Posts from May 2012

Posts from May 2012

DNA – The Missional Strand

Today’s American society has many similarities to the culture which surrounded the first century church: People are spiritually sensitive and hungry but they are not looking to the Christian church. The culture is pluralistic but intolerant of the exclusive claims of Christ. The Christian faith is politically maligned and culturally held in disdain. That first century culture was God’s incubator for the genesis of the Church. We know the sect of Christ followers grew rapidly. The Church multiplied at an…

A Pentecost Reflection

One of the things I love about the Scriptures is that they speak to me where I’m living. As I read the account of the Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 I was drawn to different passages as though they were highlighted. While I have to work at reading the Scripture though lenses that include all of the Bible and that recognize its first audience, it’s much easier for me to view it through the perspective of my life. As a…

DNA of NineSevenZero Church

DNA is the organic molecule that contains the hereditary material for a living organism. Nearly every cell in an organism has the same DNA yet there are many types of cells that look and function differently. The genetic information in DNA is stored as a code made from four chemical bases. Just as letters of an alphabet form words, words form sentences, sentences form paragraphs, paragraphs form chapters, and chapters form books, the sequence of these bases determines the information…

Lexicon (part 1)

A lexicon of common terms will be helpful to accurately communicate vision, strategy, and tactical plans. Many words have baggage associated with them or have had their meanings stretched by cultural usage. Instead of creating new terms, I think we can simply agree to a common understanding of meaning when we use them. A common vocabulary and consistant usage of terms will enable us to communicate and exchange ideas more efficiently and with greater accuracy. Here’s the first list of…

Look Out – We`re Contagious

If you examine the New Testament and church history, it is clear that there is no one “right” form of the church. Part of the church’s sustaining power and the mystery of it’s effectiveness is its ability to morph its form to reach a culture. There are several forms of the church that are present in North America today and we’re going to look at them to help us at NineSevenZero Church know who we are and how we fit…

Relationship – It`s the context

One of the questions that we must always be asking ourselves as we go forward in the process of launching NineSevenZero Church is, “Is what we are doing or intending to do promote a relational connection to God or people?” If the answer to that question is “No” then that’s also the answer to the question of whether we should do it. Relationship is the context in which life and mission is done. It’s the pot that holds the stew.…

The View from the Other Side of the Fence – Part 3

Through the Eyes of a Visitor This is the final set of observations from my recent foray on the other side of the fence. It’s a list of perspectives as a visitor that will hopefully help us create a church that that is inviting and welcoming. 1. How do I get there when you are there? It was surprising to me that in the www days that we live in how many churches do not have any web presence. I…
looking over fence

The View from the Other Side of the Fence – Part 2

While I have been out visiting churches it occurred to me that I am very much like someone looking for a new church home. I come to the church like a secret shopper with a checklist and an agenda. I’ve noticed that the things I am sampling are more of the objective, doctrinal, programatic part of the church. I take the temperature, measure the atmospheric pressure, and record the direction and the intensity of the wind. It’s not only like…
peering over fence

The View from the Other Side of the Fence – Part 1

I’ve had a couple opportunities in recent years to observe churches from a different perspective. The first was the two years I was in Springfield, Missouri attending seminary. It reminded me of when Sue and I moved to Massachusetts to start my professional career. We were like resident tourists enjoying the varied geography from the ocean of Cape Cod to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We delved into the historical events and people that were part of the formation…