Dreaming of a Church Plant (Part 2): Incarnational Ministry

If you spend a little time driving around NE Minneapolis, you will notice a few things.  You will probably notice that once you get into our target area (which Steve has coined the “Miracle Mile”), the houses are not quite as nice and the neighborhoods not quite as safe and sheltered as other areas of NE Minneapolis.  Driving down Central Ave, you’ll see Colombian and Ecuadorian, Middle Eastern, East African, Thai, and Indian restaurants, just to name a few.  You’ll see signs in various languages.  You may notice the Islamic Cultural Center and a Buddhist Temple, but you’ll also notice this: there are a lot of church buildings.  In fact, I am told that NE Minneapolis once held the world record for the most churches meeting on one city block. 

So, if there are so many churches around here, why am I dreaming about seeing another one started?  Well, that’s what I’m going to be blogging about for a while.  While a lot could be said about how these churches fall short, that’s not my focus here.  I’m thankful for these churches and hope to work with them as much as possible.  May God bless their socks off and give them a powerful impact in this community!  But the fact is, there are a whole lot more unchurched and unreached people here than these churches are able to reach.  So we keep praying to the Lord of the harvest to send more workers into His harvest field.

And as I pray, there are some things I especially ask God to do.  I ask that we would be a community centered on Christ, listening like sheep to their shepherd, and living in the power of the Spirit.  I ask for proper leadership: elders, deacons, staff people.   I ask that our church would be filled with people of all ages from this community and would reflect the ethnic diversity of this neighborhood.  I ask for a family of families that meets each others needs so well that the watching world sees that there’s something awesome going on.  Yes, and I ask that God will begin this work by raising up leaders from Northeast and relocating people to Northeast.

May we be an incarnational church. 

A google search shows me that the words “incarnational ministry” get tossed around a lot.  I suppose I better define what I’m talking about.  I’m using it in a very general sense to refer to following Jesus’ example in living among the people He ministered to.  When Jesus came, he came to the very place we lived.  He relocated and dwelt among us—literally “pitched his tent” here on human turf.  God incarnated himself in human flesh and breathed the same oxygen molecules that we breathe.  And Heaven invaded the culture of Earth.

Jesus shared life with those He ministered to.  We see the same thing with Paul, Silas, and Timothy and the Thessalonians: “You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake” (1 Thess. 1:5).  “Being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us” (2:8).

Oh, how I long for a church full of people who live in the same community and work as allies day in and day out to reach that community for Christ.  To my knowledge, most of the churches in this area are filled with people who do not live in NE Minneapolis.  They are “destination” churches—you come in from the suburbs and go back home—and don’t visit again until next week.  Unfortunately, if you don’t live in the community, your impact there is minimal.  In the past 17 years, Steve has seen church plants come and leave or rise and fall for that very reason. 

People who go into missions overseas understand this.  If you’re going to reach a people group, you need to live among them, learn their language, and live somewhere near their socioeconomic level.  Then you will be able to develop meaningful relationships with them, show them that you’re there for the long haul, and contextualize the gospel for their culture and situation.

It’s true here too.  I wish I had a dime for every time a parent or student here asked me where I live.  Living in Northeast Minneapolis (rather than commuting from a suburb) has made an impact on my ability to minister effectively here, and it has helped me gain a lot more trust.   Last summer when our whole staff lived here and worked here, we were able to accomplish so much more since we were a team, an alliance, an army in this territory.

Right now we are far from this ideal picture I have in my mind.  Don’t get me wrong; I’m extremely thankful for the large force of volunteers that come from Roseville, Downtown Minneapolis, and multiple suburbs!  But please pray with me that God will work to raise up leaders from this community and call some to move in.

Dreaming of a Church Plant (Part 1)

More than we ask or imagine…

 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

 God has been teaching me to look beyond what circumstances say is possible.  God thrives on raising up unlikely heroes and creating something out of nothing.  Replay through your mind the great moments of Biblical history. 

A nation is established through a couple who is well beyond child-bearing years.  

The ancient world (including the line of Christ) is saved from famine through Joseph, a Hebrew slave-become-prisoner and the dream of a pagan king. 

Oppressed and powerless people go freely from their slave-drivers and take rich plunder with them.  It was not a revolt led by a fearless leader.  It was an exhausted and doubtful people with a frequently reluctant leader (Ex. 4:13; 5:22-23).  God did far beyond what anyone could have expected.  His glory was revealed.

Samuel anoints the young David as king.  He doesn’t look the part, though his brothers might.  But there’s another problem here—there’s already a king.  Nothing happens for years and years.  In fact the anointed one is persecuted, chased down, and lives life in hiding.  Was that prophet Samuel loony?  No, He trusted a God whose time schedule is different than that of the world—a God who will accomplish His purposes at just the right time.

So many more examples could be cited.  The Bible is filled to the brim with examples of God using His people to do what only He can take credit for.  I trust in the God of unlikely endings to stories, unlikely means of rescue, unlikely heroes.  I trust in the God who prefers an armorless youth with confidence in the LORD rather than a skilled warrior with state of the art weaponry—and confidence in himself.

These are some of our most capable leaders

In many ways Living Hope is weak and incompetent.  We don’t have finances.  We’re not astoundingly professional or knowledgeable.  For the most part we’re run by busy college students who are just beginning to learn about ministry. 

But God has done supernatural work in our lives.  He’s given us new eyes to see that we are unclean people who live and work among unclean people, and he’s given us a heart to cry out desperately for the kind of transformation that is needed.   Like He did for Isaiah, He showed us His glory, atoned for our debilitating sins, and told us, “Go.”  He’s given us a heart for a specific place, a small piece of NE Minneapolis where needs are visible and, frankly, insurmountable by human standards.  No worries!  He’s given us the ability to trust the God of the unlikely to do far beyond what any of us could ask or imagine.

For a long time, those who have a heart for this place have been asking God to plant a church here and to use it to show His matchless power and glory to the watching world.  Now Steve has asked us to begin a 40-day period of prayer and fasting.  We are committing to come together in crying out to God relentlessly and listening to His voice quietly. 

We begin these forty days on Tuesday, January 18.  Let me know if you’d like to join us in this and get emails from Steve through this time.  And keep checking this blog, as I will be posting about what excites me as I dream of a church plant here.  Who knows what God will do?  But I trust that He will honor our humble prayers, and I’m going to expect Him to do even greater than what I ask or imagine!

Abolishing Loneliness

I had a pretty fabulous Christmas break.  It wasn’t what I had planned: I didn’t get to read any books, spend hours playing piano, or get alone with God much more than usual.  Not a lot of introvert time.  But I did get to see a lot of people—a lot of people I love!  There was excessive food, much Dutch Blitz, jr. highers with New Year’s noisemakers, meeting new babies, and catching up with old friends.  I invented a new board game, heard my brother preach, taught a baby new words, and made ice windows for a snow house. 

I counted, and there were at least 9 parties/get-togethers with friends or relatives.  Though the introvert in me didn’t get some of that alone time, it’s wonderful to realize how many friends God has blessed me with.  The people I was with were not just fair-weather friends.  They are the people who pray for me, who keep in touch, who I can still connect with on a deep level.  I’m blown away with how many people care for me, laugh with me, encourage me, teach me and reprove me.  I don’t have a shortage of people that I can share my deepest struggles, frustrations, passions, and aspirations.  What a difference this makes in the struggles of daily life!

When I look at my life and then look at the lives of the students I work with, there is an astounding contrast between my social support system and theirs.  Some of them spend their lives on facebook, “connected” to  “friends,” but incredibly lonely.  Some, without the luxury of the internet, have the TV as their closest companion.  There are others who are surrounded by people, but there is no love binding the people together.  There is no intimacy.  They are looking for love wherever they can get it.

Loneliness.

It’s not just a problem of inner-city teenagers.  It’s a problem faced by the bulk of humanity.  We all have a God-given longing for belonging and intimacy, but sin holds us back from those deep connections with God and others.

I think one reason that many kids count Living Hope as the highlight of their week is that here they receive that love they’ve been looking for.  They feel a sense of belonging, and they develop meaningful relationships with both peers and adult mentors.  And most importantly, they discover the most meaningful and intimate relationship possible: oneness with the Triune God.

This is an especially lonely time for a lot of people.  In Minnesota winters, people don’t go out as much.  Here at Living Hope, we don’t resume our weekly programs until January 18.  Please pray for the kids at Living Hope who are desperate for love—that rather than seeking it in an unhealthy relationship, a gang, or a computer screen, they will find it in the Body of Christ.  Pray that more believers will move into this community so that they can really

One of our board members here at LHM has said that if the church would live out their calling of living in meaningful relationships with each other, a lot of counselors would be put out of business. 

But this takes intentionality.  It takes proximity and involvement in each other’s lives.  It takes consistency and commitment.  It takes dying to self.

How would life change if we lived out the “one another” commands of the New Testament?  Let’s find out.