Mexican forces over the invading French army in 1862. It is not Mexican Independence Day, which is celebrated Sept.16. You can read an excellent article here.

What I find most interesting about the history of Cinco de Mayo is that this French invasion was taking place during the middle of the U.S. Civil War. There was a significant threat during the Civil War that France and England would join forces with the Confederate army in order to secure cotton imports. Had the Mexicans not held off France in 1862, France would have been in a very good position to help the Confederates and there may have been a different ending to the war in the north.

So if you love the U.S., you should be thankful for Cinco de Mayo and our neighbors to the south! Viva la Mexico!

Antony Flew Dies

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Antony Flew was a British philosopher renowned for his commitment to atheism. He was an author and debater committed to the notion that in the absence of confirming evidence, and by that he meant scientific evidence, one should not hold to belief in God. He held this view from the age of 15 to the the age of 81.

When he turned 81, Antony Flew changed his mind.

Al Mohler wrote a very good article here, in which he processes Flew's transformation from an evangelical perspective.

One of the most striking aspects of Flew's change of mind is his willingness to radically shift his worldview later in life and in the face of his legacy. The man wrote dozens of books arguing for the futility and nonsense of belief in God, and then, when impressed by theistic philosophers and the discoveries of design through scientific inquiry, he was willing to set aside his life's work and accept the view of his partners in the debate at the age of 81.

There is much to learn from Antony Flew, not the least of which is that there is something far more important than human ego. There is truth.