Thoughts on our vision for a church of extravagant worshipers.

Yesterday I was out exploring back roads with my son.  We passed an old cemetery and decided to stop.  The sign said it was established in 1861.  We found the burial plot of a Civil War soldier and someone who (according to their head stone) had been born a slave, sold away from his mother at the age of one.  It was one of those moments that was filled with interest, reflection, wonder and a tremendous heart call to breathe in the air I have right now because it won’t always be there.

Between that and studying Ecclesiastes, I was reminded again:  this is my one and only life and it’s going to end.  Yeah, that’s kind of depressing.  But, nevertheless, true.  All of those people  with names marked on stones were just as real and full of life as you and I at one time. The end of their lives on this earth felt as distant to them when they were living as it does to us now.  Now, they are simple names, a couple of dates in a forgotten plot of ground in the back roads of Southern Indiana.  I left with an urgency to simply make sure I was living, not just going through motions and honestly, I started worrying about it. Was I doing what mattered?  Am I really drinking in those I love?  Am I giving enough?

Then, today, I visited an elderly woman who is in ICU.  Things could go either way in her situation. I read to her  what I often read at bed sides:  “so we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  I need to remember the limits of the vision of the writer of Ecclesiastes. He is as right as he can be about life on this earth:  It’s a vapor folks, get used to the idea.  Don’t act like you have time to spare and waste.  On the other hand – I can have urgency without worry.  I can know what matters and those eternal things can be lived in the simplest ways:  prayers, kind words,  loving actions.  It doesn’t have to be complicated and grandiose.  TODAY, you and I can live lives of vibrant  but peaceful urgency.  All we have to do is remember, life on this earth is temporary BUT, we have a promised eternity to keep our eyes on.

A glimpse of what the surveys helped us realize about our community.

While many know my story about deliverance from the drug lifestyle,  I don’t think I have ever slowed down and taught (in depth) about what I learned and the process of how to be free.  I am reminded regularly of how epidemic the problem of substance abuse is. I have met SO MANY who struggle in that area.   So, over the next few weeks we’re going to set the subject on the table.

The preparation has been a fascinating journey for me. I walked through a lot of memories and asked myself a lot of questions.  But, most importantly, I am dedicated to trying my best to make sure we focus on God’s Word and let the answers rise out of studying it.  It was interesting to try to walk the balance between being autobiographical and purely biblical.   So, I looked back to find some of the most meaningful things from the Bible I learned through the time of walking away  from drugs.  I also have tried to develop a pattern of “owning” books on Sunday’s – so people can achieve some kind of understanding of individual books.  Putting those ideas together,  I decided to link it all to a look at the book of Ecclesiastes.  Read it.  It’s a trip (to use drug phraseology).  That book actually helped me tremendously in the early days of my walk and was fundamental to giving me a sense of truly never wanting to go back to the old way of doing things again.  For a time the old life looked appealing – now it doesn’t at all.  I would love to see God instill in all of us that His ways are not just right – but BEST, on every level.  I think Ecclesiastes, in all its weirdness, will do that.  So, even if drugs haven’t been your struggle, I’ll bet you’ll have a good time looking into one of the Bible’s most unusual books.

See you this Sunday.

Some of the reasons we do what we do when it comes to art and creativity in church.

Keep in mind, there is much more to say but I’m trying to boil it down as much as possible.

Our Senior Leadership Team took a couple of days this week to attempt a final wrestling with the Edge /  Summit debate.  We knew we needed to make a decision and move forward.  And we have.

Here is a “Top 10″ list of things to keep in mind about our proposed solution:

PROBLEM.  We have an undeniable problem. We have never attempted to ignore, hide or NOT be proactive about solving it.   The problem is that the Edge is growing and needs more space to continue to grow, while the Summit is declining.

PROCESS.  We have tried to be very open in our discussion about the process and challenges.

DISCUSSION.  This was a conversation between the Senior Leadership Team as well as Summit and Edge leaders, Trustees and our GPS leaders.

OPTIONS. We seriously considered several options. All options were presented in “proposal” form knowing many unseen problems could derail things. The most seriously considered options were:

a) Two church sites — Lincoln for Summit, Washington Square Mall for Edge;

b) Edge in the Big Room at 9 AM, and a new form of the Summit in the gym at 9 AM.

There have been many variations offered of those basic ideas (Edge “lite” at 9, Edge at another venue at 11, Edge on Saturday night, etc.).

ALTERNATIVES:  There was NEVER an option where we did not plan to offer a worship alternative. A key principle of the Edge is that  we have never forced it on anyone nor do we ever want to.  The main question was:  where?  Space and time were always the greatest challenge in discussing an alternative worship experience.

SOLUTION.  We decided to move forward with a hybrid form of plan “a”: The Summit will stay at 9 AM in the Big Room but will be more intentional and proactive links to the mission of the church fueled by leadership from both Pastor Dave and Pastor Steve. I will also have an active role but those two will take first responsibility.   The Edge will pursue continued growth and actively seek to get a “foot in the door” at Washington Square Mall (300-500-seats in Elder Beerman as a first phase) – forming 2 sites between Lincoln and WSM with the hope of moving to the Mall completely in the next several years.

STYLE. The Summit will not be a new “Edge,” it will seek to minister to those currently in the room using the talents and skills of those currently in the room.

NAMES.  We debated dropping names for the services.  But, being in the same building, offering very different experiences and styles still needs a way to identify them to the newcomer.  But, “the Summit” as a name will slowly fade off because it seems to have been identified with something that is on the fade.  “Catalyst” seemed to define best what we would like to see the service become.  However, changing the name is not a priority.

PLAN.  Our plan is not to abruptly change anything but to listen to those who have lived and served in the Summit world and get the best feel possible for what will truly touch the hearts of Summit attenders.  We will also actively seek ways to link the Summit to what is happening in the rest of the church.  Pastors Dave and Steve will co-lead that process.  I will also be involved, but my first priority will continue to be actively leading the Edge towards its next stage of development.

UNITY.  The Summit’s greatest need has been vision, mission and a sense of unity with the whole.  Edge and Summit need to complement one another.  We are one church.  We all have roles to play.  The Edge has been critical to forward movement and outreach. The Summit has played a key role in the past and can embrace a strong role in the future for all that God is doing in and through our church.  Each should be celebrated for what it has accomplished.  We want to do this TOGETHER.

We told everyone to watch my blog for updates on what is happening in the Edge-Summit discussion.  In this post, I want to give you a peek into why the question doesn’t have an easy answer and has not finally and fully been answered.  We are committed to resolving the issues and coming down on a plan within the next week.  In the meantime, here’s a glance at a principle that keeps the discussion lively to say the least.

I’ll begin with a story from Jesus life:

“He told them this parable: ‘No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old one. If he does, he will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is better.’ ” Luke 5:36 – 39

This is Jesus’ response when asked about why His disciples were not required to do the same kinds of things which John the Baptist’s disciples and the Pharisees did. In typical form, Jesus doesn’t give a long, wordy, point-counterpoint type of answer.  He expresses Himself in a simple, powerful word picture from everyday life.  I must admit, there was a time when I just didn’t get what He was talking about. The statement seemed mystical or even off subject to me.  But as I studied more and experienced more, I discovered a rock-solid and very helpful principle. His message to His questioners was not to just bring a few minor changes to already established norms. He didn’t intend to just “tweak” the system a little. Who He was and what He did was new: a new day and a new way of doing things.  Because of that, it COULD NOT just fit nicely into the accepted patterns.  If it tried, both the new and the old would be broken.

Of course, we always have to be careful not to overextend applications to our own situation, but this principle is amazing in its practicality, especially in church life. When new things begin, as they stand on their own, they tend to be vibrant, exciting and motivating.  If they are moved into older established things they often have the opposite effect.  I once heard a wise pastor illustrate this by pointing out that for some reason the same things we allow the teenagers to do in the  youth center would not be welcomed in the sanctuary.  Many of the “progressive” ideas flowing into adult churches and causing so much upset around the country are simply youth ministry ideas moved into an adult context.  Naïve leaders are often caught off guard when what once was received with enthusiasm causes almost violent backlash.

This was the essential discovery of the Edge service.  For years we tried to do some more progressive types of things inside the already established and accepted forms of the service.  And, to BT’s credit, because of our attempts,  Bethel has always felt like a creative and progressive place.  However, each time the envelope was pushed, there was a reaction. We were stretching things beyond their natural boundaries.  The old ways and the new ways were getting lost at the same time.   Many of us on staff remember an Easter Sunday when we were counting the people leaving because we really tried to go to a new place and “rock up” the opening to the service. It back-fired.  The new ideas were frustrated by the old patterns, the old patterns were no longer enjoyable when mixed with the new. Experiences like this happened as normal life.

We had a sense of wanting, not just to tweak and occasionally push the envelope, but go into something very different from what we were doing.  So, after many tries (I have nick-named the Edge service “try #57”), we decided to create an entirely new context.  We warned people what it was going to be.  We kept doing the same things we had always done in the other service.  No change was forced on anyone.  We created a “new wine skin” for new wine.  And, it worked.  To those of us who had fought the battles and had broken countless wineskins and mopped up gallons of new wine, it felt like the Edison 10,000^th try at the light bulb (to shamelessly mix my metaphors). The pattern of how we had done things all along remained. It was called “the Summit.”  It had never been bad, it was what everyone was used to. It simply had borders that couldn’t contain the stretch factors (just like the Edge will someday). The new thing, nick-named “The Edge,” began to flourish because it was free to stretch and wasn’t offending anyone or being forced on anyone. Those who liked it that way came. Those who didn’t – didn’t.

Now, nearly 7 years later, we have a dilemma (see the previous Summit / Edge post).  The new thing continues to grow and the older pattern is on a slow decline.  We have a limited building and limited resources.  One idea is to simply have the newer move into the older.  And, going back to Jesus’ principle, that scares both the new and the old for the very reason Jesus pointed out: you risk the wineskin AND the wine. On the other hand, Jesus makes the concession that when people have had older wine they don’t want new.  There is no doubt that those who simply enjoy things the way they have been for a long time don’t want the “new” thing, and they shouldn’t be forced to choke it down either. On the other hand, there are those who have tested the new thing going on and have found it very motivating and enjoyable.

The proposal to take the Edge to the Mall and have 2 campuses was birthed by the wineskin principle. The theory was that the Edge needed to be taken into a context to continue to stretch freely without needlessly breaking old patterns. For that reason alone it is very appealing. The option is still on the table but has been slowed by some very practical concerns.

It is no secret that we are at an interesting intersection.  The search for an answer that preserves people’s love, purpose and sense of unity is not easy to find. As we search out the best answer, please pray, and feel free to graciously interact about it.

We might as well say it:  we’re in a weird spot with more questions than answers at this point.

Edge growth at 11 is stuck for the time being.  It’s prime time and we have filled it.  Edge 9 has enabled us to move more people in and we should continue to do what we can do to fill it too.  Then what?  Where do we go in the short term?  Do we invest in setting up another site even before the mall?  The mall is currently beyond our reach financially. We have to grow into it.

And, it’s no secret – the Summit is in decline.

It’s not radical but it has been steady over the last few years.  Rising on one side and falling on the other is a strange place to be.  As you can imagine – it makes for a lot of animated discussions and problem solving attempts with no easy answers.  I commented on my Facebook status a few days ago that I was working on leadership solutions and it felt like working a Rubik’s Cube.   I never could work one of those things.

The good side of it all is – feeling that sense of total dependence upon God.  I’m confident of the vision and I believe the greatest solution of all is to get radical with the vision and mission and create an environment where you have to do radical things to keep moving.  Life’s more fun that way.  The Kingdom is always about outward movement.  It is dynamic not static.  Praise God – sure beats being bored.