Travis Johnson

Ed Stetzer on Contextualization

This Stetzer moment is brought to you from an important SBC stage in San Antonio I believe.  There are not many guys I enjoy listening to or reading more than Ed.  From time to time, people want to know why we do church like we do.  He has given a great Gospel explanation.

Also, one of the last times I heard him speak, he said that the 80's had called and wanted John Maxwell's turtleneck back.  This time he said that when he attends the Southern Baptist Convention, he feels young and slim.  Beautiful.

Church Planter: Brent Stephens

In the past, Awakenings or Revivals came by way of persecution, crusades, student-led prayer ministries, and overseas missionary endeavors.  I believe there may be an awakening taking place today and church planters are involved in a big way.  I'm blown away by how many really awesome guys are laying it down to establish new life-giving churches.

I am glad to see my friends, Brent and Sarah Stephens going public with their decision to plant a church in the Atlanta-area town of Acworth.  They are leaving a relatively comfortable, upwardly mobile denominational position working for someone I consider to be one of our very best denominational leaders to step out into the arena of the unknown.   I'm incredibly proud of Brent and Sarah.  I've known both of them for over 10 years.

If you know of anyone in the Acworth area that would like to be a part of a launch team for a new church, have them check out www.acworthchurchplant.com.  I'd also encourage you to consider supporting these guys in prayer and with cash.  Its an awesome thing to be a part of the mission of Jesus.  Its a beautiful thing to be a part of the Church. 

The Priority of Culture

I have rarely written on diversity, multi-cultural ministry.  It is rarely discussed at Life Pointe other than each of us poking fun at one another for our cultural foibles.  I probably need to though. 

As the church grows culture clashes are bound to happen.  They do not arise out of anger or counter-productive arguments.  But, they do arise because we all have pasts, backgrounds, norms, and experiences that shape who we are. 

I believe Life Pointe has blended so well and really has no dominant culture because it is not the priority.  We are not a black church, white, church , latin church, Jamaican church.  We are simply a church.  In fact, very few people walk into the theater with cultural agendas and stay around for any amount of time without a perspective change. 

At the same time, we have to understand who we are.  We have to know that we have cultural habits that can be a barrier to receiving other cultures.  In my last post, I referenced the cultural norms of a Haitian funeral.  But, also consider the cultural tendency of some of us to be late to our gatherings.  Or, what about the latin air kisses that fly around the theater in a flurry every Sunday?  Or, what about the tendency of our white yankee transplants to clap on all the wrong beats?! I could go on all day.  I simply love the fact that we are all unique.

One thing we do not do is bring our cultural expectations over to the rest of our church family and expect that every other culture conforms to ours.  The priority of the culture is second to the our love for one another.  And, the priority of the culture is second to the priority of the Gospel.  I have a challenge for you.  Look at the spiritual behaviors you have or expect.  How many of those spiritual behaviors are learned behaviors?  How many of those learned spiritual behaviors find their roots in Scripture?  How many find their roots in culture?

It is food for thought.  It is also a challenge going forward for each of us to position ourselves in such a way that our culture does not become an unnecessary barrier to Kingdom Growth. If we conform ourselves to Christ and love our neighbor, people will look at us and know us not for our cultural identity.  They will know us for our love for one another (John 13:34-35).

A Conversation About the Church

Last night we had a good discussion in my Life Group about church.  The conversation was cut short because of time.  I'm going to pick it up here.

Why is there not one church per city?
There is only one church per city...one true church.  That church may be marked by language, cultural , doctrinal, and personality differences.  They may be organizationally distinct from one another.  But, through the eyes of Christ, we are one.  At least, that is His desire (John 17:11-23).

I have no problem worshiping and growing next to someone who is different from me culturally or racially.  To the best of my knowledge we have about 28 different nationalities at Life Pointe and even more personalities, likes, and dislikes than that.  The only time I want to separate myself from another Christian are on the following occasions:

1. A doctrinally divisive person (Romans 16:17-18).
2. A theologically formed person who denies the essentials of faith in Jesus Christ (deity of Christ, authority of the Scriptures, etc...)

Being one or being in unity is about mission and connection and not so much about organizational consolidation.  We should be one regardless of our structural layout.

Why do churches advertise for the community to visit?
Churches advertise because Christ told us to compel people to come in(Luke 14:23).  The Gospel has an attractional quality and mandate.  So, when we do mailers, radio ads, billboards, club cards, invite cards, word-of-mouth, personal invites, etc..., we are fulfilling the greatest commandments of Christ (Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 12:28-31).  Our attractional activities need to be aimed at people who are not in relationship with Christ.

The goal of the church is to develop our people in such a way that they are not reliant on a paid professional to deliver the Gospel message.  Rather, a believer should be able to live his life in such a way that he is a missionary to his neighbors, friends, and family.  She should care for needs, be a friend, and display the heart of Christ.  This is the missional quality and mandate of Jesus for our lives.  Our missional activities should be aimed at all people.

What is appropriate spiritual behavior in Church?
Miami is as festive of a place as you can live.  We party a lot.  That does not change when we walk into the theater for our church gathering.  We are emotionally expressive.  It is pretty typical to hear people whistle or football cheer after a song, raise hands, clap, laugh, cry.  Culturally it is totally appropriate.  The corporate gathering of the church should be a spiritually significant and vibrant place.  Scripturally, we are actually encouraged to be expressive (Psalm 47:1-4) at times.  We are also told to shut up and listen (Psalm 46:10).  We are taught to think and mature (Philippians 2:12 and Hebrews 5:12-14).

Then, concerning Spiritual Gifts, we see that God gives them to the Church.  I've addressed my doctrinal position on this previously.  Typically, churches respond to the use of the gifts in one of two ways. Either, we are uncomfortable with the gifts, so we reject them as invalid for today and do not allow them to be expressed.  Or, we embrace them and ignore Biblical directives for their use.  So, how does Life Pointe handle the use of the gifts?  We welcome them and adhere strictly to 1 Corinthians 14.  Things are done decently and in order.

I would also add that much of what some view as being Spiritual is culturally learned and not necessarily motivated by God.  Consider how a Haitian funeral is typically conducted.  There are mourners and loud wailing.  Within that cultural context, that is often anticipated.  But, to other cultures, it is uncomfortable.  As we conduct ourselves in the church, surrounded by dozens of nationalities and even more cultural implications, we are ourselves while being sensitive to the cultural needs of our neighbors.

Missionary Bloggers

Yesterday, I taught a session on Marketing the Mission at the Gold Coast Missions Conference in Cooper City.  Some of the most unique, genuine, and decent people I've met were there.  Some were pastors, educators, social workers and clinicians (like Evan and Charity), and pilots (like Richard Bechton).  Others were national leaders of church planting movements.  We discussed blogging as a tool to carry out mission.  It was cool to see that while I was teaching, one of our leaders, Nick Park, our National Overseer of Churches in Ireland started his blog during the session.

You've got to check out his first post on Using the Irish Republican Army As an Example for Missionary Support Groups.  I'm anticipating a great social network emerging from guys like Nick and others over the next few weeks.

Mere Mission- Give Me Some Stars

Mere Mission is a great open source blog community discussion the missional church.  I gave my introductory post five stars.  Check it out and give me some stars...seriously, I'd love to have a lot of stars.  Oh yeah, you'll find out some significant HUGE news about me here.  Drop me a note there...seriously.

Marketing the Mission

On Friday, I am speaking at a Missions Conference to about 70 missionaries on the topic of "Marketing the Mission."  The bulk of traditional fund raising for missionaries is accomplished by speaking in church services.  However, the way church is carried out today cuts the number of these opportunities by a third.  In the past, there were typically 3 services per week.  Today, there is typically one corporate gathering each week supplemented by small groups. 

This shift has created a significant financial challenge for missionaries.  Those who have make the shift have/will prosper(ed).  Those who fail to leverage new venues for communicating their stories will atrophy and be ignored.

My undergraduate degree is in communication.  My corporate background is in marketing.  My passion is the mission of Christ.  I absolutely look forward to opportunities like these.  I still have fire in my belly.  I love to close deals.  I hate fishing.  I love catching.  I love to challenge people to try new things.  I love to be around people who are totally sold out to Christ and who are putting their lives on the line for His cause.  I hate to see people with a significant message being ignored.  I am very much looking forward to Friday and the relationships that will emerge from the meetings.

John Smulo - Christus II - Present Tense Jesus

John Smulo came in this weekend to speak on Present Tense Jesus (mp3) at Life Pointe. You can subscribe to the LPC podcast here.  I had a great time giving him the $2 tour of Miami.  The side effects are that I haven't had any sleep this week.  But, sleep is optional.  Enjoy a couple pics from the boat.  The first pic is my "little mama."  The second is Dr. Smulo in the flesh. 

On Hospitality

Perhaps, the greatest key to fulfilling Christ's command to go and make disciples is practicing hospitality.  It is an act of mission, not as a means to an end but as a characteristic of the Christ transformed life. 

• Hospitality is a missional practice. 
• It is required of bishops. 
• It is a charge for the church. 
• It is a godly practice. 
• It is an act of worship. 
• It is a blessing for the giver and receiver. 
• It is an act of grace. 
• It is needed for the spreading of the message of Jesus. 
• It is a sign of wisdom and maturity. 
• It should especially be shown to refugees in a strange land. 
• Hospitality should be shown to friends and strangers alike.
• It should be practiced cheerfully and without grumbling.
  

In the Garden, we see God walking and sharing with Adam.  In speaking to the church at Rome, Paul encourages the church to hospitable to strangers (more specifically meaning to have "a love of strangers") going as far as lodging them in our homes. 

At Out of the Cocoon, Paul Walker quotes from "The Shaping of Things to Come" how hospitality awakens spiritual hunger.  In the book, Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch call us to "Be extraordinarily loving : unrelenting kindness and radical hospitality speaks louder than words. By this we are not thinking of a pious, holier-than-thou attitude, but a much deeper and more profound love that connects with an alternative and counter-cultural reality.

Andrew Hamilton at Backyard Missionary had a series of posts on ministry in suburbia.  They focused heavily on hospitality. Andrew takes a look at our proximity, regularity, depth, conflict, the message, and the supernatural (see post 1, 2, 3, and 4).  His words are worth considering as we show hospitality to our neighbors.

It seems that our interaction with Christ, having been received by Him should naturally produce a hospitable heart in us.  But, it doesn't.  Living a hospitable life is a challenge to begin.  Hospitality can be challenge.  It takes us out of our comfort zones.  But, it is good and right and beautiful. 

Other blogs engaging in discussions on hospitality:
PGF Outbox: Markus Watson on Hospitality - Al Hsu: Hospitality in Suburbia - Greetings from the Experiment House: Eating Together -

A Poem on Transformation

We had another Baptism at the Bay Sunday after our morning service.  We talked about the baptism of Jesus and what it meant.  We sat in the sand and shared how we came to Christ.  Josh came to Christ through Valarie.  Another Josh came to Christ and then lead his mom to Christ.  It was great baptizing both of them on the same day. 

Melinda came to Christ after a series of personal traumas and a persistent brother.  In the last couple months, she has brought a lot of people to church.  Through her, her father-in-law also made a decision to pursue Jesus.  Melinda put her thoughts about her own baptism and transformation on paper and shares this:

Dec.10, 2006

My Baptisim

Beneath, below I buried that old me I know.
I buried her deep below.
I prayed that you would forgive my sin; I vowed not to take
Life for granted again.
Today I sealed my packed with you- and with my next
Breath you made me new.
I’ve laughed, and cried but did not realized, the pain
You endured to die.
To die for me, to rise up again, to be the fresh air I
Now take in.
Beneath, below you cleansed my soul- in me your purpose shows,
Your love grows, your spirit flows- In Me Your Promise Glows!

Awesome.  The really amazing thing is how automatic the mission of Christ is to people like Melinda and Josh when they begin following Christ.  When true transformation begins, mission is natural.  It seems that the longer we follow Christ, the less automatic missional living becomes. 

Steve Wright of the Hot Dog Church

In 1993, I was a sophomore at Lee University.  Sitting in a chapel service, Dr. Conn introduced some guy who was leaving the staff of a large church to move to the Tenderloin District of San Francisco to start Providence Christian Center. 

Steve Wright was one of those guys moving to the Bay.  Since 1994, Steve has pastored Providence affectionately known as the "Hot Dog Church."  Providence is a place where the poor can enjoy a good meal (hot dogs) and a message of hope (Jesus).  It is bilingual and multi-site with a second location in San Pablo.  It is a place where the mission of Christ is primary.  It is a missional church living out the love of Jesus in most beautiful ways.

Steve leaves San Francisco in about a week to pastor an urban campus of Central Church of God.  Steve is a guy you should get to know.  I thought I'd pass out a link to his blog so you could get to know him a bit.

How will you stir the waters?

Ed Stetzer shared some "Disturbing Trends in Baptisms" via the Knowing Church Fact File on the NAMB website.  The problem?  There were fewer baptisms in 2005 than 2004.  This is a problem.  But, it is not a problem for the Southern Baptist Church only.  In 2004, the Church of God has for the first time in its history closed more churches than it opened.  You can look at several church fellowships, denominations, and associations and find similar statistics.

There is a reason for the decline.  The cause can be laid squarely at our feet.  We are the reason. I'll let you help me get more specific concerning cause.  I really appreciate how Stetzer concludes with an optimistic, forward-looking heart.  He says:

We can bemoan declining baptisms for another year or we can ask ourselves several hard questions. Why do some churches reach people and others do not? What can we learn from them? What passion have we lost? What will it take to stir the waters of baptism once again?

What do you say?  As a pastor, life group leader, Christian businessman, grandmother, student, or denominational executive (I'd love to see you respond) how will you personally stir the waters again?  How will you more effectively share the transformative Gospel of Christ with your slice of the world?  I think that's a question worth discussing.

(thanks to Nathan Finn for the link.)   

A Missional Denomination is an Impossibility

In a previous post on COG Catalyst, I shared that I was in Pursuit of a Missional Denomination.  I actually meant that I wanted to see the Church of God become missional in its appropriation of trust and resources.  However, thanks to Art Rogers at the 12 Witnesses blog, I have found a new expression that may more accurately reflect my heart for missionality- "A Missional Denomination is an Impossibility." Art via his blog also introduced me to a denominational change model (pdf download) to learn from.

I've had a personal conversation with our Presiding Bishop, Dennis McGuire concerning the next General Assembly.  I heard a passion from him to make the Church of God a denomination that offered real services to its pastors.  While it sounds totally attractive to me to hear of the potential to have health insurance provided for the pastors, property insurance provided for the churches, more services from our corporate offices on both the state and international levels, and missions money better distributed by the denomination, I think it also may cause us to be even more bureaucratic, more centralized, slower, and less field focused.  I don't question the aims of our current direction.  But, the times are rapidly changing and now more than ever, we need to be nimble, responsive, and missional.

I'd like to offer the approach that the Tulsa Metro Association of Baptist Churches has taken. They have divested themselves of all non-core functions such as their "campground, a clothing center, crises pregnancy center, etc.", turning them over to churches within the association that have a passion for those ministries.  This resulted in a significant downsizing of association staff.  They subsequently reorganized the association into 4 divisions: Church Planting Team, the Church Strengthening Team, the Church Leadership Development Team, and the Church Staff Support Team.

According to Charles Cruce, Director of Missions for the Association, he has come to understand that the association is not:

1. a church
2. in the ministry business

The TMABC will not:
1. TMABC will not usurp and take up the role of the church!
2. TMABC will not promote and protect its own existence!
3. TMABC will not discriminate in resourcing the ministry vision of the churches!

The temptation in any organization, especially as it matures is to protect the existence of bureaucracy.  It is a temptation that must be beaten in order to ensure the vitality of the mission.  I feel we can make some basic changes to our structure that would radically alter our direction. 

At a time when we are closing more churches in the USA than we are opening, I think the time has come to do as Charles Cruces has done and shed the bureaucracy in favor of mission. If not, we can resign ourselves to the wisdom of General Eric Shinseki when he said, “If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less.”

Blog Notes

Two quick notes:

1. NEW on the left sidebar - articles of interest, flickr, and neoWORX.  Very cool.  Check them out.

2. New blogs I'm enjoying (can also be found on my blogroll): Derek Brown, ChurchHop Blog, Church Rater, Friend of Missional, The Movement, and very much enjoying a series of John Smulo's posts on the missional church:

Waking Up From a Dream, I Dream, 12 Reasons Why I Prefer "Jesus-Follower", 11 Reasons Why I Don't Like the Term "Christian"

Web Designer for Mount of Olives Church-Jerusalem

One of my best buds and college roommates, Jamison Creel has been in Israel since 1997.  He has been studying and teaching in a Palestinian high school during that time.  Two months ago, he took over the pastorate of the Mount of Olives Church of God (see pics).  He is in the process of developing the ministry there.

I thought I would try to leverage the power of the blogosphere to find an incredible web designer that could put something together for this really super faith community in East Jerusalem.  The church is made up of foreign workers, Arab, and Jewish Christians.  Already, they seem like a great family. If you are a web-design guru or know someone that fits the bill and would like to donate some time and creativity, it would be greatly appreciated.  Respond here in the comments or email me if interested.

The Way Worship is Experienced

In Breaking the Missional Code, Ed Stezer and David Putnam discuss the conflict between "Seeker Sensitive" and "Believer Hostile" (and vice versa).  Its an interesting discussion and no doubt an issue I have personally struggled through.  During that discussion, they point out 13 questions that churches wanting to break the missional code of their community are asking themselves.  Here they are:

1. Is the setting inviting and familiar?
2. Are those attending and participating familiar with the music?
3. Can those attending and participating relate to the communication style of the teacher/preacher?
4. Is the Bible being taught in a way that the people can experience and grasp the message?
5. Is the language used understandable and true to Biblical content?
6. Is the way in which the people are invited to participate in the truth clear and engaging?
7. Is the environment safe for those in process?
8. Is there enough tension created to move people forward in faith?
9. Does the creativity used connect to those attending and participating?
10. Is Jesus clearly lifted up in the worship experience?  Is worship God-centered?
11. Is the Gospel clearly presented?
12. Are people given a clear opportunity to respond?
13. Are they invited to participate in community on a regular basis?

The questions are fairly basic.  But from these questions, we can critique what kind of environment we are creating and dig deeper into our ministry strategy, creating meaningful environments for God and man to intersect.  I really appreciate Stetzer's emphasis that people are being discipled prior to conversion...some times, not converting until after they have cultivated a significant faith outlook.

With that in mind, it is ever more important to challenge, create tension/friction, and opportunities to serve for everyone-Christ follower as well as the not-yet-committed.  As that journey is enoyed, we must maintain our focus that the Church does not exist for the believer.  The responsibility for individuals to grow in faith does not rest in the hands of anyone but the individual.  The responsibility to build up, encourage, and reach out lies in the hands of every Christ follower.

A Call to the new Hudson Taylors

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Matthew 28:19

In "Breaking the Missional Code", Ed Stetzer points out the growing diversity of American communities where we are challenged by Christ to make disciples.  In looking at the above passage, we see that in the Greek, the phrase "all nations" is panta te ethnê.

Since nation-states are a modern development, the meaning of this passage is actually people groups.  We should understand that to also mean population segments and cultural environments.  That may not be rocket science but, it is a fresh challenge to exegete our communities, pray over our harvest, and reinvent ourselves much like Terry Hull points out in a discussion about contextualization and the Emergent Church that Hudson Taylor did as "he wore Chinese clothes to relate to the Chinese people."

John Hendryx at Reformation Theology shows that the result of contextualized ministry to the specific panta te ethnê near Hudson Taylor's Inland Chinese Mission, was that the seeds planted by Taylor have turned into estimates of up to 90 million Chinese Christians in what is undoubtedly the greatest revival event in one of the most inhospitable environments to Christianity on the planet.

The new challenge is not to contextualize for nations and population segments.  The challenge is reaching cultural environments.  For instance, within our fellowship at Life Pointe, you will find close to two dozen nationalities with room to continue to look more like our community in the future.  Within those nationalities are multiple sub-cultures, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation Americans, age differences, and socio-economic diversity.  The new challenge is creating environments and establishing relationships that speak love and a singular Gospel across multiple contexts.

I do not think it is possible to meet all expectations or satisfy all stylistic wants.  But, in our budding community, there is a great desire for authentic expression of Christ across cultural borders.  The style has to be love, connection, beauty, honesty, doctrinal integrity, and hospitality.

Technoratis Tags: missiology - Ed Stetzer - Breaking the Missional Code - emerging church - Hudson Taylor - Great Commission

Videos: Missional, Emergent, Postmodernity

Below is a great peek into what appears to be a fantastic conference, especially for churches and pastors in the population centers of unchurched America.  I could listen to Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll all day.  I actually read Driscoll's "Confessions of A Reformation Rev" faster than any other book I've read.  It was honest to say the least.  Check out these must wach videos:

Mark Driscoll on Style in Ministry.
Tim Keller on the Character of a Missional Church.
David Wells on Emergent vs. Traditional and Seeker Church.
John Piper on the Nature of Postmodernism.

The rest of the videos promoting the Above All Earthly Powers Conference.