Archive by Author

Getting to Know Neighbors

June 1, 2011 in Influence, missional with 6 Comments

My family has lived in our apartment for five and a half months and in our city for six months.  From the beginning of our time in the city we have been thinking strategically about how to meet our neighbors and get to know them personally. We have utilized public and religious holidays as an opportunity to introduce ourselves with small gifts given to each family.  We have put welcome cards in all the mailboxes introducing ourselves and inviting people to say hello when we see one another in the building. Amy and I have looked for creative opportunities to invite people into our home and lives so we might have the opportunity to have influence.

Each of the things our family has done introduced us to our neighbors and left a favorable impression with them, but no one has accepted our invitations for coffee or meals together. In fact, we have not even seen a few of our neighbors in the five months and half months we have lived in the building. We have been told by others “this is life in the city and especially life in this city.”  All of this changed though yesterday in a matter of hours.

Our building is undergoing major renovations. This scenario has lead to a short term degradation of the outside of the building in the terms of appearances while construction and remodeling  is taking place.  In response to this and some other issues with our building a few of neighbors wanted to have some discussions through email about possible solutions to our common concerns. After a few emails back and forth I offered and invited to open our apartment to everyone (6 families) for a time of talking together face to face. In just a few minutes everyone agreed that we should gather at our apartment to discuss with one another.

Uh-oh, I have language class. I knew Amy could handle hosting the group. Wait a minute, we have looked forward to the day our neighbors would be in our home. This should be an easy decision, but when you are trying to learn a new language every class is essential. We are near the end of the semester and the review is coming soon.  Some of the values I have lived by and taught for several years started flooding my mind like 1) we will value people and 2) we will remain flexible.  Well, I would need to miss class because meeting our neighbors and having them in our home is something that we had been trying to do for a while.

Let me say clearly that planning and thinking through how to get to know our neighbors is very important. But, being ready at a any moment to offer hospitality is best. I am learning new lessons each day in the realm of hospitality. We had a great time of talking and introducing ourselves to one another. Everyone exchanged emails, phone numbers and laughed together throughout our time together. We all said we wanted to get together again for appetizers and a meal.

I am so thankful for a building that is in need of repair, for a church that values people and teaches us to be flexible.

By the way….language class went fine without me. I was able to connect with another friend I have been trying to connect with and he is going to help me.


 

 

Never Before

May 27, 2011 in church planting, missional with 0 Comments

Before moving to the country we presently live in I had built in ways of meeting new people. Whether it was through community events, my wife’s work or just the natural movements of life in a small town. My wife and I most often leveraged our kids and their activities to meet other parents. It didn’t matter if it was through school events or their sporting events they were involved in throughout the week we had ample opportunities to have interaction with people who were not Christ followers. I was also blessed to have a church where many non-followers of Christ would come and visit with their believing friends who invited them to check out the church. This also afforded me many opportunities to meet and engage people who do not follow Christ in an easy and natural way.

Since arriving in Western Europe I have had to look for ways to meet people and some of those ways have been very foreign (no pun intended) to me. Because of the language difficulties I have presently meeting people hasn’t proven to be the easiest part of living missional. Most of the time not knowing the language has lead to conversations being very short and a lot of smiling with the shrugging of shoulders while apologizing for not being able to express myself.

Not long after moving here I registered online for a conversation partner who could help me with French in exchange for my help with their English. The language exchange and the trolling of profiles seemed almost like finding a date online or having a buddy set you up with a blind date. We have all heard of the horror stories associated with both of these situations. I was so scared to go and meet the person who responded to the email registration. We meet for a coffee and began to introduce ourselves and talk for the next hour. It became painfully clear to both of us that his English was so far advanced compared to my French that the exchange would not be fair to him. He didn’t sign up to be my teacher he wanted to talk and work on English. He was willing to meet again and the next time we would talk more in English.

I am so glad that I made the step to register and then go to that first meeting. This man has become for our family a “person of goodwill.” He has been instrumental in opening doors for our children’s education and language development here in ways we could have never imagined. He has invited us into his home to share meals with his family and we have had the opportunity to do the same with him.

We meet every two or three weeks to talk for an hour or so and plan our next family gatherings. He continues to help me and encourage me with my language learning and I spot check his English (like he really needs it). God has blessed us with new friends through attempting something I would have never thought to do or desired to do in my previous place of serving.

 

Serving with Soccer

May 16, 2011 in church planting, Influence, missional, Sending Church with 0 Comments

This past weekend I had the opportunity to serve a group of refugees who are seeking asylum in Brussels. The boys and I were with a group of students and adults who played football (soccer) in a local park with the asylum seekers and people who were hanging out on the “pitch” at a local park.

I was mostly cheering and laughing with people about the language differences and my inability to play football as good as the locals and refugees. My football skills are severely lacking to say the least. It was good to help those who are in transition to smile and see friendly faces welcoming them to a new country. My family has recently moved, so I know in small way what they might be feeling.

I asked one of the men we were serving with as a volunteer how he got involved in this project. He shared that someone recommended the organization to him and since he liked to serve others he thought he would register. He looked at me intently and said, “I believe everyone is created to serve in community with others.” He went on to explain, quite freely, that he was an agnostic and relied on meditation and service in the community to help him feel like he was making a difference.

My new acquaintance turned the question around and asked me how I found out about the opportunity and why I was serving. I told him I knew the leader of the organization and he had asked me to be involved in the service projects.  We talked about how my family follows Jesus Christ and his teachings from the Bible. I explained that Jesus said, “I came to serve, not to be served.” I went on to explain that serving is a great way for me to show others who I follow and it is a great way to live out Jesus’ example of serving others.  He seemed fine with my answer and we went on through out the day talking, laughing and trying to relate to the refugees.

As I reflected on that conversation I was struck by the thought of this man trying to fill an empty spot in his life with serving and meditation.  Here he was doing good things for others and having an real desire to make a difference in the lives of others, but missing out on the example and life of the greatest servant of all mankind.

The Goens serve because of the love we have for Christ and our desire to show Him to the world through our good deeds, so that others may praise Him (Matt. 5:16). My friend was serving to fill an empty spot that can only be filled by the Great Servant. I was challenged by my partner in service that day, to give of myself more each day to those who are in need and to those who are in plenty.

Who are you serving? Why are you serving?

 

 

“Oh, She’s Not a Doctor”

May 14, 2011 in Family, missional with 7 Comments

A few days ago Peyton had a terrible issue with an ingrown toenail so I found doctor across the street who was able to help us with the problem.  She was listed as a podologist on the doctor registry near the front door. There are many hings from English that do not translate perfectly into French. I went in and asked if there was a podiatrist who could help my son. The receptionist told me in English there was and he could be seen in fifteen minutes. After speaking to the receptionist in English and having a feeling of relief for Peyton I heard the receptionist say the podologist doesn’t speak English.

I pulled out my French dictionary and began to look up words that  I could use to explain the problem to her. I think I told her to “Kill the nail and something else.” She had him take off his shoe and sock and that sight communicated more than my French ramblings ever could. She immediately put some drops on his toe to numb the pain that was about to ensue and pulled out some incredibly sharp “nail clippers/pliers.” I tried not to look at Peyton. He began to squirm and breath heavy and very fast. I put my hand out for him to grab and he put both hands in mine and almost crushed it as an outlet for the pain. I forget he is not eight or nine anymore, but running toward fifteen.  After she had made her “major adjustments” to his toenail she showed us the beastly thing she removed.  No wonder he was in such pain and couldn’t walk properly.

She jumped up quickly and left the room in a hurry. The door remained open and in a few seconds she returned with the nice and smiling English speaking receptionist. Through translation she told us that usually grown men and women are “howling” when she works on them like that and she was proud of Peyton. She told us that he had a bad infection and we needed a prescription antibiotic very soon to help heal his toe and foot. She explained to us, through our English speaking translator, that because the toe was so bad and Peyton was so brave there would be no payment for her services. She hugged Peyton and gave him a kiss on the check.

I asked the receptionist if she would ask the doctor to write the prescription so I could walk across the street and get the medicine at the chemist. She looked at me and said, “Oh, she’s not a doctor. You will have to come back tonight and see him.” My mind began to race…Who is she then? What is a podologist? What have I done to Peyton?

Turns out she is trained, I am told, to care for diabetics and the foot problems that are associated with the medical issues surrounding diabetes. She also handles many cases such as these. Well, Peyton experienced immediate releif when she stopped cutting off his toe and pulled the runaway toenail out. He is back to normal and the antibiotics have made a huge difference.

Another story. Another lesson. I need to hurry and learn French for my kids sake.

From Here to There

May 12, 2011 in church planting, Family, Mission, missional, Sending Church, Uncategorized with 1 Comment

I am asked often, “So, what did you do to prepare for moving to another country?”  That’s an incredible question and I have an incredible answer for those who are asking.  A word of caution though, what my family did is not the only way to prepare for a huge move across the ocean. It worked for us and I definitely think there are some points of wisdom in this list. While we were accomplishing these processes during our wait to move, we had the feeling of forward motion. We weren’t just sitting and waiting. We were actually accomplishing things and thus getting closer to what we saw as the coming new reality.

I want to remind you that I am writing from a personal perspective. There isn’t a doctoral research project attached with these thoughts and family practices.  What we walked through in our preparation we viewed as training for the “field” even before we reached our official training for departure. By keeping a “training”  mindset, it helped us to try new things in preparation for the transition we were embarking on as a family. We laughed a lot at our failures and bungles. We told ourselves that as difficult as challenges are in the United States, it is better to try and experience them first in a familiar culture than to have them forced on us in a foreign cross-culture. So, with that in mind, I encourage you to launch out in a “training mindset” before you actually move to another culture.

The list that follows isn’t in an order of importance like a step by step guide, but more in the vain of a smorgasbord of options to pick and choose from as they best fit your family’s personality, living context and time frame for moving. In our experience each family will have to deal with these issues at some point in the process of relocating to another country as a full-time cross cultural worker for the sake of the Gospel.

Wipe the Debt
Romans 13:8, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”
As soon as we knew we were moving to another country we extinguished any and all debt we had so we could be completely free of the extra stress of financing debt in a foreign country.  There is enough stress on a family living overseas trying to adjust to new customs, mores, systems of living, and relocating to a non-English speaking country without trying to balance extra financial problems. We raise our own financial support. Our family believed it would be unwise to have others financing our debt while we were attempting to raise our living expenses.

Save, Save, Save
Prov. 21:5 – The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
Cut your expenses when you have the control rather than having the changes forced on you.  Save any dollars you can in your budget. Every family has waste and excess in their family budget. So begin to track all your expenses to know where each dollar is being spent. By tracking the expenses you will have the necessary knowledge to know where you can cut expenses and increase your savings. You will be glad you did when you are sitting in another country.  The discipline of saving will require each person to “die to yourself” in regards to personal wants and desires. I discovered that many of my purchases were unnecessary and were for convenience sake. This will be a great training ground for your family and you personally since many tasks that are required for daily living in another culture are not designed for convenience.

Learn to Live on a Single Salary
Phil. 4:11-13 – Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

We were a two income family before moving overseas. As soon as it was possible we began living on one salary. Living on a single salary helped us to knock out debt quickly, since we able to use the second income towards debt retirement.  It also required us to readjust family spending habits in our home culture before it was forced on us in a foreign culture. When the debt was gone, we were able to save money for one-time expenses for set up in our new country such as furniture, small appliances, and transportation options.

I discovered that living on one salary became a training ground for the practice of contentment.  I had to question each purchase with “Why am I wanting this item?” Learning to live with what I had was an important lesson for me leading up to our move. It also helped me prioritize my spending habits and save money.

Communicate to Family Quickly
As soon as we definitely knew we were relocating overseas, we told our extended family. It was a one year process for my wife and me to fully come to grips with God’s call to another country. The amount of time it took us to work through the decision to move was stressful in many ways. We believed it could also take the same amount of time for our families to get fully on board with our decision to follow God’s call. Even though they were positive toward our response to obey the call of God, it was an emotional struggle that our parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and extended family had to walk through and take time to process. Being able to talk about this early in the process and often over a period of time prior to the move proved to be very beneficial for everyone involved.

Learn to live Simple
Gal. 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Gal. 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
I want to state that possessions aren’t bad unless they occupy a space that was designed only for God. In our process of learning to simplify our living we had to look at our things and decide what was most important and what things were extra. I am a sentimental person when it comes to family possessions. There were things I had held onto for many years that needed to be examined to see if they were truly things to be kept and stored away, or trinkets of little value to our family. One example deals with pictures. Our family had stacks of pictures that needed to be looked through and categorized. We discovered that in our multiple, multiple, multiple (yes..repetition) boxes of photos were many duplicates and pictures of things that didn’t matter at all. You can only have so many pictures of the animals at the zoo from your last vacation, blurry pictures, and people you don’t remember. We were able to sift the photo boxes down tremendously.

We called into question each little trinket that rested on a bookshelf in our bedrooms and living room. We went through each cupboard and discovered doubles and triples of some cooking utensils. Why in the world did we have three and four sets of dishes, some packed away in the attic, when we could only use one set at a time? There were many closets to go through, beds to look under, and boxes to open to decide what could go and what should be saved.

In a period of 12 months we had three or four yard sales to de-clutter and shrink the amount of things we felt we needed to live. Everything was sifted through in our home. Chest of drawers, closets, pictures on the walls, and the attic were opened and cleaned out. We realized we couldn’t take it all with us (we moved with suit-cases only, no large cargo containers). Things we couldn’t let go of in the first yard sale eventually made its way out of the house. The culling process was necessary for us to determine what was most important and what was extra.

Include the kids
We have three teenagers in our family. So needless to say, moving them from their home country, home language, great friends, loved grandparents, and many other things was not easy. We allowed our children to be involved in the process of making decisions concerning the move when it was appropriate. We were able to take them to see the city they would live in before we moved. They were able to have input on where we would live in the city. They researched about teen life in the new city and country they would soon call home. Kids need to know they are an important part of the family when decision making is taking place. They did not have veto power over the move but they did have a voice in critical decisions. Giving our children ownership in the decisions and choices proved to be vital for our family.

Each family must decide what is the appropriate amount of input to receive from children in relation to their ages. Our family has seen the benefit of allowing older children to be involved early in the process.  It gave each child the opportunity to come to terms with the family’s transition. Obviously, the older the child the more important it will become for them to have input in decisions because they have much at stake. We wanted our kids to experience the joy of the adventure as much as their parents.  This required the kids’ ownership in the decision-making process.

Serve Together
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Missional living and giving has been a very important part of our family. But, it went into over-drive when we realized we would be living in a place where we would be the primary representation of Christ to the world. In the US we often relied on the church (institution/organization) to program for us and provide opportunities for our family. We began to look for and ask God to show us avenues to serve in our neighborhood and community where our presence could make a difference for His namesake. Since this would be our full-time responsibility in another country, why not start right while we lived in the US?

We began working in a low income housing network in our community with an after-school program. This type of service allowed our children to be involved with hands-on ministry to kids their own age and younger. We gained a new perspective on what God had called us toward as a family, and it also helped our children to see they were vital in spreading the hope and love of Christ to others. They began to have a vision of mission that was independent of their parents.

Open Your Home
Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
1 Peter 4:9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
We began to have people in our home more often. Hospitality became a focus for our family. Inviting new people into our home became the new outreach for our family. Our family has always enjoyed our home as a private space to relax and retreat. Our experience has been when we invite someone into our home their walls begin to break down and they begin to share who they really are. Learning to show hospitality was a major growth area for me personally and pushed me way outside of my comfort zone.

Home has always been a private and personal space for me as an adult. I enjoyed going home and retreating from my fast-paced, people-oriented job and ministry. As we began to learn about hospitality and observe people who practice this discipline we realized how powerful it is in the lives of believers and nonbelievers. Opening one’s home to another in Christian hospitality reveals an authenticity that demonstrates the love of Christ in tangible expressions. People live fast-paced and impersonal lives today that makes hospitality difficult to practice unless a family makes it a priority.

I had to reorient my thoughts of home, my expectations of privacy, and my rush for retreat. God gave me a home for inviting people into relationship and for meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people. I am glad we started this training in the US. Walking through the initial discomforts I felt in practicing hospitality in a familiar culture has proven invaluable as we invite people into our home here in our new country.

Downsize Your Living
As soon as we knew we were moving to our new country and the news became public we placed our home of 8 years on the market. While still in our familiar culture, we wanted to move to a smaller living arrangement so as to begin experiencing what it would be like to live in an apartment as a family of five. Our kids had never lived in an apartment, and my wife and I hadn’t since our newlywed days.  Apartment living proved to be one of the best decisions we made before leaving the United States. The move forced many things into and out of our lives – like close living arrangements, garage sales to de clutter and prioritize possessions, a feeling of transition, and close proximity to others for easy outreach. The move was an emotional step in the process of leaving, but it was good to have time to process these feelings before moving to another culture.  Attempting to work through the emotions of selling our family home along with all of the other emotions associated with a major transition of moving overseas would have been more difficult in a foreign culture.

Learn the Language Early
Learning a new language is difficult, stressful, and time consuming.  Our family began taking French classes to familiarize ourselves with the language while we were living in the U.S.  Our church planting team pooled their resources and hired someone to teach our team one night a week. We were far from fluent at the end of six (6) months, but it gave us a taste of what was to come. We rented and watched French movies. We bought a popular computer program to practice language, and we labeled everything in our home with the proper French words.  Again, we were far from fluency.  Correctly practicing the proper pronunciation of words in the context of the language makes for fluency. It is difficult to practice French correctly in Middle Tennessee. But, we were familiar with basic phrases and words. The practice helped our family to not feel completely lost in our new culture. I am still learning language as of this writing, but my brief experiences with a new language in the States has greatly benefited my learning here in the new country.

Make Connections In-Country
Part of learning about the new country involved making connections with people who were living in that country. With the advent and rise of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) it isn’t difficult to connect with people from other parts of the world. The internet has also made it very easy to research networks of people in your field for information. We have spent time reconnecting with these people since we have been in the new country, and it has proven to be vital. We have experienced some instant connections from our time communicating online while still in the United States. These relationships have eased the cultural transition for our family.

There is so much to learn about the new city, country, and culture you are moving to with your family. We began to research online consistently and discovered new information and new people each day. All of which gave us more confidence in making the move. We utilized children’s history books, women’s club guides, local magazines, scholarly journals, movies, Google alerts about the desired city and country, and social media contact with locals to help us connect to our new country.

Develop the Network in the States
Prov. 27:23-27
James 5:16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Take time to develop a network of people who will commit to pray for your family and support your vision financially. This step takes a lot of time but is always well worth the effort. We cannot accomplish all we desire without the faithful prayer support of people who know us best and love us the most. Our family has a spreadsheet we developed that we can view anytime and know who is praying for our family. We are able to quickly communicate our needs, both financial and spiritual, with people who are part of the team for reaching our target city. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have these people on a document you can easily access to allow you to see with certainty the team God has assembled. We also utilize the document to help us remember who we have communicated with personally and what their particular prayer needs are so we can also pray for them. Partnership is a two way street and we want to pray for our team as much as they are remembering our family. We are privileged to have over 200 families on our team. Only a small portion are financial supporters, but all of them are prayer team supporters and each play a vital role in accomplishing the task God has sent us to do in the city.

Gather the Docs
While you are in the waiting mode for relocating it is important to start gathering, compiling and collating the important documents of your family. Most countries want verifications of many kinds for VISA requirements and for entering schools. Some of the documents you might need include passports, marriage license, birth certificates, apostilles verifications from the Secretary of State where the documents originate, shot records, medical records, education records, and many others depending on the country you are moving toward.  This process can take several months if you have to track down documents in other states. After gathering the recommended documents, make an electronic copy for easy access and backup in case of emergency.

Journal the Journey
Deut. 6:5-9 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

We encouraged everyone in our family to begin a spiritual journal about the process we were walking through. This served as a way to process what God was saying to each person through His Word and through the research and circumstances we were facing as a family and as  individuals. These collections of personal thoughts, prayers, and scriptures could be easily accessed to review and remember how God was leading and how He had led us as a family and individually. I am so thankful for these journals that record God’s faithfulness in the journey.

These are some of the important steps our family made in our transition to another country. Each step helped us process and move further down the road in our transition from “Yes, we will go,” to “Wow, we are here.”

Joyeuse Fete De Mere

May 8, 2011 in Family, Influence with 0 Comments

Today we celebrated Amy and her first Mother’s Day in another country. The kids prepared breakfast for her this morning, a croissant, fruit parfait, fruit juice and coffee. They also got her a new carry case for her french books and resources. She has worn out her old one from all the work she is doing to learn a new language. A stunning mom needs a stunning new bag when she steps onto the Metro and into her french class.

Happy Mothers Day Amy.

Pictures, Models and Vision

April 29, 2011 in church planting, LifePoint Church, missional, Sending Church with 0 Comments

Thank you God for giving me tangible pictures, real people, and real churches who are modeling what Biblical community looks like lived out in community.

I want you to take time to view these short videos. You may not have time to watch all of them at one time, but I believe it is important to get a good picture of what can be in the church. So watch one or two of the videos and come back for the other ones if you need more time.

Renovation Church – Atlanta, GA from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Not long ago I wrote about leading change in the church with vision and pictures of a desired change. Well, I want to say thank you to Renovation Church in Atlanta, GA., The Austin Stone in Austin, TX. and Soma Communities in Tacoma, WA. and Verge Network for giving us what missional living and church planting looks like in the US context.

The Austin Stone Community Church – Austin, TX from Verge Network on Vimeo.

There are some incredible short films on the Verge website of missional churches and what life-together looks like in the context of being a follower of Christ. This is the type of community we seek to model at LifePoint Church. I am thankful to be a part of a body of believers who are living “Sent” lives for the gospel each day, not just for the church organization.

Soma Communities – Tacoma, WA from Verge Network on Vimeo.

These types of pictures are exactly what we desire to see happen and take place in Brussels. We will join me in praying to that end.

Transformation India Movement

April 26, 2011 in church planting, Influence, Mission with 0 Comments

This is a ministry that is very near to my heart. I think the world of Biju Thomas and ask you to take a few moments to watch this video about his ministry. I have had the privilege of working with him on 3 or 4 occasions in country.

Since 2005 Transformation India Movement has grown from 10 church planters and 10 churches with around 500 believers, to 28 church planters, 223 pastors/elders, 152 churches, 84 outreach groups and over 7,000 adult believers. Simultaneously, T.I.M. in partnership with North Carolina Baptist Men (and others) have drilled over 700 clean water wells, started around 80 primary schools that educate over 3,000 children who had no access to schools, trained hundreds of women in sewing schools to help provide for their families, provided medical care, disaster relief and in several other ways have served hundreds of communities that previously had no Christian presence/witness.

This is another great example of proclaiming AND demonstrating the reign of God in a very dark place. Many great things happening in Bihar, India… however this Indian state of over 85 million people (size of the state of Tennessee) is still less than 1/2 of one percent Christian. Please pray for and support the work of T.I.M.

[H.T] Sending Church

Joyeuse Paques Picnic

April 25, 2011 in church planting, Influence, missional, Sending Church with Comments Off

In Belgium the season of Easter is called Paques. It is basically a religious holiday for the country, but that doesn’t mean people are going to churches to remember the resurrection of Christ in large numbers. It is very acceptable to give small bags of chocolate Paques (Easter) eggs to your friends in recognition of the celebration. With that in mind, we purchased small bags chocolate eggs to give to our neighbors and friends with a the message of “Joyeuse Paques from the Goens.”

The the families that presently make up LifePoint Church Brussels also meet in a nearby park, after attending a local fellowship in the morning, to celebrate Paques (Easter). All of us invited friends we have been investing in over the past several months to come hang out and enjoy the beautiful day with us. The park was full of people with Frisbees, footballs (soccer balls) and some American footballs. We brought picnic foods to share and waited on our friends to arrive.

One man came and spent the afternoon with us as we talked together, laughed about life and each persons experiences living cross culturally. We talked about how much we enjoyed our new country of residence and what the differences are between our home countries and where we now live.

Toward the end of our picnic we had the opportunity to talk about why we celebrate Easter (Paques) and why it’s  such a special day for our families. We had a wonderful time together with friends talking about the differences in two (2) world religions and how each one holds Jesus as special. I had the opportunity to talk about Jesus’ death, resurrection and the Bible’s importance to our understanding of the gospel.

I am really looking forward tospending more time with my friend. He is planning to taking me to eat with his friends at a local restaurant that serves food from his home culture. He is looking forward to coming to our home for an American meal very soon with our family. He is a wonderful person and we are looking forward to spending more time with him in the coming days.

We experienced a Joyeuse Paques yesterday. I hope you experienced a great Easter where you live.

Leading Change in the Church

April 15, 2011 in church planting, missional, Sending Church with 7 Comments

I have recently (Nov.’10) transitioned from an Executive Pastor role in a large evangelical church in the southern portion of the United States. I am still on staff with the same church, but now I am in a new position or role, as Church Planter/Campus Pastor for the W. Europe work we hope to start. I have the unique position of having walked in a world that many disdain. That would be a large, suburban, church from the United States that seeks to have a global reach and impact.

The particular church I serve could be categorized by some as desiring to “franchise” their brand of church around the world. That statement would be inaccurate and can only be made by someone who is not familiar with our church and the leadership. Has the church I serve made mistakes in making disciples, training, contextualizing and planting? It would be naive to think we hadn’t. Will we make more mistakes along the way? Yes, if I am one of the leaders? I am not perfect, nor am I the smartest guy to be doing what I am doing. But, we will try strategies, techniques and options to accomplish what we believe God has called us toward. Without risks and failures there will not be successes. The kingdom of God is worth the risk (humanly speaking) and the trying of many strategies.

As one who now lives in a post-Christian and post-modern context I have become very aware that there are differences between people who live in the US and people in my new culture. Their are language differences, living differences, thought process are different. The values I was taught directly and indirectly are different in some ways. Out political systems differ from one another. Our currency is different and our ideologies diverge in major points (though the US maybe getting closer to where I live).

But, there are many similarities that exist today in this new context with the people I ministered to in the US. People are relationally deficit. People have deep hurts. People long for community, but do not know how to express it. People grasp at the big questions of life but ask in different ways. People love their kids, have struggles in marriages, have financial problems, long for more free time, desire a better life and another one hundred similarities exist between those I used to minister to and those I seek to walk with today.

Now, I will get to the point….to lead change one must present a compelling vision of what can be with words, pictures, models and practitioners.

People are not motivated for long periods of time by need. Need will alert people to a problem, but only consistent visionary communication (with all means available) will effect long-term change.

I need to lose weight, so I begin working out. Need alone though is not enough to keep me working out. I must have a consistent picture of people who have made it (weight loss) to sustain the needed life change.

Sounding the need to change will only go so far…there must be practitioners pointed to as successfully modeling the preferred vision.

I believe (maybe naively) many in the US and other parts of the world realize many things need to change with churches in the US. But, there are churches that are knocking the ball out of the park when it comes to reaching a lost, post-christian, post-modern and urban society. Someone please point to them or go plant and model what others need to be doing.

We need to have real pictures that can be seen for people to understand what types of changes can to take place. Let’s show some positive examples that US pastors/leaders can gravitate toward, learn from and model after. I am talking about people who are practicing and modeling this type of ministry presently.

People and churches need good models and visionary leaders who are practitioners. That’s why books are written and conferences sell out. Leading thinkers are needed to sound an alarm, but it is always those who are practicing that lead change. If no one is implementing what the thinkers are espousing then nothing is going to happen. The church is looking for and needs practitioners they can see and learn from today. I believe they are out there…who are they?

Whether it is liked or appreciated,  I believe that’s why pastors like Warren, Stanley, Young, Surratt, and many others are leading change in the US church. Their books are best-sellers, their conferences are overflowing and change is happening. Whether it is a change you like or appreciate is not the issue. They are practitioners who have presented a vision of what it could be like for the future. Many can and will argue whether their vision is a good one or the right one. But, that is for another day all-together.

I want to posit the way to lead change is to have church-based practitioners pointed toward as examples for others to model after in leading change. Pictures must be presented for others to follow. Consistently pointing out short comings will not further the cause for very long. People will only grow cynical to the voices and turn away.

So I ask…Who are the practitioners (churches) that are modeling what ministry in a post-Christian, post-modern and urban context can look like?
Page 3 of43«12345»102030...Last »