GlocalNet

In the past few weeks I’ve spoken many places to many audiences.  The stories I tell are the same, the principles the same - whether a University or a group of pastors or a group of business leaders.  What is radically different is the response.  When I speak of the shifts in the world and the opportunities to engage the world, college students, business leaders, and global leaders (both faith & secular) have been seeing the shifts, excited about them, and ready to redefine what faith looks like in the 21st century. 

When I talk to pastors - it’s another story.  Just a few short decades ago, pastors were the most global of any group in America - because of missions.  Not anymore - and for the same reason -because of missions.  Early missions taught us the nations, the peoples, the cultures, their beliefs, and worldviews - and of course, how to share our faith with them.  Somewhere along the way, learning climaxed and began to slow to a drip, while missiological and church development programming took its place.  The result was a search for a global template of how to plant churches and evangelize nations.  The result of that was, it became more about the presentation and the strategy than it did the people that were being presented to.  After all, we knew their language, history, culture, and worldview - what else was their to know?  As if, each culture was static and stuck in time and nothing new to learn.  But then came globalization, and it changed all that.  The rest of the world wanted wealth like America.  They got certain things from America like education, and even a few products.  So, to us in America, globalization became about our culture spreading around the world.  We confused the fascination with American money and products with globalization. They really are two different things.  The result was we began to lose touch with how cultures globally were morphing, developing, and even rediscovering their roots and at the same time strengthening their tribes.  In reality we were the ones who were stuck in a global time warp - the world has been moving forward.

To the Western pastor, missions was something you gave money to, funded missionaries to do, prayed for, watched slide shows from, and occasionally even took a mission trip to somewhere in the world.  Today, people from …

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Click here to see the interview with the Vietnamese Artists, Minh Hong and Minh Son, currently exhibiting their work at NorthWood Church.

In the first book I ever wrote, Transformation, I made the statement that what’s good for my church numerically may not be best for the kingdom - but what’s good for the kingdom is always best for my church.  The Kingdom is our context, our paradigm - our base of operations - not the other way around.  We’ve confused that.

I discovered that in church planting it can impact the size of your local church.  That isn’t bad - it’s good.  We’ve helped over 20 churches get going all around us.  There are over 10,000 people in those churches combined - but I doubt seriously if we’d ever run 10,000 at our local church.  But by helping to facilitate other churches and young people called to plant churches - we reach far more.  There’s a lot of dying to self that has to happen.  We say it isn’t about the size of a church but be it at a conference or wherever - generally it’s the people with the largest ministries that are invited to speak.  I would say though - that influence and impact is not limited to size alone.  Thom Wolf is a man that impacted me dramatically in ministry in my early years.  His church was never over 600 that I’m aware of - but I learned more from him, than most of the huge mega-church pastors of the Southern Baptist that I was raised with.  I learned there’s a big difference in thinker-pioneers and organizer-developers.  We need both. 

I discovered loving other people radically can hurt your church attendance.  I’ve learned that from working with people from different faiths and political backgrounds.  Working with Communists and Muslims can get you in trouble with a lot of evangelicals.  When we began to do that we lost members that were fearful and even isolationist.  The Great Commission was for everyone BUT Muslims!  Generally it’s your most “strident” Christians who believe in grace but live by fear.  I was with a church planter that came out of our church recently, and he was really struggling.  His church has grown significantly.  Someone from the arts community got involved in his church, found Jesus and started bringing lots of people from the arts community in.  Some of them were homosexuals, and some of them began to give their hearts to Christ. The result was they attracted more.  Some of the …

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BY TERRY EVANS
tevans@star-telegram.com

KELLER—A neighbor can be a Muslim “and still be my friend,” said Pastor Bob Roberts Jr. of NorthWood Church.

Roberts was surprised by the number of friends who showed up Sunday for the church’s Building Bridges with Fellow Texans event.

“We had a goal of 1,000 Christians and 1,000 Muslims,” he said. “We ended up with 1,500 Muslims and 1,000 Christians.”

Folks were standing against the walls of the 2,000-seat sanctuary, and monitors were set up in the foyer, where at least 400 others stood, said Paul Schneider, a NorthWood spokesman.

Roberts said NorthWood had considered having the event on the previous Sunday, Sept. 11, but the Muslims helping organize the gathering asked to put it off for a week.

“The more we thought about it the more sense it made,” Roberts said.

The 10th anniversary of 9-11 inspired NorthWood members to invite Muslims—and Christians from other churches—to their sanctuary. But making the Muslims feel uncomfortable would have defeated the purpose, Roberts said.

While 9-11 was mentioned during Sunday’s gathering, it was certainly not the focus. Pastors and imams talked more about what Muslims and Christians have in common than their differences. Jokes were told—one imam commented that the Dallas Cowboys needed divine intervention—and congregants stood in unison to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and Texas Pledge of Allegiance.

“A young lady in a hijab sang the Star-Spangled Banner,” Roberts said. “A combined choir of Muslim and Christian kids sang You Are my Sunshine.”

Breaking down barriers

Building Bridges created a favorable environment for interaction between members of the faiths, Roberts said.

“We didn’t just sit around and preach sermons,” he said. “We talked together, laughed together, ate together and built relationships.”

Such events are important “to break down the barriers between our faiths,” said Imam Zia ul Haque of the Islamic Center of Irving. “It’s important to teach people what we believe in and how we see ourselves.”

Muslims see themselves as contributing citizens of this country, ul Haque said. Several Muslims proved that as they were leaving the building after the event ended.

NorthWood members at a table near one door were signing up volunteers for Building Community, a service project in early October where 1,500 to 2,000 people are needed for major renovations at …

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Building Community is coming October 7-8.  Don’t miss it. Come be a part of this wonderful opportunity to help someone who needs a hand.

Check out the 5-minute highlight video or the 1-hour and 15-min. full video from our extraordinary event where Northwood hosted the Muslim community from the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area on Sept. 18, 2011.

LINKS -
HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
FULL VIDEO

When I think of what happened Sunday night - it’s hard to believe.  I learned a long time ago that when you reach out to those that are hated, despised, rejected, and/or feared, you had better be ready for those who feel all those things towards a group to come at you with the same feelings.  I was ready for all the criticism, dreading it.  It had already started.  But what I wasn’t ready for, though I thought I was,  was the event with the huge gathering.  I didn’t know there would be that many - or the outpouring of positive goodwill - not just from the Muslims but from Christians from our church and others who said again and again - we can’t ignore this anymore - it’s wrong and we need to address it - I didn’t feel alone.  There were many things that amazed me.

Who would have thought we would have had 2500 people?  What Baptist Church in Texas - let alone the US - and in DFW no-less would have a church full of Muslims like that on a Sunday night?  It was surreal.  These are the kinds of people I want my church filled up with and the kinds of events that can change a city and people.  I have no measuring stick to compare this to - it’s as wild as when we first began to work in Vietnam in public as Christians serving the city.  Christians in the West are so, so, so insulated from the world, from peoples, from how to communicate, to reaching out - we do our “church” thing oblivious to a far “bigger” “glorifying” God who wants all peoples and nations to hear him. 

First, the hunger that the Muslims felt to be accepted, affirmed, and embraced by the broader majority culture in DFW.  They were going out of their way to visit with everyone from our church.  Our members were mobbed with thank yous, hugs, handshakes - all of it.  I explained to our members it isn’t appropriate to shake a lady Muslims hand - by the time it was over, everyone was shaking hands, hugging, and affirming each other.  I told everyone, “Our men are not making passes at your ladies we don’t know all the rules - everyone exploded with laugher.  Though filled with joy, at the same time it made me sad.  How …

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I don’t know where to begin - I’m not ready to write yet about this - I’m too overwhelmed and I’m still processing everything.  Here is what I will say - I believe I brought more joy and pleasure to God and honored and glorified him more last night than any time in my life. 

We had a Muslim/Christian gathering event.  It was primarily the followers of the faith - not the religious leaders that did it all.  Kids sang, we did the pledge of allegiance, a lady with a hijab sang the Star Spangled Banner, Imam Zia assured us the majority of Muslims have no idea to create a Sharia state in the U.S.!  A multi-faith children’s choir sang You are My Sunshine.  I taught everyone the new Texas Pledge of Allegiance!  A Vietnamese pastor gave greetings - - - It was incredible.  I’ll write more tomorrow.  The Facebook page at NorthWood is filled with comments - tons of google things.  I’ve been told there has never been a gathering of Muslims/Christians like this in the U.S.  Everybody is wanting to do it again - I need a little break first. 

Here is what I am doing - I got permission to share the following email and then some that were general I’m sharing - just to let you read it.  We will have the program online - you can see it yourself - I’ll write more tomorrow.  Some of the emails came from around the world - thought you might enjoy them . . . 

Hello,

My family attends your church and has for at least the past 5-6 years.  I just would like to pass this message of encouragement on to Bob Roberts, I don’t have his personal email so I apologize if this email goes to someone who is very busy reading emails all day.

Bob’s sermon this past Sunday (Sept. 11th) was very moving and touching as well as encouraging.  I have heard (through typical church gossip) that many members of the church have decided to leave and pursue other churches because of Bob’s passionate pursuit to “Dine with the enemy”.  What I mean is I have heard that many people have been turned off by Bob’s decision to invite people of other faiths and to visit foreign countries and Muslim cultures.

At first I …

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Most churches in the West are local with a global emphasis - they call that missions.  I believe the church should be global in its mindset, communication, mission, values, theology, and its ministry.  What does that look like?

First, a global church starts with the end in mind.  It is a global focus with a local base and ministry.  That’s a big difference.  A local church with a global emphasis is defined more by local demographics, psychographics, tribal culture, and agreed upon rituals - those are the chief drivers.  Those things matter - but it isn’t the end all of what a church should focus on.  If you stop there, you get cultural local churches and localized Christians who never connect with the mission of God.  A global church is driven more by the mission of God in every area and every domain of life seeking reconciliation and healing.  It’s Colossians 1:15-20. 

Second, a global church communicates, ministers, mobilizes, and engages both locally and globally through realizing the connectedness of the world and the implications of the Gospel.  The reality is, there is no isolation anymore - everyone is connected.  Some are deaf and blind and don’t see all the people in the room that technological connectedness has brought in.  Some don’t care - they are so tribal it’s more about their tribe than it is the mission of God.  What we do locally impacts what happens globally.  From burning Qurans to ignoring the starving in Somalia, makes huge statements about what we believe, what we practice, how we view others, and sadly more our politics than our faith - and I’m not just speaking of governmental politics.  It’s a scary time to be connected when people are either ignorant or arrogant and they speak, not realizing how it impacts others.  Ignorance can be cured - there’s not a good cure for stupidity at this time. 

Third, a global church listens and learns from the church around the world.  Today in the West we are trying to reinvent church in multiple ways in multiple contexts - and sadly most of it is ignorant and disconnected from the global church.  The Global church is exploding.  We think of connecting with the global church by helping them - the reality is they have far more to offer us than we have to offer them.  If God is working around the …

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Secular society and particularly western say, “a “religious” and “non-religious” society sees faith primarily as a personal decision”.  Be whatever religion you want - all roads lead to heaven - but don’t bother me or anyone else with your religion.  That’s all changing - not because of Christianity as much as it is because of Islam going global and from dress to various views on Sharia - it’s something that has put its foot in the door of society not allowing it to close.  Christians and other religions see this and follow suit.  Many of the competing religious ideologies want equal time in the public square with faith issues so the result is conflict with ideologies, nations, tribes, religions - etc. 

Religion is not ever, nor ever will be a “privatized” matter or issue, nor should it be.  The balance always has to be found in living with mutual respect yet not infringing on other people’s rights in a pluralist society.  Faith seen primarily as privatized is over - and faith restricted by “secularist” is the new front on religious freedom. 

Faith has a healthy role in society - beyond a religion’s beliefs, dress, convictions, and doctrines - things such as morality and community generally are strengthened and reinforced by faith communities.  One thing Dawkins, Hitchens, and Harris cannot provide is hope for the masses or answers for life’s meaning both now and in the hereafter.  Faith is only going to grow - many secular books realize this and affirm it - perhaps that is what upsets many atheist and agnostics.  Their world would be one only for the intellectual elites - and a minority group at that of elites - and those with resources to survive.  Come to think of it - be it in Gaza or Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world - I’ve never seen any atheist organizations serving people in the name of NO God - not to say it won’t happen. 

The other response to faith is “organized”.  I did not say institutionalized deliberately.  There is much confusion on that word “institutional”.  The early Apostles were an “institution” themselves.  They held the authority, teaching, and directed the church.  They didn’t have seminaries, buildings, bureaucracies - but be very clear - they held the story, the values, and the purse strings.  There was a Jerusalem Council; there was a process of making …

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