The last week of my life has been pretty crazy. I spent a lot of time hanging out with a great bunch of people, listened to a bunch of great music, looked a ton of places to live and ate a lot of stuff that was bad for me. I also got the pleasure of getting some sort of sinus problem. That is a lot of fun on an airplane.
One of the things that I did was to take part in Humana 2.08. Humana is a leadership experience like no other. It is basically an open source missional experience. One of the discussions that I was able to take part in was actually a decompression from a talk earlier in the day. Simply an open dialogue with people of opposing viewpoints converging into a practical conversation about how we “do” church. I’ve just now (literally) ordered the DVD for the entire conference and cannot wait to get my grubby hands on it so I can partake in the entire experience. I was challenged more by the few minutes I spent with these fine folks than I have been in awhile. I can also say that this day alone was worth the price of my entire trip.
One of the ideas that I came away with was the idea of structure (and have subsequently been wrestling with). I think that a large part of our western culture struggles with ideas and organizational models. I think that it makes us uncomfortable when we aren’t exactly able to place a name on something and put it inside a nice little box. Take a look at the churches that we form. We have nice little names for everything, complete with descriptions of each little thing. (On a side note, I think that with an formal organization of any substance or size, these are needed, so no flaming) Truthfully, one of the things that I have become uncomfortable with is the entire idea that everything has to have a certain order and structure. When I started my church planting journey, my pastor showed me all of the stuff that he had compiled and categorized and honestly it made me sick. It made me sick that I thought I had to do that same thing. I’m not saying that it was bad that he did those things by any means, but the thought of me doing those things just didn’t sit well with me. Another thing that never sat well with me was the idea of a church planter assessment. I couldn’t really explain it at the time, but it really got under my skin. I’m beginning to realize that it had a lot to do with the whole thought of being stuck inside a certain box, for better or for worse. (Now, I’m not against assessments, I’m just against them for me…at least for now)
So what does this all mean? It means that I honestly feel freedom. Freedom from the structures that I have built up in my mind. Freedom from the models and modes of ministry that have been ingrained into me for the past ten years. Freedom to embrace who I actually am both as a Christ follower and as a person on mission. I’m energized by hanging out with people who are looking to the future and engaging the culture in which they live in ways that are actually relevant. (I’m not saying that everyone else is irrelevant, so please don’t take it that way) I’m excited about what the future holds for my family as we begin this crazy journey to the end of the world. I’ve got more questions than answers, but what I’ve come to embrace that as a good thing. The secret isn’t thinking outside the box, it is knowing that there isn’t a box.
So, what are we going to do in Orlando? We are going to live the lives that God has for us to live. We are going to fight to make the world a better place to live. We are going to connect as many people as possible to each other and to their Creator. It won’t look like what you think it should look like. It could be a music festival, it could be a gathering of people for a barbeque in the backyard. It probably won’t look anything like a church and that is okay too.
I’m not anti-Church as the west knows it, I’m just convinced that there are ways of engaging people that aren’t inside of a building or around some structure. I’m not throwing out the baby with the bathwater. There is a harmonious balance that we must find. We are on the same mission.
For those of you who have been supporting us with your words of encouragement, prayers and guidance…we are thankful for you. Please continue to do so.
. This book is written by W. Cleon Skousen of the 
