I have great adventures when I drive my wife’s car when her radio dial is set to a local Christian radio station. For about twenty-five years, I listened to pretty much nothing but Christian radio and Christian music, but I branched out to all forms of music and radio a few years ago.

Today someone plugging a program was talking about how people are leaving the church in droves according to a recent Barna study and he equated it with “leaving the faith experientially.” I started fuming when I thought about the asinine arrogance of that statement which presumed that God’s working is confined to the institutional church, the people who left have it all wrong, and our greatest concern is to perpetuate the institutional church, rather than love (and listen to) people as Jesus did.

Also, I had flashbacks to a job interview I had that went nowhere, literally because I did not have a church name to put under my name on the organization’s stationary. The director who interviewed me let me know that a house church would not do. He also told me about a time that he “turned his back on the church.” It rubbed me the wrong way and I think it was very dishonoring to Christ since I have given my life to the church and love it more today than ever. He never bothered to ask what my thoughts really were, but that didn’t stop him from developing his opinion. It drive me nuts when the church gets exclusive and shuts out people while thinking they are being godly!

Then came a plug for a program that will help prepare you for your church worship service. It struck me funny that we need a pregame show for our weekly worship experience. It seemed like a show to prepare one for the next show.

Then came a plug for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie. The morning show was giving away tickets for a 12:01AM showing on opening day. I suspect it will be a really good movie, but what amazes me is how the Christian marketing machine works. If something is branded Christian and marketed to churches through their pastors, they promote the heck out of it. If it is an important or virtuous movie or book that doesn’t fit the Christian marketing machine mold, it is ignored… or feared.

Then came a plug for the station itself. A lady said that her husband used to listen to other stations, but now he just listens to said station and quit listening to that other “garbage”. Give me a break!

I got all of this “information” in about fifteen minutes of listening. Christian radio is not the problem. It merely reflects the Christian subculture, which is a problem. Too often, the good news about Jesus is overshadowed with the bad news about his church unwittingly propagated by those who are too immersed in it to understand how people outside the club perceive them. The beauty of the kingdom is too often marred by the exclusive attitude of her subjects.

I wonder why (not really) people are leaving the church in droves and why people think that Christians come across as holier than thou, but most of all I wonder why Christians don’t seem to care or, at least, get a clue.

Jerusha & Aaron Kobriger

I have been impressed ever since I heard about the work of Lesideng Soup Kitchen in South Africa and the way a local house church, called The Fringe, here in suburban Chicago is actively involved with that ministry. Just recently, I found out that Aaron and Jerusha from The Fringe are moving to South Africa  to help out in the Spring of next year. They are 26 and 23 years and have been married for almost four years.

Here is my interview with Aaron and Jeruhsa.

How did that whole idea develop?

A little more than one year ago, Jerusha and I were both feeling that God was calling us to move to Africa. At that point neither of us really knew anything about Africa other than the fact that many of the people who live there live VERY impoverished lives. We both dealt with this feeling in our own ways for three weeks before we talked about it with one another. One night we were talking and I finally blurted out, “Do you think God wants us to move to Africa?” Needless to say, when Jerusha responded “Yes”, I was more than shocked. We went on to tell each other that we had been feeling a pull from God for three weeks and that we were too nervous about the whole idea to approach one another. The direction from God grew stronger and stronger the more we talked and prayed about it until it was abundantly clear that God was taking us to Africa for an undefined amount of time.

What was going on in each of your minds?

We were both pretty nervous about the whole thing, and still sort of are. That’s not to say that we questioned if God was calling us to do this because we were not. Together the two of us have had several occasions in our lives when it was extremely clear that God was letting us know where He was leading us. However, the first time that we talked to each other about it we had all of the positive and negative thoughts run through our minds: “Where are we going to live? How long will we be there? Will it be dangerous? How will we get the money?” All of the usual thoughts quickly became a reality for us, even though we knew that God would provide all of these things for us as long as we followed His will. We decided that night that we would accept our call and move full steam ahead to make it happen.

How long do you plan to stay?

At this point we are somewhat unsure. We both feel that we will not be there for the rest of our lives, but we also feel that it will be no less than one year. So far that is the one thing that God has left us unsure about. We believe that we will be there for as long as it takes to make a lasting impact on the people of South Africa as well as finish the work that God wants us to finish.

What will you be doing?

We plan to work directly with Terri and Hamish Rodgers and LSK Inc. When our church made a trip over to South Africa in February of this year we were all able to see firsthand the needs of not only the people in Lesideng, but the needs of Terri and Hamish as well. It was very clear to all of us that the two of them need help in a major way. They are only two people trying to make a difference among a town of 50,000, so they are in need of as much help as they can get. Basically, Jerusha and I plan to be put to work by Terri and Hamish. We are going to be a part of creating much needed tower gardens, building homes, handing out food, and most importantly trying to let the people in this town know that God loves them.

How will you provide for your living expenses?

We plan to ask as many people to help us by giving donations as we possibly can. We are going to be sent over either under our church as “missionaries”, or under LSK Inc. We have already talked with Terri and Hamish about the amount of money that we will need to survive in South Africa, and we were told that we could make it on 1,000 U.S. dollars per month. On top of that number, we will need to buy a truck so that we will be able to navigate the rough terrain (which we plan on giving to Terri and Hamish when we leave). We already have some of the money raised, but still have to come up with the rest of it.

What is the relationship between the decision to move and your faith?
This question kind of makes me laugh. The bottom line for me is, if I had no faith, no relationship with God, I would never be moving to South Africa. I have always wanted to live a life of luxury, not one that involves being poor for any amount of time. If I had no faith, and God had called us to go over, I would have thrown the idea out before it even entered my brain. This whole life change revolves around us as a couple doing God’s will and living the lives that He wants us to live. The idea of being able to bless other people half way around the world, as well as be blessed by them, comes directly from God. As a human person it is ingrained it me to look out for myself and those close to me, and God calls us to look out for all of His people, especially those who have the most need. Our faith is the only thing that allowed us to open the door when God knocked.

What would you say to someone who wants to do something to help the people of Africa?

DO IT!! Don’t sit and wait for some grand intervention from God, just, do it! I have seen firsthand how far one dollar can go in Africa, and it is remarkable! Most of us have no grasp of what living a poor life actually is. I tell people that the commercials that you see on television portraying Africa as a poor place where many people die of AIDS and malnutrition are 100% true. They have no way of pulling themselves out of the depths of their poverty, so we need to help. I’m not saying that people in the United States have to give money if they don’t have it though (although it sure helps). There are many other ways to help, such as donating old clothes. Many of the South Africans we encountered only own one set of clothes, so a second would give them the opportunity to wear something while they wash the other set. I encourage everyone to find an organization that has been set up strictly to help the people of Africa, research it, pick one that they feel best suits them, and do whatever they can to help. LSK Inc., for example, is a non-profit organization that sends 100% of the donations directly to South Africa, as well as sets up shipments of clothes, candles, sanitary items, etc. that are used to sustain these people’s lives.

Anything else?

I just want to say a MAJOR thank you for taking notice of what is going on in mine and Jerusha’s lives, and for doing this interview. We have been so blessed by God when it comes to all of the support that we have had when we began to tell people about moving to Africa. Thank you so much!

Honorable Mention

Thanks Jim!

Weird Trip, Good Search, Real Deal

I was tagged by Gary to participate in the Six Word Memoir meme:

1. Write the title to your own memoir using 6 words.

2. Post it on your blog.

3. Link to the person that tagged you.

4. Tag five more blogs.

I tag…

Jason

Jeromy

JR

Mike

Rachel

There will be six more of these Trucker Frank videos released on Mondays. I think they are pretty cool, essentially because they are snippets of real life that illustrate the diversity of God’s activity among people.

Trcuker Frank- Episode1: Frank’s Story- A pastor becomes disillusioned with the church.

Tracker Frank- Episode 2: Marie’s Story- A young adult tells us why she quit church.

Trucker Frank- Episode 3: Michelle’s Story- Frank gets kicked out of the Christian bookstore.

Harborside Common Grounds, Kenosha, Wisconson

A new Southeastern Wisconsin Emergent Cohort is launching 7:00PM, Thursday, May 15th, at the Harborside Common Grounds, 5159 6th Avenue in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This will be a convenient location for those of us who live in Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties in Wisconsin, Northern Lake and McHenry counties in Illinois, and possibly, points beyond.

The Harborside Common Grounds is a great coffeehouse and deli with a beautiful view of Kenosha Harbor on Lake Michigan. Look for us in the room to your right as you walk in. We look forward to the fascinating discussions, shared experiences, and new friendships and collaborations that will develop.

For more info email us at sewi@emergingconversation.com

Map

The road unforeseeably twisted and long.
Emotions swinging wildly.
Staggering like a person stepping from a crazy carnival ride,
I realized I was homeless.

A new kind of Christian.
A new kind of confusion.
Heretics and reformers,
And me, the new outsider and troublemaker.

Cyber searching, reading, finding an occasional stray.
Refugees battered and weary.
Wiley, wounded wanderers,
Wondering if they are alone.

A glimmer of peace, a hint of grace, a slight smile.
God is here too?
New wine better than the old?
God tricked me with a treat.

I can dream.
And I can live in the moment.
Something new happening,
And I am a participant in re-dreaming the dream.

I am trying to summarize and synthesize some of the reoccurring themes in the sychroblog responses. Here is my rudimentary attempt. You may also want to check out the updated list of participants.

Holdover Issues

• Frustration. It is a time of frustration for some who are still in the church system.
• Abuse. It has been an on-going struggle to recover from abuse or addiction in relation to the church system.
• Confusion. It has been a confusing season of life and it is still full of unknowns.
• Performance. It is challenging to grow past a performance oriented mentality as we have been programmed to think of following Christ in terms of an activity check list.
• Community. It has been a hard to figure out how to do church in this new chapter of life as we don’t want to go back to the old system, but understand the value of community and mutual mission.
• Children. It is a time of concern about what to do about our children concerning church.
• Caution. It is too early for some people to get immersed in some dream about what God is doing and their role.

New Discoveries

• Rest. People are learning that it is O.K. to rest.
• Freedom. Several people mentioned a new freedom to experience God, often in the “ordinary.”
• Grace. Some of us are going a lot deeper in our personal understanding of grace.
• Identity. Some people are finding that their crisis lead to their uncovering their God-given identity.
• Relearning. Many of us are relearning some basis stuff about following God.
• Simplicity. People are enjoying a simpler life with time to experience God, and invest in their families
• Art. Some are growing in their love for creative self expression.
• Messiness. We are being reminded that all ministry is relational and messy.

I can’t help but be encouraged when I look over the second list. I think God is up to some cool stuff and that our painful journeys will be used for his glory and our good!!

Please feel free to comment or add to the list. Thank you all for your participation!

Here is my response to the “Your Turn Synchroblog.” Scroll to the end of the post for a list of links to all of the participants. It not too late to jump in. Please let me know if I missed your post.

How am I doing?

I am on an upswing. I have spent a good chunk of my life pastoring churches that offered severe leadership limitations and I have spent the last six years trying to figure out, through trial and error, what I should be doing in this next chapter of life. By the way, I am finding this experience is more common than you might think. Now, it seems like I am entering a season of freedom. I am finding an identity and purpose that is not tied to the institutional church. That is something that I could not have even conceived of a short time ago, but now that it is finally upon me, it is a like a breath of fresh air.

Off and on through the last six years, I have vacillated back and forth through a wide range of emotional responses and I have had several different ideas about what to pursue. As hurt people do, I became more suspicious of people, more withdrawn, and probably a little more self righteous, but I never quit dreaming.

You can understand why I am excited about leaving that chapter of life and moving on. The upswing that I am experiencing is the result of finding a new sense of identity that is true to who I am and what God is doing.

What am I doing?

Today, I will hear about a job that I interviewed for last Thursday. It offers a very attractive blend of customer service and technology in a small, progressive company. It would alleviate some financial pressure, provide me with a fresh challenge, and put me into a new circle of relationships. Also, it would alleviate the need for financial sustainability in a volunteer ministry venture that I have been developing.

There is a good chance that we will connect up with our friends at The Fringe that would give us a nice outlet for friendships and service. Communitas Collective, the ministry that I have alluded to several times, will hopefully launch in about a month. I am looking forward to being involved in this new venture that will be a creative catalyst for encouragement, resourcing, and collaboration, providing community and opportunity for people to join the kingdom of God in a way the is right for them.

I look forward to a growing involvement and support of the good work of Lesindeng Soup Kitchen in South Africa and coordinating a southeastern Wisconsin Emergent cohort, beginning later this month. I will continue to blog as I have time and I am the September editor of the Porpoise Diving Life webzine. When you through in the kind of projects that a home owner gets has to do from time to time, a few recreational pursuits, and a few visits with family in Minnesota and Missouri, my life is definitely filling up.

What Am I learning?

God leaves a lot up to us. Through my transition time, nothing overtly miraculous happened. I have had to pray, soul search, and struggle with who and I really am, what God has been up too, and what I should pursue. It was a hard, but immensely useful process. So often, we float through life fulfilling expectations or doing something because it’s there or because we can. This experience has caused me to get down to the core of my identity. The results have surprised some people and even myself.

A little desperation is not a bad thing. Desperation started the whole re-evaluation process and a lot of good has come out of it, but mostly desperation brings us to God with nothing in our hands and nothing on our agenda. It’s called trust.

Watch for the beauty, the compassion, the humor, the joy, the peace, the wonder, the blessed moments that today has to offer. God is in everyday. You don’t want to miss him.

What looks like the end, may be a new beginning. Perhaps, we would never come to the new beginning, if the old way of life didn’t falter.

What am I dreaming?

I have great hopes for the job prospect and for Communitas. I look forward to having more of a sense of fulfillment as life gets more relational and purposeful and I look forward to helping people who have been through some of the stuff I have been through. Yet, right now I am just enjoying the moment, the freedom, and the sense of moving on.

List of participants:

7catz: May Synchroblog

Alan: You Are Here

Aaron: Life After The Gravitron

Barb: One Year Check Up

Erin: My Turn

Gary: Synchroblg Subject: How Am I Doing?

Glenn: Feeling Free

Happy: Better Late Than Never

Heidi: May Synchroblog

Jeff : Mile Marker Reflections

Jeromy: Our Story- Chapter 10

Kathy: It Stinks Down Here, But I Really Love The Smell

Lyn: Your Turn

Mike: Lost Or Found (Depends On Your View)

Rachel: Sychroblog…

Sam: Synchroblog Monday

Sarah: Glenn’s May Synchroblg

Tera: May Synchroblog

]]> http://glennhager.wordpress.com/2008/05/05/feeling-free/feed/ glennhager http://glennhager.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/new-wine/ http://glennhager.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/new-wine/#comments Fri, 02 May 2008 18:58:06 +0000 Glenn http://glennhager.wordpress.com/?p=1532

The Passage

One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?

Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment. “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.

~ Luke 5:33-38

Thoughts

I am been pondering this passage for quite a while. My overarching thought about it is that the way of Jesus is such a completely counter intuitive, scandalous, antithesis to religion, that the religious are threatened by him. One is a system full of expectations, the other a way of life full of grace. The guardians of the Jewish tradition lost the concept of mission and, instead got hung up on their privileged status. The guardians of the Christian tradition, likewise lost their sense of being a part of the kingdom and mission of God, making the church the end in itself.

I really liked the old wine. I was an addicted drunk! It has taken considerable time for me to detox from my addiction and I am just now beginning to see that this new wine goes very well with (real) life.

I started playing around with an old wine/new wine list. Admittedly, it is a little generalizing and simplistic, but you cannot deny that there is a contrast. Do you have anything to add?

Old Wine / New Wine

• Faithfulness to the church / Faithfulness to the way of Jesus
• Using personal gifts and abilities within the confines of the church / Using personal gifts and abilities within their community
• Giving of finances to keep the church running / Giving of finances to demonstrate the Gospel
• Emphasis on externals / Emphasis on the heart
• Emphasis on avoiding sin / Emphasis on representing Jesus to others
• Fitting into a system / Being who God made you to be
• Seeing people as saved and unsaved / Seeing people as individuals whom God loves
• Discipleship is about learning / Discipleship is about living
• Retreating into a subculture as a place of safety / Diving into culture as a place of mission
• Worrying about what people think / Just trying to follow Jesus
• Praying in public / Living life as a prayer
• Corporate, musical worship / Life as worship
• The Gospel is about believing facts and the hereafter / The Gospel is about belief and life, us and others, this life and the hereafter
• Faithfulness is rewarded by being a church leader / Faithfulness is rewarded by being a people server
• Easily offended / Understands people are just being normal
• Clergy/laity division / Everyone trying to live life in the way of Jesus
• More… Bible reading, prayer, etc. / Fewer meaningless exercises, more heart for God
• Majoring on guilt / Majoring on grace
• Faithful attendance in church meetings / Involvement in the community and in peoples’ lives
• Support the pastor / Support one another
• Criticize the pastor/ Cut each other some slack
• Get involved in a church ministry / Get involved with people
• Dependence upon the pastor’s teaching / Learning from personal study, asking questions and discussion
• Emphasis on a weekly service / Emphasis on daily service
• Expectations of God because of faithful service / Acceptance of the mystery of God
• Tenaciously holding on to our doctrinal beliefs as non negotiable / Realizing that if something is true it can withstand questioning
• A place to gather with friends / Making friends in the natural course of life
• Needing a building / Gathering anywhere
• Professional staff / Anyone can convene and facilitate the group
• Fellowship / Parties