• Archive of "prophets" Category

    Bi-Vocational Ministry & Support Raising

    October 29, 2009 // 4 Comments »

    Earlier this month I began a series of posts on Bi-Vocational Ministry.  I talked about Bi-Vocational Ministry and the Missional Church and then the relationship between Bi-Vocational Ministry and Spiritual Formation.

    For the last few days I have been participating in a seminar on “Ministry Partner Development,” led by my friend JR Woodward through Ecclesia, a missional church planting network.  So, naturally, I have been thinking about the relationship between bi-vocational ministry and support raising.  I am coming away from the seminar with 2 firm convictions.

    1)  Support raising is a ministry in and of itself.  As a nation, we give 1-2% of our annual income to charitable causes.  As a subset of American Christians, conservatives slaughter that statistic at a whopping 3%!  Sad, really sad.  Those who raise support to do works of ministry are ministering to those that they ask to be partners simply by saying, “Hey, would you actually like to do something of eternal significance with your money?”  For a people that ought to be known for our generosity and our refusal to store up for ourselves treasures on earth, we’re pitiful and I am all for more and more and more people who have the courage to take steps of faith and ask others to financially support them.

    2) Inasmuch as it is a ministry in and of itself and because I think our current model of theological eduction is largely missing the mark in truly preparing Christian leaders for the future landscape of the Church in Western culture, I think support raising is a necessary consideration. Leave aside for a moment the idea of support raising as a ministry to those who choose to partner, what other choice do people whose training is theological and ministerial in nature have if they want to practice bi-vocational leadership?  They aren’t really marketable in most of the non-church world and it will take some time if they are to acquire additional skills and training.  Perhaps worse, they take jobs in churches that are spiritually dead, but have some money, or they cave into the forms of church that are successfully marketing religious goods to a quasi-religious, Christendom population.  This is where I think support raising comes in.

    Aside form the personal benefits of learning how to humbly depend on others, being able to pursue what God has put on your heart rather than choosing from the given options, and developing the disciplines necessary to do the work of support raising, developing a team of ministry partners can be a great way to free someone up to minister to those who have no concept of supporting pastors or those who, even if they “get it,” don’t have the means to do so anyway.  And it should go without saying that cultivating a ministry team that is supporting you not only through finances, but by diligent prayer and accountability is a blessing that far too many are missing out on.

    When it comes to church ministry, I think support raising makes the most sense for apostolic and prophetic types of people.

    Apostles are always on the move, charting new territory and plowing new ground.  Having a ministry team that sees and affirms that and says, “Here, we’ll pay your bills, you just keep on following where God leads!” are saints in my book.

    Prophets get stoned and killed.  The quickest way to short circuit the ministry of those who God has called to point out how the Church is failing her calling, is to make them dependent on the giving of one congregation.  Like apostles, they do well to cultivate a team that acknowledges the church’s need for prophetic voices and says, “Here, be free to speak truthful words how the Lord leads.”

    When it comes to bi-vocationality, I think one of the marks of a healthy church is its desire to financially support its leaders.  So, while I think support raising is a good idea in general for many and an excellent idea for some in particular, ultimately, for all the reasons I mentioned in my first post, I still think church leaders working in the community where they minister while being supported by the church they serve is something great to aspire to.

    Posted in bi-vocational, christendom, church, consumerism, leadership, missional, prophets, spiritual formation, theology, western culture

    7 Kinds of Smoke

    May 27, 2008 // 2 Comments »

    Besides being a gratuitous reference to Dupree’s Self-Help spiel in “You, Me and Dupree,” it’s the best title I could come up with for a post full of randomness and fun linkages. You’ve been warned, no coherency is to be found here!

    Listen to this song, it’s awesome.

    I hurt my knee last week and it is bad enough that it’s preventing me from running and playing sports, basically making me miserable.

    Even though I missed out on being with some of the most important people in my life,

    I had a great weekend with some of my newest friends. Most importantly, I am pleased to announce that at 29 years of age I am still a back flipping fool!

    1799291123_942d6d63c3.jpgMy friend Julia is one of the coolest people in the world. She’s an excellent writer, isn’t afraid to be honest with people, and was kind enough to be my conference wife in the Bahamas at Soularize. But all of that is eclipsed by her commitment to the reality of God’s Kingdom in the world. She is so committed to ending the the global trafficking of people for sex and slavery that she had the words “until the last lock breaks” tattooed on her forearm. Julia, the church could stand a few more men and women with your sort of heart.

    I am definitely mourning the loss of a community where the sharing of life amongst people of diverse seasons of life was the norm. Note to Canton friends: Don’t forget that our experience is not that of most.

    As someone whose mind is basically consumed with the idea of spiritual formation on the personal and corporate levels, I am really excited to have made the decision to seek out a spiritual director/counselor that I think might be an important piece in that process for me.

    I have the opportunity to address the Living Hope community this Sunday. I am definitely excited for the opportunity to share some of my story and heart, but also nervous as someone who has only lived among these folks in this new place for 2 short months (not to mention the nervousness which always accompanies the prophetic element of my personality).

    That being said, I have really enjoyed reengaging what it means to be a pastor in the context of a missional church community. Challenges around every bend, but I love the team I get to be a part of.

    I really miss my house church and Anabaptist friends. There was a connection there on a deep level that I am yet to discover here in Memphis.

    I have come to the conclusion that relationally speaking there is probably nothing more frustrating to me than trying to engage with people who can’t communicate deeply. I hate how little patience I often feel in this regard.

    My friend Jason and his family are in the process of joining an Eastern Orthodox church and he has been blogging about it. As I was sharing my my friend Emily, another brilliant and articulate lady, the Eastern Orthodox church has a tremendous amount to offer in terms of its theology and ecclesiology, though few realize it.

    OK, think that’s enough randomness for one evening.

    Posted in blogging, church, community, living hope, memphis, missional, music, preaching/teaching, prophets, random, songs, spiritual formation, theology

    Prophetic Speaking — Prophetic Action

    January 22, 2008 // 6 Comments »

    A friend posted this quote this morning and it got me thinking…

    Prophets yell because their hearts are on fire.  They scream at the world trying to wake us up.  They can’t help it  After all, God is in their throats.

    Steven James

    Having felt something of a prophetic bent in the way God has wired/gifted me, I was struck by the way, at times, I have decided to squelch this fire in my throat for the sake of sustaining relationships and trying to “be more loving” (as if not boldly proclaiming the message God has implanted in you could ever be loving??).

    But as God has used prophets, God has never just given they fiery words to say, God has given them graphic symbols to display – walking around naked to display the shamefulness of God’s people, wearing an ox yoke to symbolize the burden God’s people were placing on others, marrying a prostitute as a way to convey God’s love of Israel the whore, and so on.

    Jesus was a prophet too.  He came with a fiery (anti-empire) message in his throat and it got him killed.  He embodied a message as well, but not primarily one of judgment.  Rather, he embodied the message of the Kingdom of God come to earth.  He healed the sick, cast out demons, restored people to community and fellowship, sought to free people from the burden of wealth, and practiced radical inclusion and forgiveness.  These are not nice or quaint ideals or ways to exist, they are God’s salvation embodied.

    Here’s what I know.  God uses prophetic voices as a means to correct and edify the body of Christ.  I also know that it’s that very church which is most resistant to their message, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how long I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Jesus – MT. 23:37).

    Talk about your all time Catch-22′s.  So, this is my prayer for myself and those like me – looking to Jesus as our example, may God give us the grace to live out our calling with no regard for our own security and safety.  And for the people of God: Father, may you cause us to be open and attentive to your correction and calling.  May we, with Jesus, be willing to lay aside our rights and find our life in dying to ourselves.

    Posted in blogging, church, community, decisions, friends, God, Jesus, kingdom, prayer, prophets

    Violence and The Kingdom

    December 12, 2007 // No Comments »

    On Sunday I went with some friends to see The Kingdom at our local dollar theater.  I thought so much of it, that I invited some other friends and went back to see it last night.

    This was an awesome movie.  Not only shot, directed, and acted well, but an incredibly eye-opening (though certainly not meant to be a non-fiction) film regarding the conflict in the Middle East.  The 5-minute introduction alone, a brief history of the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia (The Kingdom) was worth the price of the movie.

    As I walked out with my friends last night and we were talking about the movie, I lamented that so much of the fighting in this war has to do with 2 competing ideologies, both predicated on the notion that victory will come through the violent elimination of their enemies. 

    But, to quote a contemporary prophetic voice, “Peace by way of war is like purity by way of fornication.”  Violence ONLY EVER begets more violence.   I have no definitive answers to some of the very real problems and dilemmas that we face in this war, but I have put all my hope and have put all my trust in the way of Jesus, the way of non-violent resistance, prophetic action and speaking, and sacrificial living unto death. 

    These are God’s means of peace in the world. 

    As soon as you can check out this movie.  Here’s a trailer.

    Posted in justice, kingdom, movies, peace, prophets

    The People of God and Prophets: A Love-Hate Relationship

    March 14, 2007 // No Comments »

    Check out the article which spurred these thoughts here, “Where Have All the Prophets Gone?”

    The People of God have never been the biggest fans of the prophets God has sent for their own good.  They grumbled against Moses, according to church tradition Isaiah was sawed in half, and Jesus got hung on a tree.  No one enjoys having having to rethink their most ingrained assumptions, even less managing a stance of humility when faced with the error of their ways.  Nevertheless, God has seen fit to use prophets for the good of his people, most only appreciated once they have given their life in fulfillment of their duty.  This is a sad reality.

    The missional church movement, I think, sees this and is attempting to figure out how to live its life so as to not continue making this grave error.  Prophets are going to continue to have a hard time within the modern evangelical church (among other traditions).  My sincere hope is that the missional church movement, as a prophetic voice in its own right, might be willing to give its collective life in service of the wider Church.  This, afterall, may very well be part of what it means to heed the same call of God to Isaiah, “Whom shall I send?  And who will go for us?”  May it be the missional church who says, “Here am I, send me!” (Isa. 6:8)

    Posted in church, Jesus, missional, prophets, theology