Category Archives: Discipleship

Book Review, Discipleship, Ethos, Experience, Leadership, Ministry, Youth Ministry

Great Freedom and a Greater Responsibility

I’ve been reading Leading From the Second Chair by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson this week. What a great resource this is! I only wish I had read it a few years ago so that I could have implemented some of its perspective in my first ministry position after college.

According to Bonem and Patterson, a Second-Chair Leader is a person in a subordinate role whose influence with others adds value throughout the organization(2). Basically it is someone who is a leader but is not the “lead leader.” Success for the Second Chair leader is found through influence and building strong relationships.

There is a great amount of freedom in that and I feel a great sense pride knowing that God has allowed me to gain influence and build strong relationships in every single working opportunity I’ve had. From working at a restaurant to campus security to my current position as a youth minister, being in the second chair (or third or eighth) has allowed me to serve in the most pure form of leadership there is: leading/serving without formal authority.

Have I always embraced this truth? Unfortunately not. I have complained and I have missed or refused many opportunities to look at the big picture. The reality is, thankfully, that God has used/is now using/will use my experiences in the second chair as a “transformational season” in my life. That is an awesome truth that I will and must embrace!

Bonem and Patterson go on discuss the three paradoxes of Second Chair Leadership: subordinate-leader, deep-wide, and contentment-dreaming. In discussing these paradoxes I realized how incredibly privileged I am to be in a second chair role. There is freedom but as the number two (or three or eight) I have a even greater responsibility not just to my particular ministry but to everyone that I come in contact with. I’ll unpack these paradoxes tomorrow.

Until then, Are you in the second chair leadership position where you lead? If so, have you ever looked at this position as an opportunity for growth and strength?

What would it take for you to begin gaining influence and building stronger relationships across your entire organization from your current second chair position today?

Awesomenessness, Discipleship, Faith in Action, Ministry, Podcasts, Preaching, Questions, The Word, Theology, Wrestling With Scripture

Goodstuff

I have been just living inside of a great study on the Holy Spirit by Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, CA.

Last summer, Chan preached a 7-part series on the Holy Spirit to his congregation and I have just now been able to begin working through the podcasts. Chan is an incredible teacher and his passion and desire for God is made evident when he is expressing this gift.

The podcasts have been great but I have been able to go deeper into the study by following the small group study page Cornerstone provides their people. (they are available for every lesson on the Cornerstone website. Main>Media>Sermons)

I have never heard lessons on the Holy Spirit this revealing, tempered, and powerful. Like Chan, I too believe that our greatest sin to the people we lead is neglecting the power of the Spirit.

The last few days have been eye opening for me. I have been able to approach this (too often) delicate subject without fear and trepidation. I have just found myself meditating and marveling at some passages of scripture that I feel like I have missed over the years.

My heart is so full right now that I find it difficult to put my thoughts in blog form.

The long and short of it is this: the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, sent from the Father, is a mysterious truth that we will never fully understand. I am grateful that through these podcasts and through the Word of God I am scratching the surface of this mystery.

Discussion Question:
Why do we neglect teaching about or learning about the Holy Spirit?

Discipleship, Ethos, Leadership, Life, Ministry, Preaching

Man Time

I’m headed off on our Men’s Retreat this afternoon.

It will be a nice change of pace to be on a retreat with adults rather than teens. It will also be nice to go on a retreat that I haven’t scheduled or planned. I’m the AV guy and I do have a presentation on Teen Mentoring but it should be a relaxing 2 days.

I’m taking a few books with me. I’ll start Nancy Ortberg’s Looking for God and (hopefully) I’ll knock out a good chunk of Neal Gabler’s 912 page biography of Walt Disney.

I have been trying to get to the bio of Uncle Walt for some time but other books have gotten in the way. On March 30, I’m preaching on The Vision of a Leader and I can’t think of anyone in the modern age with more vision that Walt Disney. Of course, Walt surrounded himself with other visionaries and experts. Men “on the ground” like Ub Iwerks and those men and women of the creative team known as The Imagineers have helped carry out Walt’s vision and have even managed to take his vision further than he ever imagined.

I am convinced that you, personally, can have a vision for something but ultimately vision is a team sport. I once heard that as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens the other. Sounds like whoever said that knew what they were talking about.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Awesomenessness, Books, Discipleship, Ministry

F.R.E.E.- That Spells Free

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Over the last few weeks I have received 3 free books in the mail. Books are awesome. Free is amazing. Free books takes it to a whole different level!!!

Last fall at Catalyst, I subscribed to the Catalyst Filter. It was my understanding that the Filter would be primarily a web-based companion to the conference.

On one level it is. At the site you can find audio from past conferences, articles from speakers and leaders, and connect with other subscribers. It is good but just worth the price of admission.

However, the real benefits to the Catalyst Filter have been through the “off-site” things. I have been able to participate in exclusive conference calls with pastors and authors like Mark Batterson and Gabe Lyons. Each one that I have participated in have really ministered to my soul and imagination for making Christ number one in my life, church, and community. I would subscribe again next year for the conference calls alone.

But wait, there’s more.

I had no idea that they would be sending us books. They have sent a total of 4 books to me since Christmas and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Last month I received The Organic God by Margret Feinberg. I have heard some great things about this book and I look forward to reading it beginning today.

Yesterday I received 2 (count em: 2!) books crammed into my mailbox.

I am most excited about the pre-release copy of Nancy Ortberg’s Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns. Hopefully, I’ll get to it sometime next week.

The other book sent to me yesterday has the best title of any Christian book I’ve read this year. I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt: Replacing Souvenir Religion with Authentic Spiritual Passion by Vince Antonucci looks to be a great book. Vince became a Christian at age 20 after reading the New Testament. When he began to get connected to a church he was dumbstruck by the superficial nature by which most Christians he encountered lived out their faith. I can’t wait to dig into this one.

Thanks Catalyst for a great conference (see you in October) and thanks for the free books. Keep them coming!!!

Discipleship, Ethos, Ministry, Questions, The Word, Theology, Wrestling With Scripture

The Stories We’ve Been Given

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I had lunch with a friend of mine the other day and we began discussing the importance of story in the Bible. The conversation turned from the standard “What is the story of the Bible?” or “What is the story of the Gospel?” to a much more philosophical question.

My friend asked me about the specific stories that we’ve been given in Scripture.

I believe that we were given the Bible, the epic love story of Almighty God for his people, for a reason. God wanted us to know what he did, why he did it, and how we are invited into this story (See Ephesians).

It goes to follow that everything we are given points us to this end. Everything in scripture – talking donkeys, kings, prophets, miracles, widows, shepherds, everything – give us insight into Almighty God and his story. However, we are given larger glimpses into some stories rather than others. We began to ask Why?

Why do we know more about Moses than we do about Job? We know almost everything about Moses’ life yet we only get a small glimpse in Job’s life, focused primarily on his suffering. Many scholars believe Job was the first OT book written. There must be a reason we are told what we are told.

What can you tell me about Thaddeus or Bartholomew? Out of the twelve apostles we really only know about half and we really only know half of those. Don’t even get me started on Matthias.

Why do we understand more about Paul than Barnabus? My friend said that if you was going to throw a party you would send an invitation to both men but that you would really hope Barnabus showed up. What little we know about Banabus is that he was the type of Christian you’d want to be- encouraging, strong, faithful. Why are we given more about the life of Paul?

In the whole of Scripture, 6 stories stand out over and above everything else:

Abraham
Moses
Joseph
David
Jesus and Pals
Paul and the Church

I believe that the stories we have in Scripture are not put there by chance. There is a bigger reason to study these stories. These overarching stories must connect us to something much deeper than the average Bible lesson (if there is such a thing as an average Bible story).

Why do you think we’ve been given a larger glimpse into some of these stories rather than others? What story would you like to know more about? Who would you like to know more about?

Discipleship, Resources

Attention Male Readers

Hey guys! Since it’s just us dudes today I want to recommend to you a great book for your man journey.

Last night I read, cover to cover, Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin. The tagline for the book reads “Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood” and it chronicles Nate’s journey from individual Christian to Brother in Christ.

Nate details his personal struggle with addiction with brutal honesty. This is a life that was devastated by hidden sins. His life was a lot like a whitewashed tomb- beautiful on the outside yet full of death and decay. His life was just like most men I know. His life was a lot like mine.

The book unfolds, much like Blue Like Jazz, beginning with short essays about growing up, watching baseball from football seats, and about life as a preacher’s son. He talks about how he isolated his true self from even his best friends and lived multiple lives, all the while longing for true integrity.

At one point he says that every man longs to be more that just good but something thwarts our desires. He tells a story about his childhood dog, Boaz. Boaz was a good dog but he had a drinking problem. Men in town would provide Boaz with beer and he would stagger home blitzed. Nate’s dad would scold Boaz out of love for the dog and “for months Boaz would stay around the house, docile and obedient- until the next time.” Nate’s thoughts echo my own:

When I was a kid, it seemed to me that God liked me for the same reasons-and in the ways- that dad liked dogs. I was God’s pet. He brought me home with the expectation that I would be loyal, obedient, and useful. All God wanted from me was to be a good dog.

I wanted to be good dog, I really did. There was a part of me that sincerly loved God. But there was another part of me, a cat part. The cat in me was defiant and wild and unpredictable, and it didn’t care about God in the least. When it sinned, it sinned with impunity.

At every revival, youth rally, and campfire service, I laid that cat on the alter and did my best to kill it. Still, as everbody knows, cats have multiple lives. Sometimes the cat would go away for a while, but eventually, after the music had died away and all the Christians had gone home, he would come strolling back in, looking for lunch.

I desperately wanted the dog to be the real me, but my inability to behave like a good dog for very long led me to suspect, in moments of despair that I was really a cat.

Of course, we are called to be more than just good. We are a “new creation” but for some of us, we believe that maybe we can attain good if we really try at it. That’s what Nate believed and being merely good elusively evaded him.

After years of living in isolation, after refusing to truly deal with his addiction, his life began to unravel. He longed to live life in authentic community with brothers who held him accountable and who he held in accountability. That’s when he created The Samson Society. Borrowing from 12-step programs, the Samson Society cultivates authentic living between brothers in Christ at a level not offered by most churches. It’s more than a men’s group or guy’s class. It is broken me submitting to one another and to God, carrying one another’s burdens, and dealing with life lived in community. To me the whole idea of a Samson Society is a breath of fresh air in a world of stagnation and isolation.

I want to encourage each of you to read Samson and the Pirate Monks and see if you would do well to help to create an avenue for authentic living within your community of faith. If you can’t afford a copy, contact me and I make sure you get one.

This is a great resource and I believe it has the potential to make a difference in each of your lives.

Blessing on your man journey, Brother!

Discipleship, Faith in Action

One Body

I preached from Ephesians 4:1-16 yesterday. The passage begins with reminding us that our differences, the things that normally tear people apart, pale in comparison the things that unite us. Paul says that the mystery of the gospel is that we’ve been united to God through adoption in Christ Jesus (ch 1), we’ve been united to a new life (Ch 2), and that different cultures have been united into one body, the church (Ch 3).

He says,

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6 TNIV)

Beginning in verse 11, Paul even states that Jesus gave his body “gifts of grace.” These gifts are to be used to glorify God and to build up the church body. When members of the body embrace these gifts and use them to God’s glory and the benefit of everyone else, then the whole church begins to look like Christ, there is a measure of spiritual growth, and the church matures.

As I was wrapping everything up this morning I came across a great quote from one of the early church fathers. I wish I had used it yesterday.

Clement of Rome asks this:

Why do we divide and tear to pieces the members of Christ and raise up strife against our own body, and why have we reached such a height of madness as to forget that “we are members one of another?”

That is the $64,000 question isn’t it. If we are called to live as one body with Christ as the head, if we have been united as Paul says, and if walking in this unity brings only good things, the why do we tear each other to pieces?

Book Review, Discipleship, Ethos, Questions, Theology

Book Review: Pagan Christianity pt 1

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It seems that every so often a ministry book will be released that catches the collective imagination of one group of people and at the same time raises the blood pressure of another group of people.

It seems that the revised and updated edition of Frank Viola’s Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices is that kind of book.

Some have applauded it’s message while others have completely dismissed it. Some have even freaked out like tiny spider monkeys on meth attacked the book and those who have written positive reviews for it. My favorite criticism was leveled at Brant Hansen for his positive review.

I could care less, whether you “post” this on your sorry site, or not. You are an arrogant ignoramus, “approving” two others (Barna and Viol). Of course, your warm endorsement of Viol shows up on his blog. What shameless sluttery is this! It never ceases to amaze me, how one ignoramus (yourself) endorses two others (Barna and Viol), and “presto!”; instant legitimacy! I think in your “heart of hearts” you know what a joke you are, and that your “Imprimatur” of these two anti-Christs impresses no one credible.

God have mercy on you!

Pastor James Parker

Grace Gospel Church (Calgary)

Can’t you just feel the love?

So far I have enjoyed the book. I too have my criticisms but I have been trying to be fair and even handed. Having grown up in a tradition that claims to throw out any tradition that doesn’t have it’s roots in the New Testament I feel that at times the authors are throwing cold water directly in my face.

There were no “church” buildings in the NT.
There were no paid, locally-specific ministers in the NT. (I’ll ignore that one)
There were no pulpits.
There was one body per city and one set of elders for that city.

The list goes on and on. Again, I have some criticism but all my discomfort comes from traditions and practices rather than scriptural authority.

It just got interesting. More to come.

Here is a question for you:

Which current church practice do you think hinders the body of Christ from being radically effective in the 21st century?

Discipleship, Popular Culture

Cable

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So, I don’t have children (yet) but I made a pretty big parental decision over the weekend.

My decision was then backed up by The Krusty Sage when he posted some wise words about “sheltering” children.

When we have kids there will only be one tv in the house hooked up to cable and it will be the one in my bedroom. That, of course, is if we decide to have cable at all.

On Thursday night I was flipping through the channels and the tv came to rest on some tacky, inappropriate, reality model show. I was floored by the overt sexuality and the over the top theatrics. I promptly changed the channel and the tv next came to rest on something so much worse!!!

Then Friday morning as I was cleaning the bedroom I was again shocked by what I saw on tv. Most mornings I watch Headline News as I get ready for the day. On Friday though, my wife had been watching/listening to music videos on VH1 while she readied herself for the day. As she left for work, I arose and started my morning routine. When I got out of the shower there were no longer music videos on but a preview for VH1 reality show My Fair Brady. The particular episode featured model Adrianne Curry cavorting around sans clothes for a photo shoot with another unclothed female friend as a birthday present for her husband, Chris Knight. All this before 9am!!!!

What! In! The! World! Is! Going! On!

I don’t mean to sound so naive. I know this stuff is out there and I know that the ratings have never been this high. I am just tired of it. Kids shouldn’t be watching it and maybe we adults shouldn’t be either. We are addicted to tv.

Maybe the only way to break the addiction is to cut the cable all together?

Discipleship, Faith in Action, Ministry, Youth Ministry

Gonna Fly Now

I had the opportunity to speak in chapel at my high school alma mater last Friday. It was actually the third time I’ve spoke there this school year. I got the call on Wednesday that the scheduled speaker wasn’t going to be able to make it. I made it clear that I would happily fill in. When I asked what I needed to speak on (in two days!) the campus minister told me that January’s theme was on the spiritual disciplines.

I laughed because I had been spending the week working through Foster’s Celebration of Discipline. In fact I was reading it when I got the call. Who says God has no since of humor!

I challenged the students to look at the spiritual disciplines like they look at training for an extra curricular activity. I read them my favorite passage from 1 Corinthians.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” – (1Corinthians 9:24-27)

When I read this passage I can’t help but think about Rocky Balboa.

Let’s face it, when we meet Rocky at the beginning of the first movie he is a loser. He is washed up, down and out, and punch stupid. He is a loser.

When Apollo Creed offers him a shot at the big time no one would have blamed Rocky if he just entered the fight to lose. In the boxing big-time, even the losers become millionaires. No one expected anything from Rocky except to lose.

Instead, Rocky trained. He ran, punched frozen slabs of meat, ran, drank egg yolks, ran, and ran some more. He trained to win. He beat his body and made it a slave.

Compare that to our spiritual bodies. Most of our spiritual bodies are fat and flabby. We spend so much time training our physical bodies for athletics, work, and free-time leisure activities yet we neglect the part of us that will live forever.

I’ve been recommitting to a few spiritual disciplines this month. I have been making a true effort to commit to personal scripture reading. Believe me, I spend a great deal of time reading scripture. However, like most ministers I struggle with making a break between personal study and professional study. I read and study for what I’ll be teaching or speaking on but I feel like I too often neglect my personal study.

I’m learning to meditate upon the word of God.

I have been struck by what Joshua and James have to say on the subject.

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.– (Joshua 1:7-9 TNIV)

“But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”– (James 1:25 TNIV)

Of course, with meditating on the Word of God I’m not chasing after the blessing of the world (crowns that will not last).

I’m more concerned with peace and guidance, humility and freedom, love and understanding. I want to be blessed with connection to the Father, communion with the Son, and direction from the Spirit.

Well, I’m off to work out. Train hard brothers and sisters. I hear the pay off is awesome.