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It's Good Enough

I attended a training seminar in my "tent-making" field of business a few weeks ago. During the training, the presenter challenged the attendees in regards to what I'll call "perfection anxiety." Basically, sometimes, we are slow to complete something (if we complete it at all), because we are afraid it will not be good enough or consistent with our own (unrealistic) expectations of ourselves. Ouch.

Here's a little (trivial) honesty about me, I'm slow to blog (i.e. put my personal reflections, questions, aspirations, etc); primarily because, I'm afraid that what I post will not be "good enough." In other words, if I can't post an all-encompassing, well-developed graduate school thesis, then I'd rather not post at all. Consequently, I've started many a post that was never finished, or I haven't started many a post that really could have been helpful to me and others if I would've actually put it into print (or on a screen). Nevertheless, I've forgotten how much I enjoy writing, and how helpful it can be for me.

On the surface, such a phobia seems inconsequential. However, what hit me during the training was the possibility that my writing fears are symptoms of deeper issues and forces going on inside me. In other words, what am I really afraid of? ...and the answer is...

Well, in reality, it's more complex than simple, and there are probably (at least) two facets to it. First, as I mentioned above, I've created a standard that, when it comes down to it, cannot be achieved. As the piercing Smashing Pumpkins chorus screams, "In spite of my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage." For me, I've created the cage (complete with a cute ferris wheel to nowhere), and zapped myself of the exploration possibilities in the wide open spaces in the process.

Second, and of course along with the first, I allow myself to be held hostage by my (unfounded) perceptions of how others may receive my reflections. In the end, honestly, it's selfish. It's rooting my worth, identity, and abilities in the subjectivity of performance. Wait a second: it's not (only) selfish. It's idolatry. Why am I like this? Good question.

*Are you like this with or about anything?

*How do you deal with it?

*What changes still need to occur?

*Who is helping?

Peace,
Chris
about.me/chrischappotin
twitter.com/dfwchris

"A Church Planter's Response"

Yesterday, I read Gailyn Van Rheenen's "Equipping Kingdom Communities On Mission with God" blog post. It is holistic, robust, descriptive, and challenging, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as it also helped put flesh on the bones of some of what I've experienced this year. Consequently, I have comprised "A Church Planter's Response." This response is fairly raw, and originally, I recorded it as a "voice recording" on my iPhone with the "QuickVoice" app.

Regardless, I've been encouraged to share it here. Again, originally, this was done orally, so I apologize if it seems disoriented or flows poorly; however, it adequately presents my response to Gailyn's post, and I appreciate your willingness to share in it.

"A Church Planter's Response" to GVR's "Equipping Kingdom Communities On Mission with God"

"If equipping is basically about spiritual formation and skill, then what does that mean for me as a part of the Mission Alive fellowship or the Mission Alive network? One of the things that I think it means is that I am to be a person of prayer. Prayer becomes a necessity in the midst of my own spiritual formation, and also as a way of discerning and asking the Lord to reveal potential disciples. Part of my role is to be discipled by Jesus, and if I am to be like him, I am to be with him. One of the ways I am with him is in prayer. So then, prayer is transformational for myself and others as I listen to the Lord in discernment for myself and others. I'm reminded of John 17 where Jesus prays to the Father, but he also prays for his disciples for their own formation and he prays that they might be sent out.

Also, I need to be a person of the text. In the text, the living God reveals his Word...reveals his words, and I come to know him as I take the narrative journey in Him through the Spirit in the text. If I am to be discipled by Him, then I am in the text not just to prepare lessons, seminars, sermons, or even to engage in conversation with others; although all of those are extremely important and formative as I spend time in the text, but I'm in the text to know the text, to chew the text, to digest the text, to become the text as I spend time with Jesus getting to know Jesus...hearing, reading, and telling His stories...connecting to the overall narrative of God throughout the Scriptures...revealing deeper and deeper insights and a deeper and deeper relationship with God in the Spirit through the text. I'm a person of prayer, and I'm a person of the text if I am to be equipped in my own character. I am discipled by the Discipler.

There is a skill development piece in this as if spiritual formation and skill development can even be separated. What I find in my own journey is as I am attuned to the frequency of God and as the Holy Spirit transforms and awakens me to his ways, skill comes along with it. As I grow to listen to God, I am growing as a listener to other people for I am in search of God for and around other people. As I grow in prayer with the Lord, I am growing in an attunement to the needs and desires and brokenness and joy found in others. And so, as I am tuned to God's frequency, I can't help but be tuned to the frequency of those around me...especially those who are not following him. As I find peace and identity in my relationship with God, peace and identity flows in my relationship with others. And so, as my character...as the Lord forms my characters...as a son and as an embracer and proclaimer of King Jesus, I'm more comfortable (not in an apathetic, lackadaisical, or lazy way), but I'm more at peace in my relationships with others and in the opportunities God brings my way to initiate relationships with new people...I'm more confident, bold, and at-ease in those relationships, because I'm living out of and into the identity of a son of the King and as that relationship grows with the King, I can't help but proclaim his Kingdom. As the Psalms say, he is slow to anger. He is abounding in love. He is not willing that any would be lost, and would not be a part of his kingdom. So, there is definitely...not just this synergy, but perhaps this interwoven tapestry formed through Christlike character development. As Hirsch says, we are growing into "Little Jesuses", and as that happens, I can't help but grow in skill. To include some Breen, It is the imitation piece that innovation flows out of...perhaps. That as I imitate more and more, I'm now innovating in step with the Spirit, and I can't help but be more and more skillful in my equipping...or in the equipping the Lord leads me into. There is some John 10 here...some John 13 here...John 14, John 15, John 17...texts I can't seem to get away from! In that equipping piece, the Christlikeness and the growing into the image of the King...looking and living more and more like the King...under his reign and rule...I can't help but be like the King, and his skills are love, faithfulness, commitment, steadfastness, relationships, tenderness, forgiveness, leaving the 99 for the 1, peace, Fruits of the Spirit...ultimately laying down his life for his friends willing that none would perish but all would join his Kingdom and accept his sovereignty...resurrection!

And so, perhaps, as a Mission Alive network participant, that is my response to the "equipping/kingdom" piece. However, what are we equipping? We're equipping "kingdom communities...communities...communities..." You know, unfortunately in some ways but not in others, this would be the piece that I have probably struggled with the most. We come into this with notions of ecclesiology that primarily have been...we've either experienced up to this point...mostly in our childhood, and even, some of the ecclesiology we've been taught but haven't necessarily experienced...yet. It's kind of a tough thing to navigate, and it's really easy for me (and still is sometimes) to get lost in the structure of things or the non-structure of things, and to become an advocate, one way or another, and that's fine. Structure is unavoidable. Even not having structure is a form of structure. However, I think we have a lot to learn from the text and folks like Hirsch, Breen, Frost, Cole, and others who have pointed us in the direction of this metaphor of the "family" and of the Greek, oikos, maybe even what we would call the "household."

For the longest, I tried to develop a community that...I guess...primarily was strong on attendance. Buildings could fluctuate, because I felt like we could meet anywhere, and cash...well...we never really had a lot of it, so it was always a struggle, but attendance really seemed to be my main area of focus in the "ABCs." And so, if we had 40 people, that was okay, but I was really upset with myself, because we didn't have 60. And if we had 60 people, that was better than 40, but it wasn't 80. And if we had 100...wow...that's 3 digits, but what about 125. What about my buddy's church who's pushing 200? What about the Sunday when we had 116, and the very next week had 35. And so, attendance (and specifically Sunday worship attendance) really became an identifying marker for me as to whether or not I was doing a good job...whether or not I was being successful and it took its toll. It took its toll on my personality. It took its toll on my mood. It took its toll on my work ethic. It took its toll on my identity.

So then, we transitioned that structure into house churches. It was fine. We were focusing on smaller groupings of people, so there was some more intimacy...more relational development...more confession...eating together...sharing together...communing together...meaningful and good times together. But we were still structurally focused, and what we found was even though we met in a home, the meeting was still the primary ecclesiological definition. In other words, even though it was in a house, the meeting was still our working definition of "church." And along with that, "attendance" still held too much sway for me.

I remember times when we were struggling to pay the rent, and we would meet at my in-laws house (in particular)...large enough living room to accommodate everybody, and we would eat lunch and we would make a morning/early afternoon of it, and those times, as I look back on them, are very special to me, and I am very thankful for those times. I kick myself, because I wish I wasn't so focused on attendance that I felt like those times weren't "good enough." Now, I look back on those times with deep fondness, because the oikos was together. Even though I still struggled with "attendance" during those times, more often than not, I lived into some joy. I wasn't so worried about whether the sermon came off like I'd planned, the songs sounded good, and the service flowed. I'm not sure, in and of themselves, that those things are bad or wrong, but we were enjoying ourselves as a family...kids participating...meal involved...talking and praying around Communion. The family was really learning to live together under the rule of the King.

I think back to our baptism time in July of '05...just in a home singing, praying, talking, laughing, crying, worshipping, barbecuing, swimming, baptizing. It was the oikos living together, serving together, caring for one another, praying for neighbors, inviting neighbors. Man, it was rich...rich times, and I'm wondering if when we talk about "equipping kingdom communities..." that's what it looks like.

It starts with a few. It really does. As we are being equipped by the Lord and by mentors...by people who are discipling us...as we are pushing deeper into prayer and as God is revealing who those folks are in our lives who might be discipled by us, it just starts with a few. It starts with 3...maybe 12 (biblical numbers...lol!), but from those few, an oikos of Jesus develops by the Spirit...by the Spirit, because an oikos going after Christ for the sake of the world can't help but be attractive. It can't help but be attractive and draw folks into it and into the One who resides as King over it...who participates as King in it. And so, I long for the oikos. I pray that the Lord would use us as he grows an oikos...a family...a household of brothers and sisters in Christ in which all colors, situations, and life stages of the rainbow come together under the lordship and kingship of Jesus and live for Him, for each other, and for the world. Equipping. Kingdom. Communities...who are on Mission.

These kingdom communities are on mission, because the kingdom is ever-expanding, ever-breaking in, ever-moving forward, because this is an offensive kingdom...a "the gates of Hell CANNOT prevail against us" kingdom...because the King is on the offensive...because the King while we were yet sinners died for us...because the King has shown us what it looks like to be human...because the King is redeeming all of humanity back into how he intended from the very beginning...because the King and his love for all of creation CANNOT be contained, held back, or controlled, because the King reigns...because the King rules...because the King has and continues to overwhelm us...lavish us (and by us, I mean the world) in his love!

I'm also a person of mission. I'm a person of mission, because the Lord is discipling me to then disciple others...the Lord is forming me to then form others through me...with me. This is not a personal, solo endeavor or transaction, but this is always for the sake of others; and so, as I am equipped in character...growing in Christlikeness, I am equipped so that I may be sent out as an equipper to join God in his work of connecting with, growing, and bringing the 'Tiffanys' into his Kingdom reign and sovereign rule...into life with and for the King. So, I am a representative...not just a representative...I'm a son of the King in search of and proclaiming this Kingdom so that others might embrace his lordship, his kingship, and kingdom.

And so, we are on mission for the sake of our neighborhoods...for the sake of our neighbors...for the sake of our schools...for the sake of our cities...for the sake of the world. So, we willingly venture into dark places. We love unlovables. We touch lepers. We cure sick. We heal broken-hearted. We open blind eyes. We live that Luke 4 life. We live that Matthew 11 life. You tell me: The blind see. The deaf hear. The mute speak. The dead are raised. What do you think? We are on mission: out and deep...out and deep!

So, as a participant in this network of equippers...kingdom community on-mission starters or maybe...discover-ers. This would be my response. Peace."

Making Missional Trax

Below are my reflections concerning the current story we find ourselves in.

We find ourselves involved in an unfolding narrative. First and foremost, this story tells of a journey centered in Christ. In Christ, we discover God: incarnational, missional, and relational. In Christ, we discover the full intentions for humanity. In Christ, we discover the true Israel leading a new, full Exodus of liberation, freedom, and sacrifice. In Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, we discover the One to imitate, participate, and inundate for the sake of others.

Second, we find ourselves acting upon and searching for the Imago Dei. To be like Christ is to join him in his work of revealing the image of God in others. For the Galilean fishermen, Mary Magalene's, Nicodemuses, and Gerasene demoniacs this was Jesus: Lord, Savior, and image of God unleasher. We too, as disciples of Jesus, share, by the grace, mercy, and Spirit–empowerment of God, in this revelation ministry.

Finally, our Spirit–initiated and sustained quest after Christ for the sake of others continues because we are sent. Father sends himself. Father sends Christ. Christ sends Spirit. Spirit sends us, his church. God sends. God, first and ultimate missionary, sends.

Therefore, this story makes four primary demands upon us. First, follow Jesus. In order to be with the One we love and become like him, we must follow him. If we are to invite or expect anyone else to follow us as we follow Christ, we must be good followers.

Second, with joyful urgency and perseverance, anticipate and propagate the image of God in our neighbors. Who are our neighbors? All in whom the image of God resides. Christ the King reigns, and we've been given the privilege of joining him in awakening others into his kingdom as we follow the spirit.

Third, pray. We cannot assume or underestimate this demand. If God is the ultimate missionary and loving sender of himself, the Messiah, the Spirit, and the church, then we must constantly be with him seeking that his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Never forget: this is his project.

Finally, go...into the fringes. The image of God is present within the poor, fragile suburban widow. The image of God is present within the inconsolable and uncontrollable raging child. The image of God is present in the young married couple denying their neighborhood, kids, and each other for the American Dream. The image of God is present in the wayfaring, begging old woman looking for a place to sleep. However, these friends (and many others) live in the fringes. Suburban landscaping, concrete jungles, and country-acre lots all perpetuate relational and proximal distance that drive potential friends into the fringes. And so, like light piercing a dark room, we follow the Spirit running into the fringes seeking to illuminate every forgotten cob-webbed corner. No longer will we remain content for others to have faces without names. Because God in Christ by the power and leading of the Spirit moved into the neighborhood tabernacling among them, we do too. We are temples rooted within and built upon the Chief-Cornerstone, and it's time to get the roadshow moving.

Without Love

I finished re-reading ReJesus: A Wild Messiah for a Missional Church this afternoon, and this will be my last post from the book. ReJesus is a phenomenal contribution seeking to "explore the connection between the way of Jesus and the religion of Christianity...assess the Christian movement in the light of the biblical revelation of Jesus...and propose ways in which the church might reconfigure itself, indeed recalibrate its mission, around the example and teaching of the radical rabbi from Nazareth." (p. 6) The paragraph below is taken from the top of page 187.

"In 1 Corinthians 11, Paul commends the harmonious expression of the gifts with each member playing his or her part in the building up of the church in the same way that different body parts operate as a united whole. It is no mistake that he then launches into his well-known description of love in 1 Corinthians 13, because without genuine love between the members of a church the differing expressions of giftedness would tear them apart. He is in effect commending a unity-in-diversity approach. We are better together, stronger for the ministries of each other in our lives, built up by all the gifts."

Amen.

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Gathered & Scattered (for the city)

I reside in a suburban, metropolitan context 15 minutes from the nearest "big city." Over the previous 15 years or so, our suburban sprawl has doubled in size, and is poised to double again by 2030. For a while, our "town" struggled with whether or not to embrace "city life;" and consequently, walk into an identity as a "big boy" suburb. However, population growth alone solved that brief dilemma. Subsequently, residential, economic, educational, and recreational growth litter the landscape across the 23-mile radius of our city.

While the decision as to what kind of "town" will we be has been made, we've yet to gain a handle on the implications of such "progress." In other words, we're very much within the vortex of a windy cultural landscape grasping for the relationships, tools, resources, and forethought necessary in order to effectively navigate "suburban city life." Moreover, the winds of civic cultural changes are also intensely blowing through the church(es) in our city. Previously, we've adequately focused on our own localities primarily expressed through activities held within our church buildings. We might chaplain city initiatives, events, and organizations; however, our spheres of influence or cooperative efforts rarely overlapped.

Perhaps, these cultural winds are shifting us (Christians) into ways of action more consistent with a "city-wide" viewpoint. More specifically, I'm currently questioning, wondering, and imagining how a "city-wide" approach might couple with the "gathered AND scattered" ecclesiological perspective. In 2010, Hugh Halter and Matt Smay released AND: The Gathered and Scattered Church in response to an unfolding missional and attractional
ecclesial polarization. Rightly so, they proposed that the church must participate in her sentness as well as share times of coming together. I appreciate the offering Smay and Halter have shared here, and was taken (again) as I (re)cracked the book tonight for a re-reading of the Chapter 2 sections on "engaging culture" and "forming community."

On the other hand, unless I am missing something (which is completely possible), the "gathered/scattered" conversation seems limited to the local church. In other words, what I am hearing when we talk "gathered/scattered" is primarily local church centric in thought and expression. I realize I'm being overly-simplistic and categorical; however, for the sake of space and time, I am attempting a fair summary of conversations I have had with pastors, church planters, and friends.

Here's where I'm wrestling: What if the gathered and scattered church conversation occurred from a "city-wide" perspective instead of a "local church" perspective? The truth is our local churches gather and scatter; however, what does that look like with a macro lens?

I reflect upon our suburban city of nearly 40,000 people littered with churches. Could it be that there are people scattered throughout our city's "local churches" with hearts that long to dance to the rhythms of missional church? Could it be that there are already people scattered throughout our city's "local churches" living missionally with and without any descriptive framework or knowledge of such a moniker? Could people group together, gather together to spur one another on in seeking Jesus and living for the sake of the city? Could saints gather, not to plant a church, start (another) "alternative" worship service, or plot an exit strategy from their current local church, but to swap stories, prayers, questions, and praises...to search the Scriptures and the heart of God for each other and the city? Could people gather not with the intention of leaving or being taken from their local church, but with the heart-felt and risky willingness to be sent back to form grassroots relationships, groups, and networks within their local churches propogating the Jesus virus of faith, hope, and love throughout their neighborhoods, relational spheres, and the city?

"Gathered and scattered" from a "city-wide" lens: wishful thinking or insanity? I'm not sure, but as I consider our vibrant city, I am hopeful that such a gathering and scattering is already underway.

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the Christ journey

Who would've thought we could have the disturbing privilege of naming a church? We seem so far removed from monikers like "the church in Corinth" or "the church that meets in the house of Priscilla and Aquila," and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Either way, when the time presented itself, with naive conviction, the choice was made and "Christ Journey" became the metaphorical descriptor for a group of folks seeking to faithfully share such a quest in Burleson, Texas. However, naming the group was the easy part. Experiencing the implications of the name continues to prove challenging.

Throughout the past 7 years, many of you have prayed, fasted, traveled great distances, stayed up late, awakened before the sun, met in strange locations, embraced creative (and sometimes weird) ideas, asked good questions, sacrificed money, offered resources and equipment, opened your homes, cried, laughed, despaired, rejoiced, went way outside your comfort zones, gave to people you had never met, opened your backyard for baptisms and your front yard for barbecues, and served and loved in all kinds of other ways as participants in the Christ journey. To all of you, we offer deep, heart-felt, and humble "thank yous" many, many, many times over. "Thank you" for remembering us, the least of these among churches. You truly have served Christ by sharing this journey with us.

And what a beautiful mess of a journey it has been. We've been blessed to share meals with strangers, comfort folks in the agonizing valleys of life's most despairing moments, and celebrate with them from atop magnificent mountain peaks. We've made tons of mistakes, learned from them, and made tons more. We've baptized friends in truck beds, rebuilt homes in the 9th Ward of New Orleans, and gathered for communal times of worship all over town. We've handed out water bottles among homeless friends in downtown Fort Worth, participated in Burleson's Christmas

Parade of Lights with a lightless float, and helped friends sent overseas in Argentina, Africa, and Ecuador. We praise God for the leading of his Holy Spirit along the Christ journey. "Thank you" for caring about us enough to walk alongside us.

On Sunday, May 29, Christ Journey, as it has been known up to this point, came together for the final time. During that gathering, with words and prayers from Philippians 2 and John 17, Bret and Rachel Wells and three additional families were commissioned, blessed, and sent to start a church in a northwest Burleson neighborhood. We are thankful for the Wells family, the many sacrifices and risks they embraced in order to join Christ Journey in the fall of 2008, and the ways in which they modeled and nurtured the Christ Journey community with a passion for the Scriptures, intentionally pursuing and inviting non-Christians into CJ community life, and selfless attention toward disciple-making responsibilities and opportunities among children. We rejoice at the initial friendships beginning to form through their new work, and long for transformational stories in these four families and those the Lord adds to their number that Christ might be lifted high and poured out in northwest Burleson through them. For more information about their new ministries, click here.

So, what does this mean for Chris and Heidi? If you are asking that question, please keep reading.

First, we're pregnant!!! If you didn't know, I'm sorry we haven't told you yet, and if you did know, feel free to push back from the screen and "happy dance" for us again! Earlier this week, we had our first doctor's visit, complete with a sonogram and heartbeat! Additionally, Heidi's been quite sick this go around, and we would appreciate your prayers for a healthy momma and baby. As a result of not feeling well, Heidi hasn't updated her blog with the news just yet; however, for now, you can catch up on our summer happenings with a click here.

Second, I have received and accepted an opportunity to teach 5th grade math at our neighborhood's elementary school. Ask me about the wild ride sometime, but over the last year and a half, I've gone from substitute teacher, to instructional paraprofessional, to special education teacher, to classroom teacher. We have witnessed the hand of our gracious and faithful God all over this process. For the longest, we prayed and longed for the discovery of "people of peace" in our neighborhood. We're just now realizing that we might be those people! As a result of this opportunity, I get to walk with 80 students and their families all of which live within a 3-mile radius of our house.

Furthermore, the Lord has allowed our house to serve as a hangout for kids on our street. During last school year, it was not uncommon for me to come home to a backyard full of kids (a few of which I had never met)! We're thankful for the ways the Lord leads us into ministry to and with our neighbors.

Third, Heidi and I are prayerfully seeking to initiate, develop, and nurture disciple-making relationships across our social spheres. For us, this is somewhat uncharted territory, but we continue encountering Christians asking if weekly worship services is all there is to Christianity, non-Christians wondering about the hope we have, and pastors seeking friends with whom they can share transparent, vulnerable, and encouraging relationships. Perhaps, we are at a place in our lives where we can serve and walk with these friends for the glory of God. We will not hesitate in following Christ and inviting others into that journey with seeds of hope and good news. So expect to see us serving on Lancaster Avenue in Fort Worth, building fences for widows in our neighborhood, sending money through the "Christ Journey Fund" to friends in need all over the world, and helping others listen to the Holy Spirit discovering ways they might participate in God's mission by joining the conspiracy of little Jesuses wherever they are. Ecclesiologically speaking, if God brings a church out of that...a living, breathing oikos that hears the voice of the Shepherd, seeks connection to the Vine, and continually washes the feet of the neighborhood and each other...we long for such a day. And if not, we remain prayerful, humble, obedient, and for the sake of others.

Finally, I (Chris) will continue developing relationships, mentoring, and walking with other men through a bi-weekly gathering we've dubbed: "Scripture, Salsa, and Shiner." Basically, it's a gathering of guys with thoughts and questions about the Bible and life as we experience it daily. Some sit back and soak in the discussions, others mainly ask questions, and still others pour out their hearts in pursuit of Christ. Furthermore, I have joined with two friends (who are also S3 participants) in the "Missio Project," a website of stories, book excerpts, photographs, reflections, and conversations focused on life in the Kingdom, recalibrating our lives and the church around Jesus, and prayer for a movement of God in our city. We're just getting started, and have made some initial posts that you can check out here.

In actuality, who knows what lies ahead? For now, one Christ journey has concluded, and another is underway. In the chorus of "All To Us," singer/songwriter Chris Tomlin sings, "Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives." We feel he's on to something...join us as we find out.

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Which Jesus?

From Chapter 2 of ReJesus by Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost:

"...the ethos of discipleship and the presence of the wild Messiah are not readily associated with church and Christianity of our day. Far from it, our expressions of church range generally from what we might call high church, where Jesus tends to be relegated to some place in the outer echelons of the cosmos, to the more prevalent contemporary seeker-sensitive model where the radical message of Jesus is easily trivialized into some form of spiritual accessory in a consumerist paradise. From the fundamentalist co-option of Jesus as a religious fanatic to the liberal reduction of him into a schmaltzy moralist, it is probably fair to say that we have largely lost touch with our loving, wildly passionate, dangerous, radically merciful, and always surprising Redeemer-Lord. This is the Jesus so powerfully portrayed in the Gospels. The loss of the presence and power of this radical Jesus must surely account for a significant part of the spiritual bankruptcy of the church in the West. And therefore the importance of reJesus for spirituality and mission cannot be underestimated." (p. 42)

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Life in the Vineyard

from p. 145-146 of Len Sweet's So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church:

"One of Jesus' most exquisite metaphors for himself was the Vine and the vineyard. 'I am the vine; you are the branches.' When Jesus drew on this image of the vineyard and its gardeners, he was drawing on a longstanding biblical image that spoke of relationship: the bonds of cooperation between humans and nature (we do this together or we don't have a vineyard) and the bonds of love between the lover and the beloved.

A vine exists to grow vintage grapes. But for the fruit of the vine to become a reality, every vineyard has frames that support the vines and enable them to grow the best grapes. Depending on where you find the vineyard, sometimes the frames are made of wire. Sometimes of wood. Sometimes they scaffold the vine horizontally; most often vertically. These frames need continuing maintenance, sometimes even rebuilding. If a frame collapses, it can kill the vine.

However, the purpose of the vineyard is not to grow frames but to grow the grapes that the frames support. When the only thing holding up the church are those frames and not Christ, then little things like fruit, freedom, and mercy are forgotten.

No matter how beautiful the frames, the fruit doesn't come from the frames but from the vine. The frames can't slake your thirst. Only the vine. And the purpose of the frames is not to keep the vine from suffering, but to support it in its growth and point it in the right directions. In fact, the more the grapes suffer, the better the wine. It may be that if something cannot be put in a nice framework, you will be reluctant to study it or work with it. But your future is not in the frames; it's in the fruit. In the words of one of my favorite hymns,

'My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name.'

No matter how sweet the frame or how beautiful its latticework, there is no nourishment in the frame. Only in the Vine. Only in the fruit. Don't worship the frame. Don't let someone look at your life and say, 'You've been framed.' Only 'wholly lean on Jesus' name.'"

As you go...

As you go, make disciples…

Once upon a time, there was a woman in a hurry. In fact, she was late. Her husband returned home from work an hour and a half after his usual arrival, and she was ready to run out the door. They exchanged “hellos” and shared a brief embrace as she raced toward the car. As the garage door slowly lowered, she muttered a prayer just before turning up the stereo.

Ten minutes earlier, a few ladies had gathered around a table in an upstairs loft at a local winery. Great conversation & $5 Wineritas were quickly flowing. When she arrived, they playfully chastised her for being late, and then, anticlimactically, she promptly told them she could only stay for fifteen minutes. With disconcertion, they asked where she was headed. Sheepishly, she responded by telling them she was off to a Bible study. Immediately, the ladies’ looks of intrigue transformed into distrust as they commented on her dressy appearance and refusal to purchase wine.

“Oh…no…it’s not that at all,” she replied. “In fact, we’ll probably drink wine while searching the Bible and talking about life. I guess our ‘study’ isn’t exactly what you might normally think when that word is used. We are working through a book that’s helping us confront the feelings of anxiety we’re all battling, but the book is only part of an overall emphasis on confessing our struggles, encouraging each other, and discovering the way of Jesus together. You know, for the longest, I battled anxious feelings in regards to my health. I just knew I had a fatal disease, or some kind of health problem that would never go away. Even still, I struggle with these thoughts from time to time. However, with prayer, daily reading of the Scriptures, continual confession to my husband and trusted friends, and opportunities to share my story just like this, I am experiencing the transformation God longs to initiate and sustain within and through our very lives.”

“Whoa…” the group of ladies exhaled. They were captivated, inspired, and disheveled. “Ummm…I’ve never thought of it that way,” one of them said. “I struggle with that kind of stuff, too,” another one chimed in. “I would really like a community like that. Do you think maybe I could join you the next time you all get together?” the remaining lady asked.

As we go, we need to tell more stories. Maybe it’s our own story that’s very much in process. Maybe it’s the story of a friend who experienced instantaneous transformation. Maybe it’s the story of a trying relationship that’s in desperate need of reconciliation. Maybe it’s the story of someone working through stages of change. Maybe it’s the story of a farmer that had some seed. Maybe, as with all of the previous examples, it’s the ongoing cross-stitching occurring between the Story and our story. Whatever the case, as we go, we need to tell more stories.

Who knows how this story will unfold. Join us in prayer that these who have shown interest might become disciples of the King.

Brokenness (Let's Work)

Sometimes, the brokenness is real. It’s not a “reality” TV show. It’s not an article you read on the Internet. It’s not a tweet from someone you “follow.” It’s not something happening “over there.” It’s not concern over your “favorite” that got “voted off.” It’s not your DVR being accidentally erased. It’s not “that bad thing” happening to someone else. Sometimes, the brokenness is real.

Sometimes, the brokenness is real. It’s the mother next door that abandoned her children. It’s the family two streets over that’s stressing about how to feed their kids during summer vacation. It’s the couple down the street that’s slept in separate bedrooms for the last two years. It’s the kid around the corner who knows more about a daily regime of medication than the steps for solving a proof in geometry. It’s the family losing the battle with that deadly illness…again. Sometimes, the brokenness is real.

Sometimes, the brokenness is real. It’s like being locked in a cage with a key fitting only the lock on the outside of the door. It’s like finding a dead battery underneath a pile of flashlights in the corner of a dark room. It’s like wishing you could stay asleep, because life is so much easier when your eyes are shut. Sometimes, the brokenness is real.

Can the words of any language express the Amazing Mystery? The brokenness is real, but the brokenness does not have the last word. Nope, in fact, the Word, the One who became flesh and dwelled…tabernacled among us, this Word has the last word.

The Word is speaking…again…creation…a (re)newed creation into existence…again. The New York Times, CNN.com, and your local news station report a reality disconnected from the real. What’s real? The words of the Word: “I am making all things new.”

“In the beginning was the Word.” It’s déjà vu all over again. The Gardener, the Vine, and the Grower are ready to work. Where are the branches?

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World

from pages 45-46 of Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World...

"Becoming the Beloved means letting the truth of our Belovedness become enfleshed in everything we think, say, or do. It entails a long and painful process of appropriation or, better, incarnation. As long as 'being the Beloved' is little more than a beautiful thought or a lofty idea that hangs above my life to keep me from becoming depressed, nothing really changes. What is required is to become the Beloved in the commonplaces of my daily existence and, bit by bit, to close the gap that exists between what I know myself to be and the countless specific realities of everyday life. Becoming the Beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am, in fact, thinking about, and doing from hour to hour."

Chapter 3 Excerpts: "From Paper to Pavement: Believing & Being the Gospel"

"It is not about trying to do what Jesus would do. Rather, it has to do with thinking the way Jesus thinks in order to live the way Jesus lived. Dallas Willard said, 'Another important way of putting this is to say that I am learning from Jesus to live my life if he were I. I am not necessarily learning to do everything he did, but I am learning how to do everything I do in the manner that he did all that he did.'" (p. 103)

"The power of Scripture comes to life when we give ourselves to it's message in the real living of our lives, letting it analyze us even more than we analyze it." (p. 104)

"People are not convinced by teaching but by encounter. Doctrine follows as a way of explaining the impact of the encounter." (p. 107)

"We are praying, 'Lord, I don't want to just read this passage and leave unchanged by it. Let me not just feed myself from this daily bread but help me feed others with it also.'" (p. 110)

"Jesus didn't say, 'Come and study me.' He said, 'Come and follow me.'" (p. 111)

"Do you just believe in Jesus or do you also believe Jesus?" (p. 115)

The thrust of chapter 3 seems to be that orthopraxy and orthodoxy go hand in hand.

*How are you experiencing the paper hitting the pavement in and through your lives and communities?

And Who is My Neighbor?

"Our very lives are our messages, and we cannot take ourselves out of the equation of mission." -Alan Hirsch (p. 92)

My wife, Heidi, is so good at noticing people. Whether it's a server at a restaurant, the checker at the grocery store, or a neighbor, she's great at initiating meaningful and uplifting conversations. Oftentimes (especially in a fast-food drive thru), she goes out of her way to say "please" and "thank you," make eye contact, and intentionally leave the other person feeling better after she's gone than before she arrived.

On the other hand, if I'm willing to reflect honestly, I "quickly judge what a person is like, what their motives are, and if there is anything to gain by pursuing a deeper engagement with them." (p. 84) In Chapter 2 ("Meet the Extras: The Habit of Beholding Others") of Right Here, Right Now,

Lance Ford challenges my unfortunate ability to categorize and/or dismiss people based on my own perceptions. In fact, he poignantly summarizes and suggests, "As Jesus' ambassadors, seeking to have a right here, right now impact, it is imperative that we cultivate in ourselves the Jesus habit of moving past prejudiced

assessments of others we get via these initial impressions. We should work to develop a hearing ear and seeing eye to what the Lord is saying to us about another individual." (p. 86, emphasis mine)

Honestly, although the contexts vary, this section reminded me of the opening rhythms of Revelation: "Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches." Perhaps, the Wind Words are consistently blowing relationship opportunities with other people our way, but we're too "plugged in" or "tuned out" to hear.

*"What would happen if every place you were to go today, as far as it depends on you, peace [and the habit of beholding others] would be manifest?"

Up To Something

I just started So Beautiful by Leonard Sweet, and the quote below has already captivated my attention.

"God is 'up to something.' Do we know God well enough to know what God is 'up to?'"

Identity: Starter's Pistol or Finish Line?

"Perhaps the greatest factor that hinders the Western church from missional engagement is that most Christians here do not identify themselves as fully empowered agents of the Kingdom of God." (p. 71)

Although this sentence does not appear until halfway through Chapter 1, "Putting the Extra in the Ordinary: Viewing Daily Life with a Missionary's Eye," it seems to contain the thrust of what Lance Ford exposes, analyzes, and proposes in the chapter. I'd rather hear from you, so I'll briefly break down his statement through the lens of Right Here, Right Now.

First, what about this "missional engagement?" What does that mean or look like? I'll let Alan tackle that one by saying, "A working definition of missional church is a community of God's people that defines itself by, and organizes its life around, its real purpose of being an agent of God's mission to the world. In other words, the church's true and authentic 'organizing principle' is mission. When the church is on mission, it is the true church. The church itself is not only the result of God's mission but is obligated and destined to extend it by whatever means possible. The mission of God flows directly through every believer and every community of faith that adheres to Jesus. To obstruct this is to block God's purposes in and through his people." (p. 66)

Second, in the initial statement, with precision, Ford cuts into our identity. As the people of God in the world, who are we? In Jason Coker's beachfront context he's noticed Christians identifying themselves with the following distinctives, "The strongest churches here extoll conservative evangelical tenets: the inerrancy of scripture; the submissiveness of women; the threat of evolution to the faith; God's divine blessing on capitalism and Western democracy; an understanding of salvation as the assurance of heaven after death for those who confess specific boundary-marking tenets." Is that who we are? In UnChristian, the research data describes us as anti-homosexual, hypocritical, and judgmental. Is that who we are?

On page 67 of Right Here, Right Now, Ford proclaims, "There is nothing remotely average about a human being who has been born again with the very resurrection life that caused Jesus to rise from the dead, to have the indwelling Holy Spirit as guide, to possess the mind of Christ for needed wisdom, and then to be commissioned by Jesus himself to go into the world with his redemptive agenda." As the people of God, who are we?

Perhaps the latter section of the opening sentence provides a starting point to answering the "who are we" question: "...fully empowered agents of the Kingdom of God." As much as I would like to expound on what I think that means and/or looks like, instead, I'm going to defer to a humbling quote in So Beautiful by Len Sweet that should move us all to close our mouths for prayerful waiting and listening: "God is 'up to something.' Do we know God well enough to know what he is 'up to?'"

*What's keeping the Western church from shedding attributes that inhibit us from living as "fully empowered agents of the Kingdom of God?" Should we shed, renew, or reset?

*Should context influence identity, or identity cut into context? Where does contextualization fit in this conversation?

*What is God up to where you are at, and how do you know?

Moving Alongside in a Round-A-Bout Way

Thank you for joining my in-process journey through Right Here, Right Now by Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford. Currently, I’m traveling through Alan’s “Briefing” chapter and stopping to engage each of his four suggested movements “needed on our behalf if we are indeed going to partake of the movement that Jesus started: move out (into missional engagement), move in (burrowing down into the culture), move alongside (engaging in genuine friendships and relational networks), and move from (challenging the dehumanizing and sinful aspects of our culture). (p. 35) Here, we looked into the move out (into missional engagement), and in the near future, Heidi Mashele will offer reflections from her own move in (burrowing down into the culture). Until then, I’m moving forward with the move alongside (engaging in genuine friendships and relational networks).

In an earlier post, I mentioned Alan’s challenging reorientation of the “Great Commission” text in Matthew 28:16-20. As we consider the move alongside, Hirsch describes his perspective by writing, “It is not simply about sharing the Good News with people through abstract concepts about Jesus and calling for a response—this is at best only part of the deal, at worst a shoddy witness and mere salesmanship. Friendships should be part of the equation. We are called to disciple the nations, which means we are committed to a long-term relationship with them that must surely include meaningful friendships, genuine involvement, and compassionate concern for a person’s best good.” (p.50) In other words, the “Great Commission” breathes, grows, and expands through discipling relationships that look “part cultural savvy, part organic friendship, and part hospitality.” (p. 51) With a descriptive and prophetic challenge, Hirsch summarizes, “Missional Christianity needs to get relationally savvy, and it should come naturally because we are called to love and discipleship.” (p. 52)

These comments read really well in a book about "Everyday Mission for Everyday People," but does anyone else out there feel like moving alongside through discipling relationships, in fact, comes very unnaturally? Here’s what I mean.

Recently, Bill Kinnon and David Fitch wrote helpful, succinct blog posts that seemed to thoughtfully deconstruct and (at least attempt to) reconstruct ecclesial leadership. In different ways, both posts point out what leadership has been while offering challenging possibilities for what leadership might become (or return to). Unbeknownst to either author (at least specifically), their reflections serve as stark challenges to the training, modeling, and leadership development I have experienced. Primarily, in terms of leadership, I’ve been molded to make organizational decisions, formally teach the Bible, and cast and protect vision.

While I accept the fact that decisions must be made, the Bible should be taught, and vision should be shared, modeled, and guarded, I’m not sure these components best support the scaffold of leadership.

If I don’t hold any inherent disagreement or disgust for these three expressions of leadership, what am I actually critiquing? Without articulating much in terms of new ideas (except stories from my own experiences), I am critiquing the way in which I have led in the past and sometimes find myself still doing today. Basically, my leadership attempts have originated out of a title and, additionally, the role represented by the title.

As a result, after many years of embracing and propagating this type of leadership, I have noticed a few of its harmful implications. First, when I’ve set myself up as the primary, role-based decision-maker, people (at least from my experiences) seem to take on a “just tell me what to do” posture. In other words, I (and usually a few close partners operating under similar leadership dynamics) do a majority of the thinking, wondering, wrestling, and deciding while most others seem to wait patiently to be told what to do. Although this assumes the guise of servanthood, I wonder if the posture creates unhealthy distinctions and distances among people. I don’t really have to give myself to others, because I’m not (deeply) involved in relationships as much as I’m doing what I’m told.

Second, leading from a title has given me too much of the wrong kind of power. I like attention, recognition, and others to look to me for answers (although I just critiqued it above...let me be honest, I've crafted and enhanced such dynamics, too), and I don’t need more help liking those things. For me, title leadership fed (and feeds) the ego…sometimes too much (as if a little is okay!), and I began thinking things like: “Look what I did,” “We’re such a great church,” and “You need to let me teach you a thing or two.”

I’ll never forget the Monday after we launched (language intended) our first Sunday worship service. 110 people showed up in the elementary school cafeteria, and that next day, I was on the phone with a close mentor exclaiming, “We did it! We planted a church!” I shudder to even recall, let alone share, the memory; however, it reveals the desires for power, recognition, and applause that were in my heart at the time (that surely have vacated by now…or not). Obviously, I’m still giving much of this over to the Lord (and these Right Here, Right Now reviews are helping); and therefore, I'm not laying my pride at the feet of title-oriented leadership alone; however, being “The Man” sure hasn’t helped.

Finally (there’s more, but…) leading from a title bred loneliness for me. Here’s a confusing reflection: if I’m going to be a good leader, I need to be a good follower, and when I was trying the hardest to be a good leader, I found (or took) very little time to be a good follower. Know what I’m sayin’? In the end, I was pretty sorry at both.

In our podcast conversation and in Right Here, Right Now, Alan awakens readers to a form of leadership that I’ve felt (and even experienced) for a long time, but wasn’t quite sure how to put into words: moral authority. When we walk with people, care for people, serve people, and sacrifice for people, it “comes naturally because we are called to love and discipleship.” (p. 52) Translated by me: a title doesn't necessarily result in leadership. Instead, leadership becomes an invitation offered by someone else...to move alongside, because of the struggles and successes of a shared and relational journey of discipleship.

Maybe I'm not the reader I pretend to be, but I've only re-read two books (that I can remember!): Following Jesus by NT Wright and In the Name of Jesus by Henri Nouwen. (Sorry Alan & Lance!) Although I'm certain that Following Jesus has much to contribute along the lines of this conversation, of the two books, In the Name of Jesus is the one I have in front of me tonight. While thumbing through it again, I was captivated and convicted by this gem: "Laying down your life means making your faith and doubt, hope and despair, joy and sadness, and courage and fear available to others as ways of getting in touch with the Lord of life." To the glory of God, may we move alongside whomever the Spirit draws into our laid-down lives with prayerful hope for another little Jesus.

*What about discipleship? Have such relationships come naturally for you? Share a story or two.

*If so, how do they originate? How do they take shape, grow, change, and twist as relationships normally do? If not?

*Where does Scripture reading and study, prayer, and your local community of Jesus fit into this conversation?

Briefing the Briefing

Right Here, Right Now creatively portrays an engaging shared writing style. Alan writes a “Briefing” chapter at the start, and bookends the work with a “Debriefing” chapter at the end. In between, Lance unpacks a three-fold outline containing the following components: “Putting Our Hearts Into It (Missional Paradigm),” “Wrapping Our Heads Around It (Missional Analysis),” and “Doing Something About it (Missional Action).” Lance’s contributions are, oftentimes, poignant, personal, and practical, and in the midst of his reflections, Alan chimes in with theology, philosophy, critique, and/or cultural analysis that make for a thoughtful and productive dialogue. In other words, for a non-fiction book, the writing style successfully draws the reader into the “story,” and allows for different perspectives and people to share time during the conversation.

Alan’s initial “Briefing” chapter glides the reader through four movements. To me, his two-fold thesis is as follows: 1) “I believe with all my heart that the future of Christianity in the West is somehow bound up with the idea of becoming a people movement again. Somehow and in some way, we need to loosen up and learn how to reactivate the massive potentials that lie rather dormant within Jesus’ people if we are going to make a difference to our world;” (p. 31) and therefore, 2) “We suggest that there are a number of movements needed on our behalf if we are indeed going to partake of the movement that Jesus started. We have to be willing to move out (into missional engagement), move in (burrowing down into the culture), move alongside (engaging in genuine friendships and relational networks, and move from (challenging the dehumanizing and sinful aspects of our culture).” (p. 35)

First, Hirsch unpacks the need for the people movement of Jesus to “move out (into missional engagement).” As a result, at the bottom of page 35, he challenges, “…it might not be far, but the obligation is on us to go to them, not them to us.” It seems simple enough, but I remain stunned at my own stubborn ability to slothfully wait for people to come to me (or come to us). And you know what? In response to that posture, very few come and even fewer stick around. I don’t have a color-coded Microsoft Excel spreadsheet; however, I feel confident in saying that most of the churches I am connected to or have history with are in decline. Those that are not in decline are thankful for already-Christian move-ins that are looking for their flavor of church. That’s a harsh reflection and I hesitate to type it, but our failure to admit it would be more terrifying.

In August 2010, Bret Wells and I shared a podcast conversation (Missional Monks Podcast) with Alan. During our chat, he challenged us to a re-reading of the “Great Commission.” According to Alan, we have misinterpreted Matthew 28:16-20 labeling it as an evangelistic text instead of a discipling text. There are several implications that result from such a misreading; however, the one most obvious to me right here, right now is the lack of urgency about going to my neighbors.

We are well connected in our neighborhood, and share many good surface relationships. However, because of our existing relationships in the neighborhood, we also have a good idea as to the struggles and burdens our neighbors are carrying, and what are we doing about any of that? The couple on the corner just moved in…doesn’t know anyone…and is adjusting to life with a new school, neighborhood, and town. The couple across the street continues to struggle in their relationship with each other. The other couple on the corner just had a baby, and the late nights aren’t ceasing any time soon. The couple around the corner battles consistent health problems and rebellious children. Let alone the folks in our hood that we don’t know!

We’ve got to prayerfully go to them. In spite of any and every taboo in neighborhood suburban culture, Jesus said, “Go;” and therefore, we go empowered by the Holy Spirit and trusting in Christ to take care of the rest. On page 37 after a four-suggestion outline entitled: “Learning the art of the small,” Hirsch insightfully asserts, “For most of us, what will be required to engage in missional Christianity is to simply reach out beyond our fears and ignorance of others, to overcome our middle-class penchant for safety, to take a risk and get involved in what God is already doing in our cities and neighborhoods. It’s not a science really, although as we will see, there are sometimes tricky cultural elements to deal with. It is all about love. Just read 1 John again to remind yourself of this.”

I’m one step ahead of you, Alan! Before reading Right Here, Right Now, I had recently cracked open 1 John. Consequently, while reading Right Here, Right Now, this passage from 1 John rang in my head, “…but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, ‘I abide in him,’ ought to walk just as he (Jesus) walked.” Christ, have mercy. Help us to walk (into our neighborhoods, workplaces, and third places) just as you walked.

This “Briefing” chapter is almost 30 pages, and there are numerous good and needed treasures to be discovered within it. We’re nearing 11:30pm CST, and I’ll be up for work at 6:30am. As a result, I’ll blog again soon on the “move in (burrowing down into the culture). For now...

*What are your reactions to Alan's two-fold thesis? What implications do you anticipate or are you seeing in your context when acting upon this thesis?

*Share a story of a "move out into missional engagement," so that we might praise God for his work in and through you or your group of friends. (Click here for a great one.)

*Wrestle with Matthew 28.16-20 and 1 John. What else is the Lord saying to us through these texts that contributes to this conversation?

*How can I pray for you and your "move out into missional engagement" among neighbors or social groups in your context?

Peace.

A New Book Splashes into an Unfolding Story

“You are here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain but you feel it. You felt it your entire life. There is something wrong with the world but you don’t know what it is. But it’s there like a splinter in your mind.” – Morpheus

As a Gen-Xer that journeyed through both high school and college in the 1990s, I resonate greatly with Morpheus’ comments. Without realizing it at the time, in high school, two close friends invited me into discipling relationships. Almost over night, I transitioned from attending (language intended…I still remember sitting in the balcony with my homeboy…half paying attention) a 4,000-member mega-church from 30 miles away to a high level of participation in a church of 225 within my town.

This hometown church welcomed me into their community. In particular, 2-3 families loved, served, modeled, and mentored me closely as I shared life (meals, trips, family celebrations, and more) with them and their own teenage children.

As I left home for college, and married my high school sweetheart, again I was invited and discipled into the way of Jesus. A close friend from high school, initiated opportunities for my wife and me to serve families living in pockets of economic poverty in our college town. For the first time, I found myself glaring drug addiction, domestic abuse, prostitution, and cycles of poverty square in the face. What I saw left me shaken and clinging to faith.

After college, my wife and I moved to the suburbs to serve in a quaint, friendly church. Most of the folks were in the thick of a time wandering in “Worship Forms Forest” wondering if singing during Communion, raising hands, preaching in segments, closing our eyes while singing, or other expressions related to the Sunday morning worship service were permissible. In addition, the church recognized the changes underway in the city, and timidly considered how we might be affected by and participants in such changes.

As we jumped into this community of friends, nice people all of them, we (Heidi and I) began longing for the raw, evangelistic, and adventurous experiences and relationships from college. We loved the people of this church, but couldn’t shake the stirring…the feeling we had, perhaps our entire life, “there is something wrong with the world…” In his song, Consuming Fire, Tim Hughes described our feelings, “There must be more than this. Oh Breath of God, come breathe within. There must be more than this. Spirit of God, we wait for you.”

As a result, in February 2004, we set out into unchartered territory (at least for us) with a burning question deep in our hearts: “What if we engaged our local people, neighborhoods, and cultures like missionaries?” Without any exposure to things post-Christendom, post-Christian, demographics, or Pew Research/George Barna, still, this question occupied the front seat of our minds. Having not heard (yet) of Leslie Newbigin, David Bosch, Darrel Guder, Craig Van Gelder, Mike Frost, or Alan Hirsch, we trekked downward (a metaphor I’ll unpack in a future post) along a steep path into a deep valley, and we had no idea just how far below sea level the path would take us.

In some strange twisty-turny, topsy-turvy way, this brings me to Right Here, Right Now: Everyday Mission for Everyday People by Alan Hirsch and Lance Ford. By the grace of God and sacrificial friends gracious enough to share the journey, Heidi and I have come a long way in the past 7 years. We trudged deep, spent transformative time in the valley, and have recently begun the overwhelming but necessary climb up the other side, and books like Right Here, Right Now are helping and encouraging us and our communitas of friends to continue the climb (sorry to get all Miley Cyrus all the sudden!), with a hip-out-of-socket limp, but still climbing nonetheless.

Consequently, I think I’m writing a review(s) of this book. However, as you may have already gathered, I don’t think it’s going to read like a “regular book review.” If you have any interest in reading my posts, I’m going to assume you’re already familiar with Alan and Lance. You already know how to connect with them, and if you haven’t ordered Right Here, Right Now yet, it’s on your to-do list or you’ll borrow it from someone.

Therefore, I’m not going to plow through the book in a typical fashion of summarization. Instead, thorugh a series of blog posts, I’m going to interact with the book from my walk with the Lord, discipling relationships, communitas experiences with my peeps: Christ Journey, and our prayerful responses to God’s partnership invitations to be about his Kingdom work in and around Burleson, TX and our specific neighborhoods, schools, playgrounds, and eateries.

If Right Here, Right Now is really about Everyday Mission for Everyday People, then let’s wrestle with the book as a people seeking God together, swapping stories together, and going into all the world…together. If missional is just a word, then the risk of failure is very real. But, if missional describes a way of life…a life that glorifies God as, together, we grow in looking like Jesus in and through the power of the Holy Spirit for the sake of the world…that’s spicy, or maybe better construed: salty; and therefore, worth sharing.

Saddle up (I’m in Texas. What can I say?), and let’s go.