Charlie Wear’s Notes

I finished reading William Young’s, The Shack, yesterday. All I can say is, "Wow." This is one of those books that will make you laugh and cry and think really hard. We published a review and an interview on Next-Wave in October 2007, but I didn’t get around to getting a copy until about a week ago. Reading this book had a profound effect on me that I am going to be processing for some time to come. The insights it contains into the very nature of God are amazing. Beyond all of this, it is very well-written. I have no doubt that it is going to continue to have an amazing impact.
700 Club Interview:

Tivo, DVR, hulu.com, these are the agents of quantum cultural change. Since the 1950s, “prime-time” has meant the hours between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. (or 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. depending on your US Time Zone) when television networks offer their best programming and sell time to their best advertising customers.

Enter Tivo and viewers can shift prime-time to any time and even skip over those pesky commercials. Along comes the now-ubiquitous DVR and every cable or satellite customer can record their favorite programs easily and watch them at a later time.

The introduction of web site hulu.com recently has moved replays of current running television programs to the internet, with fewer and shorter commercial interruptions.

When we moved back to California from Florida recently we switched from cable to satellite and didn’t opt for the DVR feature. Oh, the agony of having two favorite programs on the air at the same time. However, last week I decided enough was enough and negotiated a good deal for installation of DVR. As I write this the excellent installer is preparing to make it possible for us to time-shift to our hearts content.

I know all of this talk about television is proof positive that I am not very “spiritual.” And I will have to confess that I am addicted to TV shows about attorneys, reality shows like Survivor and Big Brother, and I love American Idol. That being said, what is the implication of time-shifting for churches?

For years prime time in Churchianity has been Sunday morning. Saturday nights and Sunday evenings have gained in popularity over the years and with video venues and internet services time-shifting of “service offerings” is likely to come into play more and more in the coming years. Come and See churches will find it more and more difficult to recruit audiences for their weekly offerings. I would submit that this last assertion has been responsible for declines in attendance.

I remain pretty convinced that Christians, particularly seasoned veterans, are less and less interested in religious programming. When you can buy your worship songs on iTunes and through Time-Life, and get sermons from the best preachers in America on YouTube or other internet offerings, why leave the comfort of your home on Sunday morning?

I don’t have an easy conclusion for these observations, “Three easy ways that local churches can meet the challenge of the Tivo!” Let’s sit back, press the record button, and see what happens.

A few months ago I wrote a short post about a young leader I had run into. He was the pastor of a church that I had attended for a few weeks when it was first starting, author of a discipleship book and heading toward the fifth anniversary of the church with attendance around 500. I thought all of this was pretty good.

Just a couple of weeks ago I got an email about his fall from ministry. I checked the church web site and his name, all of his sermons, his place in the history of the church, had all been expunged. I checked his personal website and it was down. I checked the website for his book and it says "will return shortly."

This just makes me sick at heart. I feel for the members of his church who looked to him for spiritual guidance and find that he didn’t have the character to "make it through." I feel for the members of his own family who have been hurt and damaged. I feel for him, in particular, because I know he is living in a personal hell.

I don’t know how these situations can be handled in any better way. They just point out the fact that pastors and leaders are human beings. I wish this wasn’t true. Because then these issues would never arise. I do know that there is a special place reserved for leaders who have fallen publicly. The road to forgiveness and restoration is longer and harder and less grace-filled than for the rest of us followers of Christ.

I am adding this leader and his church to the people that I pray about, when I remember to pray. I am going to pray for healing and restoration. I am going to pray for repentance and redemption. It’s probably the least I can do.

My good friend Scott Bane wrestles with the question, "Where are all the apostles?"
He writes:

I find myself missing them more and more lately.  Which is interesting because I’m not even sure what I’m missing.  What is it I want an apostle to do for me?  It seems like there must be something.  Is there anyone in the Church today that has the authority to say the kinds of things that Paul did?  We’re drowning in opinions and strategies and "movements" and "we just need to get back tos."  But we don’t seem to have anyone that can stand up and say, "I’m an apostle by the will of God.  All this nonsense has to stop because it’s divisive and it’s fruitless.  And whoever disagrees with me, let’s just see which of us God’s power stands behind!"

His question got me thinking and I thought I might start a list of apostolic qualities or characteristics. Feel free to add to them. An apostle is:

• A person who is interested in the expansion of God’s kingdom by any and all means, but especially through the development of leaders.
• Speaks with authority.
• Is outward focused, not self-centered.
• Is prophetic and futuristic, especially when it comes to seeing the call on another person’s life.
• Is pastoral toward leaders.
• Is strategic for people-groups, regions and nations.
• Is able to mobilize the passion of others.
• Is transparent and authentic concerning their flaws.

I think that is a good enough start, for now.