Is there a burning passion to see Jesus change your city? Do you find your heart troubled when you see the statistics documenting the decline of the church in the U.S. in the face of such great need? Are you questioning why it seems we’re creating consumers of “Christian” goods and services rather than real disciples of Jesus? Have you ever had that sense that something is not quite right with the way we’re doing church? Do you feel a kind of holy discontent you don’t fully understand? As Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix:

“I know *exactly* what you mean. Let me tell you why you're here. You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You don't know what it is, but it's there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me. Do you know what I'm talking about?”

I talk to pastors, church leaders and everyday Christ-followers all the time that have that “splinter in the mind” - that sense that God wants to do something more, something different, something amazing. Just last week, I spoke to a pastor of a church with 1,700 in weekend attendance who was struggling with the reality that his church was producing consumeristic, materialistic, self-focused Christians. He had a sense that he might be alone in trying to figure this out. He was thrilled to hear that he was not alone.

The truth is God is working through many people to resolve the splinter. One initiative I’ve had the privilege to be a part of is Future Travelers www.missional.com. Thirty mega/multi-site churches are working right now to understand how to use the prevailing model of the U.S. church to launch a movement. To understand how to develop real disciples of Jesus. To learn how to move from simple addition to multiplication. You are not alone but, as Morpheus said to Neo, you have a choice:

“You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Take the red pill and live out the promise of Ephesians 3:20.
The Holy Spirit wants to take you beyond what you can ask or imagine.

If you’re looking for resources or you want to talk more, please feel free to contact me directly at wlc@cogun.com.

Jon Tyson addressed our Future Traveler group in Manhattan last week (see prior post). Jon came from Australia as a missionary to the US. He settled in New York City where he began Trinity Grace Church. They are doing a remarkable job exegeting culture and connecting people with Jesus in their context. And they have a unique model for incarnationally connecting the kingdom of God to their communities. But there was a comment he made that has stood out in my mind for several days:

Why do we start something thinking it needs to last forever?

The church was the context of the conversation so my initial reaction was, “Of course it should last forever.” Then I was thinking about it, what church ever has? Certainly the Church as established by Jesus is meant to and will last forever. But it seems individual expressions of the Church were not meant to last forever. Even the first century expressions of the Church are gone.

So why do we start expressions of the Church thinking it needs to last forever? Perhaps more importantly, are we wasting time, effort and dollars on expressions that have really outlived their usefulness? The average lifespan of a church is approximately 40 years – about a generation. A church begins with a compelling story and then it employs methods and programs to facilitate the story. But, at some point, it becomes more about the methods and programs than it does the story. Think about where your church is on the Sigmoid Curve pictured above. Do you need a fresh, compelling story? Or, is it time to marshal the remaining resources and begin a new expression of the Church?

I was in Manhattan last week for my first gathering with the senior pastors that have committed to be part of the Future Traveler (FT) effort. FT is a peer-to-peer coaching and learning environment led by Alan Hirsch and facilitated by Todd Wilson, Ed Bahler and me. The purpose is to launch missional movements that expand the church exponentially. Instead of seeing attractional and incarnational as either/or, we are using the both/and to understand how to leverage the prevailing model of the US church to launch new faith communities. Ten of the twelve pastors were there representing over 50,000 in weekly attendance. They have done mega and multi now they are looking at how to do micro.

I was extremely impressed with the FT pastors. I knew some of them from before but several of them I was meeting for the first time. They exemplify what Jim Collins describes as Level V Leaders – a blend of humility and strength. They are willing to risk the status quo to do what needs to be done to reach the people God has called them to reach. Late Wednesday afternoon there was a palpable sense of a collective connection with the vision. I am excited and encouraged about where we are headed.

I heard that Vice President Biden, commenting on the Health Care Bill, told President Obama, “This is a big _______ deal.” No matter what you think of the legislation, it is a big deal because it marks a significant departure from a 30 year philosophical approach to government. But, honestly, what happened in Manhattan may have given birth that will have a much greater eternal impact. This is a big deal!

“A church which pitches its tents without constantly looking out for new
horizons, which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to its
calling…[We must] play down our longing for certainty, accept what is
risky, and live by improvisation and experiment.”
- Hans Kung, The Church as the People of God