Last Sunday I finally bit the bullet and went to a Mennonite church service. Why am I saying "bit the bullet," you ask? I say that because I was very nervous that I would get together with my fellow Mennonites and discover that although I agree with them theologically, I feel weird or awkward around them. In a word, I was afraid of being let down.
Effie, Eleanor and I somehow managed to make it on time to Birch Bay Bible Church on Sunday for their one service. There were a lot of elderly people, but here's the thing: it actually had a fairly impressive mixture of young and old! Aaaaaaaand, the first thing they did was recognize a member of their congregation who was moving. She was not a pastor, elder or whatever, just a member of the family who apparently was worthwhile enough to stop the all-important Sunday service and recognize for who she was... What that told me: this church truly cares more about the people than the show.
The music, powerpoint and message were not as well produced as what I am used to, and I was thankful. The pastor who shared hit it on the head in his sermon: their priority is on following Christ, not entertaining themselves. Amen.
I really don't know if we'll find ourselves back there again, but either way I'm glad we checked-out our first Mennonite church. Who knows what next Sunday may hold...
Peace,
Matt
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 04, 2008
Martinson Church Tour '08
Last Sunday Effie and I began our Church Tour '08. I decided just now (without consulting her first) that we needed to call it a tour, so it felt like we were cool rock stars rather than nerdy Christians. Anyways, for two Sundays in a row we have gone to church services in places that are not "our home church" as people would say, and it has been an thought-provoking experience already. Here's what I am discovering so far:
Oh, and PS, today I visited Ron's church (aka, the Brown Kid) and had some fun talking with him and a few other old friends. And last week we went to Oikos church, which was pretty cool, but is also an Acts 29 church, so I have a feeling I will not be calling it home.
Peace,
Matt
- I love getting up in front of people and talking, but am annoyed when I have to listen to somebody else do it. What kind of messed-up stuff does this say about me? Honestly, I just want to push back a little when other people are talking, to ask questions, throw in my two cents, disagree, or whatever. But when I'm stuck in a seat as a listener, I get frustrated. Worst of all is that this is partly for my own learning, and partly me and my ego wanting attention. Sad, huh?
- I am realizing that there is probably no church group that I agree with 100% theologically. Does this say something bad about me? About them? Or am I supposed to pull something else entirely from all of this? Or do theological opinions really even matter that much?
- I like being anonymous. I slip in, talk to a few friends, and slip out, without having any responsibility or conversations with people who corner me and want to talk about nothing for 20 minutes. This is a horrible thing to say, but I'm being honest at least.
- I really have no clue what the point of a Sunday gathering is! I am not bashing it, or even disagreeing with it, but honestly I am just kind of at a loss on the whole subject. I've heard the arguments (have taught them a million times), but am still a bit confused on all of this stuff.
Oh, and PS, today I visited Ron's church (aka, the Brown Kid) and had some fun talking with him and a few other old friends. And last week we went to Oikos church, which was pretty cool, but is also an Acts 29 church, so I have a feeling I will not be calling it home.
Peace,
Matt
Monday, April 14, 2008
Matt 3.0
[Imagine The Final Countdown playing right now, with Gob Bluth moonwalking across your computer screen...]
Yes folks, this is my last week working as a youth pastor. Do I have a job lined up for after this week? No. Am I concerned about that? Only occassionally. Am I excited? Yes. Am I sad to be leaving my students? Most definitely.
My plan is this... I am taking 10 whole days off to do whatever I want. I will spend time with my wife and daughter. I will go hiking and cycling. I will read and write. I will pray. I will sleep. I will (hopefully) recover from years of being mega-churched (yes I made a noun into a verb, be impressed).
For the future, I am looking into a job running heavy machinery, which is what I used to do. Honestly, it sounds a lot more rewarding to me right now than working in a church for one more day. Also, my wife and I are looking into the possibility of me going back to school for another Master's degree, this time in English Lit. So just so you know, it is a possibility. But of course, only a fool counts on any of his own plans. I will explore options, take some leaps, and try to trust God with Matt 3.0 (as in, I'm turning 30 and leaving a career on the same day, so I am moving into a new, different life).
But for now I have to try to finish strong. I'll tell you, it is a strange feeling to be leaving. I am trying to tie up loose ends, set volunteers up for success, meet with people one last time and clean out my office. It's a lot! But it is good. Bring on that third decade, I ain't scared!
Peace,
Matt
Yes folks, this is my last week working as a youth pastor. Do I have a job lined up for after this week? No. Am I concerned about that? Only occassionally. Am I excited? Yes. Am I sad to be leaving my students? Most definitely.
My plan is this... I am taking 10 whole days off to do whatever I want. I will spend time with my wife and daughter. I will go hiking and cycling. I will read and write. I will pray. I will sleep. I will (hopefully) recover from years of being mega-churched (yes I made a noun into a verb, be impressed).
For the future, I am looking into a job running heavy machinery, which is what I used to do. Honestly, it sounds a lot more rewarding to me right now than working in a church for one more day. Also, my wife and I are looking into the possibility of me going back to school for another Master's degree, this time in English Lit. So just so you know, it is a possibility. But of course, only a fool counts on any of his own plans. I will explore options, take some leaps, and try to trust God with Matt 3.0 (as in, I'm turning 30 and leaving a career on the same day, so I am moving into a new, different life).
But for now I have to try to finish strong. I'll tell you, it is a strange feeling to be leaving. I am trying to tie up loose ends, set volunteers up for success, meet with people one last time and clean out my office. It's a lot! But it is good. Bring on that third decade, I ain't scared!
Peace,
Matt
Monday, March 31, 2008
It's Official
Last night I stood up in front of my students and leaders and let them know that I will be done being a youth pastor on April 20th. It was extremely difficult to say, and the shocked looks didn't help either. But it also felt good to get it out there.
Please be praying for me. I spent my whole adult life wanting to be a youth pastor, but now that I realize it's not where I belong, or even want to be, it leaves me kinda hanging.
Peace,
Matt
Please be praying for me. I spent my whole adult life wanting to be a youth pastor, but now that I realize it's not where I belong, or even want to be, it leaves me kinda hanging.
Peace,
Matt
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
What's Next?
When I first started getting involved in the church, it seemed like everybody was talking about how to reach the Gen Xers. It was all anybody seemed to be talking about in the church. There was a new "must-read" book put out daily, along with a monthly conference on how to reach Generation X people.
Funny how we don't really hear about Gen Xers anymore.
Of course, it then became the Postmoderns. It took me a bit of time before I realized I had been sucked into a marketing scheme. What finally tipped me off was when I was reading a particular book and it kept talking about what Postmoderns believe, what they want, etc, without really producing any evidence as to how these conclusions were reached. That's when I realized Postmoderns were the new Gen Xers for the church, which means the new way for twenty somethings to feel cool and trendy within the church as they talk about what their church is doing on Sunday mornings.
Lately I've noticed a decrease in the amount of Christian books being published with the word postmodern anywhere on the cover. Which is great, but feels like the calm before the storm. Right now I am wondering what is replacing postmodernism for the cool thing for churches to talk about. Do you have any ideas? Have you seen anything trend-wise going on? I don't want to be caught off-guard again and so would love your input!
Peace,
Matt
Funny how we don't really hear about Gen Xers anymore.
Of course, it then became the Postmoderns. It took me a bit of time before I realized I had been sucked into a marketing scheme. What finally tipped me off was when I was reading a particular book and it kept talking about what Postmoderns believe, what they want, etc, without really producing any evidence as to how these conclusions were reached. That's when I realized Postmoderns were the new Gen Xers for the church, which means the new way for twenty somethings to feel cool and trendy within the church as they talk about what their church is doing on Sunday mornings.
Lately I've noticed a decrease in the amount of Christian books being published with the word postmodern anywhere on the cover. Which is great, but feels like the calm before the storm. Right now I am wondering what is replacing postmodernism for the cool thing for churches to talk about. Do you have any ideas? Have you seen anything trend-wise going on? I don't want to be caught off-guard again and so would love your input!
Peace,
Matt
Monday, October 08, 2007
The Face of American Church Idolatry
I have used this blog to rant before, and have been trying for a long while to stop doing so. Unfortunately, today I cannot hold it in, so here's some idolatrous actions I have been seeing in the church lately and am no longer able to keep silent about.
Modern idolatry can look like this, based on some ludicrous belief in the American church that we need more and more and more people in our buildings. It is the idol of success, and causes churches to sell the gospel short. This most often results in finding business strategies that churches attempt to then use for their "business" with no theological questioning as to whether or not what they are doing is actually glorifying to God. It is the need to pull more people into the church building with the underlying assumption that God is not doing his end so we need to. In the process, the church spends all or most of its money on itself and builds larger and larger buildings while completely neglecting its biblical calling. It is not a church of prayer, discipleship or justice. It is a church of large numbers. This is the idol of attendance.
As always, there's those who would just sell out the gospel completely, either for finanical gain or the unending desire for more people in their buidlings. These people look like this or this. These are the preachers who tickle the ears without ever challenging their listeners to take up their cross and die to themselves. They worship the idol of money and preach to worshippers of self, who only want more of themselves, improved, better looking and richer, but never more of Jesus.
Of course, there is also one of my classic favorites, the 10-10-80 plan. This is the age old idol of wealth and I have heard it preached more times than I care to admit. It is the strategy to invest ten percent, tithe ten percent, and live off of eighty percent. The justification I hear for it typically comes from Proverbs. If pastors were thinkers at all they might ask questions about this plan. Questions like: Don't I believe Proverbs is written by Solomon, a man whose wealth caused him to fall far away from God? Or, Isn't the reason I am preaching only out of Proverbs because Jesus' financial plan was to sell all my possessions, give the money to the poor, and trust him for my food and clothes? But sadly neither question seems to be asked. This is the idol of wealth, and it has corrupted the American church to the point where it sometimes seems there is not even one who remains faithful.
Lastly, there is the idol of country. Some of my students just the other day were telling me how they had to explain to their teacher that America is a Christian nation. The debates rage on about the same thing all over the country. The problem, of course, is that after Jesus, following YHWH became international, and our citizenship became that of the Kingdom of God. Yet so many seem to forget that and still display corny bumper stickers relating faith and country, not realizing that they cannot have both. The idol of America continues to put country ahead of faith, and trivializes the gospel.
I wish this were the twighlight of the idols, but the church seems intent on its idolatry and I do not think it is going to change anytime soon. It is a time for prayer.
Peace,
Matt
Modern idolatry can look like this, based on some ludicrous belief in the American church that we need more and more and more people in our buildings. It is the idol of success, and causes churches to sell the gospel short. This most often results in finding business strategies that churches attempt to then use for their "business" with no theological questioning as to whether or not what they are doing is actually glorifying to God. It is the need to pull more people into the church building with the underlying assumption that God is not doing his end so we need to. In the process, the church spends all or most of its money on itself and builds larger and larger buildings while completely neglecting its biblical calling. It is not a church of prayer, discipleship or justice. It is a church of large numbers. This is the idol of attendance.
As always, there's those who would just sell out the gospel completely, either for finanical gain or the unending desire for more people in their buidlings. These people look like this or this. These are the preachers who tickle the ears without ever challenging their listeners to take up their cross and die to themselves. They worship the idol of money and preach to worshippers of self, who only want more of themselves, improved, better looking and richer, but never more of Jesus.
Of course, there is also one of my classic favorites, the 10-10-80 plan. This is the age old idol of wealth and I have heard it preached more times than I care to admit. It is the strategy to invest ten percent, tithe ten percent, and live off of eighty percent. The justification I hear for it typically comes from Proverbs. If pastors were thinkers at all they might ask questions about this plan. Questions like: Don't I believe Proverbs is written by Solomon, a man whose wealth caused him to fall far away from God? Or, Isn't the reason I am preaching only out of Proverbs because Jesus' financial plan was to sell all my possessions, give the money to the poor, and trust him for my food and clothes? But sadly neither question seems to be asked. This is the idol of wealth, and it has corrupted the American church to the point where it sometimes seems there is not even one who remains faithful.
Lastly, there is the idol of country. Some of my students just the other day were telling me how they had to explain to their teacher that America is a Christian nation. The debates rage on about the same thing all over the country. The problem, of course, is that after Jesus, following YHWH became international, and our citizenship became that of the Kingdom of God. Yet so many seem to forget that and still display corny bumper stickers relating faith and country, not realizing that they cannot have both. The idol of America continues to put country ahead of faith, and trivializes the gospel.
I wish this were the twighlight of the idols, but the church seems intent on its idolatry and I do not think it is going to change anytime soon. It is a time for prayer.
Peace,
Matt
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