:: AIP#23: We're All Over the Internet! ::

Well, some of you who have internet stalker tendencies have already discovered this, but The City Church is ready to make our online presence public. We've got several different venues on the good ol' world wide web, so I wanted to take a moment to invite you to find us on each one, and explain why we've landed in so many virtual places.

• www.fwcitychurch.org - the official website of The City Church. Thanks to our good friend Andrew Koebbe, we have a nearly-complete "hub" for our pre-launch days. While we will have a more fully-functioning site as we officially launch the church in January, the site currently has event details, enews sign-up (first one coming later this week; sign up now!), and links to our other online presences as well as to online giving. Bookmark www.fwcitychurch.org; it will be the most regular source of information and interaction as we move forward with our church family.
  
  
• The City Church [Fort Worth] - our group on facebook. Facebook promotes connection, discussion, and "online community." There are two options for organizations' pages on facebook: we chose to create a "group" over a "fan page," because as a "fan" of something, you're removed from it; you admire it from afar (like a band or a sports team). In a "group," you're a member; you're involved; you're invested. Since The City Church is a people and a family, we've got a facebook group. [That's a brief "theology of facebook"] We'll post news and updates, send messages to facebook members, and as one of the most useful elements, we'll post event details and beg you to RSVP via facebook! If you're not on facebook yet, it really is a useful tool, and we recommend you sign up and join The City Church [Fort Worth] facebook group!
  
  
• www.twitter.com/fwcitychurch - yup, we're "tweeting." It seems that people either love or hate Twitter, and it also seems that the dividing line is one's view of how the "micro-blog" site (as they call it) is used: several folks accuse it of promoting narcissism, as people post 250 times a day exactly what they're doing and if you will, "how cool they are." But, Twitter can also be a useful tool to give 140-character encouragement, news, and point people to other sites online - almost like a social "news ticker." That's what The City Church's twitter site will be: we'll announce upcoming events, point you to other City sites, blogs, and updates online, post biblical encouragement, and so forth. If you check out our Twitter site today, you'll find links to a couple websites related to faith and culture. So we're "twittering," but we'll use our twitter for good, not for evil! Come "follow" us!
  
  
• Adventures in Planting - a blogumentary of our journey toward planting The City Church. Obviously, you've found our "AIP" site. This blog series, posted on Ben's personal blogsite (www.oneglory.org) is meant to tell you how we got to this point in The City Church, where we're going, and give you a deeper look at elements of the church as it develops over the summer and fall of 2009. One of the most beneficial outflows of the Adventures in Planting blog has been the questions, comments, and feedback we've received, which helps us refine our vision and to know what critical issues we need to be thinking through at various stages in The City's development. So thanks for reading our nearly-daily posts, and we encourage, invite, and beg your input and feedback as we move forward!
  
  
• Other places you can find us online - a few spots that don't demand as much explanation:

www.scribd.com: a free site for online publications, you can read the 20-page prospectus/proposal for The City Church there.

Online giving: in our quest to raise $40,000 by September 1, we have a secure online giving option for you, through CCB (a site that I'll explain next)


Church Community Builder (CCB): this social site is like a City-specific, in-house facebook; we'll develop it more fully in coming months; click "sign up" to give it a whirl now if you want!

Thanks for hanging out with us online; PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT EVERYTHING THAT'S GOING ON, AND PLEASE POINT OTHER FOLKS TO OUR VARIOUS WEBSITES TO GET THEM CONNECTED TOO! Thanks; we'll see you on the world wide web!

:: AIP#22 - My Thoughts: Matthew Hudson ::

[A once-a-week addition to our blogumentary, "My Thoughts" posts are tastes of other peoples' voices along the journey; they're written by folks who are partnering with us in building The City Church, to explain some of why they resonate with the vision.]

Matthew Hudson and his wife, Angie, were two of the first people to commit to the vision of The City Church. They have been instrumental in helping develop and cast this vision, are amazing hosts for many of our gatherings, and Matt serves on our Board of Directors (an interim leadership team until we develop tested and qualified elders). Among other things, Matthew heads up creative services for The Penumbra Group, Inc.
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As I share the vision of The City Church with people, the most common questions are about structure. “What will the services be like?” What will the Villages do each week?” “Why another church? I’m happy with mine.” As we meet and pray about the vision, one thing we have to remind ourselves is to resist the temptation of "structure." While some structure is definitely needed and Biblically directed, our culture is programmed for lots of structure: lots of events; lots of procedure and processes. The simple answer is that God will provide the structure as needed. In other words, He will shape The City Church, and the Villages meeting across our city, according to his plan.

And our job is to let that happen.

It is very tempting to add lots of detail and structure as a way to increase our "numbers" (numbers is the human part), but we are actually looking at only three numbers. The first is the number of people who are connected to The City Church – through prayer, networking or support. Our hope is that all of you reading this will be in this number. We will "open" in January with six people if that is God's plan – we are not focused on big numbers. But we cannot open (or better said, should not open) without a connected network of people praying for our mission. The second number we are looking at is the number of people who feel called to help us as leaders or hosts of the Villages. While everyone will act as servant-leaders in the City Church (the very essence of being “on mission”) there is a need for people to embrace a higher level of commitment and be with us through the Fall as we pray, plan and prepare. Again, this number can be six or 60 – whatever God has planned.

However, these two numbers pale in comparison to a much more important one: The City Church vision is to reach some of the 74% of the DFW population who is currently “un-churched.” It’s not about taking members from current congregations (although you are certainly welcome and needed if God moves you) – it’s about providing a place for those who are currently not connected. It’s about a new vision for “church” in Fort Worth that ultimately will help each other realize a new, deeper relationship with Christ as they live on mission every day.

:: AIP#21 - The Financial Side of Starting a Church ::

As you might guess, starting a new church is no small endeavor! As we ask for partnership and commitment from friends, family, and others with a passion for seeing Christ’s name spread across Fort Worth, below is our three-year budget (2009-2012) as well as an overview of our need for outside funding. At the bottom of this post, you'll find options for giving, including our new "give online" option. We'd be happy to share with you a more detailed budget; please contact us if you're interested.


OUR THREE-YEAR BUDGET
This is a breakdown of our planned expenses for the first three years. Below it you'll find a brief explanation of some of the unique goals of our budget.

Pre-Launch Budget (Sept-Dec 2009):

• Personnel: $23,450
• Communication: $1,400
• Training/equipping: $2,000
• Vision casting/events: $800
• Start-up expenses: $9,450
• Logistics/unexpected: $2,600
• TOTAL: $40,000

Year One Expenses (2010):

• Personnel: $70,200
• Worship: $3,400
• Communication: $4,600
• Training/equipping: $9,600
• Missions/church planting: $16,800
• Community/events: $8,400
• Kids and Students: $7,200
• Start-up expenses: $8,000
• Logistics/unexpected: $23,800
• TOTAL: $152,000

Year Two Expenses (2011):

• Personnel: $120,400
• Worship: $6,000
• Communication: $3,600
• Training/equipping: $13,200
• Missions/church planting: $27,000
• Community/events: $26,400
• Kids and Students: $15,600
• Logistics/unexpected: $46,200
• TOTAL: $252,400

Year Three Expenses (2012):

• Personnel: $150,600
• Worship: $7,200
• Communication: $3,600
• Training/equipping: $14,400
• Missions/church planting: $36,000
• Community/events: $37,600
• Kids and Students: $21,000
• Logistics/unexpected: $58,200
• TOTAL: $324,600

A few notes on the budget: We want to keep our money focused on building God's kingdom and on impacting/engaging people. Most church staffing/church structure resource indicate that staff is 50-60% of any church budget, and we're trying to stay on the low end of that, if not come in under 50%. We're committing over 10% of our annual budget to local and global missions and church planting. And while we'll explain this more in coming months, renting space in downtown Fort Worth for all-church gatherings, combined with utilizing homes and public space for "offices" and other gatherings keeps our "logistics" budget in the 10-15% range and our overall budget lower, which frees up funds to pour into more hands-on ministry!


A NEED FOR OUTSIDE FUNDING
The City Church's total expenses for the first three years (detailed above) are about $770,000. Of that, our aim is to raise $364,000 (47%) over the course of 2009-2012. Our goal is that reliance on outside funding will decrease in percentage annually, and will be completely gone by the beginning of 2013, through the faithfulness of our people giving generously toward our work together. Here’s a breakdown of how this will look over the next few years (conservative projection of giving per person based on Texas average, vs. needed funding, per year):

• 2009 (total budget: $40,000 - why raise money before we launch?): projected giving (0 people as we start): $0 in giving, leaving a need of $40,000 from outside funding (100%)
• 2010 (total budget: $152,000): projected giving (40 people involved by January): $41,600 in giving, leaving a need of $110,400 from outside funding (77%)
• 2011 (total budget: $252,400): projected giving (120 people involved by January): $124,800 in giving, leaving a need of $127,600 from outside funding (51%)
• 2012 (total budget: $324,600): projected giving (230 people involved by January): $239,200 in giving, leaving a need of $85,400 from outside funding (26%)
• 2013 (total budget: $353,600): projected giving (340 people involved by January): $353,600 in giving, leaving a need of $0 from outside funding (0%)
  

We are seeking this support in four phases, following each upcoming calendar year, and the first phase is to raise $40,000 by Sept 1, 2009. Through the grace of God and the generosity of individuals and organizations, we have already received nearly $29,000 in actual funds or in commitments over the next three years, with over $8,000 of that toward our initial goal of $40,000!


WILL YOU COMMIT TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING THE CITY CHURCH?
If so, there are two ways you can give:

• Mail: Send a check to P.O. Box 470919 - Fort Worth, TX - 76147
• Online (*NEW!*): As of yesterday, our secure online giving site is now set-up and ready to go; click here to give to The City Church online.

Additionally, we have three giving options:

• One-time gift: A single contribution toward The City Church start-up costs.
• Monthly giving: While each transaction (via mail or online) is independent, you can choose to give a recurring donation in the amount of your choice, for as long as God leads.
• Annual giving: Until we reach our goal of being fully financially independent by 2013, you can make annual contributions toward each year's budget.

**All contributions to The City Church are fully tax-deductible; non-profit status pending.**

If you have questions, comments, etc. please email Ben or check the appropriate box at www.fwcitychurch.org. Thank you for your consideration, and financial or otherwise, thank you for your support of The City Church!

:: AIP#20 - We need... $40,000 by Sept 1! ::

I'm taking a few posts to lay out immediate ways we need people to partner with The City Church. The first post explained our great need for people to pray for us; the second asked for involvement and help spreading the word. The final current need is below. Whichever way(s) you choose, please consider how you'll partner with The City Church, in any of these three important ways!

NEED #3: FINANCIAL SUPPORT
We're on a sprint to raise $40,000 by September 1. Our goal is to have this amount in the bank or pledged, which will cover The City Church's needs, start-up costs, and operating budget through the remainder of 2009. As we host weekly gatherings and events before our official January launch, we want to provide an environment for people to come "check it out," without feeling the pressure to give financially if they're not ready to commit. Knowing the funds are there in advance allows us to focus on other, more people-oriented aspects of building The City Church through the fall.

While we'd be happy to share with you a more detailed budget, here's what that $40,000 will cover:

• Personnel (a stipend so I can provide well for my wife, cover health insurance, etc): $23,750
• Communication (initial website, hosting, and print media): $1,400
• Training/equipping (as we raise up leaders, etc.): $2000
• Vision casting/events (food and supplies for gatherings): $800
• Start-up expenses (equipment, legal/incorporation/filing fees, etc.): $9,450
• Logistics/unexpected (a percentage for unplanned expenses): $2,600
  

Of course our financial need will continue over the next couple years, so please check back for the next post as I explain the financial side of starting a new church. The good news is that through some of our supporting organizations and through the commitments of individuals, we have $8,300 committed for the fall, so we're already over 20% of the way to our goal of $40,000! We'll know the commitment from other supporting organizations soon, but we also need the support of caring, generous individuals like yourself.

WILL YOU COMMIT TO FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING THE CITY CHURCH?
If so, there are two ways you can give:

• Mail: Send a check to P.O. Box 470919 - Fort Worth, TX - 76147
• Online (*NEW!*): As of this morning, our secure online giving site is now set-up and ready to go; click here to give to The City Church online.

Additionally, we have three giving options:

• One-time gift: A single contribution toward The City Church start-up costs.
• Monthly giving: While each transaction (via mail or online) is independent, you can choose to give a recurring donation in the amount of your choice, for as long as God leads.
• Annual giving: I'll explain this in tomorrow's post, but our goal is to be fully self-supporting three years into the church, at the beginning of 2013. Until then, we'll be relying on a decreasing percentage of outside support, so you can choose to give annually for the coming years.

**All contributions to The City Church are fully tax-deductible; non-profit status pending.**

If you have questions, comments, etc. please email Ben or check the appropriate box at www.fwcitychurch.org. Thank you for your consideration, and financial or otherwise, thank you for your support of The City Church!

:: AIP#19 - We need... You!

I'm taking a few posts to lay out immediate ways we need people to partner with The City Church. The first explained our great need for people to pray for us; the second way is below. Whichever way(s) you choose, please consider how you'll partner with The City Church, in any of these three important ways!

NEED #2: INVOLVEMENT!
The City Church is a people, so we’re looking for passionate individuals to join the mission for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth. We’re not looking for folks to come for a short time and then leave, but to join a mission, commit to do life together, and engage our city. If you resonate with this vision, and if God is moving you to join us, we’ll help you find your perfect place to get involved. If nothing else, come to a vision dinner or consider joining our pre-launch Village in Fall 2009 to "check it out."

And if The City’s not for you, but you know someone who might want to be involved, please help us get to know them. One of the best ways you can get involved is to help us spread the word. We're not doing traditional "marketing," so we're relying on YOU to join us in helping tell folks about The City.

WILL YOU COMMIT TO BEING INVOLVED/SPREADING THE WORD?
If you want to be personally involved, please comment below, click the appropriate box at www.fwcitychurch.org or send an email to Ben, and then jump into our upcoming gatherings! If you want to help spread the word, we've got three practical ways you can help spread the word:

• 
  

• Point people to www.fwcitychurch.org (it's not quite done as of this post, but it's there and functioning well)
• Point people to our facebook group, where they can get info, find this blog, see events, interact, etc.
  
• Pass out "prospectii" (we're pretty sure that's the plural for "prospectus") - we've developed a handy one-page sheet outlining the mission, vision, and structure of The City Church; they're packaged in envelopes along with five business-card-sized info cards, in hopes that you'll help pass the word to folks you know. If you want one of these packets, or if you want several to help pass along, please email me or comment below; I'll be happy to get you as many as you need!

Thank you for investing your time and yourself in what we're trying to do for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth!

:: AIP#18 - We need... Prayer!

As I wrote yesterday, we closed Sunday's Vision Dinner with some next steps: first, some important dates over the next few months, which you can read here; second, we explained different ways we need people to partner with us at the moment. The first of those is in this brief post, and the other two will head your way in the next couple days - please consider how you'll partner with The City Church, in any of these three important ways!

NEED #1: PRAYER!
Whether you’re considering direct involvement in The City Church or not, we’ll beg you, please pray for our new church, for our mission, vision, development, and leadership over the next several months, as well as for our city and the people we will engage. We need hundreds of people praying with us, against sin, pride, and division, and that God will do his work (not ours!) in reaching his people.

WILL YOU COMMIT TO PRAYING FOR US?
If so, please comment below or send an email to Ben and let us know what day of each week you commit to spend time lifting The City Church before God. We will send monthly prayer updates to our email list, and will make updates available at www.fwcitychurch.org as well. Please ask others to pray for us too, and Thank you!

:: AIP#17 - Timeline: Summer-Fall 2009 ::

After hearing some great questions and listening to some insightful feedback at Sunday's Vision Dinner, we closed our time together with some next steps: first, some important dates over the next few months, as we move toward our official "launch" in January; second, different ways we need people to partner with us at the moment. Those will be coming later this week, but for now, here are some dates we hope you'll put on your calendar, as you consider partnering with The City Church in the coming months:

• July 31, 7pm - Apartment Life Info Meeting (meet in the University Village Shopping Center, in front of the Apple Store): One of our planting partners, Apartment Life (www.caresteam.org) places teams of two in strategic apartment complexes, and covers your rent if you commit to "living on mission" in that complex, getting to know folks, throwing events, etc. They're helping find apartments downtown, so if you have interest in moving into that mission field, come get the lowdown (RSVP HERE)
• Aug 17, 6:30pm - Kids' Ministry Brainstorming (location TBD): We want to build the best kids' ministry possible, and to do that, we need to input of parents, teachers, nannies, and anyone else with a love and experience with kids! Come help us dream of what KID CITY will look like in 5 and 10 years, then help us take the first step toward reaching that goal! (EMAIL BEN TO RSVP)
• Aug 23, 6:00pm - Vision Dinner II (Matt and Angie Hudsons' Home): For anyone who's intrigued, curious, committed, skeptical, or wondering what The City Church is all about, we're hosting a dinner for you! Join us for a free meal, hear our vision, give us feedback and questions, and pray with us - other than that, there's NO COMMITMENT! Feel free to bring your kids, and please help us spread the word! (DETAILS/RSVP HERE)
• Sept 13, 6:00pm - Our first Village kicks off (Matt and Angie Hudsons' Home): While The City Church won't officially "launch" until January, we're meeting weekly beginning in September, to build a foundation, spend time together, and give you a taste of "City life" as we build a strong foundation for the church. Each week we'll eat together with great conversation, spend time in scripture, pray for each other, and meet each others' needs. More details coming soon, but DETAILS/RSVP HERE.
• Other fall events (details TBA soon): worship/prayer nights, local missions, church/area gatherings, and we're considering a potential fall retreat (October 9-12)! There might be more; let us know if you have questions or interest in helping plan any of these; we'll let you know details as they're worked out. But again, we certainly hope you'll join us Sunday nights beginning September 13!

So that's what's coming up over the next few months; we hope you'll mark these dates on your calendar. And starting tomorrow, I'll share the other part of our next steps: three major ways you can be involved in The City Church right now! Holler if you have questions, and we'll see you at a City Church gathering soon!

:: AIP#16 - First Vision Dinner Recap ::

Sunday night was a great time!

With no idea what to expect from the first interest gathering of The City Church, God is obviously moving in people's hearts as we work together to build something new for his name in our city! Just as a thunderstorm gave way to a beautiful sunset, 30 folks arrived at Casa de Hudson, with numerous backgrounds and various connections to The City Church. After we prayed for the meal, we spent about 45 minutes eating, talking, and getting to know each other. The feast was massive, and somehow the rain made the burgers extra tasty. The conversation was good, and it seemed like there was already an excitement and a unity around the room.

After eating together and getting to know each other (a model of "the breaking of bread" and "fellowship" which will be an intentional part of every Village in the City Church), we moved upstairs to the Hudsons' great media/meeting/awesome room, where we spent about 25 minutes walking through the vision for The City Church: how we got here, why Fort Worth needs an church focused on taking the gospel to the 74% of the city who is unchurched, the structures we'll build to make sure we keep that focus, and so forth.

After casting the vision, we came to one of my favorite parts of the evening: we listened. First all together, then in three smaller groups (led by our three "directors"), we opened up the floor for questions, feedback, concerns, pushback, confusion, and general comments. We got some great, affirming feedback, but we also got some very good questions - specifics about the "Village/All-Church Gathering/Mission" model; about kids ministry; about visitors and assimilation; about what "mission" practically looks like; about leadership and accountability; and much more [as a sidenote, our Board met last night and started prayerfully walking through some of those questions, and as I head to Austin, Plano, and Omaha for training in the next few weeks, I'll be taking the questions with me to learn from folks who have already done it in this church model].

We brought everyone together, gave some next steps regarding timeline and need (which you'll see in the next couple posts), and then we prayed together and dismissed folks - some stayed until nearly 10pm, as we continued the great conversation and enjoyed more time together. I got home exhausted, relieved, and excited beyond words: God is raising up people to try something new; to be involved; to pursue the Great Commission in a way that looks a little different. We are excited to see how this continues to unfold, and we couldn't be more thrilled after our first-ever City Church gathering!

Thanks to all who came; please let us know as you continue to have questions - and for everyone, mark your calendars now - our next Vision Dinner is Aug 23, 6pm at the Hudsons', and we should have said this Sunday night, but NO, it will not be identical to the first one: after another great meal and conversation, we'll spend our time further explaining the Villages and asking the question, "what does it look like to be a community on mission?"

:: AIP#15 - My Thoughts: Bobby Vaughn ::

[Today is the first installment of a once-a-week addition to our blogumentary: "My Thoughts" posts are a taste of other peoples' voices along the journey; they're written by folks who are partnering with us in building The City Church, to explain some of why they resonate with the vision.]

Bobby Vaughn is the Church Planting Director for NorthWood Church in Keller, Texas under the leadership of Bob Roberts, Jr. NorthWood Church is one of The City Church's partner churches, and was declared Outreach Magazines #3 most church-planting church in North America (here) in 2007.

I live in a world where new churches are popping up on a daily basis. In some ways, I’m separated from reality because, to me, it seems that we have A LOT of churches starting. What do we need more churches for? What good are the ones we have now doing? Well, there are some churches doing a world of good both locally and globally. Sadly, however, that is the exception to the rule so it seems.

What about churches that care about social justice issues, human rights, and just plain love people regardless of their religious backgrounds? Where is that church? I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with Ben quite a bit the past few months and I’m proud to say that The City Church is going to be that kind of church.

So what makes that kind of church different from what’s already out there? First, we train our planters to not just start a church for their community, but also for the world. We have a “glocal” perspective – global and local at the same time. You see we are more connected today than ever before in the history of the world. Internet, communication, travel, the world is on our front porch! It’s about loving the people next door to you and the people in other nations we can share our time, talent, and finances… not to mention, of course, Jesus.

Another thing that makes that kind of church different is the fact that “professional” ministers can’t do the job. I’m not saying they won’t, but I am saying that the general public, through their domain (vocation, talent, hobby) have more influence to change the world than a seminary-trained pastor. We believe in releasing the God-given passion and ability within people to effect change within society. It’s all about your calling in life.

Don’t think you have to sit around and assume that the world doesn’t need your help, because they’re standing outside right now begging for it! Just down the street or across the ocean, let’s engage society in such a way that people can see the love of Jesus. So, it’s your call. Are you going to change the world, or sit on the sidelines and let it change you?

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For more information on domains, engagement, and the world please visit www.glocal.net or read Transformation: How Glocal Churches Transform Lives and the World or Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage a Flat World by Bob Roberts, Jr.

:: AIP#14 - Questions and an Introduction ::

Brief post today, but there are two things I need to do:

First, I need to ask for your input: as we prepare for future posts in this "Adventures" blog, and as we cast vision, both over coffee and in larger groups, what do you want to know? What could we clarify? What concerns or intrigues you? On what do you want more information? Feel free to post answers to these questions below, or email them to Ben.

Second, I want to introduce to you something new that will hit this blog beginning tomorrow: I figure you might be sick of reading my writing all the time! So about once a week, I'm excited to begin posting "guest entries." These posts are from folks who are involved with The City Church, either from planting churches/organizations, folks who are joining us on the journey, or folks who are otherwise connected, where they get to explain what excites or intrigues them about The City Church, and why they want to be a part of it. Let me know if you want to write at some point, and check back tomorrow, as the first guest entry hits the blog from Bobby Vaughn, church planting pastor at one of our sponsors, Keller's Northwood Church.

Thanks!

:: AIP#13 - What Is This Sunday's Gathering? ::

This weekend is the first-ever gathering of The City Church! We invite you to join us at 6pm this Sunday (July 19) at Matt and Angie Hudson's home. Please email Ben for the address or find it on facebook - I'm not comfortable posting a personal address so publicly at this point. Here are answers to a couple questions about this weekend:

What Will We Do?
We're basically throwing a dinner party - we'll eat together and get to know each other, make new friends and have good conversation. Then we'll head upstairs to the Hudsons' loft, where we'll give a brief overview of the vision God has called us to. We'll answer questions, hear your concerns or issues, pray together for the new work, and tell you a few things that are coming up. Then we'll all head out - that's it!

How Many People Are Coming? Does it Cost? Is there Childcare?
We can't be 100% sure, but our best guess as of this afternoon is that there will be 25-30 adults there - a good group of folks, but there's definitely space for you! There is no cost for this weekend's dinner, nor for dinner at our next gathering on August 23 - so if nothing else, come for free food. And we are not providing any sort of childcare for these vision dinners, but since we view the church as a family, we welcome you to bring your kids of any age; we hope to wrap up by 7:30, or 8pm latest.

Who Should Come? (or, "Am I Committing If I'm There?")
This dinner has absolutely no commitment tied to it! While we will take a moment and explain some next steps and needs (hint: prayer, involvement, and financial support), this evening is meant for folks who are interested, intrigued, involved, curious, skeptical, cynical, supportive, questioning, doubtful, or any other number of things regarding what The City Church is doing. That is to say, anyone and everyone is welcome to join us - it doesn't mean you're "committing" to the church; it doesn't mean you're "in"; it really doesn't mean anything at all, other than that you care enough to join us for dinner, hear our vision, and ask questions. Or that you're truly coming for free food. Either way, we're cool with it.

How Do I RSVP?
Thanks for asking! Since this is our first-ever gathering, we have NO idea how many people to expect - PLEASE help us out in a huge way by letting us know you're coming, so we can make sure we have enough food, etc. You may RSVP on facebook, or email Ben by 10pm on Friday, July 17. Thanks very much for helping us out.

Hope that answers some of your questions; feel free to email me if you have others. We appreciate it, and look forward to seeing you this Sunday, 6pm!

:: I'm Teaching at TCU in the Fall! ::

Yup, it's true: after all my Baylor-TCU jokes, and after all the making fun of purple, I'm thrilled to be joining the faculty of TCU as an adjunct professor in the fall. I'll be teaching "Business and Professional Speaking," a 101-level communications class, with a session M/W/F at 10am, and another currently scheduled for 11am (though the second one might move to 9am).

**TCU folks, if you haven't taken that class yet, or if you know incoming folks who need it (it's one of the two options for your speech requirement - the other one is "Basic Speech Comm"), you can sign up now, here [**Note: the sections are currently labeled "staff" - don't worry; it's me]:

• 10am class: COMM10133, section 20; class # 71321
• 11am class: COMM 10133, section 30; class # 73343

For those who have asked, here's the story: a friend who works in the Comm Studies department sent me a message and asked if I'd be interested in joining the faculty in the fall, to help cover added sections of the entry-level speech class. Working with college students for the past four years, I have developed a love for TCU, and have come to see it as a "mission field" as well. And when Jess and I were first married, she asked if I wasn't pastoring, what could I see myself doing? My answer was that I always thought it would be fun to teach college. So I told my friend, "absolutely I'd be interested!"

A couple weeks later, I had lunch with the chair of the department; we discussed curriculum, options, and my [not-so-accomplished] academic history (but my undergrad is in speech communications, and having two master's degrees apparently helps in the world of academia), and the rest is history. So earlier this week I went and got my picture made for a TCU faculty ID, yesterday I picked up the textbook and instructor manual, and now I'm working on lesson plans, etc. as I prepare for this exciting endeavor! While I absolutely refuse to buy a purple shirt, I'm fired up about the opportunity to teach, to spend more time on campus, and to develop relationships with students, faculty, and staff. So... GO FROGS. And SIC 'EM BEARS too.

:: AIP#12 - Who Else "Does Church" Like This? (BEING the Church, part 4) ::

First, sorry for the enormous length of yesterday's post - but I hope you found it helpful. If you actually read it all!

One final post on our unique (but not at all "new"!) structure: a question we've gotten as we explain The City Church is "does anyone else do church like this?" In other words, "does anyone else meet primarily in homes and living on mission rather than focusing primarily on Sunday services?" And while six months ago, I was as surprised as you might be to learn that the answer is a strong "yes," we've been blessed in this process to personally learn from each of these church communities, either in person or in writing, as we glean from their wisdom and experience in establishing The City Church.

While we're not copying any one of these models in particular, here is a list of biblical, mostly-theologically-sound church communities who function in a model along the same lines, and how we're learning from them:

• Providence Community Church (Plano, TX - visits with leadership and communities)
• Austin City Life (Austin, TX - individual coaching and multiple visits through summer & fall 2009)
• Austin Stone: Church Planting Residency (Austin, TX - meeting numerous times with leadership for coaching, training, etc.)
  
• Austin New Church (Austin, TX - setting up a meeting with leadership and community over the summer)
  
• Coram Deo (Omaha, NE - meeting with leadership and community visit scheduled, August 2009)
• Core Community Church (Omaha, NE - setting up a meeting with leadership and community, August 2009)
• Adullam (Denver, CO - the leaders authored a book about their vision, called The Tangible Kingdom)
• Soma Communities (Tacoma, WA - spending a week with their community in October, 2009, at a training called Soma School)
• The Crowded House Network (Sheffield, England - the leaders authored a book about their work, called Total Church; occasional online communication with one of the authors)
  
• New Testament Church (Jerusalem, Israel - an author documented the activities of this church as a pattern for God's people to follow)

In addition to the hands-on training with the churches and pastors above, several authors, bloggers, and leaders have provided great resources to specifically help us develop our model and our leadership. Among them are Ed Stetzer, Mark Driscoll, Neil Cole, Jonathan Dodson, Alan Hirsch, David Garrison, Bob Roberts Jr., Dan Allender, Alexander Strauch, Jim Collins, Bob Thune Jr., John Piper, Tim Keller, Dee Hock, Ori Brafman, Rod Beckstrom, and Malcolm Gladwell.

We hope it goes without saying, but we're learning from the Bible - in everything we do, we are seeking a biblical basis, accompanied by prayer, fasting, and godly wisdom from outside sources.

Finally, since we view the church as a family or a people rather than an institution or an event, we're learning from you, and we're learning from "the harvest [which] is plentiful" - we're becoming as immersed as possible in Fort Worth, its culture, and its people, as we learn our specific context and culture to have the greatest impact for the kingdom of God. So help us learn - give us your input, feedback, thoughts, questions, etc! Let me know if you want specific books by some of the authors I listed. And to get a general feel for how The City Church will function, poke around on some of the websites above - remember, we won't look exactly like any of those churches, but the general concept will be similar.

:: AIP#11 - Communities on Mission & Coming Together (BEING the Church, part 3)

The City Church is "one church in many locations, living as communities on mission and coming together to celebrate." The first post on this topic explained the biblical and historical basis for "doing church" this way; the second one explained the first half of that phrase. Today we turn to the second part: "living as communities on mission and coming together to celebrate."

Living as Communities on Mission
It's a question we've gotten regularly as we explain this structure to folks: "As our The City Church gathers throughout the week in many locations across Fort Worth, what will the these Villages do?" The simple answer is that a Village is more than a "small group"; it's more than a "Bible Study"; it's more than a "hang out [or if you grew up in the church, 'fellowship'] night." A Village is a community on mission; it's the regular gathering of the church, in which the church carries out the activities of the church as described in the New Testament:

Based on Acts 2:42-47 and other passages describing life in the early church, each week our Villages will "devote themselves to the apostles' teaching," to "fellowship," to "the breaking of bread," to "prayers," and to meeting each other's needs. Practically, at each Village you'll find out the biblical passage(s) we'll be covering the following week. Most weeks, we'll spend time eating together and talking about life ("breaking bread" and "fellowship"; "receiving food with glad and generous hearts"), then move into an intentional time of mutual exhortation and discussion over that week's content ("apostles' teaching"). Finally, we'll spend time in "prayers" and accountability for each other and as a community, caring for each other "as any had need."

On occasion, Villages will break from this normal structure to spend a more extended time in prayer and accountability, or to serve our community together, carrying out local mission and hopefully "having favor with all the people," that "the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."

Villages will be facilitated by trained leaders who help guide the discussion, and each Village will take on a little of its own personality depending on who's involved in it. The basic idea is that everyone in The City will find a Village near your home, as it best fits your personality and schedule. Villages will be inter-generational because natural community is inter-generational, and because older and younger persons can learn much from each other (and the inter-generational model is another one encouraged by Scripture: 1 Tim 5:1-2; Titus 2:1-8). These are the things done by the church in the Bible; these are the ideas involved in being "a community on mission." We do life as one church; we do life in many locations. We strive together to carry out God's mission. But then, we get to celebrate!

Coming Together to Celebrate
Realizing that there is unity, purpose, and beauty when the entire church body gathers, all the Villages will come together a few weekends a month (after our launch phase) - but these will never be "church!" YOU are the church; the church is a community on mission, so the life of the church primarily occurs in your Village. These weekend gatherings of the Villages are just that: they're All-Church Gatherings. They're "family celebrations," where we come together to celebrate God through music, media, and spoken word; celebrate God's word through preaching, celebrate Christ through communion, and celebrate what God is doing in our lives and in our church, as we hear testimonials from different Villages and people in The City each week.

We'll gather together a few weekends each month, but our goal is always to give you about one weekend a month, not "off," as a "vacation" from church, but as an intentional opportunity to not "GO to church," but to "BE the church," loving our neighbors; impacting our city; living on mission in our neighborhoods. How? It could be as simple as throwing a July 4th block party for your neighbors; as mowing the grass at a local park that's become run-down; as throwing a BBQ for the folks in your office. Not "evangelizing them," but simply building a relationship with them: loving them, serving them, getting to know them, because as Christ was sent into the world, so has He sent each of us into the world (John 20:21).

So That's Our Strategy for "Being the Church" in Fort Worth
It's different, but it fits the model of church described in the Bible; it embodies the incarnational/missional life of Christ; it seems to make sense. In addition, and as needs arise within the body, we'll hold seminars, area gatherings, care and recovery, church events, and studies, men's, women's, and students' gatherings, but only occasionally and secondary to the simple "Village -> All-Church Gathering -> mission" structure that shapes The City Church. We can't live on mission together if we fill your calendar for you! So we know this looks different; you might even consider it "weird." But we hope you're willing to experiment with us as we model a church after the Bible and as we take bold steps together, for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth!

----
Please send me feedback, questions, comments, etc. on this structure - because it is so different, it can be confusing; please let me know how I can help clarify. And unique to this post, if you're the first to correctly count the number of quotation marks ("), you'll win a prize : ) - seriously sorry, there's a ton in here today!

:: AIP#10 - One church; many locations (BEING the church, part 2) ::

I hope the previous post sufficiently explained the basis for building a "different" kind of church! If you didn't read it please do, so you have a framework as you come to this one. This entry and the next one will explain more of how that will look, as we strive to be "one church in many locations, living as communities on mission and coming together to celebrate." [*And as a super special bonus for design geeks and folks who like symbolism and whatnot, you get to see how our logo is a visual representation for what we're doing]

One Church
The local church is called to be a unified community - less an institution or an event and more a people or a family. First and foremost, we have one LORD and Savior in Christ. We have one shared mission and vision we're working to accomplish together. We have one set of values we strive to live out. We have one strong, unified leadership team. We have shared experiences; shared goals; shared lives. We are one community, pressing together toward the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth.

In Many Locations
If that unified local church body gathers in one place, for one hour each week, there's only one group of neighbors to love and one area of our city to carry out mission (if mission actually happens at all!). What if, instead of gathering in one place every week, the primary venue for church life happened in intentional communities meeting in homes, coffee shops, and bars/pubs in strategic parts of the city? Then we would have multiple sets of neighbors to love and serve, and every Village has a "focus area" of Fort Worth to engage and restore! So The City Church will be one church, in many locations. Because they'll meet in various neighborhoods across Fort Worth, we're calling these communities "Villages." These Villages are the regular, weekly gatherings of The City Church. Why? Because that's how the early church - the body of Christ established by the apostles - carried out life in Scripture.

Why did we choose the name "Village" for these regular gatherings of the church? First, they'll be labeled geographically, so each Village will be invested in a specific area of Fort Worth: as we move together toward downtown Fort Worth, there might be a Ridglea Village meeting a few miles away from the 7th Street Village, which meets a few hundred yards away from the Sundance Village, etc. Second, the name "Village" flows well with the imagery of The City Church: dictionary.com defines a village as "a small community or group of houses... usually smaller than a town, and sometimes (as in parts of the U.S.) incorporated as a municipality" and/or as " the inhabitants of such a community collectively." Villages are about true community; they're about people; they're about shared values. They're smaller gatherings of people living out one mission and one vision in a specific area of Fort Worth!

So that's what it means to be "one church in many locations." The next logical questions are "what will this one church in many locations do?" "What does a Village look like?" "Is there ever a collective gathering of the church or is it always and only in homes?" and so forth. Tomorrow's blogumentary entry will answer those questions as I explain the second half of our vision: "living as communities on mission and coming together to celebrate." But the answer to the last question is yes, we'll gather regularly for worship, teaching, and celebration - but that will never become "church" per se... Check back tomorrow for more.

**In closing, I'd like to invite you to dive deeper into The City Church with us as we host a Vision/Brainstorming Dinner, next Sunday, July 19, 6pm at Matt and Angie Hudson's home. This is a no-commitment dinner; even if you're just intrigued or curious, come enjoy free food, get to know folks, ask questions, and hear a little more about what we're doing. Full details here, and PLEASE let us know you're coming so we can have enough food! And if you can't make this first one, we'll have another V/B Dinner Aug 23. Thanks all, for following along on this exciting journey, and for your kind words and prayers. Have a great week!**

:: AIP#9 - BEING the Church (part 1) ::

Today’s post is long, but important: it begins to answer the question, “what will this ‘different’ church look like?”

One of the first things I tried to communicate in the first “adventure” of this blog is that the basis for this new church community stemmed from the question, “what would it look like if Christians in the heart of Fort Worth LIVED AS the church, instead of just GOING TO a church?” A closely-related question that quickly followed that one was this: “if we had no preconceived ideas about what the church looks like (which we all do), and if were to start a church with only the Bible as our guide (which it should be!), what would that church look like?”

As we scoured scripture to answer that question, we realized a few things:

• The mission of the church is the mission of God: as God sent Jesus into the world, so we exist as a community, seeking the redemption of God’s people as he sends us into the world as well (Matt 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 1Pet 2:9).
• The early church was less a “formal institution” meeting weekly for an hour, and more a people living out their faith and values in daily life, gathering regularly in homes and public places, working together toward God’s mission (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37; 5:42; James 1:22-25).
• While there was strong leadership, there wasn’t a model of “clergy” doing work, which “lay people” received – every person worked for the good of the church’s mission (Rom 12:4-8; 1Cor 12; Pet 4:10; 2Tim 2:1-2; 40 “one another” passages in NT).
• The early church trained their people and sent them into ministry, so the church could live on God’s mission together (Eph 4:11-16; Rom 12:1-2; 1Ths 5:11-22; Heb 3:13).
• The gospel is not just a one-time “switch” from (whatever) to Jesus, but the life of God flowing into and transforming every aspect of our lives (Rom 12:1-2, 9-21; Eph 4:17-32; Php 2:12-13; 1Pet 1:14-16).

We found that the church of the Bible looks very different from our 21st-century, American model of institutional, formal “church!” In fact, as Hugh Halter and Matt Smay explain in their book, The Tangible Kingdom, “church” started looking like the model we’re familiar with, not with Christ or the apostles, but around the time Constantine legalized Christianity and “furthered [its] institutionalization” in the Roman empire (p.50-56):

“The easiest way to envision the pre-Constantine church is as a fringe movement. Although the early Greek, Jewish, and Gentile Christians were deeply embedded in the culture the day, and were pushed outside of what was considered ‘normal’ simply because they lived such radical lives of love and sacrifice and service… Yet at the same time the church was intriguing and inviting to those who watched them live out their communal faith… This ancient church literally turned entire cities upside down. Its members had incredible influence on the culture…

“Seventeen hundred years later, we’re still entrenched in Constantine’s Christendom way of church. Church is the place you go, and commoners don’t have to do too much in the way of mission because the paid pros do it for them. We show up at church to get what we want (which is feeding from a leader, not what we need (to feed ourselves and others). And if we don’t get what we want, we head to the basilica next door because that chaplain is better at giving us what we want… Basically, we’re just playing musical pews…”

If we follow the modern model, we’d likely find ourselves fighting for the same 15-20% of the population already involved with other great churches in our city – that’s not what we want to be about! So we realized that there’s something intriguing about returning to our roots, “being the church” in a different way – not just to be different, but because we think this return is necessary for the mission of God and the 80+% of folks who don’t resonate with existing models.

So what’s that mean on a day-to-day basis? While we’ll build out the DNA together, I’ll explain the skeleton structure of The City in the next couple posts. As a preview though, here’s who we are: “one church in many locations, living as communities on mission and coming together to celebrate.”

:: AIP#8 - Why Fort Worth? (part 2) ::

Yesterday I started answering the question "why start a church in Fort Worth?" The first reason is that Fort Worth is experiencing huge growth, and people need Jesus! It's a great, strategic city! Plus, we love Fort Worth (except the August heat); it offers a great arts culture, a strong economy and job base prompting growth, and a substantial college-aged population, including TCU, TCC, and Texas Wesleyan. Fort Worth is our home. And a huge need for a city-loving church exists right here.

At the same time, our great, growing, thriving city is broken. Here are a few examples*:

• 20,000 refugees from 45 different ethnicities live in Fort Worth.
• 8,000 people in Fort Worth need nursing home care but are unable to afford it.
• 4,000-5,000 people are homeless in Tarrant County (61% of those are women and children).
• At least 17 strip clubs operate in Fort Worth, plus at least one prostitution ring, employing hundreds of women in the sex industry.
• The Fort Worth Federal Correctional Institution holds 1,815 inmates, plus we have four major jails, one juvenile center, and numerous half-way houses.
• 1 of every 6 males and 1 of every 4 females in Fort Worth are sexually abused before age 18.
• 200-300 gangs exist in Fort Worth, which together have 5,000-6,000 members.
  

Bottom line, Fort Worth needs another church because God has been on a mission for all of history, redeeming his people back to Himself. And he does this, in part, through the church. There are broken, hurting people who need the gospel, and who need to be restored to their Creator. And there are more of them moving here every day.

So the next logical question is "how is The City Church going to work for God's mission in the city?" Or, "what will make this church 'different'?" The answer lies in BEING the church, not just GOING to church. And that's where we're headed in the next post.

[*email me if you want stat references]

:: AIP#7 - Why Fort Worth? (part 1) ::

One question we've heard over the past couple months is "why start a church in Fort Worth?" It's a good question, and the answers came as a bit of a surprise to ourselves as well!

When we started exploring the world of church planting, “strategic cities” emerged as a recurring key term. Culture is created, populations are dense, and diversity thrives in cities. Cities are the most strategic place for the gospel. So we pulled out the U.S. map and looked for a growing city where people need Jesus. We were fairly open to go anywhere (we love the mountains, so of course we thought we’d land in Denver!), but as we researched and prayed, we discovered we already live in the perfect location*:

• Fort Worth is the fastest growing large city (pop. 500,000+) in the U.S., with a population increase of 25% between 2000 and 2007.
• In 2008 Fort Worth’s population passed the 700,000 mark, and is projected to reach over one million by 2030.
• The average U.S. church size is about 250 people. Just to keep up with the population growth over the past eight years, Fort Worth would need 600 new churches!
• The DFW metroplex is the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the U.S, with a projected population of 10.1 million by 2040 (in 2000, it was only 5.2 million).
• 74% of people in the DFW metroplex do not attend church on Sundays, and in Fort Worth, only 52% affiliate themselves with any religion.
• Only 25% of churches are located in urban settings, like downtown Fort Worth.
• Over 5,000 new living units are currently being built along the West 7th St. corridor into downtown Fort Worth/Sundance Square, with another 5,000+ units planned northeast of downtown. A total of over 10,000 new living units are headed downtown, whose target audience is post-college single and young married professionals.
• Excluding this growth, over 80,000 people live within three miles of downtown Fort Worth, with a minimal presence of evangelical, Bible-preaching churches.

Fort Worth is among the most strategic cities in the nation right now! But this great city doesn't come without its own issues - there are even more reasons why Fort Worth needs a city-loving church, and those reasons are coming tomorrow.

[*email me if you want stat references]

:: AIP#6 - Coming Up: Vision Dinner + Facebook Group! ::

Just a heads up, and a couple things for which we'd like to ask your help in spreading the word:

1. Vision Dinner - July 19, 6pm
Join us for free dinner, as we share the vision for The City Church and get your feedback and ideas. This is a NO-COMMITMENT evening; we're just hoping to spend some time together with anyone interested, as we refine our vision for a new church community living for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth.

Childcare will not be available, but we believe the church is more a family and a people than an institution or event, so we invite you to bring your kids with you - we plan to be done at about 7:30. Holler with questions; thanks in advance for your interest and prayers as we begin this journey together!

**WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW MANY PEOPLE TO EXPECT, SO PLEASE RSVP TO LET US KNOW YOU'RE COMING, SO WE CAN HAVE ENOUGH FOOD AND MATERIALS. (either email Ben or RSVP at our new facebook group) THANKS!**

2. The City Church Facebook Group
We're on Facebook! We formed a group, not a fan page, because in a group, you're a part of something; you're invested and involved; you're part of the "body" - to be a "fan" of something, you're a little removed from it; you admire it from afar (like a band or an athlete). The church isn't something to be a fan of; it's something to jump into, serve, give yourself to, and be involved with. Maybe we put way too much thought and theology into choosing our group : ), but either way, head over to Facebook and search for "The City Church [Fort Worth]"! We'll be updating it regularly, posting events, links, thoughts, etc.

Thanks for reading this update. Again, please help us spread the news about what we're doing, for the glory of God and the good of Fort Worth! Thanks!

:: AIP#5 - How the Journey Started (part 3) ::

Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July weekend! I'll begin this week by wrapping up our journey up to this point. Last week I explained some of how God's been prepping us for this for years, and last summer's phone call which launched us into this world. Beginning September 2009, we found ourselves in a whirlwind of activity, all of which has helped us get to this upcoming launch of The City Church.

Assessments
After much thought, prayer, conversation, and seeking wisdom and prayers from others, Jess and I went to Austin in September and interviewed with the folks in charge of the church planting residency. Over the following weeks we were very affirmed from every direction - friends, family, and the folks in Austin all felt good about taking the next step.

That next step was entering the world of Acts 29 church planting network, for further assessment. Just to get to the face-to-face assessment interview, we went through a 15-step process, including everything from questions about Jess and my testimony and call, our marriage and family, theology, strategy, two personality tests, and preaching sample, and more - and that was just phase one! It literally took a month and 35 typed pages to complete. But it ended with a three-day "boot camp" in November, where for two days, Acts 29 leaders (Mark Driscoll, Darrin Patrick, Matt Chandler, Matt Carter, JR Vassar, Jonathan Dodson, and others) encouraged and exhorted potential planters and shared the vision for the network. The third day, Jess and I were officially assessed by pastors Barry Keldie, Thomas Young, and David Pinckney, and with very encouraging words, were officially approved as planters in the Acts 29 network [note: as of this week, we'll be up on their "candidate map"].

As a sidenote, one thing I came to hugely appreciate about both Austin and Acts 29 through the application process was the thoroughness and intensity of the assessment: they are NOT a network that lets any “Joe Blow” walk in off the streets, lending him their support and name just because they want to start a new church: their caution, care, discernment, and pastoral heart in the entire process gave me a ton of respect for this organization, and the assessment was affirming, challenging, and exhorting as we move into this world of planting.

Leaving
The second thing that had to happen over the past few months was getting us from staff at Trinity Chapel to a place where we could focus full-time on the next steps God had for us. Having been ordained in September 2008, I informed the elders and church leadership of our (at that time) potential plans and asked for their prayers and affirmations. Then Jess and I began praying that God would make very clear whether he would have us stay at Trinity Chapel for awhile or leave to begin this pursuit. To make a long story short, God made it very clear indeed that it was time for us to go, and as much as we didn't understand some of the circumstances surrounding our leave at the time, it has become very clear since then that God's hands have been all over this, and in May 2009, one chapter of our lives closed as almost immediately, another opened.

Arriving
Within two weeks of our last day at Trinity Chapel, we had been in touch with three different churches and three church planting organizations, who are all interested in supporting The City Church, sending us with funding and coaching into this endeavor. Some of them made comments like "we're talking at the perfect time" and "we've been hoping for this to happen for three years" - it was clear that we were in the right place. Due to the economy, doors shut at the Austin church planting residency, but as one church planting pastor asked me, "would you just go to Austin because you know it would be safe? You've planted a church - you have that experience already." So with two doors shut (Trinity Chapel and Austin), and MANY affirming circumstances pointing us toward the third option, we again prayed, fasted, sought advice and wisdom, and began work on planting a new church in Fort Worth.

So here we are! That's the journey to this point - along the way, we considered leaving the state; heading to the Rockies or London (crazy, we know!), looking for a "strategic city" who needs Jesus. So why did we end up staying in Fort Worth? We feel like we found exactly what we were looking for, but I'll explain that beginning tomorrow...

:: AIP#4 - How the Journey Started (part 2) ::

In yesterday's post, I began explaining the journey that's brought us to this point of planting The City Church - specifically, it started with a phone call last summer. But in reality, this is something that God has been preparing us for for years:

Even in middle and high school (and probably even earlier), I had a passion for "creating" - art; design; lots of music - I was writing songs by age 12 (Beethoven was too; I promise his were significantly better than mine!). In high school I built a couple of extracurricular organizations, and among other things in college, I joined the team for Baylor's "Welcome Week," creating a week-long experience for incoming students. At the same time, leadership was something that seemed to come naturally to me - class president from 8th grade on; student body president in high school; student government at Baylor; etc. These things seemed to excite me and just seemed to "click" - which was good, as I was never all that great at sports.

In college, these creativity and leadership collided into ministry: after leading a retreat for high school boys after my senior year of high school, I was asked to build a student ministry from nothing at a little church in a suburb of Waco (yes, a suburb of Waco!). Now I got to use my creativity and leadership as I built something for the name and glory of God! I discovered that ministry gave me passion and excitement like nothing I'd ever been involved with, so I devoted my life to it. Since then, my "niche" in ministry has revolved around these things, creating and leading: after the initial student ministry, I got to create a college ministry (I was in college at the time, so I quickly handed it off), then created and led a new all-church service at the church in Waco. When I graduated, I joined the staff at a brand new church plant in Fort Worth, where I again had the opportunity to again build out a student ministry and college ministry, as well as develop classes, seminars, Film and Theology nights, and a membership process, help with overall vision and teaching, and really learn the behind-the-scenes of how ministry can work.

I don't say any of things to brag or to create a nice little “look at Ben” moment – I know no one will remember any of them, and what I created will only last for a few years - at best for my lifetime; then they'll be replaced or lost. So, as Paul did when he listed his accomplishments, "I count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil 3:8). Instead, I list them as part of the journey - to show some glimpses of the last several years, and some of the many experiences God has allowed, each of which have taught, shaped, and grown me to this point. Whether it’s creating ministries, crafting sermons, writing curriculum, experimenting with music- and song-writing, making videos, or whatever else God lets me get my hands on, he's taught me, led me, and molded me every step of the way! It’s part of who he's created me to be, and the fact that God allows me to use these passions (and I think, gifts?) for his name and his purposes is a huge and humbling honor!

To wrap up: about three years ago, I was driving into downtown Fort Worth and noticed the huge amounts of growth happening there (specifics on that in a later post). The thought crossed my mind that if new folks were moving into downtown, and if the domographics were different than most of the churches there, someone needed to start a Bible-preaching, Gospel-centered church there. I didn't think much more about it at the time, but it's been in the back of my mind ever since. Plus Jess and I share a love for adventure; a vision for what a different kind of church could look like; we continue to grow in our trust of God for provision and leadership; we have a heart for the unreached; and we love this city. So we talked about it a lot last summer, I had the great phone call mentioned in part 1, and we were propelled into the world of church planting!

My next post will explain what's happened since last summer, but since it's a holiday weekend, it will wait 'til Monday. In the meantime, hope you have a safe, fun 4th of July weekend, and as a little "holiday bonus," here's a picture of The City Church's logo. While the logo is actually a visual representation of the church's structure (which I'll explain next week), it looks very much like a firework over Fort Worth, so I figured it was the perfect time to share it, in a little "4th of July" spirit! Keep sending thoughts, questions, etc., and have a great long weekend!

:: AIP#3 - How the Journey Started (part 1) ::

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

Not really at all.

The story of "how we got here" actually began on a scorching hot afternoon in July 2008. I had called a friend who is on staff at a church in Austin to ask some questions as I prepared for my ordination as a pastor. After answering my questions and a bit of small talk, he asked if I knew anyone who would be interested in planting a church. Their church was beginning achurch planting residency, bringing folks in for two years of hands-on training then sending them to to plant, in his words, "strategic churches in strategic cities." The more he told me about it, the more excited I got. The first round of training was starting just four weeks after our conversation, and they had an open spot. I told him I didn't feel like it would be wise or honoring to leave our current ministry on such short notice and at the beginning of the school year, but that I would talk and pray with Jess and let him know.

Then I told him the irony of the timing. I had finished grad school a few months before; Jess and I were two years into marriage and felt "settled in" a bit; and we both felt that Trinity Chapel, 4 years old at that point, was in a very good place (new building, new leadership, a great staff team, and it seemed the ministries – the ones I oversaw and otherwise – had found their niche). Jess and I had begun discussing our longer-term future, and on our way down to Houston and back for a wedding in June, the conversation for the majority of the car ride had turned to church planting.

Those talks continued through the summer. None of these conversations were going anywhere – they were all just random musings between my wife and myself, as we talked about our future, our ministry, our heart for God’s work, and prayed about where God was leading us. We had no plans, no specific direction, and no “next steps”: we just committed to pray to see where God would lead us. And we fully expected that it would take months – if not longer – before we had any answers.

Then I called my friend, and I became more excited than I had been in as long as I could remember. And Jess and I talked more and prayed more. Needless to say we decided not to leave at that point, and over the past year as the economy started looking less-than-stellar, the church in Austin walked us through first steps in the fall, but felt it would be wise to put a "second round" of the residency on hold for the time (more on that in a later post). But God was doing something in us; we had a passion and excitement, and already the timing and logistics seemed at least ironic, if not providential.

So that was the first specific step in how we got here. The following months propelled us down this path faster than expected, but before we get there, we've got to rewind a bit and see catch some glimpses of how God has been shaping us for this endeavor, literally for years! That's the subject of the next "adventure" post.