wonders and reflections in God's presence

I love you both … happy six months together.

I was tagged by James last week … I guess I can’t put it off any longer.

(The Rules: Each player of this game starts with the six (6) weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog post of their own six (6) weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end,you need to choose six (6) people to be tagged and list their names.)

1.  I love fresh, clean, crisp, sheets on bed, but refuse to spend the time and energy pressing my sheets …

2.  I love to be the first one to break into a new peanut butter jar.

3.  Around my family members, I will sometimes “speak” in song … recitative style.

4.  I hate emptying the dishwasher … but I don’t mind filling it or doing dishes by hand.

5.  Late a tonight, after the lights are off, and the house is quiet, I am sometimes found lifting my hand in the air and finger spelling my prayers to God, which often include the words to the Barney “I Love You” song.

6.  And most recently, I’ve discovered that I enjoy watching my family and friends get their marshmallow skewers red hot in the fire and then watching them sizzle in the cold pool water. (I guess that proves I have weird family and friends, too.)

I won’t tag anyone because I think this has made it around quite a bit already … but if you’d like to try it … consider yourself tagged.

I am one who believes history was made this weekend.  This weekend the leaders of the Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodists in Houston signed a “Church Planting Manifesto” that they had written together, and then invited over a hundred other church planters, pastors, lay people, and denominational leaders from all backgrounds to sign it too. 

I was part of the “signing” ceremony this noon at First Baptist Church.  Mike Cole, our General Presbyter was unable to make the meeting today, so I stood in for him representing the Presbyterians in Houston … I was one of the denominational leaders who stood and offered prayer and blessing as each one stepped forward to sign the Manifesto.  I felt as if I were part of a sacred moment.  It was truly awesome.

Imagine, Churches setting aside denominational differences in polity and theology, competitive edge, and individual success in order to plant churches together in the city of Houston and Harris County. Here is the last “Whereas” and the “Therefore” of the Manifesto.

Whereas, we, an assembly of church leaders in Houston, on this nineteenth day of January, 2007 do acknowledge and affirm that

• We believe the command of Jesus to make disciples of all people (ethne) is intended for the church today as much as it was intended for the church in the first century
• We recognize that, while it is the nature of the kingdom of God to grow, the population growth of the greater Houston area is increasing faster than the growth of the church which means that the church is losing ground in the city daily, and this troubles us
• We believe a strategy of starting new churches is a primary way to reach those not yet Christians with the gospel and to help them become fully devoted disciples of Jesus
• We realize that no one way of doing church will reach all people (ethne)
• We believe every person should have ready access to a church that is biblically based, doctrinally sound and contextually appropriate to them
• We believe a cooperative, coordinated strategy of church planting that embraces different kinds of churche swill be the most effective way to reach all the people of our city and maximize the resources available to the church

Therefore, we, an assembly of church leaders in Houston on this nineteenth day of January, 2007, do sign this Manifesto in which we acknowledge our denominational and stylistic differences, but commit to working together to develop a strategy for church planting that will reach all the people (ethne) of our city.

What do you think will need to happen in order for us to live up to this Manifesto and work together at planting churches, hopefully fueling a church planting movement in Houston and beyond?

Dwayne and I saw the BLT performance of Sordid Lives at TNT yesterday afternoon and it was great! According to Maegan, one of the crew, the show has advanced and will be competing statewide in March.

As many of you know Dwayne and I were cast in the BLT production of Sordid Lives last spring.

EDIT:  Here are some pics of me in the old show.

We had to drop out of the competition because if the show advanced to state competition we could not make the performance in Fort Worth. We have a previous commitment to our nephew’s wedding in Pennsylvania on that day. So … it seems the new cast honored us by giving a wonderful performance and winning the first round.

The actors were superb, the performance ten stars. The script, of course, had to be cut in order to meet the 60 minute time limit for competitive shows. Kyle did a great job of cutting dialog without losing the plot and character development. I think this has got to be one of the most difficult parts of preparing a show like this for competition. Granted, I was very familiar with the whole script, but I think the cuts worked exceedingly well.

I have to admit, I was filled with mixed emotions as the show went on … I was nervous for the cast and crew, I wanted them to do their best. I was proud of the wonderful job they were doing and to count them as friends. I was sad, very sad, that I wasn’t a part of it anymore. I really missed being up there.

We won’t see the show at state … but if it advances again, you bet, Dwayne and I will do whatever we can to get there … we love you guys and congratulations again!

“How can we get more people to come to our church?” I am asked this question a lot.

Over the holidays I saw a story on the TV news, which was also reported in the Galveston County Daily News: A congregation in LaMarque was giving away a Saturn Ion to one lucky person who showed up for church on New Year’s Eve. That’s one answer.

My typical answer, no doubt, frustrates the questioner, because it doesn’t include hints or techniques or advertising secrets that will double worship attendance. No, I almost always respond, “It’s the wrong question.”
At best, the question implies we are operating out of 20th century assumptions: that if we plan the “right” worship service, people will come; that coming to church is the first step in becoming a Christian; that the Sunday worship experience is our primary service to the community.

At worst, the question reveals our hunger for people to join us to keep our congregations alive; reading between the lines, the question exposes a focus on ourselves and our own institutional survival over and above the needs, wants or desires of those we are called to serve. There are times, let’s face it, when we ask the question really wanting to know, “How can we get more people who like to worship just like we do, who will give money to our church budget, and share in the leadership of this congregation?”

The question isn’t how can we get people to come here, it’s how can we get our people to go there. We have to deploy our members into our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces to be witnesses of Christ in those places. In the 21st century, discipleship usually begins with an authentic friendship with a Christ-follower. Only after the interest in Christ is kindled, is a new-believer interested in attending a worship service. Typically, they will prefer to gather first with a small group in a friend’s home before venturing into a large worship gathering.

This sounds obvious, but people who don’t go to church are simply not interested in “going to church”. No matter how wonderful your pastor preaches or your choir sings, no matter how friendly your childcare workers or greeters are – un-churched people don’t want to give up their treasured time off to go to church. But, they are interested in building relationships with people whose lives model compassion and kindness; and, seeing the results of a Christ-centered life, they may be interested in getting to know Jesus and learning about living a worship-full life.

Meeting people where they are and building faithful relationships with them in such a way that their lives are made deeper, richer, healthier, and more loving – that’s what being the Church is about. If we merely want more people in worship, we should give a car away; if we want to make disciples, we need to give ourselves away.

to be published in the February 2007 issue of Connections, a publication of the Presbytery of New Covenant

I feel loved and appreciated when our house is full of friends, food, and laughter.  Thank you all for the great party last night.  I felt blessed by your presence.  I laughed hard and had so much fun being one of the judges in the firework competition and watching so many of our actor friends playing charades.  Did anyone get Happy Feet?