Inreach

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brunkfordbraun/

I remember a couple of things from my earlier days of learning how to lead ministries. One is a distinct memory of rejecting our leadership's push to get more people to come to our ministry. My thinking was, because our church was so dysfunctional, I couldn't imagine what good it would do to invite anyone to it. Of course I went, but that was because it was my church. I was born into it. I didn't choose it. 

The other is a memory of speaking with someone who was a ministry leader at an East Coast college campus while we were studying abroad together. She told me her ministry position: "Inreach Director". It was a position I had thought about for our own campus, and it was one that I thought was needed. Again, although our campus ministry often pushed outward, internally I just saw so many problems that needed fixing. The garden, so to speak, needed some serious caretaking before we invited others to be planted into it. 

Now, however, I realize that things work a bit differently. Let me tell you something that probably doesn't work, now that I've put a few years into building ministries: 

"If you build it, they will come." 

I don't think so. 

The idea that we will have succeeded if we build a ministry with a good, fun community where everyone is happy and everyone knows your name, doesn't work for one major reason (at least as far as I can tell): Christ didn't gather together his church (his ekklesia or gathering) in order to bless us with warm feelings. He gathered the church to be Him and share his message. We exist so that others may know Christ, whether it be through the words that he speaks or the actions that he takes through us. 

In other words, the motto shouldn't be, "If you build it, they will come." Rather, it should be, "As you go to them, I will build My Kingdom.  (Okay, so I'm no poet...I think you still get the picture!)

A lot more could be said, but let me finish with this. The choice actually isn't between focusing on "inreach" or outreach. We shouldn't be concerned about focusing on one or the other. Rather, outreach in its purest form will always be the best inreach. When we reach out as Jesus is calling us to, we're not talking just about service projects or evangelism events. We're talking about nothing less than the basic following of Jesus Christ in all aspects of our lives. When we do that, we will not be able to help but to care for our brothers and sisters both within and outside our ministries. 

Focus on keeping your eyes locked on Jesus amidst everything that you say and do, and everything else will follow. 

an encouraging word from a fellow hypocrite

okay, maybe I use the word "hypocrite" a little too lightly, but I think it's important for us to get over it's sticker shock because it's such a useful word, and so applicable to all of our lives. 

specifically, what happens when you call a pastor or spiritual leader a hypocrite? usually you only say that when you're trying to take a church or ministry down. But isn't hypocrisy a battle we all face? Even those with the purest of integrity...isn't the thing that sets them apart a dedication to realizing and battling their own hypocrisy? 

this is why, by the way, I think a good vision for the church is "The Community of Beloved (and recovering) Hypocrites"

in any case, I heard about Jaeson Ma this morning via text, and was impressed by one of the following posts from his blog. it's quite long, I basically did a combination of reading/skimming through it, but I was struck and incredibly encouraged by how open this very successful man of God was about his struggle to not lead a double life. I'm so used to just seeing shiny plastic facades when I see what a successful person's PR department puts out there, it was great to see Ma share his struggles and, thus, the Power of God as He transforms and shapes Ma's life. 

take a look: 

http://jaesonma.com/becoming-a-man-of-significance-pt-i/

some thoughts after hearing Mr. Blue Like Jazz speak this morning

the man himself, Donald Miller

Overall, I've really been enjoying these Tuesday morning talks that the men of our ministry have been going to over the past three weeks. Yes, it's tough to get up before 6 am, but it has been so worth it. Greg Laurie, Rick Enloe, and now Donald Miller brought some solid word to the men of Seattle who are following Christ. I'm hoping I can find these talks online sometime so that we can share it with the sisters of United Life as well.

Here are some thoughts from Donald Miller's talk today. By the way, if you've never read his bestselling book, Blue Like Jazz, I recommend giving it a spin.

- Where you are at now, who you are now is enough to make an impact for the Kingdom of God. You don't need to go fit some mold before God can use you. Be who you are, be where you are, be obedient to Him, and great things are going to happen. 

- Our times of pain equip us to have sympathy with the pain of others. 

- Male passivity can be devastating: Father's who don't take the initiative in investing and actively supporting their daughters' lives are basically sending the message: "You are not worth it." Same can be said of husbands who don't take initiative in their wives' lives.

From Miller's own life: his father walked out on his family and Miller grew up thinking his dad had died. But when he found out his dad was alive he went to go visit him. Turns out his father walked out on his mom because he felt his mother was being controlling and emasculating. Miller's point - whether that's true or not, basically his dad's message was that Donald and the rest of the kids were not worth dealing with a controlling woman. Perhaps that's better than abusing his children and wife, but that passivity led to some incredible damage of another kind in Miller's life. 

- Miller used the story of Joseph in Genesis as his talk's framework, and one of his key points was Negative Turns in our stories should not be enough to keep us from "kicking butt for God" in whatever situation we're in. Joseph experienced the worst kind of discouraging negative turns: thrown into a well immediately after his God-given dream, sold into slavery, after rising up to be Potiphar's chief servant being sent to prison for no fault of his own, then after saving Pharaoh's cup bearer spending two more years forgotten in prison...if anyone had cause to give up, it was Joseph. But all of that pain, all of those negative turns did not keep God from fulfilling his promise. 

- Miller left us with a great question: What are your daydreams, what thrills you, and how can you use that to, as Joseph does, follow God's heart and "save many lives"?

Kind of cool note: we were sitting one row behind Donald Miller and had a chance to get to know him a bit before he spoke. He signed Max's book, and he asked Oliver about his iPad. 

Here's the promo video for the event that we've been attending: 

Man Up Video from Shawntel Hatch on Vimeo.

a question for you

so the past few weeks and months United Life has been blessed with a few things. We had a great study night last Friday where we served college students and had fun together. Then on Sunday we enjoyed a great and delicious meal together (almost the whole congregation stuck around to spend time, eat, and chat with one another). And, perhaps most importantly, some of the small groups I have been leading have really been building momentum: although I've always known that small groups are important to a ministry, I'm getting to experience now what a difference a little bit of time together makes. I feel a lot closer with those who are a part of these groups: I know more about what's happening in their lives, I know more about their hopes and fears and pet peeves, and I get to see my brothers and sisters being challenged to step out of their comfort zones.

But I'm concerned about something: between these groups and my one-on-ones, I don't reach the majority of United Life. I know that a lot of good things are happening for those not in these groups, but I don't know for sure, especially as regards people who have decided not to join any group. I know it's not about me, it's about what God is doing, but he has put the leadership into my hands to make sure that as many people are experiencing life in Christ as possible. 

Since there are people missing out, I'd like to expand what's going well to reach them. But there are only so many people I can meet one-on-one, and only so many groups I can run (and those groups can only get so big). 

I think the answer is to train more leaders, which brings me to my question: what is the most effective way for you to learn? I know that I learn best when I'm self-motivated (i.e. I kind of shut down when I think that I'm being expected to do or know something before I'm ready) and when there's a goal clearly in sight. But that means, especially regarding my first preference, when trying to teach me, a teacher has to know when to pull back and give me space, and when to push me. That's tricky business, especially if you're pushing for progress. 

How about you? How best do you learn? Do you react best to the "football coach" sort of style (lots of yelling and screaming)? Do you want to get as much relevant information delivered to you as possible? Do you learn best when experiencing things for yourself?

who's the boss?

Let me take a break from sharing some of my devotional tips with you. Instead, let me talk with you about what God has called me to here in Seattle, with the hope that you hear a little something for yourself as well. 

I've been thinking a lot about leadership over the last month or so (see March 30th's entry). There have been some happy thoughts, and there have been some frustrating ones, but all in all it's been an experience of growth for me and our ministry at United Life. One huge thing for me has been recognizing the impossibility of trying to both follow God and worry so much about the judgment of others that I don't move forward until I have their approval. It's nice to be working my way towards freedom from that. 

Recently, though, I've been nearly overwhelmed by the complexities of leadership. I've especially been caught up trying to figure out where the line between God pushing me out of my comfort zone and being forced to be someone I'm not is. I know the joys of stepping out of a comfort zone on faith. But I'm afraid of what crossing that line might bring, and, quite frankly, resentful that I might not be enough as I am. 

That's when God hit me with this verse as I looked into his word today: 'Those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the LORD; and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God." Zechariah 6:15. 

This verse is the last thing God says to Zechariah after telling him to crown Joshua the high priest and say to him that God is appointing him to rebuild God's temple and rule God's people. Before reading this verse I felt bad for Joshua: who would he go to for help? Why was this all falling on his shoulders? What if he didn't have the talent to carry this out? What would he do if everyone shrugged their shoulders as he called them to build? 

But then I read verse 15 (for the second time) and noticed two things 1) God tells Joshua he'll have help and 2) God tells Joshua that he doesn't have to have the master plan, he doesn't even need to be a good "leader", he just needs to diligently obey the voice of the Lord. 

Here's what I'm hearing, and consider whether God is saying this to you as well: 

a. God has a purpose, a mission, a calling for each of us. 

b. God won't call us to do that mission on our own. He will provide the help. 

c. We're not the president, CEO, or even the head pastor. He is. We need to be in sync with him, listening to him, desiring to understand his will. And when we do get a picture of what he wants, what his plan is, and where we fit in it, we need to obey. 

What mission has he given you? 

led

"Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron spoke all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people. And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped."

- Exodus 4:29-31

In today's New York Times Seattle's very own Eugene Cho was interviewed for an article entitled, "New Fame for the Everyday Donor". For those of you who haven't heard, Pastor Eugene has been spearheading a new non-profit organization called One Day's Wages that's founded on the idea that huge change can happen when a lot of people contribute in small but significant ways. To that end he and his wife Minhee have not only donated their year's wages, they've also coordinated the massive effort it takes to pull together and send out thousands of individual donations to the groups that are receiving them.

Among other things, that takes leadership.

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