Inheriting a workshop…

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Imagine that you receive a phone call or email one day, explaining that your uncle passed away and left you their workshop in the will. “That’s great”, you might think. You kind of always wanted your uncles shop.

That is, until you get there, and it looks like this:bagster-1-basement-messy

 

Now sure, your uncle knew the system for the shop, but it just looks like chaotic clutter to you. You know that you have a lot of tools and materials in there that you could use. You just need to organize it all a little bit.

Getting appointed or assigned to a church can be a lot like inheriting a workshop. There are a lot of tools and materials for doing ministry. And some people know the system. But looking from the outside in, you can’t see it right away. So here are a few thoughts to help you out when you inherit a workshop. Continue reading →

Stopped at the pearly gates…

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If you fly out of the United States, there is a moment on the flight where the flight attendants come around with a small slip of paperwork for you to fill out. It’s the Customs form, where you declare everything you’re bringing into their country, and other pertinent information. And you want to be honest and follow the rules, because you could wind up in serious trouble if you don’t. If you get caught bringing in a prohibited item, you could be fined, detained, or prohibited from being allowed in the country.

There’s a parable in Matthew 18, where Jesus talks about forgiveness that made me wonder if Heaven has customs agents waiting on us.  Continue reading →

The Gospel According to ‘The Magnificent Seven’…

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Over the weekend, I went to see the latest version of ‘The Magnificent Seven’, a remake of the western classic of the same name, starring Yul Brenner (which itself was a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Seven Samurai’). And it was exactly what I thought it would be and wanted it to be.

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Western’s, as a genre, have experienced some hit or miss success in recent years, but there is still a large swath of people who enjoy watching them, and I think there are good reasons why. The main character is almost always someone we, as the audience, can identify with. The main villain is usually the worst kind of human being, with nothing worth redeeming. The stakes are usually an innocent person/population being treated horribly. It’s a classic good vs evil arc.

Now, God and I have the kind of relationship where He shows up in movies for me. And this was no exception. So here are a couple of ways I saw the Gospel in ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (without spoilers)  Continue reading →

Glimpses of Heaven…

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On Christmas Eve, 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 catch a glimpse of something that no one else had seen before. The crew was running experiments and studying the impact of orbiting the moon in the build up to landing on the moon. As a part of the experiments, they became the first human beings to orbit the moon, and thus the first human beings to travel to the dark side of the moon. Apollo 8 was about halfway through their mission when William Anders looked out the window and saw the earth rising above the moon, like the sun rises over the horizon on earth.

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In an instant, the three man crew of Apollo 8 were the first human beings to ever witness an ‘earthrise’. They had witnessed something that no one else had. They frantically looked for their color film so they could try to capture the picture as best as possible. They understood that they had an obligation to share this sight with as many people as possible when they got home. It was too beautiful, too incredible, too important not to share.

Christians have a similar responsibility.  Continue reading →

How to fight for revitalization in your church…

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In the opening days of the American Revolution, General George Washington made the decision that the British garrison stationed in the colonial city of Boston needed to go. In an incredible maneuver, Washington built a fortified position and stationed artillery on Dorchester Heights, which overlooked the entire city of Boston and included the harbor housing the British ships. It was the decisive action that pushed the British out of the city with almost no bloodshed.

If you’re a church leader who is working to revitalize a church, you’re going to have some fights ahead of you. Some of these fights are with people, while others are against a culture. So here are a few things we can learn about revitalizing churches from the Siege of Boston: Continue reading →