This past week I have had three different people send me complimentary messages, seemingly out of the blue. Last Monday I had a message from Sadie saying that I looked down at the gathering on Sunday and wanted me to know how much she enjoyed what I brought to the Journey Team.
Then on Wednesday I received an e-mail from Melanie telling me she enjoys my presence around Epic and loves my heart for God and perspective on things. Finally today I got an e-mail from Ed saying that enjoys my presence and impact around Epic.
To be honest I do not feel like I have made much of an impact at all. I feel like I am going through a lot of motions, without really effecting change at all. I wonder how true that is however, especially when I have had multiple people tell me otherwise.
It makes me wonder if life in full time ministry will always be like that, where others recognize my impact long before I do. Or if part of it them just seeing where I am at as an intern. It is possible that life outside of an internship will be dramatically different. Maybe once I graduate and get on staff with a church, everyone there will assume I have everything figured out and all together, whereas right now they are willing to give me some leeway.
Either way, the part I hate is that there is always more that I know I could do. I can be planning lessons better, reading more books, connecting with more people outside the church, mentoring more people inside the church. I know all of that, and it makes me feel like I am not doing much at all. But perhaps that is all part of accepting who I am as a pastor and allowing God to work through me. Maybe I need to be more willing to be used by God in whatever capacity he chooses instead of always looking at how I can accomplish more by myself.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Futility
Today was another one of those days where I feel like I did not accomplish as much as I wanted to. My original plan for today was to close my office door and manuscript out my sermon for Sunday. Then maybe catch up on some of my reading.
Instead, I got to the church shortly before 9 this morning and saw an e-mail from Randy. He sent out an e-mail to the whole church asking for help. We had a truck full of drywall showing up at the new building and he was hoping for some people to help unload it. So I decided to go over there and help and ended up there until 11:30. It was at that point that Amanda came by, which was very odd since she was supposed to work from 9-5 today. She told me that she got her schedule mixed up and that she actually worked from 1:30-9. So we went out to lunch in Lansing and stopped by the Verizon Wireless store to get a price estimate for new phones.
By the time I dropped Amanda off at work and got back to the office, it was already 2 and I had yet to start manuscripting my sermon. I did not finish writing out my sermon until 8:30 tonight, which makes me feel like I worked an eleven hour day, despite that fact that I did not do much.
I decided after writing out my sermon that I would then sit on it until Saturday. I am not going to touch it again until Saturday when I can reread it, make a few modifications and start memorizing it. Fortunately I should have plenty of time on Saturday to go over it and memorize everything. That way I can simply write out some notes on Sunday and not have to have my manuscript up there at all.
Instead, I got to the church shortly before 9 this morning and saw an e-mail from Randy. He sent out an e-mail to the whole church asking for help. We had a truck full of drywall showing up at the new building and he was hoping for some people to help unload it. So I decided to go over there and help and ended up there until 11:30. It was at that point that Amanda came by, which was very odd since she was supposed to work from 9-5 today. She told me that she got her schedule mixed up and that she actually worked from 1:30-9. So we went out to lunch in Lansing and stopped by the Verizon Wireless store to get a price estimate for new phones.
By the time I dropped Amanda off at work and got back to the office, it was already 2 and I had yet to start manuscripting my sermon. I did not finish writing out my sermon until 8:30 tonight, which makes me feel like I worked an eleven hour day, despite that fact that I did not do much.
I decided after writing out my sermon that I would then sit on it until Saturday. I am not going to touch it again until Saturday when I can reread it, make a few modifications and start memorizing it. Fortunately I should have plenty of time on Saturday to go over it and memorize everything. That way I can simply write out some notes on Sunday and not have to have my manuscript up there at all.
Organic Church
For today’s Journey Team meeting Ed, Melanie and I went to the park to continue discussing the book So Beautiful by Leonard Sweet. I feel bad because for the entire last week I have been really swamped with busy work, and did not have the chance to read the chapter. I hate having to do all the tedious work that is sometimes required because I feel like did not actually accomplish anything. And yet, it keeps me from doing the important work of reading books, planning teachings, and studying the Bible.
So while Melanie and Ed talked about Sweet’s view of missional and we tried to wrap our heads around what exactly it means to be missional, I had to essentially sit there and not contribute much. However, at one point Ed made the comment that the local church is much like a tree, which got me thinking about it. If we consider the roots like all of the programs we run, and the leaves as the people, then we can get a decent understanding of how the local church should work.
First all of, we must realize that the tree does not exist to simply grow bigger and deeper roots. Instead the roots get bigger and deeper to support the continued growth of the tree itself. So the more leaves we get (or people) the bigger and deeper our root system (programs) must be simply so that we can support the continued growth of the tree as well as the reproduction of other trees.
I think too often we in the church have the desire to build bigger and deep root systems, so we go in search of people simply so that they can help support the roots. We want a young adult program, so we specifically go out and find young adults, not so that w can disciple them, but so that they can contribute to the size of the young adult program. Or we want a vibrant kid’s ministry, so we go out and recruit volunteers to help with the kid’s ministry.
Instead we need to be asking the question, who do we have around us? What programs are needed to support these people? Especially if we have the mentality that we are to pastor a community, not just a congregation, then that opens us put in a whole new way. What roots do we need to develop in order to support the single mother down the street? What roots can we create to help feed the four homeless people in our area?
If we change our attitude to become more like a tree, then we might just stop doing church for the sake of doing church. Maybe if we change our mentality we might just start acting like Jesus to the world around us.
So while Melanie and Ed talked about Sweet’s view of missional and we tried to wrap our heads around what exactly it means to be missional, I had to essentially sit there and not contribute much. However, at one point Ed made the comment that the local church is much like a tree, which got me thinking about it. If we consider the roots like all of the programs we run, and the leaves as the people, then we can get a decent understanding of how the local church should work.
First all of, we must realize that the tree does not exist to simply grow bigger and deeper roots. Instead the roots get bigger and deeper to support the continued growth of the tree itself. So the more leaves we get (or people) the bigger and deeper our root system (programs) must be simply so that we can support the continued growth of the tree as well as the reproduction of other trees.
I think too often we in the church have the desire to build bigger and deep root systems, so we go in search of people simply so that they can help support the roots. We want a young adult program, so we specifically go out and find young adults, not so that w can disciple them, but so that they can contribute to the size of the young adult program. Or we want a vibrant kid’s ministry, so we go out and recruit volunteers to help with the kid’s ministry.
Instead we need to be asking the question, who do we have around us? What programs are needed to support these people? Especially if we have the mentality that we are to pastor a community, not just a congregation, then that opens us put in a whole new way. What roots do we need to develop in order to support the single mother down the street? What roots can we create to help feed the four homeless people in our area?
If we change our attitude to become more like a tree, then we might just stop doing church for the sake of doing church. Maybe if we change our mentality we might just start acting like Jesus to the world around us.
Spiritual Gifts
On Tuesday’s Ed and I have been getting together for our weekly meetings. We talk about what I am processing, what I am reading, how my ministry areas are going, and whatever else comes to mind. Today we also happened to talk about my sermon on Sunday and how I plan to approach it. I am very excited to get the chance to preach for the next two Sundays, although I m also very nervous. I have never preached part of a series before. All of my preaching experience comes from school and the Sussex Salvation Army, where I had the ability to preach on whatever I wanted to preach on.
However, it seems like everyone is very excited to hear me speak, and oddly enough every already seems to have the mentality that I am going to be an amazing speaker. To be honest I do not know why everyone already has that belief. They have seen me do the morning announcements and Lee has heard me speak at Extended Play. But overall I do not feel like I have done anything out of the ordinary, nor do I feel like I have shown exceptional skill at giving the announcements that would cause people to automatically have faith in my abilities. But at the same time, I suppose that is part of giftedness. We all have the tendency to take our gifts and abilities for granted and assume that is just a normal part of life. So maybe in my few speaking times people have seen something in me that I simply take for granted.
However, at the same time, there have been times in the past when I spoke to different audiences and had too much confidence in myself. Those times seemed to turn out disastrous. So part of speaking is also remembering that my abilities are not my own, but that they are given to me by God for the edification of the body of Christ and the glorification of God.
However, it seems like everyone is very excited to hear me speak, and oddly enough every already seems to have the mentality that I am going to be an amazing speaker. To be honest I do not know why everyone already has that belief. They have seen me do the morning announcements and Lee has heard me speak at Extended Play. But overall I do not feel like I have done anything out of the ordinary, nor do I feel like I have shown exceptional skill at giving the announcements that would cause people to automatically have faith in my abilities. But at the same time, I suppose that is part of giftedness. We all have the tendency to take our gifts and abilities for granted and assume that is just a normal part of life. So maybe in my few speaking times people have seen something in me that I simply take for granted.
However, at the same time, there have been times in the past when I spoke to different audiences and had too much confidence in myself. Those times seemed to turn out disastrous. So part of speaking is also remembering that my abilities are not my own, but that they are given to me by God for the edification of the body of Christ and the glorification of God.
Ministry Fatigue
My weekly meeting with Kristy and Christina was cancelled today. In some ways I am okay with that though. Today has definitely been one of those days where I feel overwhelmed. Especially with Extended Play I feel like I have read so much, and there is so much to try and wrap my head around when it comes to young adult ministry. I wonder if young adult ministry is easier in large cities. Maybe then I can attract people easier. But at the same time, I realize that my job is not to attract people, getting a larger and larger crowd for the sake of getting a crowd.
I need to give people a reason to come to Extended Play, and so far it seems like people do not have that. Personally I just want to teach the Bible, but I know people are unfortunately not as interested in the Bible as I am. In talking with Lee and I convinced that people do want to learn, but at the same time they almost need to be tricked into it.
After all, before I came to Epic EP was basically just a fun social time. They played games, they watched movies, they played kickball. All of those things were good, but people stopped coming because those are things they can do on their own time. At the same time, when I first came I started teaching, and people started showing up for a while again. But now the numbers are down again. So it makes me think that we need to do something that people will have fun at but that we can also teach at.
I think back to the best young adult group I was ever a part of. It was the young adult group at my home church in South Dakota. It was actually what got me to start attending the church on Sundays. We met at the young adult pastor’s house on Monday nights and hung out a lot. But then, at some point during the night he would teach a lesson. I do not really remember the lessons that much, but I remember the friendships I made. It makes me wonder if that is what I should be doing instead. Maybe instead of trying to get people to come to the church on Wednesday nights for EP, we should have it at my house. People can come as early or late as they want, hang out for as long as they want and sometime during that I could teach a lesson.
But more than anything, I know I need to return to a serious focus on prayer. I have not spent as much time in prayer as I did when I first started my internship. I feel like it is incredibly easy to get distracted with everything else and forget to start my day with God. I am sure that that more than anything else is the biggest contributing factor to my feeling of overwhelming.
I need to give people a reason to come to Extended Play, and so far it seems like people do not have that. Personally I just want to teach the Bible, but I know people are unfortunately not as interested in the Bible as I am. In talking with Lee and I convinced that people do want to learn, but at the same time they almost need to be tricked into it.
After all, before I came to Epic EP was basically just a fun social time. They played games, they watched movies, they played kickball. All of those things were good, but people stopped coming because those are things they can do on their own time. At the same time, when I first came I started teaching, and people started showing up for a while again. But now the numbers are down again. So it makes me think that we need to do something that people will have fun at but that we can also teach at.
I think back to the best young adult group I was ever a part of. It was the young adult group at my home church in South Dakota. It was actually what got me to start attending the church on Sundays. We met at the young adult pastor’s house on Monday nights and hung out a lot. But then, at some point during the night he would teach a lesson. I do not really remember the lessons that much, but I remember the friendships I made. It makes me wonder if that is what I should be doing instead. Maybe instead of trying to get people to come to the church on Wednesday nights for EP, we should have it at my house. People can come as early or late as they want, hang out for as long as they want and sometime during that I could teach a lesson.
But more than anything, I know I need to return to a serious focus on prayer. I have not spent as much time in prayer as I did when I first started my internship. I feel like it is incredibly easy to get distracted with everything else and forget to start my day with God. I am sure that that more than anything else is the biggest contributing factor to my feeling of overwhelming.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Pictures
I'm 2 months late on this, but here are the pictures of my internship location. I have included pictures of both our current building and the new building we are in the process of moving in to.
This is my office. It's mess because I'm current practicing my bass for Pathway Church's float in the Mint Festival.
This is my office from the other side. As you can see, it is also our "Helping Hands" ministry room. Which means my desk often becomes an extra table for storing stuff.
This is our main gathering area. Other than the offices, it's pretty much all we have. We had a kids ministry area downstairs, but that was destroyed by a flood earlier in the summer.
Lee, our Student Ministries Coordinator, and Melanie, our Organizational Coordinator, share an office. This is that office.
This is our lead pastor Ed Love. Ed's office is also messy, but that's because he had a bookcase collapse on him. Not his fault.
This is the lobby area of our new building. We were originally planning to have a roll up garage door for the entrance into the main gathering space. That is no longer the case.
This is our main gathering area, the stage for said area and what will become our office "lobby." I think the plan is to make that our admin area with a couple work stations for people.
Our little kids area, complete with a half door entrance just for them. (They love that... who knew?) Also what will become our student ministries area. Lee has serious plans for this section including a halfpipe, balcony and a car. Don't ask how he plans on doing it.
This is my office. It's mess because I'm current practicing my bass for Pathway Church's float in the Mint Festival.
This is my office from the other side. As you can see, it is also our "Helping Hands" ministry room. Which means my desk often becomes an extra table for storing stuff.
This is our main gathering area. Other than the offices, it's pretty much all we have. We had a kids ministry area downstairs, but that was destroyed by a flood earlier in the summer.
Lee, our Student Ministries Coordinator, and Melanie, our Organizational Coordinator, share an office. This is that office.
This is our lead pastor Ed Love. Ed's office is also messy, but that's because he had a bookcase collapse on him. Not his fault.
This is the lobby area of our new building. We were originally planning to have a roll up garage door for the entrance into the main gathering space. That is no longer the case.
This is our main gathering area, the stage for said area and what will become our office "lobby." I think the plan is to make that our admin area with a couple work stations for people.
Our little kids area, complete with a half door entrance just for them. (They love that... who knew?) Also what will become our student ministries area. Lee has serious plans for this section including a halfpipe, balcony and a car. Don't ask how he plans on doing it.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Western Canada District
Today Ed and I went over to Grand Rapids for District Conference. It was held at Frontline Community Church. From what I understand, West Michigan is the only district in the denomination that holds a one day district conference. The entire event was fascinating, since I have never been to a district conference before.
For the most part, district conference is simply the annual business meeting where they voted on the district board for the next year, heard the general report from all the various churches, and voted on a proposition for financing new church plants. However, it was interesting because I also had the ability to meet some other pastors from the district and understand the inner workings of the district a little more.
It seems like every now and then God increases my vision for the church planting out in Calgary. When it first started, I knew that I would go to Calgary and help plant a church. Then, after The Summit closed down, and I realized that there was no longer a church plant to help with, I realized that I would go out and be the lead planter in the church. However, the more I learned about church planting and the “missio dei,” or mission of God, the more I realized that simply planting a new church in Calgary was not enough. In order to expand the kingdom of God we would need to use that new church to plant more churches in Calgary. So the vision was expanded to encompass the idea that I would plant a church-planting church, or essentially I would plant more churches off of the church I plant.
However, in talks with people about Calgary, I have heard denominational officials mention that Western Canada as a whole is equally in need of new churches. So, as long as I am planting churches off of my original church in Calgary, why should I think it too big of a deal to plant some of those churches in Edmonton or Vancouver? So the vision was spread to planting a network of churches in Western Canada. Which has lead me to realize that, at least at this point, my desire and vision is to start a new Western Canada District of the Wesleyan Church.
It is this desire to plant a new district in Western Canada that has made me curious as to how the West Michigan District operates. In order to help establish a new district I will certainly need to understand how districts operate.
For the most part, district conference is simply the annual business meeting where they voted on the district board for the next year, heard the general report from all the various churches, and voted on a proposition for financing new church plants. However, it was interesting because I also had the ability to meet some other pastors from the district and understand the inner workings of the district a little more.
It seems like every now and then God increases my vision for the church planting out in Calgary. When it first started, I knew that I would go to Calgary and help plant a church. Then, after The Summit closed down, and I realized that there was no longer a church plant to help with, I realized that I would go out and be the lead planter in the church. However, the more I learned about church planting and the “missio dei,” or mission of God, the more I realized that simply planting a new church in Calgary was not enough. In order to expand the kingdom of God we would need to use that new church to plant more churches in Calgary. So the vision was expanded to encompass the idea that I would plant a church-planting church, or essentially I would plant more churches off of the church I plant.
However, in talks with people about Calgary, I have heard denominational officials mention that Western Canada as a whole is equally in need of new churches. So, as long as I am planting churches off of my original church in Calgary, why should I think it too big of a deal to plant some of those churches in Edmonton or Vancouver? So the vision was spread to planting a network of churches in Western Canada. Which has lead me to realize that, at least at this point, my desire and vision is to start a new Western Canada District of the Wesleyan Church.
It is this desire to plant a new district in Western Canada that has made me curious as to how the West Michigan District operates. In order to help establish a new district I will certainly need to understand how districts operate.
Tension
Last night we had Extended Play. I barely got back from the intern tour and got to the church before people started showing up. Although I was very thankful that people came considering we have not had a very good track record over the last few weeks. Between off-site activities, miscommunications and a week that EP was cancelled, I don’t think many people have been sure what is going on.
Fortunately last night went well. We had a smaller crowd, seven including myself, but I think the discussion went really well. We talked about the fall of man, the effects of sin on our world and the redemptive nature of Jesus. It seemed like everyone was tracking with it very well. However, afterward Lee told me about a comment that I did not hear.
One of the people that comes to EP has certain feels for one of my leaders and said something to her that could be considered inappropriate. According to Lee she did not say anything to him about it, and essentially acted like it never happened. While that might not usually be a big deal, there are a few factors that convolute the issue.
First of all, this guy always seems to want to be around her, and she never tries to dissuade his actions, and in some ways almost seems to encourage it. Second, she is married, but her husband rarely if ever comes to EP. When I asked her last night why her husband does not come she said that he is “not an EP-person.” However, Lee informed me later that her husband used to come all the time, but stopped coming after a while.
Furthermore, even after the comment was said last night, my leader and this guy ended up leaving the building together at the end of the night and talking in her car for at least 15 minutes. While I do not know what the conversation was about yet, it increases the suspicious nature of the entire situation.
Where everything becomes difficult is in my position as the leader. How should I handle this situation? Should I talk to the girl, in which case is it more or less beneficial to have either Amanda or another leader there with me? Or should I talk to the guy about what he said and try to stop the situation there? Or should I try to talk to her husband and get a feel from him on how their marriage is going? However, whatever I decide I think I first need to talk with Ed and Melanie about it and see what they have to say.
Fortunately last night went well. We had a smaller crowd, seven including myself, but I think the discussion went really well. We talked about the fall of man, the effects of sin on our world and the redemptive nature of Jesus. It seemed like everyone was tracking with it very well. However, afterward Lee told me about a comment that I did not hear.
One of the people that comes to EP has certain feels for one of my leaders and said something to her that could be considered inappropriate. According to Lee she did not say anything to him about it, and essentially acted like it never happened. While that might not usually be a big deal, there are a few factors that convolute the issue.
First of all, this guy always seems to want to be around her, and she never tries to dissuade his actions, and in some ways almost seems to encourage it. Second, she is married, but her husband rarely if ever comes to EP. When I asked her last night why her husband does not come she said that he is “not an EP-person.” However, Lee informed me later that her husband used to come all the time, but stopped coming after a while.
Furthermore, even after the comment was said last night, my leader and this guy ended up leaving the building together at the end of the night and talking in her car for at least 15 minutes. While I do not know what the conversation was about yet, it increases the suspicious nature of the entire situation.
Where everything becomes difficult is in my position as the leader. How should I handle this situation? Should I talk to the girl, in which case is it more or less beneficial to have either Amanda or another leader there with me? Or should I talk to the guy about what he said and try to stop the situation there? Or should I try to talk to her husband and get a feel from him on how their marriage is going? However, whatever I decide I think I first need to talk with Ed and Melanie about it and see what they have to say.
Humility
Today was the third and final day of the intern tour. While it was great, towards the end of today it became very draining. Overall we visited 16 different churches, some mega-churches, some church plants that have yet to launch and everything in between. In fact, two of the churches we went to were inner-city churches, one of which is a hip-cop church trying to reach that community.
It is inspiring to talking with these pastors and hear the vision that they have for their community. I was able to walk away with a revived sense that Jesus is still alive and well in our world. While some churches might not be fulfilling the Great Commission the way they should be, it was wonderful to see that these churches definitely are.
Yet, while talking with these pastors I noticed a deep humility about them. Each pastor, regardless of the size of their church, seemed to have a sense that they are not the reason for the success of their church. Especially the larger churches had the sense that they are not the end-all and be-all of ministry, but instead simply one way that ministry to the world around them can happen.
However, two of the interns that came on the trip were from one specific large church, and while I definitely caught the humility of their pastor when talking with him, I sensed the exact opposite from the interns at that church. I got a feel that, in their minds, because of the size of their church that they were the “right way” to do church.
Furthermore, I remembered back to all the people I have talked to from Moncton Wesleyan and while Dr. Buckingham might have humility about him, his staff does not seem to share that same humility. It all made me wonder what steps these senior pastors are taking to remind their staffs that there is more out there, and that God is bigger than their local ministry.
It is inspiring to talking with these pastors and hear the vision that they have for their community. I was able to walk away with a revived sense that Jesus is still alive and well in our world. While some churches might not be fulfilling the Great Commission the way they should be, it was wonderful to see that these churches definitely are.
Yet, while talking with these pastors I noticed a deep humility about them. Each pastor, regardless of the size of their church, seemed to have a sense that they are not the reason for the success of their church. Especially the larger churches had the sense that they are not the end-all and be-all of ministry, but instead simply one way that ministry to the world around them can happen.
However, two of the interns that came on the trip were from one specific large church, and while I definitely caught the humility of their pastor when talking with him, I sensed the exact opposite from the interns at that church. I got a feel that, in their minds, because of the size of their church that they were the “right way” to do church.
Furthermore, I remembered back to all the people I have talked to from Moncton Wesleyan and while Dr. Buckingham might have humility about him, his staff does not seem to share that same humility. It all made me wonder what steps these senior pastors are taking to remind their staffs that there is more out there, and that God is bigger than their local ministry.
The Spectrum
Today while traveling around to the different churches I was reminded of what Mark Gorveatte once said during a trip up to Bethany. He said, “Don’t focus on church growth. Don’t focus on what size your church is going to be. Instead, focus on church health and allow God to determine the size.”
As I have been going to these churches I have realized that there is nothing specifically wrong with having a “mega-church.” While I might not be particularly gifted with the ability to lead a mega-church, I should not look down on them. All of the larger churches in West Michigan have continued to be influential in planting new churches instead of simply focusing on their own facility. I think, as long as my church maintains the conviction that the Kingdom of God is bigger than we are and that church planting is the most effective evangelism method to-date, then it should not matter how large we are.
All churches, big and small, have pros and cons to them. In larger churches you have a significant budget with which to bless people and challenge the community around you. However, it might be more difficult for someone to get plugged in to a large church. Furthermore, as the lead pastor more of your time would be spent equipping and leading other leaders, and less on ministering to people individually.
Whereas in a smaller church, you have a better opportunity to connect with people on an individual basis. However, you generally have a smaller budget to work with and obviously fewer people, which generally means less of your programs are run with excellence, or in some cases your church cannot afford to run the program at all.
Perhaps there is a happy medium between the two ends of the spectrum, somewhere where you begin to have enough resources to run things well but still have the ability to know everyone.
As I have been going to these churches I have realized that there is nothing specifically wrong with having a “mega-church.” While I might not be particularly gifted with the ability to lead a mega-church, I should not look down on them. All of the larger churches in West Michigan have continued to be influential in planting new churches instead of simply focusing on their own facility. I think, as long as my church maintains the conviction that the Kingdom of God is bigger than we are and that church planting is the most effective evangelism method to-date, then it should not matter how large we are.
All churches, big and small, have pros and cons to them. In larger churches you have a significant budget with which to bless people and challenge the community around you. However, it might be more difficult for someone to get plugged in to a large church. Furthermore, as the lead pastor more of your time would be spent equipping and leading other leaders, and less on ministering to people individually.
Whereas in a smaller church, you have a better opportunity to connect with people on an individual basis. However, you generally have a smaller budget to work with and obviously fewer people, which generally means less of your programs are run with excellence, or in some cases your church cannot afford to run the program at all.
Perhaps there is a happy medium between the two ends of the spectrum, somewhere where you begin to have enough resources to run things well but still have the ability to know everyone.
Contextualization
Today was incredible. Today, tomorrow and Wednesday I am traveling around the district with a group of interns visiting various local churches and talking with their staff. Today we went to Silver Lake Wesleyan, Watermark Church, Holland Central Wesleyan, La Rossa, and Engedi. Two of those are church plants, one is a Spanish speaking church and Holland Central is the largest church in the district, if not the denomination.
It was great to get to see a wide range of churches. Watermark is a church plant that is currently meeting in a high school. Although they do not intend to stay there forever, they also have no intentions of getting into a permanent building. Whereas Central Holland has a very large church campus and is almost always in the processes of a building campaign.
The interesting thing is that despite the wide difference in church styles they all have a similar missiology. All of these churches have a similar belief that the Kingdom of God is bigger than their local church. Likewise all of them have effectively contextualized the gospel for their local setting.
The entire day reminded me of the importance of context. No matter if you are dealing with an age group, a racial group or any other demographic, there are some ways of communicating that will work better for some people than for others. The only way to effectively communicate the unchanging gospel to a changing culture is through contextualization.
Over all it makes me wonder if the other church plants in Calgary were effective in contextualizing the gospel. I have heard that Calgary is a difficult city to plant a church, but perhaps it is because we have been trying methods that simply do not work there.
It was great to get to see a wide range of churches. Watermark is a church plant that is currently meeting in a high school. Although they do not intend to stay there forever, they also have no intentions of getting into a permanent building. Whereas Central Holland has a very large church campus and is almost always in the processes of a building campaign.
The interesting thing is that despite the wide difference in church styles they all have a similar missiology. All of these churches have a similar belief that the Kingdom of God is bigger than their local church. Likewise all of them have effectively contextualized the gospel for their local setting.
The entire day reminded me of the importance of context. No matter if you are dealing with an age group, a racial group or any other demographic, there are some ways of communicating that will work better for some people than for others. The only way to effectively communicate the unchanging gospel to a changing culture is through contextualization.
Over all it makes me wonder if the other church plants in Calgary were effective in contextualizing the gospel. I have heard that Calgary is a difficult city to plant a church, but perhaps it is because we have been trying methods that simply do not work there.
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