Tag: plurality

  • The Fall of Individualism in our Biblical Understanding of Walking with Jesus

    One of the truly fascinating things about the Bible is that our interpretation of it morphs so much over time. When we say the Bible is living and active… it’s actually living and active.

    For example: 40 years ago most people would agree that Christians should avoid the casual consumption of alcohol. This vantage point was supported, enthusiastically, from the Bible. Today? Those same arguments could be taken apart by anyone. It’s that culture has shifted on the issue and we are looking at the topic through a different hermeneutical lens.

    Just As I Am is becoming Just As We Are

    Over the past five years, in my observation, individualism has begun to fade. Messages that are about “us” are connecting a lot stronger than messages aimed at “me.” The tone has been subtle but the resonance has been noticeable.

    The rise of the neo-reformed movement has lead to a general acceptance that the Good News of Jesus Christ isn’t just meant to make my personal life better, it’s an understanding that Christians in culture should be living the Good News in their neighborhood. As Jesus renews our hearts we help renew our community.

    But this isn’t limited to the neo-reformed movement. It’s everywhere you turn. Out with the individual and in with community. And that, my friend, is changing how we read the Bible.

    A Tribal Understanding of Response to Jesus

    From an individual perspective, Acts 10 is hard to comprehend. I remember teaching through Acts several years ago and struggling through chapter 10 because I had a need to call students to accept Christ individually. But I couldn’t do that with any integrity… through the lens of my hermeneutic it was clear– Cornelius’ family came to Jesus as a tribe of people and not really as individuals. It was a corporate response. Do a word study on this passage and you’ll see the parallels between “I” statements and “we” statements.

    Through the strict lens of “You come to Jesus individually” this passage is difficult. But through the lens of “sometimes we act as a tribe in making decisions” it makes total sense. Each individual decided to follow Jesus because it was good for all.

    From I Speak to We Speak

    In our high school ministry we are careful to have a plurality of voices. We’re finding that today’s students distrust the talking head. 24 hours per day for their entire life they have been able to compare and contrast vantage points on TV news, sports, and everything in between. “That’s what CNN is reporting about that… but I read ___ on Huffington Post.” Or “ESPN is saying this about that player but they wrote ____ on Twitter.” Students need to know that what we have to say stands up to scrutiny because they have ready access to scrutiny.

    If our high school pastor were to stand up every Sunday and present God’s Word as “I’m the person the church has put in authority so you should trust me” than that would actually foster a sense of distrust. Howver, one reason we are seeing the response we are seeing from the students is because we use a plurality of voices. We don’t just talk at students… we invite them to speak and think for themselves. Why? Because that’s how you encounter truth in a pluralistic society! If Brian just talked students would walk away with Brian’s perspective on things. But if we open it up and allow them to participate, the truth of the Gospel isn’t just Brian’s perspective it’s our perspective.

    For discussion:

    “A Gospel message about me is no Gospel at all. Let’s kill individualism and embrace community.” Agree or disagree? And why?

     

  • Plurality in Discernment

    Over the past few months I’ve processed some significant life changing stuff.

    Before I said, “1-2-3 Jump” to joining The Youth Cartel, I forced myself into a discernment process. I knew the Spirit of God was telling me to move. But, in truth, what I was hearing was more clues than it was clear direction.

    I knew it was time to do something else but I needed help knowing what it was.

    Two fact-based fears lead me to a discernment process rather than a solo decision:

    1. Fear of making the wrong choice and costing myself a few years of setback.
    2. Knowledge that, left to myself, I’ve made a couple of wrong moves in the past.

    The discernment group – plurality in decision

    When things got serious and I knew I needed to make a decision soon I moved from talking to only Kristen about it to including four people in the process.

    Here’s how I set that up:

    • I identified four people (they were all men this time) whom I respect, who know me in four different capacities, and whom I knew would not just blow smoke up my butt– they’d tell me the truth.
    • I asked them to be a part of it. To pray with and for me during the process. And to be available to exchange texts, emails, phone calls, or even get together a few times.
    • The four people wouldn’t ever meet. I’d meet with them separately and report back to Kristen what I was hearing and feeling.
    • I was up front that I needed to move quickly. So it would be a short, but intense, time.

    The buckets

    I knew I had five buckets of opportunity. These were five things I knew I could do. Discerning which bucket to fill was the first step, what to fill it with was the second.

    1. A youth ministry job in a local church or parachurch.
    2. A move to a similar role in another, existing, youth ministry organization.
    3. Freelancing McLane Creative.
    4. Starting my own youth ministry organization.
    5. Some combination of buckets.

    The early process

    There were a few significant points in the process. Each of the four drilled deeply into my time with YS. Each of the four sought to discover what I am passionate about. “If money weren’t a problem what would I dream about doing.” And questions like that.

    Early in the process I spent a half day with Marko. (One of the four) He lead me through an exercise which plotted things I’m competent at doing, things I’m passionate about doing, and things that were opportunities. And we talked a lot about the impact of my work on my family.

    At the end of that time two realities stared me in the face:

    1. As much as it was clear that I love the local church I shouldn’t seek a role in the church because that wasn’t a good mix for where I’m at right now.
    2. I really don’t want to live anywhere else right now. San Diego has become home our home.

    I reported these learnings to the other three and they agreed with those two things. Which pretty much eliminated buckets 1 & 2.

    Fear factor

    Buckets 3 & 4 were both starting my own business. Something I wasn’t sure I had the energy nor the guts to do at this stage in life. (I’m 35, married with three young kids. Paying for college feels closer every day! Health insurance is ridiculous. On and on.) Having run my own business before I know that it’s a lot easier to work for someone than it is to work for yourself. Plus, starting a business is crazy with all the legal and tax implications to think through. I’ve been there before. Do I really want to go through all of that again?

    The Aha Moment

    Somewhere along that process, actually fairly early on, Marko and I exchanged text messages late one night. We were talking through a situation he was facing with the Cartel and it all kind of clicked. “Instead of starting my own thing why don’t we just work together?” That led to a flurry of calls and emails over the next few days.

    I could do my own thing AND start The Youth Cartel with a Marko, someone I trusted and have walked with for a long time.

    I took that idea back to the rest of the group. In truth, I wasn’t sure what they were going to say. As excited as I was about the prospects of it I was also committed to submitting to this groups wisdom. I didn’t want to just trust my heart on this. I wanted it to be a good, solid decision.

    The resolution

    The answers came really quick. All of them were excited about that. It would allow me to launch both McLane Creative and The Youth Cartel in similar trajectories with separate audiences. (Bucket five) While it was scary to think about going into start-up mode as a family of five… it was less scary than settling for something I didn’t feel called to do.

    McLane Creative stuff would continue to push my creative and technological skills as I seek to best serve my non-church clients.

    The Youth Cartel would serve my church-based clients with marketing and web stuff, but also allow me to push into other arenas I have huge interests in. Coaching/consulting, resource development, and speaking/hosting gatherings.

    Maybe, if you’re going through something similar, this will help you? What decision-making processes have you used at significant moments? How could I improve this process? 

  • Viva la Cartel!

    After three amazing years of working at Youth Specialties, it’s with a crazy concoction of sadness and excitement, that I’m sharing today that I’m leaving Youth Specialties to start a new venture. It’s impossible to put into words the emotions I felt just now as I wrote, then again as I rewrote, and over the past weeks as I’ve meditated on having to write those words. Truly, few jobs could have shaped, challenged, encouraged, and forced me to grow more than these past three years at YS.

    My hope is that I’ve received the gift which my time at YS was and it’ll act as a springboard for my next season in life.

    At the same time, from a different place of emotion, I am bouncing up and down with excitement for the opportunity I have to partner with my friend Marko (Mark Oestreicher) in launching The Youth Cartel.

    I told you it was a crazy concoction of emotions!

    My last day as an official YS staff person will be August 31st and I’ll start my new role with The Youth Cartel on September 1st. I’m still coming to both NYWC in San Diego & Atlanta as a seminar speaker, fish bowl moderator, and presenter in the multimedia area. So I hope to see you at convention! Likewise, with my new role, I’ll have more free time at convention to chat with fellow attendees instead of racing from thing to thing.

    First — A Look Inside My Head

    The last several months have been incredible. The Spirit has been at work in our house, shaking things up and reassuring us at the same time. He has used many people to speak bold unmistakeable truth to us. We’ve had deep, long conversations with trusted friends, and even remarks from others such as, “Maybe your just doing what you’re doing to learn?” Or “I feel like God wants you to dream bigger.” Or even, “We’re wondering just how serious you are about San Diego. Do you want to be here for a long time?”

    Into those messages have come some close friends, acting as a discernment group, helping Kristen and I weave together what we needed to do vs. what our heart might have been telling us. In the last several weeks, as we really dug into this thing, that group of men helped me (specifically) see past my own expectations and limitations and get a plain view of what God was calling me to do. (I’ll have to write about the wisdom of plurality in decisions another day.)

    More important than even those outside voices has been the voice of Kristen. At every turn she’s been bold in telling me the truth. And when I said, “What do you think about this thing with Marko? A start-up is crazy.” She just looked at me and said, “It sounds crazy enough to be a lot of fun.” Yesterday I wrote a post about being bold and courageous. She lives that out better than anyone I know.

    Housekeeping, literally house-keeping. Unlike a lot of ministry moves this life-change means we are staying put in San Diego and have no intention of moving any time soon. I’ve re-upped my San Diego State football tickets and added men’s basketball, as well. I mean… what’s not to love about San Diego?

    Second — A Look Ahead

    Stoked isn’t quite the right word for what I feel about The Youth Cartel. Marko and I have continued to grow closer as friends over the past three years. Originally, I thought maybe God was asking me to start my own youth ministry organization. But as Marko and I shared our hopes and dreams for youth ministry it became abundantly clear we needed to work together. Our byline is “Instigating a Youth Ministry Revolution.” If you’ve ever been with me for more than 20 minutes you know that’s what I’m all about. This venture is all about finding and elevating new ideas, new voices, and a new era of youth ministry. It’s that “sharedness” that drew Marko and I together to do this. As I shared in the video, we have some cool stuff in the works. And I can’t wait to give my full attention to this in September.

    A fun sidenote: This is my second youth ministry start-up. My first, Youth Ministry Exchange, Marko led the way in buying from me in 2008.

    Third — A Look at the Big Picture

    What’s crazier than one start-up? Simultaneously running two start-ups. I’ll be sharing my time between The Youth Cartel and McLane Creative. To some degree, both organizations operate in very similar ways so it’s a natural compliment. I’ll continue growing McLane Creative with innovative design, marketing services, and coaching with my non-church clients. And all of my church/youth ministry related stuff will be part of The Youth Cartel. My hope, long-term, is that I can stay involved with both as they grow, with eventually handing over the day-to-day operations of the design firm to a protege`. (Or even one of my kids!)

    That’s my news. If you have questions, leave me a comment (public) or even use my contact page. (private)