Friday, June 27, 2003
Something is Alive!
We've been experimenting with a more organic way of gathering as church in our cell groups. I get a little confused in what to call these things. Housechurches. Cell Groups. Journey Groups. Whatever we end up calling these things, it's exciting! We follow a simple pattern: We pray together. Eat together. Worship together. Share together. And learn together. God has been showing up!!! It's been different everytime. Unpredictable. Exciting.
Last night, my men's group met in our place. I made chili with the fiinancial aid of Clarence and Alex. A couple of the other guys brought more stuff to eat. Bread. Drinks. We prayed first before eating. Ogie prayed for the city of Muntinlupa since he works so closely with the Mayor's Office and as a consultant to the youth sector of the city. Clarence prayed for the church both local and in the city. Micah prayed for our church, NuComm, that a fresh revelation of God would break through. Icko closed the prayer time. Then we ate. Boy, they really enjoyed my chili. Next time though, I want to make it really spicy!!! It was too mild for me. We talked while we ate. Just hanging out and enjoying the company. After a while, we gathered around for worship. Man, God just showed up! We only sang around 4 songs but we lingered in His presence for quite a while. Clarence couldn't stop laughing even when he tried. Misha was going wild. They kinda had their own party going. Of course, it was contagious for the rest of us. I was surprised that Mark really opened up in worship. Never saw him raise his hands before last night. He began crying out how much he loved God. Whew! That was a shocker considering it's only his 3rd time with us. After the worship time, some of the guys began to share where they were at in the spiritual lives. It started with me just asking Clarence what happened to him during the worship. Then Mark shared. Then Micah. It was really great. We closed with me sharing a short teaching from a couple verses. Matthew 18:20 and Hebrews 10:24-25. We're learning how to be the church. It's been awesome!
I can't imagine a city remaining the same if these kinds of gatherings proliferated all over the place. The spiritual climate would really be changed.
I'm planning to do the same things with the Quezon City group. Met with the QC core group last Wednesday. Had to tell them that I felt they were so focused on producing a service they let the cells slide. I need to expose the false foundations we've built on in QC and lay down apostolic and prophetic foundations again.
Last night, my men's group met in our place. I made chili with the fiinancial aid of Clarence and Alex. A couple of the other guys brought more stuff to eat. Bread. Drinks. We prayed first before eating. Ogie prayed for the city of Muntinlupa since he works so closely with the Mayor's Office and as a consultant to the youth sector of the city. Clarence prayed for the church both local and in the city. Micah prayed for our church, NuComm, that a fresh revelation of God would break through. Icko closed the prayer time. Then we ate. Boy, they really enjoyed my chili. Next time though, I want to make it really spicy!!! It was too mild for me. We talked while we ate. Just hanging out and enjoying the company. After a while, we gathered around for worship. Man, God just showed up! We only sang around 4 songs but we lingered in His presence for quite a while. Clarence couldn't stop laughing even when he tried. Misha was going wild. They kinda had their own party going. Of course, it was contagious for the rest of us. I was surprised that Mark really opened up in worship. Never saw him raise his hands before last night. He began crying out how much he loved God. Whew! That was a shocker considering it's only his 3rd time with us. After the worship time, some of the guys began to share where they were at in the spiritual lives. It started with me just asking Clarence what happened to him during the worship. Then Mark shared. Then Micah. It was really great. We closed with me sharing a short teaching from a couple verses. Matthew 18:20 and Hebrews 10:24-25. We're learning how to be the church. It's been awesome!
I can't imagine a city remaining the same if these kinds of gatherings proliferated all over the place. The spiritual climate would really be changed.
I'm planning to do the same things with the Quezon City group. Met with the QC core group last Wednesday. Had to tell them that I felt they were so focused on producing a service they let the cells slide. I need to expose the false foundations we've built on in QC and lay down apostolic and prophetic foundations again.
Saturday, June 21, 2003
Balance or Creative Tension?
I hate the word balance. I'm trying to delete it from my vocabulary. It's just that I happen to associate the word with lukewarm, dispassionate, plain...boring! I know...I know! People are on the constant search for balance. Ever since Mr. Miyagi told Daniel Larruso about balance in Karate Kid 1, my generation has been searching for it with mild success. Those who succeed look...bored.
I think I prefer the concept of creative tension. Like in my previous entry, will it be production or spirit? Can I have His presence while being a stickler (please don't read it as Stifler, Stifmesiter whatever!) for excellence and an advocate for the unchurched/overchurched bias? Now that's creative tension!
Don't go for a balanced life. Those of you who think Jesus led a balanced life have been deceived by those who think that life is a ladder with our priorities neatly resting in order upon each rung. That's a bunch of modernistic crap! Look at his life again and you'll see the extreme. Jesus lived hard. Played hard. Partied hard. Served hard. Laughed hard. Wept hard. Died hard. And lived hard...again!
He was the extreme of man and God...grace and truth...justice and mercy. That's not balance. That's creative tension.
I think I prefer the concept of creative tension. Like in my previous entry, will it be production or spirit? Can I have His presence while being a stickler (please don't read it as Stifler, Stifmesiter whatever!) for excellence and an advocate for the unchurched/overchurched bias? Now that's creative tension!
Don't go for a balanced life. Those of you who think Jesus led a balanced life have been deceived by those who think that life is a ladder with our priorities neatly resting in order upon each rung. That's a bunch of modernistic crap! Look at his life again and you'll see the extreme. Jesus lived hard. Played hard. Partied hard. Served hard. Laughed hard. Wept hard. Died hard. And lived hard...again!
He was the extreme of man and God...grace and truth...justice and mercy. That's not balance. That's creative tension.
Friday, June 20, 2003
Search for a New Community
Since 1987, one thought has burned deeply in my heart, "There's got to be a better way to do church!" Since then, I have embarked on a journey seeking to go where no one has gone before. The journey has been filled with great triumphs, terrible tragedies, seemingly endless frustration, and sometimes hopeless confusion. I haven't yet reached my destination but as one great adventurer put it, "Forgetting what is behind, I strain forward to what is ahead." And in the background, Bono's voice echoes, "And I still haven't found what I'm looking for."
Almost 5 years ago, I forged into new territory to establish a community that would potentially embrace and incarnate the life I have so deeply longed for. My DNA has strands of an entrepreneurial spirit. So launching out on my own with no people, no money, no building was exhilirating for me.
Spending 4 years in Chiacgo made a tremendous impact. I was once a Bill Hybels wanna-be. "Hello, my name is Mark. I'm a seeker-targeted-mega-church-aholic." That may sound like I have a disdain for Willowcreekers. On the contrary, I really admire what they're doing over there. Willow awakened a dormant creative gene in me. Hybels also taught me to be more sensitive to where people are coming from. He taught me to explain the why behind the what of the Bible. Explain God's wisdom.
But almost 5 years into this church plant that we call NuComm (that's short for New Community Global Ministry), it's like I'm starting all over again. I'm still wrestling with issues regarding the nature of the church. I've come to the most recent heretical conclusion that the Sunday congregational worship services is a necessary evil. And I still feel like I'm spinning plates inspite of the fact that we're a cell-based church with over 250 people meeting in cells, 19% of our people coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus through us over the past 12 months, and that we have 71 existing and emerging cell leaders just waiting to be unleashed. So why do I feel like there's something missing?
The words of a subversive by the name of Wolfgang Simson keep coming back to haunt me.
"The nature of Church is not reflected in a constant series of religious meetings led by professional clergy in holy rooms specially reserved to experience Jesus, but in the prophetic way followers of Christ live their everyday life in spiritual extended families as a vivid answer to the questions society faces, at the place where it counts most: in their homes."
After almost 5 years of forging a non-religious way of doing church at NuComm, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. We've become so busy with our productions that we've lost our organics. And it's so easy to do that when you slip into the production paradigm of church life. Organics always falls prey to the mechanic. Just take a look at the Terminator movies. Though we've rejected the religious spirit, life is still missing in NuComm. And I only recently figured out why.
Well, at least I think part of the reason is that we're very good at what we do. Our band is hot. Our production team is both creative and efficient. But everything we do is something that we can do. I can see eyebrows raising. What I mean is that we're not doing anything that really requires God to supoernaturally intervene. We've got things under control. We can handle almost any surprise that might come our way during the worship service. But we're not putting ourselves in a place where God has to move or else.
Correction, our Encounter Advances are places where God really shows up. But that's about it. An earlier version of our church's tag line reads, "Experiencing the Fullness of Christ in the Midst of Us." Now it's "Connecting People, Changing Lives." Have we refined our vision to exclude the necessity of His presence?
Changes are imminent with NuComm. Resistance is futile.
Almost 5 years ago, I forged into new territory to establish a community that would potentially embrace and incarnate the life I have so deeply longed for. My DNA has strands of an entrepreneurial spirit. So launching out on my own with no people, no money, no building was exhilirating for me.
Spending 4 years in Chiacgo made a tremendous impact. I was once a Bill Hybels wanna-be. "Hello, my name is Mark. I'm a seeker-targeted-mega-church-aholic." That may sound like I have a disdain for Willowcreekers. On the contrary, I really admire what they're doing over there. Willow awakened a dormant creative gene in me. Hybels also taught me to be more sensitive to where people are coming from. He taught me to explain the why behind the what of the Bible. Explain God's wisdom.
But almost 5 years into this church plant that we call NuComm (that's short for New Community Global Ministry), it's like I'm starting all over again. I'm still wrestling with issues regarding the nature of the church. I've come to the most recent heretical conclusion that the Sunday congregational worship services is a necessary evil. And I still feel like I'm spinning plates inspite of the fact that we're a cell-based church with over 250 people meeting in cells, 19% of our people coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus through us over the past 12 months, and that we have 71 existing and emerging cell leaders just waiting to be unleashed. So why do I feel like there's something missing?
The words of a subversive by the name of Wolfgang Simson keep coming back to haunt me.
"The nature of Church is not reflected in a constant series of religious meetings led by professional clergy in holy rooms specially reserved to experience Jesus, but in the prophetic way followers of Christ live their everyday life in spiritual extended families as a vivid answer to the questions society faces, at the place where it counts most: in their homes."
After almost 5 years of forging a non-religious way of doing church at NuComm, I still haven't found what I'm looking for. We've become so busy with our productions that we've lost our organics. And it's so easy to do that when you slip into the production paradigm of church life. Organics always falls prey to the mechanic. Just take a look at the Terminator movies. Though we've rejected the religious spirit, life is still missing in NuComm. And I only recently figured out why.
Well, at least I think part of the reason is that we're very good at what we do. Our band is hot. Our production team is both creative and efficient. But everything we do is something that we can do. I can see eyebrows raising. What I mean is that we're not doing anything that really requires God to supoernaturally intervene. We've got things under control. We can handle almost any surprise that might come our way during the worship service. But we're not putting ourselves in a place where God has to move or else.
Correction, our Encounter Advances are places where God really shows up. But that's about it. An earlier version of our church's tag line reads, "Experiencing the Fullness of Christ in the Midst of Us." Now it's "Connecting People, Changing Lives." Have we refined our vision to exclude the necessity of His presence?
Changes are imminent with NuComm. Resistance is futile.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Wild at Heart
Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
