A Radical Wannabe

Chapter 2

I can't believe it has been eleven months since I lasted posted. Whoops! It is one of those things you say "Oh, I will get to that tomorrow" and tomorrow never comes. Let's see if I can get on a regular Friday posting schedule...

Suffice it to say, it has been an amazing first year of ministry at DWU. Despite some challenges, we've engaged all kinds of students in different areas of ministry and look forward to do that again this year. In this new freshman class, we've been blessed with some amazing music and leadership talent. It is amazing how God fills in the gaps of those students who leave with more who have incredible talents and passion.

We've got some amazing coaches who've taken FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) by the horns on Thursdays with some 50 students showing up for the first meeting. It is exciting to see the coaches excited about it, passing it onto the students, and into all areas of the campus. Excitement and passion is contagious, as our growth in worship last year made very clear.

God, we ask for a new year for you to work on hearts, to draw them close to you. May we be used by You anyway you see fit, nothing but a tool to be used and spent for your service. It's in Jesus name I ask this, Amen.

Phase 2...

With the McGovern Dedication over, it feels like the semester has been split into two parts: B.M and A.M (Before McGovern & After McGovern). So many things were put off until after it was over it is nice to get back to a stable routine again.

Vicky and I, on a whim last weekend, decided to drive home to Bismarck, ND to see our family and friends. It was a great time, as always, to worship at your home church. It was during one of the prayers by the worship leader that God spoke to me.

I've been reading a lot lately about the future of the church and the emerging church in particular. Many authors and church leaders are convinced the day of the "institutional" church is ending and the "missional" church is coming back. I do pray that is true.

It was during that prayer time in worship that God encouraged me down that path, to pursue what it means to be an emergent, missional church focused on relationships over institutions, spiritual growth over church growth. I know I am not perfect when it comes to that; what pastor is not tempted to Lead a church with thousands of members?

What would it be like to experience a church where people are authentic in their struggles with faith? How would their communities and families be changed? The possibilities really excite me...

By the Numbers...

God is moving at DWU! To give you some tangible evidence of that, consider this: last year, a good show in worship was 30 people, mostly faculty and staff. At the beginning of the year, we took a risk and moved worship out of the smaller Wagner Chapel and into the larger Sherman Center expecting God to move on hearts. This year, we've had between 70-100 people in worship with 50-60 students with staff and faculty making up the rest. God is good!

Worship is not the only area that has seen a jump in participation. On Monday nights, we come together for FCA Breakaway, a time to play a game with a short devotion afterward. A few weeks ago, on dodgeball night, 40 people showed up, an increase of more than double from previous weeks. The next week, volleyball night, saw 35 people participating in two different games: hard core and casual.

Across the board in campus ministry, participation is up: 3 Bible studies from one last year and Koinonia, the free food and games at the campus pastor's house on Sundays, had 20 people last night playing Super Mario Strikers(TM) and basketball in the backyard.

Numbers are not the only indicator of growth, however, We are sending several students to Florida this November to explore the ordained ministry as a career and the students we draw for events cover the spectrum from athletes, non-athletes, and everything in-between. There is an excitement in all the events to invite friends and to bring them along to experience it.

Check out the photo album for pictures from the fall spirituality retreat and you can put your e-mail address into the box on the right to receive updates for this blog in your inbox.

In the Midst of Things

Boy, is it a busy time of year! Last week we had the first student-led worship service of the year on campus. We moved from the smaller Wagner Chapel to the much larger Sherman Center, hoping and prayer for a good attendance. Last year, the average worship attendance was 25. We had almost 100 people in worship last week and had a blast. It was awesome!

This week, the annual Fall Spirituality Retreat is being held at Lake Poinsett outside of Watertown, SD. As if the weekend wasn't busy enough, Sunday September 17th is All College Church held at First United Methodist Church, downtown Mitchell, at 11 a.m. I am lucky enough to preach both Thursday worship this week and All College Church. Come on by if your schedule allows!

God is doing great things on campus...

On Our Way

I have to confess: I love the location of my office. I am on the main floor of the campus center where the chapel, post office and cafeteria are located. Needless to say, I get to see quite a few students in just a few short hours over lunch time. Kudos to whoever decided this was the best place for the campus pastor's office!

The students and I led our first worship together last week for the new freshman. It went quite well. Whenver you use technology in worship, there is always a fear that something will go wrong but it worked flawlessly. We were able to incorporate a video we made the previous day as well as projecting Scripture and various graphics relating to the message points.

With all the positive feedback we've received, I hope the excitement continues for students, staff and faculty to invite others to worship. I am excited to see how God will use the 11 o'clock hour on Thursday to transform hearts and minds. Come, Holy Spirit, come!

Ready, Set...

Students have trickled into campus the last few weeks and we will have all students back next Monday, August 28th. I am looking forward to a campus buzzing with activity because the summer was very quiet except for the sound of construction here and there.

I have a feeling the next nine months, except for a few breaks here and there, will really be a marathon. When next summer rolls around, I bet I am going to be very grateful for the quiet and downtime. It's going to be more important than ever for me to have daily quality time with God filled with lots of prayer!

My wife started a new teaching job today and, while she was really nervous, I know she will do really well. Even though she feels she has no experience teaching, she spent the last three years as a full-time youth worker. The subject material may have changed but her amazing skills as a teacher have not.

God loves to stretch us, using our gifts in areas we never thought we would ever use them. When we step outside of what we know, we get to see God work through us because we know it was not our ability, our power, that completed the task. May God stretch all of us this year!

Recovery and Gearing Up...

For the entire month of July, I was in the office a whopping total of five days. I spent time at two United Methodist camps, meeting middle school and high school students as well as a few days in Kansas City at a NAIA Conference discussing their Champions of Character initiative. Sitting in my office, finally, I am quite glad to be settling into a routine again.

As I reflect and pray about what God is doing and will do in the coming year, one phrase keeps popping up in my mind: impossible is not what it used to be. I first heard the phrase on an episode of "The 4400," an X-Men style show on USA. One of the characters was reflecting how different their world had become since an amazing and miraculous event occurred.

I get the sense this is how the disciples felt when they saw Jesus raise his good friend, Lazarus, from the dead. Their expressions likely changed from horror, when Jesus called for the four-day dead Lazarus to come out of the tomb, to one of absolutely shock and awe when Lazarus actually did. I can actually picture a conversation between the disciples Peter and John: "John, that's... that's impossible." "Peter, impossible is not what it used to be."

Jesus changes everything doesn't he? Not only does he offer everyone everlasting life but he offers us power to live amazing, adventurous lives right now! In Christ is power not only to break chains of great social injustice but personal habits that hold us back from experiencing life the way it was meant to be.

I believe God has amazing things in store for DWU this year. Some of the things are so outrageous and out there that more than one person would say "that's impossible." But, sisters and brothers, impossible is not what it used to be...

Why Men Hate Church

Vicky and I spent the weekend with family and friends as well as engaging in a new activity for us: jet skiing. We went to Lake Nelson in North Dakota and had an absolute blast cruising around the lake, which had an average temperature of 75 degrees. Not a bad way to spend a summer day in July at all!

Just a few days previous, I had listened to one of the best Father's Day sermons I have ever heard. The pastor explained that men have a tendency to stay away from church because they do not connect with sitting in meetings forever or hearing the message about a very lovey-dovey Jesus. These men would rather be hunting or riding jet skis than sitting in church being a passive participant.

Now, there is no question that Jesus loves, but have we forgotten about his other half, the half that turned over tables in the temple or stood up to an angry mob ready to stone a women caught in adultery? It is possible the church is attracting only certain types of people, those who "enjoy" institutional meetings, and is missing a large segment of the population.

Personally, I felt very much alive cruising around that lake at 50 mph. Can we take that same feeling and attitude and apply it to church? The life of a follower of Jesus should be the most exciting relationship that we have, easily equivalent to cruising around a lake at 50 mph. May all of us learn to rekindle the adventure that truly is found in a relationship with God...

Finding a Title

I still do not like the title I have for my blog. I felt a lot of pressure in coming up with a good one with this site telling me it is the one thing that brings the most traffic to it. I must say a part of me does like the title, even though the word "radical" has fallen upon hard times in recent days. It is typically descriptive of a religious follower who is a fanatic and does things that a regular or "normal" follower would not do like extreme acts of violence.

Yet, technically speaking, the word "radical" means someone who desires extreme change to themselves or to an institution. In my case, I want extreme change in myself and in the church at large. As I read through the Gospels about the life of Christ and those days of the early church in Acts, I am struck with the fact that many churches today focus on maintaining buildings and programs over really building relationships with the people in those programs.

Granted, the buildings and programs were put into place to facilitate transformation of non-followers of Jesus to followers of Jesus. It seems, however, that many hang onto the programs and buildings "because it's the way it has always been done" even though they serve very little function, perhaps even hinder, in transforming individuals into servants of Christ.

I am discontent with the way churches are; I am discontent with the way I am. May the Holy Spirit continue to transform me to become a disciple who is more concerned about people than building the biggest church building on the block. On second thought, I think I will keep the title.

Hit the Ground Running

Welcome to my blog! You've stumbled, whether on purpose or not, onto the blog of the campus pastor at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD. Enjoy your stay...

So, I started in the office full time last Monday, June 12, and needless to say, work began immediately. Alumni Days were held last weekend and my responsibilities included a few banquet prayers and a worship service Saturday morning. My first event to preach and it was in front of alumni who likely have given quite a bit of money to the school!

It went quite well; the message was called "Unlikely Heroes" from Esther 4:12-14. In this story, Esther is a peasant girl who becomes queen and is in a place to save her people, the Jews, from slaughter. In order to act, she must risk her life and speak out of turn to the king. An unlikely hero but one God calls nonetheless to do God's will.

I finished the message by stating we are all unlikely heroes in life. We are called not only to service to our families and to our friends but to the entire world. I connected the story of Esther to the story of Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List and Paul from Hotel Rwanda. Two unlikely heroes who stepped into the position because it was the right and just thing to do. As followers of Jesus, we are expected to serve the whole world, urging those present to act on what is happening in the Sudan today.

At first I felt like it was too serious a message for an Alumni Day worship service. But, then, I realized we are all followers of Jesus and we need to do more in the world, not just in our little corner. I am not going to waste a worship service on "filler" but take all opportunities to challenge everyone, myself included, to further faithfulness to Jesus Christ.