Imagine several silos. Imagine that each silo is representative of subcultures or interests. You may imagine a silo for politics, one for sports, one for entertainment or one for music. You may get more specific and imagine one for fottbal and another for basketbal and baseball or one for movies and another for theatre and another for television.
The point is to imagine silos. Some are filled all the way up some are partly filled up. Did you imagine a silo for church or religion? I hope that we are never church centric, that the end is people at North Church. I hope that we are not about trying to get people to come to us but instead we would go into the world. I hope that we would climb from the church silo and go get into the basketball silo or the music silo.
There is a single mom in the church of a friend of mine. This mom just had quints. That is right, she had five babies and is single. A lady in the church is coordinating ministry to this single mom. The single mom is not a Christian and does not go to the church. Someone came to the woman who was coordinating the effort to reach out to this single mom and told her that she would like to go and pick this mom up once a week and take her to lunch and disciple her. A great concept. But the coordinator said, why don't you skip the lunch and the discipleship and go and fold diapers and do housework with her. Go to where she is and live life with this woman and physically help her, engage her in real life conversations.
In short why don't you get out of your church silo and go get into her raise 5 kids by yourself silo.
A Few Questions
Here are a few questions for you to ponder. I have answered the first one to give you an idea about it.
1. What is the mission of your life? The first mission of my life is to daily surrender to my God and worship Him. The second is love and lead my wife in biblical ways. The third is to model a life that is continually being changed by the Gospel for my children. The fourth is to pastor the people of North Church. Last is to build relationship with people who do not know Jesus Christ.
2. Who are you building relationship with inside the church and outside the church?
3. Are you willing to take your life to an uncomfortable place for the sake of someone who is far from Christ?
I would really like for you to respond with answers to the first question.
1. What is the mission of your life? The first mission of my life is to daily surrender to my God and worship Him. The second is love and lead my wife in biblical ways. The third is to model a life that is continually being changed by the Gospel for my children. The fourth is to pastor the people of North Church. Last is to build relationship with people who do not know Jesus Christ.
2. Who are you building relationship with inside the church and outside the church?
3. Are you willing to take your life to an uncomfortable place for the sake of someone who is far from Christ?
I would really like for you to respond with answers to the first question.
Some things on the horizon
Three things that are in the near future of North Church.
1. Forums:: We will do a few of these in 2008, the first coming in late February. Forums will be half day Saturdays with discipleship/missional thinking as the themes. Our first one will be about being intentional in building relationships and be led by John Ryan.
2. Food Drive:: We hope to connect with a North County Food Bank and go into our community collecting food for those in our community who are hungry. Still working on what this look like.
3. Men's Retreat:: This will be a weekend event in the late winter/early spring. There will be outdoor activities (fishing, hiking and golf), unity building and some teaching.
Stay tuned to this blog and the website and in service announcements for dates and more information on these events.
1. Forums:: We will do a few of these in 2008, the first coming in late February. Forums will be half day Saturdays with discipleship/missional thinking as the themes. Our first one will be about being intentional in building relationships and be led by John Ryan.
2. Food Drive:: We hope to connect with a North County Food Bank and go into our community collecting food for those in our community who are hungry. Still working on what this look like.
3. Men's Retreat:: This will be a weekend event in the late winter/early spring. There will be outdoor activities (fishing, hiking and golf), unity building and some teaching.
Stay tuned to this blog and the website and in service announcements for dates and more information on these events.
