TheDeSocios.com

As some of you know I am in the middle of the application process for church planting assessment in the PCA. Its a long application, and it asks a number of difficult questions. One of those questions asked me to describe the first steps I would take in planting a church. I listed a number of things that I would do at a new church, but I began by saying:
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A church in Louisville is making headlines, by moving forward with ordaining a registered s ex offender. For most people, this is an outrageous idea, and to be honest Im not sure how I would proceed if I was a part of that church.
For many people it might be better to begin with a broader question: Should churches even let s ex offenders to attend? For many I think the answer would easily be “no”, but is that the Biblical answer? Read More

When I was maybe 15 I found one of my father’s old tapes, It was Strange Days by the Doors. I was mesmerized, It was somber and despairing, and I immediately related to it. At the end of the album was a track called When the Musics Over. I remember being young and open to accepting lots of new thoughts, but when I got to this song, I remember feeling sad, and detached, but not detached from myself, or my faith, or who I was; but from the artist. It was Morrison cursing and yelling at God, it was him saying “I hate you”. One line more than any other struck me: “Cancel my subscription to the resurrection Send my credentials to the house of detention”.

David Bazan’s new album Curse You Branches is his When the Musics Over. But what I get from Bazan’s album is a sense of inconsistency, and a bad taste in my mouth, much more than when I first hear Morrison cancel his reservation to heaven. Maybe it was the fact that Morrison was long dead and I was so young, but when I hear Bazan not only curse the branch, but God, I get alot more emotional. I fell bad for the guy. I can’t help but want to hug the dude or punch him square in the face.

Listening to Bazan he is plain and settled in his distaste for God, as understood by Christians. He seems to want to make it clear that he sees it as stupid or ill-conceived.

So do we honor David Bazan’s honesty and authenticity even if he is authentically taking a jab at Christianity. I guess defending Jesus wouldn’t be hip.
Some people seem to be fine with Bazan still being treated as some Spiritual guide, even though I doubt he would call himself one.

One final question, in regard to Hard to Be: Do you think its easier for him to be, now that he has walked away from Jesus and all that makes up Christianity?

Over at theResurgence, Bob Thune wrote a great little article about the dangers of what he called “Church Plant Capitalism”. I might call it Church Plant Consumerism, but I am in definitive agreement with him on many of the apparent dangers.
It is easy to convince yourself that you need the newest and most powerful thing–be it high end nursery equipment or that brand new 17″ Macbook Pro–all so that you can better equip the church for the work of ministry.
Consumer goods have an allure, and when you can say your buying them for Jesus, it seems like it would be wrong to not get the best. If you have ever looked at different magazines marketed toward churches you will see that there are whole industries centered around selling churches crap at twice the market value.
In many respects these industries are just playing on the same motives that try to convince every american male that he needs his own flat screen tv.
While there is some overlap between personal spending motives and ministerial spending motives I think there are a few specific tendencies that make pastor and church planters susceptible to spending alot of money in ways that don’t make sense.

1. Pastors and Church Planters spend lots of money on equipment, because it is easier to rely on items that we can see and touch than it is to rely on the Holy Spirit. We think–if we can just get the right nursery setup and the right sound equipment (with the right musicians) people will come and they will be changed. This is not a uniquely modern problem, just look at Psalm 20, but it is a very dangerous one.

2. Pastors and Church Planters spend lots of money on church stuff in an effort to create a shield between unhappy or unchanged people and their ministry insecurities. We spend lots of money so that things look great and sound great. We trick ourselves into thinking that if people’s lives aren’t being changed its because we didn’t sound good through cheap speakers. Instead of working more at serving people we convince ourselves that the problem doesn’t reside with the message but with the equipment.

Am I totally off track or do other people see similar motives for churches spending exorbitant sums on equipment or even facilities?
I’d encourage anyone interested in Church Planting or working in a church to read Bob Thune’s article.

I am beginning to realize the difference between a disjointed, individualistic and incomplete understanding of the Gospel, and its holistic and biblical alternative is made with one small word – “a”.  This is clearly seen in the two similar but vastly different phrases “God is saving people for himself”  vs. “God is saving a people for himself.”

One creates lots of individuals Christians, the other creates and extends the kingdom.