Benediction

The Church at Its Best

In my role as Transitional Director of NextGen Churches, I got to see the church in action this week. It is inspiring.

I received an email from a man on Monday night...late. He was very concerned about his church in the Bay Area. He wanted to meet with me on Wednesday. It was urgent.

My natural response was to see how I could rearrange my schedule to accommodate this need. The problem: my schedule did not allow for that much flexibility on Wednesday. My busy-ness forced me to do the best thing instead--I contacted the pastor of one of our sister churches in the association. I asked if he could meet with the man from the Bay Area church.

This pastor leads a good church. He has 30 years of ministry experience to bring to the conversation. He said he could fit that meeting into his day on Wednesday, so I delegated the opportunity to him.

However, before he engaged the man in the Bay Area, he contacted another pastor from the association. He asked this pastor, who is younger with less experience, to go with him to the scheduled meeting. The younger pastor agreed.

Eventually both of them met with the man in the Bay Area.

The original concern in the Bay Area has not yet been fully resolved, as far as I know. However, the process pictured clearly what the church is supposed to do: we work together, using the gifts and abilities God hs given us to sharpen and serve one another. I am confident that the need in the original church will be met as these two pastors serve together. That is one example of the Church at Its Best.

Technology, Church and the Global Leadership Summit

Technology in the church has an tortured history. I know the piano had a painful introduction to the church as a worship tool. The organ was just fine for most people.

I am not sure about the microphone, but I imagine the first pastor to use one got an amplified earful from the people in church who could hear just fine without one.

I remember when we first use I-Mag at Lakeside (that's "Image Magnification" for those, like me, who didn't know), many people thought it was just an arrogant desire on my part to be on a Jumbotron. That is, until I read the comment from an elderly Lakesider who thanked us for using it, because he could finally see the facial expressions of the preacher.

Now I'm using Twitter, Facebook and this tool called a blog. Most of these technologies don't come with instructions on how to use them effectively in the church. So I keep trying to learn. I never want to be content with the old ways when the whole culture is using news ways. The message does not change; the methods must change.

Today I spent some time signing up to follow on Twitter and befriend on Facebook the speakers for this year's Global Leadership Summit. One of my strategies for getting the most out of the Summit is to read one book from each author before the Summit. That way I sort of "know" them before they speak. It guarantees I will grasp better what they say at the Summit. (I know, reading books is sort of old-school technology. I don't have an iPad yet.) Now I'm following them on these social networking platforms. Hopefully that means, before the Summit begins, I'll be connected in my thinking to what these people are saying as they are saying it.

Maybe this would be a useful step for you. Go to the Global Summit website. Find the speakers list, then click the links to each speaker for Facebook and Twitter.

And if you haven't yet, follow me on Facebook and Twitter too.

The End of Lent

Lent is the time of year when many followers of Jesus give stuff up. The motive is to honor him for his sacrifice for us, and to advance one's spiritual life by self-denial. Matthew 16:24 is the context for this: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

Last year I gave up desserts and television. I believe I grew through the process. It focused my attention on Jesus through those six weeks.

This year I gave up desserts. (Yes, I wanted to see some March Madness this year.) I found my journey through Lent was different this year. While I wanted to pursue Jesus more intimately, I found my attention was focused more on wanting dessert. The practice of giving up dessert did not help me draw near to Jesus.

Lesson learned. Every spiritual discipline is a tool intended to move us closer to Jesus. But as with many tools, not each tool is suited to every task. You would not try to turn a nut with a hammer. (Well, some of us might.) Not every tool in the spiritual discipline toolkit is equally helpful all the time. For me this year, skipping dessert was simply an exercise in self-restraint. While that is a good thing, it still did not move me toward Jesus. I stuck it out because I am a stick-it-out kind of person (a.k.a., a rule-keeper), but my spiritual life might have benefited had I jettisoned the original goal and focused on something different, for example, morning prayer or fasting.

Perhaps you have tried certain spiritual disciplines and become frustrated because they don't "work" for you. On one hand, that might be an indicator that you need more work in this area. On the other, perhaps you get discouraged because you think you are just not good at living this Christian life. That might not be true at all. If you are growing in love for others and in the knowledge of God's word and in the gift of generosity, for example, maybe this one area of discipline is not where God is moving you today. Perhaps down the road it will be helpful to you. Perhaps not. At any rate, the goal of practices such as Lent is to move toward Jesus. Practice what achieves that goal.

See you at the resurrection celebration. Then I'm having a cookie.

Easter at Lakeside

It's dark. Foggy? Maybe tule fog. A bundled-up woman opens a gate to a garden. She carries spices. She's not planning to bake; she's planning a burial. She's humming. Her song's in a minor key. Is that fog or is it mist in her eyes? Yeah, she's weeping. And it's dark.

That's the beginning of the resurrection story. When we come to church for Easter, I think we forget how the story begins. We're so focused on the happiness of the resurrection, we forget the cross. We forget Mary came to the tomb in utter sorrow. Hope got itself executed. Life was lousy. But she had loved him, so here she came with spices.

This weekend at Lakeside Church we're celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. If I may help to prepare you, expect a party. The resurrection calls for it! A big, blow-out kind of party.

But also expect to engage a dead man who came to life. Expect to start slow. He died. He died because of and on behalf of our sin. The sorrow of the cross makes the joy of the resurrection sweeter. And it's going to be a sweet party.

That's all I can tell you now. See you this weekend. Come early; don't miss anything.

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Friday, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, 4:30, 6:00, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, 7:30, 9:00, 11:00 a.m.