The Ark - Journey Encounter

All summer long, we've been building an Ark. It started as a crazy idea back in the early spring. We were planning out what we would be doing with children on Wednesday nights through the summer. We wanted to take a story from Scripture that could be engaged over the course of 12-16 weeks.

We wanted to do more than merely talk about the story or even extract great moral principles. We wanted to enter the story. Engage the Story. Become the Story. Isn't this one of the main purposes of Scripture?

So we've spent all summer studying the life of Noah. And, what better way to study Noah, then to do what Noah did? So we built an Ark. It's about 72 feet long, 26 feet high and about 18 feet wide. It's built roughly to a 1/7th scale of the original Noah's Ark.

Today, we wrapped up our summer with our Sunday morning service outside around the Ark. The day included, children sharing how God had spoken to them over the summer as the asked God, "What do you want me to do to change the world?" This is a question we had each child ask God... And, the responses have been mind blowing. Today, three of our children shared specific things God said to them and HOW they have ALREADY began to DO IT... Now that's Awesome! It's one thing for God to speak, it's another to actually begin to do it.

As Warren Buffett said, "It doesn't count to predict rain, it counts to build an Ark." So it is with hearing the voice of God...

Also, this morning Shauna Cameron shared a musical composition she wrote. It's a classical rendition of the complete story of Noah. Have you ever thought what the story of Noah sounded like? We'll, her composition is breath-taking. To help us visualize the storyboard of the song, Jennie Grunseth did a visual mime-drama-dance interpretation of the song.




Children were baptized by their parents...

During the drama Dive people jumped off a 15 foot cross...

And, a live dove was released from the top of the Ark...

In the midst of all this, there was space for us to ask God, "How do you want to use me to change my world...?"

We believe He does... He really does...

Below is a slideshow with a few more pictures of the day.

You can also read about this in the South Bend Tribune or see the News 22's video segment on the Ark.

Training Partner Tragically Drowned

This past Saturday, my trusted training partner unexpectedly and tragically drowned in Barron Lake in Niles, Michigan. Over the course of the past year, this partner has ran over 1,500 miles by my side, raced with me in 5k's, 10k's, 15k's, even the Indianapolis Marathon. This partner has biked at least 1,000 miles with me this summer. This partner has sat pool side, tracking me swim lap after lap after lap.



This past Saturday, however, was my partner's last open water swim with me. It was the first leg of the Niles Olympic Triathlon. The accident happened only four swimming strokes into the race. He was clinched tightly to my wrist as the race began. I plunged into the water and began to swim. Then I felt the dreaded feeling. A feeling I imagined would never hapen, yet a feeling as real today as it was Saturday. The feeling of my trusted partner loosing grip and letting go of my wrist.

Immediately, I dove down into the water, looking for signs of life, but found none. The water was not clear enough and there were too many other swimmers behind me. I emerged back to the surface and in sadness continued the long journey that was before me - only this time, alone.


May this faithful training companion Rest in Peace. My consistent and timely Ironman Distance and Speed GPS Watch. Isn't it ironic that one would lose a watch with GPS? I will miss the navigation, pace and distance readings, along with beeps at the end of every mile completed during a training run.

...This, along with my left shoe that was lost last week in a mud-swamp in Buchanan, Michigan during the Redbud Extreme 5k - not making for a good trend these days...

During last weeks race, my shoe got sucked down into the mud about a foot deep. I was a mile-and-half into the race, with a little over a mile-and-half to go.

Considering that, even if I stopped and able to dig out my shoe, I wouldn't be able to put it back on for all the mud. Further, if I stopped, the chance of getting trampled were significantly high, beings there were quite a few people soon approaching the swamp. The best pensive decision at the time (and to this day), was to not look back, not even a glance. Instead, to look intently on the trail before me, take every step with the left foot cautiously, once out of the trails and back on the road, look for green grass and step on it with the left foot at every chance, not to mention, get as far ahead of the rest of the pack during the next mile-and-half, so as to not have to sprint to the finish for preferred placing.

Fortunately, I managed to dodge, rocks, stumps, trees, pebble, find lots of grass along the road, pull ahead enough to establish a lengthly lead, remain blister free and win the race...

I'm sure it will make for a good story someday for the grandkids.... but today, I could careless about my shoe -- I stinking miss my Timex GPS watch...

R.I.P

Summer Recaps & Reflections from the SouthGate :: Community Experiments

Many are those who can identify needs, gaps and weakness, unfortunately there are significantly less who actually have the wherewithal and courage to begin moving towards change and renovation to see those needs met, gaps filled in, and weakness made strong.

Back in the spring, through a series of conversations, prayer and reflection we as a staff and core leaders identified a need for a greater sense and reality of community. During one of our monthly Core Leaders meetings where this came up, many spontaneously began brain storming how this could happen. The conversation emerged with questions like, "Why do we do what we do on Sundays?" "What if we did 'church' for the adults more like the way we're approaching it for our children?" and so forth.

All of these questions were really asking, What is Church? Do we have to do it the way we've always done it? and, Are there other ways (perhaps better ways) of doing it?

The result of these conversations was a summer of community experiments.

Community is at the core of who God is: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit. We were created in His image to experience and be a part of authentic community. In part, Church is community. We concluded if community is a genuine need, as well as, a very fundamental component to what church is, then it's worth reshaping what our Sunday gatherings look like to create environment(s) more conducive for people to experience and engage in community.

The July Experiment
During our Sunday morning gathering, we engaged in a time of worship, followed by a short message on one of Jesus' parables. We then were encouraged to break up and join in one of three break-out groups, each looking at the parable from a specific perspective: Finance, Family, Future. The goal of these break-outs was one, to help us actually be able to sit across the table from others (rather than all facing forward in the pews) and engage in authentic dialogue and conversation. And, secondly, while in these conversations, to talk about how this parable could be embodied in our daily lives.

The Coolest Idea
One of the coolest ideas and applicable moments was presented week four in the Finance break-out. The parable for the day was Matthew 25/Parable of the Talents. After some talk about the parable, our talents, our money and investing in God's Kingdom, etc. A hypothetical question was proposed: What if someone gave you $100.00 for the sake of investing in God's Kingdom, helping someone, assisting a cause. What would you do? How could it be used? Ideas buzzed, as the room was filled with chatter.

After a few moments, the facilitators announced: "That scenario is no longer hypothetical..." They proceeded to pull out a hand full of one-hundred-dollar bills. There was a $100.00 bill for every person willing to take the challenge, live out the parable in their daily lives. Awesome! Simply Awesome! What a better way to actually experience, understand and begin to incarnate Scripture...

The following is a snapshot at what the break-out groups looked like.



The Feedback
Some loved it... Some hated it... Some love being able to actually talk about what's being said in church, rather than just listening... Others seem to prefer the 3 points and 6 principles that could be extracted from a given passage. Some were challenged to greater authenticity through the venue of honest conversations as they acknowledged their daily lives don't always reflect the essence of the parable, for others talking this was too much of a stretch and impeded on their levels of comfortability. For some, this was church at its best, with community interacting. For others, this is not what Sunday morning church is about.

Conclusion
We have many preconceived ideas about what church is, is not, should be, etc., many of which have no biblical precedence, rather have been the historical constructs over the last couple of centuries.

It would be interesting to see what church would look like with a little deeper biblical exegesis and a more comprehensive understanding of how our current order(s) of service evolved over time throughout church history...

Here's a couple of questions that begin to dig into the matter that were posted a while back on the post Cultural Byproduct or Biblical Prerequisite?

• What elements of my Christianity are a byproduct of my culture, but not necessarily a biblical prerequisites?
  
• What is essential to being someone who "follows Christ"?
• What constitutes "having church"?

• Does church have to be on Sunday to be a church?
  
• Does there have to be an extended time of worship/music/singing to qualify as a church service?
  
• Does the singing that does that worship/music/singing have to take place all at one time, during the beginning of the service?
  
• Is the "real" purpose of "worship" to "prepare our hearts for the Word," as it has often been said?
• Does there have to be a "sermon" for it to be a real service? (Does it have to happen on the back-half)

Summer Recaps & Reflections from the SouthGate :: Car Show

This summer has been one of the busiest summers I've experienced in quite a while. Though it has been full of a lot of good things, nonetheless it has been FULL. And now, as everyone asks, "Did you have a good summer?" or "How was your summer break?" I find myself thinking, "You mean it's over...?" It's all happened so fast... And by next Tuesday morning, I'll become part-time bus-driver as I transport Micah to Kindergarten. Fall will is now upon us...

With that being said, I wanted to create some space in my life to simply reflect on some of the things that have busied the summer months. Often we can get so wrapped up in the busyness of the moment, that the fullness of that very moment escapes us, or worst yet - never to be perceived in the first place.

As Doug King said, we must "Learn to pause or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you." Much of our lives, like my summer seems to move in FastForward and we desperately need to recover the Art of Living in Slow Motion.

In the Gospels, we rarely find Jesus sitting in the Temple waiting for people to come and listen to what He has to say. Interestingly though, we often wonder why people (who have yet to begin following Christ) aren't coming to church.

In the Gospels, we find Jesus maximizing opportunities at hand. Moments of engagement with people over meals and daily interactions at a well. What does it look like for the Church to engage the culture and world in which it exists? I suppose there are a number of answers to this question, but here's one we've been doing as a church for the past seven. An Import Car Show & Battle of the Bands, known all around michiana as SummerX.

It's an attempt to do what Jesus did in Luke 15, simply get around people and talk.

"By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. ²The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends." (Luke 15:1-2)

*These few sentences, written by Luke, are packed full of cultural nuances and theological
persuasion, that is just as relevant to us today as it was to the original audience.
For more on this passage see the following posts: One, Two, Three, Four, Five.


SummerX Car Show has become the biggest car show in the area, done with the most excellence and some of the best awards. It's put own predominately by our student ministries department and other volunteers. The goal is to help our students understand various aspects of what it means to live missionally and engage in spiritual conversations. The Mud Monster, pictured here, was my son's favorite, as can be seen as he dangles from the hitch.




The following are some highlights from this summer's SummerX Carshow & Battle of the Bands.

Don't Focus on the Wrong Thing

There are times for decisions to be made in the heat-of-the-moment. Wisdom and experience are without doubt two sources that empower a leader's capacity to do just that - act in the moment. In fact, leaders need to be able to respond in such moments with pensive insight, this is a true mark of a leader. 

Yet, true wisdom of a leader is demonstrated when they know what are those times to respond with immediate attention and direction and when not to. The challenge is when we are faced with multiple challenges, situation and circumstances throughout our mundane days. If we are not careful, our new-initiatives  will smell more like reactionary actions rather then the resonation of wisdom. Reactionary decisions and policies of implementation often are ignited by a situation at hand and serve, at best (if they do that) to remedy the fruit or symptom of the perceived issue. These type of reactions rarely, if ever, really probe and revolutionize the systemic roots or causes beneath the surface. They are only a mere momentary means of managing the issues.

This is true in the workplace, our families, administrative systems, as well as with the issues of our own hearts. Our natural tendency is to focus on the "wrong thing" and in the process never really see lasting change. Reactionary thinking often fails to see the big picture. 

The following clip aptly illustrates the blinded-ness that reactionary thinking and acting operates in... Simply put, when we function out of a reactionary spirit, we are often nullified of true discernment and run right past the issue that we were trying to "fix" in the first place.

A Breathtaking Run

Recently, while on the reservation in South Dakota, I would get up early in the morning and go out for a run. Each of these run proved to be not only a good work out, but a memorable experience with an absolute breathtaking view. As far as the eye can see there's nothing but rolling hills and prairies, free from any signs of civilization or the typical scaring thereof.

The particular run (pictured at top), started off with being barked at by the watchmen of a prairie dog colony. This was shortly followed by two huge white-tailed doe leaping across the path right in front of me then slowly, yet majestically dancing down into a ravine and emerging back on the other side of a butte (an isolated hill with steep sides and flat top).
As my eyes followed the white-tail, still hearing the sophisticated underground communications of the praire dogs and taking in the panorama view, I literally found myself running down the path with my arm spread out into the air thinking, "What the heck... I can't believe I just saw all this..." (And that's without mentioning the eagle flying over head of me while I'm running - see picture - middle-top-left.)

Several minutes and a mile later as I circled around where the two doe disappeared, at the top of the butte, I saw another figure standing still on the top, staring right at me. It was a pronghorn buck antelope. I immediately stopped running as I thought to myself, "Do they charge?" Which I figured was a good question to ask beings my early morning traveling companions were all sitting on a hill over a mile away - out of sight and out of hearing. And, in the event this was some protective, aggressive and charging beast, it would be QUITE some time before they would miss me or even longer to find me. Did I mention I was wearing a bright orange shirt? I'm not sure if that's relevant, but I kind like a dancing el Traje de Luces (the elaborate eye catching costume of a matador before the enraged bull.

The pronghorn began to prance and run down the butte. I figured it was an opportune moment for a little impromptu speed work out, so I began sprinting back up the path from which came. After about 50-yards I stopped and looked back to see my friend leaping across the hill-side. I figured he either knew something I didn't, was secretly pinning me in somehow or was simply going on his way. Either way, I decided I wanted to see things from the view from where he had been standing. So I turned around and headed back up the path. A mile later I was there, climbed the butte and what I saw was once again, simply breathtaking... (Below is the view from on top of this view, also known as Pawnee Lookout).

(The view from Pawnee Lookout - Where Mr. Pronghorn was poised.)

(The Watchman)

(These were spotted on the drive back to camp from the run.)

Where Were You When You Were Ten?

Can you remember where were you when you were ten?

You had probably just finished the fourth-grade. Do you remember what you did with your summers as a child?

I just got back from being with some of the most amazing ten-and-eleven-year-olds that I know. Within about a weeks time, we spent close to 50-hours in a van driving across the country, 4-and-half-days sharing the love of God with the community of children at the Rosebud Native American Reservation, Hiking up the Black Hills of South Dakota as we glared into the huge nostrils of the President's upon Mt. Rushmore, stared in awe of the largest monument in the world of Crazy Horse, and screamed all day at the Kalahari Water Park.

A Mission Trip Like No Other...

Missions trips have a way of intersecting our spiritual journey like few other things on earth. There's something about leaving the confines of the familiarities of home, family, friends, not to mention television, gaming systems and all the luxuries we so often take for granted.

This was our desire in taking a group of young children all the way to South Dakota to be among the Lakota Natives.

This was our first ever missions trip where the the core team was comprised of children with hearts set on ministering to other children.

One of my fondest moments on the trip was Friday night. It had been a LONG-HOT day. After two buttock-cramping days of van travel, we jumped right into ministry and interacting with the children. There had been much running, playing, wrestling, more running, more playing, and more wrestling. Our kids were exhausted. And, it was only DAY-ONE.

We decided that after dinner (which was cooked in the fire - AWESOME) that we would do a little reflection and group processing of the day, then put on a Feature Presentation Movie for a little reprieve, especially since we still had several LONG-HOT days to go...

We entered the Timothy House, started with a little worship... AND one-hour-and-a-half later we found ourselves standing in a circle. So much for the Feature Presentation. ONE-AND-A-HALF-HOUR of worship, prayer, dancing, crying, laughing, singing, and at several points everyone playing their own instrument.

When was the last time you spent 90 minutes with other adults worshiping, praying and reflecting?

How about children?

This was a first for me...

...And, it was awesome! (AND the coolest thing, Julie even capture it on video - PRICELESS!).

We wanted to take a group of children on a missions trip, because we believed it could shape them and serve as a significant element to their spiritual journey. Further, we believe that we often expect way too little from young people, and perhaps their just capable of understanding, receiving, possessing and DOING quite a bit more than we've ever taken time to imagine...

We'll do it again...