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Posts Tagged ‘church’

Installment #7 was my assignment for this weekend’s worship services. My title for this message was “Preventative Maintenance: Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Biblical Community.” As is my custom, I have included the manuscript, sermon outline, and small group discussion questions along with the audio file. I am always interested in constructive critique and feedback.

download manuscript (.pdf file)

download outline and sm.grp. discussion (.pdf file)

2010FEB14 ChristianJourney 7jb by valleychapel

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Book Review: The Tangible Kingdom

The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay

Hmmm…what to say, what to say…

LOVED IT.

A book like this requires some degree of back-story, and it was provided, so it was a little long for me to get to the nitty gritty of what I was searching for in the story. It was around chapters nine and ten that I found myself getting “sucked in” to the heart of what Hugh Halter was driving at. I am incredibly excited about the community described in the tangible kingdom. It brings great joy to me to hear that people are living the life that Jesus taught…and not some cheaply interpreted facsimile of it.

Chapters ten through around fourteen were mostly about deconstruction from the “way we have always done things.” I appreciated that Halter was not overly critical toward the methods he was deconstructing; in fact, he seemed very sensitive to the people entrenched in those systems.

Chapters fifteen through eighteen were rebuilding chapters; teaching the foundational elements of this “incarnational community.” Everything that was shared in these chapters just seemed to make such beautiful sense… I found myself saying over and over; “yes, yes, yes, yes…!!!”

The final chapters, nineteen through twenty-one, were about the focus and outcome of the three primary components of the community once people decide to “join” the community. This focus hinges on togetherness, oneness, and otherness…and I’ll stop there. The teaching and the illustrations used by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay are very clear and easy to understand. It would be my great desire to see this community with my own eyes. I would love to get some one-on-one leadership development from an existing-healthy-functioning community.

In my opinion, this is another 5-star book and another must read for those people and leaders desiring to live missionally and incarnationally (buzzwordsy I know, but I don’t know how else to describe it). Personally, I don’t know that I’d follow everything from this book… I have some personal convictions that differ from the authors, but I understand the heart of his passion and with that I agree 100%. I recommend this book very highly. I’m glad to kickoff my 2010 reading year with this one; a great way to start it out.

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As I spend time in Scripture reading and prayerful meditation this morning, I am moved to pray for Haiti this passage from the writings of the Prophet Isaiah (chapter 62). God has promised healing and blessing to the nations from Abraham through Messiah Jesus. May it be so for our brothers and sisters in Haiti as the world watches. Spirit of the Most High God, help us to be revealing Light to the world for the glory of Your Name and Kingdom. Amen.

¹ Because I love Zion (Haiti),
I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem (Haiti),
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
² The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.
³ The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
a splendid crown in the hand of God.
⁴ Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.
⁵ Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem (Haiti),
just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

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Today was a significant day. It marked the beginning of the next season in our Christian journey as a family. At the close of our morning worship services in our church today we announced that we would be following the direction of God as He calls us out in this next chapter of ministry…continuing the purpose and advancement of His Kingdom.

Saying “yes” in any capacity means that you must say “no” to something else, and it is with this bittersweet truth that sadness and joy co-mingle in the air of our announcement. There will always be people who do not understand the nature of our decision, but we must be true to what we are “hearing” the Spirit direct. We trust Him, even though we do not know the location or community that He is calling us to. Our experience has proven God’s faithfulness time and time again with every aspect of our lives; we are sure He will prove Himself in this season as well.

With that affirmation, we publicly announce our availability for ministry. My ministry profile, resume, and vision for ministry are all available through links on this website. My contact information is also open through this website should anyone desire to discuss our future. I believe we should live as open and authentic as possible…this post continues support of that belief.

The following letter is the announcement shared with our church family today:

I’ve been giving time and reflection to the past two and a half years of ministry at Valley Chapel and wanted to say how blessed my family has been to be a part of this family. During our time here we have seen people come to learn of God and we have seen lives change. We have had the blessed privilege of partnering with God and people who love Him to reach out to people who did not know Jesus…and we have seen fruit born of these efforts.

We have laughed together and cried together. We have celebrated life and we have grieved over the loss of it. We have prayed for loved ones in their trials and struggles and we have rejoiced together when God has lovingly answered prayers. It is without doubt or reservation that we have enjoyed the gift of community and spirit of kindred heart with our church family.

On a personal level, while serving at Valley Chapel, my faith has grown and I have learned more about myself and the relationship I share with my God. I have been honored to serve alongside a number of gifted people and I have learned many things from them. I have grown as a leader from the things I have learned from my leader and pastor, Pastor Ron. Truly, our time in ministry and our time as a family have been profitable while serving and sharing at Valley Chapel Church.

The teacher and writer of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time and a season for everything. It is with heavy, but joyful heart, I share with you that our season of ministry at Valley Chapel is nearing conclusion. We have been in extended prayer to discern God’s leading for this next season of spiritual growth and have determined along with leadership that God is “sending” us. To be a church that reaches, teaches, mends, and sends implies the bittersweet joy of sending falls upon our community from time to time. Let us celebrate with joy together, this next season that God has in store for Valley Chapel and for the Borden family.

I am sure that God has given me a personal vision for ministry that is leading us into this next chapter in our spiritual journey. I am currently in discussions with the Conference leadership and will be working with them to determine how God is guiding to put this vision in action for the purpose of advancing His kingdom. We are under appointment to Valley Chapel through the conference year and anticipate continuing in our present roles until early June. We covet your continued prayers as we seek God’s direction and say again, our church family has changed our life for the good and for that we thank you and praise Him.

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It’s always a joy to share God’s Word…

It was my privilege to “kick off” the first message in our new series The Christian Journey this past Sunday. My message topic was to share the goal of the Christian Journey and to set the stage for the remaining eight weeks of this study. My manuscript can be downloaded here and I’ve included a link to the small group discussion and sermon outline here. As is my practice, I am including the audio file here for streaming or for download.

2010JAN03 ChristianJourney 1jb by valleychapel

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As the year closes out I have started my reflection on the books I have read this past year and the ones that have impacted me most. It was tough to pick out a “top-ten” and all but impossible to order them one through ten in any relevance to importance or impact. So, without any more bantering, here’s my list of the Top Ten reads from 2009. As I have already made note, these are in no particular order. Each one has had a significantly huge impact in my thinking and my vision for this year, and I am sure, for years to come. Most of these I have provided a review for (some more detailed than others); you can find book reviews here. The full reading list of 2009 books can be found here.

If you’re looking for a list of prospective books for the upcoming year, these are my personal best recommendations:

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Yesterday was my rotation for leading the congregation in hearing the Word of God. I felt strongly inclined to “do something different.” Something in my deepest self feels a sense of remorse over the lack of attentive reverence given to Scripture. I’m not an advocate of Bibliolatry…pushing for the worship of God’s Word; however, it seems to me that since the Holy Scriptures are a primary means that God speaks to humanity, we should give more attention to it…reverence, awe, and worship for the Giver of the Word. It is for this reason that I do not care of the typical (at least what I am used to) contemporary worship service…if you can call it that. It seems almost sacrilegious to call it “worship.” Sorry…it’s a pet peeve, but I take it as an affront to Christ for people professing to “love him with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength” to give Him such little attention. Here’s an example; the typical modern service lasts approximately 1 – 1.5 hours in length. This service will generally consist of a welcome, announcements, a few hymns/choruses, and a brief reading of the Word and sermon. The sermon, most often, is more of a devotional thought (at least in the contemporary setting) with a few “relevant” points and a “what I’m supposed to do with this” to do list for good Christian boys and girls. I know I’m sounding cynical…but we’re talking about the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE here! I hear of people sitting down and watching an entire DVD series of a TV show at one time, playing console games for hours straight, and/or waiting in traffic jams and long lines for a sporting event and then sitting through inclement weather for hours to watch said event. Conversely, we are told repeatedly that people don’t have the attention spans to sit through much more than a 25 minute sermonette in a worship service. Baloney; people will sit through what they want to sit through provided they find there is value in it. Personally, I cannot find anything of more value than hearing the words of my God…He is indeed, the Pearl of great price.

Enough of my rant…

So, yesterday I read a letter, a letter to the church. This letter was compiled by me from eleven of the church letters and epistles comprising the New Testament Scriptures. There were thirty-four passages of Scripture taken from the letters each annotated and foot-noted in my manuscript. I believe the letter is contextually true and is as relevant for us today as it was when it was originally written/read.

I shared with the congregation that the ancient church would often go months or longer before they might hear from one of the apostles and when they did it would be with great excitement they would gather to hear the reading of the letter. This is the letter I read to my church family yesterday. A copy of the letter (here) and small group discussion points (here) are included  for download.

My thinking for this letter was to simply let the Word of God do what it does; teach, inspire, challenge, rebuke, correct, and convict. I assumed that God did not need me to tell the people what to think on this occasion. I know this is a lot of information in one letter, but I am under the conviction that people would walk away hearing only what God the Holy Spirit wanted them to hear. Time will tell; feedback from this Sunday was rather sparse…dunno what to make of that, but I feel I was true to what the Spirit laid on my heart. Amen.

2009NOV29 DearChurch jborden by icrucified

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Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional by Jim Belcher

I couple or more weeks ago I completed the book Deep Church by Jim Belcher. There have been a number of very detailed and thoughtful reviews for this book, so I don’t feel compelled to echo what has already been shared (Google Deep Church or check the amazon.com site for more in depth reviews). One thing I can say about this book is I connected with it in a big way…although I may have missed the point; maybe.

The book is about, in several ways, the history of the emergent-emerging church movement in North America; it is also about something more, and that something more is what appealed to me so much. The subtitle of the book is “A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional,” and many reviewers and much more knowledgeable people than myself have agreed that Belcher’s proposal in Deep Church is a “third way” (opposed to the traditional church and the emerging church). I, on the other hand, do not think of it as much as a third way as much as the way. Let me share my thoughts on why.

First, my thoughts and conversation may seem somewhat out of context to talk about without some knowledge of the book, so let me say that a working knowledge of the emerging-emergent movement as well as the orthodox evangelical movement is needed if you plan to track with my thinking.

Moving on…

Jim Belcher has done a wonderful job on the research end of this proposal. Much of the opening dialogue of the book shares Belcher’s personal testimony and “insider’s look” at the formation of the emerging movement. Not only does he share experiential insight, but Belcher is well-read and well-informed outside his personal experience. I find his (seemingly) unbiased and educated insight very helpful in filling in some gaps in my own understanding. The book is extremely well documented and the endnotes are a treasure trove of resource references.

More to my personal connection with Deep Church was the heart with which Belcher conducted his study. It seems, if I am not mistaken, that he has a deeply passionate love for the Church, the Living Bride of Christ. I do not know Jim, although I traded emails with him, but I get the impression his motivation is sincere and God-pleasing…with a desire to help grow the church into becoming the glorious spotless bride the Bible ultimately proclaims that She will be. Read the rest of this entry »

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So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church -Day 6

Epilogue and Final Thoughts -continued

I finished up So Beautiful this morning. It stays in the book bag for a reread. I know I missed a lot of what this book is speaking to me, so I’ll continue to spend time with it. I’m sure my heart and mind will be challenged further. Speaking of challenging, the epilogue of So Beautiful is sub-titled “Mirror, Mirror…” and it provides a scorecard of sorts to help us measure our MRI index (the value of how effectively we live out the missional, relational, and incarnational life). I think this is to be (or can be) applied personally (as individuals) and corporately (as a local church body). It’s a tough ending to a challenging book. We don’t like to look at ourselves in the mirror; most of us anyway. I know I’m not “magazine cover” material, and when I look into a mirror I see a rapidly aging, balding, not-so-handsome guy. In light of that awareness, I’m prone to not look in the mirror or change the criteria of assessment so what I see in the mirror appeals more favorably to me. I think we do that for our personal ministry, church, and personal maturity as disciples of Jesus. Touche’

The epilogue doesn’t just present the challenge of evaluation, but it also offers suggestions on how to become a Beautiful Church. I think this is very valuable as it provides solid, and practical, action steps for the person and/or church to start walking in divine design for life.

Final Thoughts

I am a disciple of Jesus. It is my intent to follow Him in truth and spirit. It is also my desire to serve Him in the role He has destined for me. I am a pastor. I am a leader and teacher of people. My role comes with great responsibility and a high level of accountability. So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church challenges my definition for “disciple” as well as “pastor-leader.” So Beautiful also challenges my (personal) definition of “church” the local entity and “church” the global entity. In my opinion, I think Len Sweet has portrayed a more accurate Biblical representation of the church than what we in the West have created. It is difficult for us to admit our wrongs…most often we want to do so with qualifications for our actions or excuses. Change is tough; we don’t like discomfort or difficulty…we don’t like to deliberately make people upset and change invariably makes some people upset. If we are going to be the “beautiful Bride” that is the Church, change is going to be necessary. The scorecard (as Reggie McNeal and Len Sweet refer) must be changed. Our success cannot be measured in “brick and mortar,” “building funds,” or “VBS attendance.” Our success must be measured by “Sermon on the Mount” style discipleship and fruit for our God…fruit that will last for eternity.

I will be recommending this book for my church leadership (it will be on my recommended reading list for everyone), I will also be challenging our leadership team to use the measurements found in the epilogue as practical exercises to assess our effectiveness as a seed-sowing and fruit-bearing “tree of life” in the local garden that God has planted us. My prayer is that we will become the Beautiful Church that reflects our Beautiful Savior.

Thank you Len Sweet for a great challenge.

click here for a link to the full 6-day interactive review of “So Beautiful”

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So Beautiful: Divine Design for Life and the Church -Day 4

I finished part two (The Relational Life: God’s “Yes”) today and started part three (The Incarnational Life: God’s “No”). I really connected to the relational life; I also liked part one (The Missional Life: God’s “Go”), but my spirit soared all the while I was immersed in reading and absorbing the relational life chapters. Several aspects of  Len Sweet’s so thorough explanation of the relational life connected with me. I realize this was intentional on his part because of the painstaking effort taken to express his points. In chapter seventeen of part two Sweet writes the following:

“In case you haven’t noticed, this entire section has been saying the same thing over and over again from every conceivable angle and position. This is necessary because of all the features of the divine design, this track seems to be the most difficult for us to grasp and travel. Why is relationality, this relational component of MRI, so hard for us? Ever since Descartes, we’ve been trained to think that the only real authority is reason itself, to which we all have equal access.”

This “relational” part of So Beautiful really fueled my thinking and for the last thirty-something hours I’ve been thinking of nothing but the interconnectivity of creation. Everything is interwoven and interdependent upon one another by God’s design down to and beyond the sub-atomic levels of our understanding. I realize how easy this thinking could swing over into Pantheism or Panentheism, but my thinking and (I believe) Len Sweet’s explanation of relationality is very different…extending into the understanding; “For in Him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28). Now, this being the case, how much more relational is the jewel of God’s creation, humanity? Or, better put, how much more relational should we be? We fall so short of God’s grand design…thank Him that He provides through Himself a means to restore our brokenness. Praise Jesus!

“Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” (A person is a person through persons) -Zulu proverb Read the rest of this entry »

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