A Church Planter's Journal

Feb. 25, 2010

SCRIPTURE:

  ⁹ Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her." ¹⁰ The angel added, "I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count." Genesis 16

THOUGHTS:

This verse struck me because it seems so counter-cultural to what we would think God would have Hagar do. Hagar has done nothing wrong. Sarai told Abram to sleep with Hagar so Hagar would be come pregnant. Hagar is now pregnant and she's being mistreated for the very thing Sarai asked her to participate in. One would think God would release Hagar from Sarai and set her up pretty somewhere else, cuz it's Sarai who's out of bounds here. But instead God asks Hagar to return and submit. He promises a profound blessing to the line of Hagar/Ishmael, but still in the now of her agony, He asks Hagar to return to the source of the agony.

This counsel flies in the face of a lot of our thinking. Sarai would go down in our history books if she fled the oppression, stood up for her rights as one made in the image of God, and fought the power! But God tells her to submit. Over and over we see this through the scriptures. God counsels people to wait, trust, submit, and trust in His provisional future blessing. The greatest example is Jesus, of course. In Christ, the One through whom all things are made, we see a servant submitting to His enemies for a greater blessing to come.

This is a tough teaching. It calls us to wait and submit when our instincts are often to stand up for our rights. But we don't have rights as children of God. I know that sounds harsh, but we are called to submit to the one who submitted Himself so we might be saved. We belong to God. We are not the authors of our own destiny. Now, God won't force us to submit, but we certainly are called to submit.

What does this mean for a church plant. Well, one thing that is striking me now is the calendar. We had our official launch on Jan. 10. It is now Feb. 25. For the first 6 months of The Gallery, we prepared for our 1-10-10. The day came and went like Christmas--so much work and preparation and then "poof" it's gone and we have to get ready on Monday cuz Sunday's a-comin' the very next week! This plus the long winters in Feb. have resulted in a core at The Gallery who is tired and a bit grumpy. I can see some who proclaimed they were "called" to The Gallery losing interest. And while I understand the burn-out factor is high, there are times in our journey we simply have to plug through, to submit to our calling, even though it is not convenient. 

In addition, our Feb. giving has been atrocious. Yet, there are so many wonderful things that are happening! 

I have taken to fasting from moving for Lent, meaning every morning until Easter I have committed to spending 45 minutes to an our in silent, still meditation. I've been at it for a week now, and it has proved an amazing blessing. I have long known of all the things I could do for my physical, spiritual, and emotional healthy, sitting still in silence is the most productive. I just pray I can keep it up after Lent. The practice is contributing to a peaceful resolve as I move through my days.

PRAYER:

I have already spent an hour in prayer, so I will not record anything here.

Feb. 19, 2010

SCRIPTURE:

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. ²¹ The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

   "As long as the earth endures, 
       seedtime and harvest, 
       cold and heat, 
       summer and winter, 
       day and night 
       will never cease."   Genesis 8

THOUGHTS:

God was pleased with Noah's sacrifice. There was something about Noah's response to God here that compels God to promise to never again "curse the ground because of human beings." Of course, God's decision here is much more complex, but clearly God is not giving up on his creation or his image-bearing creatures and it is not because humans are going to end up so great now. Clearly the text says our inclination is nothing but evil from birth, but God still perseveres with his creatures. 

Moving into chapter 9 Noah receives the same cultural mandate as Adam and Eve--be fruitful and multiply. And here God gives not only the seed-bearing plants and the fruit trees but all the animals for food. 

This is grace. God providing for all of humanity what we could never receive on our own. Clearly God knows these creatures hell-bent on evil will disappoint again, but He still provides what they need. 

I am touched by that which compels God to continue to pursue this relationship with humanity. God longs for that loving response of his people. Noah's sacrifice here is also humanity's hope in God. 

MORE THOUGHTS: 

I have been touched recently by God's desire for our hearts. In my preparation for our Ash Wednesday service this week, I meditated on Jesus' counsel in Matthew 6 on fasting. Clearly God longs that our piety be for Himself and not for show. Fasting is essentially the cultivation of a loving hunger for God. And it seems this is all God desires from His Church. He wants our hearts. 

As I think about The Gallery, I know it is my job to guide the congregation toward a deeper hunger for God. This is a bit antithetical to some of our church training. We are subtly trained as pastors too often to provide enough of a show on a Sunday morning so people get a spiritual treat, rather than a spiritual experience. Yet, this is what we long for most--an experience with God. It is the encounter with the living water of God that compels me to seek God more deeply. 

How can I cultivate this hunger for God in The Gallery? Well, first it must begin with me. I must be hungry for God. Think about it. I mold my day around three meals. I must too mold my day around a hunger for God. It is for this reason I have made a decision during Lent to get up every morning and spend 45 minutes to an hour in quiet, still meditation. I have done this in different seasons of my life and it more than anything touches my whole life and ministry. The Gallery doesn't need more of me for its success. It needs more of God in me.

PRAYER: 

Lord, a simple prayer today. Give The Gallery a deeper hunger for You. Amen.

Feb. 13, 2010

SCRIPTURE (I think I'll just go through this line by line):

²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 

BK: If Adam and Eve had the seed bearing plants and the fruit trees for food there would have been no need to kill any of the animals. Therefore, these killings to make the skin would have been the first killings of any animals. From here on out, animals would be killed as a consequence of people's sin. Were the animals killing each other before? The implication is no, because God gave them "every seed-bearing plant for food."

²² And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. 

BK: How did they become like God? They now knew good and evil. Up to this time they knew only good. 

He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." ²³ So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 

BK: The implication it seems is prior to their sin they had every opportunity to eat from the tree of life. It was like all the other trees to which they ad access for food. This tree would be their source of life. I would argue the tree is not a tree but God. Their banishment separates them from fellowship with the one thing that can provide their life eternal.

²⁴After he drove them out, he placed on the east side ^[a] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

BK: It's interesting this sword is not referenced again in scripture in any way that I know. I may be wrong, of course. One commentator I read said the sword represents God's justice. And it was the nails into Jesus that received that justice. I don't know. Seems like a leap to me. I got nothing here.

MORE THOUGHTS:

I love the grace and care God gives them after they sin. As we move into the rest of Genesis, God continues to bestow grace upon Adam and Eve, upon Cain even though he kills Abel. There is grace all throughout the Old Testament. 

And I think it's important for us to see God's grace is not limited to the cross. The cross is simply the culmination of that grace-filled expression. The fact that The Gallery even exists is grace. Every gift we have is grace. We don't deserve any of it. 

EVEN MORE THOUGHTS:

It's February in MN. Here is what I sent out to my prayer team yesterday.

Greetings Gallery Pray-ers,

I have a simple request today for The Gallery. Let me explain.

I met with my spiritual director the other day (a retired pastor, writer and professor) and as I shared different ministry concerns, he said something so wise to me: "It's February in Minnesota, isn't it?" So true! He noted all the pastors visiting him these days are reporting a similar list of doldrums. It is February in Minnesota, and spring time is not a month away. It's more like 3 months away! And while the weather can't be blamed for most our concerns in ministry, it certainly puts a pall over the ones we have.

Add to that The Gallery spent 6 months+ preparing for our Grand Opening on 1-10-10. So much preparation, so much anticipation, so many anxieties! The day came like Christmas! And then Monday morning we had to wake up and prepare again for the next week. We've been talking ever since June about how ministry is a marathon. The Gallery trained and started that marathon very well. Our pace is good! We are growing! New people every week! We are looking like our community--a multi-colored community. Giving is holding steady! 50 peolple in Meal Groups! A new relationship with our neighborhood school!

But now we have to protect ourselves from a pulled hamstring as we charge up the hill of the rest of this winter. So, please join me today. Pray for the many in The Gallery who have worked so hard to get us to where we are thus far: 

Lord, lift our eyes so we might look to the heavens: 
       Who created all these? 
       You who brings out the starry host one by one, 
       and calls them each by name. 
       Because of Your great power and mighty strength, 
       not one of them is missing.

Some of us are tired and weary. We worry: 
       "My way is hidden from the LORD; 
       my cause is disregarded by my God"?

 Do we not know? 
       Have we not heard? 
       The LORD is the everlasting God, 
       the Creator of the ends of the earth. 
       He will not grow tired or weary, 
       and his understanding no one can fathom.

 He gives strength to the weary 
       and increases the power of the weak.

 Even youths grow tired and weary, 
       and young men stumble and fall;

 but those who hope in the LORD 
       will renew their strength. 
       Make us soar on wings like eagles, dear Abba! 
       So we will run and not grow weary, 
       So we will walk and not grow faint. Amen.

       (a paraphrase of Isaiah 40)

PRAYER:

Today I pray, Abba, for power. Give me the power I need to accomplish Your calling on my life. Esp. this weekend, God, may Your power flow through us to bring light to this world and people's lives. Give me the words and wisdom I need. Give me the energy and endurance. Let us not stray from the life You alone give.

I also pray for all those struggling in The Gallery. Our weariness, our insecurities weigh us down. Help us live in the freedom of You. Help us find joy. Amen.

Feb. 9, 2010

SCRIPTURE:

 ⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Gen. 3

THOUGHTS:

I am preaching on Gen. 3 this week. Fascinating stuff. One of the things that pops out at me in this passage is the "fruit of the tree was good for food." So, sin can be good for something. Crazy, but true. C. S. Lewis makes a very important point that sin is only the perversion of something good. Sex is good, but sex in the wrong context and motivation is destructive. Sex can even be destructive in a marriage. It all depends upon the heart. God never said the tree or its fruit were evil in and of themselves. That which would cause the man or woman, though, to disobey God is what perverts a tree in God's garden. The fruit is also profitable for gaining wisdom. Again, fascinating. The fruit makes one wise! That's good, right?! Not necessarily. The knowledge of evil is not worth knowing. 

And the knowledge of their own nakedness is such a brilliant literary device. The writer isn't saying their nakedness is evil. There is something, though, that has happened in their new found wisdom of good and evil that makes their nakedness something that needs to be covered. Could it be these coverings are recognition of a destruction of intended intimacy. I don't know.

This passage makes me question what I ingest that seems good for food and wisdom but is ultimately destructive and sinful. But the larger question seems more along the lines of motivations in my heart. What do I do to raise myself above God? What do I seek that clearly is not motivated by God's glory, but my glory? 

I think this could certainly be this church plant. I am so much a part of the church growth movement that more and more people gaining knowledge of God would seem to be good. And perhaps that is always good, but in the meantime if I am seeking to lead to raise myself up, then this good thing can be corrupted. 

Genesis 3 is so brilliant. We could study it for the rest of our lives and not fully apprehend it.

PRAYER:

Abba, save me from myself. Save me from my own arrogance and pride. Help me enjoy the garden You've provided rather than seeking to create my own garden/kingdom. When things seem good for food and knowledge, but they are not of You, help me flee their temptation. 

And help me this week prepare this message on Genesis 3. Anoint my heart, mind, words, actions so people are transformed in the worship gathering of The Gallery by Your Spirit. 

I pray for the drama and ask You to anoint the actors and process and performance. 

I pray for my PA Team meeting and ask You to give our leaders wisdom. 

I pray for my leadership of the staff and ask You to give me the counsel I need to help them become all You are calling them to be. 

I pray for wisdom re: our investment in the St. Paul community. Help us see where You are working.

I pray for the kids today as they move through school. Give Sam diligence to stay focused in his class work. Bless Julia's audition, and give Emma a strong peace of mind. 

And please give me counsel regarding our moving. Your will be done. Amen.

January 6, 2010

SCRIPTURE:

 ¹⁵ The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will certainly die." Genesis 2

THOUGHTS:

The creation accounts for me in Genesis 1-3 are a bit maddening. What do we do with them? What type of literature are they? Are we to take them as history, allegory, what? I'm not going to go there. I'll just deal with what's there.

The Lord put the man in the garden to steward the garden. Man is to be God's good gardener in the the good garden. The man has everything he needs. God has provided abundantly, but there's one catch. That one tree...yeah, don't touch it. Why? (This so clearly seems to be metaphor.) Because if you do what I told you not to do, then you will know what it is to do what I told you not to do. Up to this point Adam has known nothing but living in obedience. There is no such thing as disobedience. 

Why? Why did God put the tree there in the first place? Again, this screams allegory. The writer creates a symbol, a brilliant symbol, to help the reader understand the nature of sin. Without the tree and the sinful disobedience, Adam (and Eve) will have no knowledge of good and evil. There will only be good. 

C. S. Lewis in one of his science fiction books (Perelandra?) wrote of a world like without the fall. It's a fascinating work. The creatures in the book have no knowledge of good and evil. Their relationship with God, themselves, and the world is unbroken. 

What's God's invitation to me here? Be a good gardener! Really. God has given me creation and a life in which to steward on his behalf. He has faithfully provided all I need. My knowledge of the good will lie in my tending the life I've been given with great care. The good is so much more abundant than the potential for evil. But it only takes one bite of the forbidden fruit to screw up a whole universe...so watch it ;-)

PRAYER:

Abba, You are faithful. Everything we need, You have provided. We want for nothing. Even in our failures You provide new mercies each day. Thank You.

Thank You for a great meeting with Lori Simon, principal at The Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Center. Thank You for her graciousness and willingness to let The Gallery partner with her school in serving that community. Give us wisdom now as to how that partnership should unfold. 

Thank You for the many new faces at The Gallery. Now, use Your Spirit to create strong relational bonds between these new people and The Gallery's core.

Thank You for all the helping hands that work every week to set up and tear down at Steppingstone Theatre. Now, please send us more hands so the workload is spread more evenly. 

Thank You for Steppingstone Theatre. What a gift this theatre and its staff have been to The Gallery. Bless their mission in this community, and now deepen our relationships and guide us to new partnerships to further Your kingdom.

Thank You for a great Meal Group launch. Thank You for the many people who are participating in MG's and thank You for Jane Spriggs and her leadership here. Now use these groups to strengthen Your people and grow in greater love of You and each other through the power of Your word and Spirit. 

Thank Your for Paul Paurus and Dan Burdash and the work they have done on these new Story of God groups. Now please raise up a group of people to test drive this new curriculum.

Thank You for our many leaders. Thank You for their hard work and willing hearts to serve. Now please raise up more leaders to guide us where You would lead us.

Thank You for these past four weeks as we've explored what it is to live your masterpiece. Now anoint this new teaching (The Story We Find Ourselves In) as we seek to find ourselves in Your story--Genesis to Revelation. 

Thank You for Your provision and the generous hearts of The Gallery. Now raise up more givers so we might give and serve Your mission with greater resources.

Thank You for The Gallery staff. Now continue to give The Gallery staff listening and attentive ears so we might move forward in the unity of Your Spirit.

And thank You, Abba, for The Gallery's willingness to give so generously outside our doors. Please give us the wisdom and counsel so what we give is multiplied ten-thousand fold.

And thank You for faith. Please give us more!

We love You, Abba.

Amen.