One Year In, Part 2

After Pumpkinpalooza, I admit I got a bit tired and I think we need a little break (Mark 6:30-32). However, the needs of the community aren’t going away, so while rest is important, so also is outreach (Mark 6:33-44). We’ve several tasks ahead of us, including: continuing to learn about the needs of the residents, developing relevant ministries, and praying, praying, praying. Both in my own life and pastoral ministry and in our church, I’m convinced that God is calling us to a time of inquiry and intercession (Acts 4:24-31). We ask the Lord questions and proclaim His answers. I believe that Jesus is the answer to every human need, so this belief frees us to attend to the problems and issues of the community because in our hearts, we know that Christ is always the solution (John 14:6).

As we try to develop our meetings in Swallow School, there are several areas that need to be attended to. We need leaders, particularly in the worship and children’s ministries (Mathew 9:37-38). Qualified worship leaders aren’t easy to find, and the same can be said of children’s ministries overseers. Furthermore, we’ve set ourselves a difficult challenge because we’ve set as our target audience elementary school families rather than young singles. The latter usually have no children and fewer commitments than parents of school-age children. But it doesn’t matter; these are the ones to whom we are directed and we must trust the Lord to provide for us everything we need to reach them for Christ.

For our ministries to be relevant, we must also address what are called the “felt needs” of the community. These are personal and social problems that people are aware of. According to the chief of the Hartland police department, alcohol plays a role is approximately 90% of the domestic disturbance crimes committed in the village. Clearly, we ought to address this problem with the gospel that can set souls free (Luke 4:18-19). I’ve already begun the process of looking into an appropriate ministry, but the best resources are nothing without the anointing of God’s Spirit on the hearts of people who care and are willing to serve.

We’re also looking at the possibility of updating our website because in this technology-saturated and –savvy culture, online resources have to look their best and offer the best. We’ll use whatever’s placed in our hands in order to make a difference (Exodus 4:2; Ecclesiastes 9:10).

Integrating house church and suburban expectations is proving to be difficult. Since we’ve been meeting as a small group in a home for a while, I’ve really come to appreciate the many virtues associated with “home-grown discipleship.” However, I recognize that in this area, as big as our homes are, many people are hesitant to open them up to others and likewise, many are reluctant to enter the homes of “strangers.” For Lake Country residents, I get the impression that church buildings or other public facilities seem to be preferable to homes, although most of those who attend home groups testify to how enjoyable they are. Ideally, I’d like to retain both public and private and seek to integrate them in some complementary fashion, but I’m finding this to be a big challenge. I’ve read a bunch on the subject of house churches, and while I appreciate their value, I don’t want to impose a counter-cultural model on people which could prevent them from hearing or responding to the gospel. In this sense, the specific form of the church should grow out of what the Spirit is doing in our midst, how He is equipping us to serve our community, and what resources He gives us.

One Year In, Part 1

Sanctuary Church of the Lake Country celebrates its first birthday today. We’ve hosted Sunday morning gatherings for a year now. What’s God been doing in our church during that time and what lies ahead?

This church was founded on and motivated by a belief that the people of the Lake Country region needed a gospel witness that was intellectually credible, spiritually dynamic, relationally enriching, and practically-oriented (Acts 2:42-47). The Lake Country is more or less a region unto itself and so we didn’t think that churches in neighboring regions would be sufficient for its residents. And while it’s true that this area has many churches, most of them are either evangelical or sacramental. These have value, but the Lord put on my heart that the Lake Country needed “a church of power” (Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 5:4). In addition to this, my experience taught me that most churches were poor in developing relationships (1 John 3:11; 4:20), so any church we’d seek to establish had to emphasize the social dimension of the Christian life. Christianity is not purely private; it is a corporate faith that gets strengthened by, and must be shared with, other people (Ephesians 3:17-19).

So we started on Sunday, November 2, 2008 with just our family: Grace, Daniel, and I and the children. We began small (Zechariah 4:10) and I know that growth is slow sometimes and it’s not always easy, but doing the right thing is something God rewards (Galatians 6:9). Let me share with you an excerpt from an email I received recently:

"Robert, do you know what happens after you plant the seed of a Chinese Bamboo Tree? Nothing. That's right. Absolutely nothing. For 4 years after planting the seed of this tree you get no satisfaction other than a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. Must be something wrong, right? A still birth or stunted growth. A bad seed maybe. If you didn't know about the growth patterns for this tree, you'd think that all your efforts to plant and cultivate were useless. But, in fact, what's happening all the time is that underneath the ground there's a massive root structure that's forming. You can't see it, but it's there and it's HUGE. Then, in the 5th year, the Chinese Bamboo Tree grows and grows and grows, sometimes up to EIGHTY FEET tall . . . Sometimes it takes months, even years before you SEE the growth. But all the while you're making deposits into a secret account that all of a sudden (that's the way it seems, but, in fact, my point is that it's not all of sudden) begins paying dividends. It takes maturity to be patient."

Kingdom work is a lot like growing bamboo; it's not something we can control but it is something we can anticipate!

We stepped out in faith and launched this church not because we were disgruntled with other churches (Philippians 1:15-16; 1 John 2:19); that would’ve poisoned Sanctuary and doomed our efforts. Rather, we believed that, apart from our own talents or skills, God could do a work in this area that needed to be done (Acts 14:27; 1 Corinthians 15:10).

We’ve striven to maintain a balance between the Word, the Spirit, relationships, and service. We’re not perfect with it. Each of us has a preference or a leaning toward one or more of these (I’m partial to the Word), but overall, we’re committed to growing in each area.

We tried really hard to keep an outward focus. I don’t think we’ve been entirely successful, but at least we did three outreaches on June 28 (water bottle distribution), August 1 (Picnic in the Park), and October 24 (Pumpkinpalooza). These enabled us to introduce ourselves to the community, practice servant evangelism, and begin to invite people to the church. These outreaches were not necessarily cheap, but they were worth it and I believe God will honor our efforts to bless our neighbors.

We also started to meet for services one Sunday a month at Swallow School. This represented a big change for us because we’ve gotten accustomed to meeting in the house. I think that the house meetings have facilitated our relational growth and our commitment to each other. These will serve us well, but I also believe that the Lord wants us to share His love with others. In other words, there’s room in His family for more brothers and sisters (Acts 2:47; 16:5).