Agenda

I just re-printed out the agenda for a meeting I have tonight. It is a full agenda with several key elements we are working through. When I originally printed out the agenda I noticed that while it had every key area of our "important meeting" covered it was missing one crucial thing.

On every publication we do (whether it's a mailer or an agenda for a meeting) I print the words: "Love God; Love People". The first printing of this agenda was missing these key words.

For us the call to Love God and Love People is the filter by which all we do is funneled through. Loving God and loving others is essential for how we operate.

Some may say it's a waste to re-print the agenda (don't worry, I recycled it). However, it would be a far greater waste if we had a full meeting, talked about a lot of great "church stuff", and planned out "intentional ministry", yet forgot why we are doing all of this in the first place.

Keeping the call to Love God and Love People close to our hearts helps keep us in check as to why we do what we do. We always need to be communicating, re-communicating, and over-communicating this unique call whether it's through our Sunday gatherings, care for the poor, or the decisions we make in a meeting.

Spontaneous Play

My kids went outside today and said that they were bored because there was "nothing to do". As I looked around at the beautiful blue sky I saw trees to climb, bikes to ride, and balls to kick.

My kids are so used to having things structured for them outside that they've lost the art of spontaneous play. Decades ago you could see kids playing pick up basketball, pick up baseball, pick up soccer, etc. When suburban life kicked in, there came rec leagues and organization. Now when you ask a kid if they play soccer they'll refer to whether or not they "signed up this year", not whether or not they kicked a ball with their buddy. This has stunted their ability to go outside and play "pick-up games".

The church early on was a movement of people that lived out "spontaneous play"; they moved where the Spirit moved, didn't wait for a board or a committee to approve a master plan of assimilation...they simply loved people in tangible and practical ways.

I hope that the church can once again capture the art of spontaneous play. I hope that people won't rely on the church's "rec league" programs for their spiritual formation. Instead of people asking if there is a small group that meets their needs, they would listen to their own longings as well as the longings of others and see how they might be able to best serve others.

I want to see a church that isn't looking to sign up for rec-league sports, but is instead creating pick-games wherever they find themselves.

Formation, Growth, and So On

As healthy organisms grow and take shape how do the structures around them best serve the growth that is taking place? I am always looking for ways in which we can help people deepen their relationship with God in such a way that they live a life that is re-oriented to the Kingdom of God. How does that work? In the past the church legislated one's spiritual formation via programs: Sunday School, Confirmation, Small Groups, etc. While these elements are not bad I'm striving for ways to help people develop a heart of God without throwing more programs at them.

The difficult thing is that the church institution cannot be the sole forming component in one's spiritual life. In other words...we can have all of the best programs and have people insert themselves into those program and still not become the "product" that we think those programs should churn out.

Instead of "churning out" product-disciples we need to create spaces in which people can connect to God in a way that is spiritually forming.