Full Throttle

Last Friday, I decided to stay late at Ginghamsburg UMC, after class was over, to observe the middle school outreach program at the Avenue. “Full Throttle” reaches out to hundreds of sixth-eighth grade students from several surrounding communities. According to the adult servant leaders, peak attendance can reach nearly 900 students. This past Friday, being a nice summer day, only found 500 students walking through the front door.

I began the evening assisting at the front door, where students pay a five-dollar entrance fee. It was a learning experience for me to watch the clothing and accessory trends of middle school students as they filed past. Not to mention the wake-up call to see a metal detector in use at a church function! I really could not believe my eyes at what some of the kids were wearing and to watch all bags searched and all students willingly go through the metal detector as if it was merely a doorway. Talk about a learning experience for an upper-middle class suburbanite!

After watching and participating in check-in, I floated around the different areas (basketball, skate park, dance club, coffee shop, and snack-bar/arcade) to talk with servant leaders and students alike about their experiences at Full Throttle. One servant told me that she did not really feel called to work with children. She began helping with Full Throttle in order to get her husband (not a church-goer) involved in mission. This woman’s husband is now highly involved in this mission, and she is happy to be working with him every week, even if she does not get to see him all night long.

Another servant began serving when her son became interested in Full Throttle. This woman even comes to Full Throttle when her son does not, and is considering continuing with this mission even after he moves on to high school. Yet another servant, a skateboarder, is excited about the fact that Full Throttle offers an indoor skate park for youth. He was excited to tell me that since Full Throttle has offered this opportunity at the Avenue, skateboarding at the church has taken off. He said that some of the students (middle and high school) go to a skateboarding camp each summer with the church group and there is now a Tuesday night program for older students to skate too. The pride this servant had in this ministry was clearly evident, when he was talking about outreach to students who are typically left unchurched.

While talking with students, most of them became involved because of friends and willingly come back week after week for the socializing opportunity. A couple girls I talked with told me of friendships made with others from different school districts. Most students were just excited to have a place to hang out on a Friday night.

The student that really caught my attention was one that, to me, was dying for attention from an adult. I was randomly asking students what they would be for Halloween if they could be anything, this student’s response was “It doesn’t matter, I won’t be here then.” This discussion led me to create my own pastoral care space in the midst of this youth event. My thoughts naturally went to wondering if this student was suicidal. A few more questions discovered that this student was making dangerous decisions like drinking and drug use. I talked with the student as much as I could without pushing too far as to alienate him, but felt that the discussion was inadequate. I felt that in order to form a proper bond to discuss these issues, I needed to be more than a one-time volunteer.

This experience made me realize the true importance of servant-ministry instead of mere volunteerism in church mission. I realized that it takes more than a short-term commitment to truly address the issues found in true church mission. We, as church leaders need to stress the importance of commitment to ministry. Mission is a sacrifice, not a means to complete community service hours.

From: June 25, 2010

“There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in this Place”

After experiencing a new kind of house church this evening, I am reminded of the hymn “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in this Place.” This hymn explains the exact feeling and atmosphere of house church, with the Spirit descending upon the house leaving behind nothing but joyous community. This made me truly think about the ways in which God works in our lives. It is easy for me to see God at work in missions and Church work, but sometimes it is harder for “church-goers” to think of non-traditional church settings being impregnated with the Holy Spirit.

I noticed several interesting things about house church this evening, which made me desire to take the concept of house church home with me. First, I found that the energy of the people was intoxicating. Not only were these people in community with one another in the basement of a house, but they were in community with the people at the “big church” being televised via DVD. Though the DVD was from the Sunday prior to house church, the people gathered in the basement of this house were in conversation with the pastor and leaders. It may be difficult to explain, but their responses to questions and their “Amens” were not like a football fan yelling at the TV to tell the players they made a bad play. It was as if the community of the church could not be separated by time and space, but could be joined together across all planes.

Another interesting aspect of house church occurred before the service started. Upon entering we (the visitors from class) were invited to dinner. One may just consider this to be a simple potluck similar to what occurs in church buildings, but here it really was something more. This was more of a celebration of communion than the actual communion done during the service. It was a place for us to break bread together, a symbol of the community that can be formed outside of the walls of the church. This was the coming together of individuals to participate in a communion of care in terms of the Body of Christ. The meal also provided time for people to be together and be for each other. In other words, it was an opportunity for all of us to get to know one another and heal one another’s hurts and pains.

As I previously mentioned, the atmosphere and community created at this house church motivated me to think of ways in which I could bring that experience to my seminary. In seminary we are taught the importance of spiritual disciplines, but are not given much space to practice communal spiritual disciplines. I believe that we could begin a house church to minister to the pastors at Methodist Theological School. Since many of us work at and or preach at churches on weekends, we do not have much of an opportunity to be spiritually fed. House church during the week would offer an avenue for this ministry. It will take dedication, but it is a sincere possibility that a house church could begin on campus. It would be wonderful to see the movement of the Spirit in and around those who have dedicated their lives to ministering to others.

Written: June 23, 2010

Gateway Café

In seminary, a great deal of time is spent discussing the call to serve. As seminarians, we learn to articulate our life-changing call stories, which bring each of us to ministry. What we often do not discuss, however, is God’s call to the laity. Though we recognize the place for and call of unpaid servant leadership in our churches, we do not always discuss the work of the Spirit in calling laity to mission in and outside of the church. I was reminded of this variety of calling this evening at the Gateway Café.

Though assigned to serve in the kitchen for dinner, I was directed to mingle with clients before dinner, as the kitchen was fully staffed. I wandered around the room a bit, to settle at a table with Joseph, Susan, and Bethany.[1] I soon discovered that Joseph was a character, out to make everyone around him laugh. Susan, his wife, was a sweet elderly woman, who welcomed me to the table as if she was welcoming me into her home. Bethany, a woman Joseph and Susan had met at Gateway Café years ago, also was very welcoming, even serving ME peaches and bringing over my silverware! Talk about a humbling experience, I was there to serve, but ended up being served.

In our discussion, Joseph mentioned that he and his wife had been married for fifty-eight years, at which point Bethany pulled out a newspaper clipping. The clipping had two small pictures and an article about Joseph and Susan’s fifty-eight year marriage. According to this article, Joseph proposed to Susan the same day they met. After reading the article, I must have had a strange look on my face, because Joseph simply said, “God told me I was going to marry this woman. I couldn’t argue!”

What great faith and discernment to see the potential in self and another to know that God had ordained this fifty-eight year marriage from day one!! This story merely reminded me of the call to all of God’s children in many different ways. God called Joseph and Susan to what became fifty-eight years of Christ-centered living. God called these two individuals together to be examples for their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and even all of the people around them about what can happen when you put all of your faith in God’s will. God truly calls ordinary people to ordinary things and then turns these things into the extraordinary!

The experience of serving communion also impacted me a great deal. I absolutely love serving communion as a way to be in ultimate fellowship with others. No matter where I am or what I am doing I will stop to help with communion in any worship setting, Methodist or not. The opportunity to serve communion this evening reminded me of the true meaning of the table. We are all children of God called to remember the sacrificial love of Christ’s body and blood given to us. When we join together at the table we are one family sharing our family meal. As I served communion, all that I was thinking was that I was blessed to have so many brothers and sisters to share in this meal with tonight!

Tonight, I was welcomed to the family table of Joseph and Susan to celebrate fifty-eight years and was able to commune with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Tonight was family dinner night, a night of sharing and fellowship that I will not soon forget.

Note: post written June 21, 2010

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[1] Names have been changed for the protection of privacy.

What is the Missional Church?

The concept of the Missional Church is derived from the three concepts God requires of the Church: The Great Requirement, The Great Commandment, and The Great Commission.

The Great Requirement comes from Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (NRSV)

The Great Commandment comes from Matthew 22:36-40 “‘Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?’ He said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’” (NRSV)

The Great Commission comes from Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (NRSV)

Based on these three requirements upon the Church, we as Christians are called to serve not only within the walls of the physical church building, but in the greater community. We are called to advocate for justice and love for all of humanity.

Please consider these passages when reading future posts in the Missional Church category on this site. Also, please consider the ways in which you can take your own church community beyond mere self-interest to explore the reaches of ministry.