JesusTweets Launch

The series that comes after Easter is as important as what comes before.

That's why we knew we had to do JesusTweets as our Easter follow-up.

JesusTweets? You bet. Why?

Because Twitter is all about followers. It counts people who follow people.

Sort of like Jesus.

"Follow me" he says again and again, and what comes next is usually both unexpected and unsettling.

Starting with this week: "The Rudest Tweet Ever."

The series looks something like this:



Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

Is What It Took To Get You Where You Are What It Takes To Get You Where You're Going?

As I listened to some of the leading pastoral voices in Methodism speak on such subjects as avoiding burnout, staff relationships, and time management, a question kept running through my mind:

Is what it took to get us where we are what it will take to get us where we are going?

Here's what I mean. Part of the reason for whatever effectiveness Good Shepherd has had through the years has been its ability to maintain a small church feel while becoming a large church.

That involves things like hand-written notes, pastoral availability, hospital visitation, and a dedicated effort to remember not only names of people but facts about them.

Yet will that kind of attention to detail on both my part and the part of other staffers ultimately constrict our growth?

I'm not sure.

However it happens, I want us always to keep that "high touch, low threat" feel. It's part of our DNA, and I am praying for ways to makes sure that particular genome infiltrates every part of our church in the future.

Because even if techniques must change, values cannot.


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The Eternal Kansas City

Van Morrison released this enigmatic yet engaging tune about Kansas City way back in 1977:



Why do I share that with you?

Because I'm in the "eternal Kansas City" for a couple of days this week.

It's part of a gathering of the pastors of the 100 largest United Methodist churches in the United States. And we're meeting at the biggest one of them all: the Church of the Resurrection in suburban Leawood, Kansas.

We're learning from one another, challenging one another, and brainstorming on ways to bring new energy to United Methodism as a whole.

Top Five Tuesday: Top Five Observations From Easter 2011

Here are reflections & observations for a resurrection well celebrated at Good Shepherd:

1. Opening with a raucous rendition of Mike Farris' Ain't No Grave was the ideal way to start out. We laughed that people came to Good Shepherd for some "Resurrection Blues."

2. So many people who call Good Shepherd home willingly sat in our "Backstage" area so that newcomers could have the prime real estate of seats in the Worship Center. Those are the kind of people we are trying to grow at this church.

3. The 11:30 crowd was larger than 10:00. Wow. That only happens rarely on "regular" Sundays and never on holiday Sundays. I have to believe that the natural exuberance of that service is powerfully contagious.

4. This weekend represented our first time ever over 3,000 worshippers. God is good.

5. I'm glad the YMCA was closed on Easter. I would have been tempted to work out. Instead, I needed to veg out.

The Best Easter Note Of Encouragement

On Easter Sunday, I got up very early (of course) to get ready for the Sunrise Service.

As I made my way into the kitchen to prepare my English muffin (with honey, thank you) and hard boiled egg, I noticed a small piece of scratch paper on the kitchen counter.

On the paper, I saw the chicken scrawl that passes for my 18 year old son Riley's handwriting. So I read it.

It was a note to me. It said, in the sort of earthy vernacular of high school football players, what might be delicately translated as "break a leg for Jesus today."

Now that's not what he wrote, but that's what he meant.

I was pretty grateful that an 18 year old would recognize the ministry importance of Easter Sunday for his preacher dad, and then take the time to write a note spurring me on.

And the day just got better from there.

The Lines Lead To Easter

Here's what to expect from our "Lines" this Holy Weekend:

Good Friday Worship: 7:00 p.m. TONIGHT
Message: "Flatline"

Easter Sunday Worship:

7:00 a.m. -- Sunrise Service at the Corner Campus

8:30 a.m. -- Easter Celebration in the Worship Center

10 a.m. -- Easter Celebration in the Worship Center

11:30 a.m. -- Easter Celebration in the Worship Center

Easter Message: "Fault Line"

And . . . don't just invite people; bring them!

Not Settling For Mediocrity

In the "Books I Like" section on the left, you'll note that I've recently read "The Story Of Asbury Theological Seminary."

I loved it.

But I'm weird. And a devoted alum.

Anyway, I read that Henry Clay Morrison, the founding president of the school, once said that he "would not settle for mediocre in [his] relationship with God."

Man.

What are the ways I've settled for mediocrity in my relationship with God? My prayers? My Scripture reading? My level of trust in crisis?

How about you? Do you settle for mediocrity or pursue intimacy?

I can think of no better way to prepare for Good Friday and Easter than to discard mediocrity and run after intimacy in our relationship with God.

A New Song I Love

It's not often I love a song on first hearing.

Yet I stumbled across Paul Simon's "Getting Ready For Christmas Day" the other day and got hooked. Immediately. The conversation you'll hear in the background is a "sample" of a 1941 sermon delivered by Rev. J.M. Gates. I'm quite sure it's the only song in pop music that samples a sermon.

The video is especially inventive:



It's Easter week.

And I've fallen hard for a song about Christmas performed by a Jew who describes himself as "not very religious."

Isn't God good?

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Things About Spring Breakthrough

Here's a slice of what I'm doing this week:



The 2011 edition looks a lot like the 2010 version. Except maybe better.

Here are the Top Five Things about Spring Breakthrough:

5. Students spending their spring break at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, Uptown Men's Shelter, and Samaritan's Feet instead of at Myrtle Beach.

4. Adult volunteers doing the same.

3. Cool orange T-shirts.

2. Good Shepherd staffers providing devotional moments each morning.

1. A community learning together what it means when Jesus said, "whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

What Bulls & Goats Do These Days

Why?

Well,here are the original instructions to the children of Israel in Leviticus:

16:6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the LORD at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat.[a] 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the LORD and sacrifice it for a sin offering.

Yet according to Hebrews 9, here's how Jesus' sacrifice on the cross changes that system:

11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,[a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining[b] eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!

In other words, So Jesus’ OWN blood offered ONE TIME for ALL PEOPLE grants forgiveness to people ETERNALLY and not ANNUALLY.

That's the new bloodline.

And that's why we've got a lot of very happy bulls and goats.

Image courtesy of Jen Pavlovitz.

Lines Week Four -- Bloodline

First of all, it's your genealogy.

Second, in the 70s, it was a campy movie based on a Sidney Sheldon novel.

More recently, it was a much-disputed paranormal documentary.

This weekend, it's a new way to look at an old story.

What is it?

Bloodline.

Perhaps the most important "line" of them all. Because something happens at the intersection of your bloodline and God's bloodline.

Sunday, you'll find out what that is.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

Guest Blogger -- Amy Hutchinson, Theology Student

When I saw Talbot’s post contrasting seminaries and schools of theology/divinity schools, I had to jump on it. My name is Amy, and I am a first year Master of Divinity student at Candler School of Theology at Emory University and a proud member of Good Shepherd UMC. I asked Talbot if I could be allowed to respond to his post as someone who picked the other type of school.

My version of the difference between schools of theology and seminaries is that a school of theology allows for a wide range of theologies (from universalist to fundamentalist) while a seminary provides a more focused theology. During orientation, one of our professors stated (paraphrased), “It is not our intent to make you change your beliefs, it is our intent to make sure you have truly investigated and backed up why you have them.” All of the sudden in a School of Theology, you find yourself thrown into a situation where you are surrounded by students with a wide variety of beliefs who still call themselves Christian (and some that don’t even do that), and now your beliefs are turned upside down and you can no longer turn to solely the Bible for justification, but must now turn to academics as well.

I appreciate a school that puts me to the test with the defense of my beliefs, because I know that in my chosen ministry path--reaching out to unreached college students--I may come in contact with students that are choosing not to believe because for them, it just doesn’t make sense. I hope that my frustrations towards not being able to state, “Because it’s in the Bible” now will lead me to less frustrations down the line as I am trying to explain, with reason, the case for believing in Jesus to a student that has been so hurt by the church that they have turned to academics to disprove it. In fact, I’m tingling a bit in excitement now just thinking of it.

But as someone at a school that allows multiple theologies, this often leads us to disagreements as to what the church should look like. On the one side, you have people who believe churches should be inviting to all to bring them in the doors as a step to conversion, on the other side you have people who believe in the transformative power of a rich church tradition. And what I have found in these debates is that what I can typically win both sides over with is, “Well, what my church in Charlotte does is…”

I am not sure how many people reading this blog appreciate this. Sure, you like the church, you like Talbot, or you’re still young enough that your parents are still making you go, but I am not sure I ever truly appreciated Good Shepherd until I got caught in these debates. Having a relevant, seeker-friendly, mission-focused, multi-cultural church that doesn’t lose theological depth is a rarity in our modern church tradition. And yet, Good Shepherd is.

I appreciate Talbot’s reasoning and love for his seminary. I also appreciate my reasoning and love for mine. These differences are simply iron sharpening iron. At least, that’s what the Bible tells me.

Answer To An Interesting Question

Yesterday, I posted about my son Riley's "divinity school" question.

After I figured out why he was asking what he was asking, I drew him a chart on a sheet of notebook paper. I figured if he was going to ask, I was going to answer.

On the chart, I put seminaries and divinity schools in several different categories. My method was neither exhaustive nor scientific . . . but I think pretty accurate.

Here goes:

Divinity Schools At Elite Universities

Harvard, Yale, and others were originally founded with the expressed purpose of training pastors. Over the centuries, however, as these institutions and others separated undergraduate studies from graduate theological education, the nature of the pastoral training changed.

In the main, academic reputation replaced pastoral preparation, and the theological perspectives at such schools took a decidedly leftward turn.

All the hallmarks of what we now call "Twentieth Century Protestant Liberalism" --

a low if not absent view of the inspiration of the bible;

a blurring of lines between the faith claims of Jesus and those of other great religious leaders;

a dismissal of the orthodox understandings of heaven, hell, and the second coming

-- found a warm welcome at the historic schools. While orthodox students are welcome in these schools, they are much in the minority. Harvard, Yale, and the University of Chicago all have representation from Unitarian students and faculty as well. You can read some of Harvard's story here.

If you are wondering why Princeton Seminary isn't in this category, it's not because I'm taking one for the home team. The seminary in Princeton was founded as a separate institution from the University, and is more mainstream in its theological perspective and more parish-focused in its teaching than the schools mentioned above.

Schools Of Theology At Methodist Universities

Since I'm a Methodist pastor and Methodism is the church world that my kids have known, I told Riley about some of the specifically UMC schools that are part of larger universities. Three of the most influential are Duke Divinity School, Candler School of Theology at Emory University, and the Perkins School of Theology at SMU. These are three out of thirteen; you can read the entire list here.

In general, these schools don't steer quite as far leftward as do Harvard and Chicago. They have more of a heart for training local church pastors than do the Ivies. I believe I would have been relatively happy at any of those three.

Yet I also know that several of the areas that get my adrenaline flowing -- like a burden for the salvation of souls and an excitement for the preaching of the Word -- would have been more subtle and more muted than I was looking for.

So even if it would have looked great to have a "Duke Alumni" sticker on my car while driving around Charlotte, that environment didn't exactly match my needs as a preacher-in-training.

Which explains why new kinds of schools emerged in the 20th Century . . .

The Multi-Denominational, Stand-Alone, Evangelical Seminary

As church leaders noted with alarm what was happening to theological education in the early part of the 20th Century, several groups took action and founded schools that were to be both orthodox in their theology and rigorous in their academics.

That's why a group of evangelical Methodists founded Asbury Seminary in Kentucky in 1923.

It's why some Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists launched Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA in 1947.

And it's why a collection of Baptists and Calvinists formed Gordon-Conwell Seminary in 1969.

Along with several of the Southern Baptist Seminaries (another type of school altogether that I don't have room for), these three are among the largest in the world in terms of student enrollment and in terms of producing pastors of prevailing churches.

They are not fundamentalist. They don't teach that the world will end on May 21, 2011.

However, they stand by the authority of Scripture, the Lordship of Christ, and the belief that he will in fact come "to judge the quick and the dead."

So if you've heard me speak of my seminary experience, you know how I loved that time at Asbury. It's where I learned to read the bible literarily and not literally; it's where I learned that less is more when you preach; it's where I learned the local church really is the hope of humanity; and it's where I learned that real intellectual rigor is in standing for ancient, revealed truth.

So Riley, that's why I didn't go to divinity school.

A Most Interesting Question

Not long ago, my 18 year old son Riley asked me the most interesting question: "Dad, why didn't you go to a Divnity School?"

That's not a typical question that anyone asks, much less an 18 year old.

But after pondering it for a couple of days, I figured out why he asked what he asked. As some of you know, I did my undergraduate studies at a university known for being rather selective (the tennis coach had a large say in my admission).

Yet I studied for ministry at an independent, stand-alone school called Asbury Seminary in Kentucky.

Back to Riley. As he explored colleges this year (he's headed to Chapel Hill this fall), he discovered that many of the most elite undergraduate universities in the country also have graduate schools of theology. Places like Harvard Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, Duke Divinity School, Vanderbilt Divinity School, and Emory University's Candler School of Theology.

So when you're 18 and you've been told by your culture, your family, and your peers that, when it comes to education, prestige = excellence, then Riley's question becomes oh-so-logical. In fact, when I told him that Duke Divinity School is actually Methodist, he said, "Oh that would have been sweet!"

What Riley didn't know, however, is the history and trajectory of most of those university-related schools of theology and the subsequent call for and rise of independent theological seminaries.

So to answer his question, I told him a little story and made him a little chart. Which I'll share with you tomorrow.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Things About DC Talk's "Jesus Freak"

Though it's been almost 16 years since DC Talk released "Jesus Freak," I've been listening to it all over again.

And that recent listening shows why it remains in my view the signature Christian rock album of all time. Here are the top five things I like about it:

1. Who would have thought that one band could meld the haunting atmosphere of U2, the sonic assault of Nirvana, and the rap-infused creativity of the Beastie Boys into something fresh and original? Yet that's what DC Talk does here.

2. The courage to title a song "Colored People."

3. Rap that people who don't like rap can like in the title song.

4. The vocal arrangement of "In The Light."

5. The question we all need to ask in "What If I Stumble?"

(Early) Monday Morning Quarterbacking

I fall asleep most Sunday nights while replaying various aspects of Sunday morning in my mind. That replay includes things that happened in worship, key moments of the sermon, things people said to me in the lobby, and new I folks I saw and "old" folks I didn't see.

Sometimes, those same kind of thoughts will wake me up on Monday morning.

So this morning at 4:25, I woke up I remembering something I had forgotten on Sunday.

The message was about the Ten Commandments -- not an analysis of each one, mind you, but a look at what lines the Commandments provide for us.

And my plan all along was that we would conclude the sermon by standing and reciting the Commandments out loud and together. We had them prepared to display on the screen.

And then I forgot. At 8:30, at 10, and at 11:30.

Perhaps because I was eager to have us begin singing "Trust And Obey," (yes, we did that one!) or possibly because I wanted to do the "giveaway" of our Ten Commandments bookmark, or maybe because we weren't "supposed" to do it all . . . whatever the reason, I forgot the thing I was supposed to remember.

So here they are. I invite you to do electronically what we didn't do in person: say the Ten Commandments out loud with your Good Shepherd cyber community.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

5. Honor your father and mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

While I didn't remember the corporate reading yesterday, I do remember the point as it comes to the Commandments: You are more free between the lines than you'll ever be outside them.

Lines, Week 3 -- Between The Lines

First we crossed the lines.

Then we changed the colors and the fonts and went outside the lines.

This Sunday is the kind of thing many of us need: what it means to stay between the lines. There are some things I've been saving up to say for a long time.

Here's how we approach the series:



Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

Save The Date? Really?

Perhaps you've seen this billboard in your area.

Much to my chagrin, I have seen it in mine.

I will never understand why people claiming to follow the bible engage in speculation that is so unbiblical.

According to Jesus, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (Matthew 24:36)

Paul echoes the same thinking: "Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." (I Thessalonians 5:1-2).

Which means that the primary date I'm saving these days is the sermon I'll be delivering here on earth on May 22, 2011.

The Power Of The Gospel

Romans 1:16-17 is a clarion call for New Testament Christians:

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last,[a] just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

So the Gospel -- the life, death, resurrection, and ultimate return of Jesus -- is in a real sense "the power of God."

It's a phrase I've been hearing in prayer recently: the Gospel has its own power. In other words, there is an irresistible strength to the simple, unadorned proclamation of the Gospel story and Gospel invitation.

It's especially relevant to consider that truth when it comes to worship planning. We wrestle with the how much and the when of creativity. How much art is necessary in worship? When is it important to add a creative element to an otherwise straightforward worship gathering? On what occasions would more creativity actually detract from the simple, urgent power of the Gospel?

We don't have answers to all those questions. Yet as God brings Romans 1:16-17 to our minds, they are the ones we'll keep asking.

Because whatever creativity we bring -- or don't bring -- to a Sunday morning exists to serve the Gospel and not the reverse.

Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Ingredients Of A "Good Read"

When you fly back and forth from India, as I did a few weeks ago, you obviously spend a lot of time on a plane.

Which, for me, means a lot of time to read.

And I read some terrific books "there and back," several of which are listed in the "Books I Like" section to the left.

But that got me doodling, which ultimately leads to blogging: what separates a good book from a bad one? What elements are essential if a book will be a 'good read' regardless of genre?

So, without further delay, here are some of my answers:

1. Narrative Voice. If the perspective of the narrator makes me think, cry, or laugh, I'm hooked. I've recently read three books with what I consider to be brilliant narrators: 1) Room, with a five year old boy relating the harrowing story; 2) House Of Prayer #2, a breathless memoir written in the second person; and 3) The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night, in which the storyteller is a boy with autism.

2. A compelling story. OK, page-turners never hurt. 33 Men proves the axiom that truth is stranger than fiction.

3. Characters I'm interested in. I don't have to like the characters, mind you. Just be interested in them. That's why I can finish any book in which a preacher (what I do), a pro tennis player (what I wish I did!) or a professor (my father's profession) is the protagonist.

4. Time to cry. I cry easier at books than movies, The Kite Runner being Exhibit A.

5. Seamless writing. I'm most attached to writing that communicates what you've long felt but never articulated. Richard Russo is the my favorite in this regard, like when one of his narrators says: "Life stops hurting so much when you give up believing it could be any different."

An Experiment Gone Wrong. And Then Right.

I had it all planned out.

As part of yesterday's sermon, I was going to do an "experiment" demonstrating that a) oil and water don't mix; b) there is a product made up of primarily oil & water -- mayonnaise; and c) the reason mayonnaise works is because eggs are the "emusifier" bringing together the oil and water into a cohesive product.

The larger point would be that the cross of Christ is the "emulsifier" bringing together different races, cultures, and languages into a unified people of God.

I thought "rather than just explain it, I'll DO it!" (Not produce the actual mayonnaise, mind you, just demonstrate that oil and water don't mix before introducing the mayonnaise/egg "reveal.")

So I bought a see through container, a bottle of water, some Crisco Oil, and Hellman's mayonnaise. That's heavy duty sermon prep.

At the 8:30 service, the big moment came. I poured the water into the container, followed by the Crisco.

Yet I soon discovered to my dismay that the container -- brand new! -- had two large leaks in it. I quickly put it back on my "preaching table" and watched with growing dread as the water pooled all over it and, eventually, began to drip off the backside.

I made the point and finished the sermon, but the experiment was, well, lacking.

Fortunately, several staffers came to my rescue and located a new, see through, and leak-proof container so that the science could continue unimpeded at 10 and 11:30.

So it did.

You can actually watch the sermon here.

I'm not sure I have any special preaching or ministry wisdom to draw from this event except this: if you are going to do an experiment during the sermon, practice it beforehand.

Outside The Lines

Here's the 2.0 version of the "Lines" series promo / sermon bumper:



I think I like this one even better. It more closely reflects the "full color" commitment of our church.

Which is something I'll touch in a message I'm very much looking forward to, "Outside The Lines."To prepare, read 2 Kings 5:1-15.

Sunday. 8:30. 10. 11:30.