Saddleback Cancels Sunday Services in order to…

December 7, 2011 By Scot McKnight

… yes, serve the community. Saddleback Church has chosen to enter into service for all its people this Sunday.

By the way, for critics of megachurches who are “too big” to have a single Christmas Day service, a little FYI: Bill Hybels, with his family, will conduct a service at Willow Creek, at 10AM, with no support services (parking, ushering, anywhere, anyone).

LAKE FOREST, Calif. – In a rare move, the 20,000-member Saddleback Church in Orange County is canceling all of its worship services during the second weekend in December in order to help facilitate a huge neighborhood volunteer opportunity.

Best-selling author and pastor Rick Warren is asking members of his congregation to take at least a half day on Saturday or Sunday (Dec. 10, 11) to go “serve in the community and love your neighbor as yourself.”

In its 31-year history, the megachurch has canceled weekend services less than a handful of times, according to Warren.

Church officials are hoping to mobilize Saddleback’s base of 5,000 Bible study groups, referred to as “small groups,” to perform their own chosen acts of kindness in their neighborhoods.

Pastor Erik Rees, designated as the pastor of Ministries and Life Worship at the church, is leading the team that is championing the event called, “Good Neighbor Weekend.”

“Saddleback has always been a loving and caring church that gives and gives, so this weekend will continue our commitment to love our neighbors,” Rees told The Christian Post. “The weekend will include a variety of ways to shower our neighbors with compassion, kindness and love. These opportunities include on-campus, in the community, and through our 5,000 small groups.”

Aprentis at Friends University

September 25, 2011 By Scot McKnight

When we got home Saturday evening from our trip to Wichita for the Aprentis Institute/Renovare event at Friends University, Kris sat back and observed that she thought this was her favorite event that we’d ever been to. Why? Because of Dallas Willard. I have to agree.

At the airport I told Dallas that he reminds me of Johnny Wooden, and yes he knew Coach Wooden and thought it was a compliment to be likened to Wooden. Perhaps we can say what Wooden was to basketball Willard is to the spiritual formation movement.

A few highlights: the opening session was by Dallas where he sketched his normal vision of the formation of character so that we followers of Jesus might develop what he called an “easy holiness.” I loved the expression because of its jolting connection but also because he was seeking to show that over time, under the power of God’s grace, we can develop a kind of holiness where it is not so much a battle or a war but a way of life. This “easy holiness” is Christlikeness, and Dallas’ address included serious discussion of his VIM idea: we need to have a vision, we need to have intention, and we need to use the means of spiritual disciplines. (more…)

What Difference Does Easter Make?

April 28, 2011 By Scot McKnight

This is an outline of a talk I gave at Willow Creek last night:

What Difference Does Easter Make?

Introduction:
We tend to be Good Friday in our gospel: Jesus died for us.
We tend to be Good Friday Christians too: my sins are forgiven.
What good is Easter? What difference does the resurrection make for life today?

The necessity and centrality of the resurrection, and we are incomplete in gospel and Christian life without the resurrection.

First three Christian sermons: Acts 2:36; 3:15; 4:10
Paul’s clear message: 1 Corinthians 15:17
Somewhere we lost contact with the centrality of resurrection and we have now too much of a Good Friday only gospel.

A Good Friday and Easter gospel that makes for a Good Friday and Easter Christian life.
(more…)

Renovation of the Church

April 27, 2011 By Scot McKnight

“First, in spite of wonderful stories of outward success and church growth, we believe that the church in North America is in serious trouble.” That was written by Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken, two pastors and now authors of this book: Renovation of the Church: What Happens When a Seeker Church Discovers Spiritual Formation. This book is not “another success story.” The book is their journey of pastoring the same church together — Oak Hills Church of Folsom California.

There may be other books like this; I’ve not seen them or even one. This book tells a story multitudes of pastors need to hear and churches need to hear.

The question of the day: What are you doing to combat competition and focus on spiritual formation? Or, how much is this a struggle for you?

This book tells the story of changing the DNA of a church from an attractional model to a spiritual formation model, and they made mistakes and tell about them. “It has been a costly journey.” They lost over a thousand people in this journey. Some came back; some didn’t. This story is the story from a Willow Creek model to a spiritual formation model, and it is not critical of Willow so much as it is an indictment of the North American church. It is the story of what happens to people who grow up on the megachurch model who encounter Dallas Willard and Eugene Peterson.

“The attractional model, we believe, is fundamentally flawed and will not be able to produce in any significant way the kind of Christ followers church leaders want to produce” (26). (more…)

What is “church”?

February 16, 2011 By Scot McKnight

Mike Mercer, one who has taken up the task of Michael Spencer at iMonk, has a great post about church and what’s going on today … and it meshes well with my post this morning.

My take on what has happened over the course of the last forty years is as follows. In evangelicalism in particular, we have raised a whole generation of Christians who were discipled not so much by traditional local churches as by parachurch ministries and churches that have become dominated by the parachurch ethos. That ethos is not “Church” but “Mission.” And so what we see today is the fruit of that.We have many communities of faith that would be better described as “missions” rather than “churches.”

Campus Crusade for Christ, Navigators, InterVarsity, Youth for Christ, and a thousand other parachurch ministries have been the true engines of growth in evangelicalism over the course of my Christian life. Their emphasis on “evangelism and discipleship” influenced those who developed the church growth movement, the Willow Creek movement, the church-planting “community church” type movements, and the more contemporary examples we see today, noted in the newspaper article. Traditional Protestantism defined the church as a community where the Word of God was truly preached and the sacraments truly administered. Today, “church” is defined by many as a community that practices evangelism and discipleship.

I don’t totally disagree, and the emphasis on mission in today’s congregations is likely a reaction to a lack of that emphasis in more traditional congregations. (more…)

Weekly Meanderings

February 5, 2011 By Scot McKnight

Our favorite tree in Safety Harbor

Dave Dunbar, in his monthly entry to Missional Journal: “A sabbatical from politics–that’s what I proposed in the last Missional Journal. In light of what James Davison Hunter has termed the “politicization of nearly everything” it seems wise for the church to recalibrate its approach to cultural engagement. In spite of three decades of political activism, we have seen little return on investment. In fact, if we accept the basic assessment of sociologists like James Hunter and David Kinnaman, our enlistment in the culture wars has subverted the power of the gospel.”

In effect, Michelle invites us to take a sabbatical from “branding.” And then read this one too: “As I did, I heard the soft, lyrical lilt of an African accent. Then the British-tinged English of an Indian couple. The carefully-selected syllables of an Asian gentleman. The different colors of American English spoken by people who’d grown up in places other than Chicago. Ribboned throughout the book of Revelation, there arementions of multitudes from every nation, tribe, people and language standing before God. All see him for who he really is; all bow the knee; and a song of gratitude rises from those he is redeeming. When I pray with a group like the one I prayed with last night, it brings the unspeakable beauty of God into time and space.”

Jay Bakker’s interview at Patheos, and he pokes me … and himself in the same breath.

Rachel Held Evans on women speakers at conferences. Two suggestions: write to them and complain, and don’t attend such conferences.

Jim Martin: “There is nothing like receiving the sweet love of a child, no matter the age. Yet, the reverse is also true. There is sometimes no pain like what you can receive at the hand of a child.” And then they grow up, and we mentor them into the faith … Derek posts about what he’s teaching to the young adults of his congregation.

CAS, that one makes me dizzy.

Michael Hyatt’s post about writing a blog post. His approach varies a bit from ours — his focus on making it scannable isn’t high on our list at all.

Daniel Kirk sums up the Bible’s central narrative question: “Thus, the question the whole biblical narrative must answer: will God’s plan–God’s plan to have humans rule the world, enthroned as the kings over God’s kingdom–come to fruition, or will Satan, in the end, prove too powerful?” Yes, indeed, and a little more of Israel’s Story in that question.

Pete Enns, Jesus, Kierkegaard … and Allan. You’ll have to read it.

Rob, that’s my favorite bird. I’ve never seen a Bohemian, though.

We in the BTS Dept at NPU are proud of our BTS grad-musician Becky Johnson — listen to her music if you get a chance. Awesome. (And here’s Willow’s singers’ blog.) (OK, not a little proud of the number of North Parkers on our worship teams.)

How Chicagoans reserve parking spots on the snowy streets.
Don’t even think about moving one of those chairs!

(more…)

Evangelicals on the Road to Canterbury

January 10, 2011 By Scot McKnight

Robert Webber famously told us why evangelicals were moving from traditional evangelical denominations (and non-denominations) to become Anglicans in his Evangelicals on the Canterbury Trail: Why Evangelicals Are Attracted to the Liturgical Church, but the most recent version of this story is by Todd Hunter. And Todd has shifted as much — if not more — than any of us. The title of his new memoir-confession-story is The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church, and I’m sure it will not only interest those in the Anglican Mission in America but also those who — like me — love the liturgical traditions and yearn for our sorts of churches to adapt or adopt some liturgical practices — like using the lectionary and the hours of prayer.

I would like to have a discussion today about the following questions: First, are you sensing a need for more liturgy? (Why?) Second, Do you see many around you who are moving in this direction, even joining the liturgical traditions (RCC, Orthodoxy, Anglican)? Third, What is it that is prompting this shift? Fourth, and maybe more important for me, Are you finding ways for traditional non- or even anti-liturgical churches to become more liturgical?

In my book The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, I said I consider myself a “Willowpalian” and a number of folks have said “That’s me too!” But many of us don’t want to up and move into a different denomination, I know I don’t, and many of us have issues (perhaps more) with some of the liturgical traditions, and I know I do. (more…)

LCBC

November 17, 2010 By Scot McKnight

Kris and I were recently in Lancaster City, PA, at the invitation of Matt Graybill and the leaders at LCBC. They hosted a wonderful Saturday event for the life group leaders from across their campuses — and it was awesome to be with Matt and others, with Mindy Caliguire (a friend from Willow), and to meet Dave Ashcraft, lead pastor at LCBC. The church is a vibrant witness of a holistic ministry in the Lancaster County area.

It was going to be a long day for me, so we arrived to hear most of Mindy’s talk; then we had lunch. From that point on here’s what happened:

A question and response session with Jason Mitchell (on interpreting the Bible) with youth leaders, a session for leaders on Blue Parakeet, and then I had to get a sound check for the first of two evening preaching sessions at the Saturday services at LCBC. I was asked to speak on Jesus Creed, and I approached through the lens of learning to be missional people that respond to surprise promptings. (Then Kris and I retired to a wonderful hotel — the Cork Factory Hotel in Lancaster.) Sunday morning included two more services with the Jesus Creed.

Events like this involve a singular highlight: meeting with and working with folks we haven’t known from whom we learn about a new ministry. Matt and Beth Graybill, Jason Mitchell, Dave Ashcraft, and so many others — wonderful worship team that came back for each service ready to lead God’s people.

Friday night included a dinner with leaders during which time we had some wonderful conversations about 20something ministry, and Paul — their 20something pastor — is now on my screen for advice and suggestions about young adult ministries.

Beside the generous gift package in our hotel, I have to admit the Cork Factory Hotel was nothing if not cool. An old cork factory has been converted into a hotel with some very high beam ceilings. To relax a bit, Kris and I wandered down to downtown Lancaster on Saturday morning where I got not only a good cup of coffee at Mean Cup, but we got to experience yesteryear’s market. Fun.

Anarchism

November 17, 2010 By Scot McKnight

David B. Hart, at First Things, on Tolkien’s anarchism and monarchism:

What do you think? Is anarchism a Christian alternative? Is anarchism too cynical or not cynical enough? Is it utopian or utterly convinced humans can’t be trusted? Is it liberal or is it conservative?

If one were to devise a political system from scratch, knowing something of history and a great deal about human nature, the sort of person that one would chiefly want, if possible, to exclude from power would be the sort of person who most desires it, and who is most willing to make a great effort to acquire it. By all means, drag a reluctant Cincinnatus from his fields when the Volscians are at the gates, but then permit him to retreat again to his arable exile when the crisis has passed; for God’s sake, though, never surrender the fasces to anyone who eagerly reaches out his hand to take them.

Yet our system obliges us to elevate to office precisely those persons who have the ego-besotted effrontery to ask us to do so; it is rather like being compelled to cede the steering wheel to the drunkard in the back seat loudly proclaiming that he knows how to get us there in half the time. More to the point, since our perpetual electoral cycle is now largely a matter of product recognition, advertising, and marketing strategies, we must be content often to vote for persons willing to lie to us with some regularity or, if not that, at least to speak to us evasively and insincerely. In a better, purer world—the world that cannot be—ambition would be an absolute disqualification for political authority…. (more…)

Speaking this Fall

September 17, 2010 By Scot McKnight

I get chided often enough about not saying anything about where I’m speaking that I thought I’d post our Fall schedule:

Today we fly to Philly and I’ll be speaking in Havre de Grace at Grace Reformed Episcopal tomorrow and Sunday AM.

I’ll be at George Fox Sept 29.

October 2-3
Winding Waters Brethren Church
Elkhart, IN

October 12-13
Kairos
Brentwood Baptist
Nashville, TN

October 22-23
NAPCE
Cincinnati, OH

Nov 6
LCBC
Manheim, PA

SBL
IBS lecture on King James Bible

Nov 29
Partnering to Prevail
Willow Creek Community Church

December 10
Saddleback Church
Lake Forest CA