the bigness and smallness of the Kingdom

Tonight I found myself talking with my oldest son in our kitchen about the reality of the Kingdom of God. I want him to understand at an early age how big God's Kingdom is and how he gets to participate in God's work wherever God is present. So here I was talking with a little boy about this huge idea that many brillant theologians, let alone me, have a difficult time explaining in a clear and brief explanation. In fact, Jesus only tells stories about the Kingdom because it is so hard to explain and understand. Stories help illustrate the beautiful mess that the Kingdom is.

I tried to explain how big God's Kingdom is by raising my arms as high as I could and said, "The Kingdom of God is bigger than Daddy." I didn't see it click in his eyes, so I pointed at our house (or the walls of our kitchen) and raised my voice (slightly) and said, "It's bigger than our house!" Again, I didn't see it click so I stretched my arms out as far as I could stretch, raised my voice again and said, "It's bigger than Legoland!!" By the way, he had just gone to his favorite place on earth (atleast for the moment). His eyes got real big and he had a huge smile on his face like he understood.

May we be people that learn to communicate the Kingdom of God through story...our story, God's story and even stories that little boys can understand.

What is the purpose?

I've had a number of conversations this past week that speak to the purpose of the church, programs and even small groups. If the goal of our church is to reorient everything around the hub of mission (we are becoming missional) then we must engage this challenge and reimagine why and how we exist. Who do we exist for?

I've got a few ideas about how a small group can be intentionally organized around mission, but would love to hear other thoughts.

How can small groups of a community be reoriented around mission?

Opportunities to Change Our World

Tonight, Amy and I had so much fun together as we dreamed and wrote about a challenge that someone put forward in our faith community for different community groups. We sent out an email and facebook notes that pointed people to a great opportunity, which I mention below.

When a group of people make a little time, dream together, think creatively about how to use limited resources and finally make a community decision (at times there are too many options), I believe this imaginative community is what the community of faith is all about. See, God desires to change the world through a ragamuffin group of people who are able to take a little risk and trust that God will bring life from death. He will turn our limited resources into his unlimited resources.

If you are interested, this is what we sent out to friends and family around the country:

Someone in our faith community gave $100 to a number of groups of people and challenged us to make an impact in our world. Our community group decided to raise awareness and money for Opportunity International by having a dessert night and inviting friends to learn more.

We hope there's no pressure to donate, we will simply share about this organization whose work we genuinely respect. Amy and I realize that a number our friends and family live outside of the San Diego area but there is still a way that you can help. You can still make a difference!

There are other ways that you can contribute to the challenge than attending to our dessert nights this coming month. (1) For every person who signs up for the bi-monthly eNewsletter, Opportunity International gets $10 from a Matching Challenge. Please send us a quick email and let us know if you sign up.(2) If you are a parent OR if you would are looking for a unique gift for a family of children, we would like to let you know about a book called One Hen: How One Small Loan Made A Big Difference. If you purchase the book through http://www.amazon.com/One-Hen-Small-Loan-Difference/dp/1554530288/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204302752&sr=1-1, they will contribute 4% of revenue to Opportunity International. We just got a couple copies in the mail today and are excited to share the story and vision with Brighton and Everett.

Here is the story: "Inspired by true events, One Hen tells the story of Kojo, a boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm and a livelihood for many. After his father died, Kojo had to quit school to help his mother collect firewood to sell at the market. When his mother receives a loan from some village families, she gives a little money to her son. With this tiny loan, Kojo buys a hen. A year later, Kojo has built up a flock of 25 hens. With his earnings Kojo is able to return to school. Soon Kojo's farm grows to become the largest in the region. Kojo's story is inspired by the life of Kwabena Darko, who as a boy started a tiny poultry farm just like Kojo's, which later grew to be the largest in east Africa. Kwabena also started a trust that gives out small loans to people who cannot get a loan from a bank. One Hen shows what happens when a little help makes a big difference. This help comes in the form of a microloan, a lending system for people in developing countries who have no collateral and no access to conventional banking. Microloans have begun to receive more media attention in recent years. In 2006 Muhammad Yunus, a Bangledeshi economist who pioneered microloan banking, won the Nobel Peace Prize. The final pages of One Hen explain the microloan system and include a list of relevant organizations for children to explore."

No pressure but these are a few easy ways to change a small part of our world.

Orbiting the Church (a.k.a. "a giant hairball")

Last Monday, I found myself reading a book called Making a Meal of It by Ben Witherington III that examines the history of communion.

Ben writes this about a section out of one of Paul's letters, “‘Be imitators of me as I am of Christ’ (I Cor 11:1). This may indeed allude to Jesus’ practice of eating with anyone, even notorious sinners, and perhaps to his ruling (see Mark 7) about no food being unclean. It may also refer to Christ’s servanthood example, giving up all his rights and privileges for the sake of saving others.” (47)

This seemed to be a tangential thought for Witherington but it was significant for me as I reflected on the meals that I share with people. In the last year, I have been challenged in my role to spend more time with people outside the church, who are not followers of Jesus. I have this growing desire to pray for them, spend time with them and engage them in common activities. I want to share a meal (including bread and beverage of choice) and hear their story. But the energy and activities of the church seem at times to be all consuming. The world of the church and the Christian sub-culture suck all of life out of me.

Last year, I read a fascinating book called Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie. In this book, MacKenzie tells stories that illustrate how even the most innovative organization quickly becomes a "giant hairball" – a tangled, impenetrable mass of rules, traditions, and systems, all based on what worked in the past – that exercises an inexorable pull into mediocrity. Many times during a week, I am faced with the reality that the church is a massive hairball with hair after hair being stuck to one another and my one goal is to somehow creatively and imaginatively fight to stay orbiting the organization.

WWW: Wrestling With Worship

Yesterday, in a message I shared a quote from Mark Labberton's book The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living God's Call to Justice, "Jesus was and is awake. He came to make a world of those who are awake - awake to God, to each other and to the world. Waking up is the dangerous act of worship because worship is meant to produce lives fully attentive to reality as God sees it, and that's more than most of us want to deal with. Yes, true worship always questions the dominant paradigms, even those within the church. It asks whether we are bowing before reality or falsehood, before God or idols." (19-20)

I continue to wrestle with worship in light of how we minimize it and put God in our boxes.