I won't be back until September 2nd. Ginger and I are going to visit my grandson - oh, and his parents, too. Make your Labor Day great! I'm working on being a "Pops."
Filters are a necessary part of life: DSLs, digital television, automobile engines, swimming pools, technology, entertainment, pleasure, appetites, arguments between friends and perhaps the most important use - coffee makers! I think "Church World" requires filtering - especially now when we are connected to more facts and information than we can handle and growing even more skeptical to what is true.
Church planters must utilize filters constantly because they are discovering that knowledge doesn't mean much if what is known is not true. So, what filters are you using? What are you using to sift "church world" that results in your image of the new improved version of church? In a few short decades, will the next generation be forced to filter your ministry and work?
How many times did the team practice "the handoff?" Probably more times than Taco Bell serves burritos! This is a heart-crushing moment for the USA in Olympic history. But, I think we will survive . . . we will run again . . .we will have another chance in a few years.
Last March I spoke to a group of directors of missions, state denominational leaders, and church staff members. I was new at LifeWay as the Church Planting Specialist and the group wanted an idea of direction, vision, purpose - all those things that make will make church planting possible in an organization. The presentation had several points, but my last thought to the group was, "My purpose as a Christ follower is to pass the baton. I don't know if the next generation will accept it - but it is my responsibility to put it securely into their hands. I am concerned what the baton looks like and whether the next generation wants it."
Looking again at the one important moment in the relay race reminds me how critical church planting is, my role in it, and especially what the baton is. Will my generation drop the baton? We must keep practicing for the handoff . . .
Some of you have contacted me about the "comments" link being "out of commission." Still trying to work a few bugs out - in the meantime - feel free to respond to my email: chuck.gaines@lifeway.com. I would love to hear from you!
Do you remember how it feels when someone says something about you that isn't true? It creates unbelievable churn! As Paul continues writing to the Thessalonian church we can sense a Pauline churn of unbelievable proportions.
2:1-2 = Paul, Timothy, and Silas were accused of being quitters - their ministry would die
2:3-6 = They were accused of being first-century con artists
WOW! Can you imagine the emotions when Paul, Timothy, and Silas hear this stuff? What would you feel? More importantly, what would you do? How did Paul respond?
(1) Remember the truth
Examine the number of times Paul used the phrase, "you know" or something similar (see vss 1,2,5,9,10,11). Paul is reminding them - since they were there and involved - to remember the truth!
(2) What is the truth they were to remember?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(1) What are others saying about your faith?
(2) Consider this phrase: "If people don't see anything, they won't say anything." Is this true?
(3) In 2:3 Paul wrote, "...we dared to" or "we had the courage to." What is courage? What do you need courage for? What causes a person to wrestle with faith and courage?
On a recent trip to
Certain images always take me to church planting - and this was one of them! After reading the article on boneyard classification I thought about a church boneyard and could there be a classification?
I'm wondering if America will have a church boneyard soon? I'm wondering just how long does it take to grow one?
I love westerns - especially those with real heroes who always know on which hill to die. My favorite western: Open Range. A story of two cowboys, 
both "had been ridden and put up wet," but they were committed to the same thing. Robert Duvall's values were symbolized in friends, cigars, chocolate, and comfort paper Kevin Costner was more reluctant to be so expressive, but his "tea set" gift to the heroine gave the viewer hope in his redeemable qualities. But one thing guided them both: free grazing only because it was right. It was freedom. It was life. They fought for it and were willing to die for it.
Church planters resemble Duvall and Costner: pioneers, mavericks and risk-takers - guided by what is right - or are you? What are your symbols? What do they mean? Where did they come from? They let others know your grit to commit. More specifically, several open range questions must be addressed by all cowboy wannabes and church planers: What will you live for? What will you die for? Do you know when to choose between the outcomes?
Today's Christian Post highlights The New Community Bible offered by the Catholic Church. Reporter Dibin Samuel wrote,
"An illustration in the new version, New Community Bible, depicts Jesus, Mary and Joseph as poor Indian villagers. Mary wears a simple sari and has a bindi on her forehead alongside Joseph in a turban and loincloth.
According to the 30 Indian biblical scholars who worked for more than 15 years on the new edition, the Bible draws on "the rich cultural and religious heritage of India."
Although approved by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and published by the Society of St. Paul, the Bible met the disapproval of Protestants and other Christian groups, who believe it diverts from biblical truth."
What is the potential of marketing Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in other geographical contexts? For example, nativity scenes could present Joseph and Mary as Eskimos with baby Jesus wrapped in seal skin surrounded by polar bears. Or, Joseph and Mary as Native Americans with baby Jesus wrapped in buffalo hide surrounded by wild horses and prarie dogs. Or, Joseph and Mary as urban dwellers with tattoos and baby Jesus wrapped in the daily news lying in an alley surrounded by smog, wine bottles, and used needles. Or, (I promise this is the last one) Joseph and Mary as rednecks wearing Nascar t-shirts, jeans, and a John Deere hat with baby Jesus wrapped in camouflage surrounded by beer cans, shotgun shells, and discarded tires.
What's the point? How many ways can mankind reimage the Jesus we want rather than the Jesus Who Is? The number of ways is in direct proportion to the number of needs. That's why "I AM" is sufficient - for Catholics, Baptists, rednecks, Eskimos, Native Americans, and urban dwellers. Search for the God Who Is rather than the God we want.
It's just a fact of life: we all imitate. We imitate somone we see, something they say, or something they own. The question is: Why do we imitate others? To be like them! We have the expectation that imitating others will make a difference in our lives and/or add value to our lives.
1:6 = "You became imitators of us and of the Lord."
(1) What did they imitate? (see vss 2-3)
(2) Who did the church imitate? Paul, Silas, and Timothy (church planters)
(3) What was the added value to the church? Severe suffering with joy!
1:7 = The imitators became the imitated. The Thessalonian church became a pattern community of believers. NOTICE: This is the ONLY place - the ONLY church - Paul makes the point that the Thessalonian church is the pattern for other churches.
1:8 = "Your faith in God has become known everywhere"
Throughout the New Testament the characteristic mark of God's people is their faith - their dependence on Jesus Christ alone for everything.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
(1) Who are you imitating? Relate this question to your personal life, marriage, parenting, as a couple, etc.)
(2) Why are you imitating ________?
(3) Who imitates you? Who imitates your faith?
(4) What is needed for your church to become a model for other churches?
In the Monday morning Tennessean staff writer Jennifer Brooks highlights a church building for sale. The church wants to move from an urban setting to the 'burbs. "But first, it needs to find someone in the market for a used church." I guess this is God's version of a recycling project.
The idea is to move to a more spacious property and leave the old facility to whomever/whatever - just as long as it doesn't become a strip club, bar, pub, honky-tonk, brothel, homeless shelter, food bank, food closet, first-aid site, etc. I thought the article identified this as a "used church?" I guess it's not the same situation as in Paul's day. Acts 19:23 paints a used-church picture of "...About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way."
I guess life in the 'burbs is better - more of a demand for a "used church" and less disturbance.
