Monday, April 28, 2014

Why I'm Going Bi-Vocational


One of our daily prayer requests this week is about developing a bi-vocational DNA within the plant, especially amongst the leaders. You may or may not be familiar with the concept of bi-vocational ministry, so I would like to share briefly why we (mainly me) are transitioning from full-time paid ministry to bi-vocational, part-time paid ministry. While there are a plethora of reasons why we are making this shift, here are the 3 primary ones:
  1. Mission - For me to set the tone for taking the Good News of Jesus to those living in darkness, I need to put myself in positions where I am constantly developing relationships with those who are in such a condition. While it is true and Biblical that those who provide the Gospel have the right to make their living off the Gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14), it is also true that in 2014 America, especially in an urban environment, church leaders ought to consider imitating Paul and forfeiting that right for the advancement of the Kingdom (1 Corinthians 9:18).
  2. Leadership Development - In our planting strategy, we take VERY seriously 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 4:11-12. In order to better understand and equip our Gospel Community leaders, I feel it advantageous to live a life that is more similar to theirs - one where discipleship and community activity take place in the midst of daily jobs and family life.
  3. Finances - This is intentionally listed last because it is far from our primary reason for shifting to bi-vocationalism. In fact, through you and many others, God has been incredibly generous to the plant - so much so that we will likely end our first fiscal year with a $40K-$50K surplus. However, it is evident that due to a wide variety of factors (style of plant, cultural shifts, economic shifts, etc.), we need to leverage ourselves now for fiscal longevity (Proverbs 6:6-11). With this move, we will be able to do more with a smaller 2014-15 budget. In my humble opinion, I would make the argument that even established churches, many of which are struggling to stay afloat, should consider taking seriously the bi-vocational route.
If you would like to learn more about bi-vocational ministry, I HIGHLY recommend reading through a book called Bivo by Hugh Halter. If you have further questions or concerns about our transition, please don't hesitate to email me.


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Monday, April 21, 2014

Holy Week Blessings

Last Sunday, April 13 (on Palm Sunday) we had Jeff and Holly, representatives from Prison Fellowship join us to share about their work. We were especially uplifted by the presence and testimony of Jose, who spoke about his 16 years in prison and how the Spirit worked through people like Jeff and Holly to completely turn his life around. In the coming weeks I, along with others from the plant, will get a first-hand look at the work Prison Fellowship does as we seek, both individually and as a Community, to get further involved in this work to take the Gospel to the incarcerated. 


Then on Thursday we had a Maundy Thursday Seder meal. We gathered in the home of Bob and Jacquie Danz for a couple of hours to get a taste of the meal that our Savior celebrated with his disciples before his betrayal, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection. 

The Community (even the kiddos!) enjoyed the unique nature of the 15 page Seder (which means "order") Haggadah (which means "the telling") as well as the authentic Passover cuisine - lamb, noodle kugel, potato kugel, carrot tzimmes, matzo, etc. One of my favorite parts of the seder is the end, when the 4th cup was poured but not drank, and we heard, "May you go forth and tell this story to the children of many generations, that they would come to believe and be saved by the blood of the Lamb, Y’shua HaMashiach." May the Spirit give you the grace to pursue this commission wherever you live!


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Monday, April 14, 2014

The Squishy Middle


A little over a week ago I was able to attend a 1-day conference through an organization called Mission1618At this conference I had the great pleasure of listening to an incredible speaker and researcher named Ed Stetzer. One of the most fascinating points that Stetzer made was in reference to what he calls the "squishy middle." 


This is segment of society that claims to be Christian due to one reason or another but have no active faith life (worship, spiritual disciplines, etc.) In short, Stetzer claims that this "squishy middle," which once looked to the church as the cultural chaplain, is now looking elsewhere for guidance and answers. Likewise, this "squishy middle" is being squeezed out and many who once would identify themselves as Christian now simply identify themselves as "nones" - that is, they have no religious affiliation. The implications for this are many, but I want to emphasize two - 1) This is a VERY exciting time for the church because it is an incredible opportunity for us to make a clear confession of Scriptural faith through words and actions, and 2) In my humble opinion, every church ought to see itself as a mission outpost in a very pluralistic society. Perhaps such a mindset will allow the church in the West to fully embrace and live out Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9:22-23, "I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings"?


We are trying to live in such a way in S. Minneapolis and the Spirit is opening doors to our neighbors, human care organizations, Somalis, American Indians, ex-convicts, the poor, etc. If you would like to pray for us or financially invest in us and our mission in South Minneapolis, follow the links below.

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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

First Baptism and Five Goals


This past Sunday (the 6th) our Lydia was baptized. There is a neat parallel between our Lydia and the Lydia of Acts 16 - the Lydia of the Bible was the first recorded Christian convert in Europe and Lydia was our Community's first baptism. How cool is that! We had a packed house on Sunday (29 total; 15 adults and 14 children) as the picture indicates.


Some of you may be wondering what we're aiming for as a church plant. In other words, you may be thinking, "What will determine whether or not this plant is pursuing 'success'?" That is a fantastic question! For us, we have 5 goals and corresponding questions that keep us on track. They are:
  1. Multiplication: Ongoing multiplication at every level (disciples, leaders, Gospel Communities, etc.) Have we multiplied at every level this year?
  2. 80%: Genesis’ community consists of 80% new or prodigal Christians. Does 80% of the Genesis community consist of new or prodigal Christians?
  3. Generosity towards the Kingdom: Regular, planned support through prayers and finances toward Kingdom work outside of ourselves. Does a portion of our annual budget go towards Kingdom work outside of the work we are doing (church plants, mission organizations, etc.)?
  4. Generosity towards the City: Regular, planned support through prayers, finances, and service for the good of the city. Is a portion of our annual budget dedicated for community blessing? Is each Gospel Community working with a community organization for the good of the City?
  5. Diversity: Being a community that imitates the ethnic and socio-economic diversity of South Minneapolis. Are we a more diverse community than we were 6 months ago?

In a wide variety of ways we are pursuing each of these five goals. If you would like to pray for us or financially invest in us and our mission in South Minneapolis, follow the links below.

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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

The blog's back . . . hopefully

It's painfully obvious that I'm no good at blogging. I attempted lengthy blogs that provided detailed summaries of what was happening in South Minneapolis. Failure. I attempted to do video blogs. Epic failure. So I asked myself what kind of blogs I actually read. Short. Simple. To. The. Point. Thus, from now on I will attempt to provide paragraph(ish)-long updates of what the Spirit is doing through us in South Minneapolis. I make no promises that I will accomplish what I am attempting to do. But I'll do my best!


On Thursday, March 13 we were blessed with the healthy birth of our 4th child - Lydia Nicole Larson. She is doing incredibly well and is doing everything that newborns are supposed to do - eat, sleep, and fill diapers. Her 3 older siblings are absolutely in love with her and have been fantastic helpers! I have been able to take a break for the last couple of weeks in order to focus my attention and energy on the home as we transition to our new life as a family of 6 - with 4 of us under the age of 6 :)




I am very excited about the month of April for a few reasons. Reason #1 - HOPEFULLY winter will finally leave us and we can actually enjoy life outdoors for more than 5 minutes at a time. Reason #2 - As a Community, we are transitioning from initiating relationships with other organizations and churches in the City (i.e. Engage Global, MVNA, Prison Fellowship, etc.) to deepening these relationships. Reason #3 - We have a TON of exciting stuff happening this month. For instance:
  1. Sunday, April 6 - the baptism of Lydia Nicole Larson (the Community's first baptism)
  2. Sunday, April 13 - presentation during our Community Gathering by our new friends at Prison Fellowship
  3. Thursday, April 17 - a full-fledged Seder Meal!
  4. Sunday, April 27 - preaching again at Holy Cross in Prior Lake

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