McLaren and The "Framing Story" of Evolution

I've been devouring Brian McLaren's latest book, Everything Must Change with much fervour over the last week or so. I've just finished reading the section on "framing stories" (part 3 of the book) and suggest this is perhaps key to the "emerging" understanding of Jesus and his mission. It's also probably key to understanding why the modern church must change the way it approaches the gospel and the world in which it exists.

But, I also think the framing story's concept has something to say about one of the most influential framing stories of the last 150 years, a framing story Brian often directly and sometimes indirectly deals with in many of his books. That is the framing story of evolutionary theory.

I am a creationist. Once upon a time I would have prefixed this title with "young earth" or "biblical". More recently my understanding of the source of my identity has changed and I don't feel the need to "identify" myself in this way any more. Yet, "creationist" still describes how I understand God and his work as the cause of the universe.

A framing story exists in this view of God. In the past my understanding of this framing story was hard, dogmatic and disconnected from the gospel. Now I feel I can freely admit some of my struggle with certain aspects of the Genesis creation account, aspects that cause a few problems if viewed as historical events. I have to confess I find it more difficult to accept the talking serpent of Eden than I do Balaams talking ass (i.e. donkey not backside). However, I still struggle greatly with the concept of theistic evolution which steps well outside the conceptual order present in the creation story of Genesis 1 and 2. It talks about a God who is in control, and who presents his creation in a finished form. It gives us a picture of the "re-created" earth, so popular (and rightly so) in emerging theology.

It stands over and against the framing story of evolution.

Yet evolution is as significant a framing story in our day and age as the divinity of the Caesars was in their day. While Brian is quick to point out the way Christ's message opposed the framing story of the Roman Empire he is just as quick to accept the framing story presented by evolution.

While I have moved away from trying to build a definitive counter-theory I can say with confidence that I understand the science on both sides of the fence. Thanks to a freedom of post modernism, a freedom to question, I feel I can say the holes on the scientific creationists side of the fence are no less significant than those on the evolutionists and, at the end of the day, the difference of opinion comes down to the very framing story's employed by the debaters and discoverers themselves. At either end of the scale are extremists (maybe Dawkins and Ham?)

Yet there appears to be very little middle ground in these arguments, at a least not any middle grown that doesn't require compromise, the kind of compromise represented in Everything Must Change by the example of the Herodians and the Saducees, willing to accept aspects of the Roman Empire in order to build security for themselves. According to Brian though, Christ's way opposed this.

The framing story of evolution proclaims "survival of the fittest" yet Christ proclaims "love your neighbour as you love yourself". The framing story of evolution proclaims "blind processes and chance" while John proclaims Christ as the "creator of the world".

I began distancing myself from the creationist movement a few years ago because I started to see shortcomings in the approach and practice of those involved in it and the contrast it created with the life of Christ in the gospels - the same as the shortcomings and the contrast created by much of the modern evangelical church. However, while the details may be hotly contested and debated (but this is healthy, right?) and the science tested, the theory of evolution stands out as an inferior framing story when compared to that given to us by God in Christ. And just as Christ stands over and against the framing stories of the Middle East of the Roman period he also stands over and against the modernistic, scientific framing stories of the late 20th and early 21st century.

I think the concept of framing stories is so incredibly important in understanding and contextualising Jesus' ministry in the first century but also in contextualising and understanding his ministry in the world of the 21st century. I think, as this seems to be one of the central points of Everything Must Change, Brian would agree. Yet I think it is also something Brian may have overlooked in his acceptance of the "facts" of evolution and its place in our understanding (framing story) of the modern world - influencing everything from archeology to psychology.

Rwanda and Amahoro Africa 2009 - The "Emerging" church on the African Continent

If you've ever thought about visiting Africa and experiencing life and faith of the locals there's no better time than 2009.

Visit Africa
Make a Difference
Change your life

Day 4 (the aid and development organisation I manage) are teaming up with Amahoro Africa to offer a package that includes the 2009 Amahoro Africa Gathering in Johannesburg, South Africa and a couple of weeks on the ground in Rwanda. A package is also available through Day 4 that features the Gathering only.

We have around 10 places available for the combined package so please, if you're interested contact me ASAP. If you know others who may also be interested please share this information around.

Amahoro Africa Gatherings are an amazing time of connecting with emerging leaders from Africa and around the world, of learning and being inspired by the work of God among his people in Africa and beyond. Speakers include Claude Nikondeha (you can read more about Claude in McLaren's new book, Everything Must Change), Brian McLaren (author of The Secret Message of Jesus, Church on the Otherside and other best selling books), Richard Twiss (Native American activist, author and theologian) and many other inspiring African leaders - some like Edward Simiyu have featured on Moved Mountains in the recent past.

You can read all about the Gathering on the Amahoro website and about the Day 4 Community Aid & Development side of things at the Day 4 site.

Problems with professionalism

Last year I posted a couple of times on some of the upside to professionalism (you can read posts 1 and 2 here and here) in some aspects of ministry. While there is clearly a need for a professional approach and for professional caring, just as important is the need for care at a community level.

One thing I seem to keep coming up against from one particular segment of the professional caring community is a reluctance to see any benefit in grass roots or community attempts to address resilience issues. Social work theory seems to push the line that the only people properly equipped to improve this world are professional social workers. There is a level of professional arrogance and academic snobbery that exists among social workers in my area that is difficult to address (it's entrenched) and, as I believe it influences policy in many government departments, is preventing communities and community groups from more efficiently addressing many of the problems in the world around them.

This week, through Alternate[Or] Community, we are starting to get the wheels turning on a couple of grass roots community initiatives. The first is the development of a low-cost accommodation program, in conjunction with a local real estate agent with a social conscience, and the second is to begin talking with some of the local pollies about the youth drug and alcohol situation in the town and possible ways of helping the local community build resilience in simple, yet effective ways.

So far, in my discussions with others about these two issues, the professionalism issue has raised its head a couple of times. The general feel is that volunteers and/or grass roots organisations can't make things like this happen. I have been told that these concerns are the realm of the Government and professional organisations and should be left to these to sort out.

Most of these comments have come from Christians.

It's easy to see, with attitudes such as these, how the church has ended up in the position of thinking building a bigger church building is the same things as serving the community - this was actually the gist of a report in the local newspaper 2 weeks ago. The local mega church is expanding its building and its representative was reported as saying how much the community would benefit from the bigger building!.

After today, we should have a plan of attack in place for our housing project and by the end of the week the ball should be rolling on the other issue. I am hopeful the housing project will be something that can be replicated by others in our area (I'm going to "challenge the churches") and also elsewhere, and I'll post further on the drug and alcohol side of things as they progress.

Recycling my identity

I've been thinking and praying a lot about identity these last few weeks. Even blogged it a few times.

While I have been pondering identity in general terms - i.e. how do we, as followers of Jesus, draw our identity from him, & how badly has the church failed in leading it's people to do this well to this point in time - I've also found myself thinking about my own identity.

To be sure, in the past I have drawn my identity from many places - least of all from Jesus. As a small child I drew it from my family. As an older child, suffering regular physical and emotional abuse I began to draw my identity from my abusers rather than my family. I identified myself as worthless.

Later on I coupled my "worthless" identity with that of drug addict. The two went together well.

When I started studying media, and began working in commercial television I began to draw my identity from my industry. It was actually an industry that a lot of people seemed interested in (if only in a shallow way). While I was never famous myself I knew, and hung out and partied with people who were. I liked the way this kind of vicarious popularity worked. The worthlessness of my childhood had never really left me, I was still an addict, but this new identity - the broadcast media identity - was certainly the best so far.

Somewhere along the line though God started playing a more prominent part in my world. I didn't realise it at the time, but he was beginning to create for me an even newer identity. But it was going to take time.

After I met Alyssa and became a Christian I continued to struggle with identity. God didn't "zap" me in the way I was led to believe he would. The things that had been done to me as a child and my "worthless" identity still weighed on me and so I went about trying to make my life seem worthy through becoming "someone". Along the way I realised I wasn't bad at public speaking and began working on-air in TV and radio. This gave me some confidence and before long I was offered work by a large, high profile, international Christian ministry. I began speaking at conferences organised by them and, for a time, was regularly published in their internationally distributed magazine.

It felt like I was being given something I had never had before. But at the same time my understanding of my place in God's plan began to change. The life Jesus lived seemed to contrast completely with the kind of life I was seeking meaning from. In the end I turned down the position offered to me and began seeking a different way of living out my life before God.

My true identity in Christ was becoming clearer as I began to "emerge" from church traditions, past hurts and the sense that even among members of God's family I was never really welcome to be myself.

Today, I still struggle with feelings of worthlessness at times. There are times when I am depressed, and feel useless. But, as time goes on, I am feeling, less and less, that I need to draw my worth or purpose from the way other people see me or from the lack of interest shown by others in my life.

Not that long ago I thought worth came from publishing a book, or from having lots of visitors to my blog, or from being a requested public speaker. Now though, I don't have any of these things. Even though my life doesn't show any of the signs I previously associated with success - even with Christian success - I now know I am involved in something big and wonderful and incredibly low key, as I am involved everyday in the lives of people, forgotten by much of the church and society, but not by God. And just as they are not forgotten, I know, I am not forgotten either. That even in my unworthiness, God is still for me and I have Jesus Christ as the proof of this.

My identity now is that of a husband, a father, a friend, a pastor, and a missionary - all of which are influenced by the greater identity of Jesus Christ as I imperfectly seek to live out of all that I am learning of him and his Way, and to share the love he has shown me and my family, to others along the way.

Challanges on the road to Nirvana

The last couple of midweek meetings with Alternate[Or] have been challenging.

I'm learning being inclusive is difficult. Particularly given the vast demographical differences in our group's make-up. 2 of us are involved in a pastoral duties in a local church context, one of us is a refugee from megachurch pentecostalism and the remainder of the group are new to the whole God scene.

I am finding how inadequately prepared I am when away from the level playing field of the established church - a place where everyone is a Christian, knows what to expect and can sit quietly while it's served up to them!

I'm struggling with ways of making our time meaningful for everyone - those already following Jesus as well as those who are still in the early stages of learning and growing and working out whether Jesus is for them. 2 guys in particular come to mind.

I really like the idea of the 3 is enough groups - but they're just not practical at the moment. I'm trying to spend one-on-one time with the 2 guys in question and have even gone as far as trying to dissuade them from coming along to the spiritual meetings, but they insist on coming back every week. In fact they are more regularly at these meetings than at our social gatherings yet they continue to disrupt and show disrespect, leaving me frustrated and others wondering what the hell we are supposed to be doing.

While numbers are not a good measure of success, in terms of resources, more people with a higher level of maturity in the faith would be great at this point in time.

Blog Wrap

Still working through some older posts as I try and catch up with my Bloglines backlog.

• Matt Stone @ Glocal Christianity has linked to some audio versions of the Bible in different languages (including Tamil and Punjabi!).

• Steve Knight @ Emergent Village has linked to a piece of Emerging Church history in the form of a slide show by Brad Cecil from way back in 1999 and entitled Ministry in the emerging post-modern world.

• JR Woodward reviews David Fitch's book The great giveaway on his Dream Awakener blog.

• Helen @ Conversation at the Edge has an interview with Christine Wicker, author of a new book entitled The fall of the evangelical nation: Crisis inside the church.

• Rick @ Blind Beggar has posted a link to a summary, by Brother Maynard, of all contributions to his recent Missional Synchroblog.

• And finally, fellow West Aussie, Geoff Westlake, wonders whether social isolation is the answer to society's ills, on his (relatively) new blog - Wwwestlake.
  

Gen Y role models for losing faith

Here's the first part of an insightful and somewhat scary post from Mark Sayers:

The fact that young adults are leaving the church in the West in droves is hardly new news to any of us. (You can download my PDF resource as to some of the reasons why here.) However what a lot of parents, pastors and leaders don’t know is that pop culture provides models and examples to Gen Y’s of how to turn your back on your faith.

Sayers goes on to detail the way (particularly American) pop culture has provided a series of role models for 20 something girls to ditch their faith; Britney, Jessica Simpson and the latest, Katy Perry.

I wonder if this is more of an American phenomenon though - scary as it is - caused to some degree by the veneer of evangelicalism which exists in many places in the US. Because Christianity is cultural, at least to some extent, it is more likely to be treated as a fad.

Do you think Aussie Gen Y'ers know or give 2 hoots about Britney's or Jessica's or Katy's ostensibly Christian past?

Either way, it's well worth reading Sayers' post. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "post Christian"!

You can keep reading HERE

Exilio

I've started going through the Exilio program with our small group. Exilio has grown out of Mike Frost's book Exiles (incidentally, a great and in some ways challenging read) and uses an action and reflection approach to learning - so along with some hefty reading exercises, and Bible study, there's also some practical home work which Mike refers to as "missional experiements" (this has most of the group cringing).

One of the exercises given in the "Bible study" part of the course is to begin reading through the Book of Acts - in a public place. Some of the group first thought this was a missional exercise in itself. Thankfully it isn't - not that I have any problem with people reading their Bibles in public, rather says Mike, the public reading is about bringing the text of Acts to life:

When we read Acts in public spaces our imagination cannot help but ask the question, "What would it look like if the Book of Acts happened today in this cafe. park, train station, shopping mall?". We find reading the Bible surrounded by people who are yet to discover God's love deeply affects our understanding of the reading. (Ignition, p.7)

I put this to the test today. I was supporting a young member of our Bunbury community (Alternate[Or]) during a court appearance and had plenty of time up my sleeve while waiting for his case to be called. So I read the first 2 chapters of Acts in the courthouse. At first I thought the whole "public reading" thing sounded a bit wussy, but, in reflection, I think it did, to some degree at least, affect how I viewed the text. Particularly the section describing Peter's address to the Jews and Jewish converts at Pentecost. The bit that really jumped out and grabbed me was the following:

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation." So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. (ESV)

Particularly given my location at the time I was hit (again) by the important place repentance holds in the ordo salutis (order of salvation). It made me think about the young bloke I was with and his genuine interest in Christ and his life and what it would mean for him to become a disciple. It also made me think about the sheer lack of anything even resembling repentance I have seen in my many visits to the courthouse over the last 10 years or so (not to mention my own appearances before the Magistrate when I was a younger man!).

Thankfully today's result was a good one for my young friend. A reprieve that will hopefully help the process of repentance and forgiveness along.

As for the practical side of Exilio I think I have plenty of things to choose from without having to dream up a whole new missional experiment.

How do our expectations affect community?

Nathan commented on my post on the Jesus All About Life campaign and some of his comments got me thinking.

What does it take to create genuine community? All the things that come to mind are really the same things I am looking for in community. In line with this I have tried really hard to make the things that I value about community the things reflected in our attempt at community building; belonging; acceptance; love; respect for diversity; willingness to serve one another.

Ultimately though, one thing I know, is that I ultimately find my identity in Jesus Christ and therefore my sense of belonging, acceptance, love etc. also rests in him. Because of this I can (imperfectly) be accepting of others failings and shortcomings. I can give others a second, and third, and fourth (and so on) chance. I can participate in reconciliation, can advocate and mediate and to the best of my ability, be there for others when they need me.

But - unfortunately - even when I am involved in all these things, to the very best of my ability, I am going to fall short. I cannot be in all places at once. I can not be everything to everyone in the way needed to make a perfect example of genuine community a reality.

I will let people down. I will not love unconditionally all the time. There will be times when I am too tired, or too busy or too involved with other things to be there for the people who need me. I have a family which comes first meaning others will miss out on my time because of the time I need to spend with them. I have limited finances (even more limited now that my work with Mission Australia has finished) so I won't be able to endlessly help out with other peoples finances or buy lunch or a coffee for everyone that drops by to see me. You might get me on a bad day and I might snap at you. I might use the wrong words when trying to deal with an issue that crops up and I might offend you.

And if those people that drift in and out of our community, are not led to a relationship with Christ, and do not ultimately find their belonging and acceptance in him, then they and others will be continually let down by me.

This, I think, is why so many others attempts at community building either fail, or fail to be more. We expect a lot of the individuals that comprise the community. And when they let us down it's natural to think the ethos behind the community has failed. I've lost count of the people who have told me they have given up on God because of bad experiences with the church.

Perhaps if we can do a better job helping people find their identity in Christ, rather than in a denomination or congregation or particular style of worship, or in our models of leadership, we will find a community that is closer to that represented by our ultimate example of community - the Holy Trinity - and that more closely resembles the kingdom Jesus so regularly taught about while he was here on earth. A community that is able to recognise the limitations of its human members but nonetheless able to thrive because it is squarely built upon the way of Christ and finds its identity in him.

Can TV Advertising Entice Non-Believers into Church?

I want to be really careful how I write this as I am aware it could possibly illicit an emotional response, but, given my experiences over the past couple of weeks I really feel I have to say something.

I received a letter in the mail yesterday from an organisation calling itself "Jesus all about life" (JAAL for short). It wasn't the first time I had received something from them. I have been the recipient of unsolicited emails from them for a few months now.

JAAL are running a sophisticate, national church marketing program with the goal of engaging the "unchurched" community in church run activities. The crux of the campaign is a series of television advertisements which will be broadcast in W.A. throughout the month of October.

Churches can register to participate in JAAL for $100. Registration ensures any prospective seekers responding to the TV advertising will be directed to the JAAL participating church closest to them, and also includes a JAAL pack participants pack which has a DVD evangelism course and ideas for running "special" JAAL events.

Now the whole thing is pretty standard, attractional/evangelical church fair. It's based around the "build it and they will come" philosophy of church growth. Nothing new or terribly thrilling in all of that.

Some of the adverts (you can view them on the JAAL website) are ok in their content and all are professionally produced. And, according to the information on the site, it seems the JAAL crew have put a fair bit of time and effort into researching Australian's attitude towards the church and Christianity. So, while the JAAL project is obviously a genuine, well intended effort at raising the profile of Jesus Christ in the general community and getting new people into the church, I predict the real results are going to fall way short of the expected outcomes. In this sense it looks and sounds like so many other recent attempts at faith marketing that, when critically assessed, have all fallen flat - the recent push by Churches of Christ to get an intelligent design video to every secondary school student in Australia, Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven" campaign and Nicky Gumbel's Alpha, to name a few.

What really grabbed me about JAAL, and perhaps what is ultimately the difference between this campaign and most of the others, is the overall cost of the campaign. Until receiving yesterday's letter I hadn't given much thought to how the JAAL team were going to get their adverts onto the box. I guess I assumed they would be aired for free like the (cringe-worthy) Christian Television Association announcements of the 80s and 90s - used as fillers in the early hours of the morning and during kids after-school programming. But that's not the case at all. JAAL is a prime-time, hit 'em in the face, campaign. And as such, the JAAL team are requiring a minimum financial commitment just shy of the $500,000 dollar mark (that's half a million dollars if you are having trouble counting all those zeros!).

When I read this my attitude towards the project changed from mild amusement to irritated frustration. I find it incredible that after 15 years (at least) of failed church marketing programs and projects, the JAAL crew can justify raising and spending this kind of money on something that, given the track record of all the others before it, is unlikely to produce anything that even remotely resembles value for money. Especially at a time when the community services sector is chronically underfunded and underserviced.

This is particularly irritating to me at this time because the successful youth drug and alcohol program I have been managing for the last 3 and a half years has just shut down due to lack of funding. And mine isn't the only one.

It makes me wonder how much could be achieved for the kingdom if the same amount of time and effort put into this project were put into encouraging the church to participate in and provide funding for community based programs that actually transform live - and have track records to prove it! Half a mil would have kept Kick Start (my program) running for another 3 or 4 years. Yet the track record of the church when it comes to these kinds of things is abismal. They simply aren't interested.

I wonder if, when the hoohaa fades away and the dust settles and churches begin to take down and pack away their "Jesus All About Life" banners and coffee mugs if anything really will change? Or will it simply be a matter of time until another genuine group of well meaning Christians come along with another expensive way of "guaranteeing" bums on church seats?

What do you think?

Re-Imagine Consultation

We had Hamo down from Perth last night for our "consultation" - and he didn't once ask us to cough or say "ahhhh".

I was (pleasantly) surprised by the turnout. There were a few faces I didn't expect to see which is always a good thing. Overall, I think it went well. It was certainly encouraging to hear how those involved in the Re-imagine process expressed their thoughts about the process and the journey in general.

Being the one who usually does most of the talking (ho hum) it was good to sit back for an hour and just listen; I think maybe I should try and do this more often.

Social Sundays - Alternate[Or]

We started our Social Sundays again yesterday. During the summer we were meeting every second Sunday for a BBQ at the beach, but with the change in weather and a lack of decent alternative meeting places our social get togethers fell by the wayside.

The social aspect of Alternate[Or] has been pretty important. It has proved to be a way of introducing new people to the group and in just about every case these same people have ended up joining in our spiritual gatherings.

The dynamic of the group has changed over the past 8 months too. We started with a rather large group of people, most of whom would have identified themselves as Christians - most were disgruntled with the church scene in one way or another or were looking at fresh ways of expressing their faith.

Unfortunately just about all these original people have stopped coming and have pretty much cut off communication with me altogether. This has been difficult for me. I struggle with this being a failure on my part yet I don't really know what to do about it, or what I did to make it happen in the first place. I enjoyed the company and input of all these guys and miss their involvement. The only thing I can guess about the reason for their discontinued involvement is that the community wasn't meeting their needs or expectations.

While this aspect has been discouraging, the other side of the picture is encouraging. One of the most important aspects of what we do is the determined act of creating a place of genuine belonging for those who do come along. We seemed to have achieved this, at least for those without a church or Christian background. While the numbers of Jesus followers involved with us has decreased dramatically (from around 30 down to 3) we have seen an increase in unchurched people joining in. We know have a regular group of around 6 or 7 - not including the kids.

Here are some photos from yesterday's social.

The Kids

Most of the regular crew (below also)

We have a pretty basic website here and you can visit our Facebook page here.

Blog Wrap - Week 1

I use Bloglines to keep up-to-date with my favourite blogs. For those who don't know, Bloglines is a blog reader. It takes all of the latest posts from the blogs you tell it to access and collates them all in one place. It makes it quick and easy to get the latest news from your favourite bloggers.

Bloglines also allows you to save posts for future reference.

Something I've been meaning to do for a while is link to some of the many interesting posts I've saved in my Bloglines account. They date back a while, and I have quite a collection happening, but, thought that I would start sharing them around with a regular "Blog Wrap".

So here goes - this weeks interesting blog snippets are:

Christian Radio on Glenn's Re-Dreaming the Dream blog.

Some interesting and original thoughts on "Respecting Strange Gods" from Matt Stone.

A new blog (at least it was new when I saved the post back in April) on "Lectio Divina for the Ipod Generation" from Emergent Village; and David Fitch takes on Mark Driscoll's claims that the Emerging Church doesn't have any convert (he should come and see what we are doing in Bunbury - most of our regulars are brand spanking new believers with absolutely no Christian background!) in this post also from Emergent.

An "Ancient Celtic Prayer" from JR Woodward at Dream Awakener.

"10 Reasons Why Men Should Not be Ordained for Ministry" from Helen at Conversations at the Edge.

Rick Meigs from Blind Beggar responds to the all pervasive "Come and See" mentality that exists in much of the Evangelical church around the world.

And finally:

A post on a very current and important topic from Hamo at Backyard Missionary, "Radical Hospitality and Incarnational Mission in Suburbia".

Enjoy!

New Day 4 Videos - Rwanda

I've started editing together the brief promotional videos I shot while in Rwanda a few weeks ago. These two show are new intro and a promotional video of one of our finished projects - Mountain Rain. Mountain rain was completed in 2007 and represents our first finished sustainable community development project. It's one we are very proud of because of the effects it has had on the community.

The music is from Rwandan music star (and follower of Jesus) Jean Paul Samputu.

There are several more videos on the go and I'll stick them up as they become available.

I welcome any comments about the videos.

3 is enough

"3 is enough" groups are an initiative of Todd Hunter. They remind me a little of something called "prayer triplets" which have come in and out of vogue here in Oz (and I guess elsewhere around the world) from time to time. However 3ie groups have some distinct differences.

Here's what Todd has to say about them:

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Three is Enough Groups are a simple way to practice following God in the way of Jesus. They are not an end in themselves. Their focus is on God and others and the spiritual transformation such a focus brings.

As an important byproduct, they are an antidote to the massive image problem currently ascribed to Christians and Christianity. This unfortunate viewpoint keeps many people from entering life in the Kingdom as a follower of Jesus. Spiritual transformation into Christlikeness has always been the true goal of Christian faith—now it is utterly strategic.

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Everything you need to know about the concept and about getting a group of your own started is on Todd's blog.

The start of something new

Today is a special day.

I was called to a meeting with our state manager today, a meeting I had been half expecting for about a month now.

I was told that the community services program I run had not been refunded and as such was being shelved. As a result my position was being made redundant.

In just over three weeks I will finish three and a half of the most amazing years of my working life. In this time I have been privileged to work with more than 50 young men, struggling to find their way in the world and have met and built friendships with work colleagues that, I hope, will last a lifetime.

Kick Start has taught me loads - about people, about leading, about management, about God and the way he works in people and through people and through situations. About belonging and loving the unlovable and making the world a better place. About living incarnationally and being the church.

If anyone has any work going (about 2 days per week would be good), don't hesitate to drop me a line! :)

What does real evangelism look like?

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Being nice to people doesn’t get them saved. You need to present them with the bad news about their sin, tell them about Jesus and the cross, and bring them to a point of decision. That’s what Jesus called us to do, and anything short of that is just a cop out.

As quoted by Randy Siever - Doable Evangelism - Busting the Myth of "Pre-Evangelism"

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A few years back I would have whole heartedly signed up for this statement of mission. I was convinced the only way to see people saved was to hit them with the bad news about their final destination and the Good News of the cross.

The reality was, even though the theory seemed to make a lot of sense, the practice really wasn't working.

Looking back I think I had been convinced that faith was a commodity of sorts that had to be "sold" - in fact the approach I had been taught to take was one very closely aligned to that taken by network marketers.

Now network marketing is something I have tried on a number of occaisions without much success (I know it works for some - it didn't work for me and, thanks, I'm not interested in going there again!). I know quiet a few people who are into it and I have many times seen the end result of the standard approach - broken or damaged relationships!

Generally, the approach is pushy, demanding and offensive (I know not all network marketers work this way). The assumption is the prospect "needs" what you have to sell and it is your job to convince them of it. Sometimes this requires a feined attempt at friendship (the network marketer's equivelent of what Siever is referring to as "pre-evangelism" in his post) in order to win the prospect over.

In my personal experience, the "friendship" is often quickly forgotten when the program is rejected. I have spoken to many people who would describe themselves as "victims" of this kind of high pressure approach to business.

The approach has a conditioning effect. Once you have been "hit up" by a network marketer once or twice you get to know the warning signs. Out of the blue contact by an old aquaintance who "wants to catch up and talk to you about a business opportunity" is enough to send cold shivers down your spine. The warmth generated by the out-of-the-blue contact of an old friend is readily replaced by an overwhelming desire to do bodily harm to the person on the other end of the phone.

Unfortunately I know just as many who would describe their experiences with Christians in a similar way.

Another Amahoro 08 Blog

On the Amahoro Africa front, I found another blog reporting on the gathering. It belongs to Tim Keel from Jacobs Well community in the US. As far as I can tell he and I are the only bloggers to report on the gathering. He gives a run-down on sessions with Annemie Bosch and Brian McLaren that I (unfortunately) missed due to my bout of malaria.

Back from Africa

We arrived back home early Friday morning after a 7 hour flight from Thailand.

Things got off to a bit of a scary start on take off from Bangkok - the plane began climbing at full thrust as usual, until, about a minute into the climb, the pilot leveled out and throttled down. There followed a deafening noise and the plane began shuddering violently.

Alyssa and I were sitting in an exit row with the two flight attendants in their jumpseats directly in front of us. When the noise and shuddering started they stopped chatting and gave each other worried looks and exchanged glances with two other attendants on the opposite side of the plane.

When the emergency exit lights came people around us started making noise. My reflex action was to grab Lyss' hand and begin praying in here ear!

The noise and shudders lasted about 30 seconds and then the pilot increased thrust and began to climb again. After about an hour of climbing the pilot came on the intercom for the first time, without mentioning anything about what had happened. To say the rest of the flight was a little nerve-wracked is probably an understandment.

While not completely sure what happened, my own flight training and flying experience tells me the most likely source of the problem was the undercarriage which possibly did not properly lock in place after take-off. This would explain the throttling back, leveling off and the horrendous noise (resulting from the drag caused when the undercarriage was put down and back up again). It also explains the emergency exit lights as these come on automatically when the landing gear is extended.

While it wasn't a serious issue, it would have been nice if the Thai Airways flight crew had explained over the intercom what was going on. The whole incident left quite a few passengers obviously rattled - Lyss and I included.

It's good to be back and to see the kids. And also to reflect on the last 2 weeks and things we have seen, heard and participated in.

Jesus the CEO

CEO leadership and the church - it's one of my pet hates.

I was recently on the board of a relatively large Christian organisation where Jesus "Leadership secrets" were offered and discussed at each board meeting.

While the intent of the person offering the "secrets" was genuine and well intended, the "secrets" often left me a little hot under the collar at times.

Rick Meigs recently comment on this same topic on Blind Beggar. He writes:

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Chris Blumhofer writes a needed corrective at Out of Ur on the trend to make Jesus the greatest CEO of all time.

Reading the Gospels for leadership principles like team building, vision casting, or ’seeing the potential in others’ makes a mockery of authorial intent and historical-cultural backgrounds. Such readings appear to take the Bible seriously, but they don’t do it justice; they simply create anachronistic interpretations.

People need to stop using the Bible to justify their church-as-business paradigm. Chris correctly observes that Jesus was not first-and-foremost a leader with a message for us, but rather a savior who loved the world enough to die for it. He was consumed with the idea of servanthood. If leaders want to follow Jesus example, they too should be servants.

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Something more to think about.