Too immature to lead?

So this young guy wants to get involved with us, he has just had a really difficult 3 years, been in prison etc... he's out now and on probation.

He is only 20 and is opinionated, arrogant and thinks he is good at everything. He smokes and I think he has an anger problem. I'm also worried that he is not particularly disciplined, I think he he is a bit of a blagger and does a lot of things last minute.

He seems willing to learn and be discipled, but I am not sure he really understands what that means! I am convinced he loves Jesus and has had a real encounter with God, but he worries me he has a track record of constantly slipping up. Should I let him be involved in any form of leadership within our community?

I'm interested because this was me when I first got involved in church service. The question I am asking myself is "From where I stand today would I let myself be involved in leadership?"

Would I have let another guy I know who had an affair then tried to cover it up by having the womans husband murdered on my team? King David....

There's another guy who killed a couple of Egyptians then fled to another land and didn't come back till he was old, would I have him on my team? Moses is his name.

What about Paul, he held coats whilst guys stoned christians would he make the cut?

Has the bar for leadership been raised so high that guys have to be perfect before we give them a look in?

Have we the older guys forgot what we were like when we were young?

Connect

I have just been in Burgos for the weekend with friends from 24-7 Spain, we stayed in a benedictine monastery up in the hills. It was a truly awesome time.

We had the wonderful opportunity to share, dream, tell stories and encourage each other. I have come away encouraged, challenged and hopeful, which is a good thing.

It was Leonard Sweet who said "The future belongs to the story tellers and the connectors" it's a great quote one I understand more and more.

I was chatting with a friend last night Ian Nicholson who is out for a visit, we were chatting about preaching. Someone asked him "name 3 sermons that changed your life?" he could remember one! then they asked him "name 3 people who changed your life?" he found this one easier.

Preachers in todays context are story tellers, they communicate with enthusiasm and dynamism the stories of the bible, the stories of others lives. It's not the sermons themselves but the stories contained in the sermons that spur us on, challenge and inspire us.

I watch Michael Mcintyre and still feel there is a place for preaching! Yet it has to be married with connection. I still enjoy being taught, I still enjoy listening to a good preach. Podcasts and their popularity show that we still love the spoken word and are happy to listen to a one way conversation! The lecture style is ok.

My only concern is that it needs to be connected to community so that we can outwork with others what we have learnt. We do spend a lot of our time recounting other peoples stories telling others stuff we have heard.

We all on one level tell stories and connect, which is why I enjoyed Burgos so much.

I came so close to getting my camera soaked with this shot, need to getting a 75 - 300mm zoom!!!!!

The Missional Table

I liked the sound of the title not sure if I can do it justice.

Psalm 23 says "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" I like that. It suggests a lack of fear. Who will we allow to sit at our table?

I often find it interesting that when you read of the last supper in Luke 22: 14 it says "when the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table" originally the passover was to ate standing! Had these guys embraced the roman culture of reclining whilst eating? Don't know what point I would be trying to make there?

In modern society is the table and having people back to our homes to eat the way forward or are we better of going to a restaurant? Eating at home is cheaper. However eating at home can put the hosts under quite a lot of stress. Some people live very ordered lives and have immaculate homes others of us live at a slightly different pace. Do we just need to get over ourselves and not worry about the state of our homes?

There is also the issue of quality of food, not everyone is a great chef and not all people find cooking easy or restful!! There is pressure, do the people who bang on about the need for more people around the table have a gift of hospitality? I think so. But once we put that pressure on everyone it's not so easy. You go around to someone's for Moroccan beef on a bed of apricot infused cous cous followed by their home made bread and butter ice cream. You then think "how can I compete with that?" "if they come back to ours how will they deal with burgers and chips?"

Once again I am just thinking out loud, we do have people around and the Moroccan beef is one of Tracy's better dishes. In fact we are having the 3 remaining members of our team around this evening for a fare well meal. I am cooking and have decided to go for something a little different, a good old fashioned fry up!!! Should be fun, I'll take some snaps.

Panem et circenses

In 140 bc roman politicians felt the best way to win power and keep the populace happy was with cheap food and entertainment. Bread and circuses.

I sometimes wonder if the western 21st century church could be a little guilty of "panem et circenses"

As a one time church leader I have heard the phrase "we just aren't being fed" thrown out by disgruntled people who have decided to move on to a church that will feed them properly!

At the same time I have witnessed the almost obsessive desire to produce the perfect worship service, involving incredibly gifted people giving up a Monday night for 2 hours, turning up at church two hours early on a Sunday all to deliver a 45 minute worship set. Now I love sung worship and do realise that all bands need to practice and most of the people in worship bands wouldn't be in a rock band so it probably fulfills a creative outlet in their lives which is all very good. It's more about what the crowd expect, they want to be entertained... another great statement you will occasionally hear is "I didn't get much out of the worship this morning" I find it fascinating because we weren't worshipping you!

Anyway I have just had an operation from which I am recovering, I have had to stop going to the gym for 6 weeks but this morning I went for my first brisk walk it got me thinking about "Diet and exercise". To remain healthy I not only need a good diet but I also need to exercise. I was thinking about the whole bread and circuses thing in relation to diet. Is the church more concerned with diet than exercise? Has a culture been bred that is more about what we eat, how we are entertained than what we do?

I think the diet provided in the western church is great, there is loads to eat, you could get very fat. This great diet should however work in tandem with and supplement the exercise of our faith.

We need to exercise our faith to remain healthy, Diet and exercise.

We exercise faith when we pray for the sick

We exercise faith when we spend time with people who don't yet know Jesus

We exercise faith when we decide to give money to the needy

We exercise faith when we open our homes to others

We exercise faith when we give stuff away

We exercise faith when we value people over projects

We exercise faith when we fast and cry out to God for the broken state of this world

We exercise faith when we place more emphasis on family then work

We exercise faith when we serve

When we concentrate on how we can contribute rather than how we can consume we defeat the cry of "panem et circenses" we live for something beyond our own needs and in turn remain healthy in our faith.

Didn't have any photo's of bread or circuses so went with smoked salmon and cheese.

The place of the home in missional living

Interesting observation from Martin about the home being more private in Spain, which I totally agree with.

I like the notion of the use of our homes and kitchen tables as the true place to connect, they are not the only place to connect. People increasingly value their privacy we have to understand that and if possible model something different, although we all need our family time.

In todays climate I think people talk about the home in an idealistic fashion, when the reality of inviting someone back to our home is actually a lot harder. We have seen an increase in fear over the years, making it increasingly difficult to invite partial strangers back for a meal or to hang out. Now believe me I am very aware of these challenges we have people back to our home who in the eyes of some would be of questionable character!

What if we accidentally invite a paedophile home?

Todays papers and news media would make you think they where everywhere....

What if we invite someone home and they steal from us?

This is highly likely if you are dealing with desperate people. When I was younger and in and out of prison some lovely christians used to allow me to pop round and visit, I stole from them! I lived with some other christians I also stole from them! Now I have obviously confessed my sin to them and have been forgiven but they took a risk and it cost them!

What about the kitchen table?

So many people don't like vegetables... you think I am being weird? but in our middle class world we are looking to knock out a Jamie Oliver special with a nice bottle of red wine followed by some stimulating conversation. Beers, chips and nipping out for a cigarette afterwards are often more appealing. Mind you thats probably if you're reaching out to certain people. University students would love the wine and Jamie thing.

Once again I feel that before we decide what we are going to do and how we are going to do it, we need to truly understand the people we are doing it for. Old school phrase here: "know your mission field"

Our homes and houses are tools given to us by God that we should steward wisely in the advancement of His kingdom.

Your home is not your castle, it's Gods.

I need to think about this some more, of out today with one of our team for a little bit of photography. Hope you like my storm shot from last Wednesday?

4th Places.

I guess what all of the posts last week were trying to communicate a real need for the church to connect with the world. I know thats the theory, however we do need to move from where we are if we are going to see growth.

I do think the church can create third spaces, increasingly spaces enthused with the Spirit, whom I know dwells in us but I do think you can create places that have a Godly atmosphere! We also mustn't live with the false allusion that the third places that already exist where created with an ethos of community enhancement most of them were created to make money and our driven by consumerism, nothing else.

I am just thinking out loud, I am prepared to be wrong but I am not willing to do nothing.

The primary building block in my thinking is incarnational, this kingdom happens, advances and grows through us, the body of Christ here on the planet. I enjoy and think there is a place for attractional invitational models of church, but I also think these won't truly work without christians living incarnationally. All these things should be set in place to complement the mission of the body which is to make Christ known in the world.

Old buildings, new buildings, large services, simple services, high tech, low tech, kitchen tables, coffee shops, alphas, small groups, cell groups, boiler rooms whatever are primarily aids to the living breathing flesh that we are and should be wells and resources as we try to be Christ to our neighbours.

We are the fourth place.

My 13 favourite photos

I was given a camera for my 40th, I have posted loads of photos here. Thought I would post my own top 13!!!!!. Slightly egotistical I know. I have thought about getting more serious with it. If you click on the snap you can see the big version of it, they are in no particular order.

1. Loved the spider, love the idea of webs, interconnectedness, relational webs....

2. People are beautiful, even with make up! God didn't screw up when he made you.

3. Old and new, bikes and doors, I think this captures a Mediterranean vibe.

4. I like messy faith.

5. Sunsets declare His glory.

6. I like grey just as much as I like blue.

7. Although blue is more cheerful.

8. This one reminds of some lines from Dante's Inferno, the steps coming out of the ominous water:"To get back up to the shining world from there My guide and I went into that hidden tunnel, And Following its path, we took no care To rest, but climbed: he first, then I-so far, through a round aperture I saw appear Some of the beautiful things that Heaven bears, Where we came forth, and once more saw the stars."

9. Es Vedra is a beautiful granite rock, I love the shifting light, the dark the blue and the fact that the rock never moves. It speaks to me on immutability.

Same rock, almost love this photo more than the first one, although my camera hood is showing in two corners!

10. My friend Alain got married to Rachel this year, after losing his first wife, this shot reminds me of Hosea, "For he has wounded us but he will heal us"

11. I love clear blue skies and this shipwreck. Faded glory. This washed up fishing boat reminds me of some churches!

12. I enjoy lines, perspective and looking at things from different angles.

13. Heres one I think I could do better, although I love deterioration and rust.

Ancient Places

Old Church buildings great for photo's, picturesque weddings and sombre funerals but not much else!

Third Places, part 5.

I am with Chris, who commented this morning, he said

"The way 3rd places were presented to me just turned me off. My community is full of coffee shops and pubs. Why can't we just go there?

We end up creating something that is well meaning but unfortunately just a bit rubbish. (like some Christian music).

It sounds like a good idea, but why not just go for a coffee with your pals? Why do we have to make a christian "3rd place"? "

1. I was going to do a little summary this morning and the first thing I was going to say was "if at all possible go to existing third places"

2. If we are going to create a third place we need to it well, I have seen some great third places created by churches, but they have top quality venues that are run by professionals, designed by creative people and have a distinct lack of donated second hand furniture and cheesy music.

3. Church will have to change the way it is structured if we are actually going to find the time to regularly hang out with pals at an existing third place.

4. I think that the church is full of gifted people who if they really had the freedom to let their creative juices flow could create wonderful third places.

5. Third places are not the only way, I have enjoyed looking at this particular aspect of missional living but do realise that God paints on a very broad canvas. There is more than one way.

6. We need to hang out in places with people frequently, frequency is the key.

7. We need to enjoy it, don't treat it as a project, just enjoy hanging out with people.

Third Places, part 4.

"Third places are the most significant places for christian mission to occur because in a third place people are more relaxed , less guarded, more open to meaningful conversation and interaction" Michael Frost

For me this is the crunch we need places for christian mission to occur, in and of itself a building isn't everything but it will help if used right.

The one danger I see in an over emphasis on third places is that a communities energy and time could be absorbed by the building and it's maintenance to such and extent that it takes them away from their primary focus which is to reach out to the lost. This is a balance to be found.

If at any point the third place is not an incarnational representation of the body of Christ it is starting to lose it's way. If all our energies are absorbed in the attraction of people to a third place we become invitational and not incarnational. The primary focus of the bride of Christ and it's members is the representation and carrying of Christ into the world, being Christ and moving into the neighbourhood!. Third places should only enhance this, in fact a well developed third place could greatly help incarnational christians as they seek to outwork their faith in the neighbourhood.

I read this once "The structure serves us, we do not serve the structure" in all we do we must watch for this, if what we create starts to dictate our pace and take us away from our true calling of reaching the lost we are serving the structure and it is no longer serving us.

A lot of mainstream churches have become trapped in this kind of thinking, programmed based church (with all it's positives) has become a structure that is served!

Was I right in hearing that once someone has become a christians, within 6 months of joining a church they have no serious non christian friends?

The structure takes over, before we know it all our energies are giving to maintenance instead of growth. You find yourself at a worship practice on a monday, a children's club on a tuesday, a small group on a Wednesday, you see your family on the weekends, and maybe hang out with your wife and kids, you have a stressed out charging around Sunday and before you know it 5 years have slipped by and you have no space in the diary for the lost!!!!

Third places should facilitate incarnational living, not hinder it.

Hope you like the snap I took last night?

Third Places, part 3.

If you watch have watched Friends the third place is the coffee shop, if you watch Eastenders its the pub, if you watch Coronation Street it is the pub.

I'm not sure there are many churches that are truly third places. They don't meet part twos criteria.

The line that make sense to me is about proximity to the host culture. If you're going to have a third place it needs to be be near the people you are trying to reach.

The other thing I see a lot of is people with a dream for specific kind of place. So you have always dreamt of running a coffee shop, you start a coffee shop, it doesn't work! Why? because it was not what the host culture needed.

Work out who the people you are trying to reach are, then develop your third place, don't do it the other way around.....

Our third place must be in response to the culture we are trying to reach, not some form of Jamie Oliverish fantasy.

Is the kitchen table the third place? No I don't think so, it's part of the first place, the home, the family. You would expect at some point the people you meet in the third place to end up at your table.

There is always a temptation by the church to use third places as a means by which they can gather souls to invite to their Sunday services. This is not how it is meant to be.

Third places are places where we should invite people into our lives.

Third Places, part 2.

Essential ingredients for well-functioning third places:

1. They must be free or quite inexpensive.
2. Food and drink, though not absolutely essential, are important factors.
3. They must be highly accessible to neighbourhoods so that people find it easy to make the place part of their regular routine.
4. A lot of people should be able to comfortably walk to the place from their home.
5. They should be places where a number of people regularly go on a daily basis.
6. They should be places where people feel welcome and comfortable and where it is easy to enter into conversation.
7. A person should expect to find old and new friends on each trip to the place.

Frost says: "You can understand why businesses such as Starbucks have latched on to this concept. They have invested greatly in seeking to be a third place for American culture, knowing that it can be very lucrative for a business to be seen this way."

Third Places, part 1.

Our centre has been really busy this week, although the streets have been really quiet so as of yesterday we have finished our night time street work.

Our centre will remain open for about 2 more weeks, yesterday Tracy and Neil prayed with so many people in the centre it was wonderful, as well as people playing wii, ping pong, checking facebook and getting their boarding passes printed there was prayer going on. We are helping people with lost passports and disputes over non returned deposits from landlords. In the midst of all that prayer takes place.

I was reading Michael Frosts book on Living Missionally in a post christian culture called "Exiles". I have had the book for a while and skimmed it from time to time. This week I came back to the section on third places, it gave Tracy and I great encouragement when we read it in light of our 24-7 prayer drop in centre in the West End.

Frost says "amateur missionaries are discovering that the best place for building proximity with members of a host culture is in a third place"

A sociologist called Ray Oldenburg originally coined the phrase. He said that third places are those environments in which people meet to develop freidnships, discuss issues, and interact with others. These places have always been an important way in which a community develops and retains cohesion and a sense of identity. He says "third places" are crucial to community for a number of reasons.

1. They are distinctive informal gathering places.
2. They make the citzen feel at home.
3. They nourish relationships and a diversity of human contact.
4. They invoke a sense of civic pride.
5. They promote companionship.
6. They allow people to relax and unwind after a long day.
7. They are socially binding.
8. They encourage sociability instead of isolation.
9. They make life more colourful.
10. They enrich public life and democracy.

The first place is home and the people with whom we live. Our second place is the workplace, the place where we spend most of our waking life. Third places in our society are the bedrock of community life. Church should be in the business of creating third places and that is what we feel that we have almost accidentally achieved with our centre in the west end. I will write some more tomorrow. Thank you Mister Frost for your great book hope you don't mind me quoting it?.