IMPACT Reflections

First of all, it was a deep joy to spend time with Bill Sloat. Doug Molgaard mentioned in a comment that it felt more like a dialogue rather than a conversation and that may be because Bill and I were having a conversation that ran beyond the scheduled times. Bill and I talking at Chipolte's, eating really hot! Mexican food, was one of the highlights for me. We should schedule all of the breakouts in good Mexican restraunts.

In the breakouts, there were three kinds of questions/conversations.

1. Our church needs something to change in order to engage our youth/young adults. Do you have any ideas? (This is a tip of the iceberg question and could not be answered in a short breakout. This isn't a program.)

2. Some traditional churches and Mega churches don't like what you guys are saying. Can't we all get along? (I hope so.)

3. This isn't the group I expected to be involved in this conversation. Where are all the emerging pastors? Why aren't they here? (This is a really important question.)

When I was asked about the group afterward, I likened it to a class on hunting lions, but the lessons took place in a zoo. The lions in the zoo had given up long ago trying to kill their own meals and looked up at us from their naps with annoyance. The expansion of the Kingdom of God occurs in the wild, where the lion is used to killing and you are truly in danger, where when you walk near a lion's territory, he arises and begins a strut that communicates fear into your heart. It is then that you know that you need God! I'll admit that I still like to stay in the truck. I have friends that walk right out into the thicket. I'm not yet that brave.

Bob Roberts posted an excerpt from a Brennan Manning (I don't recognize that name) book called The Relentless Love of Jesus, where he compares some churches to pioneers and others to settlers. It is well worth the read and may be required reading to understand the rest of this post. I love the church, the whole church, and the problem is that the pioneers among us understand my image of the jungle and the zoo and the settlers among us don't understand it.

My desire is that we set a direction for the church that includes both pioneers and settlers, working together, as they must for the church to survive. Some pioneers laugh as they read the Brennan Manning excerpt and think, "We should burn the settlements and force the settlers to become pioneers." One pioneer said to me lately that world geopolitical forces (my words, not his) will probably displace the settlers soon enough. He meant that America will soon become like Europe, a land barren of most Christianity (more about this in a minute.)

Settlers read this and think... You know, I'm not sure what they think. I mostly wonder what they think about the description of the Holy Spirit in settler theology being the bar maid (soothing) as opposed to the Holy Spirit pioneer theology of being a buffalo hunter (scary, but creating opportunity). That is a conversation I would love to have over some good coffee.

This is really a key for the future of the church as the church, the whole church, thinks about future direction. In fact, the church needs to address these issues as a whole and set some direction. As a pioneer (though a somewhat timid one), I'd like to say I am willing to come to that table.

I recently received a "Wake Up Call" from Battlecry.com. Battlecry includes Kay Arthur, Tommy Barnett, Chuck Colson, Jerry Falwell, Kirk Franklin, Jack Graham, Joyce Meyer, John Maxwell, Josh McDowell, Greg Laurie, Bob Reccord, Pat Robertson, Ted Haggard, and Jay Strack. They also mention Ron Luce, Wellington Boone, Kirbyjon Caldwell, Irishea Lewis, IV Hilliard, and Jack Hayford.

The cover of the mailing says,

"Wake up Call. Christianity won't survive another decade... unless we do something now."

On the inside cover, they say,

"A Call To Arms. This generation of teens is the largest in history -- and current trends show that only 4% will be evangelical believers by the time they become adults. Compare this with 34% of adults today who are evangelicals. We are on the verge of a catastrophe.

Imagine an America at 4%:
Church attendance dwindles
Tithes and offerings are at an all time low
New church buildings sit empty
Life giving sermons go unheard
The role of a church leader becomes irrelevant.

We can't let this happen! As senior pastors, we cannot sit idle and allow this trend to take its course. We must take action NOW!"

Help me out. This sounds like Settler Theology. The courthouse will lose it's power. The pastor will no longer be mayor. We won't be able to maintain our beautiful new courthouse. No one will come and hear our sermons.

The Pioneer, however, doesn't fear this at all. He isn't trying to hang on to anything. He has loaded up his wagon and has started looking for new territory, where the buffalo are plentiful. He isn't worried about defending anything because the Holy Spirit is the one with the gun! He isn't building glorious buildings. He is setting up a tent and maybe some hunting blinds, which are centers for the community, so that the lost person does come to him or least into the vicinity.

From my point of view, the settlers have to realize their settlements are truly at risk but sounding the "Battlecry" is most likely not the best direction. Maybe the settlement church isn't being attacked; rather, it is being abandoned. You can't defend against abandonment.

The best direction may be to follow the pioneers and settle new settlements. Pioneers will need settlers to settle the newly conquered frontier. But the pioneers need to understand that the settlers are quite settled and have long since burned their wagontrain wagons long ago (in fact two or three generations back) and really don't want to become unsettled. But the pioneers will have to help the settlers make the move. They need them.

Some settlers won't move. But we can't wait forever. Some pioneers will leave us behind, but they will have trouble sustaining their ministry.

There is a great conversation to be had here, and even a glorious future for the church, but only if the settlers and the pioneers realize they need each other and come to the table soon, not to sound a battlecry, but to follow the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and establish new settlements.