Fun, but is this community?

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The Power of One

Has anyone read Bryce Courtney's "The Power of One"? We had a discussion last night on philosophy of education and no one else had read the book. I think it is not only a fun novel, but also a great treatise on education.

The irony of the book is in the title. So many people invest in Peekay's life to equip him to do great things. I'm not sure if the author intended the irony or not.

I read it seven years ago or so. I highly recommend it. Never saw the movie.

A Man Called Peter

I came across this book while unpacking and took a quick read through. The book is about a pastor from Atlanta who goes on to be chaplain of the US Senate. It was quite popular in its day, to the point of being made into a movie. I found it on my grandparents bookshelf after my grandfather passed away. This man, Peter Marshall, had also been pastor of Westminster Church in Atlanta, where Mandy and I have been members since 1997.

So I’ve known about the book and heard some of the story, but I had never read it. I have to say, it wasn’t a “read it cover-to-cover” type of book, but there were some interesting points. Here are some quotes and comments…

“But more than these superficialities was the indisputable fact that, under the impact of this man’s praying and preaching, God became real to those who listened. While Peter led them in worship, God was no longer a remote, theological abstraction, but a loving Father, who was interested in each individual, who stooped to man’s smallest need. So men and women, who were hungry for the love of God, came back again and again.” (Emphasis mine)

I desire this to be the impact of my preaching, really of all preaching.

“Peter’s favorite thought was that ‘spiritual reality is a matter of perception, not of proof.’… There are some things that cannot be proved. Can you prove—by logic—that something is lovely? Could you prove that a sunset is beautiful?”

I know, that’s one we’ve all heard before, but still good.

And I think this one is quite interesting…

“Peter once confided to a friend, ‘You know, I think my most effective sermons have been the ones Catherine and I have worked on together; and the trips to preach away from home that have brought the greatest results are the times when I have felt no tension on leaving Catherine against her wishes. I don’t see why it can’t be that way all the time…’”

What’s interesting is that Catherine, who authored the book, picks up primarily on Marshall’s travel schedule. She doesn’t even mention the profound acknowledgement of the value of her input on his sermon preparation. I have already found that reviewing my sermons with Mandy ahead of time provides great insight for preaching to all of my audience.

Diversity in 3D

Diversity has been on my mind a lot as we get closer to church planting. We have long had a vision to plant in an area where “the urban poor and urban professional communities intersect”. This is typically an area where development or redevelopment is occurring in what has in recent history been a lower income area. Our hope is to plant a church that includes both urban poor and urban professional, because we believe both have much to learn from the other.

But diversity is of course a much broader topic than just socio-economic considerations. I typically think of three key dimensions of diversity. The first, and perhaps most obvious, is race (or ethnicity in a broader sense). The second is socio-economic, which often (but not always) coincides with race. And the third is age.

I think that in terms of a church plant, the priority of these three is the inverse of that given above. Don’t hear me wrong, racial diversity is important. But church plants often max out on age at the approximate age of the church planter. Attracting elder members to a church plant is a real challenge for a young pastor. But not having the wisdom of elder members can present major problems for a church planter, particularly as the church itself matures.

So how does a young church planter go about recruiting elder members? I have a few ideas, but I would like to get some more. One idea I have is to go to some of the suburban churches in the area and ask if any empty-nesters are moving back to the city for high-rise living (a significant trend in metro areas). And of course a high priority must be put on finding older members to be a part of the launch team, because what you start with is often what you will inherently grow to be.

Please share your ideas about priorities and instigating healthy age diversity. We have a year to generate ideas before we form a launch team.

(PS - the picture above is one page from a demographics study Joe Haack and I did for Harbor, the columns coincide roughly with my three areas - ethnicity, economy and age)

Incarnational Living?

Help me think through this. Most of you have heard the term "incarnational living" used to refer to those who go and live in the hood to minister the gospel. Some ministries even term their workers "incarnational", if they come from somewhere else, or "indigenous", if they are from the area. But I am not sure that the term "incarnation" is an accurate term for this ministry. Furthermore, it seems to bring some dangerous implications with its use. And what is worse, it probably creates a wrong mindset in those who would consider themselves "incarnational".

I will begin by saying that everyone I have ever met who calls himself (or herself) an "incarnational" minister of the gospel has sacrificed much for the sake of the gospel and has had no ill-intentions in using the phrase. But that said, the term may still be a dangerous one. First, the term "incarnation" refers to a spiritual being taking on flesh. Jesus did that, and no one else has. True, he stooped to take on flesh. But if we minister to the poor, we do not stoop in a "spirit taking on flesh" way. We may need to sacrifice to minister to the poor, but we do not incarnate when we do so.

Second, it seems using this term puts the poor in an awkward position. How are they to relate to the "incarnational" ones? As Spirit filled believers, are the indigenous not just as "incarnational" as those from the outside?

But mostly, it seems that the term runs a huge risk for those who apply it to themselves. There are some qualities of Christ that he called others to take on. And there are others that only he has. Jesus was a teacher, and he called others to be teachers. Jesus was a shepherd... And Jesus was fully God who became fully man (the incarnation), and he did not call anyone else to do that. So by using this term, we may be inadvertently applying a uniquely divine attribute to ourselves. Not intentionally, of course, but not without risk of shaping our thinking.

Please don't hear what I am not saying. We absolutely are called to sacrifice for the sake of our brothers and sisters. We are to defend the cause of the poor and the oppressed. We are to watch out that we don't let money and luxury consume us. And some of us are called to live among the poor, just as Jesus at times did. But I am sure that most "incarnational" Christians will tell you that while they have sacrificed much, they have received and learned even more from their poor neighbors. Then the question becomes, who is really ministering to whom?

Realtors and Consultants

It occurred to me the other day as I was painting, that realtors are a bit like consultants. They come on to your property, charge you more that you think they are worth, and then tell you what you already knew you needed to do but didn't want to do. Then they leave.

As a former consultant, I can say that there is both hyperbole and truth in that statement. We recently interviewed three realtors to list our house and all of them gave us a task list a mile long of things we were hoping not to have to do (like the two story back porch). But the truth is that we did need to do those things. And, of course, our realtor has done a lot more than give us that initial list. See for yourself - www.4160botanical.com.

Anticipation

I have been reading The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe to Olivia (and Joseph for that matter) for well over a year. For a long time she would just play in the room while I read. I would read only a page or two, and repeat a lot of pages that I was sure she missed. I know I am reading ahead of her developmental level, but I push that envelope on a regular basis just to see what the kids pick up on. I try not to push to the point of exasperation.

Part of my interest in making these stories a part of their early childhood is based on my not having read them until my adult years. So you can imagine my excitement now as Olivia is starting to show both comprehension and excitement. She asks about the beavers. She knows the witch is bad. She didn't know who Father Christmas was based on the description Lewis gives, but that's our fault for not doing the Santa Claus thing.

But Lewis foreshadows Aslan's arrival brilliantly, and Olivia went to bed tonight asking when she will get to see Aslan. She is very excited to see the great lion king, the hero of the story. What a great picture of excited anticipation, the kind that is building for each of us as believers to see the return of our great king, the hero of the story of history, Jesus!