Aug

22

There’s A Monster At The End of This Post

Post Category: Authenticity, Church, Church Leadership, Makes You Think 

One of my favorite Little Golden Books as a kid was The Monster at the End of this Book. It was a great moment when we received this book as a gift and I was able to read it to my kids.

I got hours of enjoyment sitting down with Emily and pleading with her in my best Grover voice,

PLEASE DON’T TURN THE PAGE!!

She would of course. With each new page turned poor Grover would beg and plead to stop turning pages for fear of finding the monster at the end of the book.

Until we turned the last page and found that the monster at the end of the book? Yup, turns out it was lovable, furry old Grover the whole time.

Anger & Disappointment
This past week the church world was rocked with another disappointment. I don’t need to add any additional commentary to what has already been said by other bloggers I respect. I want to talk instead about how we as Christians are supposed to react to this kind of news. Because if the scandals of the last 24 months serve as an indication of future failures, we have many more of these stories yet to be uncovered.

I’ll be honest with you. My first reaction to these kind of stories is a mix of disappointment and anger. Disappointment, because yet another person I admired let me down. And anger, because I know that once again, the name of Christ will get drug through the mud because of another person who thought they could live a double-life and get away with it.

Looking For Monsters
Why do we find it so easy to point our fingers at the “monsters” we see in the church today? Sure we’re upset about it but can we so arrogantly cast blame when it could have just as easily been you or me?

Far too often I’m so busy trying to remove the splinter from my neighbor’s eye that I’m tripping over the plank in my own.

Don’t get me wrong - I am in no way excusing deceit and hypocrisy in the church. What Michael did was wrong. Nor am I condoning sweeping stories like this under the rug. However, let’s remember that we’re really not that different.

The moment that we begin to think of ourselves as immune to these kind of shortcomings it the moment we’re most in danger of falling. As Paul warned, If you think you are standing strong, be careful, for you, too, may fall into the same sin. (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Like Grover, we may find that if we keep turning the pages, WE are in fact the monster at the end of the story. We’re all capable of lust, greed, hypocrisy and deception in the worst way.

There, but for the grace of God, go I.

Jun

9

Hanging With The Guys from PC3

Post Category: Blog Posts, Church 

Last Thursday when I was on vacation I had the opportunity to hook up with Mike Paschal and Chris Denning from Port City Community Church in Wilmington, NC.Mike Paschal, Chris Denning, Me

The incredibly talented team at PC3 have done some amazing things (such as the rocking “Pursuit” series video I talked about here a couple of months ago). It was fun to hang out with them and catch some of the exciting vision of what PC3 is doing to reach their community.

Port City Community Church is just finishing their new building which they should be in by July. Mike & Chris took me on a tour and it looks like it’s going to be awesome!OutsideFoyer

I know I say this all the time but I love blogging. Mike & Chris are two awesome guys I would have never been able to meet had I not hooked up with them through my blog. I look forward to staying in touch with PC3 and expect awesome things to come out of that church. If you want to see more of the amazing videos they’ve produced (all in-house) check out their page on Vimeo.

May

14

My _________ Sucks Because _________

Post Category: Authenticity, Blog Posts, Church, Church Leadership, Technology, Videos 

Church leaders blame their lack of growth on many things. If only we had more lights, a better sound system, more videos, a better band. Visiting churches like Granger or North Point leaves most Pastors repeating the tenth commandment to themselves (thou shall not covet…thou shall not covet…).

Worship leaders aren’t immune from the “if only…” game either.

Worship Pastor to Senior Pastor: “Pastor, we’re kind of running into a wall. My musicians (it sounds better if someone else is asking) are telling me that if we bought ______________ (new amp, processor, instrument or whatever) we could really take the sound and quality of our worship up another notch.”

As a designer and self-professed geek I’m constantly scanning the horizon for the latest plugin, font, software or upgrade to buy. I try to convince myself that I could be so much more productive with this or that tool.

I remember my Uncle (who is an amazing finish carpenter) telling me about the importance of using the right tool for the job. But he also reminded me that no amount of good tools will make up for bad workmanship. A poor workman always blames his tools.

I was reminded about making the most with what I’ve got when I watched this video at AlphaBlogDesigns yesterday. Bob Staake is an illustrator who creates amazing illustrations for clients like Sony, Target and Hallmark using only Photoshop 3.0! That’s right, the version that I learned on and used back in 1994! I thought I was pretty good in Photoshop CS3 but this guy makes me look like a hack.

Watching videos like that remind me that having the latest _________ or the greatest __________ is not an excuse. In our high-tech society where hundreds of new gadgets or upgrades come out ever day it can be easy to be swept up in the “If only I had…” game.

We can do so much if we only utilize and master what we already have.

Trust me, I’m as guilty of this as anyone.

What about you? What has your excuse been?

Fill in the blank: “If only I had ________ I could ________.”

May

2

What Does Your Jesus Look Like?

Post Category: Authenticity, Blog Posts, Church 

Jesus pictures

There’s a subversion of Christianity in many churches today. This shift in spiritual culture has taken Jesus out of the church and replaced him with a Jesus that’s less demanding. More “consumer-friendly.”

In the words of Voltaire…

“God created us in His own image…and we returned the favor.”

You have only to do a Google image search for “Jesus” to see the Jesus that exists in many churches today. We have the effeminate, “girlie” Jesus, the “homeboy” Jesus. Even the scary, thorny-heart Jesus.

Republican JesusBut more disturbing than these popular images of Jesus is the Republican, consumeristic Jesus we find in so many churches.

This Jesus lets you remain comfortable in your suburban lifestyle without worrying about the needs of millions in the world around us.

This Jesus doesn’t challenge us to be outward-focused in our faith but instead focuses on “our needs.” Are we being fed? What are you doing to serve me?

Consumerism is destroying the church from within.  We have taken Jesus out of the church and replaced him with a Jesus we can live with.

In Revelation 3:20 we’re told that Jesus stands at the door and knocks. Traditional Christianity has painted this as an image of Jesus knocking on the heart of the unbeliever but if we read this passage in context we find that this is a letter written to the church. Which begs the question, how did Jesus get outside of the door to begin with?

Take a minute and think about your Jesus. Is he the Jesus we see described in the New Testament? Or have we spent a little too much time creating our version of a Jesus we can live with?

What does your Jesus look like?

Apr

28

Moving to a Place of Influence in Culture

Post Category: Authenticity, Church, Church Planting, Conferences, Culture 

Last week I had the opportunity to attend two fantastic conferences: Exponential and LeadNow.

Erwin McManus, one of my favorite authors and speakers, lead a session at LeadNow that really helped to cement some ideas I’ve had floating around in my head over the last couple of years.

He spoke about moving to a place of influence in the culture using the story of Paul in Athens from Acts 17. There are really 3 places we can exist in as Christians in our world today.

The first is our safe, protected Christian sub-culture with things like Christian schools, Christian music and Christian movies. We have absolutely no influence on culture in any of these areas because we’re reaching the already reached.

The second place is our workplaces and neighborhoods where many Christians venture out to during the week when they have to but quickly retreat back to the safety of their Christian sub-culture.

The third place is a place of trust and influence. You can’t force or witness your way into this place. You have to be invited in. And you’re only invited into this place of influence when you take the time to develop genuine relationships.

3 Places

“Then they took him to the Council of Philosophers. ‘Come and tell us more about this new religion,’ they said. ‘You are saying some rather startling things, and we want to know what it’s all about.’ ” (Acts 17:19-20)

Existing in the first place does nothing for the world around us. It is self-serving, spiritual narcissism that only cares about us while ignoring a world around us living without Christ. There are many who live and work in the second place thinking that simply wearing “christian tshirts” or praying over their lunch will somehow be enough to make a difference. Then there are those who realize the need to not just exist in culture but to transform it. This only happens when we develop meaningful relationships and are given permission to share what what we believe.

Obviously there is so much more from this talk that I could share. Erwin McManus is one of my spiritual heroes and I respect what he has done to influence church culture. I had a chance to meet him afterwards and let him know how much his books and messages have influenced my thought process. Definitely one of the highlights of the conference!

Apr

14

Good Times in Nashville

Post Category: Church, Family, Moving 

I’m writing this post from beautiful Tarpon Springs Florida after arriving around 2:30 AM. I can’t tell you how glad I am to finally be here (if you just started reading check out my previous post describing our trip)

I had so much fun in Nashville Saturday night and Sunday. Sunday morning we went to CrossPoint church which was an awesome experience. If you’re ever in Nashville you’ve got to check them out.

God is doing some amazing things through this 5-year old church. Their worship blew me away. I know we’re in Nashville so you would expect the musicians and vocalists to be good but I didn’t know they were that good! I wanted to just pack them in my bag and kidnap them for my new worship team in Carmel.

I found out that Sheg, one of the contestants from Oprah’s big give, attends CrossPoint and I had the opportunity to meet him.

Afterwards in the lobby someone came up to me and said, “You’re Brad Ruggles! I read your blog all the time!” It was Jad Duncan, one of my blog readers. I have to admit, it was sorta cool to have someone recognize me from my blog.

Finally, after service I had the opportunity to have lunch with Pete Wilson, lead pastor of CrossPoint. We had great conversation about blogging, church planting and the challenges of leading a growing church. I really appreciate Pete’s heart. I’m sure I’ll be back to visit again now that I’m only 4 hours away.

You may notice the bar behind us in the picture. It turns out that one of the ways Pete deals with the stress of ministry is to get hammered after church on Sundays. Pat and I actually had to hold him up for the picture. (kidding of course)

After lunch we hopped back in the van and drove the rest of the way down to Florida. So here we are. I’ll post some pictures and videos later so be sure to check back.

Apr

4

Best Series Video I’ve EVER seen

Post Category: Church, Videos 

I came across a video on Ragamuffin Soul’s Creative Chaos post that I had to share with you.

The video is for a series at Port City Community Church called “Pursuit” about chasing after wisdom. It is off the chain! I’ve seen a lot of series video promos for churches through the years but this one tops the charts! I love videos like this because it raises the bar for what church videos can look like.

You’ve got to remember, this entire video, while looking like something you would see on a high-budget network television show, was filmed entirely in house by Port City Church’s creative department and volunteers.

Here’s a few stats from MikePaschal.net:

  • Written: Evan Vetter, Jr Jones, Jessica Donnheimer
  • Shot: with 3 Panasonic HVX-200’s
  • 5 Stunt Drivers
  • 6 Days of Shooting
  • All Audio tracks (130-150 tracks to be exact including sound effects) were tracked in house
  • Score was composed and tracked by PC3 band members and volunteer composing string sections
  • 25 plus volunteers giving up their weekends to create a great film together

Enjoy this amazing video and then stop here, here and here to let these guys know what an awesome job they did. You can also head over to their Vimeo channel to view this and some of their other videos in HD.
(click here if you can’t see the above video)

Mar

24

The Church Still Rocks!

Post Category: Church 

granger-crowd.jpgIt’s the Monday mornings after Easter that remind me why I love the Church.

In spite of all the scandals, hypocrisy, and legalism that exists in churches today I am in love with the church. Sure, there are plenty of things not to love, but I’m learning to look at the Church through Christ’s eyes and see what He sees.

I get so pumped when I read blogs from the weekend about how

  • A church in Charlotte, North Carolina that is just over two years old celebrated as 4,800 people showed up for services and over 500 people gave their lives to Christ! (read about it here and here)
  • An amazing church in northern Indiana went viral with the message of Christ. They even had thousands of glow sticks…how cool is that? (read about it here and here)
  • Orchard Church in Illinois dropped Easter eggs from a helicopter. 20,000 eggs and thousands of people (see pictures here)
  • Another Church also celebrated with 20,000 eggs and a baptism service on Saturday (read about it here)
  • NewSpring Church saw 12,000 people attend their services and over 120 people receive Christ (read here)
  • A Church in Nashville had an amazing Easter at their two campuses (read a great letter from someone who caught the vision here)
  • Oak Leaf Church, less than 19 months old, left their mark by giving tattoos live on stage for all three services. They were praying for 1,000 people but had 1,350 with 60 people accepting Christ (read about it here)
  • A worship leader in Atlanta experienced what true worship is really all about (read this moving story here)

Stories like that are what make me so excited about the future of the church. God is doing some amazing things and I’m excited to be a part of it!

Let me know what happened in your church this Easter. Remember, everyone’s numbers or stories may not look the churches above. That’s not what’s important. What is important is that we’re all part of the body of Christ and can all rejoice together for every new soul that’s redeemed, wherever they’re at!

Mar

22

Making No Sense of The Easter Story

Post Category: Authenticity, Church, Makes You Think 

I read a column this morning by Garrison Keillor (host of Prairie Home Companion) in the Opinion section of the Journal Gazette. I don’t know why but it really jumped out at me. Keillor paints a very real picture of someone who is struggling with their faith.

Take a few minutes to read this and remember it on Sunday when you’re shaking hands with those people who may only come to church once or twice a year. Put yourself in their shoes.

Making No Sense of the Easter Story

by Garrison Keillor

Garrison KeillorI came to church as a pagan this year, though wearing a Christian suit and white shirt, and sat in a rear pew with my sandy-haired gap-toothed daughter whom I would like to see grow up in the love of the Lord, and there I was, a skeptic in the hen-house, thinking weaselish thoughts.

This often happens around Easter. God, in His humorous way, sometimes schedules high holy days for a time when your faith is at low tide, a mud flat strewn with newspapers and children’s beach toys, and while everyone else is all joyful and shiny among the lilies and praising up a storm, there you are, snarfling and grumbling. Which happens to me this year. God knows all about it so I may as well tell you.

Holy Week is a good time to face up to the question: Do we really believe in that story or do we just like to hang out with nice people and listen to organ music? There are advantages, after all, to being in the neighborhood of people who love their neighbors. If your car won’t start on a cold morning, you’ve got friends.

A year or so ago, I sat down and read the four Gospels in one fell swoop and somehow the jaggedness of some of it shook my faith, which maybe was based more on visuals – Jesus tending His flock, and little children gathered at His knee, sunbeams bursting through storm clouds, and so forth – and then I read about how the early Church cobbled the Scriptures together, which has to raise doubts in anyone’s mind. The Jews got stone tablets, and the Mormons arranged for an angel to bring them their holy text, but ours was hammered out through a long contentious political process, sort of like the tax code, and that’s something you don’t care to know more about.

I don’t doubt God’s existence – there He is – but I doubt His interest in us right now, and I haven’t the faintest idea what He wants from me.

There is comfort for the doubter in the Passion story. You are not alone. Jesus’ cry from the cross was a cry of incredulity. The apostle denied even knowing Jesus three times. The guys spent years with Jesus, saw the miracles up close, the raising of Lazarus, the demons cast out, the sick healed, the water-walking trick, all of the special effects, but when the cards were down, he said, “Who? Me? No way.”

He repented. I would too, but not quite yet.

Skepticism is a stimulant, not to be repressed. It is an antidote to smugness and the great glow of satisfaction one gains from being right. You know the self-righteous – I’ve been one myself – the little extra topspin they put on the truth, their ostentatious modesty, the pleasure they take in being beautifully modulated and cool and correct when others are falling apart. Jesus was roughter on those people than He was on the adulterers and prostitutes.

So I will sit in the doubter’s chair for a while and see what is to be learned back there.

Mar

18

Christians are Self-Indulgent and Lack Compassion

Post Category: Authenticity, Church, Makes You Think 

Erwin McManus , lead pastor of Mosaic Church in Los Angeles, California, was interviewed for an article in Christianity Today about why churches are declining in America (the United Methodist Church reported its membership was at its lowest point since 1930).

This is what he had to say:

Erwin McManus“My primary assessment would be because American Christians tend to be incredibly self-indulgent so they see the church as a place there for them to meet their needs and to express faith in a way that is meaningful for them.

There is almost no genuine compassion or urgency about serving and reaching people who don’t know Christ.”

Those are some pretty tough words. What do you think?

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