Church…Fun???  Our humor is one of the things that I love about my church.  For many who had lots of fun in their youth groups of the past, I wonder why do we have to give up having so much fun just because we moved up to “big church?”  My plan for Team Church is to keep having fun.  But, that doesn’t mean that we’re not serious about our mission “to reach out to people where they are, and lead them to full devotion in Jesus Christ.”

Reaching out to those around us means that we need to be approachable. These people that we’re reaching out to need to be inclined to us before we can connect.  That’s where a fun atmosphere can help bring people to a point where they can be lead to Jesus.

Mark Driscoll wrote in Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions, “Humor is incredibly helpful to the gospel.” And for the culture he is reaching in one of the least churched cities in America, he believes, “humor is a missiological tool that is necessary for successful evangelism in our culture.”

If you find that hard to swallow that humor is necessary, just give some thought to how you might measure up to the common Seattle resident described by Driscoll.

The average person listens to talk radio comedic banter on the way to work, downloads funny YouTube videos during break, listens to more drive-time radio banter on the commute home, watches a sitcom after dinner, possibly tunes in to a stand-up comic on Comedy Central, and watches someone like Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, or David Letterman before dozing off. To reach people, we need to speak their language, and their language obviously includes comedy.

I remember visiting a few churches when Alison and I got married.  A couple times a “visitation group” of men dressed in suits came calling at our apartment after we had visited their church.  Awkward!  They were nice enough, but they weren’t a lot like us.  I wasn’t inclined to go back to that church because we didn’t share much in common with them.

However, we did end up going to a church where the Sunday School was filled with young married couples that enjoyed going out to eat after church, playing ball, and video games.  In other words, we enjoyed doing some of the same fun things together.

I’m not going to say that lost people are sitting around thinking, “If only church were more fun, then I’d get saved.” They’re not. But those of us who are going are enjoying church more than ever. It’s not the only reason, but it’s one more reason to share my faith experience with others.

Today I believe I am going to just give you a link to someone else’s blog.  Recently I have been struggling with my own identity in my professional life.  That term “professional life” sounds funny to me, because I really don’t see myself as professional at anything.  I really like being a husband and a dad.  I enjoy writing stuff like this each week.  I enjoy teaching others a variety of different things from Jesus to American history.  But mostly I just like being alive and free to talk to people I encounter.  So all those thoughts pile up and I start wondering where is my “professional life” taking me?  My wife stumbled upon this blog of one of my favorite authors and it really struck me.  I am not trying to cop out of writing a full-length blog on my own (after all what is a full-length blog?).  I just really wanted to share this with you and see if it speaks to you like it spoke to me.  I hope you enjoy it.

http://donmilleris.com/2010/02/14/following-god-and-farming/

On the Journey with You,

Scott

“i Heart my Church” began Sunday.  Over the past year, i keep hearing people say great things about Team Church.  There have been times in the past when I would have thought repeating that was selfish, boastful, and prideful.  But now I see it very differently.  The only way it can be prideful is if I am trying to take the credit for the good that’s been done.  I’m not interested in taking the credit, so then, I asked myself,

“Why not share that sentiment with others?”

“Why not celebrate that God is doing something awesome in us and through us?”

“Let’s celebrate God and how He is inspiring others around us.”

So this series of messags is all about promoting the message that others are saying about God and their experience with the family of God.  To give everyone a chance to put it in their own words, we asked people in the service Sunday to make Team Church a valentine.  Each person made a homemade valentine and completed the phrase “i Heart My Church because…” Here is what they said: (and I ever so humbly left in the personal compliments about me…and no I didn’t write them myself!!)

I love my church …

• because I go through a lot and it helps me
• because it is awesome!  I always enjoy the music and the fellowship with other awesome people.  And the messages always speak to my heart & soul
• because of the love of God, the people, & the feeling I walk out of church with
• because the idea I feel behind the church is outreach and adding to the family, not keeping the family the same
• because my church taught me to drink coffee
• because the mission for people is real
• because this church is so funny and great.  The pastor is super funny
• because they make us feel very welcome
• because God lives here!!!
• because Jesus loves me!
• because it’s real like me
• because its the one place I can truly be myself.  I’ve never been to a church where I feel so comfortable
• because the pastors are cool.  And I met my true valentine and future wife
• because it’s fun and everybody always helps out
• because they brought me closer to God.  the family and love is all here
• because I can be real
• because it cares about the lost, the worship services are GREAT, & God moved us here!
• because they love me no matter what!
• because they keep it real.  These people are a team, a family.  They are here for the wins & the losses
• because they have shown me the true meaning of good people
• because I love God, & they love God, and the diversity is great
• because it is the coolest
• because it is very compassionate
• because Steve is awesome.  The people are awesome.  The music is awesome.  god is always felt here, and we have FUN!

The 24 valentines above express a pretty common theme.  I take this as some confirmation that we’re on the right track of our ONE PURPOSE:  to reach out to others where they are, and lead them to full devotion in Jesus Christ.

The word “foreclosure” can be heard often in normal conversation these days.  So can things like “economic downturn”, “plummeting stocks”, “rampant unemployment”, and “government bailout”.  Now call me crazy but these terms don’t invoke warm fuzzies like “hot fudge sundae”, “baby fat”, or “24″  (Sorry.  That last one is just my personal preference).  What they invoke in most people is insecurity, confusion, and quite possibly panic.  Sitting where I am with a job and an up-to-date mortgage it seems very easy for me to say, “Don’t panic.  God is in control.”  You would think that would be easy for me, but it’s not.

There are two reasons for this.  One is a sin and the other is not.  First of all: the sin.  I am sometimes a worrier.  Even though God promised (paraphrasing here) that since the flowers don’t have to bust hump to get their food and water and they are still beautiful, I have to worry even less.  God created me in HIS image and so I am the most important thing to him along with 7 billion other “little Hims”.  But I cannot get that to penetrate my heart all of the time.  And by all ways of reckoning I have it pretty good.  I cannot imagine if one of those scary terms above applies to your life.  It tells me that if you are faced with foreclosure or unemployment then God looks at you as a pretty strong person.  He thinks that you can pull through this!  And that leads me to reason two.

I love people.  I mean I am an introvert and love alone time and hate talking on the telephone, but I really, really love people.  And it flat destroys pieces of my soul to see people hurting.  And I really don’t care if the circumstances are self-inflicted or outside of a person’s control.  It tears me up to see people going through tough times especially when it results in a crisis of faith.

Life is so hard.  So hard!  And when extra hurts are piled on top of normal day woes, it flat stinks.  We have to deal with work stress, raising children, communicating with spouses, keeping up homes and cars, saving money, paying bills, eating right, and exercising.  How horrible is it when cancer, unemployment, foreclosure, divorce, terrorism, crime, and politics are piled onto an already tough scenario.  But then there’s God.

God who stays the same.  God who gave up Jesus.  God who loves me no matter what.  I can live on the street or in Beverly Hills.  I can eat in the soup kitchen or lobster tail.  I can wear no shoes or suede ones.  I can drive a car or push a shopping cart.  But regardless of my circumstances I KNOW He is in control and my faith is all that matters.  Wherever you are, whatever your lot, no matter how horrible things may seem to be…He has a plan to give you “a future and a hope”.  My hope is that you will never let your faith fail, because He will never fail your faith.

On the Journey with You,

Scott