Romans 1: 24-32 The Wrath of God

Romans 1:18-25 The Rejection of God

Romans 1:1-7 Paul; Unashamed, a slave and sent

Acts 19:35-41 The Christian Citizen

Acts 18:1-17 “Being Bold in a Scary World”

Acts 17:16-28 “Christian Life in the Market Place”

Acts 17:5-9 Right Side UP!

Acts 16:25-34 Praise in the Prison

Acts 16:12-34 Occupy Philippi

Acts 16:1-10 New Beginnings

The Seeker

Published in SBCLife, January 2006

(Some names have been changed to protect the guilty.)

“Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” (John 2:23-25)

“Jesus answered and said to them [the Jews], ‘Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him’ . . . .Then He said again to them [the Pharisees], ‘I will go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going you can not come.’” (John 6:43, 44a, John 8:21)

Tom and I had been waiting for Jim at the rendezvous point thirty minutes longer than expected. After a morning of moose hunting on a rainy chilly September day we had decided to head back to camp. We split up to cover more ground on the return to the canoe and last saw Jim as we all entered a large thicket.  Tom and I emerged almost simultaneously about forty minutes later within fifty yards of each other. We expected Jim to be right there with us, but he did not show. Tom and I were long time Alaskans who had agreed to take Jim hunting after his week of preaching in a friend’s church. When Jim did not appear I began to rehearse the worst case scenarios. Jim was older and had dressed in cotton instead of wool or synthetics and therefore was susceptible to hypothermia. A misstep and a hunter can find himself with a broken leg. Or, each year at least one Alaskan hunter gets chewed up by a brown bear. The longer we waited the more rapidly these thoughts ran through my mind. Since Jim was a well known Southern Baptist pastor the thought occurred to me that I might be known as the man who got Jim killed. Talk about hurting one’s preaching “career.” Tom and I decided that we would swing wide of Jim’s anticipated route cutting him off in case he had headed in the wrong direction. Soon after beginning our search a single shot sounded out in the distance. Much to our relief we located Jim a short time later. As we walked up to him Jim said, “I don’t know where I am but there is a lake right over there.” Jim related how he had walked for quite a while and finally had found the lake hoping that it was the one with the canoe. He was a little embarrassed as I explained to him how after walking in large circle he was only a few yards from our lunch spot.

For almost thirty years church growth experts, pastors, and evangelists have used the term “Seeker.” Rare is the article, book, or conference that does not use “Seeker-sensitive,” “Seeker- driven,” or “Seeker services.” But is the term biblical? And what are the ramifications of the usage?

The Bible establishes from its opening verses that God is the initiator of  His relationship with mankind. He is the Seeker. As Creator, He spoke the world into existence to have a relationship with His highest creation, man. When Adam and Eve sinned they hid instead of seeking God. The Old Testament repeatedly portrays man as incapable of instigating his own salvation. Like Hosea purchasing Gomer off the auction block God redeems us in the midst of our unfaithfulness. The doctrine of man’s total depravity does not mean mankind lacks the ability to do “good,” just that man can not initiate or advance his salvation. He can not seek.

One may ask, “How about Matthew 6:33, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God . . .?’ or, Hebrews 11:6 where God reassures us that He rewards those who diligently seek Him?” Whenever the Scriptures speak of man seeking God it is in the context of a relationship in progress not man deciding on his own to restore his relationship to God.

Charles Finney, the “Father of Modern Revivalism,” laid much of the groundwork for modern seeker theology. His semi-Pelagian position, that a non-Christian could accept Christ whenever he so chooses, motivated Finney’s use of “New Measures.”  Unfortunately, success promotes imitation and Finney experienced great revival successes. Following the Civil War numerous revivalists patterned their organizations after Finney’s. As with many things Finney’s efforts presents a “good news/ bad news” reality. The good news was a century of mass crusades with untold numbers of people hearing the gospel from men like Billy Sunday, Dwight L. Moody, Gypsy Smith, Sam Jones, Mordecai Ham, Billy Graham, and other itinerant evangelists. The “bad news” includes our present “Seeker,” man centered, theology.

Finney designed his New Measures methodology to encourage his audience to receive Christ. In doing so he walked a fine line. Jesus presents the image of compelling guests to come to the feast (Luke 14:23).  Yet, He challenged the “Rich Young Ruler” to sell all in order to become a disciple. We are told that Jesus loved the young man but would not lower the standards of discipleship (Mark 10: 17-23). We are to be passionate for the lost like the woman looking for the lost coin, the shepherd for his lost sheep, or the prodigal’s father, but we can not circumvent Jesus’ demands. There is always tension between presenting Christ in a compelling, clear, effective manner and manipulating someone to ensure a response. When modern evangelists or pastors emphasize the importance of praying the sinner’s prayer without presenting the cost of discipleship one must think that we have become consumed with seeing results. As Jesus revealed, it is easier to have “seekers” than followers (John 2:23-5). When we assume responsibility for the individual’s response to the gospel it is just a short step to the Seeker model. After all, if I can convince individuals to “accept Christ” after they have come to the service then should I not also do whatever I can to get them to the service in the first place? If a person possesses the ability to decide to be saved, then isn’t it natural to assume that he can also decide to look for God? Therefore, it becomes the church’s responsibility to design its services to entice the seeker. Unfortunately sinful man seeks the wrong ends. I just read an article extolling a church’s “spring time initiative to encourage members to minister to their friends.” Everyone who brought a friend to church was able to place an entry in a drawing for a new Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The guest was qualified to enter twice for his visit. Some would point to the large numbers of entrants and say, “Praise the Lord.” I must ask what are we teaching of God, evangelism, and discipleship?  How was that “minister[ing] to their friends?”

Remember Jim? One of the first rules of wilderness survival is stay in one spot. The more one tries to not be lost the worst his situation becomes. Lost seekers can not find salvation, only another spiritual fix. Seeker theology has damaged the lost and the church. Many seekers have become “Christians” without experiencing conversion and becoming followers of Christ. Vaccinations work by exposing the patient to a dead or weakened form of the disease thereby promoting the body’s immune system to reject the real disease. Have we inoculated a generation of Americans against biblical Christianity’s call to discipleship? I am afraid so. Among other errors Seeker theology reinforces trying to attract the lost. The Good Shepherd went in search of the lost sheep. The Great Commission commands us to go. The church needs to remain fixed to its biblical identity. For years we shaped our ministries to appeal to seekers, now there is increasing calls for changes to reach this generation through “emergent” methodologies. Methodologies constantly change with generations, cultures, trends, and fads. Biblical principles transcend time. The lost must be sought not attracted. Evangelism is 24/7 not just inviting my friend to a “cool” service on Sunday so we can have a chance to win a Harley.

Jim realized he was lost and decided to remain in one spot until we found him. He signaled for help and waited. Jim was found not by his seeking, but by his being sought! A more theologically correct term instead of “Seeker” would be “Responder.” Only when man responds in faith to God does salvation come. Any methodology that denies that truth results in churches focused on man instead of God. And, Christianity becomes a religion to improve my finances, family, health, or whatever I need to have a better life instead of the truth that Almighty God has reconciled Himself to me through the Cross and I have the opportunity of giving my life to His service.

Called to be an Outfitter

A few years ago I realized two formative truths: The Army did a better job of teaching me what it meant to be a “real helicopter pilot” than the church did teaching me what it means to be a Christian; and, The Great Commission is about making disciples, not “praying a prayer.” An outfitter supplies the needed equipment and experience to help the outdoorsman complete his hunt. He knows the terrain and the challenges. A good outfitter is in the business because he loves the outdoors. He enjoys sharing the journey with clients new to the region. Having been an outfitter in Alaska and a pastor, it is only natural to focus on OutfittingDisciples.

“The Journey”

(This is the introductory chapter to my manuscript for outdoorsmen, Real Men Don’t Get Lost.)

My earliest memories of the outdoors occurred at my Grandmom Brown’s in Chesterfield, South Carolina. Grandmom scratched a living out of the ground. She used mules instead of a tractor. Grandmom and Dad had hand sawed all the planks for the barn from lumber Dad had dragged out of the swamp by oxen. Dad had grown up dirt poor with a breakdown single shot shotgun. He believed that if you shot more than once you were wasting money. One day Dad decided to take us, my three brothers and me, rabbit hunting. As we walked through the woods Dad would occasionally tell us to stop. He would then point out the cottontail before it would flush. I must admit we had trouble seeing the rabbit even with Dad’s directions. Another time we were in the woods when Dad told us all to freeze because of a large rattler. He eased off a few yards and cut a stick and killed the snake. We asked Dad how he could have seen the snake in the thick brush. He said he did not see it, he had smelled it. We were skeptical but he explained the odor rattlers had on the farm. I did not smell a thing.

A career army officer Dad, and Mom, moved every couple of years. He had a trophy red stag he had shot in Germany while serving in Criminal Investigation during the occupation following WWII. His unit investigated the black market and was assigned the task of searching for Hitler’s gold. Hunting and fishing was their recreation in Europe. I was born while he was the post game warden for Ft. Stewart, Georgia. I remember him coming home from his last turkey hunt in Maryland. Dad could not stand careless hunters with poor etiquette and refused to share the woods with them.

Raised by Christian parents I came to realize that I had a sin problem. Obviously, as a nine year old I didn’t have a life of crime and debauchery behind me, but I knew I did not measure up to a holy God. I trusted that Christ had done everything for my salvation in a church start outside Ft. Meade, Maryland. When my dad retired all us boys voted to move to Alaska. We ended up in South Carolina, where I spent my time squirrel and rabbit hunting, fishing, reading Field & Stream, and day dreaming of Labrador retrievers and the West. As an army family we watched the evening news and kept an eye on Viet Nam. I had no interest in going straight to college after high school and my brother, Mike, had already dropped out of college to fly in the army. Flying sounded more exciting than attending college, so I celebrated my eighteenth birthday by entering the Army’s Warrant Officer Rotary Wing Aviation Course.

At eighteen I knew more about being a “real helicopter pilot” than I did being a growing Christian. I did not know the importance of daily Bible study and prayer. Mike had extended his tour in Viet Nam and was in-country when I arrived. Don, a signal officer, arrived the following month.

Early in 1971 the Pentagon determined the ARVNs (South Vietnamese Army) capable of severing the Ho Chi Minh trail which supplied the communists in the south. Air assault companies were sent to I Corps in support of LAM SON 719, the ARVN invasion of Laos. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) allowed the ARVNs to become extended over a number of landing zones (LZ) before they counter attacked with tanks, heavy artillery, and 25,000 troops. LAM SON 719 quickly became a shooting gallery with the ARVN troops serving as the bait and army helicopters becoming the sitting ducks. The NVA shot down or grounded from battle damage 444 of the 600 helicopters involved in the operation and 10,000 ARVN soldiers were wounded, killed, or missing. One of the aviation companies from III Corps lost their complete gun platoon on one LZ. The Charlie model gunships could not handle the mountainous terrain and the heavy machine gun and light antiaircraft weapon fire.

Photo of my helicopter in the newspaper for the U.S. troops in Viet Nam.

The units flying LAM SON 719 needed replacement aircraft and pilots. I volunteered and arrived at A Company, 158^th Aviation Battalion, the “Ghost Riders,” in early March. On March 19^th we were assigned to the extraction of ARVN troops from several of the LZs along Highway 9 toward Tchepone. It was a typical day for the operation. We started with eleven aircraft and by afternoon had two or three still flyable. On the first mission of the morning point blank fire riddled six of the aircraft. A .51 caliber round hit “Itty Bitty” while in the LZ. Blowing through the armor seat the round paralyzed him. The next attempt resulted in “Wop” taking an antiaircraft round through the bottom of his seat. By late afternoon I was in one of three flyable aircraft. The ARVN unit needed ammo and water so headquarters decided that one aircraft would resupply them. We were selected to fly over at 6,000 feet and throw out the supplies. (I always wondered how it would feel to have an ammo crate land on your head from 6,000 feet.) Headquarters hoped the altitude would minimize our risk. We would also be escorted by several Cobra gun teams.

Over the LZ at 6,000 feet it looked like the Fourth of July as tracer rounds the size of basketballs flashed through our blades. For every tracer round there were three or four regular rounds. Though out of small arms range, the .51 calibers and antiaircraft weapons had no trouble reaching us. A classmate had recently been vaporized at 6,000 feet with a first round hit by a radar controlled antiaircraft gun. With absolute certainty I knew I was going to die. You can not bargain with God, but I believe He puts you in situations to bring you around to His viewpoint. I remember praying, “God, I know I am yours, that I am going to heaven, but if you choose to let me live I  will do whatever you want.” His answer wasn’t audible but I had such a sense of His presence it was if I had heard Him say, “Nothing is going to happen to you.” I finished the rest of my tour as the only Ghost Rider aircraft commander (that I know of) that never took at hit to his aircraft. I had men killed immediately after getting off the aircraft, but I never took a hit. Almost one third of my flight school class died in Viet Nam. I should be among them, but God had other plans. I came home before my twentieth birthday and met a friend from high school who had been the class drunk. His life was radically changed. Through him I discovered you get out of Christianity in geometric proportions to what you put into the relationship.

I wish I could say that I consistently lived for Christ from March 1971, on, but I can’t. I can say that God has always been faithful. He has given me a wonderful family. Kathy and I moved to Alaska in 1974 where our boys were born and reared. Everyday in Alaska God’s creation declares His reality. Its spectacular mountains and endless vistas remind me how great He is and insignificant I am. As a public school teacher, minister, bush pilot, National Guard pilot, commercial fisherman, fishing guide, outfitter, charter operator, ski patrolman, and tourism business owner I was blessed by years of outdoor experiences. Many times God used an experience to teach me a spiritual truth. When I read of the disciples in the storm I visualize Clarence Strait with whitecapping seas higher than the boat’s cabin breaking on the bow and know the peace of being in the Creator’s care. After seminary we returned to Alaska and had the joy of spending two years hunting, fishing, shrimping, and woodworking with my dad in Ketchikan. Six months after our moving to Soldotna he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My mother lived her faith. Rearing four boys, having three of them serve in combat for over two years straight, and losing her partner of fifty years my mom always had had a quiet peace about her. She loved fishing with Dad and would often laugh about their hunting adventures in Europe.

Most of the names in these stories have been changed to protect my friends from further embarrassment. I wrote with the standard that I changed the name if you laugh at anyone other than me. I especially want to acknowledge my friend Howard White. He lived and died for Christ and he is worthy of honor. I do want to thank my hunting partners, Dave Sterley, Dean Nichols, and my three sons, Ashley, Adam, and Andrew. Others have seen first hand my amazing woodsmanship, but these did not give up on me, which I deeply appreciate. I have tried to be as accurate as possible, but the exact locations and details might be wrong. Of course, that’s what make these hunting stories.

Several of the chapters involve, or are written by my oldest son, Ashley. Serving in a parachute infantry regiment on 9-11 he represents many young men and women who are seeing the power of God in a different outdoor setting. It is our desire that God will use this book to help men come to know Him and decide to begin the greatest adventure of their lives, being a follower of Christ. I can promise it will never be boring.

“Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ But Simon answered and said to Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.’ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.’ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.” Luke 5:3-11 (NKJV)

Rodeo Week-Livingston Montana Church Planting

Saturday -

I flew into Bozeman yesterday. Cody Wood and Paul Seddon picked me up at the airport. This is their third summer in Montana. Their families moved to Livingston in 2007. They were two of my North American Church Planting students during my time at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. I don’t want to steal their thunder, because they are contributing a chapter to a book I am editing on church planting in North America. But, they are doing some great things and I want to pass on some of their activities/strategies through this site.

The Context: Livingston is a small town, approximately 7,500 on the Yellowstone River about 40 miles east of Bozeman. Trout fishing, tourism, and traffic on the way to Yellowstone National Park drive the economy in the summer. Ranching is the major industry. There are several subcultures in Livingston. There are the born and bred Montanans, some of the ranches have been in the family since the original settlers. There is also a newer group who I refer to as Biocentrists.  They are here to enjoy nature.  You could subgroup the people by two other terms: bunny huggers and bunny blasters. Reaching the whole community is a challenge. That is where the Holy Spirit is essential. Ninety plus percent of the population in Montana are unchurched and there are over 200 identified people groups in the state. Livingston’s largest church is C.U.T., The Church Universal Triumphant, a cult.

The biggest event in Livingston is Rodeo Week. The Livingston Rodeo is one of the top ten rodeos in the U.S. All the top bull riders, barrel racers, and ropers will be here. The group that organize the rodeo is the Rodeo Association. It is the most prestigious organization in the valley. You are invited to join by the commission. When Cody and Paul arrived in town they immediately looked for ways to connect with the culture. Since that time they have managed to become involved in all the activities, including the Pig Wrestling fund raiser. For those of you who have never been to the more colorful locations in North America pig wrestling is when a team of four people (there are male, female, and coed categories) attempt to place a 250 pound pig in a barrel within 30 seconds. For some reason the pig usually doesn’t wnat to get into the barrel so it is not as easy as it sounds, and the odds of four to one are not fair. The pig has the advantage. They are the only pastors in the valley who have entered the pig fund raiser.

Keith, Cody, Aaron, and Paul after their defeat at the hands (feet) of the pig.

Cody and Paul had lined up several mission teams to come out the first summer, which was part of their pre-deployment strategy. So, they volunteered to pick up the trash around the rodeo grounds. At the end of the rodeo the association gave them a “donation” of $500 for the work. They turned around and donated it to the rodeo. The association was surprised when Cornerstone volunteered to do the trash clean up a second year. They commented that no one had ever done the clean up a second year.  Cornerstone also volunteered to host the hospitality tent. The tent is for the cowboys. C &P used the state block party equipment for the tent and provided snow cones and cotton candy. Yes, bull riders like snow cones and cotton candy. At the end of the rodeo the association members asked C&P to join. There are people who have lived their whole lives in the valley and never have been asked ot join the Rodeo Association. It is a God thing that two newcomers from Virginia and Florida would be association members. So if you come to Livingston during rodeo you will see Cody and Paul in their Justin boots, Wrangler jeans, western shirts, and white straw cowboy hats (the required rodeo uniform) working the stock, stripping the gear off the bulls after the ride, opening the bull chute, or whatever else needs to be done during rodeo.

Aaron's baptism the day after the pig wrestling.

This week I will be working at the grounds preparing for Wednesday’s opening events and tearing out walls in their new building. (More on what God is doing on the building needs later.)

P.S. Last night we had elk and antelope steaks, Tiffany is a great cook. You have to love Montana! I got my boots and Wranglers out of the closet before I came. I’m ready for Rodeo Week. And, I am wearing my big “Montana Centennial” buckle that was given to me by Dave Howeth, the former Director of Missions and CP Strategist for the Treasure State Baptist Association. He told me that if I found him five church planters he would give me a buckle. God found the planters and I got the buckle. Belt buckles are the trophies in cowboy culture. You wear them instead of putting them on the mantle. It has a bronze rainbow trout on it and is a limited edition. It is good to be visiting the west again.

Rodeo Week-Sunday

It seems every church planter has the same experience, to one extent or the other, Sunday morning set up. Being away from North Star I was looking forward to a Sunday without “set up”. But, alas, Cornerstone has “set up.” The service started at 9:00 a.m. at one of the local hotels. Cody preached from Mark 11. Paul led the singing and handled the announcements.

After the service Cody, Paul, Keith, and Aaron went over the the new building to talk about needed renovations. Keith and Aaron are the other half of the four man pig wrestling team. Aaron is 39 and never married. He is a contractor and works from the end of elk season until the beginning of elk season. During the season he hunts almost everyday walking back six or seven miles into the mountains looking for trophy elk. You could say he is married to hunting. Aaron was also the first person baptized by Cornerstone.

The new location is in the business area of town. It was a doctor’s office with 2500 square feet. The bank parking lot is across the street and provides free parking on Sundays. As we stood around looking at the drop ceiling and interior walls Aaron and Keith were upbeat and involved. However, things changed when we went downstairs into the basement. It runs the length of the building and has a 7 1/2 foot ceiling. It would take a fair amount of work and money to use it for “church” space. But, a comment was made about the area being a great spot for an indoor archery range. The closest one is in Bozeman and charges $30 an hour. Aaron got excited. By the end of our time downstairs he had figured out that he could make a forty yard lane and several twenty yard lanes with an afternoon of work and no construction costs.The back alley would also be a suitable place for a grill providing the means of having gatherings.

This fall expect Cornerstone to be the location of a community archery league. (I can discuss renovations and tearing out walls, my specialty, but this is where I actually made a contribution.) The advantage of a league format is that it forces guys to spend more time at the range. Instead of coming in and shooting several rounds of arrows and then leaving a team has to rotate through. While several guys are shooting the others have to wait. Like a bowling league the social aspects become a large part of the evening. Since archery shooting outside is not practical during the winter a league night would be one of the few activities available in Livingston.If you make a league rule that your members have to find nonchurch members to fill out their team roster you have a great outreach tool. (Never sign up for a church softball league. Play with the lost guys. Besides, there will probably be less arguing that the church league.)

Aaron was pumped, as was Paul and Cody. Aaron got excited because he knows how many men who would never step into a church building would come to shoot. Paul and Cody got excited because they saw one of their men develop a vision of ministry that fits him like a glove.

There is a principle in all of this: The freedom to minister “outside the box” is in geometric proportions to the number and influence of core group people who come from a church background. Even  if they want to try new ministries their nature is to resist. After Aaron and Keith left, Paul and Cody immediately commented that one family would be upset that archery would take place in “the church.” This family’s standard is “doing like back home.” I use to encounter people in Alaska who would visit church and then tell me that they could not find a church like “back home.” My response was, “Then go back home. We are a church that is trying to reach Alaskans, not transplanted Southerners.” Throughout the West, Northwest, Alaska, and north of the Mason-Dixon line you will find aging Southern Baptist Churches that were founded after WWII by transplanted Southerners. These churches grew by attracting transplants and did church like back home. They were cultural enclaves. Sadly they never became indigenous and now do not reach their own children and grandchildren who are not Southerners.

The rest of the day was filled with erecting the hospitality tent and going over to Bozeman. I dropped Cody off for his EMT class ( fireman  training) and then visited William and Teresa Johnson in Manhattan. William has done a great job reaching his community through outdoor ministries. He will cover all of that in his contribution to the coming book on church planting.

Rodeo Week- Monday

Since arriving I have had the a chance to run a Bobcat (small frontend loader), weed wack corrals, help put up a “circus” tent, and rip out walls. Ministry is a hoot.  I am getting up early so I can put several hours in on my Liberty classes (the two summer seasons overlap two weeks so I have five classes right now.) Since it is Monday Paul and Cody had to go to work. If there is one principle of church planting that Cody and Paul demonstrate it is the willingness to work. Their two year Nehemiah funding is finishing up this month. So, it is either call it quits or “cowboy up.” They were asked to join the Rodeo Association because of their work ethic. If there is one thing that westerners value it is a person who is a hard worker. So these two guys have gotten jobs because they were called by God to Livingston and that has not changed just because funding issues.

Paul and Cody are examples of a bi-vocational strategy. Paul had a successful banking career before entering seminary and moving to Montana. He now works at the hot dog and burger shack. Since it is not a heated building it closes in the fall. But during the summer it is the place to see people. Paul could probably make more money working as a night watchman somewhere. But, he would not see all the people.

The one place everybody visits in Livingston.

Cody started his new job last week and today was his third day at work. He is a case manager at a counseling service which deal with juveniles from dysfunctional families. Almost all the cases are families from Park County. Cody’s undergraduate degree was in sociology so it is a good fit. Again, the strategy was to find employment that promoted networking in the community. Cody’s job is more long term than Paul’s, but both men see their work as another opportunity to become known by their neighbors. After work both men were back to ministry. It makes for long days but God will bless their commitment.

The main question someone considering church planting has to answer is what are you willing to do to obey God’s calling. If you only obey because some organization or institution will pay your way, then save yourself some grief and don’t go.

Cody's new job,Yellowstone Boys and Girls Ranch.

The other day a church planter arrived in Montana. He came from a Southern Baptist Church, but was affiliated with an independent church planting organization. He stopped in Livingston and spoke with Cody. He was from Florida and had never been west of the Mississippi.  He had never been to Montana and was headed to a small town near Livingston. I am afraid he is in for quite a culture shock. Just to show the how Montana is a different culture, look at the pictures below. Notice the bottom sign. The other picture is a church announcement from Sunday’s service. Paul and Cody benefited from the pre-deployment preparations that Dave Howeth, ADOM, developed for the association’s church planting strategy. That preparation is essential.

Hotel sign in Livingston.

Upcoming event at Cornerstone.

Rodeo Week- Tuesday

Today was spent ripping out more of the interior walls for the new facility. Tomorrow the rodeo cranks up and there will be more postings.  We had a Montana thunderstorm come through a take down the tent so we will have a busy Wednesday. I will be adding to this entry a little later in the day.

The morning after the storm. Six steel rods were bent double and both cables holding the main poles were snapped.

The cowboys started showing up and settling in for the rodeo. Some travel first class.

Rodeo- Wednesday “Slack Day”

Slack Day is anything but slack. It is the overflow day for the rodeo. Today the barrel racers, calf ropers, roping teams, and bull doggers competed. Paul and I worked the stock pens. Ray, who looks like a bearded old cowpoke, but has a Ph.D and has taught at Montana State for 30 years, and Rob were in charge of the pens. The cattle would be separated into six pens and I ran two of them. You had to go in and write down the numbers branded in their flanks, or on their ear tag. When the steer was scheduled to run you had to separate them from the rest of the cattle. Some of them would go out the gate and down the chute on their own. Some weren’t about to go. They would pile in a corner, kick, or do anything to stay in the pen. I was one of the few who didn’t get kicked at least once.Walking into a herd of eight or nine steers and shoving them around or “influencing” their direction was definitely not boring.

Paul and I almost look like we know what we are doing, almost.

Rob grew up in Livingston and is the epitome of a Montanan. Within the first twenty minutes Rob took a direct kick to his thigh. The kick staggered him, but he did not quit. The rest of the afternoon he had trouble walking. When his pants leg tightened on his thigh you could see the bulging knot. In the next three hours Rob was kicked four more times, that I saw. The last time I grabbed his shoulder to keep him up because he almost fell. One of the steers decided to rotate ninety degrees and kick  Rob instead of kicking me. Rob never complained, refused to ease up and just handle the gates, or act like anything was wrong. However, when he thought no one was looking he would grimace and reveal intense pain. What Rob did was “Cowboy Up.” There was no way that Rob was going to show weakness in front of all the other men. When life is tough, you cowboy up. When you get kicked, you cowboy up.

Cody & Ella at the barrel racing starting gate.

Paul and Cody are ministering in a culture that values self-reliance and toughness. They are making inroads with the community because they are earning the right to be heard. The mental toughness of western culture is a result of the settlers who tamed this land. It is a wonderful quality that gives the people here a character that I love. However, it is a tremendous spiritual barrier. It is hard for a person who has been self-reliant to come to a Savior that requires brokenness. Going through life without asking for help makes it tough to accept the gift of the cross. Livingston will be won to Christ through prayer and a witness that has earned the respect of the people. Cody and Paul are showing their neighbors that a man can be a Christian and still a man.

Sorting steers

How cowboys watch the rodeo.

The work team from Virginia preparing to feed the cowboys and cowgirls.

Rodeo Week- Thursday

I am going to put all the opening day rodeo information on my final rodeo page. Because, I want to focus on the day’s events before the opening night’s activities. Paul, Christine, Cody, and Tiffany have done so many things right when I look at the first two full years of their lives in Livingston. They came with a sense of calling and servant hearts. It is easy to see they love Montana and the people. The lead  in (pre-deployment) phase paid off. The time spent in prayer, visiting the area, and building partnerships allowed them to accomplish most of what they have done. This week is a great example.

Work crew removing the renovation debris.

Spotswood Baptist Church from Fredericksburg, Virgina, sent a mission team to help with rodeo week. Spotswood is Paul and Christine’s home church prior to their enrolling at SEBTS. This has become an annual mission trip for the church. They arrived on Tuesday and helped reset the tent after Monday’s storm. Since that time they have picked up trash each morning at the rodeo grounds, hauled out the debris from my going berserk on the new location’s interior, and anything else that needed to be done.

Cody and Paul will be the first to tell you that they would not have the respect and acceptance they enjoy if it were not for mission teams. In Acts the apostles were faced with a ministry decision, would they do a good thing and take care of the widows and orphans, or would they stick to their main responsibility. Church planters have only so much time and energy, especially when they have to work another job as Paul and Cody are now doing. Church planting is labor intensive; survey work, block parties, sports camps, construction projects, and other projects are beyond the resources of most plants. Projects that would take  the planter and his wife weeks to do are done in days. The planters can burn out doing good things, and fail to do the job they came to do. The Spotswood team pick up the trash around the rodeo grounds in about an hour. It would take a whole day otherwise.

Spotswood work team manned the hospitality tent serving the rodeo cowboys.

I have always recommended to my planters that they develop partnerships with multiple churches. The partnerships should be beneficial to both parties, have a known life span, and prioritize prayer and participation over finances. I would rather have a church’s prayers and people than its money. A  check will help for the short term, but a mission team and prayer will help the planter find people who will become part of the plant. Of course, if the partners are praying and participating they will usually also help financially.

Partnerships help the church planters in another way. I had several families in my church in Soldotna, Alaska, who joined from an independent church background. They often asked why we were Southern Baptists. I tried to explain but it never clicked. Then we had a mission team come to help us build our new facility. Those guys came from Mississippi and worked twelve hour days to raise our roof and side walls. They stayed with our church families and many became our good friends. After the first team left both families separately came to me and said almost the same thing, “Now we know why we are Southern Baptists. We have never had another church ever help us do anything.” Churches working together to accomplish what one can not do alone is at the heart of the Cooperative Program.

I love the Cooperative Program and I am afraid that a new generation of SBC ministers do not appreciate the gift that it is. Our men and women recieve a quality seminary education at 1/3 the cost of other schools and then some go out and start churches that have little involvement with the SBC and the Cooperative Program. My church in Alaska was blessed by financial and prayer support from the HMB through the Church Growth Assistance program. It was a blessing to recieve the frequent cards from fellow Christians who were praying for our work. My brother, Don, and his family served for ten years in the Philippines with the Foreign Mission Board (IMB’s old name). His daughter, Shannon, and her family served in South Asia with the International Mission Board. They did not have to spend the majority of their time fund raising as other denominations’ missionaries must do. And, I appreciated the manner in which IMB took care of the family after the death of my grandnephew, J.D. There are some good organizations involved in missions and church planting, and some mega-churches are accomplishing great things. But, as good as Acts 29 and other groups are, they will never be able to match the work of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program. SBC churches fund over 5,000 international missionaries and 5,000 ministry positions in North America.  The Cooperative Program will wither on the vine in the next several decades unless the younger generations understand its uniqueness. Today’s younger generation of Southern Baptist are looking for “value added” organizations. Don’t expect them to support a program just because it is the denomination’s.  They want to know that they are going to benefit from the participation. They do not support  impersonal programs. The mission education ministries of the SBC: Mission Friends, R.A.s, and G.A.s have been replaced by AWANA and other approaches that do not focus on missions. Partnerships can revitalize mission giving through the Cooperative Program. When a mission team works with men like Cody and Paul and sees the lostness of North America putting names and faces on the 210 million plus unchurched of North America, they increase their giving to missions. When that is connected with the realization that because of the Cooperative Program they are not only helping the work in Montana, but the U.S., and the world; missions becomes personal. I believe that participation in our mission organizations needs to benefit the contributing churches, but our churches also need to remember that they are needed by ministries in Montana and other tough places. Sometimes you need to give without demanding a “return.”

Rodeo Week – Opening Night

Team ropers watching a bronc rider on opening day.

The Livingston Roundup officially began on July 2. “Slack day” contestants had competed in their events on the overflow day and had packed up and left for other rodeos.  The first event for the day was the Livingston Parade. You have never experienced a 4th of July parade until you go to a small town in the west for a parade. In Juneau you could see people walking the route in halibut suits. Nothing like seeing a six foot fish walking the streets. There weren’t any fish in the Livingston parade, but there were firetrucks, antique cars (including the first car in Livingston), and horses. One of the guys working the stock pens with me on Slack day, Phil, had his string of pack mules from his family outfitter/guide business. The parade reveals the centrality of the horse to Montanan culture. In the east a child may grow up playing with the family dog. In the west children grow up on horseback.

Tiffany & Sauner Wood watching the parade from the front window of Cornerstone's new location.

Starting young

Phil leading his pack train.

Thursday morning the workcrew from Spotswood Baptist Church started off their day with the Rodeo grounds clean up.  Then they cleaned out the debris from the renovations. The new facility will open in September after a workcrew/mission team does the interior work needed to turn the building into a church building. However, since the building is on the parade route Paul and Cody wanted the building’s restrooms available. Quite a few people took advantage of the offer including a number of locals who were interested in Cornerstone’s new location.

The rodeo began at 8:00 p.m. The work crew manned the hospitality tent cooking hot dogs and hamburgers for the constestants and their families. Paul did a great job leading a short chapel service for the cowboys. He contrasted the dependability and faithfulness of Christ to the way that others sooner or later fail us, whether it is your horse, roping partner, family, or friends. Later that evening his words were displayed in the team roping event. The announcer introduced a father and son roping team. The father held multiple world champion roper titles and had just begun roping with his son. After the introduction the steer broke from the gate.  Both ropers must rope the steer. The header ropes the horns to turn the steer and then the heeler must rope both legs to get the maximum score and time. It takes the teamwork of the ropers and the horses.The father missed and they were disqualified.  Even world chapions can let you down. By the time the rodeo ended, the hospitality tent cleaned up, and we got back to the house, it was 11:15. The 7:30 a.m. rodeo trash pickup came early the next morning.

Barrel racers watching the competition.

The International Mission Board uses the term “Unreached people group” to describe a group who share a common language dialect, customs, etc, that  has not been evangelized. Montana Baptist  have identified 200 unreached people groups in the state. They range from cowboys to the various Indian tribes. Ninety-five percent of the population is  unchurched. Some people may think that since cowboys are Americans and look like us they are evangelized. If you think that the cowboy culture is just like yours, spend time at a rodeo. The rodeo competitors and the people of Livingston need the Gospel. The work that the people of Cornerstone are doing is gaining the attention of  the unchurched, but it will take time.

I coined a term, “harsh climate mentality,” a few years ago to describe people who live in places like Montana. People who have settled in harsh climates, whether it is the desert Southwest, Alaska,  New England, or where ever, develop an individuality and self-reliant spirit. When someone moves into the area they wonder how long the person will last. I remember how people would come to Alaska in the summer and talk about how they loved it and their plans to stay. However, once October came with its 40 inches of rain and constant lack of sunshine, they would line up to catch the next ferry south. First Baptist Church, Ketchikan, Alaska, had two pastors serve a total of seventeen months out of a five year period. The church had longer interims than pastors. I have heard people in New Hampshire say to a church planter, “How long are you going to last?”  Because of this mind set, and the fact that it takes time to become known in a community, it takes several years before church planters begin to see their efforts bearing fruit. Cody  and Paul had several “spiritual” conversations this rodeo with people they have known for two years. Hopefully, we will see even greater things happen in the coming years. I for one plan on being in Livingston for next year’s rodeo. After all I have the hat.

Some of my new friends.

Packing it Out.

Packing It Out: Loads, Life, and Love

^“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.” Gal 6:1-5 (NKJV)

The Alaskan native name for Admiralty Island is “Fortress of the Bears.” Besides a healthy brown bear population it also contains a large Sitka Blacktail deer herd. The northern end of Admiralty is a short boat ride from Juneau and a popular hunting area. In good weather we would run over by skiff for a day hunts. The area has tide ranges from minus four feet lows to over twenty-two feet highs. Frequently the blacktails will walk the exposed beaches and make it easy to pack out after a kill, but usually they like the ridges well off the beach. Hunting the old growth forest of Southeastern makes you feel like Daniel Boone. The understory is wide open except for occasional patches of blueberries or devil’s club. A six inch carpet of moss covers the ground making even the heavy footed hunter able to move like a ghost. The standard technique for blacktail is to follow game trails toward the ridge lines and hopefully make a shot. A good snow cover allows the hunter to find fresh sign and track the animal until close enough for a shot. Most shots are less than 100 yards unless you find the deer on the muskeg meadows common to the area. I have never hunted a more rewarding method.

Each Veteran’s Day weekend a group of friends would schedule a hunt on Glass Peninsula and reserve the Forest Service cabin located on the other side of the peninsula. One of the best kept secrets of Alaska, the United States Forest Service has log cabins scattered throughout the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. Most of the cabins can only be reached by boat or floatplane and have bunks for six to eight people. The cabins make Alaskan hunting enjoyable in the rainy Southeast Alaska winter.

Friday afternoon we made the run around Douglas Island and across the channel into Oliver Inlet. After anchoring the boat we spent the rest of the afternoon packing our gear across the mile wide neck to the cabin. In November sunset comes around four o’clock so we finished the job in the dark. Fortunately sunrise comes late. Saturday morning we divided up with most of us hunting the lower ridges near the cabin and around the inlet.

That night we had a great meal from the camp stove while drying our gear from the warmth of the woodstove. All but one of us had drawn blanks. Tracy had hunted a ridge line about three miles from the cabin and had shot two bucks. He had packed out the hind quarters from one and hung the remaining meat and carcass in a tree. Since it was more than halfway through the hunting season and I had no meat in the freezer I accepted Tracy’s offer to pack out the whole deer. I wanted more of the backstrap steaks we enjoyed for dinner. During the night we had the first snow of the season.

I will never forget that second day of hunting on Glass Peninsula. Dave decided to stay at the cabin due to a severe headache. So the rest of us started out the door into the early morning darkest. As I crossed the threshold two shots rang out from the bottom of the steps. Tracy had kept his rifle on the front porch so his scope would not fog. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw a nice buck running out onto the moonlit snow covered grass flats at the top of the cove. The fresh snow contrasted with the deer well enough that it was like shooting by street lamplight. Most of us had not stepped off the front porch and a deer was already down. Backtracking we discovered he had been standing at the bottom of the steps when we startled him. Dave volunteered to skin the deer so the rest of us could continue hunting.

About a half mile up the trail Tracy led me off toward the ridgeline where yesterday’s kill hung. Over the next two miles we found deer in every meadow. I had four tags to fill but already had one three mile hike to get out yesterday’s buck. Before I shot my first deer of the day Tracy and I stopped on the tree line and discussed the buck’s merit and the packing involved. He was a healthy animal with a good rack so I decided to drop him. We repeated the debate twice more before getting to Tracy’s buck. By ten in the morning I faced packing four deer to the cabin. Tracy left me with my problem while he went looking for a bigger buck.

Sitka Blacktails are smaller than most whitetails. My four bucks each weighed around one hundred and fifteen pounds. Over the years of deer hunting I had assembled gear that was designed for packing meat. I had a pack frame with a shelf and a collection of heavy duck sacks that were about the diameter of a pie plate and three feet long. I hung each deer and skinned and boned the carcass. By trimming all the bone and fat I ended up with around two hundred pounds of meat. I did some quick math. I could make several trips with lighter loads but end up walking ten miles or one trip heavily loaded. I decided to compress the anguish into one trip. Strapping the sacks onto the frame I started down hill.

I thought the next two hours would never end, but I did gain a new understanding of Galatians 6:1-5. The toughest part of packing a heavy load is the transition from the ground to the shoulders. Getting the load to the shoulders takes so much energy it is better not dropping the load. So how does one rest if they can’t put down their load? As I came down the ridge I looked for every blowdown and stump I could find. When I found one the right height I would turn around and back up to the trunk. Propping up the frame I could give my shoulders, back, and thighs a rest. Back at the cabin I discovered my heavy duty frame was warped.

Paul writes, “Bear one another’s burdens” but three verses later writes, “For each [person] will bear his own load.” Is this one of those “contradictions” biblical nay sayers are always talking about, or does Galatians give us practical advice for living out our faith in community with other Christians? The Greek word used by Paul for “burden” means a heavy load, a pack frame warping load, an exhausting load. In verse five the Greek word translated “load” means a “day pack,” a load that everyone normally carries.

If you want guidelines for small group accountability this passage is for you. Most young men I speak with today express a desire to be mentored by an older Christian and want to be in a small accountability group. Perhaps this is a generational expression of the importance of community, or their awareness of the failure of the Boomer generation’s individualism. Paul prescribes the first condition of accountability, spiritual health. When Paul states that one must be “spiritual” to confront a sinning brother he does mean that only spiritually mature super saints are qualified. But, one is required to be spirit filled, confessed up to date, and in right standing with God to be involved in confrontation. The second requirement to assist a fallen brother is humility. Paul’s words carry a tone of warning. If we do not remain painfully aware of our own past sins and ongoing potential for sinning and therefore reject self-righteousness we will not have the brokenness prerequisite for being used by God. We might not fall into the sin of the brother we are seeking to restore but we will become the legalistic individuals Jesus’ often condemned.

Living in a fallen world means we all have burdens. Paul reminds us to examine our own lives and understand our own personalities. Each of us has our own areas of sin. I don’t struggle with gluttony, or anger, but I do constantly battle pride. That is the day pack God expects me to carry. As I continue to mature in that area of my Christian walk I can rejoice in what the Holy Spirit has accomplished in my life.

Sometimes the burdens become too much to carry and there are no stumps and deadfalls to provide a rest to the weary. Pornography and sexual immorality defeats Christian men in epidemic proportions today. I know men that have destroyed their marriages, lost their families, and left the ministry as a result of sexual impurity. A Christian brother in that situation needs someone to “come along beside” (the Greek word Jesus used to refer to the Holy Spirit) him and take the load off. I can not remove the total burden but I let him know he is not alone. Otherwise, how can a fallen man believe that God loves him when God’s people don’t demonstrate that love?

I have had several hunting partners over the years, men with whom I enjoyed spending time in the woods. Over time I noticed that we all carried our hunting packs without complaint but were quick to split out a heavy load among us so no one carried a crushing load. They made each trip memorable.

Hope for Youngsville

This summer we (North Star Baptist Church) decided to do a church version of a staycation. “Hope for Youngsville” is our ministry to our town. The chief of police and the town manager accepted our offer to paint their buildings. When Tracy and I first asked them if there were any projects that we could do for them they said, “No.” Then we pointed out to the chief that his building needed a paint job. The Chief agreed but with the present economy was not able to do so. You should have seen his face when I explained that we were wanting to do the work and supply the materials. Needless to say we agreed to paint town hall, the police department, and the maintenance building.

The mission project was scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week. Thursday and Friday were scheduled as back up days for weather or other unforeseen events. We had several objectives for our home town mission trip: we wanted maximum participation of our membership, to build community awareness of our ministry, to cultivate a servant’s heart in our church’s DNA, to meet a community need, and to build church community.

Most of our membership could not get off work for all three days.   The church membership signed up for the two different shifts each day, 8-12 and 4-8. Only two of the church families were not able to participate. One had work and health conflicts, the other had work and school conflicts. Needless to say I was pleased with our people. We had guys who had worked all day in the heat show up at four and put another half day in on our project.

Not only did our people work, we grew closer. There is something about spending hours painting a wall with someone that promotes great conversations. They ranged across sports, theology, “Name that Country Tune,” fishing, and almost every other topic known to man (and woman).  This summer we have been using our Sunday nights to build the sense of church family. We alternate weeks between small group activities and church wide activities. Each week we have a devotional then engage in various games. It is funny to see grown ups playing dodge ball with the kids. This coming Sunday night we will be playing softball. Too often our congregations rush in and out of our services and never spend time together. Becoming a family requires shared  experiences. This week gave our people time to accomplish a project that benefited their community.

On Monday night we grilled hamburgers and had a cookout for the policemen. We scheduled the meal as the shifts changed so we had two shifts attending. As usual, we had some great food. At the end of the job the Chief asked if several of us could attend next week’s Town Board of Commissioners meeting. The board would like to officially thank us for the work we accomplished.  The Franklin Times carried a story last week and then another one this week on our church. There are presently five church plants in the Youngsville/ Wake Forest area. There are also several good churches. At the same time there are thousands of unchurched people. Hopefully, our ministry to the town of Youngsville has helped identify North Star as a church that is here to serve.

Jonathan is our minister of Worship, Media, and Missions. He was responsible for the project.

Town Hall is on the left and the Police Department on the right.

Black Labs and Passion

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”  Col 1:9-13 (NKJV)

I do not know if all dogs will go to heaven, but I am pretty sure that Labrador Retrievers will. My wife and I have always had a soft spot for Labs. We had only been married a few years when we succumbed the first time to Lab fever. Although we were on a limited budget and living in a no pet apartment complex, we bought a Lab pup. We found an apartment that allowed pets and experienced our first struggles of parenthood. When Pepper’s puppy teeth fell out we panicked and called the vet. (Years later when our oldest son’s baby teeth did the same it was no big deal.) We sat up with Pepper as she whined over her separation from the litter. We experienced the canine equivalent of potty training and found that consistency of discipline is as important for puppies as children. The one advantage of an ill disciplined dog over an ill disciplined child is the dog has a shorter life. Actually, you can also put a dog to sleep. In turn, watching your pup on her first retrieve doesn’t compare to seeing your sons become godly men.

The first weekend Pepper joined the family we took her to my parent’s place at the lake. We laughed when she jumped out of the bass boat to grab the plug and put her head underwater to bite a stick in the shallows. She rode across the U.S. to Alaska in the jeep with us when Kathy and I moved back after graduate school. She retrieved her first duck at six months. It was a cold day on the Juneau tidal flats with a thin layer of ice on the water. Pepper didn’t hesitate an instant on the retrieve. She swam about thirty yards to the teal and began swimming back. In the mean time I decided to enter the water myself and had reached a point midway up my chest when Pepper decided I was closer than the shoreline. Before I knew it Pepper had swum up to me placing her front paws on my shoulders and her back paws on the top of my waders. Quicker than I could scream in agony my chest waders filled with ice water. Needless to say I waded to shore looking like the shepherd carrying the lamb around his neck in the Sunday School poster. Pepper and I had a short discussion in which we both agreed that we were ready to go home, and we did with all due haste.

We lived in a small cabin on the beach in Juneau and would leave Pepper inside during the day. One day we came home from teaching to find that the winter winds had uprooted a Sitka spruce. Spruce trees have shallow root structures, perhaps only three feet deep, but they will spread out over forty or fifty feet. We had 147 steps between the road and our cabin. That day we walked down the first one hundred. The remaining steps had been thrust into the air and were now a horizontal gangway to the roof. In rearranging the staircase, the tree’s root system also lifted the porch as though it was hinged at the front door. If we thought that the outside of the cabin had been rearranged by the tree, we had a bigger shock when we were finally able to get inside and see what a frightened 55 pound female Lab can do. We had (emphasis on had) a new hide-a- bed couch. Pepper relieved her stress by dragging the couch all over the cabin. It had taken her multiple attempts, each evidenced by chunks torn from the frame where she had gained a hold for her moving efforts. All the plants had been ripped out of their pots, and the dirt was flung all over the cabin in Pepper’s efforts to expose their roots.  The house was a shambles to say the least. Again, Labs are like children. You love them even though they drive you to the poor house.

Our second Lab was Onyx, again black and female. We had returned to Alaska from seminary and could not imagine our sons growing up without a dog, so we began looking for a Lab. I was a charter boat skipper for one of the local lodges and became good friends with another guide, George. George spent his summers in Southeast Alaska running charters and fishing the commercial openings. He spent his winters in Oregon managing a goose hunting operation. Over the years he worked for a nationally recognized kennel and was able to pick a pup for payment. George did not need another dog so he offered to sell me the pup for $250.00. Considering that the pup’s dame and sire were national field trial champs and the kennel advertised in magazines that also had ads for $10,000 double rifles, $250 was a steal.

Onyx arrived on a flight from Portland during Thanksgiving week. For three young boys it was as exciting as Christmas. We took the ferry to the Ketchikan airport and signed for the pup at airfreight. Onyx came out of the kennel ready to take on the world and all the little boys in it. At home we filmed her running around the house and skidding across the kitchen linoleum. Kids need a dog. Caring for a pet teaches a child responsibility. Training a dog helps a child understand the value of discipline.

Onyx displayed her breeding. She lived for retrieving and running full out until she was exhausted. With her blood lines I knew I wanted to breed her. I only needed to find the right male. Max was a proven hunter. He was laid back until you brought out the training dummy or shotgun. I figured that Onyx and Max would produce some first rate pups, and I wanted one for myself.  Until you have a litter of eight black Labs, you don’t think about telling them apart. One method is by painting different color spots on their hips. Each time a prospective buyer would check out the pups I would try to match him with the right one. As the weeks wound down to the scheduled adoption day, I had one left, the male with the red spot on his hip. Lab males usually have more classically shaped heads and muzzles. Red also had the most expressive reddish brown eyes. If Red could talk he would have had the voice of a real Bubba. Onyx loved to run; Red loved to put his head on your feet. Red was about a year old when Onyx and Max had a second litter. One day I heard Red howling with a plaintive tone. I walked out to check on him and found him standing at the water bucket looking like he was dunking for apples. He would stop, howl, and dunk again. Onyx sat in the corner with a detached expression. Still trying to figure out what was going on I walked out to the kennel. When I looked into the bucket I found one of the pups struggling to stay above the water. Red tried to save his little brother but only managed to push him under each time. Onyx had arrived at the point of exasperation in her continuing role of being a chew toy for the growing pups. I think she figured one less pup the better. I remember the time I was home alone and I opened the kennel door. All eight pups made a wild dash for freedom. It is almost impossible for one man to catch eight puppies and put them into a kennel with a three foot wide door. I would put three in and have four escape. Nearing exhaustion I finally closed the door and looked at Onyx in the far corner. A mixture of amusement, and satisfaction, could not have been better expressed by any human. I am sure she said, “See what you make me put up with every day. How long will it be until we get rid of these things?”

Onyx and Red epitomize why I love Labs. Onyx lived to retrieve. One Saturday the boys were in the front yard playing with Onyx. We lived on a gravel street that had little traffic so the boys would often throw the tennis ball across the street into an overgrown lot to give Onyx a more difficult retrieve. No sooner than the boys threw the ball, a teen age driver slid around the corner and stepped on the gas. Fortunately, according to the family vet, the girl’s car hit Onyx in the head. I will never forget Onyx trying to pick up the tennis ball to return it to the boys. Even with a broken jaw she still wanted to carry the ball.

When we moved south we realized that the dogs would have a hard time adjusting to the heat, and a townhouse was not the place for two outdoor Labs. I placed them with a friend in Port Alsworth, a small community on Lake Clark. The last time I checked on the pups Joel told me that Red’s favorite place in the house was at the top of the stairs laying under the window that looked out on the Lake. While we were talking Joel said that his three year old daughter was using Red as a stool to look out the window. Red was in Lab heaven, living on a lake with a little girl who thought he was her best friend and play toy.

God designed man to be in relationship with Him, and only God can fill the spiritual void in a person’s life. You cannot beat Labs for being a family dog because they love to please their master. Have you ever watched a dog show? Whenever the dog does as commanded the trainer will slip it a treat. You don’t have to bribe a Lab with tidbits. A Lab just needs to be praised. He lives to hear his master’s voice praising him. A cat will rub your leg if he wants something from you. A Lab just wants you. But that is not all. I imagine a Chihuahua likes people. A Lab doesn’t just love people, it is a retriever. Just look at the face of a Lab as he is standing at your feet waiting for you to throw the dummy, ball, stick, or anything he can retrieve. His eyes sparkle. HE IS LIVING! Men often seek fulfillment through their careers or hobbies. Those things may bring temporary pleasure but it will not last. God has gifted each of us with natural talents, spiritual gifts, and personality traits that are to be used to His glory and in doing so we experience a greater sense of fulfillment than the world can ever give. One day I hope to hear my master say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.” In your spiritual life are you a cat or a Lab?

A Few Thoughts on the GRC: Where is our Judea?

Like many bi-vocational pastors I have been busy in my ministry and employment with little time to focus on other issues. Being in that position is like an exhausted man sitting on a railroad track. He doesn’t move until he has to do so. Since the annual convention in Louisville, the Great Commission Resurgence train has gathered enough steam that I am forced to decide either to jump on board or move off the tracks.  So, in the last month I finally started gathering information to assist in my decision. The Great Commission Resurgence was formally introduced at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in a chapel message by the seminary president, Danny Akin. His April 16, 2009, message entitled “Axioms for a Great Commission Resurgence” presented twelve “axioms” for renewing the Southern Baptist Convention’s evangelistic effectiveness and missions efforts. After reading the text, I must ask, “Where is North America in the Great Commission Resurgence?”

I was a laymen or pastor in a number of churches during my twenty years in Alaska and served on numerous associational and state convention boards.  At the time of my departure from the state, I was serving as First Vice-President of the Alaska Baptist Convention. I taught North American church planting and evangelism for nine years in one of the SBC seminaries. Therefore, when I read the GCR, I look at the issue from the perspective of a New Work convention and the lostness of North America. Unfortunately, the tone and content of the document are disquieting.

The majority of Akin’s message consists of points that every Bible believing Baptist must affirm with a hearty amen. However, two axioms and their supporting points reveal the flaws of the GCR:

Axiom VIII “We must recognize the need to rethink our Convention structure and identity so that we maximize our energy and resources for the fulfilling of the Great Commission.”

Axiom X. “We must encourage pastors to see themselves as the head of a gospel missions agency who will lead the way in calling out the called for international assignments but also equip and train all their people to see themselves as missionaries for Jesus regardless of where they live.”

I have grave concerns about the implications of Axiom VIII. The statement reveals a lack of understanding the North American mission context and, in particular, the challenges of the New Work conventions. However, due to limited space, I wish to address most of my concerns with Axiom X. Axiom X also reveals the underlying perspective that colors all of the GCR as stated.

The GCR rightly states the importance of international missions. However, North American missions is largely absent. Notice in Axiom X, pastors are to lead the way in “calling out the called for international assignments.” In the GCR there is one calling worthy of attention, international missions. There are international missionaries, and then there is everyone else. Only the international missionaries are called. Notice the pastors are to equip “all their people to see themselves as missionaries for Jesus regardless of where they live.” That includes the laymen in the pew, the person called to pastoral ministry, the North American church planter, and the person called to work in the vast fields of North America’s lost population. I know North American church planters who have faithfully faced financial, spiritual, and physical challenges, yet feel they are second class missionaries because they are in North America. This impression was instilled during their seminary training. The GCR fails to present North America as the third largest unchurched population in the world.

How lost is North America? According to NAMB and the 2000 Census:

• The United States has 195 million unchurched people. (Unchurch means they are not attending any religious group, i.e., mosque, synagogue, church, Wicca coven, etc.)
• Canada has over 20 million unchurched with an approximate 4% Evangelical population.
• There are more Buddhists than Episcopalians in the U.S.
• There are more Muslims than Presbyterians.
• 11.2% of the U.S. population was born in another country.
• 49% of people under 18 years of age are non-Anglo.
• 25% of Washington State’s population has NO RELIGIOUS preference.
• Eight other western states and Vermont have at least 19% of their population with NO RELIGIOUS preference.
• Los Angeles has the second largest Iranian and Mexican populations in the world.
• 40% of Communist China’s leaders study in the U.S.
• 30% of international students are Muslims.
• Many of these international students are studying in small town colleges or universities.
• Canada has 31 cities of 10,000 or more people without an Evangelical witness.
• The “Triangle,” (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill), has over 13,000 Chinese.
• 86.6% of the population of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, is unchurched.
• Montana Baptists, using IMB criteria, have identified 200 unreached people groups.
• North America is the only continent where Christianity is not growing in percentage to the population.

I could go on. The world has come to America. I am currently hosting three Indian college students who are attending a local university and have hosted a visiting professor from Pakistan in the past. As a host, I have more opportunities in a year to talk in-depth about spiritual matters than many international missionaries will have during their first tour.  The professor, a devout Muslim, asked me many questions that could have resulted in his death in his own country.  I can take you to many places in middle class America where you will meet people who have never attended church, read a Bible, or heard the Gospel. Most of New England is three generations removed from participation in Christianity.

As I read the GCR Axioms, I do not see a grasp of North America’s lostness. There are the sentences dealing with church planting “that assaults the major population centers of North America” and  “urban centers such as New York, Washington, DC, Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle” which are “almost completely bereft of evangelical influence.” But a few comments out of a fourteen page text reveals North America’s need as an afterthought.

The North American church, including Southern Baptists, has been given a great opportunity. Do the cities need to be reached? Yes, but God may choose a church plant in Bozeman, Montana to reach New York City. We never know how God will work. In the last few years, 50% of the new residents of Bozeman, Montana are “trust fund babies.” These are individuals who have never worked and have decided to move to Montana to get away from New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Is it possible they may be brought to Christ away from the “major population centers” and then used by God to reach their home cities?  They have the resources, know the culture, and have the relationships essential to an urban strategy. I have seen the same occur with Latino converts.

I do not see an appreciation of convention entities in Axiom X. As a person with a New Work convention perspective, I do not recognize the world of “bloated bureaucracies” and “If folks in the pew knew how much of their giving stayed in there (sic) state they would revolt and call for a revolution!” One would believe by reading the GCR that our associations and state conventions hoard the money and need to release it for international missions. Is there some redundancy and occasional waste? Yes, but it is less common than conventions who are committed to reach the lost in their state. The GCR assumes the worst and paints with a large brush. I have visited almost every state in the U.S. and three of Canada’s provinces. Most of the Baptists I have encountered are struggling against daunting odds. Our state conventions have some of the finest missiologists that can be found.

I fear that instead of seeking a revival in our land, and the subsequent awakening, the GCR will divert our focus by shuffling organizations and labels instead of prioritizing the spiritual. There are many elements I can affirm, although I reject the underlying tone. I wish there were some people from the mission fields of North America as members of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, instead of so many institutional leaders and mega-church pastors. North America should be a pivotal piece of our world evangelism strategy. I pray that the GCR would have as great a burden and urgency for North America as it does for the rest of the world. Jesus began with Jerusalem, Samaria, and Judea when he commissioned his disciples.  At this point, I will be stepping off the tracks as the GCR rumbles by and will continue working in the fields that are white unto harvest with people from all over the world.

POST SCRIPT ON FEBRUARY GCR TASK FORCE STATUS REPORT:

The GCR Task Force gave a status report at the SBC Executive Board which had six main points. I have not read the full transcript of Ronnie Floyd’s  presentation, but I am pleased with what I have read. It was good to see the emphasis on the need for spiritual awakening and the recognition of North America’s lostness. For years I have held the position that we need to use our international missionaries wherever their particular people group may be. The CIA and FBI may not be restricted by borders, but God’s work needs a global strategy. We have a tremendous influx of internationals who need to be reached. Our international missionaries can be a resource for our work in North America. I look forward to the final recommendations which will be presented at the summer Southern Baptist Convention.  2/26/10

North Star Sermons

I have posted MP3 files of a Sunday morning series from First & Second Samuel on the life of David that I  am currently preaching at my church. They can be downloaded by clicking on the category on the left of the blog page.

John 13 Commanded to Serve

John 13 Stew

ardship 2

The Great Commission: A New Idolatry?

I will confess the title is a little over the top, but stay with me and let me explain. I had been a Christian for a number of years when God convicted me of the need for a quiet time. Everything that I read encouraged me to start my day off with prayer and Bible study. So, my wife and I began waking and spending an hour with God. We set the time of an hour, again, because that was the amount of time the authors I read thought was a beneficial period.  Everything went fine until my oldest son moved from a crib to a bed.  Kathy and I are early morning people. We go to bed early and rise early. Unfortunately, my son followed suit. Within minutes of our rising for our quiet time Ashley would toddle out of his room and demand our attention. So, we moved to an earlier time, and within a few days so would Ashley. Finally, we called it quits at 4:30 A.M.  I felt guilty that I did not have an hour quiet time to start my day.  Since that time I have had periods where I could schedule my quiet time in the mornings. Other times I have had my quiet time throughout the day. When I worked bi-vocationally as a swimming pool operator I had several hours of driving time each day between my pools. I would turn off the radio and have a great time with God.  However, before I came to the point of enjoying my time with God I had to first deal with my fixation on my “quiet time.” There is no correlation between the clock and the quality of time with Him. There are times when an hour flies by and others when it all seems stale. The staleness usually occurs when I am focused on squeezing out the “required” time.

Having an early morning quiet time is a great way to start the day. But, which is more important, the process or the person? Do I grow from spending time engaged in the activity of the quiet time or by knowing Christ? Of course, it is by knowing Christ. The activity of the quiet time only has worth in its role of focusing my life on Christ. Since dealing with my own fixation I have found it to be a common struggle. I have often encountered others struggling in this regards. As an evangelism professor I taught on spiritual disciplines including quiet time and Bible study. Each semester students would fixate on when and how long a quiet time needed to be instead of the relationship. A quirk of human nature is our tendency to grasp the ritual and institutionalize the movement.

So why did I relate the Great Commission and idolatry? I was speaking with a seminary student about his ministry plans. He expressed concern about his tenure as a student. He felt as though he was not being faithful to the Great Commission sitting in a classroom. After hearing chapel messages and classroom lectures stressing the lostness of the world and the need for international missions he questioned how he can be a witness in the Christian environment of seminary.  He said that he was “failing the Great Commission.”  This student had spent several years overseas as a journeyman and planned to return to international missions. When I asked him if God had led him to seminary, he stated, “Yes.” I then asked him how he could be failing as a Christian witness by preparing for ministry in obedience to God’s leading. He responded, “I am failing the Great Commission.”  He works a secular job to pay for his schooling. In that position he has been a witness, but he is “failing the Great Commission.”

I am a Southern Baptist, and we Baptist have a predilection to object to anything that detracts from Christ. We pointed out the problem with the Charismatic movement of the 1970s. How they focused on the gifts, especially tongues, instead of the Giver. We have challenged the Open Theologians’ insistence upon a more human God who risks as we do. And, of course we are the only denomination to have reversed the slide into liberalism and returned to the affirmation of the inerrancy of Scripture. We tenaciously hold to the doctrine of Sola fide, “faith alone.” Baptist are so adamant that we are saved by faith and not works that we have produced a generation of Baptists who are only good at sitting in a pew (when they decide to attend).  Southern Baptists originated due to missions. When the Triennial Convention refused to appoint missionaries from the South the affected churches formed the new denomination.  The Cooperative Program (1925) was formulated in response to the mission funding difficulties of deputation. We are a mission minded people because we believe that individuals who die without Christ face an eternity of Hell. There is no hope without Christ.

There are two courses of action for us, as previously modeled by Jonathan Edwards and Charles Finney. Edwards called Christian churches to concerted prayer for spiritual awakening. He believed that our God would refresh His Church in His sovereign time.  We could pray, witness, and prepare but only God could produce true revival and awakening. Edwards’ ministry was instrumental in the First Great Awakening. Finney, who held semi-Pelagian beliefs, believed that revival was predictable and a product of our efforts. Just as a farmer could expect a harvest because he had done all the proper preparations a minister could see a harvest of souls if he used the “correct measures.”  As Finney states, “A revival is not a miracle, nor dependent on a miracle, in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of the constituted means—as much so as any other effect produced by the application of means.” (Revival of Religion, pp.4-5 ) To be fair Finney also emphasized the need for prayer, but his focus was on the human pursuit of revival. Finney is considered the “Father of Modern Revivalism” because the subsequent generations of evangelistic associations have followed Finney’s methodologies. I prefer Edwards’ theology. However, we live in an age that would rather program than pray. The more we focus on promoting and programming the Great Commission instead of praying and preparing the less we will be repentant and dependent upon the Holy Spirit. One is an institution; the other a movement of God. Discipleship is a movement. Sharing our faith is a movement.  The Great Commission is to be a movement. Movements are driven by love.

Therefore, I find the present emphasis on the Great Commission disconcerting. A more grammatically correct translation of the Great Commission is, “make disciples as you are going,” instead of the common rendition of “Go ye therefore”. The common translation emphasizes the going. To be obedient you are to “go.” We prioritize and elevate the act of going. Therefore, the farther you go the more meritorious the effort. If this is true then I wonder how previous generations of Christians could have been blessed by the “going.” My sons have traveled more internationally than I ever have. Churches send out short term trips across the globe. But, forty years ago few Southern Baptists travelled out of their own states. How could they be Great Commission Christians?  However, if we make disciples as we are going then we are always fleshing out the Great Commission.  We are as responsible to be witnesses in our neighborhood as we are internationally. The “Missional Church” emphasis is in part a reaction to this dichotomy of the Great Commission. We have prepared generations of missionaries to go to the international fields while training people called to North America to be “pastors.” Now we are telling pastors they are wrong because we are all missionaries.

So, how is there a danger of idolatry? When we spend time talking about anything more than Jesus we need to beware. The Jerusalem temple was dedicated to the worship of God. That is a worthy purpose.  Unfortunately, some Jews worshipped the building more than the Messiah. It was a tool to prepare one for encountering God in worship. The Great Commission is a worthy goal. The paucity of conversions is troubling. The billions of people without Christ must be reached. The lostness of the world was on Jesus’ heart and mind as He prepared for His ascension.  He desires the world to come to a saving faith as His followers.  I do not please, nor honor, Him by emphasizing programs, rituals, or even obedience to His words. I please Christ by focusing on Him. That will result in obedience. We will not reach the world by programs. Our lives are not transformed by programs. Christ’s love transforms our lives. When we love Him more than anything else we will love the lost world He died to save. If we are His disciples then we will make disciples. We will give our lives as He did. The lost have an innate ability to sense when we have made them an objective of our programs or religious efforts.  They also know when we love them. I may “fail the Great Commission” but I never want to disappoint my Lord. He alone is worthy of my worship and witness as I live each and every day wherever I happen to be.

Titus 1:1 Slave and Sent

Titus 1:1-3 According to the Faith

Titus 1:5-9 Qualifications for Leadership

Titus 1:15-19 Disqualified

Titus 1.15-19 Disqualified

Rodeo Week: What a difference a year makes!

Once again I am in Livingston, Montana, helping Cornerstone Community Fellowship with the Livingston Rodeo. Last year Paul and Cody picked me up at the Bozeman airport, and we had a lengthy discussion on how to deal with several problems in their church plant. One core family insisted on developing a church “like down South.” Their negative attitudes tainted everything in the church. The Sunday service was poorly attended and felt stiff and distant. I spent the first day of my time last year demolishing the interior walls of the building the church were planning on moving into that fall. The final straw for the one family was probably the fact that I took out several walls they did not want removed. (The beautiful thing about having a guy from out-of-town demolish things is that you can always blame it on him after he has left town.) In addition to this internal struggle there was also a lack of  local participation. Cornerstone consisted of only a few committed individuals besides the families of the church staff. As a result, last year the number of workers helping with the rodeo related ministries were largely mission teams from the South.

What a difference a year makes!  William, an active member in our Youngsville church who is considering ministry in the West, and I traveled to Montana to participate in this year’s rodeo ministry. Cody picked us up at the airport.  Our  forty mile drive was filled with the latest happenings in the Cornerstone  ministry. Even though it was after 11:00 p.m. Mountain Time, and we were operating on Eastern Daylight, we stopped in at the church building to look at the completed renovations and the indoor archery range. What a difference a year makes. When I left last year we had just cleared out the debris from my demolishing the interior walls to make room for an auditorium.

After a late night, we had an easy morning and then erected the hospitality tent later in the day. This took much less time than last year because of all the additional church participation. We then went over to one of the member’s house for a cookout. The ratio of locals and visitors had flip-flopped since last year. The biggest thing that I noticed this year is the sense of unity and community.

What brought about the change? Let me give a few of the things that Paul and Cody have done to see the transformation. These are principles and therefore, transferable:

Never get rid of anyone. There is the temptation to confront and drive off individuals who are “problematic.” Sometimes they are well-intentioned dragons. They mean well; they are just pains in the neck. Other times you will have people who are just dragons. I call them “puddle monsters.” Church plants attract puddle monsters. They do not even rate as big fish in a small pond. They are puddle monsters. They need the ego boost of being the ruler of the puddle. Whatever the “species” of the problem you are facing, never run them off. Do not misunderstand. Never back off biblical standards. Never release your vision. Never allow them to hijack the ministry. However, do not push them out the door. Uphold the expectations for core group members and especially people wishing to be leaders. Mentor them by encouraging and confronting them on their participation and work ethic. If need be, engage in advanced stages of church discipline; but, only for clear violations of biblical standards. The “guerrilla warfare” tactics often used by puddle monsters are hard to address because most of the people involved will not recognize the murmuring campaign for what it is. Therefore, the church planter looks like a dictator when confronting the sin; and it is sin. The planter must make sure that when he engages the public stages of church discipline the average church member is able to see the problem. Never get rid of anyone. Drive them off, and God will send someone worst. Because, God is more concerned with the spiritual development of the church leadership than He is the puddle monsters.  Having said all of that: Never stop them from going. When God moves them, SMILE.

Since I have to go pick up trash at the arena at 7:30 this morning I will deal with some of the other things done well in the next post. Slack Day  (the first day of rodeo) went well. The stock is harder to work this year. I escaped last year with just a few close calls but no kicks. Yesterday I took four hard kicks. The worst one was in the elbow from a cowboy, but that is another story.

Rick, one of Cornerstone's members, working the stock.

Next principle of church planting: Celebrate the little victories.

Rodeo: Celebrate Little Victories

After a seventeen hour day, the first night of rodeo is over. I made it to bed after midnight and am now trying to post this before we go to pick up trash at 7:30 a.m.  In my last post I wrote about Cornerstone Community Fellowship, pastored by Paul and Cody church. They have been working in the Livingston, Montana, church plant for three years. (You can pull up the series of rodeo posts from last year to read a background on the area.)  Yesterday’s  post began dealing with some of the things Cody and Paul have done well.

Celebrate the little victories: Many pastors I know will admit that on some Mondays they experience frustration: Sunday’s crowd was low; The message did not seem to connect; The people who said they were coming for membership did not even attend; and on goes the list. Pastoring a church can be emotional roller coaster. Church planting is even more so. Paul and Cody could be discouraged after three years of hard work. There may “only” be 25-35 people on any given Sunday. People they have cared about have left for numerous reasons. Both men work other jobs because the Nehemiah internship funding expired. The list goes on. A church planter can feel defeated if he looks at his ministry as most pastors do.

What I am saying may not apply to someone doing a large launch with substantial financial backing in Atlanta, or some other metroplex that has large numbers of church friendly new arrivals or dissatisfied church people. However, in places like Livingston with its 90% unchurched population that is generations removed from church participation, attendance cannot viewed in the same way as in an established church.

Small victories must be celebrated. When counting the handful of people on Sunday morning, also include the unchurched men, and women, who shoot each week in the archery league held in the basement. Remember the ones who have never come on Sunday but have started attending a small group Bible study. Note that “Sam” and his family are showing up more frequently. Instead of two months between visits, they are now coming about once a month. The weekly average attendance may not look good; but, counting  the individuals who have attended some ministry during the week will paint a different picture. Cornerstone averages around thirty on Sunday morning, but over two hundred different people have attended its ministry opportunities this year. That is a victory. Sometimes it takes several years for someone who has never been in church, and has no sense of need for what he thinks church offers, to become a regular attender.

Celebrate the small victories. On Sunday morning look around and see the guy who tried to commit suicide and came to Christ while facing a possible prison sentence. Now he is a growing Christian, living a transformed life. See the guy who has volunteered to take the archery ministry over to ease the planters’ load. Pastors love preaching to large crowds, but ministry is an individual act. Jesus saw Zaccheus in the midst of the crowd and met his need. He knew the woman with the “issue of blood” had touched Him in a pressing throng. Jesus lived small victories each and every day. The small victories add up. Jesus was victorious at the cross through His obedience living one small victory at a time.

Once again, it is time for trash pickup. So, next post: Focus on Men. Last night I worked stock for the roping and wrestling events. After that I moved over and helped clear the gear on the “rough stock,” the bulls and broncs. That’s a small victory for a rodeo amateur. It also gives me more time around one of the men who needs the Lord. He remembered me from last year and we have been talking a lot more. Small victories.

Rodeo and Church Planting: Focus on Men.

Focus on Men: Although I agree that there are segments of a population with whom I more readily will connect, I have never liked the church growth and planting “principle” of target groups and marketing. In contrast, my attitude is that I will “pastor” everyone in the community. By that I mean that I will engage them wherever I meet them, as God opens opportunities. I will get to know them, pray for them, and have a ready ear to understand their world. The guy who owns the hardware store may never attend my church; but if he doesn’t have a Christ-focused church family and pastor, then I will fill that need. A church planter pastors a community, and God draws out His church as a plant. (Pastoring a community is another topic Paul and Cody have done well.) To sum it up; a fisherman does not go out with the idea that he will only catch Mahi Mahi that are 22 1/2 pounds and ignore everything else.

That being said, FOCUS ON MEN. Most churches focus on children. In fact, the “Nickelodeon” strategy does exactly that. The idea is that families will come to church if you make it appealing to children. You may draw a crowd, but I would debate if that is growing a church. Consider the following statistics from research on family conversions:

When a child is the first family member to come to Christ, there is a 3% probability that the rest of the family will follow.

When a mother is the first convert, the probability rises to 17%.

There is a 93% probability the rest of the family will follow if the father is the first to come to faith in Christ. Of course, every one of us can give anecdotal cases of exceptions, but this is the cold, hard research.

If you believe the Bible and its teachings that God designed the man to be the spiritual leader of the home, then why is this a surprise? Yet, the vast majority of church resources and focus is on women and children. Perhaps, this is because results are seen more readily with these two groups. Women and children are easier to attract than men. A church planter must have an intentional, long-term, honest ministry geared for men to connect with unchurched men. Even before the planter has finances or facilities to use to build the bridges, he can focus on intersecting the lives of men in his community.

The involvement of Paul and Cody in the Livingston rodeo is an intentional act to intersect the lives of individuals, mainly men, in the community. Paul and Cody will tell you that even though they were involved with the rodeo association, they were not connecting with the people, especially men. That changed as they moved from just picking up the trash and running the hospitality tent at the rodeo to working the stock. Getting kicked and covered with cow excrement broke down the walls. They were accepted because they were doing what the men in the rodeo association do.

Cornerstone’s indoor archery league is another example of the church reaching men. There are several women who shoot in the league, but most participants are men. Sixty-six percent of the men shooting on teams last winter were unchurched. These men now connect with Cornerstone, and I fully expect many of them to slowly move into more and more involvement with the church.

Ground squirrels and prairie dogs, “gophers”, riddle the range with their colonies. They are considered to be pests and are dangerous to livestock. Keith, one of the members of Cornerstone, invited us to help a rancher who has a severe problem.  There is no closed season or bag limit on these rodents. Yesterday afternoon I went out to a ranch to help. For several hours we played sniper and did our best to reduce the furry plague. Cornerstone, like Gallatin Valley in Manhattan, has an annual Father’s Day “gopher” hunt. Men team with their kids to enter. One of the men who now attends Cornerstone gave the following explanation on why he began coming to the church. He said, “I figured I could fit into any church that had a gopher hunt.” This man, and his family, is now attending church. There are many places that “gopher” hunts would not be politically correct, but the principle is the same. Find activities and ministries that communicate that Christianity is a man’s faith. Every Sunday there is a gender gap in the pew. The American church is now 65% women and 35% men on any given Sunday. One out of every four women attend church without her husband. We can continue to feminize the church to draw even more women and make the church more uncomfortable for men,or we can focus on men and win the whole family to Christ.

Rodeo and Church Planting: Work Ethic and a Teachable Spirit.

Cody Wood, Bill Brown, Paul Seddon, and William Johnson. Cody, Paul, and William are planting churches in Livingston and Manhattan.

I had two conversations Saturday that epitomize a crucial quality and principle for success as a church planter. On Friday evening, one of the bull riders barely made it to Livingston in time to ride his bull. The cowboys may ride in as many as four rodeos over the four day Fourth of July holiday. Everyday we have contestants come in towing their horse trailers, riding their event, and jumping back into their rigs to drive to the next rodeo. Saturday one of the calf ropers drove in, ran behind his trailer, and a few moments later came riding into the staging area to rope his calf. Friday night things went badly for the late bull rider. In his rush to compete, he did not put on his chaps or take off his wedding ring. When he left the bull five seconds into his ride, he landed on the well tilled ground. A split second later the hoof of the 2,000 pound bull came down on his hand. Usually, the cowboy would have had a bruised or broken hand. Because he forgot one of the basics, the cowboy left Livingston with one less finger. When the bull stepped on his hand, the wedding ring stripped the flesh off the bone of his ring finger. When he called his wife she responded in true rodeo fashion. She told him,”You had better find that ring!” The rodeo workers did. The cowboy left Livingston a few hours later to make it to the next rodeo. If he did not compete, and place, his family would not be able buy groceries. It is a tough life.

Eating breakfast the next morning at the arena, we started talking about the bullrider. One of the Rodeo Association Board members was sitting with us. Her first words summed up what I call a “harsh climate mentality.” Whether it is Alaska, Montana, New England, or the desert, any place where the climate makes living a challenge, the people develop a “harsh climate mentality.” If you do something stupid and pay the price, they have no mercy. That may sound like the people i.e., are hard-hearted. They aren’t, because if life deals you a hard break- house burns, flood wipes you out, boat sinks- they will give you the very shirts off their backs. These people know that the land is beautiful, but deadly, and they could be next.  When we were told that the cowboy had lost his finger, the lady said, “The idiot deserves it! Back when I was married I had enough sense to not wear my diamond when I was riding. Anybody knows you don’t were rings around livestock.”

Photo by Kelly Newton

The above example demonstrates a key principle for the church planter: You must have a teachable spirit. You may have a Master of Divinity, or even a Ph.D., but you don’t know how to live in the land. You need people to teach you what they have learned. Cody has a background with horses and livestock; Paul doesn’t, and both are new to Montana. People appreciate it when a new arrival wants to learn. I was blessed by being taught salmon trolling by one of the best commercial fishermen in Southeast Alaska. He saw that I worked hard and had a teachable spirit, and he took me under his wing. Wherever you are, you need to remain teachable.

That leads into the second conversation. Yesterday William, a fellow churchmember who also came to work the rodeo, and I arrived early at the stock pens.  We went ahead and sorted the stock and had the numbers recorded for each pen, so, that when Ray showed up at his usual time, everything was done until  the rodeo began.

Ray looks like a real cowboy, because he is. Don’t be fooled.  He retired after thirty years as a professor at Montana State University. Ray is a leading authority on artificial insemination and cattle breeding. He and his son, Raymond, work the rodeo stock every year. Ray and I were leaning against the rails, as cowboys often do, when he said, “William said that you brought him out.” I agreed. Then Ray said, “He’s a hard worker. I like him.” To a non-church going, harsh climate man, the biggest compliment that he can give is that someone is a hard worker.  I said, “That’s why I brought him (William) out.” Paul, another  Rodeo Board member, added, “They are all hard workers.” In the context of the ongoing conversation, it was clear that the men were referring to the Cornerstone staff.  Paul continued, “Don’t bring too many. We don’t want it (Montana) to get crowded.” Later Ray told Cody that William needed to move west, because William has what it takes to be in ministry in Montana. All from a guy who doesn’t go to church!

Church planting is hard work. Cody and Paul are bi-vocational pastors, because they love Montana and will do whatever it takes to stay there to minister to the people. They have earned the respect of the people of Livingston because they work. Too many times over the years people have commented to me that ministers do not work. Unfortunately, I have known a number of ministers who possessed a poor work ethic. Ministers are often more cerebral and book oriented. It is easy to spend one’s time doing nothing more physical than cutting the grass (on a riding lawnmower). Just remember, people are watching. If the average guy is going to work at 7:00 a.m., don’t expect him to understand why the church planter keeps “banker’s hours.” The planter may need to adjust his sleep schedule and be down at the diner for a cup of coffee before 7:00.

Tomorrow the last posting will be on Community Connections and Networks.

Why Outdoor Ministry? Reaching Men

Plenary-Brown

John 2: What Miracles Tell Us About Jesus

John 2:1-11 How to be part of the Miracluous

John 2:11-25 Accepted, The Most Impotant Question?

John 6:39-40 Secure

John 6:41-44 Drawn by the Father

Christmas Past- Remember our Troops

Christmas 2010: I received this from Gary Grow, Ghost Rider 58, my last flight school roommate and fellow Ghost Rider. He puts things into perspective. We are so blessed by the men and women who serve our country.

Forty years ago today I thought I would get the day off. After the Christmas truce was in effect, the monsoon had rolled in so the weather was crap. Five hundred foot ceilings were the norm, and it was Christmas. You don’t get many opportunities to get a day off in an assault helicopter company. Don’t remember what time it was, when the Duty Officer woke me to let me know I was assigned log (resupply) missions for the grunts.  I got my stuff together, pre-flighted, we cranked and repositioned on Camp Evans to one of the grunt log pads, loaded up with ammo and Cs, and made our first trip dodging clouds and rain into the mountains. The ammo and Cs only lasted a couple of trips. Then we started to haul mermite cans full of food. This was Christmas dinner for the grunts. It was cold and rainy; they had to eat in the rain.  We spent the morning flying dinner to the guys who put on 90lb rucks and humped the mountains protecting the rocket belt around the base camp, so we could function. Our lunch was C rats, heated with the bleed air heat off the engine. We refueled hot and when we were finished hauling dinner out we went back and recovered the empty cans. We landed after dark. After clearing operations we went to the Mess Hall and was told there was no Christmas dinner left. Oh yea, we were pissed. Later in the hooch we agreed that those guys deserved their meal and as bad as the day had gone for us it was our duty, and an honor to take care of “our Grunts.”

John 8:1-12 Second Chances

John 9:1-5 Glorifying God in Suffering

John 9:10-38 The “Process” of Salvation

John 10:1-6 “What Kind of God?”

John 10:10 Abundance

John 10:33-36 “We are gods”

John 10:40-43 “Miracles-less Ministry”

John 11:1-10 Lazarus

John 12:16-25 Dying to Live

John 21 Principles of the Calling

John 17 The Lord’s Prayer

John 17:20-26 The Universal Body

Acts 2 Pentecost; The Beginning of the Harvest

Acts 3:1-12 Like the Master

Acts 4:17-31 “The Christian Response to Challenges”

Acts 6 & 7 “The Nation on Trial”

Acts 8:1-8 Persecution or Plan?

Acts 9:1-8 Decision Point

Acts 9:10 The Power of One, Mentoring

Acts 9:20 Marks of Conversion

Acts 9:36 Church Family

Acts 10 “Unto the Whole World”

Acts 12 Miraculous Prayer

Acts 13:1-4 “Called”

Acts 13:4-12 to the Jews First

Acts 13:42-54 Witnessing to the Religious

Acts 15:1-11 “Grace Plus”

Acts 13:13 Failure