TGIF
This blog is really an ongoing philosophy of ministry. Here are a few reflective thoughts.
NCC has always hesistated to adopt or do what anybody else has done--sometimes to a fault. I think we've reinvented a few wheels unnecessarily. But I think it has to do with that fact that we aren't called to be part of a movement as much as we are called to begin a movement.
I think part of our calling as a church is inspiring and encouraging a new generation of church planters who are willing to take calculated risks for the sake of relevance.
Isaiah 43 is one of my fall-back verses. "Forget the former things. Behold I am doing a new thing." I think part of our DNA is trying new things--call it innovation or creativity or entreprenurial spirit. I think we're trying to find new ways to do church, to do discipleship, to do spiritual formation. I think that is a small part of our small contribution to the kingdom of God.
If we're still doing church the way we did it five years ago something is wrong--we're living off old manna. We need to reinvent new songs, new wineskins, new experiences, new structures, new expressions.
Leadership is the ability to put things in context. I think the only way to effectively do ministry in the present-tense is to have a sense of history (past-tense) and a sense of destiny (future-tense). Another way of saying it is this: hindsight and foresight give us insight.
In his book, Making Sense of Church, Spencer Burke talks about the leadership shift from tour guide to fellow traveler. It is a slight, but significant shift. I think the way we talk about it is that everyone, especially the pastor, is "a work in progress." I don't use the word "you" very often from the pulpit. I use the word "we" because we're in this thing together.
I love one of the "rules of thumb" in Making Sense. "Alot of times people are so quick to judge a person's past, they fail to look at the fruit that he/she is displaying now. My philosophy has always been that current fruit should take higher priority than the past."
NCC has always hesistated to adopt or do what anybody else has done--sometimes to a fault. I think we've reinvented a few wheels unnecessarily. But I think it has to do with that fact that we aren't called to be part of a movement as much as we are called to begin a movement.
I think part of our calling as a church is inspiring and encouraging a new generation of church planters who are willing to take calculated risks for the sake of relevance.
Isaiah 43 is one of my fall-back verses. "Forget the former things. Behold I am doing a new thing." I think part of our DNA is trying new things--call it innovation or creativity or entreprenurial spirit. I think we're trying to find new ways to do church, to do discipleship, to do spiritual formation. I think that is a small part of our small contribution to the kingdom of God.
If we're still doing church the way we did it five years ago something is wrong--we're living off old manna. We need to reinvent new songs, new wineskins, new experiences, new structures, new expressions.
Leadership is the ability to put things in context. I think the only way to effectively do ministry in the present-tense is to have a sense of history (past-tense) and a sense of destiny (future-tense). Another way of saying it is this: hindsight and foresight give us insight.
In his book, Making Sense of Church, Spencer Burke talks about the leadership shift from tour guide to fellow traveler. It is a slight, but significant shift. I think the way we talk about it is that everyone, especially the pastor, is "a work in progress." I don't use the word "you" very often from the pulpit. I use the word "we" because we're in this thing together.
I love one of the "rules of thumb" in Making Sense. "Alot of times people are so quick to judge a person's past, they fail to look at the fruit that he/she is displaying now. My philosophy has always been that current fruit should take higher priority than the past."
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