From Urbana '12

The Urbana '12 Missions Convention is my 12th Urbana.

The event is held every three years by InterVarsity (and has been relocated to St. Louis as of 2006).

Three observations:

1. This generation of students is deep into community, teamwork, cooperation.

2. They show little interest in the turf wars of their elders regarding denominations and secondary doctrines.

3. They're not color-blind. Rather, they affirm ethnicity. There's a big difference.

One more observation:

One of their prominent concerns is the strident atheism that has crashed the stage of college campuses the past ten years.

Thus: Naively, we were expecting 50 students to attend my seminar on the "new atheism" Saturday afternoon at Urbana.

600 showed up.

I almost forgot my lines.

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Lastly, I'll mention that worship is a central part of the convention. A 30-second sample is here:

Urbana Worship

Essentials part 13: Getting Quality Feedback

This is the last installment in my series on Essentials for ministry growth.

I appreciate the many comments I've received from my readership of 300-400 (mostly on email).

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This week: Growing ministries use regular Feedback mechanisms. They find out what their people are thinking, what they want and don't want.

Then (and this is huge), they have the wisdom not to do what everyone wants.

I'd like to suggest some some simple ways to get feedback (and use it wisely):

1. Use surveys. Survey Monkey is a good one, here:  http://www.surveymonkey.com/
2. Look for overall patterns in the feedback that's given. Don't let a few pointed comments overwhelm the process. 
3. In meetings: Don't assume the loudest voices are always the wisest -- or that they even represent the overall opinion of the group.
4. Intentionally draw quiet voices into the conversation. This is a skill I find missing in many leaders.
   
   Leaders need to say, "OK, we've heard from J and A. Now M, what do you think?" Then, back to J: "What do you think of what M just said?"
   
5. Seek out wise team members individually. Sometimes you'll hear more helpful comments in the freedom of a private chat than in an intimidating group meeting.

Feedback + Plans + Goals leads to Wisdom (I'm also assuming prayer and outside counsel as well. But focusing on feedback today).

I give my pastor, Jason Stonehouse, a lot of credit. He actively seeks opinions and feedback from his leaders. 

As an example, he's invited me to do worship service assessments (including the sermon) any time I wish, which I often do. Now that's gutsy.

Essentials Part 12: Crispy Meetings

Earlier today at Macalester College (where I work) I attended a crispy meeting. It was a student leadership team, run by a student.

We began with a short Bible study and prayer time.

We buzzed through about six agenda items that were laid out neatly on a single sheet of paper.

Discussion was healthy, decisions were recorded, responsibility for follow through designated.

The meeting started at 4, was over at 5. The time went fast.

Afterward I felt energized to follow through on the piece assigned to me. This group gets things done.

If I were 20 I'd join this team (if they'd take me).

On the other hand, crispy meetings of this nature are not valued universally.

In a completely different setting, I remember sitting in a gathering one morning between some of my white friends and a group from a minority culture.

We started right on time, zipped through the agenda and got out early. Most of the white folk bolted for the door. I happened to stick around for some chit-chat.

Now alone in the room (with me), the minority folks seemed a bit shell-shocked. They wondered aloud about building trust and a sense of community with the white folks, but having no chance to do so.

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It seems to me the white church sometimes operates in no-man's land:

• In cultural settings where efficiency is valued, we can be sloppy and long-winded. 
• In cultural settings where relationships and trust are valued, we have trouble ridding ourselves of the clock in order to settle in for some heart-and-soul time.

See you Next Week!

Essentials Part 11: Systems

This week's Essential: Systems.

See my prior ten posts for other ministry growth Essentials.

Genesis 1 and 2 are full of order and symmetry.

Everything is in its proper place.

There are systems for creating, naming, marrying, populating and ruling.

No doubt God sees ahead to a massive falling out (Genesis 3), the selection of a people for Himself, a royal lineage eventuating in the Messiah, and an eschaton of cosmic restoration.

Those are some big systems.

Does God improvise along the way, or is the whole thing pretty much scripted?

College students ask me that question, in one form or another, often (four times on a recent tour of Michigan schools).

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Zoom back in. As beings made in God's image, how can we emulate God in our own little ministry "world-making"?

It seems to me that growing ministries think ahead. They plan, train, pray. The world they're creating  exhibits the same order and symmetry as God's.

Struggling ministries tend to do things on the fly, then call that the Spirit.

Thriving ministries always have a crisp plan in place. During actual practice, however, they show flexibility as the Spirit leads.*

Struggling ministries never made a good plan in the first place from which to deviate.

Thrivers know who's in charge of stuff.

Strugglers let things fall through the cracks because the cracks are everywhere.

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Systems. Do not despise. Please.

* (Without commenting on whether God Himself improvises, I think He does ask us to go off script at times).

Essentials Part 10: Proper Slotting

Ministry Growth Essentials thus far:

1. Healthy at the core.
2. High quality, low complexity.
3. Prayed up.
4. Outreach (evangelism) is indispensable.
5. Leadership is a privilege.
6. Positive Traditions

7. This week's Essential: 

Proper Slotting

Recently I spent some time with a highly talented ministry person. Unfortunately her position was not a good "fit" for her. 

We agreed that she could gut it out for a couple of years before a change was needed . . . 

Place people in the right slot and they're unstoppable.

Place them in the wrong slot and they're un-unstoppable. 

Indeed. They stop themselves.

Three reasons for improper slotting

(I believe this applies to volunteers as well as professionals.)

• Fill a need. This is OK for awhile. A stop-gap measure, however.
• Lack of self-knowledge. Sometimes you get into your 30s before figuring this out. Maybe even your 50s!
• Organizational insensitivity. The ministry puts you in the wrong slot and thinks it's OK. 

Signs of being in the wrong slot:

• Tired all the time. Can't seem to get fully rested.
• Job feels like learned behavior. Not natural.
• Ministry results are so-so or worse.
• For the professional: Demarcation between work time and personal time is clear and highly valued. 

Signs of being in the right slot:

• Work/voluntering is fun, rewarding. Not just the results but the actual practice.
• Work/volunteering seems to flow out of you in a natural way. Results are generally positive.
• Sure, you get tired. But recovery time is fairly fast.
• For the professional: Demarcation between work and personal life can be blurry and isn't that important to you (which can be problematic in its own way).

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Whole ministries can thrive or struggle, depending on the slotting of a few key people.

Essentials Part 9: Positive Traditions

Every time I sit down to write about Essentials for ministry growth, which I've done the past eight weeks, a shiver of fear goes right through me.

Fear?

Yeah. Fear that I'm wasting your time. Fear that my blogs aren't worth reading.

Fear that these "Essentials for growth" are so obvious and so lacking in profundity that I should take up knitting instead of publishing my weekly trivialities.

Except for one thing: Why isn't everyone doing them?

That list again:
1. Healthy at the core.
2. High quality, low complexity.
3. Prayed up.
4. Outreach (evangelism) is indispensable.
5. Leadership is a privilege.

6. This week's Essential: Positive Traditions.

In my travels to forty college campuses the past three years -- and many other churches and ministries -- I do in fact see plenty of traditions.

But positive ones?

By positive I mean healthy, growth-producing, momentum-inducing practices that build and expand the mission.

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I just spent a week with a robust, thriving campus ministry at a major university a few states over from my home in Minnesota.

I asked to see their yearly calendar.

It's filled with positive traditions such as excellent retreats, strategic training, thoughtful outreaches, missional prayer, crispy meetings and systematic leadership development.

They're doing 90% of the fine things they did last year -- except they're doing them a little better this year.

I suggested a few tweaks but that was about it. They're already practicing most of the Essentials, and I could feel from them the cool emanation of God-God-God, God vibrations.

OK, lame joke. But remember, I'm in major scramble mode to spice up these boring posts.

Essentials Part 8: A Leadership Parable

For seven weeks now I've been talking about Essentials for ministry growth.

In this post I have a radical suggestion to make. It's taken from a short module on growth that I've been doing for campus and church ministries.

Let's say a cool guy, Joe, approaches me about joining a men's Bible study. I ask Joe who else is in the group and he tells me that Larry is already signed on.

I like Larry. I'm intrigued.

Joe's got fire in his eyes. He tells me this group is not for the faint-hearted. If I join, it has to be 100%. I need to show up every week (or close to it). On time.

Joe lays out the plan and promises me a fantastic experience. He looks at me steady and unblinking and declares simply, "Rick, I want you in the group."

OK, this is different. Whatever happened to "everyone welcome" and "come when you can"?

In these days of half-hearted commitments, I wonder if Joe will ever get this thing off the ground. He's asking too much.

I come to my senses. Joe doesn't care if no one else joins. He and Larry will go it alone and pretty soon they'll be telling me how good it is and how God meets them so powerfully every week . . .

Alright, I'm in.

I regress for a moment and ask Joe if the group is open to the whole wide ministry that we're in -- if other guys can just show up when they want.

Joe looks at me funny like I don't get it. "Rick, it's not an open group. Only guys who can make the same commitment we're making can join."

Wow. Counter-cultural. I can't believe he just said that. But somehow it makes me want to join even more.

****************

Six months later, Joe has totally delivered.

The group is excellent, as promised. Four guys had amazing experiences studying God's word together and bonding deeply. We watched some football, went on a fishing trip, supported Larry through his mom's death and funeral, and prayed for each other's families.

Joe announces that he's got two more guys who want in. They join. Now we're six.

A year later it's ten, then fourteen, then twenty.

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My belief is that quality and commitment beget quality and commitment.

Ask for a lot and you'll get it.

Ask for a little and you'll get it.

By the way, this little parable is based on a real-life ministry. It's not located in my state of Minnesota, but I don't care. I'll commute. I want in (if they'll take me).

Essentials Part 7: Leadership is a Privilege

Regarding the ministry "growth Essentials" I've been blogging about, I wish I could say the concepts are new and profound, but that's not the case.

They're really quite simple, in theory:

1. Healthy at the core.
2. High quality, low complexity (two posts).
3. Prayed up.
4. Outreach is indispensable (two posts).

Essential #5: Leadership is a Privilege.

This idea is tied into #1 above. Ministries that are healthy at the core tend to reproduce themselves.

Today I'd like to offer some observations "from the gut" about leadership teams:

Struggling teams:

• Are comprised of members who show up late, leave early and fail to notify anyone when they're absent.
• Either have autocratic leaders or weak leaders who are "too humble" to assert themselves.
• Are disorganized and are dominated by the strongest (but not always wisest) voices.
• Don't have reliable communication systems (that people actually use), such as email, Google docs, etc.
• Have to beg and cajole people to do things.
• Are not in prayer and scripture together. Plus, they're no fun.

Thriving teams:

• Love Jesus and each other. 
• Spend time in scripture, prayer and community-building.
• Are comprised of members who all make roughly the same commitment. They don't "carry" anyone.
• Are led by strong, sensitive leaders who know how to mine the wisdom of everyone present.
• Have clear goals and systems, and get important work accomplished.
• Are attractive to prospective members. This is the leadership pipeline.
• Require training.

I keep thinking of how short my life is and what a privilege and joy it is to serve on a thriving team. 

See you next week

Essentials Part 6: An Evangelism Taxonomy

The past few weeks I've been writing about Essentials for ministry growth, based on observations from my travels around the country.

This week is the second part of the outreach Essential: 
An Evangelism Taxonomy.

It seems to me that growing, fruitful ministries often take evangelism beyond a single level. Here is a three-level taxonomy that I see often, though the ministries that use it don't necessarily name it as such:

1. Social and Service Events: These are events with little or no Christian content that anyone can attend. We're talking parties, outings, road trips, movies, service projects. It's a great way to introduce a friend to the Christian community where there's no teaching and no pressure.

My church ran a couple of ballroom dancing events this past year. Perfect.

2. Content Events: Lectures, concerts, debates, presentations, Bible discussions where some aspect(s) of a Christian world and life view are presented, sometimes juxtaposed with nonChristian thought.

Example: At Michigan State a few months ago we held a public discussion with a group of atheists on campus. Then everyone went out for refreshments and good conversation afterward. 

3. Harvest Events: Events where a specific call to faith is made. 

In conclusion: With a variety of nonChristian friends in your life, you simply ask how far along the Holy Spirit has brought each person. Then invite accordingly.

Essentials Part 5: Outreach is Indispensable

Essentials for ministry growth that we've talked about so far:

• Healthy at the Core
• Reduce Complexity to the Point of Quality (two posts)
• Prayed Up

These are observations from my travels.

This week's essential: Outreach is Indispensable.

Occasionally I hear: Our job right now is to work on discipleship. We need to build up the saints to get them ready for outreach . . . 

Quite honestly, I've never seen that strategy work. I'm sure it has worked in various places, just none from my experience.

Rather, the pattern I see so frequently on the field is that growing ministries are doing evangelism now. They're not waiting until they're ready.  

They're not waiting to elevate their people to X level of maturity before turning outward.

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A few months ago I visited the University of Texas Pan American (where Houston is considered to be "up north"). 

We did evangelism every day I was there -- not just because I was there . . . they were already doing it. I just rode the wave they'd created.

I remember Jason. The very first hour I was on campus he walked in and told me his life story and came to faith in Christ right on the spot. Before my first presentation of the week.

Jason was the 50th conversion of the year for the UTPA ministry. 

How do you explain that? I say: vigilant prayer and persistent outreach.

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Next week I'll suggest a general strategy of evangelism that I believe will be helpful to the ministry where you serve.

Essentials Part 4: Prayed Up

This is a series about Essentials for ministry growth (in quantity and quality).

Essential #1: Healthy at the Core
Essential #2: Reduce complexity to the point of quality

Essential #3: Prayed Up

I fly into town for a week-long mission at Campus X.

It's pretty clear when the host ministry is all prayed up:

Ordinary secular reality is broken apart. 

Holes have been blown in the well-established walls of spiritual resistance that I've come to expect on college campuses, due to targeted prayer.

Surprising openings appear before us. Christian students display boldness and compassion. Other students come to faith in Jesus.

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One of my favorite churches, Bethel Christian Fellowship (BCF), is situated strategically near Macalester College in St. Paul, where I work.

BCF is pretty much always prayed up.

I guess that's why this non-trendy work of God is so healthy and fruitful. Of note:

• Over 25 nations represented in the congregation. A flag flies in the foyer for each country.
• Multiple other ministries come under its gracious oversight.
• They say: Prayer is not peripheral to our programs, it is the atmosphere in which our programs will be fruitful.

BCF always feels to me like a non-anxious place.

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In closing: I think of how often prayer is talked about in various ministries but how often it ends just there.

I hope you'll pause to consider whether the ministry in which you serve is all prayed up.

(As for myself, the practice doesn't come easily.)

Essentials Part 3: Reduce Complexity (cont.)

This week I continue with the second Essential for ministry growth: Reduce complexity to the point of quality.

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Sprawling 
I'm acquainted with a ministry that serves as the patron host to a series of focus ministries to children, ethnic groups, musicians, older adults, foreign missions (and others).

There is, however, little sense of alignment or cohesion among the groups. Everyone does their own thing under a common roof.

It's messy, politicized and stagnant.

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Simple
I know another ministry that takes the opposite approach, saying in effect, Everything we sponsor must align with our vision and values. This host is extremely picky about what it takes on. Thus:

• Alignment is tight. 
• Structure is simple and manageable.
• Quality is high.

This ministry exudes a vibe of energy that is highly contagious. It is growing both spiritually and numerically.

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These two examples need further nuance. Yet, each represents a general pattern that I observe in my travels that I hope can be helpful to you.

Over the last two years I've been privileged to visit more than 50 campus ministries around the country -- most (but not all) of them related to InterVarsity, at least 25 churches, and a smattering of other ministries.

So I'm blogging for a few weeks about the patterns I observe regarding organizational health and growth.

Growth Essential #1 from last week's post: Become healthy at the core.

Growth Essential #2: Reduce complexity to the point of quality.

Streamlined organizations with simple structures and a clear purpose are exciting to be around. Morale is high, teamwork is strong. They don't try to "do everything," just a few high-quality items.

Such quality tends to attract talented people (visionaries, gatherers, teachers, artists, administrators) who add their own contributions to the mix. This creates even more momentum.

On the other hand, struggling ministries often think of themselves as patron sponsors of a sprawling web of semi-related entities run by independent entrepreneurs.

I'm choosing my words carefully.

The mentality seems to be, If someone has a calling from God and a passion to start something, we empower them with resources and release them to their work.

There's something appealing about that. So, you want to start a mens' ministry? You have our blessing. A gospel choir? Go for it. Who are we to stand in the way of God's calling on your life?

And while the web of sprawling entities does seem to produce healthy growth at times, in my experience it's rarely sustainable and often devolves into a frustrating mess.

Next week I'll offer a further comparison of the two patterns: Simple vs Sprawling.

If you have insights on the topic, please use the comment section below or email me. Thanks!


(For a resource that in general terms argues against the position I'm taking, see Ori Brafman's The Starfish and the Spider. I liked this book but when not applied properly it leads, I think, to disunity and failure.)

Essentials

A favorite date destination for my wife Sharon and me is a restaurant. Any restaurant. Nice places or fast food -- we enjoy them all.

But there's one catch. One thing we simply don't understand: At decent places, why is the food often just "so-so"? Mediocre?

I swear if I owned a restaurant the first thing I'd be certain of is the food. It's a restaurant essential.

What about places that serve spiritual food? Ministries? How are they doing on the essentials?

I get around to almost as many different ministries as I do restaurants. I see patterns, good and bad.

And over the next few weeks I'd like to share some ministry essentials that I believe determine the difference between the thriving and the dying.

Essential #1: Healthy at the core.

It doesn't matter if it's a 25-member campus fellowship or a church of 2,000, "healthy at the core" is an indispensable building block of a thriving ministry, in my view.

At an ethnic church in St. Paul where I serve as a mentor/coach, we've reconstructed the Leadership Team (LT) from the ground up. Healthy at the core for us includes these elements:

• Clear roles.
• Clear decision-making process.
• Meetings start and end on time.
• No free passes. That is, no one can no-show without letting someone know in advance.
• All calls/emails/texts are responded to within 24 hours.
• We mix interpersonal care and fun with business.
• We pray and study scripture together regularly. 
• We're not in a hurry.

Some LTs use formal covenants. Ours is not formalized. But wow, is it ever rewarding to serve with folks who are all making the same (high) level of commitment.

I hope you'll consider whether your own ministry context is healthy at the core.

Make Us One, Father God

When the stars converged to bring Sharon's three sisters to our living room one evening in August, I cheered their decision to don the headphones and preserve their remarkable harmonies forever (or as long as MP3s exist) as a blessing to others.

Brenda, Sharon, Linda (not pictured: Charlotte)

The best of the seven songs recorded, in my opinion, is

"Make Us One, Father God" (click to listen. 2:07 in length)
(arranged by the sisters' brother, Brad Doeden). 

Make us one Father God, Make us one
That the world may know you gave your only son
Fill us with the love you've given us to share
And protect us from the evil everywhere

For you have chosen that together we should be 
A reflection of your love and unity
Cleanse us from our old nature of sin 
That your image may be seen in man again
Send us in the world to be a channel of
All the glorious riches of your love
And we'll tell the world the truth of how you feel
That the world may know that Jesus' love is real


One of my most responded-to blog posts ever was a video of the sisters singing last June at historic Emmanuel United Methodist Church. That post is here.

If you wish to hear the other songs from the living room session, just email me at rick.mattson@studentjourney.org, and I'll send you the links.

See you in September

55 and Simpler

Having turned 55 recently, I've noticed a fresh wave of observations about life coming over me.

You may think these "new" conclusions of mine lacking in originality and/or profundity. And you are probably right.

Yet as they become increasingly determinative in my thinking, perhaps there is a way in which they can serve you or others.

They range from "faithfulness in the same place for a long time is usually very fruitful" to "my cynicism is unhealthy" to "there's really no Christian life outside the church."

(There's a lot more where those came from!)

The one I wish to write about today is this: Simpler is better. 

In adopting simpler as a basic life principle, I find myself narrowing, cutting, paring, reducing clutter, focusing.

A mantra for simpler: "Down with complexity, up with quality."

Rick, try to do a few things well.

An application: These days I have the great privilege of coaching an ethnic pastor and his congregation in the Twin Cities toward healthy church growth. 

First thing we're working on is this: reducing structure. 

We're simplifying the ministry until we can hit our stride in just a couple of areas. Then we'll expand from there.

* * *

Like I said, not necessarily original or profound. Just 55, pondering before the Lord, and chasing after simple.

Leaving One's Church -- or Not . . . part 4

The issue behind the issue which is behind the issue of possibly leaving one's church is this:

What is the church?

In other words, if I leave my church, what am I really leaving?

1. A functional view: I'm leaving the place where I serve and am served. Where I give and receive.

2. A relational view: I'm leaving a particular local expression of the universal church that is relationally meaningful to me.

3. A theological view: the local church is the essential, indispensable representation of Christ on earth.

This last view is my own, as you have likely guessed. A theological view of the church should make it difficult (but not impossible) to voluntarily switch churches.

The theological view encompasses the functional and relational views in itself, but it cannot be reduced to either.

Another way to say this is that the local church must go beyond utility. Conceptually, it must rise above a "place" (to serve) or a "group" (of Christian friends), to a theological necessity for the believer.

One passage of many that could be cited is from 1 Corinthians:

"For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body -- whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free  . . . " (12:13).

* * *

I recall an old saying that I first learned in the evangelical and pentecostal churches of southern Minnesota after my conversion to Christ:

There's no such thing as a Lone Ranger Christian.

Maybe that sounds a bit quaint. But apart from extenuating circumstances that prevent one's participation in the church, I believe it's essentially correct.

To Stay at your Church or Leave . . . part 3

Contemplating a move to a different church?

Generally, I discourage moving (see my last two posts). After all, a local body of believers represents a spiritual family for Christians. 

The phrase used in Ephesians is "members of God's household," then, "built together to become a dwelling in which God lives" (2:19,22).

Heavy stuff. 

Ergo: Don't leave lightly.

Still, there might be special circumstances in which a voluntary move is prudent. I'd like to comment on one: 

DNA Mismatch: When the church's DNA doesn't match mine, a move could be in order. I'm talking about the church's central ethos, its long-term philosophy of ministry, not the latest stylistic or leadership changes. 

The issue might even be a major theological point, such as the  atonement or doctrine of scripture.

Before leaving, however, I'd check my facts: Have I verified the supposed misguided direction of church leaders over an extended period of time, finding out the true rationale behind their decisions?

Have I talked with them directly? 

Interpreted them in the most generous light possible?

Or, have I jumped to conclusions based on gossip, side comments, and "patterns" that I've pieced together in my own mind?

I've found that when I persistently think ill of leaders to the point where they can't do anything right and everything they say and do merely confirms my suspicions or prior-held conclusions, the real problem may not lie with them.

Still, DNA is DNA. If it's not a match, maybe -- just maybe . . . 

To Stay at your Church or Leave, Part 2

In my last post I offered a word of caution to those contemplating a permanent exit from their church. I hope you'll look over that post before reading this one.

A few years ago a married couple left our church for another, and I was impressed with their process (though I hated to see them go).

First, they thought and prayed long and hard about such a momentous move. I say momentous because they shared my belief that one's church is actually one's primary family, not just relationally but theologically.

Secondly, they informed people they were leaving. Those of us left behind weren't left guessing over their whereabouts or feeling guilty for failing to properly "miss them" the past two months.

Thirdly, though this couple had deep philosophical differences with the direction the church was going, they shared their concerns quietly and privately with leaders. There was no public confrontation, no nasty emails, no slandering, no poisoning the grapevine or uniting with a disgruntled faction.

Their graceful exit kept their friendships (and influence, I might add) alive in our church, for which I'm grateful to this day.

Next week I'll try to offer some more specific reasons for changing churches.

To Stay at your Church . . . Or Leave?

Perhaps you've thought of leaving your church for another, but you're not sure. It can be an agonizing decision.

I've done it twice in my adult life -- voluntarily left a church for another. Sharon and I have been at Grace Church Roseville now since 1997 and have no plans for another switch.

I'd like to offer a word of caution that stems from some recent discussions I've had with wise friends, and from my own churchmanship of 35 years:

If I choose to leave, I'm trading in one set of problems for another set of problems. No church is perfect, no pastor is without flaws, no elder/deacon/session group is permanently in charge.

No preacher will be there forever. No music will stay the same. No ministry style will remain unchanged.

If any of those reasons are the "main reason" I decide to leave, I'll be in the same position in six months or two years (or five or ten) in my new church home.

Will I leave then as well?

It seems to me there has to be a deeper set of reasons to make such a major move. Next week I'll explore them a bit.

Wonderful, Merciful Savior

A departure from my normal blog:

I had the good sense to marry into a musical family -- the Doedens, of Worthington, MN.

My wife Sharon (left in the video) and two of her sisters, Linda (middle) and Brenda, sing some tight harmonies at historic Emmanuel United Methodist Church.

Emmanuel is the home church of the Doedens.

(The guitarist is me.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MEQuNeScP0

Motive

In my last post I mentioned my difficult decision at Grace Church Roseville to leave the music ministry in order to serve in adult education (our curriculum is called "Catalysts").

The main reason (of several) for making the move is gifting. Teaching is my sweet spot.

Think of your church for a moment. Do you see people serving in places for which they're not gifted?

In my travels to college campuses around the country, I also hit a lot of churches! I see it all the time: Round pegs in square holes.

Of course, sometimes it can't be helped. Sometimes there just aren't enough willing servants to fill all the needed positions at church.

Then you just serve "where needed most."

But assuming an adequate pool of workers exists, why don't they land in the right slots, quite often?

I can think of many reasons. Here is one:

Unchecked motives.

A sampling, then, of what I consider to be good and not-so-good motives for choosing a ministry slot:

Yeah!

• to humbly serve others
• to use my spiritual and natural gifts for God's work
• to fit into the overall ministry plan of my church*

Boo!

• to get my political and stylistic agenda across
• to be noticed, acclaimed, respected by others
• to run my own ministry under the umbrella of my church

As I come to various forks in the road of my life, I've noticed that my spiritual director, Wayne Thyren, shows little interest in which way I go. Left or right, he usually doesn't care.

What he cares about (and asks me about) is why.

Motives, my friends. It's all about motives.

*assuming such a plan exists

See you next week.

Finding Your Slot

Recently I made the extremely difficult decision to withdraw from the music ministry at Grace Church Roseville.

The Mattson brothers started with
music early in life.
That's me posing with the trumpet.

I've been in music non-stop since childhood. Were my late father, Donn Mattson, still around, he might be disappointed.

Why did I do it?

Ten reasons. I'll name one. Perhaps you will find this instructive for your own ministry life:

Ability: I do fine as a weekend guitarist, but nothing extraordinary. Rather, my main abilities lie in teaching.

So I've moved into the teaching ministry at GCR, and it seems to suite me. It is, as they say, a "good fit."

What's your main thing? For what has God gifted you?

Serve there, if you can. Find your sweet spot. If everyone did, many problems in the local church would be eliminated.

Quality would go up. Burn-out would go down.

And satisfaction would go way up -- both for the servant and the served.

* * * * *

Next week: barriers to landing in your sweet spot.

P.S.: Our fine music minister, Will Lopes, still allows me to join the band on occasion. I trust my dad is watching.

Elevator Apologetics last post: Miracles

I'm writing a book on apologetics.

It's a book that offers to lay people (and professionals) images and illustrations for use in everyday conversations. No special training required.

This current series of blog posts is taken from the book.

A publisher has a proposal from me in its que, at present.

A final image, then, in this series:  Miracles are like a hole in one.

Atheists often invoke Enlightenment philosopher David Hume's argument against miracles: that their probability is so low that they are virtually impossible.

Much more likely than the occurrence of actual miracles are false reports of miracles due to human error, wishful thinking or fabrication.

So let's say that Joe is an ardent skeptic of God and of miracles, and his nine-year old daughter Ashley comes home after her very first round of golf and reports making an ace on a difficult 175 yard hole.

Ashley is sincere, earnest and joyful. She even praises God for her good fortune.

Lisa, the neighbor girl next store, corroborates the story.

What is Joe to believe?

You see, the trouble with the Humean dismissal of miracles is that if a real one came along, it would be missed.

Poor Joe misses a milestone moment of triumph with Ashley. He smiles and nods and encourages her like any good father would. But in his heart of hearts he does not believe her.

I've never had a hole in one. With my luck, my
own daughter Kelli (pictured left) will get one first!

Elevator Apologetics part 9: An Empty Pub

When I'm on the road visiting college campuses, students often ask me about hell.

Some say they'd rather live in hell than sit around in heaven, suffering the torture of perpetual, saintly dull.

In response, I've been offering up this image: 

Hell is like an empty pub. 

The promise of partying with one's friends in hell evaporates in the illusions of godless living. 

Maybe the self-made (or spiritually lazy) person thinks they've beat the system -- that hell, which is the maximal extension of life without God, is a great alternative to godly living (and dying).

Surprise.

In hell, the Author of true community is no longer available to provide the gifts of love and friendship. 

Rather hell-dwellers sit in empty pubs, drinking alone, addicted to the liquors of autonomy, independence and sloth that defined their earthly lives.

Hell is probably more than this, as several passages in Matthew and elsewhere seem to indicate. But it is not less. It is not less than the "absence of God." 

So when you need a quick image to use in an apologetics conversation, the empty pub is a good place to start. 

Of course, depending on your theology, you can always lay down another image for hell that has endured for ages:

A lake of fire. 

Now that's memorable.

Elevator Apologetics part 8: The Universe as a Theater for the Glory of God

In my apologetic presentations on college campuses I portray the universe as a theater where the glory of God is put on display.

But of course a theater cannot create itself.

Theaters are things. Things cannot create themselves. Maybe they were formed from prior things, but then one naturally wonders where the whole series of things came from.

A series of things needs a non-thing to create it. A theater needs a non-theater to create it. This "non-thing" is what we call God.

*******

At this point atheists often ask me where God came from.

Answer: I don't know.

Just because I can't tell you where God came from doesn't mean God didn't create the world, however.

Consider this example: My dear relatives in southwestern Minnesota have discovered arrowheads on their farm property. Where did the arrowheads come from?

Most likely from Native Americans who inhabited the land for centuries before white settlers came to the region.

OK, good enough.

But the skeptic objects: "But where did Native Americans come from? I'm not going to believe they produced the arrowheads until you tell me where they came from."

What?

That's weird. You're not going to believe my answer to the arrowhead mystery until the Native American mystery is also solved?

But why? I just gave you a solid answer to the question at hand: where arrowheads came from. The origin of Native Americans is a separate question.

Similarly, the origin of God is a separate question from the origin of the universe.

If you must know, Christian philosophers tell us that God, by definition, is self-existent. He is the necessary cause of the created (contingent) order. But that's a discussion for another time.

Elevator Apologetics part 7: A Wedding Ceremony

For many thoughtful Christians, faith comes in two stages -- the evidential and the relational.

Last week I wrote about the evidential stage. It is analogous to skydiving: You examine all the evidence that skydiving is safe before you take the plunge, er, leap.

The relational stage of faith comes second and can be compared to a wedding ceremony: You walk down the aisle and say your "I-do's" to Jesus.

A commitment is made. A covenant is enacted. You officially become a Christian. God welcomes you into the family of faith.

This relational stage is indispensable because it takes us beyond the mind to the heart -- beyond mental assent and into friendship with God.

***

Atheists often tell me that this second (relational) stage is all I have. They deny that the evidential stage is relevant or even possible.

They are fond of saying that faith, by definition, is a blind leap. That there can be no evidence. It's a clever trick of logic on their part:

1. define faith in a certain narrow way.
2. force me into that definition.

But I tell them it's my faith, and if I have evidence to back it up, that's my business. Nor can they tell me otherwise.

Nor should you let them tell you otherwise. If they cannot understand the idea of faith being supported by evidence, that is their tough luck.

Elevator Apologetics Part 6: Skydiving

This series offers concrete images for apologetic conversations that you can put into play quickly -- even on a short elevator ride.

It seems to me that for many Christians, faith comes in two stages:

1. The evidential stage
2. The relational stage

The evidential stage is like skydiving.

"Look before you leap," is my motto.

Before ever jumping out of an airplane to dangle in mid-air under a giant hankey, I would carefully investigate all the evidence that suggests I'd be safe.

According to the United States Parachute Association, there were only 21 fatalities in 2010 out of three million jumps. That's a 99.993 success ratio.

I'd also examine all the gear and the plane and the pilot and . . .

You get the idea.

Being the scaredy-cat that I am, however, I would still never take this flying leap.

My wife Sharon, by contrast, would love to do a jump sometime. I refuse to watch.

I have agreed to attend her funeral, however.

That was a joke! Do not think ill of me.

Skydiving is a good image for the first stage of faith because it illustrates how important evidence is for faith, though proof is never attainable.

To repeat: evidence but not proof.  That's how my faith works. Without evidence (historical, philosophical, scientific, experiential) that Christianity is true, I would not be a believer.

And without evidence, I would never be a believer in (Sharon's) skydiving success.

Next week: an image for the second stage of faith, which is the relational part.

Elevator Apologetics Part 5: The Bible is Dumb. So is Basketball.

What question do I hear most often from students on college campuses?

Anything about the Bible: its dubious authorship, unfairness, contradictions, oppression of women/gays/slaves, etc.

Many such questions can be answered simply by interpreting the Bible correctly.

How? It's not easy.

Our goal should be to understand what the biblical authors intended to say within the context of their world. That is, the ancient world.

Then (and only then) can we begin to apply the teachings of the Bible to our world, our personal lives.

Analogously, imagine a person two thousand years in the future trying to interpret "ancient" newspaper accounts of the strange game of basketball.

Words and phrases such as pick-and-roll, field goal, and dunk would be head-scratchers.

Conflicting stories would fail to meet 23rd century standards of precision and honesty.

A skeptical reader could easily come to the following conclusions:

• Goal posts must have been part of every BB court so that players could make "field goals." That's assuming the reader knows about football. 

• Referees acted as tools of oppression against losing teams. They were bribed by winning franchises in collusion with league officials.

• Conflicting accounts in various newspapers regarding big games indicates that the games are fictitious. Unhistorical. Never happened. (Close agreement between sources indicates the same.) 

• Wilt Chamberlain is a mythological giant whose amazing statistics were cleverly planted in all the old records.

By the way, what's a newspaper?


On the topic of Bible interpretation, I'd recommend the superb book, How to Read the Bible for all its Worth by Fee and Stuart. 

Elevator Apologetics part 4: A Royal Flush

I'd like to share a concrete image for the design argument.

You'll remember that the argument from design says that the most plausible explanation for the appearance of order in the universe is God.

This conclusion seems patently obvious to me, but . . . not to everyone. Certainly not to atheists and other skeptics, who offer a variety of objections to intelligent design.

Here is the image: a royal flush.* 

Let's say someone shuffles a deck of cards and deals you a royal flush. The odds were against it, but so what? Once in a blue moon it happens.

The deck is shuffled a second time, the cards are dealt, and . . .

Whoa, two in a row.

Then it happens again. And again. And again -- that makes five consecutive RFs.

It happens a hundred times in a row. The odds are nearly incalculable.

Heck, after only the third RF you were starting to get suspicious. A Minnesota Vikings Superbowl victory is more probable.

Someone is manipulating the cards.

97 more RFs (in a row) screams with each successive occurrence that "chance" is not the best explanation here.

In the same way, the complexity and fine-tuning of the universe is just too good to be true. Some-one -- not some-thing -- has a hand in shaping all this order.

We call this someone God.

* * *

Remember what this series is about: Images in apologetics that you can put into play quickly. The images are not comprehensive arguments, just helpful illustrations.

* I learned the royal flush image from Prof. David Clark at Bethel University.

Elevator Apologetics part 3: Broken World

This week's image for apologetics may seem obvious and too simple. Yet, that's precisely what makes it effective.

I should know, since I use it constantly. The image is:

Broken world.

College students ask me why earthquakes wipe out nations.

Broken world.

Why a tsunami killed 250,000 people.

Broken world.

Why a mother or best friend was afflicted with a terminal disease.

You know my reply.

What do we mean by broken world? 

The classic "problem of evil" isn't very hard for Christians to explain. Humankind turned its back on God and then turned on each other. That's the story of the Fall, recorded in Genesis 3. It's called moral evil.

But "natural evil" is a bit tougher to deal with. Why doesn't God just stop the tidal waves or freeze the tectonic plates or destroy the cancer cells? It would take only a snap of the divine finger, a wave of the omnipotent hand.

Instead, God allows the twisted story of a runaway people to play itself out. The consequences of the Fall extend to the cosmos itself ("the ground is cursed because of you" -- Gen 3:17).

In summary, humanity is fallen, the world is broken. And bad things happen to good people.

So when someone asks why a tornado destroyed a small town or why babies are born with birth defects . . .

You know what to say.

Elevator Apologetics 2: Elephant Traps

A few weeks ago I sat in the student union of Santa Rosa Junior College with a cool young atheist (let's just call him CYA).

He told me he would never believe in God, even if God appeared to him personally.

To CYA's thinking, a supposed appearance by God would be more rationally explained by his own hallucinations than by a deity actually showing up.

You may wonder if CYA employs a certain method or set of guidelines for discerning truth. Of course:

Science.

Most of us think of science as a tool for studying natural phenomena. But this student thinks of it as a complete worldview -- which is sometimes called scientism. One of the enormous implications of this view is that anything not found within the boundaries of science doesn't even exist.

To me, scientism doesn't sound very scientific.

Here's an analogy I often use: Thinking that science (by itself) is the right tool for detecting God is like setting mouse traps for elephants. When the mouse traps come up empty, are we to conclude that elephants don't exist?

What we need are elephant traps.

Christian philosophers set elephant traps -- that is, God traps -- by weaving together arguments and evidence from a variety of disciplines (including science).

By the way, when we pointed out to CYA that his worldview sounded very close-minded to us, he actually agreed. "Yes, I'm very uncomfortable with that," were his very words.

Elevator Apologetics Part 1: Don't blame the hammer.

Starting today, a new series: apologetic material you can use in a short conversation (even on an elevator).

I will try to give you a single crisp image, a kind of "go-to" card you can play in various situations.

note: "Apologetics" as I am using the word means to make a case for Christian faith.

First image: Don't blame the hammer.

This is not original with me. I use it all the time on college campuses (and other places as well).

It responds to the objection that the church's history has been characterized by hypocritical, sometimes violent acts such as the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the Salem witch hunts, and contemporary clergy sex and financial scandals.

The objector rightly says, "I thought Christians were supposed to be different. I thought they were supposed to be holy, honest, loving people. Why would I want to be part of an institution that's been guilty of so many crimes?"

My response: "Good point. No excuses. But think of it this way: If I go out and pound dents into your car with a hammer, would you blame the hammer or blame me?

Dude, the hammer is 'not guilty'!"

******

As a believer, I am often embarrassed at reading media accounts of Christians behaving badly. Doing harm to others in the name of God is one of the worst forms of abuse.

But the guilty party here is the person who misuses religion, not religion itself. Just as you wouldn't blame the hammer, don't blame religion.

Just to round off the point, I might say, "The proper use of a hammer would be to pound nails for Habitat for Humanity, a Christian organization that recently completed its 500,000th home for low income people.

Now THAT'S how to use a hammer!"

Generational Differences 8: One Last Word

If you've been following my Generational Differences blog, you'll notice that I believe the differences between old and young in the church are significant and important.

But not insurmountable.

College students givin' it up to Jesus at a recent conf.

My advice to young people is to be yourselves but remain humble -- or you will be humbled by the next generation.

And seek out the wisdom of older folks while they're still available. The boomers are just beginning to move out of leadership in local churches. Perhaps if you reach out to them they will stick around and serve under your emerging leadership.

To oldsters like myself: I call for communication that is cross-cultural.

It's called contextualization, and we expect our foreign missionaries to do it. But somehow we've exempted ourselves. We've been slow to adapt to younger cultural forms -- perhaps out of fear of compromising the gospel (and perhaps for worse reasons as well).

Additionally, we've sought to inculcate young people into the boomer church culture we've created. The result, unfortunately, has been disastrous. Young people have left the church in droves. Our way of doing things is simply too foreign to them.*

A radical (and biblical) solution: One of my oldster friends, Lynn, has suggested to me that any church that started playing country and blue grass music on Sunday mornings would quickly become a magnet for visitors -- especially those 35 and under (though hippies from the 1960s, now gray haired and ponytailed, might dig it as well).

I don't care for that kind of tuneage, but I think Lynn is actually saying something much larger:

That the precious treasure of New Wine with which we've been entrusted must, absolutely must, be stored in and distributed from new wineskins. The old ones are wearing mighty thin.

* See the introduction to the book You Lost Me by David Kinnaman

Generational Differences 7: Talking Across the Divide

Why is the following diagram so important?

(You may not have time or inclination or keen enough eye-sight to pick through it. So I summarize it below.)

It's called the Entry Posture Diagram,* and it's used in cross-cultural missions training.

To my thinking it nails the issues of how the generations can and should talk with each other.

Essentially, it says this: When you enter into cross-cultural interaction, your initial attitude (posture) will determine your eventual success (or lack).

Premises determine conclusions :)

If you begin with openness, trust, adaptability, you're likely to conclude with understanding and a deepened relationship with that "other-generational" person in your life. 

Naturally, the opposite is true as well. Starting off with suspicion, fear and prejudice will create a serious wall of separation when differences arise. The relationship will crash and burn.

Example: Conscientious parent, extremely concerned about 17-year old child's $100/month media subscription fees, decides to act decisively.

Parent thinks like this: "I grew up fine without all these high-tech gadgets. . . MY parents would never have allowed . . .  What does GOD say about stewardship of time/money? . . . 24/7 tech is killing young people . . . SOMEONE needs to stand up for what's right . . . I'm not running a popularity contest here . . . "

But of course this approach -- this posture --  is doomed before the first word is uttered.

It may even appear to work in the short run. But a new wedge of mistrust will enter the relationship.  And something way bigger than $100/mo will be in jeapordy.

Darn, I'm out of space. More next week. . . 

*EPD: Google it for more info, new diagrams, updates.

Generational Differences 6: Advice to the Young Generation

Here is my hope and prayer for the 35-and-under crowd as they face generational differences with their elders (see my prior five posts):

1. Stay strong, be yourself. You really are different than your elders in many ways, and different is OK (usually).

A few of the cool college students I work with

2. Be humble now or be humbled later. One day you'll be passing 35, 45, 50, 60. I know it seems a long way off but that's what everyone says. It comes faster than you think.

The NEXT generation may have some strong opinions

Remember that the generation after you will do things differently than you -- and they'll think it's all a big improvement. They'll be mocking your old ipads and i-anything and Google+ and "contemporary" praise music and wondering why you're so stuck in the mud.

Knowing the transient nature of your own styles and preferences will help. Nothing is permanent except God's truth.

3. Cash in on your gains. That is, take advantage of the steps forward you've made in inclusiveness, social justice, racial reconciliation, community and your Jesus-based theology.

My generation has much to learn from you in these areas -- as do the even younger ones mentioned above.

4.  Seek out older wisdom. I hope you'll act now because older wisdom may not always be readily available. At some point our lips will grow silent.

It will happen like this: We will release to you all the positions of leadership and influence in our churches -- the churches that we and our forbears built from the ground up which stand as symbols of God's presence in our culture.

Then you'll need to be intentional about inviting us to teach, pray and give counsel.

(Note to church and family: Someday, to reach me in the months of Jan/Feb, you'll need to call Florida :)