SENTralized

Missional Imprinting

Imprinting in the wild is the communication that takes place between mother and offspring within seconds after birth. This process of bonding strengthens the maternal/infant relationship and this helps to ensure newborn survival. You may have seen documentaries on this. There is one unique ability limited to birds alone that makes geese, the first, and ducks, the second, most natural animal companions to humans. I’m a dog lover and that’s hard to believe, but it’s a fact. “That ability, which is one of the strongest forces in nature, is the imprint. No one understands exactly what happens inside a bird’s brain when imprinting occurs, but the results are unmistakable. The imprint is strongest in geese and almost as strong in ducks. Basically, a duckling or gosling knows that it is the same species as whatever living creature larger than itself it sees upon hatching or shortly thereafter. I said, KNOWS. It doesn’t think it is, it doesn’t use the creature for a replacement until it finds its own species, it doesn’t pretend to be that species; it is that species in its mind. The imprint is so strong in birds that when one is raising a wild baby bird to be returned to wild, it must be fed with hand puppets of its own species in order to prevent it from imprinting on a human instead. So, if you want a bird to live with its own species, you avoid having it imprint on a human, but if you want a bird to live with humans, you make sure it does imprint on a HUMAN. It imprints on the species right away, but doesn’t recognize an individual face for about a week even though it may recognize a voice.” (http://www.thegoosesmother.com/id6.html).
The issue of imprinting is vital to missional churches as well. The default mechanism in most church folk is to meet for bible studies. There has become this crazy notion (more of an addiction) that studying is doing. Jesus didn’t hold “bible studies”. He held labs, that combined teaching with doing. Early on, I see it as absolutely vital that fledgling missional groups and communities “imprint” on mission immediately. Do something. It does not matter greatly what it is… just do something missional together. This imprinting is vital to set the DNA of the group as a missional community and not just a missional-minded bible study.

Freedom From Consumption

100 Ways to Escape from Affluenza

This is a list of ways to break free from Consumerism. If you've read the book Affluenza you are familiar with the term. I am convinced that the thorny ground Jesus spoke of is consumerism in our day. It chokes the word and makes it unfruitful in our lives. Missional communities should be ever conscious of this stronghold that neuters fruitfulness and discipleship.

"THE Guy"

For true success in missional churches one of the key issues comes down to "the people". I still remember driving in Boise years ago with one of my mentors. I asked him, "what is the key issue to planting a church?" He said, "Do you really want to know?" He said, "The guy". What my mentor was saying was something very true in strongly attractional churches. You've got to have a guy that is a catalytic, charismatic personality. And he has to be skilled at developing organizations. Now...I would not go so far as to say leadership is not important, because it very much is. The difference is that the "guy" is not a significant part of the attraction. When you have a church that people don't show up for if they know "the guy" is not preaching on that Sunday...thats a sign of sickness and something that is built on flesh and sandy soil. A truly missional church gathers around the missio dei (mission of God) and lives from the life of the community, the body of Jesus. The pastor is not the head... Jesus is. This is one of my reasons for railing against the overemphasis on sermons. Because most of that is tied to "the guy". A huge transition for missional church members to make is to understand that they all (everyone) is "the guy". Mission becomes the galvanizing magnet that draws the community together. They no longer gather to "worship"... it becomes a time where worshipers gather. The lives of the people become the most important sermon that gets preached on a weekly basis. No one who has never pastored can fathom the pressure of feeling that this thing will be a success of failure based on me. This is a dangerous two way street, because if it is a success it is because of "ME!"  Woefully perverted.

More on the Pulpit

The latent power and exponential growth witnessed in the early church and today's Chinese church happens through the lives of people. This is the point of my last blog on Pulpits. At issue is this--Does the church grow... are disciples made... is a community impacted to the degree we see in the early church and the Chinese church via the energy and resources spent on sermonizing or does it happen through incarnational/sacrificial living of normal-joe Christ followers. It's a rhetorical question. Am I against preaching? Duh no. I still preach/teach... whatever you want to call it. But the most bang for the buck comes from the time I spend one on one or with little groups of people... doing and teaching (Acts 1:1). My core point is that church planters go out everyday to start churches and they dang well work hard on sermons and would not even consider church apart from sermonizing, but the majority give their time-scraps toward discipling. In fact, most guys are afraid of discipling. It's too slow and too messy. I have always told our interns, "If you can't tell someone, 'Follow me as I follow Him,' "Imitate me...'  Then you are not fit to plant a church."  The issue here is , in the words of Alan Roxburgh, "Ours is a culture that believes if it has been heard it has been done". Look, you can not talk/monologue/sermonize people into discipleship. And if you are not going to make disciples then stop mucking around and calling your work a church. Just stop it, for the sake of the Kingdom of God. I'll say it again, Preaching is overratted and discipling is undervalued. Discipling is the afterthought of the church. Google "church planting conference" and then look at the menu for the biggest conferences... Where is discipleship on the plate? It's probably not even there... if it is it is very small and given very little attention. On the other hand, Jesus was all about discipling and barely even mentioned church (twice). Churches evolve from disciples.

Tall Grass Prairie Bread Company

This is a great example of what a missional community can do.

See/Hear Tim Keller on Missional Churches

The Myth of The Pulpit

In light of all the deconstructionism conversations going on concerning the church, I thought, “why not just go ahead and say it.” Here’s the deal—among the plethora issues with the way we’ve done church, I am not hearing anyone talk about this one. So… here goes.  The pulpit is overrated and probably the biggest waste of time and energy of anything we do in churchanity today. If we are honest about it we must admit that the insipidness and powerlessness of Western Christian norms and forms are the result of the failure to take serious Jesus’ command to make disciples. We don’t make disciples, we start churches. Think about it preacher dudes… what would happen if the time you spend on crafting that gourmet sermon (that you just know if the right publisher heard would sign you up for a book deal in a NY minute) was spent with little squads of a handful of guys and gals, really pouring your life into them? People don’t get discipled from the pulpit. They just don’t.

Veddy Intereeesting!

Check out this latest research by Ed Stetzer and his team.Download stetzer_new_research_on_the_rise_of_house_churches_and_alternative_faith_communities1.doc

Homeless Ministry

This speaks for itself...

No Falling Into Missional

So… the last blog of the year. Oh’6 was a wonderfully exhilarating and very tough year. And now, my family and I are a few days from packing to move back to Missouri and the next church planting chapter in our lives. I also have lots of anticipation and excitement for the projects I am working on—the online course with Alan Hirsch, as well as a new website we are partnering on along with my buddy John M from Santa Barbara. The escalating speed in which the church is moving towards a missional change has me feeling both old and young at the same time. If you understand that statement then you’re on the older side of the equation. If you don’t get it, be happy. I would love to be 27 again and know where some of the bumps to avoid are as well as having some of the sauce taken out of my own veins. The church that is awakening in front of us looks very much like the real deal… the one many of us have dreamed of. What it is not is an adjustment on the old model. What it will take is pursuers of Jesus at all costs. Bonhoeffer is well quoted—"When Christ calls a man to himself, he bids him, ‘Come and die.’"