DEAR FRIENDS IN CHRIST,

Like many people approaching middle age, I’m in self-evaluation mode. I’ve been reviewing my life, examining what I’ve done (not much) and what I’ve left undone (quite a bit). I’ve been reading my story and, frankly, I’m a little disappointed.

Donald Miller writes about this kind of reflection in A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. Miller and two filmmakers were writing the screenplay from his book Blue Like Jazz when he realized that his life was actually rather boring. The natural progression of events didn’t make for a good movie, as one filmmaker explained:

“In a pure story,” he said like a professor, “there is purpose in every scene, in every line of dialogue. A movie is going somewhere.”

The last line rang in my ear like an accusation. I felt defensive, as though the scenes in my life weren’t going anywhere. I mean, I knew they weren’t going anywhere, but it didn’t seem okay for anybody else to say it.

Too often, the scenes in my life seem like a random search for answers to innocuous questions: When am I going to lose 15 pounds? When will I have enough money to buy a new camera? Will we ever finish painting the family room? If I’m committed to action, the answers can be good, but they do not make for a good story.

Miller imagines God as our Writer; we are the characters of His story. As I evaluated my life, I realized I had an amazing opportunity to commit to His story for me right now: a story about a new community of faith being created where there wasn’t one before in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. The story of a group of people who want to turn their fantastic experience with God and their home church into a similar experience for others. It’s a story of setting aside worldly desires and making the Savior’s greatest desire for us — Love one another as I have loved you — a number one priority.

It’s impossible to be a character in this kind of story without being transformed. There will be conflict. There will be joy. There are days when I feel completely unqualified to be a part of this endeavor. There are moments when it all seems like a lot of fumbling in the dark. But there’s a reason the Bible says “Do not fear” more than 200 times, says Miller: “The great stories go to those who don’t give in to fear.”

Thanks to God and the steady, patient guidance of Pastor Scott, the LITH mission is in the early stages of a very exciting story. In June we will have more clearly defined our vision; by September we hope to have a place for monthly worship, meetings, and Bible study. The story is developing, and it’s a lot more exhilarating than any story I’d write for myself.

Miller imagines God as he “writes the world, sitting over planets and placing tiny people in tiny wombs,”

If I have a hope, it’s that God sat over the dark nothing and wrote you and me, specifically, into the story, and put us in with the sunset and the rainstorm as though to say, Enjoy your place in my story. The beauty of it means you matter, and you can create within it even as I have created you.

All praise and honor and glory (and creative license) to the Writer of our stories!

~ Diane Strzelecki

God plants churches, we don’t!

Now, that’s not how it was presented.  All the speakers, including famous Pastors, Christian authors, leadership gurus, and successful church planters had their own spin on this.  There were vision frames to work through, crazy love to experience, and a church plant whose first Good Friday service had 12,000 people attend – I suppose it does help to have Chris Tomlin as your worship leader!  But in the end, all the famous & not so famous speakers came back to the same point: “Yeah, we tried to use common sense and put ourselves in the best location possible to reach the community, but…

God planted this church – I didn’t!

God moved the hearts of people to receive his grace – the worship leader didn’t!

God has sustained us through times when attendance dropped, finances were tight, and staff left – feelings of despair didn’t win!

God grew this church – fancy technology and marketing gimmicks didn’t!

In the end, it was encouraging to hear all of the church planters end up communicating the same message:  ”God – let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!”

“We Go, He Grows”…as relevant as ever…

John 21:4-7

⁴Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. ⁵He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”  ”No,” they answered. ⁶He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. ⁷Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

It was exciting to dig into Peter’s post-Easter experiences last weekend in worship because I feel like we are right with Peter in the fishing boat off the shore.  We know that we’re hearing the voice of Christ calling to us – imploring us to do something that seems so crazy, something that we’re not sure how it’s going to turn out, and we’ve got to make a decision:

Jump or No Jump.
Get Wet or Stay Dry.
Follow Jesus or Keep Fishing.

We’re going to have to make some decisions in the very near future about where we’re going to be located, what type of worship space to design, what style(s) of worship to begin with, what part time positions to staff first, what growth experiences we plan for kids, teens, & adults, and a myriad of other things.  And in the midst of all the discussions, meetings, disagreements, frustrations, and just heaps of stuff to get done, it is possible to allow that voice calling to us from the shore to fade into the background.

So, on this bright sunny Thursday morning, I want you to hear Jesus loud and clear:
“Go – Make Disciples! Baptize! Teach them to Know Me!”

Are you ready to go?  I’m ready to go with you!

Are we going to Jump in and go make disciples?
Are we going to Get Wet & baptize people into a relationship with Christ?
Are we going to Follow Jesus & teach our community to really know Jesus?

Let’s Go!!

I just love Easter!  It’s the best holiday of the whole year.  I love it not just for the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, but also for the warm breezes that blow in and the tulips that begin to pop up.  And when I worshipped in a more traditional church I loved Easter because it meant that Lent, the anti-alleluia deep purple church season, was finally over!  Whew!

Is there a way we can celebrate Easter in a different way this year?  Is there some way to live out the new, vibrant, kingdom risk-taking life that Jesus has given you??  You’ve heard of people giving up things for Lent, but what about people taking up new adventures for Easter?  Here are some ideas to consider…

• Begin a new habit – daily Bible reading, prayer – individually or with your family.
• Set a goal to invite 1 person to go to church with you each week/month.
• Have faith talks in the car or at dinner each day with your family.
• Go on a mission trip this summer (local, national, international – it doesn’t matter which).
• Befriend that person in your neighborhood (yes – that one) that needs a friend.
• Begin a relationship with a local agency that helps the needy – whether it’s giving money, time, or both.
• Sponsor a neighborhood VBS in your backyard this summer.
• Hold a neighborhood BBQ to begin building stronger relationships with your neighbors.

What else can you think of?  What are some other ways that we can begin to help others see that through Jesus, life is full of hope, love, and adventure?!?

Let’s Go!!

I had no idea that this program even existed, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.  On one hand I get to carry around a Gold card in my wallet that will be so impressive that I’d better be careful not to flash it around people with heart conditions.  But on the other hand, I’m not sure I’m so sold on Starbucks’ mission that I want to be identified as a ‘card-carrying’ member.  In a nutshell, that’s what Gold Cards are all about – pride & identity.

What if churches sent out Gold Cards to their best members?

Should you get a Gold Card from your church?  What criteria should be used to determine if you’re one of the best members?  Is it because you give more money than 95% of the other church members, or you participate in every single Bible study that is offered, or your grandfather built the pew that your family always sits in?

How proud would you be to have that shiny Jesus Gold Card staring back at you when you got your wallet out to pay for groceries?  How loyal would you be to the church that issued the card to you, promising you that if you show the card, you’ll get a free cookie to go with the standard issue cup of Folgers’ coffee every Sunday?

Where do Christians really find pride and identity?

I hope that the absurdity of the last couple of paragraphs made you chuckle.  That’s not what Church is about, is it?  Worrying about being one of the ‘best members’ of the congregation or giving visitors the evil eye for sitting in ‘your’ seat is what can happen when congregations forget Paul’s point in Ephesians 2:8-10

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

There is no other place where Christians find pride and identity than in Christ himself.  Going to worship at church is not about favorite seats or songs; it’s about receiving Christ’s gifts and giving thanks.  Bible study isn’t about collecting information to feel smart; it’s about growing in a life-long relationship with Jesus.  Giving an offering isn’t about satiating guilt or appeasing a god; it’s about recognizing that what you have is God’s & that your job is to be a good steward of God’s stuff.

How does this work in a brand new church like the LITH Mission?

Starting a new church isn’t about being trendy or making the drive to worship more convenient; it’s about connecting people to Christ.  Everything we do MUST focus on connecting people to Christ.  There’s no room for arguing over who sits in what pew, worrying about who drives what kind of car to church, or wondering if you’ll impress everyone with your Starbucks Gold Card.  The precious time and energy God gives us will NOT be spent on such issues.  Instead we choose to focus on the undeniable truth that God has created us anew in Christ Jesus so that, as his masterpieces, we would do whatever it takes to make Him known in our families, neighborhoods, and villages.

That’s our passion.  That’s our mission. Join the movement!

Let’s Go!!!

God sure has blessed us with a fun group of people and lots of big dreams for what our LITH Mission could look like in the future!  I can’t wait for next month!

Thanks especially to Prince of Peace in Crystal Lake for the use of their building. And thanks to Rachel and Susan for painting an incredibly lifelike jungle scene.  The kids (me included!) felt like we were in the South American jungle (“It’s like America, but South!) searching for Paradise Falls!

We’re off to a great start!

Only 8 days.  8 looooooonnnngggg days.

8 days until all the people who have said they want to be a part of this LITH Mission adventure get to meet each other and dream about what this new congregation can do for God’s kingdom right now!

8 days until we get a snapshot of who will be embarking on this adventure with us.

8 days until we find out just how well our leadership team works together.

8 days until we begin an adventure that will bring people who were hopeless to the sure hope that’s in Christ.

8 days until we begin an adventure that will bring people who thought that ‘church’ couldn’t possibly be for them into the new perspective that they are church – and that it’s a pretty fun thing to be!

8 days until we begin an adventure that will grow our trust in God by leaps and bounds.

8 days until we get to see how many normally sized helium balloons it takes to make a 1.2 lb cardboard house be lifted up

(any guesses?)

8 more days…

It sure is hard to wait – but the anticipation is exciting!