What if Starbucks Marketed Like the Church?

I watched this video recently, and it made me want to laugh and cry all at the same time, because once upon a time, our church was there.  Watch this…

It makes absolutely no sense to the coffee (or any other) business.  Having been down this road in our church (anyone remember the ol’ “Connect Cards”?), it now makes no sense to me for churches to do this.  And yet, is there any approach better for most churches?  I don’t know.

This journey of discovery we’ve been on since early ’07 has been so eye-opening for me.  We’ve all struggled with stripping the layers of the old way of doing things.  A few found it too uncomfortable and decided to part ways with us (which is fine).  But one thing that is becoming abundantly clear as our churches are starting to mature is this:  a life transformed by Jesus Christ is far more powerful than any marketing campaign.

As we continue to chase God in our churches, may our transforming lives be our advertising.  May our churches be attractive to those who don’t know Jesus because of the mission we are on with Him.  May we seek to find ways to include people in community life so that they can see Jesus in us.

What are some ways you’ve seen this truth in action–that a life transformed by Jesus is more powerful than an advertising campaign?

Stories of Transformation from the Grottoes Church

I love hearing stories of how Jesus is transforming people and using people to advance His kingdom.  This past Monday, our church got together (I had to be out of town to preach at another church, so we moved our gathering back a day).  We ate together, talked about life, and then I asked a question before we celebrated the Lord’s Supper:

“How has Jesus been working in your life recently?”

Wow…

Ricky and Shelby Lopez have overcome a lot of obstacles to get to where they now are–newlyweds figuring out how to honor Jesus.  When I asked this question, they looked at each other and talked about Ricky deciding to take his Bible to work so that during his lunch break he could read Luke in preparation for our gathering to night.  Ricky works construction.  Construction workers typically aren’t known for reading their Bible over their lunch break.  Ricky said the reactions of his co-workers varied from surprise to taunting.  He wasn’t phased by it.  Shelby then talked about how their son Mason has caught on to praying before meals.  They’ve decided to adopt the custom of holding hands as they pray.  They told us that Mason now holds out his hands automatically when they sit down to eat and finishes the prayers with his version of “Amen.”  They’ve gotten this habit so ingrained that they pray before eating anywhere, and her family has started to notice and participate.  Ricky and Shelby are now looking at starting a new faith community in their home, and they have some friends who are interested.

Margaret came out of a religious tradition that emphasizes personal effort to get right with God.  She and her husband came to Discovery several years ago.  It’s been amazing to see the change Jesus has brought to their lives.  Margaret talked about her job as manager at the Augusta Co-op in Staunton.  When she first got there, it wasn’t exactly a bright spot in the business community (and that’s putting it nicely).  It’s taken several years, but she now has a crew that is learning how to work together and care for each other and their customers.  Since coming under her watch, the Co-op’s reputation has improved greatly.  Sales have gone up so much that Margaret will be able to surprise her workers with bonuses in time for Christmas.  She’s told about how she now sees this a part of a process to bring Jesus into her workplace… of invading the Co-op and reclaiming it for the kingdom of God by showing her employees and customers the love of Jesus.

Jesus is definitely alive and well and doing amazing, remarkable things in the lives of people who formerly were far away from Him!

why we can afford to be generous

“Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone.  But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.  Tell them to use their money to do good.  They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them.  By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.”  – 1 Timothy 6:17-19

Many of us might read this and think, “Well, I’m not rich!”  I know that a lot of us feel a pinch on our financial situations.  But do you own or rent a house?  You are rich.  Do you own a car?  You are rich?  Do you have enough to eat?  You are rich.  God has provided everything that we need.

Recently, God has shown me this truth in concrete ways.  Because of our family’s decision to be generous even when it feels like we can’t, He always comes through (sometimes even on the “extras” in life…remember, God gives us all we need for our enjoyment).  For example, Reber and I allow ourselves a set amount of cash for the month to spend on whatever we want.  Recently, a friend needed some help, and I gave some extra from my cash amount.  A couple days later, I found $10 outside my work!!  It wasn’t as much as I gave away, but it was God’s way of showing me that he will come through if we trust Him.

As many of you know, I sure know how to stretch a dollar.  $10 can buy me a lot of groceries or CVS freebies.  But God has been showing me how to stretch my money for things I need and want so I can feel free to be generous with the excess.  Imagine what our church, community, and world look like if we weren’t so selfish with our $10, $100, or even $1000. 

So give it a shot…start looking for small ways to be generous with what you have been blessed with.  Trust me, you will not be disappointed.  And if you don’t trust me, TRUST GOD!!

A Glimpse of Kingdom Life Realized (Part 2)

I wanted to share part of an email I got today from Shelby.  Our churches responded so awesomely in Ricky and Shelby’s time of need, and yet look what she writes:

“I was telling Ricky last Sunday… this entire experience has really taught me what it means to ‘serve’… it’s been great!”

Here is someone who was in a position to be served by others, and it totally showed her what it means to serve.  Getting a glimpse of what kingdom life is really like opens you up and allows the Holy Spirit to get into your heart and start changing you.  Shelby isn’t the only one who experienced this last weekend.  I know others in our churches did, too.

The challenge now is to continue to make our DNA–to love God, love people, and serve the world–a reality everyday. 

What are some ways that we can change our thinking?  We tend to compartmentalize our lives–work time, family time, leisure time, church time.  What will it take for us to see that all time is kingdom time–that every aspect of our lives is to be lived as a citizen of the kingdom of God?

Go look at Acts 2:42-47 and see all three aspects of our DNA at work.  The Christians loved God, they loved each other, and they served the world around them in such a way that people were becoming Christians daily.  How can we start doing that more often… how can we start living that way all the time?

A Glimpse of Kingdom Life Realized

On Saturday, I quickly wrote a post about how loving people and serving the world is often inconvenient (if you didn’t read it, click here).  The day ended up being totally awesome.  All four of our microchurches were represented as we helped Shelby and Ricky.  We had guys go with Ricky to pick up some pretty hefty furniture.  We had ladies from three churches come by and help Shelby sort through donated items and clothes.  It was a really cool day. 

Little did I know that it would be the start of such a cool weekend where our churches would all get a glimpse of and participate in kingdom life–living as a citizen of the kingdom of God.

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month, which is our network celebration (when all of our microchurches get together).  It was the first Network Celebration we had indoors without any of the A/V stuff that we’ve used for years.  We just sat around tables.  We chatted.  We ate breakfast together.  One of our candidates for elder, Greg, talked about loving God (and did a killer job in helping us talk about ways we can do that).  We prayed about ways we can love God–and people who usually don’t pray did so, or prayed out loud in ways that most have never heard them pray before.  We celebrated the Lord’s Supper.  We talked about our church’s financial situation (which, like most, is very tight).  We celebrated what God was doing in our churches–from hanging out with people far from God, to our teen church redeeming a Hardees off the interstate every Saturday night (they had nine people on Saturday night… and the Hardees staff now knows they’ll be there each week), to the Harrisonburg church invading the Hardees in Harrisonburg (there’s a Hardee’s theme developing) to hang out and tip the entire staff just to show them that Jesus loves them, to the Grottoes church finding out that even though we’re struggling to live the Jesus life, it’s happening in small ways that will evolve into ways our church can serve.  Totally awesome.  Inspiring.  Amazing.  Then we left… and things got even better.

I went and helped Ricky get some more things from family, another church, and a family in our church that’s located in Verona.  On the way, he talked some about his past, and it was so obvious that Jesus is moving in his life.  We took it back to his place and got it unloaded.  At 3:00, Heather and Reber (the couple who did such a killer job coordinating the effort to help Ricky and Shelby) came by to help however needed.  There wasn’t much that Reber or I could do… so we went back to my place and we washed our cars (and thus made our wives very happy).  We offered to wash my neighbor’s cars, but they didn’t bite.  Before we went back to Ricky and Shelby’s, we conspired with my wife to go get some dinner and take it back.  My wife Laura went to the store, grabbed some sub stuff, and we hung out for another hour talking about the election, politics, life, eating together, and making sure Ricky and Shelby had everything stowed away before leaving. 

It was an utterly amazing weekend–meeting together, eating together, hanging out, serving each other, talking together.  It was kingdom life realized.

And it is continuing tonight.

Our Harrisonburg church is hanging out tonight with some of their unchurched friends to watch Monday Night Football.  It’s a chance for the people in the Harrisonburg church to bring their friends who don’t know Jesus over to hang out and get to know each other… the first steps to introducing them to Jesus.

I’m so blown away by what God is doing in our network.  Kingdom life is being realized.  Our DNA is being lived out.  Jesus and the Holy Spirit are at work, changing lives and using those lives as agents of the kingdom of God.

God is most certainly good.  And He is at work.

Love People, Serve the World: Inconvenience

As I write this post, some of our folks (myself included) are getting ready to help Shelby and Ricky move into their new place.  I must say that I’m thrilled with our response.  Reber and Heather worked really hard to coordinate things, and Wendy did a great job gathering info on what they need.  The response was swift and even overwhelming.  I’m confident that our people will continue to help Ricky and Shelby settle into their new place and get to the business of sharing their new life together as husband and wife.

One thing that we’ve seen in this process, however, is that loving people and serving the world is often inconvenient.  There are the things that you can control–you have to give some of your time and your money.  Those things don’t stress you out so much.  Sure, you may have to rearrange your schedule or delay a purchase, but those things aren’t a big deal.

It’s the things you can’t control that show your willingness and commitment to live the Jesus life.

Several “road bumps” have come up in the process.  Reber and Heather put together a really good plan to coordinate donations… but a few individuals from the community and other churches who wanted to help caused some frustration by not following the clear and simple process that Reber and Heather set up.  Ricky and Shelby got to their new place this morning and realized why the owner wanted to show it in the evening–the place wasn’t cleaned up after the last tenants moved.  So now they’re having to spend time doing what the owner and previous tenants should have done instead of getting moved in.  We have some unknowns about getting stuff on Sunday. 

All of these things are things we cannot control.  It adds stress, worry, and makes us wonder if serving others is worth it.

It reveals if we’ll suck it up and serve like Jesus, or if we’ll tap out and leave it to others.

We aren’t called to love people when it’s convenient.  We aren’t called to serve the world when all the factors can be controlled.  We’re called to love people and serve the world in spite of the “uncontrollables.”

Because it serves to remind us that God is in control. 
The “uncontrollables” push us to rely on God.