• Last week I spoke six times in seven days. Tiring. I spoke at The Freeway twice, at SCD twice, and at Innovare [a gathering for Canadian Salvation Army youth workers] twice. All of these events were fantastic, but I was tired at the end of it all.
  
• Cultivate Gathering is coming up quickly... it's happening on Saturday, March 29th at The Freeway. If you haven't already done so, you should register. It's a good time, for sure. Cultivate is a learning party meant to inspire church planters and those interested in creating mission-shaped churches.
• In April I will be speaking at a big youth event in St. John's, NFLD. I am excited because I get to travel with one of my good buddies and visit a place I have never been. Hopefully, I will find something challenging and inspiring to say to the youth gathered.
  
• In May I want to go out to Vancouver, and I am looking for places to speak in order to help pay my way. I don't have any dates nailed down yet, but if you know of a venue that would possibly be interested in having me, please drop me a line: pernell@frwy.ca
• This summer we will be launching an Allelon Training Centre in Hamilton which I am directing. We are hosting a Summer Institute from July 7-11. The two courses we are offering are "missional church: it's nature and purpose" which I will instruct, and "mission-shaped groups: structures for missional formation" which Alan Roxburgh will instruct. You can register for the Summer Institute courses here.
  

Labels: leadership, speaking, training centre

This weekend is the TrueCity conference in Hamilton, ON. TrueCity is a network of churches in town who collaborate together and encourage and inspire each other to become more and more present in our respective neighbourhoods. The Freeway has been part of TrueCity for about a year now and have thoroughly enjoyed learning with the other fine folks in the network who are also trying to figure out what bringing God's shalom into a neighbourhood looks like.

I am leading two sessions at the conference this year:

• The first one, I am excited to be co-leading with Alan Roxburgh - my buddy and one of my mentors - called "growing missional leaders." Alan is a Canadian guru when it comes to developing missional leaders and congregations and is one of the key voices at Allelon. It is an honour to be "sharing the mic" with him.
• The second one, I am leading on my own and it is called "the gospel in our urban context."

I will try and make podcasts and notes of the two sessions available after the conference... although I have a funny feeling that Bill Kinnon will be there shooting video for Allelon.

I am spending the day tomorrow with Alan and his wife Jane working on developing our Allelon Training Centre which we are opening soon in Hamilton... and working out how we will lead our session together at TrueCity. Good times.

Labels: leadership, speaking

I was away all this week speaking at a Salvation Army camp for under-privileged teens from various urban centres in South-Western Ontario [including Hamilton]. Only a handful of the kids I was interacting with were from families who attend church at all. I found the experience of teaching them about Jesus both rewarding and challenging.

I was able to take my kids with me for the week, but unfortunately, Margie was working and couldn't come with us [she had five full days avec n'est pas les children... or husband - nice].

The camp director is a friend of mine who is only 23 years old, but is a fabulous director and an amazing guy. It was good to hang out with Nathanael while I was there.

That camp experience wraps up my Summer special events. I really can't believe that Summer is pretty much over. Oh well. Fall will be here momentarily... I think I am ready.

Labels: family, speaking

On Sunday, July 1st we explored Luke 4 at our worship gathering at The Freeway. We don't usually re-cap our worship gathering experiences online because they are unique, contextual, live experiences with our community that don't fully translate elsewhere, but people asked specifically for this one, so here you go:

We had a station set up at the front with the sound board, a laptop, a monitor, an iPod, Two TVs and a projector on it. Three of us who were leading sat behind the table and led from there.

We opened with prayer. We asked Jesus to transform our thinking, but more importantly our living as it relates to the gospel being incarnated amongst marginalized people.

Then we watched this video by Canadian rockers, Nickleback as a "teaser":



Following the video, we read the scripture passage aloud in the groups we were sitting in. We read short sections of the passage and then paused, taking time to reflect in between.

We sang together, corporately Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman and then You're Everything by David Crowder led by two acoustic guitars and a djembe.

Then we watched this video of footage of a worship moment in a U2 concert followed by part of Bono's speech at the National Prayer Breakfast:



Then we reflected with a digital segment on Bono's words as part of his speech at the NAACP awards:

“God has a special place for the poor. The poor are where God lives. God is in the slums… in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is where the opportunity is lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected her child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble in the cries we hear during war time. God, my friends, is with the poor. And God is with us if we are with them. This is not a burden, this is an adventure.”

Then three women from our community led us in a litany of lamentation, which was made up of excerpts from a peace prayer vigil:

Voice 1: "There is no peace because there are no peacemakers. There are no makers of peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war - at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison and death in its wake."
-- Father Daniel Berrigan

Voice 2: "True peace is not merely the absence of tension, but the presence of justice and brotherhood."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Voice 3: "Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up, but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed with all the tension its exposure creates to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

(Pause)

Voice 1: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.
(Psalm 22:1-2)

Voice 2: Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."
(Psalm 16:1-2)

Voice 3: Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry; give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
(Psalm 17:1)

(Pause)

Voice 3: Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house… Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly.
(Isaiah 58:6-8)

Voice 2: Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
(Psalm 34:14)

Voice 1: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18) “Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help me… I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
(Psalm 22:11, 14-15)

(Pause)

Voice 2: Cry aloud to the Lord! …let tears stream down like a torrent, day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite! Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.
(Lamentations 2:18-19)

(Pause)

Voice 1: For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying "Peace, peace," when there is no peace.
(Jeremiah 6:13-14)

Voice 3: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit.
(Psalm 34:18)

(Pause)

Voice 3: But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword!... I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters. In the midst of the congregation, I will praise you… For God did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted. God did not hide from me, but heard when I cried. From you comes my praise in the great congregation… The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord.
(Psalm 22:19-28)

Voice 2: …until a spirit from on high is poured out on us, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. The effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
(Isaiah 32:15-16)

Voice 1: My people will abide in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
(Isaiah 32:18)

Voice 3: God shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
(Isaiah 2:4)

(Pause)

ALL: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And we said, "Here we are: send us!"
(Isaiah 6:8)

Following the litany of lamentation, we sang God Of Justice by Tim Hughes.

I offered some brief thoughts on the passage from Luke 4. I spoke of the significance of what Jesus said: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favour has come."

I told everyone that we (the church) are to carry on bringing the Good News to the poor as Jesus' representatives in the world. I then told them stories of people from our community at The Freeway who - in the past twelve months - have made significant moves toward Jesus and helping those who are marginalized, oppressed, poor, overlooked. I could have told more people's stories, but I chose eight. I hoped that they would inspire us all to be more Jesus-y and to be about the Good News. I showed pictures of each of the people I spoke about as a visual reminder of the significant stories represented.

After telling their stories we talked about how many of us want to give ourselves fully to Jesus and to give ourselves for the sake of the world, but that it is hard because we have so much fear about what that really means. It is very difficult as we often struggle with consumerism, self-centredness, fear, and insecurity. But we recognize that Jesus wants us as we are, to join him in his mission to redeem everything.

To end the "formal" part of the gathering we watched this:



...We offer ourselves for the sake of the world...

( Thoughts from a visitor to The Freeway at this gathering. )

Labels: justice, speaking, the freeway, worship resources

• This weekend I am away speaking at a spiritual retreat for Mini-Yo-We Camp LIT's. The great part is that I get to bring my family for the weekend. Should be fun.
  
• My book writing day went absolutely stupendously. I am really excited about the project.
• I am doing a couple of weddings in the next few weeks. Both of which are for folks who are not connected with The Freeway and are people I am just getting to know.
• We have booked some of our vacation for this year. We have rented a tent-trailer and will be camping for two weeks in July. I can't wait. My kids are an absolute blast to be with on vacation. We have a lot of fun as a family.
• Me and some "old fart" friends go mountain biking every week during the warm months. Next Saturday will be our first ride together for the year [I have been riding quite a bit on my own and with the kids, we even went out on Saturday with Margie and Melissa, etc.]. It is always a good time for us buddies to ride the trails, get minor injuries, tell stories, and just enjoy some exercise in the great outdoors.
• Here are some great shots of our worship gathering from a couple weeks ago. I love The Freeway.
  

Labels: photos, speaking, the freeway

As I have been preparing for the teaching portion of our worship gathering for this Sunday [my first time speaking in a number of weeks], I have realized that I have not taken many creative risks with my speaking for quite a while. I think there are a few reasons for this:

1. Time has not allowed me to be too creative or think through creative ways of taking risks with my messages. The bottom line is, there have many important projects I have been working on, many important people I have been spending a significant amount of time with, and a few speaking engagements elsewhere which have all taken more time than I care to admit. Being creative, thinking through ways of communicating differently, and taking risks takes quite a bit of time and energy... of which I have not had a lot of "extra" as of late.
2. I have been emotionally drained for a while now. The pressures of ministry, a demanding schedule, and some personal "hits" has taken a tole on my emotional energy. I find that being creative takes tons of emotional energy... as well as the fact that perhaps I have steered away from risking in communication and "played it safe" in order to not add to the emotional pressure I have been feeling [ie. "don't rock the boat"].
3. My default is to do things in a way that I know I can without too much difficulty. It is easy to get in a rut, especially when you are comfortable with the way things are going. Even though I know it isn't the best way for me or anyone else, I think I sometimes do what I do the way I do because I can get by doing it like that.
4. I often wonder what difference it makes. Does anyone really listen? Does my teaching really produce any more missionality when I prepare creative, risk-taking messages than when I don't, in the community that has gathered at The Freeway? How much time should people who want to lead mission-shaped churches really spend writing sermons anyway?
   

This Sunday, I will take some risks. I will communicate out of my love for a story I am re-learning rather than my knowledge of stories I have studied much. I will do things in a way I haven't before. The thing is, even if the whole idea bombs, the process of thinking through a passage of scripture creatively has been life-giving for me this week. The story has really come to life in a way it never has before. I have tried to think through all the ways different people learn and take them all into consideration. I am actually excited about communicating this message to the community I have grown very fond of because I know it is a safe place to risk.

See you at church.

Labels: leadership, speaking, the freeway

I have been overwhelmed by the positive comments here on the blog recently [and by e-mail as well]. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to add your two cents. Your encouragement means a lot.

It is time to move on. Here's what's been happening for me in the past few days:

• The Meeting House's youth retreat went really well on the weekend. Great kids who really seemed to engage with what I was talking about. Fun, crazy times [to say the least] ensued all weekend long. And I even discovered something about myself... I am too out of touch to do youth ministry. It's amazing how fast you lose the youth ministry mojo.
• Sunday night I led worship at The Freeway [which I rarely do for obvious reasons, if you have ever heard me sing] and I really felt like the experience connected with the community gathered... and I had a lot of fun. It was Rachel's last "official" Sunday before moving to Sarnia to marry Nathan and join theStory. Sad, yet quite exciting really.
  
• Today I got my pain injection in my back [for those who don't know, I have had several surgeries ever since I had a tumour on my spine about 9 years ago], and I get an injection every 6 months or so to help alleviate some of the pain. I will be resting for the next 24 hours or so.
• Cultivate Gathering is coming up this Saturday and I am really excited about it. We are almost full, so if you are planning on attending you should drop me a line and let me know asap: pernell AT frwy DOT ca.
• We are currently taking applications for our [CML] initiative starting in September. If you are between 18 and 30 and are interested [or know someone who is] in spending a year in an urban community living out God's mission, while being trained and equipped as an apprentice of Jesus, drop me a line: pernell AT frwy DOT ca.
  
• We are also accepting resumes for the full-time position of "Community Pastor & [CML] Director" at The Freeway. If you are interested drop me a line: pernell AT frwy DOT ca.
• My tribe, The Salvation Army, have approached me about writing a book. I don't know how I feel about that yet. I will process the idea for a bit longer before deciding either way.

I think that's it for now.

Labels: personal, speaking, the freeway

This weekend I am speaking at The Meeting House's youth retreat at Muskoka Woods Sports Resort. The high school youth from all The Meeting House sites are coming together for the weekend. And even though I don't agree to do many speaking engagements [because I generally don't like speaking to outside groups for weekends] I am actually looking forward to this one.

I have a lot of respect for the pastors at The Meeting House. All the guys I have met seem to be amazing people - Ken, Bruxy, Paul, Rich, Darrin, Matt - and they do stuff for the Kingdom that I could never do. I have only met the youth pastor, Matt Wilkinson, recently but he seems like a great guy too, and we seem to have a lot in common. I look forward to learning with him this weekend.

It's funny, I have so many memories of Muskoka Woods. I went there first in 1989 when I was 16 years old [I believe it was] for a Salvation Army youth councils. At the time, the chief secretary of The Salvation Army [the second in command of the country] was a guest at the camp and I kissed him on the cheek while he spoke in front of the 300 or so youth, because someone dared me to. He was really great about it, and had a good laugh.

I also remember tearing it up on the half pipe while girls looked on. In my mind, it was insane. Ah, romantic memory is awesome.

That weekend, John McCauley was the speaker and his stories really captivated me... although I don't remember any of them now. I do remember him making fun of me in the bathroom because I was styling my hair... I had to look good, you know? I had no come back either... I'd like him to try that now. I don't remember what he spoke about that weekend. I don't remember many sermons over my life actually. I don't remember all the people that were there... although I am sure many of them are on facebook and will remind me. But I do remember the weekend having an impact on my spiritual journey. And I remember meeting Jesus there.

I know the folks I speak to this weekend will likely not remember much of what I say, but I hope their journeys are impacted by the weekend. I hope Jesus meets them there too.

Labels: personal, speaking

I love and hate speaking at conferences to people I don't really know. Saturday's True City experience was no different for me.

I did a two hour session on "the gospel in an urban context". I used Ryan Bolger and Eddie Gibbs definition of emerging churches as a starting point, and explained each point in some depth as they relate to the gospel in urban, emerging contexts, and why they have been important in terms of our own story at The Freeway. Their definition is basically that emerging churches:

1) Identify with the life of Jesus.
2) Transform the secular realm.
3) Live highly communal lives.
4) Because of these they:

• Welcome the stranger.
• Serve with generosity.
• Participate as producers.
• Create as created beings.
• Lead as a body.
• Take part in spiritual activities.

On one hand, I hate speaking to people I don't know. I feel like I have to add so much background and context... so much in so little time... and I often say stupid things because I don't use notes. I don't use notes because I feel I can be more authentic and passionate without them. I guess I just wonder how I can share everything necessary on a subject in a couple hours or less, all in one shot. It seems like having a conversation would be much better than a monologue, but with 30 people who don't know each other that is next to impossible in that kind of setting too.

On the other hand, it is kind of refreshing to speak my mind on particular subjects, knowing that my job is to get people thinking... and not to coddle them. And we had a really great question and answer time [about 40 minutes worth].

Over all, I thought the conference - the stuff I went to anyway - was really great. Well planned, and great content. And I have really appreciated meeting and getting to know Dave Witt [one of the organizers] in the process. He is a great guy with a big heart for this city. I am looking forward to working with him and the team more in the future.

Labels: speaking

I am at the True City Conference today. This afternoon I am leading a two hour session on "the gospel in an urban context." I will tell you all about it when I am done.

Labels: speaking

Jonny Baker did a presentation recently [and posted his "notes"] on communicating the gospel creatively in a new media environment. He asks some great questions which I will be thinking about over the next while. If you have any thoughts about this stuff, please drop a note in the comments:

Can we imagine...

Church beyond gathering?

Church beyond once a week?

Church as always on connectivity to Christ and one another?

Church where community is the content?

Theology and resources of church being open source?

Church valuing the wisdom of the crowd rather than the knowledge of the expert?

Our church/spirituality being easily found by seekers because we tag it that way?

An ethos of low control and collaboration?

An economy of gift?

Church as spaces for creative production and self publishing?

Church as providers of resources for spiritual seekers and tourists?

Labels: speaking

In reference to my post about "long winded, old school Bible preach[ing] or collective ignorance", my friend Steve Taylor, had this to say on his blog:

In modernity expounding the Bible usually belonged to one person. But a close look at the Bible makes that problematic: the school of the prophets in the Old Testament suggests a community engaged with the text, Jesus and the Emmaus Road suggests God is revealed not in the expounded words but seated around table, Paul in the lecture halls of Greek culture "dialogued" between text and context. I am not suggesting either/or; replacing one way with another way, but both/and.

One of my students summed it up beautifully: Preaching belongs to the community. But that statement requires the learning of a whole new skill set.

First is the skill of trust: It is much safer for 1 voice to speak. To allow community engagement requires whole new levels of trust in Spirit and trust in people.

Second is the skill of engagement: Ask a dumb question and you are likely to get so-called "collective ignorance." Ask a question that everyone knows you know the answer to and you are asking someone in the group to look stupid so that you can look expert. But in every group are life experiences and insights that out-trump a preacher's limited perspective and experiences. The skill of engagement is the creating of ways for these gifts to be brought to the table.

The image I often use is that of an athelete. The church has trained one muscle well - that of the Bible speaker. In so doing, we have lost the muscles of community learning. It will take a while to recover those muscles. There will be some inevitable ups and downs as we re-learn. Which makes it such an exciting time to be Bible people today.

I couldn't agree more.

Labels: community, leadership, speaking

"Preaching for all, by all."

I like that. It's one of the "essentials" (values?) of a church I deeply respect in my own tribe, The Salvation Army. The church is called Corps 614 (based on Isaiah 61:4). It started in the Regent Park neighbourhood in Toronto and, evidently, the idea has spread like crazy. There is actually a whole network of 614 churches now - not just in Canada either - but in several countries.

I love what they do. I love their incarnational ministry with the poor and over-looked. I love their energy and creativity. I love their commitment to Jesus and his Kingdom. They rock.

The thing I like about their tagline about preaching is that it represents a Biblical idea I believe strongly in: the priesthood of all believers. See, I believe that God speaks into community through community. I believe that each of us has the responsibility to teach and encourage one another. I believe God uses the "foolish" to shame the "wise". I believe the Kingdom has leveled the playing field for all of us. In fact, that's one of the reasons I do not hold to a complimentarian view, or a "one preacher" view, or a "personal" salvation view (yes, I believe that individuals come to faith in Christ, but that Jesus came for the whole world - and we play a part in the proclamation and incarnation of the Good News).

This is what Mark Driscoll says in his book "Confessions":

"We continued to meet on Sunday nights until Christmas, when some of the arty types started complaining that there was a preaching monologue instead of an open dialogue, as would become popular with some emerging pastors a few years later. This forced me to think through my theology of preaching, spiritual authority, and the authority of Scripture. I did an intense study of the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament commands regarding preaching and teaching. In the end, I decided not to back off from a preaching monologue but instead work hard at becoming a solid long-winded, old-school Bible preacher that focused on Jesus. My people needed to hear from God's Word and not from each other in collective ignorance like some dumb chat room."

Via

According to Driscoll (or at least, if I read this quote correctly) it's either "long-winded, old-school Bible preach[ing]" or "artsy collective ignorance." I think that's just a dumb thing to say.

Labels: community, leadership, speaking, the salvation army