TimSpivey.com

One-Year Anniversary

Yesterday was an absolutely great day. We launched a new message series. Psallo was in the house and did a great job leading worship Sunday morning and Sunday evening. It was a pretty intense 15-hour day or so, but there are few things more satisfying than flopping on the couch at the end of a long, good Sunday. It's a good tired. It's a holy tired.

Yesterday was also my 1-year-anniversary at North County. It was with great joy that we (NCCC) announced that we will be adding a third worship service in English to accommodate the growth God has granted us over the past year.

A lot has changed over the past year. The Spiveys are feeling at home in our new home. I feel like I've got a much better feel for the church--our people, our traditions, and our future. We are expecting child number three, and our girls are flourishing. I'm married to the best :)

This doesn't mean that life is perfect, or that NCCC doesn't face daunting challenges. I just feel blessed. I never expected that God would have bless our lives the way He has. Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. He's been doing it for years :) As for the challenges that lie ahead, a song Psallo sang yesterday with their typical passion and conviction has been going through my head all day:

More than able,

Yes, Yes

He is more than able,

Yes, Yes

Eugene Peterson on Worship - a Saturday Evening Blessing

"We are in on what God is doing, and we are in on it together. And here is how we are in on it: we become present to what God intends to do with and for us through worship, become present to the God who is present to us."

--Eugene Peterson, The Jesus Way

May God's people be present to He who is present to them.

Old School - Integrative Preaching

Several years back, I made a shift in my preaching to focusing on one central idea, and to try to get more of the church engaged in the message series in various ways. Intuitively, I just felt like I was missing the opportunity to maximize whatever teaching I was doing for God's glory.

I did some praying, thinking and reading, and became an increasingly bigger fan of what I call "integrative preaching." It's a spin on the "Big Idea" concepts that Dave Ferguson and others have put forth (I highly recommend the book, The Big Idea)

I'm not a big topical preaching guy (not that there's anything particularly wrong with it...I'm just more of an expository guy), so it took me a while to figure out how to tailor things a bit to fit my teaching style and life in a Church of Christ. I realized that the concepts, with a bit of tweaking, work equally well for "expository" series.

I still always preach from a major text--and prefer to preach through books of the Bible, but week-to-week I try to narrow my focus and that of the church to one central idea. I then work with the creative people that God has put around me to create a homiletical world for the Body using creative media, arts and all other means possible. I'm indebted to Dave Ferguson and the folks at Community Christian Church for helping me understand the value of focusing church-wide on a single big idea (worship, classes, groups, etc.--or some combo), rather than different messages being communicated throughout the church at every age-group...especially in this information soaked age. 

So, I tweaked it a bit for fit, and with the help of the HOCC staff guys and gals...we began to see an immediate change in the ability of our assemblies to leave a spiritual mark on people. 

And...it was so much fun!

As we grew as communicators, the staff and I presented the concept and steps involved in our version of the Big Idea in much more detail in a class at the 2008 Pepperdine Bible Lectures entitled, "Sunday Mornings at the Creative Church of Christ." That class might be a helpful resource to you if you have interest in diving into this whole idea a bit deeper.

In essence, it's about conceiving a series/study, then doing particular, extra legwork to make sure things are crafted well and the church can focus. Then, it's about using all the creative stuff at one's disposal to communicate in ways that help gatherings and messages stick.

We've embraced focus and creativity at NCCC, and this week, we begin a dive into a new message series entitled, "Old School: Lessons on God from the School House." Here's a sneak preview of how this will flesh out in this series:

• The stage will be decorated like an old schoolhouse. I'll be preaching on an old-school wood pulpit, the praise team will be sitting on an old church pew from our prior church building. There will be a chalk-board on stage (where a kid will write each sermon title as I'm getting settled on stage), old yearbooks, etc. We have a decor team at NCCC that does an awesome job. Props to Erin, Tara, and Brenda.
• The lobby will be decorated with some stuff from the school-days of church members.
• We gave out series-themed bookmarks for people to pass out and use in their school books.
• Midway through the series, we'll hand out no. 2 pencils with the Old School theme on them to our students and those who need them.
• We launched a series-related website: http://www.oldschoolseries.com for people to interact with the messages in greater depth between Sundays.
• Even the bulletin is series-themed...meaning it is redesigned with each series. The info stays the same, but the bulletin look changes. It keeps people reading it. Bulletins that don't change are like billboards that don't change...people ignore them over time.
• A 1-minute or so video intro will introduce each message. 
• It's no coincidence that we're preaching this series at back-to-school time :) Preaching is often more effective when you bring the Gospel to bear where people's minds are already.

There's other stuff on the horizon, as well. But, during the series, EVERYTHING is Old-School related. If people don't like the series...that's OK...it'll change soon :) I like 6-8 week series...but will occasionally do the 3 weeker or 12 weeker.

Here's why we do it...people will remember biblical content better. Kids will remember the series. Older folks will remember the series. Teens will remember the series. Why? First, because it's not crowded out by a bunch of other messages being communicated simultaneously. Second, it's more fun, visual, interactive, and verbal/auditory. It gives people a mental scaffolding on which biblical concepts can be hung like ornaments.

So, here's the layout with the titles and macro-themes (we have a two-three sentence clarifying statement that goes with each week):

• First Day - New creation (2 Corinthians 5)
• Recess (Labor Day Weekend) - Sabbath and Recreation 
• Lunch Money - Stewardship (Matthew 6)
• Ditching - The Importance of Church Attendance. (Hebrews 10)
• Homework - The Importance of Spiritual Growth (Hebrews 5)
• Bullies - Dealing with difficult people like a Christian (3 John)
• Graduation - Baptism (Galatians 3)

Tune in on-line at nccofc.org, at oldschoolseries.com, or on ITunes to hear how the sermons feed into things. 

Lastly, to my preacher buddies...having all of this stuff helping you teach makes your preaching better than it is, but it doesn't minimize the importance of a well-crafted, well-studied-for message. No cheating! If you prepare your best as well, Sunday gatherings will be memorable and the truth of God's Word be come alive for people.

Tomorrow or Saturday, I'll add some more on this concept. But, I hope you'll use whatever creativity exists around you to it's fullest. It's all for the sake of Gospel-stick. And, it'll be fun in the process.

Pray. Focus. Create.

7 Deadly Sins - a Geography

Thanks to Wired Magazine for this infographic, which they got from a research team at Kansas State. It maps prevalence of the 7deadly sins in the United States. I had a few random thoughts when I saw this:

1) Who would want to live in Florida?

2) Why doesn't anyone live in Big Sky country?

3) I have a hunch we are a bit more gluttonous than the graph shows. Poor Texas :)

4) What if a map like this were drawn of the church on a Sunday morning and projected on the screens? That would be interesting :)

5) Would a map like this of a given city be of help to churches in trying to minister to the community, and would churches use them constructively or destructively?

6) Maybe there is a link between warm weather and sin :)

7) There are a lot of places that need Jesus. In fact, all of them do.

If one reads closely, methodology may be is a bit shaky here, but it's an interesting concept. 

Any thoughts?

 

Justice - In the Eye of the Beholder?

Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi was convicted in 2001 on all 270 counts of murder and given a life sentence. He served 8 years before being released last week for reasons of "compassion"--according to the Scottish minister of Justice. Al-Megrahi is dying of terminal prostate cancer.

Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill defended the decision to release Megrahi: "Mr Al Megrahi has been sent back to Libya to die. We deliberately eschewed political and diplomatic considerations, and he was released according to due process and under licence conditions. Our concerns are the interests of justice, and making the right decisions."

Megrahi was released in the "interest of justice." Hmmm...

Justice has fallen on hard times lately. "Justice" is thrown around almost as carelessly as "love" is. It's probably even harder to recognize. Justice today seems to be in the eye of the beholder. To the Scottish minister of justice, justice was to release a man convicted of murdering 270 people out of compassion. If your father was on that plane, you are likely to see it a bit differently--and be outraged by the jubilation Libyan crowds showed upon Megrahi's return.

Justice.

It's become a slippery term. Justice for who? And, can justice be had for some if it creates injustice for others?

Justice is a bible word, and thus it's defined by God, not by humankind. That's what will ultimately save us from our self-interested definitions and applications of it. In the mean time, we need to take our anger and frustrations to the Lord, asking for His justice to reign--and offer our willingness to serve Him in that pursuit.

We Christians must tread carefully with our nomenclature, particularly as we quote biblical passages that support our view of "justice." Justice is a biblical principle that we are called to uphold and seek earnestly. But, we need to remain humble enough to understand that sometimes our view of justice is shaped by our own politics, our own interests, and our own sin--not God.

This doesn't mean that justice is strictly in the eye of the beholder--or that it can't be had. It means that because only God's judgment is pure, we seek justice with humility. We don't stamp the "J" word on every opinion we have--whether it be health-care reform, economic policy or verdicts in the courtroom. Sometimes "justice" to me turns out to simply be my politics or view of how I wish things were. Other times, I'm closer the mark. Sometimes, perhaps even dead on. To me, justice was destroyed in the case of Ali al-Megrahi. I'm pretty sure I'm right.

But, justice will not always be attainable on this earth. That won't keep me from pursuing it. God has called me to.

God has also asked us to leave room for His wrath, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Let's trust Him in this. And, may we rejoice that God is not unjust. Only He judges rightly. So, I'll avoid the temptation to take justice into my own hands...and place it instead in His.

Risky question: What's the biggest aberration of justice you've ever seen? How did you handle it well or not so well?

Gotta Serve Somebody

I will confess that I am not huge Bob Dylan fan. However, in meditating on Joshua's commissioning of Israel to serve the Lord (Joshua 24:14-15), one of his songs kept coming to mind. Joshua himself wrote the original "Gotta Serve Somebody."

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15

Joshua basically says, before Dylan ever did...that we all "gotta serve somebody." Click here to listen. Words printed below.

Gotta Serve Somebody

You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk,
You may be the head of some big TV network,
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame,
You may be living in another country under another name

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a construction worker working on a home,
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome,
You might own guns and you might even own tanks,
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy,
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy,
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray,
You may call me anything but no matter what you say

You're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Who's Got Your Back?

Keith Ferrazzi's first book, Never Eat Alone, is one of the most helpful business books I've ever read. His second book, Who's Got You're Back is a book about "Lifeline Relationships." These are relationships that are created with carefully selected individuals who can be trusted to provide encouragement, advice, and support. They are relationships that, "Won't let you fail." It's not a codependency book...it's about surrounding yourself with people who will tell you the truth because they are committed to helping you succeed.

Christians have talked about mentoring, accountability, etc., for years. Ferrazzi's approach is in that stream. But, because he is coming from a business perspective, the "Lifeline Relationships" he speaks of these relationships at a more secular level. However, as a result, his perspectives are fresh to me as a minister--though some of them do need "baptizing." The book is helpful at the one-on-one relationship level, but it's more about relational networks--teams. If you are interested in building stronger, high-transparency relationships to help you meet goals, this is a great book for you. It's also helpful to those interested in building strong ministry teams.

Here are some insights from the book:

• "Online, we have more “friends” than ever, but we’re still d--- lonely. In 1985, the average American had three people in whom to confide matters that were important to him, according to a 2006 study in the American Sociological Review. That number has now dropped to two. More than 25 percent of Americans admit they have no confidants at all."
• "In his book Vital Friends, author Tom Rath cites research from the Gallup Organization that attests to the fact that people who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their jobs. Yep—that’s seven times. Not only are these people more joyful and more apt to innovate, take risks, collaborate, and share bold new ideas, but their customers are more engaged as well. In fact, if you have close friends at work whom you respect, your employee satisfaction level increases by 50 percent (you’re happier with your benefits as well as your paycheck)."
• "A study of fifty-five high-performing global business teams at fifteen global firms conducted for a 2007 Harvard Business Review article, “Eight Ways to Build Collaborative Teams,” found that deep social bonds were the major predictor of team success. The other two? Formal initiatives to strengthen relationships, and leaders who invest the time to build strong relationships with their teams."
• "As an Italian, I have no trouble understanding the value of talking through important issues and cementing personal relationships over a lengthy meal. We have a saying: A tavola non s’invecchia, which means, “At the dinner table no one grows old.” I love that idea—what could be truer? Time stops in its tracks. You can take however long you need."

He describes the four reasons why he believes lifeline relationships are key (p. 27):

1. To help us identify what success truly means for us, including our long-term career plans.

2. To help us figure our the most robust plan possible to get there, through short-term goals and strategies that would tie us into knots if we tried to go it alone.

3. To help us identify what we need to stop doing to move forward in our lives.

4. To have people around us committed to ensuring we don’t fail – so we can transform our lives from good to great.

Christians of all people should understand the importance of community to our spiritual well-being and growth. Ferrazzi's book isn't theological, but it may offer some of us some "how-tos" of doing community in ways that will work. Spiritual growth is a lifelong journey and can be pretty hard work. One of God's greatest gifts to us is one another as we seek Him day by day. If you don't have lifeline relationships, let me encourage you to start somewhere...and today.

If you're interested in getting the book...you can get it at almost any bookstore, through Amazon, or by clicking on the book jacket in my reading list.

Ideological Shift

A new Gallup poll released this week showed that those labeling themselves "Conservative" now outnumber those identifying themselves as "Liberals" in all 50 states...though 3 states fall within the margin of error. What's interesting to me is that Conservatives outnumber Liberals in all 50 states--even New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, and other stereotypically "liberal" states. Only Washington D.C. claims a higher number of self-described Liberals over Conservatives.

Gallup's analysis of it's poll suggests that conservatism is on the rise, as the percentages of people labeling themselves as conservative is the highest since 2004. It should be noted that these delineations are different than party identification--and that moderates seem to be the ones determining elections these days.

I'm interested in this apparent shift and it's implications for the church. Is this good, bad, ugly, or irrelevant for the Church?

Of course, appropriate dialogue only please :)

Click below to see the poll and Gallup's analysis:

Political Ideology: "Conservative" Label Prevails in the South Shared via AddThis

Preacher's Toolkit part 1 - Bedtime Stories

This is a first installment of a new blog feature I'm entitling, Preacher's Toolkit. My hope is that in some small way we preachers and teachers can learn from one another and grow in art of teaching God's word in a way that is faithful, challenging, fun, and interesting for people. This series, designed for people who are blessed to teach God's Word to people of any age, will be posted weekly, for a while. It will include some of my own personal tricks of the trade, but also those of real authorities on the subject.

We begin with my most recent discovery:

It took me a while, but I finally realized that something I do all the time is a helpful test of whether or not my sermon is ready to go: Telling bedtime stories. Saturday night has officially become sermon-based bible story night at the Spivey house. I recommend to anyone with small kids or grandkids. If you don't have any, borrow someone else's.

Tell them the story of the text your sermon is based on and see if you can hold their attention. Call them on the phone if need be. Here's why: If you can tell the story simply enough and in an interesting enough fashion to keep children riveted--you're probably ready to go Sunday. They are a much tougher audience than most congregations.

This past Saturday night, I had to try to make the Division of the Promised Land interesting for my 6 and 4 year-old daughters. I hoped that if I could succeed, the church would be fine. If I couldn't tell the story simply enough, or if I bored them to death in my telling...I knew I had work to do. I would either need to learn to tell the story more simply and concisely, or I'd need to work on my storytelling. Or, I might also need to clarify my own picture of the "big picture" of the text.

This of course doesn't make the story or the message of the text simplistic. It simply clarifies your teaching of it. I'm also not suggesting that you tell the story to the church the way you tell it to your children. This little exercise is about clarity of thought and story-telling. It's also a great test for me: do I have a grasp on the story as a whole? Do I find it interesting enough to tell to my kids...and do they find it interesting enough to listen?

Telling the story at child's level helps me lots. Give it a shot. You might be shocked at how much it helps...and your kids will be blessed by it, too.

WARNING: This method does not protect you from being boring in the pulpit. Just ask the good people of NCCC :) It's simply a tool to help you in a couple of vital aspects of preaching/teaching: clarity of thought and story-telling.

Saturday Night Blessing

I ran across this prayer tonight. I hope it blesses you as it did me, before you study God's Word next --tonight or tomorrow morning.

Lord, as I read the psalms let me hear you singing.

As I read your words, let me hear you speaking.

As I reflect on each page, let me see your image.

And as I seek to put your precepts into practice, let my heart be filled with joy.

--Gregory of Nazianzus, 329-389.