Review: The Church As Movement by JR Woodward and Dan White, Jr.

In August, I received a copy of The Church As Movement: Starting and Sustaining Missional-Incarnational Communities by JR Woodward and Dan White, Jr. from their publisher, Intervarsity Press. I was excited to dig into the book as I have known JR for a long time, and I’m regularly impressed by his thoughts on church and faith. When I first met JR, he had recently transitioned from an incredibly successful church plant on the campus of Virginia Tech to starting a cluster of neighborhood churches in three different communities in Los Angeles. Since that time, he has been on the forefront of missiology and church planting in various contexts in the US and abroad. While I am not familiar with Dan White, I know that JR keeps company with many thoughtful individuals who are serious about a fresh embodiment of what it means to be a Christian. I have enjoyed many long conversations with JR through the years about living a deep and fulfilling life of faith and leading others to do the same, and I deeply appreciate his friendship, his example, and his words for fellow sojourners on the journey.  

The layout of The Church As Movement was not what I expected it to be. When looking at the cover and skimming the pages, this book is not just laying out some new theory on church-planting or comparing and contrasting styles of developing and cultivating faith communities (although there is some of both in its pages). Rather, the book is meant to be a workbook and a framework for mission focused faith communities who are serious about facilitating transformation in their neighborhoods and the world.

As I read through each section, I found myself laughing out loud at some metaphors, and quietly nodding my head in agreement at the ideas developed on the pages. I read it as someone already aligned with the concepts laid out in the text. JR and I have had many conversations (although we have not been able to connect directly for a few years) about how to facilitate growth of individuals and communities with a primary focus in depth.

The book is laid out as a series of chapter concepts and sub-concepts with a series of reflective questions at the end of each section. The questions are meant to help land concepts as well as perform self-assessment of the reader and his/her faith community. Each chapter’s questions drive toward discovering gaps and thinking through how to address potential pitfalls for an aspiring church planting team or existing faith community looking more seriously at how they can aspire to be a sign, a foretaste, and an instrument of God’s Kingdom come and will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

Are you looking for a personal or communal assessment tool for evaluating the strengths of your faith community? Are you trying to think about how you can take the Good News of Jesus into the world without being a clanging gong or without being obtuse? Are you curious about how to think about shifting your thinking about faith from an extraction or attraction mindset to an embodied and missional mindset? Do you want to learn more about how to lead as a team and not with a CEO mindset? Would you like to see your faith community develop into one that looks more like the early church? If you answered yes to any of these questions, or if you just want to take a look at different approaches to living out a life of faith in community, I believe you will appreciate The Church As Movement. I hope you will give it a read, and that it will stir your imagination to think about all that is possible for running strong in your personal and communal life of faith.

Reflection: The Bridge

While watching The Good Lie on a Delta flight last year (highly recommend that film by the way), I started thinking about my friend Pavi and some incredible work that he and a group of friends have commenced in one of the most crime-ridden and poor communities in Columbus, Ohio.

Pavi has always exemplified a passion for serving international communities in the United States. While completing his PhD at Ohio State University, he launched an international student ministry that had hundreds of students participating. But what he started at The Bridge was very different.

Columbus has an incredibly huge Somali, Iraqi, and Cambodian refugee population. Refugee housing places these groups in one of the mostcrime ridden communities of Columbus, Hilltop. Most of these refugees do not speak English, and they are trying hard to adjust to the American way of life while working incredibly hard to maintain their traditional culture. They are outsiders in the greater community and have been made to feel largely unwelcome by many locals because they are so different. They have difficulty getting jobs, and not many roll out the carpet to welcome them.

So Pavi decided to create a community center that is specifically dedicated to helping these refugees develop critical skills to adjust to life in America. They express an interest in classes and then the classes are formed and taught by volunteers. The Bridge has a community garden where people can learn about the soil and gardening, and it also has a soccer field for the kids to play in. Some of the top classes requested by these refugees are English classes and math classes. They want to know how to count American currency and how to purchase groceries. They want to be able to exercise and not get ridiculed for their traditional clothing, or lack of understanding of American culture.

And the results have been incredible! Classes are full, and people are feeling a sense of community as they gather from myriad points around the globe to chart a new life in the United States. And Pavi and his team are incredibly excited by what they are seeing.

If you live in or near Columbus OH and are looking for an opportunity to serve neighbors from around the globe, I highly recommend you check out The Bridge. And if you don’t live in or near Columbus, I encourage you to make it a point to reach out to welcome our global neighbors who are working hard to chart a path toward a better future here in the US. Or just reach out to your neighbors in general—folks just don’t do that much anymore.

May we all grow in our commitment to serve and practice hospitality to our neighbors, whether around the block, or around the globe.

Reflection: Bonfires and Bonding

This year at our Nuru all-staff summit, we started a new tradition, or maybe we continued an older tradition in a new format. We gathered around a fire on the first night of our summit, and shared stories of ways in the past year different members of the team stepped forward and went above and beyond to carry the mission forward. This time of celebrating wins was not entirely new at Nuru, but, the bonfire was.

Sitting around that fire and enjoying some pizza and solid conversations and catch-up times with teammates as the sound of Pacific waves crashed in the darkness beyond us brought back several other memories for me. Back when I was more actively engaged in my tribal community, we would circle up around what we called "Indian-TV" or more specifically "Shawnee-TV" and conduct similar activities. We would enjoy meals, catch-up with one another, share stories, and laugh together as we enjoyed the dance of the fire/"TV" before us. My understanding is that our staff living in Ethiopia and Kenya also have fire pits around which they gather fairly often.

My tribe has a New Year's ceremony (not in January) in which the nation's fire is stamped out to signal the close of the old year and the start of the new year (there's much more to the ceremony, but this is one key element). As the fire is stamped out, individuals are encouraged to make amends, to forgive, and to leave the hurts of the previous year in the past. In this way each year starts with a clean slate.

I can remember heading out to one of my old roommate Lucas Harriman's family home in West Virginia during my undergraduate years too. We would gather about indoors, eat a ton of buckwheat cakes and pizza while simultaneously downing pot after pot of coffee, and then we would make our way outside to a fire pit, and gather around to sing praises to the Creator of the universe, share testimonies of what He was teaching us, and even take time to pray for one another.

I've always thought about a fire as a tool for survival, a place to keep warm, and a place to cook food and share meals, but in reality a fire represents a gathering place, and in some regard, the breath and life of a community. It's no wonder that people talk about relationships ending as "fires going out" or even of death in a similar fashion "their fire burnt out too early."

While I know that there are modern equivalents for gathering spaces, I can't help but think that a fire as a gathering space is unparalleled, especially a fire in the night. The fire calls us away from the darkness, calls us to warmth and laughter, and allows us to see one another more clearly rather than only seeing shadows.

Do you have any fireside memories? May we each make a practice of spending time together with others around a fire, and celebrate community, warmth, and connectedness.

Reflection: Running And Community

While attending the Nuru all-staff summit I had the opportunity to run together with some of my co-workers/teammates at Nuru. Typically when I go running, its either with Jamie or by myself (most of the time with Jamie though). I knew that there were a few fellow team members who cultivated a habit of running, and so I thought I'd invite them to explore an area I discovered on my first day of the summit. We were able to get out a couple of days during the week until I sprained an ankle, and at the very least, ended my own runs. I really enjoyed these community runs for a few reasons.

1) I knew that we were going to have some long and full days at the summit, and that all of us who were able/willing would benefit greatly from an opportunity to move and to sweat.

2) Running together, helped each of us to have a rhythm that didn't push anyone too hard, but ensured that we each had a good workout.

3) We had some great conversations about work and life that likely would never have happened during the normal rhythm of the week.

4) I was able to get to know some of my teammates better, and that puts me in a better position to support them as together we work to take more ground in the fight to end extreme poverty.

5) Knowing that there were other people who were going to run/workout with me helped me stay motivated to get out there.

Are you starting a walking/running/workout endeavor? Find a group of friends or coworkers to do it with, keep each other motivated, and keep moving forward. May we each find people in our lives who will help us bring our best each day!

Review: The Daniel Plan By Rick Warren, Daniel Amen, and Mark Hyman

Back in 2011, Saddleback Church launched a holistic wellness program called The Daniel Plan. As a church, thousands of parishioners participated in this program, and even some people remotely based participated in the program as well. I was among that group. I had tuned in to a webcast that my dad told me about, and I was pretty amazed about what I discovered with regard to diet and wellness.  Three months after starting the program, I had changed my diet pretty significantly, started an exercise program, and I had lost 25 pounds along the way.

Three years later, I was excited to see that The Daniel Plan had become a book, and was featured on The Dr. Oz Show. And, although I haven't "fully" participated in the full-fledged Daniel Plan, I highly recommend the five-fold focus of the plan. I feel like the holistic nature of it makes it pretty unique.

Faith--This component makes the program pretty unique. The plan is built on the foundation of faith, with the idea that God gives us the ability to do what we can't do on our own through the power of His Spirit.
Food--Of course any wellness plan requires a dietary change. This plan takes the focus away from any type of "fad" foods or supplements and focuses on whole foods over processed foods, and reducing sugar among other things.
Fitness--This part of the plan builds on the foundation of faith and food, and encourages simple fitness efforts like walking for 30 minutes each day with en emphasis on walking with purpose and as though late, and making the fitness efforts fun.
Focus--With the Daniel Plan there is an additional aspect of developing a habit of mental wellness, eliminating negative thought patterns and cultivating gratitude and mental wellness.
Friends--Any wellness plan becomes more likely to be successful when conducted with friends. The Daniel Plan encourages individuals to develop a community to help motivate one another toward their wellness goals.

Looking for a tool to help you pursue mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness in community? Check out The Daniel Plan. I think it is a strong guide to diet, fitness, faith, mental focus, and growth in the context of community.

Reflection: Enjoying A Layover In London

A few days ago, as I began the journey from West Virginia to Kenya, I hit a minor snag. My first flight was canceled, and because of tight layovers on subsequent flights, it meant that I would miss the entirety of my original itinerary. Thankfully, United was able to book me on an alternate itinerary that had me arriving twelve hours later than originally anticipated, but it also had me spending about ten of those hours in London.

So, with a ten hour layover, I took advantage of the opportunity to explore a city to which I have never traveled, and began the process of adjusting to a new time zone by walking around in the daylight in a new city. 

It was actually much easier to navigate than I had anticipated. Once I started to shake off the sleep deprivation and get my bearings, I was able to check my backpack at a left luggage counter, and the purchase a one-day pass for the train. Within an hour, I was in downtown London and looking directly at Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (and yes, I had flashes of Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's European Vacation). 

It was a beautiful day, and, as per usual when traveling in a larger city, I was pretty amazed at how easy it was to navigate the city and how close things were. Within minutes I was able to see the two aforementioned sights along with Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace. I made my way through Green Park and onward to Piccadilly Circus, and decided to make a side trip to 221B Baker Street, the home of one Sherlock Holmes. There was actually a line at the famed home of Holmes with about 150-200 people waiting to tour the space. 

The people were friendly but the streets were crowded. People were out and about enjoying the sunshine and the weekend. And beyond this, folks were playing, picnicking, and conversing in the many parks I either walked through or passed by. Walking through those parks, I was reminded of many times my family (including aunts, uncles, and cousins) would spend an afternoon in a park, bring some food, and just enjoy some leisure time together. When I visit parks back in the US these days, I just don't see as many people using them. I don't see as many people out and active. Seems like folks back home just don't have the time for spending an afternoon in our parks. Now don't get me wrong, there are some exceptions, but more and more we just find our schedules a little too crowded to enjoy some relaxation. Maybe what we need to do is adjust some priorities and get outside.

May we each carve out time to explore and enjoy our communities, our parks, and the world around us, and may we enjoy these places in the company of friends and family!

Wonderful Experience Of Hospitality To End ÜberConf Experience

Last Friday, Jamie and I had a wonderful week in Colorado at ÜberConf. The week was full of good conversation, laughter, and an opportunity to meet some pretty amazing individuals. Among those individuals was a speaker and developer named Venkat Subramaniam. Venkat has bit of a legendary status in the conference space, and spends a large amount of time teaching and sharing at conferences, and also keeps a blog here for folks interested in learning more from him, a great place to start is his blog, “AgileDeveloper”.

What made the end of this week especially sweet was that Venkat invited a number of the presenters along with Jamie and myself into his home. Venkat had invited us for the last three years, but this was the first time we were able to accept his offer of hospitality. Not only did we have an amazing time connecting with many of the No Fluff Just Stuff speakers, many of which have become good friends of ours over the years. But we also had the privilege of meeting Venkat’s parents as well.

In my experience, one of the kindest gestures of care and welcome from a person is an invitation into one’s home. Venkat and his family made me and Jamie feel like family. We felt a very welcome part of this gathering of software developers in spite of the fact that we know very little about the space (particularly when in the presence of some of the top speakers/consultants/writers on the subject).

Venkat’s family had prepared a wide array of Indian food (including dessert), and they ensured that no one would leave their home hungry. Words can not fully express the depth of my gratitude to Venkat and his family for opening their home and sharing a meal with me and Jamie.

And this gesture has not been unique to Venkat. Jamie and I have had the privilege of sharing our home with many friends and family members, and we have also been frequent beneficiaries of the hospitality of others during our travels.

There is something truly special about sharing a meal with friends in a home and this kind of hospitality is quickly becoming a lost art. May we all take time to break bread in the homes of our friends, and may we have an open door and invitation to friends near and far as we exercise the practice of hospitality in a world that often seems to busy to slow down for this kind of camaraderie.

It’s Time For The Work To Continue

Yesterday, millions of Americans exercised their civic privilege and voted their conscience in an array of elections. For all the criticism and vitriol that has been spewed both on and offline over the last several weeks, our country and our world move onward. While some may lament the results of various elections and others may be rejoicing, one thing is clear. Our participation in our country’s government did not stop when the polls closed yesterday.

You see, we have a representative democracy government. We elect representatives whose goal is to serve the people of this country. Sometimes I think we lose sight of this. Over the last few years, I’ve been becoming more engaged personally, and realize that our government allows us a privilege of participation, not just in elections, but in writing our representatives, calling them, meeting with them, and speaking our minds.

No matter who became elected to our various offices, one thing that should never be neglected is that we need to work together. We need folks across the political spectrum to stay engaged, to work together, and to look to make a difference. For American citizens, our government is a daily participatory process. It’s not just the privilege of voting that people enjoy here in America, it’s the privilege of being actively engaged in the process throughout the year. Contrary to what people might believe about the process, our voices have the opportunity to be heard every day.

Our country is truly great when we all work together. When we say that the problems that we face are going to be faced together. Where I grew up, folks in the neighborhood didn’t have a whole lot of financial resources, but what we did have was each other. In my tribe, the situation was similar. Most of the people in my tribe didn’t have a lot of financial resources, but we had each other. And in both of these situations, folks would look out for one another, pitch-in, and help take care of each other.

I remember growing up, neighbors would help each other with auto repair. We would help one another replace roofs on our homes. My parents have almost always had a garden, and they would make a habit of sharing the bounty with our neighbors. Parents in the neighborhood looked out for all of the kids, so if you wanted to get into mischief, there were eyes everywhere who looked after us kids. Everybody contributed. Our neighborhood was maintained by people looking out for one another, and looking for opportunities to pitch-in and help.

Sometimes I feel like we have forgotten how to do this. We have forgotten about serving others, but often look to be served by others. We have gotten how to love our neighbor, and spend our time complaining about what our neighbor does or does not do. Together we are powerful. One of the great Shawnee leaders of the past compared the activities of one person to a single stick—that stick can easily be broken. On the other hand he compared it to the strength of a group of people working together. Together we are strong.

As Mohandes Gandhi said in a paraphrase of the words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Or, in the words of Jesus himself, “Before you try to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye, take the log out of your own eye.”

Let’s be strong, and move forward the way generations and communities in the past have done it. Together.