Wikiworship

This past Sunday, we launched at St. Stephen the Martyr an alternative worship start for teens with something I call "Wikiworship". I thought I had made the term up since I'd never heard or read it anywhere before. But before I sat down to blog, I googled "Wikiworship" and found a few people already using the word in much the same way as I envisioned it to denote an open source, participatory worship experience built upon user created content.

Find out more about it on wikiworship.blogspot by clicking here and here (from where I got the above image); read what this mission leader is doing in his own context; you can also learn more by clicking here here.

Anyway, here's the short blurb from the promotional flier that went out to teens and their families plus lay leaders in our congregation:

Open Source
User Created Content
Discussing God in
the Real Lives of
High School Students
thru Ur pics, vids,
YouTube, Facebook
and 2daz Music

Introducing a new alternative start to worship for High School Students!

Youth have been talking a lot about worship: it's boring; we want modern and upbeat music; the language of scripture and sermons can be over our heads; we want something more at our level.

Well, we've been heard loud and clear. Now high school students may choose to start worship together in our own style, in our own culture. We'll discuss the scripture text, and share the message God is speaking to us using blogs, pics, vids, and music we creat.

Then we'll join the rest of the congregation in the sanctuary for prayers, communion, and benediction. If you're already active in worship, feel free to continue worshiping in the sanctuary if you prefer. But if you haven't been in worship every week, now there's no more excuses. See you this Sunday @ 9:30!

The impetus behind this new ministry is to respond to the feedback teens give us concerning why they aren't in worship regularly. On a typical Sunday, we have 0 to 2 teens in worship. On our first Sunday of Txt Msg, we had 4 teens plus two of our most active teens were out of town. We'll see where it goes from here. If they take ownership of this ministry by sending me pics, vids, and blogs about where they've experienced God's presence in their lives throughout the week and how they've followed Jesus, then we'll most likely continue this ministry in the summer. But if teens in the church still aren't worshiping or taking ownership by contributing content then we'll most likely discontinue Txt Msg after the summer.

While Txt Msg is responding to the needs and opportunities for raising disciples at SSM, this ministry is also helping to form the vision we're discerning of the postmodern mission congregation in Milwaukee. The vision team will start drafting our Mission Plan document soon, and as we embark on this adventure, Txt Msg is helping me to discern how God is gathering people to worship in a postmodern culture.

I suppose that's enough about Wikiworship for now. There's so much more to say, so I'll keep posting about it throughout the summer as our journey following Jesus unfolds -- both thru Txt Msg at SSM and thru the Vision Team for a postmodern mission congregation. If you'd like me to respond to specific questions you may have, feel free to post on the comments link below, or email/facebook me.

M.O.D. ~ Pray

Pray for his kingdom to come always and everywhere.

Many Christians don't pray other than during worship. Some may have a routine of saying a table grace or bedtime prayer. But it's not uncommon for me to hear Christians tell me they don't know how to pray.

As with each mark of discipleship, prayer is a gift we are given by God that needs nurturing and practice. When asked to teach people to pray, I start with the Lord's prayer. It says it all. I've recently been researching the Jewish roots of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. There's much more to it than we might take for granted when we piously bow our heads and fold our hands.

Jesus' prayer is messianic. It's the longing for the kingdom to come. More so, it's the expectation and affirmation that the kingdom is coming presently. The best example of this is the phrase, "Give us today our daily bread." Scholars aren't exactly sure how to translate the Greek word that we typically translate as "daily", because it doesn't appear anywhere else in ancient literature. But recently some scholars, such as Amy-Jill Levine to name one, suggest that a more accurate translation of "daily" is actually "tomorrow's". Give us TODAY the bread of TOMORROW.

By this petition we are not being greedy. We're not asking for an abundance of food and provisions. Here Luther doesn't teach the full meaning in his catechism, empasizing instead God's role as our trustworthy provider of our needs. Rather, tomorrow's bread is the messianic meal, the banquet God will host with all people when the messiah returns on the last day. We are praying, "Bring it, Jesus!"

What's more, when we pray for God's will to be done and for God to forgive debts AS WE FORGIVE our debtors, we are asking to participate in the kingdom's coming. In this regard, Luther gets it right. He says that God's kingdom is coming whether we do anything about it or not, but we pray that it may come also to us. Or more accurately, through us.

Praying messianicly joins us in Jesus' mission. That's why he says to us in scripture that whatever we ask for in his name will be given to us. The kingdom is coming, and God wants us involved. So when we pray to get involved in it, of course God will grant it!

The final mark of discipleship is prayer, but specifically learning to pray messianicly. We anticipate and acknowledge God's kingdom coming through us by the power of Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus' presence. Thus the final mark of discipleship brings us full circle back to the first mark, that of worship. Praying is a way of life, a way of living WORSHIP 24/7/365.

M.O.D ~ Invite

Invite others to recognize Jesus already transforming their lives.

This is what evangelism is supposed to be. Telling people the good news that Jesus is risen; God has revealed to us the Messiah, who is the Lord.

Sounds simple. Yet for our institutionalized churches lost in the denial of Christendom addiction, evangelism atrophies into outreach, i.e. telling people about our church. Mostly, we're too scared to tell them Jesus is Lord. That would mean we'd have to know him personally. And that would require surrendering ourselves to him in all aspects of our lives. So instead, we tell people about us.

Hey, look at us! We have great services. We're friendly and hospitable. Meet our wonderful pastor. We have great nursery care. We have just the program for you. Come worship with us. Come to our youth group. Check us out.

For those in the church who aren't afraid actually to tell people Jesus is Lord, they often don't know how to go about doing it. Most evangelism committees I've ever known spend very little time or money actually evangelizing and training fellow disciples to be evangelists. Instead their budgets are exhausted w/ things like website development and advertising, receptions and assimilation for new members. In other words, they do the P.R. and H.R. of the institution more so than they share the gospel of Jesus directly with people in the world outside the church.

The mark 'invite' switches the directional flow. We don't invite people in; we send people out. Rather than inviting people to get involved in what we're doing, we invite them to get involved in what Jesus is doing in their lives. In cutting a covenant, identify a person who you see is unaware of Jesus' transforming presence and then point to him.

Some examples:

Kaitlyn is struggling through the divorce of her parents. She's depressed, angry, and scared. She's a Christian, but she doubts Jesus is doing anything for her, if he even could. Ask your self what Jesus is doing in Kaitlyn's life. Is he leading her to open up to a counselor? Is he comforting her by surrounding her with friends who listen to her and cry with her? Is he building a new form of loving relationship with each parent on individual terms? Once you see what Jesus is doing in Kaitlyn's life, name it and get involved in it: "Kaitlyn, I see Jesus guiding you in this dark time by surrounding you with friends who care. I can't imagine exactly what you're going through right now, and I don't know exactly in the end where Jesus is guiding you. But I promise I'll stay with you on this journey."

Brady never really went for the whole "church thing" as a kid, and now he wants nothing to do with church or belief in God. Yet, he's a great friend who Holy Spirit has gifted with compassion. You often confide in him and listen to his advice. He doesn't see Jesus working through himself, but you do. See it; name it; participate in it: "Brady, thanks for listening to me. You may not know it, but I really see Jesus working through you. I thank God for the gift you give me."

The idea is not to push people, not to present an argument, but to share your own faith. Even if they may not agree with your assessment of the situation, they can't deny that it's your assessment, that your faith is important to you, and that you live your life according to your conviction that Jesus is Lord. And I'm always being surprised how open people are to hearing the situation reframed personally through the lens of the gospel. More often than not, people welcome it even if they disagree or don't believe it.

The point is, if we ourselves truly believe Jesus is alive, then evangelism cannot be an attempt to get people to come check out what we're doing. If Jesus really is alive, then evangelism cannot be talk about him as if he's not here, e.g. believe in Jesus and be saved. Because Jesus lives, we see him through the lens of faith given to us by Holy Spirit, and we follow him in his mission to reconcile the world to his Father. We invite people to recognize how he's doing that for them 24/7/365.

For our friends Kaitlyn and Brady, we continue to accompany them on their journeys and naming what we see Jesus doing to lead us. Once they see Jesus alive for themselves, only then we can invite them to grow in their own discipleship by getting involved in what the church is doing on Sunday mornings in worship, or Wednesday evenings in Bible study, or Saturday afternoons in youth events. Regarding the mark of discipleship called 'invite', first we live the gospel of Jesus' resurrection in our relationship with others who need to hear it (i.e. everyone), and then when they encounter Jesus themselves we welcome them to get involved in what we're doing as the church (i.e. Jesus' mission).

M.O.D. ~ Serve & Help

Sorry for the delay in posting this next article in the 'living W.O.R.S.H.I.P.' series. After finishing my papers for this semester, I'm able to return to blogging once again. This time, I'll explain the marks of 'serve' and 'help'.

Serve your neighbors to participate in Jesus' mission.

Help your fellow disciples grow in their gifts.

I'm combining these two marks into one post, because a common question I receive is: how are these different? Basically, think 'in the neighborhood' and 'in the house.' The two go together, but you obviously want to keep them distinct. No one wants a neighbor who treats the neighborhood like its their own house -- putting furniture on the lawn, leaving kids toys scattered about other families' yards, "borrowing" neighbors things without asking.

Similarly, we should not confuse serving in our neighborhoods with helping fellow disciples grow in their faith. It sets my teeth on edge when congregations give service hours to youth for doing things like hosting a fund raising meal in the congregation, or raking leaves in the church's yard, or the like. Those things aren't service; they're what you do when you're part of a family.

When I was a kid, my parents never gave me an allowance (and we don't plan to give our kids allowances either). Their philosophy was that we were to help around the house, not because we get paid for it, but simply because we're part of the family and we all pitch in. If the carpet needs vacuumed, why should I get $5 for vacuuming it? I helped get it dirty too. The rest of the family is doing their part to clean the house, so I do my part as well. That's what you do when you're part of a family.

So the mark 'serve' indicates our work beyond our church family. We discern what God is doing in the world, and we get involved in that divine action. We look for a need in our neighborhood and serve to be God's hands and feet in ministering to those in need. Rather than hosting fund raising meals in our own congregation or raking the leaves in our own church's yard, we serve by hosting a meal at a homeless shelter and raking the leaves of the elderly woman who lives down the street. We follow Jesus into our neighborhoods by the Spirit to join in reconciling the world to his Father.

The mark 'help' is similar in the fact that it too reminds us to get involved in what God is doing in other people's lives. In regards to this mark, however, the focus is on fellow disciples in the church, specifically walking along side them in their own faith journeys to discover and grow in the gifts God has given them for Jesus' mission. This is the mark of nurturing and encouraging one another to grow in God's grace.

Going back to the analogy of family allowance, there is something to be said for giving an allowance to kids. Many parents do so as a way of teaching kids how to manage money responsibly. My parents had a different way of doing this since we didn't receive allowances. They always told us, when you need money for something just come to us and ask. We'll be happy to give it to you when it meets a need.

This parenting method accomplished two things: One, it kept open the lines of communication. They knew what we were doing on weekends, what music we were listening to, what clothing we coveted and so on. Two, it taught us that when we give of our selves to contribute to the family, our needs are provided for us in abundance. Beyond our needs and daily expenses, we could buy luxury items like ball gloves and varsity jackets with the money we earned from our newspaper deliveries. We still learned to manage money including saving and tithing, but we learned it in conjunction with the lesson of being a member of a family.

Likewise, members of the church family help each other and contribute to the church family, simply because that's what church families do. Read Acts chapter 2 to see this in action. One cannot be a disciple of Jesus in isolation. The church is not a group of individuals who hang out and do stuff together, because they have similar beliefs and all like each other. Rather, the church is a community called into being for the distinct purpose of discerning God's reigning activity and participating in it for the sake of the world.

The mark 'help' is how we fine tune our antenae for discerment and exercize our gifts for participation. We help one another discover our spiritual gifts through affirmation and gratitude. We help each other see what God is doing in our lives by providing another perspective along one's faith journey. We help fellow disciples grow in their gifts by making ourselves available to the church family when they are worshiping, when they are leading a ministry, when they are studying scripture, when they are serving our neighbors, when they are praying, and when they are in need.

As with the other marks of discipleship in 'living W.O.R.S.H.I.P.', when cutting a covenant think specifics. Who am I going to serve in my neighborhood? Maybe I'll serve through a charity organization, or maybe I'll serve one person I know at school or on my block. Ask your self, what is the need and what is God already doing in reconciling that need to the wholeness of shalom? Again, who am I going to help? Maybe there is one person you have in mind that needs affirmation to recognize a gift that Holy Spirit has given her or him. Maybe there is a ministry event that you can make your self available to participate in it every time. Ask your self, who do I see could use some company in walking their journey of faith?

M.O.D. - Read

I've received much feed back about people's interest in my recent posting about coaching discipleship as "living W.O.R.S.H.I.P.", so I've promised to write separate posts on each of the marks of discipleship in the acronym. This week's post is on the third mark, "read".

Read scripture to discover your role in God's salvation story.

My daughter exhibits much self-motivation to read books. This is due in a large part to the guidance of her parents and teachers. But we didn't give her this self-motivation by assigning her the task of reading so many books per day. Rather, she found her excitement to read by learning how to read for herself.

The same approach is taken in coaching the mark of discipleship concerning the reading of scripture. People are much less likely to grow in their discipleship by feeling pressured to meet an assigned task and by feeling guilty when they fail to live up to such presupposed agendas. However, teach people how to read scripture and they are likely to find their own self-motivation to read it more and more.

This method of coaching begs the question, "how exactly do disciples read scripture?" There are, in fact, many ways to read scripture. For example, one can approach it as life's instruction book or owner's manual describing timeless truths. Others may revisit favorite passages that inspire them with feelings of love, forgiveness, hope, etc. These ways can be fine and good. Yet, disciples of Jesus who are given the gift of Holy Spirit in their baptism, read scripture through the lens of participating in Jesus' mission.

To teach someone how to read scripture is to coach them in their responding to Holy Spirit; it's to focus their prescription lens. Holy Spirit who inspired the words of scripture is the same Holy Spirit who calls, gathers, and enlightens Jesus' disciples to participate in his mission of reconciling the world to his Father. So the story found in scripture, of God relating to God's people in order to bring salvation to the world, continues through us today. Scripture does not begin and end with Genesis and Revelation, respectively; it begins and ends with Jesus ushering in God's kingdom by the power of Holy Spirit.

Just as Jesus' disciples of the early first century play a role in God's story within the books of the New Testament, so too Jesus' disciples in the early twenty-first century each play a unique role. In order to discern accurately our role within God's salvation story unfolding in our world, we read scripture as that part of the story which norms the rest of it. By reading scripture, Holy Spirit brings the written words of God's story to life by calling us to participate in Jesus' mission 24/7/365.

In coaching the mark of discipleship called "read", guide disciples in how to read scripture through the lens of participating in Jesus' mission, rather than simply how often or how much to read. For example, if "where I'm at now" is that I don't read scripture regularly on my own, then "one step further for me" may be to read each week the previous Sunday's gospel lesson after hearing the pastor's sermon, and ask myself questions such as:

• What is God doing in this story?
• Why and how?
• What does this tell me about who God is?
• What does this tell me about who God is calling me to be?
• Where do I see a similar scenario in my life, relationships, world, etc.?
• How can I participate in Jesus' mission with respect to those situations?

Once disciples are asking themselves questions like these, they are then likely to be self-motivated to read more scripture to discern Holy Spirit calling them to follow Jesus 24/7/365. When disciples are meeting this covenanted goal and want to go further, coaches may encourage them to add the next Sunday's gospel lesson to their weekly reading, answering these same questions in anticipation of the pastor's sermon. Once reading scripture through this lens feels natural and disciples yearn for more, a possible next step further is to guide them to read a whole section or an entire book so they can see the narrative of God's salvation story developing. (For example, "one step further for me" may be to read the gospel of Mark this month -- about half a chapter per day -- through the lens of participating in Jesus' mission.)

Learning how to read scripture as Jesus' disciples equips us to discern our unique vocation within God's coming kingdom. It gives us the lens through which we can see Jesus living in our midst and ourselves living within God.

M.O.D. - Order

I've received much feed back about people's interest in my recent posting about coaching discipleship as "living W.O.R.S.H.I.P.", so I've promised to write separate posts on each of the marks of discipleship in the acronym. This week's post is on the mark of order.

Order all of your resources to do so (i.e. to worship the living Lord always and everywhere).

If we take Jesus' empty tomb with the utmost seriousness, then his call to follow him claims all that we are and all that we do. We hear this good news. We celebrate it. But the question is, how do we appropriate it?

So often, we operate with the mindset of consumers. This is our culture, after all. And so the challenge for Jesus' disciples is to appropriate the news of his resurrection into our lives such that we're no longer consumers when it comes to being church. We're not looking for the best religious deal. We are not always right, as customers are. Rather, we serve Jesus as our Lord and seek to follow him 24/7/365.

Professor Mark Allan Powell has an excellent article in the most recent Lutheran about stewardship. Read it if you haven't already. He says that we can give of our selves according to what Jesus asks of us, and when we take this leap of faith in our actions then our hearts will follow.

This is the basic concept behind the coaching covenant for disciples, i.e. we commit to the actions we hear Jesus calling us to make so that our hearts are transformed. But in our covenant for stewardship, we mean much more than giving of our money. We talk about ordering all the resources God has given to us for the purpose of participating in Jesus' mission. As my friend and colleague, Karyn Huffman, says: stewardship is discipleship. It's everything we do in our lives after we say 'yes' to the good news of Jesus' resurrection.

So when coaching the mark of 'order' to young disciples, we don't ask them to give us their money. If they feel called to grow in their financial stewardship, then we guide them in prioritizing their money according to whatever service lights their passion. Maybe this is their own congregation; maybe it isn't. The point is not to preserve the institution (or prolong its dying). The point is to give to Jesus' ministry in the world in ways they feel called.

Many disciples feel called to grow in the mark of 'order' with regard to resources other than money, such as time, relationships, leadership, empowerment, intellect, etc. The list goes on. So for example, in cutting the covenant, "where I am now" might be that I want to lead others in helping people in need. Then "one step further for me", may be to take on a leadership responsibility in my service organization like scouts, national honor society, key club, etc.

In thinking of the mark of 'order', ask yourself the question of appropriating Jesus' mission as priority number one: If I took the news of Jesus' resurrection with the utmost seriousness, what would my:

• bank statement
• web history
• phone bill
• weekly schedule
• organization associations
• family relationships
• friendships
• attitude toward enemies

. . . look like?

M.O.D. - Worship

I've received much feed back about people's interest in my recent posting about coaching discipleship as "living W.O.R.S.H.I.P.", so I've promised to write seperate posts on each of the marks of discipleship in the acronym. This week's post is on the mark of worship.

Worship the living Lord always and everywhere.

That's the first mark of discipleship for those who follow Jesus. He is our living Lord. Holy Spirit empowers us to get involved in his mission of reconciling all things to his Father. In this trinitarian activity, we are welcomed into the glorious presence of God. Here, we find ourselves as God intends us to be -- in communion. This is true worship.

Our first core value for family ministries at St. Stephen the Martyr is that "worship is the source and goal of all we do." Worship is what the Christian life is all about. It begins with the community claimed by the bath and gathered at the feast. It continues throughout our days in serving our neighbors and loving our enemies, reconciling the world to God.

In cutting a coaching covenant, this is the one mark for which I initially encourage disciples to think about "inside" worship, because for so many of those who want to grow deeper in discipleship they are not already worshipping regularly with the gathered community. So we address this aspect first. If where I'm at now is that I worship periodically, then one step forward for me could be to worship twice monthly. If where I'm at now is that I worship regularly out of habit, then one step forward for me could be to worship joyfully with my whole self.

For disciples who already make the community's worship their top priority in giving shape to their whole lives, then I encourage them to covenant for worship beyond the gathered community, or "outside" worship. This doesn't mean looking for other times to worship with the gathered community throughout the week, i.e. Wednesday evenings, Lenten vespers, etc. -- though those are also important. Rather, disciples who seek to keep the main thing as the main thing can reflect upon how they can present their whole lives as a living worship. Where is my life out of sync with the communion of God? How are my relationships in disharmony from God's shalom?

We read in scripture that true religion is taking care of orphans and widows -- those neglected by society. How can we serve Jesus daily in such a way that values the neglected, that honors all people as God intends them to be? How can I live my worship by participating through Holy Spirit in Jesus' mission to reconcile the world to God?

These are the questions we ask ourselves when cutting a coaching covenant with disciples intent upon discerning how God is calling them to grow in their worship.

Living WORSHIP

Through my work with the MDIVnetwork, I produced a document I like to call "Living W.O.R.S.H.I.P." To live worship is the call of every disciple. We are to discern what God is doing and get involved in it. Our salvation is God's glorious presence among us. So to follow Jesus 24/7/365 means that we dedicate our whole lives to worshipping God.

This is the idea behind "Living WORSHIP". It's quite basic, and nothing really new. I was inspired by the ELCA's "marks of discipleship". I had often used these marks for coaching discipleship in our churches, but was never satisfied with them. Then recently I was able to put my finger on the source of my discontent. These marks reflect an inward missiology. For example, when the ELCA speaks of the mark called "invite", they mean by that inviting people into our buildings -- preferably to worship. In other words, invite people to get involved in what we're doing. Also, when the ELCA speaks of the mark called "give", they mean by that giving money (oh and by the way time and talents too) to the church. Again, giving your resources to "us" to support what we're doing.

So I took the same seven marks of discipleship and reshaped them with a missiology that discerns what God is doing in our world to get involved in that work. So for example, when I speak of "invite", I mean by that inviting people to recognize our risen messiah Jesus already present in their lives reconciling them to God (cf. Mark 1:14-15). Likewise, when I speak of "order" (similar to the ELCA's "give") what I mean by that is ordering all our resources to participate in God's salvific work among us in our schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, markets, etc.

You see the directional change in our mission? The marks of discipleship as Living WORSHIP challenge us to be the church in the world. Rather than trying to get more people involved in what we're doing, we get involved in what God is already doing among people in the world, helping them to recognize Jesus already reconciling them to God and then to appropriate their lives accordingly. This is how the church makes disciples of our Living Lord.

Intrigued? Want to know more about Living WORSHIP? Here's the breakdown.

Worship the Living Lord always and everywhere
Order all of your resources to do so
Read scripture to discover your role in God's continuing story
Serve your neighbors and enemies to participate in God's work
Help your fellow disciples grow in their faith and utilize their gifts
Invite people to recognize Jesus already transforming their lives
Pray for God's reign to come always and everywhere

So there's the background of discipleship as Living Worship. Stay tuned to the next post to hear how this translates into a practical and effective ministry as the basis of coaching discipleship.