Mission and Vision

Mission: My mission is to reach the world around me by showing them and telling them the truth about Jesus Christ while sharing in and walking through life together as a member of my community. Vision: I see a community of people who on average have been damaged by religion and poorly executed Christian ministries. Truth be told, it’s very post-evangelical and now I consider it pre-Christian altogether. With Cult and Occult attendance on the rise and growing at a faster rate than ever before, I have a desire to minister to this community by living among them, sharing in life with them, and struggling alongside of them. I will not allow myself to become a minister of the gospel who sees the inside of his church office 30+ hours a week and does not encounter the members of this community. I will share in the mess. I will work alongside of them. In doing so, I will shine my light in both word and deed. If nothing else, I will be the one to take my light into a community trapped by the darkness by offering them understanding, offering them friendship without condemnation, and by offering them a way out. To the glory of God. My rationale in this matter is that I grew up in this community. I am familiar with the ways of pastors who are wonderful men, professional, and qualified in pedigree. Why have none of them managed to create a lasting congregation of people let alone a growing one? It seems like everything in this town has a season of beginning, it finds momentum by meeting some need, and then it wanes before dying. Contentment to fizzle out is a horrible thing to watch. It’s like watching someone die from refusing to eat for 40 days. Except it takes 40 years. Bi-vocational ministry has always been a necessity in my life. While Kingswood did their very best to prepare me for full time ministry, they failed to instruct me at the strength that can be gathered by working within the community as a member at large. The popularized term at a recent Church Planting Bootcamp was “co-vocational”. Call it what you want, but there is nothing worse than moving into a town and trying to sell vacuums to a town who’s recent vacuum salesman committed some heinous atrocity or collected lots of money but never delivered on his promises. By working among them my hope is to show them, much like Paul, that I am willing to work hard among them so as to not add to the local burdens. I believe this is the secret to building lasting relationships, gaining exposure to new people, and ultimately in repairing the damage done by a consumer oriented gospel that fizzled out after pop culture moved on.

What Makes Leadership Christian

What makes leadership Christian? When addressing anyone of any religion or culture it’s important to define terms. Leadership in the business world of North America might be a great place to find examples, role models, and pioneers of leadership in a respective field. Such definitions are understood as the person in charge, or the person that everyone works for daily. When observed in religion leadership tends to take on appearances that are more influential in nature and yet reveal themselves to be agents of control. What makes leadership Christian is not the natural, but the supernatural. Christian leadership is branded by the words of its deity that have stood the test of time for well over 3500 years by wrote. Christian leadership finds its roots embedded in early Jewish teachings. One such example is in Deuteronomy 31:8 saying, “The Lord [the Hebrew God] will lead you. He himself is with you. He will not fail you or leave you. Don’t worry. Don’t be afraid” (Deut 31:8 ERV). The numerous examples of this deity then imparting his leadership upon certain individuals as time goes on is a constant reminder of where the gift of leadership originate as well as to whom it has been bestowed; mankind. These ancient texts are considerably studied and honored by multiple faiths, but none are so much influential as the New Testament when it comes to the heartbeat of the teachings that separate Christianity from other world religions as well as the business world. Again, mankind has need of supernatural leadership. God himself clothes himself in flesh and becomes human, though divine. This event is captured by the documentation detailing the life of the Christian Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, who being both human and divine in nature redefined leadership and set the stage for Christian leadership to be counter-cultural, or unnatural. One such account shows Jesus saying, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13 NIV). This is one such teaching that reveals Christianity’s desire to lead by example, not for personal power, fame or success as is common among man-made leadership. Christian leadership that is rooted in the supernatural is also defined by action. It is not just a position to be held, but it is a position at the front of an object in motion. Jesus often defined his role as a servant saying, “For even the Son of Man [a title given to Jesus] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NIV). This teaching takes Christian leadership on a path that is counter-intuitive to normal leadership paths found in the business world where the leader is placed on top and other participants instinctively or by instruction, do what is required of them. In summary, the nature of Christian leadership is not natural at all, it is supernatural. It is rooted in the participation and impartation of leadership by and from God himself. It is unique in that God became an active member of humanity and human society all while embodying leadership in both teaching and example. And lastly, what makes leadership Christian is the call for action on the part of all of its participants to lead in the same way Jesus did knowing that God plays an active role in that leadership.

Be Teachable

"Good leadership requires a leader who is willing to learn the specifics of leadership context, who is willing to address the conflicts between values people say they hold and the reality they face" (Willimon 400). The hive of pride can hide within the depths of human ego. It keeps leaders from looking towards the future in an adaptive way. Being unteachable prevents transformation and inflates a leader's ego to the point where any doctrine of eschatology becomes self serving and shortsighted. A leader in such a position will be suffocated and cut off from developmental changes that reproduce healthy leaders. Should any theologically sound leader be found among such offspring it's very possible that they will fight against and consume anything that threatens the hive. A leader willing to learn is a leader that does not look at eschatology egocentrically. It's not about that leader, their ministry, and their production as much as it is about God's plan, mankind's hope in that plan, and the ability to tap into a kingdom-mind rather than the hive-mind of ego. Looking to the end, to the plan, and to the means is very much eschatological. Good leaders allow themselves to be drawn into God's overall plan. Jesus said in Mark 10:44, "and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all". This is a direct blow to the hive of an egocentric leader. Viewing leadership as a service, a ministry, while keeping the end and plan in perspective is what keeps leadership in Christianity from becoming cult like, self serving, and tyrannical. Our king is a servant, and we see that in Philippians 2 this mindset leads to an exaltation that far outweighs any current reward.

My birthday in 2023 didn't start out the way I was expecting. The dogs woke me up early and my wife was kind enough to let them out for me, something i typically do as the first one awake. We were camping so I made coffee and started a fire. Before long my dog's leash snagged when he saw a chipmunk and took off running. My little end table tipped and my coffee went spilling everywhere. So I made another cup of coffee. Came back to chair and the tiny end table attached to my chair failed and dropped my coffee...again. I then decided to make a pot of coffee over the fire. It was my birthday after all. It took 30inutes and it didn't taste that good, but hey, it's my birthday. We enjoyed breakfast and couple walks with the dogs, and as the afternoon crept around I got tired and thought, "I'm going to take a nap because it's my birthday". I started to doze off and my wife decided to join me when...the fold out bunk on the side of our camper, which was our bed, crunch and collaped onto the tongue of the frame. It was being held up by fortune and a few strings. So I set anout fixing my camper, after all, it was my birthday. I had just yhe right tools with me and found what i needed at the loval hardware. It worked out just right. Later we drove into town and enjoyed dinner at a hole in the wall. More around the campfire, a beautiful sunset, winning some board games, and soon I fell asleep to the sound of pounding waves on the shore of Lake Superior. A little trouble, a little fun and games, and a lot of memories. After all, it was my birthday.

What I love about camping

I love camping. I love finding a place i setup and cook over a fire. Tenting, travel trailer, doesnt matter, I love it. One of the best things that happens when I camp is my body, my mind, and my soul get a good deep breath to refill. Out favorite spot to camp is Brimley State Park in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. I get to watch sunsets, listen to music and audio books, and admire nature- which is beautiful if you're willing to stop and look. Try it. Camp. Find your thing that fills you.

What is it about worship that is so powerful? Is it the music, the atmosphere, the energy, or the politics of it all? It seems like worship makes something powerful. What is being worshiped right now? Money. Sex. Substances. Fame. Freedom... Control. Control. Now, there is a powerful thing to worship. It creates, if not a substance then a presence. Control is the driving force of so many things in the current cultural development of North America. Substance control, political control, healthcare control, taxes, property, and even people are being controlled and manipulated. It's powerful and those who worship control are not only powerful people themselves, but are also enslaved to it. So by nature the very thing they worship controls them. God. The supreme being, the Creator, the myth, and deity. The worship of God is an anomaly amidst the various forms and arts of worship because the worship of God does not make one more powerful. He makes the worshipers more dependent on him, which is normally true about worship, but in return that dependence creates freedom from other bondages that enslave our typical man. It's unusual to observe something that grants independence from the rest of the natural world. What's more is that the more one worships God, the truth is, God does not become more powerful. He remains with or without his worshipers. Rather than control God offers self control. Rather than slavery God offers freedom. Rather than abuse God offers attentive care. The worship of God is powerful, because God is powerful.

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 I suck at waiting. When I learned to cook it was with the burners on high. FAST, quick. Microwave me, God! Sometimes I have to stop and realize that God's plans, God's timing, God's movements, etc aren't always genie like. Rub the lamp and poof God appears to get it done with me or for me. Sometimes I have to wait for him to do and say things...and that's hard for me. But my mother-in-law has shown me that some of the best food is cooked "low and slow". God knows when the time is right. Such a short verse and such a hard concept for those of us who like to DO things ourselves, fast and work hard. Git er done! I guess it's just waiting for me today, no requests, no excuses, and no microwaves.