Darren B.’s Neighborhood

I have been reflecting on the Willow Grouplife conference from October 24^th that was broadcast widely across North America. The Small Groups Network helped sponsor and host a site. Throughout the one day event there were some great insights and presentations from the speakers. Here are my best take-away’s from this years event.

Dave Anderson (Church of the Open Door) and Heather Zempel (National Community Church) spoke convincingly on why we need to be authentic and embrace the fact that life is messy. To me – they were the strongest voices at the event. With Dave you felt that there is no real purpose for meeting together as Christians in small groups if you are not going to be real and authentic. For real change to occur 3 components are needed: authenticity, courage and grace. That second component of courage is rarely spoken of, yet if not for leaders or an individual member who takes the risk, becomes courageous and shares their brokenness with others – how will we see authenticity spread and grace bestowed?

This was the first time I have heard Heather Zempel at length. What a dynamo! She is very earthy – most everyone could identify with her. She began her talk illustrating from her earlier life in research – she went to pig farm to do some research and pig pooh became a humourous link through the rest of the day – very funny! Her point was made though – You can’t stop the stink from pigs. Ie – People are sinful – they can’t help but create mess in their lives – so let’s admit it with others in our group! She went on to say that God will write His story in the mess, and that mess can be the bi-product of growth. I resonated with this theme, because it’s so true. When is it when most people (Christians or not) are most open to God’s voice? Not when things are going good, but when there is pain and life is a mess! She went on to give very helpful suggestions on how we can deal with messes that become evident in our group.

Mindy Caliguire spoke on leading from a healthy soul. This is an area that I believe churches need to pay more attention to. She spoke on how leaders can experience burnout, lack of fruitfulness and spiritual vitality. Leaders need to be leading from the overflow that comes out of their relationship with God, when leaders don’t – they can find themselves experiencing what Mindy calls – a collapse of the soul. She illustrated this well with a flow chart diagram charting the well being of the soul vs. the speed of life. When the pace of life overtakes our soul life, we can easily become disconnected to God and the life He breathes into us. She challenged us to slow the pace of life to a level that connect with God – living a life at “Godspeed”. Mindy has authored a number of books that can help leaders discern new ways to re-connect with God. Discovering Soul Care, Simplicity, Spiritual Friendship, Soul Searching.

Throughout the day – the theme of understanding that our flawed lives can be the new perfect way (God’s provision of grace) to grow ourselves and others in Christ was my biggest takeway! 

You may watch some of the post-event questions that were asked of the presenters at youtube.com/willowgrouplife

Yesterday I stayed late in the Resource Centre trying to catch up on what has been a busy fall season of people ordering their small group studies. I got a phone call from Joanna, a first time caller – as radio talk show hosts would describe them – about wanting to order the Message Bible.

Sometimes I have people calling with orders and the call is short and to the point. This one was different. Joanna wanted a Message bible, but she also shared with me a wonderful story of how God still performs miracles today. Here’s her story.

Years ago, Joanna became ill. Along with these illnesses, she had a serious accident that left her with chronic debilitating pain. All this lead to a mental breakdown. Here she was, a social worker with five university degrees and yet she no longer could work and no longer could read more than a few sentences at a time. There were times when she felt she was comatose – life had become that hopeless.

Coming from a Catholic faith background, she told me she could not understand the Bible that she was familiar with until someone gave her a Message new testament. She began reading it and this is where God met Joanna. She not only was now able to read multiple sentences, she was able to read complete pages. When she realized what had occurred she shared this with her mother – and Joanna began reading the Message Bible out loud for her mother to hear. They have read complete books of the bible since! She told me how the Bible now has come alive to her and she can understand that it’s God’s story also meant for her.

Here is another example of how God endlessly pursues us and makes Himself known to those who seek after Him. He removes the walls and barriers that can hinder us from knowing and experiencing Him.

For Joanna, it doesn’t end here. She is so excited about her new growing faith and understanding about God, that she wants to give a Message to her sister and her daughter who had turned cold to God because of bad church experiences. What an amazing God we serve - restoring life to what was dead. That’s a miracle!

 

 

This last month I have enjoyed reading and studying a wonderful book by Todd Hunter called Christianity Beyond Belief.  Todd Hunter has quite a unique background—having come to Jesus through John Wimber of the vineyard movement back in the 70s, and then moved on to be the U.S director of Alpha U.S.A, and now he is an Anglican minister. He has also planted numerous churches among 20 something’s, and to top it off he’s an old guy like me ….He hangs out with guys like Richard Foster, Eugene Petersen, Dallas Willard and John Ortberg, just to name a few of the influences on his life.  These are men who have helped me in my own spiritual formation in the last few years as well.

There’s a ton of valuable information available at the link I am providing should you be interested in a resource that will spark a fresh pursuit of the Lord, as well as give you a view of the kingdom of God that is breathtaking and moving, and may stimulate some new thinking for you and your personal ministry.   There are some mp3 messages on the link plus pdf chapter of the book to give you a sample.  As well, in this month’s Christianity Today, there’s a feature interview on Todd Hunter called “The Accidental Anglican”. 

I love the freshness with which Hunter writes and I have memorized his working definition of what he believes a follower of Jesus might look like in this changing world….

God's intention, he says, is for us to become God's cooperative friends, seeking to live consistent lives of creative goodness for the sake of others through the power of the Holy Spirit.

He basically takes the whole book to unpack that fourfold definition. 

http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=3315

Here is a link to messages he gave on the same subject
http://www.toddhunter.org/

As I re- connect with the university environment at the university of Guelph this fall I am excited to be engaging students with the gospel of Jesus and His kingdom.  Already He has provided me with some wonderful young Christ followers who want to

• Be God’s cooperative friends,
• Want to live lives of creative goodness
• For the sake of others
• Through the power of the Holy Spirit
  

Advancing the Gospel one beautiful life at a time,
Luch
p.s once you wade through all the stuff I have provided I would love to hear your feedback.

For thirty years I have been associated with selling and distributing Christian resources – mostly books. Early on it was quite rare to have a Canadian authoured book become a best-seller beyond their own community. Maybe the biggest selling Canadian authour of Christian books back then was Jennette Oke. If you are a recent reader of Christian books – you are probably scratching your head asking – who is that?

 

But things are much different today! Just recently the Word Guild celebrated 25 years of developing and promoting Canadian authours. From my vantage point – I would say that more Canadians are being recognized and encouraged to write than ever before and more success than ever before! Just this past year has seen a number of excellent resources that have been developed and written from a Canadian context,

 

Acts 29 written and developed by Chris Kovac, was birthed out of his Navigator ministry with Canadian university students. Bruxy Cavey – the popular pastor of The Meeting House churches wrote The End of Religion. The Navigator Resource ministry has helped both authours gain a larger audience through our connection with Navpress. Both titles are now distributed throughout the world by Navpress to a large extent because of the quality and depth.

 

We often get steam-rolled by the media blitz that comes from south of the border. I would encourage you to consider some of the other recent books and media that have been developed and written by outstanding Canadian Christians:

 

• Hope for Wholeness by New Brunswick authour Sharon Fawcett tells of her spiritual path to freedom from depression.
• Your Money or Your Life by Calgary authour Rusty Corben is a unique bible study using a fictional story format on stewarding God’s money.
• Bridging the Gap is a wonderful new DVD curriculum from the Canadian ministry – New Direction – on how the church can better relate to gays.
• One Goal – a full colour Prayer and Praise Journal from Gerry Organ (former football player and now an ambassador of Christ into the marketplace)

 

We hope to see more Canadians get published in a similar manner!

 

Recently I have been reading and studying two books written by Paul – 1 Timothy and now Philippians.  In both, Paul shares his passion to spread the Gospel and grow believers in Christ despite the circumstances he faces.  Paul challenges us to see God’s Big Picture and how each of us has a purpose and role in advancing Gods Kingdom.

Last week I received a first time phone call from a man named Henry. He has just emailed me asking for some follow-up bible studies, called Lessons on Assurance that he wanted for the small group he was leading. We almost immediately began a discussion of how he was going to use these studies and in what context.

It didn’t take long before I gathered that Henry understood what Paul was saying throughout the new testament. Henry told me how there were relatively few believers in his church who knew how to share the Good News of Jesus, nor how to help new believers grow if they did begin to follow Christ.

 Henry is planning on using the study to help his group member’s disciple others plus use it himself with new Christians. They had been discussing how we are to be light to the dark world around us. Henry said, “But, to be this they need know how to witness and then follow-up and start to discipline the new Christian. This is such a lack in our church and many others. New Christians that indicate in a worship service, they wish to receive Christ and do, but are not followed - up, many flounder for years before they finally understand what they have in Christ.”

 You should know that Henry has about 3-10 months to live as he has terminal cancer. This has not stopped him from sharing Christ. He shares the love and message of Christ with another cancer patient as they go together for treatments. This week he has begun to meet with a new Christian young man who is fighting alcoholism.

Did I tell you that Henry is eighty years old!  He continues to be willing to help others despite circumstances as long as God gives him time on this earth. I’m sure he would agree to Paul’s words in Phil 1:20-22

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better. But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better.

Henry models a life that aims to win the prize ahead. He has an eternal perspective that sees God’s calling on His life to be lived out in faith and shared with others. May you and I pattern our lives like Henry.

 

 

Navpress has just released a wonderful book by my colleague Jim Petersen (author of several best selling books by navpress Living Proof, Lifestyle Discipleship, Church without walls, The Insider) and his son in law Glen McMahan  More Than Me  is one of the very best books on relationships in a long time.  The authors focus primarily on what they call the four essentials of relational wholeness. Jim has mentored many over his lifetime including those who are ‘far from God’.

 Here’s a brief summary,

 Even healthy relationships need divine resources. Life is about relationships, but we increasingly see them broken and suffering. They are the source of our greatest joys but also our deepest sorrows. Much of our pain in life comes from difficult or broken connections with other people. Authors Jim Peterson, Glenn McMahan, and David Russ explain how relationships can become whole with four divinely appointed principles: love, integrity, humility, and forgiveness.

These four factors are essential to the most intimate and the most public relationships, yet we can't achieve them on our own. The authors explain how we can be empowered by God to practice these four compelling keys to relational wholeness.

If you are interested in this kind of material check out the More than Me weblog below that Glen McMahan writes based on the book. I think you will find it intriguing.

And if you like the weblog you might even enjoy the book by the same title: http://morethanmebook.wordpress.com/

Why Bill Maher (religious critic) Reveals God

Religious satirist Bill Maher, who hosts the popular documentary called “Religulous,” takes a jab at all the religious expressions in the world today, deeming the whole religious supermarket to be, well, ridiculous. Maher does what is typical in satirical documentaries: Find the most unreasonable, irrational and superficial expressions of religion possible (there are many to choose from), and then make it look like all religion is the same. He also uses the tactic of asking very complex theological questions to unwitting subjects and then filming their blundering answers.

In many ways, I agree with Maher’s presentation of religion. There are many ridiculous expressions of faith and these should be exposed for what they are. But Maher makes the mistake of leading people to believe that all religion is unreasonable and irrational.

I had the unique privilege this past Thanksgiving weekend to speak at our local church with my beloved wife and best friend---Rosetta!!! It was Thanksgiving Monday October 1974 that I put my faith in Jesus, and that He invaded my life in a way I have never recovered from. You might say I ran headlong in to the grace of God.  I’m still discovering what it means to be in grace and to live by grace. But if grace means anything it means being thankful for the people in your life. I am most thankful humanly speaking for Rosetta. It was Rosetta who first introduced me, an emotionally insecure, anxious and very jealous young man of 21. I needed a Saviour big time. In fact, when I think of grace I often remember those great words of the converted slave trader and author of Amazing Grace—John Newton. He wrote “I am a great sinner but Jesus is my Great Saviour.” Amen Pastor Newton!!!

A very specific application of grace is this short article that will help those of us who are married to ‘oil our marriages with thanksgiving”—a tremendous act of grace towards our spouses. It may take courage to do this but I am recommending this for your marriages and for me too during this Thanksgiving season.  Steve and Cindy Wright write good stuff on marriage. I read their material almost every day. I need it. I am thankful for it!!  (I apologize if this subject of marriage doesn’t apply to you because you are not married…just put it in a file for future reference)

Read  Steve and Cindy Wright’s article, Random Words of Thanks for your Marriage! and may we all lavish those around us with the ‘good infection’ of Thanksgiving!!! It won’t but take you a few minutes but a whole weekend and lifetime to apply lavishly.

Of course, I am thankful for my 3 wonderful sons who not only consider me their dad but also close friend,  my future daughter in law to be (Dec 20, 2008), my parents, siblings,  and the Navigators who nurtured my early growth, matured me and developed me as a leader, and my local church for the many wonderful people who I’ve been able to minister to, and who have wonderfully ministered to me, for my pre Christian friends who keep asking me the hard questions about my faith, and to the many people who support Rosetta and I through their incessant prayers and ongoing support on many levels.  And I’m sure there’s a bunch more I’ve forgotten.

You can download the sermon audio on the topic Thank U here: http://podcasts.lakesidechurch.on.ca

I’ve realized that posting a blog consistently is getting increasingly difficult! So I have asked my colleague and good friend Luciano (Luch to everyone who has met him) DelMonte if he would contribute to Tools for Christian Leaders. He said yes – what a guy!

So if you don’t know Luch – here are some things you need to know about this wonderful Italian-Canadian. He’s a passionate Italian! He’s been a Navigator almost as long as he has been follower of Jesus (Navs came alongside him at UWO). He loves people, the church, his family and most of all Jesus. Luch is also one the best read men I know. He devours books of all stripes and flavours!- Dennis

Hi everybody,

Just wanted to give you all a heads up on a book I’ve been mulling over all summer.It’s the latest ‘tome’ by Bishop N T Wright.  It’s called Surprised by Hope—rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church.

Here’s a link to the lecture on line if you don’t have time to read another book.hin

http://www.trinitychurchboston.org/news/story.php?aid=227

If you don’t like to work hard when you read  - DON’T read this book. You will find yourself going back and forth, reviewing paragraphs and details. Like my son Michael said, “Dad, this is one of those books you have to read with a bible beside you because he’s constantly referencing passages, not just favourite verses here and there.”

I know others have read it and seemed to be stimulated by it too.  You don’t have to subscribe to all he says, but for me he made my heart and head rejoice in the solidity of the Resurrection of the Son of God and how WE MUST live in light of that reality, and he made me experience afresh one of our favourite Topical Memory System passages—1 Corinthians 15:58. This is the verse I am praying for me and for those who co-labour in the Kingdom these days.  And what makes it great is when the verse is anchored to the previous 57 verses in 1 Corinthians 15

“Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn't wasted.”

 

On June 10^th, 130 church pastors and leaders from over 50 churches and mission agencies came together to interact with Dr. Alan Roxburgh, a respected author of  The Missional Leader  and a leading expert on our topic, “Exploring Missional Engagement”. This Symposium was sponsored by The Navigators church partnering  ministry – The Small Groups Network. It was hosted by the Waterloo Mennonite Brethren Church.

Much of the content centred on how the Church carries God’s mission to a people (our communities) and our culture.  Many of the churches that the Small Groups Network partner with are discussing this and similar topics. They long to see their people be agents of God’s Kingdom outside their church building and be Good News, making a tangible difference in their neighbourhoods and workplaces.

Alan spoke on the theology of mission. We know the Great Commission in Matthew 28.  But Luke 10:1-12 gives it a different approach. – “Go and enter the house of ‘the other’ and give them your blessing of shalom.  Receive their gift of hospitality.  This implies “enter into their world and listen to their stories and share yourself and your story with them – which includes your life-in-the-kingdom of Christ.” Be co-sojourners exploring how their and your story fit into God’s big story in the world.

This helped frame the rest of the day’s content.

Here are a few of the comments from the leaders who attended:

• “Alan’s discussion of current culture was very helpful and relevant.”
• “appreciated interaction with scripture and opportunity to share stories with others around the table”
• “ a good chance to think about how to think about what the church does in order to accomplish missional effectiveness among its people”
• “Appreciated that Alan challenged and pushed me beyond where I normally think”

God’s Kingdom was discussed as a new social community where people’s stories and their narratives of God-at-work-in-them is valued. It is listening as a way of loving and valuing the other, believing that God is already at work in their story though they may not know it – and may even deny it. We must help people listen for clues as to where God is at work.

We also need to ask ourselves as followers of Jesus, “Is the church the safe place where people can express and have others listen to their stories / narrative?”  Can we give them permission to put on the table their narrative of pain experienced in the church?  Allowing them to be truly heard can be transformational both for them and for the church.

Some take-away lessons that can help us live and interact naturally, and listen for where God is at work in others’ lives include (thanks to my colleague Stephen Kidd for his contributing thoughts):

§         Initiate building authentic, meaningful, trusting, caring relationships with those God has already put in our lives

§         Reduce the pace of life in order to have quantities of time with people and not just “pop in” from time to time long enough to “get my message across”

§         Be a good listener, asking good, interested questions and journey together (not needing to have all the answers) as co-sojourners on earth; not using listening as a tactic, waiting for the “in” to share.

§         Be with people where they are, on “their turf” and not try to get them onto mine. Jesus entered our world; I want to enter theirs.

§         Listen to peoples’ narratives and help them see how they are part of God’s big story in the world and join in with Him.

Should you want to read the complete summary of the Symposium click here. (pdf. Article)

Go to www.allelon.org to learn more about Alan Roxburgh or for missional church tools and articles.

 

 

 

 

Over the past month, the Small Groups Network Forum’s have been discussing a very challenging book by Scott Boren, called The Relational Way.  Scott is Community Pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul’s Minnesota. The book identifies ten assumptions that we as church leaders often make as we start or build our small group ministries. Boren categorizes these as "structural myths" that have quietly crept into how we think and act.

Boren says these myths have become such a subtle part of our "operational system" that until we read a book like this, we assume them to be true. Boren then provides a relational truth in opposition to each structural myth.

Alan Roxburgh, who we are bringing in as this years Symposium speaker says about the Relational Way, “This is an important book, read it slowly, prepared to have your view of small groups in the church reoriented. If you are a church leader wrestling with a desire to form God's people, then you're holding a book that can be incredibly important for your future”.  So while this book can be considered a “small group ministry” title, it has implications far wider within the church. It deals with practical leadership issues, moving a church away from attractional, consumer-oriented ministry to a missional and Kingdom (counter-cultural) oriented church.

Over the next few posts, I want to share some of my key “take-aways” from the book that I found to be very helpful and also personally challenging to live.

My first is this - Christ’s Kingdom is counter-cultural to the world we currently live in – do we recognize it’s lies and the ways it has pulled believer’s into accepting the cultures’ norms? A Kingdom lifestyle could look quite different from the one most North American believer’s practice. One aspect that he raises is the lack of relationships we have within the church that he says would have “refrigerator rights” a term from Randy Frazee (The Connecting Church).  Are our lifestyles so busy that we have no time and relational space for us to build deep relationships outside our immediate family? What does this say about the likeliness of small groups to be environments of transformation? Can we expect life transformation to occur by meeting 2 hours every two weeks?

Here is what Scott says in his book, "Individuals meet as a group every week, but they still live in isolation, searching pragmatic answers to personal success. They don’t become a part of a people who form an alternative society or contrasting city, one that lives differently than the culture. Instead, it only propagates the operating system of the culture because it uses the lifestyle of the culture as its measurement for success. The church in America does not need more groups that function within the cultural operating system. It needs to adopt a relational operating system that helps people develop refrigerator rights. Churches don’t need another growth program with small groups at the center. They need a way to help people connect with one another in meaningful ways so that they create contrasting way of life to the environment in which society lives.”

Maybe it has to do with expectations. I’m not going to stop going to small group because there is not enough “life-changing” happening.  Maybe it’s not the right environment for some changes to occur.  The small group that I belong to are seeking to live as Kingdom ambassadors. We’re learning.  Thank you Scott for writing a book that both challenges my assumptions and gives me hope in what God can accomplish through me and others.

I look forward to reading your prior book, How Do We Get There From Here?