Launch Lunch

Connections Community Church is officially "launching" - we're going weekly!
And we're celebrating with a LAUNCH LUNCH.
Made to order Omlettes and other brunchy food.
And it's all on the house!

We'll Worship together at Silver City at 10am and then head over to the Navigators Resource Centre (1 km north on Richmond, 11 St. John Street) for lunch. It's easy to get there - head north on Richmond past Fanshawe Rd, just past the sign for Arva you will see St. John St. on the right, turn right, the building is on the right about half a block up.

Please take a minute to RSVP - we need an estimate for how much food to get. Feel free to invite a friend. And don't worry, there will be lots of food!
Two ways to RSVP:
1) Email Robin at saylormom@gmail.com.
or
2) Facebook - click here http://www.facebook.com/event and let us know you're coming.


Praise God that He has blessed us beyond all we could ask or imagine! Let's celebrate His goodness, His grace and His provision.

See you Sunday!

6:33 Prayer Plan

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well.” Matthew 6:33

We invite everyone to join in praying for our launch into weekly worship. Starting today, Sunday Dec. 30 we are committing to a time of prayer at 6:33 a.m. or p.m. (or both!) all the way until Sunday January 6, when we hold the first of our weekly worship services. Pray for the following goals for 2008:

• Filling all 350 seats (the largest theatre) in worship by summer 2008.
• A sustainable rotation of 100 people in volunteer teams: Connections Groups, FAST, FIT, Family, Worship and Media.
• The official launch of our Connections Groups in Fall 2008 with 200 active participants.
• Expanding to 2 worship services by Christmas 2008 and seeing more than 500 attend our worship services.
• 52 new commitments for Jesus Christ as savior and Lord- one for every week of the year.

This week of prayer will lead us into a 24-hour prayer vigil starting Saturday, January 5 at 6:33 a.m. and concluding Sunday January 6 at 6:33 a.m.
Participants can sign-up for 1/2 or 1-hour slots.
This vigil will take place as a “chain”- as each person finishes their time slot they will phone the next person in line. This way we can be sure that we’ll cover the full 24-hours without any gaps.

To sign-up for a time slot call Paula Birtch at 519.685.1927, email us at gsaylor@connectionschurch.ca, or just respond to this posting.

Song: Cry of a Tiny Babe

Here's the song that inspired and followed the sermon...
"Cry of Tiny Babe" by Bruce Cockburn, Nothing But a Burning Light, 1990

Mary grows a child without the help of a man
Joseph get upset because he doesn't understand
Angel comes to Joseph in a powerful dream
Says "God did this and you're part of his scheme"
Joseph comes to Mary with his hat in his hand
Says "forgive me I thought you'd been with some other man"
She says "what if I had been - but I wasn't anyway and guess what
I felt the baby kick today"

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

The child is born in the fullness of time
Three wise astrologers take note of the signs
Come to pay their respects to the fragile little king
Get pretty close to wrecking everything
'Cause the governing body of the whole [Holy] land
Is that of Herod, a paranoid man
Who when he hears there's a baby born King of the Jews
Sends death squads to kill all male children under two
But that same bright angel warns the parents in a dream
And they head out for the border and get away clean

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

There are others who know about this miracle birth
The humblest of people catch a glimpse of their worth
For it isn't to the palace that the Christ child comes
But to shepherds and street people, hookers and bums
And the message is clear if you've got [you have] ears to hear
That forgiveness is given for your guilt and your fear
It's a Christmas gift [that] you don't have to buy
There's a future shining in a baby's eyes

Like a stone on the surface of a still river
Driving the ripples on forever
Redemption rips through the surface of time
In the cry of a tiny babe

The Cry of Tiny Babe

December 23, 2007
George J. Saylor
(This sermon was presented as a first-person narrative. The person is none other than God. While I was hesitant to take this perspective, the biblical account gives so much insight into the birth of Jesus, and into the character or God, that I ultimately determined that this could be done in a reverend and faithful way.)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” — which means, “God with us.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25

I love that child...

(Go to http://cccsermons.blogspot.com/ to read the rest of this sermon)

My Christmas Wish List

This is going to be simple and brief.
Simple because I want you to remember them.
Brief because I want you to pray for them and God is not impressed or moved by long-winded prayers.

God does seem moved by heart-felt, Spirit-led, other-centered and persistent prayer (I'm thinking mostly of Luke 11:1-13).

So without further ado, here is my Christmas wish list (a.k.a prayer requests) for Connections Community Church in 2008. Let us commit to pray and work together so that we might see:

• Filling 350 seats (the largest theatre) in worship by summer 2008.
• A sustainable rotation of 100 people in volunteer teams- Connections Groups, FAST, FIT, Family, Worship and Media.
  
• The official launch of our Connections Groups in Fall 2008 with 200 active participants.
• Expanding to 2 worship services by Christmas 2008 and seeing more than 500 attend our worship services.
• 52 new commitments to Jesus Christ as savior and Lord- one for every week of the year.

Five requests, one for each finger (except for my father-in-law who gave two of his fingers to the farm).
Remember them, pray for them, work to make them reality.
I think they are appropriately audacious and attainable.

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen!" Ephesians 3:20-21

Church Bulletins

I started another poll.
If you have an opinion on church bulletins (the program given out at the worship service) go to the blog and vote, or even post a comment here.
We know we'll have some type of bulletin and communication card system, we just want a little feedback on how important and useful it is to people.
That all.

2007 Christmas Letter

January- George gets the “green light” to begin plans for the North London Church Plant.

February- George and Robin go to “Church Planter’s Boot Camp” in Florida. Both agree that “Church Planter’s Beach Vacation” would be a more accurate title.
March- George finally gets to go skiing- all is right in the world. Announces name- “Connections Community Church.” There is much rejoicing.
April- “Design stage” small groups begin meeting in homes around London.
May- Connections sponsors 2 soccer teams; George attempts to coach; Saylor’s celebrate 10-year anniversary!
June- “Design stage” transitions into “Development stage” with about 30 active adults.
July- It’s Canada folks, nothing gets done in July.
August- 2000+ balloons given out at Balloonfest/Ribfest; final plans made for Preview services. Saylor’s decide to take vacation- brilliant idea! Website launched.
September-
Thursday Sept. 6- 9 am: George gets his last haircut; Saylor’s garage filled with empty wooden storage cabinets. Noon: 28ft trailer delivered, cabinets too tall to fit in trailer, George doesn’t freak out. 4 pm: Team meets at Horizons Solutions and admires our equipment. 6:30 pm: The team meets at First CRC and plays with the gear, the men take a ripsaw to the cabinets- they fit in the trailer.
Friday Sept. 7- 9 am: Dress rehearsal at Silver City Movie Theatre. Out by 11am. George goes home to write a sermon.
Saturday Sept. 8: George contemplates moving back to North Carolina. Finishes sermon, decides to stick around "just to see what happens."
Sunday Sept. 9: 196 people show up to our first Worship service; George is glad he stuck around, gives God the glory because there’s no way he could have done this.
October- Services held every other week, the numbers stay up, more people get on board, strategic planning begins.
November- Services continue to draw 125-175 people.
December- Connections celebrates its first Christmas with two services; gets ready to go weekly starting January 6…

What God has done with Connections in one year- from a dream, to the first fruits of a new church- is beyond what I dared to ask. In 2008 we eagerly anticipate seeing what God will do. Our mission remains the same- to gather more workers, “for the harvest is plentiful.” Now, with workers committed, we begin with even more intensity to seek the lost that they may find salvation in Jesus Christ.

Linus' Christmas Monologue

I used this in the service on Sunday and it's too good not to share...

What I've Pondered...

I've decided to take my own advice (occasionally we preachers actually listen to what we say).
I went on a run this morning, and for the first time since Sunday I had the space to actually ponder what I really want for Christmas (beside the skis).
So I started to think and pray about hope, peace, love and joy. Here's what I came up with...

Hope. I hope God builds Connections Community Church.
I hope God will take us, make us, and where necessary, even break us.
I hope that our church brings God glory and delight.
I hope God grows us in size- big and small.
I hope our worship service attracts hundreds, then thousands, even tens of thousands. It happened in the bible, it happens today, and it can happen in London.
I hope we have the blessing of sharing the word and love of God to everybody in this city- I really do.
I also hope we grow smaller- connecting all who desire with Connections Groups that meet in homes to deepen relationships and learning.
I hope we quickly grow beyond a worship service, beyond home groups, and into a presence that takes this city by storm. A presence of justice, mercy and building the common good for all people.
I hope our church becomes a vessel for God's Spirit and real change in people's lives.
I have a lot of hopes for our church.

Peace. I pray for peace in the development of our church- a peace that pervades our relationships in leadership, in the congregation, and even stems into the city. I pray for a peace that guards our decisions and protects our vision. I pray for a peace that comes upon all who come in contact with our church- peace with God, peace with people, and peace with our world.

Love. I pray a spirit of love will characterize everything, everything, that Connections will say and do and be. Enough said.

Joy. I pray for joy in the lives of our people. Joy and laughter in our worship, in our Connections Groups, in our hearts. Joy is awesome. I pray Connections becomes a place of infectious joy!
So think about it, pray about it, and comment about it. What are your prayers for hope, peace, love and joy for your life, for our church, four our world?

Ponder These Things...

Charles Dickens is synonymous with Christmas. Everyone knows his famous tale- a Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge, the Ghosts of Christmas past, present and future, Tiny Tim- great stuff. But Dickens wrote another story that, in my opinion, captures the spirit and experience of Christmas even better than he did in the Carol. I don’t think he knew he did, and I don’t think anyone else, to my knowledge, has ever made this connection. But the very first line of his famous Tale of Two Cities rings true for most of us this time of year...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Read the rest of this sermon here.

Ministry Teams

When we started the preview services in September it was "all hands on deck" every service for all our our volunteers. It has been an effective way to get things started, to figure out how to do things, and to build the team and moral. In through this season we've been fine tuning our

Ministry Teams.

Now it's time to take it to the next level, expand the Ministry Teams to a rotation model, and start meeting weekly- January 6th!

And while we can't offer our worship service without the Ministry Teams, we are designing them to do much more than a job. We want them to build

connections...relationships...community.

A group of people that have a common purpose, a common place, and common interests. A natural gathering of people to do so much more than just a job.

SO if you reading this and you've attended Connections, please consider joining a team.
If you're a supporter, please keep us in your prayers as we get people plugged in.
Even at this stage of development we require 34 people PLUS our worship team.

Here are our Ministry Team expectations and job descriptions...

Expectations for all team members:
The desire to serve and to make people feel welcomed
To be familiar with the 3C vision and plans

FAST: Facility Setup Team- 10 person minimum
Time: 8-9am, 11-11:30am
~ Show up and set up; relax and enjoy the service; pack-up

FIT: First Impressions Team- 12 person minimum
Time: 9-11am
~ Welcome Centre and Connection Café (4): make coffee and answer questions
~ Greeters (6): open doors, welcome people and assist in making name tags
~ Ushers (2): help people in the service to find seats and feel comfortable

Family Ministry Team*- 12 person minimum, 4 per room
Time: 9-11am
~ Background check Required
~ A desire to serve children in the nursery, children JK-1st, or 2nd-5th class room
~ Familiar with check in process and lesson plan

Worship and Multi-Media Team- varies
Time: 8-11am
~ Skilled musician and/or Technically skilled (or learning) in such areas as sound, lighting, graphics, computer and web technology
~ Active participation in rehearsals

Scaffolding

They don't talk a lot about scaffolding when you build a church.
But they should.
It's all about foundation, and infrastructure, and walls and decor.

But you can't build anything of magnitude without scaffolding.
It simply can't happen.
In fact, next to the foundation and blueprint, the scaffolding is the most important part.
You have to start with the blueprint. You don't start slapping materials together, hoping they will somehow end up as a beautiful, working, safe structure that's up to code.
Then of course you need that foundation. You need to know the rock you're building on. In fact, I'm told by my contractor buddy that guys in the biz can look at a foundation and can tell down to some remarkable detail what the final product is going to look like. It's not like one foundation fits all buildings- they are VERY specific.
If someone were to look at Connections foundation already, I think they could discern with remarkable detail, what our church is going to look and function like.

But still, they never tell you about the scaffolding.
There is certain "scaffolding" we put in place because we have to in order to build to the next phase- we don't have our office yet, but office work is being done. We don't have an intricate follow up process, but follow-up is being done. (I'll just stop there because it can be overwhelming to think about all the things we haven't built yet.) All of this is scaffolding as we build a bigger and better structure.

But what is most important is the human scaffolding. Some people, in fact a number of people, are there to help you build to the next phase. But they are not part of the structure itself. They help you build the building.
They are absolutely essential.
The work could not be done with out them.
But the time comes when their work is done.
They've served their purpose.
And the scaffolding must come down.

If the scaffolding doesn't come down, it continues to take the focus.
It remains the visible exterior of the building.
It obscures the real beauty and functionality of the building.
People don't know how to get in.
People start to think the scaffolding is the building itself.

I am eternally grateful for our scaffolding.
Our systems that are holding us together while we build.
But more so for the people that have held us together.
I'm grateful for the work they've done.
For the friendship we've built.

And especially that they see themselves as scaffolding.
That they willingly have let themselves be "torn down."
That they are now allowing others to see the building and learn how to get involved.
So far we've had only one really ugly "exit" from Connections.
Luckily that venom was spewed at me and not anyone else.
Everyone else has stepped aside on really good terms.

Don't let anybody tell you a building just comes together.
It takes scaffolding to get the job done.

A Culture of Connection

Transformers was the movie of the summer, but they didn’t even come close to Voltron. Most people have forgotten about Voltron- there’s no movie coming out celebrate their return. And it’s a shame because they were way better. There were five young men and women who came to planet Arus, searching the universe for habitable planets. Arus was held captive by the evil king Zarkon and his forces (evil always has a name friends). While they did not seek to be drawn into the fight, they simply couldn’t help it- they had to fight for the greater good for normal men and women. But even these young heroes were no match for Zarkon- until they discovered the five lions of Voltron.

To read the rest of this sermon go here.

Our First Babies!

That isn't me and Robin, and those aren't our kids.
It's Rick and Cheri Harbarenko and their kids, Colten and Mikayla.
And they gave me permission to share the news they they are now the first official CCC babies.
Actually, we've had two couples have babies since we started this journey a few months ago. But Rick and Cheri's kids were the first to be dedicated in a worship service.

They were invited to CCC by Nathan and Paula (Nathan is one of our worship leaders and Paula one of our Family Ministry Team leaders). After Rick and Cheri started coming out to our services they approached me to ask about dedicating their children.

There has to be a first for everything I told them!

I actually said it would be great- they became my main sermon illustration as we were talking about being interconnected as the body of Christ. This was the perfect way to picture it- a living example of connection: Rick and Cheri coming together, finding love, finding each other in this world. From their love sprung up new life. Then as a family of young and old, male and female, connecting with the church.

Throughout the bible, from the prophet Samuel all the way to Jesus, we find parents dedicating their children to God. We see this great history in which God honors parents who dedicate their children to Him, and He honors these children as they grow up in the family of faith.

In fact, we have this wonderful story from the life of Jesus:

“People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.” Mark 10:13-16

This was the affirmation of faith and dedication we used in th service:

To the Parents:

Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and do you confess Jesus Christ, his only Son, as your savior and Lord, and affirm the truth of the Christian faith as revealed in the bible and professed in this church?

Do you promise, in reliance on the Holy Spirit, and with the help of this church, to love Colten and Makayla, pray for them, instruct them in the way of Jesus and involve them with the community of faith in the hope that they will each confess Christ as his and her own savior and Lord, and be baptized into the body of Christ?

Do you freely and wholeheartedly now dedicate Colten and Makayla that they belong, in body and soul, in life and in death, to Jesus Christ?

Then the blessing of the children:

“_________, you are part of the body of Christ- a child of God, marked by Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit. May the Lord bless you and keep you.“

After the service I was approached about baptism by a young woman...maybe there really is something to planting churches that changes lives!

Happy Thanksgiving

In one way everything in the world seems wrong today- it's thanksgiving, but it's not.
My circadian rhythm tells me I should be eating deep fried turkey, and watching football. I was supposed to wake up early, run the Turkey Trot and go to the annual Turkey Bowl. I'm supposed to be going to the movies tonight and NOT going shopping tomorrow.
Yes, this is my first Thanksgiving in Canada.
Moved here over a year ago, but last year at this time we ran south of the border, following the scent of pumpkin pie (and apple, cherry, peach, blueberry, boston, and a few others. My family REALLY likes pie.)

But still, I am thankful.
Thankful for new traditions.
Thankful for new friends.
Thankful for new opportunities.
Thankful for a new beginning.
Thankful for a new warm home.
Thankful for the same wonderful foods.
Thankful for the same great God leading us in this new place in life.

And I'm thankful for my family that never ceases to crack me up, especially as I try to work from home today...



In a few years he'd kill me for this- but in a few years he wouldn't dress like this (or will he?)

Lessons from the Geese

I've been getting some things ready for our service this Sunday and thought of this illustration from nature that I've used many time before. I'm not sure if it will make it into the sermon, as I now have way too much material, but it's too good not to share...

When you see geese flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone - and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south. Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick or is wounded, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

I'm finding the wisdom of this lesson each day in this adventure of launching a church.
I love being in the front, leading the way, directing the team.
Right behind me are my team leaders- themselves leading the way in their areas of passion: worship, music, administration, organization, family ministry, etc.
Behind them are the many volunteers who are helping us make this journey. Each inline, each supporting the team, each playing their part.

Watching a large flock of geese in formation is always a sight to behold.
But it's nothing when I step out and look back on what our team is doing- truly a sight to behold- aimed at God, following Him, pursuing the vision He's given to us.

The World at our Door

Monday morning I jumped a car with a Rob, a friend who has planted a church here in London that has grown to about 1400 people in worship on Sunday's in 15 years. We headed up to Ottawa to meet with other church planters in Canada (most of them are staying for the week, but Rob and I, as self proclaimed home-bodies, slipped out late last night).

I could write several blogs on the past two days, and probably will. It was amazing to see and hear what God is doing. He's growing a "holy discontent" in many pastor's lives, and pushing them to into new endeavors. He's stretching men and women, and opening new doors. He's planting churches and changing lives. And He's changing Canada.

No really, Canada is changing. We talked a lot about the changing face of this nation. Between '96 and '01 the growth of minorities was astounding. The stats are not all in yet, but the changes between '01 and '07 are even more dramatic. Basically, minorities are not minorities anymore. We're moving to a nation of co-existing multiplicities. Many groups with enough critical mass to constitute very viable and lively communities within our cities.

A lot of folks shared about what they are doing to reach out to these communities, and to bring them together. There was a great push to establish multi- racial, cultural, economic, educational and ethnic congregations.

So what will that look like for Connections? Well if we are true to our name, we'll find our community starting to diversify. If we are true to our values, we'll celebrate our "diversity in unity." I suppose what I'm saying is that I'd love to see Connections reflect the final image we have in the bible, where we see in the city of God,

people "from every tribe and language and people and nation" worshiping Jesus (Revelation 5:9).

I also don't believe it will "just happen." We need to work to make it happen- by taking a risk, talking to somebody that looks different, walking across the street, stumbling through an awkward introduction.

For 2000+ years the church has grown by taking seriously Jesus' command to go out to all the world. So what will we do when the world comes to Canada, to London, to our neighborhood?

By the way, I'm actually a minority immigrant. Who'd have guessed?

A Culture of Healing

Margaret* immigrated here from Uganda 8 years ago. She has two beautiful children, Sharon and Wilson. She wasn't far along in her pregnancy, but hadn’t been feeling well. She tried to go to work at St. Joe’s hospital, but found herself unable to manage. With the help of a friend she eventually got to an emergency room. She ended up delivering at just before midnight. Orion lived nearly five hours before passing away. 23 weeks old, and he still fought to live...

To read the rest of Margaret's story and this sermon, check out
cccsermons.blogspot.com or just use the link on the sidebar.

A Good Tip

I think I've stumbled upon a genius idea- inviting waiters, waitresses, baristas, etc to church. No really, this just dawned on me the other day.

I have a couple of regular haunts to meet folks for coffee or a meal. I've also tried to be very intentional about remembering names, being nice, giving tips, and looking for opportunities to GENUINELY invite them to Connections. And I kept getting a great response every time I gave an invitation card. I was really feeling my oats at all the "connections" I've made when it dawned on me,

"Oh yeah, the customer is always right- they are PAID to be glad that I invited them to church."

Then I felt like an idiot.

Then I felt really good about myself again (I'm an emotional roller coaster in the span of 3 seconds). Because...

1. I don't know if they are sincerely grateful, but I know I'm sincerely inviting.
2. It's in their hands now, and I don't have to worry about it.
3. It wasn't a bad experience, it was actually quite fun and encouraging.

So, here's my advice to you who want to invite folks to church, because it means the world to you, but you're nervous about doing it because you hate rejection, and you hate the thought of people thinking you're insincere, and you think the whole experience will be traumatizing...

Invite the lady or the guy serving you coffee to church this weekend. They won't laugh at you, they won't kick you out. And who knows, they may actually appreciate it, they may actually show up, they may even become your friend.

Partnerships

This past Sunday, Nov. 4, Connections Community Church celebrated it's partnership with another church here in town- First Christian Reformed Church. 14 people were commissioned to go and work with 3C. It was inspirational, and emotional. Some of these folks have literally grown up at FCRC. They raised children there. They have grandchildren that are now members there. Hearing, and responding, to the call to leave was not an easy or flippant decision. It was prayed about, talked about, knocked about for months. But ultimately these folks came to know God has a unique role for them at 3C.

Partnerships can be scary, can create difficulty, can open doors for misunderstanding, can be threatening, and can generally make life more difficult. But they are absolutely essential.

I can't imagine my life without my #1 partner (and I'm not going to hyper-spiritualize this and say Jesus, even though that is true)- my wife Robin. Our partnership is awesome. Together we run a household, we entertain, we are launching a church. Hey, we even created new life- three to be exact! But the partnership takes work. We have to work on our communication, our schedules, our individual needs- and the list could go on. It's not always glamorous- making meals, cleaning up after meals, laundry, cleaning, yard work- and that's just what I do (Ha). But suffice to say, at the end of the day, the partnership is worth it.

The church, as a living organism functions in much the same way. We can try to go it alone, but we will never go as far, soar as high, touch as many lives. We simply do better, do more, in partnership. It takes some thought and work, but the pay off is enormous, and the blessings are multiplied. It's certainly not always glamorous, and it may take years to see the fruits of labour- but it's so worth it.

We have awesome partnerships- Christian Reformed Home Missions has made an enormous financial and spiritual commitment to make this church work. FCRC gives us office space and a place to rehearse, practice, and do our administrative work. Other churches in town have commissioned members to join us- they actually send God loving, hard working, gift-giving people their blessing to partner with 3C!

We want more partnerships! We look forward to associating with other groups and other ministries. This will be embraced thoughtfully, strategically, and prayerfully. They will take work to create and sustain. But at the end of the day it will be worth it- for

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body...Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1Corinthians 12:12, 13, 27

Series Development Strategy

Tonight we have our next strategy meeting. We will focus on how we do series development- the creative process from an idea to the actual service. How do we get people in the process, how do we prioritize, how do we take into consideration the different "seasons" of the year and "seasons" in people's lives, how do we streamline our graphics, promotion, printed literature, website, etc? It will be great to discuss these and many more questions.

But what might be even more exciting for me will be just seeing who comes out to join the discussion. I'm amazed so often at the talents that are hiding out there. Skills people have and are willing to share- if only they have the opportunity. I have been pleasantly surprised many times over to find that when I ask, the right person is found. It's confirmation that we are moving in the right direction. It's also confirmation that God is leading our efforts.

Daily I still try to maintain the balance of following God's lead and doing the work of launching a church. I've written before ho there's a difference between making your plans and asking God to bless them, and looking for God's blessing and going with the plan. Sometimes the distinction is clear. Most days it's a fine line. Gathering like tonight's meeting help me to discern. When God puts some talent right before you it pretty clear- instruct, empower, and release the person to do what they do.

A Culture of Truth

“The truth is…”

SO how do you finish that sentence? What is the truth of your life right now? Maybe it’s something really great. Maybe the truth is that right now you’re better than you have been for a long time. You’re sober, your marriage is good, your kid is an honor student, you got a promotion at work, you’re in school and have your life plan securely in place. If that the case, we celebrate, we rejoice with you. I hope you all have some great truths in your life right now. Or maybe the truth is that you’re in a tough spot. You fell off the wagon, your marriage is on the rocks, your kid beat up the honor student, you lost your job, you have this opportunity to get an education and you have no idea what to do with it. If that’s the case, we still want to celebrate God and worship with you! But we also want to mourn with you, and pray for you. But whatever comes to the surface from the depths of your being, the point this morning is this- we want CCC to be a place where people can experience and know truth. We want to cultivate a culture where the truth isn’t covered up, but rather, the lies are cast aside, the masks are taken off, and we get real, we get honest, with get truthful.

Read the rest of the sermon here

The Real Deal

My wife's blog is awesome. I have to resist linking everything she writes. But this one was too good, and has everything to do with church development...

Life In a Fishbowl

See you at the Polls

Just so you are aware, I added a feature on my blog to take polls. I'm hoping this really takes off and a lot of you will respond. If so, I can make writing a new question a weekly routine.
So check it out on the right side tool bar and cast your vote!

This weeks question- how should we get the word out (about the Sunday service at Silver City)? Let me know your opinion on what media works best! Who knows, maybe you will convince me that mailers really are effective (but I wouldn't count on it)

Team Development

So far things have been moving along well with our launch team. I was reflecting with someone how no major conflicts or issues have come up...yet. I'm not a pessimist, but I do live in reality and work with people- conflict will come.

Conflict is necessary, and it can be good. You can't engage a mission, bring people on board, work collaboratively, and hand over ownership without there being differences of opinion and disagreement. This issue in not avoidance- it' s how to you press through.

I've found the following model a very helpful rubric through which to view team development. We are still in the "Forming" stage, but more and more we'll enter the "Storming" stage. With a good foundation we'll see it all the way to "Performing."

Bruce Tuckman's "Forming- Storming- Norming- Performing" model, circa 1965.

Forming - stage 1

High dependence on leader for guidance and direction. Little agreement on team aims other than received from leader. Individual roles and responsibilities are unclear. Leader must be prepared to answer lots of questions about the team's purpose, objectives and external relationships. Processes are often ignored. Members test tolerance of system and leader. Leader directs (similar to Situational Leadership® 'Telling' mode).

Storming - stage 2

Decisions don't come easily within group. Team members vie for position as they attempt to establish themselves in relation to other team members and the leader, who might receive challenges from team members. Clarity of purpose increases but plenty of uncertainties persist. Cliques and factions form and there may be power struggles. The team needs to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by relationships and emotional issues. Compromises may be required to enable progress. Leader coaches (similar to Situational Leadership® 'Selling' mode).

Norming - stage 3

Agreement and consensus is largely forms among team, who respond well to facilitation by leader. Roles and responsibilities are clear and accepted. Big decisions are made by group agreement. Smaller decisions may be delegated to individuals or small teams within group. Commitment and unity is strong. The team may engage in fun and social activities. The team discusses and develops its processes and working style. There is general respect for the leader and some of leadership is more shared by the team. Leader facilitates and enables (similar to the Situational Leadership® 'Participating' mode).

Performing - stage 4

The team is more strategically aware; the team knows clearly why it is doing what it is doing. The team has a shared vision and is able to stand on its own feet with no interference or participation from the leader. There is a focus on over-achieving goals, and the team makes most of the decisions against criteria agreed with the leader. The team has a high degree of autonomy. Disagreements occur but now they are resolved within the team positively and necessary changes to processes and structure are made by the team. The team is able to work towards achieving the goal, and also to attend to relationship, style and process issues along the way. team members look after each other. The team requires delegated tasks and projects from the leader. The team does not need to be instructed or assisted. Team members might ask for assistance from the leader with personal and interpersonal development. Leader delegates and oversees (similar to the Situational Leadership® 'Delegating' mode).

We're glad you're here...really!

I've been reading through our communication cards from our services and have found one consistent remark. I wish I could say it was, "The message was the best I've ever heard!' or even, "That's the best band I've ever heard." And while many did compliment the music and the message, nearly every card had a comment like, "Loved the friendly atmosphere," or "Very welcoming."

I think the dynamic of a good worship experience works like this- you might do a great job welcoming people, but if you don't give them anything else, you're only setting them up for disappointment. On the other hand, you might actually have the best band and best speaker around, but if people don't feel welcomed, forget about it. But I would also venture this guess- if you do a really great job welcoming people, helping them feel accepted and comfortable, letting them know that you really are glad they came- that can cover a multitude of mistakes. People don't sweat the little mistakes in the media presentation, the little buzz in the sound system, the lighting that wasn't quite perfect. Now this is not an excuse for a poor program and presentation, but if you do hospitality well, the other parts come into better perspective.

I've tried to come up with a better word for this, a more contemporary word. But some words just can't be replaced, and hospitality is one of them. You need the word, but more importantly, you need the reality. You need to have a culture of hospitality. I don't mean to slam any churches, but I recently visited a very new church with great facilities and a great program. But I ended up parking in the wrong lot, entering a door without any greeters, walking past people in lobby having conversations, finding a bulletin and seat for myself. I did happen to bump into some people I knew who were likewise visiting, so we ended up together.

As I left I realized that not once did someone who represented the church itself welcome or talk with me.

There are some many small things that can be done to control this: use parking attendants or have lots of signs, station greeters at every door, put name tags on your volunteers. Nobody wants to be hounded when they visit a church, but I think they want to be welcomed by the host. I know connections isn't perfect, and people have probably fallen through the cracks already, but I pray that we really can "Cultivate a Connecting Culture" (our preview series theme) where people experience genuine hospitality- a greeting that let's them know that we really are glad they came, we really want them to have a phenomenal worship experience, and we'd really like to stay connected and see them get involved.

Developing our First Year Plan

Kevin MacGregor, who's quickly becoming a sort of "Executive Director" for Connections, has worked faithfully to lay the groundwork for our first year development strategy. We are working to develop the strategies for our three core areas of focus as a portable church:

(1) Website

(2) Worship Services

(3) Community Interaction - internal (Connections Cafe and Connections Groups) and external (community services)

When we take a step back we've already gone through several stages:

• Idea (should a new church be launched in North London?)
• Study and Prayer (actual needs and leading of God)
• Implementation (organize, fund raise, search for leader)
• Installation (beginning the actual mission)

Or to put it simply: we've gone from a vision to a reality- from the dream of launching a new church, to actually seeing people gather for worship, study, fellowship, service and outreach. It sounds so simple when you put it into one sentence, but it's been a ton of work and prayer!

But now, with a clear mission and a little momentum, we are ready to fully implement a strategy for development. This will allow us to do several things:

1. We can prioritize and track our growth.
2. We can evaluate based on our plans and what actually starts to unfold.
3. We can gather resources.

Let me put it this way- our dream was not fulfilled the day we held our first public worship service; our dream simply became visible to the community. Now we begin to invite the community to get on board and become the flesh and blood that fulfills our hopes and dreams.

We are also going to invite people, churches and organizations to invest in this mission. In sum, we hope to gather a lot of support and turn that around into becoming a self supporting and "church planting" church in three years.

Few new churches reach this level in such a short time. We just hope to be one of the few, and we'll try to do everything we can to make that happen with God's leading.


Below are the sessions we have scheduled for the church community:

Developing A Media Strategy

When: Thursday, October 18th (7:00pm to 9:00pm)

Where: The Navigator's

Audience: All Interested

Agenda: To educate, share media examples, provide a couple of guest speakers on audio and multimedia, and capture a list of what we would like to do at Connections

Objective: To develop a list of strategic elements for possible adoption at Connections

Series Development Strategy

When: Thursday, November 1st (7:00pm to 9:00pm)

Where: TBD

Audience: All Interested

Agenda: Walk-through an outline of a series development model, discuss, modify and gather ideas that might benefit series development planning

Objective: To develop a list of strategic elements for possible adoption at Connections

Community Service Model

When: Thursday, November 15th (7:00pm to 9:00pm)

Where: TBD

Audience: All Interested

Agenda: TBD (i.e. discuss the process of how Connections might discern what community services to dive into...)

Objective: To develop a list of strategic elements for possible adoption at Connections

Developing A Six Month Plan

When: Thursday, November 8th (6:30pm to 9:00pm)

Where: TBD

Audience: Leadership Team

Agenda: Take the strategic elements from sessions- discuss them and prioritize them

Objective: Arrive at a plan outlining specific incremental changes we will make month-by-month, service-by-service over the next six months.

Sharing The Six Month Plan

When: Thursday, December 13th (7:00pm to 9:00pm)

Where: TBD

Audience: All of our attendees/members

Agenda: Share our Six Month Plan with everyone involved or interested in Connections Community Church

Objective: Share the vision and plans of Connections Community Church over the next year.

A Culture of Acceptance

Preview Service Series: Cultivating a Connecting Culture
Sunday, October 14: A culture of Acceptance

Last time I asked you a question- what will it take to trust? To trust yourself, to trust others, to trust God? Today I don’t want to ask you a question, I want to offer you and invitation. But I believe it is a very profound invitation...

- Come as you are.

Read the rest of the sermon at cccsermons.blogspot.com

Come as you are...

Thanks Ben Jolliffe, this is awesome!

Partnerships...

Most readers should know by heart our vision (Connecting with God- connecting with people- connecting with the world) and our time line for launching this vision:

• Fall 2007: Connecting with God (getting Sunday services started)
• Fall 2008: Connecting with People (formally launching our program for small groups)
• Fall 2009: Connecting with the World (becoming a church planting church)

This “third leg” of our vision is to connect with our community and world in positive ways (third in strategic development, not value). Our primary way of beginning this third-leg is through partnerships. We see no need to invent any ministries right now, as there are numerous ways to connect already around us.

One of these partnerships that has already begun is with the Northwest London Resource Centre (www.nwlrc.ca). The NWLRC is a community resource centre creating accessible links to service providers throughout the city. They also provide a wide variety of programs and facilitate community initiatives such as food and basic needs programs, free computer use for those seeking employment, walking clubs, English as a second language groups, tutoring and several opportunities for artistic expression.

Connections Community Church has already partnered with the NWLRC to provide volunteers and entertainment with the Connections band (before we ever held a public worship service!).

The NWLRC is need of supplies for the Emergency Food Pantry. After Thanksgiving their supplies are even more strained. At our next Preview Service on October 14 we ask that everyone who is able bring a donation of the following:

Baby formula or food
Diapers or wipes
Pasta /sauce
Canned fruit/veggies/tuna
Soups (other than Tomato!)
Or just abut any other packaged food that you’d like to eat!

Thanks for your help in making a difference in our community!

Fractals

I would have never guessed in 10th grade that geometry would play such a vital role in church development. And while I believe I did the worst in geometry than any other mathematics course, this has proved to be a very valuable lesson: Fractals.

In colloquial usage, a fractal is...

a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a reduced-size copy of the whole". The term was coined by Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975 and was derived from the Latin fractus meaning "broken" or "fractured".

In church development usage, a fractal is...

a quality whereby each subdivided part of the church is a reduced copy of the whole.

In other words, each part of the church, not matter how small or large, contains all the essential parts of the church. It means that all parts of the church, whether it's our Sunday morning service or a service project, whether it's the worship team or a family ministry team, they all contain all the essential elements of our church. It means that every part knows what the other parts are about, and what they are doing, because we are all serving the same mission- connecting with God, people, and the world.
For us this will mean that as we develop we will need to make sure that each part of the church, even as it grows and matures and takes ownership for it's area of responsibility, will continue to serve our larger mission. It means that someone can jump into any part of our church, and will immediately know what the whole church is about.

The entropy of church development seems to take the various ministries of church in vastly different directions. Now while variety and diversity are great, there has to be a common thread, nay, a common gigantic thick rope that everyone sees, knows, and holds on to, holding the whole church together. Far too many churches find themselves in a place where staff members have very different methodologies and even theologies of ministry. People get into positions of leadership so they can try to usurp and redirect the church. Or simply put, the youth program is completely disconnected from the larger church ministry.

In fractal church development, we will grow into a diversification of ministries, but each of those ministries will be a part of the whole. Simple put, the youth ministry at Connections,
like all ministries at Connections, will be about connecting with God, people and the world.

Profound? Not really. But in practice in will make a profoundly different outcome in the development and continuity of Connections Community Church.

If you build it...

I have said on many occasions-

"If we build it (this church), they won't come. But if we invite them, chances are very good they will."

Of course God has blessed us and we've heard some amazing stories of people finding our website or seeing a t-shirt and coming to our service. For those stories God gets 100% of the glory. We can certainly take no credit.

But the best story I've heard so far was this (I won't use his name)- a man came to the service on Sunday and none of us immediately recognized him. We asked if someone invited him. He informed us that during our picnic two weeks ago he was in the same park. Somebody from our team took the time to walk over and greet him. He handed the man one of our business cards, they talked for just a few moments, and then left with the simple invitation, "Please join us for one of our services."
Two weeks later he did. He then informed one of our team members that he had lived in Canada for 4 years and had never been invited to a church before. He even handed back the business card like it was a ticket to get in!

My "theory" has proven true several times over now. How amazing- people actually like to feel welcomed and invited. So profound (he wrote with a touch of sarcasm). Invite a friend, invite a neighbor, hey, invite a person in the park! If the invitation comes from the heart, chances seem pretty strong that person will come.

So I teach myself this lesson again today- as things progress with the strategic development of this church (and thanks to the help of others we really have some awesome plans that will soon be presented), as we get busy planning and producing our worship services, as we have so much work than can and will be done- none of that necessarily builds a church. That only builds programs, policy, and structures. To build the church you just can't miss the one and only raw material for construction- people. People connected with God and one another. That's how it's built.

If you care to read about an adventure in missing this point, the following is an obviously satirical story taken from www.larknews.com - but you get the point!

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — On Sunday morning at Horizon Christian Fellowship, a 15-member worship band cranks out praise songs and the pastor preaches with the aid of stadium lighting and jumbo-size screens. But the church, which is only eight months old, has an average attendance of just 28.
"If we build it, we believe they will come," says pastor Rick Allen, 26, a recent Bible college graduate.
Ninety percent of the people who attend the church participate in the service somehow, either in short dramas, humorous video clips or in traditional roles like ushering. This means that at times there is virtually no audience.
"We sit and listen in shifts," says one woman who is the lighting tech, third camera operator, head greeter and fifth grade Sunday school teacher.
Instead of starting a church in some "depressing little storefront," Allen says he decided to rent the biggest space he could find.
"It reflects our confidence in where we’re headed," he says.
But even at peak usage, the warehouse-style facility dwarfs the Sunday morning crowd. Large, empty corridors and ghostly Sunday school rooms sit unused. With the sermon and music being piped through the facility, it feels like an abandoned shopping mall.
In the massive nursery area, five kids have their pick of toys in a sprawling play room. The high-tech child care includes video surveillance and child-specific beepers, but few actual children.
"Attendance is down right now," says the nursery attendant, who is also the church secretary, missions trips coordinator and assistant to the youth pastor. "Usually we have eight kids, but the Hensons are out of town."
Allen expresses "a little frustration" that he hasn’t yet attracted the congregation he wants. Some in town say the size discrepancy makes the church feel "creepy." But Allen says his market research has identified the perfect place for a mega-church where the population was underserved. He remains confident that it will fill up.
"God honors faith," he says. "He won’t leave this place empty." •

Three Powerful Words

I hope you enjoy the images from our second preview service. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Words can't adequately describe how awesome I thought the service was. Once again the team simply amazed me. We had a great turnout- a little fewer in the worship service, but a ton of kids this time! And a whole lot of new visitors. It was great to meet so many of you.

But for all the value that pictures provide, they actually can't do better than some words. In fact, no pictures can replace three very simple words that I'd like to say now...

We missed you.

For those that joined us for the first service, but did not make our second service, I'd like to tell you that we missed you.
We are not a very large church (just yet) and we really did miss you. We missed your voices singing, we missed your conversation in the hallway, we missed what we believe you have to offer Connections- your presence, your prayers, your connection to our community.

In my experience I've found those to be three of the most powerful words- to know that your presence was noticed, but more, missed. And if we are a church built on connections, then we will truly miss you. We want to connect with you and help you get connected. We don't want a big back-door, we want to get people involved.

So I hope somebody calls you and tells you we missed you. I hope you missed being with us. I hope and pray we will see you on the 14th for worship, or better yet, at my house for a Connecting Point or one of our other home groups. All these can be found on the website calendar. So check it out, call , write, and join us, because we missed you. Really.

Cultivating a Connecting Culture: A Culture of Trust

During the next five services we want to be very intentional about the kind of culture that we are going to cultivate here at Connections in worship, in our home groups, and in our service to the community. We only have one chance to launch this thing for the first time- and we want to do it well. We want to do it with creativity, with authenticity, and with excellence.

And we get one shot at trying to create the DNA of this organism. One shot at infusing into the soil of this church the kinds of nutrients we think are essential. There are many many good things good nutrients, quantities, values, hopes, dreams that we can talk about. There are also many bad nutrients, attitudes and agendas that we believe could derail our vision. But we’ve narrowed it town to five major nutrients to cultivate a connecting culture: trust- acceptance- truth- healing- connection. I want to break that down for us this morning....


Read the whole sermon at cccsermons.blogspot.com

Preview Service Series

Preview Service Series: “Cultivating a Connecting Culture”

This fall we are gearing up to launch into weekly worship services. We will explore the kind of church culture we are working to cultivate. We are calling it a “connecting culture”- an environment where people naturally gravitate into a deeper relationship with God, others, and the world around us. We believe there are five vital nutrients that need to be present to create this kind of culture- trust, acceptance, truth, healing and connection. Take away even one of these, and the culture will not be able to flourish. But with each one present we will flourish.

We hope you’ll come as you are, make a connection and bring others with you.

Sept. 30- “Cultivating a Connecting Culture- a Culture of Trust”
What would it take for you to trust yourself, to trust other people, to trust God? What would it look like to be a part of a community where trust is the norm?

Oct. 14- “Cultivating a Connecting Culture- a Culture of Acceptance”
Have you ever felt like you could really just be yourself with another person or in a group? Or have you never known what it’s like to be accepted for who you are and how God created you?

Oct. 28- “Cultivating a Connecting Culture- a Culture of Truth”
What are the lies the world feeds us, and we gladly accept? What would happen if we spoke the truth to others, and they spoke truth into our lives?

Nov. 11- “Cultivating a Connecting Culture- a Culture of Healing”
Everybody’s broken. Not everyone finds healing. Is there a path that leads to hope and wholeness?

Nov. 25- “Cultivating a Connecting Culture- a Culture of Connection”
I’m lonely. You’re lonely. Why can’t we find a way to connect? Is there a way to connect?

Lessons from an Illusionist

My beloved wife surprised me with a trip to Niagara Falls this past weekend. It has been a year since we moved to Canada and I still had not soaked up the glitz, glamor and kitsch of the 7th wonder of the world. So off we went to celebrate our 10th anniversary/my birthday.
It was awesome! So much of what I expected- neon signs, big crowds and casinos that seemed to stretch on forever. Oh yeah, the actual falls were pretty nice too, but I was there to see what man had made.
I was there to see the 8th wonder of the world- illusionist Greg Frewin (I'm not making that up, it was on one of the posters!). Robin and I had a great time, and I'd actually recommend the show based on the facts that 1) I had a good time, and 2) I have no idea where else in Canada you can see a show like this. But here are a few of my observations which may, or may not, have something to do with launching a church:

1) Entryways matter. While the theatre was very nicely renovated, they still have some work to do on the entryway. You may never notice a nice foyer with great signs, friendly greeters, and accessible information, but you sure do notice when it's missing.
2) Great food is great! Hospitality is so important. It's better to have a few items that are really good than a endless supply of garbage. The buffet did this well. The only disappointment was dessert- don't miss the most important part of the meal!
3) Good help is hard to find. I felt so bad for Greg- it would appear that he had a new techy on staff, and I wouldn't be surprised if the guy got fired after the show. He missed his mark at the start of nearly every trick. The "magic" was broken almost every. And while Greg was on his game, you could tell he was getting very upset. Finding the right help, hit the marks, making the program work is everything. While the individual tricks were great, we never got "lost" in the show. Greg was helpless to make things work during the show, but I'm sure he's done everything in his power to fix the problem for the next show.
4) Typos are a distraction. I should learn this lesson much better. A church is inevitably going to have mistakes as the information changes so much every week, but never should a mistake be carried over to the next service.
5) Don't mis-represent what you are. Here is was what disappointed me most- from the pictures I saw I expected smoke machines, pyrotechnics, wild animals and dancing girls in giant feathery hats and sequins. And that's what I wanted- over the top, larger than life, I can't believe it type of show. It just wasn't quite that. The dancers were great, the costumes so-so, the animals were amazing, but we didn't see much of them, and no smoke- come on!

But I don't want to sound too negative- I still had a GREAT time at the show and appreciate my wife for all her work. The food, the magic tricks themselves, the whole evening out- I loved it.

Here's my final thought on the weekend- our insatiable need to try to improve on things. Humans have this burning desire to take something in its raw form and try to develop it further. In its best form it takes something like, say, a chunk of stone, and turns it into the statue of David by Michaelangelo (but even at that you wouldn't want every stone turned into a naked dude).
At its worst, it takes a majestic waterfall and turns it into "Niagara Falls." We take the 7th wonder of the world and add lights, boats, tours, games, rides, wax museums, casinos and haunted houses. What the deal with haunted houses? I counted at least 4.
So while I loved basking in all the glitz of Niagara, after one day, Saturday, Robin and I were ready to escape. So on Sunday we hit the Falls Parkway, hiked into the Glenn, which was awesome, took a sail boat ride in the afternoon (thanks Uncle Dave and Aunt Joanne).
And I must say that I wouldn't have wanted it any other way- after enjoying all "man" had built up on Saturday, it felt right that on Sunday we should worship, enjoy creation, escape the noise and the lights and the busy-ness of it all.
And likewise, while our church might meet in a theatre, while the band will rock and the venue is about as built up as one can imagine, still we hope, we pray, that it is a place to find refuge from a world of glitz and glam, and find connection with God and His people.

Losing my religion

When I was a frosh as college the band REM released a song titled "Losing my Religion." At a Christian Liberal Arts College it spurred a bit of conversation, mostly trying to decide if losing religion was a good or bad thing. In the end, most of us agreed that it depended on your definition of religion. In general, "religion" is a rather vague term and can refer to many good things, and many horrible things.

Fast forward to Monday night- I had the opportunity to hear and talk with Bruxy Cavey, teaching pastor of the Meeting House
who was speaking on the release of his newly expanded book, "The End of Religion." I never asked a question, as I haven't read th book yet, but if I did, I would have wanted to ask Bruxy to give me his definition of religion.
I'm not going to pass any critique until I've read the book, but here are my initial thoughts.
First, the idea of ending religion as we know it must be tempered with another seminal work from 1991 titled "The Myth of religious Neutrality" by Roy Clouser. This book stirred up heated feelings in favor and against, as I'm sure Bruxy's book will.
I agree with premise of the myth of religious neutrality- which is, that we really are not neutral. We have a "religion," a set of deeply felt beliefs, examined or unexamined, that influence and drive what we do, think and understand (I'm avoiding words like epistemology and the like, which is helpful, but can be confusing if you haven't had the blessing/curse of going to seminary). The idea that we can somehow escape or get past our religious bias is itself a bias/belief. Thus the circular reasoning begins.

I also agree with Bruxy, if I grasp his argument correctly, that Jesus essentially ushers in the end of religion. But I will add this- the end of religion in all the ways that it has basically gone wrong, which is most of religion as we know it. Because, and this is the crucial thing, Jesus doesn't so much end religious Judaism as he fulfills it. In his own words, he fulfills the law, he doesn't abolish it. The law was given because we missed the heart of religion, the heart of a relationship with Jesus. So while I could be said that Jesus takes us back to the start, because he is that start, it's better understood that he takes us through the mistakes. The brings the full circle to the relationship with God as we were designed for.

I believe we are religious creatures by nature- designed to worship. It's inherently part of our "creatureliness" and our creators glory. So if you attach the word "religion" to this created norm of worship, well then, religion is a good thing again. Now we don't try to end religion all together, we just take it back to it intended design and place in creation.

Instead of rambling on for ever, I'll just add that throughout Jesus' ministry and the New Testament letters I think a strong case can be made for the right place of the right kind of religion. And perhaps that can be seen nowhere better than in Revelation 22 and the glorification of Jesus and consummation of redemptive history- an image of all of creation worshiping God. I suppose I'm just fixated on seeing that as a "religious" action.

So, I'm grateful to both books as ponder these matters- we are creatures made to glorify the Creator, but we've certainly messed it up. Let us boldly slaughter all the sacred cows of false religion that keep us from the relationship with God offered through Jesus and His Holy Spirit, and the kind of religion that our own Lord Jesus finds pleasing (James 1:27).

Our first article!

I meet Rob Hueniken, the editor of "Christian Life in London" a few months back. At the time he said he'd be interested in doing an article when Connections started public services. True to his word, we put this article together for the October issue. If you're on the team, been to our service, or regularly read the blog, there's nothing really new. I just wanted you to be aware and check it out when it hits London on October 4 in print or online at www.clilondon.com

We need your help!

Holding our first preview service last weekend afforded me the opportunity to talk with a fresh group of people about Connections. Which is exactly what we hoped for.

However we did not get the avalanche of Connections Cards we were hoping for. I don't know any other way to say it except that we really do covet your input and insight. We'd love to hear from you:

• how did you find us,
• what did you like,
• what there anything you didn't like,
• would you come back again,
• would you bring a friend,
• would you like to be a part of a Connections Group,
• would you like to be a part of the launching team?

It's more than just getting an attendance chart. Of course we want an attendance chart- we what to know how many people come to our worship services, our Connections Groups, our service events and who on our teams. Every perosn matters to us because people matter to us. It is one of our values.

Which is also why feedback is important to us.
It matters so that we can better do what we want to do. Which is, of course, help people find a connection with God, other people and the world. We need to know if our ministry is hitting the mark and making and impact. We need people to be brutally encouraging and gently honest.

In other words, if you have nothing good to say, it's clear that this ministry isn't for you. I think we've been pretty clear with our mission, our values, and the basic parameters of this ministry. If you don't have some degree of "buy-in," then you can't really give helpful feedback. You can only criticize.

But if you liked a lot of what you've seen or experienced, but have a question or concern or comment, that would be immensely helpful. That would help us grow, stretch and mature this church.

It will be helpful because this is a crucial part of cultivating the kind of culture we envision. We want a culture of dialog and participation, of finding a voice and a place. I think it's in the very act of giving and receiving feedback that people will begin to find a connection with Connections.

So when I say we need your help, we need it on many levels. We need help in crafting a pulling off a service that connects with the culture around us and with God. We need help in creating more Connections Groups- host homes and leaders, and people helping out by committing and bringing others. We need help to connect with the world- to serve and love the community and world around us. We need help in the most basic of ways- just telling us about yourself and what you think.

7.2 Millions Dollars

Yesterday one of our Team leaders called me and asked if I wanted to go to the united way luncheon. I was shocked- shocked I hadn't heard about it! Me, the guy whose trying to network like crazy and go to every community event I can to meet people. Me, the guy who literally studies the community events page in the paper!
Anyway, I did miss the ads, but did make the lunch.
7.2 million in London in the next year. That's their goal.
An awesome goal which got me thinking about our dreams and the resources we need to make them reality.
I don't have any answers for you now, but I will say this.
If 200 people at our first service was NOT a flash in the pan, but a sign that we may attract a crowd, and turn that crowd into a church, then we can work to turn that church into a force.
A force with a big dream and big goals to help us move toward it.
That's what I'm thinking and praying about tonight.