Sunday Chris and I went through a routine we’ve been through since he started kindergarten. We went to buy new shoes. Tennis shoes, of course. Just in time for 8th grade basketball. (Better to start the school year with worn out shoes but to enter the basketball season with fresh tread.) And once again, he said he thought he’d like something different.
So off we went to Academy. He looked at different styles, different colors. Tried several pairs on.
Then he made the selection, picking the all-black tennis shoes that look exactly like every other pair he’s worn since he was five.
There is value in consistency, right?
- - - -
Diane’s favorite present for her 50th was (aside from my constant love and companionship, of course!) finding out through the color of a baby bib whether she is going to be the grandmother of a little boy or a little girl. Our ACU niece was down in Houston for the weekend, and was sent back with two bibs, a blue one and a pink one. Then yesterday, after a Houston visit to the doctor, a call was made to the niece telling her which one to put in the package. So now we know. . . . and we’re VERY excited . . . .
- - - -
I spoke with two men.
One is unhappy at church. Some changes have him feeling uncomfortable. He just doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want to be so uncomfortable. He doesn’t care for the way the church is heading. He’s exploring other options.
The other has never been happier. He was lost and is now found. He was unemployed and through a ministry of the church has just been hired. He is pouring himself into outreach. He, with his broken, difficult past, has become an informal leader of the church. The shade of his skin, the level of his education, the type of home he was raised in — all are quite different than many others at the church. But he smiles and laughs as he talks about his new family. He grins as he introduces me to others as “my pastor.”
Both men matter. Both deserve pastoral care.
But if we continue to find our neighborhood, if we continue to join God in what he’s already doing in our city, then our faith community will look less and less like a gated community where access codes are required.
I’m afraid it won’t be comfortable. But it should be exciting.
Re …then our faith community will look less and less like a gated community where access codes are required.
What a powerful metaphor!
We are right there, Mike. Central in Amarillo was always known for a number of things, few being the way it was impacting its surrounding neighborhood. However, over the last 5 years has changed that and it is quite a ride. On Thursday we have a Loaves and Fishes ministry across the street in a house owned by the church. It is both a food pantry and a worship time (Thursday church) as some who attend call it. There is also a time when some of the people who attend that have a deeper discipleship type bible study. Last week we got this email from our Outreach minister…
“Since January a group of 8 to 10 have been staying after Loaves and Fishes to engage in different studies. The first was about a 13 week study on “Making Jesus The Lord of Your Life”, the second was in Phillipians on the power of positive thinking and the last came from my desire to move them to action in sharing their faith so I purchased a video series by Andy Stanley called “Go Fish”. When we completed the video series I decided to take a break during the holidays until the first of the year. Their reaction was one of disappointment and they asked if they could continue on their own in the Upreach Center. As I was leaving just now they were on the front porch planning what they were going to study on their own.
Roger Davis, one of the one’s in the study, brought a coworker with him to prayer breakfast and he came to Loaves and Fishes also. Roger looked at me and said, “I’ve been fishing”. Just had to share this. Thanks you for your prayers for this group each week.”
The testimony is really in seeing these people who came broken and needy, now taking turns at leading prayers, initiating Spiritual things and discipling others. Praise God!
OK, Mike–was it pink or blue????
Mike:
Every time you make mention of something Highland is doing in terms of making a difference in the neighborhood and joining God in what He is doing, I find myself pining to be there. And then I remember to “bloom where I am planted.” The stories I hear from you about the work you all are doing are encouraging. Keep sharing the stories. Our body, or rather, pockets of our body are latching on to the idea of going where God is working and stretching our comfort zones. One such story has to do with a young unwedded woman who gave birth to a biracial baby. She was, with some hesitation at first, welcomed into our body, pastored and mentored and taught. Each week, there was at least one lady of the congregation sitting down with her to talk and pray, and help her in as many ways as she needed. Without going into all the details, that was about 3 or 4 years ago. She now teaches a children’s Bible class and is actively involved. We are very much her family.
Thanks a lot for leading us on about the gender of your new grandchild! We want to know, too!
But what a great present for Diane to get on her 50th birthday. You two will make wonderful grandparents!
Mike:
I have the same story. My dad every year would take me out and we would buy basketball shoes for the upcoming season. I cherish those memories. My favorite pair were the black “Larry Birds” (I was a huge Celtics fan growing up in Detroit!!!). I miss seeing you every Sunday! Hope all is well with you and your family.
Klint
Amen and amen!
I talked to Jenna last night and we are SO EXCITED about our new little cousin that is coming…not long now! What a fun way to find out!
You are the teaser!! When we will we know?
Sounds like you are doing great things in your neighborhood. I like the saying of the gated community. But I do have a question. When and where do we find in the Bible we are suppose to be comfortable? I hear that so often. “I am just not comfortable doing that.” Why do we think we have to be comfortable in everything we do? We don’t expect that in our jobs, at least if we plan to keep a job long! So why do we think we should be comfortable in everything at church? Just wondering and thinking. A dangerous thing to do!:)
Mike - I read your blog because of posts like this (the last segment, not necessarily the part about the shoes or bib…but big congrats on the grandbaby!).
This may sound like a dumb question…but why do you come across as one who isn’t threatened by a major shift in the church? I mean, most head ministers/pastors seem to fight tooth and nail to keep things “just so”.
Curious.
I heard preacher one time say that hell is a gated community.
I don’t think it’s helpful to suppose that people think they “have to be comfortable.”
Much of the change around us can easily appear arbitrary because (a) its motivations are absent, (b) its motivations are poorly communicated, (c) its motivations are NOT communicated or (d) its motivations are not interpreted in the context of what the plausible alternatives were. It is also possible, of course, that they appear arbitrary because the observer is (A) lazy or (B) simply incapable of seeing what many think self-evident.
I would hope that folks would extend the charity of Christ to the observer long enough to discern whether the case is (A) or (B); and elders need to take a long look at their pastoral and institutional assumptions to discern whether there are contributions from (a-d).
All of those things, to the extent they exist, may arise because of any number of institutional pathologies. On the one hand, the church may have invested too much power and discretion in one man, who then feels no urgency to communicate well - in two directions, we mean, taking the congregation’s pulse before moving ahead with significant change. (Some might apply the term, hubris, to that phenomenon.) Or the elders may have decided that good, transparent, open-minded communication as ideas and plans develop is too risky, that it invites discord, so they demur from openness until the train has left the station. And there are probably other possibilities. In each case, though, one can easily suppose that the tendency to control and manipulate the future shows up at different stages and at different levels of authority.
I guess what I’m saying is this: to jump right to the assumption that the observer is lazy is ITSELF lazy. Surely we can be more thoughtful than that.
qpopulistb
Congrats! And spoil him/her as rotten as you can.
Peace.
“But if we continue to find our neighborhood, if we continue to join God in what he’s already doing in our city, then our faith community will look less and less like a gated community where access codes are required.”
PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Mike - and congrats again. Sorry that Mel didn’t win, but Abilene will be fine. Amen to that story - I hope both men find Jesus in their searching - not comfort.
Why do Christians want a comfortable Christianity? How was Christ’s comfort while he was on earth? Does he call us to comfort? As Christians we must understand that we have been called to take up our cross. The cross of pain, discomfort, change, transformation and discipleship. God may we never become comfortable with church and our lives in this world.
“I’m afraid it won’t be comfortable. But it should be exciting.”
Much to our collective shame that it should be uncomfortable. Our Savior gave His life, not His comfort. Our discomofort should be that there is even one person nearby that does not know Jesus and His free gift.
Sorry Mike, that isn’t a sock it to you comment, but rather to all who would block the life-giving knowledge of Jesus to one single person because we’re not comfortable with them. Yipes!
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment a drop of Jesus blood landed on the lock on the gate. The lock started sparking like crazy and then fell off so that anyone could come in without knowing all the code but simply by the blood of Jesus.”
And we’ve been trying to put the lock back on for around 2000 years!
God cares about the direction Highland is headed. He’s both comfortable with it and excited! He never liked that ‘damning’ lock.
Oh And btw- how long are you going to leave us on the cliff hanger about your grandbaby? Your emphasis word VERY might mean you’d like to have a girl but a boy will bring happiness as well. OR - it could be that it’s a girl which makes you VERY happy. Hmmmm? How long are you going to make us wait to find out?? Happy for you no matter which it is!!
“if we continue to join God in what he’s already doing in our city”
This is key to me. God is working… are we going to join him? Will it be messy? uncomfortable? I heard the “joining God” sentence recently and have adopted it for my 2007 vision from the pulpit. I am going to see how many times I can say it…
I also liked what you said in a sermon online a few months ago (I think you repeated it often as well), about us being the church that has left building. Being more outward -focused keeps us from being too inwardly “preference”, “opinion”, or “comfort”-focused.
Here is what was in Diane’s present:
YEA MIKE! congrats
Oh Mike, I am crying at the keyboard. A little girl!!! God is good.
Cool! Glad I read the comments!
My two littlest grandkids are girls, Zoe & Hannah, and they are SO-O-O-o-o-o sweet. That’s terrific, Mike. I KNEW you wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret for long. There’s just so much a granddad can do and keeping secrets about his grandkids is not one of them!
Congratulations to you all.
How precious! So when do we get to see the sonogram?
luck, our kids are making us wait.
last Sunday i was uncomfortable during communion at Oak Hills. i looked up and all i saw was men serving, it scared me for a moment:)
Preacher Mike, what is meant by “emergent church” and by “post-modernism” and by “missional church?” I see these terms being used in yours and other posts and frankly, I don’t understand them. I would appreciate your help.
I was about to post “You can’t do that to us! I’m going with a girl.” Honest!
So congratulations, I know you must be so excited!!
my mentor once said to me, “Conflict is inevitable but disunity is unacceptable.”
A Baby Girl—-y’all are gonna have a big time! Congratulations to all of you, & we’ll continue to pray for HER good health!
thank you terrysj. Why are new “terms” always so important with some churches? I would like to think I am “missional” every day in the work I do and the young people I reach and influence. Bless the man who is looking for other “options”. We need to also be careful in our thoughts towards people such as this man Mike spoke of who was not comfortable. When we start to think “our” way is the only way and those not comfortable are not “ready” for “missional” work is where we can get “off track”. Just because he was not comfortable didn’t mean he just “wants” to be “comfortable” in church. We all worship in different ways and I think that is OK with God. When we start to think “our” way is superior to others~ we get in trouble.
Terry -
Be glad to give the quick answers.
“Missional” — a term that has popped up that I describe as “the church has left the building.” It’s what we’ve always believed at our best. The priesthood of all believers. You aren’t just a public school teacher whose job is to support the ministers at church; you are a minister! You are a representative of Christ in your job, in your neighborhood, in your family. You have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others. The term tends to sit over against “consumerism” — a tendency in the megachurch movement (among other places) to say “here’s what we can offer your family if you’ll come here.”
“Postmodernism” — whew! Big word. Lots of meanings swirl around. At its best, it is a reaction against the world of modernism, where everything gets reduced to scientific formulae, scientific confidence, and scientific pride. Postmodernism (again, at its best) is a way of saying that not all answers can be found in the confident tools of a few. There is mystery in this world. There is a place for deep humility. (At its worst, postmodernism can be a way of describing a sense that there is no truth.) A great place to investigate is Stanley Grenz’s book A Primer on Postmodernism
. Christ-followers have both much potential agreement and much potential disagreement with various parts of what’s called postmodernism.
And “emergent church”? Let me refer you to the article by Scot McKnight that I linked to a couple days ago. It’s the best discussion I know of, with a helpful distinction between “emergent” and “the emerging church movement.”
Thanks for asking. I’ll try to loop back in the future.
Isn’t comfortable the point at which we go to sleep?
The scriptures have already given us the terms we need , like preach,teach, love,good works,compassion and so many others. Jesus has already commanded us to reach out to the world. Let us leave the seats of worship and go out into the streets of the world with good news and with hearts of compassion reaching those who come into our daily line of vision.
It was always Chuck Taylor All Stars for me. Red. I don’t know if they even make those anymore, probably not.
I gasped with delight when I saw the picture of the baby bib, Mike. What a wonderful, beautiful, sacred experience new life is. Thanks for sharing with us.
Mike,
You need to step back and look what you have done to the church! You are tearing it apart. People follow you and not God. You are in so many lies and do not know yourself what you believe. Go back and preach against women’s roles and preach what you use to STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Please. How will you be able to look God in his eyes on judgment day and explain you have jumped the fence. I guess that is no big deal. You are on the fell good movement and when you need to be preaching bread and butter. I think and many people of Abilene and of the church wonder what caused you to think the way you do. You have missed the boat and you are teaching what Mike Cope fells and believes. I Hope and Pray God will touch you because you will be held accountable for FALSE doctrine you preach! AND YOU KNOW WHAT GOD SAYS ABOUT THAT!! GOD BLESS YOU
Yea for pink!!!! Excited for you all as I pray for a safe delivery and a healthy baby GIRL!
(Have been praying for years for Highland to become uncomfortable “in its pews”–not referring to those chairs we have! I like juditko’s comment that comfortable is the point at which we go to sleep.)
God bless you too, God Bless.
Dear God Bless,
I know that people respond differently to news such as Mike’s, but I want to say that I’m not sure your response is entirely appropriate.
Just because Mike’s having a granddaughter doesn’t mean you should come out with some horrible screed attacking him, and I’d hardly say it means he’s “jumped the fence” on “women’s roles” just because he’s happy it’s going to be a girl. True, grandsons can be a lot of fun, but granddaughters are also undeniably wonderful, and embracing this exciting news is hardly something that calls for a “STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Please.” Perhaps you’ve misunderstood, but being excited about having a female grandchild is hardly false doctrine–though obviously it would be associated with a “feel good movement.” Still, I think very few in the church would condemn such feelings…
By the way (and I know this is going to sound ridiculous), for a moment, I thought you might be talking about church doctrine rather than the news about Mike’s impending grandchild. You might want to be careful in the future to write more clearly so that your message won’t be misunderstood for being something it’s not (like a “blessing). But obviously you can’t be talking about scriptural doctrine since the Bible makes it clear that women played a very active role in the early church–praying, prophesying, even leading churches in their homes. I have to admit that I felt a bit silly for having been confused for a moment and thinking that this wasn’t all about the baby’s gender. Anyway, Mike can hardly be said to be teaching false doctrine (unless you consider the Bible false), and if you’re going to condemn Mike, then I suppose you’d also have to have it out for Paul (who praises all those women for doing these things in his various letters). So obviously, you couldn’t be talking about the Bible and its doctrine. Again, I’m embarrassed to admit my initial misunderstanding of your post. And the final piece that made it clear you had to be talking about the grandchild was when you condemned Mike so strongly for being in “so many lies.” Had you been talking about Highland’s worship and doctrine regarding women, you would have had to address the fact that their position on women’s roles was decided by Highland’s elders after a couple of years of focused, serious biblical study and prayer and affirmed by the congregation after serious time in prayer and with the scriptures. So obviously, you couldn’t address Mike alone as the ‘culprit’ for that.
Still (and I know I digress here), I suppose some people would rather cut parts out of the Bible than examine their own hearts… Thus, even though you were obviously talking about something else (since you were clearly referring only to your preferences regarding the gender of Mike’s new grandbaby), it is true that false doctrine can land people in dangerous places. People who want to edit the Bible for their own biases should indeed be careful… And were you talking about biblical doctrine rather than your opinions about the baby, we’d have to address you seriously for your own biblical misunderstanding and doctrinal error, your contentiousness, your lack of consideration for a brother in Christ, and your lack of charity… For that matter, we might even be compelled to confront your inability to spell “feel” properly. Luckily, that’s not the case.
Finally, I was glad to see (and this was a profound signal that you had to be discussing the baby) that you called down blessings on Mike (even though your note appeared to be exclusively about cursing). I’m glad that, like the rest of us, you were able (finally) to rejoice at the news of Mike’s grandbaby. I’m glad that, even though you feel like embracing the idea of a girl rather than a boy is “false doctrine,” you were finally able to reconcile yourself to the news and offer Mike such heartfelt congratulations…
Oh dear. I’m afraid I’m LOL-ing.
Congrats on the granddaughter, Mike.
God Bless,
It is clear that you have strong convictions about several key issues that are certainly controversial these days. I understand and appreciate that. And I have little doubt that you and Mike have come to different conclusions regarding what the Bible teaches on some of these issues — though I would not presume to speak for either of you.
But as an observer of Mike’s ministry and an ardent pursuer of truth, I do want to correct one fairly large mistake you have made. In no sense is Mike’s ministry or preaching a slave to any “feel-good movement.” As someone who has listened to his preaching and speaking quite a lot in recent years, I can testify that he rarely leaves you feeling good… At least, not in the sense you mean. Instead, his speaking and leadership priorities center on the cross of Jesus, the importance of self-sacrificial discipleship, and selfless loyalty to the Christian community that is Christ’s body. Barely tall enough to be seen, he incessantly points away from himself towards Jesus, calling people to imitate the Jesus lifestyle.
Whereas clinging to well-worn habits and traditional practices could be seen as a surrender to the gods of comfort and familiarity, Mike is one of many gospel preachers who challenge us to focus on Christ, whatever the cost to personal comfort, and wherever that may lead. His own remark about the path ahead, “I’m afraid it won’t be comfortable…” is a reminder that people-pleasing is not a priority in this agenda.
So, apart from the legitimate differences of opinion that the two of you may have, please do not continue to suppose that one side of it has anything to do with feel-good priorities or people-pleasing, because that is patently false.
Well said, Jeff.
If you have more than two people in a congregation there will be some differences of opinion, some who are content and some who are griping and moaning.
What they both need is a man of God, on and off the field, whom they know loves them both and will tell them the truth. Mike, you are that guy for a great host of God’s children.
You are to be imitated by others in my view.
Grace and Peace,
Royce Ogle
I hope we don’t get too hung up on comfortable. Like so many words, it means many different things and I hope we don’t impune a brother because we don’t agree or understand what he means.
I am very comfortable with the family at Highland. That was not always the case. As we have changed several things over the last 17 years, I have been pushed outside my comfortable envelope a few times. However, my reaction has changed over the years. At first, it was difficult because I didn’t really have an identity in the family. Through the years as relationships have deepened with the people around me and I have learned to trust the elders and God, it is easier for me to deal with new traditions and open study on our ’sacred cows’.
I do (and probably should) feel a discomfort when I’m part of the world outside my circle of Christian friends. It seems so foreign to me that people live their life without brothers and sisters and God. All these things hold me up and make sense in a world where so little does.
I feel alternating levels of comfort with different aspects of ministry with which I’m involved. In some cases, I am comfortable because it is a ministry or task that fits exactly with the gifts that God has given me. In others, I feel that it is a direction in which He wants me to grow. In others, I’ve had to conclude that I am lacking a gift and I have to be content even though I am not a hand or an eye or a head.
To the brother that feels uncomfortable: You family is a place where you should feel comfortable, though there should also be seasons of stretching and growth. My counsel would be to give it a season of time for prayer and talk to brothers and sisters whom you trust. If, after that season, you feel that you fit best in a different family, God bless you and help you find a place where your gifts further His glory. Test Him on this. He wants to show you His faithfulness.
God Bless, have you visited with Mike in person? If you have, then I’m really confused how you could blast him & his teachings about scripture. I’ve found that when I disagree with someone, that the Biblical thing to do is to go to that person & have a one on one discussion with them. That is what scripture says to do.
Pink is one of my favorite colors! I know this baby girl will be very loved! Congratulations!
PS I’m really impressed with you being able to post pictures in commnets… You’ve gone techno on us!
On the subject of comfort in worship, I can’t help but quote your friend Sara Barton, from her excellent article in New Wineskins a couple of years ago: “Could it be that true worship starts not with comfort but with discomfort? Does worship start with radical discomfort—a kind of desperation—when we, in our sinfulness, open ourselves to the presence of our holy and righteous God?” -Homeland Security.
I know that may make “God Bless” uncomfortable, and I would tell him/her: I was uncomfortable when I first attended Highland. I was uncomfortable the longer I stayed there and became a member and became more involved. Discomfort can be a very good thing. It can make you re-evaluate what you believe and why. It can drive you back to the Word with an open mind and heart. It can bring you to your knees in the very presence of God.
“Must I be carried to the skies on flowery beds of ease, while others fight to win the prize, and sail through bloody seas?”
I pray God will put me in the fight.
And to blazes with comfort.
God Bless,
You’re by no means the only one who feels that way.
I’m pretty convinced that what I’ve taught is on target (it came after thousands of hours of study and prayer — which doesn’t guarantee it’s right, I realize), but honestly, my hope is built on nothing less (or more) than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
When I stand before God, my plan is not to defend my exegesis of certain passages but to say “I’m with him” (Christ). And I don’t mean that in a shallow since. I mean it in the fullest sense. More than anything else in life, I want to know Christ, follow him, and join him in his repair of a rebellious world. More than you can imagine, I believe he is the Way and that he has shown us the way.
Mike
Dear Mike,
You will experience more theology when holding your granddaughter than all the books you have read in the past 20 years…..at least that has been my experience with the miracle of a granddaughter. And, as for those who think you have missed the boat, just keep on using the gift the Lord gave to you. You are an inspiration to many to follow Jesus. If our committment is to him, and to him crucified, grace will make up for everything else. God bless you brother. I love reading your blog.
As usual Mike, your blatant disregard for scripture goes right over the heads of those you feed what you want them to hear and sickens those that actually read the bible for themselves. Heaven IS a “gated community”. If everyone would “search the scriptures” for the phrase “straight is the gate and narrow the way” you would find out just how difficult living the Christian life will be. But if you did that, “Preacher Mike” would just be Mike.
A Stounded, all I can say is “wow.” It’s so easy to see from your post that your reading of the Bible has really transformed you, purifying you for the “narrow way.” You’re an inspiration and, as you can see, sort of a role model for me. You’re A Stounding. Really.
pagine piuttosto informative, piacevoli =)
This is an excellent article (stency at PreacherMike), I was searching for Repair shoes on Yahoo and stumbled on this Friday.