Like Planning a Wedding

This is my first post in nearly two months. There are plenty of excuses that I could try and use -  some true, some flimsy, and some flat out lies - “The holidays were crazy!” “It’s far too cold to try and write during winter!” “I was abducted by a roving band of vegans who forced me to eat nothing but vegetables, which diminished my muscle tone and prevented me from typing! I’m only now regaining my strength through a steady diet of bacon and ribs.”

In reality, the biggest, and most accurate, excuse I can provide is that I’ve been planning a wedding for the past two months. Not a literal wedding, of course. But it sure feels like it. This Sunday, January 25th at 5:30 PM at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church (5645 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55417) is the launch of large group worship for Genesis.

It’s been a TON of work, but I’ve also had a TON of help from some wonderful people. And everything is coming together quite nicely. We have a place to worship. We have a worship leader. We have (a bunch of) volunteers. We have visitor gifts (mugs, pens, etc.) We have free spiritual resources (think CS Lewis). We have signs. We have banners. We have neighbors, supporters, co-workers, and even ethnic churches coming. But most of all we have Jesus.

All the details that go into planning a wedding are nice and show the importance of the event. But ultimately a wedding is all about one man and one woman committing to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife. In the same way, all of the details that have gone into this worship service are nice and show the importance of the event. But ultimately a worship service is about Jesus - receiving good things from Him through His Word and gifts and responding to Him with song and prayer. 

No matter what happens or how many people come this Sunday, it’s going to be amazing because we at Genesis will worship Jesus. And that’s all that matters.

PS - If you are able to make it on Sunday, we want you there to celebrate with us!

PPS - In the coming blog posts we’ll be looking into 2015 (which is set to be an amazing year) and look at things like our plan for the Gospel Communities, Faithwalking, development of Elders, etc.

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Our Work with Angel Tree

At Genesis, we divide our work with the city into 2 categories. The first category is our Mercy work. These tend to be one-time, as-needed events. For instance, we’ve worked with Second Harvest Heartland to distribute food, we’ve assembled and distributed homeless care kits, we’ve prepared and served meals at the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, etc. The second category is our Justice work. These are ongoing and gradually increasing relationships with a handful of local care and outreach agencies. The four agencies that fall into this category are:

1. MVNA
2. Engage Global
3. Prison Fellowship
4. Little Earth of the United Tribes

This Christmas season, we are excited to participate in one of Prison Fellowship’s programs - Angel Tree. Here is a brief summary of what Angel Tree is and does:

Every child has a story. For 2.7 million American children, that story is filled with the abandonment, loneliness and shame that come from having a mom or dad in prison. For many, it may also include following their parents down the same destructive road to incarceration.

Angel Tree, a program of Prison Fellowship, reaches out to the children of inmates and their families with the love of Christ. This unique program gives your church an opportunity to share Christ’s love by helping to meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the families of prisoners.

We have been assigned 6 children. Over the course of the next month we will meet with them and their caregivers, provide them with Christmas presents on behalf of their incarcerated parent, and show them the love of Jesus through words and actions. Please pray for us, these children, their caregivers, and their parents, that through this ministry the love of Jesus and the Christmas message would shine brightly!

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It's Been a Few Weeks

You may have noticed that it’s been a few weeks since the last post. Winter came early this year, so I’m going to use that as my excuse. Since it has been a few weeks, I thought it would be good to bring you up-to-speed on a few key things:

1. Bi-Vocational Work - On Thursday, November 6 I started my short-term work as the custodian for Trinity First Lutheran Church and School. The regular custodian is on medical leave until the end of December. This position has been a huge blessing from God for both us and Trinity First. It has provided me a bridge from my Parks and Rec position to whatever He has in store for us in the new year. It also allows for uninterrupted custodial work at Trinity First during this medical leave.
2. Miracle Grow Community - On November 8, we launched our Miracle Grow Community. If you didn’t get a chance, you can read about what that is here. We launched with 4 families/individuals and 2 others who were unable to make it but plan to be involved. These participants are either current or potential missional leaders from throughout the region - S. Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, and even Waconia.
3. Children and Youth Discipleship Leader - In the past couple of weeks we were able to hire Katherine as our new Children and Youth Discipleship Leader. She is a freshman at Concordia, St. Paul. She not only has an impressive history discipling children, but that also happens to be her area of study in college. It truly is a win-win - Katherine provides for us expertise in this area and we are able to provide her with a platform to grow in her skills and put the book-learning into practice.
4. Large Group Worship - We are getting closer and closer to launching the large group worship component of Genesis. We have already had several planning sessions. On December 7, we will have a “dry run” and walk through everything. Then, on January 4, we will have our “preview service.” You are more than welcome to attend, although we won’t publicize this service. Lastly, on Sunday, January 25 in the evening (exact time TBD) at Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, we will have the launch of our public worship service. We DEFINITELY want you to attend that if you are able! Then, beginning in February, we will have the regular rhythm of meeting in our different Gospel Communities the first 3 (or 4) weeks of the month and then having our monthly large group worship service at Mt. Zion on the last Sunday of each month.

We have taken some big steps in the previous months and are excited to see what the Spirit does through the big steps that are ahead of us in the coming months! 

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Reflections on Bivo (So Far . . .)

Last Friday (October 17^th) was my last day as a seasonal Park Keeper for the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board. I have a couple of week off before I start my next position as the temporary custodian at Trinity First Lutheran School in Minneapolis. I’ve written a few times on bi-vocational ministry, which you can read here, here, and here if you’d like. In light of these initial 4+ months of bi-vocational ministry, I thought I would share my three main reflections on this particular type of ministry.

1. Work Hard and Work Well. I cannot stress this enough – for all who lead the bivo lifestyle, the “non-ministry” job cannot be seen as something less important and less worthy or your energy and effort. Such an attitude would be obvious to your co-workers and boss and will affect how they view you. It will also cheat the organization for which you work, which is unfair to them. Ultimately, such an attitude will be detrimental to your witness in the workplace. On the flip side, if you work hard and work well (at a job you truly enjoy, which is a huge plus!), you will establish a good reputation, which will open all sorts of doors. I have so many stories of my work ethic shaping my reputation in the work place, which then opened numerous doors to deep spiritual conversations about Christ and His Gospel.
2. It Is Really, Truly Hard. I also cannot stress this enough – the bivo lifestyle is physically, emotionally, and spiritually demanding. You work 30-40 hours per week at your “non-ministry” job and then an additional 30-40 hours per week for the church. Of course, on top of this you need to prioritize your life as a husband and father (if applicable). Naturally, this doesn’t leave much time for anything else. However . . .
3. It Is Really, Truly Worth-It. One more time, I cannot stress this enough – the bivo lifestyle  will put you and the church in positions that otherwise would not be accessible to you. You will engage with the lost, broken, and hurting in ways that are not available to full time ministers. You will understand the lifestyles of “lay leaders” in the church in ways that you would not if you are full time. You will allow the church as an organization to be leveraged for financial health, both now and in the future, in ways that would not be possible if you were drawing a full time salary. Yes, bivo is hard. But for those called into it, you will quickly realize that you wouldn’t have it any other way.
4. BONUS – Make Sure to Have Really Good Financial People in Your Corner. This is the last thing (I promise!) that I cannot stress enough – if you do not have people in your corner who understand accounting, taxes, etc. REALLY well, you will develop extreme headaches due to the administrative side of bivo. With taxes being so different between church work and non-church work, it can be brutal trying to figure out exactly how much you’re actually making. By far, this area of bivo has caused me more heartburn than all the other aspects of this lifestyle combined.

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Launching the Lighthouse

I’m not sure where I heard this analogy (although I do know I didn’t come up with it!) but broadly speaking, there are three avenues for applying the Gospel to people’s lives:

1. The Lighthouse – This is mass application. It takes the truths of God’s Word and throws them out to the masses. Typically this avenue takes shape in the form of large group worship or other mass events.
2. Flashlight – This is application to a few. Through this avenue it is easier to figure out the specific needs, cares, concerns, etc. of the group and apply the Gospel accordingly. Typically this avenue takes shape in the form of small groups, Missional Communities, etc.
3. Laser Pointer – This is application to an individual. Since this takes shape in a 1-on-1 setting, it is possible to figure out exactly what the person needs to hear (rebuke, words of forgiveness, exhortation, specific insights, etc.) and act accordingly.

For us at Genesis, we have spent the last year focusing on prioritizing Flashlights and Laser Pointers. In the coming months, we will introduce the Lighthouse to the life and rhythm of the Community. But even this component will be unique for us as we have 3 goals for this space:

1. Celebrate – This will be a space for us to celebrate what the Lord has done for us as individuals and as Gospel Communities.
2. Connect – This will also be a space for the different Gospel Communities to connect with each other. It will also be a space to connect the disconnected to Christ and the life of His church.
3. Proclaim – Since this will be the Lighthouse component, it will be a space to preach the Word and for people to respond to that Word.

Our plan is to start with Sunday night Gatherings once-per-month in the coming months. Perhaps we'll progress to a more frequent Gathering, perhaps not. Our desire is to be balanced as we equally emphasize the Lighthouse, Flashlight, and Laser Pointer so that we’re applying the Gospel to as many people as possible in as many ways as possible.

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Miracle Grow Community

In the next month we will launch our Miracle Grow Community. This is our biggest step yet in developing Genesis' dual emphases - 1) Genesis the congregation, and 2) Genesis the mission-equipping agency. These two emphases can be described thusly:

1. Genesis, as a local church, exists in South Minneapolis. We currently have two Gospel Communities. In the coming months, we will add large group worship. We have a website (under construction), Facebook page, Twitter handle, and Instagram account (under construction).
2. The Miracle Grow Community exists as a part of Genesis’ mission to identify, equip, and support missional leaders regardless of their geographic location, denominational affiliation, or congregational participation. 
3. Members of the Miracle Grow Community are welcome to participate in any aspect of the congregational component of Genesis, but it is not required.

You may ask, "What exactly is this Miracle Grow Community?" In short, a Miracle Grow Community is (the following is borrowed from this information from Mason Vineyard):

1. A space to directly disciple current or future missional leaders who will, in their unique setting and calling, apply the Gospel to a group of people
2. A space to give and receive encouragement and accountability
3. A space you are invited into by the leader—this is not something you bring a friend to
4. A space to help people answer two questions each time we meet: 1) Where is Jesus at work around me? and 2) How am I joining Him in that work? 
5. A space for a season only, not forever (in our case, 1 year)

Please pray for those in Minneapolis and the surrounding towns who have been invited into this Community. Pray that they would accept this invitation and grow as faithful witnesses of the Gospel wherever they live.

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On to the Next Job

In the coming weeks I will have my last day as a park keeper for the Minneapolis Parks & Recreation Board. After 3+ months, my seasonal position will come to an end. Then, it's on to the next job, whatever that may be. 

As with everything, we must ask ourselves – Did we accomplish what we wanted to accomplish with the seasonal position at MPRB? I believe the answer is a resounding "Yes!" As I've written before, our 3 main reasons for being an intentionally bi-vocational church are:

1. Missional
2. Leadership Development
3. Finances

But especially with this seasonal position, we wanted to use it as a trial run of sorts in order to learn how to be bivo and answer questions like: "How do we manage our time and energy?"  "How do we spread things around so that all the work for Genesis is getting done?" "How do we handle the budgeting and payroll for a bivo ministry?" "How do we handle the miscellaneous stuff we don't even know about in the bivo life?" Etc. Etc. We were able to find answers to all of these questions and find ourselves far more knowledgeable, capable, and comfortable as an intentionally bi-vocational church.

Of course, the biggest question is: “Is bivo a short-term or long-term thing?” Our answer is: “We will keep doing this until the Spirit guides us differently.” The beauty of where we are now and where we are going is that we are a very healthy 1 year-old church and we are leveraging ourselves to be healthy for many years to come. And I think that’s pretty exciting.

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