Today is the day. For nearly a month now Tracy and I have been in transition, packing up our belongings and preparing to move across country and the day is finally here. This morning we’ll load the car up one last time and make our way from Carson City, Nevada around Lake Tahoe through Sacramento through Oakland and across the Bay Bridge into our new home: San Francisco.

It’s been a long drive and one that has provided a great amount of reflection of the past and a great deal of excitement and anxiety about the future… Today is the day. Today we truly begin the next chapter of our lives and today a brand new adventure becomes blatant reality. I’m not sure what it’ll be like to drive across the Bay Bridge, what emotions and feelings I’ll undergo as the city becomes visible and we descend into it but the time is here and today is the day.

Here goes nothing… and yet here goes everything.

Last Sunday was my final Sunday at the Shorewood Campus and Community Christian Church. I must say that it was bittersweet, however I can’t imagine a better place to have served.

When I started at Community 14 months ago I was in a completely different place than I am now, fresh off a gut wrenching and soul draining experience—in short a hellish year of ministry (somehow even those words can’t quite sum it up). Tracy and I came to Community extremely wounded, limping in on our last legs and expecting the impossible from the people and staff of Community. We came in expecting them to restore our hope in the church, to restore our wounded psyche, our broken hearts, and help us on the road back to wholeness. What was unfair on our part—we didn’t tell them of these expectations.

What’s amazing about the staff at Community and in particular the people of the Shorewood Campus: they didn’t bat an eye, were completely unfazed and immediately surrounded us with an amazing presence of love, support and encouragement like we have never experienced before. It’s the same sort of love, support and encouragement that they give to everyone—yet for us it hit the spot and did more than we could have ever hoped or imagined.

Fourteen months later I am leaving with a renewed sense of hope and faith in the church, a firm belief that the church can actually be a healthy, vibrant, world changing force. This post doesn’t come close to giving Community its due for how it has shaped and impacted me over the past year, but I am far different and a far better person because of how this church pushed towards the mission every day. Thank you Community… I wouldn’t be heading to San Francisco if it hadn’t been for you.

“The starting point for any theology of the church today must be a theology of social change….A church whose life is defined and shaped by what God is now doing in the world cannot be imprisoned [by antiquated ] specifications. It must allow itself to be broken and reshaped continuously by God’s continuous action; hence the need for a theology of social change.”

~ Harvey Cox. The Secular City: Secularization and Urbanization in Theological Perspective (1965)

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community
Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Jossey-Bass—Church Ministry | Leadership
179 pages

[part 4]

At the end of Pagan Christianity, the authors called for and gave practical steps on how someone could leave the church community they were attending because of the vast amounts of pagan practices being employed by the traditional church body… Smay and Halter do something quite the opposite, something rather noble, and in fact something that looks out for the health and well-being of the church instead of someone’s personal preference. This is the kind of talk we need to hear, and the action we need to see in the church today to bring us together in unity and walk through the changing cultural landscape that is before us:

If you recognize that you are a part of a traditional-attractional church structure, don’t punt! The best response is to create the missional pyramid from scratch with a few missional people of your choice and start right where you are. If you leave, nothing beneficial will happen in your church. But if you—with a humble desire to influence or model a new way—launch out with a few friends while staying connected to your church, you’ll not only enjoy the freedom of being on mission, you’ll be able to influence and inspire more people within the existing structure to change…

We ask for a small handful of would-be missionaries to pilot incarnational community. If it works, then we believe the grassroots success will spread to more people in the existing structure. Most pastors have no reason not to want this experiment to succeed. They want you to live out this calling, but part of their calling is to also hold the saints together. Structures don’t change easily through challenge or critique. They change best as people within the organization change and model new approaches. So, instead of pointing your finger at your pastor or elder board, go live out this ancient way and pray for the larger community to eventually move forward with you… If it works, you’ll have helped move your church into new territory. If it doesn’t, you’ll have a great time with a few friends. How bad can that be?

I greatly appreciate this approach, and I could imagine a better way for the church to begin working together amidst different philosophical approaches. This is the antithesis of “I’m taking my ball and going home” which has become way to prevalent in the church today.

[introduction]

What is the gospel? This is the million dollar question and if we as a church are to truly begin to understand the implications of revival and bring about the possibility and atmosphere of such a world transforming experience, then answering this question must be at the front of our minds. Often times we have understood the gospel, too simply, as praying a prayer to receive forgiveness so that one may enter into heaven upon his/her death. But this does not bring about a sense of joy, or happiness to much of today’s culture. We are not occupied with the notions or implications of death in our lives, rather we’re more consumed with the thoughts of here and now—the injustice of war and poverty, the social brokenness of our families and relationships, global warming and our relationship to creation.

Our understanding of the gospel has been shortened, just as we have also shortened the term. Dallas Willard in his book Divine Conspiracy offers up a concept of the gospel that brings about a broader understanding. It is not simply “the gospel,” rather it is the “Gospel of the Kingdom of God.” It’s a gospel that is really big, different, something to be experienced and entered into in the here and now. It’s about an aspect of God’s divine life that is now, not just after death.

I like how Halter & Smay sum up our current understanding of the gospel (page 88 The Tangible Kingdom):

The gospel—that is, the huge, life-reorienting story that has had such massive drawing power to just about any spiritual seeker over the centuries—has been reduced to a pathetically simple, doctrinal Podcast that no one is interested in.

When Jesus came proclaiming his gospel, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, he offered up that it was available now, the gospel is a present reality that we can actively participate in and that we are expected to participate in!

Until we recover a holistic understanding of the gospel as something that is not just available after death but is to be lived in and experienced now, we will not be able to enter into a type of revival that can transform the world. Until then, we will continue to be stuck in the dogmatic sort of “pray the prayer” type of religion that inspires… no one.

This recovery is an instrument of the Spirit… it is what the Spirit will use to cause an outbreak of revival, however it is in our control to move in this direction. A nice little paradox isn’t it?

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community
Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Jossey-Bass—Church Ministry | Leadership
179 pages

[part 2]

The issue of contextualization has seemingly reared its head again as John MacArthur and others have continued their rampage against the idea of contextualizing the gospel. Which, honestly, makes absolutely no sense to me—I can’t imagine what vacuum the gospel would have to be in in order to be considered pure, but that’s a separate issue. What Halter and Smay discuss in chapter 6 is the idea that it’s in our contextualization, it’s not solely about the context you are entering but rather the posture in which the telling/embodying is done.

Often times we are stuck in the idea that it’s okay to teach/train missionaries how to contextualize because we’re are sending them to “go over there” into the foreign land. But when it comes to our own culture and context, we often times do a very poor job of teaching people how to create entry points for the gospel in their own worlds. This is the beginning idea of missional living. Halter & Smay make a great distinction here between missional and incarnational (often times they’re seen synonymously).

Missional sentness is focused on leaving and everything related to going, but incarnational represents how we go and what we do as we go… God could have sent his son by asking him to set up a website and download spiritual information to every billboard in the world. But apparently he knew that information about him doesn’t help people understand or love him So the only option for the Father and for us is to embody the concept.

Unfortunately, in modern day evangelicalism, we’ve mastered the idea of going… but we’ve fallen way short of embodying the gospel and being the gospel to people. Instead, “we’ve prioritized the verbals over the nonverbals, the message over the method… the proclamation over the posture.” This is why the church is in such trouble in our society—we’re not living out the values of the gospel. We’re all talk and no substance. We’ve mastered the idea of belief-ism, but have yet to actually live out in tangible ways as a united community what that belief-ism is really all about. Our operating principle, our little cities seem to revolve completely around the idea of believing the right way. Those are the lines we’ve drawn (denominations) and the walls we’ve erected.

In the reconstruction of the church, it is essential that we re-discover and embody the ideals of incarnational ministry… otherwise we’re in for a long ride potentially seeping into a new “dark age” of the church.

This past weekend after 3 years of study, I finally walked across the stage and received my Master of Arts in Contemporary Theology from Lincoln Christian Seminary. It was sort of a strange celebration considering I finished everything long before this ceremony took place, but it was fun to have my parents and Tracy’s parents come up from down south to celebrate with us.

One of the more laughable moments came as I walked across the stage to have my servants towel placed over my right arm. As my future plans about planting a church in San Francisco were read off, the associate dean who “toweled” me began to chuckle, looked me in the eyes and said, “Wow, you’re crazy!” To which I responded “thanks.” As I walked down the steps and back to my seat I began to think about all the other graduates and where they were heading. Many returning back to ministries they have been a part of for years, others looking for ministry teams to join in on, but then a select group were heading off to Afghanistan with the military as chaplains, or to Uganda or Indonesia as missionaries and it struck me—I’m crazy?! What about the danger that many of my fellow classmates are putting themselves and their families into? I’m simply heading off to San Francisco within the confines of the continental United States, they’re heading to distant lands and distant shores in far different contexts than I will ever experience.

This theme seems to be a pretty common occurrence when people find out that Tracy and I are going to SF. We get a particular look, then almost a conciliatory “good luck with that” response. I’m still confused and dumbfounded by that look and response… maybe I’m naive to the intricate culture of SF, and if this is the case I hope to remain in my naivete long enough to make a difference. However, maybe SF has been viewed as one of the last greatest conclaves of iniquity in our country by those in the Midwest and conservative America. Could this be the reason for their response, their reaction? I’m not sure, but it is interesting to me and somewhat encouraging to know that of all the students in the Seminary, I’m the crazy one.

Pt. 3 - Opening Sunday

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community
Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Jossey-Bass—Church Ministry | Leadership
179 pages

[part 1]

Deconstruction towards reconstruction… this seems to be one of the greatest sources of dissent in the church today. There are those that are actively seeking a deconstruction of the norm in order to explore and experience a new reconstructed norm that is positioned to speak prophetically into the culture and then there are those who grip tightly to maintain the systems and functions that are currently being deconstructed. It seems that this is what the emerging church truly introduced into the mainstream of ecclesiology… however the attitudes behind the movement were often times less than gracious (and even though it has tempered as of late, the undercurrent still remains.) I myself still struggle with a gracious attitude to those that have gone before me, preparing the way for the future. Halter reminds us:

As I speak for many in the budding missional church world, I have to share that I no longer judge the faithful, fervent work of so many pastors who have pastored well but who struggle to find their place in this new world. They deserve to be honored instead of belittled. Without their legacy, we would have nothing to build upon.

Therefore, it would behoove us to begin treading graciously with those who have paved the way—honoring them, yes, but also providing them the grace and mercy as they too struggle to find their way in the new world.

Reconstruction can only begin by starting with Jesus… and it’s through Jesus that we can begin coming together as a unified church. “By starting with Christology (the life of Jesus), which informs our missiology (how we live), we’ll have a better chance of finding common ground with our ecclesiology (how we do church).” (pg. 20)

These chapters took a great turn in tone. There has always been a very gracious tone, however the tone shifted from a deconstructionist viewpoint to a re-constructionist viewpoint and a presentation of hope that can be had throughout the emerging church as we move forward for change. The final question for reflection that was asked: “If Jesus were to trim down your Christian experience to his essentials, what would he remove? What would be left?” I’m not sure the wording of this question was truly indicative of the re-constructionist tone and so I’d rather answer a new question… a better question: “If Jesus were to trim down your Christian experience to his essentials, what would you keep? What would you start with?” This is probably an easier question, not to mention a shift in thinking away from deconstruction and onward towards reconstruction.

As I thought through this question of what would I keep… I’m not sure it would be a very long list. In fact, the only thing that immediately came to mind was Jesus. I think as a church we have lost focus and sight on Jesus as the bridegroom, as the head of the church, and instead have supplanted ourselves in his place. In this reconstruction it is my hope and prayer that we rediscover the supremacy of Jesus in the church, getting away from paying him lip service and move towards a new understanding and reliance upon Him. “By starting with Christology (the life of Jesus), which informs our missiology (how we live), we’ll have a better chance of finding common ground with our ecclesiology (how we do church).”

By starting with Jesus we’ll soon enough be able to reconstruct a new “norm” that can speak prophetically into our culture because of the influence that will be gained in our missional ways… but we shouldn’t expect this new “norm” to last forever… a new wave of deconstruction will come about in the decades to come as once again we will have to figure out how to present the gospel to the culture that we interact with.

Pt. 2 - Meeting the Neighbors

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community
Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Jossey-Bass—Church Ministry | Leadership
179 pages

The Kingdom of God is not the property nor the sole possession of the church (institutional or organic), rather the church is the property of the Kingdom, and it is the church’s responsibility not to exploit but to extol the Kingdom in all of its glory. Could it be that this is where the church (institutional and organic) lose the focus? That somehow we see the Kingdom as a means to our end, the purveyor of our own self-fulfillment residing completely within the church as opposed to our residence within the Kingdom that is revealed throughout the world? These are the initial questions that I am wrestling with…

At the end of chapter 1, Smay posses the question: Describe some times in your life when you’ve wanted to tap out on God and the activities of the church. Talk about a loaded question! As I thought through my time as a “professional” Christian, there are three distinct times that I have felt a strong, strong desire to simply throw my hands in the air, say “f*ck it all!” and walk away. I have not had the easiest time in ministry, however at each and every stage, through every single turn, I have found God sitting with outstretched arms simply beckoning me to “come” and rest. And I am extremely glad that I have listened, fallen into his arms and allowed him to challenge me once again to continue on in his grace (”my grace is sufficient!”). This isn’t the end of the journey, and it certainly won’t get any easier… however He will continually be there at every step, waiting.

It’s not hard to understand why so many are walking away from the church, the statistics are startling, and as Clegg & Bird state (as quoted on page 12)

The inescapable conclusion is that we must throw out any notion that God is truly at the center of the church’s heart in North America. The shift in society’s view of the church has resulted in the marginalization of the church and the secularization of society. Christianity has lost its place at the center of American life. Christians must learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society. We must learn to build relational bridges.”

I love that line: “Christians must learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society.” (emphasis mine) I find that absolutely fascinating, brilliant and eerily similar to St. Francis, “Preach the gospel always and if necessary use words,” the mantra of the incarnational church. Talk about the need to understand the issues of contextualization! Halter continues: “…something must change to reverse the trends. We need to start by doing some of the things we haven’t been doing, and we must stop doing some things that we have been doing. The world around us is growing increasingly disinterested in our Christian story.”

Smay asks the question for reflection: “What are some of the ways you believe we’re losing our saltiness?” Now, honestly this could be an entire blog post, but for the sake of brevity I’ll narrow it down to the issue of evangelism. I believe the way we “communicate” the gospel (skywriters scrawling “Jesus loves you” in the sky; tracks that look like money left as tips to waiters and waitresses; bullhorns on the corner shouting “You’re going to hell!”; etc.) although they are the extreme cases, they are the picture our culture has of Christians. When we boil the gospel down to a “Get-out-of-Hell Free” card it begins to lose its effectiveness as a beautiful way to live amidst the destruction, pain and horror the world has to offer. The gospel is more than eternal destination—it’s about living beautifully… it’s about shalom.

Smay then concludes his reflecting questions with this dandy: “What do you think of the increasing disinterest of the culture towards church means for the future of the church?” My instant response was “GOOD!” I think it’s a good thing that culture has become disinterested in the church for one simple reason. It should (and I believe has to an extent) force the church to eventually begin understanding and dealing with contextualization issues! I believe that this could be the beginning of a re-awakening of the church, a great revival of sorts, right here in our midst—if and only if we are attentive to and receptive of the Spirit who is working among us. I truly wonder what this re-awakening and re-emergence of the (American) church will look like, and the amazing things that God has in store! We’re in store of a re-awakening or we’ll simply go the way of the Dodo… I’m hoping for a re-awakening!

Here’s part 1 of the three-part “Dude” series from the Exponential Conference.

Pt. 1 - Raising the money.