Random Thoughts...

         They say you should never shop for groceries when you are hungry. It’s probably true that you should never blog when you are depressed. Well, I’m not depressed, but I’m not pooting rainbows either. I should be very happy because BJ and I were finally able to get our family newsletter and support letters printed and mailed out. I also was able to get the PayPal donation button to work (see sidebar). But… I wake up this morning to news that our nation’s finances are even worse than when I went to bed (and I went late… go Beavers!). I’m not normally that concerned about Wall Street because I don’t have money anyway (my Roth is so under-funded that I may have to pay when it comes to retirement), but this news is a real punch in the gut. Why? Because I just mailed and emailed support letters asking people I know and love to commit to sending us money. Our nation is on the brink of bankruptcy and I am asking people for money! I brought this up to my beautiful bride and she told me to pump my brakes (well, not really, but you get the idea). She reinforced the truth of God’s faithfulness to us. If He called us to this, then He will provide. He has made it very obvious to us that we are not supposed to rely solely on a job for our provision (can’t even get an interview). We should trust in our calling and trust that God has already prepared people to give. I’m so thankful God put us together. She’s a perfect fit for me. So, I will breathe a heavy sigh of resignation as I look at an empty bank account (literally) and wait patiently and prayerfully for what is coming next…

          I have been intending to write something much sooner, but we have been quite busy, and by the time I was able to write I was too tired to produce a coherent thought. Last week we attended a church-planting leadership conference called Blossom. Our worship team participated in the patchwork band that led worship for the conference, which was pretty fun, but quite tiring (emotionally as well as physically). Overall the conference was pretty good, but the highlight was Alex McManus. He spoke on the “radical” idea of Christians becoming human again. It was awesome! Everything he touched on was something that has been a part of my internal and external conversations for the past three years. He peeled back the façade of what we consider true Christianity to be. He exposed the church’s disconnect with the real world, and how followers of Christ went from being called “Christians” (little-Christ’s) to calling themselves Christian. I don’t have the time or space to go into all of this, but I will touch on many of the things he presented in the weeks to come. Right now I will say that his “conversation” settled in my heart and mind that my convictions are not just the longings of a disgruntled ex-pastor, but rather they are the longings of a heart that desires to truly re-connect with a world that I had been trained to fortify myself against (oddly enough in an effort to reach them… I know, you figure that one out).
          Yesterday BJ and I were talking about how I have always said that I never felt like I was able or meant to be a senior pastor because I don’t really see myself as a Shepherd/Pastoral type. I’m much too blunt and impatient with whiny Christians. She said I was selling myself short, but I don’t see it that way. I know that I would not work out as a traditional pastor in a traditionally structured church. I am a teacher, but the kind that doesn’t have much patience with forced learning. If you don’t want to hear it or learn about it, then ok, but don’t waste everyone else’s time. Mean, I know. Some people would say that my desire as a teacher should be to teach those “whiny” Christians the error of their thinking and direct them toward appropriate and productive thinking and living. They’re right, and I do desire that. It’s the whole stroking issue that I cannot stand. I would much rather spend my time at the pub helping someone cry in their beer than coddle the hurt feelings of a busy-body housewife who was passed over for the VBS planning committee. What a waste of energy and passion! Don’t get me started! This is why I believe God has me in church planting. I couldn’t come in and take the pastorate of an established, traditionally structured church. I wouldn’t last a month! I have a high-school friend who is doing that right now, and I applaud his faith and perseverance. It seems he is having to fight so many petty and insignificant skirmishes that he is not able to lead his people into the real battle for the restoration of broken lives. They have forgotten what it means to be human and exchanged it for being “Christian.” Jesus came to be human among us so that we may be able to see how it is supposed to be done, not so we would create a new way of living that runs counter-intuitive to the rest of humanity.
          In the end, I am very excited about the prospects laid out before me for connection and ministry with this community. We hope to be able to move forward with some radically different ideas and models of church-planting in an effort to re-gain status and respect within the local culture in an effort to show and teach them the redemptive, restorative power of Jesus Christ. I hope each of you will join us in prayer as we seek God’s guidance and provision. Oh, I am preaching this Sunday at a church in Bartow, FL so remember that during your prayers as well!
          Lord, You are so very gracious and merciful to even include me in Your plans. Thank You so much for the blessings You have bestowed upon my family. We desperately need Your constant hand of provision to under gird our efforts and support our lives physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. You have called us, and we have answered. Please continue to show us the path we must take, and quickly shut the doors of opportunity that we are not supposed to go through. Your word tells us that you hold us and will never let us go, so we trust and rely on that truth. Please touch the hearts of those you have prepared to support us financially. Help them see that You alone provide what they have, and that You alone can sustain it. You have prepared each of us for this time, and this moment, so help us to live according to Your plan. Thank You, thank You, Thank You!

Tired, but happy...

            I woke up today feeling like a truck had hit me.  I worked out yesterday and now I’m very stiff and tired.  To make matters worse, an old knee problem showed up again making my mobility a bit more cumbersome.  Want to hear more whining?  Remember the flat tires I’ve been having lately due to faulty valve stems?  Well, we finally had our last tire go flat so I had to spend an hour sitting in Tire Kingdom waiting for them to fix their problem.  Other than that, my day was pretty good…

            Isn’t it funny how no matter what is going on we tend to focus on the negative?  I had a really good weekend and a few minor irritants are overshadowing it.  Saturday night we had a great time of worship and Jesse really challenged us in the area of evangelism.  We had almost 17 people visit our little rag-tag group.  Most were from the church whose building we were using, but a few had somehow found out about us (we don’t advertise, yet) and showed up.  I think Jesse did a great job of bringing everyone up to speed with who we are and what we are all about.  I hope a number of them return, one couple in particular.  After church, Jesse met a guy at The Pub whom we had met last week at a birthday party at Jesse’s house.  He is new to the area and he and his wife are hungry for relationships.  We spent a couple of hours hanging out, getting to know each other, and laughing at the hypnotist that the pub had out that night.  A great foundational relationship was created; one that we hope to be able to build upon in an effort to minister to this family.  On Sunday we visited a church in the area that a number of our group have been attending.  It was pretty good.  They meet in a hotel conference center and really do a good job of creating an atmosphere of intimacy and connection.  It was a little more “polished” than I like, but that’s just my preference.  I like worship to feel more visceral and organic.  The “normal” preacher wasn’t there, and I don’t know whom it was who was preaching, but he did a good job.  He committed a pet peeve of mine, though… he based a key theological point of his message on a word that only shows up in a particular translation.  That’s a big no-no in my book, especially considering the version he used for the verse was more of a paraphrase than a word-for-word translation.  There I go again… being negative.  Anyway, it was a good weekend.

            This week BJ and I are trying to finalize everything to be able to send out our newsletter.  We hope those of you who get it will be able and willing to become ministry partners with us.  We may have to send it out in waves because it just costs too much to send out over a hundred pieces of mail all at once.  Please pray for us as we seek people to become supporters of this ministry.  I have presented a proposal for consultation to a local Lutheran church.  I may have mentioned it before, but they are interested in having me be a consultant for them as they develop their new contemporary worship service.  I hope they accept my proposal because that would be some much-needed money.  Speaking of worship, I am helping lead worship at a local church planting conference called Blossom this week, and our church’s band is leading worship for Four Corners Baptist Church on Sunday morning, and a few of our band (me included) are helping comprise a larger band for a worship event in Lakeland.  I have been very busy doing this type of thing since moving up here.  I enjoy it, and hopefully I will make some really good contacts for future opportunities.  Oh, our band is also leading worship on the 28^th for another church, and I will be preaching that morning as well. 

            Busy, busy, busy.  I am very excited about what God is doing here in the Four Corners area.  He is preparing the ground for some major growth, and we need to be ready for the work that it will bring.  Please continue praying for us as we diligently seek people and groups to partner with us, and for the people whose lives we will connect with the love of Jesus.  It’s not about us, but all about Him.

Should Church Be Encouraging?

            It has been way too long since my last entry.  It’s funny how busy your life can seem when you don’t have a regular schedule or job.  This house is feeling like a cage, but all I seem to do is pace back and forth like a lion wanting to break free and run.  Today BJ and I went out to the Florida Mall just to have something to do.  It was fun, but we couldn’t spend any money so we walked around and window-shopped.  I think one of the hardest parts of this journey is waiting on God.  I am not a very patient person, and I need to have a project or something to keep me busy.  Recently my projects have been to create a website about our church planting journey (www.hendrixjourney.com) and a companion newsletter.  I’ve done a great deal of work on them, but now I am waiting to be able to get some good photographs of the family in order to finish things off.  If you wish to receive the newsletter, please let me know.  Some of you may be wondering about my fitness endeavors… not so good (he says while sipping on a home-made jamocha shake).  It seems not having a schedule messes with me in that area as well.  I plan on getting back on the wagon, though so wait a bit before scolding me.

            Things have been going well with the Roots Community.  We have been discussing the DNA of a successful church plant (see previous post) and how we are going to flesh out each aspect.  It has been really good, but also very challenging.  Jesse is bringing up things that some people are finding difficult to swallow.  Another “problem” (if you can call it that) is that there seems to be a bit of disagreement or misunderstanding on what a “successful” church plant is and how to go about achieving that goal.  One of the major “fears” or concerns is that we may be discouraging “outsiders” or the unchurched from visiting or attending because we are using our “church time” to discuss how to “do church” instead of simply “doing church.”  I can see the point being made, but I also believe that this assumption is operating under another assumption, namely that unchurched individuals have either an understanding or opinion about what “doing church” should look like.  This is a conversation that I have been involved in for some time now with many different people in just as many different styles and faith communities or congregations.  In almost all cases people assume that since “church” has been done a certain way for so long that everyone who steps through the doors is going to know what to expect and will be highly irritated if their experience doesn’t match their expectations.  What is usually the case is that the people themselves will be highly irritated and therefore they assume their perception is on par with everyone else’s.  Now I’m not talking about style of worship.  I’m referring to things like staging, order of service, location, time, topic, methods, etc.  One thing that really gets me is this idea that you are supposed to leave a church service encouraged.  I’m not sure why, but so many people believe we (pastors) are to be encouraging and that the worship should be uplifting, and that everyone should paste on a smile because, after all, Jesus Loves Me!  I guess they think this way because secular marketing has so saturated our existence that we assume it is the “holy” way 

(that and the fact that Joel Osteen has the biggest church in America).  The goal of marketing is to bring you in and then build in a return visit.  I’m guessing people believe that if we are all happy and the preacher lifts our spirits then we will leave wanting more and will return next week (possibly with a “tip” in our pocket).  I’m not really sure this was Jesus’ method.  Yeah, He did miracles, but He also scolded people for only wanting to see a show and not really wanting to hear the Word.  The Bible isn’t always encouraging.  The gospel is very divisive and foolish to the world.  Of course for those who have been regenerated it is the most encouraging and glorious message ever heard.  If we focus only on encouraging people then when do we talk about the issue of sin?  How encouraging is the wrath of God against the wicked?  For me it is very encouraging, but for those mired in sin and death… not so much. So do we “encourage” them to get saved?  Is that biblical?  Now, I’m not a legalistic fundamentalist, but I don’t deny sin and hell either.  There are certain realities of Scripture that cannot be ignored, and cannot be “explained away” without compromising the integrity of all scripture.  They must be dealt with and taught, especially sin.  Sure we can talk about God’s love for us, and how this love is shown to us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.  We can talk about how God is gracious and merciful and that is why Jesus came to be our Lord and Savior… but if we don’t mention sin and hell are we presenting the whole gospel?  If someone isn’t convicted of sin then can he/she repent?  Is there salvation without repentance?  I know I’m treading on broken glass here, but I believe these issues are easily overlooked.  We cannot assume that people will simply understand sin intuitively.  We must address it, even if it isn’t all that attractive.

            Among church planters there has been a discussion about Incarnational (missional) versus Attractional.  One group believes the church should stress attractional elements (music, lights, big events, etc.) while the other believes the church should stress the missional or incarnational elements (evangelism, community service, social justice, etc.).  Jesse (as well as many others) has been trying to teach that the two are not mutually exclusive; that they can and do co-exist.  I agree and would even say that incarnational ministry is in itself attractional.  In the end, I guess how you “do” church depends on your soteriology (theology of salvation).  If faith is man’s part of the equation (his gift to God) then you had better cast a wide, attractional net and give as many people as possible the opportunity to “respond in faith.”  If all of salvation (even faith) is from God, then you had better teach all aspects of the gospel so that those whom God has brought to you will be able to respond in humble contrition and thankful acceptance.  Or should we do both?  Can we do both?

The DNA of a Plant

     Yesterday I met with Jesse (our pastor) and Doug the teaching pastor-guy at a Dunkin Donuts… don’t worry, I didn’t give in.  Seriously, go ahead and ask them.  And yes, I did workout this morning.  Anyway, we talked about the church planting assessment that Jesse and Anitra had returned from as well as the First Steps conference they attended.  Jesse said his eyes had been opened about a lot of things, but one thing that struck me in particular was the conversation about the DNA of the church.  Jesse said he was told (and rightly so I might add) that you should start a church with the end game in mind.  This is just good coaching and managing from a sports angle, but also in business and other long-range planning efforts.  In other words, what is the finished product?  What do you expect the church to look like when you are done with it?  Now, you may never intend to leave a work, but if you do, what will it look like?  How will you leave it?  Once you have that picture clear in your mind, then you need to determine the necessary components to make the picture a reality.  More specifically, what type of people do you need to have in place to make it happen?  (Getting the right people on the bus and all that corporate leadership stuff)  Once that is figured out, then you work backwards until you get what some people may call your irreducible ecclesiastical minimum (hey, I paid a lot of money for that so lay off!).  To put it plainly, what is the basic minimum necessary for you to begin the church that will eventually become what you envisioned in the end?  This is the basic DNA of your church… the building blocks of church life so-to-speak.  Well, if you have been following the story of the Roots Community you will know that we’ve kinda worked backwards according to this principle.  Jesse assembled a killer team and then we have been trying to collectively move forward without a real end game in mind.  Oh well.  Doesn’t mean we can’t backtrack a little.  Besides, we all know God called us to be a part of this so that means He intended for us to be integral parts of the DNA of Roots Community.  Now to what struck me most about this conversation:

     While discussing basic elements necessary in the DNA of every church plant, Jesse said he realized we were missing a key element:  an evangelist.  No, I don’t mean Robert Tilton, Benny Hinn, or any other corrupt or corny televangelist.  I mean someone who truly has the gift of evangelism.  Someone who cannot help but share the love of Christ with just about everyone they meet; someone who lives with the everyday intention to reach as many people for Jesus as possible.  Now I know that many of us cringe at the mere thought of encountering one of these people.  We tend to consider them to be annoying, alienating, out-of-touch, and generally a nuisance to regular society and a hindrance to “real” ministry.  I agree on some levels, but not on others.  What really punched me in the gut was the fact that I used to “score” high on the evangelism meter.  No, I never had a charis-mullet (although I’m getting close now) nor did I shout through a bullhorn at people and hand out Chic Tracks.  What I did do was make sure I was intentional in my living in such a way as to allow the gospel to invade every aspect of my actions, conversations, and relationships.  Most people who knew me (in the church at least) would consider me to be very evangelistic.  I regularly taught and encouraged my students to be about the work of evangelism.  I was even the evangelism speaker at a youth mission camp.  Discipleship and evangelism were the cornerstones of my ministry for 10 years.  So what happened?  Why is it no longer evident?  I know Jesse hasn’t known me for very long and we haven’t spent a lot of time together, but that aspect of my character should have come out enough for him to be able to say, “Yeah, Kevin has the gift of evangelism.” (or something like that)  Now I am not upset with Jesse for not noticing me or anything… I am upset with myself for neglecting that to the point that it is not discernable by others.  Well, I plan on doing something about that.  I won’t force anything, I will just begin praying for God to bring me back to where I was.  It is His Spirit alone that draws people and He uses us as tools for accomplishing that so I will place myself in His hands to shape me and mold me to be the man once was and the man God still wants me to be.

            Before I take off I have a really great praise to offer up for everybody… we have our first financial supporters!  BJ and I are going to be raising support and we have been a bit behind on getting our list and letters together, but we have been building into relationships, and one of the couples we have been friends with for years have decided to join us in God’s work by giving us monthly support.  Praise God!  The best part… they aren’t rich.  They have decided to act generously and sacrificially to help further the work of the Gospel in the Four Corners area of Central Florida.  My prayer is that others will see the value of the work that is so desperately needed in this area and God will prompt them to join us as well.

            God you are awesome and I cannot believe that you would choose me to serve you in this capacity!  Thank you so much for your provision and for your passion for people.  Please re-kindle this passion in my heart.  Create in me the desire to truly connect people with You.  Help me live with such intention that others are drawn to the power, grace, and mercy that You give.  You alone give us life and You alone can save us.  My prayer is that I would not miss out on the joy of serving and suffering for Your name’s sake.

Treadmills and Deep-fried Twinkies

It is 12:00 (noon) and I am sitting at the kitchen table feeling pretty good about myself.  You see, I decided to start “working out” again this morning.  Last week I organized the garage and set up the treadmill and made room for the Total Gym (I know some of you may be snickering at the idea of using a gimmicky machine peddled by Walker Texas Ranger, but when you’re fat like I am, lifting 25-35% of my weight is more substantial than for you skinny people.  Besides, it works so shut it!).  I realize it took me a week to actually use the equipment, but that is part of my plan.  I have to know a week in advance that I am going to start exercising or else I will keep putting it off and never get around to doing it.  Setting a day in the future tricks my mind into thinking it is procrastinating when in actuality it is staying on schedule.  This is just one of the ways I have to get around the mental landmines created by ADD and laziness (Laugh if you will, but it works).  So anyway, I did some exercising and it felt really great.  I’ll keep you up to date on my progress and you all can help keep me accountable. If I stop mentioning it, then I have stopped doing it.

After my workout I sat down and read some in Piper’s Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ.  He wrote about the invincible life of Jesus… about His resurrection.  Simply stated, Piper highlighted the fact that Scripture tells us that Jesus’ resurrection was not simply a cool magic trick or a grand finale in His miraculous career; rather it is demonstrating His power over death and assuring for us all the promises of God.  In Romans we are told that since we, as followers have “died” with Christ, then just as He resurrected, so shall we be resurrected (6:5).  Paul also tells us in Romans that the very same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is the Spirit that offers us life in our mortal (flawed and impermanent) bodies (8:11).  I love that Piper highlighted this aspect of the resurrection.  What it shows us is the greatest truth of the gospel:  without Christ, we are nothing.  We are in desperate need of the power of Christ and His Spirit to truly live life.  There is a prevailing idea within mainline churches that morality (proper behavior) is equal to redemption.  In other words, if you act the part, then you get the part.  Our churches have created some sort of unreal notion of what the perfect, biblical Christian looks like and then wrongly enforces an unattainable goal for which everyone must strive.  If you have to strive to get something, then you have to strive to keep it.  This is why guilt, not joy is the prevailing emotion experienced by the majority of church members and attendees.  The bible clearly states that we are powerless in our imperfect and depraved state to attain righteousness on our own.  It is by the resurrecting power of the Spirit of Christ that we are even able to consider living according to Jesus’ standard much less actually do it.  I thank God every day that I am given the ability to live as His child with the righteousness of Christ to sustain my capacity for righteous living that reflects the glory and joy of Jesus rather than the condemnation and self-righteousness of Christian piety.

As BJ and I are part of a church-planting movement in the Orlando area, we want to be constantly aware of this issue within established churches.  We desire to present the biblical notion that Jesus changes our hearts and lives, and not our own self-awareness or self-reliance.  Many established churches have fallen prey to the worldly, sinful notion that Jesus helps those who help themselves.  This type of self-actualization and self-reliance undermines the teaching that we are totally incapable outside of the power and work of Jesus Christ (John 15:4-5) to help or change our condition.  Yes, there are things that we can and must do to change our lifestyles in an effort to de-rail our self-destructiveness; but we cannot sustain these on our own.  I can plan to workout every day in an effort to turn the fat train around, but if I continue 

to eat like a slob, then I will continue to be a fat guy who works out a lot.  The formula is incomplete.  Trying to be a good and righteous person without the power of the resurrected Christ is like running on a treadmill while eating a deep-fried Twinkie… it doesn’t work.  The power of Christ always precedes the benefits of living in Christ.  This morning I also read some in the book of John about a few of the miracles that Jesus performed in His ministry.  One miracle that stood out to me was in chapter 5 where Jesus healed the invalid in Jerusalem.  There was an invalid man who was beside the pool of Bethesda.  Jesus asked the man “don’t you want to be healed?”  To the man, this question carried the weight of condemnation that many people who visit our churches feel. You see, the pool was believed to have healing properties whenever an angel disturbed the water, but only to the first person that enters the water.  His answer to Jesus was, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” (v. 7) Basically, “yes, of course I want to be healed, but I am not able to do it on my own and nobody will help me.”  Jesus told him that he was healed and to get up and go home.  Later Jesus caught up with the man, rejoiced in his health and then told him to sin no more.  Jesus’ power preceded the ability and benefit of living a life of righteousness. We are called to introduce people to the love and power of Jesus Christ, and to help them begin their journey with Him.  We cannot save people, and we cannot change them.  That is the work of the Spirit of Christ.  I pray that as we progress with the Roots Community and with our future plant that everyone involved would embrace the power of the resurrected Christ as the ONLY means for true transformation, in our lives and in our community.  

            Lord help me to continually know that You alone appoint us for salvation, and that my job is to be Your tool for bringing people to the knowledge of who You are and who the Son is.  Help me to live in the resurrected power of Your Spirit and not in the impotence of my strife and self-righteousness.  Help us as a community of believers to offer everyone the grace and mercy You have given us so that we may be able to show them the love and hope that you offer the loveless and the hopeless.  I pray for those of us who are still in need of a job, that You would provide in Your time and Your power.  I pray for those who will be and have been asked to support us financially.  I pray that You would prepare their hearts for sacrificial generosity.  And, Lord I pray that we would always live in the awareness that we, too are invalids in need of Your help.