Of the 3 C’s: creativity, collaboration and commitment, I feel like commitment is the most important. So often we end up so close to realizing success, yet we quit just short of realizing the dream.

It takes a committed effort to be successful, but sometimes it takes a lot longer than we anticipated. We can start off fully committed and passionate about realizing success, but after a few months or a few years it just gets discouraging. Creativity happens and generally acts like a magnet to draw people together to collaborate. It’s commitment though that takes a tremendous amount of effort to keep going. Creativity and collaboration together are wonderful things and important ingredients to success, but without a commitment to see it through, success will not be realized.

Are you prepared to hang on even when others would tend to let go? If so, then prepare to celebrate your success!

As most of you know, I moved from Sacramento, CA to Beaverton, OR this year to help a church transition through an uncertain time, but left that position after 30 days. I came to Oregon to help a ministry and now find myself as an internet sales manager at a car dealership.

Working at the dealership started off being fun. I was meeting a lot of new people and learning new things. There was hope that things would work out and that I could finally get settled in to life in Oregon. However, things have changed a lot in the past two months that I have worked here. Some people have been threatened with their jobs unless things improve and there is a big culture shift that needs to take place, with no one seemingly able to steer it into place. As I see all that is going, I feel like I am gifted in areas of leadership that seem to be lacking. I struggle with being silent and not in a position where I can make a difference. It’s frustrating and at times, a bit depressing. So many people here are just existing, or reacting in fear so they don’t lose their job. It has become a job.

So often I think about the situation and feel as if I need to move on. Work shouldn’t seem like “work” I tell myself. Through it all though, I keep coming back to one question: What does God want me to do in this situation? I really wish I knew the answer. Not knowing is also not fun. I feel sort of trapped. I want to escape the environment, but for some reason I stay. I want to dig out of the pit of earning minimum wage for 40 hours when I work 50 hours and am the sole provider of my household. It sucks… It drains me… it causes me to constantly second-guess myself.

I’m challenging my thinking that work should be fun. It reminds me of the consumeristic mentality of church goers that feel the need to be entertained for 90 minutes once a week or they leave for another church. Ive learned and grown a lot in the last two months. I’ve made mistakes and been chewed out for them. I’ve been told how to do my job when I know how to do it. I’ve followed instructions I didn’t agree with. Not being the leader and started from the bottom rung of the ladder has definitely hurt my pride. However, my pride probably needed to be hurt. Humility and patience are a common theme in my life this year. It’s nasty-tasting, but just like medicine, if I take it I will get better.

[This is a repost from August 29, 2008 with updated links]

Found what seems to be a huge blessing via twitter today. I’m now following Jason Salamun (@jsalamun) on twitter  [actually, as this is a repost, I've been following him for over two years now] and linked through to his blog about an awesome church plant in Rapid City, SD: projectchurch.net. Just as Tony Morgan posts about Perryisms, I’m totally digging on some Jasonisms. Jason Salamun posted a list titled “101 Nuggets for Church Planters” and it’s very awesome! All 101 are necessary, but here are some that really made me say “Ah ha! Someone else gets church planting!” or “Wow! I definitely need to work on this!” I’ll let you decide which is which for me :)

Rock on Jason! Praise God for putting the desire to be passionate for the Lord and minister to people and open enough to help other ministers stay on-track and to share in your victories!

The title is in reference to my friend Jon Reid‘s blog of the same title. In particular, it has to do with this post: “and” (Philippians 1:1 lectio) and Jon’s reply to my comment on that post. I’m sure my takeaway from Jon’s post was different than his thoughts that went into writing the content, but it struck me pretty hard in my own way. You see, I’ve been wandering around here in Portland, OR for the past six months feeling alone and like a stranger in a strange place. No matter what I do, I just feel unsettled here. During a tokbox video chat with my friend Josh Roberts, I found myself unexpectedly going off on a rant about pastoral leadership and how I felt there was a breakdown in pastors caring for and mentoring leaders within their churches. So many people are leaving the ministry and embracing life in roles as speakers, authors, coaches…you name it. They are abandoning the church. It saddens me. So many people are falling away from their roles as servant leaders because of feeling burned out or just going through the motions. They have lost their passion and have become unsupported for their callings. This saddens me as well.

During my rant I told Josh that it was just what was in my mind at the time of our conversation. He insists that it was more than that. He told me it was a burden on my heart. I never thought about it before as a burden, but from that moment on I’ve thought about what he said. Is it a burden? Must I respond?

Feeling lost and alone here in Portland, I too have removed myself from any formal ministry role. I’ve been working up to 12 hours a day, coming home around 9:30pm and even working Sunday mornings until 9:30pm sometimes. I’ve been okay with that up until that tokbox conversation with my friend Josh. I hadn’t really thought about acting on it much until I read the post from my friend Jon. Jon wrote in his blog post:

This crushed me. My heart went out to Jon. I know his pain and anguish. I hope for what he hopes for. We need people to have a burden on their hearts to help equip and encourage others. We need people like the Apostle Paul to pass along his encouragement and training to people like Timothy. It must be a continual cycle of renewal. Somehow we have lost this mentoring relationship. I feel I must get back into this, even at an informal level. I may not be the designated leader in a community at the moment, but I have a burden to give back to those who want to receive and encourage those that just need a little boost.

While I could always just go do this, I feel like there must be more to it than that. A community, a network, a fellowship… something bigger than myself must be the result.

I picked up on a Wade Kawasaki quote from my friend Dawn Carter, who happens to be at an event known as The Ideation Conference today. The quote was:

“Infrastructure creates order and processes to support those who are doing the creative work.”

When I saw the quote from Kawasaki, it was something I deeply resonated with. It’s something I have been talking about for the past six months or so. It is something that has taken me 43 years to really understand.

In the most literal sense, this quote seems to make no sense. Words such as infrastructure, order, and processes sound so restrictive to the creative person. Creatives need space to dream and wonder. Those are things that you can’t put infrastructure or order into. It’s like trying to mix oil and water. However, as those of you that cook may well know, oil and water can be mixed. In the kitchen we call this process emulsifying. When one takes oil and another liquid (usually an acid such as vinegar or lemon juice) and puts a lot of energy into beating it together, the end result is a combination of flavors unified to our taste buds. The two separate forces become tightly suspended together. Let them sit idle, and they separate apart again. To me, the essence of the emulsion in the kitchen is the same in the world of leadership. Imagine creativity as the oil and infrastructure (order and processes) as the water. The oil of creativity resists the water of infrastructure. Each in its separate form has its merits and can stand on their own. However, when they are united together into a mix they become more than they could have been on their own.

As a visionary manager in the business world for several decades, it has been unbelievably difficult for me to work with creative people. In my mind, creative people have their heads in the clouds and are happiest dreaming about things, rather than caring if any of those ever made it into the real world. I on the other hand want to dream about something that can be made reality, and then stay focused on seeing that dream become reality. Unless this were to happen, I would consider myself a failure.

I took that mindset with me into ministry and found that it caused a lot of conflict. However, through that conflict arose a new perspective. One of collaboration for the sake of seeing things happen regardless of how it comes about or who gets the credit. I realized that I was wired to see something in the horizon and find a way to bring it into my world, but what if I could do the same for others? What if the inspiration of someone else could be brought to fruition? Better yet, what if I could help others to realize that while they may be happiest dreaming about the what ifs, they could be even happier seeing some of those dreams become reality.

Infrastructure, order, and process can be very rigid and restrictive. Creativity can be very freeing and at times chaotic. While it may be impossible to reign in a creative person and make them incorporate infrastructure, order, and processes it is possible to come alongside them and collaborate with them as the infrastructure, order, and process behind their creativity. Who cares if it was the creative person that thought of the idea first? Who cares if the creative person ends up getting the credit once the idea becomes a reality? For me, helping others realize their hopes and dreams is a form of creativity. It is more important than getting credit and it has become an integral part of my ministry.

I gave up the opportunity to lead a small church by being the leader for the sake of desperately wanting to be part of a team where collaboration was the fuel of seeing the dream become a reality. I’ve proven myself many times that I can lead and direct a business, but now I am being called to emulsify people into something they never realized they could be until I started mixing things up in the hopes of bringing us together. In my mind infrastructure + order + process is a powerful formula for seeing creativity thrive.

Well, as a follower of Christ on a journey to start a new church in my city, I get discouraged sometimes at hearing the negativity in the church about finances. Pastors telling other pastors that it’s a bad idea to start a new work in this down economy. Churches shutting their doors because they couldn’t support their ministry when the offerings were down. Programs and pastors being dropped because of lack of funds in the budget. Where does it end? If it truly is God’s church, then how can it be that doors are closing and pastors are being laid off?

However, as children of God won’t we be taken care of? Philippians 4:19 tells us: And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Should we be at the mercy of man’s money or God’s provision? What about those that don’t have the knowledge that trust in God will prevail over all other things? You know, those people that are destined for an eternity away from God? Rather than focus on ourselves and what we are lacking--sometimes even pointing the finger at our fellow man and thinking they lack faith because they won’t give sacrificially in these difficult times--why don’t we rally together and find a way to get the message of the gospel out there at a time when people need hope and mercy more than ever?

If we love God above all other things and love our neighbors as ourselves, won’t God in all his glory see to it that his people are taken care of for the sake of others to know that he is God?

Is an out-of-work pastor out of a job? Yes. However, is an out-of-work pastor out of a calling? That answer should be no. We are called to be ministers of the gospel and to somehow dig down deep inside and find the strength to be Jesus for the sake of someone that may never otherwise have a chance to be redeemed. Most of us know by heart Philippians 4:13 in the NKJV that states: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. However, I ask that as you reflect on what you lack and look inwardly at your circumstances, peer into the city outside your doorway and see what Christ sees. See the hurting people that don’t Jesus and what they are going through. We have Christ, while others have nothing. As you consider this, may you meditate on Philippians 4:13, but use the Amplified Bible translation instead, which reads: I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].
Now more than ever is the time to do all that we can so that hurting people that don’t know where to turn have an opportunity to find Christ and put their trust in him. Be faithful to the calling and God will be faithful in his provision. Now is the time for us to be bold in our faith and show the devil that we will stop at nothing to see others come to know the Lord, even if economic conditions seem to be getting the best of us!

Dear friends, I am praying for each of you by name and pray that those who are going through difficulties will know the blessings of God even if they don’t show up in monetary form. For those of you in your cities having to find the wisdom and strength to help those that are hurting and questioning, may God give you the insight and example of perseverance to cause others to look to the Lord rather than the dollar and put their trust in him.

While in prayer today and reflecting on all that has transpired in the past two weeks with Revolution Church Sacramento, I was led to the book of Philippians. I decided to share my thoughts in the hopes that it may benefit someone else as well. Philippians is four chapters and I’ll work through one a day for the rest of the week…

The theme in Philippians seems to be joy and rejoicing. Not joy in fleeting moments, but continual joy regardless of what one’s circumstances happen to be. One of the things that always tends to overwhelm me is the thought of how Paul faced so much persecution and imprisonment in his time of ministry. Even amongst the Apostles, Paul was not always in their favor. He struggles with his own sin while he speaks publicly against it and suffers at times due to what seems like lack of finances. People hear the gospel through him and churches are formed, yet he gets news of their unruly gatherings and idolatry after he has left some of the cities and continues to advance the gospel. Paul is the epitome of the modern-day church planter. He is someone I can really relate with. This is why Philippians is such a great place to be in my devotion time at the moment, because the church in Philippi was the exception.

Philippians 1:3-6 reads:

³I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

As we are just two weeks into our preview services at Revolution Church, I am contemplating this passage quite a bit. God has blessed this city and our church with some really gifted people. We are a church that worships & loves God and freely give of our gifts to do so. However, I have to wonder how much of this is based on giving of ourselves in areas we are comfortable and talented rather than stretching ourselves and doing what it takes in partnership with each other and with Christ to see the gospel be made known to those outside of a personal relationship with The Creator of their soul. It’s still early and part of jumping into One Prayer and having preview services was to have a chance to experience a worship environment and engage others to share in the journey with us. While we have financial partners outside of our community that have given sacrificially for the sake of the kingdom of heaven, we have yet to have anyone personally embrace this notion yet.

When Paul talks about the church in Philippi and their partnership with him in the gospel in verse 5 above, the context is in regards to financial gifts. Even though Paul is not with them and in prison at the time of writing the letter to the Philippian church, he is thanking them for their financial support. Paul was a tentmaker and as such he would work in order to offset his personal costs and travel while planting churches and preaching the gospel, however the church was being called to help those with need and Paul was the recipient of such offerings at times. The church in Philippi was faithful in that regard. How will we as a new church come to deal with this as we move forward?

Regardless of whether or not God’s people feel compelled to help us financially in reaching others with God’s love and kindness, I am committed to praying and offering deep, heart-felt thanks to my Lord for connecting us with some fabulous people that have really given of their time and effort to help us launch a new ministry. I truly believe God will provide for us as we continue to trust in him and not in men & women. In him, we will be strong where we are weak and persevere rather than let Satan win over any more souls.

In concluding his opening prayer of thanksgiving, Paul writes in Philippians 1:9-11:

⁹And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, ¹¹filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

A lot of thought and prayer has gone into these 3 verses for me. As a church planter I have an uncontrollable desire to see those far away from Christ to be reconciled through him. To know that their way isn’t the only way and that if they look to God’s way they can find life and live it to the fullest. That they have a purpose here on earth that is far greater than they could possible comprehend. To let them know that through the cross, Christ willingly accepts all of their burdens and makes them his own. It is not for us to worry. As much as I passionately feel called to share the gospel in this manner, at the same time I recognize that there are individuals out in our community that have at one time repented and been baptized, yet question their faith. There are some that feel left alone to work through their Christianity on their own outside of the church because of past hurts or current irrelevance. These people have heard the gospel, but struggle with discerning it in their lives. Should Revolution Church Sacramento be a place for those that know Christ, yet are weary or seeking fellowship? How do we balance between advancing the gospel to those who have never accepted the message of the gospel and those that have heard it, yet struggle with how it bears fruit in their lives?

Again, it’s only been two weeks that we have publicly gathered in a dedicated worship space (as opposed to small groups meeting in homes), but so far it seems as if God is sending us people that have been part of the church in the past. Some are part of a healthy church now, yet came to see what we were all about. It seems that God is showing us early glimpses of what to expect in the future and I’m not quite certain how to respond. I tend to be an all-or-nothing kind of person. However, I am feeling as if there needs to be some balance and some patience right now. We need to be open to all people and believe that God is in control and that Christ is at the head of the Church and Revolution Church and that he will bring to us the people he wants us to know and share life with. It’s not about target marketing, zip code sorted postcard drops, or our own personal desires for who we want to see connect with us. It’s about being open to how God leads us and to be “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God.” as in Philippians 1:11.

Church planting has it’s ups-and-downs, consistencies and changes, affirmations and rejections, joy and pain, passion and lethargy, love and dislike, comfort and discomfort…through it all, there has to be a vision from God that drives one to keep at it. There are too many things that make it easy to walk away. If the church becomes all about one man/woman, then it is time to walk away. If it gets bogged down because of money or acts of service or lack of resources--if we look to God and do our best to discern his will for the church we will always make the right choices. Some days we look upon his work in us with worldy eyes that see failure and lack, but everything happens for a reason and we will be good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord as we stay faithful to advancing the gospel in spite of what might seek to bring us down. Let us rejoice for the church as Paul rejoiced for the church! We just have to struggle with getting our feelings hurt or feeling like some doors have closed in our face, yet Paul was tortured and imprisoned and remained a shining example of God’s strength through us in the face of severe diversity and hardship. Don’t make it about yourself! Don’t look to pleasing others instead of God! Don’t give up!

I’ve had a lot of thoughts and discussion on this subject. I’ve changed my mind quite a bit. From the beginning of my church planting journey I have felt like God wanted me to work independently of the church for financial support. However, through conversations with several pastors I have felt at times like this wasn’t the biblical thing to do. Even though the Apostle Paul served as a tentmaker to make ends meet, he did receive offerings from the churches at times. Often-quoted Scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 9:14 where those that preach the gospel should make their living by the gospel have impacted my thought process.

Neil Cole brings up some great points in his blog post from March 16th. One of his points is this:

While it is not a sin for a church to employ someone, I do think it may not be the best investment of kingdom resources.

In particular, Cole is talking about the context of small, organic churches. He affirms, as I do, that in some instances pastors should be paid. Whether they are paid and why they are paid are the issues. If a pastor comes to plant a church and has a nice middle-class salary already covered, how uncomfortable is he or she going to be? I believe this sense of security actually takes away some of the power of God’s kingdom. Coming with nothing and planting a church for the pure reason of seeing God move and work through a community, relying on support from the community, makes it a whole different experience.

Matthew 10 & Luke 10 show Jesus sending out the disciples without anything. They are not to take money or food believing that the Lord’s message will bring them provision as they travel throughout the land. In Luke 9:58 we find even Jesus traveled and at times didn’t know where he would lay his head and sleep. Going out with nothing promised by the church is a very humbling place to be. Being able to rely upon God rather than money to see things through brings about a power that witnesses to others and causes them to know that God has provided, rather than people. In addition, it eliminates a lot of entitlements that people tend to have over the ministry when they know their money is important to the continued function of the church.

In his supplemental blog post on March 17th, Neil Cole references a word from Dallas Willard on the subject:

Dallas Willard was once sharing at a workshop on ministry in a postmodern world on this very passage. He asked the question, “Why would Jesus tell them not to take a purse at first and now tell them to take a purse?” His answer was, “You don’t know how to handle a purse, until you know how to go without one.”

In the end, I know that my opinion and beliefs really speak to me and affirm what I feel God wants to do in my church planting experience right now. It doesn’t necessarily have to apply to anyone else. However, the beauty of what we are doing here in Sacramento allow us to use almost all of our resources towards making the world a better place filled with love for others, compassion, and kindness. We have intentionally launched our church plant with the thought of giving to others rather than providing salaries for staff or office space or any other expenses that are not absolutely necessary. When we meet the world in weakness and humility, we enable God to be seen in a different way. We have a testimony to share that shows we are empowered by God and not by the hand of man. We are in ministry because we are called to serve and have hearts for seeing others come to know Christ’s love without temptation of a paycheck and a secure existence as middle-class or upper-middle class salaried ministers.

Sure, it’s hard to focus on work, family, and ministry. However, Jesus set the example to go out and have faith in the message of the Good News and that he would provide for us. He called his disciples to do his work in this manner for a reason. I feel those reasons are valid today.

If you were called to minister at your church, but your salary was revoked and that money was used instead to help feed and clothe others, how would you respond? What would God be saying to you in that moment? How much would this affect your faith?

Saw a post today by Todd Rhoades over at his blog Monday Morning Insight. It shared a video clip of John MacArthur responding to the question I used as the title of this post: What is the greatest threat to the church today?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEFv-ol67k0

MacArthur explains that in his opinion, the biggest threat to the church today is the lack of theology and expository preaching resulting in a watered-down gospel. That great oratory is taking a front seat to sound doctrine and is being widely spread via media so that others will believe it to be true just because it is so prevalent.

Acts 2:42 is a small glimpse into what it was like in the first century church:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Knowing Christ in ones heart is a personal matter. I truly believe that it can be an individual experience devoid of any preacher or church. However, what one chooses to do with their new faith is something that I believe requires others. God calls us to him individually, but wants us to become part of a collective body with Christ at the head. Seeking to know God’s truth through his word, engaging in fellowship with other believers, practicing the ritual of communion in remembrance of Christ, and prayer are all things that should be a extension of ones maturity as they grow in their faith. However, is topical preaching on things relevant to one’s culture such as managing finances, having a health marriage, dealing with stress, etc. the greatest threat to the church today?

Not to sound critical here, but I believe that the church is the greatest threat to the church today. Too often the church becomes driven by human leadership and numerical growth. Environments are created where people are encouraged to come from another church and be recognized by baptism in their new church, even though they have been publicly baptized already. In the church, we are made to feel guilt if we aren’t inviting our friends and co-worker to our church. Acts 2:47 reads:

praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

If we as the church love God and love others, then God will do his part and send people to hear the teaching, have fellowship, share in communion, and pray for each other. Numerical growth in the church shouldn’t be worked out in meeting rooms in the church by those deemed to be qualified to discuss such topics. It’s a natural outpouring of God’s love for his people. He will connect them in fellowship with others so they may be encouraged and prayed for and serve together. Acts 2 tells us this.

When the church tries to make formulaic processes the reason for health and growth then I see an error in that. When churches focus on loving God and loving others, they naturally seek to grow and mature and stand firm in truth and be steadfast to keep running the race they were called to. It becomes more about what is read in Ephesians 4:4-6:

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”

And less about following a pastor, church creed, or membership bylaws to the exclusion of others.

If we look at where there is explosive growth in the church today, it is in places like China, not the US. In China, the church is mainly underground with people gathering at the risk of persecution because they feel the need to be together corporately and to encourage others to fight the good fight. They are not coming under threat of persecution to see Chris Tomlin or Matt Redman lead worship, nor to see Joel Osteen or Robert Schuller preach. They gather because they are the church! They let the Word of God stand on its own, they sing songs of joy and thanksgiving to One Lord, in one faith, under one baptism for one God who is over all. They rejoice in knowing that others are coming to know this same God throughout the world and it gives them strength and hope. The church is at large and believers are born again every second in China. In the US today, church is more like an institution with rules and regulations. There isn’t the freedom and inspiration of the early church as described in Acts 2 or the resurgence of the church in China. Therefore, it is the church that is the greatest threat to the church in my opinion.

How would you respond to this question. Is the greatest threat different in your mind?

First of all, I don’t mean to make something completely unintentional out to be a lie, but if done repeatedly it becomes a serious lie that should not be overlooked. That lie is agreeing/promising to pray for someone and not being faithful to doing it.

Have you ever done it? Any of us that have agreed to pray for someone else has probably done it. If it’s done once and corrected, it’s a great lesson learned. If it’s done repeatedly, it’s a terrible shame.

I know that your intentions are always good when you agree to pray for others, but we must take prayer more seriously and be committed to praying when we say we will.

Proverbs 12:22 AMP-

Lying lips are extremely disgusting and hateful to the Lord, but they who deal faithfully are His delight.

How can we “deal faithfully” when our schedules are so busy and we get so many requests for prayer? It’s so simple your gonna take your open hand and smack it to your forehead and wonder why you haven’t done this already :) One of the things I learned during my time serving at my first church was a nugget of wisdom from my senior pastor a the time, Dale Borgen. In a leadership meeting he told us that the best thing to do was to simply take a minute and pray on-the-spot with the person requesting prayer. Not only would it allow us to keep our word and pray for that person, but at the same time they can get some immediate comfort by being there during our prayer for them.

Don’t be a person that agrees to pray and then doesn’t do it. There is no better time than the present. Take them aside and pray for them immediately. You, and they, will feel must better for doing so!