I'm looking forward to tomorrow

I enjoy being around people. It doesn't really matter who they are or how long I've known them, or what they're like. I just love being with others. People are interesting to me. I like to find out what they've experienced. I like to hear their stories. I like finding out what God is doing and has done in their lives. "Doing life" with those around me is important.

Unfortunately, Sundays with Church At The Grove can be pretty crazy when it comes to getting to know people. Of course, there's the usual set-up and break-down situations that come with meeting in a school. Beyond that, there's the normal running around that we do to get ready for guests and regular attenders that show up each week. Finally, there's the "design factor" to consider. On Sundays, Russ and I, along with David, the band, the set-up teams, the greeters, the hosts, the children's ministry workers, and all the volunteers, want to create an environment for people to "explore faith" at their own pace. We want them to encounter God and his truth and then be challenged to consider how that truth may affect their lives or impact their spiritual journey. As we all work to accomplish that, it doesn't leave much time to build relationships with others. Sunday Gatherings are not primarily "designed" for relationships.

And, that's why we have community groups that meet in homes around the county. When you are able to sit around in someone's living room with 10-15 people and talk about life, you really get to know them. As you get to know them, you are able to learn more about how "following God" changes us. That's how God intended us to live... going through real situations in life with others all around us. So, tomorrow night, at my house, I get to do that. And, I can't wait.

If you are not part of a community group, jump in with one. Or, better yet, start your own. We've got resources for you to use to get the discussions started. And all you have to provide is a comfortable environment to gather a few of your friends, neighbors, or others. Trust me, you'll enjoy it. Let me or Russ know if we can help.

Free! (part 1)

Russ did a great job getting our Free! series started at Church At The Grove yesterday. The entire morning was great and I hope you enjoyed it like I did (by the way, how 'bout David and the band?). Afterwards, we got into some discussions about the attitude behind what we're teaching. We don't want to be disrespectful just to be disrespectful, but we do want to stay true to the text, the culture, and the attitude behind the text. As I've been studying for this coming Sunday, I've also been reading some of Paul's other letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians). Russ was absolutely right to say that Paul was angry when he wrote Galatians. In fact, Paul was probably much angrier than we described. Paul wrote, "But these leaders saw that I had been given the work of telling the Good News to those who are not Jewish, just as Peter had the work of telling the Jews" (Gal 2:7). He had a mission... to tell "disconnected" people that they could be free through Christ. In the process of trying to do what God called him to do, other people were getting in the way ("They came in like spies to overturn the freedom we have in Christ Jesus" Gal 2:4). Paul was ticked off because God's grace and faith in Christ were being offered as part of a salvation package (grace of God + faith in Christ + follow Jewish law = being accepted by God).

Paul was working hard to tell people about being Free! and others were working hard to keep people contained and under control. Paul was angry and that attitude comes through in his letter. I think that attitude may have come across in Russ' message, too. Church At The Grove is designed to connect with people that live far from God. That is our mission field... God will hold us responsible for how well we do at connecting those people to him. Along the way, we wrestle with the attitude we have toward those that believe differently than us. As I said, we don't want to be disrespectful just for the sake of being disrespectful. We also want to be teachable, humble, and true to God's word. In Romans 14, we are warned about "condemning" believers that act differently than we do... and we want to be cautious about our bad attitudes toward believers that may be more "traditional" than us. On the other side, though, we are called to reach a particular group of people in this community and we are not willing to allow anything to get in the way of our mission... what do you allow to get in the way of your mission?

Persuasive Compassion

My friend, Russ Butcher, taught one time that "compassion" in a biblical sense means that you are moved by empathy for some one so much that you have no choice but to act. In other words, a situation or a person impacts you so deeply that you can't remain distant from the situation... you have to do something. You can listen to his whole message on Church At The Grove's website. Choose "Listen Online" in the upper left corner, and listen to "009 Plunge - Love God. Love People."

My family and I have been moved by a situation so much that we no longer have the choice of staying out of it. We have to do something. Pray for us as we act. Pray that it will go smoothly. Pray that the "best" thing for everyone will happen without too much opposition.

Now, stop reading this and ask God if there's a situation in your own life that God wants to use you in... maybe he wants you to demonstrate compassion in such a way that it persuades people to seek God in a new way. I'll pray for you as you go.

P.S. Find me Sunday and tell me what happens... or email me and share your own story... I want to celebrate with you as follow Christ in practical ways.

Knowing the Bible... Walking Like Christ

Knowing the stories, concepts, teachings, and background of the Bible is great, but sometimes we totally miss the point. The Pharisees and Sadducees were well studied on scripture, but Jesus attacked them as "hypocrites" and "snakes" and "decorated tombs". Many of the great philosophers of ancient times were well studied on scripture, but they also missed the point and wrote the scriptures off as mere teachings or collections of human thought. And, millions of people in our nation know the stories, concepts, teachings and background of the Bible, but our nation is in a complete mess. So what is it that we've all missed... because apparently knowing scripture isn't enough.

When the Disciples (the "talmidin") decided to become "followers" of Christ... they already knew the "scripture". They were raised in a culture where the "Torah" (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) was well known. They already understood scripture, but as they learned to be like their Rabbi (Jesus), they learned what "biblical faith" was all about. It was the application of scripture in daily life. It was knowing the Bible... and using that knowledge to become like Christ... to walk like him on a daily basis.

"Do things like Jesus did"

I talked with the first person I've ever met that is a member of one of the many religious groups in our area. Basically, I don't know anything about her faith... except that Saturdays are the day they use for worship and spiritual gatherings and resting. We didn't get into a long conversation about the beliefs that we would agree on or disagree on. In fact, we didn't talk about our faith much at all. She did say one thing that stuck with me. I asked her about the tradition of not doing anything on Saturday except worship (no buying, no selling, no work, etc.)... was it strictly from a background of Jewish law or was it an adherence to man's rules? Her response was, "well, basically, we just want to do things like Jesus did... and Jesus observed the Sabbath by being in the synagogue and talking about the things of God... so that's what we do."

I still don't know much about her faith... but that statement will stick with me for a long time. I started a discussion about spiritual things and she finished it with the ultimate statement of what my faith should be based on... Doing Things Like Jesus Did. I was challenged through a discussion I started. If you were to start a discussion this week, I wonder what you might be challenged with.

A Tribute To My Friends

During the various stages of my life, I've had a few incredible friends that surrounded me. In Kansas, it was my neighbors, Matt and Chris, and my best friend, Jared. When we moved to Georgia I had Tommy, Eric, and Jeff. In high school, it was Kevin and Brian. Through college and in recent years, the list would also have a few key names on it. These were friends that, for the particular stage in my life, were incredible parts of my memories, my development, and my life in general.

I spent Tuesday evening with some friends in my community group and we talked about the importance of the friendships we have and the relationships we're building with people. We are learning that we can't live life alone. So, the seven of us agreed that we've got to figure out a way to help everyone else understand the importance of relationships. With that in mind, let me ask you a couple questions.

How many people at Church At The Grove (or whatever church you attend) do you know? How many of them would you consider to be "friends"? Is that number more, less, or the same than six weeks ago?

Russ and I want to encourage you to build relationships with others. Maybe go to lunch this Sunday with a family that you don't know very well. Or, invite a couple neighbors over to your house for dinner this week. Take a walk around the neighborhood and decide before you leave your driveway that you will speak to every person that you pass. Or, stop by for Russ and my Community Group that meets on Tuesday nights during the Summer (or any community group that's going on). However you do it, begin to build relationships with others. As you do, you may find a friend or two that will be incredible parts of your memories or your development in this stage in your life.

Exchanging one thing for another!

Amy and I just signed up for high-speed internet and cable tv. In exchange for these things, we dropped our home phone (so don't call us there any more), our dial-up internet connection, and the antenna we had in our attic that picked up channels 2, 5, 8, 11 and 81 from Atlanta. What we had before had worked fine for us for the last four years, but in the last six months we've realized the limitations of the old set up. You see, we've had friends that have dropped their old systems a while back... going from the limitations of a land line phone to the portability of cellular... going from the painfully slow speed of dial up to the fast pace of hig-speed... and going from the minimal selection and low quality picture of antenna to the quality of cable (okay, so most people dropped their television antennas a couple decades ago... we're a little slower in some areas). Of course, it is a little overwhelming to have all that we've got now and it will take us a while to adjust, but in the long run, I think we'll be glad we made the change.

The biggest problems we faced with our old setup was that we could no longer carry out the "basic" tasks we needed to perform on the internet connection we had. The web has become so complex and so media-driven in the past three years, that our dial-up connection could no longer handle things like email, checking the weather, looking up a phone number, or trying to find a better price on an item. It wasn't that there was anything "wrong" with our old system... it's just that our old system was no longer the most effective tool to use. Our old system was not designed in a way that allowed efficient (or effective) communication with the current web community. So, out of necessity, we had to try something new just to stay informed, up-to-date, and connected with the millions of internet users in the world.

Years ago, I began to notice an uncomfortable shift in the Gen-X subculture that I grew up with. When it came to spiritual things, we (as a group) became more and more willing to trade our spiritual backgrounds for another type of spiritual world-view or to completely give up spirituality as a pursuit of God altogether. In many cases, the worldviews (spiritual belief systems) of people in their 20s and 30s have become so complex that traditional "church-type programs" and "sunday school answers" could no longer keep up with the questions and spiritual crises that this generation faced. These types of things are no longer effective with spiritually reaching the most skeptical, cynical, and distant people in our community. So, out of necessity, we had to try something new just to stay connected with the thousands of spiritually disconnected people in our community.

That's why our Sunday mornings feel a little different... we've created an environment for people to explore faith at their own pace (specifically the people that are least likely to go to church). And, we didn't do it because the old system was "broken," it's just that we couldn't stand the thought of being disconnected from a generation of people that were silently slipping away. So, we had to exchange what we'd always done, for something new. Of course, it is a little overwhelming right now and it will take us a while to adjust, but in the long run, I think we'll be glad we made the change.