GlocalNet

Dear Bob,

I bought your book, “Transformation,” at a recent evangelism conference. I am already halfway through it, and am enjoying it very much. I was struck by your statement that (paraphrasing) the church should have the evangelical concern of Billy Graham, combined with the social service of Mother Theresa.
Amen!

I am a pastor and church planter in a mainline denomination, and struggle with our tradition’s lack of emphasis on evangelism. By the way some of us talk (all about social service, none about evangelism), we might as well be volunteering for the Red Cross. On the other hand, I am always puzzled by the evangelical tradition’s lack of emphasis on social concerns. At any large conference in my denomination this week, there would have been strong and sorrowful prayers, perhaps even liturgies or vigils, for the victims and families of the Virginia Tech shootings, as well as prayers for an end to war, poverty and oppression, requests for the Holy Spirit to guide us as we seek God’s call to us to bring the Kingdom of God into lived reality on earth, and inspiring stories of tangible social transformation as a result of the gospel. I have experienced this week at the evangelical conference a great deal of inspiration, but also a feeling of living inside a churchy bubble that has little relation to the real sorrows of the real world.

You understand that I am not saying that our tradition is better-- I believe that we are horribly handicapped because we have lost the theology (and practice) of evangelism. I just want to understand why most traditions seem to fall into one extreme or another. Aren’t both evangelism and social action absolutely integral to our lives as Christians?

Thanks for writing the book, I am truly inspired by it.

Blessings on your ministry.

The Rev. Susan B. Snook

Thought you’d be interested in this article by Ron Kenner in the May 2007 issue of Church Executive Magazine.

Don’t know if you’ll hear much from me the next 8 days--but, then, you may.  It will be a whirlwind week.  This past one has been half a whirlwind. Several NorthWood meetings getting everything ready for the big move into our new building in a few months. One meeting with a group of pastors of influential churches that are starting their own church planting networks out of their local churches--man that was fun. A meeting with many of my heroes for the past several years, Loren Cunningham, Jerry Rankin, Avery Willis, Bob Cresson, and Paul Eshleman of the Jesus Film in Oklahoma. They were helping churches mobilize to engage the world--the pastors there were a blast. Services this weekend were awesome--a special guest was here from a very special place who has paid a dear price for following Jesus. Monday and Tuesday we’ll meet with v360 guys from across the US working on strategy. Tuesday through Thursday, I’ll be with Todd Wilson and Dave Ferguson at the National New Church Conference. Then Thursday through Saturday in DC--diplomatic meetings. Then not much!

It’s all related. NorthWood is a church with a kingdom heart and a glocal vision--it’s bigger than just Sunday and bigger than just “us.” That means we multiply churches and leaders and now help other churches and leaders who want to move in the same way glocally. Conferences are ok, but action is much better--so Monday and Tuesday is my “how we gonna reach the US meeting” and then Tuesday through Thursday is “so you wanna start a church--and that means . . . . ?” Thursday through Saturday is big picture in the global arena--"how does faith, government, and development all come together.”

It’s all related--what would really be cool is if all the people I’ll be with in all the different areas of ministry and life were together in one room for 3 days with one agenda--glocal transformation--wow what traction.  The only problem is, most people don’t see the big picture--they just get part of it.  So you have to start at their part and move them to the “whole.”

What are we about? Glocal transformation out of local churches started for the entire world to multiply disciples and congregations to engage the big picture of God’s kingdom. What does it mean? Everything.

This week has been one of the busiest, most focused, and most productive ever on many fronts. The time with Loren and Leonard earlier in the week was great. Spent a half day with Erwin McManus. That guy is so smart it’s scary. I drove him to be taped on James Robison’s Life Today Program. Robison is a super warm guy.

Spent Wednesday afternoon with a group of pastors all wanting to start church planting networks. I loved their hearts and passions. Tomorrow I head for OKC to be with Avery Willis and a bunch of other people wanting to see this world reached for Christ. God is moving in powerful ways in our world. Loren kept talking about a word that I have been learning about the past five years--convergence. It’s what I’ve been doing all week.

Christianity Today is doing a cover story in a week or two on our trip last year to Vietnam for religious freedom issues. Faith, politics, kingdom--it’s all the same

For the past two days all of us in this picture, and Nikki my wife who took the picture, have been working very hard. We started Sunday after church, worked until about 8:00 pm and then all day yesterday. We took very few breaks--had too much to cover and we were really into what we were doing. Both Loren Cunningham and I have written books on engaging the world through domains. His is The Book that Changes Nations, mine, Glocalization. We are working on putting together a process and system for churches to engage major global cities through the use of every church member using their jobs. But, enough said on that for a a few months--more later. Each of us brings different things to the table and we were trying to see how we could better serve the world by serving one another.

Those pictured: Leonard Buhler, a very successful potato farmer from Canada and now President of Campus Crusade in Canada, their city strategist Norm Schulz, Loren Cunningham who started YWAM, their “global engineer” David Hamilton, me, Dennis Jeffares who has lived and worked in Nepal and Afghanistan and now drives NorthWood’s work in Vietnam, Omar Reyes who is head of our Glocal Impact Ministry at NorthWood, and handsome Ritchie, one of the coolest interns we’ve ever had!

I’m still overwhelmed and mentally processing all we did. Prior to the meeting, our staff had worked for the past few weeks in preparation for this meeting developing man models, etc. We will keep most of it, tweak most of it, but chunk some of it! But, more on that in a few months. It’s one thing to get to hear some of these men speak over the years, but what an incredible joy to sit down with them and pray and strategize on the world.

Here are some observations from and about Loren that I took away from the meeting:

This guy prays with his heart. I love to be around someone who, when they pray, you know there is intimacy. Any speaker can get up and “fire up” people. You can’t force prayer. It is what it is in the life of a person.

He sees the potential of the church. No, he isn’t a pastor and his organization started by being focused on young people. But, the reason we’re collaborating is because …

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It’s weird looking at my book in Korean. I can’t read a word of it! Good Life Publishing, Inc., 3880 Greenhouse Road #216, Houston, TX 77084, 281.398.6636, info@goodlifepubinc.com, has printed it in association with Zondervan. If you know of Korean speaking people who would like a copy, give them this information. The cost is $17.99. The Koreans are my heroes. We need to learn from them far more than teach them anything.

Missional Families

I have a small discipleship group that meets on Fridays at 6:00 a.m. Either they are involved in various ministries or they are trying to figure out where to use their jobs and how to live missionally. There are many tensions when this starts happening. I thought I’d let you in, with the doctor’s permission, to use the email on some of the struggles we all face. Often people say to me, “I wish I had a church like yours” or “how do you get your people doing all this stuff,” as if there is no struggle to it. There are always struggles. You just do it anyhow. You challenge people--you upset them--and you show them all they have and put it on their plate to choose to “serve” or not “serve.”

The question is not “is my time at home or outside home.” Your time is ALWAYS your home!!!!! You NEVER stop being a husband or dad. You NEVER have a right to side step your responsibilities at home. The man who cares for others but not his own, the Bible says, “is worse than an infidel!” The question is, what is the culture of your home going to be? What is Christian culture in the home? Knowing me, you know I’d say “kingdom culture?” What makes Christian culture different than humanitarian, Buddhist, Islamic, etc. culture? How do we be a godly father and husband and model all of what God wants in all our lives. I coached my son’s football team for years, we took vacations, spent a couple of hours a day just playing with the kids, spent Saturdays together, involved my daughter in dance classes and all the recitals that go with it. I wouldn’t trade anything for those memories. What we try to do is segment the personal aspects of our faith from the missional aspects of our faith. You can’t do that. Christianity is an uncomfortable, challenging, comprehensive whole--it all fits together. It isn’t enough to teach your children Bible stories. They need to see you live real life Jesus stories, be there when you do, and be as much a part of them as possible. Not just “for,” but for what their faith is going to look like in the future.

The current model of “Christian” family success is not changing us or our culture. …

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This Easter was a mix of the old and the new, the good and the bad, the past and the future--it was all present.  The man standing beside me helped us start our church 21 years ago.  I love him deeply. His name is Gene Powell.  The Josh Williams family is experiencing their daughter’s first Easter!  This is the last Easter service in our present building--apart from a new church using it--be it deaf, Hispanic, or something else very unique.  One shot is from the back of our present Worship Center--one shot is from the side of the stage where you can see Brent and Jordan leading worship.  Finally, that little speck of a guy in the new Worship Center is Randy Miller, our Transparent Connection Pastor, or Discipleship Pastor, or Teams Pastor, or, well, you get the idea! 

While thousands were worshipping with us this weekend, I had several emails from friends around the world asking for prayer.  In one country, a young emerging leader was kidnapped.  His ministry was growing and he was perceived as a threat.  In another country, people were beaten with cricket bats, a pregnant woman was stomped causing her to lose her baby, and others were brutally attacked.  Most of the Easter weekend I thought and prayed for all of them, but especially the young man.  Was he alive?  Was he afraid?  Was he in pain?  Would he be brutalized like his Christ this Easter--and if precedent follows--lose his life? 

I preached with abandoned passion building a case for transformation--not merely conversion.  Why is it a Buddhist, a Muslim, or Hindu would choose Christ and thereby choose persecution and suffering?  If we all believe the same thing, and all roads lead to the same place why not just join the majority religion?  There are good people in all those religions. I’m friends with many--even a close friend to many atheists.  One reason is because what Jesus did on that cross was not merely to give us a model to follow, like Buddha, or a way to point like Mohammed, but He gave us redemption.  When we couldn’t do it, in and of ourselves, grace was extended through the cross.  Sin impacted us spiritually with God, …

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Ken Wellborn hosted an Easter event for UN diplomats May 3 and invited me to attend. It was a great celebration. His message was clear, powerful, and simple. Steve Green sang. His music is so confessional. He’s a preacher who sings his sermon.I sat at the table with Ambassador George Owuor, the DPR of Kenya, Ambassador Dr. Akec Khoc, DPR of Sudan, the Ambassador DPR of Nigeria, and Ambassador Thang, the DPR of Vietnam. We had a lot of fun. We spoke a little about politics in specific countries but more about needs and what can be done to serve the people in their countries. Water was such a big issue--go LIVING WATER!!!!!I was very grateful the Vietnamese Ambassador DPR came. I thought it made a big statement to those of us who are Christians that he values us even though he may not be one. He was very kind and gracious, as are most Vietnamese. I know that Vietnam has its problems. But, I also know that Vietnam is trying to improve her situation. Enough people are talking about what they don’t like. I want to talk about what I do like when I see progress moving in positive and healthy directions.Most Christians on the far right have been lobbing bombs at the UN, and it is a mistake. There is no doubt about it--the UN has its faults and problems. If you did away with it and started something else, you’d still wind up with the same people, because the nations represented and the leaders present are the best their countries have to offer. The world’s greatest gateway to the nations is right here in the U.S. If we really want to change the world for good, we should work with what we have, instead of trashing it all the time. Should the UN be reformed? I think so. Should it be done away with? Not at all—with what would you replace it?

In one of the countries I was in this past year, I passed one of their court buildings. Outside, there was a crowd gathered as an old lady tried to force her way beyond the front gate and get closer to the building. I couldn’t understand the language so didn’t know what was happening. She was alone--at least it appeared that way. Did her son, husband, daughter, or friend do something bad? Or, were they a victim of injustice? Some people were laughing and pointing. Some people were very somber-faced and concerned. The person I respected the most was the guard who was stopping her from entering the building. Why? He didn’t hit her or abuse her.  Istead, he spoke softly as he prevented her from going in and refused to return the weak blows she tried to deliver to him in order to get in. The other guards were laughing at him and making fun of him.  But, it wasn’t funny to him. To him, this woman was worthy of being treated not as a “hostile” but as a parent or wife--who knows. My mind raced through various scenarios of what had happened.

Later, I passed a hospital. I saw a dad holding a little girl with a severe cleft palate deformity. He was kissing her on her check. Did she know she was deformed? As the dad pulled her away, I noticed he, too, had once had a cleft palate. The scar still showed. Was she at the hospital to be examined for surgery to get her cleft palate fixed? Or, was it something else? What would her future be?

Both were forms of injustice. Which mattered the most? How do you speak to it? After I spoke at the Flood in San Diego, a sharp young man came up and asked me about dealing with social and political injustice and how you tackle that head-on. I told him injustice is injustice. If you want to tackle it in a nation, start with the injustice you both can agree on before you challenge them with your notion of injustice on which you disagree.

So often, we want to show up and give our views on things without first having earned the right to speak to nations. It’s easy to pick up a sign, or sign a petition. But, have we first given …

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