Tenacity

The Foolishness of Wise Solomon

In reading today I was touched by the reality of the great gulf between God and man in every way. Not just the gulf of separation, but the immeasurable gulf between our capacity, strength, power, knowledge, vision, and in the case of Solomon... wisdom.

Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived; but a man nonetheless. And though he was given amazing wisdom, he was still immensely limited, and the wisdom God gave him seems at times to have been too much to handle.

In Eccl 2:18-19 Solomon is whining over the reality that he had no choice but to give way to a successor. He was greived over the thought that one day someone would lead after him, and in his place. Talk about a transition problem! His grief was that he had, by "his wisdom"  built and established and amassed so much, and that he had no way of knowing or controlling whether the next guy would be wise or a fool, or do as good as him. That all he had worked for might be squandered. Now that's just not a good outlook folks!

Fast forward and compare this with the peace and security of the life of Jesus even as he went to the cross. Consider: he left nothing physical behind that COULD be squandered. In fact, for a while, even his closest companions fled from him in fear. Jesus went to the cross at the end of His earthly life alone, and with no worries about the care-taking of His great estates, establishments, institutions, or earthly goods. And this was (among other reasons) because He was wiser than Solomon on some very critical points.

We may not always like this thought, but Jesus exemplifies a life of purpose, whereas Solomon was looking for it. Jesus lived only to love, obey, and enjoy a perfect relationship with His heavenly Father; to accomplishing HIS will, and for both divesting and investing Himself for and into others. He lived for people... not for pleasure. What He lived for and left behind were not things that needed management, maintenance and guarding, but companions who had been irrevocably impacted by Him, and who would bring Him great joy because He knew they would also be wise men, and would go on to do even "greater things" than He had done (John 14:12). Indeed, they "turned the world upside down."

If we live our lives for the wrong things, then we are as foolish as Solomon. We need to be the kind of people and leaders who see the value of a life lived for the right things; a life lived for God and people, rather than for fame, fortune, or material things and accomplishments. We need the wisdom we see in Jesus... of investing in people, and not only believing, but HOPING they will go on to do "greater thigns" than ourselves.

A Word "to the Churches"? (Revelation 1-3)

In my reading today, I was challenged again to understand that everything God says is, in some measure, for everyone of all time to hear, and for everyone -- of all time, place and race -- to obey.

 

We are challenged by Christ's own words as He faced the temptation in the wilderness, when he retorted to Satan, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS from the mouth of God" (Luke 4:4).  By this statement and Christ's example we understand that this "written" word, spoken and recorded centuries earlier by Moses, is for all of us to take to heart and live by... because God gave it.

 

In Revelation, and indeed, throughout the entire  Bible, we have God's written Word. This "word," as the book of Hebrews declares, is living and active, and sharper than a two-edged sword (Heb 4:12). And as Paul says, "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. (2Tim 3:16-17).

 

This means to me then, that when Jesus spoke "to the disciples," or to a rich ruler inquiring of the pathway to eternal life, or issued a warning to a man that had been healed the previous day, that I also am to take these words to my own heart, learn from them, and apply them to my own life. For they are not merely for that one individual person -- were not recorded simply that we might know how Jesus dealt with some fellows 2000 years ago -- but are for "anyone with ears to hear."

 

With this in mind, I felt once again challenged by the pitfalls of each of the seven Churches addressed  in Revelation chapters 1 - 3. In numerous places it says, "Anyone with ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying." OK then, the question is do I have ears to hear? And if so, then I am to listen to these admonitions and commendations and to let them become guidence to myself also, or a means of conviction and a reason to "repent" if necessary.

 

So I pray that God will help us all to cherish His Word, apply it daily to our lives, and let it work in us as it is intended to work.

The End of Christian America?

It seems that for the past couple years we are increasingly hearing and reading bad news about the rapid decline in both the size and influence of the Church; particulalry in Europe and North America. Europe we know is ahead of America in the free fall since they started their "post-Christian era" way ahead of us. The graph at the left shows the rise in population (blue) and the corresponding drop in Church attendence (red) in the Church of England. This trend is apparently in high gear in the USA also, and some views are that while it is not yet irreversable, if it is not arrested soon, it may be "too late" to turn things around.

In an alarming but interesting Newsweek.com article called The End of Christian America the author quotes a prominent Christian leader who says, "the historic foundation of America's religious culture is cracking." He also posts statistics that, as he says, reveal "who we are now -- and what, as a nation, we are about to become." Some of the statistics:

• the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has nearly doubled since 1990, rising from 8 to 15 percent

• the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent

• the number of people willing to describe themselves as atheist or agnostic has increased about fourfold from 1990 to 2009, from 1 million to about 3.6 million

We also know that almost ALL major denominations in the USA are experiencing unprecented declines in membership.

And I recently learned that nearly 40% of all live births in America in 2007 were delivered by unwed mothers (from the National Center for Health Statistics), and that this marks a 25% increase in just the last 5 years! And I thought a 25% increase in ANY national statistic would take half a century! It seems to me that there is a sudden acceleration in a number of negative trends, which includes the bizarre attack on the historical understanding of "marriage," which from the beginning of time has always been known to require one male and one female!

What's happening to America? Have we completely lost our way? Are we actually becoming a nation fully disengaged from it's founding beliefs? Do you think it's "too late" to turn it around? Or are such stats as these not telling us the "rest of the story?"

 

2009 National New Church Conference

I'm excited about the upcoming Exponential-09 conference in Orlando, Florida, this April 20-23, 2009. The reason I'm exicted is because there are a slew of great men and women coming to share their experience, insights and ideas on the most important matter on planet earth... establishing new churches. More precisely, the big topic is that of church planting movements.

The conference starts on April 21st, but there are numerous pre-conference intensives scheduled on Monday, April 20th. What's being offered in these intensives can be seen here.

A good friend of ours, Jon Ferguson (one of the lead Pastors at Community Christian Church, and director of NewThing Network) is also offering an additional intensive entitled "Discover the Dream." Knowing Jon's passion for the topic of reproducing churches to fulfill the mission of Christ on earth, I highly recommend this to anyone who reads ths blog (and even those who don't read it!).

Following is Jon's excerpt regarding this event:

DISCOVERING GOD’S DREAM FOR YOUR LIFE

Have you thought that maybe God is calling you to something new? Do you have an entrepreneurial spirit that is begging to be unleashed to impact God’s kingdom? Maybe you aren’t sure exactly what your dream is, or you have an idea, but haven’t defined it. If so, NewThing’s Discover the Dream is an experience that will help you discover how to make God’s dream for you become a reality. In almost all cases when I talk with someone who is currently living out their dream, I find a motivated, overly raving and passionate person. And I quickly learn that, at some point in their life, they encountered the power of discovering the dream that God put within them.

 

Join the staff of Community Christian Church and NewThing on April 20, 2009 in Orlando and learn how you can be a part of the reproducing church movement. We want this to be a personal experience for you so space is limited to the first 80 people who sign up. For more information or to register, click here. I would LOVE to see every person encounter the power of discovering and living out the dream that God has placed in them!

Barangay Team Dinner

This is the second annual Celeration Generosity campaign at a fun and inspiring group of believers at Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois. Last week we held an informational and inspirational dinner for over 200 people who came out to hear and learn more about how CCC is seeking to reach out and touch the needy of the world. We had a fun evening, great fellowship, and a good presentation that included a bit of Frontline's history, accomplishments of the past year, and goals anticipated in 2009 and beyond. 

There were four dinners held in the past two weeks; one by each of the four initiatives that CCC is seeking to reach out through: 1.The Barangay Team (Philippines), 2.The Neighborhood Team (East Aurora, Illinois), 3.The Uganda Team, and 4.The Newthing Network Team. All are great initiatives aimed at helping people find their way back to God. The aim of NewThing is to be a catalyst for a movement of reproducing Churches, and Frontline (as the first overseas Newthing affiliate) is a part of this initiative as well. We are very excited about the possibilities for this partnership in view of church planting movements in the Philippines and Asia.

As for the dinner, we had a great time, and a lot of fun. About 40 people lent their time and labor for making this event a succcess (thank's Barangay Gang!). We had great Filipino food, great music, great video presentations, great speaking (from several individuals), and a great response. One individual who spoke to me a few days later said, "I've been in church and have been to many mission presentations, and it is often extremely boring! But this was definitely the best mission event I ever attended." So the barangay team management, led by Cliff Parrish and Becky Stevenson, but served by a host of others, have a lot to be proud of. As you can see, we even had the emergency cleanup crew (our two unnamed but official "Frontline Junkies") cleaning up a big spill prior to the start of the dinner. 

Celebrate Generosity is more than just giving away an entire weekend offering of the church (as cool and scary as that is!). It's a several week effort that pushes the value of generosity in reaching out to the world, that culminates in a Sunday service where the best giving of the year the goal. That's radical generosity by any standards. But God has blessed this, and I just learned a few minutes ago that the giving in one of the first services of the weekend wasfive times the normal! And all this during an economic crisis. As one of their Pastor's just related, "God is up to something big!"

To see some of the video's we showed during the dinner, please click on the following links... (links will become active when the corresponding videos are successfully uploaded).

1. Welcome to the Frontline
2. Life on the Inside - San Pablo City Jail
3. Imagine... Changed Lives

Clinkerts Lodge & the Amazing Sponge Bob Bed!

I don't usually give travelling tips on this blog, but for those who are passing through Naperville, Illinois, I felt a heads up on the Clinkert's Lodge was a worth while entry.

For the past couple years we had heard of this amazing, almost miraculous bed that was so comfortable it would make you sleep as soon as you layed down on it. Not only that, it would hardly allow you to wake up! Our good friend Jeff Rice was the first to testify of it's powers. But then several months later, our daughter Rhoda came away with the same mystical experience, saying, "It's the most amazing bed on the planet."

Well, recently my wife and I got the chance to sink into it's soothing sleeping powers, and I must admit, we did not wake up until we wanted to. However, I would stop short of some who believe it's not from this world... (though I was a little freaked at the way the Sponge Bob pillow seemed to look at me no matter where I was in the room. Hmmm)

Unfortunately I am not at liberty to tell you where this lodge is, or to show a picture of the place. It's a special lodge available only to Clinkert family special guests.

And... by the way... Bob and Vicky are great hosts! :) While there we had a couple enjoyable evenings and mornings with these good folks, and was able to share some of our wild missionary monkey stories. (Maybe I will post those some time).

Cool Frontline Video!

 It's always exciting when some new "stuff" get's done that help share the work of Frontline with interested people out there. To see the latest video clip that covers some of Frontline's work and vision in the Philippines, click on the image (or right here).

Back to Blogville?

Well, hello there! Yes, I am still on planet earth. Just been super busy, and away from blogville again for a while.

Winnie and I are currently in the USA for a short two-week visit, during which time we will be participating in a very exciting initiative of Community Christian Church called Celebration Generosity. This is an exciting effort of CCC aimed ultimatey at impacting the lives of a billion people worldwide.

I thought some of our readers might be interested in this summary, by Craig buckley, of his recent two day whirlwind visit to Frontline. You can read/see it here... Visit Summary by Craig Buckley

Look for more posts in the next days!

Out of Jail... into the Church

Along with many others this past Sunday, I was blessed to the point of tears. It seems sometimes there are just those special days when, like curtains drawn open to reveal a beautiful sunny day, the impact of the ministry and growth of the Body of Christ are seen in a special light; and it simply melts your heart.

This new brother in Christ, Reyno, (pictured) is one of the fruits of the Frontline Worship Center's "Jail Site." Reyno has a testimony that will seriously raise your eyebrows, and has just finished more than four years behind bars. Jeff Rice and the jail ministry team have ministered to Reyno over the past several months and have seen him come to Christ. Now that he has been released, he has come to church for fellowship and discipleship, and just yesterday he (and several others) were baptized. During the baptisms, the church erupted with praise every time a new testimony was read to the congregation, and another individual was baptized "into Christ."

Rhoda Beloso was so choked up she could hardly talk, and later said, "It was because some of the testimonies were of people who are now coming to Christ because of our new members, and not just because of our direct ministry. And so I realized we are reproducing ourselves!" Indeed, this is so exciting. New people winning new people! Now that's what I'm talking about when referring to the only unstoppable thing about the Church. When the Body of Christ is fully activated, I believe, is a development Satan dreads.

Both at the Green Box and the BluBox the services were full, the worship inspiring, the dance and singing great, and the fellowship was wonderful. Just gotta say again, "I love this Church!"

Carving an Elephant

I recall a story of a young boy who saw a carved elephant that a man had just finished. Amazed at the skill of this man, the boy asked, "How do you do that?"  The wood carver replied, "It's really quite simple. I start with any old block of wood, and I remove everything that does not look like an elephant."

Sounds simple enough for anyone to do!

I was wondering, in light of this story, what it takes to make a church? What would removing everything that does not look like a church leave us with? I suppose this would force us to consider with much more clarity what we believe the church is, or "looks like" in the first place.

Some popular writings today suggest the Church should never have gotten into the use of buildings;  and in following such a "pagan" system, is not functioning as the church Jesus established. That buildings were and are a massive error and a huge hinderence to the church BEING the church. Would you do away with the buildings?

Some suggest the pulpit and an elevated platform, contribute to an unbiblical divide between professional and paid "clergy" and the Joe-the-Plumber-Christian sitting in the seats. Should we axe the pulpit and platforms?

Others say that paying clergy is an error that also contributes to the members of the body of Christ abdigating their God given roles of serving and ministering. Cut out the paychecks?

Even the very arrangement of our church services -- with people all seated facing the stage -- is thought by some to be detrimental to the life of the Church, making it a spectator sport rather than a participitory experience.

What do you think? Should the Church go back to it's roots, and meet only in homes again? Did Jesus never wish for His people to gather together in larger numbers, in larger venues?

What would you remove to make an elephant... I mean a Church? What do you think the Church really looks like?