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| chasing a lion |
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I just listened to an interview on Catalyst with Mark Batterson. He is the pastor of National Community Church in D.C. and author of the book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. I've been "watching" how they are doing church via their website & blogs and I like what I see so far.
There are a couple of ideas from the interview that struck a chord with me. One is the premise behind the book. The title is based on an obscure piece of scripture: Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. - 2 Samuel 23:20
Mark suggests that this act of chasing the lion instead of running away from it is a better way to live out God's calling in our life; that our greatest regrets will not be our actions, but our inactions. However, they don't call them lions for nothing - chasing a lion is dangerous, scary and life altering.
The second insight I learned from Mark is their rationale for how they do church at NCC. They meet in 3 movie-plex theaters throughout the D.C. area and just recently opened up a coffeehouse near Union Station.
"The vision was to create a place where the church and community could cross paths."
I love that vision. Most of the time I feel my church life is on a parallel yet often separate track to my secular life. I am desperate to find places where they can intersect. That intersection is something I think can be done through an emerging ministry approach. I feel that starting an emerging ministry at Peace is a huge lion in my life right now. Going after it seems pretty counterintuitive; I mean shouldn't I get a "real" job already, is anybody really interested, I'm too over-the-hill for emerging ministry and, uh, I've don't have the proper credentials, yada yada yada.
Feel like chasing a lion? I'd like to start by getting interested folks together in August to start "brainstorming" emerging church ideas using ideas from Mark's book as a starting point for discussion. Let me know if you are interested and what times work best: lunch-time, evening, weekday or weekend. I think we ought to meet out in the community (park, coffeehouse, Target...), so share your ideas for that as well. And please pray for guidance, discernment and patience. |
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| To add a comment to "chasing a lion" |
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| July 04, 2007 |
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I do support any way that we can further extend our mission and connect with the community.
Many of the small group activities that I have been a part of this past year and a half have been relational and authentic. I do like the intimacy of small group worship and fellowship. I do like being myself, with God, and with my friends. Many times we reach that 'feeling' at some level in formal worship, though mostly at Contemporary Worship where the rules and boundaries of behavior are more relaxed -- or is it just that people have different expectations?
Anyway, I am sensitive to a cross-current -- does anyone else pick up on this? On the one hand, I hear the desire for something authentic, genuine, intimate, spiritual -- which raises an image in my mind of something highly "mature" from a faith and discipleship perspective -- which by its very nature is exclusive -- on the other hand, I hear a desire for something casual, open, visible, transparent, inviting, public, emergent -- which raises a completely different image in my mind of something less "mature" but inviting -- and, so, deliberately inclusive.
How are these two images reconciled? Or, are they?
I have this vision -- still -- of making the "New" Peace a Community Center for all -- not just a personal chapel and meeting hall for "Members Only". I see more meeting space, a more open entryway, and a multipurpose addition as part of that vision -- all open to the public 24/7. Maybe there is room for a prayer place in there. Maybe a coffee spot (we are Lutheran, LOL)? A place for pre-schoolers. For after-schoolers. For moms and dads. For gramps and grams.
With some work, and some luck, and some $$$, maybe we can acquire the Baker house and about 2 acres of land belonging to the HCA 'behind' us -- to help that vision along.
--es |
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| July 05, 2007 |
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| You know I'm up for it, Kim :o). I don't know what the physical location or style of venue should be, but I agree that it should be linked with "everyday" life in some way, a natural gathering place rather than a "membership" gathering. |
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