:: Lent & Giving Things Up, part 4 ::

This week I've been posting on Lent - the last post looked at many reasons NOT to give things up for this season. So what is the right reason to give up something for Lent? 

In a simple answer, when we give up (completely or partially) food, beverage, or something else we use or take part in regularly – or if we add something new (like a daily time of prayer, rising early to journal during the sunrise, etc) – it’s a shock to our system, routine, and our schedule. As with any fast, the purpose is to remove something from our lives, in a private (meaning, “between you and God”) declaration that God satisfies you more than “that thing” does; when you add something “Godward” to your life, it’s saying the same thing: my time, money, effort, etc. is better used pursuing “first the kingdom of God” than whatever else I could be doing (sleeping, watching TV, etc). By giving something up or adding something to your routine for multiple weeks, it also hopefully serves as a constant reminder of God’s sufficiency, and you can use the time, money, effort, etc. formerly devoted to the object you gave up, instead giving that time, money, effort, etc. to God and his purposes.

When we find ourselves moving toward whatever we gave up, we stop and remember that we gave it up, and symbolically, it serves to turn our hearts toward the LORD. For example, if I were to give up my favorite beverage, Diet Cherry Coke, for Lent, then at about 12:30pm on any given day I haven’t had my first DCC, I will begin to get a caffeine headache (because I confess to you an unhealthy reliance on this delicious, Nutri-sweet-filled drink!). And when I get this headache, the point is that instead of quenching it by walking to the fridge, it helps me pause and reflect on the glory of God and his sufficiency and providence (which exponentially surpasses this 12-ounce beverage!), His suffering, death, and amazing work through which He saved me from my own depravity. I pause to give thanks and praise to my LORD, for who He is and for what He has done.

Is there any “set thing” you’re supposed to do in remembrance; to which you’re supposed to give that time, money, effort, etc.? No. A prayer of thanksgiving to Christ, remembering a psalm, singing a praise, turning to Scripture, praying for those around you, giving your Starbucks money to charity or the poor, or simply stopping and looking around you on a beautiful day like today and remembering the immense goodness of God is remembrance enough. Fasting, devotion, your personal walk with God, and thus Lent, is not a legalistic, rules-based practice, so do whatever works for you.

So, to conclude: Do you have to give something up? No. But on the flip side, is there anything inherently wrong with giving something up? No. If God is working in you to give something up, then do so! Add something to your schedule; stop eating all those sweets; whatever it is – go for it! I encourage you to prayerfully consider this, but to do so with discernment and understanding of what you're doing. ONLY give something up if do it for the right reason: as you reflect on His sacrifice by being selfless in one small aspect of your life for these 40 days, allow this symbolic act to drive you to Christ, to increase your holiness, and to push you to pursue His glory not just for Lent, but for the rest of your life.

Happy Lent - I'd love thoughts/feedback/etc. below.

:: Lent & Giving Things Up, part 3 ::

What is the purpose in giving things up for Lent?

First, let’s agree that there are several wrong reasons to give things up for Lent, among them being...

1. Tradition of a family (“my family always has”)
2. Empty tradition of a church/organization (rote tradition without knowing the meaning)
3. Personal gain (giving up sweets for the purpose of weight loss)
4. Pride (giving up things to “prove yourself” more holy, or to display this holiness to others)
5. “Just to do it” (giving up gum just to give up gum)
6. Because you think it will “earn you points” with God (as if you can do ANYTHING worth his love?!)
7. And my personal favorite: Lent is NOT a time to give stuff up "to identify with the suffering of Christ" (this is what I was taught as a kid. Seriously?! Christ didn't give up chocolate for a month; he DIED FOR US! There's no way Lent could give us even the tiniest taste of suffering!). Now to be sure, God can allow us to suffer during Lent, as reminders of his suffering for us and the sufficiency we find in him - we had a pretty rough Lent last year! In fact, God can allow us to suffer whenever God wants, for any other that fits his purposes for our lives (Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28). But what I mean is that the typical giving up of some menial habit, enjoyment, or trinket does not come even close to equating ourselves to Christ's suffering.

Not one of these are good reasons to give something up… and I would make the case that some of them might even be bordering on sin: pretending something in the name of God while having another basis for it is a dangerous line to walk!

So what IS a good reason to give things up for Lent? That's the topic of Friday's finale of this little "blog series" - have a great Ash Wednesday, all.

:: Lent & Giving Things Up, part 2 ::

The best place to start a conversation on Lent is first to ask, what exactly is it? Basic, general answer: Lent is a 40-day period before Easter every year, during which some folks (traditionally Catholic and some Protestant traditions) undergo an extended fast. It was established in the 4th century, and since then, participants will eat sparingly, give up a certain food, favorite activity, etc. The basis for this is the idea of repentance (complete with sackcloth, ashes, and fasting, found in places like Esther 4, Jeremiah 6, Daniel 9, and Mathew 11), for the sake of turning from sin and seeking forgiveness, and to display devotion and focus on Christ.

On a personal level then, in preparing our hearts we realize the depth of our sin, and thus appreciate God’s sacrifice and love; we reflect upon the selflessness and necessity of the crucifixion; we celebrate the amazing redemption accomplished in the Resurrection; we rest in God as sole provider of all our needs. As Advent is meant to prepare our hearts to reflect upon and rejoice in the incarnation of God the Son at the beginning of His life, so is Lent meant to prepare our hearts to reflect upon and rejoice in His resurrection and the hope of our eternal life.

Coming next: why do people give things up? And examining the motives behind that...

:: Lent & Giving Things Up, part 1 ::

As of this Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010, we’re in the season that the church’s liturgical calendar calls Lent. Several folks might have grown up in traditional & liturgical traditions of “church,” where seasons like Lent were part of the norm; others have never heard of it before; still others are confused or apathetic to such historical liturgy; while a final group might have friends who participate (and even walked around on Wednesday with an ashen cross on their foreheads), and are curious. 

So over the next couple days, I’m posting a few thoughts on Lent: what it is and why people give things up (or add things, as the case may be). Check back this week for part 2: What is Lent; then parts 3 and 4: why people do, and concurrently why people should NOT, give things up.

And happy Valentines Day too...

:: Post-VERGE Thoughts ::

I had the honor of joining 2000+ other folks this weekend in Austin, for the first-ever "missional community" conference to be held in the U.S. (it was labeled such by speaker and author Alan Hirsch, at least).

Twelve City Church folks were able to join the conversation over three days, seven main sessions, and several breakouts, to hear thinkers like Francis Chan, Matt Carter, Neil Cole, Jeff Vandersteldt, Ed Stetzer, Hugh Halter, and Hirsch (the conference's Yoda) share their unique take on this new, emerging (in the best, non-loaded sense of the word, dear fundamentalist reader!) way of doing life as a church. Or to say it better, they shared their take on their unique ways of returning to the church life one sees in the New Testament. Because let's be honest, living as a community on mission is not a "new, emerging" concept at all; it was the original intention and design for God's people, from 2000 years ago and even beyond that.

After a few days to reflect on the weekend and to digest the info overload (seriously, just search #verge10 on twitter & see the massive amount of content - and that's just the 140-character versions that made it to attendees' microblogs!), here are a few post-conference thoughts/prayers [if you're just skimming, please at least read #3].

1. I HAVE DEEP APPRECIATION FOR THE UNITY IN DIVERSITY
All 12+ main session speakers believe that the church should be less of the "institution" it has become and more of a family/community, carrying out God's mission in the world. Don't roll your eyes at the overused word, but they all see it as being more "organic" and outward focused, than it currently seems to be in many of its' expressions. But every one of the speakers had a unique take on exactly how this should play out:

Some of their churches gather regularly; some don't. Some come from one church of thousands; others come from dozens of churches made up of 10 people. Some have seen this happen in the U.S; some have carried it out abroad. Some were in their early 30's; George Patterson was not! And so on. But they all believe in this lifestyle, and see it as the hope for the church in the U.S. There were differences; there were things I didn't agree with; there were things other speakers didn't agree with. But they all had a heart for the gospel. And they all had a heart for God's mission. And that was beautiful to see on one stage.

2. I AM EXCITED FOR THE POTENTIAL OF THE CHURCH IN AMERICA
Seeing masses of folks from different denominations, urban/rural areas, etc. experiencing the same thing made me excited: they called the conference VERGE because it felt like we're on the VERGE of a meaningful return to church life as we saw it in the Bible. If we all go back to our homes and start to live out gospel-centered, mission-focused, disciple-making lives as a family, it makes me excited for the building of the body of Christ in cities across our country and world. BUT...

3. I HOPE & PRAY THAT FOLKS DON'T GO HOME & JUST TRY TO IMPLEMENT THIS NEW "CHURCH MODEL"...
...because that's exactly what we tried to do over the summer and fall of 2009. For the past three years, we have been experimenting with "missional communities" in a college ministry I ran. So when we began building a core team for a new church, that was our aim: to build a church on the model of the New Testament. It was only by the grace of God and getting to spend individual time with some of this weekend's speakers over the course of the fall that we were able to "course correct." Here's the point: "missional community" is not a "model" at all. It's not a church structure. If it is, then it's just another program, which it was very clear nobody wanted at the conference. If it's not a model of church, what is it? It's deeper than that: it's a lifestyle.

Living as a community on mission is not a weekly event; it's an everyday activity. It doesn't start from a pastor preaching it to his church; it starts as individuals start to live it out and others catch on. It doesn't mean that a church has to "blow up" its small group program; it means that we train our leaders what it looks like to live on everyday mission, and to see disciples being made. Then God builds his church; not us. My fear is that many folks - especially younger, second-in-charge types, or youth pastors, or easily-discontented folks - will return to their homes and churches, and will try to implement the model that shone forth in this weekend's content, laying the "new way of doing things" on top of the existing church mindset and structure. It won't work; you, your church, and everyone involved will be frustrated.

My prayer for VERGE attendees - including myself and our folks who went - is that we'll all go home; that we'll be slow; that we'll ask ourselves...

• How am I living out the gospel in my life right now?
• Who are the folks in my spheres of influence with whom I'm pursuing intentional relationships?
• Who are the people in my community who I "do life with" as family?
• How can I live this out, and who can I model this to and with, that they may model it to others?
• If I see myself as a missionary to my city, how would I live

...and other questions like this: not focused on my church, but focused on my life. Because again, it's not a shift in church model; it's a shift in communal lifestyle. And that shift is deeper, harder, more intentional, and starts with you. But that's the shift that must be made: it must start with Jesus, be focused on the gospel, care more about making disciples than building your church, and spread by example. If it's not, it will be at best a blurry facade of the true change in your community you're hoping for.

If you want details/warnings/downfalls I learned early in our process of laying The City Church's foundation, and what we did to fix them, I'll be happy to share them with you; contact me here. Thank you, Stew & ASCC folks, for a great weekend. Thank you speakers, for inspiring us with not only your thoughts and presentations, but also with your lives and experience in modeling this for the rest of us. Thank you attendees, for being willing to live in a way that makes our culture look at you differently, causes you to suffer, and sacrifices yourself and maybe the number of butts in chairs on a Sunday, in order to see the great commission carried out.

:: "Missional Church Made Simple" ::

Tim Chester [co-author of Total Church and leader of The Crowded House, Sheffield England] passed this video along through his generally-thought-provoking blog. It's from Brad Briscoe in Kansas City - a great, humorous, easy-to-understand picture of what a "missional church" is and why we do life as we do it. Great stuff to pass along!

Watch the video at Missional Church Network, here.

:: AIP #90 - All-Church Gathering #1 ::

Sunday, January 24, saw the first official All-Church Gathering of The City Church. It was a wild, fun, exhilarating day, to be sure, and it culminated in an evening that was truly a celebration.

Honestly, it's a little hard to know what to say, even after thinking/reflecting on it for over a week. So I'll answer the questions I've gotten most in the past 7 days: how was it? What did you do? And how do you feel about it? Then, since a picture tells a thousand words, I'll post a few favorite pics from the 100+ taken by our good friend Tina Howard [who also wrote a great "first-timer" take on The City Church here], and below that is a link to the rest of her pics, and the sermon video. It's a pleasure to get to reflect on a great night - I hope the words and images give you a small glimpse of how it went!

In a small sense, it was a celebration of six+ months of prayer, fasting, work, and foundation-laying; it appropriately felt like the start of something new. But in a much larger sense, it was a celebration of God: of who he is; of his word; of Christ's death and resurrection for us; and of his work in our lives. In this sense, it was far less 'something new' and much more of a logical next step in what we've already been doing.

For curious onlookers, we started by explaining that "this event is not the church" - that WE, as God's people, are the church, and this is simply a coming together OF the church for celebration. We prayed. We sang and recited Psalm 50 together. We walked through Revelation 2:1-7 together, talking about our only true "first love" and some of the "lesser loves" that take the place of the gospel. Kids ages 0-2 learned that God Is Good, while 3- & 4-year-olds learned that God Made Everything.

Then we sent parents to get kids, and enjoyed the part of the night that was the most meaningful for many folks: we took communion together, as families and Villages surrounded the tables to serve each other bread and juice or wine, to prayed for each other, and to remember the gospel together. We gave. We sang a couple more songs. Then we prayed and went home or to dinner together.

For me, it was an incredible night - if I'm honest, I was a bit distracted by self-centered logistical concerns [which I frustrate myself with and need to trust God in; I know!], but past that, it was truly a joy to see a half-full theater full of folks - some of whom have been with us through the fall; some of whom joined us for the first time Sunday - growing in our understanding and love of God, and realizing the mission and ministry the gospel calls us to. It was a huge display of community to see so many folks chip in to "load in" the KidCity and A/V equipment. It was merciful that the last set-up item fell into place 15 minutes before "go time." It was wonderful to see responses; to know the presence of the Lord; to start our church talking about the Gospel. It was a good night.

Here are a few pics to help paint even a better picture of it [click to enlarge]:












See all of Tina's great photos on flickr here.
Finally, click the pic below for a video of our first sermon, as we jumped into "The Gospel-Centered Life":