Charlie Wear’s Notes

A bootleg copy of the opening Alan Hirsch video at the Verge Conference: Jesus is Lord…via David Park

I think the most important thing a follower of Jesus can learn is to hear from God. Walking in the Spirit in our daily lives requires a cultivation of this ability. However, when you hear God about the big things, that is always overwhelming and very re-assuring.

The last time I got clear “orders from headquarters” was in 1999. I had closed my “normal” church the year before and was attending a pastor’s conference. Even though the church had closed I had started Next-Wave and a ministry to skateboarders in Moreno Valley. On the second night of the conference I got a clear message from God that he wanted me to continue in both of those ministries and that they would be very fruitful and so they were.

Now, more than ten years I have recently attended the Verge 2010 National Missional Community Conference, and I think I may have just gotten fresh “orders.” I didn’t come expecting it, but still some of my struggle to understand what has been happening over the last ten years clicked into place and I think I have some clear direction for at least the next ten years! You don’t know how great that is.

Having listened to the many challenging speakers on the topic of the DNA of Gospel Movements, I can sense that God is on the move here in the U.S. I am excited to be around to see it and look forward to what is going to happen in the years to come.

By the way, I got to interview Neil Cole, author of Church 3.0, and Tony and Felicity Dale, authors of The Rabbit and the Elephant. It seems that planting churches may be simpler than I ever thought!

I interviewed Church 3.0 author Neil Cole at Verge Conference in the lounge expo area.

 

 Neil Cole - Church 3.0: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is part 2 of an excerpt from Ed Stetzer’s message on Disciple-making at Verge 2010 Missional Community Conference:

This is part 1 of an excerpt from Ed Stetzer’s message on Disciple-making at Verge 2010 Missional Community Conference:

Francis Chan speaking during first main session at Verge.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

It seems that a significant portion of American Christianity, at least those who publish magazines and books, have discovered “the Kingdom.” Some have claimed that this is a “secret message” of Jesus. Others have built upon the work of Eldon Ladd and others to explore the nuances and implications of God’s kingdom. I think it is unfortunate that “kingdom” is the word and message that is being explored.

When I think of a kingdom I conjure up images of round tables, knights, princes, dukes and earls, a hierarchy of persons and of polity. When Jesus began his ministry proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” I believe that most of those hearing him misunderstood what he was trying to communicate. As we try to understand the “kingdom” message today, I think we have some similar problems. Let’s face it, the metaphor of kingdom has some pretty elaborate baggage, especially for Americans who threw off the bonds of monarchy to gain their freedom.

The church is full of kingdoms within kingdoms and their requisite rulers. Sometimes the ruler of the kingdom is the church board acting like an elected Congress, some times it is the founding senior pastor exercising his “leadership” gift. Words like covering and submission and authority are used. I think Jesus was trying to communicate something else entirely with his sound-bite message.

I think he was saying something like this: You are going to have to change the way you think about God! (Repent) He has shown up right here, right now so you can understand who He is and what life with Him is like! (the kingdom of heaven is near). I think Jesus knew that his listeners would not truly understand what he was saying! If they had he probably would have been killed immediately! He needed some time to show his followers the Father, to show them what God does when he walks among humanity, and to form authentic friendships with those who would expand his “light” in the world.

I believe that Jesus did not come to start a “religion.” I think he came to show us that religion is not necessary. He came to set us free from the realm of religion and welcome us into the realm of life in direct connection with God. He came to quiet our fears and to bring us peace. He came to show us that God was not interested in fealty but that he wanted friendship. He came to walk with us, and talk with us, to be “God with us.”

Unfortunately, humanity loves religion and appreciates a God that we can appease, manipulate and cajole. Even the atheists have a strong religious fervor and faith! Jesus came to slice through all of those man-size gods and to show us that we had it all wrong! “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father!” It’s easy to see how that might be a jaw-dropping, paradigm-shifting concept. Understanding the truth of Jesus’ message sets us free from the bondage of religious observance and ritual.

I am just beginning to get a glimpse of what this freedom might look like, and it just seems too good to be true.

Hi, my name is Charlie, and I am a recovering pharisee. No, I was not a “member of a Jewish sect that flourished during the 1st century b.c. and 1st century a.d. and that differed from the Sadducees chiefly in its strict observance of religious ceremonies and practices, adherence to oral laws and traditions, and belief in an afterlife and the coming of a Messiah.” (Dictionary.com) I am using the other definition of pharisee: “a sanctimonious, self-righteous, or hypocritical person.”

At the ripe old age of 60 I have finally figured out what was and is wrong with me and understand why I have such a hard time with “normal” church. How did I become a pharisee? Was I born that way? Well, in a sense, yes. From the time I was a little baby I was an attender and then a member of a denominational church. Of the many denominations I have been exposed to in my adult life, I can tell you that the denomination of my youth was by far the most legalistic. Our list of do’s and don’t’s was extensive. Membership was exclusive and salvific, and this was just fine with me, what else did I know?

I am sure I heard about Jesus and grace and all of that stuff when I was growing up, but not in any relational sense. This all worked well for me. I was a member, and an active one. Yes, I struggled with managing my “holiness (sin).” That produced the requisite guilt cycle. All was well until my first marriage failed and the church kicked me out. Now, I will have to admit, this wasn’t as bad as being publicly whipped, humiliated, falsely accused, and executed. But it still felt pretty bad. I used to be in, part of the remnant faithful. Now I was out.

If my condition wasn’t so addictive I probably could have recovered pretty easily. But the need to be right and in, may as well have been burned into my DNA and my brain chemistry. I imagine that it is something like the way an alcoholic who is sober feels. He’s not drinking, but the urge burns in his bones.

I was raised that if you love God you will be part of “His” church. Eventually I wasn’t in a church anymore. I wasn’t happy with that condition so I was pleasantly lured back into church when a denominational pastor who preached a more “grace-full” theology started a local church. And this time I was not only in, I was in it up to my eyeballs! Worship leader, church council member and eventually full-time executive pastor were the roles I cycled through in a five year period. Boy, did I enjoy it! Imagine my surprise when a rapid turn of events found me once again on the outside and embarking on a stint as a pastor in another religious movement. This wasn’t quite as bad as the first time I was kicked out of church but it was a bit jarring!

And then I found a group of people, my congregation, with an entirely different set of do’s and don’t’s. I lasted three years at that endeavor and came out the other end this side of a psychiatric unit, but nonetheless scarred. You see, my condition loves being right. It loves being the one with the answers. It loves being the up-front decisive person. It loves being thought of as a righteous person. Of course, there is the downside. I know who I really am and what I am really like inside. Others don’t think I am always right. Frequently there are those that don’t like my answers or decisions. This is always quite disappointing.

It’s been over ten years since that experience. By the way, my second marriage failed and I have married again! during this last ten years I have not been able to “join” another “normal” church. I have been trying hard during this time to figure out what is wrong with me! The way I usually express it is in terms of what is wrong with the churches I don’t want to join. I just figured out this week what the problem is. Recovering alcoholics can’t hang out in bars! Recovering pharisees can’t join a church! It brings out the worst in them.

Don’t get me wrong. This does not mean I am opposed to joining a “normal” church. I think I am just not strong enough yet. In the meantime I remain committed to following Jesus and continue to try to discover what that means. I’ll keep looking for a “recovery” group for folks like me. If you hear of one, let me know.

“I think we underestimate the power and importance of loving one another. Consistent love for other Christians is key to a healthy spiritual life because loving fellowship is God’s prescribed environment for growth. This kind of love is based on commitment to God Himself. To be committed to God is to be committed to His community, the Church. This is not a commitment to the theory of the Church, but to an actual body of other fallible, imperfect people.

Many of us treat church life like immature adolescents. From other Christians we want thrills, constant exhilaration and to have our needs met. When Christian brothers and sisters fall short of our expectations, when they are boring and imperfect and fail to meet our needs for strokes, we pout, turn away and isolate ourselves from them. Jesus calls us to mature commitment of love for His people—the very people in our fellowship.”

—John Wimber, p. 188-119, Everyone Gets to Play, Ampelon Publishing, 2008