My friend, Marty Duren, has written his second book, The Generous Soul: An Introduction to Missional Giving.

If you are not well versed in the thought processes that are huddled together under the umbrella of “Missionality,” then the title of the book may give you pause.  You might not see the need to purchase and read a book about giving money “Missionally.”

If you allow these thoughts to keep you from reading TGS, you make a grave mistake.

The Generous Soul is about stewardship.  Authentic stewardship rather than what is often passed around Christian culture, the avoidance of debt to build personal wealth.

Rather, the stewardship advanced in TGS is a holistic stewardship that more accurately squares with the full testimony of Scripture:  All things were made by God, we are responsible for the influence of some of it, “our” whole lives and all of “our” possessions are intended to be used to advance the Kingdom of God.

Throughout the book, Duren uses anecdotes, Scripture and quotes from saintly and secular to weave a compelling vision of using all that one is able in the pursuit of God’s Mission, the redemption of creation.

I am still struggling with the convictions that I suffered upon my first reading.  Though I consider myself to be committed to a missional lifestyle, I immediately recognized that the wake of my impact on the world has been greatly reduced by simple decisions common to the American Christian.

I have not been the steward of God’s creation that I could have been, and the truth of that came into sharp relief with a new inspiration.  A desire has taken root in me to make a bigger difference and to use all that I can in the effort.  I believe that I, myself, in partnership with my lovely wife, can really make a difference in the world.

Missional Giving.

Is it a “new” thought, deserving of a “new” name?  Not really.  It is as old as the Gospel itself.  However, for Christians in the West, it is a thought in need of being recaptured, internalized and lived.

This book would be helpful to every Christian, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.  It is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Lifeway (local bookstores) and various other booksellers.

Last night I found myself yawning while halfway through that stunning foray into modern film making that is the movie, “Twister.”

Right when it was getting “good,” I got up, turned off the TV and lights, locked the doors and went to bed.  I had begrudgingly remembered the lesson I learned in Seminary (not in class, that would have been too practical) that sometimes Spiritual Disciplines are as much about what you don’t do as they are about what you do – the routines you practice seeking Spiritual growth.

More succinctly put, being well rested allows a fresh mind and body to pursue God.  Sometimes that means going to bed instead of staying up and watching TV, reading, playing games, cruising Main Street…  you get the idea.

This is against my nature, and I mean more than just my “sin nature.”  I’m a night owl.  I like to stay up as late as is humanly possible and then meander off to bed in a fog of semi-consciousness.

Then the pesky alarm goes off and I have to wake up and start the day.  For me, after showering and dressing, I go through my devotion time.

But I do poorly, if I’ve stayed up late.  I labor to focus and persist in prayer less.  Then I struggle through the day, buoyed by neither a good night’s rest nor a significant time with God.

One other thing that derails me:  Being on the computer when it’s time to start my devotion.

Gotta go.

I was asked yesterday what I had learned about pastoring that would be different if I had to do it all over again.

Lots of stuff.  Among the most critical: Casting Vision.

Essential to moving an organization from one way of doing things to another is the understanding of where they are going and why it must be done in the most proficient way possible.  I’ve learned a few lessons the hard way.

1. Don’t assume that because you understand it anyone else does.
2. Don’t assume that another person understands because they say they do.  They may honestly think they do, but they aren’t the best judge of that.  Ask clarifying questions to make sure they “get it.”
3. Communicate in multiple ways.  Not everybody understands things the same way.  Some are visual and need diagrams.  Others are verbal and need rich descriptions.  Communicate the same message in every conceivable fashion to hit everyone.
4. Cast your vision in smaller, non-pressure settings where questions and dialog are not threatening.  If an impending change is scheduled and you are under the gun to get everyone on board by a certain date, you begin to talk with large groups of people, which cut down on dialog, and you try and move quickly – both to meet your deadline and to make sure everyone’s question gets answered.  Doing it this way rarely gets all the questions asked, fewer answered and very few answered satisfactorily.  Don’t plan a move until you know the vast majority of the group is on board.
5. Study your organization first.  Find out what they expect when it comes to making changes.  Are they willing to follow because they understand and believe or do they need to be a part of the crafting of the vision before they buy in. Give them what they need to make the move.  Asking them to move in the way you are most comfortable only works if everyone is exactly like you.
6. Not everyone will come along.  Don’t take people for granted and don’t be callous about some leaving, but don’t have expectations of perfection.

Change is messy.  Doing it poorly is more messy, so do it really well.

I watched a video yesterday in which John Piper described “missions” as taking the Gospel across cultural lines.

I’ll accept this definition readily and then reply by saying that the crossing of cultures is mandatory in the every day lives of almost everyone in the entire world.  We do it when we go to work or school.  We do it when we go to the store.  We do it when we visit our neighbors.

The people with which we deal in the course of our routine lives come from various places and they have different cultures.  They have divergent values and they speak in a dissimilar voice.

I admit that the differences are minute in many cases, but they are still there.  In other instances, we find dramatic disparity.

Which is why every Christian should carry the mindset of a missionary with him or her, wherever they go.  It is necessary that we seek to understand those around us:  how they communicate, what they think, what they value.  When we understand these things, we can more effectively share the Gospel with them.

The Missional Church is simply a church in which the members consider themselves missionaries in the context where they already live.  Rather than depending on the staff or a select group of “visitation” volunteers, all the members of the church take on the responsibility of living and communicating the Gospel to the various networks to which they belong.

If the church is made of people who don’t understand the separate cultures around them, the separate values systems… if it is made up of people who expect that the people around them already share their values… the spread of the Gospel is  diminished for two reasons.

1. The church member does not recognize the need around them, assuming that their friends and acquaintances already share their values – Christian values – and is not motivated to share the Gospel to meet that unseen need.
2. If the church member does attempt to communicate the Gospel, they will likely not attempt to communicate in a manner intended to be received easily by the hearer, but one that is easier for the teller.  It’s not unlike moving to Africa and then expecting the Kenyan to speak English so that you can communicate.  It might happen, but it’s not likely, and if they do they may not be very good at it.

If a church really expects to fulfill the mission of God to which it is assigned, the people must understand who they are:  Missionaries to their own world.

My friend Cole Hedgecock posted an article detailing the causes of PK’s (Preacher’s Kids for all you non-churchy folks) leaving the church when they become adults.  Fascinating stuff, you can read it at his blog, Colemine Extractions: Why PK’s leave the church.

There’s a lot there, but I think you can reduce it all into the ability to make the home of the Pastor a “normal” one.  Where the experience of growing up at the center of the church’s perspective is not all that different from being the “average” kid in the church.

Here are some things we’ve tried to do in order to make sure our kids are as close to normal as possible.

1. Make sure that you don’t ask your kids to be “perfect.”  Pastors are often times perfectionists (typically first borns) and they can be demanding.  Don’t be unrealistic.
2. Be honest about your spiritual ups and downs.  They have them.  If they know you have them, they know it’s “normal” and don’t feel like they can’t live up to your seemingly abnormal spirituality.
3. Be good talkers and listeners.  All parents need to be good listeners, but you need it more.  If you notice that your kid is not telling you something, then gently work harder to build the trust that allows them to talk about it.  And when they tell you something that sends you reeling, don’t freak out or it’s the last thing you’ll hear from them until they’ve made some huge mistakes.
4. Communicate to the church that your kids don’t have special expectations from you and that you are telling them that they don’t have to live up to anyone’s special expectations from the church.  The church needs to expect the same from them as they do from the next kid in the Youth Group.
5. Be there.  It is a must that your job is not 40 hrs/week and that you are always on call, however… you must lock out  time to coach their little league or soccer teams.  Attend their extra curricular events.  Take pictures while you are there and put them all over Facebook or Flickr.  Let them see that you value them.  If they know that you value the church over them by always being at meetings and other responsibilities instead of their things, you can expect that they will resent it.  Your first responsibility as pastor is to pastor your family.  The church has to accept this as well.  Not all churches do.  If they don’t, perhaps they aren’t the church for you.
6. Laugh.  A lot.  We keep running jokes in our house and celebrate our kids’ senses of humor.  Nothing feels good like fun and a fun family is cherished, not resented.

Those are a few of my thoughts.  Anything you’d like to add?

click on logo for IVM page

I found a great article from the Acts 29 church planting network on the Missional and Institutional church.  The article is written with an overview of terms and cultural contexts from which the terms arise.  If the terms “institutional” and “missional” don’t make much sense to you when applied to the church, this article will help.  It’s well worth your time, if you choose to read it.

Though I am unconvinced the Missional Church’s worship must be unpredictable and messy (sounds like chaos?) as described in point 12, I would agree that routine within worship kills.

At the end of the article, the reader is given an opportunity to evaluate the church of which they are a part by judging 12 markers of either the Missional Church, the Evangelical Church or the Institutional Church.  Just to whet your appetite, here are the 12 marks of the Missional Church:

The Missional Church:

1. Sent by God as missionaries in their own culture (Mt. 4:19).

2. Exists to take Christ to the lost: Go to the world (Mt. 28:18-20).

3. Members are personally engaged in their communities (Acts 16:20; 17:6).

4. Submerged into its culture like Christ (Luke 7:34).

5. Main focus is training and equipping others to be missionaries (Eph. 4:11-16).

6. Dependent upon Holy Spirit to use individuals as agents for evangelizing (Acts 1:8).

7. Develops relationships with the lost on purpose (Matt. 5:13-16).

8. Relationships are the means to influence others in their journey toward Christ (John 1512-17; 1 John 4:19-21).

9. The goal is to help others find Jesus in their own way and timing (1 Cor. 9:20-23).

10. Participants are affected in every way through a calling by God to be an agent for the gospel (Acts 4:13, 31-35).

11. Faith is practiced in community – groups of people together (Acts 2:42-45; Phil. 1:27).

12. Worship is unpredictable, spontaneous, Spirit-directed and messy (John 4:23-24).

The Evangelical Church:

1. Has a program of missions alongside numerous activities of the church.

2. Exists as a place for the lost to find Christ: Come to the Church.

3. Members are supportive of mission efforts.

4. Separated from its culture as a holy quest.

5. Main focus is supporting mission works – mainly overseas.

6. Dependent upon altar call and big events as its main tool for evangelization.

7. Knows a few lost people and prays for their salvation.

8. Uses marketing techniques & business principles to draw people to a corporate gathering.

9. The goal is to produce salvation results.

10. Participants conform to man-made standards through guilt and pressure. Change is through self-will, not Spirit.

11. Faith is practiced at the church building during prescribed gathering times.

12. Worship is structured, predictable and orderly.

The Institutional Church:

1. Sends money to missionaries in foreign countries if it is convenient.

2. Exists for the members of the church: Join the Church.

3. Members expect pastors to bring in the lost and unchurched.

4. Has become a sub-culture of Christians living in a parallel universe.

5. Main focus is supporting church activities to attract new families.

6. Dependent upon pastors and staff to evangelize the lost.

7. Stays away from the lost; has very few dealings with those outside the church.

8. Uses tradition, denomination and family ties to attract and keep members.

9. The goal is to increase attendance.

10. Participants compartmentalize their religion and their lives – generally facades of religious adherence.

11. Faith is a routine activity that is private and personal.

12. Worship is ritualistic.

You can find the scoring tool at the end of the article.

Sunday, Skelly was serving our community by hosting everyone to a free Block Party.  We had inflatables, games, candy, cotton candy, popcorn, grilled corn, caramel apples, bbq sandwiches and funnel cakes.  All of it given to everyone as an opportunity to serve our neighbors.

We had over 450 register and we conservatively estimate another 50 or so enjoyed the festivities without registering.  A lot of them checked that they would like to know what is going on in the future.

Hard work by dedicated Skelly Servants.

Here are just a few of the pics.  You can see all of them here.

[Show as slideshow]

Tulsa Metro Baptist Network (formerly Association) has prioritized planting churches, which has brought a number of church planters our way.  I thought this 3 minute video might be helpful to them.

If you don’t get dry wit, don’t bother.

HT:  Ed Stetzer

I had someone tell me last week that they didn’t believe in “constructive criticism.”  They went on to say that criticism is just that, criticism.  I took his point to mean that encouragement to change or grow shouldn’t be “critical” or negative, but, well, an encouragement.

That sounds good.  Too bad it doesn’t happen that way very often.

Even within the body of Christ, negativity toward something or someone that we want to see change or grow often comes with an edge.  While there is never an excuse for wounding one another, it would be naive of us to expect one another to be in complete adherence to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Dealing with that hurtful brother or sister is a subject for another day, but let us agree that, from time to time, we will have to deal with someone who desires some changes in our behavior.

Our natural reaction to this is always to push back.  No one enjoys being pushed on and we are particularly repulsed by unkind or insensitive words. However…

The wise man or woman will listen to all that is said, try to understand what the person wants and, more importantly, why they want it.

Then you are able to evaluate the challenge for what it really is and not for what you initially may take it to be as influenced by your emotional reaction.  More often than not, you will find some kernel of truth that might help you as a person.  Sometimes, you find they are just being selfish.  I’ve noticed that talking the “criticisms” over with others who are more neutral to be helpful in discerning the nature of these “suggestions.”

Bottom line:  When it comes to criticism, best not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Love this quote from Bob Roberts:

“Sharing the gospel is the responsibility of every single believer … I learned a few years ago that the church is the missionary … it means that every believer is a missionary and that my job as pastor is to help them to figure out beyond prayer and giving how they connect with the world like the men of Cyprus and Cyrene did, using their vocations and jobs and wielding a powerful story.”
- Bob Roberts, Glocalization

When wherever you are is your mission field and you are at your job more than anywhere else, it should change the way you look at your place of employment. It moves from a place where you work to earn money to get things to the place you go to live out the Gospel in front of others.

Since jobs are rarely ideal, it means you will often be put in trying circumstances… where the difference between one being redeemed and one not should become obvious to everyone.