Reflections from 56, Part 3

When it comes to ministry, my thinking and practice have undergone several changes in middle age.

One is that I've shifted from a focus on innovation to, well, basics.

Admittedly not too exciting. Yet, I take this change to be a significant upgrade.

The young man's thinking was this: 

Whenever our ministry is struggling to keep its head above water, most likely the cause is some form of traditionalism. We haven't kept up with the times. We've baptized yesterday's methods into today's contexts. 

http://goo.gl/NN4ki

The solution? Fresh, innovative ideas to bolster the work.

I've got it!!: A Ferris wheel on top of our church, alongside a giant screen where we show Christian movies! The neighborhood will LOVE it . . . 

The middle-aged man's thinking is this: 

Struggling ministry usually results from lack of prayer, vision, planning, and having the right people on the bus -- in the right seats.

Thus at 56 I'm likely to suggest something "exciting," like this approach to reaching our city:

• Pray through our city, block by block.
• Send out a simple, sharp postcard to every address, followed by gifted, well-trained teams that knock on doors with a message of hope.
• Make our church a compelling place of learning and worship, with quality preaching, music, media and hospitality.

Boring, I know. But it's the new me -- the fresh, innovative me.

Would you care to join me?

Reflections from 56, Part 2

Transformation

I've noticed since turning 56 that I'm not as smart as I used to be. 

As a young man I was pretty sure I knew better than most how to fix the church.

The thought was to break with tradition and move church folk out to the cutting edge of radical methods in evangelism, leadership and worship.

I figured it was "transform or die" -- now.

From the duller perspective of gray hair, however, I'm thinking that . . .  

• Cultural change in a church or other ministry is a long process that unfolds incrementally.

• The starting points of transformation are prayer and healthy partnerships. 

• If my motives for working to "improve" the institution are entangled much with anger or self-promotion or my own comfort, I'm on the wrong track.

I must be getting senile in middle age  :) 

Reflections from 56

Having recently turned 56 years of age, I'd like to offer some reflections from my 32 years of ministry.

First up: Spiritual Formation.

The young disciples I see being produced in church and campus ministries look something like this:

1. Steeped in contemporary worship culture.
2. Zealous for social justice around causes such as sex-trafficking.
3. Missional.
4. Inclusive.
5. Cooperative, collaborative.
6. In love with the person of Jesus.

All this seems good to me.

The missing piece?

Discipleship of the mind. 

How many Christians age 25 and under, even those who embody 1-6 above, could summarize the whole Bible in five or ten minutes -- including the story of creation and fall, the history of Israel, the role of the prophets, the ministry of Jesus and the life of the early church?

Not many.

How many could articulate two or three major reasons for holding to the Christian faith that go beyond their own subjective experience with Jesus?

Few.

How many could point out the Sea of Galilee and the cities of Ephesus and Jerusalem on a map of the first-century world?

A small percentage.

Similarly, not many are able to integrate faith and learning -- to "think Christianly" about science or history or economics, or whatever they're studying.

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

Two probable causes of this "mind gap" are overall anti-intellectualism in the church, and a young generation that values feelings and experience over thinking.

My hope and prayer is that those of us in leadership in the church and campus ministries would add #7 -- the mind -- to the list of six descriptors above.*

Luke 10:27 calls Christians to love the Lord with heart, soul, strength and mind: a broad vision for well-rounded disciples.


* Discipleship of the mind is a component of InterVarsity's new national initiatives.

Invitation Part 12: The Hiddenness of God 4

A Sampling of God's Clues

Last week I mentioned that God doesn't offer proof of his existence. Rather, he leaves clues, of which I will mention three:

1. Nature

I wrote about this in two prior posts, The Hiddenness of God 1 and 2. 

God's revelation in nature is open to interpretation. The believer sees the glory of God plainly in the vast heavens, in the DNA molecule and the like.

The skeptic sees impersonal forces at work.

God seems to be saying, The universe is a reflection of my character and beauty. I offer it to you as a gift, but don't mistake the gift for the giver.

2. The Historical Jesus

A strong case can be made that the Son of God entered human history, died on a cross and rose from the dead. *

Notice that the study of history is essentially a clue-oriented project.

That is, history is about probabilities, signs, indicators. Not proof.

God seems to be saying, I planted a major clue in the soil of history. Search it out. I'm there for the finding. But you must seek me with an open heart. Otherwise, you will find ways to explain away this clue.

3. The Church

The body of Christ is the best apologetic for the Christian faith.

At least in theory.

What do I mean?

Christ is made manifest in and through his people. To the extent that we love him and reflect his character to the world, he will be made visible.

The opposite is also true. Christian lives poorly lived obscure God's presence.

***********

My one minute of your time is up. These three clues are a sample of many that could be offered.

The conclusion?

God asks us to play the role of detective. He seems to be saying, The clues are everywhere -- if only you have the eyes to see them.


* See posts beginning Feb 17, 2013 on the historical Jesus.