More than ever before - I'm determined to fly

This parable from Søren Kierkegaard expresses my deepest commitment. By the grace of God I am committed to being fully awake, living out of God's design for my life. I want to fly.

A certain flock of geese lived together in a barnyard with high walls around it. Because the corn was good and the barnyard was secure, these geese would never take a risk.

One day a philosopher goose came among them. He was a very good philosopher and every week they listened quietly and attentively to his learned discourses. “My fellow travelers on the way of life,” he would say, “can you seriously imagine that this barnyard, with great high walls around it, is all there is to existence? “I tell you, there is another and a greater world outside, a world of which we are only dimly aware. Our forefathers knew of this outside world. For did they not stretch their wings and fly across the trackless wastes of desert and ocean, of green valley and wooded hill? But alas, here we remain in this barnyard, our wings folded and tucked into our sides, as we are content to puddle in the mud, never lifting our eyes to the heavens which should be our home.”

The geese thought this was very fine lecturing. “How poetical,” they thought. “How profoundly existential. What a flawless summary of the mystery of existence.” Often the philosopher spoke of the advantage of flight, calling on the geese to be what they were. After all, they had wings, he pointed out. “What were wings for, but to fly with?” Often he reflected on the beauty and the wonder of life outside the barnyard, and the freedom of the skies.

And every week the geese were uplifted, inspired, moved by the philosopher’s message. They hung on his every word. They devoted hours, weeks, months to a thoroughgoing analysis and critical evaluation of his doctrines. They produced learned treatises on the ethical and spiritual implications of flight.

All this they did. But one thing they never did. They did not fly. For the corn was good, and the barnyard was secure.

(an English translation of Søren Kierkegaard's parable quoted by Athol Gill, The Fringes of Freedom).

The X-odus Files

I'm always looking for resources that help me in my Faithwalking journey. I want to share one with you today. My friend Rick Brown (picutured at left) is the pastor of Christbridge Church in Tomball and he has journeyed with a whole group of us who have been praying for and working toward the transformation of communities across the city.

Rick is the co-author of The X-odus Files. It is an excellent resource in which the authors do not flinch in telling the truth about what it means to follow Jesus today.

Here is a brief summary of content. "God has a purpose for our lives. But it is not that we should be wanderers. God created us to be warriors, people who are equipped for the spiritual battles taking place in our daily lives. Based on the book of Exodus, The X-odus Files shows how God takes a group of unruly wanderers and transforms them into warriors. What God did with them he wants to do with you. Tired of living a life of wandering? Then it's time to follow God in an alien world. The X-odus Files will guide you in your own transformation."

I commend The X-odus Files to you today.

Doing it together where we spend most of our time

This is the fourth in a series of posts under the heading "Why I don't believe in discipleship."

In an attempt to be provocative and get your attention, I chose the title. What is actually more accurate is that I don't believe that discipleship as it is commonly practiced in most of the congregations that I know in the city actually regularly produces people who are capable of living the life that Jesus lived. There are notable exceptions in virtually every congregation, but by and large, my sense is that these people are the exception and not the rule.

Today I address the third reason why I believe what I believe. Most of our current discipleship efforts teach people to be a "solo" Christian. What is your purpose in life? What is your mission?

Jesus only knows "me" in relationship to "us." In the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, the story is about learning to live and minister in a community of people as a part of an interdependent set of giftings in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

In the most common practice, Christians are expected to be the church at the place where they gather for worship (the congregation) but there is virtually no expectation for the Body of Chris to be functioning in the workplace or the neighborhood.

A primary way to describe the current practice and then to say what I believe the Lord is calling us to is to say this. For years we have given our church members information about the Bible and told them to take their faith to the workplace. I'm suggesting that we need to equip folks who attend our congregations to take the Church to the workplace.

Congregations have a central and vital role in the advance of the Kingdom in our city. But as long as the Church only gathers and functions in the congregational building and on an occasional mission trip, how can we expect transformation of the city? It will be as the local congregation equips its members to go to the workplace (or the neighborhood or wherever that person spends the most of his/her time each day) and participate in mobilizing the Body of Christ for service and ministry that God will bring transformation.

In our Faithwalking journey that is exactly what we call people to do and to be. We are partnering with congregations and Christian leaders from the private sector to equip men and women to identify other believers in their work place or neighborhood, to call them together for relationship building, for prayer and for discerning God's purposes for their workplace or neighborhood. As he gives that discernment, then collectively and in concert with one another, they act.

Jerry Gallion, Bob Livingston, Juli Piling and a group of people at Kirby Corporation are leaders of a group that are taking this Faithwalk. You can read their story by clicking on this link. Todd and Denise McCombs and Brandon and Sara Beth Baca are doing the same thing in a neighborhood in southwest Houston. You can hear Todd tell a part of that story by clicking on this link. Terry and Kimberly Richter and their family are taking this Faithwalk by mobilizing believers to form soccer league for a school with high percentages of low income kids. Here Terry tell that story by clicking here.

The one thing that the stories have in common is that these followers of Jesus have taken a place where they spend a substantive amount of their time - home, work, neighborhood - mobilized the Body of Christ - and are serving as salt and light - as the hands and feet of Jesus - together.

The Bible doesn't know solo Christians. Doing mission together - where we spend the most of our time - that's where the seeds of transformation are planted.

By means of his one Spirit, we all said goodbye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (The Apostle Paul, I Corinthians 12 The Message)

Confronting the compartmentalization

This is the third in a series of post under the title, "Why I don't believe in discipleship."

I believe that most of our discipleship efforts don't actually end up producing people who become the kind of human being that Jesus was. In Romans 8:29 you find these words: "God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him." (The Message)

Why don't our current efforts produce more people who are the kind of human being Jesus was? There is no magic bullet answer to that question. My intent is not to provide comprehensive responses in these posts so much as it is to say what I believe and hopefully generate dialogue among those who are interested in fostering a conversation about "what a disciple is and how one is made?"

Here's a second possible answer to the question (see my last post for a first possible answer). I believe that most of our current discipleship efforts accept a compartmentalization between the sacred and the secular that is devastating to the disciple making process - and consequently to the impact that disciples could have on the culture. Those we are "discipling" spend 50 or 60 hours a week in the "secular world" that mostly promotes values of competition, greed, and winning at all costs. Frequently these pursuits are set in the context of using lust and fear to "sell" what ever is being sold.

Then, with left over time these same followers of Jesus do the things they consider sacred - like going to church and getting more information from the bible, and engaging in an occasional service project or mission trip. Somewhere in all that, if they are married, they have to find time for meaningful relationships with a spouse and some children. It's a formula that is doomed to fail - and fail it has.

The rub is that no one really expects that they would be like Jesus in the work place where the business degree often trumps the Bible. The fact that we have not challenged this compartmentalization has resulted in massive resignation and cynicism among "church folks" about the power of the Gospel and the integrity of Church leaders.

In Faithwalking, we engage this compartmentalization head on. We believe that our disciple making efforts must take place in the setting where we spend most of our time (which for most of us is our home and/or our workplace). And we encourage folks to focus their disciple making not just on the teaching the content of the life of Jesus but to actually coach those they are discipling to be salt and light for their work place. "How do I do my work as unto the Lord?" "How do I influence company decisions so that they make a profit for our stakeholders while also serving the common good?" "How do I use my influence to over come unethical or immoral business practices?" "Where is our company engaging in unjust practices and how do I influences those practices?"

We hold up the difference in having intentions about addressing these questions and in actually getting into action around them. We recognize that getting in to action could cause persecution and perhaps the loss of a job in some hostile settings. That's a part of the consequence of taking up your cross daily and following Him. In short, we are discipling people to live the life Jesus lived and to act in the ways that he acted. Discipling is not - as I said in the last post - just having information about all of this.

If you'd like to know more about Faithwalking, click here. If you'd like to register for the next Faithwalking retreat set for October 2-4, click here.

Embracing failure is essential in the disciples journey

This is the second post under the general heading, "Why I don't believe in discipleship."

It's my contention that our current practice of discipleship doesn't actually produce people who look and act like Jesus. I'm not saying that our existing congregations don't produce some who look and act like Jesus. But, they tend to be the exception, not the rule. And in business terms, if making disciples is our business, then the return on investment is pretty dismal by virtually every study done. Instead we produce an American version of a socially appropriate, moral person who occasionally does a mission trip and a little service along the way. What a far cry from the life of the early disciples (all of whom were business people in, what we would call, the private sector) who were called to follow Him.

Why does our current practice of discipleship not regularly produce people who live the life that Jesus lived?

One answer is that we've dummied down what it means to follow Jesus. There is virtually no expectation in today's congregations that:

• Christians live simply and generously;
• Mission be a way of life rather than something that we do when we are not working (which is where I real life is);
• We engage our enemies with authentic acts of kindness and love;
• We go resolve any conflict that exists between us and another human being

just to name a few. And there is certainly no real expectation that we be in personal ongoing relationship to the poor, the prisoner, the orphan or the widow.

When we redefine following Jesus to include all of his teachings and not just those that make us functional American citizens, we come to a rude awakening. The only way to learn to obey all of what Jesus intended is to practice. I can read "Love you enemy" or "forgive 70 Xs 7" or "if your brother offend you go to him" or "go and sell everything you have and give it to the poor" one hundred times - or one thousand times. I can memorize it. I can write it on my door posts and plaster it on my mirror. I can teach it in my small group or preach it with eloquence from the pulpit.

But in the moment when it comes to act in obedience, I will be overcome with anxiety and inexperience. Even if I can muster the courage to act, I'll likely make a huge mess of things.

That's why practice is necessary. When I go and attempt to do what Jesus teaches, the gap between what I profess and my actual mastery gets put on full display. I know what you are thinking. "I don't want my incompetence to be put on display."

Precisely! So, rather than risking the learning process, I either pretend to be obeying or I simply write off the thing that Jesus calls me to that is so very difficult to master.

In the Faithwalking journey, we've learned that there are three things that will lead us to stay in the experience of practicing obedience.

First, a safe environment where failure is seen as growth and opportunity. A safe environment is one in which you are not judged for resisting and where failure is seen as the best possible opportunity for learning. Our culture and the Christian sub-culture does not have an empowering relationship to failure of this nature.

Second, an ever deepening practice of the spiritual disciplines. No person and no program can transform a human heart. Only God can do that. But God won't force that on us. He will come into the space we create for him and welcome him into. The practices of fasting, prayer, worship confession, solitude . . . to name a few of the spiritual practices are the things that create this space for Him. This may mean that I need less church activity and more personal time. It often means that I need to slow things down and cut some things out in order to make space for Him.

Third, a good coach who will hold you accountable and help you stay in action. Information, practice and reflection - that's the process we use. In the information part, we see our habitual disobedience, confess it without condemnation, and tell the truth about what is so with that. In the practice part, we go practice obedience. That is often messy and can be chaotic, but it is necessary. Then we come back to reflect in the presence of God and with a good coach. Where did things go well? Where did I get off track? How could I have done that differently? At what point did I loose focus? The coach then helps you discern your next practice session and holds you accountable for doing the practice. Over time, this results in growing obedience.

In the Faithwalking community we expect practice. We call and equip you to use the spiritual disciplines in a deeper way than perhaps you ever have before, and we provide you with a coach.

If you'd like to know more about Faithwalking, click here. If you'd like to register for the next Faithwalking retreat set for October 2-4, click here.

Why I don't believe in discipleship

Near the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus said, "Come follow me." At the end of that public ministry, he said to the same folks "Go and make disciples, teaching them to obey." I believe that discipleship as it is practiced by most of the church in western culture has little impact and is certainly not designed to teach people to obey Jesus.

When a group of us began the Faithwalking journey more than a decade ago, there were three underlying practices of discipleship that we were certain must be challenged if our engagement with Jesus was going to actually lead to us becoming increasingly like him.

I'll innumerate those three things now. I'll write about each one of them, one at a time, in the next few days.

First, most of our current discipleship efforts are focused on giving people knowledge. To learn to obey requires information and experience in which practice, failure, reflection and coaching are involved. Virtually none of the discipleship approaches in congregations today include the experience side of the equation. They are virtually all about information. If we are to learn to obey we must practice obedience that is accompanied by a reflective life with God and a good coach or we will quickly become disillusioned and quit.

Second, most of our current discipleship efforts accept a compartmentalization between the sacred and the secular. So, those we are "discipling" spend 50 or 60 hours a week in the "secular world" and they give their left over time to stuff they consider sacred like going to church and getting more information from the bible, and engaging in an occasional service project or mission trip. No one really expects that they would be like Jesus in the work place where the business degree often trumps the Bible. This compartmentalization must be confronted head on or we will quickly grow resigned and cynical about ever making an impact.

Third, most of our current discipleship efforts teach people to be a "solo" Christian. What is your purpose in life? What is your mission? Jesus only knows "me" in relationship to "us." In the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, the story is about learning to live and minister in a community of people. Christians are expected to be the church at the place where they gather for worship (the congregation) but there is virtually no expectation for the Body of Chris to be functioning in the workplace or the neighborhood.

I titled the post today "Why I don't believe in discipleship." It's not that I don't believe deeply in following Jesus and in an intentional effort to learn obedience to his life and teachings. It's that in our language today, when we say "discipleship" we are referring to a set of practices that don't result in the real time capacity to actually follow and obey him. The world has known this for quit some time and is staying away from church in droves. Local congregations are beginning to get this as well but mostly redesign their discipleship programs without ever examining the underlying issues that I'm addressing in this post.

What I do believe is that when we follow Jesus - when we learn to obey - when we learn to live the life that he lived - we are deeply and profoundly invited into a journey of personal transformation that makes us more fully alive than most people believe is possible. That journey replaces consumer Christianity with a powerful and purposeful life that is full of challenge and meaning and growth and real impact.

Faithwalking is a journey that challenges all three of the practices described above. If you are interested, I'll say more in future posts. And if you are interested in signing up for a Faithwalking retreat where you'll actually get some experience that is designed to confront these currently held practices, click here.

Prayer for Parents of At-Risk Children

Did you know that contrary to popular opinion, most parents of at-risk children are not the problem? Most parents in poverty are actively seeking help to “do the right thing.” In fact, 82% of children in low-income families in Texas have a least one parent who is employed full or part-time. However in Houston, many parents have a low educational attainment; often do not speak English; live below poverty level while both parents work; and do not reach out for government assistance.

Prayer Targets for Day Six:

1. Pray for God’s heart to fill the hearts of the parents of at-risk children, Mark 10:16.

2. Pray for the Church in Houston to find effective ways to reach and strengthen the parents of at-risk children, 1 Peter 4:10.

Prayer:

Lord God, You are a father to the fatherless and a mother to the motherless. We thank You for Your loving care. You alone possess the qualities of a “perfect parent.” We are blessed to be able to draw strength from You as parents. We thank You, God, for parents and for the family system you have created. Thank You for providing parents and parent-figures to help when biological parents are missing.

We ask You today to bless and strengthen the parents of our city, especially the parents of children at-risk. Visit them with Your Presence. For those who are discouraged and despondent, provide fresh courage and vision for their role as parents. Enable them to provide for the material, emotional and spiritual needs of their children and families.

Come to make up the difference in each family and in the lives of each child. We pray today for single parents and for the heavy load they carry. Provide help, special friends and advocates for them through the Church and other organizations. Bless and knit extended families and neighbors together in ways that will further support their children.

Forgive us as parents for neglecting our responsibilities by holding others responsible to train our children – whether that is the Church or the school system. Forgive us when we have not prayed for our children. Help us to instill godly values in each life so they will discover their full value and purpose in You. Protect parents of at-risk children and keep them from all evil. Empower them with great grace, patience and wisdom.

Yours, O Lord, is the Kingdom, the power and the glory. It is Jesus’ Name we pray today. Amen.

Day Five - Week for Prayer for Children and Youth

Did you know that we have only a 48% freshmen-to-senior same school graduation rate in Houston? Only 15% of Texas students will complete a four year degree. In Houston that means that out of 58,000 students who are 18, only about 8,700 will finish college within 6 years. (44 states scored higher). Our education system is broken. Education is the way out of poverty. If we want to see those we reach out to break the cycle of poverty, we need to insure all children have a quality education.

1. Pray for God’s Spirit to rest upon those responsible for our educational system, Isaiah 11:2-3.

2. Pray for the Church in Houston to become salt and light in the school system, Matthew 5:14-16.

Lord, You are great and greatly to be praised. You simply spoke, and the worlds were created. We give thanks to You for a nation that makes education a priority. We thank You for the public and the private education in America. Father, we thank You that every child born in this great nation has an opportunity to receive an education.

Father, the educational system in our city is in need of Your healing. The problems are overwhelming. We ask You to raise up wise leadership to address the systemic problems so that the children of our city will complete both primary and secondary school. Give school administrators and government official’s Your wisdom and understanding. Give every teacher and administrator Your heart for the children they serve.

Father, forgive Your Church where we have not wanted to invest our time and resources in our educational system. Forgive us for our failure to make education a priority in our homes. Lord, help us to work together so our children will be motivated and achieve more.

Lord, restore our educational system in Houston. May You be glorified as our children’s test scores rise, as our drop-out rate declines, and as our educational system becomes an effective system to develop the full potential of each child.

To You, Father, be all honor, glory and majesty. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.