“Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!”

That was the sound we were greeted to when we arrived at the movie theater where our church meets. During the course of our gathering, we had a bird flying through the lobby, a bird flying over the theater seats ready to drop bombs, and three baby birds drop from the ceiling onto the stage where I was preaching.

Crazy.

Somehow, these birds found a home and today, the birds revolted against the humans who dared intrude upon their space.  Fortunately, we had a seasoned pro in our midst. A first-timer in fact, who handled the baby birds and made sure they were properly removed. He immediately earned the nickname, “The Birdman.”

Again, crazy.

I’m pretty sure I was the only preacher in America who had baby birds falling around him on stage. The amazing part, after all of this craziness, three people began a relationship with Jesus during our gathering. How about that?

But that’s the way it goes in church planting, and in life.

Sometimes, it’s the crazy events that lead to something amazing.

I’m often asked about Project Church. What we’re about. How we roll. What’s up with the name.   Here’s a brief summary about the DNA of Project Church.

THE PROJECT

God’s project is the renewal of all things and he has called us to join him! That’s the trajectory of Project Church: To Join God in His Mission in the World. We exist to fulfill the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) by living out the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40).

In other words, our calling is clear: Love God. Love People. Live Free. And our passion is to make disciples of Jesus and help start gospel-driven churches who do the same.

As we go, this is the operating system that guides every discussion we have, every decision we make, and every direction we take:

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

JESUS – All arrows point to Jesus
GOSPEL – Grace changes everything
STORY – Guided by the unfolding narrative of the scriptures
MEANING – Every life is significant in the Story of God
MOXIE – Make bold moves
HEART – People matter to God and they matter to us
MISSION – For the city, for the world, because of God
COMMUNITY – No one walks alone
AUTHENTICITY – Real with God, ourselves, and one another
IMAGINATION – Unleashing creativity, reflecting the Creator
PRAYER – Aligning our hearts and wills to God’s
SIMPLICITY – Clarity over complexity

DESIGN

Project Church is structured in a way that helps us focus on keeping the main thing the main thing.

This means we intentionally limit formal programs and instead focus on these three aspects of our church being the church. Each also serve as an entry point into our community and are equally significant.

Personal Relationships

• God, being a relational God, created us for relationships
• The Gospel travels on relational highways
• Our relational networks are our mission field
• Project Church all boils down to relationships

Missional Communities

• Beyond a small group into a genuine biblical community
• Journey together
• Care for one another
• Live out Rhythms

Weekly Gatherings

• Worship Jesus through teaching, music, prayer, & connecting.
• Celebrate God and recalibrate around his mission in the world.
• Designed with both explorers and followers of Christ in mind.

Revolutions are sparked in churches with Christ as their Cornerstone, with jacked-up people whose stories are being changed by Jesus, who are in awe of him and can’t help but love Him and others with reckless abandon, who pray to God like it matters, whose lives are guided and grounded by scripture, who are connected to one another in love, sacrifice, and service, and who are joining God in His mission in this world!

In June, I have to privilege of sharing at “Denver 2010: Where the Next BIG Idea Meets UNconference.”

According to JR Woodward, one of the organizer’s of the event,

“The next big idea is about people sharing about innovative ways to partner with God in the renewal of all things. Unconference is about freely sharing creative ideas with one another without putting anyone on a pedestal. It is more participant oriented than personality driven. There is also no cost, because people share their gifts and knowledge freely.”

I’m looking forward to being a part of this.  If you’re anywhere near the area, it would be great to meet you.   Here’s a link to the flyer with the details.

My presentation is one of 14 presentations with each lasting 14 minutes. My hope is to squeeze everything into 14 minutes which should be a healthy exercise for me. I’m told there will be a visible clock to hold me accountable as well as rotten tomatoes to throw if needed.

Here’s a sneak peek into my topic:

Theme: Family and Mission

Title: “But Dad, You’re My Pastor”

Big Idea: What if the Church shifted from a “Safe For the Whole Family” mindset to a “Families on Mission” movement?

Summary paragraph: Many families are tearing apart at the seams. Broken hearts, broken homes, broken lives…and that’s just the pastors. Other families are struggling just to keep up with the American Dream with no sense of purpose other than their own fulfillment. It’s no wonder our families, and churches, have been blinded by complacency to the needs of this world.

What if families were awakened to join God in his mission in the world? How would that impact marriages? How would that shape children? How would that heal relationships?

With stories, ideas, and scripture, you will be encouraged to become the family God wants you to be and together, do what God has called you to do. God is renewing all things, and that includes the family. When the family is renewed, so is the Church. When the Church is renewed, so is the world. And it all begins at home.

To my Project Church family, you will get an extended version of this message this weekend!

What’s God calling me to do that I’m not doing?

Where can I find more pockets of time without eliminating my margin (and sanity)?

How can I be a more proactive husband?

Should I sign with a literary agent and publish traditionally or go a different route?

If I write it, will they read it?

How can Project Church best join God in his mission in the world?

What direction should I take thismustchange.org?

What memories can I create with my kids this summer?

Who can I trust and count on?

What if every Christian embraced the reality they are ministers and missionaries of the gospel?

Should we coordinate a killer relationship & marriage event for our community?

Where does Rapid City hurt?

What am I running to for comfort, security, and identity other than God?

Am I overthinking everything?

What do I need to stop doing, keep doing, and start doing?

Let’s be honest. Bob Dylan is not the greatest vocalist in the world.  Yet he is a musical legend.  Why?

He is a talented poet and songwriter for sure, but he could’ve just been that, a writer. Instead, he is a performer who has sold millions of albums and filled venues around the world.

What he has is the ingredient that’s missing in so many artists, speakers, leaders, writers, programs, organizations, and even churches.

He has heart.

He has soul.

He has guts.

When he sings, you believe he’s coming from a real place.

You overlook the fact that he and his voice never would’ve made it past an American Idol audition. Why? Because you know what he’s singing is something he truly believes in or has actually experienced.

When I’m listening to a musical artist, watching a film, reading a book, learning from a speaker, buying a product, or joining a movement, I’m willing to overlook a number of shortcomings if they have heart, soul, and guts moving in the right direction. Not some shallow, manufactured formula that’s spit out of a software program, how-to book, or boardroom.

As a pastor of a new church, I know there are a number of things I, and we, could do better. But if nothing else, I want those who have an encounter with us to at least say, “they are real, they genuinely care, and they sincerely believe in joining God in his mission in the world.”

Your challenge and mine is to do what we do with heart, soul, and guts.

This doesn’t excuse doing our best, but it also doesn’t excuse going through life without life!

As G.K. Chesterton wrote, “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.”

No more cookie cutters, templates, and mediocrity!

Instead, be alive! Be real! Be you!

Be who you were created to be!

Several months ago I was on the verge of tapping out on church planting.

This has been my dream and my passion and I was on the edge of ending it.

Between the consumer Christians and their “What can this church do for me?” mentality to the critics from other churches and their gossip and biting words to the discouragement that comes with disappointments and let downs to the physical smackdown I was experiencing as the left side of my upper body progressively lost feeling and led to atrophy. (Note: my recent surgery corrected this)

These factors and more had me clinched in a triangle choke hold.

One evening was particularly bad. At the end of December, I invited a number of people from our community to my home to dream and pray about the upcoming year.  My hopes were high but it turned out to be a disaster.

As people showed up, I got violently ill yet still tried to power through a discussion about where we’ve been and where we’re going.  Frankly, I was in no shape to lead that discussion and it quickly turned tense as heads butted, feelings were hurt, and eventually, I had to cut our time short because of my condition.  People quickly left (because it’s awkward when your host is hurling loudly in the toilet) and I was sitting on the bathroom floor sick, sad, and in tears.

I was at the end of myself.

For the first time since we began this journey, I entertained the thought of calling it quits.

It’s in moments like this where scripture such as, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” become more real than ever.

Sometimes being at the end of yourself isn’t such a bad place to be.

This is what God has been teaching me in the past few months.

Soon after, my wife and I decided to have a date night at Borders where we enjoyed a drink, a book, and sat and read together.  I grabbed a book titled, “Leading on Empty” by Wayne Cordeiro. I devoured it in one sitting.   In the book, Cordeiro shares stories of his struggles and some tips and habits he’s learned along the way.  This book prompted me to make a few changes to increase margin in my life and enlarge my capacity to serve my church.

In February, I went on a planned two-week tour to Washington DC, Atlanta, GA, and Knoxville, TN for conferences, connections, and to speak.  During this time, God used several people to speak into my life. From Dallas Willard’s reminder that, “God is in charge of the outcomes” to Rick Warren’s advice over lunch on how to handle criticism to the encouragement I received at KnoxLife Church, all of it added fuel to my dwindling spark.

Not to mention conversations with many, many friends along the way and reading Donald Miller’s book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” at just the right time.

Ultimately, it was time spent alone with God that prevented me from tapping out and gave me the strength to counter the choke hold I was in.  I began to see four clear reasons to not give up:

Jesus
While praying in the garden before his arrest, Jesus was as close as he had ever been to rock bottom.  So much so he was sweating blood and asking God if it was possible to “let this cup pass” from him. Yet he pressed on knowing it was God’s will. “He who knew no sin, became sin, so that in him, we might become the righteousness of God.”  Jesus never gave up!  Because he never gave up for me, how could I give up on him?

Calling
I wrestled for several years on my calling to start a church and many times, it’s the only thing that has kept me going. If I was not called, I would have tapped out long ago.  But when you’re called, you press on because you must.  When you’re called, you will do whatever it takes because it’s worth it. The fact is, to not start and lead this church would be disobedient and I can’t live with that. I love that God called me to this!

Friends
I am incredibly blessed to have wonderful friends both near and far.  I often say that our church is where strangers becomes friends and friends become family.  I’m so thankful I’m not some lonely pastor somewhere who has no genuine friendships.  I have that and more.  I have a family.

I’ve made it my goal, my project, to join God in his mission in this world and there are incredible people who are on this journey with me. We spur one another on and make sure we fix our eyes on what matters most. So to my friends at Project Church, thank you and I love you. To my friends around the world who are a source of prayer, encouragement and wisdom, thank you and I love you.

Fruit
Finally, I could not tap out because of what God is doing in and through us.  Too many people have experienced the grace of God through Project Church.  Too many people have taken their first and next steps in following Jesus because of our start-up church. Too many people are a part of genuine community because of what we’re doing. Marriages have been restored, broken hearts are being put back together, complacent lives are being put in motion, Jesus is being made much of, and the enslaved are finding freedom.  When I take a step back and see what God is doing, I’m in awe.  He is renewing all things and letting us be a part of that.  How cool is that? And we’re just getting started.

Why am I sharing this?

Not so you will feel sorry for me. As you can see, I’m blessed beyond measure.

But somewhere, someone is wanting to give up.  On their marriage, their dream, their lives. I believe God has led you to this blog post to tell you, “Don’t Give Up!”

Things are terribly hard but don’t give up!
The mountain looks too big but don’t give up!
You’ve got nothing left to give but don’t give up!

God doesn’t always get us around these times but he has promised to see us through them. It’s by going through these times we become more like him and more like the us we always wanted to be.

Don’t give up my friend.

And should you ever feel like giving up, go here for the inspiration to press on.

One thing that would benefit us all is to discover what we’re good at and what we’re not.  From there, we can find out what types of jobs fit us, what kind of team to surround ourselves with, and become more effective overall.

Too often, people see their weaknesses and spend their time developing them to the point of mediocrity. This is often done at the expense of our strengths.  The truth is, it’s your strengths that have to most room for growth.

The StrengthsFinder assessment by the Gallup’s organization is a helpful tool that allows you to discover your strengths and show you where to focus your personal development.

I recently took the assessment and the results revealed my top 5 are Activator, Belief, Relator, Ideation, & Maximizer (descriptions below).  They weren’t surprising and they reinforced what I’ve always known my sweet spot was.

Activator
People who are especially talented in the Activator theme can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. They are often impatient.

Driven by your talents, you may influence some of your friends to make things happen quickly. Sometimes you create enthusiasm in others by championing a particular project, rule, process, activity, or idea. Because of your strengths, you are comfortable telling others stories about your personal habits, qualities, experiences, or background. Your forthcoming nature probably enables others to share their thoughts and feelings with you. By nature, you now and then boost some people’s spirits by bringing up a key point they shared with you. Perhaps you sense that certain individuals feel a bit more special when you listen to them and spotlight something they said. It’s very likely that you generate enthusiasm so people become as eager as you are to transform an idea into something tangible. You are energized, not paralyzed, by opportunities and possibilities. Instinctively, you may show your approval of an individual by referring to some interesting points the person made during a conversation or presentation. Sometimes you convince people you value them by paying particularly close attention when they speak.

Belief
People who are especially talented in the Belief theme have certain core values that are unchanging. Out of these values emerges a defined purpose for their life.

Driven by your talents, you feel better about yourself when you are honest and forthright with people. Telling untruths and omitting important facts violates your personal code of ethics. By nature, you might place particular value on the purpose and meaning you draw from your core values. Perhaps you aim to provide for your family’s physical, educational, emotional, or social needs. This partially explains why you work hard to ensure that their quality of life is as good as it can be. Instinctively, you are naturally compelled to admit the truth. If someone asked you or told you to intentionally mislead someone, you would reply, “I cannot and I will not do that!” Because of your strengths, you want your life to really matter. You are determined to contribute to the well-being of individuals and the human family. You sense you can be an influence for good in the world. Chances are good that you are cheerful and upbeat when people accept the fact that you feel strongly about matters that could alter the quality of your life.

Relator
People who are especially talented in the Relator theme enjoy close relationships with others. They find deep satisfaction in working hard with friends to achieve a goal.

Because of your strengths, you embrace life more fully when you are surrounded by people whose personal aims or professional ambitions are clearly defined. Instinctively, you might be particularly willing to accept all individuals regardless of their appearance, education, social class, native language, religious preference, or political persuasion. Perhaps this explains why your circle of friends or acquaintances is diverse and interesting. Maybe your openness encourages individuals to seek your counsel. By nature, you realize life is good after you have shared your knowledge and skills with novice players, students, teammates, or associates. You probably are most gratified by individuals who want to improve personally or professionally. Driven by your talents, you fill your mind with new ideas by asking questions, reading, studying, observing, or listening. Normally, you accumulate facts, data, stories, examples, or background information from the people you meet. Determining what they want to accomplish in the coming weeks, months, or years generally satisfies your curiosity. These insights also allow you to understand why individuals behave they way they do in different situations. It’s very likely that you sometimes congratulate yourself for being a good counselor. Certain people may keep coming back to you for words of wisdom. Others might seek your recommendations about how to handle problems or take advantage of opportunities.

Ideation
People who are especially talented in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.

Chances are good that you may be delighted when you can generate new and innovative ideas for doing certain tasks or projects. Perhaps you lose enthusiasm or become bored when you are forced to follow standard operating procedures. Periodically you wonder if you are in the right job or course of study when your creativity is stifled. Maybe you are frustrated by people who conclude that your inventive suggestions are forms of criticism or insubordination — that is, refusal to submit to authority. It’s very likely that you contribute many innovative ideas to the group during brainstorming sessions. You tend to be highly imaginative when proposals are fully heard and any criticism is reserved for a later time. Driven by your talents, you enjoy being well-read. Not surprisingly, you can introduce more questions, suggestions, solutions, or innovative ideas into group conversations than most participants can. Instinctively, you bring new thoughts to most discussions and meetings. Your reputation for innovative thinking explains why you are recruited by groups. You derive satisfaction from mental activity. You recognize when you are especially creative. Because of your strengths, you probably consider yourself an idea person. Your job, studies, or life in general are more exciting when people ask you to generate novel assignments, activities, or campaigns.

Maximizer
People who are especially talented in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.

Instinctively, you might give yourself credit for being keenly aware of certain people’s moods, motives, thoughts, or behaviors. Because of your strengths, you may recognize your ability to involve different sorts of individuals in your life. Some people might recall that you were the first person to welcome them with open arms, an open heart, or an open mind. Chances are good that you frequently notice what makes each person unique or special. Armed with these insights, you probably inspire many individuals to move into action. You realize life is more fulfilling for people who choose tasks and are given assignments that closely match their talents. You often notice the different moods, need for information, or preferred forms of recognition for the people in your life. It’s very likely that you sometimes improve your results or add to your list of accomplishments by consciously using your talents. Perhaps you are more efficient or effective when you practice doing better what you naturally do well. By nature, you may choose to partner with individuals who recognize what you do well and acknowledge areas in which you excel. Perhaps you appreciate their willingness to provide you with opportunities to practice using your natural abilities. To some degree, you accept the need to build upon your raw talents to create true strengths.

Have you ever taken it the StrengthsFinder assessment?

If so, what were your top 5?

It’s often said that the family is the basic unit of society.

Did you know it’s also the basic unit of the church?

It’s true.

Every family is a congregation and parents are the pastors.

In fact, to lead a church, one must be able lead their family well.

I don’t know about you, but as a parent, that’s quite the responsibility.

The question is, how well are we shepherding (pastoring) our family?

We parents have the tremendous opportunity to shape our families.

We can be an internally-focused family that seeks the well-being of us…

Or we can be an externally-focused family that seeks the well-being of others.

Which best describes your family?

If we’re honest, most of us tend to be the first.

Every family has issues from time to time.

Okay, some more than others.

But if you want to improve the story of your family, consider improving the stories of others…together.

You’ll be amazed at what it does for your family.

Your problems won’t disappear, but your family will grow.

According to the United Way, families who serve together experience the following benefits:

• Awareness of social issues and a new perspective on the world
• A way to pass on family values to the children
• Discovery and development of knowledge, skills, and talents
• Quality time for the family to spend together
• Increase in interpersonal communication and the problem-solving abilities of family members
• A habit of service that will be passed on to the next generation

Communities are best formed around a common cause.

So are missional families.

Missional families are also driven by the gospel.

When the gospel has so entrenched the heart of your family, you can’t help but be good news to this world.

For my family, our mission was to begin a church who joined God in his mission in the world.

But we won’t be a missional church unless the the families are missional families made up of missional people.

Likewise, the church known as your family won’t be missional unless you are.

You, the parent, need to lead the way.

Show your family a better story.

Invite your family into a better story.

As a whole, this generation of children care more about social injustices than any other in recent history.

What a prime opportunity!

Discover where their passions are and roll with it.

Do something.

Why?

Because God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…

If God loved the world that much, so should we.

All while loving one another.

All because of Jesus.

Imagine if this was what your family was like.

If you’re a church planter, check out this amazing experience being offered by the Ecclesia Network.

αγγελος 2010

Download the brochure here: αγγελος Brochure

αγγελος is church planting training that presents a theological and practical trajectory for missional church planting.

αγγελος is unique in comparison to other church planters training opportunities available.

First, there will not be hundreds of people here. More than likely, there will be somewhere between 20-30. This means plenty of room for dialog, conversation, and questions amidst all of the planned training.

Second, everyone stays, eats, and prays together for the week. Most people leave with better friendships, some of which will be life-long, because they started the church planting journey – in this way – together.

Third, there will be a host of different equippers with unique planting stories. This gathering (as in all we try to do) isn’t dominated by just a few individuals or models of church planting. You’ll hear from a variety of planters, both seasoned and new, and learn from their experiences and approaches.

Finally, we hope to provide a good balance of theology, theory, and practicality. Each component is vital
We hope you’ll join us in May!

Topics Covered:

• Planting Missional Churches
• Planting Equipping Churches
• Staying Healthy While Planting
• Developing a Philosophy of Discipleship
• Incarnational Ecclessiology: Reading Your City
• Developing Models & Approaches
• Developing Your Team
• Navigating Team Dynamics
• Fundraising for Church Planting
• Administrative & Legal Issues
• Keeping Heart Till the End ….

General Information

Location
Richmond Hill Urban Retreat Center (www.richmondhillva.org).
Richmond Hillis a former monastery, located in the heart of the city of Richmond. Most people will be sharing a room with one other person throughout the week. All meals are all included as part of our stay and will take place on the grounds.

Registration
Email info@ecclesianet.org to confirm your spot followed by payment. A 20% deposit is required within two weeks of registration to qualify for rate and space. Full payment due May 1st, 2010.

Arrival/Departure
You should plan to arrive at the Richmond Hill Urban Retreat Center (www.richmondhillva.org) between 4.00 and 4.30 on Monday, May 17th. Please be prompt because we will start with an orientation to the week around 5.00 that evening. We plan to finish on Friday at approximately 4.00 pm.

What to Bring:
Richmond Hill provides sheets and towels for each guest. You will need to bring all other toiletries with you. In addition, please bring along any relevant documents and resources related to your particular church plant. This could include vision pieces, working budgets, drafts of values, demographic information, etc. Obviously, you should bring a copy of the scriptures with you.

Preparing to Come:
Spend some time in prayer, perhaps asking specific people to pray for you during this week. This will be a very “intense” week with a full schedule, but our hope is that it will launch God’s church planting efforts through you in an effective way.

Pricing

• Super Earlybird – before Feb 1, 2010 – $499
• Earlybird – before Mar 1, 2010 – $599
• Regular – before May 1, 2010 – $699
• Late – after May 1, 2010 – $799

A Word from a previous participant:

From the moment I arrived, I began to realize – this is a room of like-minded individuals intent on seeing the Gospel spread and healthy, missionally-minded communities planted. And in the lonely world of church planting, I can think of few things more valuable than having a handful of friends like that.

The boot camp itself was a great mix of the theoretical and the practical, the motivational and the devotional. Times of prayer, times of discussion, lots of learning and lots of dreaming. This was a healthy mix of seasoned practitioners and newer church planters all sharing what they’ve learned. And everyone was invited and expected to do the same.

The setting of the Richmond Hill community was wonderful with its rhythm of prayer and contemplative atmosphere. Hard to imagine a better setting for listening to God and seeing what it is He might be birthing through you.

-Bob Hyatt, Portland OR