Category: Updates

Super Rough Drafts

It was a Super Bowl Sunday to remember! The game was a good one for those who like a well-fought competition. It would’ve been better if the Pats had won, but you can’t have everything. The commercials were alright I suppose (seems like the creativity was lacking a bit). But what makes this Superbowl Sunday memorable was that I fell asleep watching the game. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, but it happened. And the reason it happened is because of this:

Whiteboard covered with text describing Jesus
Our first drafts: Who is Jesus?

We spent two hours after church with the discernment team starting to write our foundational statement. Actually, we never got beyond the first question: “Who is Jesus?” It was invigorating, challenging, and ultimately exhausting!  What you see in the picture was our first, individual attempts at the question. We then tried to identify common themes and anything essential we needed to add. After that we gathered in three small groups creating consolidated statements before we wrapped things up in time for kickoff. Now we are close! Our hope is that we will wrap up this first question at the beginning of our next meeting and then begin what should be a bit easier: defining church, evangelism, service, and salvation.

Who is Jesus?

As part of the “homework” for our discernment team last week we asked people the question: “What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Jesus?'” We asked the same question about the word “church.” We talked about the various responses in our second “gathering” with the team this past Sunday and also about how we respond to those same questions. We spent some time in Matthew 16:13-25. Now we are digging even deeper and this week we all have to come up with our own short answers for the following:

Who is Jesus?
What is the church?
What is salvation?
What is service?
What is evangelism?

Our goal is that in the next two meetings (or perhaps three) that we will be able to bring all of our answers together and create a “foundational statement” that will answer all of these questions in brief, everyday terms. We are not trying to create another creed for the Book of Confessions, but rather to find our heart and common ground around these questions so that we can work from there as we seek God’s vision for our new community. Once we complete this task I will be sure to post it here for all to read and comment. In the meantime, feel free to leave your “gut response” to the question: “Who is Jesus?”

First “Gathering”

Our discernment team had our first meeting last Friday night, and our second meeting is scheduled for this coming Sunday. It feels wonderful to finally be underway and moving into the discernment process! Currently, our discernment team consists of the following people: Adam and Andrea Anderson, John and Jackie Fuller, Jason and Becca Kreutz, Brandon and Kristina Bailey.

I am very excited about the group that God has called to this process so far. They bring a wealth of experiences and insight to the table. Our first gathering was exactly what I have hoped and prayed for. We spent time eating dinner together, praying, reading scripture, planning, laughing, and talking about Jesus. What could be better?

We have a lot of work ahead. In the next two gatherings we will work on creating a “foundational statement.” This will be a one-page statement that answers the question, “Who is Jesus?” and defines “church,” “salvation,” “evangelism,” and “service.” The responses will determine what is started.

If you are interested in knowing more about this process, take a look at the Starting New Churches handbook (the above definition comes from that document). When we complete the foundational statement I will be sure to post it on this blog.

Workshop Complete!

Sign Showing Businesses on CamanoWe had a great time at the “Planting New Churches” workshop this last week. We spent three evenings with Craig Williams talking about how the process works and getting a glimpse of what the work ahead will look like. Saturday we went out in small groups to various locations in Stanwood and Camano Island and engaged people in conversation in order to gather more information about the area and some of the neighborhoods. This is something that we will do in more depth as a discernment team later, but already we gained some valuable insights. Personally, I am ready to move to Stanwood! Now we just have to pray that God will open the right doors for that to happen in the near future.

Here are some of the highlights of the workshop for me:

  • I was able to get a better feel of what our “gatherings” will be like as a discernment team and how I might facilitate the process as the “point person.” I also had a number of questions answered about the process itself.
  • All of the current session elders of Mountain View  made an appearance at least once during our workshop. I value their insights and I am glad that they had a chance to get a better sense of the process. It was encouraging for me and our discernment team to have them participate!
  • We had fun! Seriously! The small group times and the trips into the community were marked by authentic moments of laughter, prayer, excitement, and lively discussion. This despite that fact that many of us were tired after long days at work and even struggling with illness. For me, this is a clear sign that we are currently on the right track.
Falling Can Be Deadly
In case you were wondering...

Now we move on to the next step and will begin gathering together with the discernment team on a regular basis. We are aiming to have our first gathering the third week of January and go from there. It is exciting to be moving forward!

Workshop: Day 1

Last night we had our first evening of our “Planting New Churches” workshop led by Craig Williams. It gave us just a glimpse of what lies ahead during the discernment process. We focused on the first step of the process: developing a foundation statement. Specifically, we spent time answering the question: “Who is Jesus?”

At first, it seems like this question is something that we should already be in agreement on and not need to spend much time one. However, when you really try to sit down with a group of believers and talk about this without using “church speak” or fancy theological language you quickly discover the power of having that conversation. As Craig pointed out, we don’t spend enough time talking about this with each other. Even last night I began to sense how quickly talking about our understanding of Jesus pushes us into deeper waters where there is depth and substance. I look forward to working on this task more thoroughly with the discernment team when we begin our “gatherings.”

Tonight we will have our second workshop meeting. If you are in the area and interested in joining us, we would love to have you. We will be meeting from 6:30 – 9:30 PM at Mountain View PC.

The Calm Before the Storm?

Not all storms are bad. Sometimes they bring much-needed change to the environment, especially if there is drought. Even so, perhaps it is not wise to refer to this moment in the process of our development of a new missional community as the “calm before the storm.” But in a way, that is how it feels. I know that there is a lot of work ahead. I know that there are certainly going to be times when the flurry of activity surrounding this process seem storm-like. But right now there is calm, and I take that as God’s gift.

Don’t get me wrong, that does not mean that nothing is happening. We are still waiting for a few more key members to say “yes” to being part of our discernment team. We are eagerly praying that God will lead the right people to the task. Also, I have been amazed at how often in the past couple of weeks I have had conversations with people who have offered to be a part of this process in ways that we have not been formally seeking; yet they seem important – some of them essential. Hopefully, in the future I can share more details about that, but for now I am simply amazed at how the Holy Spirit seems to be putting key components in place and I find myself surprised and dumbfounded because it was not the way we planned it (“oh you of little faith”).

Advent is here. Christmas is on the way. I’m looking forward to some time off and a chance to catch up with family. Then January 2012 comes and the storm arrives! Just like when I was a kid growing up in Central Oregon watching an approaching thunderstorm, I’m both scared and excited for the arrival.

“Discernment Team” Defined

One of my goals in keeping this blog is to help keep those of you interested in this new church development updated on our progress in real-time. Keeping that in mind, and since we are currently in the process of gathering a “discernment team,” I want to help define this using information from “Starting New Churches” document that we are using to guide us through this process.

Discernment Team: This is the group who will discern God’s will for the beginning of a new church among a particular people or community. This group will covenant together to work through the gatherings of “Starting New Churches” once they have completed their third gathering. They may or may not continue to be part of the Core Leadership of the projected new church. There are several moments for members of the Discernment Team to reaffirm their commitment to the processes or to move on.

It is important to remember that this group called to begin the process, but not necessarily to be the ones to carry it through to completion in the “launch” phase. For that reason, the team will be small and focused on listening to God’s direction for laying the foundation. Others, who are not part of the discernment team, will later be “called” to be core leaders and to carry out the vision that results from the discernment process (though there will be some core leaders that are also a part of the discernment team).
Currently, we are inviting specific people to be a part of this team. Here is some insight into that process from “Starting New Churches.”

Making the Invitation
We are not looking for people to simply “fill out” a committee. We are looking for highly skilled and highly motivated people. We are looking for Christian people. We are engaged in a spiritual task. This will take time, sacrifice, and faith. The invitation by the convener is to a 16 gathering process called “Starting a New Church.” The guidelines for these gatherings are available at www.PresbyGrow.net. The guidelines give a suggested process and schedule. We strongly suggest that the conveners familiarize themselves with the process before they extend an invitation to others to join in. We recommend the process include all 16 gatherings. When done, if we decide a new church is what God is asking of us, the team will have completed all the work needed for mission grants and to call the appropriate leadership for the new church.

You can read more about the discernment team in the appendix section of the “Starting New Churches” document. The key thing for us is that we have representatives of Mountain View Presbyterian Church (as the “parent” church), representatives of the Stanwood/Camano Island community, and representatives from NPS Presbytery.

Team Progress

If you’ve taken a look at the “Roadmap” page you know that we are in the process of gathering together a discernment team that will lead us through the initial process of determining what kind of community/church we are called to begin. On that team we want to have representative members from each of the following: Mountain View Presbyterian Church, North Puget Sound Presbytery, and Stanwood/Camano Island community. Our goal is to have a team with about 8 – 12 members. Already we have had four really amazing people say “yes” to being a part of that team. When you include Kristina and me that brings our team total up to 6 so far! We are on our way! Once we get the entire team together and they are approved by Mountain View’s session and the Presbytery Executive Board I will let you all know who they are. Please continue to pray that God will lead the right people to this team and this new adventure.