gadjesty

New Websites

2011-12-17T14:32:00.001-05:00

You can find out more about what I am doing by visiting www.andrewjbooth.comAlso, I am developing a new website called soakingworship.net

Thoughts on Taylor University Fort Wayne's Campus Closure

2008-10-13T19:59:00.006-04:00

Early afternoon I heard about the decision to close Taylor University Fort Wayne [TUFW]. I was stunned. Over the last few hours I have been trying to process this news. It impacts me on a number of levels:

First is personal. If it wasn't for TUFW's willingness to be so accommodating I might not live in Fort Wayne today. The only way I could enter the USA was on a student visa. TUFW accepted all of my music credits from Huddersfield University and through their accommodating attitude and generous scholarship it was possible for me to live here and finish my degree. It has been a great privilege to work as a guest lecturer, chapel speaker and adjunct professor at different times.

Second, I have many close friendships with staff and faculty at TUFW. These are people who tonight are contemplating what is next for them. Of course I believe God will open up some wonderful opportunities for these people, but tonight it is hard and I hurt for and with them.

Third, I believed so strongly in the new mission of TUFW under the leadership of Duane Kilty that I invested a great deal of time and energy over the last few years supporting, consulting and encouraging that process. The development of the Pastoral Ministries Major that included a year long internship was something I was particularly excited about. I am disappointed not to see the fruit of these dreams in the way we expected.

Fourth, Heartland had the opportunity to partner with TUFW on a number of projects including Presence, Bringing Home the Prodigals, Love Work, Live Life with David Oliver. I will miss these moments of genuine partnership in the city.

So what now? Fort Wayne has a long legacy of raising up church leaders. As a city we must not take our foot off the accelerator of this assignment. As is often the case in the change of season, the "what" doesn't change, but the "how" does.

May God give people grace for this season, vision for the future, courage to embrace change and deep love for the next generation of kingdom leaders.

Finally some sense

2008-10-12T13:53:00.004-04:00

I am very weary of the political season. The polarization of politics in the USA is reaching epic proportions. When I saw this clip I felt like it was a moment of sanity in a storm of emotion.

Good work John McCain.

These are a few of my favorite things - Pt 3

2008-09-27T15:36:00.010-04:00

It's Saturday afternoon and I am in The Espresso Gallery [formerly known as Aspen Mill, formerly known as The Mill] in Georgetown! Every Saturday when I am speaking I tuck myself away at this table in the corner and go to work. Most of the time by Saturday I am editing my thoughts and working on PowerPoints.

Tomorrow I am speaking on one of my favorite things as part of our DNA. It was John Wimber's vision throughout all of his ministry that "everyone gets to play." I am picking up on that theme and talking about how all of us are called to re-discover that we are the Church everyday, all of the time, and not just on Sundays. It is my desire that the whole HC community finds ways to consistently live lives following Christ in a naturally supernatural ways. I am particular excited about talking about this in a multi-generational gathering. I think there is no better topic to talk to engage kids, youth and adults. We will be doing lots of fun things to practice hearing from God together during the gathering.

As adults we often have three basic misconceptions about kids and the things of the Spirit:
1. They are not quite ready yet
2. If they are hearing from God they should get it right every time
3. If we teach kids Bible facts they will grow into maturity.

I believe we need to teach kids an experience of God’s power as well as teaching them about His word. I find it so interesting that when the 72 returned from ministry trip, Luke 10 describes Jesus' joyful response, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure". There is a dimension to Kingdom living that requires all of us to return to a childlike faith. Why then would we not see kids as having less hurdles to cross rather than more maturity needed in order to "do the stuff"?

Jesus' ministry was built on demonstration, impartation and multiplication
I DO/YOU WATCH
YOU DO/I WATCH
YOU DO/I GO

I am passionate about teaching and modeling the priesthood of all believers. Often that is taught as a theology and yet in subtle ways church leaders are still seen as as administers of grace, rather than facilitators of a grace-filled community.

I am using a very simple outline. Everyone gets to PLAY:

1. Prepare [Believe God wants you to DO something]
2. Look and listen [Believe God wants to SHOW you something]
3. Ask for boldness/help [Believe God wants to GIVE you something]
4. Yield [Believe God wants to TRANSFORM something]

These are a few of my favorite things - Pt 2

2008-09-05T11:14:00.007-04:00

I love interviewing people. This week I drove to South Bend and interviewed Rob Parsons. A couple of weeks ago I found out that my Dad and Rob were going to be close and so I asked if I could chat with Rob on camera about church, community and family life. I wanted to use some of the footage as part of my series this fall at Heartland. The TV studio kindly let us use their set and we talked for about 30-40 minutes. Once it has been edited I think it will be a cool resource not only for Heartland, but for other leaders and churches. This Sunday I am going to interview Ron Allen about some of the personal aspects of his sabbatical.

I believe that interviews are a very effective teaching model. I wonder whether in today's culture it might be more effective than a lecture based model. Done well, interviews can create a platform for people to share how theological realities and personal histories collide. This is the model of Paul's letters in the Bible. In one moment He is talking about who God is, in the next he is talking about his history or how we should treat one another. Paul is demonstrating how he embeds revelation into relationship, that is what I am going for most of the time I interview someone.

Here are a few tips for creating a good interview environment:

1. Be relaxed - put the person you are interviewing and the congregation at ease.
2. Be prepared - you have to know a person's story well if you are going to interview them well.
3. Be strategic - think about how the best way to unfold a story through the best sequence of questions.
4. Be spontaneous - often the person you are interviewing will say something that you need to follow up on for clarification or emphasis.
5. Be flexible - if someone has answered a question you were going to ask later in the interview, don't ask a redundant question.
6. Be assertive - if the person you are interviewing is going on too long, or is going down a tangent that is not relevant for the context don't be afraid to step in and refocus it.

These are a few of my favorite things - Pt 1

2008-08-27T16:05:00.003-04:00

Several years ago my Dad said to me, “If you find a job you really love you will never really do a day’s ‘work’ your whole life.” He was not talking about never having a tough day or living in the land of idealism. Rather I think he was describing the relationship between passion, calling, and context. Watching him over many years I saw how he lived out that message. In his book The Anointing R.T. Kendall talks about a similar dynamic for the Christian using different language. He describes the anointing to do specific assignments as “a gift that functions easily when it's working… the person who is filled with the Holy Spirit is able to do extraordinary things, but to him it seems quite natural. There is an ease to it.”

While I have days and assignments that are mundane and frustrating, it is my increasing desire that the compass heading of my life and work is one not based on trying to impress others, but on what God has asked and equipped me to do. I love seeing that dynamic in those around me. I remember recently watching a friend do an activity that I had never seen him do before. As he performed it with such grace and competency I found I couldn’t stop smiling. Afterwards I said to him, “You were made for this.”

Over the coming weeks I am going to write about some of the favorite parts of what I do. Let me tell you about the first: being involved in wedding ceremonies. I didn’t always have a love for weddings. One of the first weddings I was involved in took place when I was about 12 years old. I played prelude music on the flute for over an hour and then the bride was 45 minutes late! By the time of the processional I could barely stand up. Over the last 8-9 years I have married dozens of couples. There was one memorable wedding that took place in Foster Park where I forget to tell the guests to be seated after the processional and everyone stood for the whole ceremony!

I love the ceremony, but even more than that I love the time I get to spend with the couples in the weeks and months leading up to the special day. There are two reasons for that. First, during marriage preparation it is so easy to talk about the big subjects of Christianity. The conversation flows naturally to discussions about sacrifice, covenant, forgiveness and unconditional love. These conversations are the easiest evangelistic context I know. More than once over the last couple of years I have led one or both of the marriage couples into a personal relationship with Jesus. Those marriage ceremonies were filled with an extra measure of joy. Several times guests of the wedding have begun attending the church because they encountered God’s love during the ceremony.

Second, it is a great privilege to walk with people through transitions in life. Giving newly married couples some tools to evaluate their circumstances and make wise decisions is so important. At other times it is being with a family in times of great joy, like the birth of a child or great loss like the death of a loved one. The responsibility of expressing the grace and truth of our God is one I take very seriously. There are relational bonds that get formed during these moments that can go on for years.

Ten things I would tell young leaders about being part of weddings:

1. Be patient – figuring out ceremony details can be tedious at times.
2. Be ready – to give good explanations about the covenant couples are about to make.
3. Be expectant – that God can use you in really wonderful ways through the preparation time.
4. Be discerning – ask God to guide the conversation into areas that are important to touch on.
5. Be open – to change and don’t follow the same template with every couple. Their experiences will be different and so they will need different things.
6. Be sensitive – to complex family relationships. As much as possible, work to make everyone at ease.
7. Be present – listening with your eyes is as important as speaking words with your mouth.
8. Be relaxed – during the rehearsal and the ceremony. You set the tone.
9. Be clear – on what your expectations are for the couple, the wedding party, the family.
10. Be personal – with the homily. It should reflect the personalities of the couple.

The Booth Family pic

2008-08-14T14:15:00.001-04:00

500 to 110

2008-08-12T15:41:00.003-04:00

I am getting back into the swing of life in Fort Wayne. It was good to share stories from Wales on Sunday morning at Heartland and now I have spent my first full day back in the office.

My email inbox has shrunk from 500 to 110 messages. It was 2-3 hrs of hard work, but felt good. At times the task of staying on top of the sheer amount of information that is around can be daunting. I know people who have refused to use email and also don't have an answer machine at home. Sometimes that seems appealing, although I am not sure it is very practical in today's world!

New Wine Artwork

2008-08-07T17:11:00.008-04:00

Caz has done an incredible job as you will see for yourself.

Wednesday in Wales

2008-08-07T02:58:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a very full day, here are some of the highlights:

1. The continuation of David Parker's brilliant teaching.
2. Having lunch with the band at their cottage in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain.
3. Seeing so many people come to a conversation I facilitated about worship in Wales.
4. Sitting on top of a mountain with David Oliver talking about life.
5. Eating Fish and Chips with David Parker.
6. Seeing lovely ministry to those in pain in the evening session.
7. Taking part in the late night cafe and being being interviewed by Marcus G and Jess W on everything from worship to the will of God to Heartland to cardboard testimonies. Marcus has done a great job creating a cool environment for people to land in at the end of the day. My guess is that over the week some significant things have been said during the interviews at the cafe.

Tuesday in Wales

2008-08-06T02:54:00.003-04:00

I loved yesterday. Once again, we were able to draw people into deep and high places in worship. There is perhaps no greater privilege [or satisfaction] than declaring who God is then leading people in heartfelt response to His love. The teaching continues to challenge and stir, particularly David Parker’s message tonight about evangelism. It resonates with much that God has been doing in my heart.

There were a few other nice things that happened:

Listening to the choir rehearse for Thursday night [they don’t call Wales “the land of Song” for no reason!]

The band is playing with amazing skill. They are dynamic, creative and sensitive. That makes it really fun.

Seeing so many people I know and love here [not ranked!]: Nigel and Gill James, Gary Smith, David Oliver, Marcus Green, Bruce Collins, Chris Daniels, Pete Joyce, Ben Franks, Renee Jehl, Mike and Julia Plaut, Brian and Anne Gregory, Paul Francis, Cath Evans, Julian and Linda Perkins, Dave Lyle, James and Dave Butler, Paul Trenchard.

Monday in Wales

2008-08-04T18:20:00.004-04:00

Today was one of my favorite days in a long time. Tonight's worship went to another level and then we did a late night soaking session and it was incredible. Many of the band were doing something like this for the first and they stepped out and up today.

God is speaking so much to my heart.

Sunday in Wales

2008-08-03T17:35:00.004-04:00

Tonight we saw at least 50-60 people get healed. Some of those had conditions for over 30 years. The day started with worship and David Parker speaking. He has a quiet intensity that is really cool. Next up was Bill Johnson. By the time he had finished I felt like I was about to begin Day One as a disciple of Jesus. I wasn't sure if I was encouraged by the commission or discouraged at my swimming in the shallow end for so long.

In the leader's session with Bill in the afternoon something really clicked in my heart. I could fly home tonight and it would have been a fruitful trip. Worship was fun tonight, people were so engaged.

New Wine Cymru: Night One

2008-08-02T16:31:00.004-04:00

I just finished Session One. The place was jam packed because bookings are up about 30% on previous years. People came ready to worship and that made life fun! We taught 'O Taste and See' and 'Mighty to save'. The band are doing so well.

Kenny Borthwick spoke on lavish grace. He told some incredible stories of what is going on in Scotland.

I am off to bed, I was not able to fall asleep until 3am yesterday because of jetlag so I am exhausted!

In the last 24 hrs I

2008-08-01T15:26:00.006-04:00

Left Fort Wayne

Visited Detroit

Saw the Empire State Building and The Statue of Liberty

Dealt with Newark's crazy airport

Pretended to sleep on a plane, but couldn't figure out how to do the real thing

Met Nigel James, who drove me to Cardiff

Picked up my Dad's car and drove to my parent's house [they are in Spain and France]

Had a shower

Slept for an hour, felt worse after it.

Practiced with the New Wine Cymru band [amazingly great musicians with humble hearts]

Ate a very nice curry from an Indian takeaway

Watched Top Gear

Ironed a bunch of shirts

Heading to Wales

2008-07-31T12:45:00.004-04:00

I am at Gate 5 at Ft Wayne airport headed to Cardiff via Detroit, Newark and Bristol. I am leading worship at New Wine Wales. This is the shortest international trip I have ever done. It is just 8 days in the UK.

I have as much anticipation for this trip than any I have been on.

Please pray for:
Safety for our whole family - it is pretty tough on Jake even when I am gone for a few days.

Physical strength - I go straight into rehearsals after an overnight, international flight and then the conference begins the next day.

The Band - this is the first time some of us have been together. Pray for a great connection and synergy in all that we do.

The conference - that God would do some wonderful things in and through people

Connections - pray that God would establish the right relationships and networking in Wales and beyond.

My wifi access maybe spotty but I will try to post as regularly as possible.

Getting Prepared

2008-07-27T06:28:00.004-04:00

Most Sunday mornings when I am preaching I wake up early. I spend the time praying and going over my notes. Being prepared is a part of stewarding both the gift and the assignment you have been given. Preparation includes the organizing, editing, shaping, re-shaping of ideas – then going back to check consistency with the original thought.

It also means to be ready for a detour, ready for what God through His Spirit might be doing spontaneously. It might seem like a contradiction, but the better prepared you are the more you are ready for the spontaneous. It is like a group of musicians improvising. The more they play together, the more comfortable they are with their instruments and each other, the more the synergy of shared spontaneity can take place.

This morning is a multi-generation service as part of Community Day. When I need to be succinct I write my notes into a mind-map on one page. It is not as wierd as it sounds. It is a way of graphically organizing notes to help you remember them. It has really helped me in the past. I am also very intentionally trying to simplify my messages and tell more stories.

With all of that said, it still needs God to come and breathe His life into it.

Jake's definition

2008-07-18T22:30:00.006-04:00

Last weekend my son Jake aged 5 said to Trish, "Mom, I want to see a miracle".

Trish wisely didn't blow him off and asked, "Jake, what do you think a miracle is?"

Here's what he said, "Mom, a miracle is something that isn't that now is".

Like the best articulations of theology it is simple, but chunky.

Cardboard Testimonies

2008-07-02T13:48:00.002-04:00

On Sunday I was preaching from Philippians 3:12-21. Here's how we ended the message. I will write more about it later.

Thinking About Gatherings - Part Four

2008-06-26T12:12:00.003-04:00

I frequently drove my flute teacher crazy! On one occasion he was desperately trying to correct a figuring technique that I had wrongly learned several years earlier. Although he tried multiple ways over months to explain the problem, I just couldn’t overcome it. One day he said, “follow me” and led me into his bathroom. He told me to play the flute and to look at what my fingers were doing in the mirror. Immediately I saw it; I was raising up my pinky at the wrong times, in the wrong way. I could finally see it – I had a revelation! I corrected it immediately and while there were occasions I reverted back to the old habit, the problem was in the past. We both breathed a sign of relief. If I hadn’t figured it out, he might have used my flute as a weapon on me!

Revelation changes everything.

One of the goals of our gatherings is that we facilitate an environment where we can know God deeply and personally and see life from His perspective. Someone once said, “The more we see, the more we know; the more we know, the more we see.” Last Sunday I talked about the first part of Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3. His vision of Jesus turned his life upside down. Knowledge of God is not an intellectual exercise, it is a spiritual pursuit. It is sobering to realize that when Jesus came to earth, those who thought they were prepared for His coming were the ones who missed Him when He came.

Remember the hidden 3D pictures of the 1990s? They were pictures that had “hidden” images embedded in them. You had to refocus your eyes in order to see the image. Sometimes you had to learn how to look at things in from a different perspective or a different angle. The longer you looked the deeper and clearer the hidden image became. That’s a picture of how it is with God. There is a battle for the attention of our eyes. That battle is fought on three common fronts. First, against the enemy. Paul writes it this way, “The god of this age has blinded the mind of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." 2 Cor 4:3-4 (NIV). What does light do? It helps us so not to run into walls, or helps us find our way or see in the distance!

Second, self-sufficiency also blinds us to the revelation of God, particularly our need for Him. "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths." Psalm 135:15-17 (NIV). God was describing people who have unfulfilled potential. They have the capacity, but lack the ability.

Ben (a Ministry Coach at Heartland) once wrote, "If we’re going to accept this invitation to see our King again, to behold his beauty and majesty, we’re going to have to kneel; we’ll have to come in humility and wonder, not with analysis and pride and self-sufficiency. To open our eyes and look at Jesus again, wondering if we’ve perhaps missed something. Lifting our eyes to see the King again, in all His glory. In all his shocking majesty, in his surprising grace and tenderness as well his blinding holiness and purity."

Third, the sheer busyness of life can get in the way of focusing our attention on God. The amount of activity we’re involved in, the amount of spam we receive in our email inboxes, can severely hamper our ability to focus. Paul encourages the Colossian church, “So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.” Col. 3:1-2 (MSG).

Oswald Chambers writes it better than I can: “You always know when a person has been beholding the glory of the Lord, you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord's own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you; it is nearly always a good thing, the good that is not the best. The golden rule for your life and mine is this concentrated keeping of the life open towards God. Let everything else - work, clothes, food, everything on earth - go by the board, saving that one thing. The rush of other things always tends to obscure this concentration on God. We have to maintain ourselves in the place of beholding, keeping the life absolutely spiritual all through. Let other things come and go as they may, let other people criticize as they will, but never allow anything to obscure the life that is hid with Christ in God. Never be hurried out of the relationship of abiding in Him. It is the one thing that is apt to fluctuate but it ought not to. The severest discipline of a Christian's life is to learn how to keep 'beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.'"

Our gathered times are so crucial for all of us because it allows us to slow down and realize how much we need God. This is not just an individual response, but also a corporate one. There is so much power in realizing we all need God. Furthermore, time in God’s presence changes the way you see things. Time in God’s presence changes the way you hear things. Time in God’s presence focuses your life; it gives you direction.

Many years ago I was involved in a church plant in a Cardiff, right in the middle of a large student area of the city, it also had a high population of Muslims. There would be times when I would become completely discouraged at the task before us. During a few of those times I would get in my car and drive to the top of the highest hill in Cardiff to walk and pray. I could see the whole city. Spending time in God’s presence in worship and prayer brought a different perspective and my heart would change. I would come back down and re-engage with the circumstances I found myself in. With the God’s view of the situation fresh in my mind there was a completely different dynamic of ministry.

Why do we gather? One more reason is in order to see God together. In worship, in teaching and preaching, in communion, in ministry we want our eyes to be opened to the beauty, sovereignty and majesty of our King. We can then let His Reality and His perspective invade every circumstance of life.

Thinking About Gatherings - Part Three

2008-06-21T08:27:00.004-04:00

I am continues a series that I am writing for Heartland Church's weekly email update:

I was reminded last Wednesday why I am so excited to be a part of this church. I saw a community of people express a passion for the presence of God and a passion for the poor. Just as a Father encourages a child, it was one of those moments when I sensed the pleasure of God in what we are doing. Our Fire and Rain gatherings have been quietly growing in momentum and intensity and last week’s gathering was no exception. These have been precious times of seeking God’s face in worship and asking for His refining and refreshing in our lives [note: the next one will take place on Sunday June 29th, 6pm].

As I talked to some of the food pantry team that night I could see their passion for God expressed in their compassion for the poor. Not only do the gospels teach us that compassion releases the supernatural, but there is something so good and right about hospitality, generosity and dignity being expressed in the way we treat the poor and vulnerable. All of us are feeling economic pressure in one way or another and the opportunity before us to help those who are struggling is greater than ever. We can all help. Not all of us can be in the food pantry, but all of us can give items to it.

Fire and Rain and the food pantry are diverse in action, but share the wonderful unity seen in the heart of our God. In fact you can clearly trace the thread of worship alongside justice and mercy for the poor and oppressed throughout the Old Testament, proclaimed by Jesus and modeled in the early church.

The Bible speaks of diversity in action, but it also highlights stark contrasts in the people God used. Do you ever wonder, "what was Jesus thinking when He chose both a tax collector (Matthew) and a zealot (Simon) to be on His team?"

Tax collectors were not very popular in the land of Palestine where the Jewish people lived. In fact, they were hated and looked down upon and considered one of the worst kinds of sinners for two reasons. First, no one really enjoys paying taxes, but in New Testament times the Jews hated tax collectors for another reason. The tax collectors worked for Rome. The Roman government was the ruling power at that time, and the Jewish people did not enjoy being under Roman rule (to put it lightly). They wanted to be free. The Jews looked down on the tax collectors who helped Rome and worked for Rome. They considered them traitors, renegades, turncoats.

Second, not only did they work for Rome, they had a reputation for being dishonest. Some tax collectors overcharged the Jews and pocketed the surplus or kept the extra for themselves. They not only helped Rome, but they helped themselves and sometimes in very dishonest ways. It was one thing to be a traitor; it was another thing to be a crook!

Then there is Simon the Zealot. The zealots were a very enthusiastic patriotic party of Jews who were strongly opposed to Roman rule. They wanted Israel to be a free nation. Today we would probably call these people members of the "Israeli Liberation Army." The philosophy of the zealots was that the end justifies the means. They believed that it is all right to do evil if good shall ultimately be accomplished. They would use violence, robbery, and even assassination to accomplish their goal of setting their nation free. They hated Rome and any Jew that accepted/aided the occupation.

Here is Simon, a zealot, working side-by-side with Matthew, a tax-collector. Apart from their discipleship to Christ, Matthew would have been a prime target for assassination by Simon and the zealots! The fact that these two men could be together, work together, eat together, serve together, and learn together is one of the great miracles of Christ's transforming power. Jesus Christ makes possible the union of opposites. Jesus not only risked his reputation by being associated with them, He risked His message by commissioning them.

What does this all mean for us as church? It means we are not supposed to be Christian clones all looking the same. Second, it means none of us are disqualified because of our pasts. Third, the traditional ways we divide ourselves (race, socio-economic status, gender, age, nationality) no longer matter in the Body of Christ. The bottom line is this: our exact assignment will be different and yet in our diversity we live as one people called and commissioned by our King to live out a DNA of radically loving God and one another in a missional context. Let me encourage you to settle for nothing less.

Thinking about Gatherings - Part Two

2008-06-16T21:11:00.003-04:00

It had never rained at a Superbowl before, but on February 4th, 2007 the heavens opened and the Colts were champions! It was a good game, but it could not compete with the AFC championship game 14 days earlier. The Patriots were the Colt’s nemesis, always stopping them fulfilling their destiny of lifting the Vince Lombardi trophy. The air was sucked out of the RCA Dome as the Patriots jumped out to a 21-3 lead and led 21-6 at intermission. History seemed to be repeating itself.

The banner on top of a large church’s website caught me off guard, “Sundays are not the biggest deal to us”. If it was designed to provoke, it worked. Did they really mean to articulate such a value particularly in a time when many are questioning the need for church? Doesn’t it add fuel to the fire? As I paused to reflect I realized they were not diminishing the importance of Sunday gatherings, but rather elevating something else. What’s the something else?

Last time I talked about creating the environment that facilitates an openness to the Spirit and a love for the Word. I want to continue by talking about creating an environment that encourages and equips. If we are a church that is focused on giving a good performance every week, then Sunday is showtime. If we are to be a place that provides encouragement and equipping then the rest of the week is game time. So Sundays may be the most prominent thing we do together, but it is not the most significant thing we do as Christians.

As a church we are totally committed to the concept that every person is called to be an ambassador of the King 24/7. Whether you work in a school, factory, home, office or truck you have a high calling from the King to represent Him in that mission field. We tend to elevate those who are perceived to be in full-time ministry or mission work. We need to understand that a missionary is not someone who crosses the sea, but sees the cross. Once we really get a grasp of that reality it helps us reorientate our lives and change our focus and priorities.

So our gatherings should be a place of encouragement. A couple of weeks ago we read in Philippians 2 that we have been encouraged from being united with Christ. What is encouragement? Is it cheerleading? Is it a pat on the back? The technical definition is “an incitement to action”. It is provoking us to get on to do the things we know we should do. Have you ever wanted to do the right thing? That’s the Spirit of God inciting you to action, encouraging you on your journey. Most of us know what we need to do, we just need to be spurred on to do it. Encouragement comes from the heart of God. Paul writes in Romans 15:5, “He is the God who gives endurance and encouragement”.

Sometimes we come to church beaten-up, weary, discouraged, feeling defeated. Rob Parsons on many times has reminded me, “Don’t count the score at half-time!” It was Martin Luther who said, “at home… there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through”. I remember leading “Amazing Grace” on Easter Sunday at Spring Harvest a few years ago. There was something so special about thousands of followers of Jesus testifying about His grace together in a powerful, loud and tangible way.

Our gathering should also be a place of equipping. In his letter to the church in Ephesus Paul writes, “it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ”. If you have been around Heartland for a while you know that our leadership team are called Ministry Coaches. This is not some cute way of trying to be fresh, rather there are two huge theological implications behind this change. First, we are called to coach and serve the team, not be the star players in the game. Second, in most churches the leaders are called Pastors. In Ephesians 4, Paul describes the make up of the coaching team: Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists. To call all leaders “Pastors”, is to diminish the diversity of functions and giftings that God has given to leaders [I will unpack this in more detail another time].

If encouragement reminds and stirs us to what we are supposed to be doing, equipping helps us with examples, practice, details and skills of how we are suppose to be doing it.

Let me take a little liberty and paraphrase the Eph 4. “The team owner gave some to be offensive coordinators, defensive coordinators, conditioning coordinators, special teams coordinators to coach and prepare the players to win. To play with passion for the game, partnership in the game and knowledge of the game”.

The second half of the AFC Championship belonged to the Colts. The 18-point deficit the Colts erased was the greatest comeback in conference championship game history. "It was a tale of two halves, really," Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. "We had a little bit of momentum going into halftime. Give credit to them. They made some great adjustments and were able to do a lot of things on us in the second half”.

Sunday gatherings are half time. It is a time to be encouraged, equipped, a time to made adjustments, a time to get our wounds or injuries healed. A place to rest, get ready and then get back in the game. A game everyone gets to play.

Thinking about Gatherings - Part One

2008-06-10T22:33:00.003-04:00

I am writing a mini-series of articles describing the role and function of our church gatherings at Heartland. Here is part one:

A church leader friend of mine made me mad last week. Just for a second. He asked me this question: “how do you evaluate whether you have got an “A” in your gatherings?” I mentally knee-jerked, “God isn’t a teacher grading us, not am I looking for the adulation of others. As I settled down, I began to think a little more about what he said. The story of the talents reminds us that God is really serious about how we steward what He has entrusted us with. So I began to ponder how I would answer his original question. Here is my answer :

We have got it right when we have created an environment that fosters openness to the Spirit and a love for the Word. I first heard this concept when I was about 14 years old. International pastor and author RT Kendall was preaching about being a people of the Word and the Spirit. There was something in me that resonated with his words.

The Word and the Spirit are inseparable. It is by the Spirit that we receive the Word and the Word tells us about the Spirit. I have loved our times of corporate worship over the last few weeks. Our hearts have been stirred as God has been begun to send His fire and rain, but I have also loved preparing and teaching from the Book of Philippians. This week I have experienced the joy of heaven in both song and study.

It is not enough to have one or the other – one leaves us cold, while perhaps the other leaves us subject to our emotions. We need both. The truth is this; there are many believers who have a dutiful relationship with God based on the scriptures. There are some who have joyful relationship with Him based on the Spirit. There are few who are men and women of both the Word and the Spirit, of doctrine and experience, of Scripture and the power of God.

Sometimes you have to see what you don’t want in order to bring what you want into focus. When I was living in London I was invited to visit a church in another part of the country. This church was a dynamic place: spontaneous songs, prophesy, tongues, it was all happening! After being in three meetings, I realized that I had not heard anything read from the Bible. I was concerned that their lack of love for God’s written word left them vulnerable, even while God was obviously moving in that place. In fact, that church was a bit like a sparkler. It was really fun, really exciting, but didn’t last long. That church split and collapsed soon after.

There are many places where the Word of God is preached with wonderful clarity and yet it seems like there is no life or space for spontaneity. Of course all of us have a natural inclination to comfort and familiarity. We use air conditioning and heating at different times of the year to maintain the status quo in temperature.

So how does it play out practically in our gatherings:
It means that we come with:
1. An expectancy of meeting someone we love.
2. An attitude of humility, recognizing we don’t have everything we need.
3. A conscious desire to find God wherever He is.
4. The knowledge that God is willing to give us so much more if we posture ourselves in the right way.
5. Our hearts prepared. Prepared to share what God has placed in us and prepared for God to take us on our radical detour.

Earlier today I was sharing some of my heart with David Oliver. Many of you will remember David speaking about Workplace ministry, but David’s other passion is prophecy [he will be coming to do some prophetic training with us in late 2008/early 2009]. This evening he sent me an email responding to our conversation. Here is what he wrote:

“I see the church on a plane some sitting back just expecting to be waited on. Others looking intently out the window. But outside there is fog and cloud. The folks inside the plane know they are on a journey but the cannot relate it to where they have come from nor can they engage with where they are going too. It is simply obscured the reference points are obscured. Then suddenly - and it is suddenly - the plane comes right out of the cloud and fog into a clear blue sky and right there right in front of their noses is the runway. Horizontal runway lights inform us that we have come the right distance and vertical runway lights lead us into the landing itself. As we land the Holy Spirit says 'Welcome to a new season'. As this plane lands everyone has to get off and move on. Sitting there on the tarmac is not really a viable option 'Welcome to a new season' I tie this into Amos 5 which I think I shared at Heartland. Don't go back to Gilgal, Beersheba or Bethel. All good places in their Godly past but not where God wants us now. It is a new season and the timing is no mistake”.

Talking of planes let me share with you a picture that God gave me a couple of weeks ago:

I am on a plane enjoying amazing views. I am shocked to see someone open a door on the side of a plane. Jesus comes up to me and pats me on the back. I look back and see I have a parachute on. He leads me to the door. Instead of admiring the view, He is calling me to surrender that which I can control and jump.

If we are to foster a Word and Spirit environment in emphasis and experience there will come a time when we have to lay down our security, our dignity and our pride. However, the prize of knowing Jesus and seeing His kingdom come far surpasses the cost. Let’s embrace the adventure of settling for nothing less than seeing the fullness of God’s Word and His Spirit impacting and transforming our lives.

The Forgotten Ways

2008-05-19T15:25:00.006-04:00

Remember 3 books in 10 days? Didn't quite happen! But I am working through all three books. I have read most of Simply Christian, half of Missional Church. I have spent the afternoon finishing "The Forgotten Ways" by Alan Hirsch.

The book is based on six elements of what he calls Missional DNA or mDNA:

a.. Jesus is Lord
b.. Disciple Making
c.. Missional-Incarnational Impulse
d.. Apostolic Environment
e.. Organic Systems
f.. Communitas instead of community

I found the book accessible to read, but with a great attention to detail. Hirsch doesn't have the hard, cynical edge that some who advocate fresh expressions of church. I like that. He writes like someone who trying hard to living this out, who has an authentic love for the church.

There were times when I felt hugely encouraged about the journey we are on at Heartland. There were other times when the assignment of reactivating church for the future seems completely overwhelming. This will be a book that will facilitate conversation in our team in over the next few months and I will recommend to others, not because it has all the answers, but because it engages the right questions.

Here's what I have been doing to relax...

2008-05-17T09:34:00.004-04:00

Several months ago I wrote about ditching cable/satellite and using Netflix. We are enjoying the savings and the red envelopes that appear every 2-3 days with movies/tv shows.

Last week we decided to watch The West Wing. The West Wing is a television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast from 1999 to 2006. It won more emmys than any other show. When Trish and I watched it intermittently when it first broadcast I was always struck by the quality of the writing. As we have watched the first four episodes of Season 1 we realized that there are no TV dramas that come close to the dialogue on this show. We are looking forward to watching about 90 episodes [without commercials] over the next months.

While watching the show I have been drinking Ginger Beer. Ginger Beer is my favorite soft drink. It originated in England in the mid 1700s, and it reached its peak of popularity in the early 1900s. The original recipe requires only ginger, sugar, and water, to which is added a gelatinous substance called "ginger beer plant". I got online and found a company that sells Idris Ginger Beer made in Wales. It tastes a bit like Ginger Ale, but the ginger flavor is significantly stronger. Trish hates it!! I bought a case of 30 cans which brought the price down to $1.40 a can [including shipping]. That is cheaper than you can buy it in the UK. Happy Days!

Benediction

2008-05-15T11:44:00.003-04:00

Last night as I was wrapping up a meeting I prayed a benediction. It was a spontaneous prayer that I have been reflecting on. The more I think about it, the more I want to pray it for my life and for my friends:

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ fall like rain upon you
May the love of God our Father burn like a fire around you
May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be a light drawing you.

All your days,
AMEN.

Simply Christian - Pt. 1

2008-04-29T20:11:00.005-04:00

Here's a tip: if you see that a book is authored by N.T. Wright you better buckle down because it is Bishop Wright's academic work. If you see that the book is penned by Tom Wright then it is his populist writing that is designed to engage a wider audience. One man with the ability to craft his words for difference readers. That being said Simply Christian is a truly brilliant piece of work. It is full of generosity and genius. There are times when you have to re-read a paragraph to grasp the weight of the words and concepts contained within.

As I am reading the book, it reminds me of the way the Apostle Paul writes and builds his arguments in the Book of Romans. It is divided into sections with a very logical, but easy structure. In section 1, Tom unpacks 4 different "echoes of a voice", yearnings inside each of us that point to something greater:

The longing for justice
The quest for spirituality
The hunger for relationships
The delight in beauty

This was a interesting way to begin. Typically, Christian apologetics focus on several different lines of arguments, Cosmological, Teleological, Ontological, Pharmaceutical [ok, just kidding on the last one]. From hearing Tom speak at Spring Harvest, I quickly realized that he is totally engaged in unpacking the Christian faith in a Post Modern context. The start of this book solidifies that opinion. He doesn't attack the critics of Christianity head-on, in fact there is no hint of defensiveness. Rather, he takes a different tact, one that I found deeply engaging and at times moving.

The second section, focuses on telling the story of Christianity from the perspective of its principle characters [God, Israel, Jesus etc.]. The third section, which I haven't got to yet, talks about how to walk and live it all out.

Hasn't disappointed at all so far!

3 Books 10 days

2008-04-26T10:56:00.006-04:00

Those of you who know me well know that I like to read on a wide variety of subjects, but don't devour books the way some do. But there are three books I have wanted to read for a while, and have decided to take the challenge of working through all three concurrently. They are:

The Forgotten Ways by Alan Hirsch

My friend Don Williams first recommended this book to me. Don is one of the brightest minds I know and for a man in his 70s has a wonderful ability to think critically about where the church is headed, while expressing that with amazing grace. My guess from flicking through it is that it is a book that fuses theology, sociology, ecclesiology, missiology.

Simply Christianity by Tom Wright

Meeting Tom Wright in the UK was one of the highlights of my trip a couple of weeks ago. I have many friends who have read and loved this book. I have been looking for a book that could be a springboard to not only a study of post modern apologetics, but also an introduction to faith class that we could teach at HC.

Missional Church edited by Darrell L. Guder

This was a book I recently stumbled upon in our HC resource room. It had never been opened, but it made me curious for a few reasons. First, it was written over 10 years ago and yet seems to speak to many of the themes the church is wrestling through today. Sometimes when a book is written ahead of a wave it carries with it a prophetic clarity. Second, it is written by a team of church leaders; people who live in the glorious complexity of everyday life in the church. Third, it has a focus on missional church in North America. I like the focus on looking at the intersection of faith and culture in America. It will be interesting to see whether they acknowledge the huge diversity in US culture today [more about that another time].

740 pages in 10 days, not too bad! However, it is my goal not just to jump through the pages, but rather spend time thinking and blogging about how these three books relate to one another.

This week I have been...

2008-04-19T14:37:00.007-04:00

Enjoying the warmer weather [see bottom right of display]
Falling asleep at 9:30pm most nights!
Mapping out some sermons for the future
Recording a track to be played under "Happy Day"
Catching up on lots of email
Doing a little landscaping and clean-up at the HC work day
Catching up on some Mexican food
Missing Indian food
Enjoying doing little things with Trish & the kids
Learning how to use IMAP
Blown away by how good gmail and google calendaring is
Thinking about how to shape ministries at HC
Amazed at Korg giving 512 new sounds for my keyboard for free
Surviving a minor earthquake!

Spring Harvest Video Montages

2008-04-12T19:19:00.001-04:00

Here is a quick montage I put together:

Here is a video montage by the tech guys during setup. I think there were about 8 semis worth of equipment unloaded.

Spring Harvest Day Six & Travel

2008-04-11T20:59:00.009-04:00

The highlight of the last session was being joined by Psalm Drummers. It all began with Raul D'Olivera leading a call to worship on djembe and trumpet. He can play trumpet like no other person I know or have heard. We then launched into a version of "Be thou my vision" with the Psalm Drummers. It was fairly epic!

After the final worship set complete with the songs we had taught [Oh Happy Day, As morning dawns] things drew to a close. Equipment was torn apart, hugs were exchanged, pictures taken. I will write some reflections about SH next week when I have had a little bit of time to catch up.

Phil Barker [who played Bass all week] gave me a lift to London. We filled up his minivan with suitcases and equipment. We had a great few hours talking about Iona [the band he is in], as well as family life etc.

I met my Dad in London and we went to see Vantage Point at the cinema/theater [depending on which side of the Atlantic you are reading this]. The first 60 minutes were amazing, the last 15 minutes were lame! We then found a great Indian restaurant near Heathrow and I had a very nice Chicken Tikka Marsala and Garlic Naan. A very satisfactory way to finish a trip.

Friday morning we got up at 5:15am [GMT] and went to LHR.
I managed to get a great seat, bulk head in Economy Plus. I spent about 5 and a 1/2 hours working and typing my sermon for Sunday AM at Heartland. It made the flight pass quickly. During the last 2 hours of flight I watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets, it was quite entertaining.

It was a miracle I made it to Fort Wayne. American Airlines had been canceling flights all week and weather became a factor in the afternoon, but nevertheless I arrived in Fort Wayne about 45 minutes late. It was fantastic to see Trish and the kids.

Spring Harvest Day Five

2008-04-09T17:49:00.005-04:00

It is about 11pm here in Skegness and I am in the team lounge. It was another full and interesting day. We had the last Big Start celebration first thing this morning. Because we didn't need to do a rehearsal today I took the opportunity to walk along the beach with my friend Jason from the band.

I then did an interview with BBC Radio about worship, as well as the concept behind Presence school of worship. I also spent some time this afternoon with Jeff Lucas talking about communication, church leadership, leading meetings, setting sermon series for calendar. I was a really helpful and thought provoking conversation and I think one that will continue into the future.

Tonight, people came so ready to worship, it makes the lives of worship leaders so easy [you remember the analogy from sailing last week]. Jeff L. preached. Apart from being probably the funniest preacher in the world, his message was full of grace and so much content. Many people became Christians tonight. I was leading worship during the response, towards the end of the evening I was singing "How Great is our God" and thousands of people who pouring out their hearts in praise to our amazing God. I suddenly had the urge to pinch myself. The reality of the privilege of leading God's people in worship, whether there are tens or thousands, came zooming into focus at that moment.

We have one more celebration tomorrow morning that includes communion and then head to London. I fly very, very early on Friday. There is a possibility I might not have web access until I get home on Friday night. I will post a video of snippets from SH by the weekend.

Spring Harvest Day Four

2008-04-09T06:23:00.005-04:00

Day four was really fun. It began with "The Big Start" multi-generational gathering. We had 30 minutes to learn a new song with the musicians & dancers. I actually learned the melody while eating a bowl of oatmeal! The planning meetings have increasing felt less like meetings as we get to know each other. The drama and dance teams are exceptional people who have national reputations. Some of their work has been astounding at times.

I spent much of the afternoon preparing for the late night event, including working on the piece I wrote at Glenwood last week. During the rehearsal and the event I used Jason's [who is playing Sax/Whistles in our band] Irish Whistles as they are better than mine. It made a huge difference in intonation and tone. I am going to get some over the next few months before I record Rest Liturgy II. On the main stage during worship and in the late night event I have used my in-ear monitors [Shure E5s]. They are fantastic in-ears, but they have never sounded like this before. I hear a stereo mix that is so well mixed by the monitor engineers that it is like listening to a better mix than on a CD. It helps the voice and also helps to play more accurately. It is an inner-audio delight: the little things in life that make us happy! The front of house sound in the main venue is so punchy it rocks and yet the volume is so moderate. That's what happens when you have the right people and the right equipment!

The evening session was exciting. I taught the contemporary version of "All Creatures of our God & King", people engaged with it so quickly, it was a cool moment in worship. They have picked up on "As morning dawns [Your name]" really well. Sue led the response so well with "Consuming Fire".

The late night event was an hour that I split between playing instrumental tracks and singing songs I had written. I hardly ever do this kind of thing so I really enjoyed it. I spent some time with people afterwards, one woman told me that during "Come Home" she committed her life to follow Jesus. God always does something lovely and surprising in these "soaking" events.

I finally got to bed at 1am with a tired body, but a content heart.

Spring Harvest Day Three

2008-04-07T16:48:00.003-04:00

The highlight of today was spending 20 minutes one on one with NT "Tom" Wright. Tom is the Bishop of Durham and one of the clearest articulators of theology today. When you are with him you realize quickly that while he is known for his brilliant mind, he is also gentle, caring and passionate.

Tonight he preached on main stage out of Luke 4. He began by talking about how the church has got most its theology from the Apostle Paul's writing and lowered the gospel to some nice stories. He urged churches to return the centrality of the gospels and then interpret the rest of scripture from there. I am a huge proponent of this type of Biblical interpretation, some call it a Christocentric view of Scripture: you start with Jesus and work from there. He unpacked Jesus' statements about Himself from Isaiah and what it means in today's world. It was predictably brilliant, perhaps a little chunkier than Spring Harvest is used to, but I loved it.

The rest of the day was filled with leading worship, going to planning meetings etc. I spent an hour with Tim & Helen Cutting. Tim & Helen were leading Glenwood Church when we moved to Cardiff. They moved to England shortly after. We had not a long conversation for nearly 20 years! It was good to share stories of how God has had His hand on our lives and what He is doing today.

Tomorrow is my longest day. I begin at 7:45am and finish at 12:30am. I will fill you in on the details tomorrow. Again when I was leaving the main venue I took a picture of the art that was painted tonight. It is hard to see from this pic, but this is a huge painting.

Spring Harvest Day Two

2008-04-06T17:20:00.004-04:00

It was a full, productive, fulfilling, but freezing day! Much of England got hit with snow today.

The day began at 8am when we prepared and led 'The Big Start', a multi-generational gathering that happens each morning. After a couple of planning meetings we led "A new songs workshop". About 1000 musicians and worship leaders came as we taught some of the new songs we are singing. Sue and I did it together. One funny moment happened when I sang the first line of "Even though I walk through the valley... [Oh no you never let go...], instead of singing valley, I sung "belly"! It suddenly became Jonah's theme song!

We then rehearsed and led the evening celebration. There were four things that stood to me:

1. The Watoto Children's choir from Africa. I had seen them before at SH, but they are amazing.
2. A live conference call with an Anglican minister in Baghdad. He had seen a colleague shot and killed yesterday. We were able to pray for him as part of the service. I love how connected SH is with the church worldwide. The offering this year is to buy 5 million Bibles for people who don't have them.
3. The way Jeff Lucas leads meetings. He is so good at it. It was like being at a leadership masterclass watching him.
4. The way worship really flew tonight. We taught Amazing Grace [My chains are gone] and Mighty to Save [Everyone needs compassion]. People were right there in the songs. I also led some classics In Christ Alone/My Jesus, My Saviour] and Sue led How great is our God, the atmosphere of thousands singing their hearts out to Jesus with anthems of praise is pretty amazing to experience.

I am trying to pace my energy levels and drinking lots of honey, lemon and hot water to keep the vocal cords in decent shape.

Spring Harvest Night One

2008-04-05T17:32:00.006-04:00

We have made it through setup, line checking, sound checking, rehearsing, planning and then leading night one. We sang classics like "Your love is amazing" and "Forever" as well as teaching "As morning dawns [Your Name]". People were pretty engaged considering most have travelled from around the UK and even different parts of Europe.

As part of the gathering tonight was a video that followed up from last year's event. Last year a staggering $2 million was raised during Spring Harvest. It was focused on helping ministries that stop human trafficking. This is one of fastest growing international crime problems in the world. Stop the Traffik was created to help stem the tide of this crime.

As I was leaving tonight I grabbed a picture of the art project that was created during worship. There are some really talented people around.

Time to sleep. Busier day tomorrow.

Here at SH

2008-04-04T15:09:00.005-04:00

I made it to Spring Harvest. The roads were busy, but I had a decent journey. 45 miles per gallon: would have been a little higher if I had not some stop/start traffic on the M5 and had driven a little slower at other times : ) I could go into a long rant about fuel efficiency on cars in US, but I will save that for another time.

I am here a night early so I popped into to the Big Top to see Geraldine Latty leading worship. They were rocking out to "Celebrate good times...", the place went absolutely nuts. I would have got it on video, but my battery was dead! We begin sound checking tomorrow lunchtime.

Setup & Composition

2008-04-04T07:48:00.005-04:00

I am leaving Cardiff and driving to Skegness. If you click on the map you will get an idea of the geography of the UK. It is a little under 5 hour drive.

I am driving a VW Passat rental car. I drive a Passat at home and am curious what kind of mileage I will get on this turbo diesel. Will let you know later.

I have uploaded a video that shows my equipment setup and gives a preview of a song I have been working on. I will probably do it as part of the late night event next week and will work on it some more for Rest Liturgy II.

Here it is:

Thursday in the studio

2008-04-03T17:01:00.002-04:00

I spent about 9 hour straight working on writing music and getting ready for Spring Harvest. I will try and upload a video of some of the stuff tomorrow. I am off for an early night. I am not feeling 100% tonight and so want to get a good 10 hrs sleep in. No big deal, but trying to be smart. Trivia Fact: do you know there are many physicians who believe that adequate sleep is nearly as important as diet and exercise when it comes to weight loss.

Connect Four

2008-04-02T17:41:00.005-04:00

Today I had four encounters. During the day, I met with three guys I love and respect a great deal. All of them are as diverse in personality and style from each other as they could be, and yet I can say without any exaggeration that they have all in different ways have made massive impact into the church in many nations throughout the world.

I then spent the evening with my Dad, my sister Becky & her fiancee Tris. We had a great thai curry together.

After two days of networking, tomorrow I turn my heart, head, hands squarely on Spring Harvest. I have got songs to look at, a late night event to prepare, arrangements to write etc. I am going to try and write a new piece that I can use at the late night event. I have quietly been working on Rest Liturgy II. I am hoping it might be released before the end of 2008.

Before all that I am going to have breakfast with Ben Franks. Ben was our intern at Heartland during the first half of 2007. He is working part time for Ignite and just got back from India.

Boats, Lamposts, intersections

2008-04-01T12:44:00.007-04:00

I had a wonderful day Monday with David Oliver. We sailed out on the Solent in between Portsmouth & the Isle of Wight. The weather was amazing, sunny with a great amount of wind for sailing. David let me helm most of the day which was pretty amazing. He cooked a homemade pasta with fresh mushrooms during our sail - he is quite the cook.

I was reminded of one very important leadership lesson from the day. When there is not much wind, it is extremely difficult to sail in a straight line. Once the wind is up you only need the slightest movements to keep going in at speed in a straight line. Someone once said, "Lack of momentum makes leaders look worse than they really are, momentum makes leaders look better than they are".

Here's a quick video I made late last night:

This morning it was off to Oxford, then to Cheltenham and finally back to Cardiff. In Oxford I met with my friend Laura and we chatted about lots of interesting stuff. Walking back to my car I she showed me the college where CS Lewis taught. Outside the door he exited everyday is a lampost. It inspired the lampost in The Chronicles of Narnia. On the door opposite there were two gold statues of fawns and a carving of lion in the center. This is where his imagination crafted the idea of Aslan and the interaction with fawns in the book.

In Cheltenham I met with Neil Bennetts. He is a great worship leader and I have recommended his blog several times. Neil was Nae Lippett's friend and mentor and I was talking about his legacy that has been seen through Nae in the life of others at Heartland.

Sunday: Glenwood, Nigel & Portsmouth

2008-03-30T18:09:00.006-04:00

It was a great journey back from Heathrow last night, but even so it was a short night, compounded by the clocks going forward. I spoke this morning at Glenwood Church. This is my parent's home church in Cardiff and the church I grew up in. It's a great place. My friend Kath who sung and co-lead with me at New Wine Wales this summer was leading worship. She did a fantastic job.

It was then off to have lunch with Nigel James and my Dad. We had a very nice thai curry together in Cardiff bay. Nigel will be back in Fort Wayne in a couple of weeks preparing the team from IPFW going to India with him in the Summer. He is travelling across the back and forth across the Atlantic like a crazy guy right now with his work with Third Day. His new book has just been published.

I am now in Portsmouth on the South coast of England. I spent some time tonight with my Dad's Mum, Dad, Aunt & Uncle and then will spend Monday with David Oliver. Part of the time will be a day off, the other part will be thinking about workplace ministry and the development of David's work in the USA. Both will be energizing.

T5 & Rehearsals

2008-03-29T16:32:00.007-04:00

If you have watched any news this week you will know about the very dubious opening of London's Heathrow Terminal 5. They have cancelled flights, had trouble with bags, all manner of confusion. So I decided to personally investigate! I had two extra hours spare while waiting to pick up my Dad and here I am. A couple of observations: it could be one of the most creative environments I have ever been in. It is beautiful in architecture and design. When you drive up at night it is like nothing I have seen before. Once you get inside it is so peaceful. Maybe it is because of all the flights cancelled, but it is partly due to the vibe of the place!!

I have two extra hours because we finish rehearsals early, two hours early - never happens. Ask any musician. The guys were so good, and I mean so good that we flew through 30+ songs in 7 hours. If I told you who these guys had played with you would be impressed, but I have heard it is not polite to name drop! There are some great songs we have learned, including new to me, "Happy Day" by Tim Hughes. I have uploaded a quick clip from the rehearsal of the song. We are working on finding the balance between creating tight arrangements, particularly on newer songs that might be recorded and creating structure that promotes freedom in the flow of songs. We also have Steph [BGV] and Jason [Sax/Whistles] joining us next week in Skegness. Talking of Skegness they had 3 inches of snow on Easter Sunday - very unusual!

Time now to set aside chords, arrangements, lyrics and to focus on preaching tomorrow.

The next 36 hours include...

2008-03-29T04:28:00.002-04:00

Rehearsing for about 10 hours
Driving to Heathrow to pick up my Dad
Driving to Cardiff
Losing an hour's sleep [for the 2nd time in 3 weekends]
Preaching at Glenwood Church, Cardiff
Eating lunch with Nigel James
Driving to Portsmouth
I could be a slightly mad.

Quick Rehearsal Update

2008-03-28T15:37:00.002-04:00

After a good 4 hrs today, we got through 13-14 songs, including lots of new songs. Longer day tomorrow, will try and get some pics and video.

Spring Harvest Songlist

2008-03-28T05:53:00.003-04:00

Here are the songs we will be rehearsing and playing at SH, complete with British titles and spellings:

AMAZING GRACE [MY CHAINS] / AS MORNING DAWNS (YOUR NAME) / AT THE CROSS / EVEN THOUGH I WALK / EVERY GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT / EVERYONE NEEDS COMPASSION (MIGHTY TO SAVE) / GLORY (JESUS IS) / IN THE NAME (OUR GOD SAVES) / JESUS LEAD ME / SHINE / THERE IS AN ENDLESS SONG (END TAG ONLY) / YOU STOOD (THE STAND) / WORTHY YOU ARE WORTHY / ALL GLORY TO (EVER FAITHFUL GOD) / OH HAPPY DAY / ALL AROUND YOUR THRONE / BE LIFTED UP / BE THOU MY VISION / BLESSED BE THE NAME / CONSUMING FIRE / CREATION PRAISE / DANCE, DANCE / EVERLASTING / EVERLASTING GOD (STRENGTH WILL RISE) / GIVE THANKS (FOREVER) / GOD IN MY LIVING / GOD OF WONDERS / HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD / INDESCRIBABLE / JESUS BE THE CENTRE / JESUS CHRIST I THINK (ONCE AGAIN) / JESUS YOUR BEAUTY (HOLY RIVER) / KING OF ANGELS / LET EVERYTHING / LIGHT OF THE WORLD / MY JESUS MY SAVIOUR / OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART / OVER THE MOUNTAINS / PRAISE IS RISING / THIS IS MY DESIRE / TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH (LOVE UNFAILING) / WE STAND AND LIFT UP OUR HANDS / WHAT A FRIEND / WHEN I SURVEY / WHEN THE MUSIC FADES / WHO CAN KNOW (I STAND IN AWE) / WONDERFUL / YOU ARE GOD IN HEAVEN / YOUR BLOOD / YOUR LOVE IS AMAZING / YOUR MERCY TAUGHT US (DANCING GENERATION)

Travel Thoughts

2008-03-27T08:02:00.005-04:00

I have made it to London. I slept most of the flight in a slightly awkward, is my head still attached to my body kind of way! When I got to London my bags were waiting for me. Many people get angry when their bags don’t make it. My perspective is a little different; I think it is a miracle of God that any bags get to their destination correctly! Think about it: millions of bags everyday going through an automated and human system where so many things that could go wrong, but most of the time don’t. So I made a little video to celebrate:

The other thought I had on the plane was, “When is progress good, when is it not so good?” A couple of weeks ago Emirate airlines announced that they would be allowing mobile phone usage on planes. Yesterday, the European aviation authority announced it was lifting restrictions that would make it possible to use cell phones on flights in Europe.

I love technology, I love progress, but I really wonder about this development for a couple of reasons:

Proximity: apart from a sports game, it is hard to think of a scenario where you are placed in close proximity to hundreds of other people. Can you imagine if cell phones were ringing constantly on a plane and you keep hearing “I’m on a plane…”

Connectivity: Planes create forced time away from constant connectivity. The lack of internet/cell phone access on plane forces me to do something else. No checking email, no texting. Instead, I can read a book, sleep, watch a movie, eat great food [ok, scratch the last one, I’m in the cheap seats!] It might cost $10 a flight to access these services, but I wonder if it costs us far more than we realize. The need to always be connected, always be readily available comes with a heavy price-tag. For me, I face this challenge in a different geographical context: bringing my laptop home from work.

Most of us grew up in a time before the internet, we lived through the bizarre manifestations of dial-up modems trying to connect us to the internet [sometimes it connected, often times it took multiple times]. I wonder whether subsequent generations will smile at the fact that we needed a wire connected to our computer in order to surf the net.

Today, the temptation to quickly log on and check email while watching a TV show with the kids is huge. It creates people who are not absent, but are distant. Ones who are excellent multi-taskers, but miss the opportunity to be fully present. In this age of connectivity and convergence devices, perhaps the greatest progress is knowing how to turn them off, just for a while.

Heading Out

2008-03-26T14:28:00.010-04:00

Here's my luggage. Two cases full of clothes, cables, equipment. Pretty heavy, but not heavy enough to have to pay a buggage surplus. Thankfully I am not taking a keyboard in a flight case on this trip. There have been previous times when I have hauled a 180lb keyboard around the UK for 3 weeks. Visiting the dentist would be a lot more fun.

My goals for these flights are: get some sleep, think about the message I am going to speak on Sunday, listen to some of the new song for Spring Harvest, and finally not loose my luggage or sanity!

Currently, I am at Fort Wayne airport departure lounge and am sat next to my friend Dan Utz who is heading to Alberta, Canada for a 19 day trip. We are flying to Chicago together. He is going to be speaking at churches, prisons, family events.

See you on the other side.

Reflect/Prepare

2008-03-24T17:04:00.007-04:00

It has been a very busy three weeks. First, Bringing Home the Prodigals took place in Fort Wayne. It was the first time it had happened in USA, and it was exciting to see this movement that is picking up pace around the world come here. The following week we did a live worship event/recording with Nae Lippett and Rend the Heavens at the beautiful new theater on the Sweetwater Sound campus.

Then Ben and I turned our attention to writing strings parts for our musicians from the Fort Wayne Philarmonic who joined us for Easter. It was a fun experience composing music, but it did result in a few very early starts in the office to get stuff done before. I preached from John 3:16 on Easter Sunday. What an amazing privilege to share good news of the gospel. As I prepared throughout the week I was captured again by the immensity of God's love and grace for me.

Over the last couple of days we have also confirmed that PRESENCE, our school of worship in partnership with Taylor University Fort Wayne will happen Fall 2008 and I am so excited that Geraldine Latty will be joining our speaking team. More about that later.

I am turning my attention to my trip to the UK. I leave on Wednesday for 16 days. I will be leading worship with my friend Sue Rinaldi at Spring Harvest, as well as speaking at my old home church in Cardiff, catching up with some people. I am not sure what the internet situation is at Spring Harvest, but if I can get a consistent connection, I will try and post regular updates and some video uploads. If wifi is non-existent then you will have to imagine all that is happening!

Here's a quick rundown of my itinerary:
Wed - Leave FWA
Thur - Arrive in London
Fri-Sat - Rehearse for SH
Sun - Speak at Glenwood Church
Mon - Day off sailing with David Oliver
Tuesday - Meeting in Oxford
Wednesday - Meetings in Cardiff
Thursday - Writing Day
Friday - Preparation for SH late-night event
Sat-Thurs - SH
Friday -Fly home

My mum has flown back in to help Trish with the kids for 10 days while I am gone. It is funny that I dropped my Dad off at Fort Wayne airport 2 weeks ago and I will pick him up from Heathrow in London on Saturday. It's a small world after all.

Coming & Going

2008-03-04T22:27:00.005-05:00

I am at home waiting to leave for Fort Wayne airport to pick up my friend, Nae Lippett who is flying in from Vancouver, via Detroit. However, the weather is not co-operating and it remains to be seen whether she will arrive tonight or tommorrow. Nae is here to co-lead the Bringing Home the Prodigals event this weekend and do some other creative stuff including a live concert at the new Sweetwater Sound facility.

Last weekend Marcus Green a vicar friend of mine from Wales was here as part of his sabbatical. We had a great time visiting another church, chatting about life and ministry and eating some good food.

On Thursday my Mum & Dad and Rob and Di Parsons fly in for Prodigals. It feels a little bit strange for a couple of reasons. First, we have been talking about Prodigals happening in Fort Wayne for over a year and second, I have known Rob and Dianne for over 20 years and our families grew up together, and here they are in Fort Wayne and we are working on this project together.

Several people from Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs will be flying in this weekend including Doug Otto who works in this region. We have become very friendly over the last few months as we have chatted about all kinds of random things!

Things seem to be falling in place for this weekend. Taylor University has over 100 leaders registered for the "Prodigal-Friendly Church" luncheon on Friday, and registrations are climbing rapidly for Saturday night live event.

UPDATE: Nae arrived at 11:30pm and after an epic journey through the snow we arrived home at 1am!

What I am up to this week

2008-02-18T19:01:00.005-05:00

Sometimes people ask me how my week looks. So here is how it is shaping up and the things I need to get done, in no particular order:

1. Planning and writing a message for Sunday's Multi-Generational service about the building blocks of community. I am trying to think of a creative way to unpack the concept.

2. Prepare to facilitate the class Ron normally leads going through the Gospel of Luke

3. Follow-up on my preparation for the Bringing Home the Prodigals event in Fort Wayne on March 8th.

4. Listen to 50-60 new songs for Spring Harvest. This can be somewhat tedious, but it can be useful as there could potentially be several songs that get added to our song selection at Heartland.

5. Do my taxes.

6. Work with Ben on the music/creativity for Easter. This includes writing parts for strings/brass.

7. Finalize the teaching schedule for Presence School of Worship this Fall.

8. Schedule a fall marriage retreat for Heartland with Chip & Coleen Judd.

9. Try and do something nice for Trish.

10. Lead a premarital session for a young couple [no connection between these last two!]

Sometimes I am not sure whether...

2008-02-08T17:54:00.000-05:00

I am from a very forward-thinking, innovative & progressive country or from a country made up of complete weirdos. Read on and leave me a comment with your opinion.

The Travelodge hotel chain in the United Kingdom is rolling out a new test program aimed at helping people get a good night's sleep. The method for giving guests a better snooze experience? A futuristic set of pajamas made from a material called Dermasilk, which is supposed to feel like a second skin.

According to a statement by Travelodge, the Dermasilk sleep suit "allows the skin to breathe, regulates body temperature (in hot and cold conditions) and maintains the skin's moisture balance." The Dermasilk is made from natural knitted silk, which the hotel chain claims controls body odor and is good for people who may suffer from skin disorders such as eczema and dermatitis, since it reduces the symptoms of itching and scratching.

The chain conducted a survey of 3000 British adults and found that:

* 23 percent of Brits said they suffer from itchy night clothes which stops them from getting a good night's sleep
* Being too hot / cold is a common complaint for Brits with 66 percent confirming their body temperature changes constantly throughout the night which affects their sleep pattern
* More people feel too hot (54 percent) in comparison to feeling cold (35 percent) while sleeping

Travelodge UK's sleep suit The sleepwear, which looks like something out of a sci-fi movie (maybe 1971's 'THX-1138' starring Robert Duvall), is made up of leggings, a long sleeved tee-shirt, gloves, socks and a facial mask and comes in small, medium, large and extra large sizes. Guests can choose to have the sleepwear provided when they make their hotel reservation, and they get to keep their new jammies if they like the new slumber experience.

A New Way to Watch

2008-02-04T19:17:00.001-05:00

Trish and I have decided to eliminate our FIOS TV service. The monthly fee gave us hundreds of channels [95% of which we never watched] and a HD DVR which we used not only to record, but to avoid watching commercials.

We have decided to experiment with a different model of delivery and in the process save ourselves over $500 a year. Here's how it works:

We have joined Netflixs. For a small monthly fee we can have 3 DVDs at a time. The shipping is free and the DVDs arrive in 1 day. The catalog is huge and includes DVDs, stacks of TV shows and plenty of kids stuff. We can still watch regular, local HD TV channels over an antenna.

Instead of paying for a bunch of stuff we would never watch, we think we might have found a far more cost and content effective form of media. Just as Apple's iTunes revolutionized the way we listen & pay for music, so Netflix's is changing the way we watch DVDs and archived TV shows. It will be interesting to see how new ways of watching & paying for live TV emerge.

Will let you know how it goes for us.

2008 off to a flying start

2008-01-25T22:35:00.000-05:00

My feet haven't touched the ground since I got back from the UK. It is not from being too busy, or feeling stressed, I have just got stuck in with life and am really enjoying it. I can't remember a start of a year when I felt energized, focused and challenged like I have this January.

The FOCUS week of prayer and fasting at Heartland enabled me to personally connect with God, but also set a direction and very gently begin to pick up the momentum of the church community. We have much to do, but the alternative is to paddle in the shallow end of mediocrity. There were several things that I have encouraged the church in at the start of this year. The first is that "God is giving us an invitation to come, and a responsibility to go". The second is out of Daniel 11, "Those who KNOW their God will be STRONG and do GREAT EXPLOITS". To that end, I am personally challenged to live a life that is more passionate and more influential.

I don't say this at the start of every year, but I think 2008 is going to be a year of greater clarity and understanding for Trish and I. We are praying that our hearts would be soft and humble enough to respond to the gentle promptings of God's Spirit.

You know you're in Wales for Christmas when....by Trisha Booth

2007-12-24T11:11:00.000-05:00

You know you're in Wales for Christmas when...

1. The occurrence of the sun is a weekly, sometimes monthly event
2. You step outside your house and you cannot see your hand in front of your face because the fog is so thick, yet no one around you seems to notice or mind
3. The cars are made with an extra "fog light" because it happens so frequently
4. Talking of cars, the car parking spaces are so small they would only fit Barbie cars from the States.
5. Every corner has a cool pub, coffee shop, indian restaurant or sweet shop
6. You go into a pub and are sitting next to a Welshman who is speaking "English" but you have no clue what he is saying and you just smile politiely and nod your head.
7. People dress really cool and I stick out like a sore thumb as if I have a sign around my neck that says "look at me I'm an American and I don't know what style is"
8. The proportionate number of sheep to people is about 10 to 1.
9. You go to visit Father Christmas (which we did) as oppose to Santa Claus and you wish everyone a "Happy Christmas".
10. Andy's hair color and style are NORMAL if not tame.
11. Everybody stops at 3pm on Christmas Day to gather around the TV to watch the Queen's annual speech to the nation.
12. When the supermarket's cheapest cheese tastes far better than the luxury cheeses in "Fort Fun" - aka Fort Wayne.
14. You go and see a pantomime.
15. You have Christmas Crackers on Christmas day which contains a paper crown (which you wear all day), a cheesy joke and a small gift (see below). This is not us, but a tutorial for your viewing pleasure.

The Baby & the Bathwater

2007-11-24T11:40:00.000-05:00

My friend Neil Bennetts is a worship leader in UK. A few months ago he began a new blog focused on different aspects of worship and worship leading. I have found many of the posts to be really helpful. I thought I would point you in his direction.

Click here to go to his blog

Why I love thanksgiving

2007-11-21T16:53:00.001-05:00

This is an article I wrote for the Heartland Update this week:

I think God has a sense of humor. Because I grew up in the United Kingdom, neither July 4th or Thanksgiving were part of my annual holiday tradition for fairly obvious reasons! When we moved into our previous house we discovered that our kitchen had Bicentennial tile, with images including the Liberty Bell throughout. Trish took great delight in pointing out the tile to every person who stepped across the threshold of our front door!

Over the last nine years Thanksgiving has become one of my favorite holidays. For one, I love gravy. Those who eat dinner with me know well that they should pass the gravy bowl to me last, because I will take as much as is in the bowl. If the peas are not swimming in a pool of gravy there is something wrong!

But I am also discovering how foundational Thanksgiving is to so much of life.

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations."

Eugene Peterson brilliantly paraphrases verse four, "Enter with the password: 'Thank you!'" While he is referring to entering God’s presence in worship, the password "thank you" unlocks other places, including perhaps the most elusive: contentment. The posture of thanksgiving counter-acts some of the cultural norms of today, including pride, complacency, and criticism.

Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," has an unusual picture hanging on his office wall. It is a picture of a turtle on top of a fence post. When asked about it, Alex answered, "Every time I write something significant, every time I read my words and think that they are wonderful, and begin to feel proud of myself, I look at the turtle on top of the fence post and remember that he didn’t get there on his own. He had help."

Notice how many times God is referred to in Psalm 100. Roland Allen tells about a veteran missionary who came up to him one day after he had delivered his sermon. The missionary introduced himself and said, "I was a medical missionary for many years in India. And I served in a region where there was progressive blindness. People were born with healthy vision, but there was something in that area that caused people to lose their sight as they matured."

But this missionary had developed a process that would arrest progressive blindness. So people came to him and he performed his operation. They would leave realizing that they would have become blind, but now they were going to be able to see for the rest of their lives.

He said that they never said, "Thank you," because that phrase was not in their dialect. Instead, they spoke a word that meant, "I will tell your name." Wherever they went, they would tell the name of the missionary who had cured their blindness. They had received something so wonderful that they eagerly proclaimed it.

My first Thanksgiving was spent in Sarasota, Florida, by the pool. It didn’t feel quite right; I had heard so many stories of how Thanksgiving needs to be celebrated in cold weather, watching football! Later that day I came to the realization that I was compartmentalizing my response. Not just in this moment, but generally. Here is how my mind would work, “If I feel like this, then I will respond like this."

Like many other things thanksgiving is not an emotion itself, it is an act of the will that results in an emotion. Paul urges us in his letter to the Thessalonians to "give thanks in all circumstances because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." Paul is not being flippant or trying to minimize difficult circumstances of life. Think about how much tough stuff he went through himself. He is just encouraging us to press forward through thanksgiving, rather than retreat into cynicism.

When I am having a bad day, I will sometimes take a blank sheet of paper and begin to list 10 things I am thankful for. It is a discipline because nothing in me wants to do it. Here is what invariably happens: the first few things I write are generic and obvious and they don’t affect my emotions. But then I will write a few more, and then often something will pop into my mind that I hadn't thought of and a small smile might appear. Getting the rest of the way to ten comes pretty quick, but I can’t stop because I now have 11 or 12 things. Who writes a list of 11 things?! So I keep going and more often that not I have filled my paper with dozens and dozens of things. My whole mood has altered and the atmosphere in the room has tangibly lightened.

This season find space to stop long enough, to look at what God has done, and the perhaps write something in response. Have a wonderful week.

Rhianna Joy

2007-11-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

Rhianna Online Album

2007-10-25T15:43:00.000-04:00

I have uploaded some more of the pics from the last couple of days. You can see them by clicking here.

Update: I have added some more pics now that we are all home.

Rhianna Joy Booth

2007-10-24T15:41:00.000-04:00

Rhianna came into the world at 2:46pm on October 24th, 2007. She is 6 pounds 6 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Trish did wonderfully well. Rhianna is a Welsh name meaning Princess.

Here are a couple of pics that were taken a couple of minutes after she was born. More to follow...

Awaiting the arrival

2007-10-24T02:37:00.000-04:00

3:42am - After 8 weeks on bedrest and 12 days off bedrest Trish woke me up at 1am and we are at the hospital. We are both going to try and get a little sleep. More soon...

7:07am - Things have slowed down, so it looks like we are in for a long day!

9:04am - Apart from feeling really tired, Trish is doing good. We are not expecting to see the Dr until lunchtime. We are off for a walk [down the hallways]. BTW, the hospital has amazing omelettes.

12:24pm - They have given Trish some medicine to accelerate labor. All is well.

1:33pm - The medicine is working and things are speeding up. Trish's sister, Heather has arrived to join the party!

Kingdom Life Preparation

2007-10-12T10:06:00.000-04:00

We are working through a new series on Sunday mornings at Heartland called "Kingdom Life". Last week Ben gave a historical overview of the Kingdom. My assignment is to frame the next several week's messages. I am asking the question: What is the Christian life and how does it relate to the Kingdom?

I am trying to find a balance between being too global and too micro. Here is the outline I am landing on. I am not sure if it a one or two week message, we will see.

Conversion [changing sovereignties/surrending to the rule of the King]
Connection [with the heart of God/worship & identity – a dialogue]
Conflict [breakthrough/battle, sanctification]
Calling [ambassadors of the King/extending the Kingdom]

I am finding as I study the Kingdom again, and I have been giving lots of time to reading and writing my heart is stirred with the immensity of God's grace, and the immensity of the challenge of following Him.

It is my goal to challenge two groups of people. One, those who have had very little teaching, understanding of what the Kingdom is, particularly how it relates to Salvation. The second are those who have been around Heartland a longtime. Heartland used to be a Vineyard church and therefore the teachings of John Wimber, who built on the theological work of George Ladd, created an environment where the paradigm of the Kingdom was an integral part of Church. For the most part this group has the theology down, but we need to be stirred again to express a more radical, faith -filled life as ambassadors of the King where in the words of John Wimber "everyone gets to play" and we all can "do the stuff".

It has also been my goal that we embed Kingdom Theology into everyday life. I am reminded that this is always how Paul wrote his books. One minute he is talking about a characteristics of a transcendent God and His workings in history, the next he is calling husbands to love their wives. The best theology is explained in the context of human relationships.

I have been reading George Ladd's Gospel of the Kingdom [a succinct masterpiece], Breakthrough by Derek Morphew [written primarily for Pastors - probably the book I would give to leaders] and Don Williams' Start Here [the alpha course for the Kingdom]. In primarily reading these three books I am finding very common themes, expressed for three different environments.

Trish Health Update and Video Tribute

2007-10-04T10:22:00.000-04:00

Trish is 35 weeks on Friday. Overall things have been going well. The medicine she has been taking this week has made her feel pretty rough, but has continued to have an amazing attitude. The doctor is talking about taking her off bedrest at the end of next week. The thought of getting out her bed and her brown recliner fills Trish with much excitement. It is humbling the amount of support we have received from our family and friends

During this period I have learned how much Moms do. So I have included this video as a tribute to Trish!

Renewal Week

2007-09-12T06:45:00.000-04:00

This week Ben Sternke and I are leading Renewal Week at Taylor University Fort Wayne. It is first time the university has decided to partner with a local church for this annual event. Basically, the idea is to gather the students and faculty together for a week focused on raising the spiritual temperature on campus. Some of you might remember Nigel James from Ignite spoke at this in the past.

This week the theme is "The King of the Kingdom" and we are looking at the themes of worship, transformation and covenant. We are trying to focus on the internal work of transformation, rather than the outward signs of spiritual renewal. Ben and I are tag-teaming the chapel teachings, and we have different worship leaders from Heartland plugging in through the week.

We have also tried to create some variety in the program. On Monday night we facilitated an Immersive Worship Event. It was a multi-layered, multi-sensory event that looked focused on Jesus. We broke it into four parts: Jesus' incarnation, Jesus' life and ministry, Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus' ascension and reign. It was a very new experience for much of the student body to be a worship environment like that.

On Wednesday Ben is facilitating a spiritual formation discussion following on from Wednesday's chapel. On Thursday night I am leading an event called "Space and Silence". It all wraps up with communion at the end of the final chapel on Friday morning.

We have also compiled daily prayers and Bible readings for each day of the week. Ben and I are learning the value of corporate readings and prayers in creating consistent worship rhythms and community-wide intentionality.

It has been great to work with Tony Opiger. Tony is a long time friend of Trish and I and recently was appointed the campus chaplain at Taylor University Fort Wayne. Ironically, Ben Gates, campus ministry at IPFW is announcing Pioneer, a leadership training course based on Ignite's leadership academy. Ben Gates developed the concept of this while being in Cardiff with Nigel James and Gary Smith. We have been involved in helping Ben facilitate this event. I will write more about it another time. It is exciting to see the relationships and Kingdom fruit being developed out of those connections.

Trish Health Update - week 31

2007-09-08T12:45:00.000-04:00

This has been the best week for Trish. The contractions have settled some. It seems bedrest is doing its job. We are thankful for everyday that has passed, and continuing to take each day as it comes. Thanks for the prayers and support.

Trisha Health Update - Week 29

2007-08-24T12:23:00.000-04:00

Trish is 29 weeks pregnant today. We went to the Doctor's yesterday and had an encouraging report. The labor has not progressed any further and they are very hopeful this status will continue. Trish continues to be on bed rest at home and we are learning to live a different kind of rhythm as a family. We have received so much love and help over the last week from family and friends.

Please do pray that the contractions will continue to subside, that Trish will be able to sleep at night and for the safe development and birth of the baby.

Trisha Health Update

2007-08-16T15:09:00.000-04:00

This morning we went to the doctor and they immediately sent us to the Hospital. Trish is pregnant with our third child. She has been having contractions for weeks, but over the last week they have been more severe. The baby is only 28 weeks old.

We sent out word to ask people to pray. They gave Trish steroids to help speed up the development of the baby's lungs. They also gave Trish strong medicine to stop the labor. We were fully expecting that Trish would be in hospital for at least a few days, or possibly as long as the pregnancy lasted, up to 8-10 weeks. That was a daunting thought for both of us. Thankfully, the Doctor sent us home four hours later.

Trish will continue to be on strict bed rest. Thanks to those of you who have already prayed. Please do continue to pray for us in this season as we figure out this new rhythm of life.

UK Album uploaded

2007-08-15T16:29:00.000-04:00

I have uploaded my album from the UK trip onto my facebook page. It includes the conference, plus a trip to Llanelli [where I was raised] and a day in London with Sue Rinaldi. Enjoy! Click Here to see the pics.

The Battle

2007-08-11T13:57:00.000-04:00

I am going to be away from internet for the next few days, so I thought I would give you a little bit of entertainment. I know you won't have seen anything like this before!

Leave a comment with a caption for this video. Or if you are feeling very spiritual a Bible reference : )

Friday/Saturday Update

2007-08-11T06:29:00.000-04:00

I am back in Cardiff after New Wine Wales wrapped up yesterday [more about that in a moment]. I had a very late night in Cardiff as Dan Willig caught the 1:30am coach out of Cardiff. Dan was amazing on this trip. His drumming was creative, consistent and sensitive. His attitude was flawless and he really got touched by God. All in all he was a star!

I spent the morning meeting with one of the church leaders in Cardiff talking about possible projects for collaboration on over the next couple of years. Could be fun!

10 things I think I think about New Wine Wales 2007:

1. This conference feels like year 1, not year 11.

2. The nature of this conference makes for great teaching in the sessions, but more importantly for me wonderful connections to happen with other leaders in the informal times. 3 hours one on one with Don Williams was priceless. I would pay to go to the conference, and even not do anything ministry wise if it was possible to have these kinds of encounters. The opportunity of developing these kinds of relationships with RT Kendall, David Parker and Bill Johnston over the next couple of years would be great.

3. I would describe the people who come to this event as unpretentious, and having a deep hunger for God and soft hearts.

4. The weather this week was fantastic. Several days it was high 70s and sunny. The mist in the morning and the stars at night were pretty breathtaking as well.

5. It was like being in the school of leadership all over again watching Bruce Collins function this week.

6. I miss when Trish is not around. I love partnering with her. She is a star in making space and sacrificing so much for me to travel.

7. Gary Smith did so well leading the team in Nigel's absence. Nigel left a big hole, but the team stepped up well.

8. The multi-generation celebration on Friday morning was conceptually brilliant. We have a lot to learn in this area.

9. There were significant healings this week and great testimonies from last year.

10. I really love leading worship, and I love to see others flourish in the creative giftings God has put inside them. Some developed, some embryonic. God has been so good to me.

I lead worship tomorrow morning in Cardiff, and then head straight to London. It is going to be great to spend 36 hours with Nick Robison in Cardiff. He heads to Purdue University next week. I have had the privilege of spending the last 6 years mentoring him, nearly every week. So many people told me he was excellent preaching on Wednesday night in the Ignite Venue at New Wine Wales.

Wednesday Update

2007-08-09T02:57:00.000-04:00

I am writing this at 11:50pm on Wednesday, August 8th 2007 [although I won’t get to post it until the morning]. Today I have been married to Trish for 8 years. She is an amazing woman. The longer we are married the more I understand God’s wonderful plan for us to share lives together. I love her deeply. She is a devoted wife and an fantastic mom.

Here in the UK, the conference continues to surprise and delight. Kenny Borthwick spoke last night. He has a unique gifting to call people out of a life of shame. He is seeing great things happen in an extremely, needy part of Scotland. Also last night I ran a soaking worship event. I have done something similar over the last couple of years and they have been some of my favorite times. This year I partnered with Zach, Jenny, Dan Willig, Nick Robison, Ben Franks, and Lois Richards [who has spent time in Fort Wayne]. We used the DVD I put together for Presence and then I played over people. The whole theme was out of Isaiah 40, Zach put together a great PowerPoint. We ended with an activation where we prayed over people. It was great to see deep, deep ministry happening all across the environment.

Today, I spent a couple of hours with Don Williams. He is perhaps the leading theologian of the Vineyard Movement. It was such a helpful time talking about leadership, church, ecclesiology, worship, life. He probably quoted John Wimber 30-40 times, including some priceless quotes. Don is 70 and has retired from leading a church full-time, but is writing, networking and speaking. He is a wonderful, wise and kind man who doesn’t carry an ounce of cynism about church or life. I also found out he wrote a book on Bob Dylan!

Tonight we had a blowout worship session, including a choir for some of it. It has been so fun leading worship all week. I love the times of intimacy, the times of declaration, the times of celebration, the times of reflection, the times of hearing what God might be saying and singing it over people.

Physically I feel great. Normally, by this time of the week in a long conference my body is struggling and my vocal chords are slightly shot. This week through prayer and some stewarding of my voice it has been fine. Spiritually, I have received far more than I have given and so feel quite renewed. I can’t wait to see Trish and the boys.

Tuesday Update

2007-08-07T02:41:00.000-04:00

I have been coming to New Wine Wales since its inception [actually I was at the leader’s conference that preceded the very first conference]. During the last 11 or 12 years there have been some lovely conferences. Great teaching, wonderful ministry and good worship. This year’s New Wine Wales has been very different than any other year for a couple of reasons. The first is that the team is being led by Bruce Collins. While being the one of the most gifted and insightful leaders I have ever met, after getting to know him closely over the last few years he is one of the people that fits Paul’s definition of a leader in that I can honestly say “his character is above reproach”. Under his leadership it feels as though the conference and indeed the nation has a new Father. Everything else is slotting into place as a result and things are really picking up speed.

The second reason is the type of speakers and the messages they bring. Typically in the past the speakers would be seasoned ministers who would speak out of a rich experience and there would be lots to learn. This year many of the speakers have been Church leaders in Wales seeing amazing happen in their cities. There have been some stunning stories. It has brought a new edgy, prophetic element to the conference and suddenly for the first time, New Wine Wales conference feels like it is really relevant to what God is saying and doing in the whole nation. It has become a networking hub for the whole Church in Wales and a place for the deep call for revival to once again come. Of course Don Williams, who I wrote about in the previous post is still unpacking the Kingdom in his kind, gentle and brilliant way. And there are some great and very well known international speakers lined up for the next two years.

I am full of anticipation of what might happen in and through this event in years to come. It is now not just a place for renewal, it is a place for God’s word to the nation to be shared, dialogued about and put into practice.

On a more immediate note, we really made great strides in worship last night. Focusing on worship in Revelation the level of participation was fantastic. Karen Lowe who spoke used to babysit me when I was a toddler. Aren’t the relationships in the Body of Christ weird?!

Sunday Update

2007-08-05T06:31:00.000-04:00

It is Sunday morning in Builth Wells. The weather is absolutely stunning. New Wine Wales is off to a fast start. People have come ready to worship.

It has been a busy 24 hours. Working with a new band, leading two sessions and speaking at the young adult venue. The challenge is teaching new songs early enough in the week so that they get sown into the DNA of the conference, while also singing enough songs that are familiar so people feel comfortable in worship.

Don Williams, spoke this morning. It was classic Vineyard Kingdom of God theology, absolutely brilliant. I think that Don, Derek Morphew, Bruce Collins, George Ladd and NT Wright have the ability to unpack this topic [with differing style and at times different emphases] in ways that have changed my theology and life.

Remember the way to measure legacy from a couple of weeks ago: the influence of the person you are influencing. By that definition John Wimber's legacy is as strong as ever. His passion for the King and seeing the King's people released for ministry is weaved into the fabric of everything that is happening here this week.

It is really good to be here.

Friday Update

2007-08-03T07:36:00.000-04:00

I spent the morning having breakfast with Gary Smith from Ignite. We arranged to meet at 9am. I love that about the UK. If someone wants to have a breakfast meeting in Fort Wayne it is usually between 6:30am and 8:00am! I have decided that 9am is a very civilized time to have a breakfast meeting.

I am just about to head up to Glenwood Church in Cardiff to do an afternoon of rehearsal with the vocalists for New Wine Wales. Then I'm off to the bus station to pick up Dan Willig. We head up to Builth Wells first thing in the morning to sound check and rehearse and the conference starts on Saturday night.

I spent nearly four hours awake last night with jet lag, but it did give me the opportunity to provisionally pick the setlists for the first weekend. Please pray I sleep over the next couple of nights to get my body in-sync. In looking at the setlists it is a balance between introducing songs early in the week so they can be learned and embraced vs. picking songs that people are comfortable with so they can engage in worship right away.

Here are the draft setlists:
Sat PM Ideas:
Hosanna – F
Everlasting God – Bb
King of Angels – G
King of Kings, Majesty – G - - A
Breathe – A
Holy God – B
I worship you, Almighty God - G

Sun AM Ideas:
Everlasting – B
Holy God – B
All creatures of our God & King – D
Draw me close to you – A [What a friend I’ve found tag]
Now come alive - D

Sun PM Ideas:
King of Angels – G
Dancing Generation - D
You are God - D
Open the eyes of my heart - E
How great is our God – A [How great thou art]
Majesty – A
God in my living – B

Off to a nice start!

2007-07-31T14:36:00.001-04:00

I am in the Fort Wayne Airport Business Center [ie. 5 desks with power supplies] and complimentary wifi - nice touch! Things for my trip have got off to a nice start. My bags were a little overweight and I wasn't charged and I asked to be upgraded and a very nice United Agent obliged.

Jake is 4 and a half and it gets harder for him when people leave, and that makes it tough on his Dad. Meanwhile, Eli is 2 and has an amazing little personality, the downside is that he is at that age of terrorizing people and possessions! When Dad leaves that makes it harder on Trish - pray for her over the next couple of weeks.

This is the longest I have been away from the UK [12 months], but over the next six months I will be there 3 times: this trip, vacation at Christmas with the whole family [including a 5-7 week old little girl - depending when she appears!] and then in April with Sue Rinaldi for Spring Harvest.

How I pick songs to lead worship

2007-07-18T10:31:00.000-04:00

I am preparing to lead worship at New Wine Wales. I have the task of picking 70-80 songs to potentially use at the event. When I pick songs I base my decision on primarily three criteria:

1. Theology
2. Singability/Musicality
3. Familiarity/Popularity

When evaluating the songs that are sung in a Church it has to be done over a season [minimum of 3 months], rather than taking a snapshot of a specific service or gathering. My definition of a lead worshiper is one who helps remove the hindrances so people can connect with God. Hindrances can be very practical, ie. the environment of the setting, but sometimes the hindrance can be theological. If we are not singing and expressing the breadth of God's character, but instead solely focusing on one area then we are not creating the space for full and deep worship. Balancing the themes of transcendence and immanence is one example.

One question I often ask myself, "Who are the modern hymn writers of today who articulate theology in great lyrics and music?" Obviously Stuart Townsend [In Christ Alone/How deep the Father's Love] is a the most well-known one, but my friend Neil Bennetts is another. He has written some great songs. Here are the lyrics of a song called "O Perfect Love".

Verse 1:
O perfect love, o perfect sacrifice,
Fountain of life poured out for me,
What heights and depths of heavens mercy
The faithfulness that I believe
And to whom shall I run, and in whom shall I hide
Only You hold the truth I desire
O perfect love, my prayer shall ever be
To be found in Jesus

Verse 2:
O perfect love, O perfect mystery,
You were condemned, but I go free,
What truth to know, that I can rest upon,
Your perfect love has covered me.
And what can this heart know, and what can this heart tell
But of grace that has rescued me,
O perfect love, my prayer shall ever be,
To be found in Jesus.

Verse 3:
O perfect love, forever I shall sing
Of heavens gates flung wide for me
Where fear of death and tears of hopelessness
Are swallowed up in victory;
And what praise shall be sung still to the Holy One
To the Saviour, Redeemer and King,
O perfect love, my song shall ever be
I am found in Jesus

It is fast becoming one of my favorite songs. Nice one Neil!

July 4th: Things I love about America

2007-07-04T09:31:00.000-04:00

It was 9 years ago this week that I first visited Fort Wayne. So I thought I would list 10 things I love about America [in no particular order of significance]:

1. Space - Britain is a small, cramped island. America is big, spacious country.
2. Great customer service.
3. Cost of living. [House prices, food, electronics, gas/petrol]
4. Free refills in drinks [with ice!]
5. The Entrepreneurial nature of many Americans.
6. The distinct four weather season in Indiana.
7. My American Family and Friends [including my Father-in-law who hunts with a bow - marinated Venison Burgers are amazing].
8. American Football.
9. In contrast to British reservedness, American will share their opinions freely.
10. My American Wife [who told me to write this!]

Nehemiah, Facebook, Flames of Fire

2007-06-24T16:33:00.000-04:00

Here are a few divergent thoughts:

This morning Ben and I wrapped our series at Heartland working through the Book of Nehemiah. I really enjoyed both studying and teaching it. We will probably work through a smaller book of the New Testament later in the year.

I love Facebook. I have never really been a fan of myspace. It always felt a little dirty and klunky for my liking. But Facebook is a cleaner, more intuitive way of connecting with people both past and present.

I have begun my preparation for Flames of Fire 2007 in the UK. With the songs picked and the band just about put together it feels as though things are picking up pace. I understand the registrations are up significantly so that's great. Don Williams is doing the morning Bible studies so I am interested to hear him speak.

Leaving a Legacy

2007-06-17T16:01:00.000-04:00

Today is Father's Day and I spoke very briefly at Heartland about having a lasting impact. For a while I have been thinking about legacy and specifically how to define it and measure it. This morning in the shower I think I discovered a definition I like.

Legacy is measured by the influence of the person you are influencing.

In 1 Timothy, Paul is writing to his spiritual son. He writes this in Chapter One, “I'm passing this work on to you, my son Timothy. The prophetic word that was directed to you prepared us for this. All those prayers are coming together now so you will do this well, fearless in your struggle, keeping a firm grip on your faith and on yourself. After all, this is a fight we're in”.

Being concerned about influence is a prerequisite of leadership. But being concerned about the influence of the person you influenced is legacy. Here is very simple illustration, I am always thinking about influencing my eldest son Jake to make good decisions. But when I see him influencing his younger brother or his friends with the truths I have taught him then I am seeing the very first steps towards building a legacy.

What do you think?

It's a girl!

2007-06-16T09:32:00.000-04:00

Trish and I discovered this week that we are having a girl. After thinking our first two boys were going to be girls, I was certain this one was going to be a boy! What do I know?! Trish is due at the end of October. If you could leave me some tips for raising girls that would be wonderful.

What I am thinking about when I communicate Part 2

2007-04-16T22:36:00.000-04:00

Here is the second part of my communication values. These have to do with delivery:

Being passionate & direct
Let the people see your passion for God. Be full of enthusiasm [there is a etymological connection with the Greek words "en theos" - “full of God”]. Passion isn’t an emotion, it results in emotions. A high percentage of communication to young people is caught more than taught. There is so much more authority when we talk about our experiences with God, rather than just expressing opinion.

The purpose of the sermon is to unleash the power of scripture in a way that leads to personal and corporate encounter with God. Think transformation, not information. ILLUST: When Messiah premiered in London, Lord Kinnoul congratulated Handel on the excellent entertainment. Handel responded, “My Lord, I should be sorry if I only entertain them. I wish to make them better”. Don’t be afraid to challenge, call people to a deep walk of knowing God and discipleship. Set the bar high. Think commission, more than entertainment. Always season your challenges with grace.

Being conscious of time & pace
The balance between interactivity and reflectivity is important. Be a good steward of time. You have 20 minutes how are you going to fill that, you have 30 minutes how are you going to fill that. How does response time fit in with your overall time?

Being interactive & multi-sensory
God was constantly using things in people’s environments to increase people’s revelation of Him:
 Moses and the staff [snake]
 God asking the prophet – what do you see?
 Jesus in the parables [Sower]
God doesn’t meet us in vague distant places – He is always with us and can touch us in every environment we find ourselves in.

In Scripture we see every sense used to increase people’s understanding of God:
 Touch: Jesus says to Thomas “Put your hands in my hands”/Laying on of hands
 Smell: Incense in the temple/Jesus anointed with perfume
 Taste: Feeding the 5000 then teaching I am the bread of life.
 Sound: When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was coming / Jesus at His baptism [Voice from heaven]
 Sight: Exodus 33:10 (NIV) Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to his tent.

This idea of engaging the senses in not a new concept. The Celtic Saints would engage all the senses in their worship. Obviously, when communication happens in our churches the prominently sense that is used by the majority people is listening. That listening includes sight to watch what is going on. But hearing and sight are really the senses of spectatorism, rather than participation. We have verbal diarrhea and creative constipation - - words come very easy, but struggle to find otherways to communicate creatively. Create space for dialogue and interaction. One of the Greek words for preaching is actually our equivalent of dialogue.

Being a story-teller & inductive
The best stories don’t need to be applied – the application is embedded into the story. Jesus did that all the times in gospels. ILLUST: Ben’s story of forgiveness being given out freely. If you don’t have stories like that, ask God for them.

Education has changed a lot in the last twenty years, recognizing that people have various learning styles. The emphasis is on teaching people to think and discover for themselves rather than learning facts. This notion is captured in the old proverb ‘give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he’ll eat forever’. Rather than just telling people what is right and how they should live it, invite discovery. You are a tour guide helping people understand how to read the map, and what to look out for on the journey.

A classic example of this kind of communication is where Nathan the prophet is tasked with confronting David about his adultery – he starts with a story about someone stealing a sheep. David is drawn right in to the story and Nathan turns it on its head when he says – it’s you!

Being dynamic & creative
Never be boring – The cardinal rule of communication. That’s why humor is good and funny personal stories are even better. There is a myth that creative thinking is a mystical gift that some people have and others don’t. This is simply untrue. We are all made in the image of God and we all have this gift. It can lie dormant particularly if we don’t exercise it like an unused muscle but step one to being creative will be recovering the belief that we are all creative.

Edward de Bono talks about the logic of hindsight – whenever anyone comes up with an idea very little attention is paid to how they came up with it because it looks obvious in hindsight. The problem is that whilst an idea may be logical in hindsight it is invisible in foresight. So we need to pay attention to the processes of coming up with creative ideas.

What I am thinking about when I communicate Part 1

2007-04-10T19:15:00.000-04:00

Once a month I lead a lunch for all of our team leader's at Heartland. This month I talked about the values I am trying to express when I am communicating, more specifically preaching and teaching. There are ten of them, I have broken them up into two posts. The first five have to do with preparation, the second five deal with delivery.

When I am communicating I am thinking about:

Being connected & appropriate
What season people are in? / What are the dynamics are in the room? / What has just happened? [that moment/the weeks/months before]

Being clear & concise
What’s the first thing I am going to say, the last thing I am going to say? If I had to tell people what I want to communicate in one sentence what would it be? What has God given you faith and favor to communicate?

Being prepared and ready
Having content is not the same things as being prepared. Preparation includes the organizing, editing, shaping, re-shaping of ideas – then going back to check consistency with the original thought.

But I also want to be ready for the Holy Spirit might be doing spontaneously. The better prepared you are the more you are ready for the spontaneous – seems like a contradiction. ILLUST: A group of musicians improvising.

Being true & real
Work hard to study the topic. What does the Bible say, what does it mean, how does it apply?
Live hard to authentically demonstrate that kind of life. There is no greater illustration than that of the consistency of what is spoken by the person and what is observed in the life and relationships of the person.

Being grace-filled & compassionate“
People are doing the best they can with what they have” – C. Judd. Compassion was the fuel for Jesus’ ministry and it is the fuel for our ministry, it keeps you in grace. The line between conviction and condemnation is narrow, and can be crossed by words or body-language. For an intense reminder on legalism read Galatians 3! People don’t fall from grace, they fall into grace.

RT Kendall at Spring Harvest

2007-04-10T19:14:00.000-04:00

The elder statesman of preaching, RT Kendall, now retired after a long and illustrious career, was speaking in the Big Top last night at Spring Harvest when he proved that no amount of experience can prevent a slip of the tongue.

Lyndon Bowring [a friend of mine] was also on the Big Top stage last night. In his introduction he had quipped to the congregation that RT never smiles when he is preaching.

RT was reminiscing about his early days at Westminster Chapel, and recalling a time when he had preached on tithing. RT Quoted Malechi 3.10: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

Unfortunately for his dignity, RT got no further than bring the whole tithe into the “whorehouse”!

He turned round and looked at Lyndon, declaring: “Your prayers have now been answered.”

A very embarrased RT said he had been asked only the evening before what had been the most embarrasing moment of his preaching life.

Taking several minutes to compose himself, RT made a second attempt to read Malachi. Going very slowly and carefully, he then did it correctly.

Talking of slips, you might have seen this one. Pray for the preachers!!

Leaving a Legacy: Part One

2007-03-22T17:10:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we begin a series teaching through the Book of Nehemiah. I am struck by how people like Nehemiah can change the lives of individuals, families and nations.

I remember Nigel James teaching our SoulTrip team about legacy a few years ago and being stirred not to settle for anything less than leaving a lasting impression. Over the next few weeks I am going to write a couple of posts on legacy.

The bottom line is this: I would like people say that "Andrew was someone who tried not to take himself too seriously, but took God really seriously".

How would you like people to describe you? Post a comment and let me know.

Jott

2007-03-17T21:04:00.000-04:00

I just came across this insanely simple, but cool productivity tool called Jott. Here's the lowdown: you call a free number and record a message. Jott records the message, transcribes it and sends you an email. So for example, you are driving along and you think of this great quote to put in a sermon. You don't have a pen and you are paranoid about forgetting this enlightened thought! Don't fear, you call a number, say it to your phone and by the time you are back at your desk, "Voila", it is right there transcribed in your inbox.

I tried two messages and it nailed the transcription on both of them. Pretty impressive considering how confusing my accent is!

You can find it at www.jott.com

what's been going on...

2007-03-12T16:36:00.000-04:00

It has been a busy month. Here's a round-up of some of the things I have been up to:
- We just finished the 2nd Presence module. It was taught by veteran worship leader Andy Park. He taught about character and relational issues in a worship team context. He was excellent. Down-to-earth, unassuming, practical, thoughtful, kind. He spoke at our Sunday morning gathering about a multi-generational, other-oriented life. You can download a copy of it by clicking here. On Sunday night he led a worship event with songs from his new album Unshakeable.

My work at Heartland Church has been picking up speed; it feels more like wind is filling my sails, rather than pedalling faster. I am full of optimism and vision for where God is leading us in the next. At the beginning of the year I felt God say this was a year where rather than taking new direction, we were to be people of new intention that would in turn foster fresh momentum.

The other thing that God said was that in 2007 as a church we would "rebuild the walls". In the next couple of weeks we start a focus called "Building Life on God's Word". It will include a teaching series on Nehemiah, resources classes, individual journalling and a new energy for small groups.

So personally I feel really fulfilled and perhaps a touch weary. Paradoxically, I still have to work at living a life of rest in the midst of greater activity: not striving, but partnering. Trying to live an "other-oriented" life that comes out of my identity, rather than a way of achieving my identity.

Emergent Church overview

2007-02-12T14:29:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine just told me about this blog. Mark has authored a series of posts on the Emergent Church. He writes simply and succinctly in the style of the dummies books, but his observations are full of clarity that is both refreshing and insightful. He writes as one not championing a cause, but painting a broad picture. It is well worth a read.

I do have to admit anyone who has the phrase "Pursuing faithfulness to the Word of God, and fullness of the Spirit of God" as the tagline of their blog will get my attention.

You can find it here.

Superbowl Desktop

2007-02-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

I made a little desktop to celebrate the Colts Superbowl victory. Feel free to download it. Click on it, then right click on the picture to save it. Enjoy!

what a weekend

2007-02-04T14:15:00.000-05:00

This has been quite a weekend. It started Friday night with the first weekend module of Presence. We had about 50 people taking the class including 10 students from Taylor University. Ben and I tag-teamed the teaching. We looked at a theology of worship, specifically: what worship is, what worship looks like, what worship does.

On Sunday morning we baptised 6 people at Heartland as part of our family worship gathering. Carolyn Allen and I had the privilege of spending time an hour before the service with Mark, Kris, Chris, Tim, Ben and Jennfier to share and pray together. It was so exciting to watch these six grow over the last few weeks and months. I am a self-professed "change addict!"

And then tonight, the Indianapolis Colts finally did it, they one the Superbowl. Apart from two big plays by the Bears, the Colts utterly dominated the game and were deserved winners.

Multi-Generational Worship

2007-01-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

At Heartland Church we are looking for lots of ways to express a multi-generational life together.

In the past we have had times when worship happens in a Children's ministry setting. At other times we have had the kids in adult worship to sing kids songs for the adults. While not taking anything away from these expressions, there seems to be another possibility to explore: families worshiping together intensely, intentionally and interactively.

We want to create memories [in kids and adults lives] of times of great worship they experienced together. To that end on February 4th [the day the Colts win the Superbowl!] we are going to gather together as a multi-generational family to worship together, baptize some people, and take communion together.

Over the next several months we are going to take a Sunday a month to experiment with this model.

Things I learned this week

2007-01-10T17:45:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy week. Here are some of the highlights:

1. The Book of Nehemiah seems to fit both where I am personally and where the church might be heading in 2007. Look out for some more detailed blog posts soon.

2. The Apple iPhone is another amazing ground breaking product. Watching Steve Jobs' launch is fun, but it is pretty interesting for lots of reasons.

3. Given to me by a great friend, Tom Rath's book Vital Friends is excellent

4. Getting my podcast online has been a lot harder than recording it - -still no success yet.

5. Good news on the health front for a couple friends and family [Psalm 23:4].

6. Going into my son's room to kiss him when he is sleeping is perhaps my favorite way to end a day.

2006 Highlights

2006-12-29T14:04:00.000-05:00

Here are some of quick hit highlights [random order of significance]:

A wonderful week vacation alone with Trish in the Caribbean

Developing new and deeper friendships [particularly with Chip Judd]

Some amazing worship gatherings at Heartland

Spending time with Nigel James and Third Day in Fort Wayne

Watching my two boys grow up [after marriage, the greatest responsibily & privilege of my life]

Seeing Zach K. from Heartland Youth working with IGNITE in Cardiff

New friends babies being born recently [Wes & Sarah, Tim & Sara, Ben & Sarah - notice a theme?]

Watching our small group taking its very first small baby steps in discovering how to share lives together.

Seeing our staff begin to embrace a greater level of honesty and integrity in communication

Watching Spooks [called MI:5 in USA] and House with Trish

The first two thirds of the Indianapolis Colts season!

Moving house

Seeing Nick R [who I have mentored for several years] begin to flourish in ministry and life - so proud of him

Studying for new sermon series [Divine Guidance/The Road to Fruitfulness].

Blogging on "The Rest of the Story"- and pondering writing a book!

Getting connected with Ken and Worldview Community Church in Olmestead Falls, OH

The potential for partnership with Taylor University Fort Wayne

Receiving letters/emails from people affected deeply by "The Rest Liturgy"

Working with Nae Lippett [amazing worship leader/teacher] at New Wine Wales

Watching friends and family battle so courageously against huge adversity
Working at Spring Harvest with Sue Rinaldi and a great band

There is so much more, but that will do for now - thanks be to God. Onto 2007.

Tips for Song Writers

2006-12-28T14:15:00.000-05:00

Songwritwer Tim Hughes [Here I am to Worship] has some really practical tips for Songwriters avoiding "Writer's Block" - or as I sometimes call it "Creative Constipation!"

Set your tivos: The inside story of the IPOD

2006-12-28T11:42:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I heard that the Discovery Channel was going to do a one hour special on the development of the IPOD and by chance I ended up watching it yesterday. It was the most fascinating hour of tv I have watched in 2007.

It was amazing to watch a revolution take place that had so many ripples in culture and society. It also showed:

How Apple went from being a computer company to a media company.

The foresight of the leadership community of Apple.

The growing pains of the music industry trying to face up to a new method of content delivery.

How small details [ie. white headphones] led to massive exposure. It is the kind of thing Malcolm Gladwell describes in his book "The Tipping Point"

How Apple has maintained a staggering 75% market share for 5 years.

If you have any creativity or leadership in you, track this show down and watch it.

"Read all about it" - the evolution of newspapers in relation to the Church

2006-12-09T11:40:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about the changing face of media, advertising and revenue for a while and I decided to do some research. Here are a few things I found:

1. Print newspaper readership is down about 10% since 1998 and about 30% since the 1960s.
2. Newspapers' unique online readers has increased 31 % in the first half of 2006 compared to the same period last year
3. The primary reason consumers are drawn to the internet is the very reason that it does not take much time to get news online. Most users say what distinguishes web news is its format and accessibility, the ease of navigation, speed with which information can be gathered, and convenience "at my fingertips."
4. The New York Times led national papers in online audience, with a monthly average of just over 12 million unique visitors and 298 million page views
5. Newspapers that are just online are hardly growing. The newspapers that are growing are the ones whose print readership is declining, but its online readership is growing and supplementing their print content.
6. Print advertising is stagnant at best.

Here are some sites that talk about the stats:
Daily Readership of Papers - NAA // Media Daily News

Now it is a bit of a stretch to say that the church is solely in the content delivery business, but Jesus' commission to preach the gospel has much to do with content delivery [obviously making disciples has to do with the transformation business].

So what got me thinking about this? Well, one thing I knew and one thing I suspected:

I knew traditional church attendance is declining in the US, but I suspected [and was correct] that the correlation between the decline of print readership and age is similar to the decline in church attendance and age.

Here are some initial [and very embryonic] thoughts:

1. Just as the newspapers are primarily in the content delivery business, not the paper business, so the church is primarily in the "Kingdom-transformation" business not the Sunday AM business [or busyness!].

2. Church have to find ways to supplement, not replace traditional gatherings. In the midst of busy lives people are wanting access to" information" more readily and conveniantly [please note carefully: that doesn't mean they are necessarily looking for a more convenient religion. The method of content delivery is what they are concerned about].

3. Obviously delivery of content and development of community are different.

4. Podcasts seem to be one example in this kind of transition. Downloadable teaching that can be readily accessed becomes a supplement to sermons, not a replacement of sermons. People can be in the "classroom" while driving to work.

5. This might be a little bit of a stretch for some: newspapers have had to adjust to the financial implications of the downturn in print readership to an increase in online advertising revenue. What does the church need to do to retool its thinking on stewardship?

6. These changes in delivery content of the media [and the church] are not a blip, not a cycle, not even a trend they are today's world. Nothing to be afraid of, unless you hate change!

Things I have learned this week: Week Two

2006-12-08T12:12:00.000-05:00

An interesting and stimulating week including trips to Cleveland and Indianapolis. Here are some things I learned this week:
1. My view of the Holy Spirit as it relates to church life: Not a cessationalist [ie. the gifts of the Spirit are not valid any more], but neither am I a sensationalist [going from "experience" to experience"]. Rather I have more a holistic understand of the HS role in equipping us for daily life.
2. Be careful not to underestimate leaders who don't have masses of charisma in their personality.
3. Informal, but intentional friendships between leaders seem to be far more fruitful, and authentic that traditional structures of accountability and partnership.
3. Community takes time to go deep - rediscovering this with a new group of friends.
4. My friend Lois is beginning to lead a Mission's school in Brazil - training people using the Portugese language to go to Mozambique - I have known her for nearly 20 years. I always knew she was going to do amazing things for God...and she is!!
5. Trish is amazing at decorating for Christmas - she is a domestic genius!
6. England winning the Ashes at cricket two years ago might have been a fluke!

Things I have learned this week: Week One

2006-11-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

I took the month of November off from blogging. In that time had a great Thanksgiving, including my Dad popping in for a weekend.

I am going to start a new weekly series as part of my blog that highlights some things I have observed, some things I have journalled on, some things I am still discovering. So here goes:

1. I really love to lead worship.
2. Having content is not the same thing as being prepared.
3. My kids say really fascinating things like "I always win sometimes".
4. Leadership increasingly follows relationship rather than authority.
5. Seeing consistent fruit in the people I mentor might be my greatest reward.
6. Suffering produces lots of questions which can either deepen faith or deepen cynicism. Which ever way a person might turn, love must win the day.
7. Change is inconvenient, intrusive, interesting, inevitable.

Incarnational Reverberations

2006-11-01T14:34:00.000-05:00

I have never experienced a major earthquake firsthand, but I feel like there are theological tremors going on inside me that are preparing me for a major paradigm shift.

It all has to do with incarnational living. Now there are many people who have "got it" already, but I think I am waking up to how radical it was for Jesus 'to became flesh and move into the neighborhood’. and then for Him to say to His disciples, 'As the Father sent me, so I am sending You'.

Asking the questions of what it means to live an incarnational life or to express it in a family, or as a church community is a blue pill/red pill kind of moment. One is a life of comfort, safety, respectability, maybe boredom, the other is a life of sacrifice, adventure, pain and joy. One is arms length, the other is down and dirty. One is a Navy Seal going out on raids to rescue people and then getting out without losing any casualties, the other is a Mother Theresa type of life - living and dying with a group of broken people [except that is so clique and I need a better example, but you know what I mean].

Some quick other thoughts:

* As Lesslie Newbigin said, ''The word without the deed is empty. The deed without the word is mute.''
* If the God throughout Bible is always interested in the underdog, the marginal, the cry of the oppressed, how does relate to our proximity?
* What do we give resources to: long-term immersion ministries, or the short-term big ‘splashes.'
* What would a church of 500 "Kingdom come/incarnational" people look/act/talk/feel like? Answers on a postcard please!

2006-10-20T19:21:00.000-04:00

About two months ago I was in the shower [I have showered since!] when I had this crazy idea..."How about partnering with Taylor University to run a school of worship". Ben Sternke and I chatted about it and we decided to take our ideas to Taylor not sure what their response would be. We found Dr Ron Sloan, the Academic Dean to be highly encouraging and supportive. Over the last few weeks we have been hammering out details of content etc. We landed on this title "Presence: Contemporary worship in the local church". Over the last week I have been working hard with my friend Eric Thrasher from Visibiliy Design putting together the promo materials etc.

One thought that came to our minds when we were brainstorming the class is that; "Leading worship is a task performed, becoming a lead worshiper is a life lived".

Here is sneak preview of the schedule:
Feb 2-3, 2007: A Theology of Worship
What worship is. What worship does. What worship looks like. Why worship matters.

Mar 9-10, 2007: The Heart of a Lead Worshiper
Taught by lead worshiper, songwriter, and pastor Andy Park.
Lessons learned from 30 years of worship music ministry: staying full of love and zeal for God; dealing with the frustrations of leading a church in worship; character issues; servant leadership; maintaining pure motivation; avoiding competition with other musicians; trusting God for your role of ministry; dealing with difficult people situations.

Apr 13-14, 2007: The Skills of a Lead Worshiper
Planning services practically and theologically. Choosing songs, readings, liturgies and responses with intention. Balancing spontaneity and structure. Building a team. Working with senior pastors and other leaders. Understanding the technologies of contemporary worship.

May 4-5, 2007: Worship, Creativity and Postmodernity
Taught by UK lead worshiper, songwriter, and author Sue Rinaldi.
Creating immersive, multi-sensory worship environments. Drawing from ancient liturgies, diverse art forms, emerging ideas, and new technologies to create worship experiences that resonate deeply with people today.
This module includes a special Sunday evening interactive worship environment.

People can take the course either for college credit, or just the weekend modules. We are praying that we have the opportunity to resource a wide spectrum of people. A lot more about this in the weeks and months to come.

Jigsaw - Mosaic - Stained Glass Window

2006-10-11T06:38:00.000-04:00

One of the books I am reading is called "The Shaping of things to Come". The theme of the book is innovation and mission. Much of my energies these days have to do with thinking about the shape [and with that size, shade, contrast, resolution] of where creator God might be taking His church next and then how our expression of it at Heartland might reflect that.

I have often thought of it as a jigsaw puzzle, but now I am wondering if a mosaic is a better picture of how God sees it: jaggad, rough pieces [that would be you and me!] that fit together to make something beautiful. The further you step back, the clearer the image becomes.

I wonder when it comes to the church whether we haven't stepped back enough to look at what God has done throughout history [before and after Jesus]and what God has done, and is doing in different parts of the picture [different denominations / different continents]. BTW, what a great name mosaic would be for a church [shame Erwin got there first!]

Another way to illustrate this concept is the stained glass window. Again, small jagged pieces, making something bigger that both tells a story and is an object of beauty, but the beauty only really comes to life when light shines through it.