United Brethren?

Those of you who are members of PCC know that our church is affiliated with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, a denomination of about 200 churches (located primarily in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) headquartered in Huntington, IN. Those of you who don't know that are probably thinking, "What in the world are United Brethren?" We don't push our denominational label much because we believe it's our job to lead people to a relationship with Christ, not to lead them to a denomination. On the other hand, we affiliate with a denomination because we find it beneficial to do so for a number of reasons.

What probably none of you know is that the denominational offices have recently undergone a "re-branding." They no longer refer to themselves as the UB Headquarters, UB offices, or (for the more sarcastic among us) "Mecca." Instead, they are "Healthy Ministry Resources." This is how they answer the phone, what they put on the letterhead, and what they have on the sign out front. See??

Maybe you're one of those that thinks, "Big, hairy, flippin' deal. Who even knew what the old UB Headquarters sign looked like anyway?!" You probably don't spend hours perusing the UB website, and you don't call Huntington on the phone even on a weekly basis. Come to think of it, neither do I!

But this actually is a big deal whether you know it or not. This is not primarily about a sign, a logo, or how to answer the phone--it's about a philosophy. Our denominational leadership believes that the only purpose they exist is to resource the local church--to support, equip, and mobilize us toward health and fruitfulness. This is actually the opposite approach taken by most denominations, which seem to assume that the local churches exist to fund and resource the denominational structure.

As our bishop, Ron Ramsey says, "Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples. That is our mission. And the humble local church, existing in thousands of varieties around the world, is Christ's front-line vehicle for carrying out that mission... Healthy Ministry Resources is not a church. Jesus never said, 'I will build my denominational headquarters, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' No, we are a man-made institution. The only reason we exist is to undergird local churches. It's not about us. It's about the churches we serve." (my emphasis)

Isn't that cool? As a result, the denominational offices are focusing exclusively on serving and resourcing local churches to be more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission. I think we can be grateful for denominational leadership that take such a humble approach.

I'd encourage you to take some time and check out what's going on. This philosophy really tells you everything you need to know about the United Brethren Church: it's all about being effective for Christ's kingdom.

• Healthy Ministry Resources
• Bishop Blog
• Global Ministries

Here are some other related websites:

• UB website (non-HMR denominational info/news)
• Huntington University

I Don't Believe In Camels Anymore

It was when I was a Worship Pastor at Hillsdale UB Church that I first heard about the "Law Of The Two-Humped Camel." This allegedly unassailable truth declares that church attendance unalterably follows predictable patterns that look like the humps on a bactrian camel.



According to this so-called law, attendance starts out low at the beginning of the year because of the bad weather, then spikes in the spring with Easter, followed by summer doldrums (due to good weather) and another uptick in the fall until the snowbirds leave for Florida at the end of the year.

According to "The Law," to fight the two-humped camel would require changing weather patterns, cancelling all graduations and weddings, assaulting the American vacation, removing Florida from the union, and converting all schools to a year-round system. It simply can't be done.


In my life, I've certainly seen the evidence for "The Law," and I can understand how "The Law" came to be. However, I've recently decided that I no longer believe in camels or their attendant laws. There are tacit assumptions behind "The Law" that I simply don't buy, such as:

• The only people who will ever attend your church are those who are already attending your church. If snowbirds leave for Florida in December, that should cause a downturn in attendance only for (northern) churches that aren't growing. But a church that is continually attracting new people shouldn't care what month it is.
• Church is not worth driving through the snow for. We brave the snow for groceries, doctor's appointments, holidays, family, and work! How is it we will go to work every day no matter what the weather is, but then expect people to stay home if there's snow on a Sunday morning? I think if a church isn't worth driving to on a snowy day, that's an indicator of other problems. (Disclaimer: obvious exceptions for exceptionally hazardous weather and the elderly)
• Church is not attractive enough to compete with summer fun. If camping, golfing, fishing, tennis, croquet, bocci ball, and swimming are more appealing than coming to worship, then what are we doing wrong with our worship services?

I refuse to accept that two families going on vacation at the same time should impact our worship attendance. What about the two new families who will be there that same week? They'll only come if we as a church don't coast for the summer.

As it turns out, we have a number of efforts targeted at reaching our community this summer:

• SPLASH (Single Parents Letting Another Supply Help): Starting on June 10, and running every Tuesday evening through the summer, this is a chance for single parents to have a break and connect with one another for support.
• Community Garage Sale: We're inviting all our surrounding neighborhoods to bring their junk to PCC for one massive flea market.
• Pathway Community Camping: A Saturday-Sunday overnighter at the church. Food. Games. Bonfire. Movie. Outdoor Service. Lots of fun.
• Lugnuts Baseball Game: Buy two tickets and invite a friend!
• Soccer Camp: Of course.
• And more!

I'm excited about all these initiatives! I believe that they will produce fruit, and I've even decided to pray that our attendance will go UP this summer. Maybe if you're daring enough, you will too. So long, camel! I hope you have fun with your new friend, the unicorn!

Fun, Sun, & Run

As most of you know, I was in Florida last week. Many of you have asked me how my vacation and conference were. So I wanted to share some of the highlights. I had vacation Thursday through Sunday, and in that time, I got to:

• Spend lots of time with my dad and brother
• Go to the beach (twice!)
• Play 18 holes
• See two minor league (class-A) baseball games
• Attend my brother's church in Tampa
• See Ben Stein's new documentary, "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"

It was a pretty full four days! My dad, who lives in Lynden, WA, had to be in North Carolina around the time of my conference, so he arranged to take some extra days so that the three of us could be together. It was a great time.

On Monday morning, my dad drove me to my conference in Orlando. I was there Monday through Thursday afternoon, and flew back to Michigan Thursday evening. While at the conference, I got to spend a lot of time with other UB pastors in Michigan who are involved in church planting. It was great to get to know all of these guys a little bit better:

• Tom Blaylock, the UB Director of Church Multiplication
• Gordon Kettel, the planting pastor of Imagine This, LLC, in Grand Ledge
• Howard Matthews, the planting pastor of Homefront Church in Grandville
• Mark Ralph, pastor at Sunfield UB Church, one of the mother churches for a recent Wesleyan church plant in Portland. Mark has also planted churches in Alabama and Florida.

At the conference, I got to hear from some of the leading voices for church planting in our country--Ed Stetzer, Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, and many others. In addition, I got the opportunity to network and meet some of the denominational and Michigan District leaders in the Missionary Church. My hope is that establishing contact with them personally will make it easier to bring in Missionary churches to our inter-denominational church-planting network for Jackson County.

To sum up the conference in the space of this blog is simply impossible. I have so much information I can't even begin to distill it down into a paragraph or two, so I'm not going to try. What I can tell you is that I found my time there to be immensely beneficial, and I'm extremely grateful to the denomination for sending me--it's an incredible honor.

On a final note, it's been exciting to come back and see what's been going on in our church in my absence. There are all kinds of ideas flying around about how to get out into our community. Small groups, minsitry teams, and individuals have been taking initiative to make things happen, and I couldn't be more pleased! Soon, there will be a lot to talk about as plans come together. I hope you're ready to be a part of impacting our community, serving them and their needs in the name of Christ. This is the business he's called his church to be about.

Meeting People Where THEY Are

The mission (central purpose) of our church is "to meet people where they are on their spiritual journeys and lead them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ." This weekend, we had the great privilege of having Pastor Glenn Bone III and some of his leaders from Good Seed Ministries in Chicago, as they shared with us a how we can be more effective in accomplishing our mission.

There were a few things that Pastor Glenn said that resonated with me. For those of you who heard him, I know you can make your own list, but this is mine:

• To be completely fulfilled in the Christian life, every member needs to have a ministry (something we do for God inside the church) and a mission (something we do for God to bless the community outside our church).
• Our natural tendency is to expend our efforts and resources trying to make the mechanisms of the church run, but that will never bring anyone in who is now out.
• Rather than positioning the church as an institution, we need to postition ourselves as a family. In worship, people should feel they are attending a family gathering, not a meeting. In membership, they should feel they are joining a family, not an organization. In service, they should feel they are working alongside their brothers and sisters, not advancing the interests of an establishment.

I realized this weekend that despite our desires, our intentions, and our rhetoric, we are still in many ways an internally focused church. We do not invest a significant part of our individual lives or our corporate life away from the property boundaries of our church in a missional way.

BUT... I sense in talking with many people after this weekend that a lot of us came away with the same realization, and there is a widespread urgency in our congregation to do something about it. There are many ideas that have been percolating in our hearts; here are some of the ones that I have heard expressed this weekend:

• A financial literacy course (based on biblical principles) offered through area banks or libraries to help people with debt, mortgages, credit, saving, and investing.
• A marriage seminar (based on biblical principles) offered through Marriage Matters Jackson or the United Way to help people develop stronger marriages and families.
• A free or very low-cost daycare that will take care of school-age children of single parents on days there are no school (e.g., holidays, vacations, half-days, snow days, teacher in-services, etc.).
• Developing a relationship with the Inter-Faith shelter, not just to bring or serve food, but to interact with the residents there and spend time with them. Perhaps assisting in job-training, interview skills, and other needs the shelter has.
• Partnering with Northwest Schools to see what needs exist within the school district that we might be able to meet.
• Establishing an after-school club or group to mentor young people.

I know there are other ideas out there--they just haven't been shared with me yet. But all of them are geared around this one concept of meeting people where THEY are... because if they're not yet in the church, then we need to go take the church to them. Already, three of our leaders have asked when they can have some of my time before I leave for Florida on Thursday, and I can't tell you how thrilled, excited, encouraged, proud, and hopeful I am as I look forward to talking with each of them.

Rev. Bone says at Good Seed, they try to partner with four groups:

• Businesses in the community
• Government agencies serving the community
• Schools
• Non-profit groups

With each of them, they go and introduce themselves and ask, "What do you do to serve our community?" And then, "How can we help?" In each case, they only ask that they be able to explain who they are (they don't lose their identity to whoever they're partnering with) and why they are helping (they don't compromise the mission of the church).

One other thing that Pastor Glenn said that rang my bell was to ask, "If Pathway burned down tomorrow, would anyone be sad besides us?" Would anyone wonder who would provide the essential services that the community relies on if Pathway were gone? Would the community recognize it as a loss? If the answer is no, then we know we're not making an impact for Christ on the world around us.

If we can turn this corner, it may take a little while before we see tangible results. It will take time to develop a trust with our neighbors. It will take time for them to see this isn't just one or two things, but a lifestyle change for us. And we'll have to wait, one by one, for them to have a season in their life that brings them to a time of spiritual searching. But be assured that there will be fruit from this. This is the missing link for us in becoming a church that is fully healthy, growing, relevant, and impactful.

Two years from now, when we're talking about planting our first church, there's no reason we shouldn't be a church double our current size or more.

The Promise Of Spring

I've heard a lot of people (including myself... many times!) comment this year that it has been a long winter. It's true. Until yesterday, the last time we saw the 60-degree mark was back in October. I know a lot of folks got out of the house this weekend to enjoy the sun and the warmth. At our house, we did some weeding, some pruning, and some raking, getting our yard ready for spring (and Jared ran around, happy as a bee in a flower shop).

As I was clearing away some of the leaves and dead plant pieces from last year, I discovered that there's already a lot of green stuff peeking its way up through the soil. Pretty soon, our yard will turn into daffodils, tulips, and hostas, followed by lilies, ferns, and rhododendrons. In the swampy area behind our yard, there will be wild strawberries, wild grapes, and black raspberries. Trees are budding, shoots are shooting, grass is turning green. It is so wonderful to witness again the incredible promise of spring.

Spring serves as a metaphor for so many things:

• God is a God of rebirth. Everything and everyone dies, but death is not the end of the story. Jesus' death was not the end, and our death is not the end. God loves to bring life out of death.
• There is no winter too long, no heart too cold, no soul too dead that God cannot reach it and restore it. Every single winter--even the longest winter--ends in spring and new life. We must never give up hope for those around us--or for ourselves. The forgiveness of God is beyond comprehension.
• There are seasons to our lives. Very rarely do we experience uninterrupted years of growth and maturity. More often, we get closer to God in fits and starts. An awareness, an insight, a crucial decision, and we find a breakthrough that propels us into a new stage of spiritual growth. But there are also times of darkness, struggle, pain, doubt, fear, and confusion. God is never absent. If we stay close to him through our winters, he will lead us into another spring and the warmth that comes from standing in the Son.
• God provides for his creation. The same God who causes the earth to turn, the days to lengthen, the rain to fall, the sun to shine, and the seeds to sprout is the same God who created you and me. He cares for us infinitely more than the flowers of the field, which are here today and tomorrow tossed into the fire. Won't he richly bless us with everything that we need?

As someone who grew up in California, I'm still getting used to experiencing four distinct seasons. We had two--summer (8-9 months) and winter (3-4 months). Winter was rainy and foggy; summer was hot and sunny.

But this midwestern cycle of life and death is powerful to me. Every season has its unique beauty and allure.

• Summer is the season I enjoy the most.
• Fall is the season that's the most stunning.
• Winter has a stark beauty all its own.
• But Spring makes me the most reflective, and fills me with the most awe for our Creator.

Right now, right under your feet, God is doing his thing, summoning the flowers of the field to reawaken, stirring inside them, calling them heavenward. And he's calling us, too? Don't you hear him?

Pastor Scott's Book List

OK, I don't know who exactly reads these blog postings that I put up here. I know that there are lots of people in our church who are not "readers." But I'm thinking if you read this regularly, it's because you do enjoy reading at some level at least. If that's not you, it's ok to just close this out and wait for next week's posting, but for those of you who like books, I want to alert you to the fact that I updated my book list (it's over there on the left <------ see?).

Most of my books I've had on my list have to do with church structure, church leadership, church planting, church health.... Well, you get the idea. These three books I've added, however, really don't have anything to do with church (at least directly). But I'm finding them very thought-provoking, and if you like to read, I bet many of you would find them worthwhile as well. That's why I added them to my list.

I'll tackle them in alphabetical order:

• Joy At Work: A Revolutionary Approach To Fun On The Job. This book is written by a Christian businessman, co-founder and long-time CEO of AES, a multi-billion dollar international power company with over 40,000 employees. This company is based on 4 Core Values: Integrity, Justice, Social Responsibility, and Fun. The book is primarily about the value of Fun, defined as "rewarding, exciting, creative, and successful." The company strives to empower every employee with the ability to make important decisions about things that really matter, and then they are held accountable for their decisions. Leaders are there to give advice (not permission) to those making decisions; the CEO himself set a goal of personally making only 1 important decision for the company a year. The result of this approach was to create happier, more dedicated, more productive employees, fulfilling their God-given purpose of productive work.
• Loving Monday: How To Succeed In Business Without Selling Your Soul. Written by a successful Ohio manufacturing executive, this book explores how to integrate your work with your faith. The result is that instead of grinding it out until Friday and living only for weekends, your work can actually be filled with meaning and purpose. As a result, both work and faith grow--along with your love for Mondays. Beckett destroys the idea that "secular" work is not God-honoring; he argues that any work that's not inherently immoral can actually be a form of worship--not just church work or "professional" ministry.
• We Are Driven: The Compulsive Behavior America Applauds. Workaholism, perfectionism, the need to control. These behaviors are often called "good addictions," but they are not good because they detract from--instead of adding to--our lives. Although many people are applauded for these behaviors, they damage marriages, friendships, families, and other relationships. The authors contend that many times these behaviors are rooted in shame, low self-esteem, and guilt, which drive us to super-human ambitions at which we inevitably fail, creating a new cycle of shame, low self-esteem, and guilt.

Each of these books, though not about church, I believe have tremendous value for how we "do" church. They give insight in how to organize, lead, motivate, and minister, and beginning in May, the elders and I will begin studying Joy At Work to discuss some of these insights. If you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to read with me:

Joy At Work / Loving Monday / We Are Driven

Just so you know, I'm reading these books in preparation for our next upcoming series ("The Office" about work; and "Driven", a NASCAR-themed series about our purpose in life), and I'm sure you'll hear some of these insights coming out in sermons and other interactions with me. I'd love to know about anyone else who's reading these and any thoughts you might have!

Commercials On Easter?

Over the last several major Christian holidays, we've employed some... shall we say "unique"(?) message series as backdrops.

Christmas 2005: Narnia
Easter 2006: CSI (Crucifixion Scene Investigation)
Christmas 2006: Jesus, No More Mr. Nice Guy
Easter 2007: Dragging 110%
Christmas 2007: Christmas II: The Sequel
Easter 2008: Commercials

With each of these series, I've received similar comments in advance of their launch: "What in the world does {insert series title here} have to do with {the holiday in question}?" It's true, on the surface, Harley motorcycles and barbed wire have nothing to do with Christmas, and Fazoli's signs have nothing to do with Easter. But there is a method to the madness.

At holiday times, we receive more guests than at other times of the year, and we want to do everything we can to encourage them to come back--to be here more than once or twice a year. So how can we do that? Here are some ideas:

• We can decorate the sanctuary with Easter lilies or Christmas poinsettias. Would that make an unchurched person come back the next week? History would seem to indicate that it doesn't.
• We can put together a special cantata or a children's choir performance of music that unchurched people are unfamiliar with. Maybe it will take several months to prepare and consume the whole service time, leaving no room for a message that might engage them or cause them to ask questions or seek to find out more.
• We could dramatically re-enact the biblical stories with no explanation about what this has to do with my day-to-day life.
• We could have an extra-long message that is essentially a course in systematic theology, covering the atonement, redemption, justification, sanctification, and exaltation. We could lay out a complicated, detailed plan of salvation that answers every question nobody would ask.

These are the traditional ways that Easter is commemmorated by most churches. Some of them even like to combine these different elements.

Here's our approach: We want to do whatever we can to bring our visitors back the week after they come for the special holiday. So we keep a few things in mind:

• We figure they've already had a "traditional" Easter/Christmas experience. They were probably at a church last year and the year before that. That approach wasn't successful in attracting them, so we want to try something different.
• If they come for a "special" week and they do come back, we want that week to be just as special. For instance, if a person comes on Easter and there's a re-enactment of the Bible story, won't they be disappointed when that never happens in that church again? We want our services to be representative of what we do here every week so that there won't be any disappointment for return guests.
• Most of our guests have had negative experiences with church. They might show up at "special" times of the year, but for the most part that's about as much church as they want to get. We want them to leave saying, "Boy! That was really different, not at all what I expected!" Because what they expect is to be bored and/or put down.
• We want them to engage with the message, to listen, to think about it, to consider it. One of the ways we do that is by connecting things that don't seem connect-able. Impact goes down as predictability goes up. If we give them the same old Easter church service, we miss the chance to make an impact.

If it's about us and serving ourselves, then we can just trot out all the traditions that make us feel like we've "had Easter." But if our mission is to reach out to the community around us, we need to do something different--because what we've been doing isn't bringing them back.

This series is all about evaluating the messages that we receive from the world around us. To me, that's what Easter is all about, because we don't want the gospel to be just one more message that people try to shut out.