Awash in our own cultural backwash

The West has eroded its intellectual, spiritual and moral foundations over the last two centuries. This ongoing project has consumed our culture from within. All that seems to be left is self-righteous offense taking, condemnation of others, protests without civility, crass tweets and the will to power.

Frederick Nietzsche was correct in his assessment in the late 19th century that the killing off of God in the minds of people would leave a world of chaos and madness. He went mad in his own lifetime; a few lifetimes later we continue to reap what we have sown.

For years we have been teaching that the truth is based only on perspective; yours, mine, our tribe or theirs. Morality has no ontological footings or objective reality beyond human opinions. We teach that everyone is basically good apart from any evidence to the contrary. We now hold these, uh, truths? to be self-evident?

Now we simply fight it out on Facebook while claiming to not really know either up or down. Who are we to judge? Unless we are all judging our ideological enemies. But we are right and they are wrong...and somebody will pay. Welcome to 2017.

What comes next in our culture and what is going on now is indicative of the rotten corpse that is now at the foundation of our civilization. God is dead and we have killed him, yet we are not and will never be worthy of his job.

We have lost our ability to disagree without being disagreeable. We have lost love for enemies. We don't even fake it anymore. We have lost hope beyond our political potentates who posture as perennial saviors. We stick it to the man until our tribe becomes the man. Then somebody else will stick it to her, or him, us or zhem.

We are bleeding under our own intellectual knives. All is relative, there is no ultimate meaning, and we are only the blind production of matter + chance + time. There is nothing more to this existence. So let the tweeting continue until we make progress in our coming from nothing and returning just as fast. All of this nonsense has now come home to roost in our culture. 

We inhabit a world of fake news and alternative facts and those complaining about it were likely trained in institutions that rob us of the truth and offer sophisticated dissent from the fact that there are facts. We are now awash in our own intellectual backwash and are now left to drown in a world of noise. Everyone is clamoring for their moment, their focus and a world of their own imagination and it may well be that we have been turned over to judgment and the whirlwinds have cometh. God help us. And thank God that Jesus still saves. 

The late British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge describes decline well in a prophetic voice offered up decades ago:  

So the final conclusion would surely be that whereas other civilizations have been brought down by attacks of barbarians from without, ours had the unique distinction of training its own destroyers at its own educational institutions, and then providing them with facilities for propagating their destructive ideology far and wide, all at the public expense. Thus did Western Man decide to abolish himself, creating his own boredom out of his own affluence, his own vulnerability out of his own strength, his own impotence out of his own erotomania, himself blowing the trumpet that brought the walls of his own city tumbling down, and having convinced himself that he was too numerous, labored with pill and scalpel and syringe to make himself fewer. Until at last, having educated himself into imbecility, and polluted and drugged himself into stupefaction, he keeled over--a weary, battered old brontosaurus--and became extinct. 

Malcolm Muggeridge, Vintage Muggeridge: Religion and Society

All of our efforts as a society have brought us a Clinton(s) and a Trump. And the beat goes on. Thankfully there exists another king and an actual Savior. One who has been and will be followed among many civilizations in the history of the world. His people have thrived under tribal chieftains, communist kommissars, Jim Crow sheriffs, liberal democracies, socialist utopianists and under the boot of fascists and empires. xHis true sheep will thrive under whatever we are currently producing. 

Jesus taught us that his Kingdom is not of this world system. The church is never at her worst more than we she is trying to rule this one as a cruel taskmaster. Jesus's way of leadership was not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. May we follow him in these days and in the days to come. For even though we walk in the valley of the shadow of such mess, there will be a day when faith shall be sight and we shall be free at last.

Forgiveness – A word in season from Gardner C. Taylor

In our current climate of bitterness, guile and national infighting, I read some fresh words tonight from an old saint. At the recommendation of some dear and gracious brothers, I picked up a volume entitled Faith in the Fire by the late, eminent African-American pastor, preacher and community leader Gardner C. Taylor. These are words that so many of us would do well to take to heart:

Forgiveness is a part of the nature of God. Individuals and our nation can receive this forgiveness. In these trying and difficult days, all should bow to ask God for grace and humility, that forgiveness may be extended. God will not regard us with favor if we are forever flexing our muscles and proclaiming our richness and greatness. We need to admit our failures and confess our faults and ask for understanding as we strive to make up our delinquencies. A glad God will forgive. Therefore, let us also forgive one another. Remember, an ugly look, a harsh word may pour salt into an already aching heart. On the other hand, a kind word may be salve and balm to that poor, broken spirit. God will forgive as we forgive each other. Gardner C. Taylor, Faith in the Fire (SmileyBooks: New York), 3.

Our Lord and the apostles teach us the importance and centrality of forgiveness to the gospel:

7 "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6:7-15

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. - Ephesians 1:7-10

29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:29-32

If we have experienced the forgiveness of God in Christ, let us indeed bring a kind word tomorrow. A word of good news, a gospel word, full of forgiveness and faith. Thanks Dr. Taylor for showing a good path that is particularly relevant once again in our present day.

Innovation? Yes or No?

Owen Strachen recently engaged some current research regarding growing and declining churches in his Gospel Coalition blog entitled, "The Hot 'New' Church Growth Method". In the blog, he comments on statistical confirmation that growing churches tend to have both clergy and congregations committed to biblical truth and evangelism. I commented on this same research in my January 4th post "We believe in?" Owen's article is excellent and makes a strong plea for biblically faithful ministry centered in sound doctrine. Yet Owen makes the following statement that has the potential to be misconstrued. 

2. This frees pastors and congregations from the pressure of innovation.
"The pastor need not be a showman, a genius, or an activist. The pastor can preach the Word and lead the flock in evangelizing the lost, and God will do the work. Of course, we don’t need studies and articles to tell us this; Scripture gives us all the confidence and foundation we need for ministry (2 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 4:12). But it’s always nice to see truth cut through stereotypes." (Owen Strachan, The Hot 'New' Church Growth Method, emphasis added)

Now I agree we need neither showmen nor geniuses to be pastors. Though some humble flare and intellect may be helpful this not in the job description (See 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) Whether or not he ought to be an activist we can also save for another day. My concern is that Owen seemingly desires to release any thought of innovation as being a part of growing churches. Just preach the Word, evangelize and God will do the work. Amen, I heartily agree. But are the growing churches that the research cited truly without "innovation"? 

I think Owen simply means to cast aside innovation in "doctrine" but a careless or tendentious reader may get the impression that growing churches cast aside any and all innovation. This is not the case. This casting aside of innovation in toto would not only be unnecessary, it may also be unhelpful to certain flavors of conservative church leaders. As I read through the research today I found something else cited along with conservative doctrine, clergy and congregations. The churches experiencing growth also had the following features:

• They had a significant focus on young people
• 44% never use an organ
• 67% always have drums 
• 78% in electric guitar
• 100% using visual projection 
• 88% either sometimes, often or always use video

So it seems a more accurate summary of the research tells us that the churches that are growing are marked by the following:

• Conservative doctrine, clergy and congregations
• An emphasis on reaching young people
• They employ contemporary musical expressions and technology

So what of innovation? Let us not innovate in the faith once for all entrusted to the saints. (Jude 1:3) May we never veer away from that which we received from the prophets, Jesus and the apostles. Yet we can and should innovate in our communication and contextualization of the gospel. As we like to say in Acts 29: we plant theologically driven, culturally engaged and missionally innovative churches in order to reach lost people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

For more on theologically conservative and missionally innovative thinking see my Thoughts on Missional Innovation here on the blog. Or you can read that in three parts over at Acts 29:

1. The Genesis of Innovation
2. The Context of Innovation
3. The Flourishing of Innovatio

We believe in?

I still remember sitting in a restaurant years ago speaking with a man who began to share with Kasey and me about the changes in a Christian denomination. He was talking about how they were going back to teaching that the Bible was true and that Jesus rose from the dead visibly and bodily. I remember saying quite nonchalantly, "Man, that's awesome." What followed was a look of shock across his visage. You see, his views were more in line with contemporary "mainline Protestantism" which I learned that day to mean "we no longer believe much of that Bible stuff."

It has always been a profound puzzle to me why people would choose a form of religion yet then deny the central tenets of that faith, the teaching of its founder as well as it's holy book. What's the point in this? I am personally someone who converted to be a follower of Jesus because I believe he rose from the dead, died for our sins, is the sovereign son of God and the hinge point of human history. If I did not believe these things and experience them I certainly would not be  a Christian let alone go to some dead church on Sundays. 

Today the Washington Post summarized some research over the past year that simply makes sense to me. The churches that are growing actually believe in Jesus, his teaching, his death, burial and resurrection. The pastors and congregations with the most vitality seem to believe in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles as found in the Bible. Shocker right!?  Do take a few moments to read the article here.

Long ago, an early leader of the Jesus movement spoke of a social reality with people having "the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. " (2 Timothy 3:5) I also find it interesting that the end of the verse contains the following command "Avoid such people." 

My conviction is that if we are going to be a Christian we ought to believe in Jesus, trust his work for us and follow him in the manner laid out for us in the Bible. After all, if you want your church to die out, don't believe any of this nonsense below. If you want your church to thrive and your soul to be alive to God, you just might want to join me in reciting it:

Ancient fragment of the Nicene Creed

​We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Epidemic

A Poem by Kayla Monaghan

He laughs at a short ten seconds

They at the bug eyed bats from a far away land

I stare around at the distracted faces

All of them forgetting...

Forgetting how it feels to hear

How to speak with beauty

How to stand up and lead with civility

Language looks at us sadly and says:

“Humanity loves screens more than me.

Why should I remain, only mocked to be?”

Stay! I want to cry

But my tongue has gone mute

And there is only a small sigh

Because why would Eloquence and Grace

Want to come and play

When nobody can say more than “hey”

How sad we have become

Cute cats and big stars suck our time

Through a smoothie straw

Giving us the brain freeze

Letters, watches, and eyes

Have been tantalized

Lured in, a moth to a flame

A buzz, a ring, a distant call

Have become far too near

Patience has been kicked to the curb

“We don’t need you anymore”

A tear falls from my eye

As the world becomes individualized

The idea of family stamped in the mud, left years behind

I will dig, fingers scraping

Hands frozen as my heart grows warm

I must find that beautiful feeling

Of unity and gentleness

That is only found when we open our mouths

Our eyes must connect

Not just through a text

For a person’s voice can be as tight as a hug

Sweetness seeping in between each syllable

See what beauty comes from a flower like love?

The fever is growing worse

Youngsters’ hands are glued to touchscreens

Eyes locked tight and if they can’t have,they scream

Teens have their hearts shattered

In less time than it takes to breathe

Not all evil intents has Technology

Yet still we grow sicker and sicker

Imagination leaking out faster than

The water in a faucet of an old sink

Ears loose the ability to hear hidden messages

Found in those around them

What can we do?

It races by at the speed of light

Is wifi crucial to survive?

Identify the temptation

So we can find a vaccination

A dose of smiles and human contact might do the trick

Look around and notice the blue sky

A sight we take for granted because it resides in our minds

But its arms can help those in a fix

And we must be careful not to feed this epidemic

How to Pray...Before, During and After Competition

Have you ever see an athlete on TV saying the victory was guaranteed...because God? Ever wonder as an athlete how to pray related to your practices and competitions? I have a two part essay on sports and prayer going up over at Athletes in Action's web site this week. I hope these posts would be of benefit to the Christian athlete and sports fan out there. Let's stop all the goofy stuff and truly yield life and sport to the sovereign care of Jesus.

• Part 1 - How NOT to pray before, during and after competition
• Part 2 - How to pray before, during and after competition 

Giving Tuesday

In response to the focused commercialization of the holiday season, a recent cultural phenomenon has also emerged known as "Giving Tuesday." After we have tracked down the deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the following Tuesday is designated a day for generosity. 

This year, even on Giving Tuesday, would you consider a year end gift to help Power of Change. Our family and ministry is focused on impacting and influencing the coming generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have a special year and match going on to close 2016 and really bee your support. If you'd like to contribute please see this link. 

2016 Year End Match

Many Thanks

Strength enough to get it on

This is one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite authors of all time…just fires me up. There are a few things in this world that we need to keep high. Today I'm thinking of three: humility, integrity and hope. This quote pushes my hope to keep at the good work of the kingdom of Jesus.

I know this feeling fills our epoch, and I think it freezes our epoch. For our Titanic purposes of faith and revolution, what we need is not the cold acceptance of the world as a compromise, but some way in which we can heartily hate and heartily love it. We do not want joy and anger to neutralize each other and produce a surly contentment; we want a fiercer delight and a fiercer discontent. We have to feel the universe at once as an ogre's castle, to be stormed, and yet as our own cottage, to which we can return at evening.

No one doubts that an ordinary man can get on with this world: but we demand not strength enough to get on with it, but strength enough to get it on. Can he hate it enough to change it, and yet love it enough to think it worth changing? 

Can he look up at its colossal good without once feeling acquiescence? Can he look up at its colossal evil without once feeling despair? Can he, in short, be at once not only a pessimist and an optimist, but a fanatical pessimist and a fanatical optimist? Is he enough of a pagan to die for the world, and enough of a Christian to die to it? In this combination, I maintain, it is the rational optimist who fails, the irrational optimist who succeeds. He is ready to smash the whole universe for the sake of itself.

GK Chesterton Orthodoxy

I'm in, you in?

There are many Christians across the racial and ethnic spectrum who pray, love and work hard to maintain the unity of the Spirit and bond of peace across all the things that we have inherited due to our history both good and evil.

It is my sincere hope and prayer that we all continue that work together despite the two presidential candidates that were put before the American people. I voted for neither of them. I would not and could not vote for either per my own conscience.

I pray this mess does not divide those of us who have worked so hard together. We have built some good ground together friends and I pray that we will continue to excel and build still more. We have to be committed to empathize, love and hear from one another.  There were and are many people involved in this election who were and are very fearful of the future. With either candidate and either outcome. We must work for justice, live in compassion and walk humbly with God. We must stand for righteousness and extend the grace of God to others in the suffering sacrificial servant's work.

We have a more excellent ruler and a more excellent way. We have a coming king and kingdom. We have much to repent of now and much in which we have hope. Most importantly, we look to Jesus and in the encouragement of the Scriptures we find hope.

I'm in. You in?

Loneliness, Boredom and Netflix for all

This past week I came across an article highlighting a recent interview with Reed Hastings, the founder and CEO of the chill company known as Netflix. For those who have been taking a cultural nap with Rip Van Winkle, Netflix was founded with the goal to bring entertainment on demand to users with a subscription model. What began as shipping a specified number of DVDs to your home each month in iconic red envelopes is now becoming a streaming media giant. On phones, smart TVs, set top boxes, tablets, laptops and even old-school desktop PCs, Netflix is currently streaming a deep catalog of random television shows and movies to people in 190 countries. Its own in-house developed premium content has won numerous Emmy awards and the creative flow and talent that Netflix hires seems to be dropping one hit after another. Seriously, Stranger Things.

What struck me about the interview with Hastings was the closing quote which highlighted the focused mission of the company.

"Fundamentally we’re about eliminating loneliness and boredom" Reed Hastings, founder of Netflix. Source: Tech Radar

Here we have the stated, fundamental focus of a technologically forward, creative company that somewhat lays bare the soul of our civilization. What hills are the leaders and legions of Netflix employees charging up? Loneliness and boredom. To be quite honest we could not pick two better words to describe the state of our civilization. We are a people where love has grown cold and we have nothing to do. We are lonely and we are indeed bored and one of the major solutions to our existential crisis is to simply fire up Netflix and chill.

Our loneliness and boredom have been tackled by scholars over the years. Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death and Putnam's Bowling Alone come to mind. These scholars acutely recognized our cultural dilemmas decades ago. Their prescience related to our fragmentation as a people and our lack of passion and purpose as a society continue to be relevant as various aspects of modern life continue to ebb away at our humanity. Perhaps watching more TV, perhaps better TV, will reconnect our communities and give us freedom from the onslaught of the mundane and the boring. Somehow that sentence itself leaves me feeling a bit empty.

As I begin, let me be up front for moment. I deeply enjoy some of the excellent story telling that is happening today. In his book Difficult Men, journalist Brett Martin has rightly highlighted our day as a new golden age for television. Netflix is a part of this recent TV revolution with their original programming drawing its fare share of critical acclaim. Even in this age of excellent, long-form story telling, we still need far more for our lives than great fiction and excellent TV productions. In other words, television, even better television, isn't enough to tackle these twin towers of our cultural condition. We need much more to address our loneliness and our boredom.

Loneliness

To address the ache of loneliness we will find great help along three lines: family, faith and friendship.  It is no secret that the very idea of family has been fractured, redefined and discarded in our society. What is family? Whatever you want it to be even if that doesn't mean very much at all. The Scriptures give a different picture. We are formed in families and these are based upon covenanted love and union. Promises made and lived together before God and people in the marriage union forms homes where people may travel in intimate connection. Family is a gift of grace where people can find a place of belonging, a place of love and a place of human interconnection. Secondly, faith connects us deeply with a shared sense of worship, focus and mission. Our faith in the Lord, our common held values, beliefs, practices and identity connects us to a broader community where God is father and Christ is king. Third, loneliness cries out for friendship. To accept one another, to enjoy fellowship, similar interests and to appreciate one another as we tackle this life of difficulty is a gift. This trinity of family, faith and friendship actually have flowering and fulfillment for the follower of Jesus. In Jesus we are brought into a larger covenant family called the church. In Jesus we have this wonderful person who is the recipient of our worship and love. We have faith in him, we trust him and this gives us confidence in the storms of life under the sun. Finally, Jesus, the God-man, desires to call us his friends! Shocking and wonderful.

No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15

Loneliness is a struggle for us all. Sin separates us from God and one another and leaves us feeling and thinking we are abandoned and alone. Into that loneliness comes someone greater than the Mad Men, the Games of Thrones and even the Stranger Things. Into our loneliness comes Jesus the God-man, exalted on the universal throne, who has promised to graciously give us all things! In relationship with Jesus and his family we are never alone and his promise is to never leave nor forsake his people (Hebrews 13:5). The poet and hymn writer Issac Watts powerfully expresses the truths of God forever with us:

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home.

Loneliness meet Jesus. Friend of sinners and hope of the world.

What of Boredom?

If anyone can quickly summarize and describe what it means to be bored they actually have a very creative mind. I've told all three of my children countless times that boredom is the product of a lack of creativity and a disengaged mind. Yet to define boredom is a bit of a creative task in itself. We all know what boredom is as we experience it. But to talk about it can become a bit more difficult. After thinking about this for a few days I tend to think of boredom as a soul paralyzed without purpose, mission and direction in the midst of many options as to what one could do. It is a passivity of life that leaves one unsatisfied. The dilemma of our culture is not that we have nothing to do, but that we have so many things which we could do. Should we watch this or that? Should we go here or there? Should we be with him, her? Zhe or zhem?

We seem to have more and more questions in our day and less and less answers. We all just know we should be "happy" (whatever that means) but we all know that we just seem bored. Who wants a life of contentment with having food, shelter and clothing? We need more in our culture. We always need more, but we don't know what we need or what we need it for.

If we might describe the western soul's conversation with its parents it might sound something like this:

• Soul: I'm bored!

• Parent: Well go do something.

• Soul: Do what?

• Parent: Whatever will make you happy.

• Soul: I don't know what that is.

• Parent: You have to figure it out but don't offend anyone or do anything wrong. Wrong as defined by "us" and that's always changing so figure it out, but not too much and don't share what you find with others if they find it offensive. Go to it! You are on your own!

• Soul: I'm bored.

Boredom is here to stay and we know it. So how do we face this constant banging of boredom? Netflix! Yes, it will help for a little while but then what? More Netflix! Netflix til we die! The problem here is that we die long before our bodies depart this earth. We die living a thousand stories with none of them being our own.

There is, however, something that knocks out boredom and infuses life with something far greater than just turning up the entertainment dials. There is nothing that addresses boredom like a sense of purpose and mission taking root in our lives. If we think for a moment what we have to live for, you might be surprised at how infused each day can be with a sense of wonder. Even now, I look at the things which are before me.

• A mission to love my wife as Christ loved the church.

• A mission to father my children with grace, love, truth and purpose to bring them up to know God and make him known.

• A mission to follow Jesus in his work; to love and serve and seek and save people through the gospel.

• A mission to see all of life as important and purposeful and the hand of the One who made all things.

• A mission to see our vocations, jobs and duties as part of God's plan to shape my life and transform me to be more like Jesus and a means by which he blesses others. Yes, even the jobs we don't really like!

A belief in God is not just wishful thinking or simply a work of the imagination. Belief in God tells us that everything has a purpose under the sun and that there is a season for everything under heaven. There is even a purpose for boredom as it gives us a push to examine our lives, our loves and our motivations. And beyond mere theism, a Christian understands that Jesus is leading all of life to be lived in light of who God is and what his purposes are for humanity. Even knowing this allows us to participate in things like great narrative storytelling with new eyes and fresh affections. We can see that the friendships, mission, fears, hopes, heroes and demons in TV shows like Stranger Things are but mere pointers and shadows to even greater and more meaningful realities. Netflix can then be watched to the glory of God and not simply as a mind numbing diversion to take us out of our lonely stories and bored lives.

The Works of Candice Millard

Over the years I have grown to appreciate reading history from various eras and epochs. I have deeply enjoyed the works of Roger Crowley and his treatment of the Mediterranean world in the middle ages. I have loved the American narrative history of David McCullough. The telling of the stories of various spies is in World War II by Ben McIntyre have fascinated and the historical intrigue of the works of Erik Larson I have found thrilling. Over the last few years I have grown a deep appreciation for another historical author and her works. Namely, Candice Millard.

The first book I read from her was entitled "Destiny of the Republic" and is a wonderful look at the life, assassination and medical treatment of President James A. Garfield. She introduced me to a time in history I knew little about and a president whose tenure was shortened by a bullet, or more accurately, an infection from a minor bullet wound. She also featured the technological innovations of Alexander Graham Bell and how certain technologies and medical knowledge could have easily saved this president if just a few years later in history. Recently, I took up her new work on the young years of one Winston Churchill. 

Her newest book entitled "Hero of the Empire" features happenings leading up to and during the Boer Wars between the British Empire and various republics in South Africa. I learned much about young Churchill, how leaders are formed and shaped as well as some early history and precursors to one of the more racist regimes in world history. 

I cannot recommend the works of Millard enough and all three of her published books get two thumbs up from me. Enjoy any of the following...

The River of Doubt - Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey

Destiny of the Republic - A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Hero of the Empire - The Boer War, a Daring Escape and the Making of Winston Churchill

Followers of Jesus and Educational Choices

How should we educate our children? There simply isn't one answer to this question for followers of Jesus. Yet there are principles which can help guide and inform our decisions for our families. The following are just a few principles to lovingly engage around as we educate our children.

First Principle: The holistic education is the responsibility of parents and a duty which centers in imparting our faith to the next generation. Education, from a biblical persepctive, must include the teaching of the gospel to our kids – Deuteronomy 6:4-6, Ephesians 6:1-4. 
    
Second Principle: Education is a shaping of the whole person into the image of Christ and enabling them to see life through the gospel and contribute to the world with skill and wisdom.

• Education is not simply job prep or about making money
• Education is a shaping of the soul in conformity to the Word of God and the image of Christ. This is for the sake of Kingdom service and mission in the world
• Character, Knowledge, Wisdom are all shaped as we educate children

Third Principle: There are many paths to faithfully fulfill that duty.

Though a diversity of paths can help us fulfill our calling as parents, the following will not lead us towards faithfulness:

• Entrust public schools to educate children without parental shaping/modeling in the gospel 
• Entrust private or Christian schools without parental shaping/modeling in the gospel
• Believing that home schooling is not without its own risks and difficulties

We must be involved as parents in the education of our kids. God gave us this responsibility. There are many partners in this endeavor including other parents, church community and our schooling choices.  Our family has engaged with three different schooling models over the last 11 years. We home schooled our oldest one year, we've had our kids in classical Christian schools and now we are in public school with our daughters. The following are a few warnings and encouragements to help you as parents with walking in your schooling choices. 

Some Warnings

• Warnings for public schoolers – the complete disconnecting of knowledge from the knowledge of God is a disjunction you must address. Your work must have “integration” of subject matter into a broader Christian conceptual scheme. So your task is to teach your children how “Math” and “God” relate…and many other such subjects. Additionally, you will need to provide some training in worldview, thoughtful engagement and apologetics to help your kids interact with the godless universe they will be presented. 
• Warnings for private schoolers – there is a temptation when attending elite private schools to completely check out of your children’s educational experience due to the fact that paid professionals, who have a track record of certain kinds of results, are leading your children. Watching for pride, elitism and the idolatry of societal success and position must be addressed in some settings. See also the warning for public schoolers as this is applicable here in many cases as well depending upon the worldview of the private school.
• Warnings for Christian schoolers – there is a temptation to think your kids are “safe” from worldly influences being in a Christian school. We must not forget that the imparting of faith must first come from your home and from the household of God (the church) and not simply the school. Additionally, there can be just as much sin in Christian schools as there is in non Christians and having the label “Christian” does not mean the all the kids have a holy agenda 24/7. You also must resist “bubbling off” your kids from our lost world and mission. 
• Warnings for home schoolers – Home schoolers, have to resist the temptation to see themselves as better, more pure, or prideful pioneers. Grace must be extended to other families who have not chosen “the way” of home school. Additionally, your children must be involved in the mission in your local church and have a regular flow of connecting with a lost world and culture. If not, they may prove ineffective in bringing the gospel to bear to people in culture. Here my warning is about mission, not “socialization” and social awkwardness. I think that’s a silly critique of homeschooling. A well-adjusted home school student may not understand and relate to lost people if not connected with them regularly in church/city. A missional church is a must.

Some Encouragements

• Encouragements for public schoolers – your family has a wonderful opportunity to live out gospel witness with teachers, administrators and other parents who need to see and interact with followers of Jesus
• Encouragements for private schoolers – the educational dedication of some private schools is fantastic and you too can engage with people in culture as a witness for Jesus. 
• Encouragements for Christian schoolers – to have Scripture and a biblical worldview be an integrated part of learning at school is a wonderful thing. To have your family and your school cooperating with the same worldview goals is an excellent help establishing your kids in the gospel and having an integrated view of knowledge.
• Encouragements for home schoolers – the relationships and context of learning is natural and free flowing as you explore God’s world with your kids. This is something to relish and be thankful for. Your ability to move at the “right pace” for your child is a gift that you can direct with wisdom. Additionally, learning is not institutionalized and can become a natural love and life long process of your children. God has placed you in charge of your child’s education as parents. Relish the flexibility, opportunities and choices that abound for you.

One final word of exhortation. In local churches we must seek to be an encouragement and help to one another as we educate our children, bringing them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. We don't need "schooling wars" even as you go about your responsibilities and educational choices with passion and conviction. Be a blessing and a help to those choosing both similar and different educational paths to your family. We have too many other important battles to fight to go to war about school. 

Working the System - Scheduling and Work flow as an Entrepreneur

Over the years I have mainly been involved with start ups. We helped start Athletes in Action ministries at the University of Kentucky and Virginia Tech. We started a college and young adult crew at a growing church, we helped plant churches in New Jersey for almost eight years and today we are in the process of starting a new non-profit ministry.

Working in such settings requires a certain kind of motivation, self-discipline and personal organization. It is easy to be lazy and unorganized or its also easy to work all the time. It requires one to prioritize and schedule one's own work life in a way that is both effective and healthy. In such settings if you don't get things done, nothing gets done. In this brief post I want to share a few things about the way I have developed a system to get things done. Still not sure if I've been highly successful or not, but here is the way I do things. 

Begin with a block schedule 

Block out time each week for the regular tasks, meetings and priorities related to your most central roles. I include things like exercise, devotional time with the Lord as well as things central to your vocation/work. What things are in the must do category each day, each week, each month, each quarter, each year.  Block out and reserve the time. I also think it's wise to include specific blocks for correspondence and any necessary administration. For example, don't do your email all day, block out times when you will (and will not) answer emails. Also remember to block in some margin to do some fun things like watching Premier league soccer games early Saturday mornings. :-) Keep in mind that proverb about "all work and no play" and more importantly God's command for us to rest. Block it all in and this will give you bones for the skeleton of your life and schedule. 

Find a system of triage that works for you

Triage allows an ER doctor to evaluate a patient and make decisions as to how to prioritize her care and attention. If a guy comes in spurting blood at the neck, a good triage system will put that person ahead of the guy with the sniffles. Triage also needs to be applied to the relationships, tasks and opportunities that you wish to make or come your way. In doing effective triage, I do think some sort of quadrant system of important, unimportant, urgent and non-urgent and is helpful. If something is urgent and important, do it now. If important and non-urgent, schedule it. If not important and urgent, run! Just kidding. Lovingly help that bit of urgent on to someone for whom it can be important. Finally, if not important and non-urgent simply say "no" because ignoring it to death may come across rude and uncaring. Saying no quickly helps us all know what to do next. A system of triage helps you sort through tasks, needs, etc. It also gives you a way of thinking and acting to determine if you are the right person to do something.

Place tasks or to dos into your life and schedule

I personally like to put anything I'm going to do in my actual calendar and forgo complex to-do listing. For me, if I cannot determine when something will be done, I'm not sure it's mine to do. Now I will use a whiteboard or a notepad to map out some short-term tasks but these are usually tasks related to things that I have put in my calendar.  Modern calendaring software allows us to schedule both events and the corresponding work for them along with timed reminders. If you love to-do lists by all means go for it. Just make sure things land in your actual life and you triage that list well.

I underestimate my productivity when I calendar things

This may sound strange but this is an important way of doing things for me. What this means is that if something ends up taking me 40 minutes and I have allocated an hour to the task, then I will have time for reflection, minor diversions and a bit of a release from focus. It allows each day to not feel as frenetic in pace. So if I need to do something and I know I can get it done in 50 minutes or so I block off an hour. If I'm not certain how long something will take I block off an hour. I always make time allocations generously but not wastefully. It would be equally unwise to block out an hour for a 10 min task or phone call. Giving myself ample time for my work also makes me feel super victorious on the days where I have high-energy and efficiency and get a whole lot done. 

When calendaring anything count the full cost

Whenever you go about accomplishing anything you have to account for the full amount of necessary time for the task. This means blocking out actual preparation time along with any commitment to a project, person, speaking engagement or group meeting. Scheduling in the time for preparation, prayer and focus helps to see what the actual cost of something is to my life. How much energy, prep and focus do I need to do XYZ and to do it right? This also helps with decision-making as to whether something should be on my plate or not or I should say yes to any invitation or not.

And this may be a little ridiculous...but I also record all my actual time

When I deviate from my schedule and do other things during the day I put in my calendar what I actually did that day.  This helps me reallocate time for things not yet completed as well as to hold myself accountable for what I'm actually doing each day. Furthermore, this practice also allows others (staff, church elders, boards, wives and family) to know what you do with your time. Remember, we are accountable to God and others for how we make use of our days. Additionally, having mysterious "time sinks" in our lives will hinder our effectiveness. Did I also mention that we are to have time in our life for devotion, thinking and exercise and fun? We don't have to be all work and no play to account for our work and play. :-) 

These are just a few principles I use to manage myself day to day in settings where the structure and workflow must come from my own initiative. I'll close with a listing of a few tools I use in my own flow of things.

Tools I use most frequently

Covey's classic work has helped me to try to work within my roles and relationships. Allen's work has helped me triage emails and tasks effectively in order to GTD. Both works I still find helpful for focusing my life and energy. 

I use my google calendar and multiple color coded calendars like a crazy person. My calendar, my kids Futbol travel calendars, practice schedules, even the games of my favorite sports teams all make it in to my week view with special colors. Any modern calendaring system can use shared and online calendars. So whether it's Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal or something else, you can implement this. For mobile, I particularly enjoy Readle's Calendars 5 for iOS and an app called Fantastical.

I do use notepads, whiteboards and Evernote to dump and dictate thoughts. I find I think well out loud, so talking and capturing those things with speech to text I find effective although it leads to some typos LOL. Finally, for team work and leadership, collaborative task and communications, applications like Trello and Slack have been helpful of late.  

However you skin the cat of your daily workflow and productivity, I do pray that you find focus to love and serve well with the time you have been given. I hope some of the above may help you along the way as well. 

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Ephesians 5:15, 16

Churches - Make a Web Site and Check it Twice

Just a quick heads up for churches out there. Every so often think about doing a quick audit of your web site. Check it over to see if any information is out of date, if any announcements refer to past events and if any links are broken and no longer work. As much as it is cool to know you had a men's ministry 9 months ago, tell me what's happening now and in the future. Your web site and/or mobile apps are your front door and represents your community. Try to keep it as current, straight and cleaned up as possible. 

As my family has looked around at various churches there are too many that leave up old dates, broken links and inaccurate information on their site. Here's a simple and good practice. At the start of a new ministry or school year, check your pages, update all dates, calendars and schedules and get rid of any old links that don't work. Even leaders can click through their site and make sure things are ship shape. A web site communicates in a myriad of ways. It is a statement of who you are, your flow and its a place to communicate to the public, your visitors and members. 

Give some care to your web site today to show that you do indeed care. A web site that is long in the tooth technologically, not up to date chronologically and neglected regularly conveys something to me. It may not be what you intend to communicate but it can say to the world "we don't really care." 

No webmaster, tech girl or guy at a church is perfect. Stuff can get off point and out of date. Just repent and go make it right. Hit up that CMS today. You know what to do tech-master.

Man Matters

A little over a year ago, I began to process with some friends and mentors the possibility of transitioning out from the church we had planted in New Jersey. Those conversations were littered with questions like, "When is the right time to step away from leadership in a church? "Have I done what I sensed the Lord calling me to do in New Jersey?" "Are things in a position where I can leave things in the capable hands of others?" 

I also asked several brothers what they saw in me in terms of my work and ministry. What are the things they saw as my strengths? What are the things they thought that I must continue to engage in order to be faithful to my calling from God? 

One of these gentleman, my father-in-law, challenged me to continue the work I do with men in and through the local church. He conveyed to me that he felt like I was gifted to communicate to and inspire men towards the Lord and faithfulness in their lives. I simply agreed as I am persuaded that men, particularly young men, need to be engaged with the gospel. Men need to be lovingly encouraged and exhorted to be servant leaders in their homes, in the church and in the city. 

In our day we see plenty of concern for the good work of equality, elevating women and opportunity for all. Yet what is happening among this generation of young men is sobering. I won't go into full detail in this particular blog post, but young men are falling behind and almost every category and attainment. There are fewer male students in college across all groups, fewer men obtaining graduate degrees and many young men lack ambition, confidence and leadership skills to navigate their world. 

Psychologist Guy Zimbardo has infamously argued that there is a demise of guys today where boys are struggling socially and flaming out in school (If you have not seen his TED talk, hit it up, its less than 5 min). Additionally, Samuel D. James recent article America's Lost Boys, highlights the lack of ambition in many men to even work. Rather than pursuing something with their time and gifts, they are filling their time with virtual pursuits of entertainment and sensuality and they are quite happy about it. Literally living the dream off of parents or girlfriend while happily doing a whole lot of nothing. Furthermore, I meet men all the time who feel isolated, discouraged and disconnected from their own hearts and pursuit of God. Guys in our day need to be engaged, inspired and encouraged to be more than passive consumers of amusement and called to impact their world with their gifts, strengths and unique calling as men.

As we invest our lives with Power of Change we hope to impact and influence coming post-Christian generations. This means young men, fathers and those who lead them will be a central part of our focus. Or as I like to say, we desire to serve the three Ps: pastors, parents and church planters. 

This fall I am doing two men's retreats where my prayer is to call men to servant leadership while encouraging them and exhorting them forward as followers of Christ. Men are in a fight but it is a good fight. God would call us to fight with and for our brothers so that we might stand firm to the end in faithfulness to Jesus and his mission. Man to man we need to be walking together. We need to see older men pointing younger men to the pathways of hard work and faithfulness over time. We need to see younger men inspiring elders with a focus in their passions and zeal. Yet connecting the generations is in no way an easy pursuit. Let me share a quick example.

A few weeks back a friend grabbed me after a Sunday worship gathering to talk about his desire to mentor young guys. He also shared some difficulty he has encountered in the past. The young guys are struggling but usually won't ask for someone to mentor them. The older guys feel like nobody really wants to hear from them but they would love to connect with the younger brothers. It's almost a catch-22 of middle school dance proportions. The younger and the older men seem to be standing on the walls on each side of the room knowing they both need to learn to dance. Men must learn to step across the room and tell another guy that you need his wisdom and input. This is particularly important for men who grew up without or are separated from the wisdom of their Dad.

My own hope is to continue to be an influential friend in the journey for other men. To point them to "the man", Jesus of Nazareth, and the joy of following him in their homes, their church and in their city. It is not an easy path today for guys but with other brothers we might find our way forward by faith. I am convinced that the power of change lies within the power of a God who wants to transform men so that they may reflect his goodness and glory. Furthermore, there are some wonderful byproducts of this pursuit. Namely, women will be served and loved and children might flourish under the care of good men. 

The world certainly sees the outcomes of disconnected or abusive masculinity. We have reaped a whirlwind of unguided and unfocused men. The facts of the fatherless are clear and there remain far too many victims of domestic violence. Yet the apostle Paul teaches us something different, "behold I will show you a more excellent way." (1 Corinthians 12:31) We must put before one another the way of love, the way of Jesus and a way in which men use their strength in humility to the glory of God.

That's our story here in our home team family and with Power of Change. We pray that by his power we might be strengthened, protected and kept faithful in and through our work with men. Men matter to God and we want to see them thrive as servant leaders under the headship of Jesus in our day.  We hope many others will work and pray to these same ends.

Moving

Moving: A Reflection in Three Ways 

by Kayla Monaghan

Moving. The word has a lot of meanings. Here is what the Merriam Webster Dictionary has to offer: 1. changing place or position 2.having a strong emotional effect : causing feelings of sadness or sympathy 3.relating to the activity or process of moving to a different place to live or work. Now throughout life you truly discover the meaning of words through gritty, real experiences rather than what you find in a dictionary.

The last three months I have learned through pain, tears, and lots of boxes the full impact the word moving can have on a person. I am in an active family, all five of us busy. My parents were college-athletes and they have coached their sports over the years for various teams. My sister plays competitive soccer, traveling all over the northeast. In the winter, she played basketball on our school’s team and became the starting point guard. My brother plays travel soccer and wrestles in the winter. I was the same as my sister, along with both of us also making the New Jersey State teams in our respective age groups.

As you can imagine, we all could run powerfully, were good on a ball, and loved every second of moving, though we never realized it. Or at least I never did. I wish I had because of what happened on April 30, 2016. I stepped out on the soccer field to play, feeling the familiar adrenaline and anticipation for the game to begin. The whistle blew and we were off. The other team scored and I felt a surge of frustration. I was playing center forward, the main attacker, and though I was making the right runs, I was not getting the ball.

“You’re doing great Kayla. Keep your head up,” my dad called from the sidelines. My mom and little brother was with my sister at her game. I nodded to him and kept at it. About five minutes later we had a free kick. I felt my heart beat faster as I lined up to rush the goal. The ball came soaring over, and I touched it behind the center backs, leaving both of them watching me run to their goal. The keeper came out, but hesitated around the six yard box. I slipped it to the right (her left) with the outside of my foot and it rolled smoothly over the line. GOAL!

I jumped up in the air and then high fived all my teammates as we ran back to the center circle, ready to go again. My heart leaped for joy in the fact that I just tied the game. A few minutes of play and then the ball soared over their defenders again. I was in. I knew I was going to score again. I just knew it. I put the jets on and was going full speed at the goal.

The keeper was not going to be caught in limbo a second time. She came crashing towards me, sliding for the ball. Instead of going with her hands as goalies are supposed to, she came with her feet.

CRACK! I screamed, a small voice in the back of my mind asking why I was screaming. I thought the loud noise was my shin guards getting hit. I fell to the ground, my legs stretched out in front of me, knees bent, feet on the ground.

“Kayla! Stop Screaming!” one of my teammates yelled. Everything was out of focus, and I felt my shin wiggle. Now your whole life you are used to movement in your ankle and your knee, but never your shin. That was one type of movement I wish I never experienced. I screamed a couple more times and did my best to grip my legs on both sides to hold it straight. I had never had a broken bone, but I knew in my gut my leg was broken. My coach and my dad ran to me from opposite sidelines.

“My leg is broken. She broke my leg,” I said.

“We don’t know that,” my coach said gently.

“I know. I know it is broken,” I said. They just nodded, to appease me I supposed.

That day took away my ability to move for about a month. My leg was indeed shattered, the two bones in my shin snapped completely. Thankfully, though close, neither of the bones poked out of my skin, a compound fracture. I had surgery the day after it happened, putting a titanium rod inside my broken tibia. It goes the length of my knee to my ankle and there are three screws keeping it in place. If they don’t give me any problems, I should be bionic for the rest of my life. It’s now early August and the bones are 95% healed. I can walk mostly without a limp and I have begun light jogging, still a limp extremely prevalent. I will be back to full contact just in time for basketball season, but that will be a couple months yet. I have learned how precious being able to physically move is. Enjoy and treasure every blessing of movement you have been given. 

I also have learned a lot about another meaning of the word move. The move where you pack up your whole house and go to a new one that you have never seen before in a place that is completely new to you. Six weeks after I broke my leg we were planning to move from New Jersey where we had lived for the last eight years, to Blacksburg, Virginia where my sister and I were born and my parents had worked twelve years ago. In New Jersey, we planted a church starting with twenty people in our living room that now, eight years later, built out and owned its own building. There was over 300 people attending on a Sunday. I grew up with the church and I couldn’t be more grateful for that opportunity. My dad was the head pastor and it was a very difficult to make the decision to move, but we wanted to be close to my grandparents. Also just to slow down our pace of life to be closer as a family. 

Packing up the moving truck

It was the right time if we were going to take that leap of faith. I was going into my freshman year of high school, the soccer teams around the nation were scrambling because of a new age policy, and my mom’s parents (who are only two hours away) are starting to get older and slower. They have done so much for us, we wanted to be there for them when they need it. So on crutches I went from room to room helping to pack whatever boxes I could. The day before we were to start the drive down my mom threw her back out and my dad had to go do a retreat. We knew we could not get the packing done by ourselves. Thankfully, our incredible church came out and our house was full of people packing and doing anything we needed to be done.

That night I started throwing up. The week before my dad, sister, and brother all caught some 24 hour stomach bug, but I didn’t get it. I suppose my body decided that the night before we left I should heave up my guts for six hours and barely sleep. But regardless of my raging fever (the last leg of the bug), my mom, my siblings, and I packed into the car and went to Gettysburg, about halfway to Blacksburg. We made it the historical stop and learned all about the battle there. Then, the next day we went to our new hometown. The next week was insane as my dad joined us, the moving truck arrived, me starting new physical therapy, and many other stories that would keep us here for hours. But with all of it I learned what a move really was. I had moved when I was younger (two years old to Tennessee, then seven years old to New Jersey), but this was an all new experience for me. I could help unpack, and even with a broken leg, there was much I could do to help the family settle in. Around the same time I got off my crutches, able to move a bit better.

Finally, I learned the third definition of what it means to be moved. Leaving the place I had grown up, the school that I had been in since first grade, the soccer team I had been on for four years, and the church that is my family that raised me was in no way easy. Many nights, I lay in bed crying over what I would miss. It was even harder when I broke my leg. I had a whole plan at how I was going to say goodbye to each aspect of my life in New Jersey, and not one bit of it happened like I had imagined. My last game with my team was supposed to be triumphant. Heartbreak. My last time with the New Jersey state team was supposed to be a warm goodbye with friends. Never saw them. My last day of school was supposed to be a strong way of finishing with those dear to me. Crutches. My last day at church I was supposed to play tag with little ones and answer questions about Virginia. Questions about my leg. I couldn’t understand why all of this was happening, but God used it all.

My last game? I helped them win, and also got closer with all my teammates before I left through their kindness. They moved me with their compassion. My last day with ODP? My coach sent me a wonderful email wishing me the best, and my teammates checked in on me, making sure I was alright. They moved me with their empathy.  My last day of school? I was on crutches, and eventually in a wheelchair, but I was able to be there. I was able to say a final goodbye to my friends, well honestly family, of the last eight years. They moved me with their love. My last day at church? I was able to be there with my parents, siblings, and the rest of our family in Christ. I was hugged, encouraged, and prayed over by some of the most incredible people I have ever known. They moved me with their faith.

My family at our going away party at Jacob's Well

Moving is a word that is not truly appreciated until you experience it first hand. It can change your life in a variety of ways. My prayer is that the lessons I have learned through the last three months will stay with me forever and that others can learn from them as well. So don’t just sit there and complain about your life. Get up and move.

God himself will...

Life is full of difficulty, pain and suffering. No one is immune to it. Not one exempt. It may seem that he or she has it good, has it better or doesn't have any problems but this is an illusion. Now there are varying degrees of suffering and we don't get to choose our lot and circumstances. So much in our lives comes to us and what matters is how we travel in and through the difficult day as well as the days of sunshine.

I've spent a lot of time in the book of 1 Peter this year and a verse popped up on my watch today that is one of my favorites. Chew on this for a minute. Or as one of my friends likes to say, "marinate on it."

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:10, 11

A few things to see here that are treasures and life to the follower of Jesus. First, the duration of our difficulty is "a little while." Now that may mean a few years or a whole lifetime, but nonetheless suffering is not eternal. It is temporary in light of the eternal glories that await us in the Kingdom. Paul said it this way, 

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.

Paul's struggles that were "light" included beatings, shipwreck, prison, snakes biting him, folk throwing rocks at him until they thought he was dead, etc. We need his perspective to know that suffering is only for "a little while." 

The second thing we see is that "God himself" is going to act upon the behalf of his suffering saints when all is said and done. Not just any "god" but our creator, the God of all grace (kindness, love and favor), is the one who will personally restore us. God himself...pause and think about that. Who will ultimately take care of things in the end? Who has your back? God himself has your back. After a life that may seem to be but loss and difficulty there will come a restoration, a confirmation, a strengthening and an eternal establishment. Who will do it? God will. To him be the dominion (in charge, his running my game) forever and ever. Amen!

So no matter if work, school, sport, health, family, friends or politics seems extremely jacked up today we need to know this. God himself...he's on point for his people. He has our back. Run and tell that.

Thoughts on Missional Innovation

Every so often in history leaders, people, ideas and circumstances come together and dramatic changes take place. Ways of living, perspectives on reality and even our understanding of ourselves are profoundly impacted. We call these convergences of people and ideas, "movements." Every movement displays an interconnected nature as certain ideas coalesce into shared passion and joint action for change. Many times movements are marked by innovation, new ways of thinking and acting as human beings. At times innovations are seen as bursting forth out of nowhere, or as sudden awakenings, yet many historical events build successively into movements. The cumulative action of many leaders and ideas evolve forward or build like a wave crashing upon a seashore with powerful momentum. It is often said that today’s leaders stand on the shoulders of giants; we know this to be true. What is prevalent today was influenced by what came before as the interconnected nature of people and ideas moves us in one direction or another. 

Recently I've been thinking much about some the technological movements of the last 100 years and I've read four books to that end. My undergraduate education was in the science and technology space and I’ve enjoy histories in that area of human work and inquiry. The first work was entitled The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner which focused on the history of Bell Laboratories and its various communication inventions that led into the modern information revolution. The transistor arguably the most important of the technologies that emerged there in the twentieth century. Next up was When Computing Got Personal: A History of the Desktop Computer by Matthew Nicholson, a work on the history of the desktop computer from it's very earliest forms until some of the recent sizes and shapes we see today. After this came Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins Of The Internet  by Katie Hafner. A fascinating read on the invention of this most important of computer networks through the combined efforts of industry, government and academia. I finally, finished up with Moore's Law: The Life of Gordon Moore, Silicon Valley's Quiet Revolutionary by Thackray, Brock and Jones. Moore is an unassuming titan of what became our modern Silicon Valley and one of the chief inventors of silicon semi-conductor technology. He was one of the founders of what became the tech juggernaut known as Intel. Incidentally, an Intel chip is currently humming along inside my laptop as I type these words.

In my reading I observed that time and time again there was an interconnection between ideas that lead to innovation. Technology built upon the gains of the past and the previous generation’s hard work, problem solving and creative thinking. The innovation that took place in our technological revolutions was not in any way magic. It took place under certain cultural and structural circumstances that made the movement possible. I will outline a few of these in the final section of this essay below. As I looked at technological innovation I also saw much to be gleaned for the innovation needed in gospel mission in every generation.

What I want to do in this essay is to first look at the necessary restrictions and freedoms for innovation to flourish. I will do this under the header Context for Innovation. From there I want to draw some parallels between technological innovation and missional innovation for church planting movements before closing with a reminder of the type of innovation needed in the church in our time. 

Context for Innovation

It may be surprising but some of the modern technology and correlated free-flowing creations were actually driven by some imposed parameters and restrictions. Physicists and engineers are constantly encountering problems that cause them to think outside of the box precisely because they are working within one. What do I mean? Our scientific work does not bend or break the laws of physics. Our work will either conform to or be defeated by them. Reality shapes and constricts our efforts. Innovative thinking comes to bear in trying new ideas as we necessarily stay within the bounds of the created space-time reality. Learning how things actually work and how they work best is essential for our creation and innovation in technology. So the technologist is not some magician pulling a white iPhone out of her hat, but she is learning how things work within the system she has been given. This does not mean she is a traditionalist who only accepts the answers of the past. Yet she must see many past failures and go forward with things that work as she moves towards new solutions to problems in the future. It is not some terrible requirement to have to conform to the laws of Physics; there is no other way to cross technological hurdles. When a technology does not work because we did not understand the nature of reality, we have simply hit a restriction that sends us quite literally back to the drawing board. The restrictions are no enemy. They help us head off in fresh new directions that may prove more fruitful in the end. 

This brings us to a second necessary parameter for innovation to flourish. The technologist must have the freedom to try new things to solve problems. Otherwise we will be stuck in the past's failures or remain content with the status quo. The technologist simply cannot accept a current technical hurdle as the final defeat but must seek new ways to overcome it. This constant tension between the laws of physics and problem-solving creativity creates the spark of movement that can become a stunning wave of innovation. Both the restrictions and the freedom are necessary interlocutors that create momentum. Failures and success both drive forward the wave. 

The same can be said for the work of the church in every generation. First, there must be a firm anchor and reality to which we conform our efforts. This must be the gospel of Jesus Christ as revealed to us by God in history and Scripture. Just as creation itself is no hindrance to technology and science, sound doctrine and theology is no hindrance to missional innovation. We must have rails within which we are faithful, otherwise we won't build anything that actually "works." Without the bounds of revealed truth and the historical verities of our faith we can run the mission aground on the rocks of heresy and false teachings. The truth must be the raw materials with which we move forward in mission. Secondly, we must also grasp the freedom necessary to encounter people in every generation with the gospel. We must contextualize the good news of Jesus Christ to a changing world without denying or changing the laws of our theological “physics”. Yet we must have freedom while engaging with our inherited past, to question whether or not certain practices flow from human traditions (Mark 7:13-23) or from the revealed truth of God. This means there is a “faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3), and there are new horizons and new expressions of that faith needed in every generation.

The parallels between technological and missional innovation are not difficult to find. I will close with a look at the process of innovation and its necessary ingredients gleaned from various histories of technology.

Thoughts on Innovation

Innovation comes from passion

Innovation comes from a strong desire to learn and then solve problems. Those who seek new, faithful ways to reach people with the gospel are driven by a similar desire. A desire to engage the problem of a world in need of Jesus and to use all possible, godly means to bring the good news. They are willing to connect with people far from God in various cultural and societal settings because of their love for God and people. It is their passion and love that compels them as they are convinced that Christ died for sinners and communicating this truth is essential. Apologetics and missional thinking help us to overcome the hurdles that prevent thoughtful engagement with people in culture. Missional innovation must be driven by passion: love for God and love for people.

Innovation flows from proper freedom

One of the observations I made in reading about technological innovation is that smart people were given the time, space and funding necessary to do their work. Freedom in research must be funded with exploration and even failure as an aspect of the way forward. In missionary work, space needs to be created in, by and through local churches for similar efforts. Church planting provides the freedom for both faithfulness to gospel truth while engaging in some exploration and experimentation in methodology. Even those who hold to some form of the regulative principle may still maintain space for variation in style within a given culture for gospel life and ministry. Even if you have the conviction that we can only preach, sing psalms, pray and observe the sacraments in a church gathering, how a church goes about such things, language, style, aesthetics, etc. can still be a subject of exploration.  Furthermore, there is a wide open field of ministry through church members, smaller communities, missional groups and parachurch work that can flow with innovation even for highly regulative churches.

Innovation comes from people who dared to try and have some talent

The status quo can trap us. As people, we don't always like change even when change is what we desperately need. There are churches that will demand their own death and extinction rather than change out carpet or switch up musical styles in worship. Church planters are willing to accept the dare of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus outside of the camp to the lost, beginning new works that might connect the gospel to those far from God and his church. Innovation comes when there are people who take "risks" for the sake of the gospel putting their hearts, souls, mind, strength all in with their God given gifts and talents.  

Finally, innovation comes from systems demanding attention and constant improvement

One of the striking driving forces for technological innovation in the 20th century was the growing complexity of telephone networks. The problems that emerged in expanding and maintaining such a complex network drove innovation because there were so many problems to solve. Necessity, quite literally, was the mother of many inventions. The place where many inventions were made was within the actual telephone system itself. The same might be said of the technology that was invented within the 20th century context of the cold war. There were secret groups of smart, dedicated, well-funded and focused people (see Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed by Ben Rich) meeting serious military problems with life and death implications. Will some Soviet or US military advantage lead to our mutual destruction? Let’s get to work on solving this or that technological hurdle so that no one gets nuked into oblivion. This has striking parallels to our work in church planting. New ideas for the mission must emerge from the necessity of the mission itself. In the middle of the messiness of ministry we must solve problems which arrive from the streams of providence and the shifting of cultures. A world broken with sin and death while facing coming judgment should bring an urgency of action and missional innovation from God’s people.  

Let me conclude with one final thought about "innovation" in and through the church. It is not innovative to simply copy and ape a worldly culture and society. I once heard Nancy Lee DeMoss say that the world is not aching for a "religious version of itself." What did she mean? I think we must see that the lost world around us does not necessarily need a sermon series called "Soulflix" with a perfectly mimicked Netflix logo all the while preaching messages from this or that movie. As fun as this might be, it is neither innovative nor really creative. What we do need are churches that can passionately preach the great gospel truths of the book of Ephesians to people that watch four hours of Netflix a night. That task will require both creativity and innovation in thought. It will require the bounds of the truth and the freedom to innovate in our styles, modes and communication. It will require us to be faithful and daring. It will require prayer and the dynamic leadership of the Holy Spirit in our day. After all, our goal is not simply to innovate in missionary methods for the sake of doing new stuff to make a church seem “cool”. Our goal is to bring people to Jesus through the preaching of the gospel and that means we must care about the methods we use to connect and communicate in THIS or THAT time and place. 

Building a Culture of Ministerial Health

This past November I was asked to speak on "Building a Culture of Ministerial Health" to the pastors of the US North Atlantic Acts 29 Network. It was a privilege to encourage my brothers to plant churches and shape leadership cultures in such a way that will care for them along the way.  We learned so much in planting Jacob's Well. Some by heading the wisdom of others and some by "learning the hard way."

This spring some leaders with Acts 29 central asked if I would take some of that content and turn it into a blog post. That essay hit the web yesterday. If you are a church planter or member of a church leadership team I encourage you to think about this issue early and often. How do you care for the planter, pastors and leaders of a church? How can you encourage them? How can you live a gospel centered life with them? How can you build a culture of gracious accountability and life giving community at your church? Selah, pause, just think about this a bit as you continue forward in the church planting journey. 

Here is a link to the essay and I do pray it might be of practical help to you, your church community and her leaders. Shaping a Culture of Ministerial Health

To be grateful...guest post from Kayla Monaghan

To walk you have to take a single step

“Kayla, can you take a look at the stacks of books we are not going to take with us when we move and see if you want to keep any,” my mom called. We were moving in 7 weeks and the floor was littered with pile after pile. I went through a few and found one I used to love when I was little and sat down to read. It is called Polyanna, a story about a girl who learns to play the glad game, finding things to be grateful for, despite her legs becoming paralyzed. Little did I know I would be playing the same game later that night.

It was around 4:30pm that afternoon and there was a crack that echoed through the field. It was my leg, violently smashed by a heavy footed goal keeper. The middle of my leg wobbled and a scream escaped my throat. I knew it was broken. The next twenty-four hours were a blur. I was carted off in an ambulance to the emergency room and then had surgery the next day. It turns out I had my tibia and fibula, the two bones in the lower leg, completely snapped. I found myself playing the glad game the night before surgery with my mom finding all sorts of things to be grateful for.

In the hospital a lot was taken away from me. My spot on the New Jersey state team I had just made, the rest of my final season with my team, and the ability to do just about anything on my own, all gone. Then, my hopes for going to back to school were dashed a week later. I was crushed. I cried and kept asking why? Why me? Why now? Eventually, I realized it wasn't my place to ask those questions. I could only be thankful for what I did have. An ever present God, a strong left leg, a titanium rod in my tibia, amazing people checking in and caring for me, and the best family anyone could ask for made the list in that round of the glad game. I've learned, and still am learning, how to be grateful for everything because nothing belongs to us, not even our bodies. I know I will be back on my own two feet (and a soccer field) as soon as possible. I have found so much, much more than I thought possible, to be grateful for.