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So some people might be asking themselves why go through all the trouble to start a new church, especially when there are other churches in an area that are struggling. Why go through all the hassle to organize, and raise support, and connect with new people, when it’s easier to stay where you are?
Here are a few more reasons:

New resources- It’s a fundraising truth that you will get more people to give to a new project than an old one, sure there are non profits who, over a number of years, have built up a steady stream of donors, but thats not a norm. For the most part people invest more in helping dreams take shape, than they do in keeping a struggling project afloat. When you start a new church it will stir up new resources than might not have been utilized before. (This includes peoples talents, their money, and even venues.)

reNewed energy – This is kind of connected to new resources, but often new churches create a pioneering spirit which causes people to be more energized about what they are doing. There might be people who are content with helping in existing ministry, but often a new project is the spark that helps reinvigorate them.

New perspective on neighborhoods challenges – Often older churches have come to understand their surrounds from a certain vantage point. Sometimes what this means is that they can be biased toward certain ideas or methods. New churches will accept new ways of dealing with the challenges of a neighborhoods because they have different biases. For example while many older churches gave away clothes and other goods, which in the long run kept people in a state of dependance. New churches began to consider the idea of subsidized sales which gave people a different sense of value associated with their goods, and allowed them to develop healthier values about money. Of course we have to realize that sometimes there are very good reasons for sticking with a certain way of doing things.

These are just a few of the many reasons why starting new churches is a good thing.
(For the record I understand that this list could probably be applied to most volunteer organization)

I wanted to share a few thoughts about some of the things Im noticing in my small part of the world wide church. I am a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America sometimes abbreviated as (PCA). In this denomination there seems to be a lot of tension mounting around a few issues, and some of the issues are not tiny ones, but what seems to be happening is that people in my denomination are beginning to talk past each other and simply discount everyone who holds different convictions.  People are deciding that our procedures for dealing with disagreements are too slow–and instead are beginning to publish (for all the world and all posterity to see) things that they would never say to someone face to face. This is happening all over the place, and its a really shamefully thing to see.

People on all sides of are forgetting that we are supposed to see each other as family, that we are supposed to love everyone the way that God loved us.
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Q: What does Steve Jobs and Johannes Gutenberg have to do with following Jesus?

First give me a moment to explain where this question is coming from. I’m reading The Walk by Stephen Smallman, and so far its seems to be a good introduction to what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.In his section of the important of reading the Bible and Prayer he make as small but very important remark:

“If you can read, don’t take for granted what a gift you have been given.”

Smallman is right reading is a gift that most of us don’t appreciate. Just imagine how different the world would be if you could never send a letter or write a note or email someone. Most people aren’t even aware of how much they read on a daily basis. We read and write all the time, just think about how so many people have moved from phones to texting as the quickest mode of communication.Yet, there does seem to be a shift in the way we do read. Christians have the opportunity to have not one but many Bibles in their home–something unheard of even 100 years ago.

Last year WIRED published an article examining the shift in literacy in our technological age, but the suprising conclusion was that people are reading and writing more than even.

“I think we’re in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven’t seen since Greek civilization,” she says. For Lunsford, technology isn’t killing our ability to write. It’s reviving it—and pushing our literacy in bold new directions.

This weekend Apple will release the iPad, and if Walt Mossberg, and the folks at WIRED(different article) are correct it could forever change the way we read and interact with content. Tablet computing will change the way that we read and write. We have already seen small steps in this direction with things like the Kindle and even smart phones, like the iPhone, and Droid.

So what! How does any of this answer the opening question?

Specifically for Christians this means that the manor in which we read the Bible is also shifting. Of course some people will lament this shift and worry about what will happen, but we should remember that Christianity has actually undergone many similar shifts in the pasts. Early Christians began to use codexes (the ancient ancestor of todays books) instead of big and clumsy scrolls. When than happened it made it easier for books written in one area to be transported to another area, it also meant that you could reference a middle section of the text without having to unravel the whole things, and potentially damage the expensive object. For most Christians the way they read the Bible was to hear it read aloud.

When Gutenberg first perfected a movable type system which allowed for faster and cheaper publishing, it ushered in another major shift in the way Christians interacted with God’s word. This printing revolution meant that Bibles could be produced at lower cost which meant that owning a copy because feasible for a much larger section of society. Families could actually have their own copy of the Bible which they could be read at home. This meant that individuals who could read could study the Bible for themselves.

Today we are at the cusp of another great shift, digital reading is becoming untethered. Tablets(sometimes called e-readers) like the ipad (and the many more that will follow) mean that soon it will be easy for a Pastor to bring a digital copy of the Bible into the pulpit.

While I know some people will freak out–let me remind everyone: its still the word of God if it’s read from animal skin, papyrus, paper or a digital display. The tech that is involved in reading has changed before and its changing now. I think what we will discover soon that we new technologies will allow Christians to study the Bible in ways that The important part for people who consider themselves disciples of Christ is that if you have the ability to read the word you take every opportunity to do so.

There is a story about the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts where he ends up in jail because he heals a slave women and her owner decides that she was more valuable the way she used to be.

The curious thing about the story is that Paul doesn’t flip out about being arrested, and when an apparent opportunity arises to get out of jail (an earth quake partially destroys the prison) he doesn’t take it–instead he stays in the cell!

So why does he do this?

I think there are two reason why Paul decides to stay in the jail, rather than make a run for it.

First I think Paul doesn’t flip out when he is arrested because his plans aren’t the most important think in his world. Paul had a healthy view of his importance.

While Paul was an important leader in the church, he didn’t think that he was so important that he could afford to take any detours. He doesn’t say to the civil authorities: “I’m Paul. I don’t have time for this stuff.”

Sure he probably wasn’t happy about the hassle and especially the beating they gave him,but he didn’t turn into a prima dona. Instead, he takes the time he has to pray and sing, and focus his attention of God. Paul’s attitude is so different from our attitudes most of the time. Just think of the last time you were late driving somewhere and got stuck in traffic.

Instead of freaking out Paul figures out what good things he could do right there, rather than complaining about his apparent detour.

Connected to this, is the fact that unlike many of us, Paul isn’t willing to skip necessary steps to get back to his plans. He understands that if you have the choice between the two, its better to do something right than to it fast.

Its so easy to get so focused on our goals that we think we are justified in skipping or fudging the process. We all think that we have some circumstances that justifies our rush. Paul could have walked out of the prison, but instead he waits, because he knows in the long term it will be important for him to clear up the charges against him. At the end of the story that is exactly what he does, the authorizes realize they were wrong and give them their freedom. Instead of Paul taking his freedom he waits for them to give him his freedom.

I’m not saying that its wrong to be driven, but what it comes down to is that Paul possessed a skill that most of us don’t–patience. Slow down, do things right and you might end up with opportunities you never expected.

I need to confess something: I sometimes listen in on other peoples conversations. I know its wrong, but I’m just curious when I hear certain private conversations taking place in public.
Right now I’m listen to two people speaking about faith and Christianity at a coffee shop in Pittsburgh. It is a guy who knows everything about Christianity and walked away talking with a woman who sounds like she is defending her faith to this guy.
Right now this young woman seems to be doing a really nice job defending her faith, against this guys straw-man-objections to legalistic Christianity.

3 Reasons why I’m encouraged in overhearing this conversation:

1. God is already doing stuff is Lawrenceville.
2. There are countless other Christians out there struggling and fighting for their faith.
3. Nothing this guy is saying new (It’s the same stuff that Christians have wrestled against since Jesus ascended).