"relevant church"

Today, I have been having a lot of great conversations about "relevant church." As we plan this new church, all of the "relevance" questions are the first ones we get asked: "what kind of music will you have?" "what kind of clothes will people wear?" "what kind of video equipment?" "what kind of sound gear?"

The thing that bugs me is that I really dig all that stuff... I am sure that we will have rockin' music... I don't ever want to wear dress clothes again... I want to launch with live video from day one... and i have only one word related to sound gear - - SUBWOOFERS!

But, here's the thing: While I really dig relevant churches, I think that we spend too much time trying to be relevant and then figuring out which part of "TRUTH" our culture would respond to.

I think we have it backwards!

Recently, I have been struggling with this whole idea and realizing that what a church believes about the redemptive Truth of God's Son (Christology) should inform a church's understanding of its calling or mission (Missiology) and THAT should inform our methodology (ecclesiology).

The thing is, that way to often I think churches begin with methods (what to wear, how to package a series, how to understand the culture) and then move backwards to mission (calling).

Kem Myers (Granger Community Church) said today that "culture is a moving target." I agree! The thing is that I don't think that we should spend all of our time trying to shoot at a moving target. We need to understand Truth and look for a relevant vehicle with which to communicate it.

I think that we need to engage culture... I will take that one step further - - we need to be about the business of seeing God REDEEM culture... I just think we need to avoid the temptation to become enamored with culture.

In season and out of season...

Much of what we do is impacted by the "season."

In case you don't already know... it's already cold in NW Ohio... STINKIN' COLD! The season for Golf is long gone... as we started packing up the stuff in the shed, Sheila told me not to pack the snow shovels just yet, we will probably need them before we move (me, I don't think so... I drive a 4WD Jeep... I don't really need to shovel!)

This morning, I had opportunity to do something very "out of Season" - I preached about "submission" - you know, our cultures newest "S" word! God's Word challenges us to preach the word "in season and out of season" - that message is very "out of season." It is not popular at all to challenge women of our culture with their biblical role because so many people have misunderstood (or abused) what God's Word says. Now, I don't want to re-preach the message (if you missed it, you can hear it here... and YES, I did say that we don't need "limp wristed, fairy men" in all three services). What I wanted to point out was that there are things in life that do not make you popular, but sometimes they are the right thing to do anyway! It might be out of season, but truth is truth... preach it anyway!

This afternoon, my good friend Brent Wilson and I took a quick trip by small plane to Dayton and back (in time for me to regain my stomach and make it to Financial Peace classes by 6:00). It was amazing to me how COLD it gets at 8,000 feet! Did I mention that I got to fly most of the way back? Talk about out of season... it's never "in season" to allow me to control a large metal object at 150 mph! How cool it was to see God's creation from that perspective (and get a couple of pretty cool pics of our house before we landed!)

The moral of the story? I am not sure that there is one!

Today was a great day... I love preaching! The only thing that I am not looking forward to about planting is that it will be a long time (till 10/10/10) before I get to communicate God's truth to a crowd of people every week! Flying was very cool... I am imagining now that planting a church is going to be a lot like flying that plane... there are an awful lot of things to monitor and prepare!!!

Thanks for listening to my ramblings... I am pretty pumped about all that God is doing!!!

Jeremy

Discouragement and Encouragement

The line between encouragement and discouragement is fine. As many might remember, our house "sold" within two weeks of being listed on the market. Late yesterday, we learned of one of the many ways the current economic climate will impact this plant - due to a small issue, the financing for our "would be" buyer fell through.

To say we were discouraged is an understatement. There are so many "question marks" in our future - this was one of the only things that was settled. So, after an evening of self pity, today happened!

Encouragement from every angle! So many of you have sent notes (email, facebook, etc), called or told us of your confidence in God's plan and timing. I know that it may feel like something that you are "supposed" to say, but the truth is that you are "supposed" to say it because it's true! God's plan and timing are exactly perfect!!!

Beacons of hope! After our Realtor (who is also a close friend) let us know that he was doing everything he could in calling area agents to let them know that the house was back on the market, another Realtor in his office called to schedule a showing for TONIGHT!

In the end, I am trying not to be anxious about this whole thing, but if you are praying... here's something to pray about... not that our house sells, but that God's Will - and His exact timing happen! In the meantime, you can pray for patience for us.

The Journey to Here: "Funding"

As you can imagine, starting a new church costs a lot of money. Things like salaries, office space, advertising, facility rental, road gear (sound, lights, video, etc), seating, children's supplies (furniture, toys, teaching materials,etc), trailers (to move everything), logos, web sites, and TONS MORE!

So, a natural question comes to mind... Where does all of this money come from?

Not only is that a natural question - it is an important one! Without money, this future church - and the people it will reach for Christ - are just a figment of our imagination! Every step of this crucial mission to reach the lost is dependent on people just like you and I who are willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ!

This past week has been unbelievable! We have officially started the "fundraising" phase of the plant. I spent all day Monday in NW Indiana presenting "the plant" to a couple of churches and reconnecting with a few friends. We are praying that those efforts will be fruitful for the cause of Christ! We are anxious to see how God is working in people's lives to reach people!

The simple reality of our lives at this moment is that we will need to raise a total of $150,000 over the next 3 years. (that means that income totaling $150,000 will need to be pledged by people, groups and organizations to come in over a 3 year period of time).

At first, I have to admit that this whole idea was very intimidating to me... I HATE ASKING FOR MONEY! Then one day, I realized that I am not asking for money for me - I am raising money for God's project to reach lost people - people who other than this effort would likely spend eternity separated from God - that moved me!!

I am confident that God has developed this vision in our hearts for years, and if that is the case, God has also been laying this effort on the hearts of many of you over those same years. Maybe God has used preaching or a relational connection to begin to prick your heart to support His work... no matter what the avenue, God has prepared the way!

So, here is the simple plan... we need people who are willing to pledge money... some as a one time "start up" gift... some as a monthly pledge... for our fancy brochure, I broke it down this way:

We need...

• 75 people who will pledge $15 per month over 3 years (or $540 as a one time gift)
• 50 people who will pledge $10 per month over 3 years (or $360 as a one time gift)
• 10 people who will give $2000 or more as a one time "start up" gift
• 5 people who will give $5000 or more as a one time "start up" gift
• 20 people who will consider meeting a specific need in a ministry area ( i.e. children's ministry, sound, office, etc).

Now, here's the big question. How would God have you be involved? What part can you play?

I want you to know that I realize that these are difficult financial times for many people.

I also want you to know that I sincerely weighed that as I considered how we believed that God was moving in our lives. The simple reality is this: In God's economy, there is no better time to plant! That is true for two reasons: 1.) People are looking for hope like never before! 2.) If we are able to raise these funds and see people come to Christ in this economic climate, it will be OBVIOUS that it is a work of God!

I have said this before, but if David had an AK-47 when he battled Goliath, it wouldn't have been much of a story... but because he was a 12 year old boy facing an insurmountable foe, we are talking about it thousands of years later!

Here is the simple truth: IF IT'S GOD'S WILL, IT'S GOD'S BILL!

Here is the thing, if you are someone that I have known for most of my life or someone that I have known from Dyer, you can probably expect to receive a letter in the short term asking you specifically to consider how you might be involved. If you live in NW Ohio, I will likely not be approaching you asking directly how you might be involved (out of respect for New Hope and not leveraging my position here to raise money and put people in an awkward position). If you live here, I am trusting that God will be laying this project on your heart and you will approach me to talk about what God is doing.

In either case, please consider what God might have for you as a part of this project. I can assure you that there is no gift too small - every sacrifice is a vital part of God's plan!

If you would like to contact me directly related to your desire to have a conversation about where we are headed, please talk to me in person, call me at your convenience or send an email to justjeremy73@gmail.com

Again, thank you for reading these posts (as I hear a number of you are)... and thank you for considering conquering Goliath with us!