Last night in Vatican City, the Catholic Church chose a new leader, Pope Francis, formerly of Argentina. By all accounts, he is conservative in his theology and politics and humble in his view of himself.

I’m not a fan of Catholic theology, practice, or policy. However, for many, the Catholic Church is perceived as the Church, or at least, the face of the Church. To that end, I want us to pray for Pope Francis. He has been given a very difficult job, reforming an institution that does not want reform.

Of course, I want a lot of reforms to take place. I’d love for Catholic theology to be reformed to better reflect Scripture with less focus on the traditions of Rome. I probably won’t see this happened any time soon, which is fine. I’m not holding my breathe. However, the Catholic Church absolutely has to do something definitive to remove those who have abused children or protected/hidden abusers. The Vatican needs to lead the way in searching for this sin, rather than letting the secular world point it out for them. Furthermore, I hope that this is enormous tragedy causes the Church to reexamine some its theology concerning the clergy.

That being said, let’s pray:

Lord Jesus,
We pray right now for Pope Francis. Give him more grace as he surely seeks Your wisdom and favor in leading the Catholic Church. Lead and direct him as he navigates the troubled waters that the Church finds itself in. Bless Francis, Lord, as he serves his flock and leads them closer to You.

Amen.

A few weeks ago, I was pulling into my church parking lot listening to some high energy Christian ska music—I’m a teen of the 90’s; no apologies—and I was getting pumped! I was amped, full of energy. It was one of those moments when I felt so energized that just “knew” I could punch a hole in a brick wall. Of course, I didn’t test this feeling. Anyway…

I was riding this wave of passion and enthusiasm, and I said to myself, “I wish I was preaching tonight. I’m so pumped to preach the Gospel!” Then, I heard a small voice, “Why aren’t you this pumped to live the Gospel?”

I was instantly convicted, and—I don’t know if this is theologically orthodox but—I think that God added a gentle “Boom! Truth bombs be droppin’!”

The most important sermon I preach is the one I preach through my actions and interactions with others.

It was tough to hear that, but I’m glad I did. The most important sermon I preach is the one I preach through my actions and interactions with others. Proclaiming the Gospel is not done merely with words in front of crowds; it’s my responsibility to preach every waking minute of the day. Of course, only Jesus had the strength of character and intimacy with God to be the “Living Word,” but that very same Spirit is working within me to communicate a similar sermon through my life, to transform me so that I might more perfectly preach the Word of God through my life.

Are you as pumped to live the Gospel as you are to preach it?

Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words.
Unknown

I asked a question a few weeks ago:

“What if the best way to change a church is to plant a new one within it?”

Now, I’m asking a second, but also important question:

How?

How do you get started? What steps need to be taken; what should be avoided?

It’s hard to say because not only am I not a church planter I’m also not a lead pastor. However, with that disclaimer in place, let’s proceed.

Something Organic

I think the point of planting a church in the church is to produce change, to revitalize a church, without making drastic or needlessly risky decisions. Perhaps your church is still moderately functional in the present climate and culture of your community. And yet, you recognize that what you’re doing and who you are isn’t sustainable long-term. By “planting a church” inside your current church, you could possibly prepare for the coming paradigm shift without looking like you’re rejecting the body you currently have.

But again, how do we plant this new church in a gentle, unobtrusive way? I’m currently reading Frank Viola’s Reimaging Church, and I wonder if there is a way to use his “house church” model to do this. Now, Frank is actually not an advocate of such an idea. He is fairly clear that this is an “either or” deal, and of course, he’d prefer if we all landed on the “house church” side of things.

And honestly, I think that in trying to answer the “how” in this way, I’m only creating a new one: “How does a inorganic, institutional church plant a church organically?” The answer to that is two-fold.

Firstly, open your eyes. It may have already happened. A group of people, gathered systematically can, over time and with God’s grace, be fused into an organic body, especially the core of that primary group.

Secondly, if this first point is true to some degree, one might reproduce this organic transformation by starting with a body of people already gathered together by external forces. If the members of the group are intentional and active in developing inter-group relationships, God may very well bless this group with the grace and unity needed to shift the external force to an internal one: love for God and love for others.

But which group might be best to start with? Which group is more likely to make the shift from external to internal, from artificially grouped to divinely united? Which group’s transformation will have the most impact on the larger institutional church?

More later.

I had a crazy thought the other day right before I stepped up to preach at my church:

What if the best way to change a church is to plant a new one within it?

More to follow…