Emergency church?

No one is a member of a hospital, but we know where our local one is. In an emergency, we know where to find it.
No one is a member of the local police station, but we all know how far away it is... just in case.

I wonder how many churches have "members" that only call upon it in an emergency?

How many member rolls are filled with those who only make contact when someone is born, needs to be baptised, is ready to have a wedding ceremony, gravely ill or just deceased?

Church is not meant to be a place which you have to "beak the glass of an emergency" to get in contact with.

In fact, the support a church community provides works much, much more effectively if you share all parts of your life, not just the moments of crisis.

Kick-a$$ volunteers

It has been a while since I've had to choose a church to attend voluntarily.

Years.

One of the up(?) sides of being in ministry is having your church chosen for you. You initially agree to work there, with adequate discernment, and then... POW... you are a member of that church.

But I wonder what I would look for if, for some reason, I were "back on the market"?

Would I gravitate towards a large church?
Would I gaze an eye over multiple churches and attend based upon the quality of their PowerPoint?
Could I live with a church that wasn't oozing quality (not that I'd ever find one, nor do we achieve it every week at my church!)?

Or, would I purposely choose a church where I could be used?
A church that looks like it could use help?

I'm not sure, but I do remember an ideal that we held in college. Being a kick-ass volunteer.

A volunteer who could preach when required. Or lead a service. Or lead the youth group. Or produce the advertising.

I think people who were formally in ministry should strive to be kick-ass volunteers.

Sure, plenty of people are chewed up by churches and ministry and need a break. But, with adequate time, I'm not sure it serves their church well for them to sit on the sidelines.

Culture shaping

Last week I wrote an essay on female ordination. It was about as fun as it sounds.

During lectures on the topic, it was wondered (in conjunction with the issue of homosexual ordination) if culture was shaping the direction of the church.

I think the church should never be either ignorant or neglectful of the issues raised by culture. The church is called to engage with it's culture and wrestle with the issues of the day.

But the tail shouldn't wag the dog.

Culture can (and should) certainly thrust issues into the spotlight and demand to hear what the church thinks, but I'm not convinced that the church should chase the "flavour of the month."

Sometimes we need to remember what we are actually all about. Showing the world the love and grace of God, concerned with justice and mercy. These things will cover the vast majority of issues that arise...

Alien assult?

According to this story religion would 'take a blow' if advanced alien life was discovered.

I'm not convinced it would.

I've previously written how I easily live with the uncertainty of aliens.

Remember, the bible doesn't say anything about cats either. Or Kangaroos. Or coffee. Or television. Or... you get my point?

The bible doesn't speak about them because it doesn't need to. It's not primarily (or even peripherally) about them. It is about God, humanity and the world. The bible gives all the details for reconciliation between God and people that is required.

I can't see how 'the Christian belief system does not easily allow for other intelligent beings in the universe...'

Perhaps I'm a tad simple, but my answer seems more reasonable than the ones given in the article.

The ground floor needs theologians

I've previously posted that the ground floor needs generals.

I think the wider church would benefit from long-term youth ministers working in places that need their experience, not just a bunch of fresh-faced 22 year old college graduates.

Well the ground floor also needs theologians.

Just as those in long-term youth ministry occasionally get positions as chaplains, regional advisers or even senior ministers, those who have a passion for thinking deeply about ministering to youth often step back from the front lines to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that those in youth ministry are theologically inept, but I find many youth ministry theology books (and there isn't a massive number) are penned by those who ceased to be "youth ministers" years ago.

Those who minister to youth should think hard about the why and how of what they do. They should read books on the topic. They should wrestle with the issues.

In fact, I should do it more.

I acknowledge that it takes time and head space to write a PhD or a book.

But it would be nice if those who write the theology of youth ministry texts were doing it, instead of giving academic lectures for a living.

You are not Gandhi

Late Sunday night I was involved in a conversation about ordinary Christians.

Christians that don't have a book deal. Those who aren't on television. Those who don't have 150,000 Facebook fans. Those who don't have a face recognised globally.

Just regular believers who love God and are trying to obey Him as best they can in their homes, workplaces and churches.

The discussion had, in part, to do with the fact that everyone isn't meant to be their generation's Gandhi. There will be only one Driscoll or Piper. Martin Luther King has already lived you will never be an exact duplicate.

The vast, vast majority of Christians (and people for that matter) are ordinary.

And that's a good thing.

It's ordinary people who volunteer as telephone counsellors.
It's ordinary people who are country ministers and hospital chaplains.
It's ordinary people who provide meals for hurting neighbours.
It's ordinary people who run playgroups.
It's ordinary people who drive elderly parishioners to church.
It's ordinary people who man techie booths and provide flowers for church.
It's ordinary people who attend the funerals of their friend's parents.
It's the ordinary people who do thousands of untold good acts each day.

God, most often, works through the ordinary people.

Space, Permission & Validity

A few weeks ago Rob Hanks mentioned that a youth ministry needs to have three things for the greatest chance of success. The three things a church needs to provide are space, permission and validity.

After I pestered him to blog about the idea he did here.

Any ministry needs...

Space - a physical place, storage, dollars in the budget and communication/advertising opportunities.

Permission - access to facilities, approval to experiment and fail and acceptance that mess and noise may be created.

Validity - members of the ministry welcomed and accepted by others, achievements celebrated and belief that what is happening is a "real" ministry, nurturing genuine faith.

When considering a fresh ministry, a church should weigh up if they can deliver all three of these needs. All too often, a ministry is hobbled because a well meaning church only offers up two of three.

Time before the ask

At church things have changed slightly in the way we organise the evening service. The service leader now has responsibility to find people to do the various parts that make up the service.

I know, nothing ground-breaking, but a shift all the same.

I've seen this work effectively in other churches that I've been associated with, but there is one lurking danger.

Pouncing on the newbie.

When new people arrive at your church the first thing they need isn't a request to "be on a roster." In fact, some people head to a new church to GET AWAY from being on the roster treadmill.

The thing some people need is time, not obligations.

If they are burnt out from their previous church, this is one of the best ways you can serve that person whilst developing a relationship with them.

Additionally, it allows the newcomer to get a grasp on the culture of the service, thus making their involvement more effective anyway.

Turf warfare

Ballet. Bridge. Physical culture.

At every church I have worked at there has been a constant tension surrounding the use of the church buildings, especially the hall.

Churches have the desire, and some would say responsibility, to open their facilities to the public. There are only so many large halls that are available and often churches feel guilty about theirs sitting vacant.

Additionally, churches get accustomed to the income that rolls in from renting out their buildings.

And this isn't all bad. Ministry is made possible with this income. People have their wages paid with this cash. Resources are purchased with this money.

But... Here is where the tension lies.

Inevitably there comes a day when a church wants to do something new and they find it near impossible since there are no appropriate times when their building is empty.

I wish there was an easy answer to the conundrum. There isn't. Or at least I've never found nor heard one.

Perhaps, when this arises, it can be seen as an opportunity for the church to do ministry outside of the church space. For a new ministry, this could remove one of the barriers that new attenders need to leap.

But the tension still remains...

Tiny Bible Bits

People are busy. Especially school kids.

Starting tomorrow I'm starting something new and a little unknown. Tiny Bible Bits.

The idea is simple. Every Mondays, Wednesday and Friday the Facebook page (called Tiny Bible Bits) will have a small chunk of scripture (nothing more than a few verses) with a short reflection or question.

It's not designed as a replacement for church or youth group, but I (and a bunch of others) have noticed that attending "God stuff" and having kids engage with the bible is more and more difficult (especially in senior high).

So, if you want to like the page and join up, then that would be grand. If you want to spread the word to others, then that also would be grand.

If nothing else, it can be a way for people who already have a symbiotic relationship with Facebook, to connect with God and will force me to engage with the bible more regularly.

Virtical bungee

I'm going to loose my mind because spell check has no idea whether (or weather) I mean lose or loose.

And I know it bugs AT LEAST one other person.

Last term my church was involved in an event which advertised a "virtical bungee."

Now this was askew on a few levels.

1 - The first word is definitely not correct and the second is debatable. Vertical Bungie would be more in the ball-park.

2 - An inside vertical bungie would be an OHS nightmare. Horizontal is the axis where far fewer kids get injured.

From those who noticed, it didn't send a confidence-increasing message.

I've been guilty of this slip up plenty of times in the past (like the latest note I sent to the teens and my previous blog post). You could call it a habit. A nasty habit.

It is something that I wish I could kick.

When you hand out notes or bibles studies, the first reaction you desire is not a "quick... let's find the typo."

No one wants that reputation.

Urban responsibility

Today my wife and I entered into the fourth, fifth and sixth stages of moving house hell. We've already endured collecting boxes, packing and negotiation with removalists. Today was moving day.

We awoke at six to be ready for the removalists at 8am (stage 4... doing the final we're-about-to-leave clean). Nearly 11 hours later we are sitting in a semi-furnished house with miscellaneous piles of boxes in varying degrees of emptiness (stage 5... unpacking).

Sure, we don't have a finished kitchen, we won't sleep in our new bedroom until the middle of next week and the cat won't arrive back from vacation till Tuesday (stage 6... general home calamity).

I can't imagine how this would be if I was doing this by myself. Especially if I were leaving my family and the majority of my friends.

But this is what country people do all too often. Weather it be for study, work or another reason, young adults all too often leave for the "big smoke."

And this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility for urban churches.

We are entrusted by our country brethren to welcome, involve and nurture those who have been brought up and discipled in the faith at their country churches.

A phenomenal privilege and responsibility is given to city churches by faithful parents and congregations. The least we owe them is a quality church for their kids to be a part of...

Generational tightrope walking

The young are to be ignored. They want to change everything.
The old are to be ignored. They cling rigidly to tradition.
Families are nice, but their kids should be "seen and not heard."

Sometimes the church will cut off its nose to spite its face.

During the farewell sermon my minster gave he mentioned something that had been bouncing around my head a while.

Although churches would never act like the italicised intro to the post, all too often they hobble themselves due to the focus they give to one generation.

If one generation, no matter if it is kids & teens, young adults, young families or retirees, is given the lion's share of attention (usually resulting in a larger proportion of this group) then the church community becomes unbalanced.

And it loses what the other generations bring to the table.

Churches lose tradition and the value of life experience if the "oldies" are missing.
Churches lose the blessing of witnessing toddlers grow and discover their world by excluding young families.
Churches lose the enthusiasm and vigor for transformation of teens if they exclude them.

Each generation offers more then what was listed above, but the Body of Christ works best when there is a generational balance brought about by acceptance of all.

If it takes a "village" to raise a child, then surely we should strive to include the entire spectrum of ages...

Where is this relationship going?

In the past I wrote that the process of being interviewed and agreeing to work for a church was similar to dating and finally "getting hitched."

Last week I sat down with someone from church and had a chat about where our relationship was going.

Do we have a long-term future together?
Where do we see ourselves in a few years?

Due to my soon-to-be-changing life stage and church staffing change this discussion was thrust into the spotlight.

The conversation (and note that is was a quite informal, not a I'm-renewing-my-resume showdown) was really positive and something which should be on the agenda for churches every few years.

When life throws up a transition, and it will every so often, it helps to know the lay of the land...

Big shows and small consistancy

Last week the dedicated cook for the youth group was showered with flowers and chocolate since it was her final week helping out in the kitchen after six years.

In ministry there are a lot of chances to thank people. It's a consequence of working in an industry dependant upon volunteers.

I acknowledge that thanking others isn't one of my strengths. At least not in small ways.

I do BIG shows of appreciation rather well.

I've given out trophies and publicly expressed my gratitude in congregational meetings. But small, consistent, appreciativeness (is that a word?) is still something I'm working on.

The road to manhood

Last night my church again hosted a seminar from Steve Biddulph, this time about "The Road to Manhood." (and no, it is not cruelly ironic that I put this post after one about kittens)

Again, it was really good.

One thing that caught my attention were the five truths guys need to appreciate to be mature men. (the numbers are from the talk, the rest are my ramblings)

1 - You are going to die... and that's ok.

The stats, when it comes to death are fairly convincing. 1 in 1 people die. You will not live forever, no matter how great or indestructible you feel at 19. You are mortal and will need to leave a legacy.

2 - Life is hard... but you're not alone.

Of the truly worthwhile things in life, most are not easy. Of the things that produce great worth, risk is a part. Life will not always be fair. But no matter how things develop, have a supportive band of people around you (particularly other blokes) to help, encourage and lift you when you fail.

3 - You are not that important... but your not meaningless.

Sorry to burst your bubble. You just ain't the center of the universe. In fact, you should try to avoid being the center of your own existence.

4 - Your life is not about you... this is a relief.

The planet does not depend upon your daily success. Use your time, talents, skills and resources to make the lives of others better. Don't be scared to serve others.

5 - You are not in control of the outcome... don't be so anxious.

Make wise decisions. Consider the consequences. Plan well. But be aware that you are not always in the driver's seat of your live. That's no surprise... see number 2.

Actually, Steve should write this down somewhere. Luckily, he has. The talks were based on an updated version of this book.

Awww kittens

It is universally acknowledged that the Internet is used for five things.

Porn.
Music.
Facebook.
Humorous photos.
Kittens.

With this in mind, I did enjoy this website more than I should have. Sure, large blokes may ambush me in a car park and snatch away my man card, but here it is anyway... www.randomkittengenerator.com

Unlearning what you know

Last night our church hosted a "Raising Boys" talk by Steve Biddulph and it was good. Really good.

Steve started the presentation by saying how parenting has been going on since the dawn of humanity and, normally, they are fairly good at getting the job done.
Parents, supported by a large number of others, raise their kids into productive adults.

Using this as a platform, Steve said that the usual parenting answer is already known. Usually your gut is correct. But due to the industrial revolution causing a instinctual-parental disconnect, we live in a time where we question this primitive voice.

I a similar thing occurs with belief in God. Small kids are quite comfortable with theism. In scripture, if you invite a year 1 kid to talk to God they are more open and accepting than in year 4 or 5. As they get older they "loose" this underlying awareness of something bigger then themselves.

Culture, upbringing, something deprograms this inherent knowledge.

Perhaps, similar to parenting, we need to place the expert-driven, modern skepticism in perspective and check what our gut thinks.

Sex questions

I heard this morning that one of my teenage leaders was asked about her sex life at the kids club this week. Needless to say I was not there and the reaction of the senior leader was being less than thrilled.

I can't remember a time when I was asked about my sex life as a youth group leader. Perhaps it happened and I've forgotten. What is more likely is that the kids knew I wasn't a much of a chance to "pick up."

The place where I get asked about my sex life is in scripture and I oscillate between two replies.

1 - DEFENCE: Do you ask the other teachers about their sex lives? Do you think that's appropriate? As your librarian the same question and tell me what she replies...

2 - HONESTY: Not graphic. Definitely not specific. But I'll say if I was a virgin on my wedding night and I'll say what decisions I had to make whilst I was dating. I'm not embarrassed about the answers. In this one specific area I did a decent job of doing what God calls me to do.

Personally, the topic doesn't fluster me (which I think is a big motivation behind the question) because my answers revolve around being smart enough to know where not to go. My answers revolve around it not being simple or easy to remain a virgin.

Usually, the scripture lesson then resumes regular broadcasting.

Exam survival packs

I just finished handed out around 140 Year 12 Exam Survival Packs to the girls who weekly use our church for chapel.

To find out what's in the packs you can go to my post about them here.

One good thing about having ministered at multiple churches is taking the great things that you collect along the way and using them in fresh surroundings.

The aim isn't to reproduce everything that you've done in the past, but some arrows are worth keeping in your quiver.