Marvin Gaye’s Impeccable Timing

I was in an important meeting a couple of days ago with the boss of my boss — i.e. our Sr. Pastor.  Things have been a little stressful around here at Hope — giving down, sanctuary to pay for, attendance up but not as much as we had hoped….  So, in my area of ministry, we are looking for ways to reach more people and encourage folks to go through our new members class.

Just when things were getting warmed up, and I was feeling the full pressure of my pastoral responsibly to grow the church — my phone rang.  Which would not have been a big deal — yes, I should have had it on vibrate but Craig’s phone had sounded off earlier so that was not a big deal.  The issue was that my wife was calling, and I had her customized ring on  —- Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get it On”.  As Craig figured out what the ring was, he laughed and said, “You know, I think I would answer that!”  Pretty funny.

God’s Kingdom Not Hope’s Kingdom

Churches sure can get self absorbed in building their kingdom and forget the real importance of seeing God’s Kingdom built in this world. Being in a large church, the temptation can be even greater. We certainly know the struggle here at Hope.

We work hard a being the best we can be and desire to reach as many people as we can for the cause of Christ. We also have to work hard at remembering that Hope is not the only church on the block — that there are many great churches that reach certain people who would never and will never darken the doors of Hope. It is important to keep in good relationship with churches in our city. And to be willing to pass on the name of another church in the community who might be able to reach the needs of various people we come in contact with.

I received two letters this week that reflect this.

One Hope Visitor Said, “I was on your website and was impressed by your listings of churches. I was especially moved by the fact that there were churches listed that were in Memphis (your competitors). That said to me that Hope Church is interested in everyone finding the right church for them; whether or not it’s Hope, what’s really important if finding Christ.”

Craig wrote this in response to a couple who were leaving Hope to help with a church plant, “I was saddened to hear that you are leaving us to work with another local church.  However, I have always believed it is not about the Kingdom of Hope, but the Kingdom of God, so I am delighted to celebrate your new commitment.”

An Evangelical Manifesto Let the Dialog Begin

“Manifesto aims to make ‘evangelical’ less political” - USA Today

“‘An Evangelical Manifesto’ criticizes politics of faith” - CNN

“Christian Clerics Circulate ‘Evangelical Manifesto’ Urging Faithful to Avoid Single issue Politics” - Fox News

‘Evangelical Manifesto’ Aims to Depoliticize Religion - NPR

“‘Manifesto’ vexes evangelicals” - The Washington Times

“Evangelical leaders say their faith is too politicized” AP

These are the headlines reporting on a new document published and signed by various evangelicals entitled “An Evangelical Manifesto”. The purpose of the manifesto is stated as: “…. first to address the confusions and corruptions that attend the term Evangelical in the United States and much of the Western world today, and second to clarify where we stand on issues that have caused consternation over Evangelicals in public life.”

In the executive summary, it is stated: “First, we reaffirm our identity. Evangelicals are Christians who define themselves, their faith, and their lives according to the Good News of Jesus of Nazareth.”

The core of the Evangelical faith is stated with these basic beliefs:

1. Jesus, fully divine and fully human, as the only full and complete revelation of God and therefore the only Savior.
2. The death of Jesus on the cross, in which he took the penalty for our sins and reconciled us to God.
3. Salvation as God’s gift grasped through faith. We contribute nothing to our salvation.
4. New life in the Holy Spirit, who brings us spiritual rebirth and power to live as Jesus did, reaching out to the poor, sick, and oppressed.
5. The Bible as God’s Word written, fully trustworthy as our final guide to faith and practice.
6. The future personal return of Jesus to establish the reign of God.
7. The importance of sharing these beliefs so that others may experience God’s salvation and may walk in Jesus’ way.

With this core theological understanding in place, they state that: “Second, we wish to reposition ourselves in public life. To be Evangelical is to be faithful to the freedom, justice, peace, and well-being that are at the heart of the good news of Jesus.”

I love this statement from the Evangelical Manifesto web site:

“As an open declaration, An Evangelical Manifesto addresses not only Evangelicals and other Christians but other American citizens and people of all other faiths in America, including those who say they have no faith. It therefore stands as an example of how different faith communities may address each other in public life, without any compromise of their own faith but with a clear commitment to the common good of the societies in which we all live together.”

This seems to be pretty solid and an important statement to be made to the culture. Those who have signed it are making a statement that the way the world sees Evangelicals is not necessarily a clear representation of ALL Evangelicals. It recognizes that the Evangelical movement has lost it’s way in some ways and needs to be redirected and redefined.

I look forward to reading the complete 20 page document. To do the same, and to see who has and has not signed the manifesto, check out their web site here.

Very Special Arts Festival

                 

I wish I had a video of this, but if you listen to the beautiful version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” by the late Hawaiian artist Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwoʻole, you will experience some of the sweetness of watching these special kids perform a hula dance this morning at Hope. 

We have the great privilege of hosting the annual Very Special Arts Festival put on the Memphis City Schools.   There will be over 1000 special needs kids who come through our doors to experience the music, the fun and the arts and crafts.  What a great opportunity for us to serve these children and the dedicated educators who love them every day. 

We are completely committed to serving our community with the facility that God has given us.  Later this spring we will be hosting the AP exams for Cordova High School, will have five high school graduations in our sanctuary and we will host the Memphis City School’s Principals Academy.

With all the bad press that the school system gets, I hope someone is out here reporting on this great event for these exceptional students.

Volunteers —- Show Me The Money!!

I just read this from Leadership Network:

“In 2007, volunteers from churches in Leadership Network’s Externally Focused Churches Leadership Community gave more than 1.8 million hours to kingdom-building service—from tutoring school children to supporting single parents to feeding hungry neighbors to innumerable other acts of charity.

The real value of this volunteer labor becomes clear when you crunch the numbers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average value of a volunteer hour in 2007 was approximately $19.00. That means these externally focused churches donated $34,416,923 worth of volunteer labor in 2007 alone.”

Simple Church

In my post yesterday, I mentioned the book Simple Church. Well, Tony Morgan reflected a little on it today,

“I finally had a chance to read the book Simple Church by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger. It’s been on my list for the last year or more, but I didn’t prioritize it. I wish I had. Honestly, I think it’s one of the top five books I’ve read on church ministry. This is one of those every-church-leader-should-read books. Great, great insights. I wish I would have written this book, because it certainly captures my heart for the local church.”

Click here to read some more of Tony’s post.

The Power of Simplicity

We are starting to think about focus and being strategically simple around here at Hope. One resource that is helping us work through this process is the book “Simple Church” by Thom Rainer & Eric Geiger. They set out a philosophy of focusing your church to develop a simple disciple making process. There are four elements that they see as crucial in helping churches rethink and retool their ministry process.

1. Clarity - The ability of the process to be communicated and understood by the people.
2. Movement - The sequential steps in the process that cause people to move to greater areas of commitment.
3. Alignment - The arrangement of all ministries and staff around the same simple process.
4. Focus - The commitment to abandon everything that falls outside of the simple ministry process.

It is a good read with some powerful implications for ministry. One thing they point to is the power of simplicity being seen in web design today. Look at Google. Incredibly simple design. Incredibly successful. Look at the simplicity the web site of Mars Hill in Grand Rapids. Look at Starbucks. Look at the clarity seen in Calvary Church near St. Louis.

Also, give a look to this quick video that Kem Meyer posted on her blog. It deals with simple vs. complex solutions in problem solving.

Externally Focused Church Webinar

Listened to a great webinar the other day from Leadership Network.  It was entitled “Breaking into the Kingdom w/ Rick McKinley”  Rick McKinley the pastor of Imago Dei in Portland talked about Four Paradigm Shifts a Church must make to become Missional.  Check out a good summary of this webinar at Robert Grisham’s blog - …this remarkable new opportunity.

Or if you want to listen to the teaching click on the following link:  www.leadnet.org/webinar-externallyfocusedkingdom

Good Stuff!

Be It Resolved from 2nd Pres

We had a special surprise tonight at our Session meeting. Our mother church, Second Presbyterian of Memphis, graciously sent us a resolution from their Session. Their pastor and our friend, Sandy Wilson came with the Clerk of the Session, Bill Martin and long time staffer Susan Nash. They shared with us the resolution and Sandy prayed for Craig and the church. Here is the resolution which fairly traces the history of Hope:

Resolution from the Session of Second Presbyterian Church

January 2008

Whereas Hope Presbyterian Church opened the doors of her new 5000 seat, 125,000 square foot sanctuary and her expanded 200 space parking lot to the community on January 5-6, 2008;

Whereas she, having begun in 1988, first met in Shelby Place Restaurant , then Evangelical Christian School, moving into her permanent home at 8500 Walnut Grove Road in 1996;

Whereas her sanctuary space at this current site was 80% full in the two hours that most people attend church and she had already expanded;

Whereas she has grown from a church plant of 25 to a fast-growing church of 5,954 members in 20 years;

Whereas her mission to the unchurched, their families and friends brings 6000 adults and 1100 children in their five weekend services times making her one of the largest churches in Tennessee and the United States;

Whereas she is both a local church serving the community at large, Caldwell community specifically and Mid-South churches through a multichurch network and a global church, planting and aiding churches in Mexico, Ecuador, and Kenya;

Whereas she is both a daughter church and a sister church to Second Presbyterian Church;

Be It Resolved that the Session of Second Presbyterian Church wholeheartedly congratulates Dr. Craig Strickland, the Session and staff of Hope Presbyterian Church for their leadership during these 20 years and praises God for the growth and advancement of His Kingdom through these servants.

William S. Martin Sanders L. Wilson

Clerk of the Session Moderator

January 28, 2008

Over 14,000 Celebrate Easter at Hope

 

I also pray the you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the high place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 1:19-20

It was an amazing weekend at Hope with the parking lot pressed to the limit and people walking into our sanctuary looking for some answers and a chance to walk through a door of transformation. There was nothing magical about the doors but their IS something powerful about a resurrected life in Christ. Over 14,000 people came to hear this message this weekend with two services on Saturday and three on Sunday. The 10 AM service was packed with over 5,000. What an amazing sight and the energy in the room was electric.

I talked with a woman visiting from Boston who was struck by the friendliness that she experienced. It caught her off guard. She thought Big = Impersonal. She was so happy to be wrong and so am I. Way to Go Volunteers. Way to Go all Hope Members. Way to Go God!