DEVELOPING 3C COMMUNITIES

Community Christian Church of Naperville, IL, has developed from a new church planted by college friends into a mega-church with multiple services on multiple campuses. In addition, they have developed The New Thing Network, whose mission is to be a catalyst for a movement of reproducing churches. They are a church worth learning from.

The mission of Community Christian Church is “helping people find their way back to God.” They carry out their mission by leading people to become 3C Christ followers. They define a 3C Christ follower as someone who is growing in three experiences: Celebrate, which is primarily about our relationship with God; Connect, which is primarily about our relationship with the church; and Contribute, which is primarily about our relationship with the world.

In their book, Exponential, Dave Ferguson, pastor of Community Christian Church, and Jon Ferguson, teaching pastor of the church, describe the history and strategy of the congregation and New Thing Network, in order to lay out their strategy for starting a reproducing church movement. Instrumental in their process of developing reproducing churches and movements is developing communities of 3C Christ followers that “focus on serving people and are able to reach people who would never walk through the doors of our churches.”

So what is necessary to reproduce such communities? In their book, the Ferguson’s present some ideas and philosophies that have worked for them. Let me summarize some of them.

(1) Believe That Acts 1:8 Was Meant to Be Accomplished.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus’ mission for the church as he presented it to his disciples was meant to be accomplished, and the Ferguson’s say it “can be accomplished.” Once we believe this, we will realize that “we cannot build facilities big enough or fast enough to keep up with what God wants to do.”

(2) Teach People to “Go” and Not Just “Bring.”

Most churches for many years have primarily used the “attraction” model of evangelism. That is, we encourage believers to invite people to church and we develop programs that will attract people to our services. While that is a legitimate way to reach people, we also need to find ways to go and reach people that will never come to our services and events, especially as our culture becomes more and more secular and resistant to the church. Community Christian even gives their people permission to skip their worship services to create opportunities to go and reach people. Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, in their book, And, suggest that both bringing and going are legitimate forms of evangelism for the church.

(3) Plant the Gospel Before Planting a Church or Starting a Group.

Communities of people on a mission “will go and live among the people with a readiness to serve them.” Author Alan Hirsch suggests that most churches operate from Ecclesiology (the church) to Missiology (the church’s mission) to Christology (the Gospel). Instead we should operate from Christology to Missiology to Ecclesiology. The early church started by planting the Gospel in people’s hearts and allowed the church and Christian communities to develop as people’s lives were transformed. We will need to operate with this model more and more in the future.

(4) Get Comfortable With Chaos and Failure.

Most of us who have served in the church for a long time will have difficulty with this idea because we have been trained to plan for success. However, the Ferguson’s say, “If we give our leaders permission to go out and start missional communities and churches that will reach people for Jesus, it will not be perfectly organized and it will certainly not be one hundred percent successful.” We should do everything possible to reach people with the Gospel, being willing to go outside of our comfort zones and take risks.

That is just a sampling of what the Ferguson’s suggest is involved in reproducing our churches and Christian communities. Their book is certainly worthwhile reading and learning from. Perhaps they can help you think through how to make your church a reproducing church.

TRANSFORMATION: It Starts In the Heart of One

As many of you know, in addition to my role as minister at Westwood, I also serve as Executive Director of WCMA, a church planting organization for Christian churches based here in Madison. Westwood has a stake in WCMA’s ministry as they support WCMA.

Along with other organizations and churches, WCMA is part of a networking initiative known as 10-10-10 Initiative. The name comes from the date October 10, 2010. Here is the way this effort is described:

“The 10-10-10 Initiative is a cross-denominational emphasis on the urgency and importance of starting healthy new churches. The 10-10-10 Initiative seeks to help 100s of ministries partner with 1,000s of existing churches to see 1,000,000s of lives transformed through healthy new churches.  The initiative seeks to serve networks, denominations, churches and individuals by accelerating the impact of how God is already at work through them.  10-10-10 represents the exponential power of “10” through multiplication.   10 to the 3^rd power is 1000.   Imagine 1,000 new churches birthed in October 2010  and thousands of existing churches unified on the call to engage in new church work.”

The theme for this effort is “Transformation: It Starts In the Heart of One.” That is, if 100s of ministries are going to partner with 1,000’s of existing churches to see 1,000,000s of life transformed through healthy new churches, it all begins with our own lives being transformed into the image of Christ.

Beginning on September 12, we will examine the theme of Transformation at Westwood through a series of five messages from Romans 12-15.

We will begin the series with two of the great verses in the Bible: Romans 12:1-2. Included in those verses is this statement: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In Romans 1-8, Paul explores the great doctrinal themes that hold the church together. Then, he calls for transformation in the life of the believer and explores the practical areas of life in which we must let God transform us. Let God transform your heart, so 1,000,000’s can know Christ.

Roger Wisegarver Benefit

 

Last night six people from Westwood traveled to Monticello, IL, to attend the benefit concert for Roger Wisegarver and to deliver Westwood’s offering toward his medical needs. It proved to be an excellent event with many very good results.

Facts About the Offering and Event:

Final Offering From Westwood: $3,595.00

Offering at the Concert (approximate) $11,000.00

Total Offering (approximate) $15,000.00

Announced Attendance 321

Reflections

Those attending from Westwood included Nadine Miller, Kathy Seman, Tom and Ann Sippy, Christine and I. We left the eastside of Madison at 1:30 PM and returned at 1:00 AM.

Roger and Brenda were in attendance, and Roger spoke to the gathering midway through the program. Some of you will remember the video of him being interviewed about how he is dealing with this disease and his recovery that we showed after worship in July. That video was played for the gathering and then Roger reiterated to the crowd some of the things he said in the video about how the Lord is taking he and Brenda through this challenge.

One of the neat sidelights to the event was that two of the men from the rehabilitation facility that Roger is currently in volunteered their time to bring Roger to the event.

The choir that performed the concert is a men’s choir formed from the Christian radio station that Roger moved to Central Illinois to work for. Roger had, of course, been singing in the choir until the virus struck. The general manager of the radio station with whom Roger became friends before going there to work, was the MC for the evening. He told me he would be going on the air this morning to announce the results of the benefit.

They hope to purchase a battery powered wheel chair for Roger with funds from the benefit. They hope in the coming months to raise enough funds to purchase a wheel-chair accessible van for Roger and Brenda.

Our efforts at Westwood to raise the money we did and to have a delegation at the event were well received. Thank you for giving generously in order to help a couple who are friends of all of us who have ministered here with Roger and Brenda.

This was the third time I have seen Roger since all of this unfolded at the beginning of the year. Each time I see him, I have observed noticeable progress in him. His attitude has been exceptional through all of it. He still has a long way to go in his recovery, so continue to pray for he and Brenda.

God bless,

Ken

WHEN EVERYTHING IS AGAINST YOU

Murphy’s law has become quite well known in America. It says, "If anything can go wrong, it will." Captain Edward A. Murphy, an engineer working on an Air Force project, at Edwards Air Force Base in 1949, is usually given credit for it. One day after finding some wiring done wrong, he said about the technician responsible, "If there is any way to do it wrong, he'll find it." The contractor's project manager kept a list of "laws" and added this one, which he called Murphy's Law. Shortly afterward a doctor working on the project described the project’s safety record as a result of a firm belief in Murphy’s Law and their efforts to circumvent it. Soon Murphy’s Law was being used by Aerospace manufacturers in their advertising and began to be quoted in many news and magazine articles. It may have older roots than 1949, but the events at that time seem to be what has made Murphy’s Law an American institution.

Despite our belief in the power and work of God, even Christians can feel like Murphy’s Law is at work in their lives and in the church. We try hard to carry out the Lord’s work, but sometimes it seems like everything is against us.

One of the Bible characters who expressed such a sentiment was the patriarch Jacob. He had to run from his brother Esau and was deceived by his father-in-law Laban when he sought to marry Rachel and was given Leah instead. Then he had to give Laban fourteen years of labor to get Rachel. His favorite son Joseph was sold into slavery by Joseph’s sons, who claimed he had been killed. Then the land experienced famine, and his sons went to Egypt to get food, only to return without Simeon and to be told they could only return to Egypt for more food and to retrieve Simeon if they took their youngest brother Benjamin with them.

Is it any wonder when Jacob found out these facts about his sons’ trip to Egypt that he called up Murphy’s Law and said, “Everything is against me” (Genesis 42:36)? Until the family ran out of food again, he would not let his sons return to Egypt and take Benjamin with them. Enough bad already happened. What might happen next?

In the ensuing months, Jacob had no choice; he had to allow his sons to take Benjamin and return to Egypt. By then, he was beginning to face matters with God again at his side. This man had some great experiences with God in his earlier days when he dreamed of a ladder reaching to heaven with the Lord at the top and when he spent a night wrestling with God only to have his name changed. Now when everything is against him, his life changes and he begins to let God work in him. There are two clues in Genesis 43 to the change in Jacob:

First, his name Israel is used three times in Genesis 43. His name had been changed by God from Jacob (the one who deceives) to Israel (the one who struggles with God), but he continues to be called Jacob. His grandfather Abraham, on the other hand, had his name changed from Abram to Abraham and was always known as Abraham from then on. Now Jacob is referred to as Israel. When everything is going against him, he learns once again to struggle with God and let God work in his life.

Second, Jacob refers to God Almighty (Genesis 43:14). He asks for God to grant mercy to his sons so that they will all come back to him. Instead of saying again that everything is against him, he says, “If I am bereaved, I am bereaved.” God can do his work whatever happens. Robert Candlish wrote about Jacob at this point: “The pilgrim of half a century is on his feet again with staff in hand, eye fixed once more on God.”

Maybe it seems like everything is against you as you serve God. Maybe it seems like everything is against your church and nothing turns out as it should. Those are the times when we need to struggle with God and remember that God Almighty is the one by our side. Take your “staff” in hand and fix your eyes once more on God. Call the church in times of difficulty to once again trust in the God who has been at work through all these years.

Westwood Message – August 5, 2010

Roger Wisegarver Benefit Concert

Last summer Roger and Brenda Wisegarver moved from Madison, where they were faithful and active members of Westwood, to their hometown of Monticello, IL. Roger began work for a Christian radio station in Central Illinois. Many of you know his story from there.

Then during the last few days of 2009, Roger noticed that his legs were beginning to feel numb. Days later, he couldn't walk. Upon diagnosis, the doctors told Roger and Brenda that Roger had what is known as Guillain Barre Syndrome. Guillain Barre is a syndrome where a person's immune system attacks a virus in the body, but then for some reason the immune system then turns and begins to attack the neural system as well. Within the first several days of 2010, Roger went from feeling numbness in his limbs to being completely paralyzed and unable to speak. Days later, he was on a ventilator, a feeding tube, and was unconscious. After several days, Roger woke up. Since then he has had an uncertain climb toward whatever recovery might look like this side of heaven. His story is that of a faith journey through difficult and uncertain times.

On August 29 at 6:00 PM, First Christian Church of Monticello, IL, Roger and Brenda’s home church and the church where they are now members, will hold a benefit concert to help with Roger’s medical expenses. As a support to Roger and Brenda due to their long involvement with Westwood, we would like to have Westwood help with this benefit concert in two ways:

(1) During the rest of August, we will accept gifts at Westwood toward the love offering to be taken at the benefit concert. You may make checks out to Westwood and designate them for the Wisegarver Benefit.

(2) Our leadership would like to invite you to travel with some of us to the benefit concert on August 29 to deliver the gift from Westwood and to offer our encouragement and support to Roger and Brenda. If you are able to make the trip, you can use the information tear-off in your Sunday bulletin to get us your name and the number from your family that will go, Just write Wisegarver Benefit somewhere on the form.

We will announce coordinated travel arrangements for the trip to Monticello later in the month. It would be great to have a good contingent from Westwood attend.

Is There a Piece Missing In Your Life?

Jack Harris, an 86-year-old retired man in England, spent nearly eight years working on a five-foot long, 5,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. It took up his dining room table all that time. When he thought the painstaking process was complete, he stood back to admire his work - only to find one piece missing.

He searched his home for the missing piece, but has not found it. He contacted the puzzle’s manufacturer to see if they could provide the missing piece, but they no longer make that jigsaw puzzle. The puzzle would never be completed.

As our church has looked at the life of Joseph this summer as an example of a person who lived with integrity and forgiveness, there is an interesting counterpoint to his story — Joseph’s brothers. They had a missing piece in their lives. In the last half of Joseph’s story, he attempted to help them recover that missing piece.

In order to understand the piece missing from his brothers’ lives, we need to know what motivated Joseph’s life. We first find this key to Joseph’s life after he is tempted by Potiphar’s wife and says he cannot “do such a wicked thing and sin against God.” Then Joseph is given the opportunity to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker and then of Pharaoh himself. In each case, he attributes God as the one who can interpret dreams. When he reveals himself to his brothers after years of separation, he tells them everything that happened to him was so God could save their lives. After their father, Jacob, dies, he reinforces that to his brothers. Joseph put God at the center of everything in his life.

In contrast, his brothers first think of God when they are in trouble. Returning home from buying food in Egypt, they find their money for buying the food is still in their sacks. Their response is to ask, “What is this that God has done to us?” For the first time, as far as we know, they acknowledge God because he had been missing in their lives for all those years.

So here is my question to you in this brief piece: Is God missing in your life? Or, do you put him in the center of everything that you do? Is he at the center of every decision you make? Do you talk about him to people you know? I am not asking whether you are a Christian, but whether you integrate God into every corner of your life. If not, he is the missing piece in your life — and an important one at that!

A Good Summer Trip

I enjoyed a wonderful trip to South Bend, IN, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, and Nashville from July 4 through July 12. My first stop was in South Bend, IN on July 4 to spend an evening with Christine. She is at the University of Notre Dame for six weeks as she continues pursuing a Masters degree in Theology. Her classes are going well. When I was there she was at the end of her first two weeks of a three-week class. Now she is near the end of her first week of two more three-week classes, with just over two weeks to go.

On July 5, I traveled to Indianapolis to attend the North American Christian Convention where I also exhibited for WCMA, the church planting organization that I also work with and which Westwood supports. The theme of the convention was Beyond, as the convention program and speakers challenged everyone to go further in their faith than they have ever gone before. One exciting feature of the program was a performance for the entire family of the musical The Rock and the Rabbi, the story of Peter and his relationship with Jesus. I visited with many friends from across the country and a good number of people from Wisconsin’s Christian churches.

After the convention ended on Friday, July 9, I traveled to Cincinnati to meet our daughter, Nancy, and we traveled to Nashville, TN, to spend the weekend with my nephew, his wife, and daughter who live in Mississippi. We spent some great time together seeing some of the sights of Nashville, but mostly just visiting and catching up with one another. This weekend has a long story behind it, and the time was very well spent.

While I missed being at Westwood on July 11, we all attended the Harpeth Community Church in Franklin, TN, on Sunday before we all left the Nashville area. This is a relatively new church where I had attended a seminar two and a half years ago when their first building was under construction. I enjoyed worshiping there, seeing the completed building, and getting a taste for their ministry. I also pick up some new ideas any time I attend another congregation.

When we left Nashville, Nancy and I drove to her home in Cincinnati. I drove back to Madison on Monday, July 12, stopping to see Roger Wisegarver in his rehab facility in Champaign, IL on the way. I had not seen Roger since late January. He continues to make slow, but positive progress in his recovery.