Sabbath from Teaching

[I wrote this post 2 months ago but for some reason did not publish it]

I had the night off from teaching last night at Neighborhood Church. My friends Jay and Anna visited and shared what God is doing in Burma. This morning I woke up and was hungry to read, pray, and prepare for teaching next Sunday. Normally, after teaching on a Sunday night, I need a couple of days before I am ready to even think again. Note: that's not a healthy place. And it's why I'm thankful that I don't have to teach every week.

We now have several gifted teachers at NC, and our congregation needs opportunities to hear those voices. We're stronger for it. And I'm at my best when my work is rooted in rest. That's why the Jewish views on Sabbath are so wonderful. The day begins at night instead of in the morning. It begins with rest rather than ends with rest. That changes everything. Again, our work should be rooted in our rest!

For more on this, read this blog post from J.R. Briggs. There are some great thoughts that are beneficial to anyone.

Reflections on a Great Weekender

This weekend marked Neighborhood Church's third Weekender. Weekenders are times when our entire church comes together for fun, learning, service and prayer.

We kicked things off on Friday night with our first ever Variety Show, aptly named The Rock-afire Explosion of Talent. And boy was it an explosion! We had a cover of Journey's Don't Stop Believing", with only vocals and Apple products. Oh yeah, and cow bell. Our new friend Pouya sang his heart out on The Eagle's "Hotel California." We had skits, stand up comedy, readings, and we finished the night off with some Bieber Fever. I'm sure videos will be floating around the world wide web very soon.

Saturday morning nine of us who went to the GCM Conference debriefed with the rest of our team on what we learned. We had good panel and table discussions. That afternoon we went to Hope Works for a couple of hours. We planted flowers, built shelves, cleaned, and even hung a tv. Serving together is such fun!

Finally, yesterday morning we met at John and Ashleigh's house to give thanks to God for this community and our great weekend together. It was a powerful time of encouragement and speaking into one another's lives. I am very grateful to be a part of what God is doing, and I'm grateful to be doing it with this community!

NC Weekender

Our second Weekender begins in two hours. We have carved out three weekends a year for us to be together. Tonight we kick things off with a discussion on our transition from one church to a network of smaller churches. Afterwards we're headed to Josh and Ginger's for a party. Tomorrow morning, after breakfast, we'll have four workshops on practical topics that relate to this new vision. On Saturday afternoon we have a service project at Peabody Elementary School. And then on Sunday morning we end our time with a prayer brunch.

These Weekenders are going to be our most important gatherings of the year, and I'm so glad that so many are coming to learn and to be together.

Contentment

Last night I began teaching through the life of David at Neighborhood Church. I started with 1 Samuel 16, which tells the story of the young shepherd boy being anointed king. Here's the jist of the story. David spends his days with sheep. Then one day, while he's minding his own business, the prophet Samuel shows up at his house, and to the surprise of everybody, anoints David as the next king of Israel. This part of the story ends with Samuel leaving and David is right back with the sheep. That's not right...is it?

The theme for the night was contentment. What do we do when God's plans are different than your plans? Or when His timetable is different from your timetable. David's heart was formed during this time with the sheep. As Paul reminded Timothy, "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6).

At the last minute, I decided to tell our story of moving to Memphis five years ago. It was such a hard time. We had taken a big step of faith and moved here with no jobs, no friends, and just a dream of what could be. Adam was six months old at the time, so we were new parents going through some rather big transitions all at one time.

Contentment did not come easy for me. I fought God a lot of the way, yet I knew that He had something in store for us here in Memphis. I found this post that I wrote during this time. It expresses much of the frustration but also a great deal of hope.

Strengths Finder 1

Two weekends ago our church brought in Mike Dauphinee for a Strengths Finder workshop, which is based on this book by Tom Rath. All of us took the online inventory before the workshop. The idea is that as each of us on the team understands our strengths, it will make the entire team work better.

In this first post I want to give a reflection on how this has impacted me personally. Then, in future posts I'll reflect on how this impacts my marriage and my church.

I took this inventory about nine years ago, but I knew it had probably changed some. Below are my five themes, along with the "balcony" (potential) and "basement" (extreme) for each.

1. Self-Assurance - People who are especially talented in the Self-Assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.

Balcony: self-confident, strong inner compass, risk-taker

Basement: arrogant, self-righteous, over confident, stubborn

2. Activator - People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Balcony: self-starter, fire-starter, energy source, fearless

Basement: ready-fire-aim, loose cannon, speak before you think, in left field (because others haven't caught up)

3. Arranger - People who are especially talented in the Arranger theme can organize, but they also have a flexibility that complements this ability. They like to figure out how all of the pieces and resources can be arranged for maximum productivity.

Balcony: flexible, organizer, juggler, aligning and realigning tasks to find the most productive configuration possible, efficient, conductor

Basement: lack of structure, too flexible, don't follow the existing rules or procedures, constantly changing priorities, lack of vision

4. Adaptability - People who are especially talented in the Adaptability theme prefer to "go with the flow." They tend to be "now" people who take things as they come and discover the future one day at a time.

Balcony: flexible, comfortable in times of change, easy to get along with, go with the flow

Basement: directionless, indecisive, sheep, inconclusive, whimsical

5. Command - People who are especially talented in the Command theme have presence. They can take control of a situation and make decisions.

Balcony - charisma, direct, driven, inspirational, easy to follow, clear, concise

Basement - bossy, know-it-all, domineering, rude, abrupt, short, strong-willed, inflexible, stubborn

It's funny that what sticks out more than anything are the extremes of the theme, or what we continued to come back to as the "dark side" of the gifts. I have seen this in my life so many times. But this study has more than anything helped me to be confident in the way that God has wired/gifted me.

Mike defined a strength as any task we perform that makes us feel strong. Therefore, a weakness is any task we perform that makes us feel weak. This is key. In most of our jobs we all have to at times work out of our weaknesses, but the problem comes when this becomes the primary way we work. Some people have no idea what makes them feel strong. Others know but have not been in environments where they've been given this freedom.

This makes so much sense to me, and though I feel like I have been somewhat operating in these strengths, I believe that I will do so even more from now on.

Commercial Appeal Article

On Saturday The Commercial Appeal ran a great article on our family's involvement with Peabody Elementary School. It was written by David Waters. From the people I've talked with, as well as comments on their site, it seems that it's giving hope to many. One of the takeaways I've had from reading the article and the comments is that I am grateful for the community who is walking with us. These decisions can be difficult ones, but at every step of the way, it's has been easier knowing that we're not going it alone.

Men and Women 1

Below are two of the articles I referenced on Sunday night at NC's worship gathering. All of these are from the last six months.

"The End of Men", from The Atlantic

Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same. For years, women’s progress has been cast as a struggle for equality. But what if equality isn’t the end point? What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women? A report on the unprecedented role reversal now under way— and its vast cultural consequences

"Why We Need to Reimagine Masculinity", from Newsweek

To survive in a hostile world, guys need to embrace girly jobs and dirty diapers. Why it's time to reimagine masculinity at work and at home

New Series on Men and Women

On Sunday night, December 5, our church is going to begin a two-week study on the role of men and women, both in the home and in the church. This is a very controversial issue, and one that continues to divide well meaning people to this day. So just as we have done in the past with other controversial issues, we want to base our understanding primarily on the Scriptures. There is nothing like a community being empowered to come to the Scriptures with both humility and confidence, and thereby determining how to live out what is read. It always excites me.

On our website I've compiled the primary passages that deal with this issue, plus a question for each passage for you to think about. You can download that document here. Over the next several weeks I'll be posting some of the more influential articles that have shaped me on this issue.

Clean Water Challenge

This marks the fourth year that our church has taken part in Advent Conspiracy. This year I wanted to take things up a level. It hit me a few weeks ago that our church has never really had to take a huge risk, be it financial or otherwise. We've never set any goals which seemed impossible by human standards. So, through a series of several conversations and a lot of thinking, praying and dreaming, I decided to the issue a challenge this past Sunday night for our church to dig a well.

The past two years we, along with friends we've invited to our annual Clean Water Party, have raised $500 for clean water. This year the goal is $5000, and rather than just sending in checks to Living Water International, we are partnering with them to build a well for a specific village in Northern Peru.

For more details, as well as how you can get involved, click here.

Why We Talk About Sin 1

Last night I began a three week series on the topic of sin. Sin is not a popular subject by any means. Some of us grew up hearing about sin way too much. It was never coupled with grace and love, but more with fear and legalism. Many of us also heard about only specific types of sins, while other sins went overlooked. We saw this as hypocrisy (think racism in the south). However, today as we look around our culture we discover that we've almost lost the notion that sin even exists. It's rarely talked about, and when it is, it's not done so in the way it once was (check out www.sinfullydecadent.com for more - don't worry, it's not a porn site).

So over the next four or five posts I want to give some reasons as to why we as a church are talking about sin. And if you're interested, the sermon and notes from last night can be downloaded here.

CYPN Article in Commercial Appeal

Heather Caron wrote a great article about the Light the Way race and the Parent's Network. There's even something about Neighborhood Church in there. Here's the article:

The cooler weather has begun to lure neighbors out of their homes and children back into the daylight. Runners and walkers alike are dotting neighborhoods in preparation of the upcoming Cooper-Young Festival 4 Miler race on Friday. In addition, many community members are preparing for the "Light the Way" parties to cheer on the runners as they blaze past the neighborhood homes and businesses in Midtown's Cooper-Young.

Longtime area residents know that those with the best parties win prizes and enjoy the accolades throughout the year. The 4 Miler "Light the Way" parties have not only been fun, but for some residents, they are the initial connection to lasting friendships, educational forums, seasonal parties, running groups and endless play dates.

One such group can credit many memberships to the Cooper-Young 4 Miler race and the infamous "Light the Way" parties. The Cooper-Young Parents Network, representing 80 adult members and 150 children, has given Midtown families a support group for their most important commodity -- their children. This forum has provided parents information on available educational and extracurricular options for their kids. It has given Cooper-Young families a safe and welcoming place to celebrate holidays and community events. It is a clearinghouse for gently used items that families no longer need and a resource for cooperative and reputable child care. You may just be able to find the right doctor or cleaning service, if you so desire.

Newly relocated family Joe and Susan Currier were walking home from a 2006 "Light the Way" party and bumped into another new Cooper-Young family, Jason and Barb Elder.

"As we talked, I discovered I knew Jason from years past," said Susan Currier. "Jason and I grew up in the same town, but I did not know he had moved to Memphis.

"As we strolled past the cleanup crews, the Elders told us about a church they were helping to plant in Cooper-Young, which eventually became Neighborhood Church. They invited us to visit the church when it started meeting in homes a few months later, and that's how we met future Parents Network founder and new Cooper-Young resident, Mandy Grisham. Barb and Mandy became some of my closest friends, as have our children," Currier said.

Susan has since introduced several other families to the network and has hosted a few LTW parties. "It's my family's favorite part of the festival weekend," Currier said.

"The CY 4 Miler's 'Light the Way' party is the network's birthday. We are celebrating our second birthday this year," said Grisham. "Our network's first kickoff party won one of the prizes from the race committee."

Grisham fashioned the Parents' Network after the Berkley Parent's network. "Memphis did not have anything like this. I wanted to create a local network for the parents in the CY community," Grisham said.

Members Josh and Ginger Spickler and Debbie Sowell have also contributed to the success of this group's membership, hosting parties and spreading the word to other community members.

Heather Caron is a volunteer for the Cooper-Young Friday 4 Miler.

From Community Groups to Missional Communities

Phase 3 of Community Groups at Neighborhood Church gets underway tonight. We began our first community group 14 months ago. It was a large one. Last fall we then went to two groups. We set before each group five values: Sharing life, sharing stories, sharing Scripture, sharing prayer, and sharing mission. Most weeks these groups discussed the previous Sunday's message, but we also wanted to begin developing true community. I believe that we were very successful in reaching that goal. One of the things I was most excited about was the way the kids were loved on and cared for by everyone in the group. I think we got a real taste of what community can be.

So that brings us to today. As much as I loved our community groups, I felt that they were too large. They left me wanting more, especially when it comes to the three journeys (upward, inward and outward). Many nights, just as we were beginning to go deep as a community, 7:30 would roll around and one of the kids would automatically go into meltdown mode. (In case you don't have children, that means the show is over and it's time to go home). Much of this was due to having so many in one group. The other issue centered around mission. It's great that almost everyone at NC is involved in a mission of some sort. Those folks are of course passionate about their missions, but this meant that it was often difficult to decide on a common mission.

Over the summer I've had conversations with several friends about where we're heading. One of the more helpful conversations was with Michael Stewart. He said that at Austin Stone they've helped their folks come to understand the difference between a team of missionaries and a missionary team. A team of missionaries is a group of people who all have a different mission but who come together for encouragement and prayer. On the other hand, a missionary team is a group of people who have a shared, or common, mission. That I believe has been the missing piece for me.

So in phase 3 we are centering around mission, believing that the best community we can have will be discovered through the context of mission. If you ask a person about their best experience of community, chances are that you'll hear a story about a mission trip. In order to do this we're having groups of 6-8 people.

Three couples from NC, including Mandy and I, have kindergarteners at Peabody Elementary School this year. For the next nine months we are all going to be investing a lot of hours into Peabody. This is our common mission, which makes us a missional community. And this is where I first starting putting this together. In February we had several families over who at the time were considering sending their kids to Peabody. As we were sitting around talking about our hopes and dreams, it all of a sudden hit me that this was my missional community. It didn't matter that only three of us were a part of NC. We had a common mission (public education through our neighborhood school), and the common mission was drawing us together like nothing else could.

I am very excited by what I see God doing in the lives of NC'ers. I think we're on the verge of seeing God do what only God can do, and I'm so glad that I'm on board for the ride!

Small Teams Rock

Alright, it's Friday. Sorry I couldn't think of a better title for this blog post. Hopefully the content will make up for it :)

The highlight of the Willow Creek Leadership Summit for me was Terri Kelly of W.L. Gore & Associates. She talked about the culture of this organization. Her first statement drew me in:

In order to be innovative, you have to create an environment of collaboration.

For them, this environment features small teams. The associates (they're not called employees) are connected and accountable not to a boss but to one another, and those connections are the foundation for their success.

As I listened to her, I thought back to a book I read a number of years ago by Harvey Seifter about the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, a.k.a. the "conductor-less orchestra." I am all about leadership, but more than that, I'm all about team. When people feel that they are truly a part of a team, that they are able to contribute out of their passions and strengths, then the entire organization is better.

I also thought back to a quote I read many years ago by Gordon Cosby:

...the greatest impact on the world comes about by small, highly committed and disciplined communities of people focused on outward mission, inward transformation, and loving, accountable community.

To me this is a great definition of church, and it's a great lead in to some changes we're making at Neighborhood Church. I am as excited about these changes as I've been in a long time. And in the words of Ryan Seacrest, you will all find out about those changes "after the break" (and by "break" I mean the weekend). Have a nice one!

TK Primer Study Begins

Our community groups have just begun going through the TK Primer, which was written by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, who also wrote the blessed book, The Tangible Kingdom. I'm really looking forward to seeing how God shapes us for mission through this study.

The Father's Love...and Basketball

I'm a big Duke fan, and I hope to be celebrating a national championship about eleven hours from now. But until then, I have to share the most powerful moment of Saturday's game with West Virginia. Halfway through the second half West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler twisted his knee and went down in agony. The guy was in both physical and emotional pain, knowing this was his last college game and that he wasn't going to be able to help his team.

At that moment his coach, Bob Huggins, came out and, after yelling at the refs for a moment, knelt down, cradled him in his arms, and began whispering truth to him: that he loved him, his teammates loved him, and things were going to be ok. It was one of the most uncomfortable, yet powerful, moments I've ever witnessed in sports.

Last night Neighborhood Church came together with Cooper Church to celebrate the Resurrection. Bill Ganus and I taught on Luke 15, the story of the two lost sons. I closed with this story, as it gave me a picture of the Father who is in passionate pursuit of us because of His love for us. I am still quite uncomfortable with this kind of intimacy, yet I am extremely grateful for it!

Reflections on Advent

Christmas is over at my house. Mandy took the tree down yesterday, much to the disappointment of Adam (he cried). So even though I'm a little late in posting this, here's what made the Christmas season special for me.

This is the third year that our family and church has participated in Advent Conspiracy, and I feel that each year has been better than the last. This year was no exception. I felt that our church entered into this season in a great way. It seemed to me that most in our community did a better job slowing down and spending less. I heard great stories of relational giving. And we loved all in tangible and practical ways (I'll be sharing this Sunday what we're doing with the money raised through our Advent Conspiracy offering, so stay tuned). Finally, our hearts were captured by the indescribable gift that God gave the world in Jesus.

In the past, I feel like I've concentrated more on my church's experience with Advent than I have my family's, but this year was different. On December 26 I wasn't left thinking, "there's got to be more to this." A few highlights:

• We weren't nearly as busy as in other years, and I feel like we took advantage of that as a family
• As far as relational giving goes, Santa brought us a Wii, which has been great fun for the whole family. We brought it to Paducah on Christmas day, and everyone from the age of 4 to 84 played. We're looking forward to having some Wii parties in the future.
• As far as loving all goes, I wanted to do something to help Adam understand that Christmas is more about getting presents, so we decided to sponsor a child through Compassion. Our sponsor child is a little boy named Gino. Gino is two months younger than Adam and is from the Philippines. Adam has written Gino a card with their picture on it, and yesterday he heard the Philippines mentioned on the news and exclaimed, "That's where Gino lives."

NC & AC in the CA

Confused? NC's own Ginger Spickler is featured in the Commercial Appeal discussing Advent Conspiracy. Here's a bit of the article:

Ginger Spickler, who lives in Midtown with her husband, Josh, and their two boys (Walt, 4, and Patrick, 3 months), participates in "Advent Conspiracy" with her church and family. The tenets are "Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All" and are about restoring the focus of Christmas on Christ.

The Spicklers are raising money for global clean-water initiatives. "Americans spend about $450 billion every year on Christmas and it's estimated that it would take only about $10 billion per year to solve the global water crisis," Ginger Spickler said. The Spicklers "spend less" on things like Christmas cards, opting to e-mail a slide show to family and friends. The money they save is sent to Living Water International, which covers the "love all."

She said they "give more" by focusing on relational gifts. "Last year, we gave Josh's sister and her husband, who live in Nashville, a weekend in Memphis -- we took them to a Grizzlies game, out to dinner, and just basically spent time with them," she said. She has asked several groups in which she traditionally exchanged presents, like coworkers, if they'd prefer to take the money and donate it to a good cause instead.

As a family, the Spicklers spend a lot of time talking about why they really celebrate Christmas, which is where the "worship fully" part comes in. "Walt understands that the Advent calendar isn't counting down the days until he gets presents, but rather the days until we celebrate Jesus' birthday," Spickler said. "He's still looking forward to the presents, but he knows that's not all there is to it."

Update on our Education Journey

Last week I responded to a post from a friend's blog on whether or not it's important for us as Christ-followers to send our kids to public schools. Below is that post. If you'd like to read more on this issue, and specifically, our journey, go here and here.

We moved to Midtown Memphis almost four years ago from the SF Bay Area. We had a six-month old at the time. We learned right away that most young families don't stay in Midtown long because of the school system. We felt called here to start a church, and believed that we needed to live here long-term in order to be effective.

We also learned that our neighborhood has a public elementary school, but the families in the neighborhood don't send their kids there. So we began our research. I should point out that my wife is an educator and taught in a Memphis City school our first two years here. This helped immensely. In April, 2007 we hosted a forum at our neighborhood school to determine if this was a quality issue or something else (racial, economic, safety, etc...). There was a large turnout, and the consensus at the end was that it's a great school. So something else is keeping families from sending their kids there. After the discussion, my wife was asked to be the Community Representative on the school's Leadership Team. Other parents (of not-yet-school-age children) have already begun to take leadership roles in school events as well. The principal is working closely with neighborhood families to see the school bridge the racial, economic, and academic gap.

Throughout the last few years, we have encountered dozens of people with the same heart cry as ours - for this to become a neighborhood school once again. Some of these we knew to be followers of Christ, but many would not identify themselves as such. Yet a community has begun to form, full of families with a common vision and mission.

Next fall our oldest will be attending Kindergarten at our local elementary school, along with several other children from this group, with dozens more planning on attending in the coming years. Over the last few years we have held this very loosely. We have prayed a lot. We do not want to sacrifice our child, and what we're doing is actually far from that. This is an excellent school, and he's going to have an excellent education, even beyond the academics. He will learn diversity, both racially and economically, and our prayer is that he learns to love others as God loves him.

At the same time, though, what we are doing is extremely intentional and strategic, and I know that it is a big part of why we're here. We never would have set out to integrate our local elementary school or attempt to change the school district, but when we pray, "God, do only what you can do" be ready to walk through the doors He opens!

We could have been called to a different neighborhood in the city, and though our process would have been similar, I recognize that the result may have been different. There are multiple bottom lines, but they all have to be prayed through and considered.

Surprise, Surprise

On our way to community group tonight, Mandy got a call from Meredith saying that we were out of plates and cups for the meal. Mandy said that we were going to go by Susan's house (where the other community group was meeting) to pick it up. I told Mandy that I would run in to get it. When I opened the door, I heard "Surprise. Happy Birthday." I was completely shocked.

I later learned that it was of course the brain child of Mandy, with some help from Josh and a few others. We had Central BBQ and cake, and watched my senior recital and some flashbacks from 2% Milk, the acappella group I was a part of in college. Definitely some embarrassing moments, but a lot of fun. Never had a surprise birthday party thrown for me.

I love the folks at NC. I am blessed to have such wonderful friends.

Advent Conspiracy Press Release

The following article was in Saturday's Commercial Appeal. Unfortunately, it's not online, so I decided to post it here.

Neighborhood Church believes that Christmas can [still] change the world and has partnered with the Advent Conspiracy (www.AdventConspiracy.org) to celebrate Christmas by spending less, giving more, worshiping fully and loving all this season.

Neighborhood Church (NC) has partnered with Advent Conspiracy (AC) to help Memphis experience what Christmas is really about (celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and peace and love for each other), and away from what it has become (consumerism).

NC Pastor Robert Grisham says “We’re encouraging one another to get creative and give meaningful, relational gifts this year. Then, the money we save we’re going to give away to those who really need it.

NC is holding events like the “Think Globally, Party Locally” party, where, instead of toasting to our own good health, we’re asking all of our friends to toast to the world’s good health at a rockin’ good party to raise money for global clean water initiatives through Living Water International.

The Advent Conspiracy is a grassroots movement with more than 1,000 churches in 17 countries participating as co-conspirators- with projects as varied as drilling a water well for those who lack access to clean water or simply encouraging congregations to think of meaningful acts of kindness as meaningful gift options to replace traditional gifts.

Last year, through Advent Conspiracy, $3 Million was raised for relief projects which included providing clean water and medical attention in communities around the world.

This year, Advent Conspiracy anticipates that individuals and churches will match last year’s commitment to charitable gifts and will make a lasting impact in communities around the world.

For more information about Advent Conspiracy, please visit: www.adventconspiracy.org.

For more information about Neighborhood Church, please visit www.ncmidtown.com.