Getting to Harvest
Air conditioning, SUVs and tract homes insulate people from the cycles of the seasons in the city and suburbs. There is a vague awareness of sport changeovers and the need to drive differently, but no longer is the course of life determined by the movement of life from one cycle to another. The All-Wheel-Drive system makes travel possible in both the oppressive heat of the summer and all but the most dangerous of blizzards. People become little masters of their little universes.
Life in a rural context is much more tightly bound to the turn of the seasons. If it is an agricultural area, the change of seasons signals a shift in ones labors. In other areas, the change may bring isolation due to an inability to travel safely or a lack of work altogether. The cyclical nature of life is not so easily avoided, even in the seat of a well-equipped pickup truck.
Ministering to people requires an understanding of these cycles and all that they bring. Some cycles will be downtime, a maintenance cycle in which church attendance will be regular and discipleship more readily engaged. Spring brings a flurry of activity and a measure of apprehension. Will conditions be favorable? Am I too early or too late? Once the final degree of this cycle has been counted, all hearts turn toward the harvest.
The success or the failure of one’s labors is measured in the final turn of the year. Excitement and apprehension once again make themselves the chief emotions. Many will be out of touch for weeks at a time as the fields are cleared and product shipped to market. One by one, people will sense a cycle of rest coming upon them. Life will slow and as the implements are stored, a fleeting thought will be given to next year.
If we can just make it to harvest…maybe next season will be better…
To minister to your rural parish is to operate within these mindsets. Hopeful but cautious and generally unwilling to look beyond the cycle’s objective, your congregants may not apprehend a long-range vision. In their minds they must make it to the ‘harvest’ before launching into the next season. The potential for conflict exists if the leader fails to consider this perspective in presenting and planning ministry that spans more than one cycle of life.
Back to the Beginning
Insourcing by Randy Pope
“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all men.” John 1:4
Discipleship in recent Christian practice has taken an intellectual bent, focused as it is largely on communicating head-knowledge. This is valuable but rarely results in transformation when not paired with an equal measure of heart-knowledge. When the two disciplines are aligned the exercise becomes the pouring of one life into another. In a secular context, the apprenticeship enables an experienced craftsman to share the process and philosophy of one’s craft with another, coaching and guiding the apprentice to attain to the same level of arts. Jesus modeled the same thing throughout His ministry, pouring His life into a group of men who would one day lead His Church.
Pastor Randy Pope has given us a volume of encouragement entitled INsourcing. Less a manual than it is a memoir, INsourcing details the philosophy underlying the practice of Perimeter Church called Life On Life Missional Discipleship. Pope and his leadership team designed and implemented a way of living the Christian life together that engages both the head and heart to produce disciples prepared to engage the Mission of Christ’s Church.
Pastor Pope doesn’t advocate for his program as though it is the only model to be emulated. Rather, he encourages the reader to examine their own context and to develop a methodical process which fits them best. Emphasizing the tortoise-like pace of true discipleship, Pope’s most valuable contribution is the permission it gives the leader reading the book to take the long view in gaining a vision for what could be.
Readers looking for a plan or a new model should look elsewhere. Leaders seeking an apprenticeship will find INsourcing valuable as God places a vision for their particular context before them. While the vignettes of the small groups are a bit idealized, they provide a powerful parallel to the abstract ideas presented through the surrounding chapters. Closing the book you will be convinced that LOLMD will produce something that no program can do, real disciples of Jesus Christ.
I’m grateful to Zondervan who provided this copy for review.
Far from the City
Far from the bustle and concrete byways of the city lies a place of mystery to many people. Though geographically this place dwarfs the footprint of the cities, suburbs and exurbs, its inhabitants are but a fraction of their population. This place is known by many names, some derogatory and insulting, some more indicative of the labors that take place there…
The countryside, hinterlands, sticks, farm country,yokeldom and hickdom, the tall corn…
Those who live in this area by choice or calling are similarly caricatured. They are simple, unsophisticated, a bit rough around the edges and lacking the panache and polish of the urban and suburban brothers and sisters. Their tastes tend toward gingham, heavily laden plates, trucks and events involving livestock.
Of course, none of these are true and all of them are true.
People are people regardless of their proximity to the urban core. They live, love, sin and repent. They are theologically complex and in some cases, artless. Some have a desire to know the Shalom, the peace of a life lived in God, The Peace and others choose their own path to peace.
It is in this rural context to which I’ve been called to minister. The challenges are unique and complex despite the stereotypes and little in my formal training prepared me to engage this culture. Yet minister I do because these are God’s people and I love them. To be their shepherd is a privilege that I do not take lightly. They have taught me much and from their ovine counterparts that I pass each day I am enlightened.
Much is made of those with sufficient fortitude attempt a ministry in the inner city as though this is the ultimate ministry field, filled with dangers and challenges unmatched in any other ministry field. We rightly admire those whom God has called into these stations but we should also avoid denigrating those who God has placed in the suburbs as well. The tract home holds its share of unique problems as well.
God calls some of us into the countryside to minister. We worship with top-notch musicians and deeply spiritual people whose prayers move your soul. We preach with all the fervor and sophistication of our urban cohort. We marry and we bury and we equip His people to minister on their own. We are not here because we were unable to make it elsewhere or because we are running away from something, we are here because we are obedient to God’s calling upon our lives.
We are here because we love God’s people and His people are here.
Tie the Knot Tighter
Bound Together by Chris Brauns
“Our culture idolizes the free-floating, unhindered, and isolated hero cut off from any formal responsibilities. But the Lone Ranger is a lie. Isolated heroes like Jack Reacher do not exist.” Though we may make noises that insist that the culture at large does not affect the Church, this too is a falsehood. This meme of individuality and a disconnection from one another has permeated the pews, and because it has, Christians suffer a great loss. Recovering the idea that we are inextricably bound together for good and bad is the purpose of Pastor Brauns’ excellent book, Bound Together.
Rooting the foundation in the oft-misunderstood recesses of the doctrine of Original Sin, Brauns establishes the nature of our binding, what he names the Principle of the Rope. Though we were not individually responsible for Adam’s failure, we were corporately tainted by his actions, resulting in the same nature and guilt. The positive antidote to the Fall is found in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice benefiting the World, not just you or me.
The book is theologically challenging without descending into seminary speak. The reader will linger in some chapters, especially early on, as the foreign idea of being tied to one another comes set. Building on this baseline, Pastor Brauns’ then applies this corporate notion to our individual lives in a series of chapters that help the reader understand the implications the binding brings to day to day life. Whether it is read all the way through or approached one topic at a time, Bound Together is book [and concept] badly needed in Christ’s people today.
I’m grateful to Zondervan who provided this copy for review.
The god of You
gods at war
by Kyle Idleman
Turning the final pages of ‘gods at war’ prompts the question in your mind, why do I come last? As in, why has Idleman waited until the final few pages to expose the root cause of my ongoing skirmishes with all of the other gods of this world? The answer that he provides brings all of the other enemies into perspective; the god of self is the field officer directing the rest of the pantheon. We are our own worst enemy.
Pastor Idleman turns over no new soil in this book. A quick scan of the table of contents will reveal the walls that you have scaled over and over in your life. Some you have overcome and others, well they continue to sneak up on you when you least expect it. The cohesiveness of these gods is stunning. They are bound together like few other things in this world, and making them more difficult to address is the glue that binds; they all start out as something good that we in our self-centeredness turn bad. It is here that Idleman shines. He absolutely refuses to allow us to point at anything other than our love for self as the reason for this good-bad confusion.
Though it doesn’t stand with ‘Not a Fan’, ‘gods at war’ is a good read and would serve well in a study group. Men will be especially receptive to Idleman’s style and approach as he often portrays himself as having to battle the same false dieties.
Your Love O Lord, Reaches to the Heavens
As Christ set his face toward Calvary, he steps forward in faithfulness to the will of the Father. Unwilling to allow himself to flinch as the moment of sacrifice stands but a week away, the Lord’s love pervades every interaction in which He will engage. Love for the Father. Love for His people. Love for those not-yet His people. The psalmist reflected on the expanse of this love and faithfulness:
Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heaven, your faithfulness to the skies.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, you justice like the great deep.
O Lord, you preserve both man and beast.
How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 36:5-7
As God had delivered Israel from their bondage, Jesus would faithfully deliver the world from its bondage to sin. Would there be limitations to this salvation? Would Jesus falter in his steps toward The Cross. Impossible! The height and breadth of love, the depth of righteousness and faithfulness cannot be measured any more than we can calculate the ends of the universe.
Does your faith reflect even a fraction of these unfathomable heights and widths? As we walk with the Lord toward His death, we have a pointed opportunity this week to allow previously reserved parts of self to die as well. Hang them on the cross. Send them to the tomb and know a greater sense of new life that is yours in belief. Know it in full.
Dwelling Forever in the house of god
The Great House of God
Max Lucado
“…I want to come home”, who hasn’t voiced that desire at least once in their life? One of Maslow’s fundamental human needs and a terminal thought, the longing for the security, warmth and familiarity of some place called home is sensed in times good and difficult. For not-yet-God’s-people, the destination called home may be an ill-defined concept but for God’s people, the great promise of being safe and secure in the house of God is a promise that brings calm to discord, raises ones vision from the mire of life and powers the endurance of the soul. Pastor Max Lucado writes longingly of the promise of this abode in his exposition of the Lord ’s Prayer, “The Great House of God”.
Lucado brings his pastoral gifts to the five great verses from Matthew’s gospel, bringing each thought of the praise and petition into full bloom as a chapter of its own. Though brief, the chapters give the reader enough to savor for a week of prayer time. His subtle shifting of emphasis in the opening verse for example-our FATHER and OUR father-can leave you to meditate upon the importance of these words corporately and by themselves. Room by room Pastor Lucado continues the tour until you cannot wait to enter the gates of heaven and settle into the place promised just for you, ‘safe and secure from all alarm’.
If you are not a fan of Lucado’s work, give this book an opportunity. It is not a deep theological tome but that is not his genre. Filled with his trademark folksy charm, it is meant to lift your eyes and heart to the promise of the prayer rather than dwelling on the technical aspects of the verses. I found myself enjoying the chapters and the subsequent reflection so much that it too much longer to read this book than the 160 pages would lead me to expect. Perhaps it is just this that makes the book so good, the slow release of the spiritual nourishment, the savoring of joy and the increased longing for the promise of the great house of God.
The Life Men Want
Man Alive by Patrick Morley
It’s the kind of question that men either ask themselves when they’re alone or refuse to confront altogether. “… would you be willing to go up while everyone else is going down?” The deeper question is whether a man will live a life of meaning, do something important, leave a mark on this world. For men who ache to have this life, Patrick Morley offers this encouraging guide, ‘Man Alive’.
Men will appreciate the short bursts of challenge on these pages that are followed by quiet moments that encourage reflection. The peaks and valleys of the text confront the groups of men who congregate at either end of that spectrum. Those who spend their entire lives nestled in the security of reflection without ever tasting the adventure that awaits them outside the door and those whose adrenaline needle is pegged all the time. These men avoid searching the depths of their character, fearful of what they might find there.
Men were created to know God, to fill the yearning for His presence by living a life of action and reflection in equal measures. Morley outlines the primal needs that lie at the soul-core of every man and inspires them to break out of their culturally bound shells to be what their Father intended for them to be. More than just a series of adventures, ‘Man Alive’ holds up a mirror that reflects the soul deficits of nearly every man and challenges him to look that image right in the eye and be more.
The Secret … Again
The Blessed Church by Robert Morris
The simple secret to growing the Church you love; the subtitle sings that sweet siren song that lures so many pastors and church leaders to delve into the pages of books like this. In the era of often relentless pressure to grow the attendance of their church, leaders are always looking for an edge, one method or program that will bring more souls into the seats. Morris’ contribution to the literature is enticing, but the secret is absent.
That there is nothing new here is not Morris’ fault. The biblical path to a sound Christian church is well-trod ground. There are no secrets to be gleaned, only an obedient heart to be followed. Sound, God-given vision, check. Godly, devoted leaders at all levels of the church, check. A healthy pastor, check. Each of the elements that Morris highlights is rooted in Scripture and is supported by engaging writing. But new secrets? No.
Pastor Morris is relentlessly upbeat about the Church and the pastorate, and given the blessed success of Gateway Church, he has every reason to be. Reading the book is uplifting and encouraging and can provide some touch points for the pastor to hold their own ministry against. The one thing that should not happen (though it often does as a result of books/programs like this) is that a minister or leader should attempt to clone God’s work at Gateway. God creates every work for his specific purposes in specific locales to specific populations. Looking at the success or failure of other churches simply draws your eyes away the One leading you.
I am grateful to Waterbrook Press who provided this book for review.
LOVE | ACCEPT | FORGIVE 