Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, D. Min Teaching Chicago, IL (March 9-12)

I'm back in "Chicagoland" teaching a D. Min seminar on church planting at Trinity. It's a great school with sharp students, and I always enjoy my time teaching there.

I will being two events this week as well.

First, on Tuesday night I will be meeting with a group of regional Evangelical Free Church pastors about church planting.

Second, as part of my class, we are incorporating a seminar for local pastors and church leaders. It is called the "Subtext Forum."

Subtext Forum at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (March 12)
The Subtext Forum is a one day conference organized by Steve McCoy and Joe Thorn and focuses on the preaching and practice of the gospel in the suburban context. The conference runs from 10am - 3pm, includes lunch, and only costs $25. I'm speaking in three sessions on:

The Missional Church in Principle and Practice
Breaking the Missional Code in Suburbia
Challenges to Missional Thinking and How to Overcome Them

And at the end we're making time for Q&A. There's still time to register - get all the details at Subtext.

What's Coming Up This Week?

I am in Atlanta already and have Donna with me. She is coming along on this trip, but I bet she won't come to my sessions. Grin.

Here is where I am heading this week.

Matt Fry and J.D. Greear

I had a great time this weekend in Raleigh Durham with Matt and J.D. Saturday night I had the opportunity to speak at C3 Church where Matt serves as pastor. On Sunday morning, I spoke over at the Summit Church where J.D. is pastor. I was very impressed with both men and their churches. We had a brief time in J.D.'s study and got a pic.

Preaching was great. Their churches are amazing. And, I will write about both churches tomorrow. However, I had some special fun with J.D. and his daugher Karis in a gokart race at Frankie's Fun Park (for the record, it was a tie). And, let's just say I have a picture of Matt in a stylish (a cat-in-the-hat-like) hat when we went to the Marbles Childern's museum with his son Caleb. Great fun with a couple of great guys.

Both Matt and J.D. blog, so be sure to see visit their blogs.

Cathy Grossman and USA Today

One of the most fascinating jobs in America must be covering religion. I recently had the chance to speak at the Religion Newswriters Association and learned more about this challenging job. As a conservative evangelical, most of my evangelical friends have a negative view of the media. Sometimes that perception is earned. However, I must say that I think that many of these writers try hard to understand us-- and we are not that easy to "get."

Cathy Grossman has worked hard to report well on evangelicals (and many others). And, I am glad to see her enter the blog world with her Faith and Reason Blog. I would encourage you to drop by and take a look. You can find the full religion page here and there is a link to a forum (usually on the left) where there are lots of topics to debate!

Chicago, My Kind of Town

I am excited that I am getting connected to Chicago. Charles Campbell, who helped organize the conference I spoke at last month while at Trinity, shared with me a pretty impressive undertaking.

Matt Willis is a church planter who is using the Wiki technology to create a prayerwalking map of the Chicago neighborhoods. He and others are seeking to mobilize large numbers of people to come to the city to pray and post their observations here.

Behind the Scenes with "Al"

You can enjoy the whole Al blog series here.

Latino Settlement in the U.S.

J. B. from the International Mission Board keeps a sharp eye out for helpful new reserach. She sent this on to me today.

Latino Settlement in the New Century [pdf]

The Pew Hispanic Center offers timely commentary and research on a wide range of issues related to the Hispanic population within the United States.
Over the past few years, they have put out working papers on immigration, economic forecasts, employment, and pending legislation. This report by their senior research associate Richard Fry was released in October 2008 and it offers a detailed demographic portrait of the growing Hispanic community in the United States. Throughout its 35-pages, visitors will find detailed statistical information on the transformation of the Hispanic population over the past decade, along with material on which counties are experiencing the greatest statistical increase in the number of Hispanics. Finally, the report is greatly enhanced by its use of tables, graphs, and county-level maps of the US.

Mark Driscoll and Acts 29

Mark Driscoll and I have been emailing back and forth about a new project. More on that as soon as possible. However, in the meantime, you should consider listening to this recording where Mark talks about the values and focus of Acts 29. Crazy idea-- if you have questions, it might be good to actually listen to the vision and values. But, what do I know? Have a listen here.

You can also listen to an interview I did with Mark a while back here.

I have not had much of a chance to be at many Acts 29 events lately, but I am excited about a forthcoming meeting that Mark, John Piper, Matt Chandler, I, and several others will be doing in June 2009 in Raleigh Durham. Should be a great week. I will be teaching a class at Southeastern and doing the conference in the evening, etc.

While I was in Chicago this past weekend I had the opportunity to worship with Community Christian Church where Dave Ferguson serves as Lead Pastor. CCC is a multi-site church with nine locations in and around Chicago. Dave invited me to lunch so we attended the Naperville "Yellow Box" site and went out after services.

I am not usually a church "attendee" as I preach most Sundays at my church. But, I was already in Chicago celebrating my anniversary and doing a TV shoot for the Assemblies of God and TLN. And, Dave and Jon are friends...

So, Donna and I rented a car and headed out to Naperville from downtown. About a long HOUR later, we arrived.

Community Christian and the Fergusons are having a growing imact. Their church is continuing to reach new people, launch new campuses, and start new congregations (though their New Thing Network). I thought I would share with you some thoughts as to why (I think) they are growing like they are-- this is not a "review" in the sense that I am listing what I like and don't like. Instead, I am just pointing out what I observed that I think contributes to their growth.

Here are four observations I made while in attendance.

1. People are excited to be there.

As we drive up the big "yellow box" (the nickname for this site) can't be missed.

When you walk in someone greets you at the door. You immediately see the coffee shop and see people mingling. (Pat Masek told me they were going to give me a free drink, but I did not stop by as we were too late!) But, clearly, there is a sense of welcome when you walk in.

Here is a pic from the lobby right before the service:

From when you walk in the door, there is a sense of excitement in all that is happening - and it is contagious.

2. Everyone is on the same page.

One of the things I noticed was that everyone "gets" their vision and purpose.

For example, this site has two venues in one building. One is a theater, the other is a gym. Dave was "live" in the gym, so we went there (even though Jon is my favorite of the two... a joke that Dave and Jon will get).

However, I went over to the theater venue to learn more about their approach. While I was walking in I met Amy, a very alert and attentive greater. She tells me everything - including the fact that though they have two venues they have the same mission, "to help people find their way to God."

When I ask the differences between the two services, Amy explains that one service is louder than the other and the other sings more hymns. You can see this in the contemporary band and feel of the service.

She tells me that the Icon theater service is more traditional, and has no drums or guitar.

Yet, she goes on to share that both venues are helping people "find their way back to God." Actually, I heard that phrase 13 times before I left - this is a shared vision in the church. And Dave later explains that "we believe Jesus makes it possible to find our way back to God."

3. CCC is very focused on reaching the unchurched.

After telling a story about Scott, an unchurched friend, Dave shares, "we are going to teach straight from the Bible... but we will explain it... I am going to start a church for my friend Scott..."

When I went to lunch with Dave, Sue, and Jon, Dave said they are not a "seeker church." However, they are certainly focused on reaching seekers regardless of what term you use.

They do that through clear and frequent reminders of the basics-- the need to follow Christ, clear repetition of their purpose, and an invitation to follow Christ.

I noted three additional things that stand out:

a) Clear communication to guests.Their signs are clear about where the main things are.

Children's registration is clear, well staffed, and secure:

b) The use of secular music and illustrations.

The church works hard to connect and they consider using secular examples and music as a part of that plan. In today's service they talk about leadership and show a video that features the Wright brothers as an example. They sing the Learning to Fly from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Most people know these examples well. They also showed a moving video testimony that you can see here.

c) The message is basic without being simplistic.

Deep Bible knowledge is not the agenda, but "one big idea" is. Today, the message (big idea) is "We are all meant to lead in helping people find their way back to God." Dave called people to find the place and/or issue (poverty, evangelism, family, addictions, etc.) that God has called you to so that you might live out that vision.

4. They focus on excellence.

In everything they do, they do their best. This doesn't mean that everything in the building and service is expensive, but that they work hard at doing their best for God, his people and their visitors.

Surprises and Random Observations

Now, on to a few things that I found surprising or just needed a random place to mention. Some of you would expect much of what I observed in a church like Community Christian, but here are a few other thoughts:

The building is, well, not fancy. The place where we met had plastic chairs, an exposed frame ceiling, and hanging basketball hoops. They are not putting their money in their facility.

They are teaching through the book of Nehemiah. The series is called "The Leader Within."

They passed out note sheets, but it was too dark for me to see, so I don't take many notes.

This is not a church of young adults. It has many, but it is really a multi-generational church. I saw many people older and younger than me.

They serve communion at the end of every service. This is unusual for a contemporary church, particularly one as focused on reaching the unchurched as CCC. However they are a part of the Restoration Movement, where weekly communion is an essential practice. Right before communion, Dave briefly explained what it meant and who should partake.

In the theatre, the bread and cups were passed down the rows. In the theatre, it had a little more of an ancient future feel as you can see:

We headed out afterward for lunch and called it a day. From left to right is Donna, Sue, Dave, and Jon.

A fascinating day with many takeaways including the importance of excellence, communication, and execution.

I have always appreciated the Fergusons because they love their church, and are growing it through multisite. Yet, they are also heavily invovled in church planting. They do "both/and" rather than "either/or."

And, Dave, thanks for buying lunch!

It is our 21st anniversary and we are celebrating like it was our 20th.

Last year, we were unpacking boxes on August 15th, have just moved to Nashville to work at LifeWay. So, instead of celebrating, we were organizing. Needless to say, I promised my wife a better time this anniversary.

So, I am in Chicago. We are staying in a nice hotel on the Magnificent Mile. We are sleeping late, going to movies, seeing shows, and just enjoying each other. On Sunday, we will be at Community Christian Church and grab lunch with my friend Dave Ferguson. I will stay over till Tuesday to shoot a television program with the Assemblies of God (which gave me the excuse to come to Chicago this weekend).

Donna and I started dating in High School. Donna was the first (and only) girl I dated seriously. We went to the prom, then off to college together. When we were 20 years old, she was crazy enough to marry me. So, between our Junior and Senior years of college, we got married.

She is a wonderful friend and an amazing wife.

She loves Jesus. We first met when she came to a Bible Study I was leading in high school. She had led about 6 of her friends to Christ that year.

She is not afraid of difficult things. She supported us as I planted our first church while going to seminary on the weekends... and earned a Masters degree while I was earning mine. We have planted multiple churches, worked to revitalize a few, and not chosen the easy paths in life.

I have dragged this woman to the inner city of Buffalo, NY to plant a church among the urban poor. Then, off to a blue collar community of Erie to plant again. Four months after Kristen was born, she came with me to Louisville where I taught at seminary (which was much more challenging than Buffalo!).

Once she was pregnant again, of course I dragged her to Georgia to work at NAMB and then to evantually plant a church in our free time . And, now we live in Nashville where I travel too much.

She has never complained and she had every right to. We have literally grown up together and now we are raising kids together. I look forward to growing old together.

Now, I watch her continue to grow and I see her life poured into our 3 daughters. And I am grateful every day.

So, today is her day. And, I am honored that she would call me her husband!

Chicago is on my mind.

I am heading there in a couple of weeks to shoot a day of video on Comeback Churches for the Assemblies of God. Should be good...

I am staying over a few days with Donna to get a feel for the city.

If I don't end up preaching somewhere, Dave Ferguson has invited me to lunch so I will probably visit the big yellow box called Community Christian Church. Dave and Jon are contributing to our new book, Multisite Churches: Guidance for the Movement's Next Generation So, I owe Dave (and Jon) and will probably have to buy the lunch!

I am trying to get to Chicago more often because of my new relationship with Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. As I recently blogged, I just joined their faculty.

This Fall (November 17-21) I will be teaching a course titled "Becoming a Missional Church" at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School just outside of Chicago, IL. The course description reads,

Transformational ministries in today's rapidly changing culture require churches that are "missional" from a biblical, theological, and cultural perspective. This course will help you better understand the cultural context in which you serve and teach you how to apply biblically faithful and culturally relevant missiological strategies to your ministry. Special attention will be given to North American cultural shifts, the missional/sending nature of the church, effective communication in various cultural contexts, and emerging ministry patterns in North America.

You can download the syllabus here. Auditors are welcome!

TEDS is a fantastic school and I am looking forward to teaching and interacting with the students. I will be making a point of being on the Trinity campus while in town, so if you are a student there, I hope we can visit.

I will also teach a one day conference on November 20, in Hinkson Hall, (located in the Rodine Global Ministries Building on campus). The conference, also called "Building a Missional Church," runs from 3:15-6:45 and is open to all, but registration is limited. This should be a great gathering of students and pastors. Stay tuned for coming website and how to register.

I will come back in December to be part of a Cornerstone Knowledge Network meeting. We did some architecture research for them (see here.) They are meeting the 9th and 10th, and I will be with them on the 9th and will get some time at Trinity while I am there.

In the Spring I will be back in Chicagoland teaching another class at Trinity. This course will be on "Planting Missional Churches." While there I will lead a forum for sub•text on March 12th, 2009 (more details coming soon). sub•text is a new initiative begun by local pastors by Joe Thorn and Steve McCoy and emphasizes the preaching and practice of the gospel in the suburban context.

So, now I just need tickets to the White Sox game.

I fly to Chicago in the morning. The weather does not look good, but we shall see if I make it.

I will be spending the day with some of the missions and pastoral ministries faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Trinity has a great slogan about "studying with the ones who WROTE the books," so I am looking forward to spending time with these great leaders and thinkers.

While I am off to one meeting, let me point you to a story from an earlier meeting.