Won't you be my neighbor?

The other day through the wonders of online streaming video, I had the opportunity to introduce my boys to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.  They didn't quite get it, I don't think, but I got to reminisce a bit watching this show from my childhood.  And of course it helps knowing that Fred Rogers was truly an exceptional man.  He was a Presbyterian minister and spent over 30 years treating America's kids as neighbors, teaching them values, and show them how to use their imagination. 

What struck me as I watched the show again, was how Mister Rogers invited you right into his "house" while singing the famous song and changing his suit jacket to a sweater and dress shoes for casual ones.  I wonder how often I even treat my own kids with that kind of warmth as soon as I walk in the door after work, let alone random kids and neighbors.  Mister Rogers knew hospitality.

But I think - and I can only guess - that when Mister Rogers' show began in 1968, a neighborhood meant something.  Being a "neighbor" was a term of endearment that meant that you were friendly and welcome.  Neighbors helped look after each other; keeping an eye out for your house when you were gone, making sure your kids weren't getting into trouble, and sharing a cup of sugar when you ran out.  At least that's the stereotype that I imagine when I think of neighbors before my generation. 

Someone noted at a recent MCLE (Missional Church Learning Experience) gathering that people used to sit out in their rocking chairs on the front porch engaging with their neighbors.  Now we build 6 foot high privacy fences and back decks so we can sit outside and talk to no one.  It's unfortunate that we've lost the ability to be neighbors.

We're trying to change that at First Baptist Church of Mt. Pleasant.  In June, we had 6 "hosts" reach out to their neighbors with an invitation to relationship in exciting ways.  Five of those hosts invited their neighbors to block parties at their homes, hosting food and conversation for neighbors The results were amazing, as each party had many guests and created opportunities to get to know neighbors like never before.  Personally, I felt like we just gained a neighborhood after eight years of living in this house.  Who knew we were surrounded by such kind and fun people?  The other "host" instead baked pies and delivered them to her neighbors as a gift.  Again, this was well received by those in her neighborhood.

And here's the fun part.  A few days ago, while outside spraying for weeds, one of my new neighbor friends yelled over from across the street.  We met in the middle and chatted for a few minutes and again, I was reminded that this is what a neighborhood is.  And this is what Jesus commands us to do; to "love your neighbor as yourself". 

Doing this also reminds us that we are not a church by showing up for an hour a week to worship together.  Yes, that's important, but we are God's church when we follow His commands.  As Rev. Glynis LaBarre said, "Jesus did not die to save your church.  He didn't even die to save THE Church.  The Church exists to carry out His mission."  When we get outside our building and live among and love our neighbors, we begin to be who God has made us to be.

I get excited when I imagine a church of people living in Mount Pleasant, the surrounding countryside, and neighboring communities as far as Fairfield and Waterloo living out a love for their neighbors.  Imagine the reach that the Kingdom has if we go and love our neighbors and live as witnesses to the grace and peace that comes from a relationship with Jesus.

Lord, build Your Kingdom here,

Regan

Team Umizoomi, ready for Baptism

My 3 year old son, Hayden, loves Team Umizoomi!  I mean, loves that show.  Whenever he wakes up in the morning or from his nap, his request is well known by all around.  Turn on Team Umizoomi.  Hayden can also answer questions about Jesus like a champ.  If you ask where Jesus lives, he'll answer confidently, "In my heart."  If you ask who made the grass, world, or us; he'll answer, "Jesus" or "God" without skipping a beat.

So shouldn't he be baptized?  Has he "asked Jesus into his heart", "prayed a prayer of salvation" or "gotten saved"?  NO!  He's three.

I read an article recently on Christianity Today stating that in the Southern Baptist Convention, baptisms are dropping off at a record level for all but preschool aged kids.  You can read the article here.  This is alarming to me.  I'm not that worried about Southern Baptist general baptisms, but I am concerned about the growing practice of baptizing children before they're capable of making a commitment for Christ.

Is this weird coming from the guy who just wrote a post about allowing children to join us in Communion?  Maybe.  But as a Baptist, I see baptism as a profession of our faith that represents a lifelong commitment to Christ, and I'm not sure that's something a preschooler can make.  (Communion, on the other hand, is a practice of the presence of Christ and He consistently called children to Himself while on earth.)

According to Piaget's stages of brain development, children don't have the ability to think  concretely until ages 7-12 and don't usually begin to develop the capacity for abstract thinking until around age 12.  Many are still developing abstract thinking well into their 20's.  I don't know about you, but being able to understand cognitively that there is an invisible God who created the universe, is Trinitarian, and sent Himself/His Son to earth to die on the cross as atonement for our sins and raise from the dead requires a bit of abstract understanding.  

And it makes me wonder if the reason we're losing our young people as they acquire the ability to think abstractly and are challenged by the world, is because we push them to make commitments they can't cognitively make when they're younger.  So they abandon what they were taught because it all seems like it was forced, and now they are trying to come to terms with it all.

The truth in my family is that all three of my boys could answer the questions right; especially if I asked the questions in the right way.  My 5 and 7 year olds could even tell you that they love Jesus and know He is an important part of their lives.  But that's because we have taught them those things.  And on their level, they really do believe them.  (Of course, they believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and that they can be super heroes when they grow up too.)

So be careful, parents, pastors, Sunday School teachers.  The only good you are doing by pushing your child to "get saved" and be baptized at an early age is to make yourself feel better.  But are you willing to do that at the expense of a real commitment?  I'm not.  I'm not, because I get to walk with teenagers and adults as they actually go through this struggle to faith on their own and see that true commitment is worth waiting for.

What do you think?

Is it time to rethink how we treat kids and Communion?

Let's get this out of the way; I'm an American Baptist and have been my whole life.  I recognize my thinking is going to be out of traditional ABC church practice, and definitely outside other church traditions.  So just know where I'm coming from.

I think it's time to let children join us in Communion (or Lord's Supper, or Eucharist, or The Table).  

Growing up in ABC/USA churches, I learned that Communion was an ordinance of the church that we began to partake of after our baptism.  There were a few exceptions like Christmas Eve or Maundy Thursday, when I got to take the elements with my family, but otherwise I waited till after my baptism at 8 years old.  It was only then that I was ready to understand and take the bread and juice that represent Jesus' body and blood.

And I get it.  I do.  After all, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 says, "So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.  Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.  For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves."  So we make sure that we take seriously the taking of Communion and keep children from it until they can take it seriously.  (Though our 'age of accountability' is open for interpretation and many still may not be able to grasp its seriousness after baptism.)

But I've been challenged to understand Communion differently lately and it's affecting much of how I've been practicing it.  I've always struggled with Communion because I didn't really understand it.  As Baptists, we tend to see the bread and juice as symbols of the body and blood of Jesus, and let it simply serve as that tangible reminder of Jesus' sacrifice for us.  But I've been challenged by teachings by Dr. David Fitch from Northern Seminary and by conversations with other pastors - like my dad - that there is more happening at The Table.  As you read through the New Testament post resurrection, it seems that the "breaking of bread" brings more than remembrance; but the acknowledgment of the presence of Christ into the mix.

My favorite example happens right after the resurrection as Jesus walks the road toward Emmaus with two followers who don't recognize Him; even telling Him about His own death.  Even as Jesus unpacks the Scriptures, they don't know that it's Him.  But when they arrive at their destination and Jesus breaks bread with them, they realize that it is the risen Christ with them.  There must be something significant about eating together that allows Jesus' presence to be tangibly known.  

That brings me to the issue of children in worship.  I have three boys and we found pretty early on that Communion would be a challenge with our oldest when he started sitting with my wife in worship.  When the time came for bread and juice to be passed around, he didn't understand why he wasn't included.  My wife quickly came to the conclusion - out of a desire to eliminate distractions - that our 4 year old would receive it too.  (I know; sacrilege.)  And I agreed with her.  But each month on the first Sunday as we prepared to pass out the elements, she would talk with my son about the significance of the bread and juice.

As you can imagine, some didn't like it.  And we didn't really start this because of some deep theological understanding of Communion that differed from our congregation's traditions.  It was just a desire to not have the pastor's son cry loudly from the second pew during Communion.

But all that has changed.  This question of Communion and kids has reminded me of another passage of Scripture.  Matthew 19:13-14 says, "Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.  Jesus said,  'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'" (emphasis mine.)

So if Communion is truly what the word means; a close intimate fellowship with another - namely Jesus - then we are in the same situation.  At The Table, our children could be exposed to the presence of Christ while we, like the disciples, tell them to "get away.  The presence of Jesus is no place for children."  

So maybe it's time to really rethink how we deal with this issue.  Are kids sometimes irreverent?  Yep.  Were they probably irreverent when they came to Jesus as the gospel stories tell?  Yep.  

And to be clear, the 1 Corinthians passage used to put kids off wasn't written to deal with children and Communion, but to adults who were refusing to reconcile their relationships or live in communion with one another.  Paul wasn't talking to children at all.  But we adults better be careful if we're to take seriously what he says in this passage.  I don't know about you, but I have some relationships to reconcile if I'm going to be right before The Table.

What do you think?  Am I totally off base?

Growing Smaller

So what is the long term plan for our church?  If you asked me that 8 years ago when I came, I would have had many answers.  Maybe we would grow to where we had to fill the balcony with church-goers.  Our programs would be top notch, offering great opportunities for discipleship for kids and adults.  We may even get to the point of hiring new staff for youth ministry or music.  And of course, we could always build that gym - ahem -  Family Life Center.

But what if those dreams were all based on the wrong model of church?  I’m becoming increasingly convinced that the multi-staff, mega-church, mega-programs, mega-buildings kind of ministry is inconsistent with what our culture needs.  In fact, I think that this “consumer church” model is dying, even though every church seems to be seeking to live it out.  I mean, think about it.  What church isn’t trying to grow its attendance, have more professional gatherings, and better programs?  Churches are more and more centered around a model from churches that “bring in” thousands to hear their celebrity pastor speak; sometimes even via video satellite feed.  But is that how we should do ministry in Mount Pleasant, Iowa?  What if, instead, we focused on bringing the Kingdom of God to the places we inhabit rather than making “church” enticing enough to get people into it?

I know this kind of sounds familiar, but I’m talking about moving from even a “missional” perspective to an “incarnational” model of ministry.  Dr. David Fitch taught at our Prairie Pastors' Conference that the church is not the Kingdom, and neither is the world.  The Kingdom breaks out when the disciple encounters the world.  So instead of trying to grow our church and reach people for Jesus through large budding programs, what if we were open to bringing the Kingdom of God to the places we inhabit?  This means that Kingdom can break out in your neighborhood, in the break room at work, even at McDonalds over a Big Mac. 

We have seen some amazing life changing ministry in our church.  We’ve seen people called out of dead end lives and into God’s will, we’ve seen people catch fire for Christ and change their entire families.  We’ve added to our church family people who have been transformed by God’s grace.  But none of those lives were transformed in traditional churchy ways.  They weren’t transformed by a challenging sermon I preached, or through a Sunday School class that opened their eyes, or a youth group meeting.  Lives have been changed by disciples living out Christ towards them till they are struck by His love and goodness.

This is church, I think.  This is where we need to strive to go.  What if we dream of being a church who loves our neighbors instead of being the next big impressive mega-church.  (Love being an action verb.)  That’s the vision I think God is setting before us.  I’ve given up my picture of successful church for the one God is challenging me with.  Will you?

Youversion Live Events - A Review

How do we get people to interact with the worship and message on Sunday mornings?  Not a new question at all.  (And the answer probably has less to do with a method of interaction, and more to do with changing the way we do these gatherings.  A topic for another day maybe.)  But churches have tried all kinds of ways to help people connect to what is going on in worship.

First, we created the bulletin.  This way everyone knows how far along we are in the order and any announcements they may need to know.  (Which they won't read anyway.)  Oh, the bulletin.  Church secretaries spend most of their week putting together this uber important document that will get tossed or left in the pew when the gathering is over.  But we hope it will help people engage.  (It doesn't.)

Then we realized that nobody ever brings their Bible anymore so we chose one of two options.  We either bought Bibles for the pews or began to post Scripture verses on the screen so people can follow along.  (Or both).  Pastors, how many of you have asked people to turn to a certain passage and reminded them there are Bibles in the pews and heard not a single page turn?  Yeah, me too.

Some well-planned pastors then decided that people need a good outline of the sermon so they can take notes and up their engagement on the message.  So sermon outlines are put in our beloved bulletins; some even attached with a perforated edge!  Maybe a few use the outlines for notes, but many also become the place for a little kid to draw to keep busy or for teens to pass notes down the pew.

So the most popular Bible app in the world made a different way possible using their Youversion Bible app.  (Available on all mobile platforms as well as in a browser.)  I've been using the Youversion Live Events for a few months now so here's my take.

The Bible's Live Events gives a church or group the chance to let people connect through the app to take notes, read the Scripture, submit prayer requests and much more.  I don't use all the options, but each week use it for people that want to follow along with the sermon or communicate with us a need.


First, you can only set up a Live Event via a computer. (PC, Mac, or ChromeOS)  There is no option within the mobile app to set up or edit Live Events.  (PLEASE MAKE THAT POSSIBLE, Youversion.)  But it's quite easy within a browser to bring up my sermon notes on Google Drive and Youversion in another tab to lay out the Event.  I don't use all the options, but do some simple things.  First, our Event has some info about our church and a link to our website.  Next, there is a place to fill out prayer requests that will submit them to us.  (Though, there are no notifications that alert me to a submitted a prayer request.  I have to manually check to see if anyone has submitted any.  Another flaw.)  Then I can go through my sermon structure to put in places for notes.  For me, these are just a basic point of the sermon or questions related to it, and then there is a place for the user to input their own notes or thoughts.


The best part, to me, is that I can put in all the exact Scripture references that I'm going through in the version I want to use.  So I'm not handcuffed to the NIV or some other version that's sitting in the pews, and users can follow along exactly with what I'm reading.

When I began using this, there was no one in our church interested in using it.  But as more and more people are buying smartphones and tablets, the interest has risen.  Now, we have many that are using it weekly.  My 7 year old son was even using it on my wife's smartphone last Sunday, even taking notes.  I've heard report after report from participants that they love using it to follow along, and love emailing themselves their notes from the event at the end of worship.

If you are interested in using this for your church, here are some requirements.  (In my opinion.)

1. Offer free wifi in your church.  You can't invite people to use devices if they can't get online.  This means having a separate wifi network that is accessible for everyone without getting access to your sensitive administrative info.  We ran a separate router to the balcony in our sanctuary and set it up as "FBC Guest" for anyone to connect to.  And make sure it's working each week.  All it takes is a flicker of power loss in the building and the router will need reset to work correctly.  If McDonalds and Starbucks can be a wifi hotspot, so can we.
2. Lay out specific instructions for using the app.  Many people are not good at figuring this stuff out.  We're having more of our older members getting Kindles, iPads, or Android tablets and they need instructions for getting connected.  In our bulletin it says, "If you have a smartphone or tablet there is a new way to interact with our worship services.  First, connect through our free wifi called "FBCGuest".  Then, download the Bible app by Lifechurch.tv (Youversion).  You can find it in the Appstore, Google Playstore, or Amazon Appstore.  Next, tap your menu and look for the section called "Live".  Tap 'Search for a Live Event' and it will bring up local live events.  Ours is called "Sunday Worship at FBC".  There, you can learn more about us, read Scripture, take notes, and even share prayer requests.  Check it out."
3. Have someone available to help people who need help.  (We don't have this set up well yet, but I'm working on it.  Normally the person who would help someone with tech is me and I'm up front.)

So give it a try sometime; it just may be useful in your church.  It's not the answer to getting all people involved in worship, but for those that want to, it's a good tool.  It's not perfect, and there are things they could add to make it much more useful, but it's good at what it does.

And to users:  We're not stupid; we know when you're looking at Facebook, playing Flappy Bird, or texting instead of using the app.  Don't fool yourself.

See, you're an idiot for wearing those crazy toe shoes!

I'm still wearing my Vibram FiveFingers and I'm not stopping anytime soon.  Yes, I've seen the articles.  It seems everyone who knows of my VFF obsession has messaged or posted on my Facebook about articles like this one that tell of the lawsuit Vibram is settling.  So here's my take.

There are two stories going around and so I'll address both.

First.  This story came out showing that Vibrams are terrible for you feet.  According to this report, it is harder on your feet to transition to minimalist running shoes than it is to wear shoes with two and a half inches of padding underneath them.  DUH!  Is this a surprise?  Yes, transitioning to Vibrams for running takes time and your feet need to adjust.  This is not news.  But here are some real flaws in this study:

• 19 people were in this study running with VFF's.  That isn't a large enough group to make any real claims.
• Though the claim is that 10 of the 19 were injured, there were only 2 that had actual stress fractures.  (And there was 1 in the control group of 18 running in regular shoes.)  Again, this is not indicative of anything.
• There are no studies of people who use minimalist shoes long term, just transitions.  I wear Vibrams almost exclusively and have for 2 years.  Even when I go a few months without running, I can take off for 3 miles with no pain or injuries.

Second. So some random lady buys a pair of Vibram FiveFingers shoes because they claim that they'll strengthen her feet and decrease injuries.  And they don't magically make her fit and strong; they must be lying.  This kind of litigation drives me insane.  Vibram makes a common sense claim that using your feet the way nature (God) intended will be better for you and are sued because they haven't done years of studies to back up the claim.  It's ridiculous.  I understand why VFF settled the lawsuit and are paying out millions; since they'd probably get worse publicity and spend more defending themselves against such a frivolous suit.  (And don't get me wrong; I don't believe VFF to be a nonprofit who hasn't made a bundle off of these shoes.  They are financially motivated to convince you their toe shoes are a good idea and worth the $100 you can often pay for them.)

But I'm still wearing them.  I got my first pair planning to use them canoeing and fishing in Canada.  The first time I tried running in them, I went way too far and ended up with fist-sized knots in my calves for a week.  (Though no bone injuries.)  But even that first run was easier and less painful than the shin splints and lower back pain I always got running with regular shoes.  After getting used to my VFF's, I didn't want to wear other shoes anymore.  Even my beloved flip flops were a chore to walk around in compared to my toe shoes.  So no I wear them everyday.  I have kangaroo leather ones for the office and even for preaching on Sundays, I have casual ones that look like vintage tennis shoes - with toes, and I have trail runners for harsher grounds.  And I love all of them.  I'll keep wearing them cause I feel good in them, and love how they feel.  (My wife and our boys will continue to wear them too.)  To me, it's simple.  God made our feet to be used a certain way.  Instead, we shove them inside shoes that make us walk and run completely differently, and then we wonder why we have bad backs, knees, and hips.   Maybe someone should sue Nike, Reebok, and Adidas for all the knee replacements and chiropractic appointments from a lifetime of use.

Ordination Song

What song should I sing for Scotty's ordination?  It took me a few tries, but I think I found the right one.  But there's a few rejects that give some advice to a young minister.