On New Birth

Posted on April 2, 2008 by bornfun

April 2, 2008
6:53 AM

Last week I experienced one of the greatest joys in life.  I had the incredible honor to witness new birth, a man being born again into the family of God.  Sometimes I’ve heard it said that we lead people to the Lord, but certainly in this case, it was God that was leading him to Himself.  I was just walking along with him, sometimes fumbling as I tried to answer his questions with the truth of Scripture, trying my best to be God’s voice. And then there was the beautiful moment when faith was realized.  The cross of Christ made sense, a man confessed Jesus as Lord, and my new friend became my brother.  The Scripture teaches that “… there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (Luke 15:7, NIV)  Certainly, I am rejoicing too, and passing this on as a HUGE praise to God for his work of salvation!  It was a sweet moment on Sunday as I sang, “Our God is Mighty to Save” with a new joy and confidence because again I had seen it with my own eyes.  I found myself where I was a year ago, echoing the words of Job. “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:5, NIV)  Right now I have an unwavering faith that God can move mountains!  I’ve been praying for nearly a year that God would reveal himself in that way not only to me, but also to our church family.  Certainly, the miracle of new birth, how God brings a person to himself, is just as much a miracle as God healing a disease or putting a broken marriage back together again.  God, I want to see it all!  We need to see you at work among us!  Unleash your saving and healing power that we may see it and declare our praise to you.  And even as we wait, may we turn to you with a childlike faith, trusting, praying, hoping, believing and rejoicing in the waiting.

What’s next for my new brother? He is a follower of Jesus Christ, and now begins the process of transformation as he discovers his new identity as a Child of God and begins to live it out in the family of God.  I will help him connect to his new family, hopefully at Trinity Church. I have a deep love for him and told him that I will personally help him to become acquainted more deeply with Jesus and begin to follow his ways. He joins me and all believers in the process of allowing the truth of Scriptures and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives to transform us to be more like Christ. I think the glory and power of God is really seen in that more than anything else. In that sense, the pathway of faith leads a Christ-follower to become a Christ-worshiper, and a worshiper to become an ambassador for Christ.

So I conclude by shouting a joyful, “Welcome to the family!” to my new brother.  I have just experienced first hand an adoption into God’s family and it is a beautiful thing.  But it is only the beginning.  The nurturing and growing of his faith through a genuine connection to the family of God is of utmost importance now.

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Affirmation #6 – Our Mission

Posted on March 26, 2008 by bornfun

March 26, 2008
6:37 AM

God is alive and active at Trinity Church!  We celebrated this with great fervor on Easter Sunday as we pulled out all the stops to declare in worship that “Christ is risen!”  The climax for me personally was after Allison Stinson shared her faith story.  She did such a great job declaring the wonder of Christ’s work in her life, and her recent transfer from darkness into his marvelous light.  Then we sang, “The Power of the Cross,” a piece that Jeff Moore orchestrated for us.  Jeff has an incredible talent.  He orchestrates so that the musical accompaniment isn’t just there so the musicians have something to play.  Instead, he highlights each musician’s and instrument’s sweet spot, and then brings them together to paint a beautiful musical picture that compliments the lyrics and inspires a wholehearted expression of praise from those who hear it.   It was glorious as our congregation journeyed to the cross in worship and finally declared:

This the power of the cross
Christ became sins for us
What a love, what a cost
We stand forgiven at the cross

Yet, what happened 2 days earlier at our Good Friday service was even more evidence that God is truly alive and active in our congregation.  Quite frankly, it was the highlight of my weekend.  The service was an incredible expression of praise, culminating to a glorious climax with 10 people getting baptized.  I love the way we do baptisms because it is a wonderful demonstration that the gospel is real – that Jesus is changing lives today as people turn to him, are saved, and then transformed as they grow in the faith.  Each testimony was unique, but all pointed directly to Christ and the gospel and the centrality of Scripture.  Each one also was a beautiful expression of worship to God.  I found myself feeling deeply grateful that we are who we are at Trinity.  It is easy to be critical, and I would even say, necessary, but certainly what we experienced on Friday was the fruit of a vibrant ministry where Christ and the gospel as revealed in Scripture are central to all we do.  I praise God for our senior pastor, Gary Inrig, and the intense focus that he has in teaching us solid meaty truth from the Scriptures each week.

I keep discovering pockets of people who are deeply committed to and concerned for our church and have taken it to God in prayer.  Many feel a deep hunger to see God at work here in an ever-increasing way – saving, sanctifying, growing, healing, transforming.  “God is up to something,” people are saying.  Keep praying Trinity Church – God is certainly answering our prayers!  He delights to reveal himself to his people as we look to him in faith.  Good Friday was a huge confirmation that God is answering these prayers. For that I shout a great big HALLELUJAH! “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” (1Th. 5:23-24, NIV)

I still contend that we at Trinity need to lean more toward the dangerous, costly and sometimes messy life of following Christ wholeheartedly, and perhaps that is where the next Philosophy of Ministry affirmations lead us.  There is a lot to them, but I will group them together and then make a few comments.  Affirmation #6 reads:

6. Our mission is to extend the kingdom of God by engaging our community, our culture and the world with the words and works of Jesus.

a) discussed in a former blog dated, 3/5/2008

b)We are committed to be a missional community, intentionally building bridges to the world around us to show the love of Christ and to share the truth of the gospel

i)We will train and encourage one another in personal evangelism

ii)We will actively pursue opportunities to build bridges to our community for the purpose of showing the love of God in word and deed.  This will require commitments to be intentional, strategic and contextualized.

iii)We will seek opportunities to display the gospel to the poor and disadvantaged.

iv) We will seek to deploy Christ-followers as kingdom agents in their various spheres of life.

My Comments: For the past 2 years, God has pressed on me the concept that Worship Ministries does not just exist for the church.  I don’t just look for people who have mediocre talents and employ them in using these just so we can have music, drama, dance, art and technology.  No, I want to find the people who God has gifted in these areas, then develop their talents in order to not just build up the church inside, but to engage those on the outside with the words and works of Christ.  I want the quality of what we do to compliment the message and give us a voice that when backed by the Holy Spirit, is louder and more beautiful that all other secular voices.  I want my people who serve in worship ministries to use their art to build bridges to our community for the purpose of showing the love of God in word and deed.  In this sense, they are deployed as kingdom agents in their various spheres of life.  Certainly, not all will have this opportunity, but we must pray for this, look for this, and wholeheartedly support those who do.  In that way, I hope to see us adopting artists into the family of God, and into our Trinity Church family.  You can read more on this desire in my blog written on 3/12/2008, On Adoption into God’s Family.

I also want us who lead in worship, to lead in displaying the gospel to the poor and disadvantaged.  I love it that this statement is in there! Perhaps, we who lead the church should be the ones who are getting the dirtiest, forsaking the pursuit of safe, comfortable, manageable and clean living for something much more exciting, dangerous and dare we say, biblical.  I am committed to living this type of worship life and to gently, yet consistently call those I lead to join me on the front line of leading our church in God’s ways.

c)We are committed to be a kingdom community, forming strategic partnerships with other churches and ministries to further the cause of the kingdom.

My Comments: Partnering with other churches and ministries is not a strong point of our Worship Ministries.  Our first responsibility is to serve our own family in meeting with God each week in our worship services. The problem is that we are pretty used up just serving our own church family needs and ministries.  However, there is a real value in joining others, so we must keep our eyes open to possibilities to partner with other churches and ministries for the sake of furthering the cause of the kingdom.  Last summer we joined with other churches in a worship concert ministry in a Yucaipa park.  We also had Ecclesia come for a worship night.  Mary Bawden of SonLight has done annual workshops in Christian Dance and is gaining influence as a leader in her area. Currently, we broadcast our sermons, faith stories and media (videos we create) through our website on the Web.  In addition to making the art we create accessible to others, I would like to have large enough teams that we are intentionally deploying some of our people in other areas for a season.  I would specifically like to partner with other local churches and ministries as we focus first on our own community.

d)We are committed to be a global community, with a mission-hearted concern to reach the peoples of the world in obedience to the Great Commission.

i)We will send and support members of our congregation who are called by God to vocational missions.

ii)We will cultivate in our members a global outlook.

iii)We will provide opportunities for members of our congregation to engage in direct ministry in cross-cultural contexts.

iv)We will seek out and partner with other strategic ministries.

My Comments:  We have the privilege in Worship Ministries to use the arts to communicate the gospel.  In the same way that we deploy people to be kingdom agents in their spheres of influence, and to partner with other churches and ministries locally, I would like to see individuals and teams going out from us.  This is the model God gives us for the spread of the gospel, and certainly worship ministries needs to be faithful to send as well.  We also need to be faithful to support those who have gone out from among us.  In that way, we will rally behind and join the support teams of those we send.  Right now that includes Ed Pithey and John Charlier in full-time vocational missions.  Even as I write, we also have a number of our team on a short-term missions project serving Aids patients in the Bahamas.  It is our privilege to pray and support God’s work in and through our people.

In conclusion, we at Trinity are called to be an attractional, missional, kindom and globally minded people.  This isn’t just something that we in Worship Ministries give lip service to, but rather is something we willingly jump into, forsaking safety, comfort and cleanliness and developing a deeper faith and a Christ-centered practice of our faith as a result.  Let us be on the frontline as we proclaim the words and works of Christ in our actions as well as our art.  Now that is worship that pleases God!

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On The Passion Week & Prayer

Posted on March 19, 2008 by bornfun

This week is the Passion Week.  On Good Friday, we will center in on Christ and the cross and spend some extended time there in worship.  I’m so excited about our service that I found myself tingling with anticipation and watery-eyed as I walked through it with the worship band at our rehearsal.  I love crafting a worship service, bringing all of the involved people together, rehearsing, anticipating, praying, and finally experiencing it with the body of Christ.  I sense God’s pleasure as I agonize over who and what and when and how.  Easter is no different, although a bigger collaboration.  We had an incredible band rehearsal on Monday.  I get to rehearse all of the elements tomorrow night with my Worship Planning Team.  I especially appreciated the prayer times that I have had with people as we approach this very important day of worship.  I love to hear God’s people express their hearts for God and his people, including those who have yet to become God’s people.  Our prayer time as a pastoral staff was particularly encouraging yesterday as we paused to pray for our Easter worship services and those who will come to meet with God.  There is something beautiful about the unity of heart, mind and soul that comes from corporate prayer together – when all eyes are looking to God with the same purpose.

God has taught me a lot about prayer over the past year.  I have come from a place of believing in prayer, but having a weak practice of it to a place of deep faith in God, expressed through the practice of it.  I will never be satisfied with how often or well I pray, but it is becoming more and more central to my life and is making me a more dependent child upon my Heavenly Father.  That is a good thing.  It is also making me more watchful as I wait with the assurance that God will move in answer to these prayers.  I think it is happening corporately with our church family as well, and that just makes me smile and anticipate the wonderful works God is about to do in and through us.

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Prayer and the Wind

Posted on March 18, 2008 by bornfun

I need to be quick this morning, but I need to record our wonderful afternoon and evening last Sunday.  The McHargue’s called a prayer meeting for a possible adoption ministry at Trinity.  We met at their home with the Salladin’s.  It was such a wonderful time as we heard Tim and Leandra’s heart for adoption, and the place that God has led them in the process.  I just listened a lot and my heart was so full and my eyes were moist as I realized the work that God was doing and going to do.  At one point, Tim mentioned that God was up to something in our church, but he didn’t know what.  When we prayed, the emphasis was almost more on our church, namely that God would pour out his Spirit on us and do his work among us.  We all went around and prayed sincerely and passionately and then Tim closed.  All of us didn’t move or say a word – we were not done yet.  We sang Spirit of the Living God and even then didn’t stop.  There were some great moments of silence.  God was there and I am certain that God was pleased.

Later that evening, back at home, Julie was asleep in front of the fire and I went and lay down beside her.  My thoughts were consumed with our time together earlier that afternoon and I just kept praying for the McHargue’s and the Salladin’s and for us and for our church.  I was dozing in and out of restless sleep as I continued in the joy of our prayer time that afternoon.  The fire was also burning brighter than usual, but for some reason, I didn’t turn it down.  That kept me awake.  At some point, I did doze off and was awakened by the sound of a loud whistling wind.  I felt it as I heard it and sat right up.  I noticed that our front door was open.  I immediately got up with a sure sense that God was in the wind.  I went to shut the door and thought, “Why did God wake me up with a wind like this?  What does he want to show me?”  I looked outside and it was completely still.  My skin was tingling all over and I began to cry.  I walked around the house looking outside to see if there was any wind and it was completely still.  As I stood there and cried, I sensed a beautiful presence of God in our home.  It was as if the wind coming through the door was a fullness of his Holy Spirit, resting on us and on our home.  I woke Julie up and shared this experience with her.

I interpret this as a sign from God of a number of things.  First, that He was delighted and pleased with what we did that afternoon, and with what we are doing, not only praying for our church, but answering the call of caring for orphans and widows.  Second, I sensed an assurance that he was answering our prayer to fill us with the Holy Spirit in order that we could accomplish the task that he had ahead.  Third, I sensed a readiness – that he had heard our prayers and was going to literally open the door to bringing us the children we had been waiting and praying for.  Fourth, I felt in this wind, the presence of God giving me another big hug – just as he had at the Saddleback Conference nearly 2 years ago.  Saying, “You’re exactly where I want you.”

I continued to cry for the next half hour or so until I climbed into bed.  Julie and I prayed and thanked God and then went to sleep with full assurance that God was with us and will always be with us.  We also knew that we were making some new friends in the McHargue’s who were like-minded and like-hearted.  I also sensed that a phone call would come this week bringing us the next children God has for us.  We’ll see.

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On Adoption Into God’s Family

Posted on March 12, 2008 by bornfun

March 12, 2008
8:03 AM

Last Sunday we celebrated our newly adopted daughter, Maria! We pulled out all the stops and made as much of it as possible. This is how we all felt – overjoyed that this little girl was part of our family. After I prepared for this and then experienced the glorious celebration, I became convicted of something regarding the church, and specifically our church. You could say it is a vision, or maybe just a clarifying of what God has called us to.

First a question. Why has the church in Europe dwindled down to nothing? Perhaps 1 or 2% are evangelical Christians in most western countries. The numbers are dwindling here in North America as well. Why are we losing the younger generations in our churches? Statistics say that a high percentage of high school students stop church attendance once they graduate. Most churches have few young adults in their 20’s and 30’s. I would argue that the answer in part is that we have lost our passion for adoption. Certainly, my desire is that the evangelical church would become the champions for adopting children who need homes and families, but I am talking about the bigger picture of adoption into God’s family. The biblical explanation of those who belong to Christ is rich with adoption language. God calls himself our Father, and we are his children.

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1John 3:1, NIV)”

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” (Eph. 1:3-6, NIV)

God’s passion is for adoption – he sent his Son, Jesus, for the purpose of adding us as children to his family. “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13, NIV) Thus we who are adopted into God’s family use the term “born again.” I think that the vision that I had is just a clearer understanding of God’s heart for those who don’t belong to him – those whom he has chosen, but because of human will, haven’t “received” him. What would our church look like if we shared the same passion for adopting them that we all did with Maria? What would my actions look like if I looked at people in my community who are outside God’s family with the same desire to bring them in? Let me reflect on how we all felt about Maria and then I will make some parallels to what this would look like in our church family.

My heart has been broken for children who are orphaned, neglected, abused and mistreated. I weep the moment I hear a story or see a picture of these kids. I long to take them all into my home and family. I agonize over them and pray for them. With Maria, we were willing to pay any price to secure her position in our family. We counted the cost, the changes that this would eternally make in our family, and we considered them way worth it all. We began to skip meals to get down on our knees and pray for her. Our desire for Maria to join our family was transferred to many others. Hundreds of people, many from our family and church family were praying for her too. We all wept when we thought that we were going to lose her. We persevered in love even though it took a long time and the outcome was not guaranteed. We were convinced that what we had to offer her was the best, and we wanted her to have it all – all our love, access to everything we possess, sharing in our joy of life, loved by everyone who loves us, and having all of this forever. Now, doesn’t God feel like that about us, especially about those of us who are outside of his family? Doesn’t he feel the same joy when someone who is outside, confesses him as Lord and “receives” him, gaining eternal life with him? Jesus said that there is more rejoicing in heaven over 1 sinner who repents than over 99 righteous.

Here’s what’s happening to the American church. We are tragically focused inward on the family – let’s make it comfortable, clean, and spend a lot of time fulfilling our needs, making everything just right for us. We even put some big security fences up to make sure we are safe from those who are unlike us – economically, racially, and even generationally. We talk like we want them, but we are unwilling to take the risks and change our ways to go after them. We forget that we should be a family that is always passionately going after those who need to be adopted in. And we must realize that these people are broken and will cause us to get messy. In reality, we are the same, we just spend a lot of our time, energy and money to cover up our brokenness and avoid messiness. Also, bringing them in will most certainly change the makeup of our family forever. We will have to have a love that perseveres even during hardship. Yet we must be open to the goodness that they will bring to us. Here’s what it might look like if we shared God’s heart for adoption.

It would deeply affect our hearts, our values and our behavior inside and outside of our church gatherings. First, what would it look like in our day-to-day lives? We would begin to have broken hearts for those who are outside. We would sign up for God’s program and realize that he existed to ‘seek and save the lost.’ We would exist for the same purpose. We would seek to understand how he works, sign up to join him, and then let everyone know that’s what we’re about. We would also involve ourselves in consistent and regular training so that we can be effective. We would realize that the health of our family is of utmost importance and we would guard that carefully. We must be a great family and be convinced that we are a great family to be a part of – where the fruit of the Holy Spirit abounds and even overflows. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control should define us. Now that’s a healthy family! Then we would agonize in prayer for people by name, sparing no expense to bring them in. Shamefully, I feel it lacking in my own personal prayer life and even in our pastoral staff meetings. We don’t want these people enough. We are self-consumed. We are more concerned about our programs than seeing the lost be saved and the saved be transformed. We must agonize over these people, especially those who have joined the family, but are in danger of leaving. We must get back to the basics of brotherly love for our family members and for our neighbors at all costs. By this will all people know that we are followers of Christ!

What would this look like during our family gatherings? We would look at everyone who walks on our campus and into our buildings with a longing for them to belong, feel at home and thrive in our family. We would delight in bringing in new people. Finally, we would rejoice sparing no expense when we gain a new son, daughter, brother or sister. All of the above is severely lacking at Trinity Church and it begins with me. I think we’re pretty comfortable as is and that is a very dangerous place to be. Trinity Church excels at building up our own. I think that we care well for our own children, and we must not lose that. However, we must be a “both and” kind of family. We take care of our own, but we join with our Father who is always seeking to see his family grow with new children. Does anyone want to join me in being this kind of family?

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Affirmation #6 – Engaging the World

Posted on March 5, 2008 by bornfun

March 5, 2008
7:21 AM

This week, I will look at the 6th Affirmation in our Philosophy of Ministry statement.  This one is a bit lengthy, with these four points: we are an attractional community, a missional community, a kingdom community, and a global community.  I will just look in depth at the first today.  It is stated as follows:

6. Our mission is to extend the kingdom of God by engaging our community, our culture and the world with the words and works of Jesus.

a) We are committed to be an attractional community, as salt and light manifesting the reality of the living God to a watching world.

i)We will seek to be the kind of people who live by the values of the gospel.

ii) We will seek to meet the needs of all kinds of people in our community with ministries of excellence that appropriately address the needs of various groups.

iii) We will emphasize the gospel in all our ministries and hold creative “magnet” events that move people towards a commitment to Christ as Savior and Lord.

iv) Our goal will be to make the gospel “understandable” to the people we meet, but not necessarily comfortable.

I love the fact that this statement captures the “both and” nature of the gospel.  It is not just proclamation, but it is proclamation demonstrated through service that truly extends the kingdom of God – it is a words and works gospel.  We demonstrate our faith with works.  As James said, “Faith without works is dead.”  So the question for Worship Ministries, is where does our responsibility lie in regards to this affirmation?  First we must identify what the words and works of Jesus are, and then ask what this should look like in the worship service.  Clearly, we will rally around the words of Jesus as we celebrate and rally around the gospel (this is the focus of our first affirmation).  However, I would like to spend some time thinking about the works of Jesus.  How do we engage our community, our culture and world with the works of Jesus?  What are the works of Jesus?  I am immediately drawn to Isaiah’s prophecy of what the Messiah would accomplish.

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” (Is. 61:1-3, NIV)

These are the works that Jesus did when he came. He even said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:21, NIV) We not only need to tell of all the works Christ did, we also must extend these same works to our community, culture and world.  Jesus continues this work, but he has sent us as an extension of himself, and he has also empowered us to accomplish this work.

“Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ” (John 20:21-23, NIV)

So what does this look like in Worship Ministries at Trinity?  Let’s look at the sub-points.  First, we are to be an attractional community.  What looks most attractive to the watching world?  I would say that it is a combination of what they see on the outside and what they discover if and when they look deeper.  On the outside, what we do should be beautiful – what we look like, what our worship space looks like, the art that we produce, what we sound like, these things should communicate quality and beauty.  But there’s so much more than that.  In fact there’s a huge disconnect that quickly becomes unattractive if this second part is missing.  Do we convey an overflow of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in the way we work together?  Is our joy contagious?  Is there an obvious love expressed and demonstrated toward one another?  Are we gentle and kind as we collaborate together as a team?  Is our expression of worship to God authentic?  While it may take time to see these things, there is a first impression that is made by the visible interactions between us as we serve our church family and each other during the worship service.  People are watching us.  The presence of the Holy Spirit overflowing through us will direct people’s attention upward to God, and this is where it should be in worship.  Of course there is a second observation here, and that is the first sub-point: we will seek to be the kind of people who live by the values of the gospel. Most of this is realized and practiced outside of the worship service.  We must be worshipers there above all else.  When we are not, we personally become a distraction to those who have witnessed our hypocrisy – perhaps our own children and loved ones most of all.  Let’s keep in mind, that if our greatest concern is being attractive to God, we will no doubt be attractive to others. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Rom. 12:1, NIV)

Second, we will seek to meet the needs of all kinds of people in our community with ministries of excellence that appropriately address the needs of various groups.  There are two parts of this that we must consider.  Is our worship programming and leadership meeting the needs of “all kinds of people” in our community?  In our context this simply means that we want to make sure that we are helping as many people connect with God in worship as possible. Are we speaking their language with art that is accessible, relevant and engaging?  Style is certainly of utmost importance here.  So are the tools of delivery, namely our technology.  Then of course, we want it to be done with excellence.  Are we committed to excellence that is always increasing?  Do we push one another and ourselves toward that?  There is joy is shared excellence, but it does not come without hard work, and an openness to critical evaluation, and an investment of time and money.

Third, we will emphasize the gospel in all our ministries and hold creative “magnet” events that move people towards a commitment to Christ as Savior and Lord.  I am increasingly convinced that our job as worship leaders and planners is to lead our church in rallying around the gospel.  Sparing no expense, we ought to declare and celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ, and what it is accomplishing among us.  I think that our worship service should be a weekly “magnet” event.  However, we should also use our artistic talents to do events outside the church worship service, and even off-campus that attract people and move them towards a commitment to Christ as Savior and Lord.  Since my area of expertise is not in big production, I have leaned more toward events like the Benefit Concert, the SonLight Dance concert, and Groovin’ in the Grove.  I would like to see our orchestra team and drama team partner with TLC (Trinity Learning Center) for a Children’s Musical.  I also want to encourage and empower creative people and teams to plan their own outreach events with our blessing and support.

Fourth, our goal will be to make the gospel “understandable” to the people we meet, but not necessarily comfortable.  While our programming is first of all meant to draw people to worship God, we also realize that we need to be edgy at times, delivering challenges to Christ-followers and unbelievers alike.  Worship leaders and those who preach the gospel must be bold in calling people to not only understand the gospel, but to appropriately respond in faith and obedience to it.

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Affirmation #5 – Ministry Lifestyle

Posted on February 27, 2008 by bornfun

February 27, 2008
7:13 AM

After a break last week to celebrate Maria’s adoption, I’m jumping back into Trinity Church’s Philosophy of Ministry and its implications for Worship Ministries.  The 5th affirmation is stated as follows:

5. Our conviction is that ministry is the lifestyle of every believer.

a) Because ministry is not the task of the few, but the work of all, we are committed to “equip the saints for the work of ministry.”

b) We believe in cultivating giftedness by empowering people, affirming vision, staying flexible and valuing creativity.

c) We believe that, important as gifts are, a servant mindset and personal godliness trump giftedness.

d) We are committed to prepare our members as kingdom-agents, deploying them for ministry not only in our congregation, but in our community and beyond.

This affirmation has huge implications on how I lead my people, specifically how I cultivate the mindset and attitude of those who serve on my teams.  I feel strongly that my role as Pastor of Worship Ministries is to first and foremost to serve my people by empowering them to use their gifts well to serve the Lord and his church, and then, to deploy them in using their gifts to declare the gospel of Jesus Christ, and highlight its saving and transforming power to those who are lost apart from Christ.  I value all artistic creativity and seek to find and enlist people who have artistic gifts in worship ministry at Trinity.  I also want to utilize modern technology and practices to declare the best message of all in the most engaging, exciting, compelling and powerful way possible.  We lead our people to rally around the gospel and it is worth every effort to make it glorious!  Trinity is a church that recognizes the power of the arts to communicate the message of Christ and enable people to respond in worship.  We invest time and resources to equip and empower our artistic people and to remain culturally relevant in our use of modern technology.

It is of utmost importance to pause here and remember that we are not an art-centered church, we are Christ-centered and our art is subservient to the message we proclaim and the value of the people we serve in the church and outside the church.  In this way, points c) and d) capture the heartbeat of Worship Ministries.

One of the highest values I have when it comes to worship ministry is that we practice and exhibit humility above all else.  Humility is best seen in a servant mindset toward the Lord, one another and toward those we lead in worship.  Christ is our example of humility and we will follow him first and foremost in this way. I gave a closing address at our Worship Ministries Workshop last September that outlined my vision and that really highlights the importance of this servant mindset.

God’s church is edified – Our worship teams and team members are truly serving the body, not themselves. Our goal is to put the spotlight on Him and not ourselves. And yet we do so with an excellence that he is worthy of – nothing but our best, and our best best be getting better. We humbly use our talents to minister to our church family. Humility is what balances out excellence to make the right combination to offer worship that is pleasing to God and accessible to the people we lead … Humble people boast in their weaknesses along with the Apostle Paul who said, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ”(2Cor. 12:9-10, NIV) Humility also says, “How can I serve you better?” We serve one another and our church with our artistic and technical talents. We’re always looking for opportunities to build each other up – in this way we love one another. We are <u>always</u> willing to change our ways and stretch our talents to benefit the team and accomplish our mission.”

It is important to recognize that humility is a bi-product of growth in personal godliness.  I said it this way in the abovementioned address when highlighting the highest priority or worship ministries.

God is glorified – our worship leadership is leading from hearts that are totally devoted to Christ and continually being transformed into his image, for his glory alone. “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2Cor. 3:18, NIV) I’ve heard this prayer, “Lord we want to see your glory,” prayed often in a worship service context. What if we prayed instead, “Lord, transform us in your likeness with ever-increasing glory?” I think God would be pleased to reveal his glory in us this way. And as it happens in the worship leadership, so will it go with the congregation … We lead by modeling a response of worship that includes repentance, faith and obedience – perhaps these are the best indicators that transformation is in the works. The Lord is glorified as we are transformed into his likeness.”

Lastly, I love the language in the last point that we are ‘deployed kingdom-agents.’ Worship ministries is not a place to do sub-par art for our church family.  It is a place to do the best art possible that, while serving our church family, will also have an increasing ministry beyond the four walls of our church.  Good art will naturally lead to opportunities as deployed kingdom agents to the world.

I end with this third vision statement from my worship ministries address: The lost are being saved – those who do not know Christ are finding salvation as they observe the worshipping church, and are invited to participate. God’s Spirit is undeniably present and overflowing through the lives of his people inside and outside the church worship service. They are discovering the joy and responsibility as his ambassadors to the lost, inviting them to be reconciled to God.  We are fooling ourselves if we think that we are serving the Lord in a pleasing way if our heart doesn’t have compassion for the lost. This has been one of my greatest struggles and sins in life. It is so easy to consume ourselves completely in the church and in serving the church and forget that the church is about mission and that mission is Jesus’ mission. And Jesus declared his mission like this, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”(Luke 19:10, NIV) I want to encourage each of us to use our artistic or technical area to be ambassadors for Jesus. With it we can declare the gospel of Christ, and we can make friends with those who have never discovered the Creator of their talent. Does your heart break for the lost? Do you know people who are artists or technicians like yourself who don’t know Christ? Do you use your artistic or technical talent to creatively tell the gospel of Christ?”

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Introducing Maria Joy Born!

Posted on February 20, 2008 by bornfun

Yesterday was an extraordinary day!  We finalized our adoption and heard the judge declare a new name for our daughter – Maria Joy Born.  It was not a grand ceremony, but having many of our friends and family surrounding us in the courtroom made it grand.  Maria has been given so much more than just us.  And really this whole process of her becoming part of our family is about so much more than just us.

First of all, it is about God’s sovereign hand moving to reveal his awesome power and accomplish his perfect will.  Because her story was made public, many people saw and each one’s faith was strengthened.  Personally, I experienced what Job declared at the end of his story that is told in the Bible. “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you.” (Job 42:5, NIV)   “All eyes are on you God.  All eyes are on you,” was my motto a year ago as I went to that first court hearing after Maria’s move was stopped.  I think that God likes that kind of attention.

Second, it is about bringing this little girl into our lives and bringing us into hers.  God has an extraordinary plan for Maria’s life – she is not a mistake and it’s not just chance that she ended up with us.  God says this: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;” (Jer. 1:5, NIV)  He then goes on to declare his specific purpose to Jeremiah.  While God’s specific purpose for Maria is a mystery, we certainly believe that she has been created for a reason and we will raise her with this declaration.  We will raise all of our children to understand this more than anything else.  I summed it up in part of a song that I wrote to her yesterday.  The bridge states it this way:

You’re beautiful, and you should know
The One who formed your heart
He knew your name, and knew where you
Belonged right from the start

Whether or not my children come from my genes, regardless of when and how they come, I believe this with all of my heart.  Certainly, we must look at all people through the lens of this profound truth, especially those that our society marginalizes – the unwanted pregnancy, the disabled child, the orphan, the widow, the homeless, the poor, the addict, the wounded and the prisoner.  My home and family shall be a place where redemption through Jesus Christ is lived out loud – a bright light sounding a beauty that eclipses the darkness and breathes life where there once was death.

Lastly, I think I have discovered my purpose.  Welcome to the family, Maria Joy Born! Lord, you’ve given me a wonderful wife and 2 extraordinary children.  You’ve given me the best friends and family in the world.  You’ve given me a great job that provides sufficiently for all of my needs and then some. You’ve given me 3 more empty seats in my car, and four around my table, and plenty more room in my house.  I’m waiting for you to fill them.  In the meantime, fill me with your Spirit.  Let me overflow and may it be beautiful to you and to all who see it!  Amen.

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Affirmation #4 – Authentic Biblical Community

Posted on February 13, 2008 by bornfun

February 13, 2008
7:09 AM

I’m taking a look at the 4th affirmation of our Philosophy of Ministry at Trinity Church. This has been an incredibly valuable process for me as I lead my church family in the area of worship ministries. Every one of these statements has huge implications for my leadership teams and me as we nurture the formation of the worship culture of our church. It is breathing a renewed vision and passion to be the church that God would have us be and do the things he would have us do. Here is the 4th affirmation:

4. Our concern is the development of authentic biblical community, experienced on the congregational and small group level.

a) We are committed to be a counter-cultural community that embodies the values and relationships of the kingdom

b) We are committed to smaller communities in which we can experience significant relationships that provide encouragement, accountability and care, and promote significant growth.

An obvious question comes to mind. What does “authentic biblical community” look like on the congregational level, and what is the role of worship toward this end? Thankfully, the sub-points serve to give some context to what authentic biblical community should look like.

First, we should be counter-cultural. Wow, are we really a counter-cultural community at Trinity? Yes, we are, but to what extent? Do our values and relationships really stand in stark contrast to those promoted by the world? This highlights a huge problem in the American church in general and surely we struggle there as well. Over and over, I am being confronted by the whole ‘cost’ of discipleship issue. God is hammering me with this lately, so much so, that I tend to see it everywhere. Perhaps he is asking me to speak out and be his voice in this area. The cost of discipleship is glaring throughout the pages of the New Testament and we as leaders in the evangelical American church are forsaking this calling. Our tamed down version of Jesus does not demand much of us. Our worship services including our messages, music and other programming are fairly tame and ordinary, and aimed at being comfortable, entertaining, convenient and pleasing to those who gather to worship. We are more concerned with being attractive to people than being attractive to God. Holiness is what is attractive to God. One of the ways that God moves us toward holiness is as we worship him in a congregational setting. How can I address and nurture this process? We tend to shy away from times of silence, times of prayer and times for repentance during our worship services. We aren’t very good at leading an adequate and thoughtful time of response to the teaching of God’s Word. These are areas where I am committed to growth. I want to come to the end of every worship service having spent everything I have to declare the worth of my God, and I want to leave more aware of the cost of being his disciple and committed to do something about it. I want to encourage those who are gathered in worship to do the same. Isaac Watts captured the cost of discipleship and proclaimed it in a worship song, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.” We must be a worshiping community that is counter-cultural as demonstrated by the fact that we give all that Jesus demands.

Notice that the other sub-point to authentic biblical community is that we are committed to smaller communities where we experience significant relationships and grow together. I shall promote this end in two ways. First of all, I want to highlight the importance of worshiping together in small groups. I place the same value on leading a small group with a guitar or accompaniment track, as I do a large group with a full band. I would like an army of worship leaders who will be deployed from time to time to lead smaller groups. Each ministry should be a worshiping community at its core and I am committed to resourcing and nurturing worship leaders to that end. Second is that my worship ministry teams need to reflect authentic biblical community as well. While our primary function is to serve the church with our artistic or technical talent, we also exist for the purpose of serving one another. While we devote the majority of our time to prepare and polish our craft, we must also reflect a smaller community where we experience significant relationships that provide encouragement, accountability and care, and promote significant growth. I do want to clearly distinguish our purpose as different than and not a substitute for other significant involvement in small group fellowship with the body of Christ at Trinity. However, we should certainly be an authentic biblical community as well. One of my favorite descriptions or even calls to community is captured by Peter. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. ” (1Pet. 4:8-11, NIV)

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Signing Adoption Papers

Posted on February 6, 2008 by bornfun

On a personal note, today is a very exciting day in the Born household.  Around noon, we will sign the adoption papers for Maria.  Exactly a year ago I wrote these words:

The real issue of life, the bottom line for the Christ-follower, is the answer to this question.  Do I trust God or not?  This is the question of faith. … Do I trust in God’s faithfulness when I’m feeling something else, or to put it in the words of a friend, “When it’s not working for me?”  Well, this is what I have found out regarding faith as I walk through the unknown future with my daughter, Maria, whom my wife and I hope to adopt.  Right now I face a terrible loss – it’s a date on the calendar for next week, the day I am to give her away to her great-aunt … The knowledge of this possibility came to us in November.  Julie and I decided to make this a matter of prayer and have devoted Wednesday afternoons to fasting and praying for this situation.  This decision to devote ourselves to prayer has changed everything – it gives us the right perspective and it takes us to the humble position of our knees, together, as we confess our utter dependence upon our heavenly father. This unites our hearts with one another and opens our eyes to the bigger picture of God’s sovereignty – this is bigger than us and really isn’t ultimately about us.  Prayer makes us hopeful, not in getting our way, but with the felt presence of God working in and through us as we place our trust in Him.

Is it just chance that we get to sign the papers for Maria’s adoption at the same time that we have devoted to prayer for the past year?  Is it a coincidence that we go to court to finalize the adoption a year almost to the day since we were schedule to give her away? I see God’s hand in it.  I am flooded by a sense of his pleasure.  He has proved his faithfulness time and again, and I walk away with a determined confidence in his timing and sovereignty.  (Even now as we have been on the list waiting since September for our next children to adopt.)  I echo the words to an old hymn, “Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him; How I’ve proved him o’er and o’er; Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus, o for grace to trust him more.”  I’d like to live my life spotlighting the proof of God’s faithfulness.  Certainly that proof will come through times of terrible loss as well.  But this time is a time of wonderful gain – I gain a daughter for life – Maria Joy Born.  Billy was chatting about his ‘deep thoughts’ before bedtime with Julie the other night.  He said, “Mommy, this means that I’ll get to see Maria when she’s 6 like me.”  She is so beautiful – I just can’t imagine what she will look like as a young lady.  For now, I will devote my time to cultivating her inner-beauty and thriving in the fact that I am her Daddy and will remain so forever.

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