Checklist for Mission Cell Family Living

I put myself through a checklist for missional cell family (missional community) living yesterday.  This is far from a comprehensive list, but it is a continual battle to learn and then teach out the difference between missional living and "1 hour a week, 1 Bible study a week" living.

Check these out:
1. Did I take time to pray for the members of my missional cell & for the future members of my cell?
Can we really claim to love somebody deeply, as a family member, if we don't pray for them?  I did pray for one specific member of the group this week that is having financial issues.  When we understand community, I understand that their financial woes are my financial woes.  I don't have to stress over them, but understand how the Gospel addresses the stress for us to trust Christ, and let the family know that I care.

2. Did I make contact with the members of my missional cell other than the two hour meeting on Thursday night?
This family thing is 24/7.  This is where we live out the New Testament "one anothers."  You know: serve one another, rebuke one another, love one another....."

3. Did I center my interaction with the missional cell on the Gospel?
The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is the centerpiece of all of this interaction.  I don't want to give them good advice; I want to point them to Jesus, to the cross.  I don't want to just pray for them; I want to acknowledge that Jesus is the one to receive glory in HOWEVER He answers the prayers.

4.  Do I even love these people?
Nuff said.  Heart check.

5.  Did I interact with our target mission?
We welcomed new folks into a fresh start missional cell this week, so it is a great time to engage our culture and our missional target which are the neighborhoods around our home and our new church building.  I did ask some folks to come and join us.

6.  Are we planning a party, something social, to make connections with new people and grow our group?
Yes, but are you?  It is a great time to have a neighborhood bbq as the weather changes and engage your neighbors or co-workers with just an invitation to food and drink.

7.  Do I see all areas of my life: work, school, social, play, grocery shopping, etc. as mission opportunities to invite to missional cell?  Where am I developing friendships with non-believers so that they can come into a safe environment and learn about Jesus? And, is this because I truly love these people that I am establishing relationships with or just because I want to have a big group?  A claim to be missional?
We are all loving missionaries all the time.

8. When we did get together this week, did we worship?  Did we learn to obey the commands of God (Matthew 28:20) or in other words Gospel-center the Bible?  Did we get to know our folks better?  Did we point to the Gospel?  Did we seek God in prayer?  Did we just hang out with some food and drink to the glory of God?  Did we observe communion?  Did we love on non-believers in the group without backing off of Biblical truth?  Was there such an excitement about Christ that folks cannot wait to return?  Did we do anything for the children present to teach them the ways of Jesus?

9. Did you have non-believers present?  If not, why not?
We have had in recent weeks, but they did not show up this week, so it is crucial that we make contact this week and love on them in some way.

See how different that is than a Bible study or a Sunday School class.
This thing is hard work, bloody, messy if it is lived out like we see in Scripture, but it is empowered by the Holy Spirit.  And, man, it is worth it when we see people coming to Christ, baptisms, and then disciples making disciples for His fame.

Good Reminder - We Are in the People Business

Planting churches is a crazy, busy life - emotionally, a roller coaster.  It is hugely rewarding and worth every minute though.  Those of us that lead do need to remember that while it is for the glory of God, it is a PEOPLE thing -- loving God, bringing Him glory, proclaiming His magnificent Gospel, yes, but also loving people.  I sat down with most all of the members of our church in individual coffee meetings (yes, coffee is a membership requirement, ha) over the month of January and some of February.  This was VERY time consuming, but we limited each meeting to 30 minutes, and worth every minute.  The most surprising thing was the depth of the conversation in that short time.  What helped is that I did not hit them with any 'churchy' agenda.  I just asked them to pray for me when they left, and then I shut up and listened.  I reminded them to pray for me when they got in the car when they left, and I prayed for them according to how I heard them describe their life in the Gospel.  IT WAS AWESOME! 

This is a letter from one of the members that says it all:
Hi Tim. Thank you for taking the time to sit down, share, listen, & pray with us this past Monday evening.  We enjoyed it very much and continue to be blessed because of it.  I feel like I really know you now, and hope you feel like you know us a little better as well.  Your love and support of our family means so much!  We are praying for you for continued good health and wisdom in decisions that are coming up, and also for you, Kelley, Justin, and Virginia as you continue to adjust and grow in His will.
We look forward to to being a part of God's plan and sharing in His ministry along with you and our church.
In Jesus' Love,

Keys to Successful Missional Communities

1. Provide good toilet paper.
Nothing says "don't come back" like some Big Lots #8 grade sandpaper.

2. If you throw a party to invite new folks, don't wear a wife beater and short shorts.
That is unless it is an "Eddie from National Lampoon Vacation" party.  That is a bad gig.  For chicks, a formal dress with a pearl necklace like a bad episode of the "Young and the Restless" is bad gig also. 

3. Don't serve extremely cheap coffee.  Nothing says, "GO AWAY" like the dark roast from Dollar General. I'd give 30% of my income to churches who serve Dunkin Donuts.

Hospitality is a spiritual gift.  Let's use it, so that hopefully someday a person who actually agrees to set aside personal preference and come to your home to hang out with a bunch of "hypocrites" might actually sit on a comfortable couch and hear about a glorious Savior and His great Gospel.

8 Hours in Gospel, Community, Mission

We have developed this IDENTITY series at The Bridge that shows our identities as a faith community.  There are lots of ID's of every faith community, but for us, they all center around Gospel, Community, & Mission. And, those three all point to the person and work of Jesus.  All of our material is online at The Bridge Church Website.

Yesterday, we witnessed these three function in an extraordinary way.  Our Imperial Missional Cell (Community) has begun to serve the community on MISSION at a local pregnancy center.  A young lady came in to pick up some maternity clothes as she has found herself pregnant with her fourth child.  The first three children are 12, 8, and 4.  She also got assigned to be counseled, and our cell member and the counselor had the great joy of presenting her the GOSPEL.  They talked extensively about the sinless life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus for the redemption and restoration of sinners.  This young mom was cut to the heart.  She repented and believed the Gospel and received Christ.

In all of the tears and laughter of this extraordinary turn of events, it became evident that she has no COMMUNITY.  So, she received an invitation to the Imperial cell last night.  She showed up with three children in tow and they ate "with glad and sincere hearts."  And, we studied the "Apostle's teaching, we prayed, we hung out and talked, we found common ground." (Acts 2).  This community scattered, this missional cell family, will be life for her in her pursuit of Christ as she works on Sundays and so her ability to join the large group community gathered will be rare.  However, she will be able to go on MISSION with us in her new life of a 'disciple who makes disciples.'

Within 8 hours, we saw the Gospel take root from the Community going on Mission.  But, if this young lady had met Christ and not had a place to connect, where would she have gone? Instead, we saw the Community re-introduce the Gospel as the means by which the Holy Spirit will raise up a disciple as she was invited to join a family.  This is truly one of the most astonishing things I have seen since planting a church, and I have seen a glorious God do extraordinary things - things that Him famous - Glory to God.  Gospel, Community, Mission - all pointing to Jesus - Wow!

Persistence with Gentleness & Respect

There are models of how to love well as you evangelize.  Let me tell you about one, and this is like Jesus - it would a take a library to tell stories like these if we recorded all the ones out there. Through the entirety of my college coaching career at Mineral Area College, Murphy Thomas was the scorekeeper at the basketball games.  I am a little embarrassed about that now as this serious man of God had to think, "What is he doing?" as I would rant and rave at officials and players, using some language that I can't even think of now, but I am sure flowed out.  I do want everyone to know that I was calling those officials to repent; I was just unsure of how to go about it.  I guess commenting on their mother's status was a bad evangelism method.  Murphy was so patient and so sweet; he was excited when I did show up to church, even if I spent the majority of the time drawing basketball plays on the offering envelopes rather than experiencing the majesty of Christ.

He did go out of his way on occasion.  If he did not see me in church for a while, he would ride his bike to my house which was as death-defying as planting a church in Somalia or Iraq because if you have ever ridden a bike down Hillsboro Rd - which people think is I-25 - it meant that he really cared.  He would ride up and just pretend to talk about basketball or the weather, but church and the Gospel were on the back of his tongue.  I so appreciate it now, but in those dead in my trespasses days, on occasion, I would hide in the closet and pretend not to be home. It is a good thing that God is merciful.

He was just so winsome (I really don't care about the Bridge-Arnold folks who don't like that word), so persistence with gentleness and respect.  (By the way, for you B-A clowns that word means to win over with a child-like charisma, like a 1 year old wanting her daddy to pick her up, good word). But, Murphy just stayed the course. I hope it felt good to him when I was regenerated in 1996 and answered the call to shepherd God's people in the Gospel, and then later to become a church planter.  He has been there every step of the way, from cleaning up half eaten fried chicken and whiskey bottles (not mine) as we set up for church in the banquet center to welding the caps on the beams some 40 feet off of the floor in a small elevated bucket - he is in his late 70's - when we did all of our own construction work on the new Bridge building.  He now sits on the second row enjoying the glowing song presentation and Scripture proclamation of his precious Jesus with most all of his wonderful family around him.

I have never met anyone with such a heart for lost people.  I have seen him invite waitresses at Ryan's to put on a ballcap and go to a men's conference with us to  hear about Jesus.  Just this week as he was having a rather serious heart attack in the hospital, he turned his pain-ridden face to the side and winsomely asked the nurse, "Do you have a good church? Do you know God?" Same as he was being prepped for his quad-by-pass surgery - wearing the doctors and nurses out with talk of church and a glorious Gospel. He loves Jesus, he loves his bride, Mary, really well, and he loves Jesus' bride - the church.  I am glad he is going to be with us for a while.  He, more than any other human, probably had more to do with my redemption than anyone; he is like a dad to me; he is my friend; he is my partner in the Gospel. I hope he feels much better very soon because I love him very much.

Sin is Crouching at the Door

OK!  There are no super Christians.  There are only jacked-up sinners full of wickedness and selfishness, some of whom have been changed and redeemed by a glorious Jesus.  Anything good comes from God, and sin is our natural way.  I say that because pressing into that glorious Jesus is the solution to going to war with this sin that 'so easily entangles us.'  And, a slide can be subtle.

If I had been scheduled to preach last Sunday, I would have needed to decline because I was in midst of the equivelent of a small self-absorbed child that has just been denied Twizzlers in the check out aisle at Wal-Mart.  Spiritually, I was on the floor throwing a fit of self-absorption -- NOT pressing into the Gospel, NOT realizing the grace and Spirit that had been gifted me made this thing called not about me.  Sin can be defined as me forgetting that I am dead.  Well, like most of us, our worst sin happens in private in our minds, and so I did not blow anybody up or act a fool except in my own mind and somewhat with Kelley.  Basically, I spent three days alone and while I was not alone (thank goodness that Christ never leaves me or forsakes me regardless of what an idiot I am), and I should have taken advantage and just spent time with the sufficient Christ. Instead, Satan got a little foothold on a pity party and my remnant selfish heart chimed right in.  The result was a depressed state of funk.  There was no porn fest (have no temptation with that stuff). no inappropriate interaction with the opposite sex, no drunkenness. But, I ended up not being worth anything to the Kingdom until I confessed all this sin, repaired damage with Kelley, and pressed into the Gospel on which I stand and live.  Grace is a great thing, but sin crouches at the door for all of us, so let's press in close to that which we know.

Life Lessons #3

What stirs your affections for Christ?

What robs your affections for Christ?

I have never really had a lot of hobbies.  I dabbled with the old cars a little bit just to have something to with my dad when he was alive.  I have thought about doing that again with Justin, but there is just no desire there except to spend some time with him.  I played a little golf, but never like everyday.  My idolatry extended to my career success and my personal glory, but hobbies were never a big deal.  Competition can be an idol because I DEPLORE LOSING - in the past, did most anything, short of serious cheating, to avoid losing.

The only hobby I fool with at all anymore is fantasy baseball.  I know. I know.  Sounds stupid, but I have always loved baseball statistics.  When I was five years old, I knew the batting averages of all of the Cardinals, and honestly a lot of all of baseball.  So, when the world of fantasy baseball started where all of the competition is based on player stats, I really enjoyed it - really fun. Yeah, I know, NERD!  But, this is one of those morally neutral items that does not appear to have any inherent sin traits.  I mean if I go out on the street and buy heroin and shoot up, that is clearly not morally neutral.  If I cheat on my wife, that is not morally neutral.

I had never competed and won a fantasy baseball league where the players were really serious.  But last summer, I found myself with a good team and a chance to win.  Suddenly, I found myself not just enjoying the hobby, but obsessing over balls and strikes of games that did not even involve the Cardinals.  This was now not morally neutral.  Robbed affection for Jesus.  I wasn't getting high or lusting, but I was lusting, wanted to WIN.  And, I won the league.  I don't know if that was good or bad.  God did not care if I won or lost, so He obviously did not supernaturally move some pitches around so I could have success.  But, he did care how if it got between me and Him, and how I reacted to the win.

Hobbies can actually stir your affections for Christ.  They can rob also.