Tim Keller Helps Pull the Log out of My Eye

I was flipping through channels today being my day off and I came across a preacher who was upset about something in the church.  I should have kept on flipping to ESPN, but I just had to see where he was going with the rant.  He was in the process of attacking churches who use entertainment and “worldly” methods to bring people into the church.  He did not call out any names, but it was clearly directed toward the Willow Creeks and Saddlebacks of the world.  Since I serve in one of those wicked churches, I felt a little attacked —- like I was part of a movement which did not care about God’s Word and only wanted to “tickle the ears” of the attenders.  To the preacher’s credit he did have a brief caveat that he was not saying all innovation was wrong — after all he was on TV and thought that Spurgeon would cringe at his use of the evil organ!!!

I eventually turned the channel saddened that this pastor felt like he had to take shots at churches that actually have the same Lord as the Head of their church.  But I also realized that I am guilty too of being critical of different philosophies of ministries.  I do this because I appreciate where I serve and have seen God work there in a huge way.  And if I am honest, I also can take shots to make myself look and feel better.  Pretty selfish.  Pretty wrong but we all do it just maybe not on a national televised program.

So, as I was removing the log out of my eye I read a blog post that put this all in perspective.  It was from Tim Keller and his reflections after speaking at Willow’s Leadership Summit.  Here is what he said:

This summer I spoke at the Willow Creek Leadership Summit. It was an honor to be invited. No one pulls off a conference like Willow Creek. Who else could bring their content to 120,000 people?  And the three other talks or sessions that I saw were extremely high quality.

The time at Willow led me to reflect on how much criticism this church has taken over the years. On the one hand, my own ‘camp’ — the non-mainline Reformed world — has been critical of its pragmatism, its lack of emphasis on sound doctrine. On the other hand, the emerging and post-modern ministries and leaders have disdained Willow’s individualism, its program-centered, ‘corporate’ ethos.  These critiques, I think, are partly right, but when you are actually there you realize many of the most negative evaluations are caricatures.

John Frame’s ‘tri-perspectivalism’ helps me understand Willow. The Willow Creek style churches have a ‘kingly’ emphasis on leadership, strategic thinking, and wise administration. The danger there is that the mechanical obscures how organic and spontaneous church life can be. The Reformed churches have a ‘prophetic’ emphasis on preaching, teaching, and doctrine. The danger there is that we can have a naïve and unBiblical view that, if we just expound the Word faithfully, everything else in the church — leader development, community building, stewardship of resources, unified vision — will just happen by themselves. The emerging churches have a ‘priestly’ emphasis on community, liturgy and sacraments, service and justice. The danger there is to view ‘community’ as the magic bullet in the same way Reformed people view preaching.

By thinking in this way, it makes it possible for me to love and appreciate the best representatives of each of these contemporary evangelical ‘traditions.’ Nobody provides more practical help for organizing and leading ministry than Willow Creek.  I also am humbled that Redeemer is well-regarded in each of these ’streams’ of evangelicalism, though we have our feet firmly set in our own Reformed tradition.  That is quite unusual, and it makes it possible for us to both teach and learn across the spectrum of church life today.

Click here to see this post and to read some of the comments connected with it.

The Nones are Rising

I met with a guy yesterday who over the years has rejected any type of religion.  He does seem like he has moved from a hard-core atheist to a semi-open agnostic.  He has been visiting Hope with his girlfriend and has found himself being moved.  He certainly has not embraced a concept of God, but he is open to the possibility. 

It appears that this type of nonbelief is rising across the nation and even here at the buckle of the “Bible Belt”.   Here are some highlights — or lowlights — of what the survey found:

• 86% of American adults identified as Christians in 1990 and 76% in 2008.
• Even Tennessee followed that patternwith 92% of adults identified as Christians in 1990 and 83% in 2008
• The historic Mainline churches and denominations have experienced the steepest declines while the non-denominational Christian identity has been trending upward particularly since 2001.
• The challenge to Christianity in the U.S. does not come from otherreligions but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion.
• •The “Nones” (no stated religious preference, atheist, or agnostic)continue to grow, though at a much slower pace than in the 1990s, from 8.2% in 1990, to 14.1% in 2001, to 15.0% in 2008.

John Ortberg in an article on the blog Out of Ur asks this question:

“Are we witnessing the process of secularization here in America similar to what Europe experienced in the middle of the twentieth century? “

What are we doing to help stem the tide?  I want to reach more people like my agnostic friend and I am grateful that Hope feels like a place where questions are welcome and doubters can enter safely and hear of the life changing power of Christ.

Connecting to Hope

My job around Hope is to see how we can best connect people into our ministry especially through membership and volunteering.  But we cannot connect people who never come and check us out.  So, we do many things to advertise our ministry here — a presence on the web, a sign leading onto our property, billboards around our city at various times throughout the year, Craig’s new radio spots, etc….  But the best advertisement is people telling people.  In fact just the other day, I was in a doctors office and the nurse asked me what I did for a living.  I told her that I was a pastor at Hope and she said that she had heard a lot about our church and really needed to visit.  She said that she had been involved in a church that split a couple of years ago and had been disillusioned with the whole church thing.  I told her that Hope is about that very thing.  We are a church for those who have not necessarily given up on God but have given up on Church.  I hope she comes and check us out.

Another thing that we have noticed about people telling people about Hope is that some of our best evangelist are members of other churches!!!  Maybe they are in a very traditional church and invite some friends to their church and it just does not click.  They will say, “What you need to do is to check out Hope Church.  They are very different.  I think you might really connect with what they are doing over there.”  And that evangelism goes both ways.  I have pointed people toward other churches in our city where I feel like they might connect better.  No church has the corner on the gospel market.  We are just communicating the good news in different ways.

Check out this insightful post by Ben Arment that really got me thinking about this issue of outreach.

Hope on the Radio

Back in the 80’s here in Memphis, a comforting voice hit the radio airwaves.  His name was Dr. Maxie Dunnam, then pastor of Christ United Methodist.  He pioneered a short radio spot called “Perceptions”.  This was not a heavy handed preaching point to get in the face of those fighting the morning drive.  Maxie gave a one minute word of encouragement usally based around a story.  His specific target?  The unchurched.

That brings us to 2008 in Memphis.  “Perceptions” has gone into syndication and is proving to be an effective outreach tool.  But we wanted to follow this tradition with our own “Hope Spin” on it.  The spots are called “There’s Always Hope”.  Craig is now on a couple of radio stations for the morning drive time.  He tells a good story, and we are hopeful that we will reach out to some new folks in our city.

Here is a sample spot:    The Cancer Year

Click on the above grafic for an itunes feed.

Buckhead Music Project – Takin’ it to the People

Just read an article by Carlos Whittaker about a brand new vision the Buckhead Church has to extend their reach into their community.  Here is his description:

We are in the middle of an experiment.  It is not grand by any means.  It is simply a test.
A test to see how our church responds to the community and how the community responds to our church.
It is called The Buckhead Music Project.
The premise is simple.
Take the amazing musicians and singer songwriters in our church and unleash them into the bars and clubs of Atlanta.
Most people know more people than not that would never step foot into a church.
Or so I thought.
So.
We’ll go to them.  (Click HERE for the rest of the article)

I think this is AWESOME!!!!

Look at the video below about their first venture into the Buckhead bar scene.

Remembering on Father’s Day

As I looked through some old files on my computer, I ran across a letter that I had typed up for my Dad over ten years ago.  He was 83 at the time.  He did not know how much longer he would be on this earth so he wanted to send a letter of faith to his family.  I teared up as I read through this sweet letter.  Dad passed away a couple of years ago so I remember and honor him this Father’s Day. 

My new life began at age 31 in 1946 after completing two and a half years in the U. S. Navy in California. After arriving in Memphis, I immediately took my job back at Ford Motor Co. They were very nice as they promised my job would be there when I returned from service. I was a frustrated person and not happy with anything. I stayed there several months and then a friend left and went with Chicago Southern Airlines now, Delta Airlines. He encouraged me to come with him as they needed a payroll clerk. C & S was a new and aggressive company with a future. I worked there a couple of years then on to another job.

Then my life changed. Modelle and I were attending a meeting one evening, and the question was asked, “Have you ever accepted Christ as your personal Savior?” My answer was; I think I have. I’m not sure. I go to church and enjoy my friends and am active in every way. Then he asked, “Would you accept Him as your personal Savior and put your life in His hands and be sure?” My answer was yes. Modelle and I both bowed our heads and asked Jesus Christ to come into our lives and take control. Praise God from that day forward I know He lives within me and the spirit of God guides in all that I do.

When I was young and at home, we always attended church, but I can never remember personally accepting Christ. I was baptized at the age of 10 in Mobile and married a sweet girl in 1939, and we have been happily married for 58 years with 2 sons as ministers. Our life is full of happiness and joy. Our greatest times now are watching our grandchildren play basketball and enjoying life to the fullest.

With this note I am sending you a copy of 1^st John 5 from my Bible. When I accepted Christ, these Scriptures came to life and changed my life and gave me the assurance of my salvation. Praise God!

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.

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!

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!