Masters and Lectures

The last couple of months have felt like a blur. We have been busy working on many exciting things and have felt like God has been working in a powerful way to lay the foundation for our work here in Nashville. Over the next couple of blogs I will attempt to illuminate different areas of our life and how it is shaping our work in Nashville and our future in church planting.

A couple of weeks ago I finished the last final of my master's degree. This is a big deal, mainly because I am finally on equal footing with my wife. Well, ok...I am not quite at her level of academic excellence. But at least I finally have an M.A.  If you have been keeping up with Laura's blog then you know that back in January we took a trip to England so she could walk at her graduation ceremony. It was a great experience except that from that point on she consistently reminded me that she had an M.A. and I didn't. So, now, finally...I have my Master's of Arts in Christian Ministry. May 18 was the graduation ceremony in Memphis, TN. Unfortunately we were unable to attend because of prior engagements, but we heard it was a great ceremony. I am sure that it was not quite like Laura's graduation at Leicester, but hey, still feels good to be done!

I firmly believe that Laura and I will look back on our time working on our M.As as one of the most formative times of our lives. We learned a great deal beyond the degrees that we have received. Certainly we learned specifics in our areas of study. We learned a host of technicalities in our fields. But I think most of all we learned how to think. A lot of people miss the point of formal education. I don't believe education is meant to be a way for people to simply absorb information. It should be about giving people the tools and ability to think critically about life as they actively participate in it. This is what graduate school has done for Laura and me. We have grown our family, explored our personal and collective abilities to achieve great things, and have relentlessly pursued God's Kingdom in all that we do. 

Prayer

Last week Laura and I took the girls to beautiful Malibu, CA, for the Pepperdine Lectureships. We arrived a day early so we could take our girls to Disneyland. Disneyland was not the purpose of our trip, but it certainly was the icing on top of a wonderful week in sunny So Cal.

Laura and I were blessed to be on the program this year at Pepperdine. On Wednesday evening we, along with two other couples (Borchers and Thomases) were given the opportunity to share some of our journey into church planting. Each couple was given roughly ten minutes to present a vision of a new church that God has placed on our hearts. The Borchers painted a wonderful picture of Providence, RI, and the struggle to bridge a highly intellectual population into the story and experience of Jesus. Jonathan Thomas shared a vision of a church that is intentionally calling people off the mountain top experiences and into the valleys of life where God is reaching into people's hearts and transforming them with love and compassion. Laura and I shared our goals for our time here in Nashville:

1. Build 1-2 Missional Communities (30-70 people) that are going on a journey of faith together
2. Engage our community by using tools such as: Financial Peace University, Alpha, H2O, service projects and more.
3. Create and participate in regular preaching experiences
4. Develop a system of discipleship and leadership development using the Emerging Leadership Training (ELT) that Kairos Church Planting has developed.

While each of the presentations had elements of sharing goals and discussing strategy, the consistent theme running through each was about sharing the reality of the crazy journey of becoming a church planter. This is the most difficult part to present because it opens us up and allows people to see directly into who we are...and the struggles we have.

The Borchers shared a bit of the challenge of moving to Rhode Island and the journey God was taking them on to develop a deep love for God's lost people. Jonathan and Dawnette Thomas shared their fears about entering into this mission and how God used their children to both rebuke their feelings of inadequacy and to affirm their calling from God. Laura and I shared how God is using our time in Nashville to reevaluate our vision and draw us back to himself and his ultimate vision, which is to see lost people enter the Kingdom of God. We are refocusing our eyes on Jesus and weighing our future through the lens of Christ.

It is my prayer that people were able to see the journey...to see the struggle. Planting a church is not easy work. It takes us deep into the heart of God and forces us to bare our lives. But it is well worth the cost to see thousands of people come into the Kingdom of God.

I want to leave you with four challenging prayers from fellow Kairos church planter David Clayton's keynote on Wednesday night:
 
 Pray...

1. That God will help us become a movement that is desperate for Jesus again.
2. That God will help us trust His plans when they don't make sense.
3. That God will give us the courage to sacrifice our life for His mission.
4. That God will make us true worshippers of Jesus, in Spirit and Truth

This is my prayer as I work here in Nashville. Pray with us. Pray for us. Pray for the thousands upon thousands of people who will hear the gospel of Jesus because of the new churches that are being planted and the established churches that are experiencing revival.